Wireless Device Power Management via Trigger Frame State Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless networks, computing devices often inefficiently consume power due to erroneous transitions between awake and sleep states, leading to increased latency and data frame losses, particularly when the network access device fails to recognize the device's state changes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a trigger frame with a unique sequence number and a delay interval to manage transitions between awake and sleep states, ensuring accurate state recognition by the network access device and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the computing device transitions to power save mode to reduce power consumption, then power consumption is reduced, but data frame losses and latency increase due to erroneous state transitions
Solution Approach 1:
The access point monitors the computing device's state transitions and provides feedback through acknowledgment frames. When the AP receives a trigger frame indicating the device is awake, it sends an acknowledgment. If no acknowledgment is received, the AP retransmits data frames, creating a feedback loop that ensures reliable delivery while allowing the device to operate in power save mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The computing device sends a trigger frame before actually transitioning to the awake state to notify the access point in advance. This preliminary action allows the AP to prepare for potential data transmission, reducing latency while maintaining power save benefits. The delay interval mechanism also implements preliminary action by waiting before state transition to ensure no data is lost.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the computing device frequently transitions between awake and sleep states to optimize power management, then power consumption is reduced, but latency increases due to state transition delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the delay interval before state transitions based on network conditions and data availability. The computing device can transition to awake state with a configurable delay, allowing it to balance power savings with latency requirements. This dynamic adjustment enables the system to optimize both power consumption and response time based on actual operational needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The computing device uses periodic trigger frames to indicate state transitions to the access point. By sending trigger frames at regular intervals or before state changes, the device maintains synchronization with the network while managing power consumption. This periodic communication mechanism reduces latency by ensuring the AP is aware of the device's state without requiring constant communication.
3Device complexity
If the network access device uses traditional state recognition methods, then device complexity is low, but measurement precision of device state changes is insufficient leading to erroneous transitions
Solution Approach 1:
The trigger frame serves as an intermediary mechanism between the computing device and access point for state communication. Instead of the AP directly detecting device state changes (which is imprecise), the device actively sends trigger frames as intermediaries to notify the AP of its state. This intermediary approach maintains low complexity while significantly improving state detection accuracy, as the device explicitly announces its transitions rather than the AP attempting to infer them.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for improving the power management of devices are described. In an example, a device transitions into a power save mode. While in the power save mode, the device performs a number of operations. The operations include transitioning into an awake state and determining that the device has no data to transmit to a network access device. The operations also include determining a sequence number associated with data transmission to the network access device. The operations further include generating a frame that includes a header field and a payload field. The header field includes the sequence number and power management data. The power management data indicates a transition of the device to the awake state. Additionally, the operations include transmitting the frame to the network access device.