Multiplex communications – Communication techniques for information carried in plural... – Adaptive
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-14
2003-09-23
Hsu, Alpus H. (Department: 2665)
Multiplex communications
Communication techniques for information carried in plural...
Adaptive
C370S401000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06625164
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of wireless data services. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method and system for providing a wireless data communications protocol link between a terminal equipment (TE2) and an interworking function (IWF), through a wireless communication device (MT2).
II. Description of Related Art
Internetworking, i.e., the connection of individual local area networks (LANs), has rapidly become very popular. The infrastructure and associated protocols commonly referred to as the “Internet” have become well known and widely used. The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is a common way to connect to the Internet, as is well known in the art, and further described in Request for Comment (RFC) 1661, The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), Network Working Group, dated July 1994, herein incorporated by reference. PPP provides a standard method for transporting multi-protocol datagrams over point-to-point links.
PPP includes three main components:
1. a method of encapsulating multi-protocol datagrams;
2. a Link Control Protocol (LCP) for establishing, configuring, and testing a data link connection; and
3. a family of Network Control Protocols (NCPs) for establishing and configuring different network-layer protocols.
FIG. 1
illustrates a high-level block diagram of a wireless data communication system in which a mobile terminal (TE2 device)
102
communicates with an IWF
108
via a wireless communication system which includes a wireless communication device (MT2)
104
and Base Station/Mobile Switching Center (BS/MSC)
106
. In
FIG. 1
, the IWF
108
serves as the access point to the Internet. IWF
108
is coupled to, and often co-located with BS/MSC
106
, which may be a conventional wireless base station, as is known in the art. TE2 device
102
is coupled to MT2 device
104
, which is in wireless communication with BS/MSC
106
and IWF
108
.
Many protocols exist which allow data communication between the TE2 device
102
and the IWF
108
. For example, Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)/Electronics Industries Association (EIA) Interim Standard IS-707.5, entitled “Data Service Options for Wideband Spread Spectrum Systems: Packet Data Services,” published February 1998, and herein incorporated by reference, defines requirements for support of packet data transmission capability on TIA/EIA IS-95 wideband spread spectrum systems, of which BS/MSC
106
and IWF
108
may be a part. IS-707.5 also provides the requirements for communication protocols on the links between the TE2 device
102
and the MT2 device
104
(the R
m
interface), between the MT2 device
104
and the BS/MSC
106
(the U
m
interface), and between the BS/MSC
106
and the IWF
108
(the L interface). IS-95 is defined in TIA/EIA IS-95, entitled “Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System”, published July 1993, herein incorporated by reference.
Referring now to
FIG. 2
, a diagram of the protocol stacks in each entity of the IS-707.5 Relay Model is shown.
FIG. 2
corresponds roughly to FIG. 1.4.2.2-1 of IS-707.5. At the far left of the figure is a protocol stack, shown in conventional vertical format, showing the protocol layers running on the TE2 device
102
(e.g., the mobile terminal, laptop or palmtop computer). The TE2 protocol stack is illustrated as being logically connected to the MT2device
104
protocol stack over the R
m
interface. The MT2 device
104
, is illustrated as being logically connected to the BS/MSC
106
protocol stack over the U
m
interface. The BS/MSC
106
protocol stack is, in turn, illustrated as being logically connected to the IWF
108
protocol stack over the L interface.
As an example of the operation of the protocols of
FIG. 2
, the Point to Point Protocol (PPP
R
) protocol
206
encodes packets from the upper layer protocols
202
,
204
and transmits them across the R
m
interface using the EIA-232 protocol
208
to the EIA-232-compatible port on the MT2 device running the EIA-232 protocol
210
. The EIA-232 protocol
210
on the MT2 device, receives the packets and passes them to the PPP
R
protocol
205
. The PPP
R
protocol
205
unframes the packets encapsulated in PPP frames and typically, when a data connection is up, passes the packets to PPP
U
protocol
215
, which frames the packets in PPP frames for transmission to a PPP peer protocol (
226
) located in the IWF (
108
). The Radio Link Protocol (RLP)
212
and IS-95 protocol
214
, both of which are well known in the art, are used to transmit the packets, which are encapsulated in PPP frames, to the BS/MSC
106
over the U
m
interface. The RLP protocol
212
is defined in TIA/EIA IS-707.2, entitled “Data Service Options for Wideband Spread Spectrum Systems: Radio Link Protocol”, February 1998, herein incorporated by reference, and the IS-95 protocol is defined in IS-95 mentioned above. A complementary RLP protocol
216
and IS-95 protocol
218
in the BS/MSC
106
pass the packets to the relay layer protocol
220
for transmission across the L interface to relay layer protocol
228
. PPP
U
protocol
226
then unframes the received packets and passes them to the network layer protocols
225
, which in turn passes them to upper layer protocols
221
.
The EIA-232 protocol is defined in TIA/EIA-232-E Standard, entitled “Interface Between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary Data Interchange”, published October, 197, herein incorporated by reference.
The relay layer is defined in TIA/EIA IS-707.3, entitled “Data Service Options for Wideband Spread Spectrum Systems: AT Command Processing and the R
m
Interface”, published February, 1998.
Note that instead of using the EIA-232 at
208
and
210
, any other point-to-point physical protocol (e.g. USB) may be used.
As can be seen from the above explanation, unless a packet received in the MT2 device is to be passed to an upper layer protocol executing in the MT2 device, packets encapsulated in PPP frames are unframed from PPP frames only to be reframed in PPP frames for subsequent transmission to a PPP peer protocol, even when the packets require no further processing in the MT2 device. Consequently, processing resources and throughput are adversely affected by this unnecessary unframing and reframing of packets within PPP frames.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention determines whether selected ones of the PPP LCP link options on the R
m
interface are identical to corresponding link options on the U
m
interface. If the selected ones of the PPP LCP link options on the two interfaces are equal, the present invention eliminates unneccessary unframing and reframing of PPP frames in the MT2 device. Thus, PPP frames may be received and transmitted by the MT2 device without unframing PPP frames, i.e., the PPP frames are merely passed through the MT2 device. As a result, the amount of processing required by the MT2 device decreases, thereby providing additional processing capability for greater data throughput.
If the present invention determines that the selected ones of the PPP link parameters on the two interfaces are not equal, then PPP frames are unframed and reframed as performed in prior art systems. Thus, when the present invention determines that the selected ones of the PPP link parameters are not equal, PPP frames will be unframed and reframed by the MT2 device, as described above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5802465 (1998-09-01), Hamalainen et al.
patent: 5894557 (1999-04-01), Bade et al.
patent: 5983271 (1999-11-01), Alexander et al.
patent: 0 494 576 (1992-07-01), None
patent: WO 96/21984 (1996-07-01), None
Abrol Nischal
Lioy Marcello
Brown Charles D.
Hsu Alpus H.
Nguyen Toan D.
Pappas George C.
Qualcomm Incorporated
LandOfFree
Selectively framing and unframing PPP packets depending on... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Selectively framing and unframing PPP packets depending on..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Selectively framing and unframing PPP packets depending on... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3056077