Wakeup Beacons for Mesh Network Power Savings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power-saving techniques in mesh networks are inefficient due to the size and frequency of management beacons, leading to significant power consumption as nodes remain awake to receive beacons from multiple neighbors, even when no data is waiting.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a wakeup beacon schedule that allows nodes to enter a power-saving state and wake up only when data is available, using smaller and faster wakeup beacons that indicate the presence of data, reducing the time spent in a communication state and conserving power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If nodes use conventional power-saving modes with management beacons, then nodes can periodically wake up to send and receive beacons, but power consumption is not significantly reduced due to beacon size and transmission speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beacon communication process into two distinct parts: (1) small wakeup beacons that simply indicate data availability, and (2) separate data transmission. This segmentation allows nodes to wake up quickly for minimal communication and return to sleep mode faster, significantly reducing the time spent in communication state and thereby reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of beacon communication (notifying nodes of data availability) from the bulky management beacon structure. By taking out only the critical notification function and implementing it through compact wakeup beacons, the patent reduces communication overhead and time spent awake, directly addressing the power consumption issue.
2Reliability
If nodes remain awake to receive management beacons from multiple neighbor nodes, then nodes can ensure they do not miss any data, but power consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces wakeup beacons as an intermediary mechanism between neighbor nodes and the power-saving node. These intermediate signals provide a reliable indication of data availability without requiring the node to remain continuously awake, thus maintaining data reception reliability while dramatically reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic wakeup beacon reception at optimized intervals rather than continuous monitoring. Nodes wake up at scheduled times to check for wakeup beacons from neighbors, maintaining reliable data reception while minimizing the duration of active state and reducing overall power consumption.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional management beacons are used for power-saving mode, then nodes can maintain network connectivity, but the size and frequency of beacons prevent significant power savings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different beacon types for different purposes: small wakeup beacons for power-saving notification and full management beacons for detailed network management. This allows the system to maintain network connectivity through appropriate beacon usage while minimizing power consumption during power-saving operations.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes techniques and apparatuses for wakeup beacons for mesh networks, which often permits nodes of a mesh network to save power when operating in a power-save mode. These wakeup beacons can be sent at high transmission rates and/or be small in size, thereby reducing the time a node must be awake to transmit and receive communications.