Methods and arrangements to coordinate communications in a wireless network

• US 9,313,741 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2012
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Park, Minyoung, Kenney, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kumar, Shailendra
• Application Number:
  US13/730,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20140185501A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,200 Days
• Field of Search: 370/311
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0238 where the received signal is an unwanted signal, e.g. interference or idle signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/287 when the channel is in stand-by
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Logic may comprise hardware and/or code to coordinate communications of wireless communications devices to reduce power consumption by stations. Logic may coordinate communications in an access point. Logic may generate and transmit a wake frame from the access point to the station to wake the receive circuitry of the station. Logic of the station may wake the receive circuitry from an idle mode, which may be a less linear and less sensitive mode, to a receiver (RX) active state, which is a high linear and high sensitivity mode. Once the receiver circuitry enters the RX active state, the station is ready to receive a transmission. Logic may implement the wake frame as a medium access control frame or as a null data packet, physical layer frame.

Claims

1. A method to wake receive circuitry of a station before receipt of the data by the station, the method comprising:

determining, upon receiving a trigger frame from the station, by a first communications device, to transmit a data packet to the station;

transmitting a frame comprising an indication that the data packet will be transmitted;

generating, by the first communications device, a wake frame comprising a duration associated with the data packet and a receiver address of the station; and

transmitting, by the first communications device, the wake frame at a low modulation and code rate, after an unknown time interval, to wake the station from a receive idle state to a receive active state, wherein the low modulation and code rate is a modulation and code rate that the station can receive in the receive idle state.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a communication from the station to trigger transmission of the data packet to the station, wherein determining to transmit the data packet is in response to the communication.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a data packet to transmit to the station and

transmitting the data packet to the station an interframe space after transmission of the wake frame.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein transmitting the data packet to the station an interframe space after transmission of the wake frame comprises transmitting the data packet to the station after providing the station time to switch receive circuitry of the station from the idle state to a receive active state.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the wake frame comprises generating a medium access control frame with a subtype field including a value indicative of a wake frame.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the wake frame comprises transmitting the duration and the receiver address to the physical layer and generating a physical layer wake frame comprising the duration and the receiver address.

7. An apparatus to wake receive circuitry of a station before receipt of data by the station, the apparatus comprising:

logic to determine, upon receiving a trigger frame from the station, to transmit a data packet to the station;

to transmit a frame comprising an indication that the data packet will be transmitted;

to generate a wake frame comprising a duration associated with the data packet and a receiver address of the station to receive the data packet; and

a physical layer in communication with the logic to transmit the wake frame at a low modulation and code rate, after an unknown time interval, to wake the station from a receive idle state to a receive active state, wherein the low modulation and code rate is a modulation and code rate that the station can receive in the receive idle state.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising one or more antennas to transmit the wake frame and memory coupled with the logic to store the duration and the receiver address.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the logic comprises medium access control logic to receive a communication from the station to trigger transmission of the data packet to the station, wherein determining to transmit the data packet is responsive to the communication.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the medium access control logic comprises logic to generate a data packet to transmit to the station and transmit the data packet to the station an interframe space after transmission of the wake frame to the station.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the medium access control logic comprises logic to transmit the data packet to the station after providing the station time to switch receive circuitry of the station from the idle state to a receive active state.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the logic to generate the wake frame comprises physical layer logic to generate a physical layer wake frame with six or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the logic to generate the wake frame comprises medium access control logic to generate a medium access control layer wake frame with six or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols.

14. A program product to wake receive circuitry of a station before receipt of the data by the station, the program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to be executed by a processor-based device, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor-based device, perform operations, the operations comprising;

determining, upon receiving a trigger frame from the station, to transmit a data packet to the station;

transmitting a frame comprising an indication that the data packet will be transmitted;

generating a wake frame comprising a duration associated with the data packet and a receiver address of the station;

transmitting the wake frame at a low modulation and code rate, after an unknown time interval, to wake the station from a receive idle state to a receive active state, wherein the low modulation and code rate is a modulation and code rate that the station can receive in the receive idle state.

15. The machine accessible product of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a communication from the station to trigger transmission of the data packet to the station, wherein determining to transmit the data packet is in response to the communication.

16. The machine accessible product of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating a data packet to transmit to the station and

transmitting the data packet to the station an interframe space after transmission of the wake frame.

17. The machine accessible product of claim 16, wherein transmitting the data packet to the station an interframe space after transmission of the wake frame comprises transmitting the data packet to the station after providing the station time to switch receive circuitry of the station from the idle state to a receive active state.

18. The machine accessible product of claim 14, wherein generating the wake frame comprises generating a medium access control frame with a subtype field including a value indicative of a wake frame.

19. The machine accessible product of claim 14, wherein generating the wake frame comprises transmitting the duration and the receiver address to the physical layer and generating a physical layer wake frame comprising the duration and the receiver address.

20. A method to wake receive circuitry of a station before receipt of the data by the station, the method comprising:

waiting, by the station, after receiving a frame comprising an indication that the data packet will be transmitted, in a receive idle state, an unknown time interval to receive a data packet;

receiving, by the station, a wake frame indicating a receive address and a duration for the data packet to be transmitted to the receive address, while the station remains in the receive idle state;

determining, by the station, that the receive address is associated with the station;

waking, by the station, receive circuitry of the station from the receive idle state to a receive active state to receive the data packet in response to the wake frame; and

receiving the data packet.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting an acknowledgement in response to receiving the data frame and entering the idle state after transmitting the acknowledgement.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising generating a communication to trigger transmission of the data packet;

switching to the receive active state to receive an acknowledgement responsive to the communication;

receiving the acknowledgement; and

entering the idle state to reduce power consumption by the receive circuitry.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein determining, by the station, that the receive address is associated with the station comprises parsing the wake frame to determine that the frame is a wake frame and then parsing the wake frame to determine the receiver address.

24. An apparatus to wake receive circuitry of a station before receipt of the data by the station, the apparatus comprising:

logic to wait, after receiving a frame comprising an indication that the data packet will be transmitted, in a receive idle state, an unknown time interval to receive a data packet;

receive a wake frame indicating a receive address and a duration for the data packet to be transmitted to the receive address, while the station remains in the receive idle state;

to determine that the receive address is associated with the station; and

to wake receive circuitry of the station from the receive idle state to a receive active state to receive the data packet in response to the wake frame; and

a physical layer coupled with the wake logic to receive the wake frame and to receive the data packet.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising one or more antennas coupled with the physical layer logic to transmit the communication, wherein the logic comprises logic to transmit an acknowledgement in response to receiving the data packet and to enter the idle state after transmitting the acknowledgement.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the logic comprises logic to generate a communication to trigger transmission of the data packet;

switch to the receive active state to receive an acknowledgement responsive to the communication;

receive the acknowledgement; and

enter the idle state to reduce power consumption by the receive circuitry.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein logic comprises logic to parse the wake frame to determine that the frame is a wake frame and then to parse the wake frame to determine the receiver address.

28. A program product to wake receive circuitry of a station before receipt of the data by the station, the program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to be executed by a processor-based device, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor-based device, perform operations, the operations comprising;

waiting, by the station, after receiving a frame comprising an indication that the data packet will be transmitted, in a receive idle state, an unknown time interval to receive a data packet;

receiving, by the station, a wake frame indicating a receive address and a duration for the data packet to be transmitted to the receive address, while the station remains in the receive idle state;

determining, by the station, that the receive address is associated with the station;

waking, by the station, receive circuitry of the station from the receive idle state to a receive active state to receive the data packet in response to the wake frame; and

receiving the data packet.

29. The program product of claim 28, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting an acknowledgement in response to receiving the data packet and entering the idle state after transmitting the acknowledgement.

30. The program product of claim 28, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating a communication to trigger transmission of the data packet;

switching to the receive active state to receive an acknowledgement responsive to the communication;

receiving the acknowledgement; and

entering the idle state to reduce power consumption by the receive circuitry.