TCP ACK Compression in PDCP for Mobile Uplink Overhead

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The high TCP ACK rate in mobile communications leads to increased overhead and inefficient data transmission due to the one-to-one mapping of small IP packets, resulting in a dominant processing burden and high reverse link traffic, especially in high-speed data flows.

Innovation Solution

Compress multiple consecutive TCP ACKs using cumulative properties and send only static information about the ACK flow, along with a descriptor to reconstruct the ACKs at the receiver, reducing the number of transmitted ACKs and optimizing data transmission.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If TCP ACK packets are transmitted individually for each small IP packet, then acknowledgment reliability is maintained, but overhead and packet rate increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveACK reliabilityVSAvoidACK packet rate

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple individual TCP ACK packets into a single aggregated ACK packet that acknowledges multiple received packets simultaneously. Instead of sending separate ACKs for each small IP packet (including TCP ACKs with less than 100 bytes), the receiver accumulates acknowledgments and transmits them together, reducing the ACK packet rate while maintaining reliable acknowledgment of all data packets.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Device complexity

If one-to-one mapping is used between IP packets and protocol PDUs, then protocol simplicity is maintained, but processing overhead becomes dominant for small packets

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotocol simplicityVSAvoidprocessing overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple protocol data units (PDUs) at different layers (SDAP, PDCP, RLC) into fewer aggregated PDUs, reducing the number of individual processing operations required. By merging the handling of multiple small IP packets into a single aggregated PDU structure, the system reduces per-packet processing overhead while maintaining the necessary protocol functionality across all layers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Productivity

If TCP ACK buffering is implemented before uplink resource grant, then resource allocation efficiency is improved, but ACK transmission delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource allocation efficiencyVSAvoidACK transmission delay

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary buffering of TCP ACK packets at the receiver side before uplink resource grants are received. The ACK packets are prepared and queued in advance, so that when uplink resources become available, the aggregated ACK can be transmitted immediately without additional processing delay. This preliminary action maintains resource allocation efficiency while minimizing transmission delay.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12538171B2TCP ACK rate reduction in mobile communications

Publication Date: 2026.01.27 MEDIATEK SINGAPORE PTE LTD

AI summary

Various solutions for Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) acknowledgement (ACK) rate reduction in mobile communications are described. A processor of an apparatus compresses a plurality of source TCP ACKs into compressed TCP ACKs. The processor then transmits the compressed TCP ACKs in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data protocol data unit (PDU) to a receiver.