US6038665A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for backing up computer files over a wide area computer network
Assignee: CDD TECHNOLOGIES LLC
•
Filing: 1998-06-19
•
Granted: 2000-03-14
•
Expires: 2018-06-19
Abstract
Abstract A portable computer back up system copies user-selected files for back up as the computer is being used, and when the computer senses a network connection and the network is relatively available, the blocks of the files to be backed up are interleaved with, e.g., metadata and transmitted to a remote facility via the network. The back up system suspends the backing up of files if a disk space limit is reached, transmits any copied files when the network is available, deleting the back up copies of the files from disk, and then resumes copying files for back up. Also, each time the portable computer is connected to a network, it determines what other devices are on the network, and if the computer recognizes the network configuration, the computer reconfigures its settings as appropriate for, e.g., printing to the printer that happens to be connected to the particular network to which the portable computer is connected at the time.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas B. Bolt
- 👤 Fred W. McClain
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 21:24
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/14; G06F11/1446; G06F11/1458; G06F11/1464; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99951; Y10S707/99952; Y10S707/99953; Y10S707/99955
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
207 words
A computer program product comprising: a computer program storage device readable by a digital processing system; and logic means on the program storage device and including instructions executable by the digital processing system for performing method steps for backing up one or more blocks in at least one local computer file from at least one portable computer connectable to a computer network, the method steps performed by the computer program product comprising: preparing the blocks for back up; determining whether the portable computer is connected to a network; if the portable computer is connected to a network, permitting transmission of one or more of the blocks; interleaving the blocks with other data for transmission thereof; for at least some of the blocks in a local file to be backed up, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
207 words
A computer program product comprising: a computer program storage device readable by a digital processing system; and logic means on the program storage device and including instructions executable by the digital processing system for performing method steps for backing up one or more blocks in at least one local computer file from at least one portable computer connectable to a computer network, the method steps performed by the computer program product comprising: preparing the blocks for back up; determining whether the portable computer is connected to a network; if the portable computer is connected to a network, permitting transmission of one or more of the blocks; interleaving the blocks with other data for transmission thereof; for at least some of the blocks in a local file to be backed up, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method steps further comprise: backing up only blocks in user-defined sets of files.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method steps further comprise: suspending backing up blocks when a predetermined computer storage space limit of the portable computer is reached.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method steps further comprise: if the portable computer has been connected to a network and is transmitting data to the network, suspending the preparing step, and otherwise executing the preparing step until all blocks designated for back up have been prepared for back up.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method steps further comprise: transmitting the block only if the portable computer is connected to the network and an availability of the network is less than a threshold availability.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
116 words
The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method steps further comprise: when the first two characters equal one of the first comparison values, determining a block digital signature code using a test byte i as the first byte of a test block; determining whether the block digital signature code equals one of the second comparison values; when the block digital signature code equals one of the second comparison values, returning "resynchronized"; otherwise when either the first two characters of the test byte i do not equal one of the first comparison values, or when the block digital signature code does not equal one of the second comparison values, setting i=i+1 and repeating select steps.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
56 words
The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method steps further include: determining a network configuration based on the presence and type of one or more devices connected to the network; correlating the network configuration to at least one portable computer setting; and establishing the setting on the computer, in response to the correlating step.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
160 words
A system for configuring a portable computer for a network to which the portable computer is connected, comprising: logic means for determining at least one other device on the network to determine a network configuration; logic means for comparing the network configuration to one or more predetermined configurations; logic means for configuring the portable computer for the network when the network configuration matches at least one of the predetermined configurations; for at least some blocks in a local file of the portable computer, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
160 words
A system for configuring a portable computer for a network to which the portable computer is connected, comprising: logic means for determining at least one other device on the network to determine a network configuration; logic means for comparing the network configuration to one or more predetermined configurations; logic means for configuring the portable computer for the network when the network configuration matches at least one of the predetermined configurations; for at least some blocks in a local file of the portable computer, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
The system of claim 8, wherein sets of predetermined portable computer settings are correlated with respective predetermined configurations, and the means for configuring establishes at least one of the sets in the portable computer when the network configuration matches the respective predetermined configuration.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
152 words
A computer-implemented method for automatically configuring a portable computer for operating with one or more devices on a network connected to the computer, comprising: determining a network configuration based on the presence and type of one or more devices connected to the network; correlating the network configuration to at least one portable computer setting; establishing the setting on the computer, in response to the correlating steps; for at least some blocks in the portable computer, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
152 words
A computer-implemented method for automatically configuring a portable computer for operating with one or more devices on a network connected to the computer, comprising: determining a network configuration based on the presence and type of one or more devices connected to the network; correlating the network configuration to at least one portable computer setting; establishing the setting on the computer, in response to the correlating steps; for at least some blocks in the portable computer, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 10, wherein the correlating step is undertaken by comparing the network configuration to one or more predetermined configurations.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
64 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising: preparing one or more blocks in one or more files in the portable computer for back up; determining whether the portable computer has been connected to a network; if the portable computer has been connected to a network, permitting transmission of one or more of the blocks; and interleaving the blocks with other data for transmission thereof.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising: backing up only blocks in user-defined sets of files; and suspending backing up blocks when a predetermined computer storage space limit of the portable computer is reached.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
74 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising: if the portable computer has been connected to a network and is transmitting data to the network, suspending the preparing step, and otherwise executing the preparing step until all blocks designated for back up have been prepared for back up; and transmitting the block only if the portable computer has been connected to the network and an availability of the network is less than a threshold availability.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
103 words
The method of claim 10, wherein the method steps further comprise: for at least some of the blocks in a local file to be backed up, copying two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; for at least some of the blocks, periodically determining a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value, determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
200 words
A portable computer back up system for backing up one or more blocks in one or more files in the portable computer and transmitting the blocks to a remote computer storage location via a network, comprising: logic means for determining when the portable computer is connected to the network; logic means for determining whether an availability of the network is at least equal to a predetermined availability; logic means for transmitting over the network blocks to be backed up when one or more transmission criteria are satisfied, the transmission criteria including: the means for determining determines that the portable computer is connected to the network; logic means for copying, for at least some blocks in the portable computer, two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; logic means for periodically determining, for at least some of the blocks, a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and logic means for determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
200 words
A portable computer back up system for backing up one or more blocks in one or more files in the portable computer and transmitting the blocks to a remote computer storage location via a network, comprising: logic means for determining when the portable computer is connected to the network; logic means for determining whether an availability of the network is at least equal to a predetermined availability; logic means for transmitting over the network blocks to be backed up when one or more transmission criteria are satisfied, the transmission criteria including: the means for determining determines that the portable computer is connected to the network; logic means for copying, for at least some blocks in the portable computer, two respective characters thereof defining respective first comparison values and generating respective digital signature codes defining second comparison values; logic means for periodically determining, for at least some of the blocks, a test digital signature code and comparing it to the respective second comparison value; and logic means for determining whether the first two characters of the block equal one of the first comparison values when the test digital signature code of a block does not equal the respective second comparison value.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 16, wherein the transmission criteria further include: the means for determining determines that the availability of the network is less than the predetermined availability.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 16, wherein the blocks are transmitted by interleaving the blocks with meta data.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
59 words
The system of claim 16, further comprising: logic means for determining a network configuration based on the presence and type of one or more devices connected to the network; logic means for correlating the network configuration to at least one portable computer setting; and logic means for establishing the setting on the computer, in response to the correlating step.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 19, wherein the means for correlating compares the network configuration to one or more predetermined configurations.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-03-14 | 2003-09-13 | 2004-03-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-03-14 | 2007-09-13 | 2008-03-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-03-14 | 2011-09-13 | 2012-03-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |