Accessory Lighting Schemas for Battery-Powered Device Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to extend the battery life of battery-powered computing devices while maintaining functionality, as they communicate with each other and remote resources, without sacrificing performance or increasing power consumption.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where devices select a communication hub to conserve battery life by powering down or reducing the power usage of wireless radios, using a lower-power protocol for communication between devices and a higher-power protocol for communication with remote resources, and employing lighting sequences based on received instructions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If devices continuously communicate with each other and remote resources using high-power wireless protocols, then communication functionality and performance are maintained, but battery life is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments communication into two distinct layers: a low-power control plane for device-to-device communication and a high-power data plane for remote resource communication. Devices use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for control messages and only activate Wi-Fi when actual data transmission is needed, separating communication functions to minimize power consumption while maintaining full functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic communication cycles where devices alternate between sleep mode and active communication states. Control messages are sent periodically via BLE to maintain connectivity, and Wi-Fi is activated only during scheduled data transmission windows, creating a rhythmic pattern of low-power and high-power states that extends battery life.
2Use of energy by moving object
If devices power down wireless radios to conserve battery life, then power consumption is reduced, but communication functionality and responsiveness are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a communication hub as an intermediary device that remains continuously active and maintains constant connection to remote resources. Remote devices can sleep deeply while the hub stays awake, receiving and forwarding messages between sleeping devices and the cloud, thus ensuring communication reliability without requiring all devices to remain powered on.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automatic radio activation based on incoming message triggers. When the communication hub receives a message for a sleeping device, it automatically wakes that device and activates its Wi-Fi radio only for the duration needed to transmit the specific message, then returns to sleep mode. This self-service mechanism ensures messages are delivered reliably while minimizing power consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes systems, devices, and techniques for causing an accessory device to present predefined lighting sequences. In some instances, the accessory device is a battery-powered device that includes a wireless radio, an actuatable button, and one or more lighting elements. The accessory device may receive a lighting-sequence schema specifying how to illuminate the lighting elements as well as trigger event upon which to present the lighting sequence. The accessory device may store the received schema and, upon identifying the specified trigger event, may present the corresponding lighting sequence on the lighting elements.