Interconnecting Applications on Personal Computers and Mobile Terminals Through a Web Server

• US 20110061000A1
• Filed: 09/08/2009
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Andreasson, Mans Folke Markus
• Granted Patent: US 8,862,696 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/741
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/43 wireless channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/566 Grouping or aggregating service requests, e.g. for unified processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

Methods of communicatively connecting a local application on a mobile terminal to a Web application on a personal computer and related Web servers and mobile terminals are disclosed. A first session ID for the Web application and a corresponding first code may be communicated from a connector application on a Web server to the personal computer. A second code and user ID may be communicated from the mobile terminal to the connector application on the Web server. The connector application on the Web server may be operated to determine whether the first code from the personal computer matches the second code from the mobile terminal and, if so, to communicatively connect the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.

Claims

1. A method of communicatively connecting a local application on a mobile terminal to a Web application on a personal computer the method comprising:

communicating a first session ID for the Web application and a corresponding first code from a connector application on a Web server to the personal computer;

communicating a second code and user ID from the mobile terminal to the connector application on the Web server; and

operating the connector application on the Web server to determine whether the first code from the personal computer matches the second code from the mobile terminal and, if so, communicatively connecting the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

communicatively connecting the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer comprises operating the connector application on the Web server to forward data requests and data responses that are received from the Web application on the personal computer to the local application on the mobile terminal and to forward data requests and data responses that are received from the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

communicatively connecting the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer further comprises operating a connector application on the personal computer to forward data requests and data responses generated by the Web application on the personal computer to the connector application on the Web server and operating a connector application on the mobile terminal to forward data requests and data responses generated by the local application on the personal computer to the connector application on the Web server.

4. The method of claim 1:

wherein communicating a first session ID for the Web application and a corresponding first code from a connector application on a Web server to the personal computer comprises responding to a user selection, via the personal computer, of a connector application that is associated with the Web application by operating the personal computer to request communication of the first session ID and the first code from the connector application on the Web server and to display the received first code to a user; and

wherein communicating a second code and user ID from the mobile terminal to the connector application on the Web server comprises operating a connector application on the mobile terminal to receive the first code manually entered by the user through a user interface on the mobile terminal and to respond thereto by communicating the code entered by the user as the second code along with the user ID to the connector application on the Web server.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to its determination that the first code from the personal computer matches the second code from the mobile terminal by assigning and communicating a second session ID to the local application on the mobile terminal and by locally associating together the first session ID and the second session ID.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to a data request and/or a data response received from the personal computer that contains the first session ID by identifying the correlation of the first session ID to the second session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the received data request and/or data response to the local application on the mobile terminal.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

operating the connector application on the personal computer to respond to a first data request from the Web application by communicating the first data request and the first session ID, which identifies a source of the first data request, to the connector application on the Web server;

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to the first data request and the first session ID received from the personal computer by identifying the correlation of the first session ID to the second session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the first data request and the second session ID to the mobile terminal; and

operating the connector application on the mobile terminal to respond to the first data request and the second session ID received from the Web server by communicating the first data request to the local application.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

operating the connector application on the mobile terminal to respond to a first data response from the local application, which is generated in response to the first data request, by communicating the first data response and the second session ID, which identifies a source of the first data response, to the Web server;

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to the first data response and the second session ID received from the mobile terminal by identifying the correlation of the second session ID to the first session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the first data response and the first session ID to the personal computer; and

operating the connector application on the personal computer to respond to the first data response and the first session ID received from the Web server by communicating the first data response to the Web application.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

responding to expiration of a threshold elapsed time since when the first data request and the first session ID were forwarded from the personal computer to the Web server and no corresponding data response has been received from the mobile terminal by forwarding a disconnect message and the first session ID to the Web server; and

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to the disconnect message and the first session ID from the personal computer by removing the local association between the first session ID and the second session ID and ceasing to communicatively connect the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

operating the connector application on the mobile terminal to respond to a second data request from the local application by communicating the second data request and the second session ID, which identifies a source of the second data request, to the connector application on the Web server;

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to the second data request and the second session ID received from the mobile terminal by identifying the correlation of the second session ID to the first session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the second data request and the first session ID to the personal computer; and

operating the connector application on the personal computer to respond to the second data request and the first session ID received from the Web server by communicating the second data request to the Web application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

operating the connector application on the personal computer to respond to a second data response from the Web application, which is generated in response to the second data request, by communicating the second data response and the first session ID, which identifies a source of the second data response, to the Web server;

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to the second data response and the first session ID received from the personal computer by identifying the correlation of the first session ID to the second session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the second data response and the second session ID to the mobile terminal; and

operating the connector application on the mobile terminal to respond to the second data response and second session ID received from the Web server by communicating the second data response to the local application.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

responding to expiration of a threshold elapsed time since when the second data request and the second session ID were forwarded from the mobile terminal to the Web server and no corresponding data response has been received from the personal computer by forwarding a disconnect message and the second session ID to the Web server; and

operating the connector application on the Web server to respond to the disconnect message and the second session ID from the mobile terminal by removing the local association between the first session ID and the second session ID and ceasing to communicatively connect the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responding to a user selection through the personal computer of a connector application link that is displayed by the Web application by downloading a connector application from the Web server and initiating execution of the downloaded connector application; and

operating the connector application on the personal computer to request communication of the first session ID and the first code from the connector application on the Web server and to display the received first code to a user.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responding to a user selection through the mobile terminal of a connector application link that is displayed by the local application by downloading a connector application from the Web server and initiating execution of the downloaded connector application; and

operating the connector application on the mobile terminal to receive the first code manually entered by the user through a user interface on the mobile terminal and to respond thereto by communicating the code entered by the user as the second code along with the user ID to the connector application on the Web server.

15. A Web server comprising:

a data network interface; and

a processor circuit that executes a connector application configured to generate a first code and a first session ID for a Web application on a personal computer, to communicate the first code and the first session ID through the data network interface to the personal computer to receive through the data network interface a second code from a mobile terminal, to determine whether the first code matches the second code and, if so, to forward communications received from a local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer and to forward communications received from the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.

16. The Web server of claim 15, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to respond to the determination that the first code from the personal computer matches the second code from the mobile terminal by assigning and communicating a second session ID to the local application on the mobile terminal, by locally associating together the first session ID and the second session ID, and by responding to a data request and/or a data response received from the personal computer that contains the first session ID by identifying the correlation of the first session ID to the second session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the data request and/or the data response to the local application on the mobile terminal.

17. The Web server of claim 15, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to respond to the determination that the first code from the personal computer matches the second code from the mobile terminal by assigning and communicating a second session ID to the local application on the mobile terminal, by locally associating together the first session ID and the second session ID, and by responding to a data request and/or a data response received from the mobile terminal that contains the second session ID by identifying the correlation of the second session ID to the first session ID and by responding to the identification by forwarding the data request and/or the data response to the Web application on the personal computer.

18. A mobile terminal comprising:

a radio transceiver circuit that is configured to communicate with a Web server via a base station transceiver;

a user input interface; and

a processor circuit that is configured to execute a connector application to receive a code that is manually entered by a user through the user input interface and to respond thereto by communicating the code along with a user ID to a connector application on the Web server, to respond to a data request and a session ID received from the Web server by outputting the data request to a local application that is executed by the processor, and to respond to receipt of a data response from the local application by outputting the data response and the session ID to the Web server for forwarding to a Web application on a personal computer.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein:

the local application executed by the processor circuit is further configured to display a user selectable link for causing connection to the Web application on the personal computer, and to respond to user selection of the link by downloading the connector application from the Web server and by causing execution of the downloaded connector application to initiate communication connectivity between the local application and the Web application through the Web server.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein:

the connector application is further configured to respond to expiration of a threshold elapsed time since when the connector application communicated a data request and the session ID to the Web server and no corresponding data response has been received from the personal computer by then communicating a disconnect message to the Web server to cause the Web server to cease communicatively connecting the local application on the mobile terminal to the Web application on the personal computer.