Access to information on a mobile terminal from a remote terminal

• US 9,015,282 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2008
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vodafone Espana SA (Vodafone Group PLC), Vodafone Group PLC
• Original Assignee: Vodafone Espana SA (Vodafone Group PLC), Vodafone Group PLC
• Inventors: Berna Fornies, Hector, Caudevilla Laliena, Guillermo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quang N
• Application Number:
  US12/599,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20110202631A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,540 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/206, 709/230, 709/238, 709/217, 709/219, 709/229, 707/104.1, 715/772, 726/29, 455/420
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability

Abstract

Method and system for managing information stored and/or services configured in a mobile terminal from a remote terminal connected to a data network, wherein the mobile terminal comprises a web server having an API defined for each piece of information and for each service it provides, characterized by: requesting from a web server, from a remote terminal comprising a web browser, the creation of at least one web page configured to manage a piece of information stored or a service configured in a mobile terminal; making an HTTP request from the web server to the mobile terminal in accordance with said at least one API, wherein said HTTP request comprises an identifier of the information or service to be managed; sending an HTTP response from the mobile terminal to the web server in accordance with said at least one API; downloading in the remote terminal from the web server the at least one web page designed to manage said information or service of the mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A method for managing information stored and/or services configured in a mobile terminal from a remote terminal, the mobile terminal and the remote terminal being associated respectively with a mobile terminal user and a remote terminal user, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to connect to a mobile communications network and comprises a first web server having a plurality of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) with an API of the plurality of APIs defined for each piece of information and for each service provided by the mobile terminal, and wherein the remote terminal has access to a data network, the method comprising:

receiving from a remote terminal comprising a web browser a request for the creation of at least one web page configured to manage at least one piece of information stored or one service configured in a mobile terminal, the request being received at a second web server in the data network;

making a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request from the second web server of the data network to the first web server of the mobile terminal in accordance with the at least one API of the plurality of APIs defined in the first web server of the mobile terminal, wherein the HTTP request comprises an identifier of the information or service to be managed;

determining, by a notification system of the first web server, the information or service of the mobile terminal to be managed and the identity of the remote terminal user making the request;

determining, by the first web server consulting a database, access rights of the remote terminal user to the information or service to be managed;

when the remote terminal user does not have permanent access rights to the information or service to be managed, receiving input from the mobile terminal user with respect to providing selective access rights to the remote terminal user;

selectively allowing the remote terminal user to access the information or service to be managed, dependent on the input from the mobile terminal user, comprising one of the following options;

permanently allowing the execution of the API, temporarily allowing the execution, permanently denying the execution of the API or temporarily denying the execution; and

when the remote terminal user is allowed to access the information or service to be managed;

sending an HTTP response from the first web server of the mobile terminal to the second web server of the data network in accordance with the at least one API of the plurality of APIs defined in the first web server of the mobile terminal; and

downloading to the web browser of the remote terminal from the second web server of the data network the at least one web page configured to manage the information stored or service configured in the mobile terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein making the HTTP request from the second web server of the data network to the first web server of the mobile terminal comprises:

making an HTTP request through the data network from the second web server of the data network to a gateway capable of locating the mobile terminal which is connected to the mobile communications network; and

sending the HTTP request from the gateway to an IP connections manager of the mobile terminal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the HTTP request is resent from the IP connections manager to the first web server of the mobile terminal by means of a further HTTP request.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the HTTP request in accordance with the at least one API defined in the first web server of the mobile terminal sent to the first web server of the mobile terminal is in turn sent to a manager module which is chosen from:

a module for managing personal data of the remote terminal user, a module for managing state information of the mobile terminal and a module for managing services of the mobile terminal.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the HTTP request is made on a data channel which is set up in a signaling channel previously set up between the gateway and the IP connections manager of the mobile terminal.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the signaling channel between the gateway and the IP connections manager is a TCP socket.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the HTTP response from the first web server of the mobile terminal to the second web server of the data network comprises:

sending an HTTP response in accordance with the at least one API defined in the first web server of the mobile terminal from an IP connections manager of the mobile terminal to a gateway through the mobile communications network; and

sending said HTTP response in accordance with the at least one API defined in the first web server of the mobile terminal from the gateway to the second web server of the data network through the data network.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the HTTP response is carried out on a data channel which is set up in a signaling channel previously set up between the gateway and the IP connections manager of the mobile terminal.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the data channel between the gateway and the IP connections is a TCP socket.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier of the information or service to be managed comprises a URL of the information or service to be managed.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the URL comprises an MSISDN of the mobile terminal.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the mobile terminal relates to a piece of information which is chosen from one of the following groups:

personal data of the remote terminal user and mobile terminal state information.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein with the information an action is carried out which is chosen from one of the following groups of actions:

actions relating to managing personal data of the remote terminal user and actions relating to managing the mobile terminal state information.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the mobile terminal is stored in memory of the mobile terminal or in a SIM card.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the service configured in the mobile terminal relates to a service from a group of mobile terminal services.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein with the service an action is carried out which is chosen from the group of actions relating to managing the group of mobile terminal services.

17. A system configured to be used with a mobile communications network and a data network, the system comprising:

a mobile terminal configured to be connected to the mobile communications network, the mobile terminal being associated with a mobile terminal user and comprising;

a first web server having a plurality of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with an API of the plurality of APIs defined for each piece of information and for each service provided by the mobile terminal; and

a notification system for managing remote access to the information and services of the mobile terminal;

a second web server configured to be connected to the data network; and

a remote terminal configured to be connected to the data network, the remote terminal being associated with a remote terminal user and comprising a web browser, the remote terminal being configured to make, from the web browser, a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request, via the second web server using the data network, for managing at least one piece of information stored or one service configured in the mobile terminal, wherein the HTTP request is in accordance with the at least one API of the plurality of APIs defined in the first web service of the mobile terminal, and wherein the HTTP request comprises an identifier of the information or service to be managed;

wherein upon receipt of the HTTP request, the mobile terminal is configured to;

determine, by the notification system, the information or service of the mobile terminal to be managed and the identity of the remote terminal user making the request;

determine, by the first web server consulting a database, access rights of the remote terminal user to the information or service to be managed;

when the remote terminal user does not have permanent access rights to the information or service to be managed, receive input from the mobile terminal user with respect to providing selective access rights to the remote terminal user; and

selectively allow the remote terminal user to access the information or service to be managed, dependent on the input from the mobile terminal user, comprising one of the following options;

permanently allowing the execution of the API, temporarily allowing the execution, permanently denying the execution of the API or temporarily denying the execution; and

wherein, when the remote terminal user is allowed to access the information or service to be managed, the remote terminal is configured to;

receive, from the second web server using the data network at least one web page, the at least one web page being generated by the second web server in response to the second web server receiving from the mobile terminal, an HTTP response in accordance with the at least one API of the plurality of APIs defined in the first web server of the mobile terminal, and

show, in the web browser, at least one web page for managing the information stored or service configured in the mobile terminal.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a gateway configured to set up a connection between the data network and the mobile communications network.

19. The system according to claim 18, further comprising:

a mobile communications network to which the mobile terminal is connected; and

a data network to which the second web server and the remote terminal are connected.