Smart Friend Cache Request for Wireless Mesh Network Nodes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless mesh networks, low power nodes (LPNs) face challenges in efficiently managing message caching when transitioning from low power mode to operational mode, leading to excessive power consumption and inefficient storage usage due to the lack of indication of message importance in friend node caching techniques.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a 'Smart Friend Cache Request' message that indicates a hierarchy of element addresses and message importance, allowing friend nodes to maintain only critical messages during low power mode and reducing the number of polling requests upon transitioning to operational mode, thereby optimizing power consumption and storage utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If friend nodes maintain all element messages for low power nodes, then message delivery reliability is improved, but storage efficiency deteriorates due to caching non-critical messages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments messages into different priority levels (first priority for critical messages, second priority for non-critical messages) based on element address hierarchies. Friend nodes maintain only high-priority messages in cache, while low-priority messages are discarded or marked for later retrieval, thus improving storage efficiency while maintaining reliability for critical communications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different caching strategies to different types of messages based on their priority. Critical messages (first priority) associated with specific element addresses are maintained in the friend node cache, while non-critical messages (second priority) are treated differently. This selective approach optimizes storage usage while ensuring reliable delivery of important messages.
2Reliability
If friend nodes cache all messages during low power mode, then no message loss occurs, but power consumption increases due to excessive polling requests
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and identifies only the necessary critical messages (first priority) that need to be retained during low power mode, based on element address hierarchies and message importance. By taking out only these essential messages from the complete message set, the system reduces the caching burden and subsequent polling requirements, thereby lowering power consumption while maintaining message retention for critical communications.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of caching all messages (excessive action), the patent implements partial caching of only high-priority messages. This partial action is sufficient to maintain reliability for critical communications while significantly reducing the number of polling requests needed when the low power node wakes up, thus reducing power consumption.
3Device complexity
If no message hierarchy is indicated, then friend nodes can maintain messages simply, but storage is wasted on non-critical messages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary classification of messages into priority levels (first and second priority) based on element address hierarchies before the low power node enters sleep mode. This preliminary action tags messages with their importance level, enabling friend nodes to automatically determine which messages to cache without complex real-time decisions, thus maintaining caching simplicity while improving storage utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may transmit a smart friend request message to a set of nodes in the wireless mesh network. The set of nodes may be associated with a friend feature that may include maintaining one or more element messages intended for the first node when the first node is in a low power state. Each of the one or more element messages intended for the first node may include an element address corresponding to an element at the first node. The smart friend request message may indicate a hierarchy of element addresses to maintain at the second node. The apparatus may operate in the low power state during which the second node maintains the one or more element messages for the first node based at least in part on the hierarchy of element addresses.