Mesh Network Wake-Up Control via Periodic Activation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mesh networks face issues with throughput, synchronization, power consumption, bit error rate, and RF noise due to the use of timers and crystal oscillators, leading to communication failures and interference among nodes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a data communication device with a two-way communications component and a second receiver that activates upon receiving a wake-up broadcast with a specific identifier, allowing for controlled activation and deactivation of mesh network communications, reducing power consumption, and optimizing node participation based on performance characteristics like bit error rate and RF link strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If timers and crystal oscillators are used to synchronize mesh network nodes, then nodes can coordinate their operation, but throughput is reduced and power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic wake-up intervals where nodes alternate between active and dormant states. Nodes wake up at predetermined intervals to transmit or receive data, then return to dormant state. This periodic operation eliminates the need for continuous timer synchronization while maintaining coordinated network operation, thereby improving throughput and reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the timer and crystal oscillator components from the mesh network nodes. By eliminating these timing mechanisms, the system avoids the synchronization problems and performance degradation they cause. Instead, coordination is achieved through the wake-up interval protocol, which does not require precise timing hardware.
2Reliability
If timers are used for node synchronization, then coordination is achieved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Nodes operate in periodic cycles, waking up at predetermined intervals to perform communications then returning to dormant state. This periodic operation eliminates continuous power consumption associated with timer maintenance and crystal oscillator operation, significantly reducing overall power usage while maintaining synchronization through the wake-up protocol.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards the power-consuming timer and crystal oscillator components. Synchronization is achieved through the wake-up interval mechanism alone, where nodes recover coordination information from wake-up signals received from other nodes, eliminating the need for continuous power-hungry timing hardware.
3Ease of operation
If all nodes wake up randomly, then network operation is simple, but throughput suffers from geometric loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements predetermined wake-up intervals that periodically activate nodes in a coordinated manner. This periodic structure prevents random wake-up patterns while maintaining operational simplicity. Nodes wake up at regular intervals to transmit or receive data, ensuring that not all nodes are active simultaneously, thereby preventing geometric throughput loss while keeping the operation straightforward.
4Area of stationary object
If many nodes communicate simultaneously, then network coverage is improved, but bit error rate increases and RF noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic wake-up intervals to stagger node communications across different time periods. Nodes wake up at different intervals to transmit or receive data, ensuring that communications are distributed over time rather than occurring simultaneously. This temporal distribution maintains broad network coverage while reducing bit error rate and RF noise by preventing simultaneous transmissions.
Data Source
AI summary
Each of a plurality of network nodes in an ad hoc mesh network utilizes a data communication device that includes a two-way communications component, comprising a first receiver and transmitter, and a second receiver. The second receiver activates the communications component from a dormant state when it receives a broadcast including a wake-up identifier of the communication device. A method of activating and deactivating a mesh network includes, first, transmitting a broadcast that includes a wake-up identifier such that each second receiver of each communication device identified by the wake-up identifier, upon receipt, activates the communications component of the communication device, which then engages in mesh networking communications, and, second, transmitting a second broadcast including a second identifier such that the communications component of each communication device identified by the second identifier, upon receipt, will cease its mesh networking communications and will return to the dormant state.