Patent · US Active

Method of pausing keep-alive messages and roaming for virtual private networks on handheld devices to save battery power

US7672264B2 · kind B2 · utility

19Cited by
2References
1Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJun 21, 2006
Grant dateMar 2, 2010
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 31, 2028

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L69/28
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Provided is a method for maintaining a connection between a mobile device and a server over a wireless network in a manner that conserves the power supply of the mobile device. The claimed subject matter addresses the transmission of regular “keep-alive” packets to refresh a network address translation (NAT) server and the scanning for and connecting to faster, higher priority network connections. A configurable parameter, or power timeout, specifies an idle time. When a period of time equal to the parameter has passed with no traffic between the mobile device and the server, in either direction, periodic roaming scans and keep-alive messages are halted. As soon as traffic is resumed through the tunnel, the mobile device roams to the highest priority connection and roaming scans and keep-alive messages are resumed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.