CSMA/CA Station Power Control via Hierarchical Layer Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current CSMA/CA-based wireless LAN systems consume excessive power during virtual carrier sense operations, especially when multiple stations share a wireless medium, leading to inefficient power management and inability to provide real-time bi-directional services effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that control power consumption by switching non-essential elements of the RF and baseband layers to low power modes during virtual carrier sense operations, using a hierarchical structure to determine power-controlled periods based on frame transmission speed and address matching, thereby reducing overall power usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If stations perform virtual carrier sense operations to share the wireless medium, then network coordination and collision avoidance are improved, but power consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic power management where stations alternate between active listening periods and sleep periods. During active periods, stations perform virtual carrier sense operations; during sleep periods, non-essential elements are powered down. This periodic operation maintains network coordination while significantly reducing average power consumption during standby mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the operational state of RF and baseband layer elements based on current network conditions and timing information. Stations transition elements between full-power and low-power modes depending on whether they need to perform carrier sense operations, creating a dynamic power management system that adapts to real-time requirements.
2Productivity
If stations remain in full power mode during virtual carrier sense operations, then real-time bi-directional services are maintained, but power consumption is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses timing information from received frames to predict future carrier sense operations and prepares accordingly. By calculating when the next virtual carrier sense will be needed based on duration field values and transmission periods, the system can wake up just in time to perform necessary operations, maintaining service capability while minimizing unnecessary power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of RF and baseband layers by switching between different power modes. Essential elements maintain full operational parameters for real-time services, while non-essential elements switch to low-power parameters during periods when carrier sense operations are not required, optimizing the balance between service capability and power consumption.
3Use of energy by moving object
If power management is implemented at beacon cycle intervals, then power saving is achieved, but control granularity is too coarse for real-time services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the power management control into different layers and time granularities. Instead of uniform beacon-cycle-based control, the system divides control into frame-level decisions (using duration field information from individual frames) and element-level decisions (separating essential from non-essential RF and baseband elements), enabling fine-grained power management suitable for real-time services.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus controls power consumption of stations having a hierarchical structure when the stations transmit and receive a wireless signal to and from one another on a CSMA/CA wireless LAN. The controlling involves extracting information on frame transmission speed and transmission period information on first and second layers of the hierarchical structure from the wireless signal; determining a power-controlled period for each of the first and second layers based on the extracted information; and reducing the power consumption of the first and second layers by switching a current mode of the first and second layers to a predetermined mode for the power-controlled period if a reception address included in the extracted information is not identical to an address of the station.