Registering a terminal into a multi-service network

• US 10,075,777 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2015
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Rautiola, Markku, Oukka, Heikki
• Primary Examiner(s): Murphy, Rhonda
• Application Number:
  US14/798,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20150341396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5084 Providing for device mobility network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0025 Provisions for signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/005 Multiple registrations, e.g. multihoming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A system includes a terminal, a wireless access network, an IP telephony network, a core network gateway from the IP telephony network to the public mobile phone network and a network device, which connects the wireless access network to the IP telephony network and adapts the IP telephony network services to be used by utilizing the circuit-switched signaling protocols of the terminal. A location updating request is received from the terminal over the wireless access network. Location updating is performed via a core network gateway. The network device performs user registration to the IP telephony network using a domain name formed by the phone number of the user and the domain name of the network device or the numeric IP address as the address connection to be registered and as location data in the IP telephony network.

Claims

1. A method for registering a terminal in a multi-service network, the method comprising:

specifying, with a processor-based multi-radio network gateway, a location of the terminal in the multi-service network by compiling an address combination according to either (i) a fully unambiguous identifier of a user and either a domain name of a multi-radio protocol gateway or a separate domain name of an SS7 gateway, or (ii) a fully unambiguous identifier of the user and a fully unambiguous domain name formed by a numeric IP address of the multi-radio protocol gateway or the SS7 gateway;

wherein the registering of the address combination indicating the SS7 gateway is canceled, if an acceptance response of a registration request addressing said SS7 gateway received by the multi-radio protocol gateway also includes one or more said address combinations, other than said address combination indicating the SS7 gateway, and if said user'"'"'s unambiguous identifier in any of said one or more address combinations includes a multi-radio-protocol-gateway-specific identifier and either the domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or the numeric IP address of the multi-radio protocol gateway.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said registration is a synchronized combination of a location updating procedure of a circuit-switched part of a mobile core network and a registration procedure of a multi-service network.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the registration procedure of the multi service network is performed completely before an acceptance or refusal message of a location updating procedure of the circuit-switched part of the mobile core network is sent to the terminal.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

setting, as the fully unambiguous domain name, a domain name combination formed by (i) said user'"'"'s phone number, (ii) a multi-radio-protocol-gateway-specific identifier and (iii) either the domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or a numeric IP address of the multi-radio-protocol gateway when the terminal is located in the area of the multi-service network.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising setting as the fully unambiguous domain name, a domain name combination formed by (i) said user'"'"'s phone number, (ii) said multi-radio-protocol-gateway-specific identifier and (iii) the domain name of the SS7 gateway or a numeric IP address of the SS7 gateway when the terminal is located in the area of the public mobile phone system.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving from the multi-service network a response indicating either failure of a registration request or receipt of a cancellation of location updating from a home location register.

7. A system for registering a terminal to a multi-service network, characterized in that it comprises:

a. a terminal adapted to operate either wirelessly or over a fixed connection to perform a location updating procedure of a circuit-switched part of a public mobile core network,

b. a wireless access network communicating with the terminal, and

c. a multi-radio protocol gateway, which is adapted to register the terminal to the multi-service network via the wireless access network and which, together with a subscriber data pool of the multi-service network, implements a visitor location register of the public mobile core network;

wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway is linked to the subscriber data pool of the multi-service network when an address combination, addressing the multi-radio protocol gateway, is registered in the multi-service network as an address of the terminal, wherein the registering of the address combination indicating an SS7 gateway is canceled, if an acceptance response of a registration request addressing the SS7 gateway received by the multi-radio protocol gateway also includes one or more said address combinations (i), other than said address combination indicating the SS7 gateway, and if a user'"'"'s unique identifier in any of said one or more address combinations includes a multi-radio-protocol-gateway-specific identifier, either a domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or a numeric IP address of the multi-radio protocol gateway.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein upon connecting the multi-radio protocol gateway to the subscriber data pool of the multi-service network, the multi-radio protocol gateway and the subscriber data pool of the core network together form a uniform and combined subscriber data pool.

9. A system according to claim 7, wherein the linking of the multi-radio protocol gateway to the subscriber data pool of the multi-service network is removed when an address connection addressing an SS7 gateway is registered in the multi-service network as an address combination of the terminal.

10. A multi-radio protocol gateway arranged to interface at least one wireless access network and a multi-service network, wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway together with a subscriber data pool of the multi-service network implements a visitor location register of a public mobile core network, the multi-radio protocol gateway comprising a processor configured for:

(i) registering a terminal connected to said at least one wireless access network to the multi-service network, and

(ii) responsive to receiving a location updating request for the terminal, specifying a location of the terminal in the multi-service network with an address combination including one of the following combinations (i) and (ii);

(i) a unique identifier of a user and at least one of the following;

user and either a domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or a unique numeric IP address of a multi-radio protocol gateway, and

(ii) a unique identifier of a user and either a domain name of a SS7 gateway, or a unique numeric IP address of the SS7 gateway;

wherein the address combination is registered, upon receiving in the multi-radio protocol gateway, either a response indicating failure of a registration request from the multi-service network, or upon receiving in the multi-radio protocol gateway a cancellation of the location updating request from a home location register, and upon said multi-radio protocol gateway further receiving a unique domain name formed by (a) said user'"'"'s unique identifier, phone number, a multi-radio protocol gateway specific identifier, (b) either a domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or a unique numeric IP address of a multi-radio protocol gateway, and (c) either the domain name of the SS7 gateway or the numeric IP address of the SS7 gateway.

11. A multi-radio protocol gateway according to claim 10, wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway is configured for cancelling the registering of the address combination indicating the SS7 gateway, if an acceptance response of the registration request addressing said SS7 gateway received by the multi-radio protocol gateway also includes one or more said address combinations (i), other than said address combination indicating the SS7 gateway, and if said user'"'"'s unique identifier in any of said one or more address combinations includes said multi radio protocol gateway specific identifier, either a domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or a unique numeric IP address of the multi-radio protocol gateway.

12. The multi-radio protocol gateway according to claim 11, wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway together with a telephony service of the multi-service network implements a mobile services switching center of the public mobile core network, wherein a call establishing a packet-switched part of the public mobile core network is connected to a registration procedure and a connection formation procedure of the multi-service network.

13. The multi-radio protocol gateway according to claim 12, wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway is arranged to complete the registration procedure of the multi-service network before the acceptance or refusal message of a location updating procedure of a circuit-switched part of the public mobile core network is sent to the terminal.

14. The multi-radio protocol gateway according to claim 13, wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway is arranged to set said address combination, upon the terminal being located in an area of the multi-service network, as a unique domain name formed by said user'"'"'s phone number, a multi-radio-protocol-gateway-specific identifier, and the domain name of the multi-radio protocol gateway or the numeric IP address of the multi-radio protocol gateway.

15. The multi-radio protocol gateway according to claim 14, wherein the multi-radio protocol gateway is arranged to set said address combination, upon the terminal being located in an area of the public mobile phone system, as a unique domain name formed by said user'"'"'s phone number, a multi-radio-protocol-gateway-specific identifier, and the domain name of the SS7 gateway or the numeric IP address of the SS7 gateway.

16. The multi-radio gateway according to claim 10, wherein the unique identifier of the user is the user telephone number.

17. The multi-radio gateway according to claim 10, wherein said registration is a synchronized combination of a location updating procedure of a circuit-switched part of a mobile core network and a registration procedure of a multi-service network.