WO2009072706A1

WO2009072706A1 - Service system for backing up and restoring data in mobile terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2009072706A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/002976
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung Won Park
Original assignee: Ncerti Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2007-12-04
Filing date: 2008-05-28
Publication date: 2009-06-11
Also published as: KR100845000B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal, a remote data storage server and mobile terminal applied thereto. There is provided A service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal, comprising: a mobile terminal for extracting only changed blocks for backup object data to compress and transmit, when the backup object data has an existing backed-up history; a backup management server for collectively transmitting a backup history for a file that corresponds to a backup request signal, a file size, an existing backup execution date/time, and a checksum value for the file in a block unit to the mobile terminal when the backup request signal is received from the mobile terminal, and combining the changed blocks transmitted from the mobile terminal with an existing backup file stored in a data storage; and a data storage for storing the combined backup file.

Description

SERVICE SYSTEM FOR BACKING UP AND RESTORING DATA IN MOBILE TERMINAL

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal, a remote data storage server and mobile terminal applied thereto. The invention relates more particularly to a service system, a remote data storage server and mobile terminal applied thereto capable of backing up only designated data selected from data in a mobile terminal by a user, or automatically backing up at a predetermined time, and restoring the data at the user's desired point of time, if necessary, in an event of data loss, or the like. Background Art

[2] In recent years, as cell phones have become to have high performance and high capacity, the importance of protecting and managing key data in a cell phone has been emphasized. Specifically, operating systems (OS) for providing a computing function as well as a communication function are typically mounted on a recently developed cell phone, and therefore a variety of applications are implemented on a cell phone. In addition, a database management system (DBMS) for managing data created by a variety of applications is typically mounted on a cell phone.

[3] Accordingly, there is required a device or system capable of backing up data including the existing phone directory created and managed on a cell phone, short message send/receive information, call detail records, and phone's default values, as well as data created by a variety of applications, such as music files, photos, videos, download contents, especially high-capacity data for a DBMS mounted on a cell phone or USIM chip, and restoring data in a cell phone to a specific point of time using the backed-up data, or restoring only a specific file when required by a user.

[4] However, so far there has been no such a service system capable of backing up and managing a variety of key data in a cell phone, and thus there is a problem that the data can not be restored in a case that cell phone data has been lost, a cell phone has been lost or replaced, etc. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[5] In order to solve such a problem, and it is an object of the invention to provide a mobile phone capable of manually backing up only designated data selected from data in a mobile terminal, or periodically backing up specific data at a predetermined time (scheduling backup function). [6] Furthermore, it is another object of the invention to provide a service system capable of sending backup data to a data storage in a remote located server by a backup data compression/transmission method that a packet amount in a wireless communication network can be minimized and a backup speed can be maximized, and selecting restored data at a required point of time by a user. Technical Solution

[7] In order to achieve such an object of the invention, there is provided a mobile terminal having a backup/restore function, comprising: a key input portion for selecting a menu required to establish a backup/restore environment, and inputting a command value for condition items appeared on the menu; a display portion for displaying menu items for establishing a backup/restore environment and a result screen generated by the command value; a backup/restore client program for determining whether or not there already exists backup data similar to backup object data that corresponds to a backup request signal and whether or not the backup object data is updated data when the backup request signal is received through the key input portion, and transmitting an incremental backup request signal to a compression module when the backup object data is updated data based on the determination result; a compression module for reading a file of the backup object data in a block unit, then extracting only changed blocks from the read blocks to perform a multi-threaded compression when the incremental backup request signal is received; a transmission/ reception portion for modulating an voice or data transmission signal into a RF signal to transmit through space of electromagnetic waves, and converting a RF signal received from an antenna into a digital data; and a controller for controlling a signal transmission among the key input portion, the display portion, the backup/restore client program, and the compression module.

[8] According to a preferred embodiment, the backup/restore client program determining whether or not there already exists backup data similar to the backup object data and whether or not the backup object data is updated data, determines using "backup execution time log" information for the backup object data.

[9] According to a preferred embodiment, the compression module extracting only the changed blocks, extracts by comparing checksum values between the existing stored backup data and the backup object data.

[10] Furthermore, in order to achieve another object of the invention, there is provided a backup management server for providing a backup/restore service in a mobile terminal, comprising: a communication module for transmitting or receiving a backup/restore request signal, a backup/restore start signal, backup execution time log information, information for checksum values, user authentication information, and processing result message information, to or from the mobile terminal; a database portion for storing information including customer information, backup condition information for each customer, and backup/restore deletion history information; a user authentication module for performing a user authentication procedure of the mobile terminal; a message transmission module for transmitting a backup/restore processing result to the mobile terminal; and a control module for controlling a signal transmission among the communication module, the user authentication module, and the message transmission module to collectively transmit a backup history for a file that corresponds to a backup request signal, a file size, an existing backup execution date/time, and a checksum value for the file in a block unit, to the mobile terminal when the backup request signal is received from the mobile terminal, and combining changed blocks transmitted from the mobile terminal with an existing backup file stored in a data storage.

[11] According to a preferred embodiment, the control module periodically checks whether or not there exists data of which data effective period has expired among the backup data stored in a data storage, and if there exists data of which expiration date has passed as a result of the check, then it is automatically deleted, and the deletion history is stored in the database portion.

[12] According to a preferred embodiment, the control module stores each of backup data in a data storage according to the backed-up point of time, and transmits menu items by which a user is allowed to select backup data at the user's desired point of time, to the mobile terminal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[13] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [14] FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically explaining a process for backing up backup object data in a mobile terminal by the system of FIG. 1. [15] FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically explaining a process for restoring data in a mobile terminal by the system of FIG. 1. [16] FIG. 4 is a view schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a mobile terminal applied to the system of FIG. 1. [17] FIG. 5 is a view explaining a process of a backup module in the mobile terminal of

FIG. 4 for extracting only changed data in a block unit to perform a backup transmission. [18] FIG. 6 is a flowchart explaining a flowchart of a backup module in the mobile terminal of FIG. 4 for extracting only changed data in a block unit to perform a backup transmission. [19] FIG. 7 is a view schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a backup management server applied to the system of FIG. 1.

[20] FIGS. 8 through 11 are flowcharts each explaining a control operation by a control module in the backup management server of FIG. 7.

[21] FIGS. 12 and 13 are exemplary views each illustrating an interface screen provided for the mobile terminal during a process of transmitting backup object data in the mobile terminal of FIG. 4 to another server (or another computer). Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[22] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[23] A service of backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal refers to a mobile communication service that a user can manually or automatically back up designated data selected from data in a mobile terminal to a remote server, and restore the data at the user's desired point of time when required in an event of data loss, or the like. Specifically, referring to FIG. 2 with FIG. 1, a backup/restore service system 1 applied to this invention is a mobile communication service system for performing a backup/ restore function in a mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal 100 includes the steps of: (a) automatically (with a scheduling function) checking a backup time for a specific backup object data (S20), (b) automatically detecting a backup start time (S22),(c) determining whether or not the specific backup object data is backed up for the first time (S24), then (d) classifying as an incremental backup object if the specific backup object data is existing backed-up data(S28), (e) extracting and compressing only incremented data (changed blocks) (S30), and (f) transmitting only the changed blocks to a backup server (S32). Moreover, a backup/restore service system 1 applied to this invention is a mobile communication service system for selecting backup object data by a manual backup command received through a key inputting portion from a user, instead of automatically backing up specific backup object data by the (a) and (b) steps (S20, S22).

[24] Referring to FIG. 3 together with FIG. 1, furthermore, a service system 1 for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal is a mobile communication service system applied to this invention, wherein the mobile terminal 100 includes the steps of: (a) accessing a backup server to confirm a backup history (S40), (b) selecting restore object data (S42), (c) determining whether or not the restore object data exists in the terminal (S44), then (d) receiving the restore object data from the backup server (S46), (e) releasing the compression of the restore object data (S48), and (f) recording the compression-released restore object data in a storage location of the terminal (S50). [25] Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1, a detailed embodiment of a service system 1 capable of implementing the backup/restore service will be described.

[26] A backup/restore service system 1 for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the invention, includes a mobile terminal 100, a mobile communication network 200, the Internet 300, a backup management server 400 (including a data storage 402), and a server control computer 500.

[27] The mobile terminal 100 is a terminal capable of making a phone call to the other party by wireless communication through a mobile communication network 200, as well as accessing the wireless Internet 300 to retrieve desired information using an information retrieval function provided with. To this end, the mobile terminal 100 can use a browser for Internet access, such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Microsoft Internet Explorer (MIE) using a HTTP protocol, Handheld Device Transport Protocol (HDPT), NTT Dokomo i-Mode, or KTF "magic-N" as a wireless Internet access protocol, and especially in order to use a service for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal accesses the backup management server 400 through the mobile communication network 200. From among the Internet Access protocols used in the mobile terminal 100, m-HTML, a slightly modified and abbreviated version of HTML, is used for MIE, and a language called compact HTML (c-HTML), a subset of the HTML, is used for i-Mode.

[28] The mobile communication network 200 includes a wireless access network, a mobile exchange center, an inter-working function, and a gateway, and it manages a call between mobile terminals as well as an access to the Internet 300 using the mobile terminal 100.

[29] The mobile communication network 200 delivers the location information of the mobile terminal 100 in the wireless access network and an access request signal to the Internet 300 to the mobile exchange center when an access request signal to the Internet 300 is received from the mobile terminal 100. The mobile exchange center processes a subscriber's information using an internal home location register (HLR), a visitor location register (VLR), and a subscriber's information database to connect the mobile terminal 100 with the inter-working function (IWF). The inter-working function is an interface for exchanging data between a wireless communication system and a wireline communication system to perform a function of converting protocol, signal and data in an appropriate form for the network. Here, profile information of the mobile terminal in waiting for a call is stored in the home location register. Here, profile information refers to mobile identification number (MIN), electronic serial number (ESN), and/or subscribed mobile service information of the mobile terminal.

[30] The converted access request signal to the Internet 300 is delivered to the Internet 300 through a gateway (not shown). The gateway performs a process, such as communication code conversion, or protocol conversion between the mobile communication network 200 and the Internet 300, in order to rapidly retrieve and display information on the Internet 300.

[31] The Internet 300 is a communication network for providing an access path for the mobile terminal 100 to transmit or receive data by accessing the backup management server 400 through the mobile exchange center when accessing the wireless Internet.

[32] The backup management server 400 is a remote server for directly backing up and storing a user's backup object data for a backup/restore service of the mobile terminal, or storing and managing backup data by receiving the backup data stored in the user's mobile terminal 100. To this end, the backup management server 400 provides a function of automatically compressing and storing the backup object data of the mobile terminal 100, and sending the processing result to the mobile terminal 100 as a message, in case a backup request signal is received from the mobile terminal 100, or in case a specific period has reached for specific data according to a previously established condition from the mobile terminal. In other words, the backup management server 400 employs a web site for wireless access, which is established by a web language, such as Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Wireless Markup Language(WML), to allow a subscriber to receive a service for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal 100. For example, in case the user accesses the backup management server 400 to request a backup/restore service of the mobile terminal, the above-described web site provides menu items for manually performing a backup in a direct way or scheduling backup menu items for periodically backing up data in the terminal at the user's designated time, and stores in a data storage 402 as backup data according to a specific backup condition for specific data selected in the lower item details under a condition selected from the user, i.e., an automatic or manual condition, and in case a data restore request signal is received from the mobile terminal 100, it transmits the backup data in the data storage 402 to the mobile terminal 100. Such a backup/restore processing procedure can be processed at high speed by the 'backup file reconfiguration' program in the backup management server 400, and it will be described in detail in FIG. 7. In addition, the backup management server 400 can employ a web site for wireline access together, and the user can perform a management of the backup data by a method of accessing the backup management server 400 through the wireline Internet using a personal computer 102. In order to make it possible to manage the backup data through such a personal computer 102, the backup management server 400 can provide a menu item for selecting a backup/restore of the backup data, a menu item for retrieving a backup/restore date and time, a menu item for retrieving a state of the backup data, and a menu item for executing a deletion of the backup data to the web site for wireline access.

[33] The server control computer 500 is a terminal, which is used by a backup/restore service provider, and it inputs and manages subscriber's personal information, financial statement information for a backup/restore service, and user's authentication information, and the like, which are required for the backup management server 400, in order to provide a backup/restore service of the mobile terminal 100.

[34] Through the system 1 as described above, the subscriber can access the backup management server 400 to establish a backup environment in a desired condition (for example, automatic or manual for the backup condition), and then a variety of data in the mobile terminal can be restored to the user's desired point of time when required in an event, such as data damage due to bad applications, lost of cell phone, or the like.

[35] FIG. 4 is a view schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a mobile terminal 100 applied to the system 1 of FIG. 1.

[36] The mobile terminal 100 having a backup/restore function, according to an embodiment of the invention, is a terminal that is ported by the backup/restore client 132 capable of simultaneous voice and data. Such a backup/restore client 132 performs a function of processing a procedure related to the subscription and registration for a backup/restore service of the mobile terminal, or allowing a normal transmission/ reception of various information data to be exchanged with the backup management server 400 through an operation of establishing a data call while processing a received voice call.

[37] An internal configuration of the mobile terminal 100 having a backup/restore function, according to an embodiment of the invention, includes a key input portion 110, a display portion 120, a program storage 130, a controller 140, and a transmission/reception portion 150.

[38] The key input portion 110 is provided with numeric keys for inputting numerals such as phone numbers as well as buttons for inputting characters, and menu selection buttons for establishing a backup/restore environment of the mobile terminal, and it may include a mode switching key capable of simply switching a mode state of the mobile terminal 100 to a call or backup/restore mode. In addition, the key input portion 110 may be provided with a touch screen to receive a user's command input for backup/restore through the touch screen.

[39] The display portion 120 performs a function to display an operation state of the mobile terminal, including the state of power use, the intensity of received electromagnetic waves, the date and time, and send the menu items for establishing a backup/ restore environment and the backup/restore result screen.

[40] The program storage 130 is configured with Electrically Erasable Programmable

Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Flash Memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like, and Real Time Operating System (OS) and a mobile terminal call processing software program are stored in the Flash Memory, and in particular it further includes a backup/restore client program 132 for processing a procedure related to the subscription and registration for a backup/restore service between the mobile terminal 100 and the backup management server 400 according to an embodiment of the invention, and managing the transmission/reception of backup object data or backup data according to the established condition, and a compression module 134 for compressing backup object data, and these programs are loaded to RAM to be driven.

[41] Here, backup object data means data prior to the backup process, which is data selected to perform a backup through the key input portion 110 from the user, and backup data means data after the backup process. In particular, according to the present invention, the backup data includes data that the backup object data is compressed by the compression module 134.

[42] The backup/restore client program 132 is an application program that can be implemented on all platforms to allow the registration/modification for a backup/restore service, the display of various menu items display for a backup/restore, and the transmission/reception of backup/restore data in the mobile terminal 100, for example, a mobile platform based on Linux, Symbian, Windows CE, etc., Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability (WIPI), Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW), or the like. In particular, the backup/restore client program 132 is ported by a SVD to implement a smooth operation of the mobile terminal 100 in a backup/restore service. Such a SVD may be a SVD that is defined by the standard CDMA ReI. A.

[43] The backup/restore client program 132 compresses backup object data according to a manual or automatic backup condition established through the key input portion 110 from the user, and transmits the compressed backup data to the backup management server 400. For this, the backup/restore client program 132 accesses the backup management server 400 according to a manual or automatic backup condition, and then forms a data access path. In other words, if a backup request signal is received through the key input portion 110 from the user according to the manual condition (or if a specific period has reached for specific backup object data according to the automatic condition), then the backup/restore client program 132 determines whether or not backup object data corresponding to the backup request signal (or established according to the automatic condition) is backed-up data for the first time, and transmits an incremental backup request signal to the compression module when the backup object data already has a backup history based on the determination result, and transmits a full backup request signal to the compression module when the backup object data has no previous backup history based on the determination result.

[44] When a full backup request signal for the backup object data is received from the backup/restore client program 132, the compression module 134 divides the backup object data into multiple units, such as blocks, and performs a multi process (multithread) that a plurality of threads sequentially compresses and stores the units (hereinafter, referred to as blocks). In other words, the compression module 134 divides and reads a file of the backup object data into multiple blocks having a predetermined size, and then generates a plurality of threads for processing them according to the number of the blocks, and sequentially compresses and stores all the divided blocks using the plurality of threads. Such a multi-threaded compressing and storing technique is disclosed in Korean Registered Patent No. 10-0359423 titled, "System and Method for Super-speed and Bulk Backup," filed and registered by this applicant.

[45] Furthermore, when an incremental backup request signal for the backup object data is received from the backup/restore client program 132, the compression module 134 divides and reads a file of the backup object data into multiple blocks having a predetermined size, and then performs a function of compressing and storing only changed blocks (other than existing backed-up blocks) from among the read blocks. According to a preferred embodiment, the compression module 134 compares checksums between the most recently generated file, as backup data for the backup object data and the backup object data, in a block unit, to extract only the changed blocks.

[46] According to a preferred embodiment, a plurality of the blocks that have been compressed by the compression module 134 is directly transmitted to the backup management server 400, not being stored in a storage location of the mobile terminal 100, under a command of the backup/restore client program 132, and the backup management server 400 that has received the changed and compressed blocks can use the changed blocks to reconfigure the backup data through a data combining method. Such a procedure is illustrated in FIG. 5.

[47] The mobile terminal 100 of the invention performs an incremental backup transmission of extracting and transmitting only changed blocks in a file of the backup object when transmitting backup data to another storage location, for example, the backup management server 400 or another computer 102. For this, the backup/restore client program 132 generates a signal for requesting to store all backup(full, or incremental backup) execution dates and times (in a unit of second) inside the mobile terminal 100 or in a log of the backup management server 400, and the controller 140 that has received such a request signal processes to store the backup execution time in the log. In addition, the backup/restore client program 132 compares "backup execution time log" information between the backup object data and the backed-up data to each other, and determines whether or not there exists backup data corresponding to the backup object data, and whether or not the backup object data is later generated or updated data when compared to the backup data, and it transmits an in- cremental backup request signal to the compression module 134 when it is determined as later generated or updated data.

[48] Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, when the mobile terminal 100 of the invention transmits backup data to the backup management server 400, an embodiment of using an incremental backup method will be described.

[49] First, the backup/restore client program 132 in the mobile terminal automatically or manually accesses a backup management server (S60), and collectively receives a backup history of a file that corresponds to backup object data, a file size, an existing backup execution date/time (backup execution time log information), and a checksum value for the file in a block unit (S62).

[50] Then, the backup/restore client program 132 compares, to each other, log information for the backup object data in the mobile terminal 100 with backup execution time log information transmitted from the backup management server 400 (S64), and determines whether or not there already exists the compressed file corresponding to the backup object data, and whether or not the backup object data is later generated or updated data when compared to the compressed file (S66). In addition, based on the determination result, it is processed to finish a backup operation if there already exists the same compressed file, and an incremental backup request signal is transmitted to the compression module 134 if the backup object data is updated data of the compressed file (S68).

[51] Then, the compression module 134 compares to each other and determines a checksum value of the backup object data in a block unit with a checksum value in a block unit for the corresponding file transmitted from the backup management server 400 to extract only changed blocks (S70).

[52] Then, the compression module 134compresses only the changed blocks at high speed by a multithreaded technique (S72), and then transmits the compressed signal to the backup/restore client program 132.

[53] Then, the backup/restore client program 132 transmits the changed and compressed blocks to the backup management server 400(S74).

[54] Then, the backup management server 400 combines, to each other, data of an existing backup file corresponding to the changed blocks and data of the changed blocks to reconfigure as a new backup file (S76).

[55] According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize a size of the packet being transmitted to the backup management server 400 through a wireless network by such an incremental backup process, and thereby having an effect of backing up at high speed even in case of relatively high-capacity data.

[56] Referring to FIG. 4 again, the controller 140 provides overall control to smoothly implement the transmission/reception of voice and data in the mobile terminal 100. Furthermore, the controller 140 controls the backup/restore client program 132 to perform a function such that the mobile terminal 100 can smoothly perform a backup/ restore operation. In other words, if a backup request signal is received through the key input portion 110 (or if a specific period has reached for specific backup object data according to an automatic condition), then the controller 140 notifies a fact that the backup request signal is generated (or the automatic condition is satisfied), to the backup/restore client program 132 contained in the program storage 130, and controls an operation of data transmission/reception among the backup/restore client program 132, the compression module 134, and the backup management server 400.

[57] The transmission/reception portion 150 performs a function of modulating a voice or data transmission signal applied from the controller 140 into a RF signal to transmit through space of electromagnetic waves, and also converting a RF signal received from an antenna 152 into digital data.

[58] Though an internal configuration of the mobile terminal 100 applicable to the system

1 of FIG. 1 has been described above according to an embodiment of the invention, the present invention is not limited to only the configuration illustrated in the foregoing embodiment, and it should be understood that all the terminals capable of wireless communication in which a backup/restore function applied to the mobile terminal 100 can be implemented may be included in the scope of the invention.

[59] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a backup management server 400 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

[60] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the backup management server 400 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention may include a communication module 410, a control module 420, a database 430, a user authentication module 440, a message transmission module 450, a compression module 460, and a memory 470.

[61] The communication module 410 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention allows to transmit or receive backup processing information for backup/ restore to or from the mobile terminal 100 accessed through a communication network. The backup processing information includes a backup/restore request signal, a backup/ restore start signal, backup execution time log information, information for checksum values, user authentication information, and processing result message information, which are transmitted or received between the mobile terminal 100 and the backup management server 400.

[62] Furthermore, the communication module 410 processes to connect a call to the user's mobile terminal 100 with a predetermined period according to a backup/restore condition previously established from the user by a control of the control module 420(automatic scheduling function).

[63] The control module 420 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention controls an operation of the communication module 410, the database 430, the user authentication module 440, the message transmission module 450, and the like, and a communication among them to provide a backup/restore service to the user of the mobile terminal 100. Especially, the control module 420 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is mounted by a 'backup file reconfiguration' program combining the changed blocks transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 with the existing backup file stored in the data storage 402. Such a 'backup file reconfiguration' program can be implemented in various ways, for instance, using 'C program language, object-oriented 'C++', or 'JAVA' program language.

[64] Referring to FIG. 8 together with FIG. 7, when a backup request signal is received from the mobile terminal 100 (S80), the control module 420 retrieves information on a specific file contained in the backup request signal in the database 430, and collectively transmits a backup history for the specific file, a size of the specific file, an existing backup execution date/time (backup execution time log information), and a checksum value for the specific file in a block unit to the mobile terminal(S82). Using the information (backup processing information), the mobile terminal 100 can perform an operation for determining whether it is a full or incremental backup for the specific file, and extracting and transmitting only the changed blocks.

[65] When the changed blocks are received from the mobile terminal 100 (S84), the control module 420 drives the 'backup file reconfiguration' program, and combines the changed blocks with backup data for the specific file to reconfigure the backup data (S86). Subsequently, the control module 420 stores information of the mobile terminal 100 for the combined backup data and a date of which the backup data has been backed up into the database as history information based on the backup start time (S88).

[66] In addition, the control module 420 transmits a message indicating that a backup for the specific file has been completed to the mobile terminal 100 through the message transmission module 450 (S90).

[67] Then, referring to FIG. 9 together with FIG. 7, when a specific period for specific backup object data has reached according to the previously established automatic condition (automatic scheduling function) through the mobile terminal 100 (S80a, S 80b), the control module 420 controls the communication module 410 to connect a call with the mobile terminal 100 (S80c), and then transmits a request signal to start a backup for the specific file (hereinafter, backup start signal) to the mobile terminal 100 (S80d). Accordingly, a mode state of the mobile terminal 100 will be switched to a mode state capable of receiving backup data.

[68] The control module 420 collectively transmits a backup history for a specific file, a size of the specific file, an existing backup execution date/time (backup execution time log information), and a checksum value for the specific file in a block unit to the mobile terminal 100 (S82). Subsequently, when the changed blocks are received from the mobile terminal 100 (S84), the control module 420 drives the 'backup file reconfiguration' program, and combines the changed blocks with backup data for the specific file to reconfigure the backup data (S86). Subsequently, the control module 420 stores information of the mobile terminal 100 for the combined backup data and a date of which the backup data has been backed up into the database as history information based on the backup start time(S88). In addition, the control module 420 transmits a message indicating that a backup for the specific file has been completed to the mobile terminal 100 through the message transmission module 450 (S90).

[69] Then, referring to FIG. 10 together with FIG. 7, the control module 420 periodically checks whether or not there exists data of which data effective period has expired among the backup data stored in data storage 402 (S94). Here, the data effective period can be determined by an previously established condition from the user (S96). When there exists data of which expiration date has passed as a result of the check, the control module 420 automatically deletes it, and the deletion history is stored in the database 430 (S98).

[70] According to a preferred embodiment, a procedure for automatically deleting the data of which expiration date has passed in the steps S94 through S96 may be replaced with a procedure for deleting it when a deletion request for the specific backup data is received from the mobile terminal 100.

[71] Then, referring to FIG. 11 together with FIG. 7, when a restore request signal is received from the mobile terminal 100 (SlOO), the control module 420 retrieves information for a specific file contained in the restore request signal in the database 430 (S 102), and transmits a backup history of the retrieved backup data to the mobile terminal 100(S 106). Accordingly, the user of the mobile terminal 100 can retrieve the backup history to select a desired point of time.

[72] The control module 420 transmits backup data corresponding to a desired point of time of the backup selected from the mobile terminal 100 to the mobile terminal 100 (S 108). Furthermore, the control module 420 can transmit a message indicating, a fact that a restore for the specific file has been completed and information on that the restored data is data at some point of time, to the mobile terminal 100 through the message transmission module 450.

[73] Referring to FIG. 5 again, if a backup request signal of the mobile terminal 100 is received, then the control module 420 inquires customer information in the database 430 to decide whether or not the service will be advanced, and if an access request signal is received from a new member, then the control module 420 controls a user authentication module 214 to determine whether or not the user is authenticated, and further provides a command to the message transmission module 450 to transmit a processing result for the backup/restore request signal received from the user to the mobile terminal. To this end, the control module 204 may be configured with a microprocessor for executing a function of central processing unit (CPU).

[74] The database 430 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention may includes a customer information database 432, a backup condition database for each customer 434, a backup/restore history database 436, and the like, as an internal configuration element, and it provides information for establishing a backup/restore service, backup history information for a specific backup data file, and information such as a size of the specific backup data file, a backup date/time, and a checksum value in a block unit to the mobile terminal 100 by a control of the control module 420. The detailed configuration will be described specifically below.

[75] The database 430 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention has customer information related to members who use a backup/restore service. Here, the customer service may includes personal information, such as name of member, member ID, identification number for user authentication, residence registration number, address, phone number, e-mail address, as well as credit information, such as bank account, and credit card number. The customer information database 432 generates new customer information when a person who wants to receive a backup/restore service subscribes as a new member by a control of the control module 420, and updates customer information when a person who wants to receive a backup/restore service changes customer information, thereby providing most recently updated customer information.

[76] Moreover, the database 430 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention has the backup condition database for each customer 434, which has been transmitted to the backup management server 400 by a member who uses the backup/restore service. Here, the backup condition database for each customer 434 refers to various established conditions designated by a member who uses the backup/restore service, i.e., various data that have been established, such as automatic/manual backup designation, backup object data, backup period, effective period of backup data (expiration date), and the like, and for this purpose the backup management server 400 provides menu items for allowing to input the various established conditions to the mobile terminal.

[77] The backup/restore history database 436 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention records backup/restore history information for each backup data file, information such as a size of each file, a backup date/time, and a checksum value in a block unit, and history information that backup data files have been deleted by an automatic or manual condition.

[78] In other words, the backup management server 400 according to the present invention stores each of data according to a backed-up point of time in the data storage 402, and manages such backup/restore history information for each data using the backup/restore history database 436. Accordingly, the user can receive backup data at a desired point of time to the mobile terminal by retrieving and selecting the backup/ restore history database 436.

[79] The user authentication module 440 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention performs a user authentication processing procedure for a customer under a control of the control module 420. For example, when transmitting/storing backup data, the user authentication module 440 retrieves the customer information database 432, and performs an authentication processing procedure for comparing the information of a mobile terminal number, or identification number for user authentication with the information of the mobile terminal 100 in which backup data is transmitted/stored. Furthermore, the message transmission module 450 provides a short message service related to a backup/restore to the mobile terminal 100. In other words, information related to backup complete, restore complete, and deletion of expired backup data, and the like, can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 100 using a short message method.

[80] The compression module 460 releases the compressed backup data transmitted from the mobile terminal 100, and performs a function of compressing the finally combined and generated data by driving the 'backup file reconfiguration' program through the control module 420. Furthermore, the memory 470 performs a function of temporally storing data transmitted through the communication module 410 (for example, the changed and compressed blocks), and the finally combined and generated data by driving the 'backup file reconfiguration' program through the control module 420.

[81] FIGS. 9a and 9b are exemplary views each illustrating an interface screen provided to the mobile terminal 100 during a process of transmitting backup object data in the mobile terminal 100 to another server 400 (or another computer).

[82] The user may store a backup file for specific backup object data in the terminal using backup management menu items in the mobile terminal 100 (FIG. 12), or store the backup file in a data storage of another server (for example, the backup management server 400) or another computer (FIG. 13).

[83] First, referring to FIG. 12, if the user selects a menu item "1. manual backup" from a backup management list using the key inputting portion, then the menu items capable of selecting backup object data will be displayed. If a signal for selecting specific data from among the displayed backup object data is generated, then the mobile terminal 100 determines whether or not the selected specific data is backed-up data for the first time to perform a full or incremental backup, and displays the performed result on a display screen. Moreover, the user may select a menu item "2. automatic backup" from the backup management list to establish a backup period for specific backup object data, and may select a menu item "3. confirm backup data" to confirm a state of backup data in the mobile terminal 100.

[84] Next, referring to FIG. 13, if the user selects a menu item "4. transmit backup data" from a backup management list using the key inputting portion, then the menu items capable of selecting backup object data to be transmitted will be displayed. In order for the user to select the menu item "4. transmit backup data" to effectively back up data to a transmitted object medium, if the transmitted object medium is a computer, then a data access path by a wireline or infrared communication should be established, and if the transmitted object medium is a specific server (for example, the backup management server 400) for providing a backup/restore service, then the mobile terminal 100 may be configured to automatically access the specific server at the same time when selecting the specific server.

[85] If the user generates a signal for selecting any transmitted object medium (for example, the backup management server 400) through the key input portion, then the mobile terminal 100 first determines whether or not there exists the same backup data in the transmitted object medium (for example, the backup management server 400). The mobile terminal 100 performs a full or incremental backup transmission according to the determination result. The mobile terminal lOOdisplays the performed result of the backup transmission on a display screen.

[86] While in the foregoing, a technical idea of the present invention has been described by way of a few exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the essential characteristic of the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments ofthe invention are disclosed not to limit but to describe the technical idea of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by those embodiments. The protected scope of the invention shall be defined by the appended claims, and all the technical ideas within the equivalent scope of the invention shall fall within the scope of the right of the invention.

Claims

[1] A mobile terminal having a backup/restore function, comprising: a key input portion for selecting a menu required to establish a backup/restore environment, and inputting a command value for condition items appeared on the menu; a display portion for displaying menu items for establishing a backup/restore environment and a result screen generated by the command value; a backup/restore client program for determining whether or not there already exists backup data similar to backup object data that corresponds to a backup request signal and whether or not the backup object data is updated data when the backup request signal is received through the key input portion, and transmitting an incremental backup request signal to a compression module when the backup object data is updated data based on the determination result; a compression module for reading a file of the backup object data in a block unit, then extracting only changed blocks from the read blocks to perform a multithreaded compression, when the incremental backup request signal is received; a transmission/reception portion for modulating a voice or data transmission signal into a RF signal to transmit through space of electromagnetic waves, and converting a RF signal received from an antenna into a digital data; and a controller for controlling a signal transmission among the key input portion, the display portion, the backup/restore client program, and the compression module.

[2] The mobile terminal having a backup/restore function as set forth in claim 1, wherein the backup/restore client program determining whether or not there already exists backup data similar to the backup object data and whether or not the backup object data is updated data, determines using "backup execution time log" information for the backup object data.

[3] The mobile terminal having a backup/restore function as set forth in claim 1, wherein the compression module extracting only the changed blocks, extracts by comparing checksum values between the existing stored backup data and the backup object data.

[4] The mobile terminal having a backup/restore function as set forth in claim 1, wherein the backup/restore client program accesses a backup management server according to a manual or automatic backup condition to form a transmission path, and transmits or receives backup processing information including a backup/restore start signal, backup execution time log information, information for checksum values, user authentication information, and processing result message information, to or from the backup management server, and the controller transmits changed blocks that have been compressed by the compression module to the backup management server according to the manual or automatic backup condition.

[5] The mobile terminal having a backup/restore function as set forth in claim 4, wherein the backup/restore client program determining whether or not there already exists backup data similar to the backup object data and whether or not the backup object data is updated data, determines using backup execution time log information for the backup object data transmitted from the backup management server.

[6] A backup management server for providing a backup/restore service in a mobile terminal, comprising: a communication module for transmitting or receiving a backup/restore request signal, a backup/restore start signal, backup execution time log information, information for checksum values, user authentication information, and processing result message information, to or from the mobile terminal; a database portion for storing information including customer information, backup condition information for each customer, and backup/restore deletion history information; a user authentication module for performing a user authentication procedure of the mobile terminal; a message transmission module for transmitting a backup/restore processing result to the mobile terminal; and a control module for controlling a signal transmission among the communication module, the user authentication module, and the message transmission module to collectively transmit a backup history for a file that corresponds to a backup request signal, a file size, an existing backup execution date/time, and a checksum value for the file in a block unit, to the mobile terminal, when the backup request signal is received from the mobile terminal, and combining changed blocks transmitted from the mobile terminal with an existing backup file stored in a data storage.

[7] The backup management server for providing a backup/restore service in a mobile terminal as set forth in claim 6, wherein the control module periodically checks whether or not there exists data of which data effective period has expired among the backup data stored in a data storage, and if there exists data of which expiration date has passed as a result of the check, then it is automatically deleted, and the deletion history is stored in the database portion.

[8] The backup management server for providing a backup/restore service in a mobile terminal as set forth in claim 6, wherein the control module stores each of backup data in a data storage according to a backed-up point of time, and transmits menu items by which a user is allowed to select backup data at a desired point of time, to the mobile terminal.

[9] A service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal, comprising: a mobile terminal for extracting only changed blocks for backup object data to compress and transmit, when the backup object data has an existing backed-up history; a backup management server for collectively transmitting a backup history for a file that corresponds to a backup request signal, a file size, an existing backup execution date/time, and a checksum value for the file in a block unit to the mobile terminal when the backup request signal is received from the mobile terminal, and combining the changed blocks transmitted from the mobile terminal with an existing backup file stored in a data storage; and a data storage for storing the combined backup file.

[10] The service system for backing up and restoring data in a mobile terminal as set forth in claim 9, the mobile terminal comprising: a key input portion for selecting a menu required to establish a backup/restore environment, and inputting a command value for condition items appeared on the menu; a display portion for displaying menu items for establishing a backup/restore environment and a result screen generated by the command value; a backup/restore client program for accessing the backup management server according to a manual or automatic backup condition to form a transmission path, determining whether or not there is an incremental backup using the existing backup execution date/time information for a file that corresponds to the backup request signal transmitted from the backup management server, and transmitting an incremental backup request signal to a compression module; a compression module for reading a file of the backup object data in a block unit, then extracting only changed blocks from the read blocks to perform a multithreaded compression, when the incremental backup request signal is received; a transmission/reception portion for modulating a voice or data transmission signal into a RF signal to transmit through space of electromagnetic waves, and converting a RF signal received from an antenna into a digital data; and a controller for controlling a signal transmission among the key input portion, the display portion, the backup/restore client program, and the compression module.