Wireless Device Channel Quality Reassessment for Controlled Traffic Offloading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current WLANs lack a controlled mechanism for offloading real-time traffic, leading to uncontrolled drop-offs and inefficient utilization of network capacity due to increased delay times and decreased throughput as the number of users and data traffic increase, resulting in parallel traffic drop-offs or unwanted off-loading.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where a wireless communications device determines channel quality and conditionally terminates its data link based on reassessing channel quality after receiving a message from a node indicating termination of its data link with the network access point, allowing for sequential and controlled traffic offloading to another network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If nodes terminate their data links independently when channel quality deteriorates, then each node maintains its own quality of service, but parallel drop-offs occur causing inefficient utilization of network capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having nodes defer their data link termination decisions until after observing that other nodes have already terminated their links. This sequential approach prevents simultaneous drop-offs and allows the network to naturally recover capacity before nodes leave, thereby maintaining quality of service while improving network capacity utilization.
2Productivity
If nodes defer termination decisions to reassess channel quality, then network capacity is efficiently utilized, but delay time increases for real-time traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by having nodes reassess channel quality at specific intervals or trigger points (when receiving termination messages from other nodes) rather than continuously monitoring and making immediate decisions. This periodic reassessment allows nodes to balance the need for timely quality checks with the benefit of deferred termination, thereby optimizing both network capacity utilization and delay time for real-time traffic.
Data Source
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AI summary
A wireless device (11) checks channel quality on a second data link between itself and a network access point (20). If the device (11) receives a message from a first node (10) to the network access point (20) indicating that the first node (10) is terminating (202) a first data link with the network access point (20), the device (11) conditions its own termination of the second data link on a re-assessment (208) of the channel quality (e.g. delay and throughput) after the first data link is terminated.