Bluetooth Low Energy Advertising Packet Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) networks experience significant connection latency due to the lengthy connection setup phase, which is primarily caused by the advertising frequency period, leading to a slow connection establishment between central and peripheral devices.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves using a scan request packet as a trigger to selectively accelerate the transmission rate of advertising packets, allowing the peripheral device to temporarily switch from a normal advertising frequency to a faster one, thereby reducing the connection interval without significantly increasing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the advertising frequency is increased to reduce connection latency, then the connection establishment speed is improved, but the power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the advertising frequency adjustable rather than fixed. The peripheral device dynamically changes its advertising frequency based on whether it receives a scan request packet. When a scan request is received, the device switches to a higher advertising frequency (shorter interval) to enable faster connection establishment. When no scan request is received, it maintains a lower advertising frequency to conserve power. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between connection speed and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the advertising frequency parameter selectively based on the reception of scan request packets. The system transitions between two distinct advertising frequency states: a first (lower) frequency during normal operation and a second (higher) frequency when connection establishment is triggered. This parameter change approach allows the system to optimize connection speed only when necessary, thereby avoiding continuous high power consumption while maintaining the capability for fast connection establishment when needed.
2Loss of time
If the advertising packet transmission rate is continuously accelerated, then the connection interval is shortened, but the energy waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by using the scan request packet as a periodic trigger to switch advertising modes. Instead of continuously operating at high transmission rates, the device periodically monitors for scan request packets and only accelerates advertising packet transmission when such requests are detected. This periodic triggering mechanism ensures that high-energy transmission modes are activated only when necessary for connection establishment, thereby reducing overall energy waste while maintaining short connection intervals when connections are actually needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the peripheral device wait for a scan request packet before accelerating its advertising packet transmission. Rather than continuously transmitting at maximum rate, the device prepares to switch to high-speed transmission only when triggered by an incoming scan request. This preliminary conditioning ensures that energy-intensive high-frequency transmission occurs only in response to actual connection attempts, minimizing energy waste while being ready to establish connections quickly when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for reducing connection latency are described herein. More particularly, this specification relates to shortening connection latency between devices operating according to a Bluetooth protocol. Connection latency can be reduced by using the receipt of a wireless packet as a trigger for selectively accelerating a transmission rate of advertising packets. By selectively accelerating the transmission rate advertising packets, a connection interval between two devices can be shortened.