Patent Application
20120040682
Many types of devices and systems communicate data between one another via one or more communication links. These communication links typically have a limited bandwidth available to communicate data and other information. When multiple devices (or multiple data streams) share a common communication link, the bandwidth associated with that link is allocated among the multiple devices (or multiple data streams). In some situations, this allocation of bandwidth may result in delayed communication of certain data.
When allocating bandwidth among multiple devices, or multiple data streams, certain devices or types of data may be given priority over other devices or data types. For example, time-critical data associated with a live-streamed event may be given priority over other types of data that are not time-critical, such as email messages. Therefore, in situations where bandwidth is shared among multiple devices or multiple data streams, it is desirable to prioritize data for communication using the available bandwidth.
In the Figures, the left-most digit of a component reference number identifies the particular Figure in which the component first appears.
The systems and methods described herein relate to the assignment of communication bandwidth to different types of data. These systems and methods use a data prioritization approach that assigns higher data communication priority to certain types of data. For example, voice data may be given higher priority than other types of data. Additionally, data having a particular format can be given a higher priority than data having other formats. Other data prioritization approaches assign a higher priority to data associated with devices from a particular manufacturer.
Although particular examples discussed herein relate to a data communication gateway, the present invention is applicable to any type of data communication device. The specific devices and communication links discussed herein are provided for purposes of discussion and to provide an exemplary implementation of the invention. The present invention is applicable to any type of data received from any type of device in any operating environment.
As shown in
In an alternate embodiment, phones 104(1) and 104(2) communicate with data communication gateway 102 via a WiFi communication link. In this embodiment, the data communicated between phones 104(1), 104(2) and data communication gateway 102 may be native UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) voice data.
Television 106 displays various data received from data communication gateway 102, such as program information, video content, audio content, web site content, and so forth. In the embodiment of
Computer 108 is shown in
Telephones 110(1) and 110(2) are traditional telephones that are coupled to data communication gateway 102 via a traditional telephone cable. In a particular implementation, data communication gateway 102 includes support for two telephones. Alternate embodiments of data communication gateway 102 include support for any number of telephones. In one implementation, voice data associated with telephones 110(1) and 110(2) is communicated to other telephones via the Internet or other data communication network.
Data communication gateway 102 is also coupled to a modem 112, which is coupled a data communication network 114, such as the Internet. Modem 112 communicates with a variety of web servers and other resources accessible via data communication network 114. Data communication network 114 may include any number of data communication networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the like.
As used herein, the term “local device” collectively refers to phones 104(1) and 104(2), television 106, computer 108 and telephones 110(1) and 110(2). These devices are generally referred to as “local devices” due to their proximate location to data communication gateway 102 and their ability to communicate with the gateway.
Data communication gateway 102 also includes a display 208, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 210 and user interface controls 212. Display 208 presents information to a user of data communication gateway 102, such as operating information, configuration settings and menu navigation information. USB interface 210 allows data communication gateway 102 to communicate with other devices using a USB port. A particular implementation of data communication gateway 102 includes two USB ports. User interface controls 212 include buttons, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and the like to receive instructions from a user of data communication gateway 102 and to communicate information to the user in combination with display 208, as discussed above.
Data communication gateway 102 also includes a telephone interface 214 for communicating with one or more conventional telephones, such as telephones 110(1) and 110(2) shown in
The procedure of
Procedure 300 then determines a priority associated with the received data (block 308). The procedure for determining this priority is discussed herein with respect to
If the received data is not associated with a DECT device, procedure 400 determines whether the received data is native UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) voice data (block 408). If the received data is native UMA voice data, the data handling priority is set to “Medium” (block 410). The native UMA voice data is assigned a Medium priority to provide a good quality of data handling for the voice data. Thus, data associated with a DECT device is higher priority than native UMA voice data, but native UMA voice data has a higher priority than non-voice data discussed below.
If the received data is not associated with a DECT device and is not native UMA voice data, procedure 400 determines whether the received data is associated with a preferred manufacturer (or a preferred service provider) at block 412. If the data is associated with a preferred manufacturer or preferred service provider, the data handling priority is set to “Low” (block 414). If the data is not associated with a preferred manufacturer or preferred service provider, the data handling priority is set to “Very Low” (block 416). Thus, non-voice data associated with one or more preferred manufacturers or service providers may be given priority over non-voice data associated with other manufacturers or service providers. In alternate embodiments, all non-voice data is assigned a “Low” data handling priority, regardless of the manufacturer or service provider associated with the data.
Although the example of
The systems and method described herein are intended to give priority to voice data to ensure a good user experience when communicating voice data through the data communication gateway. This data priority is particularly important in situations where the available bandwidth is insufficient to handle all data simultaneously. For example, if a user is talking on a DECT phone and another user is browsing the Internet using the same data communication gateway, the data associated with the DECT phone is given priority over the Internet browser data. If there is sufficient bandwidth to handle both data streams simultaneously, then both users will have full access to the necessary bandwidth for their communications. However, if there is insufficient bandwidth to handle both data streams, the DECT phone data will be allocated a threshold bandwidth amount necessary to ensure a clear phone communication. In this situation, the Internet browser data will be restricted to the remaining bandwidth.
Local device 500 includes one or more processor(s) 502, one or more memory device(s) 504, one or more interface(s) 506, one or more mass storage device(s) 508, one or more Input/Output (I/O) device(s) 510, and a display device 528 all of which are coupled to a bus 512. Processor(s) 502 include one or more processors or controllers that execute instructions stored in memory device(s) 504 and/or mass storage device(s) 508. Processor(s) 502 may also include various types of processor-readable media, such as cache memory.
Memory device(s) 504 include various processor-readable media, such as volatile memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM)) 514 and/or nonvolatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM) 516). Memory device(s) 504 may also include rewritable ROM, such as Flash memory.
Mass storage device(s) 508 include various processor-readable media, such as magnetic tapes, magnetic disks, optical disks, solid state memory (e.g., Flash memory), and so forth. As shown in
I/O device(s) 510 include various devices that allow data and/or other information to be input to or retrieved from local device 500. Example I/O device(s) 510 include cursor control devices, keyboards, keypads, microphones, monitors or other display devices, speakers, printers, network interface cards, modems, lenses, CCDs or other image capture devices, and the like.
Display device 528 includes any type of device capable of displaying information to one or more users of local device 500. Examples of display device 528 include a display screen, monitor, display terminal, video projection device, and the like.
Interface(s) 506 include various interfaces that allow local device 500 to interact with other systems, devices, or computing environments. Example interface(s) 506 include any number of different network interfaces 520, such as interfaces to local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), wireless networks, and the Internet. Other interfaces include user interface 518 and peripheral device interface 522.
Bus 512 allows processor(s) 502, memory device(s) 504, interface(s) 506, mass storage device(s) 508, and I/O device(s) 510 to communicate with one another, as well as other devices or components coupled to bus 512. Bus 512 represents one or more of several types of bus structures, such as a system bus, PCI bus, IEEE 1394 bus, USB bus, and so forth.
For purposes of illustration, programs and other executable program components are shown herein as discrete blocks, although it is understood that such programs and components may reside at various times in different storage components of local device 500, and are executed by processor(s) 502. Alternatively, the systems and procedures described herein can be implemented in hardware, or a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can be programmed to carry out one or more of the systems and procedures described herein.
Although the systems and methods for communicating data have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological operations or actions, it is understood that the implementations defined in the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described. Rather, the specific features and operations of communicating data are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed subject matter.
