System and method for providing an instant messaging function using a personal computer equipped with a wireless digital packet-switched modem

• US 7,554,938 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 06/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Steven G., Mills, Ralph J., Morton, Roland T. Jr., Davis, Mitchell E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Phuc H
• Application Number:
  US09/966,700
• Time in Patent Office: 2,832 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A method and system provide a mobile workforce with instant messaging capability while maintaining contact with remote systems. The invention employs the use of a computer such as a laptop computer equipped with a wireless digital packet-switched modem.

Claims

1. A method of sending data from a first computing device to at least one of a plurality of second computing devices over a wireless digital packet-switched network, the method comprising:

initiating a first application on the first computing device including a wireless digital packet-switched modem, the first application accessing and retrieving legacy data from a remote system within a private network, via a protocol server;

initiating a second application on the first computing device, the second application providing an instant messaging service and enabling instant messaging data to be sent from the first computing device to an instant messaging server within the private network via the protocol server over the wireless digital packet-switched network;

generating data to be sent from the first computing device to the at least one of the plurality of second computing devices within the private network, wherein data is generatable from the first application as a request to the remote system and generatable from the second application as an instant message, both the data and the instant message being transmitted by way of the wireless digital packet-switched modem;

initiating a first communication through a communication layer by the first application using a first application program interface (API) call;

initiating a second communication through the communication layer by the second application using a second API call; and

transmitting the generated data from the first computing device to the protocol server for delivery of the request to the remote system from the protocol server and for delivery of the instant message from the protocol server to the instant messaging server, wherein the instant message is delivered to the instant messaging server for further delivery to the at least one of the plurality of second computing devices within the private network without transmitting the instant message through the protocol server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application can access a plurality of remote data systems.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the instant message is addressed to a user represented by a user identifier.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user identifier comprises one of a group of allowed recipients, the method further comprising detecting at the instant messaging server whether the user identifier is of the group of allowed recipients, and delivering the message to the recipient only when the user identifier is of the allowed group.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing an interactive connection between the first computing device and the second computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the generated data from the first computing device to the protocol server for delivery of the request to the legacy system and for delivery of the instant message to the instant messaging server comprises transmitting the generated data including the request to the legacy system and the instant message via an X.25 protocol.

7. A computer-readable medium containing instructions to be executed by a first computing device for performing acts comprising:

initiating a first application including a wireless digital packet-switched modem, the first application for accessing and retrieving legacy data from a remote system within a private network via a protocol server;

initiating a second application, the second application providing an instant messaging service and enabling instant messaging data to be sent to an instant messaging server within the private network via the protocol server over a wireless digital packet-switched network;

generating data to be sent to at least one of a plurality of second computing devices, wherein data is generatable from the first application as a request to the remote system and from the second application as an instant message and is transmitted by way of the wireless digital packet-switched modem;

initiating a request to a modem controller for access to the wireless digital packet-switched modem; and

transmitting the generated data to the protocol server for delivery of the request from the protocol server to the remote system and for delivery of the instant message from the protocol server to the instant messaging server, wherein the instant message is delivered to the instant messaging server for delivery to the at least one of the plurality of second computing devices without transmitting the instant message through the protocol server.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the act of transmitting the generated data from the first computing device to the protocol server for delivery of the request to the legacy system and for delivery of the instant message to the instant messaging server comprises transmitting the generated data including the request to the legacy system and the instant message via an X.25 protocol.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the first application can access a plurality of remote data systems.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the instant message is addressed to a user represented by a user identifier.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the user identifier comprises one of a group of allowed recipients, the instructions further comprising detecting at the instant messaging server whether the user identifier is of the group of allowed recipients, and delivering the message to the recipient only when the user identifier is of the allowed group.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising establishing an interactive connection between the first computing device and the second computing device.

13. A method of sending data from a first computing device to one or more second computing devices over a network, the method comprising:

initiating a first application on the first computing device, the first application accessing and retrieving legacy data from a remote system within a private network, via a protocol server;

initiating a second application on the first computing device, the second application providing an instant messaging service and enabling instant messaging data to be sent from the first computing device to an instant messaging server within the private network via the protocol server;

generating data to be sent from the first computing device to the one or more second computing devices within the private network, wherein data is generated from the first application as a request to the remote system and generated from the second application as an instant message; and

transmitting the generated data to the protocol server for delivery of the request to the remote system from the protocol server and for delivery of the instant message from the protocol server to the instant messaging server, wherein the instant message is delivered to the instant messaging server for further delivery to the at least one of the plurality of second computing devices within the private network without transmitting the instant message through the protocol server.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first application can access a plurality of remote data systems.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the instant message is addressed to a user represented by a user identifier.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the user identifier comprises one of a group of allowed recipients, the method further comprising detecting at the instant messaging server whether the user identifier is of the group of allowed recipients, and delivering the message to the recipient only when the user identifier is of the allowed group.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising establishing an interactive connection between the first computing device and the second computing device.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein transmitting the generated data from the first computing device to the protocol server for delivery of the request to the legacy system and for delivery of the instant message to the instant messaging server comprises transmitting the generated data including the request to the legacy system and the instant message via an X.25 protocol.