Wireless network device and communication method
By using the energy detection circuit to determine channel conditions and turn off the radio frequency transceiver during the reception beacon of the radio frequency transceiver of the wireless network device, the increase in power consumption caused by the long opening time of the radio frequency transceiver is solved, and the effect of extending the operating time of the equipment is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311118680.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-08-31
- Publication Date
- 2025-02-28
AI Technical Summary
Existing wireless network devices have been on the RF transceiver for too long during the reception of beacons, resulting in increased power consumption and reduced operating time under battery power.
During the period when the RF transceiver is turned on, the energy detection circuit is used to determine whether the channel meets the preset conditions, and if it does not meet, the RF transceiver will be turned off to reduce power consumption.
Effectively reduces the power consumption of wireless network devices and extends the operating time under battery power.
Smart Images
Figure CN119545490A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a power saving scheme for wireless network equipment, and more particularly to a wireless network equipment and a communication method, which can turn off the radio frequency transceiver based on energy detection to reduce power consumption when the radio frequency transceiver is turned on to receive a beacon, thereby saving power and increasing the operating time of the wireless network equipment when powered by a battery. Background Art
[0002] Wireless network devices (or stations) can transmit signals with access points (APs) through channels, and in sleep mode, wireless network devices will periodically turn on the RF transceiver to receive beacons sent by the access point through the channel, so as to determine whether the access point has cached data packets to send. Since the power consumption of the RF transceiver is relatively large, the longer the RF transceiver is turned on to receive beacons, the more power consumption of the wireless network device is increased, thereby reducing the operating time of the wireless network device when powered by batteries. Summary of the invention
[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wireless network device and a communication method to address the deficiencies of the prior art. The wireless network device and the communication method can turn off the RF transceiver based on energy detection to reduce power consumption while the RF transceiver is turned on to receive beacons, thereby saving power and increasing the operating time of the wireless network device when powered by a battery.
[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, one of the technical solutions adopted by the present invention is to provide a wireless network device. The wireless network device transmits signals with an access point through a channel, and includes a radio frequency transceiver and a control circuit. The control circuit is coupled to the radio frequency transceiver and is configured to execute a communication program, including the following steps: turning on the radio frequency transceiver to receive a beacon sent by the access point through the channel, and determining whether the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon; in response to determining that the radio frequency transceiver does not receive the beacon, determining whether the channel meets a preset condition through an energy detection circuit; and in response to determining that the channel meets the preset condition, turning off the radio frequency transceiver.
[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a communication method. The communication method is used for a wireless network device that transmits signals with an access point through a channel, and includes the following steps: turning on a radio frequency transceiver of the wireless network device to receive a beacon sent by the access point through the channel, and judging whether the radio frequency transceiver has received the beacon; in response to judging that the radio frequency transceiver has not received the beacon, judging whether the channel meets a preset condition through an energy detection circuit; and in response to judging that the channel meets the preset condition, turning off the radio frequency transceiver.
[0006] To further understand the features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings provided are only for reference and description and are not intended to limit the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Figure 1 It is a functional block diagram of a wireless network device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0008] Figure 2 It is a flow chart of the steps of the communication method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0009] Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the steps of the communication method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0010] Figure 4 FIG. 2 is a timing diagram of turning on and off a radio frequency transceiver according to a communication method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0011] Figure 5 It is a flow chart of the steps of the communication method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of turning on and off a radio frequency transceiver according to a communication method according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The following is an explanation of the implementation of the present invention through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the content provided in this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified and changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are only simple schematic illustrations and are not depicted according to actual dimensions. It is stated in advance. The following implementations will further explain the relevant technical content of the present invention in detail, but the content provided is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0014] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a wireless network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1As shown, the wireless network device 10 can transmit signals with the access point 14 through the channel 12, and includes a radio frequency transceiver 100 and a control circuit 102 coupled to the radio frequency transceiver 100. Specifically, the channel 12 and the access point 14 can be a wireless channel and a wireless access point, respectively, and after the wireless network device 10 establishes a communication connection with the access point 14, the wireless network device 10 can transmit and receive data packets through the radio frequency transceiver 100. However, when there is no data packet to be transmitted or received, the wireless network device 10 can enter a sleep mode to turn off the radio frequency transceiver 100 to save power.
[0015] In the sleep mode, the wireless network device 10 periodically turns on the RF transceiver 100 to receive the beacon ( Figure 1 (not shown) to determine whether the access point 14 has a cached data packet to send. Generally speaking, the control circuit 102 of the wireless network device 10 can turn on the RF transceiver 100 at the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, after receiving the beacon, the control circuit 102 will turn off the RF transceiver 100. Since other network devices can also transmit signals through the channel 12, when there are many network devices in the environment competing for the right to use the channel 12, the time point when the RF transceiver 100 actually receives the beacon may be delayed, and there is a significant time difference with the target beacon transmission time point.
[0016] In addition, the beacon may be lost due to collision with signals transmitted by other network devices. In this case, the RF transceiver 100 cannot receive the beacon. The RF transceiver 100 consumes a large amount of power. As the RF transceiver 100 is turned on for a longer time, the wireless network device 10 consumes more power, resulting in a reduced operating time of the wireless network device 10 when powered by a battery. In order to solve the above technical problems, the control circuit 102 of the wireless network device 10 can be configured to execute the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] Please also read Figure 2 , Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the steps of the communication method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the communication method of the first embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps.
[0018] Step S210: Turn on the radio frequency transceiver to receive a beacon sent by the access point through a channel.
[0019] Step S220: Determine whether the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon. If not, the communication method proceeds to step S230; if so, the communication method proceeds to step S240.
[0020] Step S230: Use the energy detection circuit to determine whether the channel meets the preset conditions. Figure 1 As shown, in response to determining that the RF transceiver 100 has not received a beacon, the control circuit 102 determines whether the channel 12 meets the preset condition through the energy detection circuit 104. If yes, the communication method proceeds to step S240; if not, the communication method returns to step S220.
[0021] Step S240: Turn off the RF transceiver. That is, in response to determining that the channel 12 meets the preset condition, the control circuit 102 turns off the RF transceiver 100, and in response to determining that the RF transceiver 100 receives a beacon, the control circuit 102 also turns off the RF transceiver 100.
[0022] Specifically, the control circuit 102 can be implemented by hardware (such as a processor and a memory) in combination with software and / or firmware, and the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented by a computer program. That is, the control circuit 102 can be configured to execute a communication program including the above steps. In addition, the energy detection circuit 104 is coupled to the control circuit 102, and it can be a clear channel assessment (CCA) circuit that detects the usage status of the channel 12 through energy. The control circuit 102 can detect the signal energy on the channel 12 through the energy detection circuit 104, and determine whether the channel 12 is in an idle state based on the signal energy on the channel 12.
[0023] For example, if the signal energy on the channel 12 is greater than a preset energy threshold, the present embodiment will determine that the channel 12 is not in an idle state. Theoretically, if the channel 12 is in an idle state, the access point 14 can obtain the right to use the channel 12 to send a beacon to the wireless network device 10. Therefore, when it is determined that the channel 12 is in an idle state and the duration of the idle state reaches a preset time threshold, the control circuit 102 can determine that the beacon sent by the access point 14 has been lost, thereby shutting down the RF transceiver 100. In other words, the above-mentioned preset condition can refer to the channel being in an idle state and the duration of the idle state reaching a preset time threshold.
[0024] Further, for the convenience of the following description, the present embodiment may define the time when the RF transceiver 100 is turned on to receive the beacon as the activity time of the RF transceiver 100. It should be noted that the prior art also usually sets a timeout threshold after the target beacon transmission time point. If a beacon is received before the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 reaches the timeout threshold, the prior art will turn off the RF transceiver 100, and may wait until the next target beacon transmission time point to reopen the RF transceiver 100 to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14. In addition, if a beacon is not received before the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 reaches the timeout threshold, the prior art will also turn off the RF transceiver 100, and may wait until the next target beacon transmission time point to reopen the RF transceiver 100 to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14.
[0025] Referring to the above-mentioned prior art, the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention also provides a second implementation method. Figure 3 , Figure 3 is a flow chart of the steps of the communication method of the second embodiment of the present invention, which is Figure 2 The same steps in will not be repeated here. Figure 3 As shown, in the communication method of the second embodiment of the present invention, step S230 may include the following steps.
[0026] Step S332: Determine whether the activity time of the RF transceiver reaches the first time threshold. If not, the communication method proceeds to step S334; if yes, the communication method proceeds to step S240. That is, in response to determining that the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 reaches the first time threshold, the control circuit 102 also turns off the RF transceiver 100.
[0027] Step S334: Determine whether the channel is in an idle state and whether the duration of the idle state reaches the second time threshold through the energy detection circuit. If so, the communication method proceeds to step S240; if not, the communication method returns to step S220. In other words, in response to determining that the channel 12 is not in an idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach the second time threshold, the control circuit 102 will again execute the step of determining whether the RF transceiver 100 has received a beacon.
[0028] Specifically, the first time threshold of this embodiment may refer to the above-mentioned timeout threshold, such as 20 milliseconds (ms), but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the second time threshold of this embodiment is less than the first time threshold. Figure 4 , Figure 4For the convenience of the following description, this embodiment uses logic high and logic low to indicate that the RF transceiver 100 is in the on state and the off state respectively.
[0029] like Figure 4 As shown, the control circuit 102 may execute the communication method of the second embodiment of the present invention at each target beacon transmission time point, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the control circuit 102 may turn on the RF transceiver 100 at the target beacon transmission time point P1 to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14. Next, taking the case where the beacon has been lost (i.e., the RF transceiver 100 cannot receive the beacon) as an example, before the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 reaches the first time threshold TH1, if the control circuit 102 determines at the time point T1 that the channel 12 is in an idle state and the duration of the idle state reaches the second time threshold ( Figure 4 (not shown), the control circuit 102 turns off the RF transceiver 100 and waits until the next target beacon transmission time point P2 to turn on the RF transceiver 100 to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14.
[0030] It can be seen that, in the case where the beacon has been lost, compared to the prior art, which keeps the RF transceiver 100 in an on state until the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 reaches the first time threshold TH1, the RF transceiver 100 is turned off. In this embodiment, the channel 12 can be found to have been idle for a period of time in time through energy detection, so as to determine that it is meaningless to keep the RF transceiver 100 in an on state. Therefore, without waiting for the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 to reach the first time threshold TH1, the control circuit 102 can turn off the RF transceiver 100 in advance to reduce power consumption, thereby saving power to increase the operating time of the wireless network device 10 when powered by a battery. In other words, in the case where the beacon has been lost, the communication method of the second embodiment of the present invention can shorten the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 compared to the prior art.
[0031] On the other hand, as mentioned above, when there are other network devices in the environment competing for the right to use the channel 12, the time point at which the RF transceiver 100 actually receives the beacon may be later than the target beacon transmission time point due to delay. That is to say, in the case of fierce channel competition, the access point 14 may obtain the right to use the channel 12 very late to send the beacon to the wireless network device 10, and the RF transceiver 100 may receive the beacon after its active time reaches the first time threshold TH1. Therefore, the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention can also timely discover that the channel 12 is always in a busy state (that is, the channel 12 is not in an idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach the time threshold) through energy detection, so as to judge that the access point 14 may send the beacon very late, and let the RF transceiver 100 continue to maintain the open state to increase the probability of the RF transceiver 100 receiving the beacon.
[0032] It should be understood that in order to periodically turn on the RF transceiver 100, two adjacent target beacon transmission time points are separated by a target interval time BI. In addition, in theory, the farther away from the target beacon transmission time point, the lower the probability that the RF transceiver 100 receives the beacon. Therefore, the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention can also divide the target interval time BI after the current target beacon transmission time point into multiple windows, and set different time thresholds for these windows to determine whether the channel 12 is always in a busy state.
[0033] It can be seen that, in the case of fierce channel competition, in order to increase the probability of the RF transceiver 100 receiving the beacon, the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention also provides a third implementation method. Figure 5 , Figure 5 is a flow chart of the steps of the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention, which is Figure 2 It should be noted that in the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit 102 is limited to start the RF transceiver 100 at the target beacon transmission time point to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14. In addition, Figure 5 As shown, before step S220, the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention may further include the following steps.
[0034] Step S510: Divide the target interval time after the target beacon transmission time point into multiple windows.
[0035] On the other hand, in the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention, step S230 may include the following steps.
[0036] Step S532: Select one of the windows as a target window according to the activity time of the RF transceiver.
[0037] Step S534: Determine whether the channel is in an idle state and whether the duration of the idle state reaches the time threshold corresponding to the target window through the energy detection circuit. If so, the communication method enters step S240; if not, the communication method returns to step S220. In other words, in response to determining that the channel 12 is not in an idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach the time threshold corresponding to the target window, the control circuit 102 will again perform the step of determining whether the RF transceiver 100 has received a beacon.
[0038] Please also refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of turning on and off the radio frequency transceiver by the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 As shown, the control circuit 102 turns on the RF transceiver 100 at the target beacon transmission time point P3 to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14, and the target interval time BI after the target beacon transmission time point P3 can be divided into four windows W1 to W4. For the convenience of the following description, this embodiment can assume that the duration of the windows W1 and W2 is equal to the first time threshold mentioned above.
[0039] In addition, for a window closer to the target beacon transmission time point P3, the control circuit 102 may set the corresponding time threshold to be larger to reduce the probability of misjudgment in the window. For example, the time threshold corresponding to window W1 may be set to 3 milliseconds, the time threshold corresponding to window W2 may be set to 2 milliseconds, the time threshold corresponding to window W3 may be set to 1.5 milliseconds, and the time threshold corresponding to window W4 may be set to 1 millisecond, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
[0040] Taking the case where the channel competition is fierce, when the RF transceiver 100 does not receive a beacon and the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 is in the window W1, the control circuit 102 will select the window W1 as the target window, and determine whether the channel 12 is in an idle state and whether the duration of the idle state reaches 3 milliseconds through the energy detection circuit 104. If the channel 12 is not in an idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach 3 milliseconds at this time, the control circuit 102 will keep the RF transceiver 100 in the on state to increase the probability that the RF transceiver 100 receives a beacon.
[0041] Similarly, when the RF transceiver 100 does not receive a beacon and the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 is in the window W2, the control circuit 102 selects the window W2 as the target window and determines whether the channel 12 is in an idle state and whether the duration of the idle state reaches 2 milliseconds through the energy detection circuit 104. If the channel 12 is not in an idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach 2 milliseconds at this time, the control circuit 102 will also keep the RF transceiver 100 in the on state to increase the probability that the RF transceiver 100 receives a beacon.
[0042] Next, if the RF transceiver 100 receives a beacon at time point T2, the control circuit 102 turns off the RF transceiver 100 and waits until the next target beacon transmission time point P4 to turn on the RF transceiver 100 to receive the beacon sent by the access point 14. Therefore, in the case of fierce channel competition, compared with the prior art that turns off the RF transceiver 100 when the activity time of the RF transceiver 100 reaches the first time threshold TH1, the present embodiment allows the RF transceiver 100 to continue to maintain the turned-on state to increase the probability of the RF transceiver 100 receiving the beacon.
[0043] It can be seen that, for the case where the beacon has been lost, the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention can shorten the active time of the RF transceiver 100 compared to the prior art, and for the case where the channel competition is more intense, the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention can extend the active time of the RF transceiver 100 compared to the prior art. In other words, compared to the prior art, the communication method of the third embodiment of the present invention can adaptively adjust the active time of the RF transceiver 100 according to different situations.
[0044] In summary, one of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the wireless network device and communication method provided by the present invention can turn off the RF transceiver based on energy detection to reduce power consumption during the period when the RF transceiver is turned on to receive beacons, thereby saving power and increasing the operating time of the wireless network device when powered by a battery.
[0045] The contents provided above are only preferred feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made using the contents of the specification and drawings of the present invention are included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.
[0046]
Explanation of symbols
[0047] 10: Wireless network equipment
[0048] 12: Channel
[0049] 14: Access Point
[0050] 100: RF transceiver
[0051] 102: Control circuit
[0052] 104: Energy detection circuit
[0053] P1, P2, P3, P4: target beacon transmission time point
[0054] TH1: First time threshold
[0055] T1, T2: time point
[0056] BI: Target Interval
[0057] W1~W4: Window
[0058] S210~S240, S332~S334, S510, S532~S534: process steps.
Claims
1. A wireless network device for transmitting signals with an access point via a channel, and comprising: a radio frequency transceiver; as well as A control circuit is coupled to the RF transceiver and configured to execute a communication procedure, the communication procedure comprising the following steps: Turning on the radio frequency transceiver to receive a beacon sent by the access point through the channel, and determining whether the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon; In response to determining that the radio frequency transceiver does not receive the beacon, determining whether the channel meets a preset condition through an energy detection circuit; as well as In response to determining that the channel meets the preset condition, the radio frequency transceiver is turned off.
2. The wireless network device according to claim 1, wherein: The communication program also includes: In response to determining that the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon, the radio frequency transceiver is turned off.
3. The wireless network device according to claim 2, wherein: The step of determining whether the channel meets the preset condition by the energy detection circuit includes: Determining whether an activity time of the RF transceiver reaches a first time threshold; and In response to determining that the activity time of the RF transceiver does not reach the first time threshold, the energy detection circuit determines whether the channel is in an idle state and whether a duration of the idle state reaches a second time threshold.
4. The wireless network device according to claim 3, wherein: The communication program also includes: In response to determining that the activity time of the RF transceiver reaches the first time threshold, shutting down the RF transceiver; and In response to determining that the channel is not in the idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach the second time threshold, the step of determining whether the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon is performed again.
5. The wireless network device according to claim 2, wherein: The control circuit turns on the radio frequency transceiver at a target beacon transmission time point to receive the beacon sent by the access point through the channel, and the communication procedure further includes: A target interval time after the target beacon transmission time point is divided into a plurality of windows, wherein the windows respectively correspond to a plurality of time thresholds.
6. The wireless network device according to claim 5, wherein: The step of determining whether the channel meets the preset condition by the energy detection circuit includes: Selecting one of the windows as a target window according to an activity time of the RF transceiver; and The energy detection circuit is used to determine whether the channel is in an idle state and whether a duration of the idle state reaches a time threshold corresponding to the target window.
7. The wireless network device according to claim 6, wherein: The communication program also includes: In response to determining that the channel is not in the idle state or the duration of the idle state does not reach the time threshold corresponding to the target window, the step of determining whether the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon is performed again.
8. A communication method, for a wireless network device, wherein the wireless network device transmits signals with an access point via a channel, and the communication method comprises: Turning on a radio frequency transceiver of the wireless network device to receive a beacon sent by the access point through the channel, and determining whether the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon; In response to determining that the radio frequency transceiver does not receive the beacon, determining whether the channel meets a preset condition through an energy detection circuit; as well as In response to determining that the channel meets the preset condition, the radio frequency transceiver is turned off.
9. The communication method according to claim 8, further comprising: In response to determining that the radio frequency transceiver receives the beacon, the radio frequency transceiver is turned off.
10. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein: The step of determining whether the channel meets the preset condition by the energy detection circuit includes: Determining whether an activity time of the RF transceiver reaches a first time threshold; and In response to determining that the activity time of the RF transceiver does not reach the first time threshold, the energy detection circuit determines whether the channel is in an idle state and whether a duration of the idle state reaches a second time threshold.