Optimizing Resources In Data Transmission

What is this patent about?

’087 is related to the field of data transmission, specifically addressing the challenge of efficiently delivering data to multiple devices with varying capabilities and network conditions. Traditional methods often compromise quality and capacity by catering to the lowest common denominator, leading to inefficient use of network and device resources. The patent aims to optimize data transmission by intelligently selecting subcarriers based on the capabilities of the receiving devices.

The underlying idea behind ’087 is to analyze the capabilities of multiple devices requesting the same data and then select an optimal set of subcarriers for transmission. This selection is based on minimizing the capacity loss across all devices, ensuring that the transmission is tailored to the collective capabilities rather than being limited by the least capable device. The key insight is that by understanding the modulation levels and other parameters supported by each device for each subcarrier, a more efficient transmission strategy can be devised.

The claims of ’087 focus on a method and apparatus for dynamically adjusting data transmission based on device capabilities. Specifically, the independent claims cover receiving a data request from a device, determining the device's capability information, selecting a first set of subcarriers based on this information, and sending a portion of the data via these subcarriers. The claims also address scenarios where the device's request is updated, leading to a re-evaluation of the subcarrier selection and subsequent transmission of another data portion via an updated set of subcarriers .

In practice, the system would maintain a database of device capability profiles, each specifying the supported modulation levels and other relevant parameters for each subcarrier. When multiple devices request the same data, the system analyzes these profiles to determine the subcarriers that offer the best compromise between capacity and compatibility. This involves calculating a capacity reduction metric for each subcarrier, which quantifies the amount of potential data loss if that subcarrier is used for transmission to all requesting devices.

The system then selects the subcarriers that minimize this capacity reduction metric, ensuring that the data is transmitted as efficiently as possible without sacrificing the experience of the more capable devices. This approach differs from prior solutions that simply use the lowest common denominator modulation level across all subcarriers, resulting in significant bandwidth wastage. By dynamically adapting the subcarrier selection based on device capabilities, ’087 achieves a more efficient and optimized data transmission strategy.