Low power module for a station of a wireless communication system and related method
First Claim
1. A user station applied in a wireless communication system, said wireless communication system comprises an access point (AP) and a plurality of stations, the plurality of stations and the AP send packets to communicate with each other, the user station comprising:
- a host module for controlling operation of the user station;
a low power module coupled to the host module for transmitting/receiving packets with low power consumption of the user station;
a RF/BB module coupled to the host module and the low power module for processing various signals from the packets; and
a clock generator coupled to the host module, the low power module, and the RF/BB module for providing a normal operational clock to the station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a low power module, and in particular, to a low power module applied in a station of a wireless communication system. A low power module includes a first MAC module, a second MAC module, a low power switch register, a control register unit, a slow clock generator, and a multiplexer (MUX) The first and second MAC module transmits and receives packets in a normal operational mode and a power save mode, respectively. The low power switch register switches a current mode to another mode. The control register unit controls the RF/BB module and the clock generator under the control of the low power switch register. The slow clock generator generates a slow operational clock for the second MAC module in the power save mode. The MUX chooses the normal operational or the slow operational clock periodically as a clock of the second MAC module according to the control register unit.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A user station applied in a wireless communication system, said wireless communication system comprises an access point (AP) and a plurality of stations, the plurality of stations and the AP send packets to communicate with each other, the user station comprising:
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a host module for controlling operation of the user station;
a low power module coupled to the host module for transmitting/receiving packets with low power consumption of the user station;
a RF/BB module coupled to the host module and the low power module for processing various signals from the packets; and
a clock generator coupled to the host module, the low power module, and the RF/BB module for providing a normal operational clock to the station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A low power module applied in a station, said station applied in a wireless communication system, said wireless communication system comprises an access point (AP) and a plurality of stations, the plurality of stations and the AP send packets to communicate with each other, the low power module comprising:
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a first MAC module for transmitting and receiving packets in a normal operational mode and sleeping in a power save mode;
a second MAC module for transmitting and receiving packets in the power save mode and sleeping in the normal operational mode;
a low power switch register coupled to the first and second MAC modules for switching the user station between the power save mode and the normal operational mode;
a control register unit coupled to the low power switch register for controlling the RF/BB module and the clock generator to sleep to save power consumption if the low power switch register controls the user station in the power save mode;
a slow clock generator for generating a slow operational clock for the second MAC module in the power save mode; and
a multiplexer (MUX) coupled to the control register unit, the normal operational clock and the slow clock generator for choosing the normal operational or the slow operational clock periodically as a clock of the second MAC module if the control register unit controls the RF/BB module and the clock generator to sleep to save power consumption;
wherein the second MAC module sends a wake up event to the first MAC module to wake up the first MAC module and control the low power switch register to switch to the normal operational mode if the second MAC module received a specific packet or a specific beacon in the power save mode. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of controlling a user station applied in a wireless communication system, said wireless communication system comprises an access point (AP) and a plurality of stations, the plurality of stations and the AP send packets to communicate with each other, the user station comprises a low power unit, a low power switch register, and a host module, said low power unit is utilized for saving power consumption, said low power switch register is utilized for switching the user station control, and said host module is utilized for controlling the entire operation of the station, comprising:
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entering a power save mode wherein the power save mode comprises a listen phase and a deep sleep phase;
switching periodically between the listen phase and the deep sleep phase wherein the low power unit waits for a wanted beacon or a wanted packet in the listen phase and does nothing in the deep sleep phase;
synchronizing the low power unit with the AP automatically for best power saving when receiving a beacon;
transmitting a NULL packet and waiting for acknowledgement while losing beacon packet several times for basic connection; and
returning to a normal operational mode. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification