Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W99/00—Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
  • G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
  • G06F16/95—Retrieval from the web
  • G06F16/957—Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
  • G06F16/9574—Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation of access to content, e.g. by caching
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/01—Protocols
  • H04L67/02—Protocols based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/01—Protocols
  • H04L67/04—Protocols specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/50—Network services
  • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
  • H04L67/564—Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/50—Network services
  • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
  • H04L67/565—Conversion or adaptation of application format or content
  • H04L67/5651—Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/50—Network services
  • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
  • H04L67/568—Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
  • H04W88/02—Terminal devices

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a communications system, mobile device therefor and methods of storing pages on a mobile device. It is particularly concerned with aspects that might be deemed to be within the purview of a browser and to downloading information into mobile devices, such as mobile telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptop computers and the like.
• mobile devices such as mobile telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptop computers and the like.
• WAP Wireless Application Protocol
• SIM Subscriber Identification Module
• a typical browsing operation of a mobile device is represented schematically in figure 1.
• the telephone 1 has a SIM card 2 with its own browser.
• the user of the mobile telephone 1 seeking some form of online information or data (e.g. a web page) uses the keypad on the telephone 1 to request that information.
• the telephone In case of WAP, the telephone first checks to see if it already has an open connection to the WAP gateway. If it does not have such a connection, it dials up a provider to obtain the necessary connection. If it does have such a connection, then it uses the WAP protocols.
• the information request is translated into a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) request by the WAP Gateway and a request is sent over the internet.
• URL Uniform Resource Locator
• this request involves the SIM generating a necessary request byte code in form of a SM which is sent to the Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) of the service provider (e.g. Telecom Operator). On the mobile operator side, this is passed on to a Wireless Internet Gateway (WIG). The information request is translated into a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) request by the WIG and a request is sent over the internet / intranet.
• SMSC Short Message Service Centre
• WIG Wireless Internet Gateway
• the URL request is forwarded, over the Internet / Intranet, as a normal HTTP request to the relevant server 5 on which the requested WML content is stored.
• the content of the retrieved page retrieved is in textual Wireless Markup Language (WML) code and is transmitted over the Internet / Intranet back to WIG 4. There it is compiled and converted into bytecode and sent back to the telephone 1 , via the SMSC 3 and, in particular, back to the browser on the SIM card 2. At that point the relevant page is executed by the browser in the SIM, which might usually mean that it is displayed on the screen of the telephone 1.
• WML Wireless Markup Language
• the aim of the present invention is to alleviate at least partially one or more of the above- mentioned problems.
• a method operating on a mobile device, of storing pages of data thereon, said method comprising the steps of: receiving a transmitted page by wireless transmission; determining if the received page contains a page store instruction, instructing that the page be stored; and storing said page, if said page store instruction is determined to be present.
• a method of storing pages of data on a mobile device comprising: the method of the first aspect; and the step of sending the page to be received by the mobile device by wireless transmission.
• a mobile device for use in a communications system, comprising: a receiver for receiving a transmitted page; determining means for determining if the received page contains a page store- instruction, instructing that the page be stored; and storage means for storing said page, if said page store instruction is determined to be present.
• a communications system for storing pages of data on a mobile device, comprising: the device of the third aspect; transmission means for sending a page with content to said mobile device by wireless transmission; and page supply means for supplying pages for transmission to said transmission means.
• the mobile device may be a mobile telephone or other possible devices like a PDA.
• the invention provides a mobile telephone with an additional plug-in on its SIM card, in the form of a domestic browser with a domestic site.
• a mobile user wants to access a page, such as an internet page on his telephone
• the domestic browser searches a first file in a domestic site for the page identifier to see if the page is immediately accessible. If it is, then it retrieves the data from a second file in the domestic site and executes it for display.
• the domestic browser simply returns a negative result, at which point the SIM browser on the SIM card has the page request transmitted to have the page retrieved from the Internet.
• the user of the mobile telephone does not determine whether any page is to be saved in the domestic site, instead it is determined by the mobile operator or the page writer, by use of codes written into the WML page contents.
• the operator can also transmit push pages onto the mobile telephone and have them saved, updated or deleted in the domestic site without any user intervention.
• Figure 1 is a schematic representation of previously known browsing operations
• Figure 2 is a schematic representation of an aspect of a URL request according to the present invention
• Figure 3 is a schematic representation of an aspect of cache changing according to one embodiment of the present invention
• Figure 4 is a schematic representation of browsing operations according to the present invention
• Figures 5a & 5b are schematic representations of aspects of the operation of an alternative embodiment of the present invention
• Figures 6a & 6b are schematic representations of the updating operation of an alternative embodiment of the present invention
• Figure 7 is a schematic representation of an alternative updating operation of the present invention
• Figure 8 is a schematic representation of how the present invention can be used to create dynamic menus.
• the present invention is exemplified in the following embodiment as an extension to a SIM browser on a SIM card. However, it would not have to be for a SIM card, nor for a device having any such equivalent card, but can be embodied in many different ways.
• FIGS 2 and 3 are schematic representations of a SIM card 2a according to a first aspect of the present invention.
• the card 2a has a SIM browser 10, a Domestic Browser (DOMB) 12 and a domestic site 14, connected together in that order.
• the domestic browser 12 has two plug-ins, DOMBIN 12a and DOMBOUT 12b.
• the domestic site 14 includes two elementary files, EF URL 14a and EF by t ec0 e 14b.
• File EFU RL 14a stores a list of URLs whose contents are currently in the domestic site.
• File EF by iecode 4b stores the actual URL content data in byte code form.
• Both plug-ins, DOMBIN 12a and DOMBOUT 12b are connected to both elementary files, EF UR 14a and EF byt eco d e 14b.
• the mobile user makes a request, which is translated into a user URL request.
• This passes through to the SIM browser 10, from whence it would, in known systems be passed out to the SMSC 3.
• the URL request is first intercepted by the domestic browser 12 and, more particularly, by the plug-in DOMBOUT 12b.
• the role of the plug-in DOMBOUT 12b is to intercept any URL request by the SIM browser 10 and to check if it is already in the domestic site 14. It does this by trying to locate the intercepted URL in file EF URL 14a. If the URL is located there, then the respective data is retrieved from file EF byte code 14b and passed back to the SIM browser 10 for further processing. On the other hand, if the URL is not located in file EF URL 14a, then the URL request is allowed to proceed normally as per a known manner, for instance as is described later.
• the present invention acts much like one might expect of a cache.
• the invention particularly differs through the use of the second domestic browser plug-in DOMBIN 12a.
• This plug-in is not usually invoked during normal user browsing operations. Indeed, in this first embodiment it cannot be activated by the user. Instead it is activated by the mobile operator, that is the company providing the mobile network or another designated service provider.
• FIG 3 illustrates schematically the role of the first domestic browser plug-in DOMBIN 12a and how URLs and the URL content are saved into or deleted from the domestic site 14.
• the instruction to activate the first domestic browser plug-in DOMBIN 12a is sent by the mobile operator to the mobile telephone, where it is received by the SIM browser 10 and passed on to the domestic browser 12, in particular to plug-in DOMBIN 12a.
• What is sent by the operator will include a request that a cached URL be deleted or a particular URL be updated or downloaded.
• the operator request is in the form of a specific SMS message which is differentiated from a normal SM [e.g. Point-to-Point (SMS PP)] message and basically contains a WML page in bytecode form with a special plug-in command embedded inside.
• the special command instructs the SIM browser 10 to invoke plug-in DOMBIN 12a to perform the relevant deletion or update/download operation.
• plug-in DOMBIN 12a removes a particular URL from file EF URL 14a and its corresponding data from file EF by t ec0 de 14b. This releases occupied slots for future URLs to be cached.
• a URL download might occur if the operator decides to upload certain frequently accessed applications or pages onto the subscriber's SIM card 2a, for instance for efficiency reasons. Alternatively, he might simply wish to encourage the use of particular pages.
• plug-in DOMBIN 12a stores the URL in a free slot in file EF UR 14a and its content in an appropriate slot in file EF byt ecode 14b.
• the domestic browser 12 in the exemplary embodiment depends on an existing browser 10 working on the SIM card 2a and is an additional functionality added to that existing browser 10. This is achieved by attaching this additional functionality via a software hook (a point in the operation of a browser where an additional function can be implemented by an external software module) provided in the browser. In the absence of such a hook provision, the developer of the domestic browser 12 would have to enhance the existing browser to facilitate such a software hook.
• This additional functional module forces the SIM browser 10 first to check index file EF URL 14a of the domestic site to see if the requested page is available in the domestic site. In case it is available then this page is retrieved and kept in an incoming message buffer of the SIM card 12a, andthe SIM browser 10 treats that page as having been obtained correctly. This drastically reduces the time required to browse for certain pages.
• the domestic site 14 handles the management of pages. It has the necessary functions to add / delete / update pages when instructed by an incoming message.
• a page sent to the SIM browser 10 is first intercepted by this module. It checks if there is any instruction bundled in along with the regular page in the incoming message. If a command such as add / delete / update etc is found, then the command is executed to achieve the result as defined by the command.
• This module is also responsible for memory management, such as de- fragmentation and managing the index file (to show which pages are available on the domestic site).
• this module Besides supporting the add, delete and update commands, this module also supports several other commands, such as purge (delete all pages from the domestic site 14 and clear the index file EFU R L 14a), statistic (give details about the current status of the domestic site 14), acknowledge (generate a result success or failure answer for the command executed).
• purge delete all pages from the domestic site 14 and clear the index file EFU R L 14a
• statistic give details about the current status of the domestic site 14
• acknowledge generate a result success or failure answer for the command executed.
• the exemplary embodiment is provided by way of additional software to an existing card. Where a browser already exists, no additional hardware is necessary.
• the occurrence and frequency of deletion, updating or downloading applications or URLs and the trigger to delete, update or download applications or URLs are solely decided and initiated by the operator itself. It occurs without the mobile user's intervention and, possibly, even without his knowledge.
• the contents of the cache in the present invention are not necessarily determined by the mobile user. It is not simply just a matter of first in first out, first in last out or lowest usage out. Instead, in this embodiment of the present invention, the entire content of the cache is determined by the mobile operator.
• FIG 4 is a schematic representation of a browsing system according to the present invention. It includes many of the same components as the known browsing system illustrated in Figure 1 , which are numbered as before. However, the SIM card 2a is different and, in addition, figure 4 includes the domestic browser service centre 16, an operator WML database 18 and an STA gateway 20. An STA gateway provides means for the telecom operator to service the user request without having a WIG server.
• the retrieved content is then sent back by the STA Gateway to the telephone 1 and SIM card 2a, via the SMSC 3 in the bytecode format understood by domestic browser.
• an STA Gateway is not capable of generating intermittent steps (Like Menus).
• an STA Gateway receives the last SMS requesting for some information and these are then sent back in a format understood by the domestic browser.
• the operator provides service centre 16. This is necessary where the operator only has a STA Gateway and in other situations where a WIG is not available to an operator.
• the Service centre 16 is another software utility which stores all the possible WML / Bytecode pages. It allows the operator to delete / update / download the pages to the domestic site without the WIG.
• the relevant traffic between the SIM card 2a and service centre 16 is all one way, from service centre 16 to SIM card 2a.
• the domestic browser service centre 16 is connected to a WML database 18, which contains the operator's WML pages, each of which includes a set of bytecode, each set being identifiable with a unique URL.
• WML database 18 contains the operator's WML pages, each of which includes a set of bytecode, each set being identifiable with a unique URL.
• the service centre 16 downloads the URL and the bytecode from the WML database 18 and transmits it to the mobile telephone 1.
• the byte code is usually very lengthy and therefore would be packed, for instance as a concatenated SMS-PP, before being sent out.
• the destination telephone 1 When the destination telephone 1 receives the SMS-PP, it sends the URL and bytecode to the SIM card 2a with an ENVELOPE command, which stores more then one message in a virtual envelope. Depending on the WML pages sent, the SIM browser 10 may interpret this as contents to process and display for the user or just as a command to update or delete previously stored URLs and respective data or to download new URLs and respective data within the SIM card domestic site 14.
• pages to be acted upon by the domestic browser 12 are only provided direct from the operator, for instance from domestic browser service centre 16.
• Another embodiment, as described below, allows pages from other sources to be acted upon by the domestic browser 12.
• FIGS 5a and 5b illustrate, schematically, the operation of an alternative embodiment, where pages from the SMSC 3 are provided to and acted upon by plug-in DOMBIN 12a on the SIM card 2a.
• FIG 5a starts with the assumption that a URL for page 0 has been requested.
• step S1 an instruction is received to go to page 0.
• step S2 queries whether the requested page 0 is available on the domestic browser. In this instance, assuming that page 0 is not present, step S3 sends out the URL request in a known manner as previously described via the SMSC and WIG.
• the relevant page 0 is then accessed and retrieved on the internet at step S4 and transmitted back to the telephone 1 at step S5. There it is executed by the SIM browser 10 and displayed in step S6.
• step S6 In addition it is also added to the domestic browser cache 14 by plug-in DOMBIN 12a.
• the accessed URL page 0 includes the two parameter plug-ins, P1 (Add) and P2 (Execute) discussed above.
• P1 Add
• P2 Executecute
• Page 0 also includes three menu options: (1) balance; (2) pay bills; and (3) transfer funds. With each menu option there is associated a different goto command.
• step S7 The next step is for the user to select one of the three displayed options. In this instance, he selects balance, which results in a request for the URL for page 1 , at step S7.
• DOMBOUT plug-in 12a is then quizzed again, in step S8, this time to see if page 1 is available from the domestic browser cache 14. If it is not, then step S9 is a standard URL request for the relevant page from internet, via the SMSC and WIG etc. The process then goes on.
• figure 5b shows where page 0 has already been added to the domestic browser cache 14, for instance because it has previously been accessed and added through the process illustrated by figure 5a (due to the presence of plug-in parameter P1).
• steps S1 and S2 are the same as in figure 5a.
• page 0 can be retrieved immediately from the domestic browser cache 14, from within file EF byteC ode 14b and displayed, as before, in step S6.
• Steps S7, S8 and S9 are then the same as before.
• FIG 6a there is a request for the URL of a main menu 200. Assuming it is not already available in the domestic browser cache 14, this request is sent out via the SMSC and WIG. The relevant main menu page 202 is then retrieved and returned to the SIM card. As with page 0 in figures 5a and 5b, this page requires the display of a menu and getting user input. The first menu item is "banking", which is then followed by two other items. These three items potentially respectively lead to requests to goto page 1 , goto page 2 and goto page 3.
• Page 204 is the displayed menu, from which the user selects menu item "banking", which leads to a request for the URL for page 1 being issued. Assuming this is the first time that page 1 has been requested (and it has not already been downloaded onto cache by the operator) then plug-in DOMBOUT 12b will not locate the requested page URL in file EF U _ . 14a and the URL request will have to be sent out for page 1, via the SMSC and WIG.
• Page 1 PG1 has two parameter plug-ins, P1 (Add) and P2 (Execute) and two menu items and expects a user input.
• P1 Add
• P2 Executecute
• page 1 When page 1 is retrieved and sent back to the SIM card 2a, it displayed on the telephone screen as page 208, with two menu items "Balance Inquiry” and "Bill Payment". The process will then continue on from there. Thus far, it is very little different from known systems in what is requested and downloaded. However, the next time page 204 is displayed, selecting the "Banking" item will not require that page 1 be sought out from the internet and downloaded. Instead it will be found by plug-in DOMBOUT 12b and displayed more quickly.
• figure 6b shows what happens when page 1 is updated.
• request 200 is the same as before in figure 6a.
• page 202a (the content of page 0) on the internet has been altered so that selection of the first option does not lead to page 1 but to page 10.
• Page 204 that is displayed is then exactly the same as before. However, when "Banking" is selected, this does not lead to a request for page 1, but rather one for page 1. Although page 1 is already present in the domestic browser cache 14, it will be ignored by plug-in DOMBOUT 12b, because it is no longer the relevant page. Instead a URL request will be transmitted for page 10 PG10. This page is accessed and retrieved from the internet.
• page 10 includes various commands. Firstly, it includes the instruction for plug-in DOMBIN 12a to delete page 1 from the domestic browser cache 14. Secondly, it has the instruction for plug-in DOMBIN 12a to add page 10 to the domestic browser cache 14 and for the SIM Browser 10 execute it. The content on page 10 that is to be displayed is also slightly different.
• Figure 6b illustrates the updating of page 1 on the domestic browser side to page 10, due to the actions of the mobile user.
• Figure 7 schematically illustrates the alternative, where the update is pushed onto the domestic browser instead. In this instance, it is the mobile operator who retrieves page 10 and sends it, either from the domestic browser service centre or the WIG to the mobile telephone. The effect is the similar to that shown in figure 7b.
• Page 1 is deleted from the domestic browser cache and page 10 is stored instead. However, because the user is not running the particular application at the time, page 10 is not executed immediately.
• Figure 8 is a schematic representation of how the present invention can be used to create dynamic menus. The result is that two different users make the same choices, but get different results.
• figure 9 shows the initial retrieved screen 50 for both users is the same, with 3 options “Banking”, “IOD” and “Reminders”. Selecting "Banking” for either user leads to screen 52 with the 3 options “Account balance”, “Bill payments” and "Last five transactions". However, due to their different circumstances, the URLs that would be requested when the "Account balance" option is selected are different.
• the following screen 54 has three options “Savings", “Current” and “Fixed deposits”.
• the decision to update the domestic browser cache 14 is that of the person writing the WML page.
• the instruction to update should only be used sparingly, otherwise the cache would fill up too quickly.
• the decision is preferably left in the hands of the operator, who will develop criteria for deciding whether a page should be downloaded.
• the SIM browser 10 in a further embodiment includes a memory defragmention mechanism. This is initiated automatically as a standard function of Domestic browser, although other options may be available.
• SIM browser 10 waits until a negative response from plug-in DOMBOUT 12b before transmitting a URL request to the SMSC.
• the URL could be so transmitted at the same time as the request is passed to plug-in DOMBOUT 12b and then cancelled if there is a positive result. This would then prevent delays due to the presence of the DOMBOUT search.
• URL information/ data can cached into a file.
• the system intercepts a user's requested URL through a browser and retrieves any previously cached URL information, if applicable.
• the system allows the operator to initiate the uploading of new applications, individual pages or decks of pages i.e. series of pages within the same WML page via wireless transmission.
• the system allows the operator to initiate the updating of existing cached applications, individual pages or decks of pages via mobile transmission.
• This system allows the operator to initiate the deletion of existing cached applications, individual pages or decks of pages via mobile transmission.
• caching mechanism that the domestic browser technology provides frequently accessed information can be resident within the mobile card 2a itself, thus saving time and the bandwidth required when accessing remote pages. This is extremely useful because it eliminates the need to perform redundant and expensive retrieval of unchanged information, wirelessly.
• the present invention allows easy application and service management and maintenance.
• the domestic browser technology allows the operator to manage and maintain existing applications on the subscriber's SIM cards remotely and in a non-intrusive manner, requiring no intervention on the subscriber's part. This includes upgrading, deleting and uploading new applications wirelessly. This contrasts with the current situation where new applications have to be loaded onto the card by hard-wired contact. This flexibility is very important, since it saves costs, time and resources and is more attractive to the mobile user.
• the domestic browser technology is just an extension of the existing SIM browser, it can use much of the existing technology and interfaces.
• the invention defines a means to provide a major additional functionality, allowing the operators of services to upload services which arefrequently used or required by the user, for instance to a SIM card and, as such, allow the management of different services for different users.
• services have been developed using a SIM Application Toolkit.
• the advantage of such services is that they are very fast. However, they are also extremely difficult to change or update over the air. Where one hasseveral hundred thousand users it is practically an impossible task.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
• Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
• Burglar Alarm Systems (AREA)

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• 2003
  • 2003-04-30 DE DE2003614748 patent/DE60314748T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-04-30 JP JP2004502585A patent/JP4607578B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-04-30 AT AT03729957T patent/ATE385373T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-04-30 AU AU2003240582A patent/AU2003240582A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-04-30 RU RU2004135313/09A patent/RU2316131C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-04-30 CN CN038100029A patent/CN1650596B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-04-30 EP EP03729957A patent/EP1512264B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-04-30 WO PCT/EP2003/004564 patent/WO2003094474A1/en not_active Ceased

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