Network Abstraction Gateway for Unified Communications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for unified communications between fixed and mobile networks require dedicated endpoints, software upgrades, or complex nodes, limiting market penetration and failing to expose abstracted endpoint behavior in both directions, thus not enabling users to experience features and states of their preferred communication system on mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
A network abstraction gateway that establishes a one-to-one relationship between abstracted network and communication system identities, extracts and maps endpoint behavior, and implements features/states of the user's communication system, allowing bi-directional endpoint abstraction without requiring software upgrades or dedicated endpoints, and without relying on complex nodes like NCG.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If IMS architecture is used to unify fixed and mobile communications, then call handling capability is improved, but device complexity and deployment cost increase due to requiring dedicated endpoints and application servers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary component that mediates between the mobile network and the communication system. The gateway performs protocol conversion and call anchoring, allowing mobile devices to access communication system features without requiring the devices themselves to be complex IMS-capable endpoints. This intermediary approach resolves the contradiction by centralizing complexity in the gateway rather than distributing it to every endpoint.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the unified communication functionality into separate components: the mobile device maintains its simple GSM client functionality, while the gateway handles protocol conversion and the communication system provides the unified communication features. This segmentation allows each component to remain simple while achieving complex overall functionality, resolving the contradiction between call handling capability and device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If call anchoring logic is implemented in mobile handset or private network, then call routing flexibility is improved, but device complexity and modification requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway serves as an intermediary that implements the call anchoring logic externally to the mobile device. The gateway intercepts calls and anchors them in the communication system, providing call routing flexibility without requiring any modification to the mobile handset. This resolves the contradiction by moving the complex anchoring logic from the device to the network side.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of implementing call anchoring logic in the mobile device as suggested by Olson, the patent inverts the approach by implementing the anchoring logic in a gateway within the communication system. This inversion allows the mobile device to remain simple while achieving the same call routing flexibility, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
3Loss of energy
If gateway extracts only cost-related status parameters, then cost optimization is improved, but feature completeness deteriorates as PBX behavior cannot be exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway is designed with multi-functionality, serving both cost optimization purposes and feature exposure purposes. It extracts not only cost-related status parameters but also communication features and states of the mobile device, enabling both cost savings and full PBX behavior exposure. This universal approach resolves the contradiction by making the gateway capable of handling multiple functions simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway performs preliminary extraction of comprehensive device status and feature information before call routing decisions are made. By pre-extracting both cost parameters and feature states, the system can optimize costs while simultaneously exposing full PBX behavior, resolving the contradiction between cost optimization and feature completeness.
4Reliability
If NCG integrates routing and location registration functionality, then network control capability is improved, but device complexity and deployment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex routing and location registration functionality from a unified NCG structure and implements it in separate, simpler components within the gateway. The gateway handles protocol conversion and call anchoring, while the communication system handles location registration. This extraction reduces overall system complexity while maintaining network control capability, resolving the contradiction.
Data Source
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AI summary
A network abstraction gateway (NAG) according to the invention comprises: - at least one abstracted network interface (AN-I) for connectivity with at least one abstracted network (AN) wherein a user has an abstracted endpoint (AE) having a first identity in the abstracted network (AN); - at least one communication system interface (CS-I) for connectivity with at least one user's communication system (CS), the communication system interface (CS-I) exposing abstracted endpoint behavior via a second identity in the user's communication system (CS); - means (REG) adapted to register a one-to-one relationship between the first identity and the second identity; - means for extracting behavior of the abstracted endpoint (AE); and - endpoint abstraction means (AM) adapted to abstract the abstracted endpoint (AE) in the user's communication system (CS) via an endpoint abstraction (EA) using the second identity, the endpoint abstraction (EA) being responsive to behavior of the abstracted endpoint (AE) and being adapted to expose the behavior to the user's communication system (CS) via a protocol supported by the user's communication system (CS).