Mobile communication terminal, network access system and method thereof using the same

• US 20030126239A1
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Hwang, Hye-sook
• Application Number:
  US10/330,335
• Publication Number:
  US 20030126239A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery

Abstract

In a mobile communication terminal, a network access system and a method thereof using the same capable of controlling an UPnP device and connecting it to an external network, by including an UPnP control point application and a network conversion function for converting an IP address authenticated in a home network into an IP address of an external network in an OS of a mobile communication terminal, a user can easily control UPnP devices even in moving and connect them to an external network through the Internet without using an additional Internet access equipment. In addition, by using a Korean, English, number and special character input function and a voice recognition function of a mobile communication terminal, the user can control the UPnP devices efficiently.

Claims

1. A mobile communication terminal, comprising:

an UPnP control point for controlling an UPnP device; and

a gateway for performing access to an external network.

2. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1, wherein the UPnP control point includes an “

UPnP control point application”

above a TCP/IP layer of an OS (operating system) in order to control the UPnP device.

3. The mobile communication terminal of claim 2, wherein the UPnP control point application includes:

a DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) process module for managing an IP (Internet protocol) address allocated from a DHCP server;

a device search module for searching and recognizing an UPnP device connected to the mobile communication terminal;

a service recognition module for recognizing various service functions provided by the UPnP device through a description file of the UPnP device recognized by the device search module;

a device control module for controlling the UPnP device connected to the mobile communication terminal;

an event process module for informing a present state of the UPnP device; and

a presentation process module for presenting various service functions provided by the UPnP device to a user according to the present state of the UPnP device.

4. The mobile communication terminal of claim 3, wherein the description file includes a device description file for informing detailed information of the UPnP device and a service description file for informing a service function, etc. of the UPnP device.

5. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication terminal includes:

an interface unit for receiving a device description file and a service description file from an UPnP device having a local IP;

a device search module for searching the pertinent UPnP device by parsing the received device description file;

a service recognition module for recognizing a service function of the pertinent UPnP device by parsing the received service description file;

a device control module for controlling the UPnP device by using the recognized service function;

a memory for storing the searched device information and information about the service function;

a GUI unit for presenting the searched device information and information about the service function; and

a microcomputer for controlling each unit.

6. The mobile communication terminal of claim 5, wherein the mobile communication terminal further includes:

a network conversion module for mutual-converting the local IP of the UPnP device into a global IP in order to access with an external network.

7. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1, wherein the UPnP device includes a port for identifying itself among other UPnP devices.

8. A network access system, comprising:

an UPnP device for requesting and receiving an Internet service by accessing to a home network with a local IP thereof;

an external network server for providing the Internet service requested by the UPnP device by using a global IP thereof; and

a mobile communication terminal for mutual-converting a local IP of the UPnP device and the global IP of the pertinent external network server in order to perform the Internet connection.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the mobile communication terminal controls the UPnP device by using a Korean, English, number and special character input function and a voice recognition function thereof.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the mobile communication terminal outputs an order to the UPnP device by dividing a bandwidth in a physical layer of a communication protocol or receives a service provided from the external network server.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the mobile communication terminal includes:

a network conversion module for mutual-converting a local IP and a global IP in order to access with an external network;

an interface unit for receiving a device description file and a service description file from an UPnP device having a local IP;

a device search module for searching the pertinent UPnP device by parsing the received device description file;

a service recognition module for recognizing a service function of the pertinent UPnP device by parsing the received service description file;

a device control module for controlling the UPnP device by using the recognized service function; and

a microcomputer for controlling each unit.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile communication terminal further includes:

a memory for storing the searched device information and information about the service function; and

a GUI unit for presenting the searched device information and information about the service function.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the UPnP device includes a port for identifying itself among other UPnP devices.

14. A network access method using a mobile communication terminal, comprising:

transmitting a request message for requesting an Internet service to a mobile communication terminal by an UPnP device accessed to a home network by using a local IP thereof;

parsing the transmitted request message and converting the local IP of the UPnP device into a global IP of an external network server by the mobile communication terminal;

processing the requested Internet service by the pertinent external network server corresponding to the converted global IP and transmitting it to the mobile communication terminal;

parsing a reply message and converting the global IP of the external network server into the local IP of the UPnP device by the mobile communication terminal; and

transmitting the reply message to the pertinent UPnP device corresponding to the converted local IP.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step for transmitting the request message to the mobile communication terminal includes the sub-steps of:

encoding the local IP of the UPnP device as a source address; and

encoding the global IP of the external network as a destination address.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step for converting the local IP into the global IP includes the sub-steps of:

converting the local IP as the source address of the request message into the global IP by the mobile communication terminal; and

recording conversion information in a conversion table having a lookup table format.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the step for transmitting the reply message to the mobile communication terminal includes the sub-steps of:

processing the user request Internet service by parsing the transmitted request message by the external network server; and

transmitting the reply message to the mobile communication terminal by encoding a web file as the processing result,

wherein, a source address and a destination address of the reply message are encoded as the global IP.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the step for converting the global IP into the local IP includes the sub-steps of:

receiving the reply message by the mobile communication terminal;

parsing it; and

converting the global IP as the destination address of the reply message into the local IP of the pertinent UPnP device by using the conversion information recorded in the conversion table.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the step for transmitting the reply message to the UPnP device includes the sub-steps of:

receiving the reply message converted local IP as the destination address by the UPnP device;

parsing it; and

presenting the pertinent encoded web file to a user.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the UPnP device includes a port for identifying itself among other UPnP devices.