IoT Subscription Merging for Memory Optimization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional devices managing IoT subscriptions face memory constraints, limiting the number of supported subscribers and requiring additional hardware, which increases costs and introduces delays in industrial IoT applications.

Innovation Solution

A device and method that merge subscription entries based on a cost function, optimizing storage by separating data of interest and subscriber information into distinct parts, allowing for increased subscriber support without additional hardware, and dynamically adjusting the cost function to optimize resource usage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If conventional devices store each subscription entry separately with filters, then the number of supported subscribers is limited, but the memory footprint increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of supported subscribersVSAvoidmemory footprint
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple subscription entries that share common filters into a single consolidated subscription entry. Instead of storing separate entries for each subscriber with identical filters, the system combines them into one entry that serves multiple subscribers, thereby reducing memory footprint while increasing the number of supported subscribers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The consolidated subscription entry serves multiple subscribers simultaneously, making a single storage structure universal for multiple purposes. This multi-functional approach allows one subscription entry to represent multiple subscribers with the same filter requirements, optimizing memory usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Quantity of substance

If intermediaries such as application-level gateways are introduced to increase the number of subscribers, then the number of supported subscribers increases, but additional hardware costs and reconfiguration requirements arise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of supported subscribersVSAvoidhardware requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The publishing device performs the consolidation function itself without requiring external intermediaries. By implementing the merging logic within the resource-constrained device, the system eliminates the need for additional hardware gateways or brokers, reducing complexity and costs while maintaining the ability to support multiple subscribers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Quantity of substance

If caching proxies or brokers are introduced to increase subscriber capacity, then the number of supported subscribers increases, but notification delays are introduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of supported subscribersVSAvoidnotification delay
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the consolidation logic from external intermediaries and implements it directly within the publishing device. This eliminates intermediate caching layers that would introduce delays, ensuring that notifications are delivered directly to subscribers without time loss while still achieving subscriber capacity expansion through entry merging.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Loss of energy

If filters are stored for each subscription entry to reduce message bandwidth, then bandwidth impact is reduced, but memory footprint increases on resource-constrained devices

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebandwidth consumptionVSAvoidmemory footprint
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of energyVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges subscription entries that share common filters into a single consolidated entry. This approach maintains the bandwidth-saving benefits of filters while reducing memory footprint by storing the filter information only once in the consolidated entry, rather than duplicating it across multiple separate entries.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP4107930B1Merging subscriptions of subscribers according to an updatable cost function
Publication Date: 2024.08.21 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP4107930B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4107930B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4107930B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to a device for managing subscriptions of subscribers using subscription entries. The device stores the subscription entries. Each subscription entry comprises information indicating data of interest in a first part, and comprises subscriber information related to subscribers of the data of interest in a second part. Moreover, a subscription entry of the subscription entries comprises in its second part subscriber information related to at least two subscribers of the data of interest indicated by the information in the first part. The device further provides the data of interest indicated by the information in the first part of the subscription entry to the at least two subscribers associated with the subscriber information in the second part.