Flooding Detection Throttling System for Mass Call Congestion

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Mass call events in telephone communication systems lead to congestion and degradation of telephony services due to a high number of simultaneous calls, causing call failures and service unavailability, as existing systems are unable to effectively manage and throttle call attempts during such events.

Innovation Solution

A flooding detection and throttling system (FDTS) dynamically identifies congested areas in the telephone infrastructure, forms flooding groups, and adjusts capacity limits to throttle concurrent call attempts, preventing service overload and improving call success rates by pacing the delivery of phone numbers to automated dialing systems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If mass notification systems generate a large number of telephone calls during emergency events, then notification coverage is improved, but telephone system congestion increases and service availability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of callsVSAvoidservice availability
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the capacity limit for concurrent calls based on real-time monitoring of call outcomes. The FDTS continuously monitors whether the number of concurrent calls exceeds the capacity limit and adjusts the limit upward when calls are completing successfully and downward when congestion occurs, enabling the system to adapt to changing conditions during mass call events

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The FDTS implements a feedback mechanism by monitoring call completion status and using this information to adjust the capacity limit. The system receives feedback from the telephone dialing system about call outcomes and automatically modifies throttling parameters to maintain optimal service levels during emergency notifications

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Speed

If automated telephone dialing systems attempt to dial all phone numbers simultaneously, then notification speed is improved, but call failure rate increases due to system overload

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification speedVSAvoidcall success rate
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses periodic action by implementing time-based throttling where phone numbers are delivered to the automated dialing system at controlled intervals rather than all at once. The FDTS paces the delivery of phone numbers to maintain the number of concurrent calls below the dynamic capacity limit, ensuring systematic progression through the call list while preventing overload

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The capacity limit is dynamically adjusted based on real-time call completion rates. When calls are completing successfully, the system allows higher concurrency to maintain notification speed. When congestion is detected through monitoring call outcomes, the capacity limit is reduced to improve call success rates, creating a dynamic balance between speed and reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Productivity

If the number of concurrent calls is increased to handle emergency notifications, then notification effectiveness is improved, but telephone infrastructure congestion increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification effectivenessVSAvoidcongestion
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically determines the capacity limit for concurrent calls based on real-time conditions rather than using a fixed threshold. The FDTS monitors call completion status and automatically adjusts the capacity limit upward when the infrastructure can handle more calls or downward when congestion begins, enabling optimal productivity while minimizing harmful congestion effects

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of capacity limit based on monitored performance metrics. By adjusting this key parameter in response to call completion rates and system load, the FDTS optimizes the balance between notification effectiveness and infrastructure utilization, allowing higher productivity when conditions permit and reducing congestion when limits are approached

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3526976B1Managing a telephone communication system to dynamically throttle call attempts and reduce congestions during mass call events
Publication Date: 2021.01.13 ATHOC INC
  • EP3526976B1 patent drawingFigure 1~9
  • EP3526976B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3526976B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

A device is configured to detect congestion and throttle phone calls in a telephone communication system. The device is configure to receive, from a telephone dialing system, an indication indicating a call failure to a phone number; determine that the phone number matches a flooding group number based on initial digits of the phone number, the flooding group number associated with a flooding group, the flooding group including a plurality of phone numbers with initial digits having identical values to the flooding group number; determine a time of the call failure and a number of concurrent active calls for the flooding group at the time of the call failure; and in response to the number of concurrent active calls at the time of the call failure exceeding a predefined threshold, update a capacity limit for the flooding group based on the number of concurrent active calls.