METHOD AND APPARATUS TO FACILITATE HOTLINING IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20080207161A1
• Filed: 02/19/2008
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Upp, Steven D., Alonso, Teodoro G., Raza, Imran
• Application Number:
  US12/033,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20080207161A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/66 Trust-dependent, e.g. using trust scores or trust relationships

Abstract

Various embodiments are described for facilitating hotlining in communication systems. A device (101) is informed by a device manager (131) that it is being hotlined and is provided certain hotlining state information. This information may enable devices with different types of user interfaces (browsers, automated clients, handsets, etc.) to trigger an appropriate application and begin communicating with an appropriate network location (in a secure and controlled fashion) to resolve the hotlining issue. The hotlining state information may also enable the device to access network services, while hotlined, such as emergency services. Assuming that a resolution to the hotlining is attained, the device may then be notified that hotlining has terminated. The device may then resume its access to regular network services, perhaps as gracefully as re-entering one or more data sessions interrupted by the hotlining.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating hotlining in a communication system comprising:

communicating by a device manager (DM) with a remote unit to establish a secure relationship with the remote unit;

receiving by a device manager (DM) an indication that the remote unit is being hotlined;

sending, by the DM to the remote unit in response to the indication that the remote unit is being hotlined, a notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and associated hotlining state information to facilitate a hotlining resolution.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating by the DM with the remote unit to establish the secure relationship comprises

sending bootstrap information to the remote unit to facilitate binding of the remote unit to the DM.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising

receiving by the DM an indication that the remote unit is no longer hotlined;

sending, by the DM to the remote unit in response to the indication that the remote unit is no longer hotlined, a notification that the remote unit is no longer hotlined.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the notification that the remote unit is no longer hotlined indicates that the remote unit should reboot.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving by the device manager the indication that the remote unit is being hotlined comprises

receiving the indication via SOAP/XML (simple object access protocol/extensible markup language).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and the associated hotlining state information comprises

indicating at least one URI to facilitate a hotlining resolution.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and the associated hotlining state information comprises

sending at least one of

an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) server alerted notification (SAN) packet,

a SyncML information tree,

a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) packet,

a user datagram protocol (UDP) packet,

short message service (SMS) packet,

a SOAP/XML (simple object access protocol/extensible markup language) packet, and

an XML packet.

8. A method for facilitating hotlining in a communication system comprising:

receiving by a remote unit a uniform resource identifier (URI) of a device manager (DM);

communicating by the remote unit with the DM to establish a secure relationship with the DM;

receiving, by the remote unit from the DM, a notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and associated hotlining state information;

interfacing a user of the remote unit with a network device, as indicated by the hotlining state information, to facilitate a hotlining resolution.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein communicating by the remote unit with the DM to establish the secure relationship comprises

receiving bootstrap information by the remote unit from the DM;

binding by the remote unit to the DM.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising requesting by the remote unit hotlining-related information from the DM using the URI of the DM.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein interfacing the user of the remote unit with the network device comprises

selecting a URI indicated in the hotlining state information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein interfacing the user of the remote unit with the network device comprises performing at least one of

providing web browser interface to the selected URI,

providing a setup wizard to establish a connection to the selected URI, and

initiating a SIP call to the selected URI.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein initiating the SIP call to the selected URI comprises

initiating a SIP call to one of an emergency dispatcher and a customer service representative.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising communicating by the remote unit with the DM to establish a secure session with the DM,

wherein the notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and the associated hotlining state information are received via the secure session and

wherein the secure session comprises at least one of

a secure SyncML session and

a secure extensible markup language (XML) session.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and the associated hotlining state information comprises

receiving at least one of

an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) server alerted notification (SAN) packet,

a SyncML information tree,

a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) packet,

a user datagram protocol (UDP) packet,

short message service (SMS) packet,

a SOAP/XML (simple object access protocol/extensible markup language) packet, and

an XML packet.

16. The method of claim 8, further comprising

receiving, by the remote unit from the DM, a notification that the remote unit is no longer hotlined.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising

performing, by the remote unit in response to the notification that the remote unit is no longer hotlined, at least one of

rebooting,

restarting client mobile internet protocol (MIP) operation,

sending a registration request, and

sending a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) request.

18. A method for facilitating hotlining in a communication system comprising:

receiving, by a remote unit from a device manager (DM), a notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and associated hotlining state information, wherein the associated hotlining state information comprises a first uniform resource identifier (URI) and a second URI;

interfacing, by the remote unit while hotlined, a user of the remote unit with a network device using the first URI, to facilitate a hotlining resolution;

detecting, by the remote unit while hotlined, that an emergency condition exists;

interfacing, by the remote unit while hotlined, the user of the remote unit with a network device using the second URI, to facilitate emergency assistance.

19. A remote unit comprising:

a network interface;

a processing unit, communicatively coupled to the network interface,

adapted to receive via the network interface a uniform resource identifier (URI) of a device manager (DM),

adapted to communicate via the network interface with the DM to establish a secure relationship with the DM,

adapted to receive, from the DM via the network interface, a notification that the remote unit is being hotlined and associated hotlining state information, and

adapted to interface via the network interface a user of the remote unit with a network device, as indicated by the hotlining state information, to facilitate a hotlining resolution.