Apparatus, system and method of controlling wireless scanning

• US 9,426,724 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2014
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Parron, Jerome, Appaji, Sudhir
• Primary Examiner(s): MAPA, MICHAEL Y
• Application Number:
  US14/468,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20160066252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 455/161.1, 4554321-434, 455450-4522
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include apparatuses, systems and/or methods of controlling wireless scanning. For example, an apparatus may include a radio to communicate with a wireless network; and a scan controller to control a wireless scan by the radio according to a scan pattern, the scan controller to determine a mobility state of the mobile device, the mobility state representing a combination of a velocity of the mobile device and an environment of the mobile device, and to determine the scan pattern based on the mobility state.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

a radio to communicate with a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN); and

a scan controller to control a WLAN scan by said radio according to a scan pattern, said scan controller to determine a mobility state of said mobile device, the mobility state representing a combination of a velocity of said mobile device and an environment type corresponding to an environment of said mobile device, and to determine said scan pattern based on said mobility state, said scan controller is to maintain one or more mobility tags corresponding to one or more respective WLAN Access Points (APs), a mobility tag corresponding to a WLAN AP indicating an environment type corresponding to a location of said WLAN AP, said scan controller is to determine said scan pattern based on a comparison between the environment type of the mobile device and the environment type of the WLAN AP, said controller is to determine said scan pattern based on the velocity of the mobile device and a movement speed of the mobile device relative to the WLAN AP.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein said scan controller is to select said mobility state from a plurality of predefined mobility states.

3. The mobile device of claim 2, wherein said plurality of mobility states corresponds to a plurality of predefined environment types, said scan controller is to select said mobility state according to the environment type corresponding to the environment of said mobile device.

4. The mobile device of claim 3, wherein said plurality of environment types comprise at least one environment type selected from the group consisting of a home environment, a work environment, a mall environment, a street environment, a building environment, an office environment, and a vehicle environment.

5. The mobile device of claim 2, wherein said plurality of mobility states includes one or more vehicle states corresponding to one or more types of vehicles.

6. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein said one or more vehicle states comprise at least one vehicle state selected from the group consisting of a car state, a train state, and an airplane state.

7. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein said scan controller is to determine a first scan pattern, when the mobility state of said mobile device includes a first vehicle state corresponding to a first vehicle type, and to determine a second scan pattern, different from the first scan pattern, when the mobility state of said mobile device includes a second vehicle state corresponding to a second vehicle type.

8. The mobile device of claim 2, wherein said plurality of mobility states corresponds to a plurality of predefined movement states, said scan controller is to select said mobility state according to a movement state corresponding to the velocity of said mobile device.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein said plurality of movement states includes a static state and at least one non-static state.

10. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein said scan controller is to enable or disable said wireless scan based on at least one scan policy corresponding to said mobility state.

11. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein said scan controller is to determine said scan pattern to include an active scan for said WLAN AP, when the environment type of the mobile device is the same as the environment type of the WLAN AP.

12. The mobile device of claim 1 comprising:

one or more antennas;

a processor; and

a memory.

13. A method performed by a mobile device, the method comprising:

determining a mobility state of said mobile device, the mobility state representing a combination of a velocity of said mobile device and an environment type corresponding to an environment of said mobile device;

maintaining one or more mobility tags corresponding to one or more respective Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Points (APs), a mobility tag corresponding to a WLAN AP indicating an environment type corresponding to a location of said WLAN AP;

determining a scan pattern based on said mobility state, wherein determining the scan pattern comprises determining said scan pattern based on a comparison between the environment type of the mobile device and the environment type of the WLAN AP, and based on the velocity of the mobile device and a movement speed of the mobile device relative to the WLAN AP; and

controlling a WLAN scan according to said scan pattern.

14. The method of claim 13 comprising enabling or disabling said WLAN scan based on at least one scan policy corresponding to said mobility state.

15. The method of claim 13 comprising determining said scan pattern to include an active scan for said WLAN AP, when the environment type of the mobile device is the same as the environment type of the WLAN AP.

16. A product including one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media comprising computer-executable instructions operable to, when executed by at least one computer processor, enable the at least one computer processor to implement operations at a mobile device, the operations comprising:

determining a mobility state of said mobile device, the mobility state representing a combination of a velocity of said mobile device and an environment type corresponding to an environment of said mobile device;

maintaining one or more mobility tags corresponding to one or more respective Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Points (APs), a mobility tag corresponding to a WLAN AP indicating an environment type corresponding to a location of said WLAN AP;

determining a scan pattern based on said mobility state, wherein determining the scan pattern comprises determining said scan pattern based on a comparison between the environment type of the mobile device and the environment type of the WLAN AP, and based on the velocity of the mobile device and a movement speed of the mobile device relative to the WLAN AP; and

controlling a WLAN scan according to said scan pattern.

17. The product of claim 16, wherein said operations comprise selecting said mobility state from a plurality of predefined mobility states.

18. The product of claim 17, wherein said plurality of mobility states corresponds to a plurality of predefined environment types, said operations comprise selecting said mobility state according to the environment type corresponding to the environment of said mobile device.

19. The product of claim 18, wherein said plurality of environment types comprise at least one environment type selected from the group consisting of a home environment, a work environment, a mall environment, a street environment, a building environment, an office environment, and a vehicle environment.

20. The product of claim 17, wherein said plurality of mobility states includes one or more vehicle states corresponding to one or more types of vehicles.

21. The product of claim 20, wherein said operations comprise determining a first scan pattern, when the mobility state of said mobile device includes a first vehicle state corresponding to a first vehicle type, and determining a second scan pattern, different from the first scan pattern, when the mobility state of said mobile device includes a second vehicle state corresponding to a second vehicle type.

22. The product of claim 17, wherein said plurality of mobility states corresponds to a plurality of predefined movement states, said operations comprise selecting said mobility state according to a movement state corresponding to the velocity of said mobile device.

23. The product of claim 16, wherein said operations comprise determining said scan pattern to include an active scan for said WLAN AP, when the environment type of the mobile device is the same as the environment type of the WLAN AP.