Battery-Powered Device Passive Discovery Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery-powered smart meters and devices face limitations in functionality and connectivity due to increased power demands, as battery technologies have not kept pace with the growing capabilities of smart meters, leading to shorter battery life and restricted functionality compared to mains-powered devices.
Innovation Solution
The techniques described involve minimizing electricity consumption by efficiently passively discovering and communicating with other devices within range, adjusting listening schedules, and determining communication channels, allowing battery-powered devices to perform functions and communicate in ways previously not possible, such as using advanced metering infrastructure networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If battery-powered smart meters adopt new capabilities and increased functionality, then device capability is improved, but battery life is shortened
Solution Approach 1:
The battery-powered device uses periodic listening windows instead of continuous listening to discover beacons from other devices. The device wakes up at scheduled intervals to listen for discovery beacons and then returns to sleep mode, dramatically reducing power consumption while maintaining the ability to discover and join networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The device dynamically adjusts its listening schedule parameters based on network conditions and battery status. By changing the frequency and duration of listening windows, the device can adapt its power consumption to match available battery capacity while maintaining adequate network discovery capability.
2Reliability
If battery-powered devices continuously listen for discovery beacons to join networks, then network connectivity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic discovery beacon transmission by mains-powered devices and periodic listening by battery-powered devices. This allows network discovery to occur at scheduled intervals rather than continuously, maintaining connectivity reliability while dramatically reducing the power consumption of battery-powered devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Mains-powered devices act as intermediaries by transmitting discovery beacons that contain network joining information. Battery-powered devices can passively receive these beacons during their brief listening windows without needing to actively search or maintain continuous communication, reducing their power consumption while ensuring reliable network discovery.
3Use of energy by moving object
If battery-powered devices use passive discovery with periodic listening windows, then power consumption is reduced, but discovery reliability may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
Mains-powered devices transmit discovery beacons periodically at scheduled times, and battery-powered devices listen during corresponding periodic windows. This coordinated periodic approach ensures that beacons are transmitted and received at predictable intervals, maintaining discovery reliability while minimizing power consumption during non-listening periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where battery-powered devices that successfully discover and join networks can provide information back to the system about their status and battery levels. This feedback allows the network to adjust beacon transmission schedules and listening window timing to optimize both reliability and power consumption across the entire network.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are techniques to minimize the electricity consumption of battery powered devices during network discovery and other phases of network operation. Example techniques include efficiently listening for other mains powered and battery powered devices within communication range of the battery powered device by, for example, shortening its listening window depending on how close the time reference maintained by the battery powered device is estimated to be to the time reference used by the other mains powered and battery powered devices within communication range. Other techniques include slowing the rate of listening by the battery powered device when the battery powered device is unlikely to be able to receive discovery messages or is already connected to the network. Other techniques include using knowledge of the network to listen for discovery messages on a channel or channels on which other devices are likely to be transmitting.