System having mobile terminals with wireless access to the internet and method for doing same

• US 20020013831A1
• Filed: 01/05/2001
• Published: 01/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Asunmaa, Petri, Mansikkaniemi, Tapio, Frisk, Anders, Ylonen, Otso, Saarikivi, Ilari, Djupsjobacka, Kimmo, Lindblom, Patrik, Ellila, Timo, Grundy, John, Zimet, Martha, Savolainen, Sampo, Astala, Arto, Abrahamsson, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US09/755,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20020013831A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A system and method are provided for allowing a user to perform information management tasks and access the Internet (26). The system includes at least one terminal (20, 21)that is part of a group and capable of wireless communication, an Access Provider (AP) unit (22), an Internet Service Provider (ISP) (24), a server (28) for authenticating the terminal (20, 21), and a global unit (34)for providing the internet address of the server (28) to the terminal (20, 21). The method includes the steps of powering on the terminal (20, 21), establishing a communication link with a gateway to obtain an internet address for the terminal (20, 21) relative to an internet address of the gateway, obtaining an internet address for the server (28), and establishing a shared communication session between the terminal (20, 21) and the server (28) to allow access to information management services.

Claims

1. A system coupled to a network, wherein the system comprises:

at least one terminal capable of wireless communication with the network through a gateway, wherein the terminal includes shared communication facilities for at least two users;

a server coupled to the gateway for providing services and information management services to the terminal; and

a global unit coupled to the gateway, wherein activation of the terminal is initiated by a request to the global unit.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the global unit has an address of an access provider.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the global unit has an address of a network unit, wherein the network unit is an internet service provider and the global unit authenticates the terminal for starting a shared communication session with a group profile once the communication connection between the authenticated terminal and the server is established.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the terminal initiates authentication of the terminal before a shared communication session is established.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the global unit comprises a global registry including the address of an access provider, an internet service provider, and a mobile service provider.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user is authenticated in a network node and wherein authentication is provided for a shared communication session based on information received from a global registry.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a user of the terminal initiates a request for an individual communication session with the server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the terminal comprises:

an operating system including a driver;

a touch sensitive display coupled to the operating system for graphical display of information;

a user interface coupled to the operating system for providing the user with selection and input control; and

a browser coupled to the operating system for allowing enabled services to be selectable.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the enabled services are located in a support server.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the enabled services are located in an Internet.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the enabled services are group and individual services.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the server comprises:

a support server coupled to an internet service provider for providing the terminal with information management services, including access to messaging services;

a directory server coupled to the support server for providing directory services including authentication of the terminal and each user; and

an application server coupled to the directory server for providing application specific services.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the terminal is authenticated by a network unit to start a shared communication session and each user is authenticated by the support server for starting an individual communication session.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the application server transmits a group specific profile to the terminal of a specified group when a shared communication session is active and transmits an individual specific profile to the terminal when an individual communication session is active.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the group specific profile and the individual specific profile include language selection unique to that profile.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one individual specific profile has administrative rights to modify the group specific profile.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one parameter of the services and the group specific profile can be updated by the user having the individual specific profile.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the updated parameter is stored in a database of the server when a change session is terminated.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein after the change session is terminated, updated content is selectable from any terminal of the specified group.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one parameter of the services and the group specific profile can be updated by any terminal that is part of the group.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the support server comprises:

an application server;

an upgrade service unit coupled to the application server for receiving software upgrades from a global upgrade server;

a login service unit coupled to the application server for authenticating the terminal for a shared session and an individual session;

a profile service unit coupled to the application server for providing and updating shared session profiles and individual session profiles; and

an administrative service unit coupled to the application server for administration of the support server and a network application server.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising an advertisement service unit coupled to the application server for configuring advertised services for the appropriate profile associated with the session that is active on the terminal.

23. A system of claim 21, wherein at least one parameter of the group profile and individual profile can be changed by the application server.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the global unit comprises:

a firewall unit for providing secured access;

a global address server coupled to the firewall unit for storing the internet address of the server associated with the terminal; and

a global upgrade server coupled to the global address server for providing updated data, including software, to the server and the terminal.

25. A system of claim 24, wherein an upgrade service unit receives, from the global upgrade server, a software product comprising:

executable software;

at least one identification of the software product; and

an address of the server from where the software can be downloaded, wherein the global upgrade server responds to the server identifying from where the software product is available for downloading.

26. A method for providing a terminal in communication with a network, the method comprising:

coupling at least one terminal through a wireless connection to the network, wherein the terminal has shared communication facilities for at least two users;

establishing a communication link with a gateway to obtain an internet address for the terminal relative to the internet address of the gateway;

obtaining an internet address for a server to establish a shared communication session between the terminal and the server to allow access to information management services; and

downloading a group profile configuration from the server to the terminal.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising authenticating the terminal.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising configuring the terminal in accordance with the group profile.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

requesting an individual communication session for the user;

authenticating the user to establish the individual communication session; and

terminating the individual communication session and converting to the shared communication session.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the individual communication session is terminated upon expiration of a predetermined period of time without user input.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of obtaining comprises:

retrieving an address of a global address server;

establishing a communication link between the terminal and an internet service provider;

sending a request to the global address server, wherein the request is a request for the address of the server;

receiving the address of the server from the global address server;

transmitting identification information unique to the terminal and the address of the terminal from the terminal to the server for authentication by the server; and

authenticating the terminal to establish the shared communication session.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of obtaining comprises:

establishing a communication link between the terminal and an access provider;

retrieving an internet address of a global address server;

sending a request to the global address server, wherein the request is a request for an internet address of the server;

receiving the internet address of the server from the global address server;

transmitting identification information that is unique to the terminal and the internet address of the terminal from the terminal to a network provider that authenticates the terminal; and

authenticating the terminal to establish the shared communication session.

33. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of obtaining comprises:

establishing a communication link between the terminal and an access provider;

authenticating the terminal to establish a shared communication session by a network provider;

retrieving an internet address of a global address server;

sending a request to the global address server, wherein the request is a request for an internet address a mobile system server;

receiving the address of the mobile system server; and

transmitting identification information unique to the terminal and the address of the mobile system server received from the global registry to a network provider.

34. A method for providing a user with wireless access to an internet and information management services using a terminal capable of wireless communication with a server and a global address server through a gateway, the method comprising:

powering on the terminal;

establishing a communication link with the gateway to obtain an internet address for the terminal;

obtaining an internet address for the server that will be authenticating the terminal and downloading to the terminal the group profile configuration; and

establishing a shared communication session between the terminal and the server to allow access to information management services.

35. A system for providing a user with wireless internet access to a network through a gateway and information management, the system comprising:

a terminal coupled to the gateway, wherein, the terminal has shared facilities for at least two users; and

a server coupled to the gateway, wherein the server authenticates the terminal and establishes a shared communication session with the terminal in order to provide access to shared services to the user.

36. The system of claim 35, further comprising:

an internet service provider coupled to the gateway and an internet; and

an application server coupled to the gateway for providing access to shared and individual profiles.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein an internet address for the terminal relative to an internet service provider is requested from a global registry.

38. The system of claim 35, further comprising a content provider coupled to the gateway for providing an internet address associated with the server to the terminal.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein one user is authenticated as an individual user within a group and an individual communication session is established to allow the user to access individual information and data and wherein an individual profile of the individual user is downloaded to the terminal for configuring the terminal.

40. A software program executable by a system comprising:

means for requesting a software unit;

a global upgrade server coupled to the requesting means for answering a request for the software unit;

a network unit coupled to the global upgrade server and a server for carrying the request and a response message between the server and the global upgrade server, wherein the software unit includes a version identification of the software unit located in the global upgrade server ready to be downloaded; and

a comparison unit used by the server, wherein the comparison unit compares the version of the software unit that is received from the global upgrade server to a version of an existing software unit and if the existing software unit is outdated relative to the software unit, then the software unit can be downloaded to the server.

41. The software program of claim 40, wherein the server further comprises:

an upgrade server, capable of periodically requesting versions of the software unit from the global upgrade server; and

a support server coupled to and notified by the upgrade server when a new version of the software unit is available in the upgrade server.

42. The software program of claim 40, wherein the software unit is an executable software program ready to be executed in the server or in the terminal.

43. The software program of claim 40, wherein the downloaded software unit includes the version identification.

44. The software program of claim 40, wherein a control unit in the server compares the version of the software unit available with the version received in the request message from the terminal.

45. The software program of claim 40, wherein the terminal requests to download the software unit to the terminal.