System for providing a service, such as a communication service

• US 9,900,373 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2010
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Renac, Paul, Le Roux, Jean-Louis
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park, Sunghyoun
• Application Number:
  US13/258,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20120086805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,891 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A system an method are provided for providing a service, such as telemonitoring, in particular via the Internet. The system includes a terminal device of a communication network having elements for establishing a connection with a service provider device through at least the communication network, and an application server able to receive a service request from the service provider device on the connection. Thus, the terminal device can make itself accessible to a service provider device as soon as it is put into service. Furthermore, the fact that the terminal device is at the initiative of the connection for this service secures access to the data of the terminal device relating to this service.

Claims

1. A terminal device of a communication network, the terminal device comprising:

a client mode connection layer;

a server mode application layer;

means for initiating and establishing a persistent connection, said means for initiating and establishing a persistent connection sending from the client mode connection layer of the terminal device a connection establishment request to a server mode connection layer of a service provider device through at least said communication network, using an identity of the service provider device known to the terminal device prior to establishment of the persistent connection, the terminal device being separated from said service provider by a gateway device operable to perform network address translation (NAT) wherein the terminal device initiates and establishes the persistent connection before being triggered to send information to the service provider device and wherein the client mode connection layer of the terminal device persists the persistent connection by periodically sending keep alive messages to the service provider device so that the persistent connection is available for the service provider device to send service requests to the server mode application layer, and

application server means of the server mode application layer of the terminal device for receiving through the gateway a service request from a client mode application layer of said service provider device on said persistent connection established through the client mode connection layer of the terminal device, said service provider device operating as a client to the application server means.

2. The terminal device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communication network is a private communication network and wherein the gateway device allows the means for establishing a connection to establish said connection between said terminal device and said service provider device through the private communication network and a public communication network.

3. A service provider device of a communication network comprising:

connection means for allowing a terminal device to send a request to establish a persistent connection on a client mode connection layer of the terminal device using an identity of the service provider device to initiate and establish a persistent connection with a server mode connection layer of said service provider device through at least said communication network, the terminal device being separated from said service provider by a gateway device operable to perform network address translation (NAT) wherein the terminal device initiates and establishes the persistent connection before being triggered to send information to the service provider device and wherein a client mode connection layer of the terminal device persists the persistent connection by periodically sending keep alive messages to the service provider device so that the persistent connection is available for the service provider device to send service requests to a server mode application layer of the terminal device, and

means for sending a service request from a client mode application layer of the service provider device, on said persistent connection established through the server mode connection layer of the service provider device, to an application server of the server mode application layer of the terminal device through the gateway device, the service provider device operating as a client to the application server.

4. A method of putting into service an application server of a terminal device of a communication network, the method comprising:

initiating and establishing by said terminal device a persistent connection with a service provider device through said communication network by sending a request for establishment of a persistent connection on a client mode connection layer of the terminal device using an identity of a service provider device known to the terminal device prior to establishment of the persistent connection, the terminal device being separated from said service provider device by a gateway device operable to perform network address translation (NAT), said connection being suitable for transmitting a service request from said service provider device wherein the terminal device initiates and establishes the persistent connection before being triggered to send information to the service provider device and wherein the client mode connection layer of the terminal device persists the persistent connection by periodically sending keep alive messages to the service provider device so that the persistent connection is available for the service provider device to send service requests to a server mode application layer of the terminal device;

receiving from a client mode application layer of said service provider device a service request by said application server of said terminal device through the persistent connection established through the client mode connection layer of the terminal device, the service request being received by the application server on the server mode application layer of the terminal device.

5. The method of claim 4, and further comprising:

renewing the establishment of the connection after each dropout of said connection between said terminal device and said service provider device.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said connection is a connection in permanent mode.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said connection is an encrypted connection.

8. A computer program comprising program code instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for execution of a method for putting into service an application server of a terminal device of a communication network, when said program is executed by a processor, wherein the method comprises:

initiating and establishing by said terminal device a persistent connection with a service provider device through said communication network by sending a request for establishing a persistent connection on a client mode connection layer of the terminal device using an identity of a service provider device known to the terminal device prior to establishment of the persistent connection, the terminal device separated from said service provider by a gateway device operable to perform network address translation (NAT) wherein the terminal device initiates and establishes the persistent connection before being triggered to send information to the service provider device and wherein the client mode connection layer of the terminal device persists the persistent connection by periodically sending keep alive messages to the service provider device so that the persistent connection is available for the service provider device to send service requests to a server mode application layer of the terminal device,

receiving from a client mode application layer of said service provider device a service request by said application server of said terminal device through the gateway device and the persistent connection established by the client mode connection layer of the terminal device, the service request being received by the application server on the server mode application layer of the terminal device, said service provider device operating as a client to the application server.

9. A system for providing a service in a communication network comprising:

at least one service provider device comprising a server mode connection layer and a client mode application layer; and

at least one terminal device comprising;

a client mode connection layer,

a server mode application layer,

means for establishing a persistent connection with said service provider device wherein the means for establishing the persistent connection initiates the persistent connection by sending a request for a connection establishment on the client mode connection layer to the service provider device using an identity of the service provider device known to the terminal device prior to establishment of the persistent connection wherein the terminal device initiates and establishes the persistent connection before being triggered to send information to the service provider device and wherein the client mode connection layer of the terminal device persists the persistent connection by periodically sending keep alive messages to the service provider device so that the persistent connection is available for the service provider device to send service requests to the server mode application layer, and

an application server configured to receive a service request on the server mode application layer from said service provider device on said persistant connection, the terminal device being separated from said service provider by a gateway device operable to perform network address translation (NAT);

wherein the service provider device comprises connection means for allowing the terminal device to establish the connection with said service provider device on the server mode connection layer through at least said communication network, and means for sending the service request on said connection to the application server of the terminal device through the gateway device, said service provider device operating as a client on the client mode application layer to the application server of the terminal device.

10. A telemonitoring system comprising:

at least one video camera comprising capture means;

a terminal device connected to the at least one video camera and comprising;

a client mode connection layer;

a server mode application layer;

means for initiating and establishing a persistent connection with a server mode connection layer of a service provider device through at least a communication network, wherein the means for initiating and establishing the persistent connection sends a request for an establishment of the persistent connection to the service provider on the client mode connection layer of the terminal device using an identity of the service provider device known to the terminal device prior to establishment of the persistent connection, the terminal device being separated from said service provider by a gateway device operable to perform network address translation (NAT) wherein the terminal device initiates and establishes the persistent connection before being triggered to send information to the service provider device and wherein the client mode connection layer of the terminal device persists the persistent connection by periodically sending keep alive messages to the service provider device so that the persistent connection is available for the service provider device to send service requests to the server mode application layer, and

application server configured to receive through the gateway a service request at the server mode application layer of the terminal device from a client mode application layer of said service provider device on said persistent connection established through the client mode connection layer of the terminal device, said service provider device operating as a client to the application server; and

a video monitoring service platform comprising the service provider device, wherein the service provider device comprises connection means for allowing the terminal device to establish the connection with said service provider device through at least said communication network, and means for sending the service request on said connection to the application server of the terminal device through the gateway, said service provider device operating as a client to the application server.