CA 02310185 2000-06-OS
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
MODIFYING PERSISTENT STORAGE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method of providing
enhanced features in
a radio phone or other intelligent device. More specifically, the present
invention relates to a method and
apparatus for modifying the persistent storage in a radio phone or other
inteligent device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Wireless radio phones are now a common tool for business and personal use. The
evolution from
analog cellular to modem GSM and CDMA based cellular systems has accompanied a
vast improvement
in the services and features in radio phones. For example, certain radio
phones are equipped with
telephone directories, calendars, web-browsers and email. Indeed, as
persistent memory technology
improves, radio phones are becoming more capable of storing data. It is now
common for phones to hold
a hundred or more names and numbers in a telephone directory.
1 S However, the user-interfaces on radio phones are fairly limited, usually
including a low resolution
LCD screen and about 15-20 keys. The limited physical size ofthese interfaces
is necessary to provide the
desired portability of the phone. The limitations of the user-interfaces makes
the progranuning of the
telephone directory, and overall modification of the telephone's persistent
storage awkward and tedious.
For instance, each key on the radio phone must represent a number of different
ASCII characters, and thus
programming is done using an awkward sequence of key-strokes, e.g. -the "2"
key is pressed once for
the let~r "A", twice for the letter "B", etc . In addition, the LCD screen can
be difficult to read during
such programming. Thus, a subscriber who has just purchased a radio phone must
spend a great deal of
time programming each memory location of the telephone directory. Furthermore,
in the event that the
phone is lost or stolen, valuable information may be lost, and in any event,
this information must be
reprogrammed into a replacement phone.
More recently, certain radio phones have been comb fined with personal digital
assistants to allow
CA 02310185 2000-06-OS
subscribers to carry one device for both organizational and communications
needs. For example, the
Qualcomm pdQ smartphone from Kyocera Wireless Corp., 10300 Campus Point
Drive,San Diego, CA
92121 is essentially a CDMA phone with a 3Com Palin Pilot built in. The
address book features in the
PalmPilot portion of the pdQ can be linked to the speed-dial features within
theradio phone portion of the
device. Updating the address book can be performed on a personal computer.
However, the personal
computer must be equipped with software complementary to the pdQ, and a
special Hot Sync cable,
cradle and software must be used to establish a wired link between a hardware
port on the personal
computer and pdQ smartphone. Accordingly, the ability to update the address
book within the telephone is
still somewhat tedious and cumbersome and/or requires additional hardware.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a noel system, apparatus
and method of
modifying persistent storage in aradio device that obviates or mitigates at
least one of the above-identified
disadvantages of the prior art.
In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for modifying
the contents ofpersistent
storage comprising a radio base station having a modem, a microprocessor, a
radio for connection to a
radio link and a backhaul for connection to a public communication network.
The base station is operable
to relay messages between the link and the network. The system also comprises
a radio device having a
modem, a microprocessor, a radio for connection to the link and persistent
storage for maintaining a
telephone directory. The radio device is operable to receive electronic
messages over the link that instruct
the microprocessor to modify the telephone directoryor other information
stored in the persistent storage.
The system also includes a computer, or other type of client-device remote to
the radio device, that is
connectable to the public communication network. The computer has a
microprocessor, a user-inlxrtdevioe
and a user-output device for modifying the telephone directory or other
information stored in the persistent
2 5 storage and is operable to send the modified telephone directory or other
information over the network, to
the base station, over the radio link and to the radio device.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a radio device
comprising a radio for receiving
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a radio message from a radio base station and a modem connected to the radio
for demodulating the radio
message received by the radio. The device also includes a microprocessor
connected to the radio for
processing the message and persistent storage connected to the microprocessor
that maintains a telephone
directory or other data application, such as a calendar, to -do list or memo
pad. The device also has a user-
s output device connected to the microprocessor for presenting the telephone
directory to a user, and a user-
input device connected to the microprocessor to allow the user to browse the
telephone directory. The
microprocessor within the device is operable to modify the telephone directory
or other data application
according to instructions contained within the message.
In a specific embodiment of the invention, the radio device is a radio
telephone that is operable to
automatically dial a number contained within the telephone directory.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for modifying
information stored in
persistent storage in a radio device comprising the steps of
preparing, at said radio device, a message containing a copy of at least a
portion of information
stored in said persistent storage;
sending, over a radio link, said message from said radio device to a radio
base station associated
with said device;
sending said message to a client-device;
receiving said message at said client device;
modifying, at a client device remote from said radio device, said first
message to prepare a second
message containing desired information for storage in said persistent storage;
addressing said second message to said radio device;
sending said second message to said radio base station;
sending said second message from said base station to said radio device;
receiving said second message at said radio device; and,
modifying said persistent storage according to said second message.
The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for modifying
infom~ation stored in
CA 02310185 2000-06-OS
persistent storage in a radio device, which is typically part of a radio phone
that maintains electronic
information, which in an embodiment is a telephone directory. The telephone
directory in theradio phone
can be used to automatically dial the number of an individual or entity that
exists as an entry in the telephone
directory. The phone is operable to send and receive, via a radio base station
respective to the radio
phone, copies of the telephone directory or pottio ns thereof A remote client-
device, (such as a personal
computer locally executing an application for modifying the directory or a web-
browser operable to access
the application on a remote-webserver), is operable to allow a user to modify
the telephone directory and
to exchange copies of the telephone directory with the radio phone. The
present invention can thus
provide a user-friendly way to backup, modify and restore a telephone
directory or other electronic
information in a radio phone or other intelligent devices which typically have
limited user-interface
capabilities, and without the need for a hardware cable to connect the radio
device to the personal
computer. Also, in certain embodiments of the invention, the need for a
personal computer dedicated to
the radio device can be eliminated, as the modification of the telephone
directory can simply be done using
an email client program at the personal computer or a web-based service or
interface provided by a third
party such as the operator of the radio network.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way
of example only,
with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a system for modifying infom~ation
stored in persistent
storage in an intelligent device in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention;
Figure 2 is a block diagram representative of the radio device and the base
station of the system of
Figure 1; and,
Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a method for modifying information stored in
persistent storage in a
radio device accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to Figure 1, a system for modifying persistent storage in a
radio phone or other
intelligent device is indicated generally at 20. System 20 includes a radio
base station 24 which is
preferably connected to telecommunications network 28, s,~ch as a land line-
based switched telephone
network and/or data network such as the Internet, by an appropriate gateway
(not shown) and one or
more backhauls 32. Backhaul 32 can be a T 1, T3, E 1, E3, OC3 or other
suitable land line link, or can be
a sa~llite or other radio or microwave channel link or any other link suitable
for operation as a backhaul as
will occur to those of skill in the art.
Base station 24 communicates with a radio phone 36, typically intended for use
by mobile
subscribers. Communications between base station 24 and radio phone 36 occur
over a radio link 38,
which allows voice and/or data information to be transferred between base
station 24 andradio phone 36
as needed. In a present embodiment, the radio-communication protocol employed
for radio link 38 is
digitally based, such as CDMA or GSM. The implementation/type of packet
protocol employed is not
particularly limited, and can include IP (with TCP or UDP) and/or
modifications thereof or any other
suitable packet implementation as will occur to those of skill in the art.
Furthermore, it will be understood that system 20 can have additional base
stations 24 and/orracliO
phones 36, as desired, and that, where more than one base station 24
exists,radio phone 36 can be within
range of two or more base stations 24, and that communications between
multiple base stations 24 and
radio phones 36 can be managed using known handofftechniques. Other known
radio architectures can be
employed. For example, base station 24 can be multi-sectored, each sector
being defined by directional
antennas, each sector comprising a different reception footprint and thus
allowing reuse of available
spectrum between sectors serviced from a single base station 24.
System 20 also includes a data entry temlinal, such as personal computer 40,
which connects to
network 28. Personal computer 40 includes a monitor (and/or other user-output
device), a keyboard
2 5 (and/or other user-input device), and a processing unit (such as a
microprocessor and related components)
operably connected to the monitor and keyboard. The processing unit within
computer 40 includes a
network interface card connected to network 28 via a communication link 44.
Using the keyboard,
CA 02310185 2000-06-OS
monitor and appropriate software, computer 40 is operable to modify the
persistent storage of the radio
phone 36 via network 28 and link 38, the details of which will be discussed in
greater detail below. It is to
be understood that, in general, computer 40 acts as a client device operable
to process email, however
other types of client devices and forms of electronic data, other than email,
will occur to those of skill in the
art and are within the scope of the invention.
Figure 2 shows base station 24 andradio phone 36 in greater detail. Base
station 24 comprises an
antenna 100 for receiving and transmitting radio- communications over radio
link 38. In turn, antenna 100 is
connected to a radio 104 and a modem 108. Modem 108 is connected to a
microprocessor-muter
assembly 112. A suitable microprocessor would be a SPARC processor system
manufactured by SUN
Microsystems. It will be understood that assembly 112 can include multiple
microprocessors, as desired.
The muter within microprocessor-router assembly 112 is connected to backhaul
32 in any suitable
manner, which in turn connects base station 24 to network 28.
Radio phone 36 comprises an antenna 200 for receiving and t<anstmitting radio-
communications
over radio link 3 8. In turn, antenna 200 is connected to a radio 204 and a
modem 208, which in tour is
connected to a microprocessor-assembly 212.
Microprocessor-assembly 212 can include, for example, a StrongARM processor
manufactured
by Intel, and performs a variety of functions, including implementing A/D-D/A
conversion, voice codecs,
filters, encoders, data compressors and/or decompressors, packet
assembly/disassembly. Accordingly,
microprocessor-assembly 212 is operable to process voice-telephone calls
between an earpiece 216, a
mouthpiece 218 and modem 208.
Radio phone 36 also includes a keypad 224 or other user-input device operably
connected to
provide input to microprocessor 212, and a display 220 other user-output
device operably connected to
present output from microprocessor 212.
Radio phone 36 further includes rewriteable persistent storage 228, such as a
smart card or an
EEPROM or static RAM, etc., that is connected to microprocessor assembly 212
and is operable to store
at least a user's telephone directory, but in other embodiments may also store
other data, such as calendar
appointments, to do lists, memo pads, as desired, which can be browsed using
display 220 and keypad
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224. The telephone directory is usable for automatically dialing an entry in
the directory, simply by hitting a
single key, such as the "send" key, following the selection of a particular
entry that is browsed and/or
displayed on display 220. While not a critical feature of radio phone 36, it
is contemplated that keypad
224 and display 220 can be used, via microprocessor 212, to modify the
telephone directory of callers (or
other types of data stored) stored in persistent storage 228.
Microprocessor 212 is fiuther operable to send and receive emails (or other
forms of electronic
data) over network 28 via link 38 and base station 24. In particular,
microprocessor 212 is operable to,
on receipt of a predefined sequence of keystrokes on keypad 224, assemble an
email or other message
incorporating at least a portion of the telephone directory or other data
stored in persistent storage 228,
I 0 and to send that email to a user-specified email address, or other user-
specified destination appropriate to
the data service (ie. SMS, caller ID)
In tour, microprocessor 212 is further operable to receive an email message ,
( or short messaging
service, SMS, messages or other type of data message, such as Caller ID),
incorporating an amended
telephone directory, or an individual telephone directory entryor other
informationthat will be incorporated
1 S into the telephone directory or other information stored in persistent
storage 228.
Referring now to Figure 3, a method of modifying persistent storage in
accordance with another
embodiment of the invention is shown. For purposes of assisting in explaining
the method, reference will be
made to system 20 and Figures l and 2. At step 300, the telephone directory is
prepared. In a present
embodiment, this is performed on a terminal device, such as personal computer
40, which is executing
20 software that allows a user to add, delete and modify various entries and
fields in the telephone directory or
other information The telephone directory can be created from scratch or
imported from some other
database resident on personal computer 40. It is presently preferred that the
user-interfaces on the
software executing on personal computer 40 are easy and intuitive to use. Any
type of software that allows
a user to prepare a desired telephone directory or other informationfor
storage on radio phone 36 can be
25 used.
For example, suitable software can be an appropriately modified version of
Palin Desktop
Software from 3Com, or Microsoft Outlook, that is capable of assembling a
message containing the
CA 02310185 2000-06-OS
desired contents of the telephone directory and that is recognizable toradio
phone 36. Another example is
that the software can be executing in some distributed manner, between, for
example, a browser client and
a web server. In this ex~unple, the server may be resident at base station 24,
and the client may be
personal computer 40. However, it is contemplated that, in a presently
preferred embodiment of the
invention, the telephone directory or other information can be created using a
simple email client program,
such as Eudora or Netscape Messenger, or using the email interface on an
interet based email service
such as Yahoo mail or Hotmail. It will be thus understood that the software
executing on personal computer
40 can either be software dedicated to for use with radio phone 36, or it can
be a generic email, or other
messaging program such as a SMS messaging programaccessed via a web browser
executing on personal
computer 40. In the situation of a generic email program, the creator of the
email message at personal
computer 40 will generate an email message in a predefined format recognizable
to radio phone 36. An
example of a suitable format is given in Appendix 1 wherein ASCII text "tags"
are employed torecognize
and use the contents of the email. In this example the <DIRECTORY>,
</DIRECTORY> tags are used
to define the start and end of the information to be treated as telephone
directory entries. The number tags
<1>, </1> are used to indicate the directory position in which the entry
should be stored and the slash "/"
character is used to delimit the name from the telephone number. As will be
apparent, the actual format
employed is not limited to this example, and a wide variety of useful formats
in accordance with the present
invention will occur to those of skill in the art. In general, however, other
ways of providing a user-interface
on personal computer 40 that allows a user to remotely modify the contents of
persistent storage 228 will
also occur to those of skill in the art.
Once the telephone directory has been prepared, the method advances to step
305, where the
telephone directory is packaged for transfer. In a present embodiment,
software executing on personal
computer 40, such as an email client program, will, upon receipt of
predetermined user input, allow the user
to assemble the telephone directory into an email message, either as an
attachment or directly asembedded
ASCII text The addressee on the email message is unique to radio phone 36. For
example, the email
address may be 555-555-5555(~serviceprovider.com, where 555-555-5555 is the
telephone number
assigned for radio phone 36. In addition, the subject line of the email
message can be a unique string,
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recognizable to radio phone 36, that identifies the contest of the email
message to microprocessor 212
which can then appropriately process the contents of the email message. For
example, the subject line of
the email message may read "ADD TO TELEPHONE DIRECTORY". It is thus
contemplated that the
present invention can be readily applied to existing radio phones 36 having
the ability to receive emails.
Next, at step 310, the packaged telephone directory is sent to the base
station 24 (via an
appropriate email server in network 28, as will be understood by those of skil
in the art) in communication
with radio phone 36. Since radio phone 36 is a mobile phone, it is
contemplated that, using known email
routing techniques, the packaged telephone directory is sent as an email that
was prepared at personal
computer 40 and is sent over network 28 to base station 24.
Next, at step 315, the packaged telephone directory is sent over radio link
38. In a present
embodiment, known radio email or other messaging technology (SMS, Caller ID,
WAPI, etc.) is employed
to send the packaged telephone directory from base station 24 to radio phone
36 over radio link 38.
The method then advances to step 320, where the packaged telephone directory
is received by
radio phone 36. Radio 204 receives the packaged telephone directory and
transfers it to modem 208.
At step 325, the packaged telephone directory is unpackaged. In a present
embodiment, modem
208 and microprocessor 2 l2 cooperate to decode the email containing the
packaged telephone directory
or other information As previously discussed, the email can include a unique
subject line, or other content,
that indicates to microprocessor 212 that the email or other message contains
all or part of an updated
telephone directory or other information, intended for storage in persistent
storage 228.
The method then advances to step 330, where the receipt and unpackaging of the
telephone
directory is reported as an event on display 220, and a request is generated
asking for confirmation that the
existing telephone directory stored in persistent storage 228 is to be
modified. If, by entering the
appropriate keystroke on keypad 224, confirmation is indicated, then the
method advances to step 335
and the received telephom directory is transferred into persistent storage 228
thus modifying the existing
telephone directory accordingly. If, however, confirmation is denied, then the
method advances to step
340 and the received telephone directory is discarded.
Assuming confirmation was given at step 330, and the directory was stored at
step 335, then the
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modified telephone directory is now available for viewing and automatic
dialing by the user ofradio phone
36.
While the embodiments discussed herein are directed to specific
implementations of the invention, it
will be understood that combinations, sub-sets and variations of the
embodiments are within the scope of
the invention. For example, it is contemplated that simultaneous, but
different, modifications made to the
telephone directory in radio phone 36 and modifications made to a copy of the
telephone directory in
personal computer 40 or elsewhere can be "synchronized" using, for example,
Hot Sync technology
available on the Palm Pilot from 3Com corporation or the like.
It is contemplated that the present invention can be used on other intelligent
devices, in addition to a
radio phone. For example, a personal digital assistant.
It is contemplated that other data stored in persistent storage 228 can be
modified using the
embodiments discussed herein. For example, other types of data can include
calendars, to-do lists, memo
pads, operating and configuration information, etc.
It is contemplated that the telephone directory can include a variety of
fields, such as the name,
address, telephone number, fax number, email address, website address. The
radio device can made be
operable to access the contents of the telephone directory and automatically
determine a recipient's
telephone number or address to accompany a corresponding message prepared
using the radio device.
For example, where the radio device is operable to prepare an email message,
then the radio device can be
operable to automatically extract a known r ecipient's email address from the
telephone directory and attach
that address to the email message. Similarly, where the radio device is
operable to prepare a fax, then the
radio device can be operable to automatically extract a known recipient's fax
number from the telephone
directory and attach that address to the fax message.
It is contemplated that individual entries in the telephone directory, or the
entire telephone directory
can be modified, as desired.
It is contemplated that the present invention can be used to modify
configuration data in the
intelligent device. For example, in a radio phone, it is contemplated that the
present invention can be used
to change, for example, the ringing tones of the phone.
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While it is presently preferred that the telephone directory or other
electronic data in persistent
storage 228 are transferred between radio phone 36 and personal computer 44
using email, it will be
understood that other types of data packaging and/or messaging techniques can
be used, as desired.
It will be understood that the exact sequence of steps discussed in the method
shown in Figure 3
can be changed, and the individual steps modified, as desired. For example,
confirmation of a request to
modify the directory based on a received directory need not be obtained, thus
eliminating steps 330 and
340 from the method. Other variations will occur to those of skill in the art.
The present invention provides a novel, system, method and apparatus for
modifying persistent
storage. In an embodiment of the invention, the persistent storage within a
radio phone contains a
telephone directory. The telephone directory in the radio phone can be used to
automatically dial the
number of an individual or entity that exists as an entry in the telephone
directory. The phone is operable to
send and receive, via a radio base station respective to theradio phone,
copies of the telephone directory.
A remote client device, such as a personal computer, is operable to allow a
user to modify the telephone
directory and to exchange copies of the telephone directory with the radio
phone. The present invention
thus provides a user-friendly way to backup, modify and restore a telephone
directory or other electroniv
data infom~ation in a radio phone or other intelligent devices that has
limited user-interface capabilities.
'The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples
of the present
invention and alterations and modifications nay be effected thereto, by those
of skill in the art, without
departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the
claims appended hereto.
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APPENDIX 1
<DIRECTORY>
<1> JOHN SMITH /416-555-1212 </1>
<2> BILL JONES / 415-555-1212 </2>
<3> MARY WHITE / 904-555-1212 </3>
</DIRECTORY>
12
