Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/02—Power saving arrangements
  • H04W52/0203—Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks
  • H04W52/0206—Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks in access points, e.g. base stations
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04B—TRANSMISSION
  • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
  • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
  • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
  • H04B7/06—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station
  • H04B7/0686—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission
  • H04B7/0691—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission using subgroups of transmit antennas
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04B—TRANSMISSION
  • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
  • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
  • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
  • H04B7/08—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the receiving station
  • H04B7/0868—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and combining
  • H04B7/0874—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and combining using subgroups of receive antennas
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/04—Transmission power control [TPC]
  • H04W52/06—TPC algorithms
  • H04W52/14—Separate analysis of uplink or downlink
  • H04W52/143—Downlink power control
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/04—Transmission power control [TPC]
  • H04W52/18—TPC being performed according to specific parameters
  • H04W52/24—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters
  • H04W52/245—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters taking into account received signal strength
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/04—Transmission power control [TPC]
  • H04W52/18—TPC being performed according to specific parameters
  • H04W52/24—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters
  • H04W52/246—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters where the output power of a terminal is based on a path parameter calculated in said terminal
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/04—Transmission power control [TPC]
  • H04W52/18—TPC being performed according to specific parameters
  • H04W52/28—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using user profile, e.g. mobile speed, priority or network state, e.g. standby, idle or non-transmission
  • H04W52/283—Power depending on the position of the mobile
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/04—Transmission power control [TPC]
  • H04W52/38—TPC being performed in particular situations
  • H04W52/42—TPC being performed in particular situations in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/04—Transmission power control [TPC]
  • H04W52/38—TPC being performed in particular situations
  • H04W52/46—TPC being performed in particular situations in multi-hop networks, e.g. wireless relay networks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. Transmission Power Control [TPC] or power classes
  • H04W52/02—Power saving arrangements
  • H04W52/0209—Power saving arrangements in terminal devices
  • H04W52/0225—Power saving arrangements in terminal devices using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
  • H04W52/0245—Power saving arrangements in terminal devices using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal according to signal strength

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for reducing the energy consumption of a Wi-Fi access point in a communications network comprising a set of Wi-Fi stations, this set being associated with the access point.
• Such a network is in particular a home network equipped with a gateway as an access point making it possible to connect local equipment to the Internet.
• the repeater makes it possible to connect equipment to the access point, this equipment being too far from the access point but close to the repeater.
• the present invention relates in particular to an access point equipped with at least one Wi-Fi module communicating at the 5 GHz frequency band and a Wi-Fi module communicating at the 6 GHz frequency band.
• Wi-Fi is the most used medium for transmitting data at home. It is used for a large and growing number of different devices (Smartphone, tablet, PC, TV decoder, IOT equipment, etc.) and for a wide variety of uses: email, telephony, “Live” video, “Video” OTT”, IOT monitoring. . .
• Wi-Fi technologies are becoming more complex and provide additional tools which make it possible to optimize certain characteristics of the flows, while taking into account certain constraints: 802.11e, 802.1 lu, 802.1 lax, OFDMA,. . .
• the 6 GHz frequency band supports the same bandwidth and the same throughput as the 5 GHz band. It almost doubles the Wi-Fi bandwidth available in the home. Furthermore, the absence of interference and the exclusive presence on this band of equipment whose standard is 802.1 lax makes it possible to provide unrivaled quality of service and to fully benefit from the improvements brought by the latest standards.
• the present invention aims to reduce the electrical consumption of the access point.
• Another aim of the invention is the implementation of a new mechanism for reducing consumption while maintaining a satisfactory level of performance.
• At least one of the aforementioned objectives is achieved with a method for reducing the energy consumption of a Wi-Fi access point in a communications network comprising a set of Wi-Fi stations, this set being associated with the access point; the process comprising:
• the conditions are met when all of the verified conditions are respected, that is to say that all the Wi-Fi stations associated with the access point are at a distance less than the predetermined distance, and the access point is not connected in Wi-Fi mode to a repeater.
• all the conditions are not met, then there is no activation of an energy management mode.
• a station is associated with an access point when the association phase, known to those skilled in the art, has concluded positively between this station and the access point.
• the energy consumption of a domestic gateway is reduced by dynamically activating or deactivating energy saving mechanisms.
• the user has no perception of change, however his electricity consumption can be reduced, reducing the environmental impact of the access point.
• the reduction in consumption for a household may remain small but nevertheless not negligible for an entire fleet of access points from a national operator.
• the present invention is remarkable in that conditions are automatically checked between the Wi-Fi stations and the access point and the activation Automatic energy management allows a reduction in consumption without impacting the performance of Wi-Fi communication.
• the energy management mode can include management of the Wi-Fi signal transmission power of the access point. Indeed, an energy management mode can therefore advantageously be the management of the electrical power, current and/or voltage, generated by the access point to communicate via Wi-Fi with the Wi-Fi stations.
• the transmission power management may consist of reducing the transmission power to a predetermined minimum power level.
• Power reduction may consist of reducing the transmit power by a predefined percentage or several predefined percentages. For example, if we apply a reduction to 15%, this means that the Wi-Fi transmit power for this frequency is reduced to 15%. If we apply a reduction to 50% for a power of 30dBm, then the transmission power will be 27dBm (- 3).
• the energy management mode can include the management of a number of active Wi-Fi antennas in the access point.
• energy saving mechanisms are dynamically activated or deactivated on the different Wi-Fi cards available. We optimize the number of antennas used depending on the situation in order to reduce consumption.
• the management of the number of active Wi-Fi antennas in the access point can only be activated when the following additional condition is met: if the band consumption bandwidth of a Wi-Fi station does not exceed a predetermined consumption threshold.
• This consumption threshold is for example equal to 50%, for example between 30 and 60%.
• the management of a number of active Wi-Fi antennas in the access point may include deactivation of one or more antennas so as to allow operation of the access point with a predetermined minimum number of Wi-Fi antennas.
• said predetermined distance can be the distance corresponding to a predetermined RSSI signal intensity (Received Signal Strength Indication), such as for example - 55dBm.
• RSSI signal intensity Receiveived Signal Strength Indication
• the value of -55 is configurable.
• the access point can be an internet connection router or a Wi-Fi repeater within the communications network.
• the invention can thus make it possible to reduce consumption on all the access points of a communication network.
• the access point according to the invention can generally be considered, for a home communications network, as a home gateway or a “homegateway” in English or any other device capable of connecting user equipment to the Internet.
• the verification can be periodic.
• the activation of an energy management mode applies to all frequencies.
• a communication network comprising an access point and a set of Wi-Fi stations.
• the access point is configured to implement a process as described above.
• the invention also relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a processing unit in an access point and/or in a repeater in a communications network comprising a set of Wi-Fi stations, lead it to implement the process as described above.
• Figure 1 is a schematic view of a house equipped with an access point in the form of an internet gateway, a repeater and a user's Wi-Fi stations;
• Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a method according to the invention.
• Figure 3 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment without energy saving management
• Figure 4 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment with energy saving activation according to the invention.
• Figure 5 is a schematic view illustrating two simultaneous connections between the access point and two successive repeaters according to the inv
• Figure 5 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment with energy saving deactivation according to the inv invention.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a house 1 equipped with an access point 2 which is a router or gateway allowing access to the Internet 3 via a wired connection 4 based on coaxial cable or fiber optical.
• the access point 2 comprises a processing unit 7, such as a microprocessor for example, to implement the method according to the invention; a Wi-Fi 8 module for 2.4GHz communication; a Wi-Fi 9 module for 5GHz communication; and a Wi-Fi 10 module for 6GHz communication.
• a processing unit 7 such as a microprocessor for example, to implement the method according to the invention.
• repeater 11 This repeater is intended to extend the coverage of the three Wi-Fi frequency bands.
• the repeater 11 is equipped with a microprocessor 12 to manage a Wi-Fi module 13 at the 2.4 GHz frequency band, a Wi-Fi 14 module at the 5 GHz frequency band and a Wi-Fi 15 module at the 6 GHz frequency band. Its function is to serve as a relay between communications between access point 2 and equipment or stations that are too far from access point 2 but close to the repeater.
• the repeater 11 is directly connected by wire to the access point 2. Communication between the gateway 2 and the repeater 11 is done via a wired connection 211 based on coaxial cable or optical fiber.
• Home equipment can connect wired or wirelessly to access point 2 to access internet 3.
• the access point 2, repeater 11, television 5 and mobile phones 6a and 6b assembly forms a home network.
• the access point 2 and the repeater 11 comprise conventional hardware and software means to serve as an access point and repeater between equipment and the Internet and furthermore comprise one and/or the other a product computer program to implement the method according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps in implementing the method according to the invention. This may be the process implemented within access point 2. It is considered that only the television 5 and the telephone 6a are associated with access point 2.
• the verification process starts at step 16, for example provided that there is at least one Wi-Fi station associated with the access point. We can consider checking if at least one Wi-Fi station is connected to the access point. If yes, we start the process, otherwise we wait before testing again.
• the first check consists of checking during step 17 that all the Wi-Fi stations are at a distance less than or equal to a predetermined distance.
• the second check 18 is carried out consisting of knowing whether a repeater is not connected in Wi-Fi mode to the access point.
• the repeater 11 we consider the repeater 11 as a second access point. The connection between access point 2 and repeater 11 being wired, in verification 18, the condition is met, so the output is “yes”.
• step 18 would not be fulfilled and the output of step 18 would be “no”.
• the two checks 17 and 18 can be carried out in parallel or one after the other without any importance in the order, that is to say first check 17 or first check 18.
• step 19 is carried out consisting of deactivating a transmission power management mode if such a mode was previously in active state.
• a no to step 17 or 18 means that the conditions are not or are no longer met for the implementation of transmission power management.
• step 20 When the two checks 17 and 18 are positive, management of the transmission power is applied in step 20 and a fourth is carried out in parallel verification 21.
• This step 20 can be implemented immediately after step 18 or at the end of the process after step 21.
• Step 21 consists of knowing whether the bandwidth consumption of a Wi-Fi station does not exceed a predetermined consumption threshold.
• the threshold is for example 50% and if the television consumes more than 50% of the WIFI bandwidth, then the condition is not met, the output of step 21 is "no » and we move on to step 22.
• the conditions according to the invention apply to each of the frequency bands. For example, regarding the consumption threshold if the 5GHz band is used at 20% and the 6GHz band at 52% then the deactivation threshold at 50% is reached.
• Step 22 consists of deactivating a mode for managing the number of active Wi-Fi antennas if such a mode was previously in an active state. Indeed, a no to step 21 means that the conditions are not or are no longer met for the implementation of management of the number of Wi-Fi antennas.
• step 21 When the verification in step 21 gives a positive result, that is to say that the consumption of each Wi-Fi band remains below a predetermined threshold, then antenna management is implemented at the step 23 and we move into the timing phase in step 24.
• the verification steps 17, 18 and 21 can be carried out completely successively, successively in pairs or in parallel. When they are carried out in parallel, it is necessary to wait for the end of all the verifications before deducing the management(s) to be implemented.
• Figures 3 to 5 show three situations within a communication network 26 according to the invention.
• antenna 25 which can be representative of the Wi-Fi antennas of the access point 2 in Figure 1.
• the telephone 6a and the television 5 are associated with the access point equipped with the antenna 25.
• the energy saving management modes are operational.
• the checks show that the television 5 and the telephone 6a respect the conditions for the implementation of transmission power management.
• TV 5 and Phone 6a are included in a circle 27 respecting the distance conditions. Indeed, inside this circle 27 we consider that the RSSI intensity is satisfactory. In such a situation, the transmission power via the antenna 25 is controlled, more precisely reduced.
• the present invention can be broken down into two types of energy management:
• Each management has its own activation and deactivation thresholds; if one of the thresholds is not reached, this energy saving function is deactivated.
• the thresholds linked to the management of the transmission power may include:
• the stations should not be too far from the access point so as not to see their performance decrease, if the station is associated with -55dBm of RSSI and lower, the power saving function is not activated.
• the thresholds linked to the management of the number of active antennas of the radio can include:
• the stations should not be too far from the access point so as not to see their performance decrease, if the station is associated with -55dBm of RSSI and lower, the power saving function is not activated.
• the home gateway must not be connected via Wi-Fi to other equipment.
• the radio bandwidth consumption of currently connected Wi-Fi equipment must not exceed 50% otherwise its overall performance may be reduced. We are therefore talking here about talk time on the Wi-Fi channel.
• the global energy saving mechanism If the global energy saving mechanism is activated, it analyzes all the energy management configured in the system, such as for example the management of the transmission power only or the management of the transmission power but also active management of antennas.
• the energy consumption of a home gateway is reduced by dynamically activating or deactivating energy saving mechanisms on the different Wi-Fi cards available.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=85175846

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 2022
  • 2022-12-13 FR FR2213245A patent/FR3143251B1/fr active Active
• 2023
  • 2023-12-12 WO PCT/EP2023/085342 patent/WO2024126480A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2023-12-12 EP EP23822014.9A patent/EP4635235A1/de active Pending

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