Enabling interoperability between distributed devices using different communication link technologies

• US 7,346,370 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2004
• Issued: 03/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cellport Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cellport Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Lewellen, Mike, Plucienkowski, Jay, Kennedy, Patrick J., Spaur, Charles W., Fuchs, Axel
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwart; James D
• Application Number:
  US10/836,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20050245272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,419 Days
• Field of Search: 455/99, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/344, 455/345, 455/426.1, 455/456.3, 455/457, 455/507, 455/556.1, 455/557, 370/401, 340/7.52, 340/7.31, 340/7.35, 340/256.14, 340/425.5, 340/438, 340/457, 340/539.16, 340/825.52, 340/825.72, 340/998, 701/1, 701/24, 701/29, 701/33, 701/35, 701/36, 701/48, 701/200, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210, 701/213
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40032 Details regarding a bus interface enhancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40215 Controller Area Network CAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724098 Interfacing with an on-board device of a vehicle for hands-free speaking in vehicles H04M1/6075
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces

Abstract

The present invention is directed to facilitating communications and interoperability between/among applications and services. Such applications and services may be running on or associated with disparate platforms. The apparatus of the present invention provides for a message set that can be used by services to advertise available services, and by applications to identify desired services. According to certain embodiments, applications may subscribe to available services. In a further aspect of some embodiments, applications executable on and services available from disparate platforms are not required by themselves to support communications between/among the platforms. Instead, such support may be obtained from facilities that are provided as part of the platform itself.

Claims

1. An information transfer apparatus, comprising:

a central system for managing service related information related to services available for use including a first service, the central system including a connection framework process that provides a services table;

at least a first application that processes application related information;

at least a first service engine having said first service associated therewith and being in communication with said central system for providing at least a first function to be used by said first application;

at least a first information source in communication with said first service engine from which said application related information can be obtained and provided via said first service engine to said first application for processing using said first application, wherein at least said first service is listed in said services table, wherein said at least a first service is advertised by a services list including at least a portion of said services table, and wherein said first service is discovered by said first application from said services list; and

at least a first communication interface in communication with at least each of said central system and said first service engine, said first communication interface for providing compatibility of communications between said central system and communications link technology communicable with said first communication interface;

wherein said central system is used to establish a first communications path for said first communication interface to said first service engine by providing said first communication interface with information for connecting to said first service and the communication interface storing the information for connecting to said first service in a services map and, after a communication channel between said first communication interface and said first service being established, said first communication interface is used in obtaining said application related information from said information source and providing said application related information to said first application using said communication channel, wherein said communication channel does not include said connection framework process.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said central system also communicates with said first service engine to obtain state information therefrom and also to alert said first service engine of a communication between said first service engine and said first application.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said first communication interface communicates with said first service engine using said first application.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a second application executable on an external system that can use said first communication interface to access said first service engine.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said central system includes an operating system, a controller having at least one processor and memory, with at least portions of said memory storing said service related information for use by at least a second application.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first application includes a vehicle diagnostic application that communicates directly with said central system.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first service engine associates with at least one of:

a global positioning system (GPS), Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), an onboard vehicle diagnostics (OBD-ll), a controller area network (CAN), and a universal serial bus (USB).

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said communications link technology includes at least one of:

a universal serial bus (USB), transport control protocol/universal datagram protocol (TCP/UDP), a controller area network (CAN) and a RS-232 serial port.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said communications link technology involves wireless technology and relates to at least one of:

WiFi, ultra wideband (UWB) Bluetooth, personal area networking, COMA, DATATAC, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, Mobitex and an integrated digital enhanced network interface.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first communication interface receives a message from said central system and uses said message to create said services map that maps said first service to a first communication port assigned by said first communication interface.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first communication interface provides a message to an external system indicating that said first service is available and also indicating the manner by which said first service is to be referenced by said external system.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first interface manager creates a mapping table that correlates at least a first remote service associated with an external system to a second communication path used to access said first information source through first service engine.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a second communication interface included with an external system that communicates with said first communication interface using said communications link technology, said second communication interface sending a message to said first communication interface manager that includes an identifier associated with a first remote service engine of said external system, said first communication interface correlating an address with said first remote service engine.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said first communication interface maps said address to said communications link technology.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said communications link technology relates to at least one of:

a universal serial bus (USB), a transport control protocol/universal datagram protocol (TCP/UDP), a controller area network (CAN) and a RS-232 serial port.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said second communication interface stores information related to mapping said first remote service engine to said address.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 further including an external system that manages remote services information including related to at least a first remote service available for use and in which said external system informs said central system of said at least first remote service and said central system informs said external system of said first service.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said central system is part of a portable phone.

19. An information transfer apparatus, comprising:

a central system for managing local services information including related to at least a first local service available for use, the central system including a connection framework process providing a services table having a number of references. wherein each reference identifies a service and access information for the service;

at least a first local service engine associated with said first local service in communication with said central system;

at least a first information source in communication with said first service engine from which first information related to said first local service can be obtained;

at least a first application for processing said first information, wherein the first application is provided with a services list by the connection framework process that includes at least some of the references listed in the services table;

a local communication interface in communication with at least said central system for providing compatibility between said central system and a communications link technology; and

a remote communication interface in communication with said local communication interface and being associated with said communications link technology, said remote communication interface being part of an external system having at least a first remote service available for uses,

wherein the number of references includes a reference to the first local service, wherein the number of references includes a reference to the first remote service, wherein at least the first local service and the first remote service are advertised to the first application by the services list, wherein the first application uses information contained in the services table to establish a communication channel to access at least one of the first local service and the first remote service, and wherein the communication channel used by the first application to access said at least one of the first local service and the first remote service does not pass through the connection framework process.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said first application is part of said external system and in which said first application obtains said first information for processing using said remote communication interface and said local communication interface, wherein the remote communication interface obtains a copy of the services table from the central system via the local communication interface, and wherein the first application is provided with a copy of the services table by the remote communication interface.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said first application communicates directly with said central system and is not part of said external system and in which said first application obtains said first information for processing using said first service engine.

22. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said first application is not part of said external system.

23. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said external system informs said central system of said at least first remote service being available for use and said central system informs said external system of said at least first local service being available for use.

24. A method for communicating using a central system, a first service engine in communication with said central system, a first application in communication with said central system and said first service engine, a connection framework process, and a first information resource for providing first information, comprising:

said first service engine sending a post services message to said connection framework process to report services available from said first information resource through said first service engine, said services including at least a first service operable to provide said first information;

listing an identification of and access information for the first service in a services table;

invoking said first application to be used in processing said first information;

discovering the first service by said first application, wherein said discovering includes sending an establish message to said connection framework process over a public control channel, wherein a channel for direct communication between the connection framework process and said first application is established, wherein said first application sends a query services message to the connection framework process, and wherein said first application is provided with a services list message from the connection framework process that includes a list of services that are available to the first application;

the first application identifying the first service in the service list and requesting the first service;

in response to the request for the first service, the first service engine creating a service instance communication channel to enable the first application to access the first service and communicating an identification of the service instance communication channel to the connection framework process, wherein the connection framework process provides the identification of the service instance communication channel to the first application;

communicating directly said first information from said first service engine to said first application, after said establishing, using said service instance communication channel independently of said connection framework process.

25. The method of claim 24 further including providing a local communication interface in communication with at least the central system for providing compatibility of communication between the central system and communications link technology for establishing a communications connection to an external system and in which the method further includes assigning at least the first service engine an identifier that can be used by said external system when using said first local service.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said local communication interface stores information that correlates at least a first remote service included with said external system and a first local communications path that is not part of said external system.

27. The method of claim 26 further including providing a remote communication interface in communication with said local communication interface and in which said remote communication interface stores information correlating said first remote service with said first local communications path and also stores information correlating said first local service with a second local communications path that is not part of said external system.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the query services message sent by the first application to the connection framework process specifies a requested service.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the services table includes services that the first application is not authorized to access, and wherein the service list message does not list any services that the first application is not authorized to access.

30. An information transfer apparatus, comprising:

a central system for managing information related to a number of services;

a number of service engines, wherein at least one of the number of services is associated with each of the number of service engines;

a services table, wherein an entry for each of the number of services is included in the services table, the services table including;

for each service included in the number of services, an identification of the service,

for each service included in the number of services, information needed to establish a connection to the service,

wherein the services table advertises the number of services;

a communication interface, wherein the communication interface provides access to the services table, wherein the communication interface provides for discovery of a first service included in the number of services from the services table, and wherein the communication interface provides access to the first service.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

an application, wherein the application discovers the first service through the services table, wherein following the discovery the application is in communication with a first service engine included in the number of service engines that is associated with the first service, and wherein the application at least one of;

     1) receives information from the first service via the first service engine included in the number of service engines, and

     2) provides information to the first service via the first service engine included in the number of service engines.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the application accesses the services table and the first service engine through the communication interface.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the services table is accessed by the application through the communication interface using a first communication path, and wherein the number of services are accessed by the application through the communication interface using a second communication path.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising:

a first port, wherein the first service at least one of provides information to and receives information from the first service engine through the first port.