Patent ID: 7031286

Claim:
A mobile station, comprising: a router connected via a wireless communication link to at least one host connected to a mobile local area network (LAN), wherein the router receives packet data from the at least one host, said packet data including a locally defined network layer address suitable for transmission within the mobile LAN; means for wirelessly communicating with an external network; a memory connected to the router for storing a plurality of globally defined network layer addresses of the kind utilized in communicating data to at least one host connected in the external network; and an address translator connected to the memory and the router for translating between the locally defined network layer address utilized in the mobile LAN and one of the plurality of globally defined network layer addresses utilized in the external network; wherein prior to a wireless communication with the external network, the address translator translates from the locally defined network layer address utilized in the mobile LAN to a first globally defined network layer address stored in the memory so long as successive communications between the at least one host in the mobile LAN and the at least one host in the external network occur within a predetermined period of time from each other; and wherein the address translator translates from the locally defined network layer address utilized in the mobile LAN to a second globally defined network layer address stored in the memory upon an affirmative determination that the successive communications between the at least one host in the mobile LAN and the at least one host in the external network occurred a period of time apart from each other that is greater than the predetermined period of time.