Apple patents smarter Wi-Fi scheduling to cut lag for connected devices
This patent describes a method where a wireless router checks how much data is waiting to be sent and how quickly it needs to arrive. It then shares the available connection space more efficiently between different devices to reduce delay.
In the filing’s own words
The subject disclosure provides systems and methods for improved medium access for wireless communication. A wireless access point, on contending for and gaining medium access, may share a time and/or bandwidth channel resource with one or more other wireless access points and/or one or more client devices. The wireless access point can efficiently share the channel resource using buffer status information computed by the wireless access point and/or additional buffer status information computed by the one or more other wireless access points. In one or more implementations, latency information for buffered data can be provided from a client device to a wireless access point and/or from a satellite wireless access point to a control wireless access point.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a wireless access point from a client device: buffer size information for buffered data at the client device, and latency information with respect to the buffered data; determining an uplink client latency tolerance for one or more client devices including the client device, using the latency information; determining a downlink client latency tolerance for the one or more client devices including the client device; and allocating, by the wireless access point, a channel resource to the client device based on the buffer size information the latency information, the uplink client latency tolerance, and the downlink client latency tolerance.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Resource allocation for low latency wireless communication
- Patent number
- US12750725B2
- Application number
- 18238455
- Filed
- Aug 25, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 29, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 19
Classified under
H04W 28/0278 Electricity & electronicsH04W 72/569 Electricity & electronicsMore from Apple in Networks & wireless
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.