Portable Device Upgrade Policy Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

The conflict between enterprise and wireless carrier maintenance and service programs for portable electronic devices creates challenges in managing software upgrades, as existing systems lack clear policies to govern upgrade requests and installations, leading to potential conflicts and inefficiencies.

Innovation Solution

A system and method where a portable electronic device maintains an upgrade policy that defines permissions for software upgrades, allowing it to determine compliance with the policy and communicate with administrative and carrier servers to manage upgrade requests, ensuring that only authorized upgrades are installed, thereby resolving conflicts between enterprise and carrier management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the wireless carrier maintains and services portable electronic devices including managing upgrades, then the carrier can provide maintenance services, but conflicts arise with enterprise maintenance programs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance service capabilityVSAvoidconflict between enterprise and carrier programs
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an upgrade policy as an intermediary mechanism that mediates between enterprise and carrier maintenance programs. The policy is stored on the portable electronic device and evaluated by a processor to determine compliance with upgrade requests from either enterprise or carrier administrators, thereby resolving conflicts through a standardized decision-making framework

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The maintenance and upgrade management system is segmented into distinct components: enterprise administrator server, carrier administrator server, portable electronic device with processor, and upgrade policy. This segmentation allows each entity to operate independently within their authorized scope while the processor evaluates policy compliance to coordinate actions and prevent conflicts

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If upgrade policy enforcement is implemented on the portable electronic device, then upgrade compliance is ensured, but additional processing and storage requirements are imposed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveupgrade complianceVSAvoidprocessing and storage requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The upgrade policy is downloaded and stored on the portable electronic device in advance, before any upgrade requests occur. This preliminary action enables the processor to quickly evaluate compliance with upgrade requests without requiring complex real-time calculations or external verification, thereby ensuring reliable compliance enforcement while minimizing processing overhead

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The portable electronic device performs self-service by maintaining the upgrade policy locally and autonomously evaluating compliance with upgrade requests from enterprise or carrier administrators. The processor on the device independently determines whether to honor upgrade requests based on policy evaluation, reducing the need for continuous external intervention and minimizing system complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP1976249B1System and method for management of a portable electronic device
Publication Date: 2009.03.11 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP1976249B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP1976249B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP1976249B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A system and method for management of a portable electronic device is provided. An embodiment includes a system that comprises a portable electronic device that is wirelessly connectable to a carrier administrative server and an enterprise administrative server. The portable electronic device maintains a policy that defines how upgrade requests are to be managed. The policy can define, for example, whether or not the carrier administrative server is permitted to instruct the portable electronic device to install upgrades.