Hardware Response Frame Controller for Wireless Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless communications devices using high frequency bands, such as the 60 GHz frequency band, face challenges in constructing and transmitting large packets with precise timing requirements for response frames, particularly in meeting the 3 to 3.5 microsecond timing window for immediate responses.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a hardware-based receive and transmit controller system with a block acknowledgement scoreboard, utilizing a sideband channel interface and pre-defined response frame templates to efficiently construct and transmit response frames, allowing for parallel processing and precise timing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a MAC processor is used to construct and transmit response frames, then processing flexibility is improved, but processing speed and timing precision deteriorate due to software processing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the software-based MAC processor with a hardware-based response frame generator that directly constructs and transmits response frames. This substitution of mechanical/electronic hardware for software processing eliminates interpretation and execution delays, achieving precise timing control within the 3-3.5 microsecond window while maintaining processing capability through dedicated hardware circuits.
Solution Approach 2:
The hardware response frame generator pre-loads response frame templates and maintains ready-state transmission buffers, allowing immediate construction and transmission of response frames upon receiving an incoming frame. This preliminary preparation eliminates processing delays by having all necessary components ready before the timing window begins.
2Adaptability or versatility
If software processing is used for response frame construction, then adaptability is improved, but timing precision deteriorates due to operating system interruptions and scheduling delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces software-based frame construction with hardware logic circuits that directly generate response frames. This hardware implementation provides deterministic timing control independent of operating system schedules, while adaptability is maintained through configurable hardware parameters and template selection mechanisms that can be programmed to handle different frame types.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures multiple response frame templates in hardware memory with different types and formats. When an incoming frame is received, the appropriate pre-configured template is immediately selected and transmitted, providing both timing precision and adaptability without software intervention.
3Reliability
If individual response frames are processed sequentially, then processing accuracy is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to inability to handle multiple frames simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the response frame processing into independent parallel channels, each capable of handling different frame types simultaneously. The hardware generator can divide incoming frames into groups and process them through separate transmission paths or time-multiplexed channels, maintaining individual frame accuracy while increasing overall throughput by eliminating sequential bottlenecks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges multiple individual frame processing operations into a single hardware-based parallel processing engine. By combining multiple frame handling capabilities into one unified hardware structure, the system achieves both the accuracy of individual processing and the throughput of batch processing through simultaneous multi-frame generation and transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for generating response frames. Incoming frames are processed by a receive controller to determine type and attributes. Based on the type and the attributes of the incoming frame, a response frame is constructed and transmitted by a transmit controller. A response frame is constructed by setting values in a frame template. A block ACK can be implemented by means of a block ACK scoreboard.