SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY AND REQUEST
ROUTING FOR WIRELESS DEVICES
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The invention is in the field of automatically discovering and connecting to
different backend systems from a single application running on a Portable
Computing 1 Communication Devices (PCD) including a mobile terminal.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Application and service providers currently cater to a growing demand for
providing their services and content from a single application to the users coming
from multiple geographic locations. As an application provider, creating a separate
application for country specific users has caused many challenges. First, an
application provider has to maintain and support multiple versions of the same
application. Second, a user has to discover and locate the right application targeted
for that geographic location or country.
[0003lThe use of mobile application is increasing across the globe. Many telecom
operators have presence in multiple countries. They are facing challenge of
distributing a single mobile application that can connect to designated server based
on the request coming from mobile devices from each country. To overcome this, the
application providers are creating multiple editions of the same application and
distribute it for each country. This causes confusion for users to locate and identify
which application is right for them. Application providers also need to support and
maintain multiple editions of this application. If any enhancement or bug fix is done
for an application then it has to be replicated in all the editions which causes extra
burden for application providers.
SUMMARY
[00041 Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to enable sending
a request to a backend system from a mobile application running on a Portable
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Computing / Communication Device (PCD) without a user "intervention. Another
object of the invention is to provide a ubiquitous platform to distribute a single
application that supports different users request coming from multiple countries or
geographical locations. Yet another object of the invention is to ensure that use of
single application is supported on a range of PCDs operating on different platforms
independent of a number retrieval support from a PCD.
[0005]These objects are achieved by the described embodiments. In one
embodiment, an "auto discovery and request routing system" for users, application
providers and service providers, and others is provided. The system, running on the
PCD integrates and connects to the appropriate backend system for a user's
geographic location. A single application gets downloaded and installed and runs
on the PCD, the application first connects to a Discovery Server (DS) consists of the
invention to get the appropriate backend system it should be sending all the future
request. The DS sends the information typically a URL to the correct Mobile Server
platform (MSP) which is connected to the appropriate backend system for this user.
The application running on the PCD uses the URL of the MSP for all future
requests. The invention helps application provider to distribute a single application
which can connect to one dedicated (or group of dedicated) back end system based
on a number received from PCD.
[0006] Other objects, features, and advantage of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0007] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,
given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
[00081 FIG. 1A is a system diagram of an example communications system in which
one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;
[0009lFIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example portable communication device
(PCD) I user equipment (UE) that may be used within the communications system
illustrated in FIG. 1A;
[0010] FIG. 1C is a system diagram of an example radio access network and an
example core network that may be used within the communications system
illustrated in FIG. 1A;
[0011] FIG. 2 represents an overall structure of the Auto Discovery and Request
Routing System embodiment, and the interaction between the different parts
[0012]FIG. 3 represents the communication and flow between different entities
involved in performing auto discovery;
[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a Portable Computing 1 Communication Device (PCD),
that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;
[0014] FIG. 5 represents the structure of a Discovery Server (DS);
[0015] FIG. 6 represents a Mobile Platform Server (MSP);
[0016] FIG. 7 represents a flow diagram of a request and response from Discovery
Sensor Unit (DSU) to a Discovery Server (DS) and then to Mobile Server Platform
(MSP); and
[0017]FIG. 8 represents the work flow of the described embodiments to perform
automatic discovery and request routing of a wireless device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] FIG. 1A is a diagram of an example communications system 100 in which
one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications
system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice,
data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The
communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such
content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For
example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access
methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple
access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA
(OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SCFDMA), and the like.
[0019] As shown in FIG. LA, the communications system 100 may include portable
communication devices (PCDs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network
(RAN) 104, a core network 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108,
the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the
disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of PCDs, base stations, networks,
and/or network elements. Each of the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type
of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By
way of example, the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be configured to transmit
and/or receive wireless signals and may include user equipment (UE), a mobile
station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal
digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a
wireless sensor, consumer electronics, and the like.
[0020]The communications system 100 may also include a base station 114a and a
base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device
configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c,
102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core
network 106, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example,
the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an
eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a
wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted
as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may
include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.
[00211 The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include
other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station
controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base
station 114a andlor the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or
receive wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may be
referred to as a cell (not shown). The cell may further be divided into cell sectors.
For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into
three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three
transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In another embodiment, the base
station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and,
therefore, may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell.
[00221 The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the
PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable
wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR),
ultraviolet (W), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using
any suitable radio access technology (RAT).
[0023] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a
multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such
as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base
station 114a in the RAN 104 and the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio
technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)
Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using
wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such
as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may
include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink
Packet Access (HSUPA).
[0024] In another embodiment, the base station 114a and the PCDs 102a, 102b,
102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio
Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term
Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).
[00251 In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c
may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.16 i . . Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 K,
CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95),
Interim Standard 856 (IS-8561, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM),
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the
like.
LO0261 The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B,
Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for
facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a
home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b
and the PCDs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to
establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In another embodiment, the base
station 114b and the PCDs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as
IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another
embodiment, the base station 114b and the PCDs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular
based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, etc.) to establish a
picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. lA, the base station 114b may have a direct
connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to
access the Internet 110 via the core network 106.
[0027] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the core network 106, which
may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or
voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the PCDs 102a, 102b,
102c, 102d. For example, the core network 106 may provide call control, billing
services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity,
video distribution, etc., andlor perform high-level security functions, such as user
authentication. Although not shown in FIG. lA, it will be appreciated that the RAN
104 and/or the core network 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with
other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For
example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing an
E-UTRA radio technology, the core network 106 may also be in communication with
another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM radio technology.
[0028] The core network 106 may also serve as a gateway for the PCDs 102a, 102b,
102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112.
The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain
old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of
interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication
protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol
(UDP) and the internet protocol (IP) in the TCPIIP internet protocol suite. The
other networks 112 may include wired or wireless communications networks owned
and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the other networks 112
may include another core network connected to one or more RANs, which may
employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.
[0029] Some or all of the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications
system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities, i.e., the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c,
102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless
networks over different wireless links. For example, the PCD 102c shown in FIG.
1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may
employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which
may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.
[00301 FIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example PCD 102. As shown in FIG. lB,
the PCD 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit 1 receive
element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128,
non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global
positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and other peripherals 138. It will be
appreciated that the PCD 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing
elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.
[0031] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose
processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of
microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a
controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field
Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit
(IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding,
data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other
functionality that enables the PCD 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The
processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the
transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1B depicts the processor 118 and the
transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor
118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or
chip.
[0032] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to,
or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air
interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122
may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In another
embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector
configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example.
In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to
transmit and receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the
transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any
combination of wireless signals.
[0033] In addition, although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in
FIG.1B as a single element, the PCD 102 may include any number of transmit 1
receive elements 122. More specifically, the PCD 102 may employ MIMO
technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the PCD 102 may include two or more
transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and
receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.
[0034] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to
be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals
that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the PCD
102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include
multiple transceivers for enabling the PCD 102 to communicate via multiple RATS,
such as UTRA and IEEE 802.11, for example.
[00351 The processor 118 of the PCD 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user
input data from, the speaker 1 microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display
1 touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light
emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data
to the speaker 1 microphone 124, the keypad 126, and 1 or the display / touchpad
128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in,
any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the
removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include randomaccess
memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of
memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber
identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and
the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and
store data in, memory that is not physically located on the PCD 102, such as on a
server or a home computer (not shown).
[0036] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may
be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the
PCD 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the PCD
102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries
(e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH),
lithium ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.
[0037] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may
be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding
the current location of the PCD 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information
from the GPS chipset 136, the PCD 102 may receive location information over the
air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or
determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or
more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the PCD 102 may acquire
location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while
remaining consistent with an embodiment.
[00381 The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which
may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide
additional features, functionality andlor wired or wireless connectivity. For
example, the other peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a
satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs or video), a universal serial
bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a
BluetoothTM module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player,
a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and the like.
[0039] FIG. 1C is a system diagram of the RAN 104 and the core network 106
according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA
radio technology to communicate with the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air
interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the core network
106.
[0040] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c, though it will be
appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while
remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may
each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the PCDs 102a, 102b,
102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c
may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 140a, for example, may use
multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from,
the PCD 102a.
[0041] Each of the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may be associated with a particular
cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management
decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink andlor downlink,
and the like. As shown in FIG. lC, the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may communicate
with one another over an X2 interface.
LO0421 The core network 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility
management gateway (MME) 142, a serving gateway 144, and a packet data
network (PDN) gateway 146. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as
part of the core network 106, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements
may be owned andlor operated by an entity other than the core network operator.
LO0431 The MME 142 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c in
the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the
MME 142 may be responsible for authenticating users of the PCDs 102a, 102b,
102c, bearer activatioddeactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during
an initial attach of the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 142 may also
provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other
RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.
[0044] The serving gateway 144 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 140a,
140b, 140c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The serving gateway 144 may
generally route and forward user data packets to / from the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c.
[0045] The serving gateway 144 may also perform other functions, such as
anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when
downlink data is available for the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing
contexts of the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.
[0046] The serving gateway 144 may also be connected to the PDN gateway 146,
which may provide the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched
networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the PCDs
102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.
[0047] The core network 106 may facilitate communications with other networks.
For example, the core network 106 may provide the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c with
access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate
communications between the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line
communications devices. For example, the core network 106 may include, or may
communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server)
that serves as an interface between the core network 106 and the PSTN 108. In
addition, the core network 106 may provide the PCDs 102a, 102b, 102c with access
to the other networks 112, which may include other wired or wireless networks that
are owned andlor operated by other service providers.
[0048] Various embodiments are described that address the problems as described
by providing a novel system and method for automatically discovering and routing
the request to back end server and systems from an application running on a
Portable Computing Device. The usage of application in a Portable Computing
Devices (such as a mobile terminal) is increasing. Applications are being built to
support the growing need of users from across the globe. Application providers are
developing and distributing application based on user's geographic location. The
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major challenge is that many times the application requires fetching the data by
integrating to the back end system located in the user's country. Due to this
requirement, application providers need to create a separate edition of the same
application for each country. The distribution of this application has to be managed
by country. There is no easy mechanism for application providers to have a single
application that can be downloaded by user which will work on multiple back end
system to get user specific data.
[0049] The said invention provides a mechanism to create a single application that
is capable of getting the data from different backend system depending upon user's
phone number. The described embodiments are configured to enable distribution of
a single application for users to download from different country. The described
embodiments support unique ways of discovering an appropriate server that should
be used to get the data based on user's phone number. The embodiments of the said
invention provides this support in a unified way for all types of mobile terminals
from very low-end models to highly sophisticated contraptions.
[0050] In one embodiment, a Discovery Sensor Unit (DSU) is configured to store and
use an assigned mobile server for a user's phone number. The DSU stores and uses
the Mobile Server - uniform resource locator ("URL") received from the Discovery
Server (DS). The DS receives request coming from DSU and sends back the
appropriate Mobile Server information along with URL for the received phone
number. The DSU then sends all the future requests to the Mobile Server URL
which actually goes to Mobile Server Platform (MSP). Each MSP is connected to the
designated back end system that is capable of fulfilling the request coming from
PCD for this phone number. The DSU is configured to receive and render the
response received from MSP.
[00511 The DSU may also use a unique code, unique transmission characteristics, or
a unique pre-authenticated personal identification number instead of a user's phone
number.
[0052]Figure 2 represents an overall structure of Auto Discovery and Request
Routing System embodiment, and shows the interaction between the different parts
of the system. The embodiments devised have been denoted in three parts; namely
the Portable Computing Device (PCD) that contains a Discovery Sensor Unit (DSU)
programmed into it. The DSU is defined by a Discovery Server Information
Retrieval Module (DSIRM), Phone Number (or unique number) Retrieval Module
(PNRM) and Mobile Server Information Management Module (MSIMM).
[0053lIn another embodiment, a Discovery Server (DS) is provided. The DS is
defined by the Mobile Request Processor (MRP) and Mobile server Finder (MSF).
Another embodiment, a Mobile Server Platform (MSP) is also provided. The MSP is
defined by a Mobile Request Handler Engine (MRHE) and a Backend Systems
Integration Engine (BSIE). The MSP integrates with the backend server
infrastructure that runs Operational Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support
Systems (BSS).
[0054]Figure 3 represents the communication structure and flow between the
described embodiments. The DSU is either configured with or embedded in the
application running on each PCD. There is one Discovery Server (DS) that serves a
request to get MSP URL from all the PCDs. This is shown as dotted lines Figure 3.
As described in figure 3, a PCDl receives the URL of MSPl from DS and therefore
it connects to MSP1. MSPl is connected to OSS/BSS Systems 1 to cater the request
for PCD1. PCD2 receives the URL of MSP2 from DS and therefore it connects to
MSP2. MSP2 is connected to OSS/BSS Systems 2 to cater the request for PCD2.
For PCD3 and PCD4, the DS send the URL of MSP3 since both PCD3 and PCD4
either belong to same regionhone or country. Therefore both PCD3 and PCD4
connect to MSP3. MSP3 is connected to OSS/BSS Systems 3 to cater the request for
PCD3 and PCD4.
[0055]Figure 4 illustrates the Portable Computing Device (PCD), includes a
processor [Pr (c) I (that may be but not limited to a CPU or microchip), a Memory
Device [MD (c) I (that may be but not limited to a RAM or other suitable computing
memory), a Communication InterfacelCI (c)], a Storage Module [SM (c)] , Input/
1;2 5 JUL 20'4 Output port interfaces [IOP (ell, an Expansion Port Interface [ pI (c , a Graphic
User Interface (GUI), An Input1 Output Device (IOD),an Application Library (AL),
an Operating System [OS( c)l and the unique embodiment Discovery Sensor Unit
(DSU). The DSU is designed to interface with both DS and MSP to route the
request to appropriate backend server.
[0056] Figure 5 represents the Discovery Server (DS) that includes, a processor [Pr
(p) 1 (that may be but not limited to a CPU or microchip), a Memory Device [MD
(p)] (that may be but not limited to a RAM or other suitable computing memory), a
Communication Interface[CI (p)], a Storage Module [SM ( p 11, Input/ Output port
interfaces [IOP ( p)], an Expansion Port Interface [EpI (p), a Network Port Interface
(NPI), an embodiment of the DS. This is constituted by embodiments: the Mobile
Request Processor (MRP), and Mobile server Finder (MSF).
lo0571 Figure 6 represents the Mobile Platform Server (MSP) that includes, a
processor [Pr(p)l (that may be but not limited to a CPU or microchip), a Memory
Device [MD (p) 1 (that may be but not limited to a RAM or other suitable computing
memory), a Communication Interface[CI (p)], a Storage Module [SM ( p )I, Input/
Output port interfaces [IOP ( p)], an Expansion Port Interface [EpI (p), a Network
Port Interface (NPI), the embodiment of the MSP. This is constituted by
embodiments: the Mobile Request Handler Engine (MRHE) and Backend Systems
Integration Engine (BSIE).
[OO58]Figure 7 shows the high level flow diagram of a request and response from
Discovery Sensor Unit (DSU) to Discovery Server (DS) and then to Mobile Server
Platform (MSP). The DSU resides on the PCD of an application. From an
application, a user requests to get some data for the MS ISDN or device the
application is running. The DSU first sends request to DS. The DS receives the
request and sends back the MSP URL. The DSU stores this MSP URL and sends all
future requests to MSP. MSP entertains the entire user's request from this point
onwards. The DSU receives the data from MSP and processes it to render it to user.
[0059lFigure 8 represents the detailed work flow of the described system. The
Mobile Server Information Management Module (MSIMM) requests Discovery
Server Information Retrieval Module (DSIRM) to retrieve the Discovery Server
URL pre-configured for this application. The MSIMM requests Phone Number
Retrieval Module (PNRM) to retrieve the user's phone number or MSISDN using
AL as described in Fig. 4. The MSIMM makes a request to Mobile Request
Processor (MRP) using this Discovery Server URL along with retrieved MSISDN.
The MRP forwards this request to Mobile server Finder (MSF). The MSF has
intelligence built to find the appropriate MSP URL for the provided MSISDN. The
MSF sends the MSP URL as a response back to MRP. The MRP sends this
information back to MSIMM. The MSIMM now onwards uses this MSP URL to
fulfill user's request for this application.
[0060lTo perform auto discovery, and request routing from a single application
running on a Portable Computing Device, the Mobile Server Platform initially
enables download of various Client applications on to the Portable Computing
Device. The applications is downloaded, installed and stored in the Storage Module
found in the PCD.
[00611 A user launches the application from the PCD. As shown in Figure 8, a user
may click on a button or link (or activate a voice prompt, or perform a gesture) to
get data from a server using IOU of the PCD. The MSIMM module invokes DSIRM
for the DS URL. The MSIMM calls PNRM to get the unique identifiable device ID.
This unique ID may be MSISDN, IMEI (or unique transmission characteristics, or
any other value that uniquely identifies user's PCD. The MSIMM sends this unique
device ID to MRP to get the DS URL assigned for this device ID.
[0062] The MSF maintains a mapping between all the available MSPs and group of
assigned device ID to each of them. This mapping may be done in multiple ways. If
the MSISDN is passed then the country code is deduced from MSISDN. In this case,
the mapping is done between country code and the MSP URL. The MSF returns the
assigned MSP URL for the received MSISDN. The MSIMM stores this MSP URL. If
this URL is set, MSIMM uses it to get the data from server. The MSIMM doesn't
need to check for DS URL for every button click or request.
[0063]In an alternate embodiment, where the platform of PCD doesn't allow
retrieving the unique device ID from PNRM module, the MSIMM sends a request to
MRP with no value set for the MSISDN. This request is forwarded to MSF which
has list mapping between all the available country and MSP URL. The MSF sends
list of available countries back. The MRP forwards this to MSIMM. The MSIMM
displays this available country list via IOU of the PCD for user to select appropriate
country. Once a user selects the country the MSIMM sends this data back to MSF
via MRP. MSF finds the MSP URL that is mapped to this country and sends to
back to MSIMM via MRP. The MSIMM stores the MSP URL and rest of the process
is similarly performed.
[0064]Although features and elements are described above in particular
combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or
element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and
elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a
computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable
medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable
media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections)
and computer readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage
media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access
memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic
media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and
optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A
processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency
transceiver for use in a PCD, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host
computer.
CLAIMS
I claim / We claim:
1. A method for auto discovery and registration of a portable computing /
communication device ('PCD'), comprising:
retrieving a Discovery Server URL upon a user command;
transmitting a request to a server to get a Mobile Server Platform (MSP)
uniform resource locator (URL) unique to the user or a corresponding Mobile
Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN), wherein the server
fetches the MSP URL with a country code based upon a database of supported
country codes and available MSP URLs, and checks the country code for the
received request and transmits a mapped URL for this country code;
receiving, in response to the request, either the MSP URL unique to the user
or a corresponding MSISDN.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the auto discovery and registration is
completed by receiving at the PCD, the MSP URL, and transmitting a second
request to the MSP to get user specific content.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein each MSP serves a group of MSISDN
according to country.
4. A method for auto discovery and registration of a portable computing /
communication device ('PCD'), comprising:
a Discovery Sensor Unit (DSU) configured to:
retrieve a Discovery Server URL upon a user command;
transmit a request to a Discovery Server (DS) to get a Mobile Server
Platform (MSP) uniform resource locator (URL) unique to the user or a
corresponding Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number
(MSISDN);
the DS configured to:
receive the request for the MSISDN, and fetch the MSP URL with a
country code, wherein the DS is pre-configured with a database of all supported
country codes and available MSP URLs.
check the country code for the received request and transmit the
mapped URL for this country code.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the DSU is further configured to:
receive the MSP URL, and transmit a second request to the MSP to get user
specific content.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein each MSP serves a group of MSISDN
according to country.
7. A portable computing 1 communication device ('PCD') configured for
auto discovery and registration to a network, comprising:
a transceiver configured to retrieve a Discovery Server URL upon a user
command from a network;
transmitting from the transceiver a request to a server to get a Mobile Server
Platform (MSP) uniform resource locator (URL) unique to the user or a
corresponding Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number
(MSISDN), wherein the server fetches the MSP URL with a country code based
upon a database of supported country codes and available MSP URLs, and checks
the country code for the received request and transmits a mapped URL for this
country code;
receiving, in response to the request, either the MSP URL unique to the user
or a corresponding MSISDN.
8. The PCD of claim 7, wherein the auto discovery and registration is
completed by receiving at the PCD, the MSP URL, and transmitting a second
request to the MSP to get user specific content, and wherein each MSP serves a
group of MSISDN according to country.
9. The PCD of claim 7, further comprising an Application Specific
Integrated Circuit (ASIC) configured to perform with a device processor and
memory.
Dated this the UJuly, 2014
tw (Ga ima Sahney)
Agent for the applicants
of Saikrishna & Associates
rs LABSTRACT
5 JUL 20M