HPT Frame Burst Interruption for Low-Latency Wi-Fi Traffic
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for reducing transmission latency of high-priority traffic in wireless communication systems either reduce peak throughput or increase overhead and inefficiency due to ineffective polling and limited applicability, especially when legacy devices ignore reserved bits.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the transmission of a high-priority trigger frame after a sub-burst to indicate interruptibility, followed by a check for channel availability, allowing for timely transmission of high-priority traffic while minimizing impact on peak throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a smaller transmission opportunity (TXOP) limit is configured for a basic service set (BSS) to reduce transmission latency of high-priority traffic, then high-priority traffic latency is improved, but overall peak throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the TXOP into multiple sub-bursts, allowing the transmitting device to pause after each sub-burst and check for high-priority traffic needs. This segmentation enables flexible interruption points without reducing the overall TXOP limit, thus maintaining peak throughput while enabling low-latency transmission when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic control mechanisms where the transmitting device can adaptively adjust transmission behavior based on real-time traffic conditions. The device monitors for high-priority traffic indicators and dynamically interrupts the burst transmission to serve high-priority packets, optimizing both latency and throughput based on actual network conditions.
2Loss of time
If the preemption mechanism is used to interrupt a TXOP for high-priority traffic transmission, then high-priority traffic latency is improved, but overhead increases due to multiple rounds of polling/triggering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds preemptable indicators in advance within data frames and block acknowledgment frames before transmission occurs. This preliminary action allows receiving devices to identify preemptable transmissions without requiring multiple rounds of polling, significantly reducing the overhead associated with preemption while enabling rapid interruption when high-priority traffic arrives.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables receiving devices to autonomously identify preemptable transmissions by checking for embedded indicators in received frames. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for the access point to perform multiple rounds of polling to determine which transmissions can be interrupted, reducing complexity and overhead while maintaining efficient preemption capability.
3Extent of automation
If reserved bits in data frame or block acknowledgment frame are used for preempt-able indication, then preemption capability is enabled, but applicability is limited because legacy STAs may ignore frames with reserved bits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repurposes existing field bits in data frames and block acknowledgment frames (such as More Data, More Fragments, or OUI bits) to carry preemptable indicators. This approach allows the preemption mechanism to function universally across both legacy and modern stations without requiring new frame formats or reserved bits, as the repurposed bits are already part of the standard frame structure that all stations can process.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method for performing communications via a channel by a wireless communication device includes: performing transmission of a first sub-burst included in a burst; after the transmission of the first sub-burst is completed, transmitting a high-priority trigger (HPT) frame via the channel for indicating transmission of the burst is interruptible; and during a predetermined time interval after transmission of the HPT frame is completed, detecting whether the channel is busy in order to determine whether to perform transmission of a second sub-burst included in the burst.