KR101369714B1 - Method and system for mediating content provider websites and mobile devices - Google Patents

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method for facilitating communication between a first content provider website and a mobile device includes obtaining first information from a content provider website over a first network in a web server, the first information not including any email message. Wherein acquiring includes pulling first information from the content provider website by a back end portion of the web server. The method also includes processing the first information in at least one of a back end portion and a front end portion of the web server to provide the processed first information and to notify the mobile device of notification of new content of the first information. Transmitting from the front end portion of the web server to a push channel established in either the first network or the second network for reception.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INTERMEDIATING CONTENT PROVIDER WEBSITE AND MOBILE DEVICE}

The present invention relates to communications involving mobile devices, and more particularly, to communications between such mobile devices and Internet content provider websites.

Content provider websites (CPW), such as social networking websites (SNW), news feeds, music and photo websites, as well as business-to-business (b2b) or business-to-consumer (b2c) websites Other types of websites allow users to download and / or upload (eg, post) various types of data, such as news, weather, personal and / or corporate information, photos, videos, and songs. It is an interactive website that facilitates the creation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships in and between groups of people. Uploading data to the CPW by one user may allow another user to access the uploaded data and / or download the uploaded data. Typically, SNW provides an architecture for numerous users to create individual individual or specialized spaces, each identifying each user and allowing uploaded data to be associated with individual spaces.

The CPW may be in communication with a user operating one of a variety of different device types that are in contact with the CPW, often by an Internet type network. Increasingly, users use mobile devices to interact with the CPW. As such communication activity increases, there is an increasing demand for improving quality and / or user-friendliness in performing such communication activity. Furthermore, there is an increasing demand to increase the battery performance of mobile devices and to reduce the data transmission to all devices to enhance the efficiency of such communication activities.

Thus, at least in part, in order to address one or more of the aforementioned emerging needs, in the form of an improved mobile device and / or other device and / or in the form of an improved method of enabling the mobile device to communicate with the CPW. It would be desirable if an improvement could be provided that would be helpful.

In at least one embodiment, the invention relates to a method for facilitating communication between a first content provider website and a mobile device. The method includes obtaining, at a web server, first information from a content provider website via a first network, the first information does not include any email message, and the obtaining is at a back end portion of the web server. pooling the first information from the content provider website by a back end portion. The method also includes processing the first information in at least one of a back end portion and a front end portion of the web server to provide the processed first information and for new content in the first information. Sending the notification from the front end portion of the web server towards a push channel established in the first or second network for receipt by the mobile device.

Additionally, in at least one further embodiment, the method relates to a method for facilitating communication between a first social networking website and a mobile device. The method includes obtaining first information from a social networking website via a first network at a back end portion of the web server and processing the first information at the web server to provide the processed first information. Processing includes filtering at least one portion of the first information based on at least one importance level satisfied by at least one portion, the at least one portion being a contact At least one of information, status information, and news information. The method further includes sending a notification of new content in the first information from a front end portion of the web server to a push channel established in the first or second network for receipt by the mobile device. . The notification is of high priority if the new content to which the notification is associated includes status information, and the notification is of low priority if the new content to which the notification is associated includes at least one other type of information.

Furthermore, in at least one further embodiment, the invention relates to a method for facilitating communication between a first social networking website and a mobile device. The method includes receiving first data from a mobile device and receiving second data from the mobile device, wherein one of the first and second data is content data and the other of the first and second data is Thereby including at least one identifier by which the mobile device can log in to the first social networking site. The method also includes transmitting at least one identifier towards the first network for receipt by the first social networking site, whereby the server can log in to the first social networking site as a proxy for the mobile device. have.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method for facilitating communication between a first social networking website and a mobile device. The method includes obtaining first information from a social networking website via a first network at a web server and processing the first information at a web server to provide the processed first information. The first information indicates the difference between the first information and the preceding information previously received from the social networking website. The method further includes sending a notification from the web server for receipt by the mobile device. If the processing comprises determining that the first portion of the first information has a high importance level, sending the notification may send a high priority notification between the web server and the mobile device for the processed first information. Providing virtually instantaneously towards the push channel present in the. The method also includes waiting for a download request from the mobile device.

Furthermore, in at least one further embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method for facilitating communication between a mobile device and a plurality of social networking websites comprising a first social networking site and a second social networking site. The method includes pulling first information from a first social networking website and second information from a second social networking website by at least one first network towards the web server. The method includes processing the first and second information at a web server to generate processed first and second information and for receiving a notification by the mobile device about the availability of the processed first and second information. The method further includes transmitting from the web server. The processed first and second information are specific formatting features for the mobile device requesting the processed first and second information and for the first and second information as provided by the first and second social networking sites. And to display both the processed first information and the processed second information when received in a standardized manner that is at least substantially independent of the.

1 illustrates in schematic form an exemplary communication system comprising a plurality of mobile devices in communication with a plurality of content provider websites, in which some communication takes place via an intermediary web server;
2 is a block diagram illustrating an example component of one of the mobile devices of FIG. 1;
3 is a block diagram illustrating an example component for the intermediate web server of FIG. 1;
4-9 are flow diagrams illustrating various exemplary steps for the operation of the intermediary web server and mobile device of FIG. 1.

1, a block diagram of an example communications system 100 is shown in simplified schematic form. As indicated, the communication system 100 includes three mobile devices 102 in this embodiment, one of which is via a communication link 105, which is a web server 104 in the present embodiment. In communication with. Mobile devices 102 each represent a communication device operated by a person (or user) or perhaps by another entity (eg, a notebook or other computer) that desires or needs communication capabilities. In some embodiments, for example, the mobile device may be a cellular phone, another wireless device such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), and / or any of devices such as laptops and desktop computers that can connect to and communicate with the network. It may be.

The communication system 100 is additionally represented as including three content provider websites (CPW) 106, one of which is indicated to be in communication with the intermediary web server 104 via the communication link 108. Furthermore, one of the mobile devices 102 in communication with the web server 104 may also communicate directly with one of the CPWs 106 in communication with the web server, without the mediation of the web server 104. Communication link 110 is also provided. While only one of the mobile devices 102 and one of the CPWs 106 are shown in communication with the web server 104, any or all of the mobile devices 102 and CPW 106, depending on the time of day or operating environment. Will understand that it may be communicating with the web server. Likewise, depending on the time of day or operating environment, any mobile device 102 may communicate with any CPW 106 by a direct communication link, such as link 110.

Although three mobile devices 102 are shown in FIG. 1, in other embodiments, only one mobile device is communicating with the web server 104, or in any other way any number of mobile devices are communicating with the web server 104. It may be in progress. Similarly, three CPWs 106 are shown in FIG. 1, but in another embodiment, only one CPW may be communicating with the web server 104, or in any other way, any number of CPWs may be communicating with the web server 104. have. Additionally, in other embodiments, any number of mobile device (s) may be in communication with any number of CPW (s) by a direct communication link, such as link 110. In other words, FIG. 1 is intended to represent one of a variety of systems using any number of mobile devices and any number of CPWs in communication with one another indirectly or directly with each other via a web server interface.

Depending on the embodiment, communication links 105, 108, 110 may be a single network or part of multiple networks, each link having one or more wired and / or wireless communication paths, eg, terrestrial communication lines (e.g., May use multiple intermediary hardware and / or software devices, including fiber optic, copper) wiring, microwave communications, radio channels, radio paths, intranets, the Internet, and / or itself (eg, multiple routers, etc.) ) May include a World Wide Web (WWW) communication path. In addition, various communication protocols and methods include, for example, mobile device 102, including transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and the like. It may be used to perform communication over communication link 105, 108, 110 between web server 104, and CPW 106. In other embodiments, other types of communication links may also be used to facilitate the transfer of signals between the plurality of mobile devices 102 and the CPW 106. In this embodiment, the communication link / network and server are discussed as being web-based, respectively, but in other embodiments, it can be assumed that the link / network and server are various non-web-based forms. have.

As discussed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 4-7, the web server 104 is configured to function as an intermediary between the mobile device 102 and the CPW 106. For example, upload and download of files (eg, photos, music, videos, text items, etc.), blog postings, and messaging (eg, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and Various types of communication between the mobile device 102 and the CPW 106, including communication involving Instant Messaging (IM), are communicated through the web server 104, processed and / or processed by the web server 104. Or monitored. CPW generally allows people to download and upload (eg, post) various types of data, such as personal and / or business information, photos, videos, and songs, to allow people to interact with people and groups of people. It is intended to cover a variety of interactive websites that facilitate the creation and maintenance of relationships. Examples of the CPW include, for example, Facebook ^™ , MySpace ^™ , hi5 ^™ , LinkedIn ^™ , and Twitter ^™ . For the purposes of the present invention, the CPW does not focus solely or primarily on social networking, but nevertheless includes various other types of websites (e.g., business-to-business or b2c) that also include social networking features. (business-to-consumer website) can also be understood to encompass. Other content provider websites include sources of RSS or other news feeds, photo services such as Picasa ^™ or Photobucket ^™ , and music services such as LastFM ^™ .

2, a block diagram illustrating an example internal component 200 of a mobile device, such as mobile device 102, in accordance with the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, component 200 may include one or more wireless transceivers 202, 203, and 205, a processor 204 (eg, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a memory). Portion 206, one or more output devices 208, and one or more input devices 210. In at least some embodiments, there is a user interface having one or more output devices 208, such as a display, and one or more input devices 210, such as a keypad or touch sensor. The internal component 200 may further include a component interface 212 for providing direct connection to auxiliary components or accessories for additional or enhanced functionality. In addition, the internal component 200 preferably includes a power supply 214, such as a battery, for providing power to the remaining internal components while enabling the mobile device to be carried. All of the internal components 200 may be coupled to and in communication with each other by one or more internal communication links 232 (eg, internal buses).

Each of the wireless transceivers 202 is, for example, analog communication (using AMPS), digital communication (using CDMA, TDMA, GSM, iDEN, GPRS, EDGE, etc.), and (UMTS, WCDMA, LTE, IEEE) Cellular-based communication technologies such as next-generation communication (such as 802.16, etc.) or variants thereof, or peer-to-peer (P2P) such as HomeRF (radio frequency), Bluetooth, and IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, or n) Or other wireless communication technology such as wireless technology or infrared technology for communication, which may include (but is not limited to) ad hoc communication technology. In this embodiment, the wireless transceiver 202 includes a cellular transceiver 203 and a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 205, but in other embodiments only one of these types of wireless transceivers exists (and maybe wireless). None of these types of transceivers exist and / or other types of wireless transceivers). Thanks to the use of the wireless transceiver 202, the mobile device 102 also (and thus indirectly again) with the CPW 106 by the communication link 110 and the web server 104 by the communication link 105. Communicate with CPW 106).

Exemplary operation of the wireless transceiver 202 with respect to other internal components 200 of the mobile device 102 can take various forms, for example, upon receipt of a wireless signal, the internal component detects a communication signal and The transceiver 202 may comprise an operation for demodulating the communication signal to recover incoming information, such as voice and / or data, transmitted by the wireless signal. After receiving the incoming information from the transceiver 202, the processor 204 formats the incoming information for one or more output devices 208. Similarly, for the transmission of a wireless signal, the processor 204 may format outgoing information that may or may not be activated by the input device 210 and for modulation of the outgoing information into a communication signal. To one or more wireless transceivers 202. The radio transceiver (s) 202 delivers the modulated signal to other devices, such as the web server 104 and one or more CPWs 106 by a wireless (and possibly wired) communication link (as well as possibly cell towers, accesses). Point, or to another device, such as another server, or any of a variety of remote devices).

According to an embodiment, the input and output devices 208, 210 of the internal component 200 may include various visual, audio, and / or mechanical outputs. For example, output device (s) 208 may include one or more visual output devices 216, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) and light emitting diode (LED) indicators, one or more such as speakers, alarms, and / or buzzers. One or more mechanical output devices 220, such as an auditory output device 218, and / or a vibration mechanism. The visual output device 216 can include a video screen among others. Likewise, as an example, input device (s) 210 may include one or more visual input devices 222, such as optical sensors (eg, cameras), one or more auditory input devices 224, such as microphones, and flip sensors, It may include one or more mechanical input devices 226 such as a keyboard, keypad, selection button, navigation cluster, touch pad, touchscreen, capacitive sensor, motion sensor, and switch. Actions that can activate one or more of the input devices 210 include, but are not limited to, physically pressing / actuating a button or other actuator, for example, opening a mobile device, unlocking the device, moving the device to move movement. Activating, moving the device to actuate a location positioning system, and actuating the device.

As indicated in FIG. 2, the internal component 200 of the mobile device 102 may also include one or more various types of sensors 228. The sensor 228 may include, for example, a proximity sensor (a light sensing sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver, or an infrared transceiver), a touch sensor, an altitude sensor, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. Circuitry, triangulation receiver, accelerometer, tilt sensor, gyroscope, or other information gathering device capable of identifying the current location or user-device interface (portable mode) of mobile device 102.

The memory portion 206 of the internal component 200 may be any of various forms (eg, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM)). Etc.) and may be used by the processor 204 to store and retrieve data. The data stored by memory portion 206 may include, but need not be limited to, operating system, application, and informative data. Each operating system is configured to interact with various components included between internal components 200, communicate with external devices via wireless transceiver 202 and / or component interface 212, and memory portions 206. And executable code that controls the basic functions of the communication device, such as storage and retrieval of applications and data from the memory portion 206. Each application includes executable code that, using an operating system, provides more specific functionality to a communication device, such as file system services and handling of protected and unprotected data stored in memory portion 206. Informational data is non-executable code or information that can be referenced and / or manipulated by an operating system or an application to perform the functions of a communication device.

Referring next to FIG. 3, additional exemplary components for the web server 104 of FIG. 1 are shown in more detail. As indicated, the web server 104 (not shown) for interfacing the memory portion 302, the processor portion 304 in communication with such memory portion, and the communication links 105, 108 with the processor 304. It includes one or more input / output (I / O) interfaces. The processor portion 304 further includes a back end portion 306 (or social network processor) and a front end portion 308. The back end portion 306 communicates with the CPW 106 (indicated by the dotted lines) via the communication link 108 and the front end portion 308 via the communication link 105 (which is also indicated by the dotted lines) of the mobile device ( 102).

As discussed in more detail below, in at least some embodiments, the back end portion 306 supports pull communications with a CPW, such as the CPW 106. Pull communication may be implemented using, for example, a type of Representation State Transfer (REST) architecture typical of the web, such that the back end portion is CPW 106 at a point in time / environment determined by web server 104. And generate a request for information to be provided to the back end portion 306 from the CPW, such that the CPW retrieves the requested data and provides it back to the web server. Again, as discussed in more detail below, in at least some embodiments, the front end portion 308 establishes a push channel in connection with a mobile device, such as the mobile device 102.

In at least some such embodiments, the push channel is a point in time / environment in which the front end portion 308 determines the notification from the web server 104 (generated by the front end portion) by the web server 104. To the mobile device 102. This notification may be an indication of the information content available to be provided towards the mobile device. Next, the mobile device 102 can respond to the notification in a manner (s) deemed appropriate by the mobile device. Such a response often constitutes a request that (if not always) some or all of the available information content should be provided from the front end portion of the intermediary web server 104 towards the mobile device.

Referring to FIG. 4, the operation of the web server 104 of FIGS. 1 and 3, in particular, interacts with and communicates with the CPW and mobile devices such as the mobile device 102 and the CPW 106 shown in FIG. 1. A flowchart is provided that illustrates exemplary steps for operation when mediating. When starting the process represented by the flow chart of FIG. 4 at the start step 400, the web server 104 steps by establishing a communication link, such as the communication link 105, with the mobile device 102 of FIG. 1. Start operation at 402. As will be described in more detail below, establishing a communication link with a mobile device may actually include establishing multiple communication links (which may exist in parallel or at other points in time) with the mobile device, depending on the embodiment. have.

In some such cases, the various communication links are of different types, including, for example, push channels or communication protocols other than push channels. In addition, establishing a communication link with the mobile device 102 typically involves establishing a circuit switch connection with the base station and thereby providing the base station with ID information that the mobile device identifies itself to the communication network. At the same time, the connection to the web server 104 may also be via an internet protocol (IP) connection or a point-to-point communication connection between the base station with which the mobile device is communicating and the load balancer / firewall, and from the web server Inversely providing a response signal of the mobile device to the mobile device, whereby the mobile device recognizes that it is in contact with the web server.

Upon completion of step 402, in step 404, the web server 104 further establishes a communication link with the CPW, such as the communication link 108 with the CPW 106 shown in FIG. 1. Establishing a communication link at step 404 may involve, for example, providing one or more web service calls and / or other techniques. After step 404, web server 104 maintains ongoing communication with CPW 106, which may be (but need not be) periodic communication, and obtains (pools) information from CPW at one or more points in time. Information obtained from the CPW may be, for example, information about a contact or friend (including a list of contacts), new friends or updated contacts, special messages, news, events, and files (such as image files or text files). Or any of a variety of different types of information, including other types of information that may include other types of data. After the information is obtained in step 406, the web server processes the obtained information in step 408.

Further referring to FIG. 5, exemplary substeps corresponding to steps 406 and 408 of FIG. 4 are displayed according to one embodiment. As indicated, step 406 (acquisition step) can be understood to encompass several substeps beginning with the starting substep 500 and further comprising three additional substeps 502, 504 and 506. More specifically, in substep 502, the web server 104 sends a pull signal to the CPW 106, and in substep 504, information is received back from the CPW at the back end portion 306 of the web server. After the information is received at the back end portion 306, in step 506 this information is pushed from the back end portion to the front end portion 308 of the web server 104.

Furthermore, as indicated in FIG. 5, step 408 (processing step) may, in one embodiment, include several substeps starting at substep 508 prior to ending at substep 518 (FIG. 5 at step 408). The corresponding substep is shown as a successor to the substep corresponding to step 406). More specifically, after the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 receives the information pushed from the back end portion 306 in substep 506, in substep 508, the information is transferred to a common transfer queue. queue). Next, at a lower step 510, the information can optionally be compressed. Furthermore, in substep 512, the information can optionally be converted into a different format, eg, a binary format. As further represented by block 509 (indicated by the dashed lines), the format conversion that occurs in substep 512 standardizes the formatting of the information to remove site-specific format information, although not the source ID, but with or Otherwise may include the removal of certain formatting information provided by CPW 106 in order to change the formatting of the information to a uniform or universal format provided to the mobile device independent of the CPW formatting that was the source of the information.

Next, in a lower step 514, the information is filtered based on whether the information is high importance information or low importance information. As further represented by sub-steps 511, 513, 515, and 517 (indicated by the dashed lines), this filtering operation may include further determination. That is, as indicated at substep 511, the web server 104 may determine whether the information is about a friend, a new friend, a special message, news, or an event. If so, then at lower step 513, the information is given a low level state. However, if the information does not fall into one of those groups, then the filtering process proceeds to substep 515 where the web server determines whether the information relates to a status update. If so, the information is given a high level status in a lower step 517. In the present exemplary embodiment, if it is determined that the information is not about status update at substep 515, the process returns to substep 513 again. The web server 104 may determine whether the information is a status update for the user, and if so, treat the information as a high level or high priority, otherwise treat the information as a low level or low priority. You can see that. Other types of information may also be treated as high priority, but it is desirable to limit the number of messages that result in increased activity for the communication device.

After the filtering substep 514 is completed, the process includes the information obtained by the web server 104 (specifically the front end portion 308 of the web server) from the CPW 106 in step 406 and the preceding information received from the same CPW. Proceed to sub step 516 to determine one or more differences that may exist between. In this embodiment, it is only such difference information that is ultimately sent back to the mobile device 102. As noted above, the substep corresponding to step 408 of FIG. 4, represented by FIG. 5, ends at substep 518. It will be appreciated that step 516 may preferably occur in the back end portion 306 between steps 504 and 506, in which case the information may be altered in the CPW information from the pooled upfront content for a particular subscriber. If so, it will be further processed by the web server 104. This will free server resources for continuing to pull information from the CPW for the user of device 102 or for other users using the intermediary web server and CPW.

4, after step 408 is completed, the web server 104 determines whether one or more portions of the processed information are of high importance, not high importance (eg, low importance, or maybe medium importance, or Other importance levels). If it is determined that the processed information is of high importance, then at step 412, the high importance of the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 processed towards the mobile device 102 via a push channel established on the communication link 105. Send the information. This occurs immediately at the time determined by the web server, as is enabled by using a push channel. If it is determined in step 410 that the processed information is not of high importance, sending the processed information may be delayed to another more appropriate time point, thereby reducing communication activity between the device and the server and thus reducing battery consumption at the device. Can be. Thus, at step 414, web server 104 waits for a suitable time to send the processed information to mobile device 102. Then, when a suitable time point occurs, the information is sent by the web server 104 to the mobile device 102 at step 416.

The appropriate point in time at which the processed low importance information is sent by the web server 104 towards the mobile device 102 may be based on various considerations. For example, in some embodiments, such a suitable time point is only a point in time at which the mobile device 102 periodically polls the web server 104 for information. Such polling typically involves repeated sending of inquiry signals from the mobile device 102 to the web server 104. In other cases, a suitable time point occurs when a particular environment occurs. For example, a suitable time for transmitting the processed low importance information is additionally provided if the web server 104 determines that a certain amount of processed low importance information has been stored for transmission to the mobile device at that same time. May occur when the mobile device 102 requests. In the above description the information acquisition by the web server 104 is described as involving pulling while the acquisition of low importance information from the web server by the mobile device is described as involving polling. It should be understood that pooling or polling operations (and periodic or asynchronous communication) can be used by either the web server or the mobile device to obtain information from the CPW and the web server, depending on the embodiment, respectively. . Additionally, server 104 may be pulling information from CPW 106 when mobile device 102 is not connected to the server, so that there is sufficient time until the mobile device is reconnected or the server deletes the information. It is believed that the server will retain the information until elapsed.

Regardless of whether high or low importance information is sent toward mobile device 102, respectively, in steps 412 and 416, once these steps are completed, the web is interacting with the mobile device, CPW, or additional mobile device / CPW. A series of additional steps is performed by server 104. More specifically in this regard, once steps 412 and 416 are completed, in steps 418 to 428, information from the mobile device 102 can be uploaded to the web server 104 and further to the CPW 106. Can be provided. As indicated in FIG. 4, at step 418 such interaction may be initiated by web server 104 receiving ID information from mobile device 102. For example, if such ID information has already been received at step 402, the reception of such ID information does not always have to occur. Next, at step 420, web server 104 additionally receives content information from mobile device 102. The content information may include, for example, a file or other data such as an image file or text file that the user of the mobile device wishes to upload to a user profile (eg, "month") that exists in the CPW. .

Next, at step 422, the web server 104 receives a command from the mobile device 102 instructing the web server to upload content information to the CPW 106. In other embodiments, this command need not be explicitly provided by the mobile device 102 towards the web server 104, in which such all content information provided by the mobile device is associated with that mobile device. This is because it is assumed by the web server that it should be further uploaded to any CPW associated with it. Further in step 424, the web server 104 sends the ID information received from the mobile device 102 to the CPW 106 to authenticate the relationship between the web server and the CPW. In response to sending this ID information, as indicated by step 426, a token is generally received back from the CPW if authentication is satisfactory. As with step 418, step 424 and step 426 need not be performed explicitly at this point in all embodiments, especially if such action is taken as part of establishing the communication link in steps 402 and 404. . Regardless of when authentication takes place, the authentication process allows web server 104 to interact with CPW 106 on behalf of mobile device 102 and as a proxy of mobile device 102. If it is assumed that proper authentication has occurred, then at step 428, the content information is sent by the web server 104 to the CPW 106.

The user ID and password for a particular user account in the CPW required for the web server 104 to upload and download content to and from the CPW 106 is such that the mobile device 102 connects to the server for the first time. It is contemplated that it can be loaded into the web server 104 by the user when setting up the CPW in the web server. The web server will store the user ID and password in memory and use the user ID and password to connect to the CPW unless the user changes them in order to maintain a constant connection with the CPW regardless of whether the mobile device 102 is connected. Will access. Furthermore, if the mobile device does not request information from the server for a period of time or if the web server queue containing content to be downloaded further to the device exceeds an age threshold and / or a storage capacity threshold, the web server It is contemplated that information pooling from CPW 106 by 104 may be reduced in frequency or completely stopped (or terminated).

In addition to the upload process described above, in some circumstances, a user who is operating mobile device 102 will want content to be uploaded to more than one CPW 106. Such a process may be facilitated by the web server 104, as indicated by steps 430 through 438 of FIG. 4, especially if content information has already been provided to the web server by the mobile device 102. More specifically, as indicated, in step 430, the web server 104 determines whether additional instructions have been received by the web server from the mobile device 102 instructing the web server to provide content information to another CPW. It is determined whether or not. If such a command has been received, then at step 432, web server 104 determines whether a communication link has already been established with that other CPW. If such a communication link has not yet been established, the process proceeds to step 434 where additional ID information is received from the mobile device 102, and then in step 436 that communication link is established between the web server 104 and the other CPW 106. Is established. In other words, if the communication link has not yet been established with that other CPW as determined in step 432, the web server 104 is provided with ID information from the mobile device 102 again to establish such a communication link, The web server must be able to be authenticated with respect to that other CPW in order to act as a proxy for the mobile device with respect to that other CPW (eg, substantially the same as described above with respect to steps 424 to 426). work).

If after the communication link establishment in step 436 or in step 432 it is determined that a communication link with that other CPW has already been established, the process proceeds to step 438 where content information is uploaded to the other CPW. Thus, thanks to steps 430-438, the content information already provided to the first CPW in step 428 is further provided to another CPW. Although FIG. 4 does not indicate direct looping for the repeating of steps 418 to 438, it will be appreciated that these steps may be repeated many times with respect to various portions of information and two or more additional CPWs. The content will be provided in a uniform format from the mobile device 102 and it is believed that the back end portion of the server will format the data individually and appropriately for each target CPW to which the content is uploaded.

In addition to FIG. 4, once step 438 is completed or if the web server 104 determines that no command has been received at step 430, the web server additionally, at step 440, the mobile device 102 from the web server. Proceed to determine whether the connection is blocked. Even if the mobile device 102 is disconnected from the web server 104, in principle, the web server, as represented by step 442, has the web server previously established communication and the web server has been disconnected in connection with it. It will still maintain a communication link with CPW 106, which can act as a proxy on behalf of the mobile device. Thus, even if the mobile device 102 functioning on behalf of the web server 104 temporarily leaves communication, the web server 104 can continue to operate in conjunction with the CPW 106. Thus, the web server 104 can operate to continue to pull information from the various CPWs 106 and access and monitor such information over time so that mobile devices that are previously-disconnected from the web can be When reconnected to the server, the web server can immediately provide the latest updated CPW information available (if appropriate).

Although not shown in FIG. 4 in spite of the description above, in certain embodiments, the mobile device 102 may issue instructions to the web server 104 to stop functioning on behalf of one or more CPWs 106. It can also communicate to (104), in which case the web server will do so. Finally, as is also shown in FIG. 4, in both the case where step 442 is completed and in step 440 it is determined that the mobile device 102 is still connected, the web server 104 is connected to the mobile device 102 and / or. Or proceed to determine if there is a demand or desire to establish a further communication link with the other of the CPWs 106. According to the flowchart, if such a demand or desire does not exist, the process ends at step 446, while if such a demand or desire exists, the process returns to the starting step 400.

Notwithstanding the specific steps as shown in FIG. 4, various additional steps or other steps may be performed by the web server 104, depending on the embodiment, and one or more of the specific steps shown in FIG. 4 may be rearranged according to the embodiment. It should be understood that it can be repeated, repeated, or completely eliminated. In addition, some of the steps performed according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 may be repeated continuously or continuously at the same time as other steps are performed. For example, steps 406 through 412 relating to the acquisition and processing of information received from the CPW 106 and the instantaneous (or substantially immediate) transmission of high importance information to the mobile device 102 may include content information being sent to the mobile device. Can be repeated continuously or continuously, even while other interactions are performed, such as the interactions represented by steps 418-438 relating to uploading to one or more of the CPWs from the web server. Furthermore, FIG. 4 illustrates in some detail the possibility that the web server 104 communicates with multiple CPWs 106, either continuously or simultaneously, and is facilitated by a web server between a given mobile device and one or more such CPWs. Although illustrating the interaction, it is to be understood that the same process can be performed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously by the web server in terms of allowing similar interactions to occur between any number of other mobile devices and one or more such CPWs. Should be

The back end portion 306 may include a separate plug-in for each CPW 106, including an individual API suitable for its respective CPW. Each plug-in includes an API for its own individual CPW, whereby the plug-in pulls information from the website and reformats the information in the universal format of the mobile device 102 client. In addition, content from the mobile device will be reported in the proper format specified by the CPW associated with that plug-in in the uniform format of the mobile device 102 client program when uploaded by the back end portion 306. In this way, content from mobile device 102 can be sent in a single message with a uniform format and routed as selected by the user and back for each CPW for which it is targeted. It will be formatted by each of the end portion plug-ins.

Turning to FIG. 6, further showing exemplary steps for the operation of the mobile device 102 when the mobile device 102 interacts with a web server and, thanks to this interaction, can interact with one or more CPWs. A flow chart is provided. In other words, FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the operation of complementary (or generally complementary) mobile device 102 with respect to multiple steps performed by web server 104 as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 above. To illustrate the enemy steps. In addition, as further discussed below, FIG. 6 also illustrates that mobile device 102 may (but independently) have a mediation by one or more CPWs 106 directly or with mediation by a web server without mediation by web server 104. Steps that can interact at the same time. As shown in FIG. 6, after starting operation at startup step 600, mobile device 102 establishes a communication link with the CPW by establishing a communication link with the web server and accordingly by the web server, at step 602. By establishing, the user interacts with the web server 104.

7, it can be understood that step 602 includes several substeps as illustrated in the figure. As indicated, after beginning at substep 700, mobile device 102 activates the push channel application supported at the mobile device, as indicated at substep 702. The mobile device 102 then provides the ID information to the web server 104 at a substep 704. Such ID information may include, for example, an identification code (eg, a serial number, model number, or product reference number) that specifies a particular mobile device, information about the identity of the user using the mobile device, or a login or password. It may include other coding information such as code. Next, at a substep 706, it is determined whether there is a desire to establish a communication link with the particular one of the CPWs 106 via the web server at the mobile device 102. If no such desire exists at this point, the process represented by FIG. 7 ends at a lower step 708. Alternatively, there is a desire to establish a communication link with the CPW 106 via the web server 104, as may be indicated by a user providing instructions to the mobile device 102 indicating such a desire. If so, the mobile device 102 additionally sends a command to the web server instructing the web server to establish such a communication link.

Furthermore, at substep 712, the mobile device 102 receives additional web ID information that allows the web server to establish a communication link with the CPW 106 and to function as a proxy for the mobile device in communication with the CPW. Send additionally to web server 104. The ID information transmitted in substep 712 may in some embodiments be the same as that of substep 704, in which case substep 712 need not be performed. Once ID information is provided at substep 712, a push channel link is established between the mobile device and the web server at substep 714. Once substep 714 is completed, the remaining steps following step 602 of the process represented by FIG. 6 (as indicated by block “back to A”) may be performed.

Returning to FIG. 6, after a communication link with the web server 104 is established in step 602, the mobile device 102 in step 604 connects to the web server via a push channel (eg, the push channel established in substep 714). Receive high importance information from. As this information has already been described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, in this embodiment, in asynchronous manner, that is, from the web server 104 to the mobile device 102 at a point in time not determined by the mobile device. Is provided. In addition to receiving such high importance information on an asynchronous basis, as also represented by subsequent step 606, mobile device 102 sends one or more inquiries about other information to be downloaded to the mobile device by the web server 104. You can send more to). As discussed above with reference to FIG. 5, high importance information may include information such as status update information, while other information (eg, low importance information) may include contact / friend information, new friend information, contact information. It may include information such as lists, photos or videos, special messages, news, or event information.

The query provided by mobile device 102 in step 606 may be provided on a periodic basis or at another point in time determined by the mobile device. In the present embodiment, it is thought that the mobile device 102 will determine when an inquiry to the web server 104 that determines whether or not information other than high importance information is transmitted from the web server to the mobile device is considered. In an embodiment, such a query and / or download of information is determined by a mutual agreement between the web server and the mobile device, at a time determined solely by the web server (e.g., the web server is low enough). When determining that importance information has been collected), or at a point in time determined by another entity or party, such as a manufacturer that has programmed both devices. Regardless of whether it is a query from the mobile device that causes reverse transmission of the information to the mobile device by the web server 104 or whether it is another trigger that causes the transmission of such information, it is indicated in step 608. As such, such other information is also ultimately received by the mobile device from the web server. Step 602 may be considered a complementary to step 402 of FIG. 4, while steps 604 to 608 are web servers represented by steps 406 to 412 (and in particular steps 414 to 412) of FIG. 4. It can be considered as a complement to the operation.

Still referring to FIG. 6, in a subsequent step 609, the information received by the mobile device 102 from the web server 104 is displayed or output by the mobile device. The extent to which such display / output of information occurs will depend on the embodiment. In at least some embodiments, this information is displayed / output by the mobile device 102 in a standardized manner in which CPW-specific formatting information or functionality is not provided as part of the display / output information. More specifically, in some such embodiments, the CPW-specific formatting information and functionality is modified by the web server 104 or, in some other embodiments, by the mobile device or by a combination of both the web server and the mobile device. )do.

While performing such modifications, similar types of information found in different CPWs are conceptually similar, even if referenced by different CPWs (eg, as information found at a posting site or as information found in a month). Recognized as being tangible, and based on such perception, such information may be displayed (or output) in a manner common to the mobile device regardless of the origin of the information. In other words, given such modification of CPW-specific formatting information or function, the same conceptual type of information from different CPWs may be the same on the mobile device, regardless of the origin of the information, even if they are formatted differently in different CPWs. Displayed in a similar and consistent manner, thereby facilitating a user's review of such information. Furthermore, such information may include text and image data, including data that enables a user to display on the mobile device an interactive window and data entry fields that allow the user to enter additional information or commands that may be sent back to the web server. It should also be noted that it can also include a wide range of other data.

Next, at step 610 the mobile device 102 determines whether there is a demand or desire to upload content information currently available on the mobile device to the web server and / or ultimately to the CPW 106. The demand or desire may be based on, for example, whether a particular type of information has been received by a mobile device from a user or other source, or whether a particular event that triggers such an upload event has occurred or a certain time has elapsed. May be automatically determined by the mobile device 102. Often, such demands / desires will arise in response to user commands provided to mobile device 102. If it is determined in step 610 that such a demand / desire does not exist, then as indicated, the process proceeds to step 622, discussed below. However, if it is determined in step 610 that such a demand / desire exists, then at step 612 the mobile device 102 sends the content information to the web server 104 and at step 614 the mobile device uploads the content information to the CPW 106. Send an additional command to the web server. Steps 610 to 614 may be understood that authentication information provided from the mobile device 102 for authentication purposes, as discussed with reference to step 418, is already provided in step 602 shown in FIG. 6 (otherwise, It can be understood that in general it is complementary to steps 418 to 428 of FIG. 4, except that additional authentication information suitable for this purpose may be provided immediately before step 612).

Once step 614 is complete, mobile device 102 further determines whether there is a demand / desire to upload content information to one or more additional CPWs other than the first CPW for which the information has already been uploaded. Again, the demand or desire can be determined based on various factors including, among other things, one or more instructions provided by the user of the mobile device towards the mobile device. If it is determined in step 616 that such a demand or desire does not exist, the process proceeds back to step 622, which is discussed below. However, if it is determined at step 616 that such a demand or desire exists, the process proceeds to step 618 where an additional communication link is established between the mobile device and such additional CPW via a web server. Step 618 may be considered complementary to steps 432 to 436 of FIG. 4, and in accordance with an embodiment, the mobile device first determines whether a communication link with such additional CPW already exists, and such communication link is still present. If it is determined not to exist, it may include a substep of establishing such communication link with such additional CPW to transmit additional ID information towards the web server to enable the web server to function as a proxy for the mobile device in such communication.

After an additional communication link with the additional CPW 106 is established in step 618, the mobile device 102 further sends an instruction to the web server 104 to upload content information to the additional CPW 106 in step 620. . It can be understood that the performance of step 620 corresponds to the step 430 of FIG. 4, and furthermore, the order of performing the steps 618 and 620 is inverted such that the steps more closely match the order of steps 430 to 436 of FIG. 4. It is understood to be reversible. Additionally with respect to FIG. 6, once step 620 is completed, the web server 104 is deemed to have actually uploaded the content information to the additional CPW. Although not shown, in some embodiments, when such an upload is complete, the web server 104 sends an indication signal back to the mobile device 102 confirming that such an upload has occurred.

Although the steps of FIG. 4 as well as the previously described steps of FIG. 6 contemplate the use of web server 104 as an intermediary between mobile device 102 and CPW 106, it is not always necessary for a web server to mediate such communication. Rather, in some circumstances the mobile device interacts directly with respect to one or more CPWs (ie, directly by one or more networks that do not include any web server or at least a web server as described above). In that regard, the mobile device 102, upon completion of step 620 (or in some cases, steps 610 and 616 as discussed above), the mobile device 102 directly contacts the one or more CPWs 106 in step 622. Further determine whether there is a demand or desire to communicate.

If the mobile device 102 determines at step 622 that this is not the case, the mobile device can return to Node A in operation, in response to which the process begins again at step 604 and proceeds. Assuming this happens, the mobile device 102 accordingly not only continues to receive information from the web server 104 but also continues to upload content information to the web server repeatedly, continuously. However, if at step 622 the mobile device 102 determines that there is a demand or desire to communicate directly with the CPW 106, the mobile device proceeds to step 624 where the mobile device establishes such a direct communication link.

Whether there is a demand or desire to communicate directly with the CPW 106 may be determined based on various considerations. In some circumstances, the mobile device 102 automatically determines this and proceeds automatically as a result to establish a direct communication link with the CPW 106. For example, if a user requests more information on a particular subject and the download of that information from a given CPW is best realized by direct communication with the CPW (eg, in terms of efficiency, such as data transfer). If so, the mobile device can attempt to connect directly to the CPW. In addition, in some circumstances a user does not want to see a modified view of such information that may be provided if the information is processed by the web server 104 while progressing to the mobile device, but in a particular CPW in a particular format associated with that CPW. You may want to see the information available. Further, a determination of whether there is a demand or desire to communicate directly with the CPW 106 may be determined based on the receipt of a user command that explicitly requests such communication.

Establishing a direct communication link at step 624 may include various specific commands or operations by the mobile device, which in some circumstances may involve receiving input from a user, in accordance with an embodiment. For example, in one environment, such a user may have such direct access by having a browser application / program open and running on a mobile device, and by entering a Universal Resource Locator (URL) for CPW in the input field provided by the browser. Initiates the establishment of a communication link, as a result of which the browser enters into communication with the CPW and the CPW returns a web page or other information to the browser that allows the mobile device (and user) to participate in further communication with the CPW. In another embodiment, the establishment of a direct communication link is an automated process that does not involve any particular user action.

Regardless of how the direct communication link is established, once the link is established, in further step 626 the mobile device 102 directly (once again, described above) towards and / or from the CPW 106. And / or receive information without mediation of a web server). Then, at step 628, the mobile device further determines whether there is a demand or desire to break the existing communication link with the web server 104. If there is no such demand / desire, the process returns to node A and once again step 604 and subsequent steps are repeated. In other words, both direct communication (by the web server) and indirect communication (by the web server) between the mobile device and the CPW (s) can continue at the same time. However, if it is determined in step 628 that there is a demand or desire to stop server-based communication, the process may include step 630 (corresponding to step 440 discussed above in connection with FIG. 4) where the mobile device communication with the web server is broken. Proceed to

In this embodiment, as discussed above, the CPW that previously communicated on behalf of the mobile device, while the web server 104 continues to function as a proxy for the mobile device, even after communication with the mobile device has ended. The web server itself is configured to maintain communication with the site. However, in another embodiment, when the mobile device terminates communication with the web server, the communication with the CPW of the web server is disconnected. In any case, after step 630, there may be a new demand or desire to reestablish communication with the web server at some of the mobile devices at step 632. Similar to the determination of whether to establish direct communication with the CPW 106 in step 622 or stop communication with the web server 104 in step 628, the web server (at the portion of the mobile device 102 in step 632). Whether there is a demand or desire to reestablish communication with 104 is determined based on any of a variety of considerations, including, for example, user commands that trigger such activity, considerations for battery power, and the like. Can be. If at step 632 it is determined that server-based communication should be reestablished, the process returns to start step 600. If not, the process represented by FIG. 6 ends at final step 634.

8 and 9, in further embodiments, the operations performed by the web server 104 and the mobile device 102 may be slightly different than those shown in FIGS. 4-7, respectively. More specifically, in some other embodiments, instead of performing steps 408 to 416 between Node B and Node C shown in FIG. 4, the web server 104 involves steps 800 to 814 shown in FIG. 8. It works in a different way. As indicated, proceeding from Node B, instead of performing processing step 408 (and the corresponding step shown in FIG. 5), web server 104 performs steps 800, 802, and 804. In particular, at step 800, the web server 104 determines at step 406 whether a change has occurred between the information just obtained / pooled from the CPW 106 and information previously received from that CPW at a previous point in time. If the change (s) are detected in step 802, then in step 804, the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 places the change information in a change list. If these steps are performed repeatedly with respect to multiple CPWs that the web server 104 is in contact with, then the change information detected with respect to each CPW is organized in a change list, in which case a common change list. Can be named.

Next, in step 806, the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 determines whether the processed information is of high importance or of low importance (eg, low importance). In making this determination, the same considerations as discussed above with respect to step 410 of FIG. 4 may be considered, for which reason step 806 is also labeled step 410 in FIG. 8. Depending on whether the processed information is of high or low importance, the process proceeds to step 808 or 810, respectively. In step 808, once the processed information is determined to be high importance information (eg, information about status updates), the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 indicates that a change of high importance has occurred. The notification is sent to the mobile device 102 via the push channel. Similarly, if it is determined in step 810 that the processed information is low importance information, then the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 may again send a notification via the push channel indicating that a low importance change has occurred. To 102).

Once the notification is sent in step 808 or step 810, in step 812, the front end portion 308 of the web server 104 may then receive a request from the mobile device 102 to send the change information itself. The request may be received at any time determined by the mobile device 102. Often, if the change information is of high importance, the mobile device 102 sends a request for information immediately or soon after receiving the notification in step 808. Conversely, if the change information is of low importance, the mobile device will usually wait until a predetermined time (eg, periodic or aperiodic polling time) for such a request is achieved. For example, a device can only wait 5 minutes for high importance information and 15-30 minutes between requests to download low importance information. In any case, after the request for transmission of the change information is received from the mobile device 102 in step 812, the requested change information is then transmitted by the mobile device 102 by the front end portion 308 of the web server 104. Is sent to). In other embodiments, it is contemplated that all change information may be transmitted over the push channel, but in this example, this change information is not transmitted by the push channel in order to reduce the time that the mobile device is driven to receive the change content. Alternatively, or alternatively, it may be desirable for only high importance change information to be transmitted by the push channel.

If this information is sent in step 814 or if a request for information is not received in step 812 (or at least within a predetermined period of time) or if no change is detected in the information received from CPW 106 in step 802, The process returns to node C (and thus step 418) of FIG. Even if content for uploading to the CPW is not required, the web server 104 will typically continue to pull content from the CPW regardless of whether the content is uploaded to the mobile device 102 client and thus typically repeatedly step 406. Will return to.

In this example, the notification of change information is provided in the same way by the push channel in steps 808 and 812, regardless of whether the change information is of high importance or low importance, but not always. In other embodiments, for example, a notification about a high importance change may be sent more quickly than a notification about a low importance change or in a slightly different manner than a notification about a low importance change. Furthermore, in this example of FIG. 8, the change information transmission in step 814 occurs at a different point in time than the notification transmission in steps 808 and 810, but this need not always be the case. For example, in another embodiment, if the high importance change information is small (e.g., a text message of less than 100 characters), the content may be provided (or even high) with the notification of the high importance change. May serve as a notification of importance change. From the above description, it is clear that in at least some embodiments the operation of the back end portion may be primarily or wholly independent of the operation of the front end portion in terms of individual communication of different portions with the CPW 106 and the mobile device 102. It should be possible. Depending on the embodiment, a variety of different communication types, for example, a pooling or polling, or a communication type including periodic or asynchronous communication, can be used by either end portion regardless of the operation of the other end portion. Thus, the back end portion 306 can constantly pull content from the CPW 106 and send changes to the front end portion 308 independently of what the front end portion is doing. Similarly, the front end portion 308 may wait for a request to push towards the mobile device 102 and download the change content, regardless of what the back end portion 306 is doing at any particular moment or the web server 104. ) And the mobile device.

9, the flow diagram provided therein, in some other embodiments, instead of performing steps 604-609 between node A and node D shown in FIG. 6, the mobile device 102 may perform steps 900-914. It illustrates how to operate in different ways, including. Steps 900-914 performed by the mobile device 102 shown in FIG. 9 are complementary to steps 800-814 performed in particular by the web server 104 shown in FIG. 8. As indicated in FIG. 9, proceeding from node A, instead of performing the receiving step 604 of FIG. 6, the mobile device 102 may receive one or more change (s) in the information provided recently and earlier from the CPW 106. May be received from the web server 104 (sent at one or both of steps 808, 810) that it has been detected. If a notification is received in step 900, the mobile device 102 determines in step 902 whether the notification indicates a change of high importance or low importance.

If it is determined in step 902 that the change is of high importance, then the mobile device 102 determines in step 904 whether high importance change information should be obtained immediately from the web server 104. In some embodiments, high importance change information should always be obtained as soon as possible, while in other embodiments, the mobile device still obtains that information from the web server for a variety of reasons (eg, because the mobile device is low on power). It may be determined that it would be desirable to postpone trying. Assuming that at step 904 the mobile device 102 determines that change information should be obtained immediately, the process immediately sends a request signal to the web server requesting that the high importance change information be provided immediately to the mobile device. Proceed to step 906 of transmitting. In response, at step 908, mobile device 102 receives the finally requested change information (or at least a portion of that information as determined by web server 104) from the web server. In this regard, the performance of step 908 complements the performance of step 814 of FIG.

Alternatively, if it is determined in step 902 that the notification indicates that the change information is of low importance, or in step 904 the mobile device determines that the change information does not need to be obtained immediately (or does not need to be obtained), then the process Proceeds to step 910. In step 910, the mobile device 102 further determines whether a suitable time point for polling the web server 104 has occurred for change information. Such a suitable time point may be a time point that occurs periodically, or in other embodiments, various other considerations (eg, elapsed time since another event or that the mobile device may obtain content information from the web server 104). May be determined by the mobile device 102 based on a user command received to instruct).

If a suitable point in time for polling the web server has not yet occurred at step 910, the process may repeat that step (or proceed to another step in the process) and / or at a different point in time 910 Can be returned to). However, if a suitable time point occurs in step 910, the process proceeds to step 912 where a poll / request signal is sent by the mobile device 102 to the web server 104. Once the signal has been transmitted, the process returns to step 908 where the mobile device 102 receives the requested change information. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, after step 908 is completed, the mobile device 102 is configured to display or output received information by the mobile device 102 to allow review of the information by the user of the mobile device. Continue to 913 Step 913 may be the same as or similar to step 609 of FIG. 6, as indicated.

Usually the change information sent by the web server 104 in step 908 is of greatest interest to the user of the mobile device 102, but this change information is often the CPW 106 prior to processing the information by the web server. Excludes a variety of content (as well as formatting) information that was originally available from. In other words, the information provided by web server 104 may include a variety of content, such as events, recent status information, comments from others, and the like, and mobile device 102 is also naturally a specific standard as part of the user interface. Information may be displayed (eg, the user's name, the CPW that the user contacts, etc.), but a significant amount of content and / or other information may be excluded due to the mediation of the web server 104. For this reason, if the change information is displayed in step 913, the user may determine that it is desirable to obtain not only the change information but also other content (or even formatting) information. Given that the user may wish to obtain such other information, the mobile device may determine whether a user command has been received in subsequent step 914 to obtain other information that was not received from the web server 104 in step 908. Further determine. Such a command may be received, for example, when the user selects an icon, which may have been displayed as part of the change information in step 913, displayed by the mobile device.

If it is determined in step 914 that such a command has been received, the mobile device 102 establishes a direct communication link with the CPW 106 in step 916. This operation of establishing a direct communication link can be the same or similar to the operation associated with step 624 discussed above, and is designed to not only establish a communication link but also derive other information desired by the user (e.g., Standard web-based client-server communication, including input / transmission and / or interfacing with the webpage of CPW 106. Thus, once a direct communication link is established at step 916, at step 918 other information desired by the user is received from the CPW 106. Once step 918 is completed, the process returns to node D and step 610 of FIG. 6, not only if it is determined in step 914 that no user command has been received, but also if a notification is received from web server 104 in step 900. It leads.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the back end portion 306 includes a plurality of plug-ins or processors, each associated with an individual CPW 106. Each plug-in includes application programming interfaces (APIs) for the CPW 106 associated with it. Each plug-in continuously pulls information from each CPW 106 using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). If a change is detected by the plug-in of the back end portion 306, the change is loaded into the queue and the front end portion 308 pushes the notification towards the mobile device 102. All of the plug-ins of the back end portion 306 include, for example, an ID for the source of information (source CPW ID), an account ID of the mobile device (user device), content type, priority, and information. We will continue loading the cues with information formatted according to a common format. For status, for example, the format is: type (STATUS, MOOD, STATUS_AND_MOOD), action (clear status or update status), provider, aggregate service account ID, external ID, friend ID if the update is for a friend, status It can be text, date of publication and time of day. The web server 104 unifieds the feed for each user device (or user account) by combining the content pooled by all plug-ins into a common change list for each individual device (or user account). Build a feed. The content is built over time, and each entry can be time stamped.

The following algorithm can be used to detect changes during server synchronization, where server synchronization is understood to involve the synchronization of the web server 104 with the CPW 106 (in comparison, client synchronization with the mobile device 102). It can be understood to involve synchronization of the same client and web server). The web server 104 program has three numbers: cla, w1, and w2 for each account. cla is a change list anchor, w1 is the start point of the change list window (sample), and w2 is the end point of the change list window (sample). The web server 104 stores a change list portion corresponding to the inside of the windows [w1, w2]. All changes found during server synchronization (ie, the back end portion pulls from the CPW) are stamped with the same synchronization anchor as the current w2 (ie, w2 before incrementing by 1). When the window size reaches or exceeds the maximum window size mw, the program suspends server synchronization (CPW size synchronization). Once suspended, the server will resume server synchronization when a new client poll is received. The remaining variables are client anchor ca and OFF, a flag indicating no synchronization activity. The values of cla, w1, and w2 are updated according to the following state transition rule.

When the client polls for changes, if client anchor ca falls within [w1, w2], partial synchronization will work and web server 104 sends back the corresponding changes within [ca, w2] (and ca Remove the previous change). At the end of synchronization, ca will be updated. When the client polls for changes, if the client anchor falls outside of [w1, w2], a new full sync will occur between the web server 104 and the client program of the mobile device 102. .

Server synchronization (back-end plug-in pooling content for a specific device 102) is thought to be suspended for a specific mobile device 102 account when the window size reaches mw, in which case client polling is absent. If so, some missed pushes (notifications to the device) can cause service outages for the device. It may be desirable to send a push if there are pending changes since the last w2, in which case the push may be sent as long as there are pending changes since w1.

Further, the intermediary web server 104 described herein is a United States named A MOBILE COMPUTING DEVICE AND METHOD WITH ENHANCED POLING MANAGEMENT, filed May 21, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. It is contemplated that it may be desirable to use it with the device polling manager described in provisional application 61 / 180,301.

The picture upload will now be described as an example of uploading content. The mediation web server 104 can be used to optimize the process of uploading photos from the mobile device 102 to several CPWs 106 by caching the photos in the mediation web server 104 memory 302. In this example, mediation web server 104 is a social networking system. An exemplary flow is as follows.

1. the web server front end instructs the back end portion that the user device has uploaded a photo;

2. The web server front end or back end will provide the new picture with a picture URL and a unique picture ID throughout the system;

3. The picture ID is downloaded to the device, in response to which the device client program associates the picture ID with the picture name;

4. The back end part downloads the file via HTTP to a location such as /tmp/uniquephotoid.tmp;

5. A separate back end partial plug-in associated with each target CPW submits work.uploadPhoto for each CPW to upload this photo file;

6. The back end portion provides a report back to the front end portion of the success or failure of photo sharing;

7. The front end can optionally notify the user device of the success or failure;

8. After a predetermined period has elapsed, the picture is deleted.

In operation, a picture from the mobile device 102 is uploaded from the device to the front end portion 308. The front end portion 308 or back end portion 306 mediates the photo for a period of time so that the same photo can be submitted to a website of a different system without requiring the photo to be uploaded again by the mobile device. Caching in web server memory 302. After a certain period, the picture will be deleted. The predetermined period may be any period and is selected according to memory constraints and frequency of use. The period can be, for example, 24 hours, which can be started at the time the picture is uploaded to memory so that the time period can be set when the picture is uploaded, or the time period can be started upon uploading the picture to CPW so that the picture is new. Each time it is uploaded to the CPW, it will be extended.

In one exemplary embodiment, the photo is uploaded from the mobile device 102 to the server front end portion 308 and stored in a temporary storage of a network server, as an action, along with the ID of the specific CPW 106. The front end portion 308 forwards the photos to a plug-in of the back end portion 306 of the server 104, which may be dedicated, for example, to the CPW 106 specified by the mobile device 102. . The network server front end portion 308 also sends a message back to the mobile device 102 that includes the photo ID associated with the stored photo. The picture ID identifies a location where the picture is stored in the web server memory 302 or a pointer to that location. Mobile device 102 associates (maps) the photo ID with the name of the photo. Then, if the mobile device 102 decides to send the same picture to different CPWs (eg, different social networking systems) via the user interface, the mobile device sends the picture ID instead of the actual picture to the web server 104. Will send to. In response, web server 104 will retrieve the picture and forward it to another plug-in dedicated to the other CPW. Once the picture has been deleted from the memory 302, it is believed that an update will be sent to the mobile device 102 to delete the association of the picture name with the picture ID, so the mobile device will not upload the picture. On the other hand, if the picture is no longer stored and the web server 104 receives a request to upload a picture associated with the picture ID, the front end portion 308 will send an error message to the subscriber mobile device and in response the subscriber device will You will be asked to upload the picture again.

In another embodiment, the web server back end portion 306 may determine whether a picture uploaded from the mobile device 102 falls within the required limits (eg, specifications and sizes) of the target CPW (eg, social networking system). Will be determined. Since each plug-in can store a limitation of the CPW for the photo, it is contemplated that this can be handled by the plug-in associated with each CPW when the photo is deleted from the memory 302. If the restriction is met, the back end portion can send a picture up to the target CPW. Otherwise, the picture will be scaled according to the requirements of the CPW. In order to scale and / or scale the photo to the object size, a scaling factor is determined. A particularly preferred algorithm that can be used to determine the scaling factor X is as follows:

x / 100 = ((t-f) / (kc)) ^ (0.5)

From here

x is the scaling percentage

t is the target size of bytes, for example, may be approximately 1 megabyte or less, and preferably less than 200,000 bytes, in one implementation 100,000 bytes.

f is a small fudge factor for file size,

k is a constant factor, which may be less than 1, preferably less than 0.5, and in one embodiment was chosen to be 0.23.

c is the original file size in bytes.

By storing the photo in the web server 104, the server may allow the mobile device to send media to different CPWs at different times while the mobile device uploads the media only once via the LAN or WAN with which the mobile device 102 communicates. By allowing, it helps to reduce power consumption at the device and bandwidth burden on the communication network. In addition, web server 104 may adopt media in a format desired by each CPW, and mobile device 102 need not be aware of or accept this requirement in order to successfully upload media.

It is also contemplated that the photos can be downloaded to the mobile device via an intermediary web server. For example, for an RSS news feed, photos from an RSS content source, along with the news feed summary, are pulled from the news feed by the back end portion. If the back end portion 306 detects that such news information is new, in other words, if the preceding RSS news feed detects that a change has occurred since it was pulled by the back end portion from this CPW, the server 104. The back end portion of will send the appropriately formatted feed to the front end portion 308 for the client mobile device 102. The front end portion 308 will generate a low priority push notification to the client device 102 and the summary and photo will be loaded into the queue for the device 102. When the client device 102 then sends a polling request for content to the front end portion 308, the front end portion will send the contents of the queue including the news feed, which includes the formatted photo and summary. The client program of mobile device 102 will display the summary and related photos on mobile device 102 display 216. The back end portion 306 detects and formats news photos and summaries for the device in this manner, the front end portion 308 notifies the device that the content is available, and responds to a poll request from the device to feed the news feed. Download to the mobile device 102. In addition to the operations described above, in at least one further embodiment, if the input 210 includes a touch sensor on the display (commonly referred to as a touch screen), the user can touch the screen in the summary and photo and the user interface can The CPW associated with the feed summary / photo will be accessed directly via link 110 to load additional information related to the news feed to display 216 for viewing by the user.

It is further contemplated that the client program of mobile device 102 will store some definitions of content types and features for each CPW in connection with the user having a server account. The user interface of the mobile device will depend on the account that the user sets up on the server. For example, suppose a user enters Facebook ^TM and Twitter ^TM in their web server 104 account. When the user interacts with the user interface to construct a message to be uploaded to the CPW, the user interface display presents a selection of "Facebook", "Twitter" or "ALL" for the target CPW to which the message is sent. As the selection is made, the parameters for the message (eg the number of characters) may be different. If the user selects ALL, the length will be shorter than the two CPW limits. Furthermore, it is contemplated that length counts and warnings may be provided. As the user enters text, the remaining characters allowed before the limit is reached are displayed. At some threshold, such as thirty characters, a warning will be displayed. If the limit is exceeded, the remaining characters will advance to a negative count or the user will be prohibited from entering additional characters. If the user changes the target CPW, the limits will vary accordingly. For example, if the Twitter ^™ website is added as a target after the message is generated, the limit will be reduced. If the Twitter ^™ website is deleted as a subject, the limit is increased.

Mobile device 102 generates a user interface display with operating parameters that depend on one or more CPWs that the user device sets up on intermediary web server 104. In the case of a message, a generic message input field is presented on the display for the user to enter text, the upper limit of limits being based on the smallest maximum message size allowed by one or more CPWs selected for the message text. The limit may be retained on the client mobile device. The mobile device client program may generate an alert when the message size reaches within a certain amount of the limit. If more than one CPW is different, the limits are different. Alerts can be generated when content from user interface input fills the message input area and reaches a limit. The client program sends a message to the server front end portion with IDs for one or more CPWs. The back end portion formats the message for one or more target CPWs and uploads the message in a format desired by the CPW. From the above description, it should be apparent that various methods are encompassed by the present invention using a number of different operating steps as discussed above. Additionally, in addition to the specific embodiments discussed above, embodiments using methods having other operational steps in addition to or instead of the operational steps discussed above, as well as steps in various orders and combinations in addition to or instead of the specific order or combination of the steps discussed above. Various other embodiments are also intended to be encompassed by the present invention, including embodiments that utilize the method with the present invention. Furthermore, it should be apparent that the system according to one or more of the embodiments described above may provide enhanced functionality in several respects in terms of facilitating interaction between a mobile device operated by a user and a social networking website. . According to an embodiment, the communication quality between the user and the social networking website, the user-friendly improvement of the social networking website and related transactions experienced by the mobile device user, and / or the efficiency of the communication between the mobile device and such website Any one or more may be improved.

In particular, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the examples and examples contained herein, but include modified forms of the embodiments, including some of the embodiments, and combinations of elements of different embodiments that fall within the scope of the following claims. do.

Claims (27)

A method of facilitating communication between a first content provider website and a mobile device, the method comprising:
Obtaining first information at a web server from the content provider website over a first network, wherein the first information does not include any email message, and the obtaining is performed by a back end portion of the web server. Pulling the first information from the first content provider website;
Processing the first information in at least one of the back end portion and the front end portion of the web server to provide processed first information, wherein the processing includes filtering at least one portion of the first information. Contains a step; And
Sending a notification for new content in the first information from the front end portion of the web server on a push channel established in the first or second network for receipt by the mobile device.
Method for facilitating communication comprising a. The method of claim 1,
Upon obtaining the first information, the back end portion processes the first information to provide a change indication to the front end portion of the web server to generate the processing step. The method of claim 1,
The processing includes (a) placing at least a portion of the first information in a common transmission queue, (b) compressing at least some data, and (c) converting the at least some data into a different format. And one or more steps of. The method of claim 1,
The push channel is established based on the operation of an application program running on the mobile device, the push channel utilizing one or more of transmission control protocol (TCP), extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), and asynchronous communication technology; How to facilitate communication. The method of claim 1,
And the web server further performs communication with at least one of the first content provider website and the mobile device by a plurality of web service calls. The method of claim 1,
If the processing comprises determining that the first portion of the first information has a high importance level, the transmitting comprises a high priority push;
If the processing comprises determining that the second portion of the first information has a low importance level, the transmitting comprises including a low priority push. The method of claim 1,
Further sending the new content from the web server to the mobile device is postponed until the web server receives a poll signal from the mobile device. The method of claim 1,
And wherein the processed first information indicates one or more differences present between the first information and early information received from the first content provider website at the web server. The method of claim 1,
The processed first information includes at least one custom feature of the first content provider website to enable displaying at least a portion of the processed first information on the mobile device. A method of facilitating communication, configured in a manner independent of The method of claim 1,
Wherein the processed first information is configured to be used by the mobile device to generate a display field from which a text or other input may be received from a user upon receipt of the processed first information. Way. The method of claim 1,
Obtaining second information from a second content provider website;
Processing the second information at the web server to provide processed second information; And
Sending a notification of the processed second information from the web server on the push channel for receipt by the mobile device.
The method for facilitating communication further comprising. 12. The method of claim 11,
Processing the first information and the second information forms a set of information indicative of changes that have occurred with respect to the first and second information over a period of time since a prior update. . The method of claim 12,
Each of the processed first information and the processed second information includes: the first content provider website and to enable at least a portion of the processed first information and second information to be displayed on the mobile device; And configured in a manner independent of at least one custom feature of the second content provider website. The method of claim 1,
The web server establishes an authentication with respect to the first content provider website by providing an authentication indication on the first network for receipt by the first content provider website, and in response thereto. And the web server receives back an authentication token from the first content provider website. A method of facilitating communication between a first social networking website and a mobile device, the method comprising:
Obtaining first information from the first social networking website via a first network at a back end portion of a web server;
Processing the first information at the web server to provide processed first information, wherein the processing comprises: generating the first information based on at least one importance level met by at least a portion of the first information. Filtering said at least one portion of information, said at least one portion comprising at least one of contact information, status information, and news information; And
Sending a notification for new content in the first information from a front end portion of the web server on a push channel established in the first or second network for receipt by the mobile device.
Lt; / RTI >
The notification is of high priority if the new content related to the notification includes the status information, and the notification is of low priority if the new content related to the notification includes at least one other type of information. To facilitate communication. 16. The method of claim 15,
Further sending the new content from the web server to the mobile device is postponed until the web server receives a poll signal from the mobile device. delete delete delete A method of facilitating communication between a first social networking website and a mobile device, the method comprising:
Obtaining first information from the social networking website via a first network at a web server;
Processing the first information at the web server to provide processed first information, the processing comprising filtering at least a portion of the first information, wherein the processed first information Indicate a difference between the first information and the preceding information previously received from the first social networking website;
Sending a notification from the web server for receipt by the mobile device, wherein if the processing comprises determining that the first portion of the first information has a high importance level; The step of immediately providing a high priority notification for the processed first information on a push channel existing between the web server and the mobile device; And
Waiting for a download request from the mobile device
Method for facilitating communication comprising a. 21. The method of claim 20,
If the processing comprises determining that the second portion of the first information has a low importance level, the processing includes the second portion of the first information or the processed first information. Storing the corresponding second portion for a period of time prior to transmitting the corresponding second portion of the processed first information for receipt by the mobile device. 21. The method of claim 20,
Obtaining second information from a second social networking website via the first network or additional network at the web server;
Processing the second information at the web server to provide processed second information, wherein the processed second information is further added between the second information and additional prior information previously received from the second social networking website. Indicates the difference of-; And
Transmitting at least a portion of the processed second information from the web server for receipt by the mobile device
The method for facilitating communication further comprising. The method of claim 22,
The processed first information and second information may include at least a portion of the processed first information and second information independent of respective formatting features of the first social networking website and the second social networking website. And to allow the mobile device to display. 21. The method of claim 20,
And the first information does not include any email message. A method of facilitating communication between a mobile device and a plurality of social networking websites including a first social networking website and a second social networking website, the method comprising:
Pooling first information from the first social networking website and second information from the second social networking website onto a web server via at least one first network;
Processing the first information and second information at the web server to generate processed first information and second information, wherein the processing comprises filtering at least a portion of the first information and the second information. -Comprising the steps of; And
Sending a notification from the web server about the availability of the processed first and second information for receipt by the mobile device
Lt; / RTI >
The processed first information and second information are allowed to allow the mobile device to request the processed first information and second information, and by the first social networking website and the second social networking website. Configured to display both the processed first information and the processed second information when received in a standardized manner independent of specific formatting features for the first and second information provided, How to facilitate communication. 26. The method of claim 25,
And the processed first information is indicative of at least one of a contact list and a status update. 26. The method of claim 25,
Processing the first information and the second information includes determining whether portions of the first and second information are of high importance or low importance.

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