Abstract:
Mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing is disclosed. One method includes storing a content in a first mobile telephone and allowing a second mobile telephone to obtain the content from the first mobile telephone.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing. More particularly, the present invention relates to storing content in a first mobile telephone and allowing a second mobile telephone to obtain the content from the first mobile telephone.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Mobile telephones have become commonplace in society. Mobile telephones typically connect to a telephone network through base stations via wireless radio wave technology. Using this wireless radio wave technology, voice data may be transmitted to a base station. The base station may be connected to a more conventional land-based telephone network over which the data may be transmitted.  
         [0005]     In addition to enabling voice communication, many mobile telephones are capable of storing various types of multimedia content (“content”). Examples of content include ring tones, photos, graphic files, games, movie clips, and music files including MP3 files. This content can be played, displayed or otherwise executed on the mobile telephone.  
         [0006]     Mobile telephones can obtain content in a variety of ways. In some cases, content may be created by the mobile telephones themselves. In other cases, content may be downloaded from a content provider. For example, a user may browse content available for download from a content service such as Cingular&#39;s™ Media Net™. Once a desired content item is found, the user may download that content item from the content service. In this case, the content is physically stored and maintained by the content service. This can be problematic for the content service for a number of reasons, including necessitating significant storage and transmission capability. Additionally, such a system does not encourage decentralized user-to-user distribution of content.  
         [0007]     Therefore, there exists a need for a system that enables the transfer of content without a conventional content service. There also exist a need for a system and method for transferring content directly among users. Such a system and method enables easy transfer of content among mobile telephones.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is an aspect of the present invention to enable mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing of content.  
         [0009]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method including storing a content in a first mobile telephone and allowing a second mobile telephone to obtain the content from the first mobile telephone.  
         [0010]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method including storing mobile telephone capability information for a plurality of mobile telephones, storing mobile telephone content information for the plurality of mobile telephones, and providing at least a portion of the content information to at least one of the plurality of mobile telephones. The portion of the content information is selected based at least in part on the mobile telephone capability information.  
         [0011]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method including receiving mobile telephone content information from a first mobile telephone and providing at least a portion of the mobile telephone content information received from the first mobile telephone to a second mobile telephone. A content selection corresponding to the provided mobile telephone content information is communicated to the first mobile telephone, and content corresponding to the content selection is transmitted to the second mobile telephone.  
         [0012]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage controlling a computer according to a method. The method includes storing a content in a first mobile telephone and allowing a second mobile telephone to obtain the content from the first mobile telephone.  
         [0013]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system including a requesting telephone and a peer-to-peer server. The peer-to-peer server includes mobile telephone content information corresponding to content stored on a plurality of mobile telephones. A portion of the content information is provided to the requesting telephone.  
         [0014]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system including a first mobile telephone including a first mobile telephone storage including content, a second mobile telephone including a second mobile telephone storage, and a peer-to-peer server in communication with the first and second mobile telephones. The peer-to-peer server includes mobile telephone content information corresponding to the content stored in the first mobile telephone storage. At least a portion of the content information is provided to the second mobile telephone. The at least a portion of the content information includes a selection to download the contents from the first mobile telephone storage to the second mobile telephone storage.  
         [0015]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article of manufacture including a computer readable storage including a data structure, a first field including content information corresponding to content stored on a mobile telephone, and a second field including capability information for the mobile telephone.  
         [0016]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a user interface on a first mobile telephone including a content identifier identifying a content item stored on at least a second mobile telephone.  
         [0017]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system including means for storing content information corresponding to content residing on a plurality of mobile telephones, means for storing capability information for the plurality of mobile telephones, and means for sharing the content residing on the plurality of mobile telephones with the plurality of mobile telephones based on the stored capability information.  
         [0018]     The foregoing and other and other aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of a mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a schematic representation of the directory  20  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a schematic representation of peer-to-peer service logic in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a schematic representation of a mobile client in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a schematic representation of a process of designating sharable content to be shared over a peer-to-peer network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation of a process of exchanging content in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are schematic representations of processes of transmitting content from a content-providing telephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIGS. 8 and 9  are schematic representations of data flow over a mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 10  is a schematic representation of a mobile telephone user interface for content selection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0029]     The present invention is directed to peer-to-peer sharing of content between mobile telephones.  
         [0030]     Although the present invention is described with reference to mobile telephones, the present invention is not limited to such an implementation. For example, peer-to-peer sharing may be implemented using other suitable communication enabled devices such as handheld computing devices. Further, the present invention is described with reference to modules. One skilled in the art could appreciate that the substance of one or more of the particular modules could be embodied in one or more of another of the modules. Accordingly, the particular demarcations are made for conceptual simplicity and should not be viewed as limiting the present invention.  
         [0031]      FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of a mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing system  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system  10  may include a first mobile telephone  12 , a second mobile telephone  14 , and a third mobile telephone  16 . The mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16  may each include a mobile telephone storage including content stored thereon. The system  10  also may include communication towers  17  and a peer-to-peer server  18  in communication with the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16  via the communication towers  17  and standard interfaces such as a multimedia messaging service center (MMSC)  23 , a short message service center (SMSC)  24 , and/or a wireless application protocol (WAP) or mobile data gateway  25 . The peer-to-peer server  18  may be embodied as hardware and/or software. The peer-to-peer server  18  may include mobile telephone capability information for the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and mobile telephone content information corresponding to content stored on the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 .  
         [0032]     As discussed in greater detail below, the mobile telephone capability information may include, for example, a device identifier and a communication protocol identifier. The mobile telephone content information may include, for example, a content identifier and other descriptive attributes.  
         [0033]     A portion of content information corresponding to content stored on one of the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16  may be provided to another one of the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 . The providing of content information optionally may occur upon the occurrence of a predetermined condition involving the capability information of the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 . The portion of the content information may include a selection to download the contents from the other mobile telephone. For example, a user may see a list of MP3 files available for download from other mobile telephones. The user may select a particular MP3 file and then receive a copy of that MP3 file.  
         [0034]     The peer-to-peer server  18  may include a directory  20  (or directories) to store the mobile telephone capability information and the mobile telephone content information for the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 . The peer-to-peer server  18  may also include a temporary content storage  22  ( FIG. 2 ) or cache to temporarily store content transferred among the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is a schematic representation of the directory  20  of  FIG. 1 . The directory  20  may be embodied in alternative configurations. In one embodiment, the directory  20  comprises a content directory database  30  and a subscriber directory database  50 . The term database is used broadly to include collections of data.  
         [0036]     Turning to the content directory database  30 , each record may include a content title  32 , a content description  34 , content type  36 , details regarding any associated copyright and related information  38 , a content platform  40 , a content size  42 , and/or a list of locations where the physical content resides  44 . The content type  36  may indicate if the content is a ring-tone, an audio file, etc. The list of locations where the physical content resides  44  may include Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Numbers (MSISDNs) or mobile directory numbers (MDNs).  
         [0037]     Turning now to the subscriber directory database  50 , each record may include a subscriber device identifier  52 , credentials information  54 , multimedia message service (MMS) capability information  56 , short message service (SMS) capability information  58 , IP capability (WAP mode)  60 , an IP address  62 , and free space download capacity  64 . The subscriber device identifier  52  may include a MSISDN or a MDN.  
         [0038]     The peer-to-peer server  18  may include peer-to-peer service logic  70  ( FIG. 3 ). The peer-to-peer service logic  70  may provide a portion of content information corresponding to the content stored on one of the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16  to another one of the mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 3  is a schematic representation of a peer-to-peer service logic  70  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The peer-to-peer service logic  70  may include a client registration and status check module  72 , a directory updates module  74 , a directory browser and search engine module  76 , a WAP session control module  78 , a SMS push and session control module  80 , a MMS push and session control module  82 , a copyright control module  84 , a service and licenses billing module  86 , and a content exchange control logic  88 .  
         [0040]     The mobile telephones  12 ,  14 ,  16  may include a client application.  FIG. 4  is a schematic representation of a mobile client architecture  90  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The client application may be based on an appropriate software platform  92  for mobile devices. Readily known software platforms include: Symbian OS® by Symbian Software Ltd, London, United Kingdom; Brew® by Qualcomm Inc., San Diego, Calif.; and J2ME® by Sun Microsystems, Inc., Santa Clara Calif.  
         [0041]     The mobile client architecture  90  may include a WAP session control module  94 , an MMS session control module  96 , and/or an SMS session control module  98 . These modules may be responsible for transport or content directory search requests from the mobile telephone to the peer-to-peer server  18 , and transport of content search results form the peer-to-peer server  18  to the mobile telephone.  
         [0042]     The SMS control module  98  may be responsible for WAP PUSH session initiation to download content from the temporary content storage  22  on the peer-to-peer server  18 . The WAP session control module  94  may be responsible for WAP upload of content from the mobile telephone to the temporary content storage  22  on the peer-to-peer server  18 . The WAP session control module  94  may be responsible for WAP download of content from the temporary content storage  22  to the mobile telephone. The MMS session control module  96  may be responsible for sending content from the mobile telephone to a requesting mobile telephone and for receiving content from the mobile telephone that stores the content.  
         [0043]     The mobile client architecture  90  may include a peer-to-peer server interface  100 , a content directory update module  102 , a content directory search module  104 , a new content form user interface  106 , a content search form user interface  108 , and/or a content search results browsing and selection user interface  110 .  
         [0044]     The peer-to-peer server interface  100  may be responsible for managing content directory browsing, searching and selection sessions with the peer-to-peer server  18 , and for receiving peer-to-peer server  18  messages that start MMS or WAP sessions for content sending, downloading, or uploading.  
         [0045]     The content directory update module  102  may be responsible for sending new shared content information to the peer-to-peer server  18  to create a new record in the directory  20  or to add the current mobile telephone to the list of locations for the particular content item. The content directory update module  102  may also be responsible for updating the peer-to-peer server  18  when shared content is removed from the mobile telephone. For example, the mobile telephone may be removed from the list of locations for the particular content item. If the mobile telephone is the only location for the particular content item, the content item record may be removed from the directory  20 .  
         [0046]     The content directory search module  104  may be responsible for sending content request messages to the peer-to-peer server  18  and receiving search results from the peer-to-peer server using MMS, WAP, and/or SMS transport.  
         [0047]     The new content form user interface  106  may be responsible for collecting title and description information for a new content item acquired by the mobile telephone other than by peer-to-peer exchange. The new content form user interface  106  may be activated when the subscriber selects a share option for the content item via the mobile telephone interface.  
         [0048]     The content search form interface  108  may be responsible for collecting the search request data such as a full or partial title and/or description. The content search form user interface  108  may be activated when a subscriber selects a search for content option via the mobile telephone interface.  
         [0049]     The content search results browsing and selection user interface  110  may be responsible for displaying on the screen of the mobile telephone, the titles and/or descriptions of the content items that match a search request and/or that are received from the peer-to-peer server  18 . The content search results browsing and selection user interface  110  also may accept input requesting more search results, select the content item causing a get request, and/or transfer the selected content identification to the peer-to-peer server that will proceed with an exchange.  
         [0050]      FIG. 5  is a schematic representation of a process of designating sharable content  120  to be shared over a peer-to-peer network, such as the system of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The process of designating sharable content  120  may be used when a content item is acquired by means other than peer-to-peer sharing. For example, a user may acquire a content item by purchasing the content item from a content provider.  
         [0051]     In operation  122 , a user or subscriber may press a button or otherwise indicate that a particular content item is available for sharing. In operation  124 , a new content form user interface  106  may be presented to a user to obtain content information such as a title and a description. In operation  126 , that content information may be transmitted to the peer-to-peer service logic  70 . In operation  128 , the peer-to-peer service logic  70  may create a new record in the content directory database  30 , and record the content title  32  and the content description  34 . The peer-to-peer service logic  70  may also record the subscriber&#39;s mobile telephone in the list of locations where the physical content resides  44 . In operation  130 , new content may be available for sharing over the peer-to-peer network.  
         [0052]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation of a process of exchanging content  140  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In operation  142 , Subscriber A may define a content title for download. In operation  144 , the copyright control module  84  may approve a content exchange and/or record a pending licensee fee, if needed. In operation  146 , content exchange control logic (CECL) may obtain a list of mobile telephones (mobile subscribers—MS) that store the content defined from the content directory database  30 . In operation  148 , the CECL may obtain Subscriber A&#39;s profile record from the subscriber directory database  50 . In operation  150 , the CECL may obtain profile records for each mobile telephone from the list obtained in operation  146  until the nth best match reachable mobile telephone is found. In an embodiment, the nth best mach is the first best match.  
         [0053]     In operation  152 , the CECL may send a message to a selected mobile telephone client that stores the desired content to establish a best match connection to Subscriber A and to send the contents to Subscriber A. In operation  154 , Subscriber A may receive the defined content. In operation  156 , the mobile telephone client of Subscriber A may update the content directory database  30  to reflect that Subscriber A now is a location where the newly received content is stored and is available to be shared. In operation  158 , any pending service and licensee fees are applied for the executed exchange.  
         [0054]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are schematic representations of processes of transmitting content from a content-providing telephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0055]     In  FIG. 7A , a process  170  of transmitting content including an MMS exchange is described. In operation  172 , a mobile telephone that has a desired content stored thereon may receive an SMS request to send the desired content using MMS. In operation  174 , the mobile telephone may compose an MMS message including the desired content. In operation  176 , the mobile telephone may set the message destination according to the received request. The destination may be another mobile telephone (the content requester), or it may be a uniform resource indicator (URI) of the temporary storage  22 . In operation  178 , the mobile telephone may send the MMS message. In operation  180 , the mobile telephone may send an SMS message to the CECL to report that the exchange has been executed.  
         [0056]     In  FIG. 7B , a process  190  of transmitting content using a WAP exchange is described. In operation  192 , a mobile telephone that has a desired content stored thereon may receive an SMS request to send the desired content using WAP. In operation  194 , the mobile telephone may establish a WAP connection to a received uniform resource locator. In operation  196 , the mobile telephone may push the requested content over the established connection. In operation  198 , the mobile telephone may close the connection. In operation  200 , the mobile telephone may send an SMS message to the CECL to report that the exchange has been executed.  
         [0057]      FIGS. 8 and 9  are schematic representations of data flow processes over a mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing system  210  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing system  210  may include mobile telephone A  212 , mobile telephone B  214 , and mobile telephone C  216 . The system  210  also may include communication towers  217  and a peer-to-peer server  218  in communication with the mobile telephones  212 ,  214 ,  216  via the communication towers  217  and standard interfaces such as a MMSC  223 , a SMSC  224 , and/or mobile data gateways  225 . The peer-to-peer server  218  may include telephone capability information for the mobile telephones  212 ,  214 ,  216 , and mobile telephone content information corresponding to content stored on the mobile telephones  212 ,  214 ,  216 .  
         [0058]     In a first teaching, a data flow process  230  ( FIG. 9 ) including an MMS exchange is described. In operation  232 , Mobile C  216  may update the peer-to-peer server  218  with content information corresponding to a new content item stored thereon using a data connection through a mobile data gateway  225 . In operation  234 , Mobile B  214  may update the peer-to-peer server  218  with content information corresponding to a new content item using an SMS connection through the SMSC  224 . In operation  236 , Mobile A  212  may browse content using a data connection through a mobile data gateway  225 . The content item physically located on Mobile B  214  may be selected.  
         [0059]     In operation  238 , the peer-to-peer server  218  may request an MMS exchange from Mobile B  214  to Mobile A  212 . In operation  240 , an MMS message with the content item may be sent from Mobile B  214  to Mobile A.  
         [0060]     In a second teaching, a data flow process  250  including a temporary storage exchange is described. In operation  252 , Mobile C  216  may browse content and select a content item to be downloaded. The content item selected may physically reside on Mobile A  212 . Browsing and/or selecting may be accomplished using an IP connection.  
         [0061]     In operation  254 , the peer-to-peer server  218  may request the uploading of the content item. In operation  256 , the content item may be uploaded to temporary storage. In one embodiment, the temporary storage is embodied as a temporary directory on the peer-to-peer server  218 . In operation  258 , Mobile C  216  may receive the content item from the temporary storage. The receiving may be accomplished using an IP connection.  
         [0062]      FIG. 10  is a schematic representation of a mobile telephone user interface for content selection  270  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile telephone user interface  270  may be embodied as a display on a mobile telephone  272 . The mobile telephone user interface  270  may display a content identifier  274 . The content identifier  274  may identify content stored on a different mobile telephone. The mobile telephone user interface  270  may also comprise content categories. The content categories may be navigated using screen navigation buttons provided on the mobile telephone  272 . A content item may be obtained by selecting the content identifier  274  using a screen navigation button.  
         [0063]     In addition to the components of the various embodiments, the system also may include permanent or removable storage, such as magnetic and optical discs, RAM, ROM, etc. on which the process and data structures of the present invention can be stored and distributed. The processes may also be distributed via, for example, downloading over a network such as the Internet.  
         [0064]     The above exemplary embodiments enable mobile telephone-based peer-to-peer sharing of content.  
         [0065]     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.