Dynamic Data Stream Adjustment for Mobile Overage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile device users face excessive data usage charges due to data limits in service plans, with 'unlimited' plans often imposing penalties for exceeding predetermined thresholds, leading to significant expenses from overage charges, especially during roaming.
Innovation Solution
A system that records data usage, calculates current usage rates, and adjusts data stream characteristics, such as reducing video quality or restricting high-definition downloads, to prevent exceeding data limits, thereby avoiding additional fees.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data usage is increased to meet user needs, then service quality is improved, but data usage charges increase and may exceed limits
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by monitoring data usage in real-time and predicting future consumption patterns before the user exceeds their data limit. It proactively adjusts data stream characteristics preemptively to prevent overage charges, rather than reacting after the limit is exceeded.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts data stream characteristics based on current usage rates, time remaining in the billing cycle, and predicted future usage. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize between maintaining service quality and preventing overage charges in real-time.
2Reliability
If data stream quality is maintained at high levels, then user experience is improved, but data consumption increases and may exceed limits
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes parameters of data streams such as video resolution, bitrate, and compression ratios based on monitored usage patterns. By dynamically adjusting these parameters, the system maintains acceptable service quality while adapting data consumption to stay within user-defined or carrier-imposed limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where data usage is monitored, compared against limits, and used to adjust data stream characteristics. This closed-loop control ensures service quality is maintained at acceptable levels while preventing excessive data consumption that would lead to overage charges.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If data usage monitoring and adjustment systems are implemented, then overage charges are prevented, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where the mobile device autonomously monitors its own data usage, predicts future consumption, and adjusts its own data stream characteristics without requiring external intervention from the carrier or manual user configuration. This reduces the complexity burden on network infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a software intermediary layer (application or operating system component) that sits between the user applications and the network connection. This intermediary handles the complex monitoring, prediction, and adjustment tasks, shielding both the user and the network infrastructure from the complexity of real-time data management.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for adjusting a characteristic of a data stream. A rate of data usage provided by one or more data streams within a time period that has not ended is determined. An amount of time remaining in the time period is determined. Based at least in part on the amount of time remaining in the time period and the rate of data usage, an expected amount of data usage within the entire time period is determined. Whether the expected amount of data usage exceeds a limit on data usage within the entire time period is determined. If the expected amount of data usage exceeds the limit, the characteristic of the data stream is adjusted so that actual data usage within the entire time period does not exceed the limit. The actual data usage is based in part on the adjusted characteristic.