Federated multiprotocol communication
First Claim
1. For use in a system comprising at least a cellular network and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via the Internet at a transport layer or above with a roam management server system to facilitate a roam operation, a method comprising:
- receiving at the roam management server system an indication that the mobile unit is in radio contact range of at least one wireless access point of the wireless local area network;
determining whether a new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior to an existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, in accordance with one or more user-specified criteria; and
sending from the roam management server system to at least one of the mobile unit and the wireless local area network an indication to switch from the existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network to the new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point in the event that it is determined that the connection to the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior, to thereby facilitate the roam operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus, and business techniques are disclosed for use in distributed communication systems comprising a plurality of communication protocols. In one embodiment a first air interface is used to initiate communication between a wireless client and a remote server at least partially using a first wireless access point. The server sends the wireless client a stub of a distributed object. The stub is used to instantiate an object class. The object class defines an interface that the remote client can use to communicate with the remote server using an upper layer interface. The distributed object stub also provides an implementation of a software radio configuration for a set of lower protocol layers in a second air interface. The wireless client can thereby communicate with a second wireless access point using said second air interface protocol. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed that focus on toll-tag and electronic-commerce related highway systems, distributed federated wireless access systems, and wide area wireless system capacity augmentation.
242 Citations
111 Claims
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1. For use in a system comprising at least a cellular network and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via the Internet at a transport layer or above with a roam management server system to facilitate a roam operation, a method comprising:
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receiving at the roam management server system an indication that the mobile unit is in radio contact range of at least one wireless access point of the wireless local area network; determining whether a new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior to an existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, in accordance with one or more user-specified criteria; and sending from the roam management server system to at least one of the mobile unit and the wireless local area network an indication to switch from the existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network to the new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point in the event that it is determined that the connection to the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior, to thereby facilitate the roam operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. For use in a system comprising at least a cellular network and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via the Internet at a transport layer or above with a roam management server system, a method comprising:
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receiving at the roam management server system an indication that the mobile unit is in a coverage area of at least one wireless access point of the wireless local area network; the roam management server system determining whether a new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior to an existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, in accordance with an optimization strategy; and sending from the roam management server system to at least one of the mobile unit and the wireless local area network an indication to switch from the existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network to the new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point in the event that it is determined that the connection to the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior, to thereby facilitate a roam operation. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. For use in a system comprising at least a cellular network and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via the Internet at a transport layer or above with a roam management server system via either the cellular network or the wireless local area network, a method comprising:
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establishing a connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network; receiving an indication that the mobile unit is in a coverage area of at least one wireless access point of the wireless local area network; determining whether a new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior to the established connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, in accordance with an optimization strategy; providing to at least one of the mobile unit and the wireless local area network an indication to switch from the established connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network to the new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point in the event that it is determined that the new connection to the wireless local area network is or would be superior; and switching from the established connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network to the new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point in the event that it is determined that the new connection to the wireless local area network is or would be superior, to thereby complete a roam operation, wherein at least the receiving, determining, and providing are performed by the roam management server system. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111)
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Specification