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Adapter architecture for mobile data system

USPTO Application #: 20060212530
Title: Adapter architecture for mobile data system
Abstract: A data architecture provides View objects that define an enterprise data source interface to an application through connectors, and also by Data Objects defined by Commands. Thus, a Data Object comprises a configurable request for data that is issued through Commands to the Adapters of the enterprise data sources. The architecture provides an application developer with the ability to create custom enterprise connectivity to disparate backend enterprise data sources. (end of abstract)



Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP - San Francisco, CA, US
Inventors: Robert O'Farrell, Mark Kirstein
USPTO Applicaton #: 20060212530 - Class: 709212000 (USPTO)

Related Patent Categories: Electrical Computers And Digital Processing Systems: Multicomputer Data Transferring, Computer-to-computer Direct Memory Accessing

Adapter architecture for mobile data system description/claims


The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060212530, Adapter architecture for mobile data system.

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
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REFERENCE TO PRIORITY DOCUMENTS

[0001] This application claims benefit of priority of: co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/664,121 entitled "Data Management for Mobile Data System", by Robert O'Farrell et al., filed Mar. 21, 2005; co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/664,088 entitled "Modular Applications for Mobile Data System", by Robert Loughan, filed Mar. 21, 2005; co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/664,122 entitled "Adapter Architecture for Mobile Data System", by Robert O'Farrell et al., filed Mar. 21, 2005; and co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/667,816 entitled "Modular Applications Management for Mobile Data System", by Robert O'Farrell et al., filed Apr. 1, 2005. Priority of the respective filing dates is hereby claimed, and the disclosures of these Provisional Patent Applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

[0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates generally to mobile computing systems and, more particularly, to data management and data deployment in mobile computing systems.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0006] Sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are available to improve the automation of back office and front office processes. Although many companies have realized significant savings and efficiencies from deploying such systems, it is also true that many organizations find the systems burdensome to implement and difficult to integrate with existing legacy data systems.

[0007] More recently, business organizations and enterprises are deploying CRM and ERP systems to assist mobile employees, primarily to utilize mobile computing devices such as pagers and cell phones and also personal digital assistants (PDAs). One important impediment to greater adoption of CRM and ERP systems that employ such mobile devices involve integration with other data in the enterprise.

[0008] Enterprise data integration issues can arise because mobile applications often come in proprietary, closed architectures that impede integration with other data systems of the enterprise. For example, data in the enterprise might be maintained in four or five different sources. Some of the data sources include CRM systems, dispatch systems, ERP systems, and financial records systems. Each of these data sources can utilize a different data architecture, format, and protocol. The data being stored and the configuration of the data and access mechanisms are constantly changing. Many mobile computing systems create an interim datastore in which data from the various sources in the enterprise is collected. In this way, data from the different enterprise data sources, each with a different data architecture and format, can be collected in a single common database. The mobile users can access the enterprise data by accessing the interim datastore, rather than the actual enterprise data sources. The interim store, however, creates data update and conflict issues of its own. Synchronization operations and other safeguards must be performed frequently, to ensure that the data in the interim datastore is a faithful copy of the data in the enterprise data sources.

[0009] It is known to provide a data integration solution that can utilize mobile computing devices that interface to enterprise data sources through a network server. Such a system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/746,229 filed Dec. 23, 2003 assigned to Dexterra, Inc. of Bothell, Wash., USA. The contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0010] The Dexterra, Inc. patent application describes a system in which data is utilized between multiple enterprise data sources to mobile clients in a distributed fashion such that requests from a mobile client for enterprise data are received, the appropriate enterprise data sources that contain the requested data are determined, and the enterprise data is retrieved from the determined enterprise data sources. When the enterprise data is retrieved, it is converted into a relational format, even if the data comes from multiple enterprise data sources of different non-relational types (e.g. File System, email, etc). The converted enterprise data is stored in a relational datastore in the mobile client. In this way, mobile applications can be fully integrated with data from multiple enterprise data sources and data updates and configuration changes can be distributed to and from the mobile clients in real time, without using interim data storage, and thereby avoiding complicated synchronization and asynchronous data issues between the enterprise data sources and the mobile clients. The real time data changes can include deployment of changes to the mobile application itself, as well as data updates. The real time changes are further accommodated with data conflict detection and resolution.

[0011] The Dexterra, Inc. system referenced above is based on a system architecture in which target enterprise data sources contain objects or data tables, and each target data table is mapped to a data object called a View. That is, a View is defined that corresponds to each data table in the enterprise data sources from which the application will obtain data. The Views can be defined by the application developer, or from another vendor. The data in the Views are shared among one or more data entities referred to as Business Objects. A single Business Object can utilize data from multiple Views, and therefore can utilize data from multiple enterprise data sources, even from data sources that have incompatible data formats.

[0012] Once a set of Business Objects is defined, application developers can design applications while dealing with data through their interface to the Business Objects, rather than get involved in describing and defining the Views and Connectors. Thus, developers are presented with a format-free data interface, so that differences in targets are abstracted out from the developer.

[0013] The system described in the Dexterra, Inc. patent application referenced above provides a powerful development tool for the mobile computing platform that permits access to a variety of enterprise data sources. Even greater flexibility in the data interface, however, could extend the capabilities of the system and make application development even easier. The present invention provides such greater flexibility.

SUMMARY

[0014] In accordance with the invention, a data architecture is provided in which Views define the enterprise data source interface to an application through connectors, but also by Data Objects defined by Commands. Thus, a Data Object comprises a configurable request for data that is issued through Commands to the Adapters of the enterprise data sources. This architecture provides a developer with the ability to create custom enterprise connectivity to disparate backend enterprise data sources. The developer can also separate the connectivity to any backend enterprise system with a configuration and adaptation to the specific instance of an implementation. This allows the technology (connection) between a ".NET" system and a backend system to be developed separately from the configuration of the information required from the backend system, thus creating an abstraction layer and allowing for a configuration tool to manage the adaptation. A development tool kit environment can be provided that permits a user to connect and construct data components to any supported adapter utilizing a "Dexterra Studio" VS.NET plug-in. Components for the tool kit environment include a Connection Object, Command Object, Data Object, and View.

[0015] Other features and advantages of the present invention should be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment, which illustrates, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a suitable computer system environment for a mobile enterprise platform constructed in accordance with the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the logical architecture of data in the mobile enterprise platform illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates the Connector interface between the enterprise data sources and the mobile client of FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a suitable computer system environment 400 constructed in accordance with the present invention.

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