Data Packet Sub-packet Retransmission for Overhead Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data transmission protocols in mobile communication systems, such as UMTS, face inefficiencies in retransmitting data packets due to the limitations of single sub-packet retransmissions and large numbering ranges required for sequence numbers, leading to increased overhead and potential misordering of packets.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dividing unsuccessful data packets into sub-packets with a sub-packet indicator, allowing the second station to distinguish and correctly reorder them, using sequence numbers and sub-packet indicators with a common numbering range, and reusing sequence numbers for sub-packets to reduce overhead and improve efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single sub-packet is used for retransmission, then the retransmission process is simple, but it cannot handle cases where the data amount exceeds single sub-packet capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a failed data packet into multiple sub-packets for retransmission. Each sub-packet contains a portion of the original packet data and is identified by a sub-packet indicator field. This segmentation allows the system to handle large data amounts that exceed single sub-packet capacity while maintaining manageable retransmission complexity through structured division and identification mechanisms.
2Reliability
If sequence numbers with large numbering ranges are used to identify packets, then packet identification is unique, but overhead increases and misordering issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the packet identification into two parts: a standard sequence number and a sub-packet indicator field. The sequence number identifies the parent packet, while the sub-packet indicator identifies the specific sub-packet within that parent packet. This segmentation reduces overhead by reusing sequence numbers across different parent packets while maintaining unique identification through the combination of both fields.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to packet identification by introducing the sub-packet indicator field alongside the traditional sequence number. This creates a two-dimensional identification space where sequence numbers provide the primary dimension and sub-packet indicators provide the secondary dimension, enabling efficient identification without requiring excessively large sequence number ranges.
3Quantity of substance
If sequence numbers are reused for sub-packets, then overhead is reduced, but packet reordering becomes ambiguous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identification system into sequence numbers for parent packet identification and sub-packet indicators for sub-packet identification. This segmentation allows sequence numbers to be reused across different parent packets while the sub-packet indicator maintains the correct ordering within each parent packet's sub-packets, resolving the ambiguity in reordering.
Solution Approach 2:
The sub-packet indicator acts as an intermediary element that bridges the gap between reused sequence numbers and correct packet reordering. It provides the additional information needed to distinguish between sub-packets from different parent packets that share the same sequence number, ensuring accurate reordering without increasing overhead significantly.
Data Source
AI summary
Data is transmitted from a first station to a second station, by following method: at the first station, dividing the data into a sequence of data packets and transmitting the sequence of data packets; at the second station, receiving the data packets and transmitting acknowledgements indicating whether the data packets have been received successfully; at the first station, retransmitting as a sub-sequence of a plurality of sub-packets a data packet which has not been received successfully; and at the second station, reconstituting the data from the data packets and sub-packets; wherein the data packets comprise a sequence number providing an indication of position of each data packet within the sequence of data packets, and the sub-packets comprise a sub-packet indicator providing an indication of position of each sub-packet within the sub-sequence of sub-packets, and wherein the sequence numbers and sub-packet indicators include a plurality of numbers in common.