Coordinated Frequency Separation for Coexisting IoT Protocols
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Solution Overview
Problem
The Internet of Things (IoT) marketplace faces challenges due to a lack of interoperability standards, leading to fragmented and siloed systems, which necessitate additional dedicated equipment and result in custom, expensive, and inflexible solutions for integrating devices and networks from different manufacturers and providers.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device that coordinates frequencies of coexisting communication protocols by receiving beacon information from gateways, providing instructions to restrict or relocate frequencies to avoid overlaps, and selectively filtering messages based on criteria such as signal strength and location, enabling improved communication performance and reducing interference between protocols like BLE and IEEE 802.11.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple coexisting communication protocols operate simultaneously in the same frequency band, then communication coverage and device connectivity are improved, but frequency interference and signal quality deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes frequency parameters by receiving beacon information containing frequency data from multiple protocols, comparing these frequencies, and selectively restricting or avoiding certain frequency bands to prevent interference while maintaining protocol coexistence
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic device acts as an intermediary coordinator that receives beacon information from multiple communication protocols, processes frequency data, and generates restriction instructions to mediate between competing protocols and prevent frequency conflicts
2Adaptability or versatility
If dedicated equipment is added to integrate devices from different manufacturers, then system interoperability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic device performs multiple functions by simultaneously supporting multiple communication protocols (BLE, Wi-Fi, etc.), coordinating their frequency usage, and generating restriction instructions, thereby replacing the need for separate dedicated integration equipment for each protocol pair
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges multiple communication protocol coordinators into a single electronic device that handles frequency coordination for all protocols, consolidating what would otherwise require multiple separate dedicated equipment pieces
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device that coordinates frequencies of coexisting communication protocols is described. During operation, the electronic device may receive messages with beacon information for a communication protocol, where the beacon information is sourced from one or more gateways and is associated with a second electronic device, and wherein the beacon information in a given message includes a frequency of a given beacon and a given received signal strength of the given beacon. Then, the electronic device may provide, from the interface circuit, an instruction addressed to the second electronic device, where the instruction restricts frequencies of beacons from the second electronic device based at least in part on a band of frequencies associated with a second communication protocol used by at least one of the one or more gateways. For example, the instruction may eliminate beacons having one of the beacon frequencies that overlaps the band of frequencies.