Access Point Beacon Frame Interval Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless access points face a trade-off between energy efficiency and responsiveness due to the fixed beacon frame interval, which can lead to increased battery drain and user experience issues when transmitting beacon frames over a wireless data link.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a telescopic beacon frame interval that adjusts based on the highest common factor of the DTIM and listen intervals of associated devices, transitioning from a default interval to a longer interval when no devices are connected, and resuming the default interval upon activity detection, while also considering energy savings and battery state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the beacon frame interval is increased to reduce energy consumption, then the energy used by the AP is reduced, but the AP becomes less responsive
Solution Approach 1:
The beacon frame interval is changed from a fixed value to a dynamic value that adjusts based on network conditions. The AP monitors whether devices are in power save mode and automatically selects between a first beacon frame interval (for power save mode) and a second beacon frame interval (for non-power save mode), making the system adaptive to different operational states.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of beacon frame interval based on the operational mode of connected devices. When devices are in power save mode, a longer beacon frame interval is used to reduce energy consumption. When devices are not in power save mode, a shorter beacon frame interval is used to maintain responsiveness, thus optimizing the parameter according to system state.
2Device complexity
If the beacon frame interval is set to a fixed value, then the configuration is simple, but it cannot adapt to different power save requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The AP automatically determines whether connected devices are in power save mode and self-adjusts the beacon frame interval accordingly. The system monitors device status and autonomously selects the appropriate beacon frame interval without requiring manual configuration or user intervention, enabling the system to serve itself in adapting to power save requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the AP monitors the power save status of connected devices and uses this information to adjust the beacon frame interval. The system continuously receives feedback about device operational mode and dynamically modifies its transmission behavior based on this feedback, creating a closed-loop control system.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus are described for transmitting beacon frames from an access point to an electronic device over a wireless data link. In the described embodiments, a processing subsystem is coupled to a transceiver and is configured to determine a beacon frame interval based on a highest common factor of a listen interval for the electronic device and a delivery traffic indication message interval, and to control the transceiver to transmit a beacon frame each beacon frame interval.