IMPROVED COLLISION-AVOIDANCE TECHNIQUES FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

• US 20160119814A1
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Park, Minyoung
• Granted Patent: US 9,906,979 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/00 Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received correcting synchronisation H04L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1657 Implicit acknowledgement of correct or incorrect reception, e.g. with a moving window
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1685 the supervisory signal being transmitted in response to a specific request, e.g. to a polling signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0294 forcing collision non-scheduled or contention based wireless access channel H04W74/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/085 collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Improved collision-avoidance techniques for a wireless communications system are described. In various embodiments, for example, an apparatus may comprise a processor circuit, a determination component for execution by the processor circuit to determine a current transmission interval comprising a series of beacon intervals, each of the series of beacon intervals comprising a plurality of time slots, randomly select one of the series of beacon intervals, and randomly select one of the plurality of time slots within the selected beacon interval, and a communication component for execution by the processor circuit to send a join request during the selected time slot. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. An apparatus comprising:

logic to set a maximum transmission interval value;

logic to initialize a transmission interval to a minimum transmission interval value;

logic to select a first random number with an upper limit based on the transmission interval;

logic to select a beacon interval based on the selected first random number;

logic to select a second random number with an upper limit based on a number of slots in the beacon interval;

logic to select a slot within the selected beacon interval based on the selected second random number;

logic to trigger transmission of an authentication request frame within the selected slot of the selected beacon interval; and

at least one interface to one or more of the logic to set the maximum transmission interval value, the logic to initialize the transmission interval, the logic to select the first random number, the logic to select the second random number, the logic to select the slot, or the logic to trigger said transmission.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

logic to selectively multiply the transmission interval by two to provide a second transmission interval with an upper bound of the maximum transmission interval value in response to an unsuccessful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame;

logic to select a second beacon interval by selection of a third random number bounded by the second transmission interval;

logic to select a second slot within the selected second beacon interval by random number selection with an upper limit of a number of slots in the second beacon interval; and

logic to trigger transmission of a second authentication request frame within the selected second slot.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

logic to increase the transmission interval in response to the transmission interval being less than the maximum transmission interval value and an unsuccessful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame;

logic to select a second beacon interval by selection of a third random number bounded by the increased transmission interval;

logic to select a second slot within the second beacon interval by random number selection with an upper limit of a number of slots in the second beacon interval; and

logic to trigger transmission of a second authentication request frame within the selected second slot.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the minimum transmission interval value is 8, and the maximum transmission interval value is 256.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

logic to determine a successful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame based at least in part on receipt of an Acknowledge (ACK) message or no receipt of the ACK message.

29. The wireless station of claim 24, wherein at least one logic is implemented in software executed by at least one processor.

30. The apparatus claim 24, further comprising:

a physical layer logic;

a radio communicatively coupled to the physical layer logic; and

at least one antenna communicatively coupled to the radio.

31. The apparatus claim 30, further comprising:

at least one processor to provide data for transmission;

at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; and

a display communicatively coupled to the at least one processor.

32. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein at least one logic is part of a MAC sublayer processor.

33. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

set a maximum transmission interval value;

initialize a transmission interval to a minimum transmission interval value;

select a first random number with an upper limit based on the transmission interval;

select a beacon interval based on the selected first random number;

select a second random number with an upper limit based on a number of slots in the beacon interval;

select a slot within the selected beacon interval based on the selected second random number; and

trigger transmission of an authentication request frame within the selected slot of the selected beacon interval.

34. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the instructions are to cause the one or more processors to:

selectively multiply the transmission interval by two to provide a second transmission interval with an upper bound of the maximum transmission interval value in response to an unsuccessful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame;

select a second beacon interval by selection of a third random number bounded by the second transmission interval;

select a second slot within the selected second beacon interval by random number selection with an upper limit of a number of slots in the second beacon interval; and

trigger transmission of a second authentication request frame within the selected second slot.

35. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the instructions are to cause the one or more processors to:

increase the transmission interval in response to the transmission interval being less than the maximum transmission interval value and an unsuccessful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame;

select a second beacon interval by selection of a third random number bounded by the increased transmission interval;

select a second slot within the second beacon interval by random number selection with an upper limit of a number of slots in the second beacon interval; and

trigger transmission of a second authentication request frame within the selected second slot.

36. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the minimum transmission interval value is 8, and the maximum transmission interval value is 256.

37. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the instructions are to cause the one or more processors to:

determine a successful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame based at least in part on receipt of an Acknowledge (ACK) message or no receipt of the ACK message.

38. A method to be performed by a wireless station, the method comprising:

setting a maximum transmission interval value;

initializing a transmission interval to a minimum transmission interval value;

selecting a first random number with an upper limit based on the transmission interval;

selecting a beacon interval based on the selected first random number;

selecting a second random number with an upper limit based on a number of slots in the beacon interval;

selecting a slot within the selected beacon interval based on the selected second random number; and

triggering transmission of an authentication request frame within the selected slot of the selected beacon interval.

39. The method of claim 38 comprising:

selectively multiplying the transmission interval by two to provide a second transmission interval with an upper bound of the maximum transmission interval value in response to an unsuccessful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame;

selecting a second beacon interval by selection of a third random number bounded by the second transmission interval;

selecting a second slot within the selected second beacon interval by random number selection with an upper limit of a number of slots in the second beacon interval; and

triggering transmission of a second authentication request frame within the selected second slot.

40. The method of claim 38 comprising:

increasing the transmission interval in response to the transmission interval being less than the maximum transmission interval value and an unsuccessful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame;

selecting a second beacon interval by selection of a third random number bounded by the increased transmission interval;

selecting a second slot within the second beacon interval by random number selection with an upper limit of a number of slots in the second beacon interval; and

triggering transmission of a second authentication request frame within the selected second slot.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein the minimum transmission interval value is 8, and the maximum transmission interval value is 256.

42. The method of claim 38 comprising:

determining a successful join request arising from the transmission of the authentication request frame based at least in part on receipt of an Acknowledge (ACK) message or no receipt of the ACK message.

43. An apparatus comprising:

logic to access an authentication request frame received within a slot of a beacon interval, the slot is based on a first random number bounded by an upper limit of a number of slots in the beacon interval, the beacon interval is based on a second random number bounded by an upper limit of a transmission interval; and

logic to trigger transmission of an acknowledgement to a wireless station (STA) to indicate receipt of the authentication request frame in response to receipt of the authentication request frame.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein at least one logic is part of a MAC sublayer processor.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein at least one logic is implemented in software executed by at least one processor.

46. The apparatus claim 43, further comprising:

a physical layer logic;

a radio communicatively coupled to the physical layer logic; and

at least one antenna communicatively coupled to the radio.

47. The apparatus claim 43 comprising an access point (AP).

48. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

access an authentication request frame received within a slot of a beacon interval, the slot is based on a first random number bounded by an upper limit of a number of slots in the beacon interval, the beacon interval is based on a second random number bounded by an upper limit of a transmission interval; and

trigger transmission of an acknowledgement to a wireless station (STA) to indicate receipt of the authentication request frame in response to receipt of the authentication request frame.

49. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the instructions comprise instructions to cause the one or more processors to access another authentication request frame from another wireless station, and to trigger transmission of another acknowledgement to the another wireless station.