Wake-up Frame Indication for Power-Efficient Wireless Traffic Status
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communications, the existing wake-up frame mechanisms are inefficient as they require devices to wake up and wait for a beacon or trigger frame to determine if they have traffic, leading to unnecessary power consumption and battery drain, especially in low-power modes.
Innovation Solution
A wake-up frame indication system that allows devices to determine their actions upon receiving a wake-up frame by including additional information similar to a traffic indication map (TIM) in the MAC layer, enabling direct connection with existing PCR behavior without relying on subsequent beacon frames, and using OOK modulation for efficient power management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If devices wake up and wait for beacon or trigger frame to determine traffic status, then they can accurately check for pending traffic, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by including traffic indication information (similar to TIM) directly in the wake-up frame before the device needs to wake up fully. The access point determines and encodes traffic status indications in advance within the wake-up frame structure, allowing the station to check for pending traffic immediately upon receiving the wake-up frame without waiting for subsequent beacon or trigger frames. This resolves the contradiction by providing accurate traffic status determination (improving reliability) while eliminating the need to stay awake longer (reducing power consumption).
2Loss of time
If wake-up frame includes additional TIM-like information, then devices can determine actions immediately without waiting for beacon frames, but frame structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining the wake-up frame function with traffic indication functionality into a single frame structure. Instead of creating a completely new complex frame type, the invention integrates TIM-like indication elements into the existing wake-up frame format. The access point encodes both the wake-up trigger and traffic status information (individually addressed and group addressed bufferable units) within the same frame structure, allowing stations to determine their actions immediately upon receipt without requiring additional beacon or trigger frames. This reduces the time loss while managing frame structure complexity through integration rather than multiplication of frame types.
3Duration of action of moving object
If devices stay in low-power mode longer, then battery life extends, but they cannot receive traffic notifications promptly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-encoding traffic indication information in the wake-up frame before transmission. The access point determines whether individually addressed or group addressed bufferable units are pending and encodes this indication in advance within the wake-up frame structure. When the station receives the wake-up frame while in low-power mode, it can immediately decode the traffic status without needing to wake up fully or wait for additional frames. This allows the device to maintain longer low-power duration (extending battery life) while achieving prompt traffic notification (improving speed) through the preliminary inclusion of traffic status information.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces power consumption by allowing devices to determine their actions immediately upon receiving a wake-up frame, avoiding unnecessary wake-ups and reducing battery drain, while maintaining compatibility with existing PCR protocols.
Implementation Method 1
using OOK modulation for efficient power management
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes systems, methods, and devices related to wake-up frame indication. A device may determine a wake up receiver (WUR) wake-up frame to be sent to a first station device of one or more station devices. The device may determine one or more indications associated with the first station device, wherein the one or more indications indicate to the first station device, one or more actions to be taken by the first station device after waking up a primary connectivity radio (PCR) of the first station device. The device may cause a medium access control (MAC) layer to encode the WUR wake-up frame with the one or more indications associated with the first station device. The device may cause to send the WUR wake-up frame to the first station device using a physical layer (PHY).