Gateway MAC Layer Packet Unification for Smart Home Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smart homes from different manufacturers use different communication protocols, preventing intercommunication between devices.
Innovation Solution
A gateway with a mac layer that supports multiple communication protocols unifies data packets into a target format, allowing devices with different protocols to communicate through a unified link layer without distinguishing protocols at the upper layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different communication protocols are used by smart home devices from different manufacturers, then device functionality and protocol optimization are improved, but intercommunication capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary device that receives data packets from smart home devices using different communication protocols, unifies them into a standard format, and forwards them to a server. This mediator approach allows devices with different protocols to communicate without modifying the devices themselves, resolving the intercommunication problem while preserving protocol-specific optimizations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the communication system into three independent parts: the device layer (using various protocols), the gateway layer (protocol translation and unification), and the server layer (standardized data processing). This segmentation allows each layer to operate independently with its own optimizations while ensuring overall system compatibility.
2Productivity
If protocol-specific processing is implemented at upper layers, then protocol optimization is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the protocol translation and unification functionality from the upper layers and places it in the gateway at the lower layer. This extraction allows the upper layers to work with unified standard data formats without dealing with protocol-specific complexities, reducing system complexity while maintaining protocol optimizations at the gateway level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to the system architecture by introducing the gateway as an intermediate layer between devices and the server. This dimensional addition separates protocol-specific processing from protocol-agnostic processing, allowing optimizations in one dimension without increasing complexity in another.
3Ease of operation
If high-performance chips are used to handle multiple protocols, then intercommunication capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway serves as a cost-effective intermediary that consolidates the complexity of handling multiple protocols in a single device rather than requiring every smart home device to have high-performance chips. This approach improves intercommunication capability while controlling costs by centralizing the expensive functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway is designed as a universal device that can handle multiple communication protocols simultaneously, making it a multi-functional solution that replaces the need for expensive protocol-handling capabilities in each individual smart home device, thereby reducing overall system cost.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are a data transmission method and apparatus, and a storage medium. The data transmission method is applied to a gateway, and comprises: when receiving or sending data messages, then within a MAC layer, unifying the data messages into a target format; the layer below the MAC layer being a link layer supporting at least two communication protocols; the layer above the MAC layer not distinguishing between the at least two communication protocols; and the layer above the MAC layer comprising: a network layer, a transmission layer, and an application layer.