Dual-Mode Communication Interface for Portable Recording Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable recording devices used by law enforcement officers face significant power drain due to maintaining constant wireless communication connections, limiting their effective operating time due to constrained battery capacity.
Innovation Solution
Implementing dual communication connections, where a low-energy connection (such as Bluetooth or NFC) is used to trigger the establishment of a high-energy connection (like Wi-Fi) for data transfer, and then terminating the high-energy connection to conserve energy, while maintaining a low-energy heartbeat signal for re-establishment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a constant Wi-Fi communication connection is maintained between the portable recording device and the mobile computing device, then real-time data transfer and communication reliability are improved, but energy consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic connection establishment and termination of Wi-Fi communication based on data transfer needs. The system transitions from continuous connection to periodic on-demand connection, where the portable recording device connects to Wi-Fi only when data transfer is required and disconnects otherwise, significantly reducing energy consumption while maintaining communication reliability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication connection state is made dynamic rather than static. The system automatically adjusts the connection state (connected/disconnected) based on real-time data transfer requirements, allowing the device to adapt its communication behavior to current operational needs and optimize energy usage accordingly.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the battery capacity is increased to extend operating time, then the device form factor and portability are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the energy consumption parameter by implementing low-power communication protocols and periodic connection strategies. By modifying how the device communicates (using Wi-Fi only when necessary, otherwise using low-power modes), the system extends operating time without requiring increased battery capacity or larger device form factor.
3Speed
If high-energy communication connections are used continuously, then data transfer speed and communication quality are improved, but battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic Wi-Fi connections only when high-speed data transfer is needed, rather than maintaining continuous high-energy connections. The device alternates between low-power states and high-speed transfer states based on operational requirements, achieving fast data transfer when necessary while preserving battery life through periodic rather than continuous high-energy usage.
Data Source
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AI summary
A portable recording device may use a low-energy transceiver to communicate with a computing device in order to activate a high-energy communication connection with the computing device for exchanging data. The portable recording device may initially broadcast a device identifier of the portable recording device via the low-energy transceiver. The portable recording device may then connect to a computing device via a high-energy communication connection that is formed using a high-energy transceiver of the portable recording device. The computing device may be triggered to initiate a formation of the high-energy communication connection with the portable recording device by the device identifier broadcasted using the low-energy transceiver. Subsequently, the portable recording device may send data files to the computing device via the high-energy communication connection. The data files may include a data asset that is captured by the portable recording device or metadata for the data asset.