Network adapted for mobile devices
View Patent ↗A network mobility server, which includes a target device inventory module, a data collection module, a data management module and a distribution module. The data management module, includes at least one data storage module, in which at least a portion of the data stored therein are identical data items stored in different selected formats suitable for use on mobile computing and telecommunication devices. The network also includes network agents, resident on numbers of the network members.
1. A network mobility system, for use with a private mobile network of member devices, comprising:
a mobility server having a target device inventory store which includes an inventory of supported devices and indicating display and rendering capabilities of each of the supported devices,
wherein the server receives a data file package from a network member outside the mobility server, the data file package including at least one version of a data file, each version having a respective display format,
wherein the server manages reformatting of the data file into an additional version having a display format which a particular device in the inventory has the capability to display or render,
wherein the server stores for subsequent distribution, the additional version and at least one of the versions in which the data file was received,
and wherein the server transmits in response to a request, to a target one of the devices in the private mobile network, a version of the data file which the target device has the capability to display.
2. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of network agents, resident on network members, in communication with said mobility server,
wherein at least one the network agents is adapted to render a data file from a first version having a first display format into a second version having a second display format.
3. A system according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one network agent is adapted to perform the rendering for forwarding to the mobility server, the data file package including both the first and second versions.
4. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the display format of the data file additional version is a display format which a device in the private mobile network has the capability to display or render.
5. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server stores for subsequent distribution, the additional version in association with all of the versions in which the data file was received.
6. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server includes at least one data storage module, wherein at least a portion of the data stored in said data storage module are identical data items stored with different display formats suitable for use on different ones of the supported devices.
7. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server further determines in dependence upon a retrieval request to send the data file to a given one of the supported devices which lacks functionality to display files in any of the display formats of the versions in which the data file is stored, and in response to such determination, the server manages reformatting of the data file into a further version having a display format which the given device has the capability to display or render.
8. A system according to claim 1 , for use where a first one of the data file versions received by the server includes an image having a particular resolution,
and wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to develop a lower resolution version of the image.
9. A system according to claim 1 , for use where a first one of the data file versions received by the server includes a document in a native file format of a particular application program,
and wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to develop a version of the document in a native file format of a different application program.
10. A system according to claim 1 , for use where a first one of the data file versions received by the server includes a spreadsheet in a native file format of a spreadsheet program,
and wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to develop a plain text version of the spreadsheet.
11. A system according to claim 1 , for use where a first one of the data file versions received by the server includes a spreadsheet in a native file format of a spreadsheet program,
and wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to develop a rendered image version of the spreadsheet.
12. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to develop a PDF version of the data file.
13. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to convert a video file from one video format to another.
14. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server's management of reformatting includes functionality to extract a still image from a video file.
15. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the server's management of reformatting includes:
means for selecting, from among member devices of the private mobile network, an optimum device for performing the additional rendering; and
means for overseeing the reformatting at the selected device.
16. A network mobility system, for use with a private mobile network of member devices including first and second subsets of the member devices, comprising:
a plurality of network agents resident on member devices in the first and second subsets; and
a mobility server adapted for communicating with the network agents, the network agents being outside the mobility server,
wherein agents on member devices in the first subset include operable functionality to, in a virtual publication operation, render data files into different versions having different display formats, and agents on member device in the second subset lack such operable functionality,
wherein agents on member devices in the first subset further include operable functionality to, in the virtual publication operation, transmit to the mobility server data files in more than one version each having a respective display format,
and wherein the mobility server is adapted to receive and store in association with each other and for subsequent distribution, the data files received from the agents in more than one version.
17. A system according to claim 16 , wherein the mobility server is adapted to store the data files at least in versions having display formats suitable for display on the second subset of member devices.
18. A system according to claim 16 , wherein the mobility server includes functionality to manage reformatting of received data files into additional versions having display formats suitable for display on the second subset of member devices,
and to store for subsequent distribution, the additional version and at least one of the versions in which the data file was received.
19. A system according to claim 18 , wherein the mobility server includes further functionality to transmit in response to a request, to a target one of the devices in the private mobile network, a version of the data file which the target device has the capability to display.