Hardware-based packet address parsing for packet reception in wireless networks

• US 8,811,251 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2012
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nordic Semiconductor ASA
• Original Assignee: Imagination Technologies Limited (Imagination Technologies Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Johnson, Allan A., Malladi, Raghavendra, Dighe, Parag Ashok, Kankipati, Sriram, Barman, Kaushik, Aldaz, Luis Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Chirag
• Assistant Examiner(s): Van, Jenkey
• Application Number:
  US13/564,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20130064234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a network physical layer and an activity sensor for sensing a packet and activating the network physical layer from shutdown. The network physical layer decodes a PHY header portion and a media access control header portion of a packet header. A MAC has a fixed hardware media access plane implementing IEEE 802.11 series MAC functionality and couples to a microprocessor. A MAC address parser receives the MAC header portion of the packet, for processing the MAC header portion of the packet, and for activating the MAC from a shutdown in response to recognizing a MAC address within the MAC header portion of the packet, such that the MAC is not activated if the MAC parser does not recognize the MAC address, wherein the MAC is operable, after activation, to perform MAC functionality without the microprocessor and to provide data from the packet to the microprocessor.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a network physical layer;

an activity sensor for sensing a packet, and activating the network physical layer from a shutdown state in response to sensing the packet;

the network physical layer for decoding a physical (PHY) header portion and a media access control header portion of a header of the packet following activation from the shutdown state;

a media access controller comprising a fixed hardware media access plane implementing IEEE 802.11 series media access control functionality and coupled to a programmable microprocessor; and

a media access control address parser configured for activating from a shutdown state in response to the network physical layer decoding the PHY header portion and the media access control header portion of the packet for

receiving the media access control header portion of the packet,

processing the media access control header portion of the packet, and

activating the media access controller from a shutdown in response to recognizing a media access control address within the media access control header portion of the packet, such that the media access controller is not activated if the media access control address parser does not recognize the media access control address,

wherein the media access controller is operable, after activation, to perform the media access control functionality without using the programmable microprocessor and to provide data from the packet to the programmable microprocessor.

2. A method of packet reception in a power-constrained device, comprising:

sensing a packet available to be received;

responsive to the sensing, activating a network physical layer from a shutdown state;

decoding at least a physical layer portion and a media access control layer portion of a header of the packet, the media access control layer portion of the header including a destination media access control address;

determining whether the destination media access control address from the media access control layer portion of the header of the packet is recognized, the determining performed by a media access control address parser activated from a shutdown state in response to the network physical layer decoding the PHY header portion and the media access control header portion of the packet for processing the destination media access control address;

responsive to recognition of the destination media access control address, activating a fixed function hardware media access plane implementing IEEE 802.11 series media access control and coupled to a programmable microprocessor through a bus interface, wherein the determining whether the destination media access control address from the media access control layer portion of the header of the packet is recognized is performed while the fixed function hardware media access plane is in a shutdown state;

deactivating the network physical layer responsive to the media access control address parser not recognizing the media access control address; and

performing, at the fixed function hardware media access plane, after activation, media access control without using the programmable microprocessor, to provide data from the packet to the programmable microprocessor.