Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a billing system for services and/or costs for services. SOLUTION: Utilization of resources used to provide a service, and/or costs associated with provision of system resources for a service, is tracked in a system where the available resources vary depending on a variety of conditions including resource utilization by other users. The methods are well suited for systems such as mobile communications systems, where the amount of resources and/or costs to a system of providing a service are dynamic and can change on a relatively rapid time scale. Resource utilization is tracked on a per subscriber basis. Service charges can be determined as a function of both the amount of resources consumed and the amount of data delivered, the amount of resources being used to deliver a fixed amount of data units varies as a function of environmental and/or other conditions. Service charges are sometimes determined as a function of the impact of providing the services to a first user on other system users. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a management node that stores state information associated with an end node. SOLUTION: The management node 400 for storing state information includes: an interface 420 which receives and transmits the state information associated with the end node; a processor 404; and a memory 410, coupled to the processor, for storing the state information and a computer-readable instruction. When the management node 400 receives the state information, the management node determines whether the state information stored in the memory 410 should be updated, and overwrites the state information with latest state information when it is determined that the state information should be updated. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for generating charge information from cost information with providing system resources for services. SOLUTION: Utilization of resources used to provide a service and/or costs associated with providing system resources for a service are tracked in a system. The methods are well suited for systems such as mobile communications systems, where the amount of resources and/or costs to a system of providing a service are dynamic and change on a relatively rapid time scale. Resource utilization is tracked on a per subscriber basis. Service charges is determined as a function of both the amount of resources consumed and the amount of data delivered, but the amount of resources being used to deliver a fixed amount of data units varies as a function of environmental and/or other conditions. Service charges are sometimes determined as a function of the impact of providing the service to a first user on the other users. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an access node that provides communication of state information associated with an end node. SOLUTION: The access node 300 for providing communication of state information includes: an interface 330 which receives a request message from the end node; a memory 310 which stores the latest state information associated with the end node; and a processor 304 coupled to the memory. When the access node 300 receives the request message from the end node at the interface 330, the processor 304 retrieves the latest state information associated with the end node from the memory 310, generates an update message including an end node identifier, the latest state information, and a time stamp based upon the request message, and transmits the update message to a management node, which updates the state information of the end node. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for extending a mobile IP. SOLUTION: The method and the device facilitate the paging of a mobile node in a system of allowing the mobile node to hand off the processing of an application to an application proxy. Paging is determined based on a result of the processing of application corresponding to the processing of contents of payloads by a plurality of packets. Paging is also determined based on information received from the mobile node such as, for example, a result of the intermediate processing of the application, the state information of the mobile node and the like in addition to the processing of a payload of a single packet. Security information may be exchanged between the mobile node and an application proxy node by a method of maintaining end-to-end security association which is transparent to a peer node involved in an ongoing communication session with the mobile node, and is to the peer node throughout the communication session with the peer node. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for tracking and charging to be well suited for a mobile communication system or the like which change on a relatively rapid time scale corresponding to the fact that the amount of a resource and/or a cost to a system of providing the service is dynamic although utilization of the resource used to provide the service and/or the cost associated with a system resource to the service is tracked in the system and an available resource varies depending on a variety of conditions including whether other user uses the resource or not. SOLUTION: The utilization of the resource is tracked for each subscriber. A service charge is determined as a function of both of a consumed amount of the resource and a transferred amount of data but the amount of the resource to transfer a fixed amount of a data unit varies as a function of an environment and other conditions. The service charge is determined as a function of influence of providing the service to a first user on other system user. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide group communications methods and apparatus for conserving resources. SOLUTION: A multicast operation is supported with transmission characteristics, such as transmission power level, coding rate, and/or modulation method being selected to reliably communicate information to end nodes in the group. Thus, resources can be conserved by matching transmission requirements with information on requirements of one or more group members. The requirements for reliably reaching the end node with the worst channel conditions can determine the group transmission requirements. Also, the requirement can be used for determining the group transmission requirements, and power level and other transmission resource allocations can change in response to changes in group membership and/or conditions corresponding to existing group members. COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
Improved group communications methods which are well suited for a wireless environment are described. End nodes request that access nodes make changes in group membership information maintained at the access node. The access node responds to the requests by a response signal indicating a grant or denial of the request. Requests may be to add or remove the end node, e.g., a mobile wireless terminal, from a particular group membership list identified in the request signal. The access node maintains a detailed list of group members and uses the information to control how signals, e.g., packets, are transmitted to the group members. Group membership information may be updated at the access node at the time of handoff and/or an end node enters the cell or otherwise changes its point of network attachment.
Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for storing, manipulating, retrieving, and forwarding state, eg, context and other information, used to support communications sessions with one or more end nodes, eg, 5 mobile devices, are described. Various features are directed to a mobile node controlling the transfer of state from a first access node to a second access node during a handoff operation thereby eliminating any need for state transfer messages to be transmitted between the second access node and the first access node during handoff. Other features of the invention are directed to the use of a core network node to store state information. State information stored in the core node can be accessed and 0 used by access nodes in cases where a mobile node does not send a state transfer message during a handoff, eg, because communication with the first access node is lost or because such messages are not supported. Node Core State Management Node 570 (CSMN) / 560 590' 140' sAccess Node FAccess Node ..---- 531 -540 ', 146 End Node (X) Fig. 5
Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for storing, manipulating, retrieving, and forwarding state, e.g., context and other information, used to support communications sessions with one or more end nodes, e.g., mobile devices, are described. Various features are directed to a mobile node controlling the transfer of state from a first access node to a second access node during a handoff operation thereby eliminating any need for state transfer messages to be transmitted between the second access node and the first access node during handoff. Other features of the invention are directed to the use of a core network node to store state information. State information stored in the core node can be accessed and used by access nodes in cases where a mobile node does not send a state transfer message during a handoff, e.g., because communication with the first access node is lost or because such messages are not supported.