System and method for handling digital content delivery to portable devices

• US 7,533,158 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2003
• Issued: 05/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Patron, David, Suryanarayana, Lalitha, Grannan, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair; Douglas B
• Application Number:
  US10/346,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20040143652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,307 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231, 709/248, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 455/436, 370/331, 370/350, 717/173, 717/178
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• 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 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed generally to a method and system to handle downloads of digital data files to portable computing devices. In a particular embodiment, the system includes a first system access point responsive to a first wireless access point at a first location; a second system access point responsive to a second wireless access point at a second location; and a central facility. The central facility includes a computer having a user sign-on module to permit wireless download access to digital data files by a portable device within communication range of at least one of the first wireless access point and the second wireless access point. The central facility includes a digital data file download status memory, the status memory including an indication of download status and including an indication of the portion of a requested digital data file that has been downloaded. In a particular embodiment, the method includes starting a download of digital data from a server to a portable computing device, the portable computing device in remote communication with the server via a wireless communication channel. The method further includes determining that the download is interrupted prior to completion of the download digital data and storing data associated with a user of the portable computing device and data associated with the download of digital data in a status registry memory.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first system access point responsive to a first wireless access point at a first location;

a second system access point responsive to a second wireless access point at a second location, wherein the second location is remote from the first location; and

a central facility, the central facility including a computer having a user sign-on module to permit wireless download access to digital data files by a portable device within communication range of the first wireless access point or the second wireless access point, the central facility including a digital data file download status memory, the digital data file download status memory including an indication of download status and including an indication of a portion of a requested digital data file that has been downloaded prior to a point of interruption;

wherein the central facility is configured to automatically continue downloading the requested digital data file to the portable device from the point of interruption without receiving a request from the portable device to continue downloading the requested digital data file.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital data file download status memory includes an entry that indicates a particular digital data file download is temporarily suspended due to a download interruption.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the download interruption is in response to the central facility determining that the portable device has moved out of range for continued data communication.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the central facility further includes a storage area network and wherein the digital data files to be downloaded are stored on the storage area network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second system access points are network access connections selected from a wide area network and a direct network connection.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer and associated portable devices are SyncML compliant and the SyncML protocol is used to facilitate discontinuous download of a digital data file.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein before resuming the download after establishing a connection with the second access point, a server communicates in real time with a portable device client to query its capabilities and carries out any capabilities negotiation that might be required for download purposes, such capabilities including available disk space.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless access point is associated with a first range of wireless communication coverage, the second wireless access point is associated with a second range of wireless communication coverage, and the first range of wireless communication coverage is not adjacent to the second range of wireless communication coverage.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first system access point includes a digital subscriber line modem and a digital subscriber line access multiplexer coupled to a router of the central facility via the Internet and the second system access point includes a trunk termination point coupled to a trunk aggregation point of the central facility.

10. A method comprising:

staffing a download of digital data from a data server within a central facility to a portable computing device, wherein the data server downloads the digital data to the portable computing device via a first wireless access point coupled to a first network;

determining that the download is interrupted prior to completion of the download of digital data;

storing data associated with a user of the portable computing device and data associated with the download of digital data in a status registry memory coupled to the data server via an internal private network within the central facility;

determining a point of interruption based on the data associated with the download of digital data in the status registry memory; and

automatically continuing the download from the point of interruption, after the portable computing device resumes communication with the data server via a second network separate from the first network without receiving a request from the portable device to continue downloading the digital data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the download of the digital data is interrupted when the portable computing device moves outside a range of a wireless communication channel associated with the first wireless access point.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the data stored in the status registry memory includes a byte count indicating an amount of data downloaded to the portable computing device prior to a download interruption.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the second network includes a wide area data network connection, a local area network connection, or a second wireless access point connection.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising completing the download of the digital data to the portable computing device.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the status registry memory includes fields that identify devices, users, and content uniquely.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the digital data includes downloadable software radio modules for configuring the portable computing device to support a new wireless data transmission protocol.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining that a user associated with the portable computing device selected and purchased a licensed copy of the digital data prior to continuing the download.