Modem-Router Unit Wireless Backup Tunnel for Connection Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing modem-router units often fail to maintain communication when the physical connection between them and the external packet switched network is insufficient or fails, leading to unavailability of internet services and devices reliant on this connection.
Innovation Solution
A primary modem-router unit with a line monitoring unit that detects connection quality issues and establishes a wireless connection with a nearby modem-router unit to set up a data communication tunnel, allowing continued communication through the packet switched home network, using encapsulation and decapsulation of data packets in a tunneling protocol, and managing indirect connectivity data for authentication and port forwarding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a physical connection between the modem-router unit and the external packet switched network is used, then stable and reliable communication is achieved, but the system fails when the physical connection is insufficient or fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a wireless connection as an intermediary backup path when the primary physical connection fails. The modem-router unit establishes a wireless connection to a further modem-router unit, which then serves as a mediator to relay traffic through a data communication tunnel to the access node, enabling continued communication when the direct physical connection is unavailable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between primary physical connection and secondary wireless connection based on connection quality. The line monitoring unit continuously monitors the physical connection status, and when degradation is detected, the system automatically transitions to using the wireless backup connection, making the communication path adaptive to changing conditions.
2Reliability
If a wireless backup connection is established through a further modem-router unit, then communication continuity is maintained during physical connection failures, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The modem-router unit autonomously monitors its own connection quality through the line monitoring unit and automatically initiates the wireless backup connection establishment process when needed. The processing unit handles the complex tasks of establishing the wireless connection, setting up the data communication tunnel with encapsulation/decapsulation, and managing the backup path without requiring user intervention, thereby managing complexity internally while providing simple external operation.
3Ease of operation
If data packets are encapsulated and decapsulated through a tunneling protocol, then transparent communication is achieved over the backup path, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex tunneling protocol processing into a dedicated data communication tunnel mechanism between the further modem-router unit and the access node. The encapsulation and decapsulation operations are performed automatically at the protocol level, separating the complex processing from the user application layer and making it transparent to end users while being handled efficiently by the network infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
An access node cooperates with a primary modem-router in a packet switched network. The access node comprises communication hardware configured to enable communication through the network by sending and receiving data packets, and encapsulates the data packets in a tunneling data protocol for sending the data packets to the primary modem-router using a data communication tunnel through a further modem-router. The communication hardware is also configured to retrieve, from the tunneling data protocol, data packets received from the primary modem-router.