(54) COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WITH
WIRELESS ELECTRONIC MAIL OR
MESSAGING INTEGRATED AND/OR
ASSOCIATED WITH APPLICATION
PROGRAM RESIDING ON REMOTE
COMPUTING DEVICE
(75) Inventors: James W. Morton, Charlotte, NC (US);
William T. Brown, Celine, OH (US)
(73) Assignee: Motient Communications Inc.,
Lincolnshire, IL (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 569 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 09/917,937
(22) Filed: Jul. 31, 2001
(65) Prior Publication Data
US 2002/0032018 Al Mar. 14, 2002
Related U.S. Application Data
(60) Provisional application No. 60/222,036, filed on Jul. 31, 2000.
(51) Int. CI.7 G06F 15/16
(52) U.S. CI 709/246; 709/206; 709/225;
709/226; 709/227; 709/229
(58) Field of Search 709/206, 225,
709/226, 227, 229, 246
(56) References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,933,478 A 8/1999 Ozaki et al.
6,029,143 A * 2/2000 Mosher et al 705/28
6,088,340 A * 7/2000 Buchholz et al 370/310
6,219,694 Bl 4/2001 Lazaridis et al.
6,393,408 Bl * 5/2002 Mosher et al 705/28
6,397,259 Bl * 5/2002 Lincke et al 709/236
6,415,156 Bl * 7/2002 Stadelmann 455/466
6,633,900 Bl * 10/2003 Khalessi et al 709/202
6,694,366 Bl * 2/2004 Gernert et al 709/227
* cited by examiner
Primary Examiner—Saleh Najjar
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Irah H. Donner; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
(57) ABSTRACT
A wireless communications system is provided that enables a user to send data pertaining to the shipment and/or delivery of goods, preferably from a handheld device, to at least one data file associated with at least one respective application program residing on a remote computing device. The application program rapidly receives the sent data and integrates the data into at least one data file associated therewith, thereby enabling more timely and efficient business operations. In a preferred embodiment, user input is minimized by using a macro feature, and users can input data fields in any order without affecting the performance or reliability of the system.
21 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets
