Group Acknowledgement Messaging for Low-Power Network Connectivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery powered smart meters and devices face challenges in providing desired functionality and connectivity without sacrificing battery life due to increased energy demands from advanced capabilities, limiting their ability to join certain communication networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing information elements that minimize data transmission and establish flexible communication schedules, allowing devices to conserve battery life by reducing unnecessary communication and aligning devices to specific schedules, thereby optimizing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If battery powered smart meters adopt new capabilities and increased functionality, then device versatility is improved, but battery life deteriorates due to increased energy demands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic communication schedules where battery-powered devices transmit data at predetermined intervals rather than continuously. The network server sends requests at specific times and devices respond only during these scheduled periods, creating a periodic action pattern that reduces overall energy consumption while maintaining necessary communication functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes communication schedules in advance where the network server predetermined when data transmissions will occur. Devices are configured with these schedules beforehand, allowing them to enter low-power states between scheduled communications and only activate at predetermined times, thus performing preliminary action to minimize energy usage.
2Adaptability or versatility
If battery powered smart meters join certain communication networks, then network connectivity is improved, but energy consumption increases reducing battery life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables battery-powered devices to join communication networks by implementing periodic communication cycles. Devices remain in low-power states between cycles and only activate during scheduled transmission windows, allowing network connectivity while maintaining energy efficiency through periodic rather than continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows devices to join full-featured communication networks but only utilizes the minimal necessary communication functions required for their operation. Rather than using all available network capabilities, devices perform only the partial action of sending small data packets at scheduled intervals, avoiding excessive energy consumption from unused network features.
3Productivity
If data transmission frequency is increased to improve communication efficiency, then information exchange is improved, but battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by establishing periodic communication schedules where data transmission occurs at optimized intervals. The network server determines appropriate transmission frequencies based on device types and operational requirements, creating a periodic pattern that balances communication efficiency with battery conservation by avoiding both excessive and insufficient transmission frequencies.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for acknowledging communications from multiple devices are described herein. For example, a device may broadcast a group acknowledgement message indicating that communications from multiple devices have been received by the device. Each acknowledgement in the group acknowledgement message may include a device identifier for a device that sent a communication (e.g., a Medium Access Control (MAC) address of the device, a hash of the MAC address of the device, etc.) and a communication identifier for the communication (e.g., a sequence number of the communication, a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code for the communication, etc.).