METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MESSAGE TRANSMISSION WITHIN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20070242634A1
• Filed: 04/18/2006
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Calcev, George, Gossain, Hrishikesh, Emeott, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US11/379,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20070242634A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/318
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The proposed method and apparatus reduces an amount of power required for nodes to both transmit and receive messages. In particular, broadcast packets are sent in an awake period (ATIM window) if the length of these messages is small. Because these packets do not need acknowledgment or they do not expect immediate reply, they may be broadcast in the ATIM window. Since all nodes are awake during the ATIM window, nodes may receive messages during this period of time which they ordinarily would need to stay awake to receive in the sleep period (post ATIM window).

Claims

1. In a communication system employing an awake interval where all nodes remain awake to receive and transmit messages, and also employing a sleep interval where nodes may sleep if they have no messages to receive, a method for message transmission, the method comprising the steps of:

determining that a broadcast message is to be transmitted to a node;

determining if the broadcast message size is below a threshold; and

transmitting the broadcast message during the awake interval if the broadcast message is below the threshold, otherwise transmitting the broadcast message during the sleep interval.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining if the broadcast message size is below the threshold comprises the step of determining if the broadcast message will fit within the awake interval.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting the broadcast message during the awake interval comprises the step of transmitting the broadcast message during an IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc traffic indication (ATIM) window.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting the broadcast message during the sleep interval comprises the step of transmitting the broadcast message during an IEEE 802.11 post ad-hoc traffic indication (ATIM) window.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining that a non-broadcast message is to be transmitted to the node; and

transmitting the non-broadcast message during the sleep interval.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the non-broadcast message comprises a unicast message.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the broadcast message comprises a message that does not require a response from a node.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting the broadcast message comprises the step of transmitting the broadcast message to more than one node.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting the broadcast message during the awake interval comprises the step of setting a bit in a frame control field of a broadcast data frame header to FALSE when there are no further broadcast messages to transmit.

10. In a communication system employing an awake interval where all nodes remain awake to receive and transmit messages, and also employing a sleep interval where nodes may sleep if they have no messages to receive, a method for message reception, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a broadcast message during the awake interval if the broadcast message length is below a threshold, otherwise; and

receiving the broadcast message during the sleep interval.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the threshold comprises is based on if the broadcast message will fit within the awake interval.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of receiving the broadcast message during the awake interval comprises the step of receiving the broadcast message during an IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc traffic indication (ATIM) window.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of receiving the broadcast message during the sleep interval comprises the step of receiving the broadcast message during an IEEE 802.11 post ad-hoc traffic indication (ATIM) window.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:

receiving a non-broadcast message during the sleep interval.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the non-broadcast message comprises a unicast message.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the broadcast message comprises a message that does not require a response from a node.

17. In a communication system employing an awake interval where all nodes remain awake to receive and transmit messages, and also employing a sleep interval where nodes may sleep if they have no messages to receive, an apparatus for message transmission, the apparatus comprising:

logic circuitry determining that a broadcast message is to be transmitted to a node and determining if the broadcast message size is below a threshold; and

transmission circuitry transmitting the broadcast message during the awake interval if the broadcast message is below the threshold, otherwise transmitting the broadcast message during the sleep interval.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the logic circuitry determines if the broadcast message size is below the threshold by determining if the broadcast message will fit within the awake interval.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the awake interval comprises an IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc traffic indication (ATIM) window.

20. In a communication system employing an awake interval where all nodes remain awake to receive and transmit messages, and also employing a sleep interval where nodes may sleep if they have no messages to receive, a method for message transmission, the method comprising the steps of:

determining that a plurality of broadcast messages are to be transmitted to a plurality of nodes;

determining that multiple broadcast messages from the plurality of broadcast messages that are to be transmitted have a length that is below a threshold;

transmitting a single broadcast message that is below the threshold during the awake interval; and

transmitting all remaining broadcast messages that are below the threshold during the sleep interval.