Wireless software upgrades with version control

• US 6,735,434 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2001
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Criss, Mark A., Cowan, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc M.
• Application Number:
  US09/876,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20010029178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,069 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419, 455/420, 455/422.1, 455/550-558, 709/220, 709/221, 709/222, 713/153, 713/168, 713/190, 713/193, 713/200, 713/201
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A wireless communication system includes a system backbone, a host computer coupled to the system backbone, at least one base station coupled to the system backbone, the at least one base station including a base station transceiver for communicating wirelessly with mobile devices within the system, and at least one mobile device having a mobile device transceiver for communicating wirelessly with the host computer on the system backbone via the at least one base station. The at least one mobile device includes a software update schedule table for providing one or more times at which the mobile device is to inquire and obtain available software upgrades. Entries in the software update schedule table may be made manually through a user input associate with the at least one mobile device or wirelessly through communications received from the host computer. In the event the mobile device is in a sleep mode during a scheduled time for conducting an inquiry as to whether any upgrades of operating software is available, a processor of the mobile device is configured to temporarily place the mobile device in a fully operation mode until a process of determining and obtaining any upgrades operating software is complete.

Claims

1. In a wireless communication system comprising a system backbone;

a host computer coupled to the system backbone;

at least one base station coupled to the system backbone, the at least one base station including a base station transceiver for communicating wirelessly with mobile devices within the system; and

at least one mobile device having a mobile device transceiver for communicating wirelessly with the host computer on the system backbone via the at least one base station, a method of operation comprising the steps of;

maintaining a software update schedule table indicating at least one time at which the at least one mobile device is to inquire as to whether an upgrade of operating software is available;

determining whether the software update schedule table indicates it is time to inquire as to whether an upgrade of operating software is available and, if so, determining whether a version of the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is a current version of the operating software; and

wirelessly updating the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device if it is determined that the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is not the current version.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of updating the software update schedule.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises the step of modifying an entry in the software update schedule table.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises the step of adding an entry to the software update schedule.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises the step of deleting an entry in the software update schedule.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises wirelessly modifying the software update schedule.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises the step of modifying, entering and/or deleting an entry in the software update schedule.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises wirelessly updating the software update schedule.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of updating the software update schedule comprises manually entering data through a user input device to update the software update schedule.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user input device is coupled to the at least one mobile device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the system includes a plurality of mobile devices communicating with the host computer and a respective software update schedule for each of the plurality of mobile devices.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the respective software update schedule tables includes a time entry staggered by a predetermined time interval from another time entry in a different one of the respective software update schedule tables.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined time interval is at least a sufficient amount of time to complete wirelessly updating of the operating software.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of waking the mobile device from a sleep mode prior to said step of determining whether a version of the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is a current version of the operating software.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of reentering the mobile device into a sleep mode after said step of wirelessly updating the operating software.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the time the software update schedule table indicates that it is time to inquire as to whether an upgrade of operating software is available corresponds to a time when the host computer is at a low-load level, whereby said step of determining whether a version of the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is a current version of the operating software is performed at a time when the host computer is at a low-load level.

17. A wireless communication system, comprising:

a system backbone;

a host computer coupled to the system backbone;

at least one base station coupled to the system backbone, the at least one base station including a base station transceiver for communicating wirelessly with mobile devices within the system;

at least one mobile device having a mobile device transceiver for communicating wirelessly with the host computer on the system backbone via the at least one base station;

a software update schedule table which provides at least one time to inquire as to whether an updating of mobile device operating software is appropriate; and

a comparison device which determines, at a time provided by the software update schedule table, whether an update of the mobile device operating software is appropriate based on an initial comparison in accordance with a predetermined criteria indicative of whether updating of the mobile device operating software is appropriate.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one time provided with the software update schedule table has associated therewith a frequency of occurrence.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the frequency of occurrence is daily, weekly, and/or monthly.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the frequency of occurrence is a specified one or more dates.

21. The system of claim 17, further comprising a date keeper and a time keeper for determining whether the at least one time has arrived.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one time corresponds to a time when the host computer is at a low-load level.