System and method for delivery and updating of data transmitted to a mobile terminal

• US 6,560,454 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2001
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Helle, Seppo, Koskinen, Topi
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Simon
• Application Number:
  US09/866,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20020183043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412, 455/418, 455/419, 455/422, 455/517, 455/3.04, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/201, 340/7.29, 340/7.48, 340/7.52
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system, method and computer program for accessing, downloading, storing, and retrieving information from a plurality of content providers on the Internet using a cellular terminal. This cellular terminal has an information finder to find and download items of information from content providers and store the information in a memory of the cellular terminal. These topics and items of information have a best before stamp associated with them. Upon expiration of the best before stamp, the item of information is deleted from the cellular terminal memory. The topic or item may be automatically updated by the latest edition of the information without user intervention when an update period expires.

Claims

1. A method of accessing, downloading, storing, and retrieving information from a content provider onto a cellular terminal, said method comprising:

activating the cellular terminal to select an item of information;

activating the cellular terminal to search the Internet for content providers having the item of information;

downloading the item of information from one of the content providers to a memory in the cellular terminal;

time stamping the item of information with a best before time stamp;

activating the cellular terminal to specify an update period for the item of information;

activating the cellular terminal periodically to determine whether the best before time has expired;

if the best before time has expired, eliminating the item of information from the memory of the cellular terminal;

activating the cellular terminal at time intervals based on the specified update period to contact the one of the service providers to determine whether a new update exists for the item of information; and

if a new update exists, downloading the new update from the one of the content providers to the memory in the cellular terminal.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the searching the Internet for content providers having the item of information comprises activating a news finder server within a separate computer system from the cellular terminal and the content provider.

3. The method recited in claim 2, wherein activating the news finder server includes:

storing items of information in a personal news list associated with an individual user and accessible only by the individual user via a cellular terminal.

4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein downloading the new update is accomplished by the cellular terminal without any action or knowledge required from a user of the cellular terminal.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein eliminating the item of information is accomplished by the cellular terminal without any action or knowledge required by a user of the cellular terminal.

6. The method recited in claim 1, wherein selecting the item of information comprises selecting an information topic, and selecting one of a plurality of items of information within the information topic.

7. A storage medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed cause accessing, downloading, storing, and retrieving of information from a content provider onto a cellular terminal by:

activating the cellular terminal to select an item of information;

searching the Internet for content providers having the item of information;

downloading the item of information from one of the content providers to a memory in the cellular terminal;

time stamping the item of information with a best before time stamp;

activating the cellular terminal to specify an update period for the item of information;

activating the cellular terminal periodically to determine whether the best before time has expired;

if the best before time has expired, eliminating the item of information from the memory of the cellular terminal;

activating the cellular terminal at time intervals based on the specified update period to contact the one of the service providers to determine whether a new update exists for the item of information; and

if a new update exists, downloading the new update from the one of the content providers to the memory in the cellular terminal.

8. The storage medium recited in claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause searching of the Internet for content providers having the item of information by activating a news finder server, said news finder sever is within a separate computer system from the cellular terminal and the content provider.

9. The storage medium recited in claim 8, wherein activating the news finder server includes:

storing items of information in a personal news list associated with an individual user and accessible only by the individual user via a cellular terminal.

10. The storage medium recited in claim 7, wherein eliminating the item of information is accomplished by the cellular terminal without any action or knowledge required from a user of the cellular terminal.

11. The storage medium recited in claim 7, wherein downloading the new update is accomplished by the cellular terminal without any action or knowledge required from a user of the cellular terminal.

12. The storage medium recited in claim 7, wherein the instructions cause the cellular terminal to select the item of information by selecting an information topic, and selecting one of a plurality of items of information within the information topic.

13. A system for accessing, downloading, storing, and retrieving information from a content provider onto a cellular terminal, said system comprising

an information finder to search the Internet for a selected item of information;

a cellular terminal to communicate to a cellular network and the Internet, said cellular terminal including;

(a) a news finder data file to store the item of information in a memory of the cellular terminal with an associated best before time stamp; and

(b) a time stamp check module to check the best before time stamp and eliminate the item of information from the memory of the cellular terminal when the best before time stamp has expired.

14. The system recited in claim 13, wherein the information finder is responsive to expiration of an update period to access the Internet for a new update of the item of information and is responsive to locating of the new update to download the new update.

15. The system recited in claim 14, wherein the update period is specified by a user of the cellular terminal.

16. The system recited in claim 13, wherein the information finder resides in a server connected to the Internet and separate from the cellular terminal.

17. The system recited in claim 13, wherein the information finder includes a personal news list that contains items of information specified by a user of the cellular terminal.

18. The system recited in claim 13, wherein the best before time stamp is specified by the content provider.

19. The system recited in claim 13, wherein the information finder resides in the cellular terminal.