Aircraft Base Station Reassignment for Latency Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

In air-to-ground communication networks, high traffic volumes can lead to unacceptable latency and message delays or losses due to excessive load on specific frequencies, especially when aircraft travel across different ground stations, causing performance issues.

Innovation Solution

A load balancing technique is implemented where a processor evaluates and reassesses the assignment of mobile devices, such as aircraft, to base stations based on operational performance requirements, using probability and performance evaluation criteria to ensure efficient reassignment and maintain communication quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If mobile devices are assigned to a single base station for communication, then communication stability is maintained, but latency increases and message delivery becomes unreliable under high traffic conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemessage delivery reliabilityVSAvoidcommunication latency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the communication responsibility by introducing multiple candidate base stations instead of relying on a single base station. The mobile device maintains communication with the current base station while having pre-established connections with alternative base stations, dividing the communication load and providing redundant pathways for message delivery.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-synchronizing communication parameters and establishing potential communication paths with multiple candidate base stations before handover is needed. This advance preparation enables faster switching and reduces latency when traffic conditions change.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Device complexity

If traffic load is concentrated on fewer base stations, then communication protocol simplicity is maintained, but operational performance degrades due to excessive load

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication protocol complexityVSAvoidbase station operational performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic load balancing by continuously monitoring traffic conditions and automatically switching mobile devices between base stations based on current load levels. This dynamic adjustment distributes traffic across multiple base stations, preventing any single station from becoming overloaded while maintaining protocol simplicity through automated decision-making.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Speed

If mobile devices frequently switch between base stations to avoid latency, then communication speed improves, but system stability deteriorates due to excessive handovers

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication speedVSAvoidconnection stability
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring communication quality metrics, traffic load, and signal strength to make informed handover decisions. This feedback loop prevents unnecessary switches by only triggering handovers when performance thresholds are violated, thereby maintaining connection stability while improving communication speed when needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP2717494B1Mobile device to base station reassignment
Publication Date: 2017.04.19 EXELIS INC
  • EP2717494B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2717494B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2717494B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Techniques are presented herein for load balancing of mobile devices among a plurality of bases stations. Specifically, it is determined via a processor whether to reassign a mobile device from a first base station to a second base station, wherein the second base station is one of a plurality of base stations whose operational performance may be impacted by reassigning the mobile device to the second base station. The expected performance that would result if the mobile device is assigned to the second base station is evaluated for each base station in the plurality. The mobile device is reassigned to the second base station in response to the expected performance of each of the plurality of base stations meeting operational performance requirements.