System and method for transferring documents

• US 9,053,411 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: 2236008 Ontario Inc. (Blackberry Limited), Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Yach, David Paul, Dodge, Danny Thomas, Van Der Veen, Peter H., Turner, Robert David
• Primary Examiner(s): Riley, Marcus T
• Application Number:
  US13/436,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20130088733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2206/1512 Print-to a presentation device other than a printer, e.g. e-reader, e-paper, tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1219 with regard to consumables, e.g. ink, toner, paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/122 with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1225 Software update, e.g. print driver, modules, plug-ins, fonts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1231 Device related settings, e.g. IP address, Name, Identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1267 Job repository, e.g. non-scheduled jobs, delay printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1286 via local network
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1287 via internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1289 in server-client-printer device configuration, e.g. the server does not see the printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1297 Printer code translation, conversion, emulation, compression; Configuration of printer parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1889 Merging with other data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/103 across network layers, e.g. resolution of network layer into physical layer addresses or address resolution protocol [ARP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2589 over a relay server, e.g. traversal using relay for network address translation [TURN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 : Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5076 : Update or notification mechanisms, e.g. DynDNS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2895 : Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data provider application, e.g. reverse proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 : with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality

Abstract

Mobile devices enable users to access data and documents in a convenient portable format. The disclosed method and system enables documents to be transferred/moved onto a mobile device for review or reference by making the transfer simple and straight forward so that it is easy for non-technically literate users (e.g. administrative assistant putting documents on their executive'"'"'s mobile device). From a sender perspective the transfer mechanism can work whether the mobile device is on a local network (relative to the sender) or on a remote network when the sender does not know the actual location of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method of transferring an electronic document from a sending device to a mobile device the method comprising:

receiving an indication to print an electronic document on the sending device;

sending from the sending device to a location server a request generated from a mobile device printer driver executed by the sending device, the request comprising a target identifier for receiving the electronic document;

receiving at the sending device from the location server a network identifier of the mobile device associated with the target identifier, the network identifier provided to the location server by the mobile device after the mobile device has registered to a network;

formatting at the sending device the electronic document based on one or more parameters associated with the mobile device; and

transferring the formatted electronic document from the sending device using the network identifier in response to the indication to print the electronic document;

wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises determining an access method through a network address translation (NAT) device between a first network coupled to the location server and the network on which the mobile device is registered when the sender device cannot access the mobile device after attempting a direct connection using the received network identifier.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving at the location server a registration message from the mobile device when it connects to the network, the registration message comprising the target identifier associated with the mobile device and the network identifier assigned to the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the network identifier is a universal resource locator (URL) and transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises performing a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) post or a secure hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) post using the received URL to transfer the formatted electronic document directly from the sending device to the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises:

transferring from the sending device the formatted electronic document to a network storage location;

sending from the sending device a notification to the mobile device to identify that the formatted electronic document is available to be retrieved from the network storage location.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises:

sending from the sending device an echo request packet to a network address associated with the network identifier;

receiving at the sending device one or more echo reply packets, containing network information, in response to the echo request packet from the network address; and

determining at the sending device a medium access control (MAC) address associated with the network address by performing an address resolution protocol (ARP) lookup based on network information obtained from the echo reply;

transferring from the sending device the formatted electronic document to the determined MAC address.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein when the determined MAC address does not match the network address, the formatted electronic document is transferred to a network storage location for retrieval by the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the sending device sends a packet to the mobile device to notify the mobile device to retrieve the formatted electronic document from the network storage location.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the packet is generated using a port identifier associated with the provided network address and payload information received from the location server.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein when the determined MAC address does not match the network address, the method further comprising:

sending from the sending device a notification to the location server that the mobile device is not accessible; and

receiving an alternate network identifier to connect to the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the network address is provided from network address translation (NAT) device and the mobile device has a private network address on a network behind the NAT device, the mobile device accessible through the network address and a port associated with the NAT device where the sender device is on a different network from the mobile device and can only access the mobile device through the NAT device.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the target identifier is a user account identifier associated with one or more unique mobile device identifiers, wherein the formatted electronic document can be transferred to one or more unique mobile device identifiers based on the target identifier.

12. A sending device for transferring an electronic document, the sending device comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor containing instructions for execution by the processor, the instruction for performing;

receiving an indication to print an electronic document on the sending device;

sending to a location server a request generated from a mobile device printer driver executed by the sending device, the request comprising a target identifier for receiving the electronic document;

receiving from the location server a network identifier of a mobile device associated with the target identifier, the network identifier provided to the location server by the mobile device after the mobile device has registered to a network;

formatting the electronic document based on one or more parameters associated with the mobile device; and

transferring the formatted electronic document using the network identifier in response to the indication to print the electronic document wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises determining an access method through a network address translation (NAT) between a first network coupled to the location server and the network on which the mobile device is registered when the sender device cannot access the mobile device after attempting a direct connection using an initially received network identifier.

13. The sending device of claim 12 wherein the mobile device registers with the location server when it connects to the network, the registration comprising the target identifier associated with the mobile device and the network identifier assigned to the mobile device.

14. The sending device of claim 12 wherein the network identifier is a universal resource locator (URL) and transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises performing a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) post or a secure hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) post using the received URL to transfer the formatted electronic document directly from the sending device to the mobile device.

15. The sending device of claim 12 wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises:

transferring the formatted electronic document to a network storage location;

sending a notification to the target identifier to identify that the formatted electronic document is available to be retrieved from the network storage location.

16. The sending device of claim 12 wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises:

sending an echo request packet to a network address associated with the network identifier;

receiving one or more echo reply packets, containing network information, in response to the echo request packet from the network address; and

determining a medium access control (MAC) address associated with the network address by performing an address resolution protocol (ARP) lookup based on network information obtained from the echo reply;

transferring the formatted electronic document to the determined MAC address.

17. The sending device of claim 16 wherein when the determined MAC address does not match the network address, the formatted electronic document is transferred to a network storage location for retrieval by the mobile device.

18. The sending device of claim 17 wherein the sending device sends a packet to the mobile device to notify the mobile device to retrieve the formatted electronic document from the storage location.

19. The sending device of claim 18, where in the packet is generated using a port identifier associated with the provided network address and payload information received from the location server.

20. The sending device of claim 16 wherein when the determined MAC address does not match the network address, the method further comprising:

sending a notification to the location server that the mobile device is not accessible; and

receiving an alternate network identifier to connect to the mobile device.

21. The sending device of claim 12 wherein the network address is provided from network address translation (NAT) device and the mobile device has a private network address on a network behind the NAT device, the mobile device accessible through the network address and a port associated with the NAT device where the sender device is on a different network from the mobile device and can only access the mobile device through the NAT device.

22. The sending device of claim 12 wherein the target identifier is a user account identifier associated with one or more unique device identifiers wherein the formatted electronic document can be transferred to one or more unique device identifiers based on the target identifier.

23. A non-transitory computer readable memory containing instructions for transferring an electronic document from a sending device to a mobile device the instructions which when executed by a processor perform:

receiving an indication to print an electronic document on the sending device;

sending from the sending device to a location server a request generated from a mobile device printer driver executed by the sending device, the request comprising a target identifier for receiving the electronic document;

receiving at the sending device from the location server a network identifier of the mobile device associated with the target identifier, the network identifier provided to the location server by the mobile device after the mobile device has registered to a network;

formatting at the sending device the electronic document based on one or more parameters associated with the mobile device; and

transferring the formatted electronic document from the sending device using the network identifier in response to the indication to print the electronic document wherein transferring the formatted electronic document further comprises determining an access method through a network address translation (NAT) between a first network coupled to the location server and the network on which the mobile device is registered when the sender device cannot access the mobile device after attempting a direct connection using an initially received network identifier.