Wireless Relay Acknowledgement Modes for Range and Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Long distances between communication devices in wireless communication systems lead to performance degradation due to fading and other undesired effects, such as interference and inefficient communication links, which existing technologies struggle to effectively address.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a wireless relay communication device that operates in various modes, including implicit and explicit acknowledgement modes, to support communication between devices by relaying frames and managing transmission opportunities, thereby enhancing communication efficiency across distances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If wireless communication is performed over long distances, then communication range is extended, but communication performance degrades due to fading and interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a relay wireless communication device as an intermediary between the first and second wireless communication devices. This relay device receives frames from the first device and forwards them to the second device, effectively dividing the long-distance communication into two shorter hops. This intermediary approach maintains communication performance while extending the overall communication range, as each individual hop experiences less fading and interference than a single long-distance transmission would.
2Length of stationary object
If relay communication is implemented, then communication range is extended, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The relay wireless communication device is designed to operate in multiple modes (implicit acknowledgement mode and explicit acknowledgement mode) and can function both as a relay device and as a regular wireless communication device. This multi-functionality reduces the need for specialized hardware and simplifies the overall system architecture, as the same device type can serve different purposes depending on the communication scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs different acknowledgement modes (implicit and explicit) that change the operational parameters of the relay device. By switching between these modes, the system can optimize performance for different scenarios without requiring fundamentally different device architectures, thereby managing complexity while maintaining extended communication range.
3Productivity
If relay device forwards frames, then communication efficiency is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The relay device dynamically switches between implicit and explicit acknowledgement modes based on communication conditions. This dynamic operation allows the system to optimize the balance between communication efficiency and power consumption, using the more energy-efficient implicit mode when conditions permit and switching to explicit mode when reliability is more critical.
Data Source
AI summary
A relay receives a frame from a source, and based on state of a relayed frame bit within the frame, the relay selects an operational mode: implicit acknowledgement mode, first explicit acknowledgement mode, or second explicit acknowledgement mode. The relay sets the relayed frame bit in subsequent transmissions to indicate transmission opportunity (TXOP) control of the communication medium (e.g., whether under control of the relay or the source). The source may receive acknowledgement of the relay's successful receipt of the frame implicitly via the relay transmitting a relayed frame to the destination. Alternatively, the source may receive acknowledgement of the relay's successful receipt of the frame explicitly in a response frame from the relay. State of a more data bit in the frame receive from the source may indicate the source has one or more additional frames intended for the destination.