Cellular telecommunications networks for temporarily associating unique connection numbers with terminals having token identification modules

• US 9,072,081 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2013
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vodafone Group PLC
• Original Assignee: Vodafone Group PLC
• Inventors: Gumbrell, Richard, Sandieson, Graeme, Reeve, Greg, Smith, Tony, Prabdial, Yakeen
• Primary Examiner(s): CASCA, FRED A
• Application Number:
  US14/068,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20140220951A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 455/435.1, 455/418, 455/419, 455/422.1, 455/551, 455/557, 370/328, 370/338, 709/203, 709/228, 726/4, 726/9
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A cellular telecommunications network that facilitates communication connections for terminals having identification modules that are not associated with a subscriber record or Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN). The cellular telecommunications network implements providing a pool of unique connection numbers; in response to a request for communication with a device incorporating a token identification module, assigning a selected one of the pooled numbers to the token identification module in a location register; and initiating a reconnection event, thereby providing the assigned number to the device by associating the device with a temporary unique connection number in the location register. Embodiments described are directed to Machine-to-Machine (M2M) client terminals with embedded token identification modules.

Claims

1. A cellular telecommunications network for temporarily associating unique connection numbers with terminals having token identification modules, the network comprising:

a location register for receiving a request to access the network from a terminal and, when the request is associated with a token identification module, wherein the token identification module is a module which is not permanently associated with a publicly known number, redirecting the request;

a token register which receives said redirected request, obtains token connection identification data and transmits a signal indicating to the location register that the identity of the terminal has been recognized; and

a network gateway component for establishing a communication session between the network and the terminal in accordance with the token connection identification data obtained from the token register;

the network further comprising;

a network storage database for storing a table of unique connection numbers; and

a messaging parsing component for processing messages addressed to terminals having token identification modules, selecting a given connection number from the table of unique connection numbers, associating the selected number with the token register record for a given token identification module and redirecting the messages to the terminal having the given token identification module using the associated selected number,

wherein a messaging parsing application is communicably coupled to the token register and causes the association of the selected number to the token identification module by instructing a purge of the location register record for the token identification module and injecting the selected number into the token register record during reconnection; and

wherein the messaging parsing application further triggers a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context upon confirmation of successful receipt of a given one of said redirected messages within the terminal, thereby instigating a data connection between the terminal and an originator of said redirected message.

2. The cellular telecommunications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the token identification modules are associated with a unique identifier.

3. The cellular telecommunications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein upon completion of data exchange between the terminal and the originator of said redirected message, the terminal drops the PDP context, hence terminating the data session.

4. The cellular telecommunications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein upon completion of data exchange between the terminal and the originator of said redirected message, the originator drops the PDP context, hence terminating the data session.

5. The cellular telecommunications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the originator of said redirected message interprets the termination of a data session as a trigger to repurge the terminal from the token register in order to recover the associated number.

6. The cellular telecommunications network as claimed in claim 1 wherein the terminal is further provided with suitable loudspeaker, microphone and signal processing components.

7. The cellular telecommunications network as claimed in claim 1 wherein the location register is distributed, having an aggregator point for aggregating signaling functionality and a network entity for carrying out further location register functionality, said aggregator point and said network entity being in communication with one another.

12. A network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the token identification module is a module which is not associated with a subscriber which is issued with a public number that allows the subscriber to initiate a call.

8. A method of temporarily associating unique connection numbers with terminals having token identification modules, said method comprising:

receiving at a location register a request to access a network from a terminal and, when the request is associated with a token identification module, wherein the token identification module is a module which is not permanently associated with a publicly known number, redirecting the request;

receiving said redirected request via a token register, obtaining token connection identification data and transmitting a signal indicating to the location register that the identity of the terminal has been recognized;

establishing in a network gateway component a communication session between the network and the terminal in accordance with the token connection identification data obtained from the token register;

wherein the network further comprises a network storage database for storing a table of unique connection numbers and a messaging parsing component for processing messages addressed to terminals having token identification modules,

selecting a given connection number from the table of unique connection numbers,

associating the selected number with the token register record for a given token identification module and redirecting the messages to the terminal having the given token identification module using the associated selected number,

communicably coupling a messaging parsing application to the token register and causing the association of the selected number to the token identification module by instructing a purge of the location register record for the token identification module and injecting the selected number into the token register record during reconnection; and

having the messaging parsing application trigger a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context upon confirmation of successful receipt of said redirected message within the terminal, thereby instigating a data connection between the device and an originator of said redirected message.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising, upon completion of data exchange between the device and the originator of said redirected message, dropping, at the device, the PDP context, hence terminating the data session.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising, upon completion of data exchange between the device and the originator of said redirected message, dropping, at the originator, the PDP context, hence terminating the data session.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising, re-purging the device from the token register upon termination of a data session in order to recover the assigned number.