MXPA01000953A - Method and apparatus for data transmission to a remote communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

Method and apparatus for transmitting data from a central communication station (104) to a mobile communication device (106) using a pre-selected data protocol if the central communication station (104) cannot initiate data communication with the mobile communication device. The central communication station (104) contacts the mobile communication device (106) in a manner other than the pre-selected data protocol, such as by placing a wireless telephone call to the mobile communication device (106). The mobile communication device (106) contains means for determining the origin of the wireless telephone call (202, 200). If the mobile communication device (106) determines that the wireless telephone call originated from the central communication station (104), data communications are initiated by the mobile communication device (106) to the central communication station (104). Data is then transmitted from the central communication station (104) to the mobile communication device (106).

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DATA TRANSMISSION TO A REMOTE COMMUNICATION DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to wireless communication systems and more particularly to a method and apparatus for transmitting data from a central communication station to a remote communication device when the central communication station can not initiate. Data communications with the remote communication device II. Description of Related Art The use of wireless communication systems is well known for the transmission of information between fixed stations and one or more geographically dispersed remote receivers. For example, satellite communication systems have been used in the transportation industry for many years to provide message delivery and location information between the dispatch centers operated by the fleet and their respective tractor-trailer vehicles. These systems offer significant benefits to fleet owners due to the fact that they allow almost instantaneous communications and position information in real time. In addition, many of these systems provide remote monitoring of the performance characteristics of each vehicle operated by a fleet, such as the average speed, RPM, and idle time of each vehicle. An example of this satellite communication system is described in U.S. Patent No. 4,979,170 entitled "ALTERNATING SEQUENTIAL HALF DUPLEX COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD", U.S. Patent No. 4,928,274 entitled "MULTIPLEXED ADDRESS CONTROL IN A TDM COMMUNICATION". SYSTEM ", and U.S. Patent No. 5,017,926 entitled" DUAL SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEM ", assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. In the satellite communication system described by the patents mentioned above, the dispatch centers operated by flotilla are communicated to their respective tractor-trailer vehicles using land-based systems such as telephone or fiber optic networks to a central communication station (CCS), otherwise known as a network management facility (NMF), or center. The CCS acts as a central communication station through which all communications between vehicles and dispatch centers pass. The CCS comprises several network management computers (NMC), each NMC is responsible for providing a communication path for the CCS to vehicles geographically dispersed in the communication system using a geosynchronous satellite. The geosynchronous satellite comprises one or more transponders, which are electronic circuits well known in the art for transmitting high frequency satellite communication signals between the remote locations. Each NMC is assigned to an individual transponder, each transponder operating on a single frequency in order to avoid interference with communication signals on other transponders. In the satellite communication system of the patents mentioned above, each transponder is capable of handling the communication needs of approximately 30,000 vehicles. Each vehicle in the communication system is equipped with a transceiver, otherwise known as a mobile communication terminal (MCT), for the communication of location information and messages to a pre-designated NMC via the geosynchronous satellite. The MCT also typically comprises an interface device that displays text messages to one or more occupants of the vehicle and accepts either voice or text messages to be transmitted to the dispatch center operated by the vehicle's fleet. In addition, the MCT may additionally comprise a digital processor that communicates with one or more electronic control units (ECU), located at various points throughout the length of the vehicle. Each ECU provides information regarding the operation performance of the vehicle to the digital computer that indicates the characteristics that include, without limitation, and in an illustrative manner, vehicle speed, machine RPM, and kilometers traveled. The wireless communication system described above allows vehicle occupants to easily contact their respective dispatch centers in order to keep flotilla personnel informed of the various events throughout a typical distribution cycle. For example, upon arrival at a predetermined collection destination, an operator may contact a dispatch center associated with the vehicle to alert the fleet personnel of the time and location of the arrival. Similarly, after the truck has been loaded at the collection destination, the driver can send a message to the dispatch center indicating the departure time, the location from which the match occurred, and a description of the items. that are being transported Another example where a vehicle operator can transmit a status message to the dispatch center is when an unscheduled stop has been made and / or when the vehicle departs from the unscheduled stop. As noted above, mobile satellite communication systems have been extensively used in the past as the preferred method of communications. This was due in part to the fact that satellite services offer oblique coverage, even in remote areas of the world. However, with the increased availability of alternative communication networks and services, such as cellular telephone networks, it has become feasible for communications to be transmitted through these alternative communication networks, instead of traditional systems via satelite. The main benefits of using a cell phone communication network instead of a satellite communication network are to decrease message costs and the availability of voice communications. In order to transmit data, as opposed to voice, over a cellular telephone network, a preselected data protocol must be used for each mobile communication device and a central communication station. One of the most popular data protocols in use today is TCP / IP, which is used for data communications over the global mesh network, including the Internet. The TCP / IP is suitable for use also as a wireless protocol. The TCP / IP (transmission control protocol / Internet protocol) is really two different data protocols that are used in conjunction with each other. The Internet Protocol (IP) provides the basic distribution mechanism for data packets sent between all systems in an Internet, regardless of whether the systems are in the same room or on opposite sides of the world. The IP does not guarantee the actual distribution of the data to the destination, to ensure that the data will be distributed without damage, that the data packets will be distributed to the destination in the order in which they were sent by the source, or that only one will be distributed. copy of the data to the destination. Because this has few guarantees, IP is a very simple protocol. This means can be easily implemented and can run on systems that have modest procedural power and small amounts of memory. It also means that the IP demands only minimal functionality from the underlying medium (the physical network that carries the packets on behalf of IP) and can be deployed in a wide variety of network technologies. The transmission control protocol (TCP) provides a reliable system of byte stream transfer between two terminal points in an intranet. TCP depends on the IP to move packets around the network in its name. IP is inherently unreliable, so that the TPC protects against data loss, data corruption, reordering of packets and duplication of data by adding checksums and sequence numbers to the transmitted data and on the receiving side, send back to packages that recognize the reception of the data. Before sending the data through a data network, the TCP establishes a connection to the destination via an exchange of administration packages. The connection is destroyed, briefly via an administration packet exchange, when the application that was using the TCP indicates that no more data was transferred. TCP has a multistage flow control mechanism that continuously adjusts the data rate of the sender in an attempt to achieve maximum data throughput while avoiding congestion and subsequent packet losses in the network. It also tries to make the best use of network resources by packing as much data as possible. possible in an individual IP packet, although this behavior can be overcontrolled by applications that demand immediate transfer of data and are not careful of the inefficiencies of small network packets. In order to initiate communications using TCP / IP between a central communication station and a mobile data device, both entities must be assigned a unique IP address, or Internet protocol address. The IP address is a four-byte value that, by convention, is expressed by converting each byte to a decimal number (0 to 255) and separating the bytes with a period. An example of an IP address is 130.132.59.234. IP addresses are sometimes assigned permanently to data devices and sometimes not. A device that does not have a permanent IP address must be assigned to one each time communications are desired. Typically, this remote data device, such as a home computer, contacts a primary data device (e.g., an Internet service provider or ISP) that assigns an IP address to the remote data device on request. Once the communications are terminated, the previously assigned IP address is no longer used or the remote data device can be reassigned to a subsequent requesting device. In a mobile application, IP addresses are not typically assigned permanently to mobile communication devices. The reason for this is due to the relatively infrequent need for a mobile device to communicate with a central communication station. When a mobile communication device wishes to communicate with a central station using TCP / IP, it must first request an IP address from a service provider. After an IP address has been assigned to the mobile communication device, data communications between the latter and the central communication station can take place. A problem with mobile communication devices that do not have a permanent IP address is that a communication link can not be established with the central communication station that wishes to establish communications with mobile communication devices. An IP address can not be assigned to the mobile communication device by a request from the central station to do so. Therefore, there is a need in the field of mobile communications to allow a central communication station to initiate data communications with one or more mobile communication devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method and apparatus for allowing a central communication station to initiate data communications with a remote communication device, when the central communication station would otherwise be unable to initiate data communications. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the remote communication device comprises a mobile communication device, located on board a vehicle, for transmitting and receiving data with the central communication station. The mobile communication device comprises a transceiver section and a communication terminal. In the exemplary embodiment, the transceiver section comprises a cellular telephone capable of receiving at least communication signals from a central station over an existing cellular telephone network. The communication terminal comprises a processor, a display unit, an input device and a memory for interconnecting the communications from the receiver with one or more occupants of the vehicle. One or more electronic control units (ECU) optionally located at various points along the vehicle, send and receive data to the communication terminal to display the vehicle operator and / or the transceiver for wireless transmission to the central station of the vehicle. communication. The transceiver comprises an apparatus for determining the origin of an incoming initial communication from the central station. In the exemplary mode, the initial communication is in the form of a wireless telephone call, and the apparatus for determining the origin of the wireless telephone call is commonly referred to as a "Caller ID" device. In the exemplary mode, when the data is available to the central communication station to be transmitted to a particular vehicle, the central communication station initiates a telephone call to the mobile communication device corresponding to the vehicle for which the data is available. . When the telephone call is distributed to the proposed mobile communication device, the caller ID device determines the origin of the call. If the call is determined to have originated from the central communication station, this indicates that the data is available to be transmitted to the mobile communication device from the central station, and the central station terminates the call. As a result of receiving the telephone call from the central station, the mobile communication device initiates data communications with the central station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The characteristics, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the detailed description set forth later when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which the similar reference characters are identified correspondingly to everything long and wherein: Figure 1 is an illustration of a wireless communication system in which the present invention is used; Figure 2 illustrates a transceiver and a communication terminal used in the communication system of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a flow diagram detailing the steps that are performed to send data from a central communication station to a mobile communication device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES The present invention is a method and apparatus for allowing a central communication station to establish data communications with a remote communication device, when the central communication station would otherwise be unable to initiate data communications. . The invention is described in the context of a mobile vehicle-based communication device in communication with a central communication station using a land-based cellular telephone system. Nevertheless, it should be understood that the present invention can be used in either wireless or tied (non-wireless) applications. With respect to wireless applications, the present invention can be used with any number of wireless communication technologies such as ground based systems, TDMA, FDMA or GSM, or with satellite communication systems. Additionally, the present invention can be used in a variety of vehicles, such as commercial trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, railroads, marine ships or airplanes. Finally, the present invention is not limited to use in vehicles or on vehicles, but it can also be used within a package, used as a personal monitoring device, or used in any situation for which it is desired to initiate data communications. from a central station to a remote data device. Figure 1 is an illustration of a wireless communication system in which the present invention is used. The information is communicated between the guest 100 and finally the vehicle 102 in the form of voice and / or data communication protocols. The guest 100 communicates the information to the central communication station (CCS) 104 using well-known communication channels, such as wireless or wire telephone channels, fiber optic channels, or the like. The guest 100 is typically a freight transport company that has a large fleet of vehicles that are widely dispersed over a large geographic area. Typically, each vehicle comprises a mobile communication device 106, which allows communications with guest 100 via CCS 104. Although only one guest 100 and one vehicle 102 are shown in Figure 1, in practice, many guests 100 they use the CCS 104 to communicate information to and from their respective fleet vehicles. The information sent by the guest 100 to the CCS 104 may comprise voice or data information that is directed to one or more vehicles in the communication system. The information may also originate from the CCS 104 independently of the guest 100. In the case of information that is transmitted from the guest 100, the CCS 104 receives the information and attempts to transmit it to the identified vehicle or vehicles, as the case may be. The vehicle or particular vehicles for which the message is proposed is identified by specifying an alphanumeric code, typically a code corresponding to a serial number that has been pre-assigned to the mobile communication device 106 installed in the vehicle 102. However , any known method can be used to uniquely identify the vehicles in the communication system. The voice information is routed to a switching mobile controller (MSC) 108 through a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 110. The MSC 108 is interconnected with one or more base station controllers, one of which is shows as the base station controller BSC 112. The BSC 112 communicates with one or more base stations, one of which is shown as the base station 114. The MSC 108, the BSC 112 and the base station 114 are well known in the technique for providing wireless communications between landline telephone users and wireless communication devices. The MSC 108 is a switch that accepts communications from the PSTN 110 and routes them to the appropriate BSC 112. The mobile communication devices, such as the mobile communication device 106, are periodically registered with one or more base stations. Registration is a well-known technique in the field of mobile communications that notifies MSC 108 where mobile communication devices are operating and through which the base station or base stations are in communication. This allows the efficient routing of messages to mobile communication devices. The voice information is directed to a particular device 106, mobile communication using an identification code pre-assigned to each mobile communication device 106. The identification code is commonly known as a mobile identification number (MIN), electronic serial number (ESN) or a combination of the two . For example, MIN are used to uniquely identify mobile communication devices in the communication system.

Each MIN is unique to other MIN distributed in the communication system. The MSC 108 contains a database (not shown) that stores registration information for all mobile communication devices that are actively registered with MSC 108. The information comprises a MIN and a corresponding base station or base stations 114 that a mobile device , communication particular is currently recorded. The voice calls received by MSC 108 each contain a MIN corresponding to the mobile communication device for which the call is proposed. The MSC 108 searches for the MIN for each received call and routes the call to the base station 114 that is operating within the proposed mobile communication device. At the base station 114, the call is typically converted into a telephone protocol suitable for wireless transmission to the mobile communication device, such as AMPS, CDMA or GSM. In the example mode, the telephone protocols of the IS-95 industrial standard, and their derivatives, are used. Each voice call begins with an initial communication to the mobile communication device informing it that a call is available for reception. Typically, an audible alert is generated by the mobile communication device to alert a user that a call is available. The initial communication may also include a MIN that corresponds to the location from which the call originates. This is useful for identifying the region of a call, as will be discussed later in this. The initial communication sent by the base station 114 is received in the mobile communication device 106 by the transceiver 116. The transceiver 116 contains electronic circuitry well known in the art for the reception, downconversion and demodulation of the received initial communication. The initial communication is then routed to the communication terminal 118 which routes it to terminal 120, typically a telephone set. In contrast, when the data is transmitted from the CCS 104 to the vehicle 102, it does not initiate the same communication protocol that is used to place a voice call, as explained above. Instead of transmitting the data through the PSTN 110, the CCS 104 sends data through the computer network 122 using a pre-selected data protocol. In the exemplary embodiment, the preselected data protocol is TCP / IP, which is well known in the art as a series of protocols used extensively for communications over the computer network 122. Computer network 122 is a system of many large computer networks joined together over high speed structure data links, ranging from, for example, 56 Kbps to T-1, T-3, OC-1 and OC-3. The computer network 122 comprises the frame relay network 124 and the router 126. The frame relay network 124 accepts a wide variety of data frames, each associated with a different data protocol, and transports them to one or more destinations. Router 126 is essentially an interface between MSC 108 and frame relay network 124. In addition, the router 126 performs additional work, such as finding the best route between the two networks, load compensation, and prioritizing data transmission, among other things. The frame relay network 124 and the router 126 ensure that the data packets from CCS 104 are sent to MSC 108 and vice versa. TCP / IP typically combines two well-known protocols: IP, or Internet protocol, and TCP, which represents the transmission control protocol. The IP provides the necessary addressing to allow the router 126 to transmit data, generally defragmented into small segments, or packets, through a network of multiple computers. The IP attempts to distribute each packet of data, but has no provisions to retransmit lost or damaged packets. The IP leaves this error correction, if required, to higher-level protocols, such as TCP. The IP requires an IP address of a proposed receiver in order to work properly. The IP addresses are 32 bits long and have two parts: the network identifier (Network ID) and the host identifier (Guest ID). Assigned by a central authority, the Network ID specifies the address, unique through the Internet, for each network or related group of networks. Assigned by a local network administrator, the guest ID specifies a particular guest, station, or node within a given network and only needs to be unique within that network. TCP provides end-to-end connectivity between a data source and a destination with detection of, and recovery from, lost, duplicate or corrupted data packets; thus offering error control that lacks the lowest level IP routing. In TCP, the application message blocks are divided into smaller segments, each with a sequence number that indicates the segment order within the block. The target device examines the message segments and, when a complete sequence of segments is received, sends an acknowledgment (ACK) to the source, which contains the number of the next expected byte in the destination. In the MSC 108, the data packets are received by the intermixing module (IWF) 128. The IWF 128 acts as an interface between MSC 108 and the computer network 122 for transmitting and receiving data packets. The data packets received from the IWF 128 are provided to BSC 112 and the base station 114 in the same manner as the voice data is routed. However, instead of locating a MIN associated with a proposed vehicle for which the voice data is proposed in a local database, the MSC 108 locates an IP address associated with the mobile communication device 106 for which they are proposed. the data. The data is then sent to the base station 114 under which the vehicle 102 is correctly registered, where it is then transmitted to the vehicle 102, generally using wireless data protocols, such as those widely known and described in IS-99 industry standards. and IS-707. The vehicle 102 receives the data using the transceiver 116, which downconverts and demodulates the data, and then provides it to the communication terminal 118 for processing. The communication terminal 118 accepts the input of the input device 130, transfers the data to the output device 132, and then sends and receives the data from the electronic display unit (ECU) 134. The input device 130 is typically a keyboard or voice-operated transducer for entering data to the communication terminal 118 by a vehicle occupant. The output device 132 is typically a visual display device, which displays the data from the communication terminal 118 or a vehicle occupant. The output device 132 could also be an audio transducer that presents the audio data to the vehicle occupant. The ECU 134 is an electronic device used in the vehicle 102 to monitor a particular vehicle operation feature 102. For example, the ECU 134 could be a speedometer, odometer, RPM meter, or any other transducer to provide pertinent data. of operation to the communication terminal 118. Typically, many ECUs 134 are installed in the vehicle 102, although in Figure 1 only one is shown. The electronic data received by the transceiver 116 is provided to the communication terminal 118, where they are directed towards a proposed device. For example, the data received by the transceiver 116 could be a text message to a vehicle occupant and will be directed to the output device 132. The data could also be a digital message addressed to a particular ECU 134, directing it to cease or start the operation. The above analysis with respect to the data transmission assumes that the mobile communication device 106 is currently assigned to a valid IP address at the time the data is to be distributed to it from CCS 10. However, the mobile communication device 106 is generally not assigned to a permanent IP address. This is due to the manner in which an IP address is assigned to the mobile communication device 106. The IWF 128 is responsible for assigning an IP address to the mobile communication device 106 at the request of the mobile communication device 106. The I F 128 allocates IP addresses using techniques well known in the art. For example, the first two numbers of the IP address in general are the network ID permanently assigned to the particular I F 128 through which the vehicle 102 desires communication. When an IP address is requested, the I F 128 randomly assigns a 4-digit IP address that has its network ID permanently assigned as the first two numbers of the IP address. For example, if a first IWF 128 is assigned to a network ID of 127.55, it will assign IP addresses that have a format of 127.55. XXX. YYY, where XXX and YYY are each numbers that vary from 0 to 255. A second I 128 that has a network ID of 45,188 will assign IP addresses that have a format of 45,188. XXX. YYY As the vehicle 102 travels the entire length of the communication system, communications are necessarily routed through different base stations 114, MSC 108 and IWF 128. Where each time communications with the vehicle 112 are directed through a new one MSC 108, and therefore a new IWF 128, will generally change an IP address associated with the mobile communication device 106. In order for CCS 104 to initiate data communications with the mobile communication device 106, it must have a valid IP address currently assigned. Because the location of the vehicle 102 is not generally known at the time the data is to be transmitted, the IP address associated with the mobile communication device 106 assigned to the vehicle 102 is not generally known either. Therefore, the CCS 104 can not generally initiate a data communication to the mobile communication device 106. The present invention overcomes this problem as follows. When CCS 104 receives data from the host 100 proposed for the vehicle 102, or when the data is independently generated by CCS 104, the CCS 104 initiates contact with the vehicle 102 in an alternative protocol to that typically used to transmit data. The CCS 104 initiates an indication to the vehicle 102 that the data is available to it in CCS 104. In the example mode, the alternative protocol in which the communications are initiated is a telephone communication protocol, by CCS 104 which 'places a wireless telephone communication to the mobile communication device 106. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. Any other method can be used to inform the vehicle 102 that the data is available in CCS 104. For example, the CCS 104 could also contact a vehicle operator using a CB civil band radio, LMR radio or the like, and verbally requesting that the operator initiate data communications with CCS 104. Alternatively, the mobile communication device 106 may have the ability to receive a satellite signal or an infrared signal, in which case CCS 104 could contact the vehicle 102 using a satellite or infrared source, respectively. Because each vehicle 102 is assigned a permanent MIN, telephone communications could usually be placed on the vehicle, no matter which MSC or base station of the vehicle is operating. The CCS 104 places a telephone communication to the proposed vehicle 102 via PSTN 110, MSC 108, BSC 112 and base station 114 using normal telephone protocols as described above. As described above, the process of placing a telephone communication typically comprises a telephone communication device that sends an initial communication to a destination device indicating that a telephone communication is pending for the destination device. In the field of wireless communications, this initial communication is typically sent on a location channel in a message containing a source code, typically a MIN, assigned to the telephone communication device that sends the initial communication. By sending the MIN associated with the telephone communication device, a destination device can determine the origin of a call using well-known techniques, generally known as caller ID. Figure 2 illustrates a more detailed view of the transceiver 116 and the communication terminal 118. The initial communication is received by the vehicle 102 using a transceiver 116. The transceiver 116 contains the physical equipment necessary to determine the origin of the initial communication when examining the source code, or MIN in the example mode, contained within the initial communication, and displayed as Caller ID 200. Caller ID 200 uses well-known methods to determine the origin of the initial communication received, as explained above. Typically, the caller ID 200 displays a telephone number associated with the MIN to see by a communication device operator, in this case, a vehicle occupant, to assist the operator in determining whether or not to accept the call. In the present system, the telephone number associated with each received initial communication is displayed on either the output device 132 or telephone 120, except if the initial communication originates from CCS 104, as explained below. In the present invention, the processor 202 receives the initial communication from the RF device 204, which is responsible for the downconversion and demodulation of the initial communication. The caller ID 200 then determines the MIN of the initial communication and provides a telephone number associated with the MIN to the processor 202, although the MIN itself could alternatively be provided either alone or in conjunction with the telephone number. Further, although the caller ID 200 is shown in Figure 2 as a separate entity from the processor 202, it will be understood that the caller ID could alternatively be incorporated into the processor 202 using well-known techniques. The processor 202 comparing the telephone number provided by the caller ID 200 to an identification code associated with a predetermined location, of generating a telephone number associated with CCS 104, which is stored in the memory 206. In the preferred embodiment, the The telephone number stored in the memory 206 is the telephone number of CCS 104, however, it could be associated alternatively with some other predetermined location, such as the guest 100. If the telephone number associated by the initial communication corresponds to the telephone number stored in the memory 206, the communication terminal is informed of the correspondence, and data communication with CCS 104 is initiated, as explained below. In addition, the mobile communication device 106 does not answer the call if it has been determined that the call originated from the location associated with the telephone number stored in the memory 206. The initial communication is not answered by the mobile communication device 106, in the preferred mode. In contrast, as soon as the initial communication is successfully received by the transceiver 116, a recognition message is transmitted back to CCS 104, alerting the CCS 104 of the initial communication successfully received by the vehicle 102. This recognition protocol is a well-known communication protocol that is widely used in the telecommunications industry. When the CCS 104 receives the acknowledgment message that the initial communication was successfully received by the mobile communication device 106, the telephone call ends. Because the CCS 104 knows that the vehicle 102 has received the initial communication, and therefore the vehicle 102 is immediately contacted to initiate a data communication, there is no need for the mobile communication device 106 to answer the call telephone The processor 208, located at the communication terminal 118, receives an indication from the processor 202 that it must initiate a data communication with the CCS 104 in response to the initial communication of CCS 104. The communication terminal 118 further comprises the memory 210 for storing a second identification code associated with CCS 104, guest 100, or any other identity that vehicle 102 is pre-programmed to initiate data communications upon receipt of an indication from processor 202. In the example mode, the second The identification code is an IP address associated with CCS 104. The processor 208 initiates an initial data communication with CCS 104 by sending a message according to the previously analyzed TCP / IP protocol including the IP address stored in the memory 210 corresponding to the pre-determined entity. The initial data message is modulated and uplinked by the transceiver 116 and transmitted to the base station 114, BSC 112, and then to MSC 108. In MSC 108, the initial data message of vehicle 102 is received, downconverted and demodulated, then provided to IWF 128. An additional function of IF 128 in receiving a Initial data message of the vehicle 102 is to assign an IP address to the vehicle. For example, if the host ID for I F 128 is 124.45, then the I F 128 assigns an IP address to the vehicle 102 by appending two digits to the guest ID, such as 23,155 to arrive at an assigned IP address of 124.45.23.155. The IWF 128 ensures that no other vehicle has been previously assigned to the same IP address. Once the IWF 128 has assigned an IP address to the vehicle 102, the initial data message is modified to include the newly assigned IP address associated with the vehicle 104. The modified initial data message is then sent to the router 126, network 124 of frame relay, then to CCS 104, according to the IP address associated with CCS 104, as provided in the initial data message. The modified initial message is then received by CCS 104. The CCS 104 can now see the data to the vehicle 102 because the vehicle 102 now possesses a valid IP address, as provided in the modified initial data message. Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart of the method used to initiate data communications from CCS 104 to vehicle 102, if vehicle 102 does not have a currently assigned IP address. The process begins in step 300. In step 302, the CCS 104 wants to initiate a data communication with the vehicle 102, either because it has received a guest data communication 100, or because CCS 104 has generated independent data to be transmitted to the vehicle 102. In any case, the data communication identifies a particular vehicle (s) 102 for which the communication is proposed, generally by supplying an alpha-numeric code which corresponds to the serial number that has been pre-assigned to the mobile communication device 106 and installed in the vehicle 102. Each mobile communication device 106 is pre-assigned to a permanent mobile identification number or MIN that is typically stored in a database in CCS 104. In order to send the data communication from CCS 104 to the proposed vehicle 102, the mobile communication device 116 must have a valid IP address assigned thereto so that the CCS 104 initiates a data communication with the vehicle 102. In general, the mobile communication device 106 only has a valid IP address when it is in active data communications through IWF 128. In step 304, the CCS 104 initiates contacting the vehicle 102 using an alternative communication protocol of that which is typically used to transmit the data communications. The CCS 104 initiates an indication to the vehicle 102 that the data is available to it in CCS 104. In the example mode, the alternative communication protocol used to initiate the communications is a telephone protocol, by CCS 104 placing a telephone call to the mobile communication device 106. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. The CCS 104 has access to the database to determine the MIN corresponding to the alpha-numeric code and therefore, the vehicle 102 for which the data communication message is proposed. In the exemplary embodiment, the CCS 104 places a telephone call to the proposed vehicle 102 via PSTN 110, MSC 108, BSC 112 and base station 114, as described above. The process of placing a telephone call typically comprises sending an initial communication to the receiving device indicating that a telephone call is pending for that device. The initial communication includes a MIN corresponding to the CCS 104. In step 306, the initial communication is routed to the vehicle 102 and is received by the transceiver 116. The transceiver 116 contains the caller ID 200, the processor 202, and the memory 206 to determine the origin of the initial incoming communication when determining the MIN and / or telephone number included in the initial communication. In step 308, if the processor 202, caller ID 200, and memory 206 determine that the initial communication is originated from CCS 104, or any other predetermined location, an indication of this event is sent to the processor 208, the alert indication to the processor 208, that the data is waiting to be retrieved from CCS 104. The initial communication is then determined by CCS 104. The procedure then proceeds to step 310. If the processor 202, caller ID 200 and memory 206 determine that the origin of the initial communication is not CCS 104, so this is an indication that the initial communication is a "typical" voice call proposed for a vehicle occupant. In this case, in step 312, the call is routed to the telephone set 120 for use by the vehicle occupant. In step 310, the processor 208 initiates a data communication with CCS 104 when sending an initial data communication using the transceiver 116. The initial data communication is sent according to a pre-selected data protocol, in the mode of example, TCP / IP. The initial data communication is received by the base station 114, then BSC 112 is sent and then to IF 128 contained within MSC 108. The IWF 128 assigns an IP address to the mobile communication communication device 106 and attaches the initial communication of cats with this information. The initial data communication, appended, is then finally transmitted to the CCS 104. In step 314, the CCS 104 begins to transmit data to the vehicle 102 according to the pre-selected data protocol, using the IP address supplied by the initial accompanying communication of data received from IF 128. The prior description of the preferred embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these modalities will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other modalities without the use of the Inventive Faculty. In this manner, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but to be in accordance with the broadest scope and consistent with the principles and novel features described herein.

Claims (19)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following CLAIMS is claimed as property: 1. An apparatus for transmitting data from the central communication station to a mobile communication device. communication using a preselected data protocol, comprising: means for transmitting an initial communication to the mobile communication device in a manner different from the preselected data protocol; means for receiving the initial communication by the mobile communication device; means for identifying an origin of the initial communication by the mobile communication device; means for comparing the origin to an identification code associated with a predetermined location; and means for initiating a data communication by the mobile communication device to the predetermined location when the origin corresponds to the identification code. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the initial communication comprises a source code corresponding to the central communication station. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting the initial communication comprises a wireless telephone communication device. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for identifying an origin comprises a caller ID device. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for comparing the origin to an identification code associated with a predetermined location comprises: a memory for storing the identification code; and a processor connected to the memory to determine an origin code corresponding to the origin of the initial communication and compare the source code to the identification code. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the source code and the identification code is each a telephone number corresponding to the central communication station and the predetermined location, respectively. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the memory is additionally for storing a second identification code corresponding to the predetermined location. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second identification code is an IP address. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for detecting when the initial communication has been successfully received by the mobile communication device; and a means for discontinuing the additional communication of the mobile communication using a different manner from the preselected data protocol if the initial communication was successfully received by the mobile communication device. 10. Method for transmitting data from a central communication station to a mobile communication terminal using a preselected data protocol, comprising the steps of: transmitting an initial communication to the mobile communication terminal in a manner different from the preselected data protocol; receive the initial communication by the mobile communication terminal; identify an origin and initial communication and operate it to an identification code associated with a predetermined orientation; initiating a data communication by the mobile communication device to the predetermined location if the origin corresponds to the identification code. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the initial communication comprises a source code. The method according to claim 11, wherein the source code comprises a telephone number corresponding to the central communication station. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of: terminating the initial communication by the central communication station if the initial communication is successfully received by the mobile communication device. 14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the preselected data protocol is TCP / IP and the step of transmitting the initial communication comprises the step of sending a wireless telephone call to the mobile communication device. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of identifying an origin of the initial communication comprises the steps of: determining a source code of the initial communication corresponding to the origin; and compare the source code to the identification code. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the source code and the identification code each comprise a telephone number. 17. Apparatus for transmitting data from a central communication station to a mobile communication device using a first communication protocol, comprising: a transceiver for receiving an initial communication of a second communication protocol, the origin comprising an origin of the initial communication; a memory for storing an identification code associated with a predetermined location; a processor connected to the transceiver and memory to identify the origin of the initial communication, to compare the origin to the identification code stored in the memory, and to initiate communications of the first communication protocol if the origin corresponds to the identification code. 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first communication protocol comprises the data protocol and the second protocol comprises a telephone protocol. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the predetermined location comprises an identity that wishes to transmit data to determine communication mobile.