Edge-Server Notification Taps for Low-Power Multi-Device Delivery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless network architectures struggle to support simultaneous semi-persistent higher layer connections for multiple user devices, leading to inefficient management of push notifications and increased network loading.
Innovation Solution
A notification tap architecture that utilizes network-based edge servers to coalesce notifications for multiple user devices, allowing devices to register and receive notification taps through cellular paging, WPAN, WLAN, peer-to-peer connections, or wired networks, with notification content cached for on-demand retrieval, reducing data traffic and processing power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If semi-persistent higher layer connections are maintained for multiple user devices, then push notification delivery is enabled, but network loading increases and system capacity is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the notification indication function from the full notification content delivery. Instead of maintaining persistent connections for complete notification data, the system uses separate indication messages that trigger on-demand content retrieval, thereby reducing the network loading caused by persistent connections while maintaining reliable notification delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The notification delivery process is segmented into two distinct phases: (1) sending a compact indication message to alert the device of available notifications, and (2) on-demand retrieval of full notification content. This segmentation reduces the continuous network burden while ensuring reliable delivery.
2Reliability
If semi-persistent higher layer connections are maintained for multiple user devices, then push notification delivery is enabled, but device power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the notification indication mechanism from the content retrieval process. Devices only need to maintain minimal listening capability for compact indication messages rather than sustaining full persistent connections, significantly reducing power consumption while maintaining reliable notification delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous persistent connections, the system uses periodic indication messages that wake devices only when necessary. This periodic action pattern reduces device power consumption by keeping devices in low-power states between notifications while ensuring reliable delivery when needed.
3Ease of operation
If notification content is sent to multiple user devices simultaneously, then all devices receive complete notifications, but data traffic loading increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential notification indication from the full notification content for initial delivery to multiple devices. The complete notification content is then retrieved on-demand by individual devices, reducing the quantity of data traffic required for initial notification distribution while ensuring complete information is received.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of sending full notification content to multiple devices, the system sends a compact indication message that serves as a reference or trigger. Devices then retrieve their own copies of the full notification content on-demand, reducing redundant data traffic while ensuring each device receives complete information.
Data Source
AI summary
A server network accepts asynchronous notification messages from multiple application servers and efficiently routes notification messages in the form of notification taps to a user device, which can operate in a low power mode. The user device may or may not be a cellular device. The server network maintains states for the user devices in terms of identifiers useful for routing. A network server proximate to the user device registers the identifiers useful for routing the notifications. When the server network receives a notification from a source application, the proximate network server determines a routing based on the registration and sends a notification tap to the user device. The user device can obtain notification content sourced by the source application. The user device can delegate the role of receiving notification taps to a delegate device, where the delegate device may have wall-power and/or a wired or wireless network connection.