Patent ID: 7644171

Claim:
A method of communicating Internet Protocol data over networks with a mobile device comprising a roamable hardware device that executes software of the type, defining an application layer, the method comprising: (a) communicating said Internet Protocol data of a predetermined version IPvX between said mobile device and a further device, wherein said mobile device has an IPvX stack but no IPvY stack; (b) communicating said Internet Protocol data of a predetermined version IPvY between another device and said further device, where X does not equal Y; and (c) using functionality provided at least in part at said further device to bridge said mobile device communications with said another device including at least one of (a) encapsulating an IPvY application layer data stream in IPvX protocol formatting for communication with said mobile device so an IPvY application layer at the mobile device can interoperate with said communicated IPvY application layer data stream even though the mobile device has no IPvY stack, and (b) encapsulating an IPvX application layer data stream in IPvY protocol formatting for communication to said another device so an IPvX application layer at the said another device can interoperate with said communicated IPvX application layer data stream from the mobile device.