Transport Manager for Multi-Medium Message Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Communication devices may not receive messages over specific transport mediums due to coverage limitations, leading to delayed or undelivered communications when the primary medium is unavailable.
Innovation Solution
An integrated transport medium delivery system that uses a transport manager to determine the availability of communication devices across multiple mediums (e.g., SMS, e-mail, PIN) and reroutes messages to operable mediums, ensuring timely delivery by selecting an alternative medium for message subsets if necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a communication device relies on a single primary transport medium for message delivery, then the system complexity is reduced, but message delivery reliability deteriorates when the primary medium is unavailable due to coverage limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The communication device is configured to support multiple transport mediums (SMS, e-mail, peer-to-peer device mediums) and can dynamically select among them based on availability. This multi-functionality ensures that message delivery continues through alternative mediums when the primary medium is unavailable, thereby improving reliability without requiring complete system redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a transport medium selection mechanism that acts as an intermediary between the message source and the communication device. This mediator determines the appropriate transport medium based on coverage availability and message characteristics, managing the complexity of multi-medium support while maintaining reliable delivery.
2Loss of time
If the system waits for the communication device to be within transport coverage of the primary medium before delivery, then message integrity is maintained, but message delivery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of transport medium availability before initiating message delivery. By checking coverage status in advance and pre-selecting appropriate transport mediums, the system avoids delays caused by waiting for device movement into coverage areas, thereby reducing message delivery time while maintaining reliable delivery through alternative mediums.
Solution Approach 2:
The transport medium selection is dynamic rather than static. The system continuously monitors coverage availability and adapts the selected transport medium in real-time based on current conditions. This dynamic approach allows the system to switch between different transport mediums (SMS, e-mail, etc.) depending on which is currently available, reducing delivery time without sacrificing reliability.
3Reliability
If the system uses multiple transport mediums for message delivery, then message delivery reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A transport medium selection mechanism serves as an intermediary that manages the complexity of supporting multiple transport mediums. This selector determines which medium to use based on coverage availability and message characteristics, shielding the user from the complexity of multi-medium management while maintaining reliable delivery through appropriate medium selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can deliver different representations or subsets of the same message content through different transport mediums. For example, a message might be delivered as a complete e-mail when available, or as an SMS subset when e-mail coverage is unavailable. This copying approach maintains message delivery reliability across different mediums while managing complexity through standardized message formats.
Data Source
AI summary
Facilitating a communication directed to a communication device operable to receive data over a plurality of transport mediums includes determining present transport coverage of the communication device, determining which transport mediums the communication device is presently operable to receive the communication, and selecting one of theses transport mediums for delivery of the communication to the communication device.