SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HANDLING DIGITAL CONTENT DELIVERY TO PORTABLE DEVICES

• US 20090216892A1
• Filed: 05/11/2009
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Patron, David, Suryanarayana, Lalitha, Grannan, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,838,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent

Abstract

Systems and methods to download digital data files are provided. A particular method includes sending authentication data and a request to download a digital data file from a portable computing device to a remote network device via a first network access point. A first portion of the digital data file is received at the portable computing device. The first portion does not include a remaining portion of the digital data file. Communication is established between the portable computing device and a second network access point after communication is lost between the portable computing device and the first network access point and before the remaining portion of the digital data file is received. The remaining portion of the digital data file is received at the portable computing device without sending a second request related to downloading the digital data file.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending authentication data from a portable computing device to a remote network device via a first network access point;

sending a request to download a digital data file from the portable computing device to the remote network device via the first network access point;

receiving, at the portable computing device, a first portion of the digital data file, wherein the first portion does not include a remaining portion of the digital data file;

establishing communication between the portable computing device and a second network access point after losing communication between the portable computing device and the first network access point and before receiving the remaining portion of the digital data file; and

receiving the remaining portion of the digital data file at the portable computing device without sending a second request related to downloading the digital data file.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the authentication data to the remote network device via the second network access point before receiving the remaining portion of the digital data file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network access point and the second network access point are different network access points.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network access point and the second network access point are a same network access point.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein communication between the portable computing device and the first network access point is lost when the portable computing device is moved outside a wireless coverage area of the first network access point.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication data includes information uniquely identifying the portable computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication data includes information uniquely identifying a user of the portable computing device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication data includes single sign-on information of a user of the portable computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote network device identifies the remaining portion of the digital data file based on a time when communication between the portable computing device and the first network access point is lost.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the remote network device stores a byte count of the first portion of the digital data file associated with the authentication data to identify the remaining portion of the digital file.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising making the entire content of the digital data file available to a user of the portable computing device after receiving the remaining portion of the digital data file at the portable computing device.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the portable computing device communicates wirelessly with the first network access point.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising the remote network device wherein the remote network device is configured to:

authenticate the portable computing device based on the authentication data;

send the first portion of the digital file to the portable computing device;

determine that communication with the portable computing device has been interrupted; and

store a record including information identifying the portable computing device and information identifying the first portion of the digital data file.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the remote network device automatically continues downloading the digital data file to the portable computing device from a point of interruption without receiving a request from the portable computing device in response to communication with the portable computing device being reestablished.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein communication with the portable computing device is interrupted when the portable computing device is moved outside a range of a wireless communication channel associated with the first network access point.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the portable computing device is SyncML compliant and a SyncML protocol is used to facilitate discontinuous download of the digital data file.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the first network access point and the second network access point are the same network access point.

12. A system, comprising:

a portable computing device configured to;

send authentication data to a remote network device via a first network access point;

send a request to download a digital data file to the remote network device via the first network access point;

receive a first portion of the digital data file, wherein the first portion does not include a remaining portion of the digital data file;

establish communication with a second network access point after losing communication with the first network access point and before receiving the remaining portion of the digital data file; and

automatically receive the remaining portion of the digital file without sending a second request related to downloading the digital data file.

19. A method, comprising:

determining that a portable device is in communication with a first wireless access point at a first location;

receiving a selection from the portable device of digital data content to be downloaded;

starting a download of the digital data content to the portable device via the first wireless access point;

determining that the download of the digital data content is interrupted prior to completion;

determining that the portable device is in communication with a second wireless access point at a second location; and

automatically restarting the download of the digital data content to the portable device via the second wireless access point at a point in the digital data content where the download was interrupted.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the digital data content download is initiated from a secondary device and directed to be performed on the portable device.