System and method for discovering and tracking communication directions with asymmetric antenna systems
First Claim
1. A method of selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
- receiving, in a set of reception directions of the second device, one or more beacons, each beacon associated with a transmission direction of the first device;
determining, based on the received beacons, indications of link quality;
selecting, based on the indications of link quality, a particular transmission direction of the first device;
selecting, based on the indications of link quality, a particular reception direction of the second device from the set of reception directions of the second device; and
transmitting, in a plurality of transmission directions of the second device, data indicative of the selected transmission direction of the first device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for discovering and tracking communication directions is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, communication directions for two devices with asymmetric antenna systems are discovered. In one embodiment, a contention access period (CAP) is partitioned into an association CAP and a regular CAP, either of which may be further partitioned into sub-CAPs corresponding to different reception directions. In one embodiment, an association request command is transmitted by a device at different association sub-CAPs to train a transmission direction of the device. In one embodiment, further training is performed to find the best communication directions, as collisions may occur when association request commands are transmitted at different association sub-CAPs.
188 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method of selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
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receiving, in a set of reception directions of the second device, one or more beacons, each beacon associated with a transmission direction of the first device; determining, based on the received beacons, indications of link quality; selecting, based on the indications of link quality, a particular transmission direction of the first device; selecting, based on the indications of link quality, a particular reception direction of the second device from the set of reception directions of the second device; and transmitting, in a plurality of transmission directions of the second device, data indicative of the selected transmission direction of the first device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the system comprising:
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a receiver configured for receiving, in a set of reception directions of the second device, one or more beacons, each beacon associated with a transmission direction of the first device; a selector configured for selecting a particular transmission direction of the first device and a particular reception direction of the second device based on measures of link quality associated with the beacons; and a transmitter configured for transmitting, in a plurality of transmission directions of the second device, data indicative of the selected transmission direction of the first device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
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transmitting one or more beacons in a set of transmission directions of the first device; receiving, in a reception direction of the first device, data indicative of a selected transmission direction of the first device and a transmission direction of the second device; determining whether data indicative of a selected transmission direction of the first device and transmission direction of the second device was received in a plurality of reception directions of the first device; and transmitting, in the selected transmission direction of the first device, data indicative of the transmission direction of the second device. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the system comprising:
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a transmitter configured for transmitting one or more beacons in a set of transmission directions of the first device; a selector configured for selecting a particular transmission direction of the first device and a particular reception direction of the second device based on measures of link quality associated with the beacons; and a receiver configured for receiving, in a reception direction of the first device, data indicative of a selected transmission direction of the first device and a transmission direction of the second device; wherein the transmitter is further configured for transmitting, in the selected transmission direction of the first device, data indicative of the transmission direction of the second device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. A receiver for selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the receiver comprising:
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a receiving module configured for receiving, in a set of reception directions of the second device, one or more beacons, each beacon associated with a transmission direction of the first device; and a selector configured for selecting a particular transmission direction of the first device and a particular reception direction of the second device based on measures of link quality associated with the beacons, wherein the receiving module is further configured for receiving data indicative of the selected transmission direction of the first device, wherein the data is transmitted, in a plurality of transmission directions of the second device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods.
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40. A transmitter for selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the transmitter comprising:
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a selector module configured for selecting a particular transmission direction of the first device and a particular reception direction of the second device based on measures of link quality associated with the beacons; and a transmitting module configured for transmitting one or more beacons in a set of transmission directions of the first device, wherein the transmitting module is further configured for transmitting, in a selected transmission direction of the first device, data indicative of a transmission direction of the second device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods.
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41. A coordinator for selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the coordinator comprising:
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a selector module configured for selecting a particular transmission direction of the first device and a particular reception direction of the second device based on measures of link quality associated with the beacons; and a coordinating module configured for coordinating transfer of one or more beacons in a set of transmission directions of the first device, wherein the coordinating module is further configured for coordinating transmission, in a selected transmission direction of the first device, data indicative of a transmission direction of the second device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods.
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42. A coordinator for selecting directions for a first device and a second device in a wireless communication network, the coordinator comprising:
a coordinating module configured for coordinating receiving, in a set of reception directions of the second device, one or more beacons, each beacon associated with a transmission direction of the first device, coordinating selection of a particular transmission direction of the first device and a particular reception direction of the second device based on measures of link quality associated with the beacons, and for coordinating receiving of data indicative of the selected transmission direction of the first device, wherein the data is transmitted, in a plurality of transmission directions of the second device, during a plurality of sub-association contention access periods.
Specification