Message distribution system, distribution sequence determination device, distribution sequence determination method, and distribution sequence determination program

• US 9,967,323 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2013
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Shiroshima, Takahiro, Onishi, Takeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nano, Sargon
• Application Number:
  US14/758,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20150334175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/74 measures in reaction to resource unavailability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]

Abstract

In order to reduce wasteful delays occurring when a mobile terminal whose RRC state is a state wherein communication is possible transfers in a temporarily stopped state, a distribution sequence determination device, which determines the distribution sequence for push messages transmitted to each of multiple terminals, determines the distribution sequence on the basis of whether each of the multiple terminals is in a state wherein communication is possible or is in a temporarily stopped state, so as to transmit the push messages to each of the multiple terminals in a distribution sequence in which terminals in a state wherein communication is possible are given priority over terminals in the temporarily stopped state.

Claims

1. A distribution sequence determination device, comprising:

a terminal state determination unit that acquires information as to whether each of a plurality of terminals to which a message is transmitted is in a state in which communication is possible or in a temporarily stopped state, based on a communication frequency of the terminal, wherein when no data packet is received from the terminal during a fixed period of time, the terminal is changed from being in the state in which communication is possible to the temporarily stopped state, and wherein when the terminal is able to receive data packets, the terminal is changed from the temporarily stopped state to the state in which communication is possible; and

a distribution sequence control unit that determines a distribution sequence for the message on the basis of the information so as to transmit the message to each of a plurality of the terminals in a sequence in which the terminal in the state in which communication is possible is given priority over the terminal in the temporarily stopped state,

wherein the distribution sequence determination device transmits the message to each terminal in accordance with the determined sequence, the determined distributed sequence reducing a time in which the terminals receive the message by taking into account a length of time in which the terminal in the temporarily stopped state exits the temporarily stopped state.

2. The distribution sequence determination device according to claim 1, wherein:

the distribution sequence control unit determines the distribution sequence so as to transmit the message to each of the plurality of the terminals in the sequence in which among the terminals in which communication is possible, such that a first terminal having an allowable no-communication period required to transition the first terminal to temporarily stop communication that is less than a threshold is given priority within the sequence over a second terminal having an allowable no-communication period required to transition the second terminal to temporarily stop communication that is greater than the threshold.

3. The distribution sequence determination device according to claim 2, wherein

the distribution sequence control unit determines the distribution sequence so that a third terminal in which communication is possible and having an allowable no-communication period required to transition the third terminal to temporarily stop communication that is unknown is given highest priority within the sequence.

4. The distribution sequence determination device according to claim 3, wherein

the distribution sequence control unit sets the allowable no-communication period of the third terminal to a predetermined length.

5. The distribution sequence determination device according to claim 2, wherein

the allowable no-communication period is an estimated period.

6. The distribution sequence determination device according to claim 5, wherein

the allowable no-communication period is a period estimated on the basis of at least time at which the terminal ends the last communication.

7. A message distribution system comprising:

a distribution sequence determination device; and

a network device,

wherein the distribution sequence determine device comprises;

a terminal state determination unit that acquires information as to whether each of a plurality of terminals to which a message is transmitted is in a state in which communication is possible or in a temporarily stopped state, based on a communication frequency of the terminal, wherein when no data packet is received from the terminal during a fixed period of time, the terminal is changed from being in the state in which communication is possible to the temporarily stopped state, and wherein when the terminal is able to receive data packets, the terminal is changed from the temporarily stopped state to the state in which communication is possible; and

a distribution sequence control unit that determines a distribution sequence for the message on the basis of the information so as to transmit the message to each of a plurality of the terminals in a sequence in which the terminal in the state in which communication is possible is given priority over the terminal in the temporarily stopped state,

wherein the distribution sequence determination device transmits the message to each terminal in accordance with the determined sequence, the determined distributed sequence reducing a time in which the terminals receive the message by taking into account a length of time in which the terminal in the temporarily stopped state exits the temporarily stopped state,

and wherein the network device distributes a message to a terminal according to a distribution sequence determined by the distribution sequence determination device.

8. A distribution sequence determination method, comprising:

acquiring information as to whether each of a plurality of terminals to which a message is transmitted is in a state in which communication is possible or in a temporarily stopped state, based on a communication frequency of the terminal, wherein when no data packet is received from the terminal during a fixed period of time, the terminal is changed from being in the state in which communication is possible to the temporarily stopped state, and wherein when the terminal is able to receive data packets, the terminal is changed from the temporarily stopped state to the state in which communication is possible;

determining distribution sequence on the basis of the information so as to transmit the push message to each of a plurality of the terminals in a sequence in which the terminal in the state wherein communication is possible is given priority over the terminal in the temporarily stopped state; and

transmitting the message to each terminal in accordance with the determined sequence, the determined distributed sequence reducing a time in which the terminals receive the message by taking into account a length of time in which the terminal in the temporarily stopped state exits the temporarily stopped state.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a distribution sequence determination program which causes a computer to function as

terminal state determination unit that acquires information as to whether each of a plurality of terminals to which a message is transmitted is in a state in which communication is possible or in a temporarily stopped state, based on a communication frequency of the terminal, wherein when no data packet is received from the terminal during a fixed period of time, the terminal is changed from being in the state in which communication is possible to the temporarily stopped state, and wherein when the terminal is able to receive data packets, the terminal is changed from the temporarily stopped state to the state in which communication is possible;

and

distribution sequence control unit that determines a distribution sequence on the basis of the information so as to transmit the message to each of a plurality of the terminals in a sequence in which the terminal in the state wherein communication is possible is given priority over the terminal in the temporarily stopped state,

wherein the computer transmits the message to each terminal in accordance with the determined sequence, the determined distributed sequence reducing a time in which the terminals receive the message by taking into account a length of time in which the terminal in the temporarily stopped state exits the temporarily stopped state.