Method and apparatus for multi-network communication

• US 9,215,708 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2013
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Marvell World Trade Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Inventors: Bhagwat, Rajesh Shreeram
• Primary Examiner(s): SMARTH, GERALD A
• Application Number:
  US13/761,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20140044106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 370/336
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections

Abstract

The present disclosure describes techniques and apparatuses for multi-network communication. In some aspects a first packet is transmitted via a wireless interface effective to prevent a device associated with a first wireless network from transmitting data packets. The wireless interface is then configured for communication via a second wireless network for a first duration of time and a second packet is transmitted via the wireless interface. Transmission of the second packet is effective to cause a peer device associated with the second wireless network to transmit data packets during the first duration of time. The wireless interface is then configured for communication via the first wireless network for a second duration of time effective to enable reception of the data packets that the device was previously prevented from transmitting.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, via a wireless interface of a first device, the wireless interface configured in a first mode for communication via a first wireless network, a first packet effective to prevent a second device associated with the first wireless network from attempting to transmit data packets to the first device;

reconfiguring the wireless interface of the first device to a second mode for communication via a second wireless network for a first duration of time, the second wireless network being a type of network different from the first wireless network;

transmitting, via the wireless interface, a second packet effective to cause a peer device associated with the second wireless network to transmit data packets to the first device during the first duration of time; and

reconfiguring, responsive to the first duration of time ending, the wireless interface of the first device to the first mode for communication via the first wireless network for a second duration of time effective to enable reception of the data packets that were previously prevented from being transmitted from the second device to the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising and subsequent to transmitting the first data packet, delaying reconfiguring the wireless interface for communication via the second wireless network effective to enable the first device to receive data packets transmitted by the second device after the transmission of the first data packet.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining, based on a transactional latency associated with communicating with the second device via the first wireless network, an amount of time by which to delay the reconfiguration of the wireless interface for communication via the second wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless network is an infrastructure wireless local-area-network (WLAN) basic service set (BSS), and the second wireless network is a peer-to-peer network with which the peer device is associated.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second device is an access point that manages the infrastructure WLAN BSS, and the first data packet is a null frame that indicates to the access point that the first device is entering a power-save mode.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is a gaming console, and the peer device is an interactive human-input device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the acts of the method are performed at least in part to authenticate or configure the interactive human-input device with the gaming console.

8. One or more computer-readable memory devices embodying processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by a processor, implement a network manager to:

cause a wireless interface of a first device, the wireless interface configured in a first mode for communication via a first wireless network, to transmit, via the first wireless network, a first packet effective to prevent a second device associated with the first wireless network from attempting to transmit data packets to the first device;

reconfigure the wireless interface of the first device to a second mode for communication via a second wireless network for a first duration of time, the second wireless network being a type of network different from the first wireless network;

cause the wireless interface to transmit, via the second wireless network, a second packet effective to cause a peer device associated with the second wireless network to transmit data packets to the first device during the first duration of time;

reconfigure, responsive to the first duration of time ending, the wireless interface of the first device to the first mode for communication via the first wireless network for a second duration of time; and

cause the wireless interface to transmit, via the first wireless network, a third packet effective to cause the second device to transmit, during the second duration of time, the data packets that were previously prevented from being transmitted during the first duration of time.

9. The one or more computer-readable memory devices of claim 8 comprising additional processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, implement the network manager to cause the wireless interface to transmit, prior to reconfiguring the wireless interface to communicate via the first wireless network, a fourth data packet via the second wireless network effective to prevent the peer device from transmitting additional data packets during the second duration of time.

10. The one or more computer-readable memory devices of claim 9 comprising additional processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, implement the network manager to align the second duration of time with a scheduled beacon transmission of the first wireless network.

11. The one or more computer-readable memory devices of claim 8, wherein the first duration of time is not equal to the second duration of time.

12. The one or more computer-readable memory devices of claim 8 comprising additional processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, implement the network manager to:

determine, upon receiving a data packet via the first wireless network, that the second device will not transmit additional data packets during the second duration of time; and

reconfigure the wireless interface of the first device to the second mode for communication via the second wireless network to enable communication with the peer device during a remainder of the second duration of time.

13. The one or more computer-readable memory devices of claim 8 comprising additional processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, implement the network manager to cause the wireless interface to transmit, subsequent to reconfiguring the wireless interface to the first mode for communication via the first wireless network, a fourth data packet via the first wireless network effective to cause the second device to transmit the data packets to the first device during the second duration of time.

14. The one or more computer-readable memory devices of claim 8 comprising additional processor-executable instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, implement the network manager to modify, based on a transactional latency associated with the first wireless network, the second duration of time.

15. A system comprising:

a wireless interface configurable to a first mode for communicating data over an infrastructure network or to a second mode for communicating data over a peer-to-peer network; and

a network manager configured to;

transmit, via the wireless interface in the first mode, a first packet effective to prevent a device associated with the infrastructure network from attempting to transmit data packets to the system,

reconfigure the wireless interface of the system to the second mode for communication via the peer-to-peer network for a first duration of time,

transmit, via the wireless interface, a second packet effective to cause a peer device associated with the peer-to-peer network to transmit data packets to the system during the first duration of time, and

reconfigure, responsive to the first duration of time ending, the wireless interface to the first mode for communication via the infrastructure network for a second duration of time effective to enable the system to receive the data packets that were previously prevented from being transmitted from the device to the system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the second packet includes information that enables the peer device to join the peer-to-peer network or to synchronize communications with the peer-to-peer network.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the network manager is further configured to, responsive to determining that the data packets will not be transmitted by the device during the second duration of time, reconfigure the wireless interface of the system to the second mode for communication via the peer-to-peer network for a remainder of the second duration of time.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the wireless interface comprises a wireless local-area-network (WLAN) interface or a wireless personal-area-network (WPAN) interface.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the wireless interface comprises a single physical layer (PHY) interface and a single media access control layer (MAC) interface, and reconfiguring the wireless interface to the first or second mode for communication via the first or the second wireless network, respectively is effective to time-share the wireless interface between the first and the second wireless network.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the system is embodied as a System-on-Chip.