Portable wireless gateway

• US 7,346,025 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2003
• Issued: 03/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Bryson, Sidney Llewellyn
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, BRENDA H
• Application Number:
  US10/377,195
• Publication Number:
  US 20040185777A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: 370/401, 370/402, 370/310.2, 370/313, 370/328, 370/331, 370/332, 370/338, 370/465, 370/341, 370/349, 370/249, 370/395.5, 370/466, 370/467
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass networks security protocols H04L9/40; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A portable wireless network gateway aggregates bandwidth demand of different devices operating under different communications protocols. Network connectivity is provided by encapsulating data from the different devices to make the data appear to be data native to a single network. For example, the single network is a cellular wireless network. The different communications protocols include but are not limited to IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.3, USB, cellular wireless protocols, Bluetooth, RS-232, and IEEE 11.1R.

Claims

1. A portable wireless gateway comprising:

at least one access point that communicates with user devices;

a transceiver that communicates with a network; and

,

a protocol emulator comprising;

a protocol gateway that determines an authorization of respective user devices to receive services from the portable wireless gateway, wherein the protocol gateway contacts a third party subscriber database, via the network, on behalf of the respective user devices, to verify a validity of a user name and password received from the user device at least one time and, when the respective user devices are authorized to receive the services of the portable wireless gateway according to information received from the third party subscriber database, the protocol gateway encapsulates user device data of the respective authorized user devices relayed by the at least one access point to prepare the user device data for transmission by the transceiver in a protocol associated with the network in communication with the transceiver, and unpackages data from the network relayed by the transceiver for delivery to the at least one access point and relaying to at least one of the user devices.

2. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the transceiver comprises

a radio transceiver that communicates with a public mobile data network.

3. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the protocol emulator is controls and coordinates radio frequencies used by the at least one access point.

4. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the protocol emulator is assigns a private IP address to a user device using network address translation.

5. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 further comprising:

an administration and maintenance module that performs billing and security functions in conjunction with the protocol gateway.

6. The portable wireless gateway of claim 5 wherein the administration and maintenance module autonomously communicates with a maintenance server of a third party service provider for uploading billing information and downloading administration and maintenance information.

7. The portable wireless gateway of claim 5 wherein the billing and security functions include at least one of recording a connection time of the user device and recording a traffic volume associated with the user device.

8. The portable wireless gateway of claim 5 wherein the protocol gateway and administration and maintenance module cooperate to provide firewall functionality for the user device.

9. The portable wireless gateway of claim 5 wherein the administration and maintenance module comprises:

a dynamic host configuration protocol server.

10. The portable wireless gateway of claim 5 wherein the administration and maintenance module comprises:

an HTML server that supplies log on screens for delivery to user devices and receives and processes log on information therefrom.

11. The portable wireless gateway of claim 10 wherein the protocol gateway, administration and maintenance module and the HTML server cooperate to provide a user with temporary access to the services of the portable wireless gateway to allow the user to purchase longer term access to the services of the portable wireless gateway online.

12. The portable wireless gateway of claim 2 wherein the radio transceiver comprises a wireless telephone based broadband communications link.

13. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the protocol gateway encapsulates data so as to act as a proxy for the user devices.

14. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the at least one access point comprises:

at least one of an IEEE 802.11 access point, a Bluetooth access point, a HiperLan access point.

15. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the portable wireless gateway establishes a respective plurality of connections with the network via the transceiver, thereby appearing to the network to be a respective plurality of mobile devices.

16. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the at least one access point comprises:

a UMTS Node B access point.

17. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the transceiver comprises a UMTS based transceiver.

18. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the transceiver comprises a CDMA 2000 based transceiver.

19. The portable wireless gateway of claim 2 wherein the radio transceiver comprises a fixed wireless based communications link.

20. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the protocol emulator further comprises:

a queuing device that queues traffic based on quality of service parameters associated with the traffic.

21. The mobile network gateway of claim 20 wherein the queuing device is operative to prevent denial of service to user devices associated with a high quality of service.

22. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the at least one access point and the protocol gateway negotiate a user device handover to or from another portable wireless gateway device when a comparison of a first signal strength between the user device and the at least one access point and a second signal strength between the user device and an access point of the other portable wireless gateway indicates that a handover is warranted.

23. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the transceiver acts as an access point for a cellular wireless device and the protocol gateway and the transceiver relay traffic between the cellular wireless device and a base station of a cellular wireless network.

24. The portable wireless gateway of claim 1 wherein the protocol gateway and the transceiver cooperate to securely send Internet protocol data via encrypted tunnels of a virtual private network.

25. A portable wireless gateway comprising:

at least one access point that communicates with user devices;

a transceiver that communicates with a network; and

,

a protocol emulator comprising;

a protocol gateway that encapsulates user device data relayed by the at least one access point to prepare the user device data for transmission by the transceiver in a protocol associated with the network in communication with the transceiver, and unpackage data from the network relayed by the transceiver for delivery to the at least access point and relaying to at least one of the user devices, wherein the protocol emulator connects to a wireless operator network by presenting the wireless operator network with a gateway ID, connects to a third party service provider via the wireless operator network, authenticates the portable wireless gateway with the third party service provider by presenting the third party service provider with the gateway ID, requests an equipment identification number (EIN) from the third party service provider, receives the EIN from the third party service provider and authenticates services for a user by presenting the EIN to the wireless operator network.

26. A portable wireless gateway comprising:

at least one access point that communicates with user devices;

a transceiver that communicates with a network; and

,

a protocol emulator comprising;

a protocol gateway that encapsulates user device data relayed by the at least one access point to prepare the user device data for transmission by the transceiver in a protocol associated with the network in communication with the transceiver, and unpackages data from the network relayed by the transceiver for delivery to the at least one access point and relaying to at least one of the user devices, wherein the protocol emulator adds a message to data sent to the user device from another source.

27. A portable wireless gateway comprising:

at least one access point that communicates with user devices;

a transceiver that communicates with a network; and

,

a protocol emulator comprising;

a protocol gateway that encapsulates user device data relayed by the at least one access point to prepare the user device data for transmission by the transceiver in a protocol associated with the network in communication with the transceiver, and unpackage data from the network relayed by the transceiver for delivery to the at least access point and relaying to at least one of the user devices, wherein the at least one access point and the protocol gateway negotiate a user device handover to or from another portable wireless gateway device when a comparison of a first signal strength between the user device and the at least one access point and a second signal strength between the user device and an access point of the other portable wireless gateway indicates that a handover is warranted and wherein the protocol gateway negotiates the user device handover using a secondary tunnel.

28. An apparatus for aggregating bandwidth demand comprising:

a plurality of respective access points each respective access point of the plurality being operative to communicate with respective user devices using a respective communications protocol of the respective user devices;

a main radio transceiver that communicates with a wireless network;

a protocol emulator that determines a respective authorization of the respective user devices to receive, services from the apparatus, wherefore the protocol emulator contacts a third party subscriber database, via the wireless network, on behalf of the respective user devices, to verify a respective validity of a respective user name and password received from the respective user devices at least one time, and when the respective user devices are authorized, according to information received from the third party subscriber database, to receive the services of the apparatus, the protocol emulator packages data received by the plurality of respective access points from the respective user devices for transmission by the main radio transceiver to the wireless network, and unpackages data from the main radio transceiver for delivery to the respective user devices through the respective access points.

29. The apparatus for aggregating bandwidth demand of claim 28 wherein the protocol emulator is packages data from the respective user devices as digital cellular data, and unpackages digital cellular data from the radio transceiver for consumption by the respective user devices.

30. The apparatus for aggregating bandwidth demand of claim 28 wherein the protocol emulator emulates at least one digital cellular device to facilitate delivery of user device data to and from a remote digital cellular network base station.

31. The apparatus for aggregating bandwidth demand of claim 28 wherein the protocol emulator sets up tunnels for transporting data between the protocol emulator and a wireless service node of the wireless network.

32. The apparatus for aggregating bandwidth demand of claim 28 wherein the main radio transceiver comprises an access point that communicates with an access point of a wireless local area network.

33. A method for providing network connectivity for a plurality of respective user devices, the method comprising:

communicating with each of the respective user devices using respective communications protocols of each respective device;

contacting a third party subscriber database, via a wireless network, on behalf of each respective user device;

verifying a respective validity of a respective user name and password received from each respective user device at least one time based on information received from the third party subscriber database and when the respective user devices are authorized;

packaging data from each respective device to make the data appear to be cellular network data; and

,

transmitting the packaged data as cellular telephone data, thereby providing network connectivity.

34. The method for providing network connectivity of claim 33 further comprising:

receiving encapsulated data encapsulated as cellular telephone data;

unpackaging the received cellular telephone data; and

,

delivering the unpackaged data to the respective user devices as indicated by the unpackaged data.

35. The method for providing network connectivity of claim 33 further comprising:

establishing a communications tunnel to a service node and wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the packaged data via the communications tunnel.

36. The method for providing network connectivity of claim 33 further comprising:

acting as a proxy for the respective user devices.

37. The method for providing network connectivity of claim 33 wherein transmitting the packaged data further comprises:

transmitting the packaged data over a respective plurality of cellular telephone channels as if the data were from a plurality of cellular telephone devices.