Battery-Powered Device Passive Discovery Network
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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
Implementing techniques to minimize electricity consumption during network communications and functions, such as adjusting time references, listening schedules, and channel usage, allowing battery-powered devices to efficiently discover and communicate with other devices, thereby extending battery life and enabling greater functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If battery-powered smart meters adopt new capabilities and increased functionality, then device capabilities are improved, but battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic listening windows where battery-powered devices wake up at scheduled intervals to listen for passive discovery beacons from mains-powered devices, then return to sleep mode. This periodic action allows the battery-powered device to maintain network discovery capabilities without continuously consuming power, thus preserving battery life while enabling network connectivity functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Mains-powered devices automatically transmit passive discovery beacons containing their identity and network information without requiring battery-powered devices to actively search or initiate contact. The battery-powered devices simply listen during scheduled windows, allowing the system to self-organize network connections without intensive processing or power consumption from the battery-powered side.
2Adaptability or versatility
If battery-powered devices actively search for network connections, then connectivity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of battery-powered devices actively searching for network connections (which consumes power), the patent inverts the approach by having mains-powered devices transmit passive discovery beacons that battery-powered devices can passively receive. This inversion allows connectivity functionality to be achieved with minimal power consumption from the battery-powered device.
Solution Approach 2:
Battery-powered devices perform only partial listening actions during specific scheduled windows rather than continuous monitoring. They listen for a limited duration during listening windows and remain in low-power mode otherwise, achieving sufficient connectivity functionality without the excessive power consumption of continuous active searching.
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.