Network Event Timer Optimization via Transmission Delay Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network devices in wireless mesh networks, such as those defined by IEEE 802.15.4 standards, face precision issues with timers used for measuring time intervals, leading to imprecise timeouts and potential premature actions due to asynchronous starting of timers relative to clock intervals.
Innovation Solution
Nodes calculate a transmission delay based on the transmission duration and clock interval length to ensure data transmission completes coincident with or near the end of a clock interval, thereby starting event timers accurately to measure waiting periods for acknowledgments, optimizing timer precision within a tolerance threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If timers are started immediately after data transmission begins without alignment to clock intervals, then transmission responsiveness is improved, but timer precision for measuring timeout periods deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The node calculates the transmission duration and determines an optimized start time for data transmission in advance, before actually transmitting. This preliminary calculation ensures that when transmission starts, it is synchronized with clock intervals, which in turn ensures that the subsequent timer measurement will be precise. The node computes how long transmission will take and schedules it to begin at an appropriate time relative to the clock cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the timing parameter of when data transmission begins, rather than always starting immediately when data is ready. By adjusting the transmission start time to align with clock intervals, the system maintains both responsiveness (by minimizing delay) and timer precision (by ensuring synchronized measurement boundaries).
2Productivity
If data transmission starts immediately when data is ready, then transmission efficiency is improved, but timer accuracy for network event measurement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Before transmitting data, the node performs preliminary calculations to determine the transmission duration and selects an optimal start time that aligns with clock intervals. This advance planning allows the system to maintain high transmission efficiency while ensuring that timers started after transmission will accurately measure network event timeouts according to protocol specifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the simple mechanical approach of immediate transmission with a calculated timing mechanism. Instead of directly starting transmission when data is ready, the system uses computational logic to determine the optimal start time, substituting a more complex control mechanism that achieves both efficiency and precision.
3Measurement precision
If timers are synchronized to start at clock interval boundaries, then timer precision is improved, but transmission delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The node calculates transmission duration and determines the optimal start time in advance, before the actual transmission begins. By performing this calculation beforehand, the system can schedule transmission to start at the nearest appropriate clock interval boundary without adding unnecessary delay, thus achieving precise timer synchronization while minimizing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system skips unnecessary waiting time by calculating the optimal transmission start time that aligns with clock intervals. Rather than waiting for the next clock boundary regardless of current time, the system determines the most efficient start time that still achieves synchronization, effectively rushing through the process while maintaining precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various embodiments for optimizing network event timers for a node. The node obtains data for transmission by the node via a network. The node uses time intervals of a clock as a basis for determining actions associated with the network. A transmission duration is calculated that corresponds to the time for transmitting the data via the network based on a data rate of the network and a size of the data. The node calculates a transmission delay based on the transmission duration. The transmission delay is less than a clock interval and controls when transmission of the data is completed by the node. After the expiration of the transmission delay, the node transmits the data via the network. The node initiates an event timer when the transmission is completed, where the event timer measures time based upon counting the time intervals elapsed since the event timer began.