Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Zoned or cellular telephone system
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-16
2004-10-26
Tsang, Fan (Department: 2645)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Zoned or cellular telephone system
C717S124000, C717S127000, C717S131000, C365S201000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06810247
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention generally relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to systematic recovery of a session.
BACKGROUND ART
In the prior art, in a two-way wireless communication session in which a user is engaged in a transaction interacting with a remote process and contact is lost with the remote process, the user must re-establish a connection with the remote process and begin the session over in order to complete the transaction. For example, if a user is attempting to purchase stock through a wireless transmission using a WAP (wireless application protocol) enabled device, the user will enter user information through a selection interface. The entered information may include a user id and responses to a variety of prompted questions such as whether the user is buying or selling, whether the user wants stocks or mutual funds, the name of the stock which is being purchased etc. At any time during the session with the remote process, the transmission may be broken due to signal fading, diffraction, signal scattering or any of a variety of problems which occur in a wireless environment. This interruption in the session causes the session at the remote process to be terminated. The data which was entered during the session may be lost. Upon reestablishing communication with the server, the user is unable to continue the transaction at the point where the transmission was broken.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and method of providing recovery of user interaction associated with a session is disclosed. In a wireless environment where a user employs a wireless device to communicate with a server, communication between the wireless device and the server may experience an interruption. During such an interruption the session may be recovered, permitting the user to continue to interact in a manner providing continuity notwithstanding the interruption. In such an embodiment, an identifier is associated with the user to aid in the recovery. The identifier could be a log-in name or a device id or a biometric etc.
Recovery is achieved by structuring a process flow associated with the session into a series of transaction blocks. With respect to each block, a non-null set of virtual pages is defined and associated. The virtual pages provide a structure for data permitting the associated block to execute and a structure for any data generated by the associated block that are necessary for use by a downstream block. In the course of executing the session, the set of virtual pages associated with each block is stored in a storage medium as the block is executed along with a reference to the identifier. The set of virtual pages includes an entry and an exit page. An entry virtual page contains formulae that allow the computation of all data required for the activation of the next block. At each stage the computation is based on data available in prior executed virtual pages. An Exit page for a block collects all the new data created by the execution of the block, and is available for all downstream entry pages. When an interruption occurs, the storage medium is searched for virtual pages having a reference to the identifier and the execution of the session is continued based on data in the stored virtual pages. Prior to continuing execution, a last stored set of virtual pages associated with the session is identified and processing is resumed at a block immediately subsequent to the block associated with the last stored set of virtual pages. In a preferred embodiment, the transmission protocol is WAP and the information that is displayed on the wireless device is graphical information in the form of WEB-based pages.
In a further embodiment of the invention, when an interruption is experienced between the wireless device and the server, the user is first asked whether the user wants to continue with the interrupted session or to start a new session. If the user requests continuation of the interrupted session, recovery proceeds as described above. If the user requests the start of a new session, a new session is initiated.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5301198 (1994-04-01), Kawasaki
patent: 5461588 (1995-10-01), Sardeson et al.
patent: 6003123 (1999-12-01), Carter et al.
patent: 2002/0019985 (2002-02-01), Fuccello et al.
Bromberg & Sunstein LLP
Elahee Md. Shafiul Alam
Tsang Fan
Wysdom Wirless, Inc.
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