Predictive caching of IP data

• US 8,948,042 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2014
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Relay Inc. (Publicis Groupe SA)
• Original Assignee: Bandwidth Inc.
• Inventors: Mulcahy, James, Rathnam, Sai
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US14/336,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20140328201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 197 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/329, 370/412, 370/419, 709/228
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2885 Hierarchically arranged intermediate devices, e.g. for hierarchical caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

Disclosed is a technique for predictively caching IP content data for a mobile device. In the mobile device, a content request is sent to an intelligent cache server over an IP network, the content request indicative of recurring IP content data of interest to the mobile device. The intelligent cache server retrieves the requested IP content data from content servers and queues the requested IP content data in a buffer associated with the mobile device. A notification message is sent to the mobile device indicating that the requested IP content is queued. The mobile device determines whether it is connected to a non-cellular IP network access point and automatically downloads the queued IP content data from the intelligent cache server when connected to a non-cellular IP network. The IP content data is stored in a cache memory in the mobile device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

a cellular transceiver;

at least one other RF transceiver communicable with a non-cellular IP network access point;

a data storage component; and

at least one processor operable with one or more software applications configured to;

collect Internet Protocol (IP) data consumption information associated with the mobile device;

predict, based on the collected IP data consumption information, IP data the mobile device is expected to consume at a future time;

automatically bypass any cellular network connection and downloading the predicted IP data to the mobile device using the at least one other RF transceiver over the non-cellular IP network access point;

store the downloaded predicted IP data in the data storage component such that the stored IP data is not transported over a cellular network; and

in response to a request for the predicted IP data and when no non-cellular IP network access point connection is available to the mobile device;

bypass an available cellular network connection; and

access the stored predicted IP data from cache memory using an application on the mobile device associated with the stored predicted IP data.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, the at least one processor operable with one or more software applications further configured to:

collect non-cellular IP network connectivity information associated with the mobile device;

predict, based on the collected non-cellular IP network connectivity information, when the mobile device can be expected to be connected to the non-cellular IP network access point; and

attempt to perform the automatically downloading the predicted IP data step at a time when the mobile device is predicted to be connected to the non-cellular IP network access point.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, the at least one processor operable with one or more software applications further configured to:

wait until the mobile device is connected to the non-cellular IP network access point before automatically downloading the predicted IP data.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, the at least one processor operable with one or more software applications further configured to:

store the downloaded predicted IP data in cache memory on the mobile device wherein the cache memory is associated with an application on the mobile device that would have downloaded the predicted IP data if the download had been manually initiated by a user.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the non-cellular IP network access point is one of a WiFi IP network access point, a WiMax IP network access point, and a whitespace IP network access point.

6. At least one non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a set of instructions that in response to being executed on a mobile computing device cause the mobile computing device to:

collect Internet Protocol (IP) data consumption information associated with the mobile device;

predict, based on the collected IP data consumption information, IP data the mobile device is expected to consume at a future time;

automatically bypass any cellular network connection and downloading the predicted IP data to the mobile device using the at least one other RF transceiver over the non-cellular IP network access point;

store the downloaded predicted IP data in the data storage component such that the stored IP data is not transported over a cellular network; and

in response to a request for the predicted IP data and when no non-cellular IP network access point connection is available to the mobile device;

bypass an available cellular network connection; and

access the stored predicted IP data from cache memory using an application on the mobile device associated with the stored predicted IP data.

7. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, comprising instructions that in response to being executed on the mobile computing device cause the computing device to:

collect non-cellular IP network connectivity information associated with the mobile device;

predict, based on the collected non-cellular IP network connectivity information, when the mobile device can be expected to be connected to the non-cellular IP network access point; and

attempt to perform the automatically downloading the predicted IP data step at a time when the mobile device is predicted to be connected to the non-cellular IP network access point.

8. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, comprising instructions that in response to being executed on the mobile computing device cause the computing device to:

wait until the mobile device is connected to the non-cellular IP network access point before automatically downloading the predicted IP data.

9. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, comprising instructions that in response to being executed on the mobile computing device cause the computing device to:

store the downloaded predicted IP data in cache memory on the mobile device wherein the cache memory is associated with an application on the mobile device that would have downloaded the predicted IP data if the download had been manually initiated by a user.

10. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the non-cellular IP network access point is one of a WiFi IP network access point, a WiMax IP network access point, and a whitespace IP network access point.