Systems and methods for optimizing media content delivery based on user equipment determined resource metrics

• US 8,463,933 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2010
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Opanga Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Opanga Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Harrang, Jeffrey Paul, Gibbons, David B
• Primary Examiner(s): HIGA, BRENDAN Y
• Application Number:
  US12/763,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20110047287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 709232-233, 455572-574, 4553432-3435
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/083 for increasing network speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/123 Evaluation of link metrics techniques for monitoring network metrics H04L43/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/124 using a combination of metrics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A user equipment for optimizing a media content delivery based on a state of resident resources. The user equipment may include a memory component having a resource manager application stored therein, one or more processor components, a resident power source, and a transceiver. The resource manager is configured to determine one or more device resource metrics, compare the device resources metric(s) to one or more corresponding device resource thresholds(s), and then generate an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when it is determined that at least one resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or that a local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold.

Claims

1. A user equipment for optimizing a media content delivery, comprising:

at least one memory having a resource manager stored therein;

at least one processor;

a resident power source; and

a transceiver;

wherein the resource manager is configured to;

determine a plurality of device metrics including a resource metric and a local policy metric, wherein the local policy metric comprises a current geographic location of the user equipment and the local policy threshold is a provider preferred geographic area threshold, or wherein the local policy metric comprises a current provider with which the user equipment is attached and the local policy threshold concerns whether the current provider is a preferred provider;

compare each of the plurality of device metrics to one or more corresponding device thresholds; and

generate an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when it is determined that the resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or that the local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold value.

2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the resource metric is a power supply metric of the resident power source or a processing resource metric of the at least one processor.

3. The user equipment of claim 2, wherein the resource manager determines that the resource threshold value has been exceeded when the power supply metric is less than a remaining power supply threshold value or when the processing resource metric is greater than a processor usage threshold value.

4. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the generated instruction is processed by the at least one processor to set an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery.

5. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the generated instruction is transmitted to an external computing device that determines an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery based on the received instruction.

6. A user equipment for optimizing a media content delivery, comprising:

at least one memory having a resource manager stored therein;

at least one processor;

a resident power source; and

a transceiver;

wherein the resource manager is configured to;

determine one or more device metrics;

compare the one or more device metrics to one or more device thresholds; and

generate an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when it is determined that at least one resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or that a local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold, wherein the local policy metric is a current geographic location of the user equipment and the local policy threshold is a provider preferred geographic area threshold.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for optimizing a media content delivery from a media content provider to a user equipment over a communications network, which when executed, perform a method comprising:

determining one or more user equipment metrics;

comparing the one or more user equipment metrics to one or more device thresholds;

generating an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when at least one resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or a local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold, wherein the local policy metric is a current provider with which the user equipment is attached, and the local policy threshold concerns whether the current provider is a preferred provider;

sending the instruction to the media content provider over the communications network;

monitoring the current capacity of bandwidth of the communications network to determine when surplus network bandwidth is currently available; and

receiving the media content delivery from the media content provider during periods when it is determined that surplus network bandwidth is currently available.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the at least one resource metric is a power supply metric or a processing resource metric.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises determining that the resource threshold value has been exceeded when the power supply metric is less than a remaining power supply threshold value or when the processing resource metric is greater than a processor usage threshold value.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises processing the generated instruction at the user equipment to set an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the generated instruction to an external computing device that determines an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery based on the received instruction.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for optimizing a media content delivery to a user equipment, which when executed, perform a method comprising:

determining one or more user equipment metrics;

comparing the one or more user equipment metrics to one or more device thresholds; and

generating an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when at least one resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or a local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold, wherein the local policy metric is a current geographic location of the user equipment and the local policy threshold is a provider preferred geographic area threshold.

13. A computer-implemented method for optimizing a media content delivery from a media content provider to a user equipment over a communications network, the method comprising:

determining one or more user equipment metrics;

comparing the one or more user equipment metrics to one or more device thresholds;

generating an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when at least one resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or a local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold;

processing the instruction to throttle the media content delivery by setting an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery by determining a throughput rate for a portion of the media content delivered from the media content provider to the user equipment; and

receiving the media content delivery by pacing a rate of requests for subsequent portions of the media content based on the determined throughput rate and the received instruction, wherein receiving the media content delivery from the media content provider comprises receiving the media content delivery only during periods when the user equipment is actively transmitting or receiving unrelated data over the communications network via an unrelated user network application so as to allow the user equipment to enter into a resource-saving operational mode when the user equipment is not actively transmitting or receiving unrelated data over the communications network.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the at least one resource metric is a power supply metric or a processing resource metric.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises determining that the resource threshold value has been exceeded when the power supply metric is less than a remaining power supply threshold value or when the processing resource metric is greater than a processor usage threshold value.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises processing the generated instruction at the user equipment to set an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the generated instruction to an external computing device that determines an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery based on the received instruction.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein receiving the media content delivery comprises pacing requests for portions of the media content to coincide with intermittent required or scheduled signaling transmissions over the communications network such that media content delivery does not prevent the user equipment from entering into or remaining in a resource-saving operational mode.

19. A computer-implemented method for optimizing a media content delivery to a user equipment, the method comprising:

determining one or more user equipment metrics;

comparing the one or more user equipment metrics to one or more device thresholds; and

generating an instruction to throttle a media content delivery when at least one resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or a local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold, wherein the local policy metric is a current geographic location of the user equipment and the local policy threshold is a provider preferred geographic area threshold.

20. A user equipment for optimizing a media content delivery, comprising:

at least one memory having a resource manager and a data transfer manager stored therein;

at least one processor;

a resident power source; and

a transceiver;

wherein the resource manager is configured to;

determine a plurality of device metrics including a resource metric and a local policy metric;

compare each of the plurality of device metrics to one or more corresponding device thresholds; and

generate an instruction for the data transfer manager to throttle a media content delivery from a sending system when it is determined that the resource metric has exceeded a resource threshold value or that the local policy metric has achieved a local policy threshold value;

wherein the data transfer manager is configured to receive the generated instruction, and is further configured to throttle the media content delivery by;

processing the received instruction to set an optimal data transfer rate for the media content delivery by determining a throughput rate for a portion of the media content delivered from the sending system to the user equipment over a communications network;

determining a wait interval based on the determined throughput rate; and

sending a plurality of requests for subsequent portions of the media content over the communications network, wherein each of the plurality of requests is preceded by waiting the wait interval after a previously requested portion of the media content file has been received by the user equipment.

21. The user equipment of claim 20, wherein the data transfer manager is further configured to monitor the current capacity of bandwidth of the communications network to determine when surplus network bandwidth is currently available, and receive the media content delivery from the sending system during periods when it is determined that surplus network bandwidth is currently available.