System and method for basic service set association

• US 9,456,408 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2015
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Calcev, George, Chen, Bin
• Primary Examiner(s): Elallam, Ahmed
• Application Number:
  US14/840,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20150373631A1
• Time in Patent Office: 393 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a station (STA) from an access point (AP), a frame including a device type indicator and comparing the device type indicator with a device type accepted by a basic service set (BSS) of the AP to produce a comparison. The method also includes determining whether to associate the STA with the AP in accordance with the comparison, associating the STA with the AP upon determining to associate the STA with the AP, and not associating the STA with the AP upon determining not to associate the STA with the AP.

Claims

1. A method for Basic Service Set (BSS) association, comprising:

receiving, by a station (STA) from an access point (AP), a frame comprising a STA type support field, wherein the STA type support field indicates a type of station that is allowed to associate with the AP, and wherein the frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame;

determining whether to associate the STA with the AP in accordance with whether the STA type support field indicates that a device type of the STA is allowed to associate with the AP; and

associating the STA with the AP upon determining that the STA type support field indicates that the device type of the STA is allowed to associate with the AP.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to associate the STA with the AP comprises determining to associate the STA with the AP when the STA type support field indicates that sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the STA is a sensor STA.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to associate the STA with the AP comprises determining to associate the STA with the AP when the STA type support field indicates that non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the STA is a non-sensor STA.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to associate the STA with the AP comprises determining to associate the STA with the AP when the STA type support field indicates that both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the STA is either a sensor STA or a non-sensor STA.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the STA type support field is two bits.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the STA type support field indicates whether sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, or both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP.

7. A method for Basic Service Set (BSS) association, comprising:

receiving, by an access point (AP) from a first station (STA), a first frame comprising a first STA type support field, wherein the first STA type support field indicates a type of station that is allowed to associate with the AP;

determining whether to associate the first STA with the AP in accordance with whether the first STA type support field indicates that a device type of the first STA is allowed to associate with the AP; and

associating the first STA with the AP upon determining that the first STA type support field indicates that the device type of the first STA is allowed to associate with the AP.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining whether to associate the first STA with the AP comprises determining to associate the first STA with the AP when the first STA type support field indicates that sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the first STA is a sensor STA.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein determining whether to associate the first STA with the AP comprises determining to associate the first STA with the AP when the first STA type support field indicates that non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the first STA is a non-sensor STA.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein determining whether to associate the first STA with the AP comprises determining to associate the first STA with the AP when the first STA type support field indicates that both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the first STA is either a sensor STA or a non-sensor STA.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the AP from a second STA, a second frame comprising a second STA type support field;

determining whether to associate the second STA with the AP in accordance with whether the second STA type support field indicates that a device type of the second STA is allowed to associate with the AP; and

indicating, by the AP to the second STA, whether to associate the second STA with the AP.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the first frame comprises an association request comprising the first STA type support field, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the AP to the first STA, a probe response when association is pursued.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the STA type support field is two bits.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the STA type support field indicates whether sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, or both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP.

15. A station (STA) comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming instructions, when executing the programming instructions on the processor, to perform the following steps;

receiving, from an access point (AP), a frame comprising a STA type support field, wherein the STA type support field indicates a type of station that is allowed to associate with the AP, and wherein the frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame,

determining whether to associate the STA with the AP in accordance with whether the STA type support field indicates a type of station that is allowed to associate with the AP, and

associating the STA with the AP upon determining that the STA type support field indicates that a device type of the STA is allowed to associate with the AP.

16. The STA of claim 15, wherein the programming instructions to perform determining whether to associate the STA with the AP comprise programming instructions to perform determining to associate the STA with the AP when the STA type support field indicates that sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the STA is a sensor STA.

17. The STA of claim 15, wherein the programming instructions to perform determining whether to associate the STA with the AP comprise programming instructions to perform determining to associate the STA with the AP when the STA type support field indicates that non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the STA is a non-sensor STA.

18. The STA of claim 15, wherein the programming instructions to perform determining whether to associate the STA with the AP comprise programming instructions to perform determining to associate the STA with the AP when the STA type support field indicates that both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP and the device type of the STA is either a sensor STA or a non-sensor STA.

19. The STA of claim 15, wherein the STA type support field is two bits.

20. The STA of claim 15, wherein the STA type support field indicates whether sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, or both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP.

21. An access point (AP) comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming instructions, when executing the programming instructions, to perform the following steps;

receiving, from a station (STA), a frame comprising a STA type support field, wherein the STA type support field indicates a type of station that is allowed to associate with the AP,

determining whether to associate the STA with the AP in accordance with whether the STA type support field indicates a type of station that is allowed to associate with the AP, and

associating the STA with the AP upon determining that the STA type support field indicates that a device type of the STA is allowed to associate with the AP.

22. The AP of claim 21, wherein the frame comprises an association request comprising a second STA type support field, and wherein the programming instructions to perform the following steps further comprise programming instructions to perform transmitting, to the STA, a probe response when association is pursued.

23. The AP of claim 21, wherein the STA type support field is two bits.

24. The AP of claim 21, wherein the STA type support field indicates whether sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP, or both sensor STAs and non-sensor STAs are allowed to associate with the AP.