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Modular applications for mobile data systemRelated Patent Categories: Electrical Computers And Digital Processing Systems: Multicomputer Data Transferring, Remote Data Accessing, Accessing A Remote ServerModular applications for mobile data system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060212543, Modular applications for mobile data system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
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] Tools are provided with which developers can define mobile applications that will generate a series of PDA display screen windows such that an application user progresses in an orderly fashion from window to window. In this way, the application prompts the user for data it needs to properly operate, and the application developer is free to fashion a logical sequence of operations that will suit the purposes of at hand. Such design tools are of great assistance to developers, and also to application administrators, who want to modify their system operation as their needs change. [0012] In the Dexterra, Inc. system referred to above, tools are provided for developers to define mobile applications that comprise a series of PDA display screen windows such that an application user progresses in an orderly fashion from window to window. As data is entered and responses are provided in a window, the mobile application will display a succeeding window in the sequence of operations. The sequence of windows comprising the application is referred to as a "force flow". At any single window in the force flow, a user response might result in the display of a dialogue box or data entry window. A user can provide data that is related to the force flow window from which the dialogue box was generated. Multiple dialogue boxes may be displayed, to prompt the application user for the entry of appropriate data and responses, before the sequence of force flow windows is resumed. Such temporary detours from the force flow are said to comprise a "field flow". After the developer defines a full complement of force flow and field flow displays, they can be linked together to provide the desired mobile application. [0013] The deployment and maintenance of such mobile data integration systems would be made even more convenient if new applications could be developed more quickly and with less effort. The present invention provides these features. SUMMARY [0014] In accordance with the invention, operating sequences of the mobile data integration system are supported such that such operating sequences comprise operational modules, also called transportable applications ("TransApps"), that are self contained and capable of being linked together with other operating sequences and TransApps. Each operational module can accept input data and can generate output data. The input data can be received from other modules, or from the application user, or from enterprise data sources. The output data can be provided to other modules, or to the application server (for enterprise data sources), or can be provided for display on the mobile computing device itself. In this way, modules can be defined for the purpose of particular problem solutions, and such problem solution modules can be reused during other application design efforts. In this way, earlier solutions to problems can be utilized over and over again, and the knowledge and experience gained from a user community can be exploited for greater leverage, thereby increasing the efficiency of mobile data integration systems. [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 diagrammatic illustration of the force flows and field flows from which a mobile data application in accordance with the present invention can be constructed. Continue reading about Modular applications for mobile data system... Full patent description for Modular applications for mobile data system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Modular applications for mobile data system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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