Wireless Audio Mesh Network Time Slot Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current public address and voice annunciation systems require multiple wires for power and audio transmission, leading to slow and costly network deployment and high maintenance costs due to the need for extensive wire coverage in large buildings.
Innovation Solution
A wireless audio mesh network system that uses a gateway node to allocate non-conflicting time slots to nodes, allowing for parallel transmission and buffering of audio packets, enabling reliable live audio streaming across multiple hops without the need for extensive wiring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wireless mesh network is used for audio streaming, then deployment cost and complexity are reduced, but transmission reliability may deteriorate due to multiple hops
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by allocating non-conflicting time slots to each node before transmission begins. The gateway node distributes time slot information to all nodes in advance, ensuring that transmissions are coordinated and conflicts are avoided from the outset, thereby maintaining reliability in a wireless multi-hop environment
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway node acts as an intermediary that coordinates communications between all nodes in the network. It allocates time slots and manages the mesh network topology, ensuring that audio packets are transmitted reliably across multiple hops without conflicts or interference
2Productivity
If parallel transmission is implemented across multiple levels, then audio streaming efficiency is improved, but time slot coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network is segmented into hierarchical levels with the gateway at level 0 and child nodes at subsequent levels. Each level operates independently with assigned time slots, allowing parallel transmission while simplifying coordination through clear hierarchical boundaries and parent-child relationships
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic time slots for transmission, where each node is assigned specific time slots for transmitting and receiving audio packets. This periodic structure enables parallel transmission across multiple levels while maintaining simple coordination rules that nodes can follow automatically
3Reliability
If buffering is implemented at each node, then audio playback reliability is improved, but memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each node implements buffering locally with size optimized for its specific position in the network. Leaf nodes that need to play audio maintain buffers, while intermediate nodes that only relay packets can use smaller or no buffers, optimizing memory usage based on local requirements
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of assigning nodes and time slots in a wireless audio node mesh network includes transmitting via a gateway node to nodes in a wireless mesh network, such that nodes in the wireless mesh network that receive transmissions from the gateway node are allocated to a first level as child nodes of the gateway node, transmitting via the first level nodes to further nodes in the wireless mesh network such that further nodes that receive transmissions from the first level nodes are allocated to a second level as child nodes of the first level nodes, and allocating non-conflicting transmission and reception time slots to the gateway node, the first level nodes and the second level nodes.