Battery-Powered Link Switching for Low-Power WAP Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery-powered devices in data communication networks face significant power consumption issues despite existing power save modes, leading to reduced battery life.
Innovation Solution
Establish a communication link between a battery-powered device and a wireless access point (WAP) by determining the availability of intermediate devices with a wired power source and selecting a communication scheme that imposes the lowest power consumption burden, utilizing protocols like Wi-Fi 6 or Bluetooth Low Energy for reduced power usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If battery-powered device uses traditional Wi-Fi communication protocol to communicate with WAP, then communication reliability is maintained, but power consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate device (such as a smartphone or tablet) that acts as a bridge between the battery-powered device and the WAP. This intermediary device handles the power-intensive Wi-Fi communication, allowing the battery-powered device to use low-power protocols like BLE for data transmission while maintaining reliable communication through the intermediary's wired or wireless connection to the WAP.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional direct Wi-Fi mechanical communication system with a hybrid system that uses low-power wireless protocols (BLE, Zigbee) for the battery-powered device and substitutes the power-intensive Wi-Fi mechanism with an intermediary device that has its own power source or wired connection, thus eliminating the contradiction between power consumption and communication reliability.
2Use of energy by moving object
If battery-powered device communicates directly with WAP without intermediate devices, then device complexity is reduced, but power consumption burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects the presence of intermediate devices and autonomously configures the communication architecture without user intervention. The battery-powered device simply connects to available intermediaries, and the system automatically establishes the appropriate communication paths, eliminating the need for manual configuration while reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate devices serve multiple functions: they act as power relays, communication bridges, and protocol translators simultaneously. This multi-functionality allows the system to reduce power consumption burden on battery-powered devices while maintaining flexible communication setups, as the intermediaries handle various communication tasks that would otherwise require direct battery-powered device-WAP connections.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication protocols are supported for flexibility, then adaptability improves, but device complexity and power management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic communication scheme selection where the system automatically adjusts the communication architecture based on real-time conditions. The battery-powered device can dynamically switch between different communication paths and protocols depending on the availability of intermediaries, signal strength, and power constraints, optimizing the balance between adaptability and power management without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors power consumption, signal quality, and device availability to provide feedback for optimizing communication protocol selection. This feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically adjust communication schemes to maintain adaptability while reducing power management complexity by letting the system learn and adapt to patterns rather than requiring complex manual control.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method and/or computer program product embodiments, and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for establishing a communication link between a battery-powered device and a WAP to reduce the power consumption burden of the battery-powered device. In an embodiment, a communication context of the battery-powered device and the WAP is determined, for example, by determining whether there is at least one intermediate device having a wired power source via which the battery-powered device can communicate with the WAP. A communication scheme of a plurality of different communication schemes is selected, for example, by selecting the communication scheme of the plurality of different communication schemes that imposes the lowest power consumption burden on the battery-powered device and is also supported by the communication context. At least one of the battery-powered device or the WAP is configured for communication therebetween using the selected communication scheme.