Method and a system for allocation of a budget to a task

• US 20030009506A1
• Filed: 07/01/2002
• Published: 01/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Van Zon, Cornelis Conradus Andranus Maria, Steffens, Elisabeth Francisca Maria, Gabrani, Maria, Hentschel, Christian, Bril, Reinder Jaap
• Granted Patent: US 7,058,951 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4881 Scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues

Abstract

In consumer devices, like digital television sets (610) or set-top boxes, there can be a problem with a sudden load increase caused by for example a scene change and user focus. During such a load increase, the quality of service of the application having the user focus will decrease until the device detects the load increase. The device can reallocate resources to the application (608) having the user focus after which the quality of service will increase again towards its previous level. However, the user may have noticed the quality decrease. In order to prevent this noticeable decrease of quality in overload situations, a method an a system (606) is provided that guarantees a worst-case budget to the application having user focus and conditionally guarantees a budget surplus to an application not having the user focus (610). The latter application can then use that budget surplus to operate at a higher quality of service level.

Claims

1. A method of scheduling a first task and a second task comprising the following steps:

a first step of determining that the first task is a more important task compared to the second task and that the second task is a less important task compared to the first task,

a second step of requesting a more important requested budget by the more important task and requesting a less important requested budget by the less important task,

a third step of allocating a more important guaranteed budget to the more important task based upon the more important requested budget of the more important task and allocating a less important guaranteed budget to the less important task based upon the less important requested budget of the less important task, characterized in that the third step comprises steps of;

allocating a guaranteed budget margin for the more important task in addition to the more important guaranteed budget of the more important task,

reserving a conditionally guaranteed budget margin to the less important task in addition to the less important guaranteed budget of the less important task.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the third step further comprises a step of deriving the conditionally guaranteed budget margin from the guaranteed budget margin.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of signaling completion of the more important task.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the following steps of:

a fourth step of operating the less important task at a first quality of service level when the less important guaranteed budget is allocated to the less important task,

a fifth step of operating the less important task at a second quality of service level when the conditionally guaranteed budget margin and the less important guaranteed budget is allocated to the less important task.

5. A method according to claim 2, further comprising a step of allocating an amount of the conditionally guaranteed budget margin to the less important task.

6. A system (500) for scheduling a first task and a second task comprising:

determination means (502) conceived to determine that the first task is a more important task compared to the second task and that the second task is a less important task compared to the first task,

requesting means (504) conceived to contain a more important request for a more important requested budget and a less important request for a less important budget,

allocation means (506) conceived to allocate a more important guaranteed budget to the more important task based upon the more important requested budget of the more important task and allocating a less important guaranteed budget to the less important task based upon the less important requested budget of the less important task, characterized in that the allocation means comprises;

guaranteeing means (508) conceived to allocate a guaranteed budget margin for the more important task in addition to the more important guaranteed budget of the more important task,

reservation means (510) conceived to reserve a conditionally guaranteed budget margin to the less important task in addition to the less important guaranteed budget of the less important task.

7. A system according to claim 6 wherein the allocation means further comprises derivation means (512) conceived to derive the conditionally guaranteed budget margin from the guaranteed budget margin.

8. A system according to claim 6, further comprising a completion memory (516) conceived to contain a completion signal of the more important task.

9. A system according to claim 7, further comprising an amount memory (514) conceived to contain an amount of the conditionally guaranteed budget margin that can be allocated to the less important task.

10. A television set (610) comprising a system according to one of the claims 6 to 9.

11. A set-top box (702) comprising a system according to one of the claims 6 to 9.