Multiplex communications – Communication techniques for information carried in plural... – Adaptive
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-12
2001-10-30
Chin, Wellington (Department: 2664)
Multiplex communications
Communication techniques for information carried in plural...
Adaptive
C370S401000, C370S463000, C455S433000, C379S220010, C709S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06310889
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of servicing data access requests from users connected to a distributed service network. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of servicing data access requests wherein the data access requests are serviced independent of the actual connection point and communications client employed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recent developments in telecommunications have resulted in networks for a wide variety of services. From conventional voice or data networks to wireless packet and enhanced paging networks, the variety of telecommunications options available to individuals and business is staggering. This variety of options has lead to a revolution in how people live and work and mobile and/or nomadic workers are becoming increasingly common.
While the available telecommunications services have been adopted to various degrees, to a large extent these services, and the networks that support them, remain separate from each other reducing the overall potential of these services. For example, it may not be possible to send email from a personal computer client in an office to a pager client used by a salesman, even though both are connected to respective telecommunications networks.
This lack of integration and/or communication between networks and clients is a recognized problem and a variety of “middleware” products have been proposed and/or produced to transfer data between one network/system and another network/system. For example, Chapter 5 of the publication, “Understanding the Next Phase of Mobile Commuting”, 1997, by the Yankee Group is entitled, “Evolving Middleware Solutions for Wireless Remote Access” and discusses middleware solutions for communications with mobile users via wireless communications.
While middleware can be configured to provide the desired interconnectivity for many specific situations, to date no general solution exists to interconnect various telecommunications networks. Further, no solution exists to provide a distributed network to supply a variety of desired services at multiple sites in an essentially transparent and convenient. manner for users and service providers. Thus, the long sought goal of communication from any client or service to any other client between any two locations is still largely an unachieved goal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of servicing data access requests from users connecting to a network with multiple access points which obviates or mitigates at least one disadvantage of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method servicing data access requests for a user accessing a network via a communications client connected to any one of two or more network regions, comprising the steps of.
(i) determining at said network region the type of communications client and transferring said connection to a bridge at said network region which is appropriate for said determined type of client;
(ii) verifying the identity of said user;
(iii) determining any predefined preferences of said identified user and the services which said identified user is able to access by accessing a user profile stored for said user by said network; and
(iv) allowing said user to access any of said determined services, said network region converting data streams to and from said client between a format appropriate to said determined type of client and a format employed by said accessed service.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing data access requests of users intermittently connected to a distributed service network, said users employing at least one of a plurality of types of communications clients and said network connected to a plurality of services, comprising the steps of:
(i) determining the type of communications client employed by the user and retrieving parameters defining required characteristics of said communications client from a storage location in said network;
(ii) receiving a data access request from said user for a service selected by said user from said plurality of services;
(iii) determining the required characteristics of data to and from said selected service; and
(iv) automatically converting data transferred between said service and said communications client in accordance with said required characteristics of said communications client and said determined characteristics of said user-selected service.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing data access requests from users connected to a distributed service network including multiple connections points, comprising the steps of:
(i) establishing a connection to a user at a connection point to said network;
(ii) locating information defined for said user and stored at a defined location within said network;
(iii) transferring a copy of at least a portion of said information from said defined location to said connection point through said network;
(iv) processing data access requests from said user in accordance with said copied information and transferring a copy of additional information required to fulfill said requests from said defined location to said connection point;
(v) transmitting, over said network between said defined location and said connection point, updates representing changes effected at each of said stored information defined for said user and said copy of said information to each of the other of said stored information defined for said user and said copy of said information to maintain correspondence therebetween.
The present invention provides a novel method of servicing data access requests from users accessing a network with multiple connection points, the services being provided independent of the actual connection point and/or the communication client employed by the user to connect to the network. These method is transparent to the user and to the provider of the accessed service and can be customized for each type of client, using parameters known for that client, and can be customized for each user's preferences for each client. Information relating to the user is copied to and maintained at the connection point to reduce latency and bandwidth requirements through the network.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5329578 (1994-07-01), Brennan et al.
patent: 5353331 (1994-10-01), Emery et al.
patent: 5742905 (1998-04-01), Pepe et al.
patent: 6167261 (2000-12-01), Amin
Craddock Arthur Julian Patterson
Parsons Eric Walter
Chin Wellington
Duong Frank
Nortel Networks Limited
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