Power saving in a wireless local area network
First Claim
1. A method of operating a client node in wireless network, comprising:
- transitioning from a lower-power state to a higher-power state; and
transmitting, in response to the transitioning, a wakeup notification message to a supporter node, the supporter node being responsive to the wakeup notification message to determine whether or not data is buffered for the client node,wherein when there is data buffered for the client node, the method comprises receiving the buffered data until a packet is received from the supporter node indicating no more of the buffered data is available, andwherein when there is no data buffered for the client node, the method comprises receiving a packet from the supporter node indicating no buffered data is available.
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Abstract
Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a client node transmits a wakeup notification message to a supporter node when the client node is in a higher power awake mode. The supporter node may transmit data, if any, to the client node until there is no more data to be transmitted to the client node. The supporter node then transmits a done transmitting packet to the client node when the buffer memory is empty to indicate there is no more data to be transmitted. Upon receiving a done transmitting packet, the client node may enter into a lower power sleep mode until a subsequent awake event. The wakeup notification message may be transmitted by the client node at a time or interval selected to provide a power savings to the client node.
72 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of operating a client node in wireless network, comprising:
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transitioning from a lower-power state to a higher-power state; and transmitting, in response to the transitioning, a wakeup notification message to a supporter node, the supporter node being responsive to the wakeup notification message to determine whether or not data is buffered for the client node, wherein when there is data buffered for the client node, the method comprises receiving the buffered data until a packet is received from the supporter node indicating no more of the buffered data is available, and wherein when there is no data buffered for the client node, the method comprises receiving a packet from the supporter node indicating no buffered data is available. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operating a supporter node in a wireless network, comprising:
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buffering data for a client node when the client node is in a lower-power state; receiving a wakeup notification message transmitted from the client node indicating that the client node has transitioned from the lower-power state to a higher-power state; in response to the receipt of the wakeup notification message, either transmitting the buffered data to the client node when there is buffered data for the client node or transmitting a packet to the client node indicating no data is available for the client node when there is no buffered data for the client node. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A client node, comprising:
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a wireless local area network interface comprising a transceiver to transmit a wakeup notification message to a supporter node in response to a transition from a lower-power state to a higher power state, the transceiver to receive data from the supporter node when there is buffered data for the client node, until a packet is received from the supporter node indicating no more of the buffered data is available, wherein when there is no data buffered for the client node at the supporter node, the interface is to receive a packet from the supporter node indicating no buffered data is available. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A supporter node, comprising:
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a wireless local area network interface, comprising a transceiver to receive a wakeup notification message from a client node and to transmit buffered data to the client node when there is buffered data available for the client node and to transmit a packet to the client node indicating no data is available when there is no data buffered for the client node, wherein the wakeup notification message indicates that the client node has transitioned from a lower-power state to a higher-power state. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A supporter node system, comprising:
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an omnidirectional antenna; and a wireless local area network interface to couple to said omnidirectional antenna, wherein said interface includes a transceiver to receive a wakeup notification message from a client node and to transmit buffered data to the client node when there is buffered data available for the client node and to transmit a packet to the client node indicating no data is available when there is no data buffered for the client node, wherein the wakeup notification message indicates that the client node has transitioned from a lower-power state to a higher-power state. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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Specification