SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING DISCOVERY AND PAGING MESSAGES

• US 20130155900A1
• Filed: 12/06/2012
• Published: 06/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sampath, Hemanth, Abraham, Santosh Paul, Merlin, Simone, Tavildar, Saurabh, Li, Junyi, Khude, Nilesh N.
• Granted Patent: US 9,084,180 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/205 Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Methods, devices, and computer program products for transmitting and receiving discovery and paging messages are described herein. In one aspect, an apparatus operable in a wireless communication system includes a transmitter and receiver. The transmitter transmits a discovery packet during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals. The discovery packet advertises a service provided in a wireless communications network, and the plurality of discovery intervals include recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets. The receiver receives a paging packet from a first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals. The paging packet indicates interest in the service, and the plurality of paging intervals include recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets. The plurality of paging intervals do not overlap the plurality of discovery intervals.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus, the method comprising:

transmitting a discovery packet during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

receiving a paging packet from a first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the discovery packet is configured to advertise a first service provided by the apparatus, and the paging packet is configured to indicate interest in the first service provided by the apparatus.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining when to transmit the discovery packet based on contention for a wireless communication medium; and

delaying the contention until after a delay period determined based at least in part on a random value.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to enter a power-save mode at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals unless the apparatus is scheduled to communicate at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said transmitting the discovery packet during the first discovery interval comprises transmitting the discovery packet during a first sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first discovery interval, each sub-interval being of a same duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining the first sub-interval based on contention for a wireless communication medium.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining the first sub-interval based on a scheduled sub-interval received from another device.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said receiving the paging packet from the first device during the first paging interval comprises receiving the paging packet during a scheduled sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first paging interval, each sub-interval being of a same duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals have a fixed size and comprise at least one of a data frame, a management frame, and a management action frame.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals comprise a timestamp field configured to enable the plurality of devices to synchronize clocks.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals include discovery information generated by a higher layer discovery protocol or an application-based discovery protocol.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the paging packets transmitted during the plurality of paging intervals have a fixed size and comprise a source address field and a recipient address field.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein a wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than discovery packets during the plurality of discovery intervals, and the wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than paging packets during the plurality of paging intervals.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting a packet comprising a clear to send frame to clear the wireless communication medium of transmissions other than discovery packets during the first discovery interval and indicate a start of the first discovery interval.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a registration packet from a second device, the registration packet configured to enable the apparatus to transmit the discovery packet, the discovery packet configured to advertise a first service provided by the second device; and

transmitting a notification packet configured to enable the first device and the second device to communicate directly,

wherein the paging packet is configured to indicate interest in the first service provided by the second device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

transmitting a power-save message configured to instruct the first device to enter a power-save mode; and

transmitting an awaken message configured to instruct the first device to leave a power-save mode, the awaken message comprising a traffic indication message.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said transmitting the notification packet comprises transmitting the notification packet to the first device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the notification packet comprises a page forward frame configured to forward the paging packet received from the second device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein said transmitting the notification packet comprises transmitting the notification packet to the second device.

20. A method of discovering devices in a wireless communication system performed by an apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving a discovery packet from a first device during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided by the first device in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

transmitting a paging packet to the first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service provided by the first device, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

determining when to transmit the paging packet based on contention for a wireless communication medium; and

delaying the contention until after a delay time determined based at least in part on a random value.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the apparatus is configured to enter a power-save mode at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals unless the apparatus is scheduled to communicate at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein said receiving the discovery packet during the first discovery interval comprises receiving the discovery packet during a first scheduled sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first discovery interval, each sub-interval being of a same time duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein said transmitting the paging packet to the first device during the first paging interval comprises transmitting the paging packet during a first sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first paging interval, each sub-interval being of a same time duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising determining the first sub-interval based on contention for a wireless communication medium.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising determining the first sub-interval based on a scheduled sub-interval received from another device.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals have a fixed size and comprise at least one of a data frame, a management frame, and a management action frame.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein the discovery packet from the first device indicates a start of the first paging interval.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein the discovery packet includes discovery information generated by a higher layer discovery protocol or an application-based discovery protocol.

30. The method of claim 20, wherein the paging packets transmitted during the plurality of paging intervals have a fixed size and comprise a source address field and a recipient address field.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein a wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than discovery packets during the plurality of discovery intervals, and the wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than paging packets during the plurality of paging intervals.

32. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a discovery packet during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

a receiver configured to receive a paging packet from a first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the discovery packet is configured to advertise a first service provided by the apparatus, and the paging packet is configured to indicate interest in the first service provided by the apparatus.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising a processor configured to:

determine when to transmit the discovery packet based on contention for a wireless communication medium; and

delay the contention until after a delay period determined based at least in part on a random value.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the apparatus is configured to enter a power-save mode at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals unless the apparatus is scheduled to communicate at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the discovery packet during a first sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first discovery interval, each sub-interval being of a same duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising a processor configured to determine the first sub-interval based on contention for a wireless communication medium.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising a processor configured to determine the first sub-interval based on a scheduled sub-interval received from another device.

39. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the paging packet during a scheduled sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first paging interval, each sub-interval being of a same duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

40. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals have a fixed size and comprise at least one of a data frame, a management frame, and a management action frame.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals comprise a timestamp field configured to enable the plurality of devices to synchronize clocks.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals include discovery information generated by a higher layer discovery protocol or an application-based discovery protocol.

43. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the paging packets transmitted during the plurality of paging intervals have a fixed size and comprise a source address field and a recipient address field.

44. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein a wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than discovery packets during the plurality of discovery intervals, and the wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than paging packets during the plurality of paging intervals.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a packet comprising a clear to send frame to clear the wireless communication medium of transmissions other than discovery packets during the first discovery interval and indicate a start of the first discovery interval.

46. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein

the receiver is further configured to receive a registration packet from a second device, the registration packet configured to enable the apparatus to transmit the discovery packet, the discovery packet configured to advertise a first service provided by the second device;

and

the transmitter is further configured to transmit a notification packet configured to enable the first device and the second device to communicate directly,

wherein the paging packet is configured to indicate interest in the first service provided by the second device.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, further comprising:

transmitting a power-save message configured to instruct the first device to enter a power-save mode; and

transmitting an awaken message configured to instruct the first device to leave a power-save mode, the awaken message comprising a traffic indication message.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein said transmitting the notification packet comprises transmitting the notification packet to the first device.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the notification packet comprises a page forward frame configured to forward the paging packet received from the second device.

50. The method of claim 46, wherein said transmitting the notification packet comprises transmitting the notification packet to the second device.

51. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a discovery packet from a first device during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided by the first device in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a paging packet to the first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service provided by the first device, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising processor configured to:

determine when to transmit the paging packet based on contention for a wireless communication medium; and

delay the contention until after a delay time determined based at least in part on a random value.

53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the apparatus is configured to enter a power-save mode at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals unless the apparatus is scheduled to communicate at times other than the plurality of discovery intervals and the plurality of paging intervals.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the discovery packet during a first scheduled sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first discovery interval, each sub-interval being of a same time duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

55. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the paging packet during a first sub-interval of a plurality of sub-intervals of the first paging interval, each sub-interval being of a same time duration that is known by the plurality of devices.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising a processor configured to determine the first sub-interval based on contention for a wireless communication medium.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising a processor configured to determine the first sub-interval based on a scheduled sub-interval received from another device.

58. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the discovery packets transmitted during the plurality of discovery intervals have a fixed size and comprise at least one of a data frame, a management frame, and a management action frame.

59. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the discovery packet from the first device indicates a start of the first paging interval.

60. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the discovery packet includes discovery information generated by a higher layer discovery protocol or an application-based discovery protocol.

61. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the paging packets transmitted during the plurality of paging intervals have a fixed size and comprise a source address field and a recipient address field.

62. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein a wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than discovery packets during the plurality of discovery intervals, and the wireless communication medium is cleared of transmissions other than paging packets during the plurality of paging intervals.

63. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system comprising:

means for transmitting a discovery packet during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

means for receiving a paging packet from a first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

64. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system comprising:

means for receiving a discovery packet from a first device during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided by the first device in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

means for transmitting a paging packet to the first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service provided by the first device, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

65. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed cause an apparatus to:

transmit a discovery packet during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

receive a paging packet from a first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.

66. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed cause an apparatus to:

receive a discovery packet from a first device during a first discovery interval of a plurality of discovery intervals, the discovery packet advertising a service provided by the first device in a wireless communications network, the plurality of discovery intervals comprising recurring time intervals when a plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive discovery packets; and

transmit a paging packet to the first device during a first paging interval of a plurality of paging intervals, the paging packet indicating interest in the service provided by the first device, the plurality of paging intervals comprising recurring time intervals when the plurality of devices are configured to transmit and receive paging packets, the plurality of paging intervals not overlapping the plurality of discovery intervals.