TIME-CRITICAL DATA VIA WI-FI

Abstract

A number of methods for reducing the latency of time-critical data transmissions are described. The first method describes reducing the latency of data transmissions containing time-critical data that arrives at a predictable time. The second method describes reducing the latency of data transmissions with time-critical data that arrives at an unpredictable time. In both methods, the data transmissions are supplemented with filler data to align the data fields of the data transmission with the arrival time of the time-critical data.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED REGISTRATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority over the preliminary US patent application No. 63 / 387,281 entitled “TIME-SENSITIVE DATA OVER WI-FI”, filed on December 13, 2022, which is incorporated in full by reference. AREA OF TECHNOLOGY

[0002] This disclosure relates to wireless communication and, in particular, to time-critical data transmitted over Wi-Fi. BACKGROUND

[0003] The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standards contain protocols for the implementation of WLAN communication (WLAN = Wireless Local Area Network), including Wi-Fi.

[0004] The subject matter claimed in this disclosure is not limited to implementations that overcome any disadvantages or function only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is provided only to illustrate an exemplary technology domain in which some of the embodiments described in this disclosure may be implemented. SUMMARY

[0005] This paper describes various embodiments relating to methods for reducing latency in time-critical data transmissions.

[0006] A wireless communication system is described. The system comprises data processing hardware and storage hardware that communicates with the data processing hardware. The storage hardware stores instructions which, when executed on the data processing hardware, cause the data processing hardware to perform operations that include: (1) predicting an arrival time for time-critical data; initiating a data transmission before the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data; and, if an actual arrival time of the time-critical data and the start of a data field in the data transmission do not coincide, adding padding data to the data transmission to align the start of the data field with the actual arrival time.

[0007] The padding is generally added to the beginning of the data field until the time-critical data becomes available after the actual arrival time of the time-critical data.

[0008] A method for reducing the latency of a data transmission is described, comprising: (1) predicting an arrival time for time-critical data; initiating a data transmission before the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data; and if an actual arrival time of the time-critical data and a start of a data field of the data transmission do not coincide, adding filler data to the data transmission to align the start of the data field with the actual arrival time.

[0009] A wireless communication system is described, comprising data processing hardware and storage hardware communicating with the data processing hardware. The storage hardware stores instructions which, when executed on the data processing hardware, cause the data processing hardware to perform operations that include: reserving a resource unit of a multiplexed data transmission for time-critical data; transmitting a preamble followed by one or more padding frames on the reserved resource unit; continuing to transmit padding frames on the reserved resource unit until time-critical data arrives; and transmitting a data field containing the time-critical data on the reserved resource unit.

[0010] A method for reducing the latency of a data transmission is described and includes: reserving a resource unit of a multiplexed data transmission for time-critical data; transmitting a preamble followed by one or more padding frames (e.g., empty AMPDU subframes) on the reserved resource unit; continuing to transmit padding frames on the reserved resource unit until the arrival of time-critical data; and transmitting a data field containing the time-critical data on the reserved resource unit.

[0011] Further aspects and advantages of the described embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which exemplify the principles of the described embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Exemplary embodiments are described and explained with additional specificity and detail using the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. Figure 1 shows an example timeline of events for a scenario where the competition begins shortly after the data arrives; Fig. Figure 2 shows a timeline of events for a scenario where (resource) competition can only begin after a previous transfer has ended; Fig. Figure 3 shows the case where the competition begins before the data arrives and the data arrives shortly before the start of the frame's data field; Fig. Figure 4 shows how the start of the PPDU data field may not coincide with the arrival of time-critical data; Fig. Figure 5 shows the structure of an exemplary A-MPDU; Fig. Figure 6 shows an A-MPDU with infill at the end of the frame; Fig. Figure 7 shows an example of padding within a frame (intra-frame padding). Fig. Figure 8 shows how all filler data can be inserted at the beginning of an A-MPDU before the first of the data-carrying A-MPDU subframes; Fig. 9A - 9C show how padding at the beginning of the frame can be used to account for the case that the data field begins before the time-critical data actually arrives; Fig. Figure 10 shows an exemplary multiplexed transmission according to the described embodiments; Fig. Figure 11 illustrates the advantages in data transmission latency using the information provided in the text. Fig. 5 - 9C described low-latency processing techniques; Fig. Sections 12A - 12B illustrate the advantages in data transmission latency using the information provided in the text. Fig. 10 described low-latency processing techniques; Fig. Figure 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a procedure for reducing the latency of a data transmission; and Fig. Figure 14 shows a schematic view illustrating a computer in the exemplary form of a computer device in which a set of instructions can be executed to cause the computer to perform one or more of the procedures discussed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] For time-critical data, it may be desirable for a packet to be available on a transmission medium as quickly as possible after the data arrives in a send buffer. However, there are inherent delays in sending data over Wi-Fi. Typically, the start of the competition (and subsequent access to the medium) is triggered by data availability. This means that even if the data has high priority, some time will inevitably be spent competing for the medium, sending the preamble, etc., even if the medium is not occupied by transmissions from one or more other devices attempting to use the same wireless network.

[0014] Fig. Figure 1 shows an example timeline of events for a scenario where competition begins shortly after the data arrives. In such a scenario, it takes until the start of a data field 102 of a data transmission 100 for the data to be considered transmitted wirelessly over the air. The result of waiting for the data to arrive is therefore a delay 104, which is determined at least by a competition delay 106 and the time required for the transmission 100's preamble 108 to be transmitted. A competition delay 106 can vary considerably in length depending on how many devices are competing to use a particular Wi-Fi network, but generally lasts between 100 and 300 microseconds. The preamble 108 is generally about 50 microseconds, but can also vary between 25 and 75 microseconds depending on the preamble implementation used.It should be noted that data field 102 may contain one or more data-carrying subframes designed to contain all the data to be included in data transmission 100.

[0015] If the medium is occupied, the delay is higher because an upcoming transmission (in this case, the time-critical data) must also wait for the medium to become available.

[0016] Fig. Figure 2 shows a timeline for a scenario where the competition can only begin after the previous transmission 200 has finished. The additional time resulting from waiting for the previous transmission 200 to complete leads to a delay 202, which is much longer than the delay 104 mentioned earlier in the text. Fig. 1 was described. This can be problematic in situations where the transmission latency caused by the previous transmission 200 falls below a performance threshold for transmission 250.

[0017] Since the start of competition is usually triggered by the availability of data, these delays may seem unavoidable. However, this need not be the case in many scenarios, for example, when the data follows a predictable pattern, as is the case with time-critical traffic. Example 1: Reduced latency for predictable, time-critical data

[0018] If the arrival of time-critical data (and the amount of data) can be predicted with sufficient accuracy, the contingencies and transmission of the preamble can begin before the data is available in the transmit buffer. If access to the medium is timed correctly, the frame payload can then be built "just in time" when the data arrives at the expected time. This eliminates any delay between the arrival of the data and the time of transmission over the medium. For example, certain time-critical data can be received at a known interval. This interval can occur at fixed absolute times. Alternatively, successive inputs of time-critical data can be separated by a uniform time interval once they have begun.In these cases, an electronic device responsible for sending the aforementioned transmissions can be configured to accurately determine the expected arrival time for the transmission of time-critical data. In some embodiments, the incoming data may contain scheduling information that informs the electronic device of the times at which subsequent time-critical data will arrive.

[0019] Fig. Figure 3 shows the case where the competition begins before the data arrives, and the data arrives shortly before the start of the frame's data field. In this case, the delay between the arrival of the data and the time at which the data is actually transmitted is, compared to, for example, Fig. 1 significantly lower. However, the duration of the competition is sometimes unpredictable, determined by random numbers, and depends on the activity of other devices on the medium. Therefore, the exact time at which a protocol data unit (PPDU) of the physical layer begins cannot be predicted with absolute accuracy.

[0020] In Fig. Figure 4 therefore illustrates how the start of the PPDU data field may not coincide with the arrival of time-critical data. If the data arrives before the start of the PPDU data field (as in, for example, Fig. 3) This is not a problem. However, if the data arrives after the start of the PPDU data field, an additional function is required, otherwise the incoming data may not be transmitted until further data transmission is initiated.

[0021] Since there must be no gap between the end of the preamble and the beginning of the data field, the time during which the data is not yet available can be bridged. This could be achieved by some form of padding (a. padding data). The next section provides a proposal for this. First, a brief summary of the types of padding data already defined in 802.11 and how they differ from the padding data to be used in this disclosure. The payload of the 802.11 framework can contain an aggregated MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) (A-MPDU), which combines a variable number of individual MPDUs.

[0022] Fig. Figure 5 shows the structure of an example A-MPDU. The A-MPDU may contain a sequence of "subframes" 502–508. Each subframe may contain an MPDU 510, which contains data to be transmitted, preceded by a 4-byte MPDU delimiter 512, and to which up to 3 bytes of padding data 514 may be appended (so that each subframe is a multiple of 4 bytes). The MPDU delimiter 512 contains an MPDU length 518, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) 520, and an end-of-frame (EOF) bit 522, which can be used to indicate whether further subframes should follow.

[0023] The MPDU limiter 512 is also used to provide various forms of fill data in the A-MPDU 500. Specifically, the MPDU limiter 512 is used to fill the end of the frame and the minimum MPDU start distance. End-of-frame padding

[0024] If the expected PPDU duration is longer than required for transmitting the AMPDU, additional (dummy) payload data is generated by padding with delimiters (subframes with zero MPDU length). These padding subframes can be filtered out by the MAC on the receiving end. Padding subframes can also be referred to as empty or zero subframes, as they are not considered data-carrying subframes.

[0025] Fig. Figure 6 shows an A-MPDU 600 with padding 602 at the end of the frame. Since all the padding 602 occurs at the end of the MPDU 600 (after the last data-carrying A-MPDU subframes 604-608), the delimiter's EOF field is used for the end-of-frame padding (End of Frame Padding Subframe) to set the padding 602 to 1, as shown. This can help the MAC decide that no further data is expected from the PHY, thus avoiding unnecessary processing.

[0026] Minimum MPDU start intervals. Some receiver implementations have a limited number of MPDUs they can process, requiring a certain delay between consecutive MPDUs. To achieve this, a time gap is created between the end of one subframe and the beginning of the next by inserting subframe delimiters. The amount of padding is chosen based on the data rate to create the desired time gap. This gap is intended to reduce the processing load at the receiver.

[0027] Fig. Figure 7 shows an example of intra-frame padding, where padding subframes 704 are inserted between the data-carrying A-MPDU subframes 702 of a data field in a data transmission. In this case, the EOF subfield in the padding delimiters is set to 0 as shown, since the data-carrying A-MPDU subframes 702 can continue after the padding delimiters are inserted into the padding subframe 704. Fill at the beginning of the frame

[0028] Using the example of EOF padding and minimum MPDU spacing padding, this can be illustrated in Fig. The problem described in section 4 can be addressed with a new, but similar, type of padding.

[0029] Fig. Figure 8 shows how all padding data can be inserted at the beginning of an A-MPDU 800, before the first of the data-carrying A-MPDU subframes 802–806. The EOF bit of the padding limiter for padding subframes 808–814 can be set to 0, as shown, since further data-carrying subframes are expected.

[0030] The MAC already supports ignoring padding subframes and parsing the A-MPDU byte stream for the data-carrying subframes 808-814. We could reuse these capabilities to define start-of-frame padding.

[0031] The Fig. 9A to 9C show how this start-of-frame padding can be used to account for the case that the data field begins before the time-critical data actually arrives. Fig. 9A shows how a data transmission 900 can be initiated such that the expected arrival time of the time-critical data is close to the end of the preamble 904. This minimizes the time interval between the arrival of the time-critical data and the start of the A-MPDU subframe 906, thereby minimizing the latency of the time-critical data transmission.

[0032] Fig. Figure 9B shows how, in some embodiments, the actual arrival of the data does not exactly match the predicted arrival time. Inaccuracies in the prediction can have many causes, such as signal jitter, which in itself can lead to timing deviations that may necessitate the addition of a padding frame. In the event that the arrival time is later than the predicted arrival time, padding subframes 910–912 can be added between preamble 904 and A-MPDU subframe 906 to avoid a situation where A-MPDU subframe 906 begins before the arrival of the time-critical data, which in this particular example occurs halfway through padding subframe 912.

[0033] Fig. Figure 9C shows how an additional padding subframe 914 is added in the event that half the length of the padding subframe 912 is insufficient to process the received time-critical data for inclusion in the A-MPDU subframe 906. In this way, the received data can be included in the A-MPDU subframe 906 and, in some embodiments, if necessary to include all received time-critical data, in the A-MPDU subframe 908.

[0034] In some embodiments, the time-critical data arrives in the buffer of an exemplary electronic device. In other embodiments, however, a device can be designed to operate in accordance with the described embodiments without permanently or temporarily storing the received time-critical data in a local memory, e.g., a buffer, before processing the time-critical data and transmitting it in a data field, e.g., A-MPDU subframe 906. In this way, the problems associated with the late arrival of time-critical data, which relate to Fig. The issues discussed in section 4 will be addressed. It should be noted that while the use of the standards associated with A-MPDU subframes was employed to describe an implementation method, this example serves only as an illustration and should not be interpreted as a loss of general applicability of the described embodiments. In particular, the described embodiments can be used with various forms of filler data and operate with different other data field types.

[0035] In some embodiments, a combination of end-of-frame padding, intra-frame padding, and / or start-of-frame padding can be used. Using a combination of padding types can be helpful, for example, when time-critical data is received in rapid succession. In such a case, start-of-frame padding can be used to align the first data field of a data transmission with the arrival of the first set of time-critical data, and the additional intra-frame padding can help align the arrival of one or more additional sets of time-critical data with additional data fields of the data transmission.

[0036] For time-critical data traffic with predictable arrival times (and predictable volume), starting a data transmission before the arrival of the time-critical data enables an early competition process, reducing the delay between the arrival of the data and its transmission over the air. Start-of-frame padding can be used when the arrival of the data and the start of the data field are not properly synchronized.

[0037] This example deals with the case where the medium is available at (or around) the time the data arrives. For time-critical data (with or without a predictable arrival time), a slightly different approach can be used. This will be discussed in the next section. Example 2: Reduced latency for unpredictable, time-dependent data

[0038] Fig. Figure 10 shows an example of a multiplex transmission 1000, which is useful in scenarios where a time-critical packet is delayed by an ongoing transmission (such as in Fig. 2). Fig. Figure 10 shows how time-critical data can be sent using OFDMA. However, other forms of multiplexing, such as time-division multiplexing or code-division multiplexing, could also be used to allow multiple devices / users to use the available bandwidth simultaneously.

[0039] The example OFDMA transmission can be configured for multiple users or for a single user using a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU). In this example OFDMA transmission 1000, one Resource Unit (RU) can be reserved for time-critical traffic. If no such traffic is available, the payload of this RU can consist solely of start-of-frame padding. However, if time-critical traffic occurs in one of the padding subframes 1002, as shown, the data can be immediately included in the A-MPDU 1004 assigned to the reserved RU without any delay or waiting for the PPDU to finish.

[0040] In Fig. In the lowest of the four depicted RUs, there is initially no data, but only padding data for the beginning of the frame in the form of padding subframes 1002. When actual data arrives, it can be transmitted immediately as part of the ongoing PPDU, instead of having to wait for the next transmission. In some embodiments, the lowest of the four depicted RUs may be allocated a bandwidth of approximately 20 MHz for the transmission of time-critical data.

[0041] In some embodiments, both the ongoing transmission and the time-critical data originate from the same transmitter.

[0042] Several methods are presented for how time-critical traffic can avoid the delays typically encountered in the Wi-Fi protocol. One approach is the early initiation of conflicts when the traffic exhibits a predictable pattern and arrival times. This is particularly useful when the medium is not yet occupied at the time the time-critical traffic arrives, as the duration of the competition can be predicted with greater accuracy. In implementations utilizing A-MPDUs, a novel form of A-MPDU padding, namely start-of-frame padding, is employed.

[0043] Furthermore, one or more RUs in an OFDMA transmission could be reserved for time-critical traffic, even if that traffic is not yet available at the start of the OFDMA frame. Generally, a larger number of RUs, representing a larger portion of the available bandwidth, can be used when a larger volume of time-critical data is expected. Start-of-frame padding could also be used here to generate dummy payload data (i.e., pad subframes) until time-critical traffic becomes available. When time-critical traffic arrives, it can then be transmitted in the reserved RU.

[0044] Fig. Figure 11 illustrates the advantages of the described embodiments with regard to data transmission latency (the delay between the arrival of the data and its transmission). In particular, in Fig. 11 the average latency when using the ones mentioned in the text Fig. The low-latency processing techniques described in Sections 5-9C are presented, and these latencies are compared to the latencies achieved with high-priority (AC_VO) and lower-priority (AC_BE) data transmissions that do not benefit from the described implementations. As shown, the low-latency techniques are almost three times shorter than high-priority (AC_VO) data transmissions using MCS 0 modulation (a form of BPSK modulation) and over four times shorter than high-priority (AC_VO) data transmissions using MCS 9 modulation (a form of 256QAM modulation).

[0045] The Fig. illustrate the advantages of the described embodiments with regard to data transmission latency using the data described in the text. Fig. described low-latency processing techniques suitable for use with time-critical traffic that arrives at unpredictable times. Fig. 12A shows the relative power of Wi-Fi stations that are authorized to transmit data for a period of five microseconds. Fig. Evidence 12A shows that when using low-latency techniques in conjunction with unpredictable arrival times, the latency is almost an order of magnitude shorter than when using AC_BE and AC_VO priority transmissions. Fig. Figure 12B shows the relative performance with Wi-Fi stations authorized to transmit data for a period of two microseconds. The in Fig. The latency difference shown in 12B may be less severe because the delays in transmissions with AC_BE and AC_VO priority are lower, as the traffic received during another transmission is less affected on average due to the shorter data transmission times.

[0046] Fig. Figure 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for reducing the latency of a data transmission. In Figure 1302, an arrival time for time-critical data is predicted. The arrival time prediction can be determined in various ways. For example, the prediction can be based on regular release intervals or a regular schedule for releasing the time-critical data. In Figure 1304, data transmission is initiated before the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data. In some embodiments, the timing of the data transmission can be set such that a data field of the data transmission begins shortly after the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data.In some embodiments, the timing of the data transmission can be based on the volume of traffic in the data network and how the traffic is expected to affect any competing delay that occurs when the data transmission is initiated. In 1304, padding is added to the data transmission to align the start of the data transmission field with the actual arrival of the time-critical data.

[0047] Fig. Figure 14 shows an example of a computing device 1400 with a processing device (e.g. a processor) 1402, a main memory 1404 (e.g. read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), a static memory 1406 (e.g. flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM)) and a data storage device 1416, which communicate with each other via a bus 1408.

[0048] The processing device 1402 is one or more general-purpose processing devices, such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit, or the like. In particular, the processing device 1402 may include a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) microprocessor, a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) microprocessor, a VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) microprocessor, or a processor implementing other instruction sets or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing device 1402 may also include one or more specialized processing devices, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, or the like. The processing device 1402 is configured to execute instructions 1426 to perform the operations and steps discussed herein.

[0049] The computing device 1400 may further include a network interface device 1422 that can communicate with a network 1418. The computing device 1400 may also include a display device 1410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 1412 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 1414 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 1420 (e.g., a loudspeaker). In at least one implementation, the display device 1410, the alphanumeric input device 1412, and the cursor control device 1414 may be combined in a single component or device (e.g., an LCD touchscreen).

[0050] The data storage device 1416 may contain a computer-readable storage medium 1424 on which one or more instruction sets 1426 are stored, embodying one or more of the procedures or functions described herein. The instructions 1426 may also reside wholly or at least partially in the main memory 1404 and / or the processing device 1402 while being executed by the computer device 1400, the main memory 1404 and the processing device 1402 also being computer-readable media. The instructions may furthermore be transmitted or received over a network 1418 via the network interface device 1422.

[0051] While the computer-readable storage medium 1426 is presented in an exemplary implementation as a single medium, the term "computer-readable storage medium" can encompass a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more instruction sets. The term "computer-readable storage medium" can also encompass any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying an instruction set for execution by the computer and causing the computer to perform one or more of the methods disclosed herein. Accordingly, the term "computer-readable storage medium" can be understood to include, but is not limited to, solid-state storage, optical media, and magnetic media.

[0052] In an example, a multi-link device can comprise a memory and one or more processors operationally connected to the memory. The one or more processors can be configured to perform operations including receiving data to be transferred, where the data includes latency-sensitive and non-latency-sensitive data, allocating at least some of the latency-sensitive data to a first channel, and allocating non-latency-sensitive data to a second channel, where the first channel has a narrower width than the second channel. The exemplary multi-link device can comprise a first link and a second link, where the first channel is allocated to the first link of the multi-link device and the second channel is allocated to the second link of the multi-link device.The exemplary multilink device may be designed for operation in a system at 320 MHz or higher. The example multilink device may include a first channel, which is assigned based on an interference measurement with respect to the first channel.

[0053] Several implementations have been described. However, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the revelation. Accordingly, other implementations also fall within the scope of the following claims.

[0054] As is common practice, the various features depicted in the drawings may not be drawn to scale. The illustrations presented in this disclosure are not to be understood as actual views of a particular device (e.g., an apparatus, a system, etc.) or process, but merely as idealized representations used to describe various embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily enlarged or reduced for clarity. Furthermore, some of the drawings may be simplified for the sake of clarity. Thus, the drawings may not depict all components of a particular apparatus (e.g., an apparatus) or all operations of a particular process.

[0055] The terms used here and in particular in the attached claims (e.g. the main parts of the attached claims) are generally to be understood as “open” terms (e.g. the term “including” is to be understood as “including but not limited to”, the term “with” as “with at least”, the term “comprises” as “comprises but not limited to”, etc.).

[0056] If a specific number of inserted claims is intended, this will be expressly stated in the claim; if no such mention is made, no such intention exists. For clarity, the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" may be used in the following appended claims to introduce claim mentions. However, the use of such phrases should not be interpreted as limiting a particular claim containing such an introduced claim enumeration to embodiments that contain only such an enumeration, even if the same claim contains the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "one" or "one" (e.g.,, “a” and / or “an” should be interpreted as meaning “at least one” or “one or more”; the same applies to the use of certain articles to introduce claim formulations.

[0057] Even if a specific number of introductory enumerations of claims is expressly stated, it is to be assumed that this enumeration means at least the stated number (e.g., the mere enumeration "two enumerations" without further modifiers means at least two enumerations or two or more enumerations). In cases where a convention is used analogously to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." or "one or more of A, B, and C, etc.", this construction is generally intended to include A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B, and C together, etc. For example, the use of the term "and / or" is to be understood in this sense.

[0058] Furthermore, any disjunctive word or clause containing two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to include the possibility of including one of the terms, exactly one of the terms, or both of the terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the possibility of "one" or "B" or "A and B".

[0059] Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are not necessarily used here to denote a specific order or number of elements. Generally, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used as generic terms to distinguish between different elements. Unless it is demonstrated that the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., denote a specific order, these terms should not be understood as denoting a specific order. Similarly, unless it is demonstrated that the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., denote a specific number of elements, these terms should not be understood as denoting a specific number of elements. For example, a first widget can be described as a first page, and a second widget as a second page.The use of the term "second page" in relation to the second widget can serve to distinguish this page of the second widget from the "first page" of the first widget, and is not intended to imply that the second widget has two pages.

[0060] All examples and conditional expressions cited herein are provided for educational purposes to facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention and the concepts that the inventor has contributed to the advancement of the prior art, and are to be interpreted as not constituting a limitation to these specifically cited examples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, various modifications, substitutions, and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 63 / 387,281

[0001]

Claims

[1] A wireless communication system comprising: Data processing hardware; and Storage hardware in communication with data processing hardware, wherein the storage hardware stores instructions which, when executed on the data processing hardware, cause the data processing hardware to perform operations that include the following Predicting the arrival time of time for time-critical data; Initiating a data transfer before the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data; and If the actual arrival time of the time-critical data and the start of a data field in the data transmission do not match, add filler data to the data transmission to align the start of the data field with the actual arrival time of the time-critical data. [2] The system according to claim 1, wherein adding padding data to the data transmission comprises inserting one or more padding subframes between a preamble of the data transmission and one or more subframes of the data field containing the time-critical data. [3] The system according to claim 1, wherein adding filler data to the data transmission comprises inserting filler subframes between a preamble of the data transmission and one or more subframes configured to contain the time-critical data until the time-critical data arrives. [4] The system according to claim 1, wherein the data transmission is initiated at a time determined such that the start of the data field is a predetermined time interval after the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data. [5] The system according to claim 1, wherein the arrival time for the time-critical data is predicted using a known time interval between the arrivals of successive sets of time-critical data. [6] The system according to claim 1, wherein the data transmission is carried out using a Wi-Fi protocol. [7] A method for reducing the latency of a data transmission, wherein the method comprises: Predicting the arrival time of time for time-critical data; Initiating a data transfer before the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data; and If the actual arrival time of the time-critical data and the start of a data field in the data transmission do not match, add filler data to the data transmission to align the start of the data field with the actual arrival time of the time-critical data. [8] The method according to claim 7, wherein adding filler data to the data transmission comprises inserting one or more filler subframes between a preamble of the data transmission and the subframes containing the data transmission. [9] The method according to claim 7, wherein adding filler data to the data transmission comprises inserting filler subframes between a preamble of the data transmission and one or more subframes of the data field, which are configured to contain the time-critical data until the time-critical data arrives. [10] The method according to claim 7, wherein the data transmission is initiated at a time determined such that the start of the data field is a predetermined time interval after the predicted arrival time for the time-critical data. [11] The method according to claim 7, wherein the arrival time for the time-critical data is predicted using a known time interval between the arrivals of successive sets of time-critical data. [12] The method according to claim 7, wherein the data transmission is carried out using a Wi-Fi protocol. [13] A wireless communication system comprising: Data processing hardware; and Storage hardware in communication with data processing hardware, wherein the storage hardware stores instructions which, when executed on the data processing hardware, cause the data processing hardware to perform operations that include the following: Reserving a resource unit of a multiplexed data transmission for time-critical data; Transferring a preamble followed by one or more empty frames using the reserved resource unit; Continue transferring empty frames on the reserved resource unit until the time-critical data arrives; and Transferring a data field containing time-critical data via the reserved resource unit. [14] The system according to claim 13, wherein reserving the resource unit of the multiplexed data transmission comprises reserving a plurality of resource units of the multiplexed data transmission. [15] The system according to claim 14, wherein transferring the preamble followed by one or more empty frames to the reserved resource unit comprises transferring a preamble followed by one or more empty frames to each of the multiple reserved resource units. [16] The system according to claim 13, wherein the data transmission is carried out using a Wi-Fi protocol. [17] The system according to claim 13, wherein the multiplexed data transmission is an OFDMA data transmission. [18] The system according to claim 13, wherein the reserved resource unit is allocated a bandwidth of 20 MHz. [19] Method for reducing the latency of a data transmission, the method comprising: Reserving a resource unit of a multiplexed data transmission for time-critical data; Transferring a preamble followed by one or more empty frames using the reserved resource unit; Continue transferring empty frames on the reserved resource unit until the time-critical data arrives; and Transferring a data field containing time-critical data to the reserved resource unit. [20] The method according to claim 19, wherein reserving the resource unit of the multiplexed data transmission comprises reserving a plurality of resource units of the multiplexed data transmission. [21] The system according to claim 20, wherein transferring the preamble followed by one or more empty frames to the reserved resource unit comprises transferring a preamble followed by one or more empty frames to each of the multiple reserved resource units. [22] The system according to claim 19, wherein the data transmission is carried out using a Wi-Fi protocol. [23] The system according to claim 19, wherein the multiplexed data transmission is an OFDMA data transmission. [24] The system according to claim 1, wherein the reserved resource unit is allocated a bandwidth of 20 MHz.

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