Apparatus and Method for Improving WLAN Spectrum Efficiency and Reducing Interference by Flow Control
First Claim
1. A method for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
- determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer;
determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold;
determining if a wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver;
determining if the send buffer is empty;
setting a power management bit to “
1”
in either a top-most packet in the send buffer or a NULL packet; and
using the WLAN transceiver for transmitting either the top-most packet or the NULL packet to an access point.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold; determining if a wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; determining if the send buffer is empty; setting a power management bit to “1” in either a top-most packet in the send buffer or a NULL packet; and using the WLAN transceiver for transmitting either the top-most packet or the NULL packet to an access point.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
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determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold; determining if a wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; determining if the send buffer is empty; setting a power management bit to “
1”
in either a top-most packet in the send buffer or a NULL packet; andusing the WLAN transceiver for transmitting either the top-most packet or the NULL packet to an access point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
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using a processor in a wireless device for determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold and determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an underflow threshold; determining that the wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; determining if the send buffer is empty; and determining if a top-most packet in the send buffer is a PS_POLL packet or a trigger packet. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A method for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
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using a processor in a wireless device for determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold and determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an underflow threshold; determining that the wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; pushing a PS_POLL packet or a trigger packet with power management bit set to “
1”
into the send buffer; andsetting the power management bit to “
1”
in a top-most packet in the send buffer and using the WLAN transceiver to transmit the top-most packet to an access point.
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10. A wireless device for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
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a WLAN transceiver for receiving at least one data packet; a receive buffer for storing the at least one data packet; a host system with an interface module coupled to the receive buffer wherein the host system processes the at least one data packet; a send buffer coupled to the interface module for storing packets from the host system to the WLAN transceiver; and a processor configured to perform the following steps; a) determine if the at least one data packet is entering the receive buffer; b) determine if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold; c) determine if the wireless device is in power save mode; d) determine if the send buffer is empty; e) set a power management bit to “
1”
in either a top-most packet in the send buffer or a NULL packet; andf) command the WLAN transceiver to transmit either the top-most packet or the NULL packet to an access point. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A wireless device for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
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a WLAN transceiver for receiving at least one data packet; a receive buffer for storing the at least one data packet; a host system with an interface module coupled to the receive buffer wherein the host system processes the at least one data packet; a send buffer coupled to the interface module for storing packets from the host system to the WLAN transceiver; and a processor configured to perform the following steps; a) determine if the at least one data packet is entering the receive buffer; b) determine if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold and determine if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an underflow threshold; c) determine that the wireless device is in power save mode; d) determine if the send buffer is empty; and e) determine if a top-most packet in the send buffer is a PS_POLL packet or a trigger packet. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A wireless device for improving WLAN spectrum efficiency and reducing interference by flow control comprising:
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a WLAN transceiver for receiving at least one data packet; a receive buffer for storing the at least one data packet; a host system with an interface module coupled to the receive buffer wherein the host system processes the at least one data packet; a send buffer coupled to the interface module for storing packets from the host system to the WLAN transceiver; and a processor configured to perform the following steps; a) determine if the at least one data packet is entering the receive buffer; b) determine if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold and determine if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an underflow threshold; c) determine that the wireless device is in power save mode; d) push a PS_POLL packet or a trigger packet with power management bit set to “
1”
into the send buffer; ande) set the power management bit to “
1”
in a top-most packet in the send buffer; andwherein the WLAN transceiver transmits the top-most packet to an access point.
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19. A computer-readable medium having a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, operates to improve WLAN spectrum efficiency and reduce interference by flow control, the computer program comprising:
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instructions for determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; instructions for determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold; instructions for determining if a wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; instructions for determining if the send buffer is empty; instructions for setting a power management bit to “
1”
in either a top-most packet in the send buffer or a NULL packet; andinstructions for using the WLAN transceiver for transmitting either the top-most packet or the NULL packet to an access point.
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20. A computer-readable medium having a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, operates to improve WLAN spectrum efficiency and reduce interference by flow control, the computer program comprising:
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instructions for determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; instructions for determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold and determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an underflow threshold; instructions for determining that a wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; instructions for determining if the send buffer is empty; and instructions for determining if a top-most packet in the send buffer is a PS_POLL packet or a trigger packet.
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21. A computer-readable medium having a computer program recorded thereon which when executed by at least one processor, operates to improve WLAN spectrum efficiency and reduce interference by flow control, the computer program comprising the steps of:
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determining if at least one data packet is entering a receive buffer; determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an overflow threshold and determining if the utilization of the receive buffer is greater than an underflow threshold; determining that a wireless device is in power save mode, wherein the wireless device comprises the receive buffer, a WLAN transceiver and a send buffer for storing packets from an interface module to the WLAN transceiver; pushing a PS_POLL packet or a trigger packet with power management bit set to “
1”
into the send buffer;setting the power management bit to “
1”
in a top-most packet in the send buffer; andusing the WLAN transceiver to transmit the top-most packet to an access point.
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Specification