Method and apparatus to terminate dial-up connections on mobile devices

• US 7,873,735 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2004
• Issued: 01/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Yang, Jianhao Michael, Jain, Kuldeep, Kumar, Krishna
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel; Dhairya A
• Application Number:
  US10/761,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20050160173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,555 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227, 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• 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 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and apparatus to provide an IP connection between a mobile station (MS 10) and a computing device (CD 12). The method includes initiating the set up of the IP connection with a command sent from the CD to the MS over a local interface (13) and, in response to receiving over the local interface an IP message at the MS from the CD, routing the received IP message to an application that is resident in the MS. 2. In a presently preferred first embodiment the command is an AT command, more specifically an AT+CRM command having a value of five. In a presently preferred second embodiment the command places the MS into an auto-answer mode, and is an ATSO=1 command.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a command at a mobile station from a computing device over a local interface between the mobile station and the computing device, where the command places the mobile station into a mode in which a dial-up connection between the mobile station and the computing device is locally terminated at the mobile device without involving any cellular network;

establishing an internet protocol connection between the mobile station and the computing device comprising the mobile station assigning an internet protocol address to the computing device and an internet protocol address to the mobile station, and configuring an internet protocol stack at the mobile station, where the internet protocol stack is configured to route packets received via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the mobile station to a peer application that is resident in the mobile station; and

in response to receiving at the mobile station via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the mobile station an internet protocol message from the computing device, routing the internet protocol message received from the computing device to the peer application that is resident in the mobile station, where communications between the mobile station and the computing device occur over the internet protocol connection using the local interface and where the local interface is at least one of a short range infrared, universal serial bus, and Bluetooth interface, where the internet protocol message received from the computing device comprises a communication from a peer application resident in the computing device and where the peer application resident in the computing device and the peer application resident in the mobile station communicate directly with each other via the dial-up connection locally terminated at the mobile station using logical connections between an internet protocol stack at the computing device and the internet protocol stack at the mobile station.

2. A method as in claim 1, where the command is an AT command.

3. A method as in claim 1, where the command is an AT+CRM command.

4. A method as in claim 3, further comprising:

sending an ATD #777 command to the mobile station from the computing device over the local interface to establish a call;

performing peer-to-peer protocol negotiations over the local interface; and

establishing the internet protocol connection over the local interface.

5. A method as in claim 1, where the command is an AT+CRM command having a value of five.

6. A method as in claim 1, where the command places the mobile station into an auto-answer mode.

7. A method as in claim 6, further comprising:

in response to an occurrence of a trigger signal at the mobile station, sending a Ring signal to the computing device over the local interface to establish a call;

performing peer-to-peer protocol negotiations over the local interface; and

establishing the internet protocol connection over the local interface using arbitrary internet protocol addresses for the mobile station and the computing device.

8. A method as in claim 1, where the command is an ATSO=1 command.

9. A method as in claim 1, where the local interface comprises one of a wired interface and a wireless interface.

10. A computer readable memory within a mobile station embodying a computer program executable by a processor to perform actions comprising:

receiving a command at a mobile station from a computing device over a local interface between the mobile station and the computing device, where the command places the mobile station into a mode in which a dial-up connection between the mobile station and the computing device is locally terminated at the mobile device without involving any cellular network;

establishing an internet protocol connection between the mobile station and the computing device comprising the mobile station assigning an internet protocol address to the computing device and an internet protocol address to the mobile station, and configuring an internet protocol stack at the mobile station, where the internet protocol stack is configured to route packets received via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the mobile station to a peer application that is resident in the mobile station; and

responsive to receiving at the mobile station via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the mobile station an internet protocol message from the computing device, routing the internet protocol message received from the computing device to the peer application that is resident in the mobile station, where communications between the mobile station and the computing device occur over the internet protocol connection using the local interface and where the local interface is at least one of a short range infrared, universal serial bus, and Bluetooth interface, where the internet protocol message received from the computing device comprises a communication from a peer application resident in the computing device and where the peer application resident in the computing device and the peer application resident in the mobile station communicate directly with each other via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the mobile station using logical connections between an internet protocol stack at the computing device and the internet protocol stack at the mobile station.

11. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, where the command is an AT command.

12. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, where the command is an AT+CRM command.

13. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, where the command is an AT+CRM command having a value of five.

14. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, further comprising computer program code to send an ATD #777 command to the mobile station from the computing device over the local interface to establish a call, to perform peer-to-peer protocol negotiations over the local interface and to establish the internet protocol connection over the local interface.

15. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, where the command places the mobile station into an auto-answer mode.

16. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 15, further comprising computer program code, responsive to an occurrence of a trigger signal at the mobile station, to send a Ring signal to the computing device over the local interface to establish a call, to perform peer-to-peer protocol negotiations over the local interface and to establish the internet protocol connection over the local interface using arbitrary internet protocol addresses for the mobile station and the computing device.

17. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, where the command is an ATSO=1 command.

18. The computer readable memory embodying a computer program as in claim 10, where the local interface comprises one of a wired interface and a wireless interface.

19. An apparatus comprising:

at least one data processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, where the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one data processor, to cause the apparatus to at least;

receive a command from a computing device over a local interface between the apparatus and the computing device, where the command places the apparatus into a mode in which a dial-up connection between the apparatus and the computing device is locally terminated at the apparatus without involving any cellular network;

establish an internet protocol connection between the apparatus and the computing device comprising assigning an internet protocol address to the computing device and an internet protocol address to the apparatus, and configuring an internet protocol stack at the apparatus, where the internet protocol stack is configured to route packets received via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the apparatus to a peer application that is resident in a memory of the apparatus; and

responsive to receiving at the apparatus via the dial-up connection locally terminated at the apparatus an internet protocol message from the computing device, route the internet protocol message received from the computing device to the peer application that is resident in the memory of said apparatus, where communications between the apparatus and the computing device occur over the internet protocol connection using the local interface and where the local interface is at least one of a short range infrared, universal serial bus, and Bluetooth interface, where the internet protocol message received from the computing device comprises a communication from a peer application resident in the computing device and where the peer application resident in the computing device and the peer application resident in the apparatus communicate directly with each other via the dial-up connection that is locally terminated at the mobile station using logical connections between an internet protocol stack at the computing device and the internet protocol stack at the apparatus.

20. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the command is an AT command.

21. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the command is an AT+CRM command.

22. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the command is an AT+CRM command having a value of five.

23. An apparatus as in claim 19, embodied in a mobile station and where the command places said mobile station into an auto-answer mode.

24. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the command is an ATSO=1 command.

25. An apparatus as in claim 19, where said local interface comprises at least one of a wired interface and a wireless interface, and where the assigned internet protocol addresses are assigned arbitrarily to the apparatus and to the computing device.

26. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the peer application resident in the mobile station comprises a personal information management-application.

27. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the peer application resident in the mobile station enables data to be transferred from the apparatus to the computing device for storage.

28. An apparatus as in claim 27, where the data comprises data generated by a camera of the apparatus.

29. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the peer application resident in the mobile station enables data to be transferred from the computing device to the apparatus for storage.

30. An apparatus as in claim 29, where the data comprises music data.

31. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the peer application resident in the mobile station comprises a synchronization application.

32. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the peer application resident in the mobile station comprises a parameter provisioning application.

33. An apparatus as in claim 19, where the peer application resident in the mobile station comprises a debugging application.