Mobile router information management server, mobile router, mobile router network, and communication method for same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9319309-B2
Application number	US-201113882415-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2011
Priority date	Oct 29, 2010
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

With the object of enabling data transfer between mobile routers without going through a home agent and establishing a connection to a destination mobile router even when mobile communication terminals equipped in the destination mobile router are changed at the time of initiating connection to the destination mobile router, a mobile router information management server has a mobile router registration information table that registers, for each mobile router, mobile router information that is reported from the mobile routers and that includes identification information of the mobile routers and identification information of mobile communication terminals equipped in the mobile routers, in response to inquiry information from a mobile router that includes identification information of another mobile router that is to be a communication destination, searches the mobile router registration information table, based on the identification information of the other mobile router, for mobile router information that includes identification information of mobile communication terminals equipped in the other mobile router, and returns the searched mobile router information to the mobile router.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A mobile router information management server capable of communicating via a radio network with mobile routers that can be equipped with detachable mobile communication terminals, comprising:
a mobile router registration information table that registers, for each mobile router, mobile router information that is reported from said mobile router and that includes identification information of the mobile router and identification information of a mobile communication terminals equipped in the mobile router; and
control means that, in response to inquiry information from said mobile router that includes identification information of another mobile router that is to be a communication destination, searches said mobile router registration information table, based on the identification information of said other mobile router, for mobile router information that includes the identification information of mobile communication terminals equipped in said other mobile router and returns the searched mobile router information to said mobile router.

2. The mobile router information management server as set forth in claim 1 , wherein:
said identification information of said mobile router includes a router name of said mobile router and a LAN-side IP address of said mobile router;
said identification information of said mobile communication terminals includes a WAN-side IP address for communicating on a wide-area IP network and a telephone number for communicating on a circuit switching network; and
said control means, in response to inquiry information from said mobile router that includes a router name of another mobile router that is to be a communication destination, searches said mobile router registration information table with the router name as a key for mobile router information that includes identification information of mobile communication terminals equipped in the other mobile router, and returns the searched mobile router information to said mobile router.

3. A mobile router that can be equipped with detachable mobile communication terminals, comprising:
a mobile router information table that registers, as mobile router information of said mobile router, identification information of said mobile router in association with identification information of mobile communication terminals equipped in said mobile router; and
control means that reports said mobile router information of said mobile router that is registered in said mobile router information table to a mobile router information management server by control communication so as to enable registration; when communicating with another mobile router that is to be a communication destination, transmits inquiry information that includes identification information of said other mobile router to said mobile router information management server; receives mobile router information that is returned from said mobile router information management server in response to the inquiry information; and initiates communication with said other mobile router based on identification information of mobile communication terminals that are equipped in said other mobile router that is included in the mobile router information.

4. The mobile router as set forth in claim 3 , wherein:
said mobile communication terminals include a mobile communication terminal for wide-area IP network connections and a mobile communication terminal for circuit switching network connections;
identification information of said mobile router itself includes a router name of said mobile router and LAN-side IP address of said mobile router;
identification information of mobile communication terminals equipped in said mobile router includes user information that includes a WAN-side IP address of said mobile communication terminal for wide-area IP network connection use and a telephone number of said mobile communication terminal for circuit switching network connection use; and
said control means, when communicating with said other mobile router, transmits inquiry information that contains the router name of said other mobile router to said mobile router information management server.

5. The mobile router as set forth in claim 4 , further comprising:
a registry management server information table that registers identification information of said mobile router information management server;
wherein said control means, based on identification information of a server that is registered in said registry management server information table, reports to said mobile router information management server most recent mobile router information of said mobile router at the time of periodic updating or when a change occurs in the identification information of the mobile communication terminals equipped in said mobile router.

6. The mobile router as set forth in claim 4 , further comprising:
a destination mobile router information table that registers mobile router information that includes the router name of another mobile router that is to be a communication destination and identification information of mobile communication terminals that are equipped in the other mobile router that is returned from said mobile router information management server in response to inquiry information that contains said router name;
wherein said control means initiates communication with said other mobile router based on identification information of mobile communication terminals that are contained in the mobile router information that has been registered in said destination mobile router information table.

7. The mobile router as set forth in claim 3 , further comprising:
a registry management server information table that registers identification information of said mobile router information management server;
wherein said control means, based on identification information of a server that is registered in said registry management server information table, reports to said mobile router information management server most recent mobile router information of said mobile router at the time of periodic updating or when a change occurs in the identification information of the mobile communication terminals equipped in said mobile router.

8. The mobile router as set forth in claim 7 , further comprising:
a destination mobile router information table that registers mobile router information that includes the router name of another mobile router that is to be a communication destination and identification information of mobile communication terminals that are equipped in the other mobile router that is returned from said mobile router information management server in response to inquiry information that contains said router name;
wherein said control means initiates communication with said other mobile router based on identification information of mobile communication terminals that are contained in the mobile router information that has been registered in said destination mobile router information table.

9. The mobile router as set forth in claim 8 , further comprising:
a destination mobile router information table that registers mobile router information that includes the router name of another mobile router that is to be a communication destination and identification information of mobile communication terminals that are equipped in the other mobile router that is returned from said mobile router information management server in response to inquiry information that contains said router name;
wherein said control means initiates communication with said other mobile router based on identification information of mobile communication terminals that are contained in the mobile router information that has been registered in said destina

Assignees

• Mitomi Hirotoshi
• Nakata Tsuneo
• Nec Corp

Inventors

• Mitomi Hirotoshi
• Nakata Tsuneo

Classifications

• H04W88/02

  Terminal devices · CPC title

• H04W88/005

  Data network PoA devices · CPC title

• H04W60/00

  Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration · CPC title

• H04W88/14

  Backbone network devices · CPC title

• H04W92/24

  between backbone network devices · CPC title