Method and apparatus for reducing power consumption of wireless LAN device

• US 8,116,245 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2006
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kwon, Chang-yeul, Yang, Chil-youl, Park, Joong-suk
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro, Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sarwar, Babar
• Application Number:
  US11/514,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20070058575A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,988 Days
• Field of Search: 455/574, 455/552.1, 455/127.5, 4553432-3433, 370/311, 370/318, 370/389
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0238 where the received signal is an unwanted signal, e.g. interference or idle signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for reducing the power consumption of a wireless LAN device that operates in a wireless network are disclosed. The method for reducing the power consumption includes receiving a high throughput (HT) frame; judging whether the received HT frame is decodable; and if the received HT frame is not decodable, switching the wireless LAN device into a standby mode, and maintaining the device in the standby mode for a duration of the HT frame.

Claims

1. A method of reducing power consumption of a wireless local area network (LAN) device complying with the IEEE 802.1 in standard, the method comprising:

(a) receiving at the wireless LAN device a high throughput (HT) frame complying with a TGnSync Alliance standard while the wireless LAN device is in a reception mode;

(b) judging whether the received HT frame is decodable by the wireless LAN device based on whether the wireless LAN device supports at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame;

(c) if it is judged that the received HT frame is not decodable by the wireless LAN device, switching the wireless LAN device into a standby mode from the reception mode, and maintaining the wireless LAN device in the standby mode for a duration of the HT frame; and

(d) if it is judged that the received HT frame is decodable by the wireless LAN device, maintaining the wireless LAN device in the reception mode, and decoding the HT frame at the wireless LAN device,

wherein a PHY header of the HT frame comprises at least a legacy signal field (L-SIG field) and an HT signal field (HT-SIG field), and

wherein the L-SIG field includes a RATE field for informing a legacy device of a transmission rate for the legacy device, and

wherein the HT-SIG field includes a modulation coding scheme (MCS) field informing an HT device of the transmission characteristics of the HT frame, and an HT LENGTH field informing the HT device of size of a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the HT frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the L-SIG field includes a LENGTH field informing the legacy device of a size of a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the HT frame.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein if the received HT flame is not decodable, the wireless LAN device is switched into the standby mode immediately after reading the HT-SIG filed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the duration is calculated by dividing a size recorded in the HT LENGTH field by a transmission rate indicated by an MCS index recorded in the MCS field.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein if the wireless LAN device is in a standby mode, the wireless LAN device consumes less than 5% of a maximum power.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising (d) increasing a power to switch the standby mode into a reception mode for a specified time period before the expiration of the duration of the HT frame.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein (b) judges whether the HT frame is decodable according to a specified bit inserted into the HT frame.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame comprises a number of antennas, a number of spatial streams, a modulation method, a coding rate and a transmission rate of the HT frame.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein, before the receiving the HT frame in the reception mode, the wireless LAN device has been in a listening mode in which the wireless LAN device consumes more power than in the standby mode.

9. A method of reducing power consumption of a wireless local area network (LAN) device complying with the IEEE 802.1 in standard, the method comprising:

(a) receiving a high throughput (HT) frame complying with a TGnSync Alliance standard at the wireless LAN device while the wireless LAN device is in a reception mode;

(b) judging whether the received HT flame is decodable by the wireless LAN device based on whether the wireless LAN device supports at least one transmission characteristic of the HT flame;

(c) if it is judged that the received HT frame is not decodable by the wireless LAN device, judging whether a spoofing has occurred in the HT flame; and

(d) if it is judged in (c) that the spoofing has occurred, switching the wireless LAN device into a standby mode from the reception mode, and maintaining the wireless LAN device in the standby mode for a legacy duration,

wherein a PHY header of the HT frame comprises at least a legacy signal field (L-SIG field) and an HT signal field (HT-SIG field), and

wherein the L-SIG field includes a RATE field for informing a legacy device of a transmission rate for the legacy device, and

wherein the HT-SIG field includes a modulation coding scheme (MCS) field informing an HT device of the transmission characteristics of the HT frame, and an HT LENGTH field informing the HT device of the size of the (MPDU) of the HT frame.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising (e) if it is judged from (b) that the HT frame is decodable, maintaining the wireless LAN device in the reception mode for the legacy duration, and decoding the HT frame at the wireless LAN device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising (e) if it is judged from (c) that no spoofing has occurred, switching the wireless LAN device into the standby mode, and maintaining the wireless LAN device in the standby mode for a duration of the HT frame.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the L-SIG field includes a LENGTH field informing the legacy device of a size of a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the HT frame.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein if the received HT frame is not decodable and the spoofing has occurred, the wireless LAN device is switched into the standby mode immediately after reading the L-SIG field and the HT-SIG filed.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the duration of the HT frame is calculated by dividing a size value recorded in the HT LENGTH field by a transmission rate indicated by an MCS index recorded in the MCS field;

and the legacy duration is calculated by dividing a size value recorded in the LENGTH field by a transmission rate indicated by an index recorded in the RATE field.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein whether the spoofing has occurred is judged depending on whether the duration of the HT frame is identical to the legacy duration.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein (b) and (c) judge whether the HT frame is decodable and whether the spoofing has occurred according to specified bits inserted into the HT frame, respectively.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame comprises a number of antennas, a number of spatial streams, a modulation method, a coding rate and a transmission rate of the HT frame.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein, before the receiving the HT frame in the reception mode, the wireless LAN device has been in a listening mode in which the wireless LAN device consumes more power than in the standby mode.

20. A wireless local area network (LAN) device complying with the IEEE 802.1 in standard, the wireless LAN device comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) unit which receives a high throughput (HT) frame complying with a TGnSync Alliance standard while the wireless LAN device is in a reception mode;

a decoding judgment unit which judges whether the received HT frame is decodable by the wireless LAN device based on whether the device supports at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame;

a mode switching unit which switches the wireless LAN device into a standby mode from a reception mode if it judged that the received HT frame is not decodable by the wireless LAN device, and maintains the wireless LAN device in the standby mode for a duration of the HT frame, and if it is judged that the received HT frame is decodable by the wireless LAN device, maintains the wireless LAN device in the reception mode to decode the HT frame; and

a power source which supplies a corresponding power depending on a mode of the mode switching unit,

wherein a PHY header of the HT frame comprises at least a legacy signal field (L-SIG field) and an HT signal field (HT-SIG field), and

wherein the L-SIG field includes a RATE field for informing a legacy device of a transmission rate for the legacy device, and

wherein the HT-SIG field includes a modulation coding scheme (MCS) field informing an HT device of the transmission characteristics of the HT frame, and an HT LENGTH field informing the HT device of the size of the (MPDU) of the HT frame.

21. The wireless LAN device of claim 20, wherein the at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame comprises a number of antennas, a number of spatial streams, a modulation method, a coding rate and a transmission rate of the HT frame.

22. The wireless LAN device of claim 20, wherein, before the receiving the HT frame in the reception mode, the wireless LAN device has been in a listening mode in which the wireless LAN device consumes more power than in the standby mode.

23. A wireless local area network (LAN) device complying with the IEEE 802.1 in standard, the wireless LAN device comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) unit which receives a high throughput (HT) frame complying with a TGnSync Alliance standard while the wireless LAN device is in a reception mode;

a decoding judgment unit which judges whether the received HT frame is decodable by the wireless LAN device based on whether the wireless LAN device supports at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame;

a mode switching unit which judges whether a spoofing has occurred in the HT frame if it is judged that the received HT frame is not decodable by the wireless LAN device, and if it is judged that spoofing has occurred, switches the wireless LAN device into a standby mode from the reception mode, and maintains the wireless LAN device in the standby mode for a legacy duration; and

power source which supplies a corresponding power depending on a mode of the mode switching unit,

wherein a PHY header of the HT frame comprises at least a legacy signal field (L-SIG field) and an HT signal field (HT-SIG field), and

wherein the L-SIG field includes a RATE field for informing a legacy device of a transmission rate for the legacy device, and

wherein the HT-SIG field includes a modulation coding scheme (MCS) field informing an HT device of the transmission characteristics of the HT frame, and an HT LENGTH field informing the HT device of the size of the (MPDU) of the HT frame.

24. The wireless LAN device of claim 23, wherein the at least one transmission characteristic of the HT frame comprises a number of antennas, a number of spatial streams, a modulation method, a coding rate and a transmission rate of the HT frame.

25. The wireless LAN device of claim 23, wherein, before the receiving the HT frame in the reception mode, the wireless LAN device has been in a listening mode in which the wireless LAN device consumes more power than in the standby mode.