Wi-Fi Management Frame Compression to Reduce Airtime Collisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The redundancy and minimum transmission rate of management frames in Wi-Fi networks result in significant airtime wastage, reducing quality of service (QoS) and increasing interference and collisions.
Innovation Solution
Compression and decompression of management frames, such as Beacon and Probe Request frames, to minimize the airtime occupied by these frames, using algorithms like Huffman or Lempel-Ziv-Welch, and modifying Wi-Fi transmitter and receiver software for real-time processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If management frames are transmitted with redundancy and minimum transmission rate to ensure reliability, then transmission reliability is improved, but airtime availability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies compression algorithms to change the size parameter of management frames, reducing them from their original redundant format to compressed representations. This allows the same information to be transmitted in fewer bits, thereby reducing airtime consumption while maintaining transmission reliability. The compression ratio achieved is significant enough to resolve the contradiction between reliability and airtime availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates compressed copies of management frames that contain the same essential information as the original frames but in a more efficient format. These compressed copies are transmitted instead of the original redundant frames, achieving the same reliability function with reduced airtime occupation.
2Reliability
If management frames are transmitted with high redundancy to reduce data loss, then transmission reliability is improved, but airtime saturation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the size parameter of management frames through compression, reducing the amount of airtime required to transmit each frame. This improvement in transmission efficiency directly addresses the airtime saturation problem while preserving the essential reliability characteristics of management frame transmission.
3Reliability
If management frames are transmitted at minimum rate with maximum power to ensure delivery, then transmission reliability is improved, but network performance deteriorates due to interference and collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces the transmission time parameter of management frames through compression. By transmitting compressed frames that occupy less airtime, the network experiences reduced interference and collisions, thereby improving overall network performance while still ensuring reliable delivery of management information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses compressed copies of management frames that convey the same essential information more efficiently. This reduces the time window during which interference and collisions can occur, improving network performance while maintaining delivery assurance.
Data Source
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AI summary
System, method and computer-program product for increasing available airtime in Wi-Fi networks. The method (100) comprises: a first Wi-Fi device (1010) generating (102) a management frame (104), compressing (106) the management frame (104) to obtain a compressed management frame (108) and broadcasting (110) the compressed management frame (108); a second Wi-Fi device (1020) receiving (112) the compressed management frame (108) and decompressing (114) the compressed management frame (108) to obtain the management frame (104) generated by the first Wi-Fi device (1010). The management frame may be partially or fully compressed. Preferably, the management frame (104) is a Beacon frame (200) or a Probe Request frame (900), and the first (1010) and second (1020) Wi-Fi device is respectively an access point and a station, or vice versa. The invention improves the quality of service (QoS) and reduces collisions in Wi-Fi networks.