Stateful Intermediary Server for Stateless Device Transactions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cellular handsets, being stateless, cannot establish connections with third-party providers for complex transactions requiring multiple packet exchanges, limiting their ability to perform services like ordering photographic prints or voting in polls.
Innovation Solution
A central server acts as an intermediary between the stateless device and third-party service providers, maintaining state information and enabling a round-trip mechanism by providing context and facilitating direct connections, allowing for multiple data exchanges in a single transaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cellular handsets send atomic packets only, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but the ability to perform complex transactions with third-party providers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a stateful server as an intermediary between the stateless cellular handset and third-party service providers. The server maintains transaction state, manages multiple packet exchanges, and coordinates the round-trip communication needed for complex services. This allows the handset to remain simple while enabling versatile service capabilities through the mediating server that handles the complexity of multi-packet transactions.
2Reliability
If cellular handsets remain stateless, then device complexity is reduced and reliability is improved, but the ability to maintain connection state for multi-packet transactions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stateful server acts as a mediator that absorbs the state management requirements. The handset remains stateless and reliable, while the server maintains transaction state, session information, and coordination data needed for complex multi-packet transactions with third-party providers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves state management from the handset dimension to the server dimension. By elevating the state management function to a separate server component, the system enables complex transactions without requiring the handset to become stateful, thus maintaining reliability while gaining transaction capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If cellular handsets establish direct connections with third-party providers, then service capability is improved, but device complexity increases due to connection management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The stateful server serves as an intermediary that manages all connection establishment, maintenance, and termination with third-party providers. The handset only needs to communicate with the server, which handles the complexity of direct connections to multiple service providers, thus enabling service capability without increasing handset complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts connection management functionality from the handset and places it in the server. This separation removes the burden of connection management complexity from the device while preserving the ability to access multiple third-party services through the server's managed connections.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for providing a send-to framework is described. The method enables a round-trip mechanism between a stateless device and a third party service provider. In one embodiment, the method includes interposing a central server between the stateless device and the third party service provider, which maintains a state for the stateless device, and in one embodiment communicates the state to the third party service provide and/or the stateless device.