Method of indentifying devices in mobile and desktop environments

• US 7,818,467 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2008
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Key Criteria Technology Limited
• Original Assignee: Key Criteria Technology Limited
• Inventors: Anwer, Juraid
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry W
• Assistant Examiner(s): TSENG, CHENG YUAN
• Application Number:
  US12/021,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20080195769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• 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: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data

Abstract

A method of providing connectivity between a mobile device and a desktop computing device: providing the mobile device with software that can be installed in the desktop computing device to provide configuration data to application software operating on the desktop computing device, including device identification data for addressing the mobile device; using the mobile device to detect all desktop computing devices with which the mobile device can communicate; using the mobile device to select one of the desktop computing devices on which the application software is to be installed; transmitting the software from the mobile device to the desktop computing device; and using the desktop computing device to run the software to configure the application software using configuration data such that communications from the desktop computing device to the mobile device using application software are addressed directly to the mobile device from which the software originated.

Claims

1. A method of providing connectivity between a mobile device running a client software and a desktop computing device comprising a laptop or a personal computer running a desktop application integrating with web services:

providing the mobile device with an executable loader file to be installed in the desktop computing device to provide configuration data to the desktop application software operating on the desktop computing device, including device identification data for addressing the mobile device;

using the mobile device to detect all desktop computing devices with which the mobile device can communicate;

using the mobile device to select one of the desktop computing devices on which the desktop application software is to be installed;

transmitting the executable loader file from the mobile device to the desktop computing device; and

using the desktop computing device to run the executable loader file comprising downloading and installing the desktop application software via network resources from the web services using the configuration data such that the installed desktop application software provides functionality and connectivity between the mobile device, the desktop computing device and the network resources, and configuring the desktop application software using the configuration data such that communications from the desktop computing device to the mobile device using the desktop application software are addressed directly to the mobile device from which the executable loader file originated.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile phone handset, wireless handheld device, or PDA.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the desktop computing device is a laptop.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the desktop computing device is a personal computer.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network resources include Internet resources.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising preparing the executable loader file to include a pre-defined address parameter for the mobile device.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising writing the pre-defined address parameter to a register on the desktop computing device.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising using the pre-defined address parameter stored in the register in further communications between the desktop computing device and the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the executable loader file is handled by an operating system of the mobile device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the executable loader file also includes data identifying the mobile device origin so that the desktop application software can be automatically configured to connect only to the identified mobile device.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising providing a connection between the mobile device and the desktop computing device by connecting means selected from a group consisting of wireless, infrared and direct cable connections.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of detecting all desktop computing devices includes displaying all such devices on the mobile device so as to allow selection of a desired desktop computing device by a user.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step of detecting all the desktop computing devices comprises using pre-defined name, address and class parameters for the devices.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, comprising using Bluetooth search function to detect devices.