Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02684823 2009-11-06
PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF INFORMATION RENDERING ON
PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to information rendering on a display of
a portable
electronic device.
BACKGROUND DISCUSSION
[0002] Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gained
widespread
use and may provide a variety of functions including, for example, telephonic,
electronic
messaging and other personal information manager (PIM) application functions.
Portable
electronic devices include, for example, several types of mobile stations such
as simple
cellular telephones, smart telephones, wireless personal digital assistants
(PDAs), and laptop
computers with wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth capabilities.
[0003] Portable electronic devices such as PDAs or smart telephones are
generally
intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smaller devices are
generally desirable
for portability. The displays of such handheld devices are small and therefore
have limited
space for user input and output. The information displayed, at one instance in
time, on such
displays is limited. With continued demand for decreased size of portable
electronic devices,
portable electronic device displays continue to decrease in size.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Embodiments of the present application will now be described, by way of
example
only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an embodiment of a portable
electronic device;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a communication subsystem
component of Figure 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a node of a
wireless network;
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FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example of a
configuration
of a host system that the portable electronic device can communicate with;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of a method in accordance with the present
disclosure; and
FIG 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are examples of illustrations of screen shots of a
portable electronic device in the method of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0005] According to one aspect, a portable electronic device-implemented
method
includes rendering information on a display of the portable electronic device,
detecting
receipt of an initiating input, and rendering a band, including at least one
field, along an edge
of the display.
[0006] According to another aspect, a computer-readable medium has computer-
readable code executable by at least one processor of a portable electronic
device to
perform the above method.
[0007] According to still another aspect, a portable electronic device
includes a display,
an input device, a memory, and a processor operably connected to the display,
the input
device and the memory to execute a program stored in the memory to cause the
portable
electronic device to render information on the display, detect receipt of an
initiating input, and
render a band, including at least one field, along an edge of the display.
[0008] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,
where considered
appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate
corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details
are set forth in
order to provide a thorough understanding of the example embodiments described
herein.
However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the
example
embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details.
In other
instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been
described in
detail so as not to obscure the example embodiments described herein. Also,
the description
is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described
herein by way of
example.
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[0009] The example embodiments described herein generally relate to portable
electronic devices. Examples of portable electronic devices include mobile or
handheld
wireless communication devices such as pagers, cellular phones, cellular smart-
phones,
wireless organizers, PDAs, computers, laptops, handheld wireless communication
devices,
wirelessly enabled notebook computers and the like.
[0010] The portable electronic device may be a two-way communication device
with
advanced data communication capabilities including the capability to
communicate with other
portable electronic devices or computer systems through a network of
transceiver stations.
The portable electronic device may also have the capability to allow voice
communication.
Depending on the functionality provided by the portable electronic device, it
may be referred
to as a data messaging device, a two-way pager, a cellular telephone with data
messaging
capabilities, a wireless Internet appliance, or a data communication device
(with or without
telephony capabilities). To aid the reader in understanding the structure of
the portable
electronic device and how it communicates with other devices and host systems,
reference
will now be made to Figures 1 through 4.
[0011] Referring first to Figure 1, shown therein is a block diagram of an
example of an
embodiment of a portable electronic device 100. The portable electronic device
100 includes
a number of components such as a main processor 102 that controls the overall
operation of
the portable electronic device 100. Communication functions, including data
and voice
communications, are performed through a communication subsystem 104. Data
received by
the portable electronic device 100 can be decompressed and decrypted by a
decoder 103,
operating according to any suitable decompression techniques (e.g. YK
decompression, and
other known techniques) and encryption techniques (e.g. using an encryption
technique such
as Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, or Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES)).
The communication subsystem 104 receives messages from and sends messages to a
wireless network 200. In this example of an embodiment of the portable
electronic device
100, the communication subsystem 104 is configured in accordance with the
Global System
for Mobile Communication (GSM) and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS)
standards.
The GSM/GPRS wireless network is used worldwide and it is expected that these
standards
will be superseded eventually by Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) and
Universal
Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS). New standards are still being
defined, but it is
believed that they will have similarities to the network behavior described
herein, and it will
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also be understood by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments
described herein are
intended to use any other suitable standards that are developed in the future.
The wireless
link connecting the communication subsystem 104 with the wireless network 200
represents
one or more different Radio Frequency (RF) channels, operating according to
defined
protocols specified for GSM/GPRS communications. With newer network protocols,
these
channels are capable of supporting both circuit switched voice communications
and packet
switched data communications.
[0012] Although the wireless network 200 associated with portable electronic
device 100
is a GSM/GPRS wireless network in one example of an implementation, other
wireless
networks may also be associated with the portable electronic device 100 in
variant
implementations. The different types of wireless networks that may be employed
include, for
example, data-centric wireless networks, voice-centric wireless networks, and
dual-mode
networks that can support both voice and data communications over the same
physical base
stations. Combined dual-mode networks include, but are not limited to, Code
Division
Multiple Access (CDMA) or CDMA2000 networks, GSM/GPRS networks (as mentioned
above), and third-generation (3G) networks such as EDGE and UMTS. Some other
examples of data-centric networks include WiFi 802.11, MobitexTM and DataTACTM
network
communication systems. Examples of other voice-centric data networks include
Personal
Communication Systems (PCS) networks like GSM and Time Division Multiple
Access
(TDMA) systems. The main processor 102 also interacts with additional
subsystems such as
a Random Access Memory (RAM) 106, memory 108, a display 110, an auxiliary
input/output
(I/O) subsystem 112, a data port 114, a trackball 115, a keyboard 116, a
speaker 118, a
microphone 120, short-range communications 122 and other device subsystems
124.
[0013] Some of the subsystems of the portable electronic device 100 perform
communication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide
"resident" or on-
device functions. By way of example, the display 110, the trackball 115 and
the keyboard
116 may be used for both communication-related functions, such as entering a
text message
for transmission over the network 200, and device-resident functions such as a
calculator or
task list.
[0014] The portable electronic device 100 can send and receive communication
signals
over the wireless network 200 after network registration or activation
procedures have been
completed. Network access is associated with a subscriber or user of the
portable electronic
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device 100. To identify a subscriber, a SIM/RUIM card 126 (i.e. Subscriber
Identity Module or
a Removable User Identity Module) is inserted into a SIM/RUIM interface 128 in
order to
communicate with a network. The SIM/RUIM card 126 is a type of a conventional
"smart
card" that can be used to identify a subscriber of the portable electronic
device 100 and to
personalize the portable electronic device 100, among other things. In the
present
embodiment, the portable electronic device 100 is not fully operational for
communication
with the wireless network 200 without the SIM/RUIM card 126. By inserting the
SIM/RUIM
card 126 into the SIM/RUIM interface 128, a subscriber can access all
subscribed services.
Services may include: web browsing and messaging such as e-mail, voice mail,
Short
Message Service (SMS), and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS). More advanced
services may include: point of sale, field service and sales force automation.
The SIM/RUIM
card 126 includes a processor and memory for storing information. Once the
SIM/RUIM card
126 is inserted into the SIM/RUIM interface 128, it is coupled to the main
processor 102. In
order to identify the subscriber, the SIM/RUIM card 126 can include some user
parameters
such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). An advantage of
using the
SIM/RUIM card 126 is that a subscriber is not necessarily bound by any single
physical
portable electronic device. The SIM/RUIM card 126 may store additional
subscriber
information for a portable electronic device as well, including datebook (or
calendar)
information and recent call information. Alternatively, user identification
information can also
be programmed into memory 108.
[0015] The portable electronic device 100 is a battery-powered device and
includes a
battery interface 132 for receiving one or more rechargeable batteries 130. In
at least some
embodiments, the battery 130 can be a smart battery with an embedded
microprocessor.
The battery interface 132 is coupled to a regulator (not shown), which assists
the battery 130
in providing power V+ to the portable electronic device 100. Although current
technology
makes use of a battery, future technologies such as micro fuel cells may
provide the power
to the portable electronic device 100.
[0016] The portable electronic device 100 also includes an operating system
134 and
software components 136 which are described in more detail below. The
operating system
134 and the software components 136 that are executed by the main processor
102 are
typically stored in a persistent, updatable store such as the memory 108.
Those skilled in the
art will appreciate that portions of the operating system 134 and the software
components
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136, such as specific device applications 138, 140, 142, 144, 146, 148 or
parts thereof, may
be temporarily loaded into a volatile store such as the RAM 106. Other
software components
can also be included, as is well known to those skilled in the art.
[0017] The subset of software components 136 that control basic device
operations,
including data and voice communication applications are installed on the
portable electronic
device 100 during its manufacture. Other software applications include a
message
application 138 that can be any suitable software program that allows a user
of the portable
electronic device 100 to send and receive electronic messages. Various
alternatives exist for
the message application 138 as is well known to those skilled in the art.
Messages that have
been sent or received by the user are typically stored in the memory 108 of
the portable
electronic device 100 or some other suitable storage element in the portable
electronic
device 100. In at least some embodiments, some of the sent and received
messages may be
stored remotely from the device 100 such as in a data store of an associated
host system
that the portable electronic device 100 communicates with.
[0018] The software components 136 can further include a device state module
140, a
Personal Information Manager (PIM) 142, and other suitable modules (not
shown). The
device state module 140 provides persistence, i.e. the device state module 140
ensures that
important device data is stored in persistent memory, such as the memory 108,
so that the
data is not lost when the portable electronic device 100 is turned off or
loses power.
[0019] The PIM 142 includes functionality for organizing and managing data
items of
interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail, contacts, calendar
events, voice mails,
appointments, and task items. PIM applications include, for example, calendar,
address
book, tasks and memo applications. The PIM 142 has the ability to send and
receive data
items via the wireless network 200. PIM data items may be seamlessly
integrated,
synchronized, and updated via the wireless network 200 with the portable
electronic device
subscriber's corresponding data items stored and/or associated with a host
computer
system. This functionality creates a mirrored host computer on the portable
electronic device
100 with respect to such items. This can be particularly advantageous when the
host
computer system is the portable electronic device subscriber's office computer
system.
[0020] The software components 62 also includes a connect module 144, and an
information technology (IT) policy module 146. The connect module 144
implements the
communication protocols that are required for the portable electronic device
100 to
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communicate with the wireless infrastructure and any host system, such as an
enterprise
system, that the portable electronic device 100 is authorized to interface
with. Examples of a
wireless infrastructure and an enterprise system are given in Figures 3 and 4,
which are
described in more detail below.
[0021] The connect module 144 includes a set of APIs that can be integrated
with the
portable electronic device 100 to allow the portable electronic device 100 to
use any number
of services associated with the enterprise system. The connect module 144
allows the
portable electronic device 100 to establish an end-to-end secure,
authenticated
communication pipe with the host system. A subset of applications for which
access is
provided by the connect module 144 can be used to pass IT policy commands from
the host
system to the portable electronic device 100. This can be done in a wireless
or wired
manner. These instructions can then be passed to the IT policy module 146 to
modify the
configuration of the device 100. Alternatively, in some cases, the IT policy
update can also
be done over a wired connection.
[0022] Other types of software applications can also be provided on the
portable
electronic device 100, including the Web browser 148 for enabling a user to
display and
interact with text, images, videos, music and other information from a webpage
at a website
on the world wide web or on a local network.
[0023] Still other types of software applications can be installed on the
portable
electronic device 100. Such software applications can be third party
applications, which are
added after the manufacture of the portable electronic device 100. Examples of
third party
applications include games, calculators, utilities, etc.
[0024] The additional applications can be loaded onto the portable electronic
device 100
through at least one of the wireless network 200, the auxiliary I/O subsystem
112, the data
port 114, the short-range communications subsystem 122, or any other suitable
device
subsystem 124. This flexibility in application installation increases the
functionality of the
portable electronic device 100 and may provide enhanced on-device functions,
communication-related functions, or both. For example, secure communication
applications
may enable electronic commerce functions and other such financial transactions
to be
performed using the portable electronic device 100.
[0025] The data port 114 enables a subscriber to set preferences through an
external
device or software application and extends the capabilities of the portable
electronic device
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100 by providing for information or software downloads to the portable
electronic device 100
other than through a wireless communication network. The alternate download
path may, for
example, be used to load an encryption key onto the portable electronic device
100 through
a direct and thus reliable and trusted connection to provide secure device
communication.
[0026] The data port 114 can be any suitable port that enables data
communication
between the portable electronic device 100 and another computing device. The
data port 114
can be a serial or a parallel port. In some instances, the data port 114 can
be a USB port that
includes data lines for data transfer and a supply line that can provide a
charging current to
charge the battery 130 of the portable electronic device 100.
[0027] The short-range communications subsystem 122 provides for communication
between the portable electronic device 100 and different systems or devices,
without the use
of the wireless network 200. For example, the subsystem 122 may include an
infrared device
and associated circuits and components for short-range communication. Examples
of short-
range communication standards include standards developed by the Infrared Data
Association (IrDA), Bluetooth , and the 802.11 family of standards developed
by IEEE.
[0028] In use, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message,
webpage
download, or any other information is processed by the communication subsystem
104 and
input to the main processor 102 where the received signal is processed for
output to the
display 110 or alternatively to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 112. A subscriber
may also
compose data items, such as e-mail messages, for example, using the keyboard
116 in
conjunction with the display 110 and possibly the auxiliary I/O subsystem 112.
The auxiliary
subsystem 112 may include devices such as: a touch screen, mouse, track ball,
infrared
fingerprint detector, or a roller wheel with dynamic button pressing
capability. The keyboard
116 is preferably an alphanumeric keyboard and/or telephone-type keypad.
However, other
types of keyboards may also be used. A composed item may be transmitted over
the
wireless network 200 through the communication subsystem 104.
[0029] For voice communications, the overall operation of the portable
electronic device
100 is substantially similar, except that the received signals are output to
the speaker 118,
and signals for transmission are generated by the microphone 120. Alternative
voice or audio
I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, can also be
implemented
on the portable electronic device 100. Although voice or audio signal output
is accomplished
primarily through the speaker 118, the display 110 can also be used to provide
additional
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information such as the identity of a calling party, duration of a voice call,
or other voice call
related information.
[0030] Referring now to Figure 2, a block diagram of an example of the
communication
subsystem component 104 is shown. The communication subsystem 104 includes a
receiver
150, a transmitter 152, as well as associated components such as one or more
embedded or
internal antenna elements 154 and 156, Local Oscillators (LOs) 158, and a
processing
module such as a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 160. The particular design of
the
communication subsystem 104 is dependent upon the communication network 200
with
which the portable electronic device 100 is intended to operate. Thus, it
should be
understood that the design illustrated in Figure 2 serves only as one example.
[0031] Signals received by the antenna 154 through the wireless network 200
are input
to the receiver 150, which may perform such common receiver functions as
signal
amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, and
analog-to-digital
(A/D) conversion. A/D conversion of a received signal allows more complex
communication
functions such as demodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP 160. In
a similar
manner, signals to be transmitted are processed, including modulation and
encoding, by the
DSP 160. These DSP-processed signals are input to the transmitter 152 for
digital-to-analog
(D/A) conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and
transmission over the
wireless network 200 via the antenna 156. The DSP 160 not only processes
communication
signals, but also provides for receiver and transmitter control. For example,
the gains applied
to communication signals in the receiver 150 and the transmitter 152 may be
adaptively
controlled through automatic gain control algorithms implemented in the DSP
160.
[0032] The wireless link between the portable electronic device 100 and the
wireless
network 200 can contain one or more different channels, typically different RF
channels, and
associated protocols used between the portable electronic device 100 and the
wireless
network 200. An RF channel is a limited resource that should be conserved,
typically due to
limits in overall bandwidth and limited battery power of the portable
electronic device 100.
[0033] When the portable electronic device 100 is fully operational, the
transmitter 152 is
typically keyed or turned on only when it is transmitting to the wireless
network 200 and is
otherwise turned off to conserve resources. Similarly, the receiver 150 is
periodically turned
off to conserve power until it is needed to receive signals or information (if
at all) during
designated time periods.
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[0034] Referring now to Figure 3, a block diagram of an example of an
implementation of
a node 202 of the wireless network 200 is shown. In practice, the wireless
network 200
comprises one or more nodes 202. In conjunction with the connect module 144,
the portable
electronic device 100 can communicate with the node 202 within the wireless
network 200. In
the example of Figure 3, the node 202 is configured in accordance with General
Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) and Global Systems for Mobile (GSM) technologies. The
node 202
includes a base station controller (BSC) 204 with an associated tower station
206, a Packet
Control Unit (PCU) 208 added for GPRS support in GSM, a Mobile Switching
Center (MSC)
210, a Home Location Register (HLR) 212, a Visitor Location Registry (VLR)
214, a Serving
GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 216, a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 218, and a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) 220. This list of components is not
meant to be
an exhaustive list of the components of every node 202 within a GSM/GPRS
network, but
rather a list of components that are commonly used in communications through
the network
200.
[0035] In a GSM network, the MSC 210 is coupled to the BSC 204 and to a
landline
network, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 222 to satisfy
circuit
switched requirements. The connection through the PCU 208, the SGSN 216 and
the GGSN
218 to a public or private network (Internet) 224 (also referred to herein
generally as a
shared network infrastructure) represents the data path for GPRS capable
portable electronic
devices. In a GSM network extended with GPRS capabilities, the BSC 204 also
contains the
Packet Control Unit (PCU) 208 that connects to the SGSN 216 to control
segmentation, radio
channel allocation and to satisfy packet switched requirements. To track the
location of the
portable electronic device 100 and availability for both circuit switched and
packet switched
management, the HLR 212 is shared between the MSC 210 and the SGSN 216. Access
to
the VLR 214 is controlled by the MSC 210.
[0036] The station 206 is a fixed transceiver station and together with the
BSC 204 form
fixed transceiver equipment. The fixed transceiver equipment provides wireless
network
coverage for a particular coverage area commonly referred to as a "cell". The
fixed
transceiver equipment transmits communication signals to and receives
communication
signals from portable electronic devices within its cell via the station 206.
The fixed
transceiver equipment normally performs such functions as modulation and
possibly
encoding and/or encryption of signals to be transmitted to the portable
electronic device 100
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in accordance with particular, usually predetermined, communication protocols
and
parameters, under control of its controller. The fixed transceiver equipment
similarly
demodulates and possibly decodes and decrypts, if necessary, any communication
signals
received from the portable electronic device 100 within its cell.
Communication protocols and
parameters may vary between different nodes. For example, one node may employ
a
different modulation scheme and operate at different frequencies than other
nodes.
[0037] For all portable electronic devices 100 registered with a specific
network,
permanent configuration data such as a user profile is stored in the HLR 212.
The HLR 212
also contains location information for each registered portable electronic
device and can be
queried to determine the current location of a portable electronic device. The
MSC 210 is
responsible for a group of location areas and stores the data of the portable
electronic
devices currently in its area of responsibility in the VLR 214. Further, the
VLR 214 also
contains information on portable electronic devices that are visiting other
networks. The
information in the VLR 214 includes part of the permanent portable electronic
device data
transmitted from the HLR 212 to the VLR 214 for faster access. By moving
additional
information from a remote HLR 212 node to the VLR 214, the amount of traffic
between
these nodes can be reduced so that voice and data services can be provided
with faster
response times and at the same time requiring less use of computing resources.
[0038] The SGSN 216 and the GGSN 218 are elements added for GPRS support;
namely packet switched data support, within GSM. The SGSN 216 and the MSC 210
have
similar responsibilities within the wireless network 200 by keeping track of
the location of
each portable electronic device 100. The SGSN 216 also performs security
functions and
access control for data traffic on the wireless network 200. The GGSN 218
provides
internetworking connections with external packet switched networks and
connects to one or
more SGSN's 216 via an Internet Protocol (IP) backbone network operated within
the
network 200. During normal operations, a given portable electronic device 100
must perform
a "GPRS Attach" to acquire an IP address and to access data services. This
requirement is
not present in circuit switched voice channels as Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN)
addresses are used for routing incoming and outgoing calls. Currently, all
GPRS capable
networks use private, dynamically assigned IP addresses, thus requiring the
DHCP server
220 connected to the GGSN 218. There are many mechanisms for dynamic IP
assignment,
including using a combination of a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
(RADIUS)
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server and a DHCP server. Once the GPRS Attach is complete, a logical
connection is
established from a portable electronic device 100, through the PCU 208, and
the SGSN 216
to an Access Point Node (APN) within the GGSN 218. The APN represents a
logical end of
an IP tunnel that can either access direct Internet compatible services or
private network
connections. The APN also represents a security mechanism for the network 200,
insofar as
each portable electronic device 100 must be assigned to one or more APNs and
portable
electronic devices 100 cannot exchange data without first performing a GPRS
Attach to an
APN that it has been authorized to use. The APN may be considered to be
similar to an
Internet domain name such as "myconnection.wireless.com".
[0039] Once the GPRS Attach operation is complete, a tunnel is created and all
traffic is
exchanged within standard IP packets using any protocol that can be supported
in IP
packets. This includes tunneling methods such as IP over IP as in the case
with some
IPSecurity (IPsec) connections used with Virtual Private Networks (VPN). These
tunnels are
also referred to as Packet Data Protocol (PDP) Contexts and there are a
limited number of
these available in the network 200. To maximize use of the PDP Contexts, the
network 200
will run an idle timer for each PDP Context to determine if there is a lack of
activity. When a
portable electronic device 100 is not using its PDP Context, the PDP Context
can be de-
allocated and the IP address returned to the IP address pool managed by the
DHCP server
220.
[0040] Referring now to Figure 4, shown therein is a block diagram
illustrating
components of an example of a configuration of a host system 250 that the
portable
electronic device 100 can communicate with in conjunction with the connect
module 144.
The host system 250 will typically be a corporate enterprise or other local
area network
(LAN), but may also be a home office computer or some other private system,
for example,
in variant implementations. In this example shown in Figure 4, the host system
250 is
depicted as a LAN of an organization to which a user of the portable
electronic device 100
belongs. Typically, a plurality of portable electronic devices can communicate
wirelessly with
the host system 250 through one or more nodes 202 of the wireless network 200.
[0041] The host system 250 comprises a number of network components connected
to
each other by a network 260. For instance, a user's desktop computer 262a with
an
accompanying cradle 264 for the user's portable electronic device 100 is
situated on a LAN
connection. The cradle 264 for the portable electronic device 100 can be
coupled to the
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computer 262a by a serial or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection, for
example. Other
user computers 262b-262n are also situated on the network 260, and each may or
may not
be equipped with an accompanying cradle 264. The cradle 264 facilitates the
loading of
information (e.g. PIM data, private symmetric encryption keys to facilitate
secure
communications) from the user computer 262a to the portable electronic device
100, and
may be particularly useful for bulk information updates often performed in
initializing the
portable electronic device 100 for use. The information downloaded to the
portable electronic
device 100 may include certificates used in the exchange of messages.
[0042] The user computers 262a-262n will typically also be connected to other
peripheral
devices, such as printers, etc. which are not explicitly shown in Figure 4.
Furthermore, only a
subset of network components of the host system 250 are shown in Figure 4 for
ease of
exposition, and will comprise additional components that are not explicitly
shown in Figure 4
for this example configuration. More generally, the host system 250 may
represent a smaller
part of a larger network (not shown) of the organization, and may comprise
different
components and/or be arranged in different topologies than that shown in the
example of
Figure 4.
[0043] To facilitate the operation of the portable electronic device 100 and
the wireless
communication of messages and message-related data between the portable
electronic
device 100 and components of the host system 250, a number of wireless
communication
support components 270 can be provided. In some implementations, the wireless
communication support components 270 can include a management server 272, a
mobile
data server (MDS) 274, a web server, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) server
275, a contact server 276, and a device manager module 278. HTTP servers can
also be
located outside the enterprise system, as indicated by the HTTP server 275
attached to the
network 224. The device manager module 278 includes an IT Policy editor 280
and an IT
user property editor 282, as well as other software components for allowing an
IT
administrator to configure the portable electronic devices 100. In an
alternative embodiment,
there may be one editor that provides the functionality of both the IT policy
editor 280 and the
IT user property editor 282. The support components 270 also include a data
store 284, and
an IT policy server 286. The IT policy server 286 includes a processor 288, a
network
interface 290 and a memory unit 292. The processor 288 controls the operation
of the IT
policy server 286 and executes functions related to the standardized IT policy
as described
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below. The network interface 290 allows the IT policy server 286 to
communicate with the
various components of the host system 250 and the portable electronic devices
100. The
memory unit 292 can store functions used in implementing the IT policy as well
as related
data. Those skilled in the art know how to implement these various components.
Other
components may also be included as is well known to those skilled in the art.
Further, in
some implementations, the data store 284 can be part of any one of the
servers.
[0044] In this example, the portable electronic device 100 communicates with
the host
system 250 through node 202 of the wireless network 200 and a shared network
infrastructure 224 such as a service provider network or the public Internet.
Access to the
host system 250 may be provided through one or more routers (not shown), and
computing
devices of the host system 250 may operate from behind a firewall or proxy
server 266. The
proxy server 266 provides a secure node and a wireless internet gateway for
the host system
250. The proxy server 266 intelligently routes data to the correct destination
server within the
host system 250.
[0045] In some implementations, the host system 250 can include a wireless VPN
router
(not shown) to facilitate data exchange between the host system 250 and the
portable
electronic device 100. The wireless VPN router allows a VPN connection to be
established
directly through a specific wireless network to the portable electronic device
100. The
wireless VPN router can be used with the Internet Protocol (IP) Version 6
(IPV6) and IP-
based wireless networks. This protocol can provide enough IP addresses so that
each
portable electronic device has a dedicated IP address, making it possible to
push information
to a portable electronic device at any time. An advantage of using a wireless
VPN router is
that it can be an off-the-shelf VPN component, and does not require a separate
wireless
gateway and separate wireless infrastructure. A VPN connection can preferably
be a
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/IP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP)/IP
connection for
delivering the messages directly to the portable electronic device 100 in this
alternative
implementation.
[0046] Messages intended for a user of the portable electronic device 100 are
initially
received by a message server 268 of the host system 250. Such messages may
originate
from any number of sources. For instance, a message may have been sent by a
sender from
the computer 262b within the host system 250, from a different portable
electronic device
(not shown) connected to the wireless network 200 or a different wireless
network, or from a
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different computing device, or other device capable of sending messages, via
the shared
network infrastructure 224, possibly through an application service provider
(ASP) or Internet
service provider (ISP), for example.
[0047] The message server 268 typically acts as the primary interface for the
exchange
of messages, particularly e-mail messages, within the organization and over
the shared
network infrastructure 224. Each user in the organization that has been set up
to send and
receive messages is typically associated with a user account managed by the
message
server 268. Some examples of implementations of the message server 268 include
a
Microsoft ExchangeTM server, a Lotus Domino T" server, a Novell
GroupwiseTMserver, or
another suitable mail server installed in a corporate environment. In some
implementations,
the host system 250 may comprise multiple message servers 268. The message
server
provides additional functions including PIM functions such as calendaring,
contacts and tasks
and supports data storage.
[0048] When messages are received by the message server 268, they are
typically
stored in a data store associated with the message server 268. In at least
some
embodiments, the data store may be a separate hardware unit, such as data
store 284, that
the message server 268 communicates with. Messages can be subsequently
retrieved and
delivered to users by accessing the message server 268. For instance, an e-
mail client
application operating on a user's computer 262a may request the e-mail
messages
associated with that user's account stored on the data store associated with
the message
server 268. These messages are then retrieved from the data store and stored
locally on the
computer 262a. The data store associated with the message server 268 can store
copies of
each message that is locally stored on the portable electronic device 100.
Alternatively, the
data store associated with the message server 268 can store all of the
messages for the user
of the portable electronic device 100 and only a smaller number of messages
can be stored
on the portable electronic device 100 to conserve memory. For instance, the
most recent
messages (i.e. those received in the past two to three months for example) can
be stored on
the portable electronic device 100.
[0049] When operating the portable electronic device 100, the user may wish to
have e-
mail messages retrieved for delivery to the portable electronic device 100.
The message
application 138 operating on the portable electronic device 100 may also
request messages
associated with the user's account from the message server 268. The message
application
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138 may be configured (either by the user or by an administrator, possibly in
accordance with
an organization's IT policy) to make this request at the direction of the
user, at some pre-
defined time interval, or upon the occurrence of some pre-defined event. In
some
implementations, the portable electronic device 100 is assigned its own e-mail
address, and
messages addressed specifically to the portable electronic device 100 are
automatically
redirected to the portable electronic device 100 as they are received by the
message server
268.
[0050] The management server 272 can be used to specifically provide support
for the
management of, for example, messages, such as e-mail messages, that are to be
handled
by portable electronic devices. Generally, while messages are still stored on
the message
server 268, the management server 272 can be used to control when, if, and how
messages
are sent to the portable electronic device 100. The management server 272 also
facilitates
the handling of messages composed on the portable electronic device 100, which
are sent to
the message server 268 for subsequent delivery.
[0051] For example, the management server 272 may monitor the user's "mailbox"
(e.g.
the message store associated with the user's account on the message server
268) for new e-
mail messages, and apply user-definable filters to new messages to determine
if and how
the messages are relayed to the user's portable electronic device 100. The
management
server 272 may also, through an encoder 273, compress messages, using any
suitable
compression technology (e.g. YK compression, and other known techniques) and
encrypt
messages (e.g. using an encryption technique such as Data Encryption Standard
(DES),
Triple DES, or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)), and push them to the
portable
electronic device 100 via the shared network infrastructure 224 and the
wireless network
200. The management server 272 may also receive messages composed on the
portable
electronic device 100 (e.g. encrypted using Triple DES), decrypt and
decompress the
composed messages, re-format the composed messages if desired so that they
will appear
to have originated from the user's computer 262a, and re-route the composed
messages to
the message server 268 for delivery.
[0052] Certain properties or restrictions associated with messages that are to
be sent
from and/or received by the portable electronic device 100 can be defined
(e.g. by an
administrator in accordance with IT policy) and enforced by the management
server 272.
These may include whether the portable electronic device 100 may receive
encrypted and/or
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signed messages, minimum encryption key sizes, whether outgoing messages must
be
encrypted and/or signed, and whether copies of all secure messages sent from
the portable
electronic device 100 are to be sent to a pre-defined copy address, for
example.
[0053] The management server 272 may also be adapted to provide other control
functions, such as only pushing certain message information or pre-defined
portions (e.g.
"blocks") of a message stored on the message server 268 to the portable
electronic device
100. For example, in some cases, when a message is initially retrieved by the
portable
electronic device 100 from the message server 268, the management server 272
may push
only the first part of a message to the portable electronic device 100, with
the part being of a
pre-defined size (e.g. 2 KB). The user can then request that more of the
message be
delivered in similar-sized blocks by the management server 272 to the portable
electronic
device 100, possibly up to a maximum pre-defined message size. Accordingly,
the
management server 272 facilitates better control over the type of data and the
amount of
data that is communicated to the portable electronic device 100, and can help
to minimize
potential waste of bandwidth or other resources.
[0054] The MDS 274 encompasses any other server that stores information that
is
relevant to the corporation. The mobile data server 274 may include, but is
not limited to,
databases, online data document repositories, customer relationship management
(CRM)
systems, or enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. The MDS 274 can
also connect
to the Internet or other public network, through HTTP server 275 or other
suitable web server
such as an File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, to retrieve HTTP webpages and
other data.
Requests for webpages from the portable electronic device 100 are typically
routed through
MDS 274 and then to HTTP server 275, through suitable firewalls and other
protective
mechanisms. The web server then retrieves the webpage over the Internet, and
returns it to
MDS 274. As described above in relation to management server 272, MDS 274 is
typically
provided, or associated, with an encoder 277 that permits retrieved data, such
as retrieved
webpages, to be compressed, using any suitable compression technology (e.g. YK
compression, and other known techniques), and encrypted (e.g. using an
encryption
technique such as DES, Triple DES, or AES), and then pushed to the portable
electronic
device 100 via the shared network infrastructure 224 and the wireless network
200.
[0055] The contact server 276 can provide information for a list of contacts
for the user in
a similar fashion as the address book on the portable electronic device 100.
Accordingly, for
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a given contact, the contact server 276 can include the name, phone number,
work address
and e-mail address of the contact, among other information. The contact server
276 can also
provide a global address list that contains the contact information for all of
the contacts
associated with the host system 250.
[0056] It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the management
server 272,
the MDS 274, the HTTP server 275, the contact server 276, the device manager
module
278, the data store 284 and the IT policy server 286 do not need to be
implemented on
separate physical servers within the host system 250. For example, some or all
of the
functions associated with the management server 272 may be integrated with the
message
server 268, or some other server in the host system 250. Alternatively, the
host system 250
may comprise multiple management servers 272, particularly in variant
implementations
where a large number of portable electronic devices need to be supported.
[0057] The device manager module 278 provides an IT administrator with a
graphical
user interface with which the IT administrator interacts to configure various
settings for the
portable electronic devices 100. As mentioned, the IT administrator can use IT
policy rules to
define behaviors of certain applications on the portable electronic device 100
that are
permitted such as phone, web browser or Instant Messenger use. The IT policy
rules can
also be used to set specific values for configuration settings that an
organization requires on
the portable electronic devices 100 such as auto signature text, WLAN/VoIPNPN
configuration, security requirements (e.g. encryption algorithms, password
rules, etc.),
specifying themes or applications that are allowed to run on the portable
electronic device
100, and the like.
[0058] As indicated above, the portable electronic device 100 includes the
Personal
Information Manager (PIM) 142 that includes functionality for organizing and
managing data
items of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail, contacts,
calendar events,
voice mails, appointments, and task items. PIM applications include, for
example, calendar,
address book, tasks and memo applications.
[0059] Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a portable electronic
device method
according to the present disclosure. The method may be carried out by software
executed
by, for example, the processor 102. Generally, information is rendered 502 on
the display
110 of the portable electronic device 100. Receipt of an initiating input is
detected 504 and a
band is rendered 506, including at least one field, along an edge of the
display 110.
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[0060] The present method may be carried out in any suitable application such
as, for
example, a multimedia application, a messaging application, an electronic mail
application, a
tasks application, a web browsing application, and so forth.
[0061] Referring to FIG. 5, information is rendered 502 on the display 110.
The
information may include, for example, a picture in a picture viewing
application, a web page
in a web browsing application, or any other information in a suitable
application. The
information may be rendered in response to selection of the application or in
response to
selection of the information when the application is running on the portable
electronic device
100.
[0062] When an input, that is a band-initiating input, is received 504, a band
that includes
at least one field is rendered 506 on the display 110 of the portable
electronic device. The
band-initiating input may be any suitable input and may be dependent on the
application in
which the information is rendered. For example, the band-initiating input may
be any user-
input including input from the trackball 115, selection of any key from the
keyboard 116, or
other suitable input such as movement of a trackball in a multimedia
application. In another
example, the band-initiating input may be a selection of an option such as a
reply option in a
messaging or electronic mail application.
[0063] The band may be a single band, along a top or bottom edge of the
display 110.
Alternatively, two bands may extend along edges of the display 110 with a
bottom band
extending along a bottom edge of the display 110 and a top band extending
along a top edge
of the display 110. The terms top and bottom are used herein with reference to
the
orientation of the display 110 of the portable electronic device 100 when in
use. The term
top edge refers to the edge of the display 110 that is closest to the top of
the displayed
information in the orientation of the displayed information. The term bottom
edge refers to
the edge of the display 110 that is closest to the bottom of the displayed
information in the
orientation of the displayed information. The top and bottom edges may
therefore change for
example, in devices in which information may be displayed in different
orientations based on
the application or based on the orientation in which the device is held. In
still another
alternative, a band or bands may extend along the left or right sides or both
the left and right
sides of the display 110.
[0064] Each band includes at least one field. The field may be any user
interface
component including, for example, text, a label, drop down list, sliding field
or other field.
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[0065] In some example embodiments, the bands are animated such that the top
band
appears to enter the display 110, from the top edge and the bottom band
appears to enter
the display 110 from the bottom edge. The bands also appear rendered over the
information
with suitable embodiments such that the information is displayed through the
band.
[0066] A timer is started 508 when the bands are rendered. A determination is
made
510 as to whether or not input is received to maintain the band on the display
110. The input
may be dependent on the application in which the information is rendered. For
example, the
input may include input from the trackball 115, selection of a key from the
keyboard 116, or
other suitable input. In another example of a portable electronic device that
includes a touch-
sensitive display, a touch or tap gesture or any other suitable gesture on the
touch-sensitive
display may be utilized to maintain the band on the display 110.
Alternatively, the input may
be input in the form of user-interaction with a field in the band such as user
input causing
sliding of a sliding field in the band. When input is received to maintain the
band on the
display 110, the process returns to 508 where the timer is restarted. When
input is not
received to maintain the band on the display 110, a comparison is made 512 of
the timer
time to a threshold time. When the timer time does not exceed the threshold
time, the
process returns to 510. When the timer time exceeds the threshold time, the
bands are no
longer displayed 514 and the process returns to 504. Therefore, absent user
input, display
of the bands is discontinued after a period time has passed. To discontinue
display of the
bands, the bands may be animated such that the top band appears to exit the
display 110
from the top edge and the bottom band appears to exit the display 110 from the
bottom edge.
[0067] Specific examples of the method of FIG. 5 are illustrated in FIG. 6,
FIG. 7 and
FIG. 8. In the example of FIG. 6, information is rendered 502 on the display
110 in a
microblogging application. The information includes a title 602, selectable
features 604 and
blog entries 606. A selection of one of the selectable features 604 is
received 504 for adding
a blog entry. Receipt of selection of the feature 604 initiates rendering 506
of the band 608.
In this example, the band 608 is animated such that the band 608 appears to
enter the
display 110 from the bottom edge 610 and move upwardly until the entire band
608 is
rendered. Animated movement of the band 608 is illustrated by the movement of
the band
from the upper illustration of FIG. 6 to the lower illustration of FIG. 6. The
band 608 includes
the blog entry field 612 in which a blog entry is received and entered for
adding, also referred
to as posting, to a microblogging website. The band 608 is rendered over some
of the
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information. The information, over which the band 608 is rendered, is still
displayed and is
partially visible. The band 608 therefore appears translucent as it is
rendered on the display
110 with attributes that facilitate viewing of the information covered by the
band 608. In this
example, the information that is not covered is shown as inactive by graying
out the
information when the band 608 is displayed. Display of the band 608 is
discontinued after
the threshold period of time has passed absent receipt of input in the blog
entry field 612.
[0068] In the example of FIG. 7, information is rendered 502 on the display
110 in a
multimedia application such as a picture viewing application. The information
includes a
picture 702, which may be, for example, the most-recently added picture to
multiple pictures
stored in memory 108. As shown in the upper illustration in FIG. 7, the
picture is first
rendered on the display 110 absent any bands. Upon receipt of input, such as
rolling of the
trackball 115 for scrolling, the bands 704, 706 are rendered on the display
110. The top
band 704 includes a picture title field 708, which in this example is
populated with the title
"PICTURE". The bottom band 706 includes one field 710 that includes a
plurality of
representations 712 of pictures stored in the memory 108. For the purpose of
this example,
the representations 712 are thumbnail representations 712 of the pictures
stored in the
memory 108 and only four thumbnail representations 712 are displayed at any
one instance
in time. There are, however, more than four pictures in memory and more than
four
thumbnail representations 712 in the field 706. The remaining thumbnail
representations 712
can be displayed by, for example, trackball scrolling to move the pictures
within the field 712.
Trackball scrolling from right to left causes the thumbnail representations
712 to appear to
slide from right to left. The thumbnail representations 712 are animated to
appear to slide to
the left until they are off the display 110 and no longer displayed.
Additional thumbnail
representations 712 slide from right to left as new ones of the thumbnail
representations 712
enter the display 110. The thumbnail representations 712 may be wrapped such
that the
trackball 115 may be moved in either direction to slide the thumbnail
representations 712 in
either direction for selection of any one picture. A selection box 802 is
maintained in the
same location on the display 110 as the thumbnail representations 712 are
moved into or
past the selection box 802 during sliding of the pictures. When each one of
the thumbnail
representations 712 enters the selection box 802 during sliding, the
corresponding, larger
version of the picture is rendered on the display 110. Thus, a picture may be
selected for
display by sliding the thumbnail representations 712 past the selection box
802 until the one
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of the thumbnail representations 712 that corresponds to the desired picture
is located in the
selection box 802.
[0069] When the bands 704, 706 are rendered, the timer begins 508 and each
input
received 510, restarts the timer time. When the timer time exceeds the
threshold time, as
determined by comparing 512 the times, absent trackball scrolling or other
input, display of
the bands 704, 706 is discontinued 514. The threshold time may be short, for
example
between one and two seconds to facilitate viewing of the picture corresponding
to the one of
the thumbnail representations 712 in the selection box 802.
[0070] The top and bottom bands generally appear to enter the display, over
the
rendered information, in a similar manner to the way eyelids act over the
eyes. The
animation of the top and bottom bands 704 and 706, respectively, by entering
and exiting
from the top and bottom edges of the display 110 is similar to the blinking of
eyelids over the
eyes. Alternatively, a band or bands may be animated to appear to enter and
exit the display
from the left or right sides, or both the left and right sides, in a similar
"blinking" manner.
[0071] The bands that are animated to "blink" in and out may include many
different
fields. Each band may include multiple fields or different fields may be
included in different
bands. In addition to labels and buttons, the field for sliding thumbnail
representations, text
entry fields, lists and many other fields may be included in the bands.
[0072] In the above-described examples, a timer is utilized and the bands are
no longer
displayed after a threshold period of time passes absent input. The bands may,
however, be
continually displayed in the applications screens until an input is received
to dismiss or
discontinue display of the bands. For example, an input may be received to
submit an entry
in the microblogging example. Alternatively, selection of a picture in a
picture viewer may
also dismiss the bands. In this example, starting a timer and comparing the
timer time to a
threshold time may not be carried out.
[0073] Although the example embodiments are described with reference to a
portable
electronic device 100 that includes a trackball 115 for scrolling, the present
disclosure is not
limited to such a portable electronic device 100. In other example
embodiments, portable
electronic devices including touch-sensitive input devices, touch-sensitive
displays, optical
trackpads, thumbwheels, or joysticks may utilize the described methods.
[0074] Advantageously, the band or bands that extend along an edge of the
display 110
facilitate temporary display of additional fields such as text, labels, drop
down lists,
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representations and other fields. Thus, information is rendered on the display
110 and bands
may be rendered that include fields with additional information. The bands
facilitate
navigation without requiring additional screens or windows, for example.
Utilizing bands,
further information is provided without rendering and re-rendering of the
original information
on the display 110. The bands facilitate viewing of additional information
while previously
rendered information that is covered by the bands, is at least partially
visible. Further, the
user may interact with the information that is partially covered by the bands,
for example, by
selection of information or other interaction with the information. Therefore
the number of
screens rendered to display the information may be reduced, reducing device
use time, and
thereby reducing power consumption in the portable electronic device while
providing an
improved user interface.
[0075] While the embodiments described herein are directed to particular
implementations of the electronic device and method of controlling the
electronic device, the
above-described embodiments are intended to be examples. It will be understood
that
alterations, modifications and variations may be effected without departing
from the scope of
the present disclosure.
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