Adjusting acknowledgement requests for remote control transmissions based on previous acknowledgements

• US 9,633,556 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2011
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Reams, William R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burgdorf, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US13/286,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20130111192A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,003 Days
• Field of Search: 341176, 712225, 712 E9016
• 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 of a plurality different types based at least on a history of received previous acknowledgements, the method comprising:

processing a current instruction of a particular type, utilizing at least one processing unit, to transmit via a remote control device;

determining, utilizing the at least one processing unit, whether or not to include a current acknowledgement request in the current instruction based at least on statistics regarding receipt of past acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions other than the current instruction, wherein the determining step comprises;

if a number of past acknowledgements successfully received by the remote control device during a first time period prior to processing the current instruction is less than a first threshold value, determining to include the current acknowledgement request in the current instruction;

if the number of past acknowledgements successfully received by the remote control device during the first time period is less than a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value, but at least equals the first threshold value, determining to include the acknowledgement request only if a second time period has elapsed since the remote control device has transmitted an instruction of a same type as the current instruction, with an acknowledgement request; and

if the number of past acknowledgments successfully received by the remote control device during the first time period prior to the processing of the current instruction is greater or equal to the second threshold value, or if less than the second time period has elapsed since the remote control device has transmitted the instruction of the same type as the current instruction with an acknowledgment request, determining not to include the acknowledgment request in the current instruction;

if said operation of determining determines to include the current acknowledgement request in the current instruction, transmitting, utilizing the remote control device, the current instruction with the current acknowledgement request; and

if said operation of determining determines to not include the current acknowledgement request in the current instruction, transmitting, utilizing the remote control device, the current instruction without an acknowledgement request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said operation of determining, utilizing the at least one processing unit, whether or not to include a current acknowledgement request in the current instruction based at least on statistics regarding receipt of past acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions further comprises:

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

if the current instruction is of a second classification of instruction, determining to include the current 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 of instruction comprises a high data rate type of instruction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second time period is measured according to at least one of:

a time elapsed since the instruction of the same type as the current instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request, or a number of instructions of the same type as the current instruction that have been transmitted since the instruction of the same type as the current instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second time period is shortened when the number of past acknowledgements successfully received during the first time period is less than the second threshold value by at least a first amount and the second time period is lengthened when the number of past acknowledgements successfully received during the first time period is less than the second threshold value by less than the first amount.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted instruction includes the current acknowledgement request, and further comprising determining whether an acknowledgement is received within a timeout period in response to the current acknowledgement request.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising adding information regarding whether the acknowledgement is received within the timeout period in response to the current acknowledgement request to the statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to previously transmitted instructions.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising if the acknowledgement is not received within the timeout period in response to the current acknowledgement request, retransmitting the current instruction.

9. A system for adjusting acknowledgement requests for remote control transmissions of a plurality different types based at least on a history of received previous acknowledgements, comprising:

a remote control device, comprising;

at least one non-transitory storage medium that stores statistics regarding receipt of past 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 processes a current instruction of a particular type, to transmit by the remote control device via the at least one communication component;

wherein the at least one processing unit;

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

if a number of past acknowledgements successfully received by the remote control device during a first time period prior to processing the current instruction is less than a first threshold value, the at least one processing unit determines to include the current acknowledgement request in the current instruction,

if the number of past acknowledgements successfully received by the remote control device during the first time period is less than a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value, but at least equals the first threshold value, the at least one processing unit determines to include the acknowledgement request only if a second time period has elapsed since the remote control device has transmitted an instruction of a same type as the current instruction, with an acknowledgement request; and

if the number of past acknowledgments successfully received by the remote control device during the first time period prior to the processing of the current instruction is greater or equal to the second threshold value, or if less than the second time period has elapsed since the remote control device has transmitted the instruction of the same type as the current instruction with an acknowledgment request, the at least one processing unit determines not to include the acknowledgment request in the current instruction;

if the at least one processing unit determines to include the current acknowledgement request in the current instruction, transmits the current instruction with the current acknowledgement request, via the at least one communication component, and

if the at least one processing unit determines to not include the current acknowledgement request in the current instruction, transmits the current instruction without an acknowledgement request, via the at least one communication component.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one processing unit shortens the second time period when the number of past acknowledgements successfully received during the first time period is less than the second threshold value by at least a first amount and lengthens the second time period when the number of past acknowledgements successfully received during the first time period is less than the second threshold value by less than the first amount.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one processing unit measures the second time period according to at least one of a time elapsed since the instruction of the same type as the current instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request or a number of instructions of the same type as the current instruction that have been transmitted since the instruction of the same type as the current instruction has been transmitted with an acknowledgement request.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one processing unit determines to include the current acknowledgement request if:

the current instruction is of a first classification of instruction, or

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

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the current instruction transmitted by the at least one processing unit via the at least one communication component includes the current acknowledgement request and the at least one processing unit determines whether an acknowledgement is received within a timeout period in response to the current acknowledgement request.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one processing unit adds information regarding whether the acknowledgement is received within the timeout period in response to the current acknowledgement request to the statistics regarding receipt of acknowledgements transmitted in response to instructions previously transmitted by the remote control device.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one processing unit retransmits the current instruction via the communication component if the acknowledgement is not received within the timeout period in response to the current acknowledgement request.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the current instruction transmitted by the at least one processing unit via the at least one communication component comprises at least one packet and the current acknowledgement request comprises at least one bit flag included in the at least one packet.