Apparatus and method for integrating short-range wireless personal area networks for a wireless local area network infrastructure
Patent No. US11012934 (titled "Apparatus and method for integrating short-range wireless personal area networks for a wireless local area network infrastructure") on Dec 17, 2020. The application was issued on May 18, 2021.
What is this patent about?
'934 is related to the field of wireless communication, specifically the integration of short-range Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) into longer-range Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). The background involves the increasing prevalence of WLANs (like Wi-Fi) and the desire to connect low-power devices typically found in WPANs to these larger networks without significantly impacting battery life.
The underlying idea behind '934 is to create a bridge between a WLAN and a WPAN that allows low-power WPAN devices to communicate over the WLAN infrastructure without requiring them to fully comply with the power-hungry WLAN standards. This is achieved by using a hub device that maintains simultaneous connections to both networks and translates between the protocols, offloading the power-intensive WLAN communication from the battery-powered WPAN devices.
The claims of '934 focus on a wireless device (acting as a hub) that coordinates a WPAN. This device includes a radio circuit for WLAN communication, memory, and a processor. The processor is configured to discover WPAN devices, establish and maintain an association with them using a WPAN protocol, and coordinate the use of the wireless medium. Crucially, the WPAN protocol is an overlay protocol that is partially compliant with the WLAN protocol to avoid interference and incorporates a power-saving mechanism different from the WLAN's.
The invention works by having the hub device, which is typically mains-powered, handle the WLAN communication on behalf of the low-power WPAN devices. The hub uses a modified WLAN frame format to communicate with the WPAN devices, allowing for a simplified and more power-efficient protocol. This modified frame can include information about scheduled communication times or inactivity periods, enabling the WPAN devices to sleep for longer periods and conserve battery power. The hub also manages the coordination of multiple WPAN devices, ensuring they don't interfere with each other or the WLAN.
The key differentiation from prior approaches lies in the seamless integration of WPANs into WLANs without requiring the WPAN devices to fully implement the WLAN protocol. Previous solutions either suffered from high power consumption in the WPAN devices or required complex switching between networks. By using a hub that acts as a translator and coordinator, the invention allows low-power devices to benefit from the range and connectivity of WLANs while maintaining their long battery life. The use of a partially compliant overlay protocol ensures minimal interference and efficient use of the wireless medium.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the mid-2000s when ’934 was filed, wireless networking was bifurcated between high-power local area networks for data infrastructure and low-power personal area networks for peripheral connectivity, at a time when these two domains were typically implemented using separate, non-interoperable hardware stacks. When systems commonly relied on dedicated gateways or complex protocol translation to bridge short-range devices to the wider network, hardware and software constraints made maintaining simultaneous, seamless connectivity to both network types non-trivial without significant power penalties or loss of synchronization. Engineering practices at this time generally treated these radio environments as distinct silos, often requiring devices to sacrifice the low-power benefits of personal area protocols to achieve the IP-addressability and range of standard local area network architectures.
Prosecution Position
The examiner allowed the application because the prior art did not demonstrate a specific method for making a personal area network (WPAN) protocol partially compatible with a local area network (WLAN) protocol to prevent interference. Specifically, the examiner noted that the prior art failed to teach a system where the WPAN protocol utilizes a specialized frame—modeled after a WLAN probe request—to facilitate device discovery. This specialized frame must include a Service Set Identifier (SSID) that is specifically modified to identify the WPAN protocol, a feature the examiner found missing in previous technical solutions.
Claims
This patent contains 14 claims, of which claims 1, 4, and 7 are independent. The independent claims are generally directed to a wireless device configured to coordinate usage of a wireless medium using both WLAN and WPAN protocols. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the features and functionalities described in the independent claims.
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US11012934
- Application Number
- US17125797A
- Filing Date
- Dec 17, 2020
- Publication Date
- May 18, 2021
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents