Broadcast GAS Request for Wi-Fi Network Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing protocols for establishing a connection to a wireless network are time and energy consuming due to the need for individual query requests to each access point or responder, leading to prolonged scanning and information processing times.
Innovation Solution
A broadcast GAS Request message is used to simultaneously scan for and query multiple responders, allowing only those capable of providing the requested service to respond, thereby reducing unnecessary communication and processing time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If individual query requests are sent to each access point or responder, then complete network information can be obtained, but the time and energy required to establish a connection increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual query requests into a single broadcast GAS Request message that is sent to all access points and responders simultaneously. This merging approach allows the station to obtain network information from multiple sources in one transmission cycle rather than sending separate unicast requests to each responder, thereby reducing the overall time and energy required while maintaining complete information gathering.
Solution Approach 2:
The broadcast GAS Request message is sent in advance to all potential responders before individual connections are established. This preliminary action allows all access points to receive and process the query request simultaneously, preparing their responses ahead of time, which accelerates the overall connection establishment process by eliminating sequential waiting periods.
2Loss of information
If individual query requests are sent to each access point or responder, then all responders can be queried, but energy consumption increases due to prolonged scanning and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual query transactions into a single broadcast GAS Request message transmission. By combining these requests, the station reduces the total number of transmission cycles and processing iterations required, thereby significantly lowering energy consumption while still obtaining complete information from all responders in the network.
Solution Approach 2:
The broadcast mechanism allows all access points to autonomously receive and process the query request independently without requiring repeated individual solicitations. Each responder self-services by automatically responding to the broadcast message, reducing the active processing burden and energy expenditure on the station side.
3Reliability
If all responders are queried individually, then comprehensive service availability can be determined, but communication overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines comprehensive service availability queries into a single broadcast GAS Request message that reaches all responders simultaneously. This merging maintains the reliability of service availability determination by ensuring all access points receive and process the same query, while dramatically improving productivity by eliminating the sequential nature of individual unicast requests and their associated communication overhead.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments reduce the time and energy expended to establish an initial link to a network. Some embodiments use either active or passive scans to discover available access points and then use a broadcast or multicast Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) Request message to identify access points providing requested services. Other embodiments use a broadcast or multicast GAS Request message to identify access points or mobile devices providing requested services without first scanning for access points. Only access points or mobile devices providing requested services need to respond to the GAS request message. Duplicate messages received by multiple access points coupled to the same network can be filtered so only one message is received and responded to.