System for communicating user-selected criteria filter prepared at wireless client to communication server for filtering data transferred from host to said wireless client

• US 6,101,531 A
• Filed: 04/15/1998
• Issued: 08/08/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hansen, Mitch, Eggleston, Gene
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US09/060,686
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/220, 709/232, 709/103, 709/203, 706/47, 707/3
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters

Abstract

In a main embodiment, prestage filtering is applied via user-definable filter parameters (e.g., reject, pass, or granularity filters) on data being transferred between a communication unit (201) and communication server (220). For downloading, e.g., email from a host post office (240), a communication server controller (229) preferably either forwards the filter parameters in a query object or message to the post office to apply and return qualified mail (406-414), or the communication server receives all unprocessed mail and applies the filters locally (418-420), only acknowledging as processed that mail which passes the filters. For uploading, e.g., email from a client, a client controller applies an upload prestage filter (432) so as to retain all filter-rejected email, while transmitting email passing the filters (434). Thus, only desired data transfers (i.e., those meeting user defined filters) are communicated over the expense-bearing networks between the remote unit and communication server.

Claims

1. A method of communicating data units over a wireless network between a client communication unit and a host device via a communication server, the method comprising, at the communication server:

filtering data units based on a first set of user-selected criteria to produce filtered data units;

communicating the filtered data units to the client communication unit;

receiving a second set of a plurality of user-selected criteria, wherein the second set of the plurality of user-selected criteria has been previously prepared at the client communication unit and, when completed, has been sent to the communication server in a virtual session;

filtering subsequent data units based on the second set of the plurality of user-selected criteria to create subsequent filtered data units; and

communicating the subsequent filtered data units to the client communication unit.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising truncating a filtered data unit if the filtered data unit exceeds a first filter size.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising truncating a subsequent filtered data unit if the subsequent filtered data unit exceeds a second filter size.

4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

maintaining a summary index of data units that did not pass the first set of user-selected criteria to produce unfiltered data units; and

automatically forwarding the unfiltered data units to the client communication unit that pass the second set of the plurality of user-selected criteria.

5. A method of communicating data units over a wireless network between a client communication unit and a host device via a communication server, the method comprising, at the client communication unit:

communicating a set of a plurality of user-selected criteria to the communication server;

storing the set of the plurality of user-selected criteria locally in a memory;

receiving filtered data units from the communication server based on the set of the plurality of user-selected criteria;

reviewing the set of the plurality of user-selected criteria locally;

modifying the set of the plurality of user-selected criteria locally to produce a modified set of a plurality user-selected criteria;

storing the modified set of the plurality of user-selected criteria locally in the memory;

communicating the modified set of the plurality of user-selected criteria to the communication server; and

receiving filtered data units from the communication server based on the modified set of the plurality of user-selected criteria.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the steps of communicating occurs when a virtual session is established between the client communication unit and the communication server.

7. The method according to claim 5 wherein the step of modifying comprises modifying the set of user-selected criteria at the client communication unit while on-line with the communication server.

8. The method according to claim 5 wherein the step of modifying comprises modifying the set of the plurality of user-selected criteria at the client communication unit while off-line from the communication server.

9. The method according to claim 5 further comprising providing the client communication unit with several pre-defined groups of filter settings that are selectively communicable to the communication server.

10. The method according to claim 5 further comprising providing the client communication unit with several groups of filter settings that are manually activated.

11. A method of communicating data units over a wireless network between a client communication unit and a host device via a communication server, the method comprising:

filtering data units, at the communication server, based on a first set of a plurality of user-selected criteria to produce filtered data units;

communicating, at the communication server, the filtered data units to the client communication unit;

preparing, at the client communication unit, a second set of a plurality of user-selected criteria and, when completed, communicating the second set of the plurality of user-selected criteria to the communication server in a virtual session;

filtering subsequent data units, at the communication server, based on the second set of the plurality of user-selected criteria to create subsequent filtered data units; and

communicating, at the communication server, the subsequent filtered data units to the client communication unit.