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In accordance with the teaching described herein, systems and methods are provided for managing memory space in a mobile device. A plurality of data storage locations may be included. A plurality of software applications may be included, with each software application being operable to store data to a different data storage location. A data store management system may be operable to access and delete data stored in the plurality of data storage locations. If insufficient memory space is available in one of the data storage locations, then the data store management system may access the one data storage location and at least one other data storage location and delete data from at least one of the accessed data storage locations.

Inventors: Gerhard D. Klassen, Robbie J. Maurice
Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
Primary Examiner: Matthew Kim
Secondary Examiner: Hetul Patel
Attorneys: Jones Day, Krishna K. Pathiyal, Robert C. Liang
Current U.S. Classification: 711/159; 711/147; 711/151; 711/160; 711/171; 711/172; 711/E12.006

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Citations

Cited PatentFiling dateIssue dateOriginal AssigneeTitle
US5640339Mar 11, 1996Jun 17, 1997International Business Machines CorporationCache memory including master and local word lines coupled to memory cells
US6212605Mar 31, 1997Apr 3, 2001International Business Machines CorporationEviction override for larx-reserved addresses
US6285872Mar 28, 2000Sep 4, 2001Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaDigital radio telephone for a digital mobile radio communication system
US7017105Feb 2, 2001Mar 21, 2006Microsoft CorporationDeleting objects from a store of a device
US20040158829Mar 3, 2004Downloading application software to a mobile terminal

Referenced by

Citing PatentFiling dateIssue dateOriginal AssigneeTitle
US7912455Apr 27, 2007Mar 22, 2011Research In Motion LimitedData protection for applications on a mobile electronic device
US8073840Jun 16, 2009Dec 6, 2011Attivio, Inc.Querying joined data within a search engine index
US8200808Sep 28, 2006Jun 12, 2012Sony Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.Communication apparatus and computer program

Claims

1. A system for managing memory space in a mobile device, comprising:

a plurality of data storage locations;

a plurality of software applications, each software application being operable to store data files to a different storage location; and

a data store management system configured to access and delete data files in the plurality of data storage locations,

the data store management system providing a plurality of memory retention algorithms, wherein one of the plurality of memory retention algorithms is selected by a user to determine a criteria used to select data files for deletion from the plurality of data storage locations,
the data store management system further providing a plurality of control levels, the plurality of control levels providing threshold levels for selecting data files for deletion according to the selected memory retention algorithm, wherein a control level is selected to set a threshold level for the selected memory retention algorithm so data files at or above the threshold level are deleted,
wherein the data store management system is further configured to receive an initial control level and delete one or more data files according to the initial control level and the selected memory retention algorithm, and if sufficient memory space is not available after deleting data files according to the initial control level and the selected memory retention algorithm, then increment the initial control level and delete one or more additional data files according to the incremented control level,
wherein the threshold level associated with the control level becomes progressively lower as the selected control level is incremented.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of memory retention algorithms include a least recently used algorithm, a first in-first out algorithm and a largest file size algorithm.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store management system is further configured to provide a plurality of selectable groups of control levels, wherein the plurality of control levels are translated to different threshold levels dependant upon the selected control level group.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of selectable groups of control levels include a group having threshold levels relating to file size.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of selectable groups of control levels include a group having threshold levels relating to the amount of time since a data file has been accessed.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of data storage locations include at least one of a browser cache, a message store, an address book, a browser bookmarks store, a calendar data store, a notes store, and an electronic messaging store.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of software applications include at least one of an electronic messaging system, an Internet browser application and a calendar application.

8. A computer implemented method for managing memory space in a mobile device, comprising:

storing data flies in memory;

selecting one of a plurality of memory retention algorithms for deleting sufficient data in memory to yield sufficient free memory space in the memory; and

setting a control level to provide a threshold level used by the selected memory retention algorithm to select data files for deletion according to the selected memory retention algorithm, wherein the control level is selected to set the threshold level for the selected memory retention algorithm so data files at or above the threshold level are deleted;

receiving an initial control level;
deleting one or more data files according to the initial control level and the selected memory retention algorithm;
determining if sufficient free memory space is available; and
if sufficient free memory space is not available after deleting data files according to the initial control level and the selected memory retention algorithm, then incrementing the initial control level and deleting one or more additional data files according to the incremented control level and the selected memory retention algorithm,
wherein the threshold level associated with the control level becomes progressively lower as the control level is incremented.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of memory retention algorithms include a least recently used algorithm, a first in-first out algorithm and a largest file size algorithm.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting one group of control levels from a plurality of groups of control levels, wherein the control level is set from the selected group of control levels, and wherein the control level is translated to a different threshold level dependant upon the selected control level group.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of selectable groups of control levels include a group having threshold levels relating to file size.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of selectable groups of control levels include a group having threshold levels relating to the amount of time since a data file has been accessed.

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