Android Application Process Unfreezing to Reduce Resource Preemption

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Solution Overview

Problem

The frequent unfreezing and freezing of applications in the Android operating system lead to resource preemption, unnecessary power consumption, and deterioration in running performance due to repeated unfreezing and freezing operations, particularly affecting applications like Taobao and Baidu.

Innovation Solution

An application management method that identifies specific processes within a frozen application based on process information and performs unfreezing operations only on those necessary processes, rather than the entire application, using a correspondence between applications and processes to determine which processes to unfreeze.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the operating system performs unfreezing operations on the entire frozen application for every event, then the application can process all events, but the application is unfrozen and frozen repeatedly causing resource preemption and unnecessary power consumption

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveevent processing capabilityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the frozen application into multiple individual processes and selectively unfreezes only the specific processes that need to handle the current event, rather than unfreezing the entire application. This segmentation approach reduces unnecessary unfreezing operations and associated power consumption while ensuring event processing capability is maintained for relevant processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If the operating system performs unfreezing operations on the entire frozen application, then all processes can process events, but the application preempts resources of foreground applications

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveevent processing capabilityVSAvoidforeground application performance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the application into individual processes and selectively unfreezes only those processes that need to handle the current event. This prevents the entire application from preempting foreground application resources, as only the minimal necessary processes are activated, thereby maintaining foreground application performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial action by unfreezing only the necessary processes rather than the entire application. This partial unfreezing approach ensures event processing capability is maintained while avoiding excessive resource consumption that would interfere with foreground application performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Adaptability or versatility

If the operating system performs repeated unfreezing and freezing operations, then the application can respond to frequent events, but the running performance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveevent response capabilityVSAvoidrunning performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the application into individual processes and selectively unfreezes only the specific processes needed for the current event. This reduces the frequency and impact of unfreezing operations, thereby maintaining event response capability while preventing deterioration of running performance through excessive state changes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3907608B1Application management method, device and apparatus
Publication Date: 2025.10.22 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3907608B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3907608B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3907608B1 patent drawingFigure 5~7

AI summary

This application provides an application management method and apparatus, and a device, to unfreeze some processes in an application. The method includes: obtaining an unfreezing event, where the unfreezing event includes process information, and the unfreezing event is used to trigger an unfreezing operation to be performed on some processes in a frozen application; and performing an unfreezing operation on the some processes based on the process information. In this way, normal running of some functions of the application to which the unfrozen processes belong is implemented, so that the application can perform corresponding processing; and there is no need to perform an unnecessary unfreezing operation on other processes in the target application or the entire target application.