Network interface for a wireless communication device

• US 7,623,526 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Rangel, Ryan, Mullis, II, Samuel L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jayanti K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wyllie, Christopher T
• Application Number:
  US11/461,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20080025343A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,212 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/401, 370/300, 370/310, 370/392, 370/395.1, 370/395.5, 370/400, 370/466, 370/474, 455/432.1, 455/414.1, 455/466
• US Class Current: 370/395.5
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A communication device includes a network interface that communicatively interfaces an IP protocol layer and an SMS protocol stack. The network interface includes an adaptation layer that receives IP packets from the IP protocol layer, and outputs the IP packets to the SMS protocol stack. A transmitter circuit transmits the SMS messages, which encapsulate the IP packets, to a remote device via a communication network. The adaptation layer also receives specially designated SMS messages from the SMS protocol stack. The received SMS messages include encapsulated IP packets. Upon receipt, the adaptation layer processes the SMS messages, and delivers the IP packets decapsulated from the SMS messages to an application through the IP protocol layer.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting Internet Protocol (IP) packets in Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages, the method comprising:

interfacing an IP protocol layer and an SMS protocol stack with an adaptation layer;

receiving, at the adaptation layer, one or more IP packets from the IP protocol layer;

processing the one or more IP packets at the adaptation layer to be encapsulated in one or more SMS messages by;

inserting the one or more IP packets into the one or more SMS messages; and

inserting a control directive into the headers of the one or more SMS messages to control IP packet handling at a remote communication module; and

outputting the one or more SMS messages having the encapsulated IP packets and the inserted control directive from the adaptation layer to the SMS protocol stack for transmission to the remote communication module.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the IP packet at the adaptation layer comprises:

determining whether the IP packet should be encoded; and

encoding the one or more IP packets to generate encoded text based on the determination.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a size of the one or more IP packets received from the IP protocol layer.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising segmenting an IP packet to produce IP packet segments if the determined size of the IP packet exceeds a predetermined threshold.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising aggregating a plurality of IP packets for encapsulation into a single SMS message if the determined total size of the plurality of IP packets does not exceed a predetermined threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein outputting the processed one or more IP packets from the adaptation layer to the SMS protocol stack comprises forwarding the one or more IP packets received from the IP protocol layer to the SMS protocol stack along with one or more control directives.

7. A communication module comprising:

a transmitter circuit to transmit one or more SMS messages having encapsulated IP packets to a remote communication module over a communication network;

an IP protocol layer to generate IP packets based on data received from an application;

an SMS protocol stack to output the one or more SMS messages to the transmitter circuit; and

an adaptation layer configured to;

encapsulate one or more IP packets received from the IP protocol layer into the one or more SMS messages;

insert a control directive into the headers of the one or more SMS messages to control IP packet handling at the remote communication module; and

output the one or more SMS messages having the encapsulated IP packets and the inserted control directive to the SMS protocol stack.

8. The communication module of claim 7 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to:

determine if the one or more IP packets should be encoded; and

encode the one or more IP packets based on the determination.

9. The communication module of claim 8 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to encode the one or more IP packets to generate encoded text.

10. The communication module of claim 7 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to determine a size of the one or more IP packets received from the IP protocol layer.

11. The communication module of claim 10 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to segment an IP packet to produce IP packet segments if the size of the IP packet exceeds a predetermined threshold.

12. The communication module of claim 10 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to aggregate a plurality of IP packets received from the IP protocol layer for encapsulation into a single SMS message if a total size of the plurality of IP packets does not exceed a predetermined threshold.

13. The communication module of claim 7 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to output the one or more IP packets received from the IP protocol layer and one or more control directives to the SMS protocol stack.

14. A method of receiving Internet Protocol (IP) packets in Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages at a communication module, the method comprising:

interfacing an SMS protocol stack and an IP protocol layer with an adaptation layer, the SMS protocol stack configured to receive SMS messages having encapsulated IP packets from a communication network;

receiving, at the adaptation layer, one or more SMS messages from the SMS protocol stack responsive to a control directive embedded in the headers of the one or more SMS messages;

processing the encapsulated IP packets in the one or more SMS messages at the adaptation layer according to the control directives; and

outputting one or more IP packets decapsulated from the one or more SMS messages to an application through the IP protocol layer.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein processing the one or more SMS messages at the adaptation layer comprises decapsulating the IP packets from the one or more SMS messages to produce the decapsulated IP packets.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein processing the one or more SMS messages at the adaptation layer comprises reassembling a plurality of decapsulated IP packet segments.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein processing the one or more SMS messages at the adaptation layer comprises separating a plurality of IP packets encapsulated in a single SMS message.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

determining whether the decapsulated IP packets should be decoded; and

decoding the decapsulated IP packets to produce decoded text based on the determination.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein outputting the one or more IP packets decapsulated from the one or more SMS messages to an application through the IP protocol layer comprises forwarding one or more decapsulated IP packets and one or more control directives received from the SMS protocol stack to the IP protocol layer.

20. A communication module comprising:

a receiver circuit to receive SMS messages comprising one or more encapsulated IP packets from a communication network;

an SMS protocol stack to receive the SMS messages from the receiver circuit;

an IP protocol layer to forward IP packets to an application; and

an adaptation layer configured to;

process one or more SMS messages received from the SMS protocol stack responsive to a control directive embedded in the headers of the one or more SMS messages, the control directives specifying how the adaptation layer should process the one or more IP packets; and

output one or more IP packets decapsulated from the one or more SMS messages to the IP protocol layer.

21. The communication module of claim 20 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to decapsulate the one or more IP packets from the one or more SMS messages.

22. The communication module of claim 20 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to reassemble one or more decapsulated IP packet segments.

23. The communication module of claim 20 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to separate a plurality of decapsulated IP packets encapsulated in a single SMS message.

24. The communication module of claim 20 wherein the adaptation layer is configured to:

determine whether the one or more packets should be decoded; and

decode the one or more IP packets to produce decoded text based on the determination.