Adjusting acknowledgement requests for remote control transmissions based on previous acknowledgements

• US 20130111192A1
• Filed: 10/31/2011
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Reams, William R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,633,556 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 712/225
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/51 Remote controlling of devices based on replies, status thereof

Abstract

A remote receives an instruction to transmit and determines whether or not to include an acknowledgement request in the instruction based on statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements associated with previously transmitted instructions. If so, the remote control device includes the request before transmitting. The remote control may determine whether or not to include the request in a variety of different ways in a variety of different implementations. In some implementations, the remote control may classify instructions into two or more different classifications and may treat instructions of different classifications differently. In other implementations, the remote control may treat the same instruction differently depending on the number of requested acknowledgements successfully received during a time period. In various other implementations, the remote control may perform various combinations of these approaches.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting acknowledgement requests for remote control transmissions based at least on previous acknowledgements, the method comprising:

receiving at least one instruction, utilizing at least one processing unit, to transmit at least one instruction via at least one remote control;

determining, utilizing the at least one processing unit, whether to include at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction based at least on statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions;

if said operation of determining determines to include the at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction, including the at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction; and

transmitting, utilizing the at least one remote control, the at least one instruction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said operation of determining, utilizing the at least one processing unit, whether to include at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction based at least on statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions further comprises:

if the at least one instruction is of a first classification of instruction, determining to include the at least one acknowledgement request; and

if the at least one instruction is of a second classification of instruction, determining to include the at least one acknowledgement request if a number of acknowledgements successfully received during a time period is less than a threshold value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second classification on instruction comprises a high data rate type of instruction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said operation of determining, utilizing the at least one processing unit, whether to include at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction based at least on statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions further comprises:

if a number of acknowledgements successfully received during a time period is less than a first threshold value, determining to include the at least one acknowledgement request; and

if the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period is less than a second threshold value but at least equals the first threshold value, determining to include the at least one acknowledgement request if at least one period has elapsed since an instruction of a same type as the at least one instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one period is measured according to at least one of a time elapsed since the instruction of the same type as the at least one instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request or a number of instructions of the same type as the at least one instruction that have been transmitted since the instruction of the same type as the at least one instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one period is shortened when the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period is less than the second threshold value by at least a first amount and the at least one period is lengthened when the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period is less than the second threshold value by less than the first amount.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining not to include the at least one acknowledgement request if the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period at least equals the second threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one transmitted instruction included the at least one acknowledgement request, further comprising determining whether an acknowledgement is received within a timeout period in response to the at least one acknowledgement request.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising adding information regarding whether the acknowledgement is received within the timeout period in response to the at least one acknowledgement request to the statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising if the acknowledgement is not received within the timeout period in response to the at least one acknowledgement request, retransmitting the at least one instruction.

11. A system for adjusting acknowledgement requests for remote control transmissions based at least on previous acknowledgements, comprising:

a remote control device, comprising;

at least one non-transitory storage medium that stores statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to instructions previously transmitted by the remote control device;

at least one communication component for transmitting instructions; and

at least one processing unit that receives at least one instruction to transmit for the remote control device via the at least one communication component;

wherein the at least one processing unit;

determines whether to include at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction based at least on the statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to instructions previously transmitted by the remote control device,

if the at least one processing unit determines to include the at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction, include the at least one acknowledgement request in the at least one instruction, and

transmit the at least one instruction via the at least one communication component.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processing unit determines to include the at least one acknowledgement request if:

a number of acknowledgements successfully received during a time period is less than a first threshold value, or

the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period is less than a second threshold value but at least equals the first threshold value and at least one period has elapsed since an instruction of a same type as the at least one instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processing unit determines not to include the at least one acknowledgement request if the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period at least equals the second threshold value.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processing unit shortens the at least one period when the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period is less than the second threshold value by at least a first amount and lengthens the at least one period when the number of acknowledgements successfully received during the time period is less than the second threshold value by less than the first amount.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processing unit measures the at least one period according to at least one of a time elapsed since the instruction of the same type as the at least one instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request or a number of instructions of the same type as the at least one instruction that have been transmitted since the instruction of the same type as the at least one instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processing unit determines to include the at least one acknowledgement request if:

the at least one instruction is of a first classification of instruction, or

the at least one instruction is of a second classification of instruction and a number of acknowledgements successfully received during a time period is less than a threshold value.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one instruction transmitted by the at least one processing unit via the at least one communication component included the at least one acknowledgement request and the at least one processing unit determines whether an acknowledgement is received within a timeout period in response to the at least one acknowledgement request.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processing unit adds information regarding whether the acknowledgement is received within the timeout period in response to the at least one acknowledgement request to the statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to instructions previously transmitted by the remote control device.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processing unit retransmits the at least one instruction via the communication component if the acknowledgement is not received within the timeout period in response to the at least one acknowledgement request.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the wherein the at least one instruction transmitted by the at least one processing unit via the at least one communication component comprises at least one packet and the acknowledgement request comprises at least one bit flag included in the at least one packet.