Wireless software upgrades with version control

Abstract

A wireless communication system includes a system backbone, a host computer coupled to the system backbone, at least one base station coupled to the system backbone, the at least one base station including a base station transceiver for communicating wirelessly with mobile devices within the system, and at least one mobile device having a mobile device transceiver for communicating wirelessly with the host computer on the system backbone via the at least one base station. A method of operation includes the steps determining whether a version of operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is a current version of the operating software, and wirelessly updating the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device if it is determined that the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is not the current version.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 643,105 filed on Aug. 18, 2003, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 876,491 filed on Jun. 7, 2001 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,735,434, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 234,813 filed on Jan. 21, 1999 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,061, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 208,785 filed on Dec. 10, 1998 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,506, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 023,857 filed on Feb. 13, 1998 and issues as U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,830 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 694,637 filed on Aug. 7, 1996 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,064. The entire disclosures of these earlier applications are hereby incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates generally to wireless software upgrades in...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention is a wireless communication system that allows software to be wirelessly transmitted to mobile devices based on the need for an upgrade. The system includes a host computer, a base station, and a mobile device. The host computer queries the mobile device about the version of operating software, and the mobile device responds with the information. The host computer then sends a request to update the software to the mobile device if necessary. The mobile device communicates with the host computer and the base station via the base station. The system also allows users to select different packages of operating software for their mobile device. The invention allows for quicker updates of software without needing to replace the entire operating system."

Problems solved by technology

Due to changing market needs and advancements in technology, for example, it often happens that the software which is preloaded into a mobile device becomes outdated prior to the time the mobile hardware device becomes obsolete.

This results in down time for the mobile device and related service costs.

Unfortunately, the periodic transfer of upgraded operating software to the mobile device can be extremely time consuming and becomes increasingly more time consuming as the number of mobile devices within the system increases.

Furthermore, since there is no way to determine if software has been changed since the previous time the mobile device software has been upgraded, time is frequently wasted updating the mobile device operating software with the same version of software which already exists in the mobile device.

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