Uplink ACK Broadcast Scheduling for Shared Wireless Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data networks are inefficient in handling high volumes of low-bandwidth devices due to uncoordinated communication, leading to low efficiency in utilizing shared network resources, particularly in environments with low-cost embedded wireless sensors and devices.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where a base station schedules communication with multiple hubs, providing each with a data profile including periodicity, offset, and carrier frequency, and simultaneously broadcasts acknowledgements of uplink wireless communication, allowing hubs to determine successful reception based on these parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple hubs communicate uplink data simultaneously without coordination, then device connectivity is maintained, but network efficiency deteriorates due to packet interference and resource contention
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs preliminary scheduling of uplink communication slots for multiple hubs before actual data transmission. Each hub is assigned specific time slots and frequencies in advance, allowing them to transmit data without collision. This preliminary coordination resolves the contradiction by maintaining device connectivity while preventing packet interference that would reduce network efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic communication slots where hubs transmit uplink data at scheduled intervals rather than continuously or randomly. The base station broadcasts acknowledgments in periodic cycles, allowing hubs to know when to expect feedback. This periodic structure maintains connectivity for all hubs while optimizing resource utilization and eliminating random access conflicts.
2Reliability
If the base station broadcasts individual acknowledgments to each hub, then reception confirmation is achieved, but air-time is wasted due to repeated transmission of similar acknowledgment signals
Solution Approach 1:
The base station merges multiple individual acknowledgments into a single combined acknowledgment broadcast. Instead of transmitting separate acknowledgment signals to each hub individually, the base station consolidates reception confirmations for multiple hubs into one broadcast message that all hubs can receive simultaneously. This merging approach maintains reliable reception confirmation while dramatically reducing the air-time consumed by acknowledgment transmissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The acknowledgment broadcast serves multiple functions simultaneously: it confirms reception for multiple hubs in one transmission, provides scheduling information for upcoming slots, and maintains synchronization across the network. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by achieving reliable reception confirmation without the time penalty of individual acknowledgments.
3Loss of time
If hubs transmit data continuously to ensure timely delivery, then latency is reduced, but network resource utilization deteriorates due to lack of coordination and increased interference
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs preliminary scheduling that assigns specific time slots and frequencies to each hub based on their data transmission needs. This advance planning allows hubs to transmit data at optimal times without waiting or retransmitting, reducing latency while preventing resource conflicts. The scheduled slots are allocated efficiently to maximize resource utilization without requiring continuous transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The scheduling system dynamically adjusts time slot allocations and frequency assignments based on current network conditions and hub data rates. When network conditions change or hub traffic patterns vary, the base station updates schedules to maintain low latency while optimizing resource utilization. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between timely delivery and efficient resource use.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses, methods, and systems for communicating through a wireless link are disclosed. A method includes scheduling, by a server, communication between a base station and a plurality of user devices, receiving, by the base station, the scheduled communication, providing, to each user device, a data profile that includes a periodicity, an offset, and a carrier frequency based on the scheduled communication, receiving, by the base station, uplink wireless communication from each of the plurality of user devices according to the data profile of each of the user devices and according to the scheduled communication, and simultaneously broadcasting, by the base station, acknowledgements of reception of uplink wireless communication from each of the plurality of user devices.