Cooperative Scan List Partitioning for Seamless Low-Power Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery-powered communication devices face challenges in seamless mobility applications due to high battery power consumption during scan operations, which limits their battery life and prevents standby modes, especially with the addition of high-end features and multiple receivers.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of cooperative scanning between multiple radios, where one radio performs scan operations on behalf of another, utilizing a Personal Area Network (PAN) link to share scan lists and minimize battery consumption while maintaining seamless performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If scan operation is performed continuously to ensure seamless mobility, then transition reliability is improved, but battery power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic scanning intervals instead of continuous scanning, allowing the device to alternate between active scanning and standby modes. This reduces battery power consumption while maintaining the ability to detect system transitions reliably, directly resolving the contradiction between transition reliability and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scanning actions to identify and cache available systems and their parameters before actual transitions are needed. This preliminary preparation allows faster, more reliable transitions without requiring continuous high-power scanning operations, thus improving reliability while reducing ongoing power consumption.
2Reliability
If multiple receivers are used to guarantee seamless performance, then transition reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scanning function across multiple receivers, where each receiver handles specific scanning tasks or frequency ranges. This segmentation allows the system to achieve comprehensive scan coverage and seamless performance without requiring all receivers to operate simultaneously at full complexity, thus reducing overall device complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a controller as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple receivers and manages scan list distribution. This intermediary layer simplifies the complexity by centralizing the coordination logic, allowing multiple receivers to work together seamlessly without each unit needing complex standalone capabilities.
3Speed
If faster scanning is implemented to reduce message latency, then scan speed is improved, but battery power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic scanning speed adjustment based on operational conditions. The system can switch between faster scanning modes (when power is available and seamless performance is critical) and slower, more power-efficient modes (when battery conservation is prioritized). This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by allowing scan speed to vary rather than being fixed at high speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes scanning parameters such as scan interval duration and receiver activation states based on power availability and operational requirements. By adjusting these parameters dynamically, the system achieves faster scanning when needed while consuming less power during normal operation, resolving the speed-power consumption contradiction.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication network (100) includes a plurality of communication devices (102, 104) communicating over multiple systems or channels and also communicating over a short range link, such as a personal area Network (PAN) link (106). The plurality of communication devices (102, 104) utilize pre-stored scan lists (156, 166) and cooperative scanning (600). The cooperative scanning involves partitioning the scan lists (156, 166) among the plurality of devices via the short range link to minimize battery consumption or enhance scan performance.