Wireless Device WiFi Task Delegation for Battery Conservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small devices with limited battery power, such as smart watches, face impracticality in maintaining wireless connectivity due to high power consumption during WiFi network discovery and traffic monitoring tasks, as these activities drain battery life quickly.
Innovation Solution
A method where a wireless device delegates WiFi network discovery and traffic monitoring tasks to a paired device, allowing its own transceiver to enter a sleep mode and using a low-power wireless connection to share SSID lists and monitor for traffic, enabling the paired device to handle these tasks on its behalf.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wireless device performs WiFi network discovery and traffic monitoring tasks, then connectivity and network awareness are maintained, but battery power is consumed rapidly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power-intensive WiFi discovery and monitoring tasks from the small wireless device and relocates them to a paired device with greater power capacity. The small device's transceiver enters sleep mode while the paired device performs the network discovery and traffic monitoring functions, thereby eliminating the energy consumption problem while maintaining connectivity reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The paired device acts as an intermediary that performs WiFi network discovery and traffic monitoring on behalf of the small wireless device. Through this intermediary relationship, the small device maintains network awareness and connectivity without directly consuming power for these operations, as the paired device mediates the power-intensive tasks.
2Reliability
If the transceiver remains active for network discovery, then network awareness is maintained, but operational duration is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the network discovery and monitoring functions from the small device's active operations. By extracting these functions and assigning them to the paired device, the small device can extend its operational duration significantly while network awareness is maintained through the paired device's activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The paired device performs network discovery and monitoring actions in advance and on behalf of the small device. This preliminary action ensures that when the small device needs network connectivity, the discovery and monitoring have already been accomplished by the paired device, extending the small device's operational duration.
3Ease of operation
If the device size is reduced for portability, then ease of operation is improved, but power capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functional capabilities of two devices: the small portable device provides ease of operation and portability, while the paired device provides sufficient power capacity. By combining their strengths through a delegation relationship, the system achieves both portability and adequate power resources without requiring the small device to have a large battery.
Solution Approach 2:
The paired device assumes multiple functions including network discovery, traffic monitoring, and power-intensive communication tasks for both itself and the small wireless device. This multi-functionality allows the small device to remain portable while the system as a whole maintains sufficient power capacity through the paired device's universal capabilities.
Data Source
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AI summary
A wireless device configured to delegate it communications and traffic monitoring tasks to a paired device when a wireless transceiver of the wireless device is found to be in an idle state is provided. The wireless device includes two wireless transceivers, the first wireless transceiver for communicating with a wireless access point and second low power wireless transceiver for communicating with a paired device. When the wireless device determines that the first wireless transceiver is in an idle state, it can place the first wireless transceiver into a sleep mode and delegate to the paired device via the second wireless transceiver communication and traffic monitoring tasks that would have been performed by the first wireless transceiver if it were not in a sleep mode.