DE102007007545B4 - communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

Communication system (1) for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal (11) assigned to a mobile network, and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) (21) assigned to a home network, wherein the communication system (1) comprises a mobile Mobile Network Proxy (MNP) (12) for exchanging data / information between the mobile terminal (11) associated with the mobile network and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) (21) associated with the home network wherein the mobile network proxy (12) comprises an interface for communicating with the at least one mobile terminal (11), an interface for communicating with a home network proxy (22) associated with the home network, and registration means for registering the home network proxy wherein the communication system (1) comprises a home network proxy (MHNP) (22) for exchanging data / information between at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) (21) associated with the home network, the home network being an Internet Protocol-based network, and the home network comprising the home network proxy (22) and at least one mobile network associated with the mobile network Terminal (11), the home network proxy (22) having an interface for communicating with the at least one home network terminal (21) through which the home network proxy (21) interconnects with the at least one home network terminal (21) to exchange data, and wherein the home network proxy (22) has an interface for communicating with the mobile network proxy (12) communicating with the mobile terminal (11) associated with the mobile network via an interface, wherein the Home network proxy (22) via the interface establishes a communication channel to the mobile network proxy (12), wherein the home network proxy (22) an Em ulation device for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal (11) in an identifier known to the home network, wherein the emulation device is adapted to convert the identifier of the mobile terminal (11) into an identifier recognized by the at least one home network terminal (21) and wherein the home network proxy (22) communicates via a router (23) or gateway with the mobile network proxy (12) and with the at least one home network terminal (21).

Description

The present invention relates to a communication system for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal-associated mobile terminal, and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to a home network. The invention further relates to a method for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal assigned to a mobile radio network, and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to a home network.

Home network terminals, so-called UPnP devices (UPnP = Universal Plug and Play), are designed such that they can be controlled via an Internet-based network from a control point. Home network terminals may be, for example, a stereo, a router, a printer, home appliances, etc. UPnP enables the universal networking of home network devices and the exchange of services among each other without the use of a central server or computer. UPnP is characterized in particular by the fact that the checkpoint, z. A handheld that can find home network terminals without user interaction. A handheld, a portable device for a variety of applications, which is very small or lightweight. It can be kept in use in only one hand, hence the term handheld. Handhelds in the light of this invention include, but are not limited to, the following devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, portable game consoles, portable meters, portable devices for playing music or movies, or remote controls.

UPnP is also characterized by the fact that all physical media that support IP communication (IP = Internet Protocol), z. Ethernet, Wireless (Bluetooth, Wireless LAN), FireWire (IEEE 1394). A UPnP home network terminal or UPnP control point can be implemented on any IP-aware operating system and in a variety of programming languages, mainly C, C ++, and Java.

In the essay "Lee, SangOk; Park, Hojin, "Implementation of Initial Provisioning Function for Home Gateway Based on Open Service Gateway Initiative Platform", 8 ^th Internat. Conf on Advanced Communication Technology, ICACT2006, Phoenix Park, Korea, Feb. 20-22, 2006, Technical Session 8D; Digital Home Technology (I), Talk 1, Proceedings, Vol. 3, ISBN 89-5519-129-4, pp1517-1520 "describes that home network terminals in a home network can be controlled externally, for example by means of a mobile phone , The home network has a home gateway, wherein the communication over the external internet through the home gateway with the home network terminals takes place. According to the known solution, an application software is provided which controls and manages the individual home network terminals, this being done via an external management server (DSM Distribution Management System).

In the WO 2006/070277 A2 Also, a home network is described with home network terminals therein, wherein it is possible in this known solution that a mobile terminal outside the home network can communicate with the home network terminals in the home network, which is done for example via a "Web Proxy Gateway".

The object of the present invention is to provide access from a mobile terminal, which is assigned to a mobile radio network, to a home network terminal, or an access from a home network terminal to a mobile terminal, which is assigned to a mobile radio network Exchange data between them. The goal is that the mobile terminal is recognized by one or more home network terminal (s) such as a home network terminal.

This object is achieved by the communication system with the features according to independent claim 1, and by a method for exchanging data / information between at least one, a mobile network associated mobile terminal, and at least one, a home network associated home network terminal with the features according to the independent claim 4. Further advantages, features, details, aspects and effects of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

According to a first aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by a communication system for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal associated with a mobile network and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to a home network, wherein the communication system comprises a mobile Network Proxy (MNP) for exchanging data / information between the mobile terminal associated with the mobile network and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) associated with the home network, wherein the mobile network proxy comprises a An interface for communicating with the at least one mobile terminal, an interface for communicating with a home network Home network proxy and registering device for registering the home network proxy, the communication system having a home network proxy (MHNP) for exchanging data / information between at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) associated with the home network. wherein the home network is formed as an Internet Protocol based network, and wherein the home network comprises the home network proxy, and at least one mobile terminal associated with the mobile network, the home network proxy having an interface for communicating with the at least one home network terminal; over which the home network proxy communicates with the at least one home network terminal ( 21 ) is interconnected to exchange data, and wherein the home network proxy has an interface for communicating with the mobile network proxy communicating over an interface with the mobile terminal associated with the mobile network, the home network proxy communicating via the interface Communication channel to the mobile network proxy, wherein the home network proxy has an emulation device for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal in an identifier known to the home network, wherein the emulation device is adapted to convert the identifier of the mobile terminal into an identifier, which at least one home network terminal is detected, and wherein the home network proxy communicates via a router or gateway with the mobile network proxy and with the at least one home network terminal.

According to the invention, the communication system comprises a mobile network switch (MNP) for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal associated with a mobile network and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to a home network, wherein the mobile network Communicator having an interface for communicating with the at least one mobile terminal, an interface for communicating with a home network mediator associated with the home network, and registration means for registering the home network mediator. The home network switch establishes a connection to the mobile network proxy (MNP) via a communication channel, in particular via the Internet, and registers with the mobile network intermediary. This is because a direct connection from a mobile terminal associated with a mobile network to a home network terminal of a home network is not possible. That is, before a mobile terminal of a mobile network can access a home network terminal of a home network, and vice versa, a connection is first established between the mobile network agent of the mobile network and the home network agent of the home network.

So that the mobile network intermediary can communicate with the at least one mobile terminal, it has an interface designed for this purpose. Further, the mobile network switch has an interface for communicating with the home network switch. In order for data exchange to occur between the mobile network broker and the home network broker, the home network broker must first register with the mobile network broker. This is done by the registration device of the mobile network intermediary.

Such a mobile network switch allows data to be transferred from a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a smartphone, a mobile network, to a home network. That is, the mobile network switch, for example, enables home network terminal control or verification of the home network. Home network terminals can be, for example, all UPnP devices that can be controlled centrally. These are devices such as stereos, televisions, video projectors, computers, whiteboards, routers, kitchen appliances, printers, home controllers, etc., which can be controlled across manufacturers via the home network, usually an Internet Protocol-based network. The control can take place via a gateway, wherein the gateway has a kind of router functionality. This provides platform independence that benefits from OSGi (Open Services Gateway Initiative) or embedded Java. The Gateway is based on a set of standardized network protocols and data formats. A network protocol is an exact agreement according to which data is exchanged between computers or processes that are interconnected through the home network. The agreement consists of a set of rules and formats, the so-called syntax, which determine the communication behavior of the communicating entities in the computers.

Advantageous is a mobile network switch which has an adaptation device for adapting data formats and / or data types. In order to be able to exchange data between the mobile terminal of the mobile radio network and the at least one home network terminal, it may be necessary to change the format of the data or the type of data transmitted from the mobile terminal to the at least one home network terminal. Adapt to the usual format and the usual type of home network. Furthermore, by means of the adapting device of the mobile network intermediary bit rates, the screen resolution, for example in the case of videos or photos, and / or speeds, ie for example the pictures per second in videos, can be adapted to the required bandwidth for the transmission to the current network situation in the mobile radio network , For example, a 2.5G GPRS connection has a maximum transfer rate of 56kbps, while MP3 files are usually encoded between 128kbps and 192kbps. For this purpose, the mobile network broker preferably has a matching device.

The communication system according to the invention further comprises a home network switch (MHNP) for exchanging data / information between at least one home network terminal associated with a home network and at least one mobile terminal associated with a mobile network, the home network switch having an interface for communicating with the at least one home network terminal, an interface for communicating with the mobile network intermediary and an emulation device for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal in an identifier known to the home network. MHNP is here the abbreviation of the English term for the Home Network Broker, namely Mobile Home Network Proxy. For communication with the home network terminals, the home network intermediary has a corresponding interface. Through the interface, the home network broker is interconnected with the home network terminals to exchange data. Further, the home network switch has interface for communicating with the mobile network switch. That is, the home network switch establishes a communication channel, in particular via the Internet, via the interface to the mobile network switch. Furthermore, the home network broker has an emulation device for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal in an identifier known to the home network. Since home network terminals can only communicate with home network terminals, the home network intermediary offers such a device. That is, the mobile terminal is not recognized as such by the home network terminals, but only the home network mediator, so to speak, representing the mobile terminal. This is ensured by the emulation device, which converts the identifier of the mobile terminal into an identifier known to the home network. This allows the home network terminals to communicate with mobile terminals of a mobile network.

In this case, preference is given to a home network broker which has an adaptation device for adapting data formats and / or data types. In order to be able to exchange data between the at least one home network terminal and a mobile terminal of a mobile radio network, it may be necessary to change the format of the data or the type of data transmitted from the at least one home network terminal to the mobile terminal. adapt to the common format and the common type of mobile network. Further, bit rate, screen resolution, such as video or photos, and / or speeds, i. H. For example, the images per second in videos to adjust the bandwidth required for transmission to the current network situation in the mobile network. For example, a 2.5G GPRS connection has a maximum transfer rate of 56kbps, while MP3 files are usually encoded between 128kbps and 192kbps. For this purpose, the home network broker preferably has a matching device.

The communication system allows access from a mobile terminal, which is associated with a mobile network, to a home network terminal, or an access from a home network terminal to a mobile terminal, which is assigned to a mobile network to exchange data between them. By such a communication system, the mobile terminal is recognized by one or more home network terminal (s) as a home network terminal, so that they can accept data / information such as control commands from the mobile terminal.

The communication system allows each home network terminal to access data / information of a mobile terminal as if it were locally connected in the home network. On the other hand, a mobile terminal may access data / information of each home network terminal, and the home network terminals may look as if the mobile terminal is a home network terminal locally connected in the home network. This is made possible by the home network broker. This pretends to each home network terminal that the mobile terminal is a home network terminal. The home network broker therefore has an emulation device for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal into an identifier known to the home network. That is, the mobile terminal is not recognized as such by the home network terminals, but only the home network mediator, so to speak, representing the mobile terminal. The emulation device converts the identifier of the mobile terminal into an identifier known to the home network.

Advantageous is a communication system in which the mobile network intermediary and the Home network intermediaries communicate with each other over the Internet. That is, the connection between a home network terminal of a home network and a mobile terminal of a mobile network via the public Internet. Both the mobile network broker and the home network broker therefore have interfaces for using the Internet.

According to the invention, the home network broker communicates via a router or gateway with the mobile network broker and with the at least one home network terminal. A router represents a switching computer that connects several networks. At the router incoming network packets of a protocol based on so-called network layer information is analyzed and forwarded to the intended destination network or routed.

Routers work only on the third layer, d. H. the network layer of the OSI reference model, whereas gateways designate a more general term for any type of connection between different networks or different terminals. Advantageously, a DSL router or a WLAN router can be provided. These devices are combinations of different components. For example, the combination of a DSL modem or an ADSL modem and a router is often referred to as a DSL router or ADSL router. A combination of an access point and a router is often referred to as a wireless router. This would require a WAN port. The so-called routing then takes place between WLAN and WAN. DSL means digital subscriber line, d. H. a broadband digital connection over a telephone network. ADSL means Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) refers to a "wireless" local radio network, which usually means a standard of IEEE 802.11. The radio network is a network in which. Data / information transmitted by electromagnetic waves. The router connects to the Internet via the WAN port. The LAN port or the WLAN port establish the connection to the local home network.

• a) der dem Heimnetzwerk des wenigstens einen Heimnetzwerk-Endgerätes zugeordnete Heimnetzwerk-Proxy, der über eine Schnittstelle mit dem wenigstens einen Heimnetzwerk-Endgerät zusammengeschaltet wird, um Daten auszutauschen, stellt über einen Kommunikationskanal eine Verbindung zu dem dem Mobilfunknetzwerk zugeordneten Mobil-Netzwerk-Proxy her, wobei das Heimnetzwerk als Internetprotokoll basiertes Netzwerk ausgebildet ist,
• b) nach Herstellung der Verbindung registriert sich der Heimnetzwerk-Proxy bei dem Mobil-Netzwerk-Proxy,
• c) das wenigstens eine mobile Endgerät sendet über den Kommunikationskanal Daten/Informationen an das wenigstens eine Heimnetzwerk-Endgerät des Heimnetzwerkes,
• d) der Heimnetzwerk-Proxy weist eine Emulationseinrichtung zum Emulieren der Kennung des mobilen Endgerätes in eine dem Heimnetzwerk bekannte Kennung auf, wobei die Emulationseinrichtung die Kennung des wenigstens einen mobilen Endgerätes in eine dem Heimnetzwerk entsprechende Kennung umwandelt; wobei der Datenaustausch zwischen dem Heimnetzwerk-Proxy und dem Mobil-Netzwerk-Proxy sowie zwischen dem Heimnetzwerk-Proxy und dem wenigstens einem Heimnetzwerk-Endgerät über ein Gateway oder einen Router erfolgt.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by a method for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal assigned to a mobile network and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to a home network using a communication system according to the invention the method is characterized by the following steps:

• a) the home network of the at least one home network terminal associated home network proxy, which is interconnected via an interface with the at least one home network terminal to exchange data via a communication channel connects to the mobile network proxy associated with the mobile network where the home network is formed as an internet protocol based network,
• b) after establishing the connection, the home network proxy registers with the mobile network proxy,
• c) the at least one mobile terminal sends data / information via the communication channel to the at least one home network terminal of the home network,
• d) the home network proxy comprises emulation means for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal into an identifier known to the home network, the emulation means converting the identifier of the at least one mobile terminal into an identifier corresponding to the home network; wherein the data exchange between the home network proxy and the mobile network proxy and between the home network proxy and the at least one home network terminal is via a gateway or a router.

Such a method makes it easy to provide access from a mobile terminal, which is assigned to a mobile radio network, to a home network terminal, or an access from a home network terminal to a mobile terminal, which is assigned to a mobile radio network. to exchange data between them. The mobile terminal is recognized by this method by one or more home network terminal (s) such as a home network terminal.

In a first step, a home network switch of the home network connects to a mobile network switch associated with the mobile network via a communication channel. The communication channel thereby represents a transmission path for data / information. In a second step, the home network intermediary registers with the mobile network operator. As a result, the communication channel is open. In a next step, the at least one mobile terminal sends data / information over the open communication channel to the at least one home network terminal of the home network. Finally, the home network broker converts the identifier of the at least one mobile terminal into an identifier corresponding to the home network, so that the mobile terminal of the home network terminals also as Home network terminal is detected. For this purpose, the home network broker has an emulation device. That is, the home network broker assumes the role of the mobile terminal. He pretends so to speak before the mobile terminal would be an internal home network terminal. This makes it possible to exchange data / information between the mobile terminal and the home network terminal (s). Thus, the home network terminals can be checked by the mobile terminal. In another application, the home network terminals may be controlled by the mobile terminal to perform the actions. This can be, for example, the switching on or off of a home network terminal.

Also preferred is such a method wherein the home network broker connects to the mobile network broker via the Internet. The connection between a home network terminal of a home network and a mobile terminal of a mobile network is established via the public Internet. Both the mobile network broker and the home network broker have interfaces for using the Internet for this purpose.

According to the invention, the data exchange takes place between the home network broker and the mobile network broker and between the home network broker and the at least one home network terminal via a gateway or a router. The gateway or the router couples several networks together and connects the terminals of a network with each other. That is, at the router, incoming network packets of a protocol based on so-called network layer information are analyzed and routed to the intended destination network.

An intermediary, d. H. the home network broker or the mobile network broker is also commonly referred to as a proxy. Proxy is thus the name for a network service that establishes network connections as a proxy for a program or a terminal. An HTTP proxy z. For example, if requested, HTML pages will serve as a proxy for a viewer. Proxies are computers that are switched between local area networks and WANs, and instead of sending and receiving data packets to the WAN instead of the individual computers. Proxies can increase the speed of the connection by acting as storage and not requesting packets that are often requested by the LAN every time. They can also be used to increase security by not forwarding certain network requests as a firewall

A further preferred method step is that the mobile network switch and / or the home network switch can perform adaptation of data formats and / or data types via an adaptation device. In order to be able to exchange data between the at least one home network terminal and a mobile terminal of a mobile radio network, it may be necessary to change the format of the data or the type of data transmitted from the at least one home network terminal to the mobile terminal. adapt to the common format and the common type of mobile network. Further, bit rate, screen resolution, such as video or photos, and / or velocities, i.e., video or photos, can be adjusted by the adapter of the mobile network switch or home network switch. H. For example, the images per second in videos to adjust the bandwidth required for the transmission to the current network situation in the mobile network adapted. For example, a 2.5G GPRS connection has a maximum transfer rate of 56kbps, while MP3 files are usually encoded between 128kbps and 192kbps. Through the adapter, both the mobile network broker and the home network broker can make various adjustments in communication, such as setting the data formats, image size, resolution, bitrates, etc., so that each terminal will match the existing ones Data formats and types can work.

The invention will now be explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. Showing:

1 a schematic representation of a communication system.

In 1 schematically is an embodiment of the communication system according to the invention 1 shown. At least one mobile device 11 , here a mobile phone, is a mobile network 10 assigned. Furthermore, the mobile network 10 a mobile network broker 12 assigned. Further, a home network has multiple home network terminals 21 assigned. These are via a router 23 interconnected to exchange data / information. Further, the home network has a home network broker 22 on. This home network broker 22 has an emulation device, not shown. The mobile device 11 and the home network terminals 21 can over the internet 2 communicate with each other. This is made possible by the home network broker 22 , the home network terminals 21 pretends that the mobile terminal 11 a home network terminal would be. Ie. the emulator of the home network broker 22 converts the identifier of the mobile device 11 into an identifier used by the home network terminals 21 is recognized. The home network broker 22 is therefore also with the router 23 connected, so that data / information provided by the mobile terminal 11 sent to the home network via the home network broker 22 and the router 23 to the respective home network terminals 21 be transmitted. It is also possible that the home network terminal 21 Data / information about the home network broker 22 and the router 23 to the mobile device 11 transfer.

Claims (5)

Communication system ( 1 ) for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal assigned to a mobile radio network ( 11 ), and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) associated with a home network ( 21 ), the communication system ( 1 ) a Mobile Network Proxy (MNP) ( 12 ) for exchanging data / information between the mobile terminal assigned to the mobile radio network ( 11 ) and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) associated with the home network ( 21 ), wherein the mobile network proxy ( 12 ) an interface for communicating with the at least one mobile terminal ( 11 ), an interface for communicating with a home network proxy associated with the home network ( 22 ) and a registration device for registering the home network proxy, wherein the communication system ( 1 ) a home network proxy (MHNP) ( 22 ) for exchanging data / information between at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to the home network ( 21 ), wherein the home network is formed as an Internet Protocol based network, and wherein the home network the home network proxy ( 22 ), and at least one, the mobile network associated mobile terminal ( 11 ), where the home network proxy ( 22 ) an interface for communicating with the at least one home network terminal ( 21 ) through which the home network proxy ( 21 ) with the at least one home network terminal ( 21 ) is switched to exchange data, and the home network proxy ( 22 ) an interface for communicating with the mobile network proxy ( 12 ), which interfaces with the mobile terminal ( 11 ), where the home network proxy ( 22 ) via the interface a communication channel to the mobile network proxy ( 12 ), where the home network proxy ( 22 ) an emulation device for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal ( 11 ) in an identifier known to the home network, wherein the emulation device is formed, the identifier of the mobile terminal ( 11 ) to be converted into an identifier used by the at least one home network terminal ( 21 ) and the home network proxy ( 22 ) via a router ( 23 ) or a gateway with the mobile network proxy ( 12 ) and with the at least one home network terminal ( 21 ) communicates. Communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that the home network proxy ( 22 ) has an adaptation device for adapting data formats and / or data types. Communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that the mobile network proxy ( 12 ) and the home network proxy ( 22 ) communicate with each other via the Internet. Method for exchanging data / information between at least one mobile terminal associated with a mobile network and at least one home network terminal (UPnP device) assigned to a home network using a communication system according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized by the following steps: a) the home network of the at least one home network terminal associated home network proxy, which is interconnected via an interface with the at least one home network terminal to exchange data via a communication channel connects to the mobile network proxy associated with the mobile network where the home network is formed as an internet protocol based network, b) after establishing the connection, the home network proxy registers with the mobile network proxy, c) the at least one mobile terminal sends data / information via the communication channel to the at least one home network terminal of the home network, d) the home network proxy comprises emulation means for emulating the identifier of the mobile terminal into an identifier known to the home network, the emulation means converting the identifier of the at least one mobile terminal into an identifier corresponding to the home network; in which the data exchange between the home network proxy and the mobile network proxy and between the home network proxy and the at least one home network terminal is via a gateway or a router. A method according to claim 4, characterized in that the home network proxy connects to the mobile network proxy via the Internet.

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