WLAN Profile Scanning Prioritization for Battery Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
WLAN client devices experience reduced battery life due to excessive power consumption during scanning for multiple profiles, leading to increased time in sleep states and scanning cycles, which negatively impacts battery efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The client device prioritizes and partitions its WLAN profiles based on connection history and location, scanning more frequently for profiles previously connected in the current cell and adjusting sleep intervals accordingly, thereby optimizing power usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the client device scans for all WLAN profiles sequentially, then the device can maintain connectivity to any possible network, but the power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the set of WLAN profiles into multiple groups based on priority levels. High-priority profiles are scanned more frequently while low-priority profiles are scanned less frequently or only when necessary. This segmentation allows the device to maintain connectivity to important networks while reducing power consumption by not continuously scanning all profiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic scanning with varying intervals for different profile groups. Instead of continuous scanning, the device scans profiles at scheduled intervals, with high-priority profiles scanned more often than low-priority ones. This periodic approach maintains network awareness while significantly reducing average power consumption compared to continuous scanning of all profiles.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the device increases the number of profiles scanned, then the network coverage and connectivity options improve, but the scanning time and sleep intervals are extended
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments profiles into priority groups and scans them in organized batches rather than as a single large sequence. This allows the device to maintain comprehensive network coverage awareness while reducing the time spent in each scanning cycle by focusing on high-priority profiles more frequently and low-priority profiles less frequently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic scanning behavior where the scanning frequency and sequence are adjusted based on current conditions, connection history, and priority levels. The device adapts its scanning pattern over time, scanning profiles that have previously provided successful connections more frequently, thereby reducing overall scanning time while maintaining effective network coverage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the device scans for suppressed SSID profiles, then the device can connect to hidden networks, but the scanning process becomes more time-consuming and energy-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different scanning strategies to different profile types based on their characteristics. Suppressed SSID profiles are scanned using targeted approaches rather than exhaustive full-channel scanning, reducing the energy required for hidden network detection while maintaining the ability to connect to such networks when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless device capable of wireless local area network (WLAN) communications and cellular network communications stores profiles of wireless local area networks. The device identifies in which cell of a cellular network the device is currently located, and then scans more frequently for wireless local area networks matching profiles to which, previously, the device has connected while located in the cell, than for wireless local area networks matching other profiles.