Proxy Router Traffic Routing for Mobile Client Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small mobile devices often lack the power or hardware resources for effective network connectivity to wireless network infrastructure, and wearable devices, being mobile, complicate communication management.
Innovation Solution
A host device with WAN access, such as a smartphone, uses a proxy router to select between wireless communication circuits for data transfer with a client device, prioritizing WiFi over cellular when available, to optimize traffic flow and reduce power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If small mobile devices attempt to establish direct network connectivity, then network access capability is improved, but power consumption and hardware resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a host device as an intermediary between the client device and the network. The host device receives connection requests from client devices, determines routing policies, and establishes network connections on behalf of the client device. This mediator approach allows the resource-constrained client device to access the network without directly consuming power for network protocols and hardware operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the network connectivity function by separating the client device (which only needs basic wireless communication) from the host device (which handles network protocol stack and WAN connectivity). This segmentation allows the client device to remain simple and low-power while delegating complex network operations to the host device.
2Ease of operation
If wearable devices are made mobile to improve user convenience, then ease of operation is improved, but communication management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The host device acts as a communication manager intermediary that handles the complexity of network protocols, routing decisions, and connection management. The wearable client device only needs to implement simple advertisement and connection request functions, significantly reducing its communication management complexity while maintaining mobile convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of the wearable device managing its own network connections, the system inverts the approach by having the wearable device request connections from host devices. The host device then manages the connection on behalf of the wearable, reversing the traditional client-server model and simplifying the wearable's communication stack.
3Productivity
If host device uses processor for data transfer management, then data transfer capability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the processor-intensive data transfer management functions from the host device's main processor and implements them in a proxy router component. This extracted routing functionality handles data transfer decisions independently, allowing the main processor to remain in low-power states while maintaining full data transfer capability through the proxy router's policy-based routing.
Solution Approach 2:
The host device can periodically activate the processor for policy updates and routing decisions, then return to low-power states. The proxy router maintains active data transfer paths using previously determined policies, allowing periodic processor operation while sustaining continuous data transfer capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A host device may include a first wireless communication circuit, a second wireless communication circuit including a proxy router, and a host processor communicatively coupled to the wireless communication circuits. The host device may receive, via the second wireless communication circuit, an advertisement message from a client device. The advertisement message may include a request for communication of data with a network. The host device may determine at least one of a communication policy preference of the host device and a network connection property of the host device. The proxy router may select the first or the second wireless communication circuit for use by the host device to communicate the data with the network. The host device may provide, via the second wireless communication circuit, a connection request to the client device, and then transfer, using the selected wireless communication circuit, the data between the client device and the network.