System and method for managing network communications between server plug-ins and clients

• US 9,270,782 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2012
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Hala, Jaroslav, Franek, Petr
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US13/494,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20130332511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: 709202-203, 709/220, 709223-224, 709227-228
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• 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 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

A communication protocol and system is disclosed for network communications between a data service residing on a client that provides network communications between one or more mobile applications on a mobile computing device and a network based on a process number. The shared data service communicates with a data service plug-in on the server side associated with the process number, in order to handle requests from the mobile applications that access a plug-in associated with the process number through the data service. The communication connection between the mobile application and the data plug may be managed by a set of rules defined for that network communication.

Claims

1. A system for managing communication over a network, the system comprising:

a gateway comprising a database stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, the database aggregating plug-in data for plug in programs available from a plurality of servers;

a plug-in detector executable by software stored on said gateway in said non-transitory computer readable medium and used to generate a control signal responsive to an instruction code of a variable-length instruction set, the instruction code comprising a source address field, a destination address field, and a field for identifying a process number stored in the database and correlated to at least one server, wherein the instruction code configures a data service residing on a client on a mobile computer that provides network communications between one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and a network, and wherein the control signal establishes the network connection path between said client and one of said plug ins on a server corresponding to the process number in the database.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said process number is associated with a set of one or more predetermined rules for establishing communications between the one or more mobile applications on a mobile computer and the network using the plug-in.

3. A method for communicating a message over a network, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a network gateway with a message having a source address field, a destination address field, and a field for identifying a process number for configuring a data service residing on a client on a mobile computer that provides network communications between one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and a network;

selecting, with the process number, a plug in program from a database stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium in the gateway, the database aggregating plug-in data for plug in programs available from a plurality of servers;

establishing a network connection between the client and one of the servers storing the selected plug in within the server'"'"'s non-transitory computer readable media.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said message further comprises a data service field for identifying whether the client is executing an instance of a data service that provides network communications between a plurality of mobile applications on the mobile computer and a network.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said process number identifies a plug-in to manage a data communication between the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and the plug-in.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said management of the communication between the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and the network by said plug-in includes interpreting the data received from the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the management of said communication between the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and the network by said plug-in includes retrieving new data from the network and handing said data back to a server for deliver back to said one or more mobile applications.

8. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of associating with the process number a set of one or more predetermined rules for establishing communications between the one or more mobile applications on a mobile computer and the network using the plug-in.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of defining the set of one or more predetermined rules for establishing communications between the one or more mobile applications on a mobile computer and the network using the plug-in is by a network manager.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of downloading the set of one or more predetermined rules for establishing communications between the one or more mobile applications on a mobile computer and the network using the plug-in to the client on the mobile computer at the start of a communication between the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and the network.

11. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more mobile applications support data transfers of business or personal data.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the rules associated with the process number identified in the process number field of the provided message includes a set of rules for configuring the data service to establish a connection between the one or more mobile applications on the client on the mobile computer and the network based upon the set of rules.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the set of rules include settings for the configuring of the data service to establish the connection between the one or more mobile applications on the client on the mobile computer and the network based upon the set of rules.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the set of rules include updates to the data service that provides network communications between the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and the network.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the set of rules include mobile applications for downloading from the network to the client on the mobile computer for inclusion in the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer using the single instance of the data service that provides network communications between the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer and the network.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the set of rules defines a priority between a plurality of communication protocols and wherein the data service is configured to use a one of the plurality of communication protocols available to the mobile computer according to the priority defined by the set of rules included in the rules associated with the process number downloaded to the client on the mobile computer for use with the business application on the mobile.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the set of rules defines a priority between a plurality of periods of time available to the mobile computer according to the priority defined by the set of rules included in the rules associated with the process number downloaded to the client on the mobile computer for use with the one or more mobile applications on the mobile.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein the rules associated with the process number identified in the process number field of the message resides on a database on the network.

20. The method of claim 3 wherein the message is provided by a server to a gateway.

21. The method of claim 3 wherein the message is provided by a client to a server.

22. The method of claim 3 wherein:

the message further includes a field for identifying a server for downloading a location of the plug-in on the network associated with the process number to the client on the mobile computer for use with the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer in establishing a communication with the plug-in; and

the message is provided by the server to the client for identifying the server for the client for use by the one or more mobile application on the mobile computer to establish a communication with the plug-in.

23. The method of claim 3 wherein:

the message further includes a field for identifying a client on a mobile computer; and

the message is provided by a gateway to a server for identifying the client to which the server is to download a location of the plug-in on the network associated with the process number for use by the one or more mobile applications on the mobile computer to establish a communication with the plug-in.

19. The method of 3 wherein the message is provided by the data service to a gateway.