Systems and methods for acknowledging communications from a plurality of devices
First Claim
1. A method of communicating in a wireless network having an access point and a plurality of wireless devices associated with the access point, the method comprising:
- for each wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices, determining at the access point whether one or more packets have been correctly decoded within a time interval associated with the each wireless device, the time interval being relative to when a previous group acknowledgement was transmitted to the each wireless device;
generating at the access point a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator signifying a result of the determining for a corresponding wireless device; and
broadcasting, by the access point at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of the previous group acknowledgement, a group acknowledgment comprising the plurality of indicators,wherein the generating comprises generating an information element comprising the plurality of indicators, wherein the group acknowledgement includes the information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, methods, and devices for acknowledging communications from a plurality of wireless devices in a wireless network are described herein. In some embodiments, an access point for the wireless network transmits a group acknowledgment (ACK) to indicate whether communications (packets) from the plurality of wireless devices have been received or correctly decoded within some time interval. Each wireless device may have a different time interval associated with it. For some embodiments, the time interval for a wireless device is relative to when a previous group ACK was sent. A group ACK may include a bitmap. In some embodiments, the bitmap indicating whether a communication has been received or correctly decoded may be transmitted as part of a beacon.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method of communicating in a wireless network having an access point and a plurality of wireless devices associated with the access point, the method comprising:
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for each wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices, determining at the access point whether one or more packets have been correctly decoded within a time interval associated with the each wireless device, the time interval being relative to when a previous group acknowledgement was transmitted to the each wireless device; generating at the access point a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator signifying a result of the determining for a corresponding wireless device; and broadcasting, by the access point at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of the previous group acknowledgement, a group acknowledgment comprising the plurality of indicators, wherein the generating comprises generating an information element comprising the plurality of indicators, wherein the group acknowledgement includes the information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for communicating in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless devices, the apparatus comprising:
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a processor configured to determine for each wireless device whether at least one packet has been correctly decoded within a time interval associated with the each wireless device, the time interval being relative to when a previous group acknowledgement was transmitted to the each wireless device, configured to generate a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator signifying whether the at least one packet from a corresponding wireless device is correctly decoded, and configured to generate the plurality of indicators by generating an information element comprising the plurality of indicators; and a transmitter coupled to the processor to broadcast, at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of the previous group acknowledgement, a group acknowledgment comprising the plurality of indicators, wherein the group acknowledgement includes the information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for communicating in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless devices, the apparatus comprising:
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means for determining for each wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices whether at least one packet has been correctly decoded within a time interval associated with the each wireless device, the time interval being relative to when a previous group acknowledgement was transmitted to the each wireless device; means for generating a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator signifying a result of the means for determining for a corresponding wireless device, wherein the means for generating comprises means for generating an information element comprising the plurality of indicators; and means for broadcasting, at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of the previous group acknowledgement, a group acknowledgment comprising the plurality of indicators, wherein the group acknowledgement includes the information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated.
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22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by an apparatus cause the apparatus to perform a method of communicating in a wireless network having an access point and a plurality of wireless devices associated with the access point, the method comprising:
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for each wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices, determining at the access point whether at least one packet has been correctly decoded within a time interval associated with the each wireless device, the time interval being relative to when a previous group acknowledgement was transmitted to the each wireless device; generating at the access point a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator signifying a result of the determining for a corresponding wireless device, wherein the generating comprises generating an information element comprising the plurality of indicators; and broadcasting, by the access point at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of the previous group acknowledgement, a group acknowledgment comprising the plurality of indicators, wherein the group acknowledgement includes the information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated.
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23. A method of communicating in a wireless network having an access point and a plurality of wireless devices, the method comprising:
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transmitting at a first wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices a first communication to the access point; receiving at the first wireless device a group acknowledgement from the access point broadcast at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of a previous group acknowledgement, the group acknowledgment comprising a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator in the plurality of indicators signifying whether the access point correctly decoded communications from a corresponding wireless device within a time interval associated with the corresponding wireless device; and determining at the first wireless device whether the first communication was correctly decoded by the access point based on the indicator corresponding to the first wireless device, wherein the plurality of indicators are included in an information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A first wireless device for communicating in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless devices associated with an access point, the first wireless device belonging to the plurality of wireless devices, the first wireless device comprising:
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a transmitter configured to transmit a first communication to the access point; a receiver configured to receive a group acknowledgement from the access point broadcast at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of a previous group acknowledgement, the group acknowledgment comprising a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator in the plurality of indicators signifying whether the access point correctly decoded communication from a corresponding wireless device within a time interval associated with the corresponding wireless device; and a processor configured to determine whether the first communication was correctly decoded by the access point based on the indicator corresponding to the first wireless device, wherein the plurality of indicators are included in an information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A first wireless device for communicating in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless devices associated with an access point, the first wireless device belonging to the plurality of wireless devices, the first wireless device comprising:
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means for transmitting a first communication to the access point; means for receiving a group acknowledgement from the access point broadcast at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of a previous group acknowledgement, the group acknowledgment comprising a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator in the plurality of indicators signifying whether the access point correctly decoded communication from a corresponding wireless device within a time interval associated with the corresponding wireless device; and means for determining whether the first communication was correctly decoded by the access point based on the indicator corresponding to the first wireless device, wherein the plurality of indicators are included in an information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated.
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42. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a first wireless device cause the first wireless device to perform a method of communicating in a wireless network having an access point and a plurality of wireless devices associated with the access point, the first wireless device belonging to the plurality of wireless devices, the method comprising:
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transmitting a first communication to the access point; receiving a group acknowledgement from the access point broadcast at a fixed period of time after a broadcast of a previous group acknowledgement, the group acknowledgment comprising a plurality of indicators in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, each indicator in the plurality of indicators signifying whether the access point correctly decoded communication from a corresponding wireless device within a time interval associated with the corresponding wireless device; and determining whether the first communication was correctly decoded by the access point based on the indicator corresponding to the first wireless device, wherein the plurality of indicators are included in an information element, wherein the information element comprises a length of the information element, a plurality of association identifications in one to one correspondence with the plurality of wireless devices, and a bitmap to represent the plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator in the plurality of indicators is represented by one bit in the bitmap, and wherein the plurality of association identifications identifies for which wireless device in the plurality of wireless devices each indicator has been generated.
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Specification