GB2440379A

GB2440379A - Transfer of software application from mobile communication device to connected PC

Info

Publication number: GB2440379A
Application number: GB0614971A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas James Olivier; Sandeep Sharma
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2006-07-27
Filing date: 2006-07-27
Publication date: 2008-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 2026-07-27
Also published as: GB2440379B; GB0614971D0

Abstract

A mobile communication device 101 comprises mass storage with a software application stored thereon. When the mobile communication device 101 is connected to a computing device (PC) 105, e.g. via USB cable 103, initiation of the software application results in data being transferred between the mobile communication device 101 and the computing device 105. The software application may include an installation program for bundled software that enables data synchronization between the mobile communication device 101 and the connected PC 105, and the installation program may be transferred from the mobile communication device 101 to the PC 105. Thus, the mobile communication device 101 always has a backup copy of the bundled software so that it is possible to reinstall the software to the PC 105 and, for instance, a CD-ROM 113 and/or internet connection 117 is not required.

Description

* 2440379

IMPROVEMENTS IN SO FT WARE DISTRIBUTION

The present invention relates to improvements in software distribution.

In particular the present invention relates to an improved mobile communication device and method of providing a software application associated with the mobile communication device.

When a customer purchases a mobile communication device, such as a mobile telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA), the device is supplied with a set of bundled software that provides a software application that helps the customer keep data on the device synchronised with data on a computer.

For example, the data to be synchronised may be a list of contact details, diary dates or a list of up and coming tasks, etc. The provided software may also allow content to be added to the mobile communication device, such as audio files in the MP3 format, for

example.

Figure 1 shows a known arrangement whereby a mobile telephone 101 is connected using an interface cable 103 connected to a personal computer (PC) 105 via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port 107. The PC also has a monitor 109 connected to display relevant information and data, and a keyboard 111.

The bundled software is usually supplied in the form of a CD-ROM 113, which includes an installation program that the customer uses to install a PC suite application on a PC using a CD-ROM drive 115. The installation sofIware, when installed, provides the necessary software drivers and application to run on the PC so data can be accessed on the mobile device via the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. This allows data to be synchronised between the device 101 and the PC 105 and for a backup copy of the data to be stored separately from the device 101.

If at a later date, the customer decides to update their home PC for a different model, it is required that they reinstall the bundled software.

However, if the CD-ROM has been misplaced, the customer is then required to access the internet 117 in order to download a backup copy of the bundled software from the device manufacturers website. Occasionally, the manufacturer may no longer supply the required bundled software due to the device being discontinued, or may require that the customer repurchase the software (either in downloadable format or by purchasing a new CD-ROM) at an additional cost. Also, the customer may not be able to access the Internet due to technical problems, or because an Internet account has not yet been set-up on the newly purchased PC.

In these circumstances it is not possible for the customer to access a version of the bundled software and so cannot reinstall a working version of the PC suite application in order to synchronise data between the device and the PC.

The present invention aims to overcome, or at least alleviate, some or all of the above-mentioned problems.

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In one aspect, the present invention provides a mobile communication device adapted to provide a software application associated with the mobile communication device, the mobile communication comprising a mass storage device with the application stored thereon, the mobile communication device adapted to be connected to a computing device, wherein the application is provided such that, upon initiation of the application, data can be transferred between the mobile communication device and the computing device.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of providing a software application associated with a mobile communication device comprising the steps of: storing the application on a mass storage device associated with the mobile communication device, connecting the mobile communication device to a computing device, and providing the application such that, upon initiation of the application, data can be transferred between the mobile communication device and the computing device.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a known system for transferring software to a computing device; Figure 2 shows a mobile communication device adapted to perform an embodiment of the present invention;

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Figure 3 shows an operational flow chart according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 shows an operational flow chart according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIRST EMBODIMENT

In this first embodiment, a mobile communication device is provided that is a true composite USB (Universal Serial Bus) device. That is, the mobile is a device that can act as any one of a number of different types of devices when connected to a computer host via the USB port. In terms of the host computer to which it is connected, the device can be identified as any one of a number of different types of devices. The device is recognised by USB interface descriptors, which include: mass storage, video, audio, custom etc. The device does not need to manually switch between the different interfaces, but provides the available interface when the connected computer requests it.

That is, any of the interfaces on the device are available to be used at the request of a computer host at any time.

Figure 2 shows some of the components of a mobile telephone 201.

The mobile telephone 201 has a transceiver 203 to enable receipt and transmission of messages and telephone calls via an air interface (not shown).

Incoming messages are received by a SlIM card 205, which is housed within the mobile telephone 201.

The SIM card 205 acts upon instructions received via encrypted messages from the network and outputs instructions to a micro-controller 207.

The SIM card 205 is enabled to do this by programming using known systems such as SilvI Toolkit and JavaSIM. Connected to the controller is a memory device 209, which includes E2PROM and a cache memory.

Also connected to the micro-controller 207 is a display 213 via a display driver 211. The display 213 provides information relevant to the current call status of the mobile telephone and allows the user to see text as it is entered via a keypad 215. A communications bus 223 links most of the components within the mobile telephone 201, and a battery 217 is used to provide power to all the components of the mobile telephone via power connection lines (not shown).

The mobile telephone has a number of different application programs stored within its SIM card 205. Alternatively, the application programs may be stored in any other memory device. The different applications can be initiated using the method of accessing a menu screen and scrolling down to the required application as in the prior art. The applications concerned may be, for example, a calendar, a text editor, contacts list, a to-do list or any other suitable application that may be initiated on a mobile telephone. It is data within these applications that is synchronised with data on a connected PC.

The mobile is connected via an output interface 219 using a USB cable 221.

The cable is plugged into a USB port of a PC.

The mobile device 201 further includes a mass storage device 225, which is connected via the communications bus 223 to the micro-controller 207. Any suitable type of mass storage device may be implemented within

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the mobile device. In this embodiment, the mass storage device is a flash memory drive. The drive may be of any suitable size, but at least large enough to incorporate the manufacturer's bundled software and an autonm program.

The mobile telephone is supplied to the customer with the manufacturer's bundled software, or "PC suite", stored within the mass storage device 225. This bundled software includes a software application that enables data synchronisation between the mobile and a connected PC, and further allows files to be transferred to the mobile. It should be noted that the software application might not be limited to just these functions, but may also include other functions for interaction between a PC and a mobile.

As the mobile telephone always has a backup copy of the bundled software available, it is always possible to reinstall the software onto a new PC even if the original CD-ROM is no longer available and an Internet connection is not available. One particular example of how this is done is provided below with reference to Figure 3.

The PC onto which the bundled software is to be installed may be in one of two known modes. That is, the PC may be in either a mode where autorun programs are automatically run upon detection, or a mode where they are not. This mode is easily changed by accessing the registry in the PC.

Within the mass storage device of the mobile device are one or more executable programs provided in an autorun format. In this embodiment, the autorun program is a file named "autorun.inf" that includes one or more

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executable programs that are to be executed upon detection of the autorun.inf file.

With reference to Figure 3, a composite mobile device is connected to a PC via the USB port. If the autorun feature is enabled at step S301, the device is automatically recognised by the PC as having a mass storage device interface, and so accesses the mass storage device. Upon accessing the mass storage device, the PC will detect and initiate the "autorun.inf' file, as shown at step S303. The execution of the list of programs within the "autorun.inf' file is initiated at step S307.

If, on the other hand, the autorun feature is not enabled at step S301, the user of the mobile device can initiate the "autorun.inf' program manually at step S305 by accessing the mass storage device by an appropriate menu selection using the PC and manually selecting the "autorun.inf' file. The execution of the list of programs within the "autorun.inf' file is then initiated at step S307.

The first program in the "autorun.inf' file determines if the software application has previously been installed on the PC. A check is made at step S309 in the registry of the computer to see if the application is already installed on the PC. If it is determined at step SI 11 that the application has not been installed, the program attempts to transfer the installation software required to install the software application to the PC. For example, the software is provided in the form of a "install.exe" file, which when executed installs the software application and all associated drivers. If it is determined at step Si 13 that the application has not previously been installed on the PC, the installation program is transferred at step Si 15 and the application is installed at step SI! 7. The process then ends at step Si 19.

If it is determined at step SI 13 that the installation program has already been transferred, a message will be provided showing the user that the identical installation program is already provided on the PC. At step S121, the user is provided with an option to install the software. If the user selects the option to install, the installation software is executed and the software application is installed at step S 123. The process ends at step S 125. If the user decides not to install the software application at this time, the process ends at step S 127.

If it is determined at step Sill that the application has already been installed, the process ends at step SI 29.

The following description describes how the composite device operates when the application has already been installed on the PC. That is, the software application and software drivers have been installed so data on the mobile device can be synchronised with data on the PC.

The installed application includes a daemon process, which enables the application to detect the device when it is connected to the PC. Upon detection, the software application is initiated enabling the user to carry out any of the data synchronisation tasks that are available within the application, or transfer data files, for example. Once the software application is initiated, the PC will recognise the mobile device as a custom device, and in particular as the custom device associated with the software application.

SECOND EMBODIMENT

The same internal components as shown in Figure 2 are also provided in the mobile device of this second embodiment. However, the mobile device of this embodiment is a multi-interface (non-composite device). That is, the mass storage device within the mobile device can only be detected when the non-composite device is manually switched to a USB mass storage device interface mode. A user is provided with a menu display on the mobile device giving a selection of various available USB interface modes for the device, such as custom mode and mass storage device mode. The user may then select the appropriate interface mode depending on the application the mobile device is to be used.

A flow diagram of the process is shown in Figure 4.

At step S401, the device is shown to be in the USB interface mass storage mode when it is connected to the PC. The process then moves to step S301 in Figure 3, as shown at step S403.

A step S405, the device is shown not to be in the USB interface mass storage mode when it is connected to the PC. In this case, during the process of enumeration when the USB device is connected, the PC will not recognise the connected mobile device and so will not send a "set_configuration request" to the connected device. The operating software in the mobile device detects the absence of this request within a pre-determined specified time limit. This detection is enabled by the operation of inserting the USB conjiector into the PC USB port. The insertion of the connector triggers a timer within the mobile device. The timer provides a time limit for receiving the "set _configuration request" message. If the message is not received within the pre-defined time limit, the mobile device displays a prompt on the mobile device display to indicate to the user that the USB interface mode of the mobile device needs to be changed in order for the mass storage device to be accessed, as shown at step S407. The process then moves to step S301 in Figure 3, as shown at step S403. The process for transferring and installing the software then follows the same process as that described in relation to the first embodiment.

In situations where the software application is already installed on the PC host, but the mobile device is not in the custom USB interface mode, the software application may prompt the user by displaying a message on the PC display to change the USB interface mode of the connected device from mass storage device interface mode to custom interface mode so that data may be synchronised. The detection of the USB interface mode of the mobile device may be carried out either by a daemon process running in association with the software application when the application has not been fully initiated, or as part of the software application when it is running.

FURTHER EMBODIMENTS

It will be understood that embodiments of the present invention are described herein by way of example only and that various changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Further, it will be understood that the USB connection need not be a hardwired connection, but could be via a wireless USB device utilising a wireless medium, such as, for example Bluetooth.

Further, it will be understood that the software application could be initiated on the PC and executed from its location on the mobile device rather than on the PC host. That is, the software application, or a customised version of it, is stored in a PC compatible executable binary format (i.e. there is no need for installation) within the mass storage device on the mobile device.

The software application is initiated by either double clicking the.exe application program using the PC, or by initiating the application from within an autorun program.

Further, it will be understood that any type of computing system may be used, and any type of operating system may be used on the computer system connected to the mobile communication device. For example, the autorun procedure is not limited to the Windows operating system but can be realised using any similar programs available on any other operating systems.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A mobile communication device adapted to provide a software

application associated with the mobile communication device, the mobile communication comprising a mass storage device with the application stored thereon, the mobile communication device adapted to be connected to a computing device, wherein the application is provided such that, upon initiation of the application, data can be transferred between the mobile communication device and the computing device.

2. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the application is stored in the form of an installation program, and the mobile communication device is adapted such that, when connected to a computing device, the mobile communication device is identifiable as a mass storage device by the computing device, and further adapted such that the mobile communication device can transfer the installation program to the computing device when the mobile communication device is connected to the computing device.

3. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the application is stored in an executable binary format,

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the mobile communication device is adapted such that, when connected to a computing device, the mobile communication device is identifiable as a mass storage device by the computing device, and further adapted such that the application is executed using the stored executable binary format.

4. The mobile communication device of claim 1 further adapted to automatically switch between a first mode and second mode, such that, when in the first mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a mass storage device by the computing device and, when in the second mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a custom device by the computing device.

5. The mobile communication device of claim 4 further adapted to connect to the computing device, and display on a display associated with the computing device an option to enable the mobile communication device to be identified as a mass storage device by the computing device, and be identified as a mass storage device by the computing device upon selection of the option.

6. The mobile communication device of claim 1 further adapted to manually switch between a first mode and second mode, such that, when in the first mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a mass storage device by the computing device and, when in the second mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a custom device by the computing device.

7. The mobile communication device of claim 6 further adapted to display a prompt to switch the mobile communication device from the first mode to the second mode upon detection by the mobile communication device that the mobile communication device is not in the second mode.

8. The mobile communication device of claim I further comprising a predefined executable program stored on the mass storage device.

9. The mobile communication device of claim 6 further adapted to automatically execute the predefined executable program when the computing device identifies the mobile communication device as a mass storage device.

10. The mobile communication device of claim 8 further adapted to execute the predefined executable program by manually accessing the mass storage device after identification of the mobile communication device as a mass storage device.

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11. The mobile communication device of claim 8, wherein the predefined executable program is adapted to detennine that the application has not previously been provided and subsequently transfer the installation program.

12. The mobile communication device of claim 11, wherein the predefined executable program is adapted to install the application on the computing device after the installation program has been transferred.

13. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the connection between the mobile communication device and the computing device is via a Universal Serial Bus.

14. The mobile communication device of claim 13 further adapted to transfer the installation program to the computing device over a hard-wired medium.

15. The mobile communication device of claim 13 further adapted to transfer the installation program to the computing device over a wireless medium.

16. A method of providing a software application associated with a mobile communication device comprising the steps of: storing the application on a mass storage device associated with the mobile communication device, connecting the mobile communication device to a computing device, and providing the application such that, upon initiation of the application, data can be transferred between the mobile communication device and the computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of: storing the application in the foi-m of an installation program, configuring the mobile communication device such that, when connected to the computing device, the mobile communication device is identifiable as a mass storage device by the computing device, and transferring the installation program from the mobile communication device to the computing device when the mobile communication device is connected to the computing device.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of: storing the application in an executable binary format, configuring the mobile communication device such that, when connected to a computing device, the mobile communication device is identifiable as a mass storage device by the computing device, and executing the application using the stored executable binary format.

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19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of automatically switching the mobile communication device between a first mode and second mode, such that, when in the first mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a mass storage device by the computing device and, when in the second mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a custom device by the computing device.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of: connecting the mobile communication device to the computing device, displaying on a display associated with the computing device an option to enable the mobiJe communication device to be identified as a mass storage device by the computing device, and enabling the mobile communication device to be identified as a mass storage device by the computing device upon selection of the option.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of manually switching the mobile communication device between a first mode and second mode, such that, when in the first mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a mass storage device by the computing device and, when in the second mode, the mobile communication device is identified as a custom device by the computing device.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of displaying a prompt on the mobile communication device to switch the mobile communication device from the first mode to the second mode upon detection by the mobile communication device that the mobile communication device is not in the second mode.

23. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of storing a predefined executable program on the mass storage device.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of automatically executing the predefined executable program when the computing device identifies the mobile communication device as a mass storage device.

25. The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of executing the predefined executable program by manually accessing the mass storage device afler identification of the mobile communication device as a mass storage device.

26. The method of claim 23 further comprising the steps of the predefined executable program determining that the application has not previously been provided and transferring the installation program.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of the predefined executable program installing the application on the computing device after the installation program has been transferred.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein the connection between the mobile communication device and the computing device is via a Universal Serial Bus.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising the step of transferring the installation program from the mobile communication device to the computing device over a hard-wired medium.

30. The method of claim 28 further comprising the step of transferring the installation program from the mobile communication device to the computing device over a wireless medium.