METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING THE EXISTENCE OF BROADCAST AND MULTICAST FRAMES BUFFERED IN AN ACCESS POINT

• US 20120099507A1
• Filed: 01/03/2012
• Published: 04/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mo, Liangyao, Zhang, Huimin
• Granted Patent: US 8,953,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1854 with non-centralised forwarding system, e.g. chaincast
• 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 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and a system for determining the existence of broadcast/multicast frames buffered in an access point (AP) are used to avoid wakening a station (STA) unnecessarily. The method includes: when receiving broadcast/multicast frames sent from a service network and/or multicast group, an AP sets a broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the service network and/or multicast group to the valid state and sends frames that carry the broadcast/multicast indication bit to a STA; the STA determines whether there are broadcast/multicast frames buffered in the AP according to the associated service network and/or multicast group and the received broadcast/multicast indication bit. Embodiments of the present disclosure also disclose an AP and a STA. The AP can identify whether there are broadcast/multicast frames buffered in an AP.

Claims

1. A method for determining the existence of broadcast frames buffered in an Access Point (AP), comprising:

setting, by the AP, when receiving broadcast frames from at least one of a service network associated with a Station (STA) and a multicast group, which the STA joins, broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of the service network or the multicast group and sending the frames carrying the broadcast/multicast indication bits to the STA,

wherein the broadcast/multicast indication bits is used for determining whether there are broadcast/multicast frames from at least one of the service network associated with a Station (STA) and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the AP, a service network query request message;

sending, by the AP, a service network query response message carrying a service network list and location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit;

selecting, by the STA, a service network from the service network list, so that the STA can record the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the service network.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the service network query request message is a general advertising service (GAS) initial request message, and the service network query response message is a GAS initial response message.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

sending, by the AP, a service network query response message carrying a service network list and location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits that associates a service network to the STA, the service network list and the broadcast/multicast indication bits being configured for by the STA, so that the STA can select an associated service network and recording the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the service network.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the at least one of the service network and the multicast group relating to the STA comprises:

receiving, by the AP, a group joining report that carries a multicast group ID; and

returning, by the AP, the location information that associates the broadcast/multicast indication bit to the STA according to the multicast group ID in the group joining report.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein returning, by the AP, the location information that associates the broadcast/multicast indication bit to the STA according to the multicast group ID in the group joining report comprises:

searching, by the AP, the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the multicast according to the multicast group ID, and if finding the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit, returning the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the multicast group;

otherwise, allocating the broadcast/multicast indication bit to the multicast group, recording the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit, and returning the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the multicast group to the STA.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the AP determines whether the destination STA of the broadcast frame is in the PS state when receiving a broadcast frame, and if the destination STA of the broadcast frame is in the PS state, setting the broadcast/multicast indication bit to the valid state;

otherwise, sending the broadcast frame to the destination STA directly.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

setting, by the AP, a shared indication bit configured to indicate whether the AP is shared by using a virtual AP method or multiple-SSIDs method so that the STA can read the buffered broadcast frame indication according to the shared indication bit.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast/multicast indication bits are set in a Beacon frame.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

setting a delivery traffic indication (DTIM) time that associates the service network or multicast group according to the broadcast frames and sending frames that carry the DTIM time to the STA, so that the STA can wake up according to at least one of the service network and the multicast group, the received broadcast/multicast indication bit, and the DTIM time; and

receive the broadcast frames buffered in the AP.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the DTIM time comprises a DTIM Count and a DTIM Period.

12. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a Station (STA), the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of a service network associated with the STA and a multicast group, which the STA joins;

reading, by the STA, the broadcast/multicast indication bits according to the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits; and

determining by the STA, whether there are broadcast frames from at least one of the service network associated with the STA and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP according to the broadcast/multicast indication bits.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining by the STA, whether there are broadcast frames from at least one of the service network associated with the STA and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP according to the broadcast/multicast indication bits comprises:

checking, by the STA, the broadcast/multicast indication bits; and

determining whether the broadcast/multicast indication bits is in the valid state;

if the broadcast/multicast indication bits is in the valid state, determining there are broadcast frames from at least one of the service network associated with a Station (STA) and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP;

otherwise, determining there is no broadcast frame from at least one of the service network associated with a Station (STA) and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein obtaining, by the STA, the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of a service network associated with the STA and a multicast group, which the STA joins comprises:

sending, by the STA, a service network query request message to the AP, so that the AP can send a service network query response message carrying a service network list and location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit;

selecting, by the STA, a service network from the service network list; and

recording, by the STA, the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the service network.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the service network query request message is a general advertising service (GAS) initial request message, and the service network query response message is a GAS initial response message.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein obtaining, by the STA, the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of a service network associated with the STA and a multicast group, which the STA joins comprises:

selecting an associated service network and recording the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates the service network after receiving a service network query response message carrying a service network list and location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bit that associates a service network to the STA from the AP.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein obtaining, by the STA, the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of a service network associated with the STA and a multicast group, which the STA joins comprises:

joining, by the STA, a multicast group;

sending, by the STA, a group joining report that carries a multicast group ID, so that the AP can return the location information that associates the broadcast/multicast indication bit to the STA according to the multicast group ID in the group joining report.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

waking up, by the STA, according to at least one of the service network and the multicast group, the received broadcast/multicast indication bits, and a delivery traffic indication (DTIM) time carried in a frame sent by the AP; and

receiving, by the STA, the broadcast frames buffered in the AP;

wherein the DTIM time that associates the service network or multicast group is set according to the broadcast frames.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the DTIM time comprises a DTIM Count and a DTIM Period.

20. A system for determining the existence of broadcast frames buffered in an Access Point (AP), comprising:

the AP, configured to set, when receiving broadcast frames from at least one of a service network associated with a Station (STA) and a multicast group, which the STA joins, broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of the service network or the multicast group, and send the frames carrying the broadcast/multicast indication bits to the STA,

the STA, configured to obtain, the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of a service network associated with the STA and a multicast group, which the STA joins;

read the broadcast/multicast indication bits according to the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits; and

determine whether there are broadcast frames from at least one of the service network associated with the STA and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP according to the broadcast/multicast indication bits.

21. A Station (STA), comprising:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of a service network associated with the STA and a multicast group, which the STA joins;

a reading unit, configured to read the broadcast/multicast indication bits according to the location information of the broadcast/multicast indication bits; and

a determining unit, configured to determine whether there are broadcast frames from at least one of the service network associated with the STA and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP according to the broadcast/multicast indication bits.

22. An Access Point (AP), comprising:

a setting unit, configured to, when receiving broadcast frames from at least one of a service network associated with a Station (STA) and a multicast group, which the STA joins, broadcast/multicast indication bits related to at least one of the service network or the multicast group; and

a sending unit, configured to, send the frames carrying the broadcast/multicast indication bits to the STA,

wherein the broadcast/multicast indication bits is used for determining whether there are broadcast/multicast frames from at least one of the service network associated with the STA and the multicast group, which the STA joins, buffered in the AP.