Methods and apparatus for updating mobile node location information

• US 20060112183A1
• Filed: 01/06/2006
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Park, Vincent, Vanderveen, Michaela, Uppala, Sathyadev Venkata, Corson, M. Scott, Laroia, Rajiv
• Granted Patent: US 7,392,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/104 Location integrity, e.g. secure geotagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation

Abstract

Location update techniques are described. A dormant mobile node updates its location information by sending a first message over a wireless link to an access node. The access node generates a second update message in response to the first message. The second message includes a mobile node identifier and, in some embodiments is directed to the mobile node. The second message is received by a tracking agent, which updates location information corresponding to the mobile node. In the case where second message is an IP message and is routed to the mobile node using Mobile IP, a Mobile IP home agent routes the second message to the mobile node'"'"'s last point of network attachment where the tracking agent is located and intercepts the message. The tracking agent may send a response message to the access node sending the second message.

Claims

1. A method of updating location information indicating the location of a mobile node, the method comprising:

operating a location update agent in a first node to receive a signal including a mobile node identifier identifying said mobile node; and

operating the location update agent to send a location update signal directed to said mobile node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein sending a location update signal includes communicating said signal over a different communication path than a communications path from which said signal including a mobile node identifier was received.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the mobile node identifier is an IP address corresponding to the mobile node;

and

wherein the location update signal is an IP message having a destination IP address which is the same as the mobile node identifier.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein operating said location update agent to send a location update signal includes:

incorporating mobile node location information in said location update signal.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating an additional node including a tracking agent to receive said location update signal directed to said mobile node, said additional node being on a communications path over which said location update signal is directed.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

operating said tracking agent to update stored mobile node location information using information obtained from said location update signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said additional node responds to said received location update signal by sending a location update response message to at least one of said location update agent and said mobile node.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

operating the location update agent to receive said location update response message and to send an acknowledgment to said mobile node, said acknowledgement being transmitted according to a preselected transmission relationship with said received signal including a mobile node identifier.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said preselected transmission relationship is a fixed timing relationship, said acknowledgment being transmitted a fixed time from the time said received signal is received.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said location update response message is transmitted over a different communications path than said location update signal.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein said location update signal is addressed to said mobile node.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein said location update signal is an Internet Protocol message addressed to said mobile node.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein operating an additional node including a tracking agent to receive said location update signal includes:

operating said tracking agent to examine at least one field in each of a plurality of Internet Protocol messages; and

intercepting Internet Protocol messages having a value in said filed indicative of a location update message.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

operating an intermediate node to route said location update signal between said first node and said additional node.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said intermediate node includes a Mobile IP home agent which is responsible for redirecting packets addressed to said mobile node.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said additional node includes a Mobile IP foreign agent in addition to said tracking agent.

17. The method of claim 1,

wherein the mobile node identifier is a hardware identifier;

and

wherein the location update signal is an IP message having a destination address which is a function of said hardware identifier.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said destination address has a one to one mapping with said hardware identifier.

19. A communications system comprising:

a first node including;

a receiver for receiving a signal including a mobile node identifier identifying a mobile node; and

a location update agent for sending a location update signal directed to said mobile node in response to said receiver receiving said signal.

20. The system of claim 19,

wherein the mobile node identifier is an IP address corresponding to the mobile node;

and

wherein the location update signal is an IP message having a destination address which is the same as the mobile node identifier.