Internet protocol loopback wireless data protocol converter

• US 9,363,306 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2005
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Estable, Luis
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): Abedin, Normin
• Application Number:
  US11/100,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20060227808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,079 Days
• Field of Search: 709/230, 709/246
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• 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: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

An internet protocol loopback wireless data protocol converter apparatus for a mobile device is provided. The protocol converter apparatus includes at least one loopback interface; at least one internet protocol server operating on one or more ports of any of the at least one loopback interface; a wireless optimized data communications module to connect to a wireless data infrastructure to send and receive wireless optimized data; and at least one protocol converter unit to convert communications in a wireless optimized data protocol to and from standard internet protocol, wherein an internet protocol application can communicate with the at least one server using the loopback interface and data to and from the application can be received and transmitted using the wireless optimized data communications module with conversion by the at least one protocol converter unit.

Claims

1. A method of utilizing an internet protocol application on a mobile device having a wireless optimized data communications module configured to connect to a wireless data infrastructure, the method comprising:

configuring the internet protocol application to communicate using a loopback interface with a server on the mobile device;

converting internet protocol data coming from said server to said wireless optimized data communications module using a protocol converter unit on the mobile device to a wireless optimized data protocol;

converting data from said wireless optimized data communications module to said server using said protocol converter unit on said mobile device to an internet protocol.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is an email application and said at least one server is an email server selected from the group consisting of:

a Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) server, an Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) server, and a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a loopback address is specified in a server portion of an account configuration.

4. The method of claim 2, including a plurality of loop back interfaces each corresponding to different email accounts.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the notify step utilizes a notification module selected from the group consisting of:

a loopback port notification module, a vendor specific notification module using said server, and a host-dependent notification module.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of optimizing data for a client application on said mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the loopback interface has an address of the form 127.0.0.N, where N is between 1 and 254.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless optimised data module stores data for implementing a size limit for email messages.

9. The method of claim 1, said wireless optimised data module adding identifiers for email trails.

10. The method of claim 1, said wireless optimised data module providing transport parameters.

11. A mobile device, comprising:

a communications subsystem;

a processor;

wherein the communication subsystem and the processor cooperate to implement an internet protocol loopback wireless data protocol converter, the internet protocol loopback wireless data protocol converter comprising;

at least one loopback interface;

at least one internet protocol server operating on one or more ports of said at least one loopback interface;

a wireless optimized data communications module to connect to a wireless data infrastructure to send and receive wireless optimized data;

at least one protocol conversion unit to convert communications from applications residing on the mobile device to a wireless optimized data protocol and to convert communications from an external application server to standard internet protocol;

a wireless optimized data module communicating with said at least one protocol conversion unit, said wireless optimized data module storing wireless optimized data for said wireless data protocol.

12. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein a loopback address is specified in a server portion of ma account configuration.

13. The mobile device of claim 11, including a plurality of loop back interfaces each corresponding to different email accounts.

14. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein the wireless optimised data module stores data for implementing a size limit for email messages.

15. The mobile device of claim 11, said wireless optimised data module adding identifiers for email trails.

16. The mobile device of claim 11, said wireless optimised data module providing transport parameters.

17. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein the protocol converter further comprises a client optimized data module for storing data optimized for a client.

18. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein the loopback interface has an address of the form 127.0.0.N, where N is between 1 and 254.

19. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein the application is an email application and said at least one server is an email server selected from the group consisting of:

a Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) server, an Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) server, and a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server.