POWER MANAGEMENT

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the invention the timing of one or more local communication windows can be defined using equations such that one or more local communication windows for two or more devices overlap. For example the periods between two consecutive local communication windows can be defined using a periodic equation such as: LAP Cycle Period=Δ*2n. In this equation n=0, 1, 2, . . . , N, where N and Δ can be fixed. For example, N and Δ can be numbers that are predetermined for a given network, a given set of network devices, etc. In one embodiment every device can become active every Δ*2n superframes. The frequency (n) can be determined based on, for example, incoming or outgoing message traffic, power consumption needs, etc.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one possible configuration of a wireless network that can serve as an example environment in which the present invention can be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating bandwidth that can be divided into superframes, which in turn can be divided into time slots.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one example of the power saving mechanism in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating one example method in accordance with the systems and methods described herein.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one example method in accordance with the systems and methods described herein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating example of global and local access periods.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating another example of global and local access periods.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating another example of global and local access periods.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of one device communicating with multiple devices.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of overlapping global access periods.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for setting a global access period.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for alignment of hibernation and active cycles in accordance with the systems and methods described herein.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating another example method for alignment of hibernation and active cycles in accordance with the systems and methods described herein.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating additional details of one of the steps of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating additional details of one of the steps of FIG. 13.

Claims

1. A method of power management, comprising: defining a global communication window, having a periodicity defined by a periodic relationship;transmitting a local communication window, having a periodicity defined by a periodic relationship to other devices in a network;waking from a hibernation state at a predetermined time for the local communication window;receiving a transmission from another device in the network during the local communication window; andreturning to the hibernation state after the local communication window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the relationships defining the periodicity of the global and the local communication windows are equations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the equation defining the global communication window is Δ*2m.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the equation defining the local communication window is Δ*2n.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein n is determined, at least in part, based on message traffic.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein n is determined, at least in part, based on power consumption needs.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein n is determined, at least in part, based on a devices available battery life.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the equation defining the global communication window is Δ*2m and the equation defining the local communication window is Δ*2n.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein n is equal to the largest value of n for a given neighborhood.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting an Active Cycle Start Time that is advertised for a particular beaconing group.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising a device selecting an Active Cycle Start Time if no beacon is received.

12. A network device comprising: a memory, the memory configured to store instructions;

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the relationships defining the periodicity of the global and the local communication windows are equations.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the equation defining the global communication window is Δ*2m.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the equation defining the local communication window is Δ*2n.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein n is determined, at least in part, based on message traffic.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein n is determined, at least in part, based on power consumption needs.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein n is determined, at least in part, based on a devices available battery life.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the equation defining the global communication window is Δ*2m and the equation defining the local communication window is Δ*2n.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein n is equal to the largest value of n for a given neighborhood.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising selecting an Active Cycle Start Time that is advertised for a particular beaconing group.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising a device selecting an Active Cycle Start Time if no beacon is received.