Bifurcated Data Containers for Lower-Overhead Network Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing charging systems for communication networks face high signaling overhead and storage requirements due to the conventional approach of storing and managing data containers for each user device, which is inefficient, especially in scenarios with large populations of Machine Type Communication (MTC) or Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.
Innovation Solution
A bifurcated data-container approach is adopted, where a parent data container holds common consumption control information applicable to multiple user devices, and individual child data containers store device-specific consumption tracking information, reducing the need to access child containers for consumption control operations and minimizing redundant storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a consolidated data container stores combined control and tracking information for each user device, then complete service consumption control is achieved, but signaling overhead and storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the consolidated data container into two separate components: a parent data container storing common consumption control information applicable to multiple user devices, and individual child data containers storing device-specific consumption tracking information. This segmentation eliminates redundant storage of common information while maintaining complete service consumption control for each device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the parent data container with individual child data containers only when needed for specific operations, such as when a user device requests service or when consumption tracking is required. This selective merging reduces signaling overhead by avoiding continuous access to all data containers while ensuring control integrity when necessary.
2Measurement precision
If consolidated data containers are accessed for every consumption control operation, then accurate tracking is maintained, but signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the consumption tracking information from the consolidated data container and stores it in individual child data containers. This extraction allows the system to access only the specific child data container relevant to the current operation rather than accessing consolidated containers for all devices, thereby reducing signaling overhead while maintaining tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary organization of data by pre-separating common control information in the parent container from device-specific tracking information in child containers. This preliminary structuring enables efficient selective access during operations, avoiding the need for redundant signaling to access unrelated data.
Data Source
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Figure 2
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AI summary
Charging operations carried out in relation to service consumption by users of a communication network reduce signaling overhead and memory or storage requirements by adopting a bifurcated approach to structuring and accessing the data containers used for controlling and tracking service consumption by individual users commonly governed by the same consumption control information. With bifurcation, a parent data container holds the common consumption control information commonly applicable to each user, while an individual child data container for each user holds consumption-tracking information specific to the user. The approach reduces signaling overhead inasmuch as operations involving only the consumption control information need not retrieve or access the child data containers, and the approach reduces overall storage requirements by eliminating redundant inclusion of the common information in the child data containers.