Method, apparatus and system for network mobility of a mobile communication device

• US 7,729,366 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2008
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Swaminathan, Raj, Mok, Swee Mean, Venkitaraman, Narayanan
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, BRENDA H
• Application Number:
  US11/970,981
• Publication Number:
  US 20090092133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 370/401, 370/402, 370/389, 370/392, 370/349, 370/310.2, 370/328, 370/338, 370/395.2
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5084 Providing for device mobility network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/34 Modification of an existing route

Abstract

A method, device and system for allowing a mobile communication device, such as a DLNA/UPnP device, to continue to communicate with its local network, even when the mobile device leaves or loses contact with the local network. The method includes providing information to a remote access server to create a virtual mobile device in a local network. The virtual device communicates with other devices within the local network as if it is the actual mobile device. The remote access server is configured to route data packets between the virtual device and the mobile device via a second network that does not rely on the mobile nodes connection to the local network. A public IP address of the remote access server provided to the mobile device before the device leaves the local network is used to communicate with the virtual device via an IP-based public network coupled to the local network.

Claims

1. A method for communicating between a local network and a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of:

determining by a remote access server a first set of information corresponding to the mobile communication device, wherein the first set of information corresponding to the mobile communication device includes information related to at least one local network protocol supported by the mobile communication device;

determining by a remote access server an alternate address corresponding to the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device can be reached using the alternate address even when the mobile communication device is not located within the operable range of the local network;

creating a virtual mobile communication device by the remote access server using the first set of information, wherein the virtual mobile communication device is configured to act as the mobile communication device, wherein the virtual mobile communication device is compatible with at least one local network protocol even when the mobile communication device is not in communication with the local network; and

bridging the transmission of data packets between the virtual mobile communication device and the alternate address corresponding to the mobile communication device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of determining the first set of information includes receiving a UPnP advertisement message in the local network from the mobile communication device.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of determining the alternate address includes:

receiving a message in the local network with having the alternate address of the mobile communication device,

looking up a configuration file providing a mapping between the local address and the alternate address,

registering by the remote access server an address with a network server, and

receiving a message sent by the mobile communication device using the network server, wherein the message includes the alternate address of the mobile communication device.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of creating the virtual mobile communication device includes:

generating by the remote access server an advertisement using the first set of information,

receiving by the remote access server a packet destined to the address of the mobile communication device in the local area network,

generating by the remote access server a message in response to the received packet sent to the address of mobile communication device on the local network,

transmitting by the remote access server the received packet using the alternate address of the mobile communication device, and

reserving by the remote access server an IP address corresponding to mobile communication device in the local area network.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the step of generating a message includes sending the message to the alternate address of mobile communication device and sending the message to the sender of the packet received by the remote access server.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the local network protocol is at least one of a set of guidelines established by the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), and at least one protocol from a set of universal plug and play (UPnP) protocols.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising a step of determining by the remote access server that a packet corresponding to the mobile communication device in the local network need not be transmitted to the alternate address of mobile communication device.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the bridging step includes sending a packet destined to the address of the mobile communication device in the local area network to the alternate address of the mobile communication device.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the bridging step includes receiving by the remote access server data packets from the mobile communication device via an alternate communication link outside of the local network and sending the received packets via the local network.

10. A mobile communication device, comprising:

a controller configured to determine the presence of a remote access server in a local network,

wherein the controller is configured to provide to the remote access server a first set of information including at least a first address corresponding to the mobile communication device, wherein the remote access server is configured to use the first set of information to create a virtual mobile communication device that is configured to act as the mobile communication device in such a way that is compatible with at least one local network protocol even when the mobile communication is not in communication with the local network,

wherein the controller is configured to couple the mobile communication device to the remote access server via a second network using a second address, and to provide the second address to the remote access server,

wherein the mobile communication device further comprises an address virtualization layer coupled to the controller, wherein the address virtualization layer is configured to enable applications bound to the address of the mobile communication device in the local network to continue operating using the address of the mobile communication device in the local network even when the mobile communication device is not connected to the local network.

11. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein the at least one local network protocol is at least one of a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol and a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) protocol, and wherein the first set of information includes information for creating a UPnP advertisement corresponding to the mobile communication device.

12. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein the address virtualization layer is configured to expose a local area network IP address of the mobile communication device to at least one application in the first mobile communication device when the first mobile communication device is not located in the operable range of the local network, and to instruct the controller to transmit packets sent by the at least one application exposed with the local area network IP address of the first mobile communication device to the remote access server using an alternate communication link outside of the local network.

13. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to determine that a virtual mobile communication device will handle communication corresponding to the mobile communication device and stop generation of advertisements in the local network, wherein stopping generation of advertisements includes turning off the local network interface and switching the local network interface into a power save mode.

14. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to receive a message from the remote access server via an alternate communication link outside of the local network, and start communicating directly via the local network communication link.

15. A method for providing continued communication between a local network having an operable range and a mobile communication device that has left the operable range of the local network, wherein the mobile communication device is configured to connect to a public network, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

providing a public address to the mobile communication device when the mobile communication device is located within the operable range of the local network and communicating with the local network;

creating a virtual mobile communication device configured to communicate with the local network; and

routing network communications between the virtual mobile communication device and the mobile communication device via the public network when the mobile communication device is coupled to the local network via a public network based connection between the mobile communication device and the public network,

wherein the network communications between the mobile communication device and the virtual mobile communication device allow local network communications to be routed between the local network and the mobile communication device via the virtual mobile communication device in such a way that the mobile communication device can communicate with the local network as if the mobile communication device was within the operable range of the local network and communicating with the local network.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the mobile communication device has a private IP address, and wherein the creating step includes reserving the private IP address for the mobile communication device when the mobile communication device leaves the local network.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein routing step includes bridging data packets between the public IP address of the mobile communication device and the private IP address virtual mobile communication device.

18. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising the step of authenticating the mobile communication device when the mobile communication device is coupled to the local network via an IP-based connection between the mobile communication device and the IP-based public network using the public IP address.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein routing step includes routing data packets from the public IP address of the mobile communication device to the virtual mobile communication device.