APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INTERFACING IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20080082990A1
• Filed: 10/01/2007
• Published: 04/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KONG, Dong-Keon, Park, Joon-Ho, Lee, Sung-Won, Kim, Young-Ky, Moon, Sang-Jun, Kim, Dae-Seok, Min, Poong-Ki
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,699 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for interfacing in a communication system. The method includes receiving an event, which should be processed using information managed by a second system providing a second service, from a first system providing a first service; and performing an interface so that the second system performs an operation corresponding to the event by using the information.

Claims

1. A method for interfacing in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) receiving an event, which should be processed using information managed by a second system providing a second service, from a first system providing a first service; and

(2) performing an interface so that the second system performs an operation corresponding to the event by using the information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a location information server, and the event is an event for retrieving location information of a mobile station, step (2) comprises:

requesting the location information server to retrieve location information of the mobile station;

receiving the location information of the mobile station from the location information server in accordance with the request for location information retrieval; and

transmitting the received location information of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a location information server, and the event is an event for tracking a location of a mobile station, step (2) comprises:

requesting the location information server to track the location of the mobile station during a preset period; and

receiving the location information of the mobile station from the location information server in accordance with the request for location tracking, and transmitting the received location information of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a device capability server, and the event is an event for retrieving device capability information of a mobile station, step (2) comprises:

requesting the device capability server to retrieve device capability information of the mobile station;

receiving the device capability information of the mobile station from the device capability server in accordance with the request for device capability information retrieval; and

transmitting the received device capability information of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a user profile server, and the event is an event for retrieving a user profile of a mobile station, step (2) comprises:

requesting the user profile server to retrieve device a user profile of the mobile station;

receiving the user profile of the mobile station from the user profile server in accordance with the request for user profile retrieval; and

transmitting the received user profile of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising an Access Service Network Gateway (ASN GW), and the event is an event for requesting paging to a mobile station, step (2) comprises:

requesting the ASN GW to page the mobile station so that the ASN GW pages the mobile station; and

receiving a paging result for the mobile station from the ASN GW and transmitting the received paging result to the IS/CP system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a Quality of Service (QoS) server, and the event is an event for requesting provision of a QoS based Internet service to a mobile station, step (2) comprises:

requesting the QoS server to provide a QoS based Internet service to the mobile station;

receiving QoS assignment information, which is determined in order to provide the QoS based Internet service to the mobile station, from the QoS server in accordance with the request for provision of the QoS based Internet service; and

transmitting the received QoS assignment information to the IS/CP system, so that the IS/CP system provides an Internet service to the mobile station in accordance with the QoS assignment information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system comprising an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is an authentication request message, step (2) comprises:

performing authentication of the application server by the USI server; and

transmitting an authentication response message including a result of the authentication to the application server by the USI server, wherein the authentication request message comprises fields defined by;

Field Data Type ISPname String Account String Password String

wherein a data type of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) name field, the Account field, and the Password field is string, the ISPname indicates a name of the application server having transmitted the request for authentication to the USI server, the Account indicates an account of a subscriber, and the Password indicates a password of the subscriber, and

the authentication response message includes a field defined by;

Field Data Type resultCode Integer

wherein a data type of the resultCode field is integer, and the resultCode indicates the result of the authentication performed by the USI server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system comprising an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a location information request message, step (2) comprises:

retrieving location information of a subscriber indicated by the location information request message by the USI server; and

transmitting a location information response message including a result of the location information retrieval to the application server by the USI server,

wherein the location information request message comprises fields defined by;

Field Data Type userIDtype String UserID String requestType String ChargingFlag Number

wherein a data type of the userIDtype field, the userID field, and the requestType field is string, a data type of the ChargingFlag field is number, the userIDtype field indicates an IP address of the subscriber, the userID field indicates an identifier (ID) of the subscriber, the requestType field indicates the type of a service, and the ChargingFlag field is a flag indicating an object of billing, and

the location information response message comprises a field defined by;

Field Data Type geographicInfo String

wherein a data type of the geographicInfo field is string, and the geographicInfo field indicates information on an area in which the subscriber is located.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system comprising an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a device information request message, step (2) comprises:

retrieving device information of a subscriber indicated by the device information request message by the USI server; and

transmitting a device information response message including a result of the device information retrieval to the application server by the USI server,

wherein the device information request message comprises fields defined by;

Field Data Type userIDtype String UserID String ChargingFlag Number

wherein a data type of the userIDtype field and the userID field is string, a data type of the ChargingFlag field is number, the userIDtype field indicates an IP address of the subscriber, the userID field indicates an identifier (ID) of the subscriber, and the ChargingFlag field is a flag indicating an object of billing, and

the device information response message comprises fields defined by;

Field Data Type deviceType String deviceVendor String deviceModel String deviceOSVersion String deviceTotalMemory String deviceFreeMemory String deviceResolution String MACAddress String IPAddress String phoneNumber String connectivitySupported String currentConnectivity String defaultWebBrowserType String defaultWebBrowserVersion String

wherein a data type of all the fields in the device information response message is string, the deviceType indicates the type of the subscriber, the deviceVendor indicates a vendor of the subscriber, the deviceModel indicates model information of the subscriber, the deviceOSVersion indicates version information of an Operating System (OS) used by the subscriber, the deviceTotalMemory indicates a total memory size of the subscriber, the deviceFreeMemory indicates a memory size that can be currently used by the subscriber, the deviceResolution indicates a resolution of the subscriber, the MACAddress indicates a Medium Access Control (MAC) address of the subscriber, the IPAddress indicates a current internet protocol (IP) address of the subscriber, the phoneNumber indicates a phone number of the subscriber, the connectivitySupported indicates a connectivity usable by the subscriber, the currentConnectivity indicates a connectivity currently usable by the subscriber, the defaultWebBrowserType indicates a basic web browser type of the subscriber, and the defaultWebBrowserVersion indicates a basic web browser version of the subscriber.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system comprising an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a Quality of Service (QoS) policy request message, step (2) comprises:

retrieving by the USI server a QoS policy of a subscriber indicated by the QoS policy request message; and

transmitting a QoS policy response message including a result of the QoS policy retrieval to the application server by the USI server,

wherein the QoS policy request message comprises fields defined by;

Field name Type Remark SessionID Number Use to correlation the Reserved and Terminated operation in same service. UserIDtype string IPAddress UserID field string requestType string Reserved srcIPAddress string IP address of IPTV server srcPort Number Port of IPTV server destIPAddress string IP address of User destPort Number Port of User serviceType string A;

VoIP/VT with silence suppression B;

IPTV C;

IM D~F;

reserved Direction string 0;

Uplink, 1;

downlink, 2;

both Charging Flag Number 1;

ISP charging 2;

Subscriber Charging

wherein a data type of the SessionID field, the srcPort field, the destPort field, and the Charging Flag field is number, a data type of the other fields is string, the SessionID indicates an identifier (ID) of a corresponding session, the requestType indicates “

Reserved”

or “

Terminated,”

the srcIPAddress indicates an internet protocol (IP) address of the application server providing the service, the srcPort indicates a port of the application server providing the service, the destIPAddress indicates an IP address of the subscriber, the destPort indicates a port of the subscriber, the serviceType indicates the type of the provided service, the direction indicates a QoS support direction, the requestType implies a message requesting to start a QoS service when the requestType is “

Reserved,” and

the requestType implies a message requesting to terminate the QoS service when the requestType is “

Terminated,” and

the QoS policy response message comprises a field defined by;

Field Data Type ResultCode Integer

wherein a data type of the resultCode field, the data type of which is integer, and the resultCode field indicates whether it is possible to provide a QoS policy for the QoS policy request message.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system comprising an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system comprising a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a service alert request message, step (2) comprises:

determining by the USI server if it is possible to page a subscriber indicated by the service alert request message; and

transmitting a service alert response message including a result of the determination to the application server by the USI server,

wherein the service alert request message comprises fields defined by;

Field Data Type userIDtype String UserID String calleeIDType String calleeID String applicationType String ChargingFlag Number

wherein a data type of the userIDtype field, the userID field, the calleeIDType field, the calleeID field, and the applicationType field is string, a data type of the ChargingFlag field is number, the userIDtype indicates an internet protocol (IP) address of a subscriber requesting the paging, the userID indicates an identifier (ID) of the subscriber requesting the paging, the calleeIDType indicates an IP address of the subscriber receiving the paging, the calleeID indicates an ID of the subscriber receiving the paging, and the applicationType indicates the type of a used messenger, and

the service alert response message comprises a field defined by;

Field Data Type ResultCode Integer

wherein a data type of the resultCode field is integer, and the resultCode field indicates whether it is possible to provide paging for the service alert request message.

13. An apparatus for interfacing in a communication system, the apparatus comprising:

a service interface server for receiving an event, which is processed using information managed by a second system providing a second service, from a first system providing a first service, and performing an interface so that the second system performs an operation corresponding to the event by using the information.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system including a location information server, and the event is an event for retrieving location information of a mobile station,

the service interface server performs:

requesting the location information server to retrieve location information of the mobile station;

receiving the location information of the mobile station from the location information server in accordance with the request for location information retrieval; and

transmitting the received location information of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system including a location information server, and the event is an event for tracking a location of a mobile station,

the service interface server performs:

requesting the location information server to track the location of the mobile station during a preset period; and

receiving the location information of the mobile station from the location information server in accordance with the request for location tracking, and transmitting the received location information of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system including a device capability server, and the event is an event for retrieving device capability information of a mobile station,

the service interface server performs:

requesting the device capability server to retrieve device capability information of the mobile station;

receiving the device capability information of the mobile station from the device capability server in accordance with the request for device capability information retrieval; and

transmitting the received device capability information of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system including a user profile server, and the event is an event for retrieving a user profile of a mobile station,

the service interface server performs:

requesting the user profile server to retrieve device a user profile of the mobile station;

receiving the user profile of the mobile station from the user profile server in accordance with the request for user profile retrieval; and

transmitting the received user profile of the mobile station to the IS/CP system.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system includes an Access Service Network Gateway (ASN GW), and the event is an event for requesting paging to a mobile station,

the service interface server performs:

requesting the ASN GW to page the mobile station so that the ASN GW pages the mobile station; and

receiving a paging result for the mobile station from the ASN GW and transmitting the received paging result to the IS/CP system.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system, the second system is a mobile communication system including a Quality of Service (QoS) server, and the event is an event for requesting provision of a QoS based Internet service to a mobile station,

the service interface server performs:

requesting the QoS server to provide a QoS based Internet service to the mobile station;

receiving QoS assignment information, which is determined in order to provide the QoS based Internet service to the mobile station, from the QoS server in accordance with the request for provision of the QoS based Internet service; and

transmitting the received QoS assignment information to the IS/CP system, so that the IS/CP system provides an Internet service to the mobile station in accordance with the QoS assignment information.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system including an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system including a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is an authentication request message,

the USI server performs authentication of the application server, and transmits an authentication response message including a result of the authentication to the application server,

wherein the authentication request message comprises fields defined by:

Field Data Type ISPname String Account String Password String

wherein a data type of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) name field, the Account field, and the Password field is string, the ISPname indicates a name of the application server having transmitted the request for authentication to the USI server, the Account indicates an account of a subscriber, and the Password indicates a password of the subscriber, and

the authentication response message includes a field defined by;

Field Data Type resultCode Integer

wherein a data type of the resultCode field is integer, and the resultCode indicates the result of the authentication performed by the USI server.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system including an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system including a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a location information request message,

the USI server retrieves location information of a subscriber indicated by the location information request message, and transmits a location information response message including a result of the location information retrieval to the application server,

wherein the location information request message comprises fields defined by:

Field Data Type userIDtype String UserID String requestType String ChargingFlag Number

wherein a data type of the userIDtype field, the userID field, and the requestType field is string, a data type of the ChargingFlag field is number, the userIDtype field indicates an internet protocol (IP) address of the subscriber, the userID field indicates an identifier (ID) of the subscriber, the requestType field indicates the type of a service, and the ChargingFlag field is a flag indicating an object of billing, and

the location information response message comprises a field defined by;

Field Data Type geographicInfo String

wherein a data type of the geographicInfo field is string, and the geographicInfo field indicates information on an area in which the subscriber is located.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system including an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system including a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a device information request message,

the USI server retrieves device information of a subscriber indicated by the device information request message, and transmits a device information response message including a result of the device information retrieval to the application server,

wherein the device information request message comprises fields defined by:

Field Data Type userIDtype String UserID String ChargingFlag Number

wherein a data type of the userIDtype field and the userID field is string, a data type of the ChargingFlag field is number, the userIDtype field indicates an internet protocol (IP) address of the subscriber, the userID field indicates an identifier (ID) of the subscriber, and the ChargingFlag field is a flag indicating an object of billing, and

the device information response message comprises fields defined by;

Field Data Type deviceType String deviceVendor String deviceModel String deviceOSVersion String deviceTotalMemory String deviceFreeMemory String deviceResolution String MACAddress String IPAddress String phoneNumber String connectivitySupported String currentConnectivity String defaultWebBrowserType String defaultWebBrowserVersion String

wherein a data type of all the fields in the device information response message is string, the deviceType indicates the type of the subscriber, the deviceVendor indicates a vendor of the subscriber, the deviceModel indicates model information of the subscriber, the deviceOSVersion indicates version information of an Operating System (OS) used by the subscriber, the deviceTotalMemory indicates a total memory size of the subscriber, the deviceFreeMemory indicates a memory size that can be currently used by the subscriber, the deviceResolution indicates a resolution of the subscriber, the MACAddress indicates a Medium Access Control (MAC) address of the subscriber, the IPAddress indicates a current IP address of the subscriber, the phoneNumber indicates a phone number of the subscriber, the connectivitySupported indicates a connectivity usable by the subscriber, the currentConnectivity indicates a connectivity currently usable by the subscriber, the defaultWebBrowserType indicates a basic web browser type of the subscriber, and the defaultWebBrowserVersion indicates a basic web browser version of the subscriber.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system comprising an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system including a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a Quality of Service (QoS) policy request message,

the USI server retrieves a QoS policy of a subscriber indicated by the QoS policy request message, and transmits a QoS policy response message including a result of the QoS policy retrieval to the application server,

wherein the QoS policy request message comprises fields defined by:

Field name Type Remark SessionID Number Used to correlate the Reserved and Terminated operation in same service. UserIDtype string IPAddress UserID field string requestType string Reserved srcIPAddress string IP address of IPTV server srcPort Number Port of IPTV server destIPAddress string IP address of User destPort Number Port of User serviceType string A;

VoIP/VT with silence suppression B;

IPTV C;

IM D~F;

reserved Direction string 0;

Uplink, 1;

downlink, 2;

both Charging Flag Number 1;

ISP charging 2;

Subscriber Charging

wherein a data type of the SessionID field, the srcPort field, the destPort field, and the Charging Flag field is number, a data type of the other fields is string, the SessionID indicates an identifier (ID) of a corresponding session, the requestType indicates “

Reserved”

or “

Terminated,”

the srcIPAddress indicates an internet protocol (IP) address of the application server providing the service, the srcPort indicates a port of the application server providing the service, the destIPAddress indicates an IP address of the subscriber, the destPort indicates a port of the subscriber, the serviceType indicates the type of the provided service, the direction indicates a QoS support direction, the requestType implies a message requesting to start a QoS service when the requestType is “

Reserved,” and

the requestType implies a message requesting to terminate the QoS service when the requestType is “

Terminated,” and

the QoS policy response message comprises a field defined by;

Field Data Type ResultCode Integer

wherein a data type of the resultCode field, the data type of which is integer, and the resultCode field indicates whether it is possible to provide a QoS policy for the QoS policy request message.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein,

when the first system is an Internet Service/Content Provider (IS/CP) system including an application server, the second system is a mobile communication system including a Universal Service Interface (USI) server, and the event is a service alert request message,

the USI server determines if it is possible to page a subscriber indicated by the service alert request message, and then transmits a service alert response message including a result of the determination to the application server,

wherein the service alert request message comprises fields defined by:

Field Data Type userIDtype String UserID String calleeIDType String calleeID String applicationType String ChargingFlag Number

wherein a data type of the userIDtype field, the userID field, the calleeIDType field, the calleeID field, and the applicationType field is string, a data type of the ChargingFlag field is number, the userIDtype indicates an internet protocol (IP) address of a subscriber requesting the paging, the userID indicates an identifier (ID) of the subscriber requesting the paging, the calleeIDType indicates an IP address of the subscriber receiving the paging, the calleeID indicates an ID of the subscriber receiving the paging, and the applicationType indicates the type of a used messenger, and

the service alert response message comprises a field defined by;

Field Data Type ResultCode Integer

wherein a data type of the resultCode field is integer, and the resultCode field indicates whether it is possible to provide paging for the service alert request message.