Dealing with lost acknowledgements when power-saving
First Claim
1. A method comprising steps of:
- (a) receiving, from a sender in a network, a final frame of a sequence of multiple frames;
(b) transmitting, to the sender of said final frame, a first acknowledgement that acknowledges receipt of said final frame from the sender;
(c) receiving from the sender of said final frame a second acknowledgement, the second acknowledgement indicating receipt of the first acknowledgement by the sender; and
(d) entering, after receiving the second acknowledgment in (c), a reduced-power state.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A novel method and apparatus for coping with lost acknowledgements from power-saving stations in local-area networks are disclosed. In particular, the illustrative embodiment modifies the access point'"'"'s and power-saving stations'"'"' protocols to prevent repeated lost acknowledgements from occurring. An access point, after transmitting the final downlink frame of a sequence to a station and receiving an acknowledgement from the station, transmits a “double acknowledgement” to the station. A power-saving station, after receiving the final downlink frame of a sequence and transmitting an acknowledgement to the access point, stays awake until one of the following occur: (i) the station receives a double acknowledgement, (ii) the station observes a frame transmitted from the access point to another station, or (iii) the station observes that the shared-communications channel of the local-area network is idle for a particular time interval.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising steps of:
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(a) receiving, from a sender in a network, a final frame of a sequence of multiple frames; (b) transmitting, to the sender of said final frame, a first acknowledgement that acknowledges receipt of said final frame from the sender; (c) receiving from the sender of said final frame a second acknowledgement, the second acknowledgement indicating receipt of the first acknowledgement by the sender; and (d) entering, after receiving the second acknowledgment in (c), a reduced-power state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method comprising:
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(a) transmitting to a station a frame f in a sequence of one or more frames; (b) receiving from said station a first acknowledgement that acknowledges said frame f; (c) transmitting to said station, after (b), a second acknowledgement that acknowledges said first acknowledgement when (i) said frame f is the final frame of said sequence, and (ii) said station is the last polled station during a contention-free period; and (d) transmitting to said station, after (b), the frame following said frame f in said sequence when said frame f precedes the final frame of said sequence. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method comprising:
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(a) receiving a final frame of a sequence of one or more frames via a shared-communications channel; (b) transmitting via said shared-communications channel a first acknowledgement to the sender of said final frame, wherein said first acknowledgement acknowledges said final frame; (c) listening, after (b), to said shared-communications channel for a second acknowledgement; and (d) entering a reduced-power state when said second acknowledgement acknowledges said first acknowledgement. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus comprising:
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a transceiver for; receiving a final frame of a sequence of one or more frames, transmitting to the sender of said final frame a first acknowledgement that acknowledges receipt of said final frame, and receiving, from the sender of said final frame, a second acknowledgement that acknowledges receipt of said first acknowledgement by the sender; and a logic circuit for outputting, after said transceiver receives said second acknowledgement, a signal that causes said transceiver to enter a reduced-power state. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. An apparatus comprising:
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a transmitter for transmitting to a station a frame f of a sequence of one or more frames; a receiver for receiving from said station a first acknowledgement that acknowledges said frame f; and a logic circuit for; outputting, when said frame f is the final frame of said sequence and said station is the last polled station during a contention-free period, a signal that causes said transmitter to transmit a second acknowledgement that acknowledges said first acknowledgement, and outputting, when said frame f precedes the final frame of said sequence, a signal that causes said transmitter to transmit the second acknowledgement following said frame f in said sequence.
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18. An apparatus comprising:
a transceiver for; receiving a final frame of a sequence of one or more frames via a shared-communications channel, transmitting to the sender of said final frame, via said shared-communications channel, a first acknowledgement that acknowledges said final frame, and listening, after transmitting said first acknowledgement, to said shared-communications channel for a second acknowledgement; and a logic circuit for outputting, when said second acknowledgement acknowledges said first acknowledgement, a signal that causes said transceiver to enter a reduced-power state. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
Specification