Mobile terminal, control apparatus, home agent and packet communications method

• US 8,018,915 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2004
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Okajima, Ichiro, Inoue, Masahiro, Umeda, Narumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Desir; Pierre-Louis
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, TIMOTHY X
• Application Number:
  US10/886,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20050007995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,622 Days
• Field of Search: 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/426.1, 455/435.2, 455/515, 370/349, 370/352, 370/401
• US Class Current: 370/349
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

In a packet communications system, a control apparatus implements routing control of a received packet directed for the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes a plurality of network interface cards; a communication manager configured to select at least one network interface card among from the plurality of network interface cards, in accordance with information regarding the network interface card; and an upper layer manager configured to receive the packet transmitted from the control apparatus, with using a selected network interface card.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal in a packet communications system in which a control apparatus implements routing control of a received packet directed for the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising:

a plurality of network interface cards;

a communication manager configured to select at least one network interface card among from the plurality of network interface cards, in accordance with information regarding the plurality of network interface cards; and

an upper layer manager configured to receive the packet transmitted from the control apparatus using at least one network interface card selected by the communication manager, and

wherein the packet communications system is configured to implement paging control in which the control apparatus transmits a paging notification packet to a paging area of the mobile terminal when receiving of the packet directed for the mobile terminal, so as to acquire location information of the mobile terminal and to decide a transfer destination of the packet; and

the communication manager comprises;

a collector configured to collect a plurality of link layer addresses set for the plurality of network interface cards;

a decider configured to decide a representative link layer address from the plurality of link layer addresses collected by the collector; and

an assigner configured to assign the representative link layer address decided by the decider to all of the plurality of network interface cards; and

the upper layer manager comprises;

a notifier configured to notify the control apparatus of the representative link layer address decided by the decider by using the selected network interface card, when transmitting, to the control apparatus, a paging registration packet for forming the paging area; and

an address resolver configured to perform address resolution by registering a correspondence between the representative link layer address and a network layer address of the mobile terminal with a plurality of apparatuses on a communication route between the control apparatus and the mobile terminal,

wherein the control apparatus manages the network layer address of the mobile terminal, the representative link layer address and the paging area where the mobile terminal is located in association with one another.

2. A mobile terminal in a packet communications system in which a control apparatus implements routing control of a received packet directed for the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising:

a plurality of network interface cards;

a communication manager configured to select at least one network interface card from the plurality of network interface cards, in accordance with information regarding the plurality of network interface cards; and

an upper layer manager configured to receive the packet transmitted from the control apparatus using a selected at least one network interface card selected by the communication manager,

wherein the packet communications system is configured to implement paging control in which the control apparatus transmits a paging notification packet to a paging area of the mobile terminal when receiving of the packet directed for the mobile terminal, so as to acquire location information of the mobile terminal and to decide a transfer destination of the packet; and

the communication manager comprises;

a decider configured to decide a representative link layer address; and

a filtering controller configured to instruct, to all of the plurality of network interface cards, a transfer of received packets to the upper layer manager even when a link layer address given to a packet received by the selected network interface card is different from a link layer address of the selected network interface card;

the upper layer manager comprises;

a notifier configured to notify the control apparatus of the representative link layer address by using at least one network interface card selected by the communication manager, when transmitting, to the control apparatus, a paging registration packet for forming the paging area; and

an address resolver configured to perform address resolution by registering a correspondence between the representative link layer address and a network layer address of the mobile terminal with a plurality of apparatuses on a communication route between the control apparatus and the mobile terminal,

wherein the control apparatus manages the network layer address assigned to the mobile terminal, the representative link layer address and the paging area where the mobile terminal is located in association with one another.

3. A mobile terminal in a packet communications system in which a control apparatus implements routing control of a received packet directed for the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising:

a plurality of network interface cards;

a communication manager configured to select at least one network interface card from the plurality of network interface cards, in accordance with information regarding the plurality of network interface cards; and

an upper layer manager configured to receive the packet transmitted from the control apparatus using at least one network interface card selected by the communication manager,

wherein the communication manager comprises a collector configured to collect all of link layer addresses set for each of the plurality of network interface cards,

the upper layer manager comprises a notifier configured to notify the control apparatus of a network layer address of the mobile terminal and all of the link layer addresses collected by the collector, by using at least one network interface card selected by the communication manager,

the control apparatus manages the network layer address of the mobile terminal, all of the link layer addresses set for the plurality of network interface cards and a paging area corresponding to where the mobile terminal is located in association with one another,

the packet communications system is configured to implement paging control in which the control apparatus transmits a paging notification packet to a paging area of the mobile terminal when receiving of the packet directed for the mobile terminal, so as to acquire location information of the mobile terminal and to decide a transfer destination of the packet, and

the notifier is configured to notify the control apparatus of all of the plurality of link layer addresses set for each of the plurality of network interface cards together with a paging registration packet for forming the paging area.

4. A packet communications method in which a control apparatus implements routing control of a received packet directed for a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

selecting at least one network interface card among from a plurality of network interface cards included in the mobile terminal, in accordance with information regarding the plurality of network interface cards;

receiving the packet transmitted from the control apparatus using at least one network interface cards based on the selecting;

implementing paging control in which the control apparatus transmits a paging notification packet to a paging area of the mobile terminal when receiving of the packet directed for the mobile terminal, so as to acquire location information of the mobile terminal and to decide a transfer destination of the packet;

collecting a plurality of link layer addresses set for the plurality of network interface cards;

deciding a representative link layer address from the plurality of collected link layer addresses collected in the collecting;

assigning the representative link layer address decided by the deciding to all of the plurality of network interface cards;

notifying the control apparatus of the representative link layer address decided by the deciding using the selected network interface card, when transmitting, to the control apparatus, a paging registration packet for forming the paging area;

performing address resolution by registering a correspondence between the representative link layer address and a network layer address of the mobile terminal with a plurality of apparatuses on a communication route between the control apparatus and the mobile terminal; and

managing, at the control apparatus, the network layer address of the mobile terminal, the representative link layer address and the paging area where the mobile terminal is located in association with one another.

5. A packet communications method in which a control apparatus implements routing control of received packet directed for a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

selecting at least one network interface card among from a plurality of network interface cards included in the mobile terminal, in accordance with information regarding the plurality of network interface cards;

receiving the packet transmitted from the control apparatus using at least one network interface card selected by the selecting;

implementing paging control in which the control apparatus transmits a paging notification packet to a paging area of the mobile terminal when receiving of the packet directed for the mobile terminal when receiving of the packet directed for the mobile terminal, so as to acquire location information of the mobile terminal and to decide a transfer destination of the packet;

deciding a representative link layer address;

instructing, to all of the plurality of network interface cards, a transfer of received packets even when a link layer address given to a packet received by a selected network interface card is different from a link layer address of the selected network interface card;

notifying the control apparatus of the representative link layer address by using at least one network interface card selected by the selecting, when transmitting, to the control apparatus, a paging registration packet for forming the paging area;

performing address resolution by registering a correspondence between the representative link layer address and a network layer address of the mobile terminal with a plurality of apparatuses on a communication route between the control apparatus and the mobile terminal; and

managing, at the control apparatus, the network layer address of the mobile terminal, the representative link layer address and the paging area where the mobile terminal is located in association with one another.