Method and system for discovering communication device capabilities

• US 7,779,403 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2006
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Institute For Information Industry
• Original Assignee: Institute For Information Industry
• Inventors: Kao, Huan-Ming, Chen, Hsuan-Hao
• Primary Examiner(s): DAS, CHAMELI
• Application Number:
  US11/402,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20070130331A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• Field of Search: 717168-169, 717171-174, 715/739, 709/225
• US Class Current: 717/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities

Abstract

A method for discovering capabilities of a communication device, including updating the capabilities of the communication device, generating update information corresponding to the communication device after updating the capabilities of the communication device, and transferring the URL of user agent profile and the update information of the communication device to a first server, when the communication device connects to the Internet.

Claims

1. A method for discovering capabilities of a communication device, comprising:

updating the capabilities of the communication device;

generating update information corresponding to the updated capabilities by the communication device;

transferring a URL of a user agent profile and the update information of the communication device to a first server when the communication device is connected to an Internet;

requesting the user agent profile according to the URL from a second server by the first server;

updating the user agent profile according to the original user agent profile and the update information of the communication device by the first server; and

storing the updated user agent profile in a database of the first server,

wherein the update information is user agent difference profile describing the difference of the capabilities of the communication device before and after updating the capabilities of the communication device.

2. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein updating the capabilities of the communication device comprises adding software, updating software, or adding pluggable accessories.

3. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user agent difference profile is generated by a capability management agent.

4. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the capability management agent is installed in the communication device.

5. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the capabilities of the communication device are updated through a download agent.

6. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the capability management agent is informed through a system function call after downloading software via the download agent.

7. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the downloaded software is stored in a specific data path or a memory, and is one time or batch processed by the capability management agent when designated event occurs.

8. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first server is set up by Telecommunications Company which provides services to users.

9. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication device is connected to the first server by through wired or wireless method.

10. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein most of the second servers are set up by a manufacturer of the communication device.

11. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user agent profile is used for describing software/hardware capabilities of the communication device when fabricated.

12. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein storing the updated user agent profile is stored in a database of the first server to save time required to send a request to the second server for the content of the user agent profile by the first server.

13. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 1, further comprises when a user searching for information through the internet, an information server may determine whether to send the information to the communication device or not according to the user agent profile stored in the database of the first server.

14. The method for discovering capabilities of the communication device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the information server provides the information such as web pages, files, or data.

15. A communication device capability management system, comprising:

a communication device, comprising;

a URL of a user agent profile for describing capabilities of the communication device;

a capability management agent generating an update information corresponding to the capabilities of the communication device after the capabilities of the communication device have been updated, and transferring the URL of the user agent profile and the update information when the communication device is connected to an Internet; and

a download agent downloading software for updating the communication device, and

a first server receiving the URL of the user agent profile and the update information from the communication device, sending a request to a second server for the user agent profile according to the URL of the user agent profile, and updating the user agent profile according to the original user agent profile and the update information,

wherein the update information is a user agent difference profile corresponding to the difference before updating the communication device and after updating the communication device.

16. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the URL of the user agent profile is stored in the communication device.

17. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the URL of the user agent profile corresponds to the user agent profile of the capabilities of the communication device stored in the second server.

18. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein updating the communication device comprises at least one of adding software, updating software and adding pluggable accessories.

19. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein after the software is downloaded by the download agent, the capability management agent is informed by a system function call.

20. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein after the software is downloaded by the download agent, the software can be stored in a predetermined data path or a memory, and processed one or more at a time by the capability management agent when a predetermined event occurs.

21. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein most of the first servers are set up by Telecommunications Company which provides services to users.

22. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the communication device is connected to an Internet through wired or wireless method.

23. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein most of the second servers are set up by a communication device manufacturer.

24. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the user agent profile is used for describing the software/hardware capabilities of the communication device when fabricated.

25. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the updated user agent profile is stored in the first server is to save time required to send a request to the second server for a content of the user agent profile.

26. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 15, further comprises an information server providing information of web pages, files, or data.

27. The communication device capability management system as claimed in claim 26, wherein when the communication device searches the information through the Internet, the information server determines whether to send the information to the communication device according to the user agent profile stored in the first server.