KR20070023780A - Device management system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention include apparatus, methods, and computer products that allow a user to customize features available after booting of the apparatus. Various embodiments may include a startup module configured to initiate background processes during booting of the device based on a profile module suitable for storing profiles and features specified in the stored profiles.

Description

Device management system and method

The present invention relates generally to the area of electronic devices, and more particularly to methods and systems for managing components that may act on an electronic device.

Current electronic devices, such as mobile phones or cellular telephones, generally include various functions or features that operate in the background to enable users to use such functions and features when desired. Thus, for example, a mobile phone may be provided with the ability to communicate with other devices via an infrared data port. The software required for such communication may be possible through a background process running on a processor in the mobile phone. Therefore, background processes should be started even if they rarely use these features.

Such background processors are typically started during the boot of the device. For example, when a user powers on a mobile phone, the processor starts a series of background processes to enable all the features of the mobile phone. The starter server component of a mobile phone may have a static list of elements, all of which are started each time the device is booted. As the number of such elements and the complexity of the devices increase, more elements need to be started during booting, which results in a significant increase in boot time.

In existing devices, the static list of elements is typically configured to support all boot-ups for all users. Thus, the list includes all the features and functions available for the device. However, from the user's point of view, there are too many elements in this list, many of which are rarely used even if they are used by the user.

1 is a schematic illustration of the structure of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of some sub-modules of the common element module of FIG. 1.

3 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a profile management structure.

4 illustrates a profile table according to one embodiment of the invention.

5 and 6 illustrate a profile management interface according to one embodiment of the invention.

One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a profiles module suitable for storing one or more profiles, each of which represents a set of features, at least one of the profiles being customizable by a user and associated with a background process. It is a service that has at least one characteristic. In a particular embodiment, the electronic device further comprises a startup manager suitable for initiating a set of background processes during booting of the electronic device, wherein the set of background processes is characterized by a set of selected profiles of the profiles. Corresponds to the

In another embodiment, a method of managing an electronic device is provided. The method includes accessing a selected profile in a profile module having one or more profiles, each of the profiles representing a set of features, at least one of the profiles being customizable by a user, and a background process Having at least one feature that is a service associated with the; And initiating a set of background processes during booting of the device, the set of background processes corresponding to the features of the set of the selected profile.

In another embodiment, a method of managing an electronic device includes storing a profile in a profiles module, the profile representing a set of user selection features, at least one of the features being a service associated with a background process; And initiating a set of background processes during boot of the device, wherein the set of background processes corresponds to features of the set of the stored profile.

In another embodiment, a method of managing an electronic device comprises providing a set of features to a user, wherein at least one of the features is customizable by the user and is a service associated with a background process. The method also includes receiving inputs from a user, wherein the inputs involve selecting or deselecting one or more of the features.

The following description of some embodiments will describe the invention in more detail with reference to the drawings.

As described above, existing systems generally allow to start background processes from a static list that enables a set of features including all features available on the device. "Features" are phones such as wireless local area network (WLAN) functionality, Bluetooth, Global Positioning System (GPS) and other features available in electronic devices such as mobile phones. This includes non-telephony services. Many of these features are little or no need for a particular user. For example, a mobile phone may be provided with features that enable the phone to communicate with other devices, such as through an infrared data port. The primary user for such a mobile phone may not require such features at all. You may want other services at a certain time, but other services may not. Thus, the initiation of a background process each time enabling such a feature unnecessarily increases the boot time for such a device.

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems that allow a user to customize features available after booting. In this regard, a function is provided that allows a user to select or not select features, services and / or background processes by selecting or manipulating a profile. Thus, the user can select the features available on the device. Background processes for those features that are not selected by the user are not initiated during boot, thereby increasing the available memory while reducing boot time and power consumption. It should be noted that features that are not selected will still be available in future devices. In order to access these features in the future, the user can activate them by selecting the appropriate profile. Since the device automatically uses the last activation profile during boot, the desired set of features is activated during boot.

1 illustrates the structure of a system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The system includes an application user interfaces module 100 that includes user interface (UI) elements. Such UI elements may be customized for other user-interface sizes and styles, and customized elements may be needed for other devices. For example, one set of UI elements may be provided with a small display area for use in a mobile phone, while the second set of UI elements may be used in a personal digital assistant (PDA). A larger display can be provided to be. A set of UI elements can include applications, application views or application controls. The UI element may be used by one application or in some cases by a plurality of applications.

The system also includes common components and application services module 200. This module 200 provides services primarily for use by application engines. Such services may include an alarm server, a logging engine, a system-wide task scheduler, a system agent, and converters between various data and standard formats. In addition, the common elements and application services module 200 may include an application program interface (API) for supporting various applications.

User interface frameworks module 300 is provided to support various user interfaces for an apparatus. This module 300 includes software for supporting graphics and a framework for user interfaces associated with various applications of the device.

The system implements an operating system 400 that interfaces with various applications running on the device. In the described embodiment, the operating system is a Symbian operating system that is commonly used in many wireless and handheld devices. For more information on the Symbian operating system, please visit www.symbian.com . Operating system 400 includes basic base services for the device, including various services, libraries, protocols, and frameworks.

Operating system 400 is connected to a set of provider modules 500. Provider modules 500 may include files, libraries, or other software related to applications external to operating system 400. Additionally, software module 600 may be accessed by operating system 400 to support specific hardware of the device. Thus, operating system 400 may be provided to support general purpose devices, while software module 600 may provide additional functionality to support a particular device.

2 is a schematic diagram of the common elements and application services module 200 of FIG. 1 with some of the sub-modules shown. In particular, common elements and application services module 200 includes device startup manager 210 and core services module 220. A device startup manager 210 is provided to manage the start-up or boot-up of the device. In particular, device startup manager 210 is suitable for determining which background processes need to be started during boot. In this regard, device startup manager 210 accesses the Profiles module, which stores one or more profiles. The profiles module may be integrated into the device startup manager 210 or may be implemented in another module described below with respect to FIG. 3. Profiles The profiles in the module represent a list of features or background processes that are started during boot. In addition, each profile specifies a plurality of user adjustable operating characteristics such as volume or ring tones. Each profile may be different and at least one of the profiles may be selected by the user such that one or more features and background processes may or may not be selected for use, as described below with reference to FIGS. 4-6. Can be customized.

The device startup manager 210 is suitable for delivering background processes started during boot up to the core services module 220. The core services module 220 includes general purpose engines such as to retrieve items, links or files stored on the device. Core services module 220 is provided to manage initialization data and settings for various applications and background processes.

With reference to FIG. 3, management of profiles will now be described. Profiles user interface 110 is provided to allow a user to select, modify, add, delete, or otherwise customize a profile. The profiles interface 110 can provide a user with a graphical display, such as described and described exemplarily below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The profiles user interface 110 interacts with various modules of the device to provide the user with an appropriate display. The profiles user interface 110 also passes inputs from the user to the appropriate system module. Some of the various modules 310, 320, 330, 420, 220, 230, 240, 250, 410 are described in FIG. 3 and described below. In a particular embodiment, the profiles user interface 110 is divided into a profiles interface module and a profile dialog module. In this regard, the profile dialog module can be launched from other applications through a notification framework. In addition, the profiles user interface 110 may include the profiles module described above to store one or more profiles representing background processes that are started.

Profiles user interface 110 may communicate with platform-specific UI library 310 that includes platform-specific implementations of graphical elements. In this regard, platform-specific UI library 310 allows profiles user interface 110 to present the appropriate graphical display to a user based on the current platform or device. The platform-specific UI library 310 may reside in the UI frameworks module 300 shown in FIG. 1.

Skin framework module 320 may provide one or more changeable graphical layers over a user interface presented to the user. Skin framework module 320 may include layouts and elements for a specified visual appearance. In addition, the skin framework module 320 may exist in the UI frameworks module 300 shown in FIG. 1.

A touch screen and keypad lock module 330 may be provided to lock or unlock the keypad or touch screen input. In addition, the touch screen and keypad lock module 330 may be present in the UI frameworks module 300 shown in FIG. 1.

The application engines module 120 residing in the application user interfaces module 100 of FIG. 1 may be provided to support various applications. The application engines module 120 provides access to application data of core applications. It may include APIs to provide. APIs enable third party applications to integrate with core applications.

The profiles user interface 110 may include the core services module 220 (also shown in FIG. 2) and the application services module 260 in the common elements and application services module 200 of FIG. 1. It can communicate with the various modules present. As described in FIG. 1, the application services module 260 may include an alarm server, a logging engine, a system-wide task scheduler, a system agent, and converters between various data and standard formats.

In addition, the DRM engines module 230 is accessed by the profiles user interface 110 to provide management of various rights and keys. For example, the DRM engines module 230 provides support for encrypting or decrypting content.

In the context of mobile phones, a telephony security module 240 is provided to control and manage security associated with various applications. For example, telephony security module 240 may manage data and access related to the use of Personal Identification Numbers (PIN).

Multimedia UI module 250 that includes platform-specific application user interfaces may be accessed by profiles user interface 110. This module 250 provides support for the specific functionality of various applications as required by the UI layers.

4 illustrates a profile table according to an embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, the profiles module may store each of a plurality of profiles 701-706, each profile defining settings for a plurality of conditions. Conditions may include operating characteristics 710 and services 720.

With respect to services 720, each profile 701-706 includes the state of services 720 as either "on" or "off". This state indicates whether the user wants a function for such a service. Thus, if the user is in an office environment, an "Indoor" profile 701 may be selected. In this regard, the user has selected Bluetooth and WLAN, while the GPS and Compass functions have not been selected. On the other hand, if the user is in a remote area, the “Outdoor” profile 702 may be selected, thereby providing the user with GPS and compass functionality, while Bluetooth and WLAN are not selected.

5 and 6, the management of the profile will now be described, including services that require background processes to be started during boot from the user's point of view. When a user wants to customize, update a profile, or select or deselect a service, for example, the user can profile through a menu tree using a Turkish screen or keypad commonly used in many services. You can access the menu. Once the profile menu has been accessed by the user, the user may be provided with a display of options, such as those described in the example screen shot 730 of FIG. 5. In this example, the user is provided with a profile selection for selection. For example, a “CUSTOM” profile (currently selected in FIG. 5) may be provided that may correspond to the settings corresponding to the “CUSTOM” profile 706 shown in FIG. 4.

Alternative profiles may be provided as options in the profile menu. Alternative profiles may include one or more factory-installed profiles corresponding to various groups of features. For example, a "User B" profile 705 may be provided that includes a minimum of features and services 720 and therefore the fastest boot, while the "User A" profile provides for maximum functionality to the user. All services 720 selected may be provided. Additional options may include profiles previously created by the user, such as "Indoor" and "Outdoor".

Options may be provided to allow the user to create a new, customized profile. In FIG. 5, the option is provided to the user as “CUSTOM”. If the user selects this option, the user may be provided with a screen shot as shown in FIG. 6, which is an option for selecting or deselecting a group of features or any feature of the device. To the user. Firstly, a user may be provided with a list of all features in addition to the various operating features available in the device, with selections corresponding to the current configuration. Thus, in the example of FIG. 6, a screen may be provided that shows that the Bluetooth feature has been selected for the user, while the GPS and compass features have been deselected. By scrolling up and down, the user can review, select, or deselect each feature in the list and adjust operating characteristics, such as a ring tone. Once the user has completed the selection and deselection of the features, the profile may be stored in the Profiles module described above, which is optionally presented to the user in the list shown in FIG. 5.

Thus, if the current activation profile is a "User A" profile, certain services 720 may be deselected and disabled when the user changes the "custom" profile in addition to the change in operating features 710. For example, in the embodiment described in FIG. 4, GPS and compass services have been disabled. When the user reboots the device, background processes related to GPS and compass services are not started, which can result in faster booting and more available memory.

In one embodiment, booting the device uses the profile that was last activated when the device was shut down. Once booting is complete, the availability of the services can be controlled by changing the profiles. Thus, services can be started or stopped when the profile is changed. In some embodiments, when a user changes profiles, the selected services may not be available until the device is rebooted. For example, if the current profile is a "Custom" profile and the user changes to a "Car" profile, the GPS service may not be available immediately, because the background needed for that service. This is because the process did not start. Thus, when the device is rebooted, the device startup manager accesses the "Car" profile and starts background processes for Bluetooth and GSP services.

It is important to note that the features available for the user to select or deselect may not include any features needed for the device to operate. Thus, even if the user deselects all the provided features, the device can still operate properly.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it should be understood that various modifications and combinations are possible and may be considered within the scope and spirit of the appended claims. Accordingly, it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the precise summary and disclosures presented herein.

Claims (22)

In an electronic device, A profiles module suitable for storing one or more profiles, Each of said profiles represents a set of features, At least one of the profiles is customizable by a user and has at least one feature which is a service associated with a background process. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device A startup manager suitable for starting a set of background processes during booting of the electronic device, The set of background processes corresponds to features of a set of a selected one of the profiles. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device A user interface module suitable for receiving inputs from a user, wherein the inputs Electronic device related to the selection or deselection of one or more of said features. The method of claim 1, wherein the features are An electronic device comprising non-telephony services. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device An electronic device, characterized in that a wireless device. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device An electronic device, characterized in that a mobile phone. The method of claim 1, wherein the profiles module And a user interface suitable for a user to select one of the profiles. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface is The electronic device suitable for a user to select one or more features and include in the customized profile. In the method for managing an electronic device, Accessing a selected profile in a profile module having one or more profiles, each of the profiles representing a set of features, at least one of the profiles being customizable by a user, and associated with a background process Having at least one feature; And Initiating a set of background processes during booting of the device, wherein the set of background processes includes corresponding to features of the set of the selected profile. The method of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is A management method, characterized in that the wireless device. The method of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is Management method, characterized in that the mobile phone. The method of claim 9, wherein the profiles module is A user interface suitable for a user to select one of the profiles. The method of claim 9, wherein the profiles module is A user interface suitable for a user to create a customized profile. The method of claim 13, wherein the user interface is And wherein the user is adapted to select one or more features and to include in the customized profile. A program product containing machine readable program code for execution by a machine, Accessing a selected profile in a profile module having one or more profiles, each of the profiles representing a set of features, at least one of the profiles being customizable by a user; And Initiating a set of background processes during booting of the device, wherein the set of background processes includes corresponding to features of the set of the selected profile. The method of claim 15, wherein the electronic device is A program product, characterized in that a wireless device. The method of claim 15, wherein the electronic device is Program product, characterized in that the mobile phone. The module of claim 15, wherein the profiles module is And a user interface suitable for a user to select one of the profiles. The module of claim 15, wherein the profiles module is A program product comprising a user interface suitable for a user to create a customized profile. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the user interface is A program product suitable for a user to select one or more features and include in the customized profile. In the method for managing an electronic device, Storing a profile in a profiles module, wherein the profile represents a set of user-selected features, at least one of the features being a service associated with a background process; And Initiating a set of background processes during booting of the device, wherein the set of background processes corresponds to features of the set of the stored profile. In the method for managing an electronic device, Providing a set of features to a user, wherein at least one of the features is customizable by the user and is a service associated with a background process; And Receiving inputs from a user, wherein the inputs comprise selecting or deselecting one or more of the features.

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