MDN-less SMS messaging (network solution) for wireless M2M application

• US 7,774,008 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Benaouda, Abdelkader, Lee, Kwai Yeung, Wang, Xiaomei, Vo, Loc Ba, Lau, Priscilla
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar; Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fahnert; Marisol
• Application Number:
  US11/643,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20080153521A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/466, 455/423, 455/428, 455/414.1, 455/461, 370/328, 370/349, 370/496, 370/522, 370352-360
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/654 International mobile subscriber identity [IMSI] numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/672 Short addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, for various telemetry applications, such as meter reading, alarm applications or the like, utilize data communication service via a public mobile/wireless communication network, such as the short message service (SMS). However, such M2M communications may involve a large number of clients. To avoid the need to assign a telephone number, such as a mobile directory number (MDN) or the like, to each of the many remote M2M clients, routing through the network is based on another type of MSID (Mobile Station Identifier), such as the MIN (Mobile Identifier Number) or the IMSI (International Mobile Station Identifier) of the client. SMS messages transmissions originating at a client use a short code for the M2M application address, and SMS messages intended to terminate at a client use the MIN or IMSI as the routing address for the M2M device.

Claims

1. A method of machine-to-machine communication via a short messaging service (SMS) of a mobile network providing wireless communication services, the method comprising:

receiving a data message from a machine-to-machine application, for communication through the mobile network to an automated machine-to-machine device, the received data message including a mobile station identifier,

wherein the mobile station identifier is an identifier assigned to a wireless client associated with the automated machine-to-machine device by an operator of the mobile network but is not a valid telephone number for routing through the mobile network;

looking up routing information related to current location of the wireless client device, needed for routing through the mobile network to the wireless client device, based on the mobile station identifier included in the received data message; and

transmitting the data message as a SMS message through the mobile network and over a wireless airlink to the wireless client, for delivery to the automated machine-to-machine device, using the routing information,

wherein a destination address field of the SMS message, for a valid telephone number normally required for SMS message routing through the mobile network, is empty or contains a null value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile station identifier comprises a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) or an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the SMS message through the mobile network comprises:

formatting the data message as a Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP) message;

routing the SMPP message to a message center based on the mobile station identifier;

based on the SMPP message, formatting the data message as a SMS Delivery Point-To-Point (SMDPP) message; and

routing the SMDPP message from the message center to a switch serving the wireless client, for the transmission of the data message over the airlink to the wireless client, using the routing information.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the machine-to-machine application and the machine-to-machine device are for one or more of:

a meter reading application, an alarm application and a telemetry application.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless client associated with the automated machine-to-machine device has no valid telephone number assigned by the operator of the mobile network not for routing through the mobile network.

4. A method of machine-to-machine communication via a short messaging service (SMS) of a mobile network providing wireless communication services, the method comprising:

receiving a data message in the form of a SMS message over an airlink from a wireless client associated with an automated machine-to-machine device, the data message containing a mobile station identifier and a short code associated with a machine-to-machine application as a destination address, wherein;

the mobile station identifier is an identifier assigned to the wireless client by an operator of the mobile network but is not a valid telephone number for routing through the mobile network, and

a source address field of the SMS message, for a valid telephone number, is empty or contains a null value; and

communicating the data message including the mobile station identifier through the mobile network for transmission to a server hosting the machine-to-machine application associated with the short code.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile station identifier comprises a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) or an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI).

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the communicating of the data message through the mobile network comprises:

formatting the data message as a SMS Delivery Point-To-Point (SMDPP) message;

routing the SMDPP message to a message center in response to the mobile station identifier;

based on the SMDPP message, formatting the data message as a Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP) message;

routing the SMPP message to a gateway server, for the transmission to the server hosting the machine-to-machine application.

16. The method of claim 4, wherein the machine-to-machine application and the machine-to-machine device are for one or more of:

a meter reading application, an alarm application and a telemetry application.

17. The method of claim 4, wherein the wireless client associated with the automated machine-to-machine device has no valid telephone number assigned by the operator of the mobile network not for routing through the mobile network.

7. A machine-to-machine communication method, comprising:

routing a first short message service (SMS) message received from a machine-to-machine application through a mobile network to a wireless client associated with a machine-to-machine device, based on a mobile station identifier contained in the first SMS message, wherein;

the mobile station identifier is an identifier assigned to the wireless client by an operator of the mobile network but is not a valid telephone number for routing through the mobile network, and

a destination address field of the first SMS message, for a valid telephone number normally required for SMS message routing through the mobile network, is empty or contains a null value; and

routing a second SMS message from the wireless client associated with the automated machine-to-machine device through the mobile network for delivery to the machine-to-machine application, based on a destination address associated with the machine-to-machine application contained in the second SMS message service, wherein;

the second SMS message further contains the mobile station identifier assigned to the wireless client, and

a source address field of the second SMS message, for a valid telephone number, is empty or contains a null value.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein destination address associated with the machine-to-machine application is a short code.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the mobile station identifier assigned to the wireless client comprises a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) or an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI).

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the routing of the first SMS message comprises:

receiving a first data message from the machine-to-machine application;

formatting the first data message as a Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP) message;

routing the SMPP message to a message center based on the mobile station identifier;

based on the SMPP message, formatting the first data message as a SMS Delivery Point-To-Point (SMDPP) message;

routing the SMDPP message from the message center to a switch serving the wireless client; and

based on the SMDPP message, formulating and transmitting the first SMS message over an airlink to the wireless client.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the routing of the SMDPP message from the message center to the switch serving the wireless client comprises:

obtaining information for routing to the switch serving the wireless client from among information for routing to a plurality of switches of the wireless communication network, based on the mobile station identifier; and

routing of the SMDPP message from the message center to the switch serving the wireless client using the obtained information.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the routing of the second SMS message through the mobile network comprises:

receiving the second SMS message over an airlink from the wireless client;

formatting the second SMS message as a SMS Delivery Point-To-Point (SMDPP) message;

routing the SMDPP message to a message center in response to the mobile station identifier;

based on the SMDPP message, formulating a Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP) message containing data from the second SMS message; and

routing the SMPP message to a gateway server, for the transmission to a server hosting the machine-to-machine application.

18. The method of claim 7, wherein the machine-to-machine application and the machine-to-machine device are for one or more of:

a meter reading application, an alarm application and a telemetry application.

19. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless client associated with the automated machine-to-machine device has no valid telephone number assigned by the operator of the mobile network not for routing through the mobile network.

13. In a mobile network providing wireless communication services, an improvement facilitating machine-to-machine communications via a short messaging service (SMS) of the network, the improvement comprising:

a machine-to-machine gateway providing a network interface, for receiving first data messages from and sending second data messages to a machine-to-machine application, the first data messages containing mobile station identifiers of wireless clients as destination addresses and the second data messages containing mobile station identifiers of the wireless clients as source identifiers, wherein each mobile station identifier is assigned to a respective wireless client by an operator of the mobile network and is not a valid telephone number for routing through the mobile network;

a message center in packet communication with the machine-to-machine gateway, for;

(a) receiving the first data messages from and sending the second data messages to the machine-to-machine gateway, and

(b) forwarding the first data messages through the mobile network for delivery to the wireless clients as first SMS messages based on the respective mobile station identifiers and for receiving first SMS messages for the second data message through the mobile network from the wireless clients; and

a home location register coupled to the message center, for providing information regarding point of attachment of each of the wireless clients to the wireless communication network based on the respective mobile station identifiers, for use in the forwarding of the first data messages to wireless clients,

wherein;

a destination address field of each first SMS message, for a valid telephone number normally required for SMS message routing through the mobile network, is empty or contains a null value, and

a source address field of each second SMS message, for a valid telephone number, is empty or contains a null value.