JP3805743B2 - System and method for providing services over different networks - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to communication systems and methods, and more particularly to providing services such as communication services over two or more different networks.
[0002]
[Background]
Communication networks that allow two-way communication and data networks, such as the Internet, are typically configured to provide one or more services to subscribers. These services are also sometimes referred to as “communication services”, such as conventional telephone services such as “resend a call to another destination (another phone number or address)”, “call waiting”, “call transfer”, etc. Modern services that provide messaging functions like Multimedia Instant Messaging MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), Short Message Service (SMS), Mail, Call Presentation Service, and all other services in that class or other class Provide end-user services including.
[0003]
As yet another example of service, a location service (LS) is provided, which provides a function to search for VoIP users (VoIP is performed via a voice over IP based network, eg, the Internet or a packet based network). Meaning more general voice information transmission).
The actual service is targeted to and adapted to a specific network. First generation services such as ISDN supplementary services have been at least partially replaced by second generation solutions such as intelligent network (IN) based services. Third generation (3G) networks are also configured to provide similar types of services.
[0004]
In general, one requirement of actual and future networks is that customers can roam from one network to another (referred to as a “hybrid network” consisting of two or more different types of networks).
Another concern is the further development of the transmission of voice over packet based networks, eg VoIP (voice over IP based networks, eg the Internet). One of the VoIP protocols is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
[0005]
In the following description, the packet-based network is abbreviated as PBN. Such packet-based networks may have different characteristics: GSM-based networks, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), Bluetooth, WLAN (Wireless LAN or Wireless Local Area Network). Actual services are limited to specific types of networks. Once the terminal is developed, end users will be able to roam between different PBN formats. An end user can connect to a blue tooth system at home, for example, connect to a GPRS-based network on the way to the workplace, and connect to a WLAN at the workplace. Users are typically provided with different services when roaming from one network to another.
[0006]
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides systems and methods that allow a user to be provided with one or more services that are maintained even when roaming to different networks. These services operate across the hybrid network and track users when roaming. Thus, the user is provided with an activated service even across network boundaries and is a terminal network that is a terminal device, such as a computer station such as a mobile phone or laptop, even when roaming to another network Even when changing an element, the selected service is always provided. These services, if necessary, can work with existing services such as telecommunications services provided by intelligent networks to ensure the continuity of the service (s) provided. it can.
[0007]
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising at least one terminal network element, which can be connected to other network element (s) located in the same or another network. Is done. The system can activate at least one service for at least one terminal network element, and the service can be performed based on service logic. The terminal network element or at least one thereof comprises or implements a standardized terminal environment for executing at least part of the service logic. One or more standardized network application programming interfaces are provided for accessing at least one service.
[0008]
The communication system preferably comprises a broker, such as an object request broker, that cooperates with or has access to standardized network application programming interfaces and services. The standardized network application programming interface is preferably provided within the network (s) or between the service providing element and the network (s). The broker may also be implemented using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and advanced DNS (Domain Name Service) such as Microsoft DEN.
[0009]
One or more of the terminal network elements are preferably mobile network elements, IP terminals, WAP terminals and / or WLAN terminals.
In a preferred embodiment, the standardized terminal environment is MExE or a similar environment.
The network is preferably a packet-based network, such as a GPRS, UMTS, WAN, LAN, WLAN, GSM, WCDMA, and / or TDMA network.
Services include billing services, location services, IN (intelligent network) services, WAP telephony application services, discovery services, presence, instant messaging, and / or VoIP through SIP services.
[0010]
Furthermore, the invention also provides a method to be performed in a communication system as defined in the method claims.
Thus, according to one aspect of the implementation of the present invention, an infrastructure is provided that allows a service to roam with a user and also access existing telecommunications services.
Therefore, customers can roam from one network to another (hybrid network) and still retain the same service across those different networks.
The present invention can provide services across hybrid networks.
[0011]
According to preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more of the following features are provided.
-Execute service logic in terminal network element (s) such as end user terminals;
-Provide a standard terminal environment for performing the service (s);
-Provide a standard network interface and separate different networks behind this standard network interface;
Access existing services via broker means such as a standard object request broker (ORB).
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, further features and effects of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system according to the invention. This embodiment is implemented to be provided in any type of network, in particular a packet-based network (PBN). A PBN is any medium, such as a shared, switched or point-to-point medium, that provides a peer-to-peer connection or communication between two or more endpoints using a packet-based transport protocol. PBN includes mobile networks that use packet-based technology.
[0013]
The following abbreviations have the following meanings: “GSM” means a global system for mobile communications. “PSTN” means a public switched telecommunications network. “SGSN” is a serving GPRS support node. “GGSN” is a gateway GPRS support node. “SE” means a “standard environment” such as or comparable to the GPRS standard MExE defined by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). “WAP” means a wireless application protocol standardized by the WAP Forum. “UMTS” means Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. WCDMA means wideband CDMA (code division multiple access). “Broker” is, for example, an object request broker and means a standard mechanism for communicating between applications. The broker has or is equivalent to a Corba (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) structure. A “service” is defined as a function or set of functions consisting of an application or applet and associated content and provided to a user by a service provider, network operator, or other organization. The service can be implemented, for example, at a mobile station that implements MExE or web security (ie, sandbox).
[0014]
FIG. 1 shows an example of a system according to the invention. This embodiment is implemented in a hybrid network, for example different such as GPRS network 11, WAN / LAN (wide area network / local area network) 13, WLAN (wireless local area network) 20, and GSM / PSTN network 27. Implemented in a network structure that includes multiple networks of the form. According to one feature of this embodiment, the user can roam between these different network types. For example, a user can roam from GPRS-based network 11 to WLAN 20 or network 27 (which can also be a WAP-based network) when traveling or commuting. Also, the user can connect to the WAN or RAN 13 at work, for example. When roaming between these different types of networks, the user can always use the same user equipment, provided he is connected to different networks. Alternatively or in addition, the user may use different terminal devices (terminal network elements) based on their actual location, for example at home, work, customer visits, trips, etc. For example, one same user can communicate with a terminal device (TE) 8 (GPRS TE) made for GPRS network, a terminal device (IP terminal) 15 made to communicate using Internet Protocol (IP), WLAN It is possible to access and use a terminal device (WLAN terminal) 22 and / or a terminal device (WAP terminal) 23 made for the network. The terminal device 23 is implemented as a WAP terminal, for example, a terminal that performs communication using WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), and thus can perform WAP-based Internet access.
[0015]
At least one user terminal device, preferably one or more or all terminal devices provided for one or more users, for example terminal devices 8, 15, 22 and 23, have the structure shown in FIG. Can have. For example, with respect to the terminal device 15, the terminal provides an application portion 16 that provides the interface and software and / or hardware structure necessary to communicate with each network, and provides a communication service (CS) and application or service logic. It is preferable to have a structure that includes a good layer CS17 and a standard environment SE18.
[0016]
Terminal devices (terminal network elements) 8, 22 and 23 are connected by radio access to their associated networks as indicated by double-headed arrows. The IP terminal 15 is connected to the network 13 via an IP link or other link including wireless access. In the figure, the IP link is indicated by a solid line. The service access link is indicated by a broken line.
The GPRS-based terminal device 8 communicates with a support node 10 (SGSN) that forms part of the GPRS network 11 when transmitting and / or receiving information such as user traffic or signaling messages. When one or more additional networks, such as networks 13, 20 or 21, are included in the connection, the connection is routed through the gateway node 12 (GGSN).
[0017]
The network 13 may be provided with or have access to a call processing function 14, which is a call within the network 13 or a call that crosses a boundary to another network such as the network 11, 20 or 21. Provide the functions necessary to properly handle and handle In addition, one or more gateways 19, which are WAP gateways or IPT (IP terminal) gateways, are provided, which are gateway functions for handling connections into and out of networks such as networks 13, 20 and 21. give.
The network to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the network shown in FIG. Apart from or in addition to the network shown in FIG. 1, one or more WCDMA networks, one or more UMTS networks, and / or other types of networks may be provided.
[0018]
Users (user devices, that is, terminal devices) are provided with many services that can be freely selected such as call re-transmission and services that are compulsorily implemented such as charging services. FIG. 1 shows a number of different types of services. According to FIG. 1, the service is shown above the horizontal dashed line 9, which, according to the preferred structure of the present invention, is not implemented in a network that is not accessible from the outside, as required or With regard to the services provided and the handling of services, even when called arbitrarily to change or roam the attached network and / or the device used (eg terminal device 8, 15, 22, 23) It symbolizes that the user does not notice any significant changes. Such a service can be provided by a network, can be provided by a terminal, or can be provided by both a network and a terminal.
[0019]
FIG. 1 shows some examples of services. In the actual example of the invention, only some of the services shown are provided. Alternatively, all services, additional services, or other services may be provided. The present invention covers all these cases. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a WAP telephone application service 1 that provides a WAP connection for accessing an IP-based network such as the Internet, and a call connection, a service used, or other items are appropriately calculated. Then, a billing service 3 for designating is provided. In addition, one or more application servers 5 are provided that can perform services by executing applications provided by network operators or service providers or requested by users. In addition, a location server 6 is implemented that serves to search for VoIP user (s). Further, for example, an intelligent network (IN) service 7 is provided that supports the handling of connections when a decision should be made. In order to call a desired service, an application function / program such as applet 2 is provided for each service, as shown by an ellipse in FIG. In addition, VoIP is implemented by SIP and can be discovered with SIP mechanisms.
[0020]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, means 4 comprising a broker 4a and a database 4b are provided. The broker 4a and the database 4b may be implemented in the same apparatus having a broker function and having a storage capacity sufficient to store the database 4b. In another embodiment, broker 4a and database 4b are implemented on different devices that can be connected to each other, such as via a physical hardware link or a temporary access link. The database 4b stores profiles for users who are allowed to roam between different networks as shown in FIG. The content of the database 4b consists essentially of two parts. The first part describes the terminal characteristics of a terminal device that can be specified or accessed by a user or all users. This part stores information about all terminal devices that can be connected to the network. In this database part, information about the type, characteristics, specifications (eg data rate) of each terminal device, its capabilities, and other features such as recognition, eg SIM card entities can be registered. Furthermore, services that can be given or selected for each user are registered in the second part of the database 4b. For example, a service that is actively activated by the user, or a service that is forcibly provided to the user, for example, the charging service 3, is marked as an active service in the database. When the user roams, i.e. attaches to another network or starts using another terminal device, the database 4b will either use this other network or other function, or the newly used device will perform the attachment process. The starting network is checked for retrieval of information about the activated service. When such activated service (s) are found, the service is invoked or maintained for this new network and / or newly used terminal device.
[0021]
The broker 4a is implemented as an object request broker (ORB) having a CORBA structure or as a SOAP / DEN form. CORBA means "Common Object Request Broker Architecture" as specified by the Object Management Group (OMG). CORBA is aimed at interoperability in a distributed heterogeneous environment and can be conceptualized as a communication bus for client-server objects. CORBA is a three-level distributed object mechanism, and the term “client-server” applies within the context of a specific request. When one of the networks 11, 13, 20, 21 calls a service from a service device or function 1, 3, 5, 6 and / or 7, the network is referred to as a client and the service providing device or function as a server. Can be called. Exported server interfaces can be specified in the CORBA Standard Interface Definition Language (IDL). Such CORBA structures are known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in further detail. The broker 4a may have such a CORBA structure or may be implemented in any other suitable manner that ensures that the requested service is properly invoked and provided.
[0022]
The broker may also be implemented by using, for example, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and Advanced DNS (Domain Name Server), for example Microsoft DEN.
FIG. 1 is an overall view illustrating providing a service (eg, a communication service) over a hybrid network structure. The structure, function and operation method of this embodiment will be described in detail below. In general, the service (s) currently activated for one or more users (eg, a subscriber to a particular network or a visiting user that exists only temporarily in the network) roams across different networks. When provided over a hybrid network structure. The service is transferred to or resides on one or more terminal devices (network elements) used by the user (s) and accesses network functions via a standard interface in a preferred secure environment. . However, for example, when terminal resources, often terminal equipment, are not sufficient for voice recognition, for example, or when activated service (s) are successfully implemented in the network, or for example legitimate The service may be provided, at least in part, by the network to which the user is currently attached, for example when the network's legacy resources have to be accessed for eavesdropping and the like. The combination of network-based services accessed via a standard application programming interface (API) and terminal-based services running in a standard environment, and the cooperation of these functions, allows services to be delivered via a hybrid network. Provide a stable and reliable supply. Therefore, the roaming user is reliably provided with the currently activated service even when roaming between different types of networks.
[0023]
When a service is performed at an end-user terminal device such as a network element 8, 15, 22 or 23, the standard environment (SE) 18 provided at and by the terminal device is the way the service is standardized. Allow to act. The standard environment 18 handles security issues and defines standard APIs (application programming interfaces) towards the network (eg, billing, call processing, messaging, etc.). Such a standard environment 18 is, for example, the terminal device 8 and the network 11 in the GPRS environment, and the standard environment is referred to as MExE (mobile station application execution environment). Such a standard environment of MExE or other type is extended or implemented in terminal equipment 15, 22, 23, etc. belonging to the user, ie to all terminals in the packet based network (PBN) used by the user. And expanded. This ensures that a standard and stable environment exists for all terminals accessible to the user (s). Therefore, services can flow freely between terminals with different characteristics. This is because a standard environment is implemented at these terminals.
[0024]
For example, when the service (s) such as IN-based heritage service or billing service is fully or at least partially executed in the network (s), a standard API with the help of the broker 4a You can access these services via A standard network API is shown in FIG. More particularly, each network can implement or access such standard network APIs. This standard network API is represented by a dashed line within each network, and this standard API has the reference number of the associated network appended with "a" (for network 11 the standard API 11a, network Standard API 20a for 20 and standard API 21a for network 21). The network APIs 11a, 13a, 20a, and 21a are standardized for each network, and the broker 4a has one standard interface format independent of the network that is actually provided behind the standardized API. Only have to communicate with. This configuration serves to open a conventional telecommunications network and allows it to be used in a standard manner for at least one, many or all network-based services.
[0025]
In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal services described above, such as a standard environment, are combined with standard network APIs 11a, 13a, 20a, 21a to provide a powerful service that can be used in a reliable manner across networks and terminals. A safe environment.
For standard network APIs, network APIs can be used, for example, as defined by Parley Organization.
[0026]
Rather than providing the standard network APIs 11a, 13a, 20a, 21a in each network, the network keeps their structure essentially unchanged and the application programming interface 9 provides the necessary standard interface functions. You may do it. In this case, it communicates with each network of the hybrid network structure (here, networks 11, 13, 20, 21) and communicates with the standard application programming interface 9 to connect between the network and the broker 4a. A gateway can be provided.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that various changes, modifications, and additions can be made within the scope of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (13)

A communication system for providing services over different types of networks, comprising a number of different types of terminal network elements, which can be connected to other network elements located in the same or different networks In such a communication system,
The system allows activation of at least one service for one or more terminal network elements, which can be performed based on service logic;
The terminal network element includes or implements a standard terminal environment for executing at least a portion of service logic, and the standard terminal environment of each of the multiple terminal network elements includes standard application programming directed to the network. defines the interface,
Each network, in order to access at least one service, e given standard network application programming interface,
The system includes an object request broker having a common object request broker architecture (Corba) structure that provides a means for communication between applications,
Network-based services are accessed through standard application programming interfaces ( APIs )
Terminal-based services run in a standard environment (SE)
Services include telephone application services, billing services, location services, intelligent network (IN) services,
The service accesses the above object request broker (ОRB: 4),
The object request broker accesses the network through a standardized application programming interface (API: 9).
A communication system characterized by the above . The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the standard network application programming interface is provided in the network or between a service providing element and the network. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein at least one of the terminal network elements is a mobile network element. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein at least one of the terminal network elements is an IP terminal, a WAP terminal and / or a WLAN terminal. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the standard terminal environment is MExE or a similar environment. The network is a communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is a packet-based network. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the network is a GPRS, UMTS, WAN, LAN, WLAN, GSM, WCDMA, and / or TDMA network. A communication system for providing services over different types of networks, where multiple terminal network elements of different types can be connected to other network elements located in the same or different networks, and communication between applications A method performed in a communication system with an object request broker having a common object request broker architecture (Corba) structure that provides means for :
Activate and execute at least one service based on the service logic for one or more terminal network elements;
The terminal network element includes or implements a standard terminal environment for executing at least a portion of service logic, and the standard terminal environment of each of the multiple terminal network elements includes standard application programming directed to the network. defines the interface,
Each network, in order to access at least one service, e given standard network application programming interface,
Network-based services are accessed through standard application programming interfaces ( APIs )
Terminal-based services run in a standard environment (SE), which includes telephone application services, billing services, location services, intelligent network (IN) services,
The service accesses the Object Request Broker (ORB: 4) and
The object request broker, standardized application programming interface (API: 9) through method characterized by comprising the steps of <br/> to access the network. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the standard network application programming interface is provided in the network or between a service providing element and the network. The method according to claim 8 or 9 , wherein at least one of the terminal network elements is a mobile network element and / or at least one of the terminal network elements is an IP terminal, a WAP terminal and / or a WLAN terminal. 11. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 10 , wherein the standard terminal environment is MExE or a similar environment. 12. A method according to any of claims 8 to 11 , wherein the network is a packet-based network. 13. A method according to any of claims 8 to 12 , wherein the network is a GPRS, UMTS, WAN, LAN, WLAN, GSM, WCDMA and / or TDMA network.

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