Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Digital data processing system initialization or configuration
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-14
2001-05-01
Butler, Dennis M. (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Digital data processing system initialization or configuration
C713S100000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226739
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to personal display terminals, generally referred to as personal palm-type devices, and more particularly, to the distribution of software to such palm devices.
BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) display terminals, such as the 3Com PalmPilot(™) and the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) WorkPad(™) have been building a user base over the past few years. Current estimates are that there are a few million of these devices in present usage. While these personal devices have found limited selective markets among users with specific needs and habits, they have not, as yet, found the widespread appeal which was expected when they first began to appear almost a decade ago. Consequently, the technology is seeking applications of greater mass appeal. One area of great potential is in the area communication through the World Wide Web (Web) or Internet (used synonymously). In this connection, uses involving communication within the Web still require a fair degree of computer sophistication on the part of the user in receiving software via the Web, and in installing the software for basic program loading or in loading program upgrades. The user has to try to manipulate the very limited memory or storage resources available on the personal palm-type device in the installation of software and software upgrades.
With the globalization of computer system platforms involved in and linked through the Web, it has become increasingly common to distribute software and software upgrades which affect a wide variety of different Web computer system platforms through global software distribution packages such as Tivoli Corporation's software distribution package, the Tivoli Management Agent which will install and/or upgrade software across a wide variety of computer system platforms from the PC to enterprise system levels. Because such global software distribution packages must function to distribute software upgrades including enterprise level, the distribution package is relatively large and requires a considerable amount of Random Access Memory (RAM) capacity in each device which it services. This does not present any problems to most of the computers which are being upgraded by the package; even PCs can provide sufficient RAM capacity. However, personal digital assistants, i.e. personal palm-type devices, have very limited RAM, and thus lack the capacity to load such global software distribution packages. On the other hand, the global distribution packages are not dividable. Even though a great amount of the data in the package is intended for higher order systems and not required to upgrade the personal palm-type devices, the global software distribution package is not dividable into just the components needed to handle the distribution to just the personal device. Each computer or system being distributed to or upgraded must store the entire global software distribution package in its RAM.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides a solution to the problem of how a personal digital assistant or personal palm-type device can provide sufficient RAM capacity to store the complete global software distribution package so that the appropriate software or software upgrade may be installed into the device.
The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: first deleting from the personal palm-type device RAM all application programs other than application programs required to support the device operating system to receive the global software distribution package and loading the received global software distribution package into the now available device RAM. Then the software from the global package needed to make the distribution or upgrade of the device is loaded from the global distribution package into the device programmable Read Only Memory (ROM) where all of the device software is permanently stored. Upon the completion of this distribution, the global software distribution package is deleted from said RAM, and all previously deleted application programs are then downloaded from the programmable ROM back into said device RAM.
In most operations, the global software distribution package is transmitted to the personal palm-type device over a communication network, particularly the Web or Internet, either through linked modems or through wireless mobile communications. Communication between the personal palm-type device for receiving such global software distribution may be directly to the device from the Web or where the device is synchronized with a personal computer which functions as a receiving station on the network or Web, then the communication may be through the synchronized personal computer.
The present invention also provides a program operable on the personal palm-type device to carry out the above described method steps.
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patent: 5978855 (1999-11-01), Metz et al.
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Butler Dennis M.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kraft J. B.
VanLeeuwen Leslie A.
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