System and method of managing information distribution to mobile stations

• US 7,356,591 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Mousseau, Gary P., Gilhuly, Barry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US11/499,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/227, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/12 Inter-network notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/22 Manipulation of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

A system for managing information distribution to a mobile station in communication with a wireless network includes a host service operable to receive a data item associated with the mobile station and determine whether a network resource is associated with the mobile station, and upon a negative determination is further operable to transmit an out-of-band message to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquire the network resource.

Claims

1. A system for distributing information from a host service in communication with a computer network to a mobile station in communication with a wireless network, comprising:

means for receiving a data item associated with the mobile station at the host service;

a network resource monitor in communication with the host service and the wireless network, the network resource monitor automatically providing network resource status information for the mobile station to the host service;

means for determining at the host service whether a network resource of the wireless network is currently associated with the mobile station;

means, responsive to determining that the network resource of the wireless network is not currently associated with the mobile station, for transmitting a resource request message from the host service to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquire the network resource, wherein after the mobile station acquires the network resource, the network resource monitor automatically provides the network resource status of the mobile station to the host service; and

means for transmitting the data item to the mobile station using the network resource.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for determining at the host service whether a network resource is associated with the mobile station further comprises:

means for receiving a network resource status from the network resource monitor indicating network resources associated with the mobile station; and

means for determining from the resource status if the network resource is currently associated with the mobile station.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting a resource request message from the host service to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquire the network resource further comprises:

means for transmitting a first instruction to cause the mobile station to acquire the network resource; and

means for transmitting a second instruction to cause the mobile station to transmit a confirmation message to the host service upon acquiring the network resource.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting a resource request message from the host service to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquire the network resource further comprises:

means for transmitting an instruction to cause the mobile station to acquire the network resource; and

means for transmitting data indicating whether the mobile station is required to transmit a confirmation message that the mobile station has acquired the network resource to the host service.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the network resource is an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the network resource is a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource request message is an SMS message transmitted from the host service to the mobile station over a wireless voice network.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means, associated with the host service, for registering with the network resource monitor to receive automatic updates regarding the network resource status of the mobile station; and

means for storing registration data regarding the host service and the mobile station at the network resource monitor.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of host services in communication with a plurality of mobile stations;

each host service including means for registering with the network resource monitor to receive automatic updates regarding network resource status of one or more of the plurality of mobile stations.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the network resource monitor receives network resource status information for the mobile station from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) component of the wireless network.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the network resource monitor receives network resource status information for the mobile station from a PDP Context Allocation component of the wireless network.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource request message includes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the host service.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the resource request message includes an instruction that causes the mobile station to acquire the network resource.

14. A system for distributing information to a wireless mobile station, comprising:

a host service operating on a computer network that receives a data item associated with the wireless mobile station and determines whether a network resource of a wireless network is associated with the wireless mobile station, wherein if the host service determines that the network resource is not associated with the mobile station, then it transmits a resource request message to the wireless mobile station to instruct the wireless mobile station to acquire the network resource; and

a network resource monitor in communication with the host service and the wireless network, the network resource monitor automatically providing network resource status information for the wireless mobile station to the host service;

wherein the host service, upon receiving the network resource status information from the network resource monitor, transmits the data item to the wireless mobile station using the network resource.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the host system receives a network resource status from the network resource monitor indicating network resources associated with the wireless mobile station and thereby determines from the resource status if the network resource is associated with the wireless mobile station.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the host system transmits a first instruction to cause the wireless mobile station to acquire the network resource and transmits a second instruction to cause the wireless mobile station to transmit a confirmation message to the host service upon acquiring the network resource.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the host system transmits an instruction to cause the wireless mobile station to acquire the network resource and transmits data indicating whether the wireless mobile station is required to transmit a confirmation message that the wireless mobile station has acquired the network resource to the host service.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the network resource is an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the network resource is a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the resource request message is an SMS message transmitted from the host service to the wireless mobile station over a wireless voice network.

21. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means, associated with the host service, for registering with the network resource monitor to receive automatic updates regarding the network resource status of the mobile station; and

a memory for storing registration data regarding the host service and the wireless mobile station at the network resource monitor.

22. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a plurality of host services in communication with a plurality of wireless mobile stations;

each host service including means for registering with the network resource monitor to receive automatic updates regarding network resource status of one or more of the plurality of wireless mobile stations.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the network resource monitor receives network resource status information for the wireless mobile station from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) component of the wireless network.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the network resource monitor receives network resource status information for the mobile station from a PDP Context Allocation component of the wireless network.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein the resource request message includes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the host service.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the resource request message includes an instruction that causes the mobile station to acquire the network resource.