Enterprise connectivity to handheld devices

• US 6,324,542 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1998
• Issued: 11/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Good Technology Corporation (Blackberry Limited)
• Original Assignee: Wright Strategies, Inc.
• Inventors: OʼGrady, James, Wright, Gerald V. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): RONES, CHARLES
• Application Number:
  US09/220,284
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 707/201, 707/10, 707/4, 707/203, 709/227, 709/206, 705/204, 705/26, 345/330, 455/414, 455/461, 704/8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/273 Asynchronous replication or reconciliation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A FormLogic (FL) client/server system and method to access existing enterprise data sources on an occasional basis. The system includes a FL builder program to generate a communications agent that encapsulates a communication session. The session includes one or more related tasks. The system also includes a FL server which is connected to one or more enterprise data sources. The FL server provides the ability to link hardware devices running a FL engine as a client to access existing enterprise data sources on an occasional basis. It is optimized to communicate by exchanging a minimum amount of data, since the wireless transports do not move large amounts of data quickly and data is expensive to move. Each session encompasses connecting the remote host, performing a specific task or set of tasks, then disconnecting from the host. Because the connection times must be short, the client and server need to be able to perform the required tasks without user intervention. The FL engine includes a user interface, a script engine, a communications module, and a local data store, and preferably runs on a mobile personal digital assistant. Upon connection, this local database is automatically manipulated by the FL server. The FL server can query the FL client database, add data to the client database, or remove data from the client database so as to make updates to both the client and server databases for reflecting changes that have happened on both sides since the last connection.

Claims

1. A system having a portable client device and a server computer, comprising:

a portable client device, comprising;

a client database, and

a communications module; and

a server computer, comprising;

a data storage, and

a session module, in communication with the data storage, to non-persistently connect to the communications module and directly manipulate the client database during the connection from time to time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the client database by the session module is a query.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the client database by the session module is to add data to the client database.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the adding of data updates a work order in the client database.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the adding of data provides electronic mail to the client database.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the client database by the session module is to remove data goom the client database.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a portion of the client database is retrieved and stored in the data storage.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the data storage comprises a mail server so that the client device can access electronic mail.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the data storage resides on a local area network that is further connected to the server.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the session module has a persistent connection with the data storage.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the data storage comprises a plurality of databases, each database associated with one or more tasks associated with a client application or indicative of a relationship between the client application and the database.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection between the portable client device and the server computer is a wireless connection.

13. A system having a plurality of portable client devices and a server computer, comprising:

a plurality of portable client devices, each client device comprising;

a client database, and

a communications module;

a data storage; and

a server computer persistently connected with the data storage, the server computer comprising a session module to non-persistently connect to at least one of the communications modules of an associated one of the portable client devices and directly manipulate the associated client database during the connection from time to time, wherein the plurality of portable client devices shareably access at least a portion of the data stored on the data storage.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein a portion of the associated client database associated with a one of the plurality of portable client devices is retrieved and stored in the data storage.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the data storage comprises a mail server so that at least one of the portable client devices can access electronic mail.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the data storage resides on a local area network that is further connected to the server computer.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the manipulation of the associated client database by the session module comprises a query.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the manipulation of the associated client database by the session module includes adding data to the associated client database.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the adding of data updates a work order in the associated client database.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the data storage e comprises a plurality of databases, each database associated with one or more tasks associated with a client application or indicative of a relationship between the client application and the database.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the connection between one of the plurality of portable client devices and the server computer is a wireless connection.

22. A system having a plurality of portable client devices and a server computer, comprising:

a plurality of portable client devices;

a plurality of data storages;

a server computer persistently connected to the plurality of data storages; and

a plurality of session modules executing on the server computer, each session module in data communication with one or more of the plurality of data storages that may be different than the one or more of the plurality of data storages in communication with the other session modules, wherein one of the plurality of session modules non-persistently connects to at least one of the plurality of portable client devices.

23. The system defined in claim 22, wherein each one of the session modules executes a set of tasks which is different from the set of tasks of the other session modules.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein a one of the data storages comprises a plurality of databases, each database associated with one or more tasks associated with a client application or indicative of a relationship between the client application and the database.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the connection between at least one of the plurality of portable client devices and the server computer is a wireless connection.

26. A system having a portable client device and a server computer, comprising:

a portable client device, comprising;

a client database, and

a communications module; and

a server computer, comprising;

a data storage, and

a session module, in communication with the data storage, to non-persistently and wirelessly connect to the communications module and directly manipulate the client database during the connection from time to time.

27. A data synchronization system for a portable client device, comprising:

a portable client device, comprising;

a client database, and

a communications module connected to the client database;

a data storage; and

a computer having a persistent connection with the data storage, the computer comprising a session module in communication with the data storage for retrieving data, removing data, or updating data in the data storage, wherein the session module non-persistently connects to the communications module and directly manipulates the client database during the non-persistent connection from time to time for synchronizing at least a portion of the data in the client database with at least a portion of the data located in the data storage.

28. In a computer network, including a server, a data storage, and a plurality of mobile clients, each mobile client having a database, a method of synchronizing each of the client databases and the data storage during a non-persistent connection, the method comprising:

(a) connecting one of the mobile clients to a server having a session module;

(b) manipulating the client database with the session module;

(c) updating the data storage responsive to the manipulation by the session module;

(d) disconnecting the client from the server; and

(e) repeating (a)-(d) a plurality of times, each time with a different one of the mobile clients.

29. The method of claim 28, additionally comprising updating the client database with data obtained from the data storage.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the manipulating includes querying the client database for specific data stored in the client database.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the manipulating includes removing selected data from the client database.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the data storage comprises a mail server so that one of the mobile clients can access electronic mail.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein the data storage comprises a database.

34. The method of claim 28, wherein the server is persistently connected to the data storage.

35. The system of claim 28, wherein the data storage resides on a local area, network.

36. The system of claim 28, wherein the data storage resides on a wide area network.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the wide area network is the Internet.

38. The system of claim 28, wherein the data storage includes data that is shareably accessed by the plurality of mobile clients.

39. The system of claim 28, wherein the data storage comprises a plurality of databases, each database associated with one or more tasks associated with a client application or indicative of a relationship between the client application and the database.

40. The system of claim 28, wherein the connecting comprises wirelessly connecting between the one of the mobile clients and the server.