System and method for pushing information from a host system to a mobile data communication device

• US 6,779,019 B1
• Filed: 04/10/2000
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Castell, David, Lazaridis, Mihal, Mousseau, Gary P., Ferguson, Tabitha, Linkert, Barry, Veen, Raymond Vander
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDELMAN, BRADLEY E
• Application Number:
  US09/545,963
• Time in Patent Office: 1,590 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/249, 709/245, 709/253, 707/201, 707/203, 340/7.21, 340/7.29, 340/7.51, 455/556.1, 455/556.2
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• 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 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/353 where the information comprises non-audio but is provided over voice channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 Non-interactive information services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 : Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 : Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 : Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 : adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 : Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 : Recoverability

Abstract

A system and method of pushing user-selected data items from a host system to a user'"'"'s mobile data communication device upon detecting the occurrence of one or more user-defined event triggers is provided. The user may then move (or file) the data items to a particular folder within a folder hierarchy stored in the mobile data communication device, or may execute some other system operation on the data item. Software operating at the mobile device and the host system then synchronizes the folder hierarchy of the mobile device with a folder hierarchy of the host system, and any actions executed on the data items at the mobile device are then automatically replicated on the same data items stored at the host system, thus eliminating the need for the user to manually replicate actions at the host system that have been executed at the mobile data communication device.

Claims

1. A method of two-way synchronization between electronic mailboxes stored at a host system and a mobile communication device, each of the electronic mailboxes being organized into a set of hierarchical folders for storing received messages, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving messages at the host system and storing the received messages in the set of hierarchical folders of the host system'"'"'s electronic mailbox;

determining whether to redirect the received messages from the host system to the mobile communication device and for each message that meets the determining step, assigning a unique message ID to the message and redirecting the message with its unique message ID to the mobile communication device;

receiving the redirected messages at the mobile communication device and storing them in the set of hierarchical folders at the mobile communication device;

coupling the mobile communication device to the host system;

synchronizing the set of hierarchical folders at the host system with the set of hierarchical folders at the mobile communication device;

retrieving a first list of messages from the host system, wherein the first list of messages are those messages that met the determining step and were redirected to the mobile communication device;

retrieving a second list of messages from the mobile communication device;

comparing the first list of messages to the second list of messages to identify messages having the same unique message ID and to determine whether the messages having the same unique message ID are stored in the same folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders at the host system and the mobile communication device where the messages are stored; and

if the messages having the same unique message IDs are stored in different folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders then determining which message should be moved and moving that message so that the messages having the same unique message IDs are stored in the same folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders at the host system and the mobile communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

de-coupling the mobile communication device and the host system;

subsequently moving one of the messages at the mobile communication device so that it is stored in a different folder than the message having the same unique message ID at the host system;

transmitting a move command message from the mobile communication device to the host system to indicate that the message has been moved, the move command message including the unique message ID of the moved message and an identification of the folder in which the message is presently stored at the mobile communication device; and

moving the message corresponding to the unique message ID contained in the move command message at the host system so that it is stored in the same folder as the folder identified in the move command message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the move message command is transmitted from the mobile communication device to the host system over a wireless connection, further comprising the steps of:

enabling the transmission of the move message commands at the mobile communication device, wherein a user of the mobile communication device can either enable or disable the transmission of the move message commands.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

de-coupling the mobile communication device and the host system;

subsequently moving one of the messages at the host system that was redirected to the mobile communication device so that it is stored in a different folder than the message having the same unique message ID at the mobile communication device;

transmitting a move command message from the host system to the mobile communication device to indicate that the message has been moved, the move command message including the unique message ID of the moved message and an identification of the folder in which the message is presently stored at the host system; and

moving the message corresponding to the unique message ID contained in the move command message at the mobile communication device so that it is stored in the same folder as the folder identified in the move command message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the host system and the mobile communication device are coupled via a wired connection.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the host system and the mobile communication device are coupled via a wireless connection.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronizing the set of hierarchical folders step further comprises the steps of:

associating a unique folder ID with each folder in the sets of hierarchical folders at the host system and the mobile communication device;

generating a folder list including the folder IDs of the set of hierarchical folders at the host system;

providing the folder list to the mobile communication device; and

updating the set of hierarchical folders at the mobile communication device using the folder list so that the set matches the set of hierarchical folders at the host system.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

associating a move flag with each of the messages having unique message IDs at both the host system and the mobile communication device; and

setting the move flag for each message that is moved from one folder to another folder at either the host system or the mobile communication device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the comparing step further comprises the step of examining the move flags for each of the messages having the same unique message IDs to determine if one of the messages have been moved from one folder to another folder at either the host system of the mobile communication device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

associating a folder ID with each message stored in the host system and the mobile communication device, wherein the folder IDs identify the folder location of each message within the respective sets of hierarchical folders; and

wherein the comparing step further comprises the step of comparing the folder IDs of the messages that have the same unique message ID to determine whether the messages are stored in the same folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders at the host system and the mobile communication device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

de-coupling the mobile communication device and the host system;

subsequently moving a plurality of the messages at the mobile communication device so that the plurality of messages are stored in a different folders than the messages having the same unique message IDs at the host system;

generating a move command message for each of the plurality of messages that were moved, each move command message indicating that the message has been moved, the move command message including the unique message ID of the moved message and an identification of the folder in which the message is presently stored at the mobile communication device;

bundling the move message commands into a bundled transmission and transmitting the bundled transmission to the host system; and

moving the messages corresponding to the unique message IDs contained in the bundled move command messages at the host system so that the messages are stored in the same folders as the folders identified in the bundled move command messages.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a message structure for storing the messages, the message structure including a header portion and a message portion, the header portion including fields for storing the unique message ID assigned to the message and also for storing an identification of the folder in which the message is stored.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a folder structure for each of the folders in the set of hierarchical folders at the host system and the mobile communication device, the folder structure including a folder identification field and a folder type field.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

designating at least one of the folders in the set of hierarchical folders as a deleted message folder using the folder type field of the folder so designated; and

if the folder type field indicates that the folder is a deleted message folder, then periodically deleting all of the messages stored in that folder at the host system.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether to redirect the received messages step further comprises the steps of:

designating certain folders in the set of hierarchical folders at the host system for redirection;

determining whether the received messages are stored in the designated folders, and if so, then assigning the unique message ID to those messages and redirecting them with the unique message IDs to the mobile communication device.

16. A method of two-way synchronization between electronic mailboxes stored at a host system and a mobile communication device, each of the electronic mailboxes being organized into a set of hierarchical folders for storing received messages, the method comprising the steps of:

coupling the mobile communication device to the host system;

synchronizing the set of hierarchical folders at the host system with the set of hierarchical folders at the mobile communication device;

retrieving a first list of messages from the host system and a second list of message from the mobile communication device, each list of messages including unique message IDs that identify the messages stored in the respective set of hierarchical folders on the host system and the mobile communication device;

comparing the first list of messages to the second list of messages to identify messages having the same unique message ID and to determine whether the messages having the same unique message ID are stored in the same folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders;

if the messages having the same unique message IDs are stored in different folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders then determining which message should be moved and moving that message so that the messages having the same unique message IDs arc stored in the same folders within the respective sets of hierarchical folders at the host system and the mobile communication device;

de-coupling the mobile communication device and the host system;

subsequently moving one of the messages at the mobile communication device so that it is stored in a different folder than the message having the same unique message ID at the host system;

transmitting a move command message from the mobile communication device to the host system to indicate that the message has been moved, the move command message including the unique message ID of the moved message and an identification of the folder in which the message is presently stored at the mobile communication device; and

moving the message corresponding to the unique message ID contained in the move command message at the host system so that it is stored in the same folder as the folder identified in the move command message.