Mobile Device WLAN Scanning Pattern Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current WLAN client devices employ a fixed scanning pattern regardless of location or network density, leading to inefficient power usage, as they scan for wireless local area networks with the same frequency in areas with abundant coverage as in areas with none, resulting in unnecessary power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device estimates the likelihood of finding WLANs based on collected information from both WLAN and cellular interfaces, adjusting scan session intervals dynamically according to the likelihood, thereby defining location-driven scanning patterns that conserve power by increasing intervals in low-network areas and decreasing them in high-network areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a fixed scanning pattern is used regardless of location, then the scanning process is simple and consistent, but power consumption increases unnecessarily in areas with abundant WLAN coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from a static, fixed scanning pattern to a dynamic scanning pattern that adapts to location-based WLAN density. The system continuously monitors WLAN presence and adjusts scan intervals accordingly, making the scanning behavior flexible and responsive to environmental conditions rather than rigid and uniform.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying the scan interval parameter based on detected WLAN density. When WLANs are detected in an area, the system decreases scan intervals to increase scanning frequency; when no WLANs are present, it increases intervals to reduce power consumption. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between simplicity and energy efficiency.
2Use of energy by moving object
If scan intervals are increased to conserve power, then power consumption decreases, but the ability to detect WLANs promptly is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the scan interval parameter based on location-based WLAN density observations. In areas with high WLAN density, scan intervals are decreased to maintain reliable detection, while in areas with low or no WLAN presence, intervals are increased to conserve power. This conditional parameter adjustment maintains reliability where needed while optimizing power consumption elsewhere.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring WLAN detection results and using this information to adjust future scanning behavior. The system observes whether WLANs are present in the current location and feeds this information back to modify scan intervals, creating a closed-loop control system that balances power consumption with detection reliability based on actual environmental conditions.
3Reliability
If scanning frequency is maintained high in all locations, then WLAN detection reliability is improved, but power consumption increases unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing location-specific scanning strategies rather than a uniform approach. The system determines WLAN density for the current location and applies appropriate scan intervals tailored to that specific environment. This allows high scanning frequency and reliable detection only in areas where WLANs are present, while using lower frequency scanning in areas where they are absent, optimizing the balance between reliability and power consumption locally rather than globally.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device having a wireless local area network interface and one or more other wireless interfaces identifies a location of the mobile device via one or more of the other wireless interfaces, estimates a likelihood of finding a wireless local area network at the location, and scans for wireless local area networks while at the location during scan sessions that are separated by intervals, where the intervals are determined by the estimated likelihood.