System and method for synchronizing data of wireless devices

• US 7,035,879 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2002
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Shi, Shepherd S. B., Droste, William M., Rinkevich, Debora B.
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US10/330,609
• Publication Number:
  US 20040128327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 707/203, 709/248
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A system for synchronizing data of wireless devices includes an application server (103), a communication tower (105), and a plurality of mobile terminals (101). Each mobile terminal includes a data type distinguishing module (305), a data filter generating module (303), and a data transferring module (307). The server includes a domain managing module (405) for executing a data filter received from any mobile terminal, and for generating a sync response. A related method includes the steps of: (a) identifying a type of data to be synchronal; (b) generating a sync request in accordance with the type of data to be synchronal, and sending the sync request to the server; (c) generating a sync response based on data stored in the server, and sending the sync response to the mobile terminal; and (d) updating data stored in the mobile terminal in accordance with the sync response.

Claims

1. A system for synchronizing a local data storage of a mobile terminal with a remote data storage of a server, the system comprising a server and at least one mobile terminal, wherein:

the at least one mobile terminal comprises;

a data type distinguishing module;

a data filter generating module for generating data filters in accordance with selected data to be synchronized; and

a data transferring module for defining a fast sync request and a normal sync request according to the type of data, for sending the fast sync request or the normal sync request including a data filter to the server, and for receiving a sync response from the server; and

the server comprises a domain managing module for executing the data filter received from the at least one mobile terminal, and for generating a sync response including data to be synchronized and a timestamp of the data filter.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a communication tower.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data to be synchronized includes read-only data and read-and-write data.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the timestamp of the data filter is updated in accordance with the sync response.

5. A method for synchronizing a local data storage of a mobile terminal with a remote data storage of a server, the method comprising the steps of:

specifying data to be synchronized;

searching for a data filter in a local data storage in accordance with the specified data;

generating a data filter in accordance with the specified data if no relevant data filter is found in the local data storage;

distinguishing a type of the data to be synchronized in accordance with the data filter;

using fast sync if the data are read-only;

otherwise, using normal sync;

sending a sync request to the server;

generating a sync response;

sending the sync response to the mobile terminal; and

updating data stored in the local data storage in accordance with the sync response.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sync request includes the data filter, and a timestamp of the data filter if fast sync is used.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sync request includes the data filter, a timestamp of the data filter, and a list of object IDs and corresponding timestamps if normal sync is used.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein if fast sync is used, the step of generating a sync response further comprises the steps of:

executing the data filter received from the mobile terminal, searching for relevant objects in the storage of the server, and generating a sync response;

comparing an updating time of a relevant object found with a timestamp of the data filter, and adding the relevant object to the sync response if the timestamp of the data filter is earlier than the updating time of the relevant object found; and

adding a time of execution of the data filter to the sync response.

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein if normal sync is used, the step of generating a sync response further comprises the steps of:

executing the data filter received from the mobile terminal, searching for relevant objects in the storage of the server, and generating a sync response;

comparing an updating time of a relevant object found with an updating time of the corresponding object stored in the mobile terminal, and adding the relevant object found to the sync response if the updating time of the relevant object found is later than the updating time of the corresponding object stored in the mobile terminal; and

adding a time of execution of the data filter to the sync response.

10. A method for synchronizing data of a mobile terminal with data of a server, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying a type of data to be synchronal;

generating a sync request in accordanve with the type of data to be synchronal, and sending the sync request to the server;

generating a sync response based on data stored in the server, and sending the sync response to the mobile terminal; and

updating data stored in the mobile terminal in accordance with the sync response;

wherein the sync request is a fast sync request or a normal sync request.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the data is stored in a local data storage of the mobile terminal.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the data is stored in a remote data storage of the server.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the type of the data to be synchronal is read-only data or read-and-write data.

14. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the step of specifying data to be synchronal.

15. A method of synchronizing a local data storage of a mobile terminal with a remote data storage of a server via an application server in two sync states, comprising steps of:

specifying data to be synchronized;

retrieving a data filter in a local data storage in accordance with the specified data;

distinguishing a type of the data to be synchronized in accordance with the data filter; and

defining fast sync and normal sync according to the type of the data;

wherein

under fast sync the application server only updates matching objects with regard to the data;

while under normal sync, the application server not only updates matching objects with regard to the data, but also compares said matching objects found with object identifications provided by the mobile terminal before updating said matching objects so as to be able to completely update the corresponding matching objects with regard to the data stored in the mobile terminal.