Method And Apparatus For Operating A Wireless PAN Network Using An Overlay Protocol That Enhances Co-Existence With A Wireless LAN Network
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computing device is interfaced with other devices in a wireless personal area network (PAN) to enhance co-existence with a wireless local area network (WLAN). The computing device coordinates activity of the wireless PAN as a coordinator for the wireless PAN, including communicating with the wireless PAN devices using an overlay protocol that is only partially compliant with the protocol used over the WLAN but enables co-existence. WLAN devices can, upon hearing an overlay protocol frame, understand at least enough of the overlay protocol frame to defer use of a common wireless networking medium. If the PAN coordinator is capable of associating with the WLAN, it can be a dual-network device capable of associating with the WLAN and PAN simultaneously. The dual-network device can use a common network module to handle both WLAN and PAN traffic, communicate with a WLAN device in ad hoc mode and enable power saving.
8 Citations
33 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. A method comprising:
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configuring a computing device to coordinate activity of a wireless PAN; at a first time, determining a start of an inactivity period, and in response, powering off all or a portion of circuitry of the computing device to reduce power consumption of the computing device; at a second time following the first time, determining an end of the inactivity period, and in response, powering on all or a portion of the powered-off circuitry of the computing device to enable communication with one or more wireless PAN devices via the wireless PAN; and adapting the computing device to communicate with the one or more wireless PAN devices. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A wireless network interface circuit for interfacing a computing device with other devices in a wireless personal area network (PAN), comprising:
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a processor; a wireless interface; and storage configured to store; logic for communicating with a node of the wireless PAN as a coordinator for the wireless PAN; logic for powering off all or a portion of circuitry of the computing device to reduce power consumption of the computing device at a start of an inactivity period and powering on all or a portion of the powered-off circuitry of the computing device to enable communication with one or more wireless PAN devices via the wireless PAN at an end of the inactivity period; and logic for adapting the computing device to communicate with the one or more wireless PAN devices. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A wireless network interface circuit for interfacing a computing device with other devices in a wireless personal area network (PAN) to enhance co-existence with a wireless local area network (WLAN), wherein the WLAN is characterized by a plurality of access points intercommunicating for various devices, and the wireless PAN is characterized by lower power transmissions relative to transmissions over the WLAN, the circuit comprising:
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a processor; a wireless interface; and storage configured to store; logic for communicating, wirelessly over a specified frequency range with an access point of the WLAN; logic for communicating with a node of the wireless PAN as a coordinator for the wireless PAN; logic for determining a start and an end of an inactivity period for the computing device; logic for powering off all or a portion of circuitry of the computing device to reduce power consumption of the computing device at the start of the inactivity period and powering on all or a portion of the powered-off circuitry of the computing device to enable communication with one or more wireless PAN devices via the wireless PAN at the end of the inactivity period; and logic for communicating with the wireless PAN devices using a PAN protocol that is an overlay protocol partially compliant with a WLAN protocol used over the WLAN but that enables co-existence of communications of devices using the WLAN and devices using the wireless PAN over a common wireless medium, wherein the overlay protocol comprises a protocol having WLAN frame formats, or modifications thereof, such that a WLAN device distinct from the computing device and in the WLAN can partially understand communications over the common wireless medium between the computing device and the wireless PAN devices to enable the co-existence of communication over the WLAN and the wireless PAN.
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Specification