Application Transport Bearer Prioritization in Wireless Devices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless communication technologies lack the ability for user devices to internally prioritize application data packets without network involvement, leading to potential slowdowns or starvation of data from one application due to undifferentiated priority handling across protocol layers, especially when high-priority applications are misclassified by Quality Control Indicators (QCI) and require network-implemented solutions with premium charges.

Innovation Solution

The creation of a user device-defined high-priority bearer channel (ATB) across protocol layers, allowing prioritization of application data packets by cutting ahead in queues and scheduling, independent of network-configured DRBs, enabling prioritization at the PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers without network intervention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If data packets from different applications are transmitted over the same DRB with identical priority, then network configuration simplicity is maintained, but high-priority application data may be slowed down by low-priority application data

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork configuration complexityVSAvoiddata transmission priority
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the single DRB into multiple virtual channels within the DRB, each assigned to different applications based on their priority requirements. This allows high-priority application data and low-priority application data to be transmitted separately even though they share the same physical DRB, resolving the contradiction between network configuration simplicity and data transmission priority.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by assigning different priority levels to different applications within the same DRB. Each application's data packets are tagged with application-specific priority information, allowing the network to differentiate and prioritize certain applications' data over others, thereby enabling high-priority application data to be transmitted preferentially without requiring separate DRBs for each application.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Productivity

If network-implemented prioritization schemes are used to ensure high-priority application data transmission, then data prioritization is achieved, but premium charges are required and network involvement is mandatory

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata transmission priorityVSAvoidimplementation cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables user devices to autonomously prioritize their own application data without requiring network-implemented prioritization schemes. The user device identifies high-priority applications and marks their data packets accordingly, allowing the device to self-manage data priority classification. This eliminates the need for premium network services while still achieving effective data prioritization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary prioritization action at the user device before data transmission. The user device pre-identifies high-priority applications and tags their data packets with appropriate priority indicators before sending them to the network. This preliminary classification allows the network to simply forward packets based on existing priority markings without requiring complex network-side prioritization mechanisms, thereby avoiding premium charges.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If QCI-based prioritization is used at the application level, then some prioritization is achieved, but misclassified applications receive incorrect priority treatment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata transmission priorityVSAvoidpriority classification accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dynamic application priority identification that adapts to actual application behavior and requirements rather than relying on static QCI classifications. The system continuously monitors application characteristics and adjusts priority assignments accordingly, allowing misclassified applications to receive correct priority treatment based on their actual performance needs rather than predetermined QCI values.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system monitors transmission performance and adjusts application priority classifications based on actual network conditions and application requirements. This feedback loop corrects misclassifications by identifying applications that actually require high priority regardless of their QCI assignment, thereby improving priority classification accuracy and ensuring reliable high-priority data transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP2774443B1Prioritizing application data for transmission in a wireless user device
Publication Date: 2017.07.19 AMAZON TECH INC
  • EP2774443B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2774443B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2774443B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Methods and systems for prioritizing application data in a wireless user device are disclosed. A user device receives, at an application transport bearer (ATB) entity of a protocol layer of a network interface of a user device, at least a portion of a data packet originating from an application identified for prioritized data transfer on the user device. Then, the ATB entity of the user device schedules the data packet ahead of any data packets processed at any network-established data radio bearer (DRB) entities on the same protocol layer as the ATB entity. The ATB entity of the user device is also configured to operate on a protocol layer of a subset of protocol layers on the user device and is configured by the user device with a higher priority parameter than any of the network-established DRB entities on the same protocol layer as the ATB entity.