Unified Telecommunications Access Terminal for Marine Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users in environments like ships face challenges in accessing various geographical wide area telecommunications networks due to different performance and cost characteristics, and existing solutions lack flexibility in allowing users to seamlessly switch between networks without specific terminals, with network managers unable to autonomously provide connectivity services.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a local area network and a switching system with multiple terminals connected to various geographical wide area networks, allowing users to access chosen networks via a unified device, with a connectivity controller managing terminal status and activating/deactivating sessions, and an access controller managing user authorization and traffic routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users access different geographical wide area networks via specific terminals for each network, then network access reliability is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal terminal capable of accessing multiple geographical wide area networks (Inmarsat, V-SAT, terrestrial mobile networks) through a single device. The terminal includes multiple access interfaces and a network selection module that automatically selects the appropriate network, eliminating the need for separate terminals for each network while maintaining reliable access across different network types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a network selection module as an intermediary component within the terminal. This module acts as a mediator between the user and multiple networks, automatically selecting the most appropriate network based on availability, cost, and performance criteria, thereby simplifying user operation while ensuring reliable network access.
2Reliability
If users access different geographical wide area networks via specific terminals for each network, then network access reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal's network selection module operates autonomously to self-select the most appropriate network without user intervention. The module continuously monitors network availability and automatically switches between networks based on predefined criteria, allowing the terminal to serve itself in network selection tasks and greatly simplifying user operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The network selection capability is dynamic rather than static. The terminal can dynamically switch between different networks (Inmarsat, V-SAT, terrestrial mobile) based on real-time conditions such as network availability, cost considerations, and performance requirements, making the system adaptable to changing operational environments without requiring user reconfiguration.
3Stability of the object's composition
If network managers cannot autonomously provide connectivity services, then network control stability is improved, but adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network access function into two independent parts: a stable core network infrastructure and an adaptive terminal-based network selection module. This segmentation allows the network manager to maintain stable control over the core network while the terminal autonomously adapts to different network conditions and selects appropriate access networks, resolving the contradiction between control stability and service adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method and relative systems which can be used to allow a user accessing to a telecommunication local area network to access by means of a unique terminal device, in a generalized and unified way, even to a plurality of geographical telecommunication wide area networks. The most interesting applications of the invention are the fields, as the marine communications one, where there are particular (technical and cost-relating) difficulties or restrictions to obtain access to geographical wide area networks. This system is made up of a series of devices connected to a local area network among which there are control systems and terminals apt to carry out the access to geographical wide area networks. The described system allows, on the one hand to manage the access of local customers, and on the other hand to activate connections to geographical wide area networks by using suitable terminals. The system thus conceived allows the locally registered users and provided with a terminal only provided with interfaces apt to the local connection to carry out communication outside the local area network by using, in a transparent way for the users, the terminals belonging to the system as a whole. The various devices described and the way of their interaction allow the system to be easily usable to manage, both from a technical point of view and from the commercial one, the services which can be used by the local users.