Speculative Power Save for Wireless Beacon Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless networks, devices operating 24/7 consume significant power receiving and processing zero TIM beacon frames, which have no multicast or broadcast traffic, leading to substantial power wastage.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that process the header of incoming frames to determine if they are null beacon frames, allowing devices to switch to a power save state without fully receiving and processing the frames, thereby reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If devices receive and process all beacon frames including zero TIM beacons, then they ensure they do not miss any multicast or broadcast traffic, but power consumption increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by having devices process only the essential portion of beacon frames (the TIM element) rather than receiving and processing the entire frame. Devices can determine the presence of multicast/broadcast traffic by examining just the TIM element, allowing them to skip processing the rest of the beacon frame content when no traffic is indicated, thus reducing power consumption while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the critical traffic indication information (TIM element) from the complete beacon frame structure. By focusing only on this extracted element, devices can make informed decisions about whether to remain awake or enter power save mode, eliminating the need to process the entire beacon frame including non-essential elements like timestamp, beacon interval, and capability information
2Reliability
If devices wake up for every DTIM beacon to check for multicast traffic, then they ensure no multicast traffic is missed, but the time spent in high-powered receiving state increases
Solution Approach 1:
Devices perform partial processing by examining only the TIM element of each beacon frame rather than fully receiving and processing the entire beacon frame. This allows devices to quickly determine whether multicast traffic is present and make immediate decisions about power state transitions, significantly reducing the time spent in high-powered receiving state while ensuring no multicast traffic is missed
3Measurement precision
If devices fully process beacon frames to check for null beacon indicators, then they accurately identify zero TIM beacons, but power consumption increases before the savings can be realized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the null beacon indication information from the TIM element of the beacon frame. By focusing only on this extracted indicator rather than processing the entire beacon frame, devices can accurately identify zero TIM beacons with minimal processing, achieving high measurement precision while minimizing the energy expended before power savings are realized
Data Source
AI summary
In an example embodiment, a method for speculative power saving. The beginning portion of a header (e.g. a physical layer convergence protocol “PLCP” header of a beacon) is processed to determine whether a predefined bit is set that indicates whether the frame contains any delivery traffic indication for buffered multicast and/or unicast frames. If the bit is set, indicating the frame contains no delivery traffic indication of buffered frames, receiving and processing of the frame stops (e.g. the remainder of the PPDU is not processed) and the receiver switches to a power save state. In an example embodiment, if a predefined NULL beacon frame is detected, receiving and processing of the frame (and PPDU) stops and the receiver switches to a power save state.