Wireless router system and method

• US 20060018283A1
• Filed: 08/24/2005
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Adrian Rogobete, Allan D. Lewis, Anthony G. Burns, Barry Gilhuly, Gary Mousseau, Ian M. Patterson, Mihal Lazaridis, Vi Thuan Banh
• Inventors: Banh, Vi Thuan, Patterson, Ian M., Mousseau, Gary P., Lazaridis, Mihal, Gilhuly, Barry J., Rogobete, Adrian, Burns, Anthony G., Lewis, Allan D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,529,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• 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 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

A wireless router employing a technique to couple a plurality a host services or host systems and a plurality of wireless networks. A method to route data items between a plurality of mobile devices and a plurality of host systems through a common wireless router. A point-to-point communication connection is preferably established between a first host system and a common wireless router, a mobile network message at a mobile device is generated, the mobile network message is transmitted via a wireless network to the common wireless router which in turn routes a data item component of the mobile network message to the appropriate host service.

Claims

1. A method of routing data between a plurality of host services and a plurality of mobile communication devices via a wireless router system, a communication network coupling the plurality of host services to the wireless router system and one or more wireless networks coupling the wireless router system to the plurality of mobile communication devices, comprising:

storing a plurality of host service identifiers in a database at the wireless router system, each host service identifier associated with a particular host service authorized to route data through the wireless router system;

connecting the host services to the wireless router system using one of the host service identifiers to create an authorized communication channel between the host service and the wireless router system, the host services then communicating data to the wireless router system for a particular mobile communication device; and

receiving the data at the mobile communication devices from the wireless router system and transmitting response data and a host service identifier back to the wireless router system, the wireless router system using the host service identifier from the mobile communication device to route the response data to a particular host service.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a plurality of host systems, each host system being associated with at least one host service.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising associating at least one of the host systems with more than one host service, the host system including a host service agent for communicating with the plurality of host services.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising interfacing the wireless router system with a host service using one or more host interface handlers for receiving a communication from a host service including a host service identifier and comparing the received host service identifier with the plurality of host service identifiers stored in the wireless router database.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the host interface handlers creating a secure, authenticated connection between the wireless router system and the host services that are authorized to route data through the wireless router system.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the secure, authenticated connection is a point-to-point connection.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the database includes a state entry for each host service identifier, the state entry indicating whether a particular host service is connected to the wireless router system.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the secure, authenticated connection is a TCP/IP connection.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the secure, authenticated connection is a continuous connection between the wireless router system and the host service, wherein the wireless router system maintains a separate secure, authenticated connection for each of the host services that have connected to the system.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the secure, authenticated connection enables the transport of control messages as well as data between the host services and the wireless router system.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the control messages include acknowledgement messages indicating that data has been received.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the control messages include flow control messages from the wireless router system to the host services, the flow control messages enabling the wireless router system to control the amount of data being transmitted from the host services.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the flow control messages include messages that control the amount of data being transmitted from the host services for a particular mobile communication device.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein for each authorized host service the wireless router database includes a host name, a host service identifier, a security credential, and a host interface handler identifier.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the security credential is used to create the secure, authenticated connection.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the host interface handler identifier indicates which host interface handler the host service is communicating with.

17. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing a firewall system coupled between the wireless router system and the plurality of host services.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the firewall system determining if a host service communication is authorized and if so allowing a connection to be established to one of the host interface handlers.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the host interface handler performing a key security exchange with the host service to determine if the host service is authorized to route data through the wireless router system.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the key security exchange is an SSL connection.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the key security exchange is an HMAC mechanism.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the wireless router database includes data that indicates whether the particular host service is flow controlled by the wireless router system.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the wireless router database includes data that indicates the amount of pending data received from the host service but not yet routed through the wireless router system.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the wireless router database includes data that indicates the length of time that the secure, authenticated connection has been established.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the data received at the wireless router system from the host services includes a mobile device identifier, the method further comprising the wireless router system using the mobile device identifier to route the received data from the host services to a particular mobile communication device that is associated with the mobile device identifier.

26. The method of claim 5, wherein the data received at the wireless router system from the host services includes a mobile device identifier, the method further comprising the wireless router system using the mobile device identifier to route the received data from the host services to a particular mobile communication device that is associated with the mobile device identifier.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the wireless router system includes a plurality of network interface adapters for each of the one or more wireless networks, the method further comprising each of the network interface adapters providing protocol control for communicating data over one of the one or more wireless networks.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the wireless router system includes a plurality of wireless transport handlers for interfacing the host interface handlers with the network interface adapters, the method further comprising each of the wireless transport handlers providing data transfer control to and from a mobile communication device via one of the network interface adapters.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein for each authorized mobile device identifier, the wireless router database includes an indication of the network that the mobile device identifier is associated with and an indication of the current connection status of the mobile communication device that is associated with the mobile device identifier.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising the wireless router system maintaining a plurality of connections to at least one of the one or more wireless networks, and the wireless router database including an indication as to which connection a particular mobile device identifier is currently associated with.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the wireless router database includes an indication of whether any data is pending for a particular mobile device identifier.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the wireless router system includes a network backbone for coupling the host interface handlers with the wireless transport handlers.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the wireless router database is coupled to the network backbone.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the wireless router includes a work dispatcher, coupled to the network backbone, for assigning a particular host interface handler and a particular wireless transport handler to each mobile device identifier.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising the wireless router system including a peer-to-peer messaging component that enables mobile communication devices to exchange data through the wireless router without having to communicate with a host service.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising the mobile communication devices transmitting data and a mobile device identifier to the wireless router system to indicate a peer-to-peer data exchange.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless router system includes a billing component that monitors data routed through the wireless router system for particular mobile device identifiers and generates billing records.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising routing the data to multiple wireless networks coupled to the wireless router system, and the billing component aggregating any charges associated with routing data to the multiple wireless networks and generating a consolidated billing record for a particular mobile device identifier.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication devices obtain the associated host service identifiers via a host service registration request.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the host service registration request occurs via a wireless registration request.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein the host service identifiers are manually loaded into the mobile communication devices.

42. The method of claim 1, further comprising the wireless router system cacheing received data from the mobile communication devices for a particular host service if the host service has not made a connection to the wireless router system.

43. The method of claim 28, wherein the wireless router database includes a table that maps the wireless transport handlers to particular wireless network adapters.

44. The method of claim 28, wherein at least one of the one or more wireless networks is a GPRS network, one of the network interface adapters being assigned to the GPRS network.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the network interface adapter assigned to the GPRS network ensures that the mobile communication devices associated with the GPRS network and authorized to route data through the wireless router system have an active PDP context.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the network interface adapter assigned to the GPRS network monitors DHCP traffic to determine when IP addresses are assigned or unassigned to particular mobile communication devices.

47. The method of claim 39, wherein the wireless router system includes a registration component.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the mobile communication devices send registration requests for available host services to the registration component of the wireless router system.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the registration component provides host service identifiers in response to a registration request from a mobile communication device.

50. A system for routing data between a plurality of host services and a plurality of mobile communication devices via a communication network coupling the plurality of host services to the system and one or more wireless networks coupling the system to the plurality of mobile communication devices, comprising:

a system database for storing a plurality of host service identifiers, each host service identifier associated with a particular host service authorized to route data through the system;

means for connecting the host services to the system using one of the host service identifiers to create an authorized communication channel between the host service and the system, the host services then communicating data to the system for a particular mobile communication device, the mobile communication device receiving the data and transmitting response data and a host service identifier back to the system; and

means for receiving the response data and the host service identifier from the mobile communication device and using the received host service identifier to route the response data to a particular host service.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein a plurality of host systems are associated with at least one host service, the system further comprising means for associating at least one of the host systems with more than one host service, and wherein the host system includes a host service agent for communicating with the plurality of host services.

52. The system of claim 50, further comprising means for interfacing the system with a host service and for receiving a communication from a host service including a host service identifier and for comparing the received host service identifier with the plurality of host service identifiers stored in the system database.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for interfacing comprises host interface handlers that create a secure, authenticated connection between the system and the host services that are authorized to route data through the system.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the secure, authenticated connection is a point-to-point connection.

55. The system of claim 53, wherein the system database includes a state entry for each host service identifier, the state entry indicating whether a particular host service is connected to the system.

56. The system of claim 53, wherein the secure, authenticated connection is a TCP/IP connection.

57. The system of claim 53, wherein the secure, authenticated connection is a continuous connection between the system and the host service, wherein the system maintains a separate secure, authenticated connection for each of the host services that have connected to the system.

58. The system of claim 53, wherein the secure, authenticated connection enables the transport of control messages as well as data between the host services and the system.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the control messages include acknowledgement messages indicating that data has been received.

60. The system of claim 59, wherein the control messages include flow control messages from the system to the host services, the flow control messages enabling the system to control the amount of data being transmitted from the host services.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the flow control messages include messages that control the amount of data being transmitted from the host services for a particular mobile communication device.

62. The system of claim 53, wherein for each authorized host service the system database includes a host name, a host service identifier, a security credential, and a host interface handler identifier.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the security credential is used to create the secure, authenticated connection.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein the host interface handler identifier indicates which host interface handler the host service is communicating with.

65. The system of claim 53, wherein a firewall system is coupled between the system and the plurality of host services.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein the firewall system determines if a host service communication is authorized and if so allows a connection to be established to one of the host interface handlers.

67. The system of claim 66, wherein the host interface handler performs a key security exchange with the host service to determine if the host service is authorized to route data through the system.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the key security exchange is an SSL connection.

69. The system of claim 68, wherein the key security exchange is an HMAC mechanism.

70. The system of claim 62, wherein the system database includes data that indicates whether the particular host service is flow controlled by the system.

71. The system of claim 62, wherein the system database includes data that indicates the amount of pending data received from the host service but not yet routed through the system.

72. The system of claim 62, wherein the system database includes data that indicates the length of time that the secure, authenticated connection has been established.

73. The system of claim 50, wherein the data received at the system from the host services includes a mobile device identifier, and wherein the system uses the mobile device identifier to route the received data from the host services to a particular mobile communication device that is associated with the mobile device identifier.

74. The system of claim 53, wherein the data received at the system from the host services includes a mobile device identifier, and wherein the system uses the mobile device identifier to route the received data from the host services to a particular mobile communication device that is associated with the mobile device identifier.

83. The system of claim 50, further comprising a peer-to-peer messaging component that enables mobile communication devices to exchange data through the system without having to communicate with a host service.

84. The system of claim 83, wherein the mobile communication devices transmit data and a mobile device identifier to the system to indicate a peer-to-peer data exchange.

85. The system of claim 50, further comprising a billing component that monitors data routed through the system for particular mobile device identifiers and generates billing records.

86. The system of claim 85, wherein data is routed to multiple wireless networks coupled to the system, and wherein the billing component aggregates any charges associated with routing data to the multiple wireless networks and generates a consolidated billing record for a particular mobile device identifier.

87. The system of claim 50, wherein the mobile communication devices obtain the associated host service identifiers via a host service registration request.

88. The system of claim 87, wherein the host service registration request occurs via a wireless registration request.

89. The system of claim 50, wherein the host service identifiers are manually loaded into the mobile communication devices.

90. The system of claim 50, further comprising a cache that stores received data from the mobile communication devices for a particular host service if the host service has not made a connection to the system.

95. The system of claim 87, further comprising a registration component.

96. The system of claim 95, wherein the mobile communication devices send registration requests for available host services to the registration component of the system.

97. The system of claim 96, wherein the registration component provides host service identifiers in response to a registration request from a mobile communication device.

75. The system of claim 75, further comprising a plurality of network interface adapters for each of the one or more wireless networks, wherein each of the network interface adapters provide protocol control for communicating data over one of the one or more wireless networks.

76. The system of claim 75, further comprising a plurality of wireless transport handlers for interfacing the host interface handlers with the network interface adapters, wherein each of the wireless transport handlers providing data transfer control to and from a mobile communication device via one of the network interface adapters.

77. The system of claim 76, wherein for each authorized mobile device identifier, the system database includes an indication of the network that the mobile device identifier is associated with and an indication of the current connection status of the mobile communication device that is associated with the mobile device identifier.

78. The system of claim 77, further comprising means for maintaining a plurality of connections to at least one of the one or more wireless networks;

and wherein the system database includes an indication as to which connection a particular mobile device identifier is currently associated with.

79. The system of claim 76, wherein the system database includes an indication of whether any data is pending for a particular mobile device identifier.

80. The system of claim 76, further comprising a network backbone that couples the host interface handlers with the wireless transport handlers.

81. The system of claim 80, wherein the system database is coupled to the network backbone.

82. The system of claim 80, further comprising a work dispatcher, coupled to the network backbone, for assigning a particular host interface handler and a particular wireless transport handler to each mobile device identifier.

91. The system of claim 76, wherein the system database includes a table that maps the wireless transport handlers to particular wireless network adapters.

92. The system of claim 76, wherein at least one of the one or more wireless networks is a GPRS network, one of the network interface adapters being assigned to the GPRS network.

93. The system of claim 92, wherein the network interface adapter assigned to the GPRS network ensures that the mobile communication devices associated with the GPRS network and authorized to route data through the system have an active PDP context.

94. The system of claim 92, wherein the network interface adapter assigned to the GPRS network monitors DHCP traffic to determine when IP addresses are assigned or unassigned to particular mobile communication devices.