Message send queue reordering based on priority

• US 20050228873A1
• Filed: 04/08/2004
• Published: 10/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Knowles, Michael, Tapuska, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,673,018 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A method and system for communicating serialized data provides a mechanism for ordering the data in response to a priority. In an embodiment, a server sending the data uses the priority to order the data in a message send queue for sending the data to a requesting device. The server may comprise a gateway and the second device a wireless device communicating with the gateway. The wireless device may send a priority indication in association with a request for the data to facilitate the ordering.

Claims

1. In a server sending respective response data to a wireless communication device in response to a plurality of requests from the wireless communication device, said server comprising a message send queue for sending the respective response data, a method of ordering the message send queue comprising:

determining a respective relative priority for sending said respective response data; and

ordering the sending of the respective response data from said message send queue in response to the respective relative priority.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a respective relative priority comprises evaluating a respective request for a priority indication defining the priority of the respective response data.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising receiving said plurality of requests wherein at least some of said requests comprise a priority indication for ordering the sending of the respective response data relative to other response data.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving the respective response data for sending via said message queue in response to the respective request.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the message queue comprises a first in first out (FIFO) queue and wherein ordering comprises putting the respective response data at a one of the ends of the message queue in response to the respective relative priority.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is a wireless gateway server and wherein the method comprises formatting the response data for transmitting in accordance with a wireless protocol.

7. In a wireless communication device receiving respective response data from a server responding to a plurality of requests for the data, said server ordering the sending of the respective response data in accordance with a respective priority of the response data, a method of facilitating the ordering comprising:

determining a respective relative priority for a respective response data; and

sending the respective relative priority to the server in association with the respective request.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising receiving said respective response data in accordance with said respective priority;

and processing said respective data.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein sending comprises sending a priority indication in a header portion of the request.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein determining a respective relative priority comprises evaluating a first portion of a first response data to determine a second request for a second respective response data having a higher priority than a remaining portion of the first respective response data and defining the respective relative priority in response to the higher priority.

11. The method of claim 10 comprising suspending a processing of said first respective response data until a processing of the second respective response data is complete.

12. A wireless communication device for communicating with a wireless gateway coupled to the device via a wireless network, the wireless communication device and wireless gateway communicating serially in accordance with a request/response protocol, the wireless communication device comprising:

a communication system for transmitting and receiving via the wireless network;

a processor coupled to the communication system for sending requests and processing respective response data; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions to configure the processor to send a priority indication in association with a request for particular response data to denote a priority of the particular response data relative to other response data whereby said wireless gateway can advance the communication of said particular response data in accordance with its priority indication.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 12 wherein said memory comprises instructions to configure the processor to process said particular response data in accordance with its respective priority.

14. The wireless communication device of claim 12 wherein said memory comprises instructions to configure the processor to send the priority indication in a header portion of the request.

15. The wireless communication device of claim 12 wherein said memory comprises instructions to configure the processor to determine the priority of the particular response data relative to other response data.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 15 wherein said instructions to configure the processor to determine the priority comprise instructions to

evaluate a first portion of a first response data to determine a second request for a second respective response data having a higher priority than a remaining portion of the first respective response data;

and

define the priority indication in response to the higher priority.

17. A wireless gateway for communicating with a wireless communication device coupled to the gateway via a wireless network, the wireless communication device and wireless gateway communicating serially in accordance with a request/response protocol, the wireless gateway comprising:

a communication system for transmitting and receiving via the wireless network;

a processor coupled to the communication system for processing received requests and sending respective response data; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions to configure the processor to;

receive a priority indication in association with a request for particular response data to denote a priority of the particular response data relative to other response data; and

advance the communication of said particular response data in accordance with its priority indication.

18. The wireless gateway of claim 17 wherein the communication system comprises a send queue for sending response data to said wireless communication device and wherein said memory stores instructions to configure the processor to order the send queue in accordance with the priority indication.

19. The wireless gateway of claim 17 wherein the gateway is coupled to at least one further device configured for providing response data and wherein the gateway is adapted to obtain the response data from the second device in response to the received requests.