Wireless Station Fine-Grained Availability Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems, particularly Wi-Fi networks, face challenges in efficiently setting up and coordinating direct communication between peer wireless stations without an intermediate access point, especially in achieving low-latency services due to limitations in scheduling granularity and power management for low-latency applications.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a mechanism for peer wireless stations to advertise availability at finer granularities of time slot increments, allowing for peer-to-peer communication scheduling with negotiation of schedules based on further availability window schedules, enabling communication at increments less than traditional 16 time units, such as 1, 2, 4, or 8 time units, to support low-latency services and reduce power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If peer wireless stations use traditional 16 time unit increments for availability scheduling, then power management is simplified, but latency cannot be reduced below 16 time units
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the traditional 16 time unit availability window into smaller sub-time-units (e.g., 4 time units each). This segmentation allows stations to advertise availability at finer granularities (1, 2, 4, or 8 time units) while maintaining compatibility with the existing 16 time unit structure. The segmentation enables low-latency services by allowing more precise scheduling without requiring a complete redesign of the timing framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic scheduling granularity where the time unit increment can be adjusted based on service requirements. Stations can negotiate and advertise availability at different granularities (1, 2, 4, or 8 time units) depending on the specific application needs. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt between coarse-grained scheduling for power-saving scenarios and fine-grained scheduling for low-latency scenarios.
2Loss of time
If peer wireless stations enable fine-grained availability advertising for low-latency services, then scheduling precision is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different granularity levels for different time slots or service types within the same availability window. Stations can advertise fine-grained availability (e.g., 1 or 2 time units) only for specific time periods or specific service requirements, while maintaining coarser-grained scheduling for other periods. This selective application of fine-grained scheduling reduces overall power consumption while still enabling low-latency services when needed.
3Loss of time
If peer wireless stations negotiate communication schedules at finer time slot increments, then low-latency service support is improved, but negotiation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal scheduling framework that can handle multiple granularity levels (1, 2, 4, or 8 time units) using the same negotiation mechanisms. The availability advertisement structure is designed to be multi-functional, supporting both traditional 16 time unit scheduling and fine-grained scheduling without requiring separate protocols. This universality reduces negotiation complexity by providing a single, flexible framework that adapts to different service requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more wireless stations operate to configure direct communication with neighboring mobile stations, e.g., direct communication between the wireless stations without utilizing an intermediate access point. A wireless station may determine a further availability window schedule for a first time period, including specifying availability for particular channels at particular time slots at a first time slot increment. The wireless station may specify availability at a second time slot increment for a subset of the time slots specified at the first time slot increment. The second time slot increment may be less than the first slot time increment. The wireless station may negotiate, with a neighboring wireless station, a peer-to-peer communication schedule for the peer-to-peer communication application based on the further availability window schedule, including specifying a portion of the peer-to-peer schedule using the second time slot increment.