Federated multiprotocol communication
First Claim
1. A method for use in a system comprising a cellular network coupled to an Internet and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via a packet switched data network at a transport layer or above with a remote server system which determines whether or not a second connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network is superior to a first connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, the method comprising:
- establishing the first connection to thereby provide the mobile unit access to a remote application server, at least partially over the Internet, via the first connection, wherein the establishing of the first connection is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the mobile unit and the cellular network;
establishing an application layer communication interaction between a first peer application program resident in the mobile unit and a second peer application layer program resident in a remote application server that is coupled to the Internet, at least partially via the first connection, using a packet switched data transmission protocol, wherein the establishing of the application layer communication interaction is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the first peer application program and the second peer application program;
after establishing the application layer communication interaction, the mobile unit receiving from the remote server system, an indication to automatically switch from the first connection to the second connection; and
the mobile unit switching from the first connection to the second connection, in response to the indication, to thereby provide the mobile unit access to the remote application server, at least partially over the Internet, via the second connection;
wherein the switching is performed in a manner which results in continuity of the application layer communication interaction, to thereby provide a seamless application layer handoff between the cellular network and the wireless local area network;
wherein the remote application server and the remote server system are separate and independent.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus, and business techniques are disclosed for use in distributed communication systems comprising a plurality of communication protocols. In one embodiment a first air interface is used to initiate communication between a wireless client and a remote server at least partially using a first wireless access point. The server sends the wireless client a stub of a distributed object. The stub is used to instantiate an object class. The object class defines an interface that the remote client can use to communicate with the remote server using an upper layer interface. The distributed object stub also provides an implementation of a software radio configuration for a set of lower protocol layers in a second air interface. The wireless client can thereby communicate with a second wireless access point using said second air interface protocol. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed that focus on toll-tag and electronic-commerce related highway systems, distributed federated wireless access systems, and wide area wireless system capacity augmentation.
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Citations
76 Claims
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1. A method for use in a system comprising a cellular network coupled to an Internet and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via a packet switched data network at a transport layer or above with a remote server system which determines whether or not a second connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network is superior to a first connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, the method comprising:
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establishing the first connection to thereby provide the mobile unit access to a remote application server, at least partially over the Internet, via the first connection, wherein the establishing of the first connection is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the mobile unit and the cellular network; establishing an application layer communication interaction between a first peer application program resident in the mobile unit and a second peer application layer program resident in a remote application server that is coupled to the Internet, at least partially via the first connection, using a packet switched data transmission protocol, wherein the establishing of the application layer communication interaction is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the first peer application program and the second peer application program; after establishing the application layer communication interaction, the mobile unit receiving from the remote server system, an indication to automatically switch from the first connection to the second connection; and the mobile unit switching from the first connection to the second connection, in response to the indication, to thereby provide the mobile unit access to the remote application server, at least partially over the Internet, via the second connection; wherein the switching is performed in a manner which results in continuity of the application layer communication interaction, to thereby provide a seamless application layer handoff between the cellular network and the wireless local area network; wherein the remote application server and the remote server system are separate and independent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for use in a system comprising a mobile unit, a cellular network, a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, and a remote server system, wherein the remote server system communicates via a packet switched data network at a transport layer or above with at least one of the mobile unit, the cellular network, and the wireless local area network, and the remote server system determines, in accordance with the application of an optimization strategy that makes use of information accessed from at least one database, whether or not a second connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network is superior to a first connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, the method comprising:
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establishing the first connection to thereby provide the mobile unit access to a remote application server, at least partially over the Internet, via the first connection, wherein the establishing of the first connection is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the mobile unit and the cellular network; establishing an application layer communication interaction between a first peer application program resident in the mobile unit and a second peer application layer program resident in a remote application server that is coupled to the Internet, at least partially via the cellular network, using a packet switched data transmission protocol, wherein the establishing of the application layer communication interaction is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the first peer application program and the second peer application program; after establishing the application layer communication interaction, the mobile unit receiving at least indirectly in response to the determination by the remote server system, an indication to automatically switch from the first connection to the second connection; and the mobile unit switching from the first connection to the second connection, in response to the indication, to thereby provide the mobile unit access to the remote application server, at least partially over the Internet, via the second connection; wherein the switching is performed while maintaining an application layer Internet connectivity between the first and second peer application layer programs, to thereby provide a seamless application layer handoff between the cellular network and the wireless local area network. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method for use in a system comprising a cellular network, a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, and a remote server system that communicates wit one or more external devices via a packet switched data network at a transport layer or above, the method comprising:
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establishing an application layer communication interaction between a first peer application program resident in the mobile unit and a second peer application layer program resident in a remote application server tat is coupled to the Internet, at least partially via the cellular network, using a packet switched data transmission protocol, wherein the establishing of the application layer communication interaction is performed by at least one member of the group consisting of the first peer application program and the second peer application program; after establishing the application layer communication interaction, the mobile unit receiving, at least indirectly in response to a determination to switch made by the remote server system, an indication to automatically switch a wireless Internet access connectivity from the cellular network to the wireless local area network; and the mobile unit switching the wireless Internet access connectivity of the mobile unit from the cellular network to the wireless local area network, in response to the indication, wherein the switching is performed at least in part, by switching at least one portion of a lower layer of a protocol stack from a cellular network air interface protocol software to a wireless local area network air interface protocol software; wherein the first peer application program interacts with the protocol stack at an interface point above the at Least one portion of the lower layer of the protocol stack affected by the switching, so that the switching is transparent to the client side application program and whereby the switching is performed in a manner which results in continuity of the application layer communication interaction, to thereby provide a seamless application layer handoff between the cellular network and the wireless local area network. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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Specification