Predefined Roaming and Idle Channels for Wireless Power Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile communications devices consume excessive battery power due to the need to frequently scan multiple channels across various frequency bands when joining or switching networks, especially when moving, and maintaining idle connections.
Innovation Solution
Designating a reduced set of channels as roaming or idle channels, allowing devices to focus on fewer channels for association and maintenance, with the network controller selecting these channels to minimize power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mobile device scans all available channels across multiple frequency bands to join or switch networks, then the device can find an appropriate network controller, but battery power consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the channel scanning process by designating specific channels as roaming channels and idle channels, separating them from operational channels. This segmentation allows the device to focus scanning efforts on a subset of channels rather than all channels, reducing power consumption while maintaining network connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The network controller pre-designates certain channels as roaming and idle channels before the mobile device needs to scan. This preliminary action enables the device to know in advance which channels to monitor, eliminating the need to scan all channels and significantly reducing power consumption during network joining or switching.
2Speed
If a mobile device monitors multiple channels to maintain idle connections and receive data notifications, then the device can quickly respond to incoming data, but battery power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the idle channel monitoring function from the full channel monitoring set. By designating specific channels as idle channels, the device only needs to monitor these extracted channels for data notifications rather than all channels, maintaining fast response speed while reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of monitoring all channels for idle connections, the device performs partial monitoring by focusing only on designated idle channels. This partial action is sufficient to maintain connection awareness and receive data notifications, avoiding the excessive power consumption of full-channel monitoring.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a multi-radio device scans channels in multiple frequency bands, then the device can access more network options, but the complexity of the scanning process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designating roaming and idle channels that can serve multiple frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz). A single set of designated channels can function across different bands, reducing the need for separate scanning processes for each band and simplifying the overall scanning complexity while maintaining multi-band adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
In various embodiments, only a few selected channels are available to be used for scanning for a network controller in a wireless network. In various other embodiments, only a few selected channels are available to be used as an idle channel in a wireless network. In both cases, the channels available for such purposes are fewer in number than the channels available for operational communications. In some embodiments, these channels are in a different industry band than the channels used for operational communications.