Arrangements for association and re-association in a wireless network
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- receiving at least a portion of a beacon from a source by at least one antenna;
allocating resources to perform beamforming;
beamforming after receiving the at least a portion of the beacon and prior to receipt of an association request acceptance signal; and
utilizing a directional configuration to communicate at least a portion of an association response that occurs in response to an association request, the association request comprising a transmission of a plurality of bits;
wherein a majority of the plurality of bits of the association request are received in a directional mode.
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Abstract
A method is disclosed for associating network devices to a network. The method can include receiving a beacon from a source by an antenna array, allocating resources to beamform and beamforming after receiving at least a portion of the beacon. The beamforming can be accomplished prior to completion of an association request and prior to receipt of an acceptance signal in response to the association request. Accordingly directional transmissions can be utilized transmit at least part of an association request and to transmit an acceptance signal corresponding to the association request.
16 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving at least a portion of a beacon from a source by at least one antenna; allocating resources to perform beamforming; beamforming after receiving the at least a portion of the beacon and prior to receipt of an association request acceptance signal; and utilizing a directional configuration to communicate at least a portion of an association response that occurs in response to an association request, the association request comprising a transmission of a plurality of bits; wherein a majority of the plurality of bits of the association request are received in a directional mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus comprising:
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a sensor to receive an incoming signal; a direction detect module to detect a direction of origin of the incoming signal; a beamformer module to beamform towards the incoming signal; a trigger module to trigger the beamforming module to beamform, wherein the trigger module activates the beamformer module before an end of an association process; and a receiver to receive a directional transmission during the association process, the directional transmission comprising an association request comprising a plurality of bits, wherein a majority of the plurality of bits are received in a directional mode. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
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receive a beacon from a source by at least one antenna; allocate resources to perform beamforming; and beamform after receiving at least a portion of the beacon and prior to receipt of an association request acceptance signal; utilize a directional configuration to communicate at least a portion of an association response that occurs in response to an association request, the association request comprising a transmission of a plurality of bits; wherein, a majority of the plurality of bits of the association request are received in a directional mode. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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receiving a beacon transmission from a remote wireless communications device; based at least on a portion of the beacon transmission, performing millimeter wave beamforming towards the remote wireless communications device; and engaging in an association process comprising transmitting an association request, the association request comprising a plurality of bits; wherein said beamforming begins before completion of the association process and a majority of the plurality of bits of the association request are transmitted in a directional mode. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus comprising:
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a receiver to receive a beacon from a remote wireless communications device; a beamformer module to, based at least on a portion of the beacon, perform millimeter wave beamforming towards the remote wireless communications device; and a trigger module to trigger the beamforming module to beamform, wherein the trigger module activates the beamformer module before an end of an association process, the association process comprising an association request comprising a plurality of bits, wherein a majority of the plurality of bits are communicated in a directional mode. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:
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receive a beacon transmission from a remote wireless communications device; based at least on a portion of the beacon transmission, perform millimeter wave beamforming towards the remote wireless communications device; and engage in an association process, wherein the engaging causes the one or more processors to transmit an association request, the association request comprising a plurality of bits; wherein said beamforming begins before completion of the association process and a majority of the plurality of bits of the association request are transmitted in a directional mode.
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Specification