Wireless Dock Filter Drivers for USB Mass Storage Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless docks consume excessive bandwidth when connected to USB mass storage devices, degrading performance and affecting other peripherals due to frequent transactions and polling techniques, especially in environments with multiple connected devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing filter drivers on both the computing device and wireless dock USB stacks to reduce unnecessary communications by directly handling disk probe commands and bulk requests, completing them with appropriate statuses or NAKs based on error notifications, thereby minimizing wireless network traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If USB mass storage device is connected via wireless dock, then wireless connectivity and mobility are improved, but bandwidth consumption increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary USB transactions (Test Unit Ready commands, polling requests) from the wireless communication stream. By identifying and removing these redundant communications that consume bandwidth, the system maintains wireless connectivity while significantly reducing bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards redundant USB protocol transactions that are unnecessarily transmitted over the wireless connection. The system recovers bandwidth by preventing these wasteful transmissions, particularly by suppressing Test Unit Ready commands and polling operations that do not contribute to actual data transfer.
2Reliability
If polling techniques and Test Unit Ready commands are used to maintain USB connection, then connection reliability is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively suppressing only the excessive polling and Test Unit Ready commands while maintaining necessary USB communication. Instead of completely disabling connection maintenance, the system applies just enough action to eliminate wasteful bandwidth consumption while preserving essential connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by having the USB stack automatically suppress redundant transactions without requiring external intervention. The patent enables the USB communication layer to self-regulate by identifying and eliminating its own wasteful polling and connection-maintenance traffic.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple computing devices connect to the same access point via wireless dock, then device accessibility is improved, but performance of other peripherals degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary USB transaction traffic from the shared wireless network. By taking out these redundant commands (Test Unit Ready, polling requests) before they consume network bandwidth, the system allows multiple devices to access the wireless dock while preserving performance for real-time peripherals like webcams and microphones.
Solution Approach 2:
The USB stack acts as an intermediary that filters and suppresses wasteful transactions before they reach the wireless network. This intermediary layer prevents degraded performance by blocking redundant USB protocol traffic while allowing legitimate data transfers to proceed.
Data Source
AI summary
The performance of a wireless dock can be enhanced when a USB mass storage device is connected to the wireless dock. Filter drivers can be loaded on the USB stacks of a computing device and the wireless dock to perform functionality for reducing the number of communications that are sent over a wireless network when a USB mass storage device is connected to the computing device via the wireless dock. This reduction in the number of communications can be accomplished without jeopardizing data integrity or compliance with governing protocols.