Systems and methods for low power wake up signal and operations for WLAN

• US 9,585,091 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Jafarian, Amin, Merlin, Simone, Shellhammer, Stephen Jay, Jones, Vincent Knowles IV, Asterjadhi, Alfred, Sampath, Hemanth
• Primary Examiner(s): Chung, Hoon J
• Application Number:
  US13/831,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20140050133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/02 Power saving arrangements in wired systems H04L12/12; signaling of mobile application services, e.g. low battery notifications H04W4/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0293 having a sub-controller with a low clock frequency switching on and off a main controller with a high clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/085 collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for wireless communication. In one aspect an apparatus for wirelessly communicating with a wireless station is provided. The apparatus comprises a first transceiver configured to receive a backoff signal from the wireless station during a first time period, the backoff signal configured to indicate a second time period. The apparatus further comprises a processor operationally coupled to the first transceiver and configured to refrain the first transceiver from transmitting a wireless signal during the second time period.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wirelessly communicating with a wireless station, the apparatus comprising:

a first transceiver comprising a first receiver, and configured to receive a backoff signal from the wireless station during a first time period, the backoff signal configured to indicate a second time period;

a processor operationally coupled to the first transceiver and configured to refrain the first transceiver from transmitting a wireless signal during the second time period,

the first receiver further configured to wirelessly receive data packets at a first transmission bandwidth and consume power at a first power level during operation; and

a second receiver operationally coupled to the first receiver and configured to detect a wake-up signal received from the wireless station, the second receiver configured to consume power during operation at a second power level that is less than the first power level, and

wherein the processor is operationally coupled to the first receiver and the second receiver and configured to wake up the first receiver when the second receiver successfully detects the wake-up signal, and to determine a recurring time period based on an association with the wireless station,

wherein a second transmission bandwidth of the wake-up signal is less than the first transmission bandwidth, and wherein the second receiver is configured to detect the wake-up signal via a wireless channel, a bandwidth of the wireless channel being less than the first transmission bandwidth, and

wherein the second receiver is further configured to detect the wake-up signal based on the recurring time period.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a preamble comprising information of a transmission duration of the backoff signal, and wherein the processor is further configured to refrain the first transceiver from transmitting the wireless signal during the transmission duration.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the transmission duration comprises an IEEE 802.11 PPDU transmission duration.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a checksum, and wherein the processor is further configured to detect a successful decoding of the backoff signal based on the checksum.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a transmission bandwidth of the backoff signal is less than a transmission bandwidth of an IEEE 802.11 preamble.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless station is further configured to transmit another signal to a second receiver during the second time period, and wherein the absence of the wireless signal sent by the first transceiver reduces interference to the another signal received by the second receiver during the second time period.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a payload including data, and wherein the second receiver is further configured to decode the data.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a payload including at least one single-phase signal, and wherein the second receiver further comprises a plurality of correlators to detect the at least one signal-phase signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the backoff signal further comprises at least one first wake-up signal and a second wake-up signal, the at least one first wake-up signal configured to wake up the second receiver, and the second wake-up signal configured to wake up a third receiver.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first transceiver is further configured to receive a clear to send signal transmitted by the wireless station, the clear to send signal indicating a third time period including at least one of the first time period or the second time period, and wherein the processor is further configured to refrain the first transceiver from transmitting the wireless signal during the third time period.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver is configured to receive a null frame transmitted by the wireless station, and wherein the processor is further configured to perform a clear channel assessment based at least partially on the null frame.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first receiver is further configured to sleep after the first receiver receives the data packets.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the recurring time period comprises a recurring time period defined by a standard.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the recurring time period comprises a recurring time period negotiated between the processor and the transmitter station.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wake-up signal further comprises a preamble including information of a transmission duration of the wake-up signal, and wherein the second receiver detects at least one portion of the wake-up signal during at least one portion of the transmission duration.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the preamble is an IEEE 802.11 preamble.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second transmission bandwidth is less than an IEEE 802.11 transmission bandwidth, and wherein the bandwidth of the wireless channel is less than the IEEE 802.11 transmission bandwidth.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second transmission bandwidth is less than an IEEE 802.11 preamble transmission bandwidth, and wherein the bandwidth of the wireless channel is less than the IEEE 802.11 preamble transmission bandwidth.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wake-up signal comprises an IEEE 802.11 PPDU, and wherein the processor is further configured to demodulate the IEEE 802.11 PPDU.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wake-up signal further comprises a checksum, and wherein the processor is further configured to detect a successful decoding of the wake-up signal based on the checksum.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wake-up signal further comprises a payload, and wherein the processor is further configured to decode the payload.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wake-up signal further comprises a payload including at least one single-phase signal, and wherein the second receiver further comprises a plurality of correlators configured to detect the at least one signal-phase signal.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein another wake-up signal is transmitted by the transmitter station to wake up a third receiver.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the wake-up signal and the another wake-up signal share a preamble comprising information of at least one of a transmission duration of the wake-up signal or another transmission duration of the another wake-up signal.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a null frame is transmitted by the transmitter station after the transmitter station transmits the wake-up signal, and wherein the processor is further configured to perform a clear channel assessment based at least partially on the null frame.

26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second receiver is further configured to receive a clear to send signal transmitted by the transmitter station, and wherein the clear to send signal comprises information of a transmission time period of the wake-up signal.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the clear to send signal comprises information of at least one of an address of the transmitter station, an address of the second receiver or another predefined address.

28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second receiver is configured to detect the wake-up signal using at least one of on-off keying or frequency-shift keying.

29. An apparatus for wirelessly communicating with a wireless first transceiver, a second transceiver and a second wireless receiver via a wireless medium, the apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to;

determine a back-off time period based, at least in part, on a phase-locked loop (PLL) converge time and calibration coefficients of the second wireless receiver and a duration of a low power wake up signal;

generate a clear to send (CTS) frame configured to indicate the first transceiver defers an access to the wireless medium during the back-off time period; and

a transmitter operationally coupled to the processor and configured to;

transmit data packets to the first transceiver at a first transmission bandwidth;

transmit clear to send (CTS) frame to the first transceiver, and

transmit the low power wakeup signal to the second receiver on a wireless channel with a second transmission bandwidth less than the first transmission bandwidth, the wakeup signal configured to wake up the first second transceiver.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a preamble comprising information of a transmission duration of the backoff signal, and wherein the first transceiver is further configured to defer the access to the wireless medium during the transmission duration of the backoff signal.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a checksum, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver is configured to detect a successful decoding of the backoff signal based on the checksum.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a payload comprising data, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver is further configured to decode the data.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein a transmission duration of the backoff signal comprises an IEEE 802.11 PPDU transmission duration.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the second transmission bandwidth of the wakeup signal is less than a transmission bandwidth of an IEEE 802.11 preamble.

35. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a payload comprising at least one single-phase signal, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver further comprises a plurality of correlators to detect the at least one signal-phase signal.

36. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit another backoff signal, the another backoff signal configured to wake up a third receiver.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the backoff signal and the another backoff signal share a preamble comprising information of at least one of a transmission duration of the backoff signal or another transmission duration of the another backoff signal.

38. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a null frame, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver is further configured to perform a clear channel assessment based at least partially on the null frame.

39. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the backoff signal using at least one of on-off keying or frequency-shift keying.

40. A method of wirelessly communicating with a wireless station, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first receiver, data packets at a first transmission bandwidth, the first receiver configured to consume power at a first power level during operation;

receiving, at the first receiver, a backoff signal from the wireless station during a first time period, the backoff signal configured to indicate a second time period;

refraining, at a processor operationally coupled to the first receiver, from transmitting a wireless signal during the second time period;

detecting, at a second receiver operationally coupled to the first receiver, a wake-up signal received from the wireless station, the second receiver configured to consume power during operation at a second power level that is less than the first power level; and

waking, via the processor, the first receiver when the second receiver successfully detects the wake-up signal, wherein the processor is operationally coupled to the second receiver;

determining, via the processor, a recurring time period based on an association with the wireless station,

wherein a second transmission bandwidth of the wake-up signal is less than the first transmission bandwidth, and wherein the second receiver is configured to detect the wake-up signal via a wireless channel, a bandwidth of the wireless channel being less than the first transmission bandwidth,

wherein detecting the wake-up signal comprises detecting the wake-up signal based on the recurring time period.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a preamble comprising information of a transmission duration of the backoff signal, and wherein refraining from transmitting the wireless signal comprising refraining from transmitting the wireless signal during the transmission duration.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the transmission duration comprises an IEEE 802.11 PPDU transmission duration.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the backoff signal further comprises a checksum, and wherein receiving the backoff signal further comprises detecting a successful decoding of the backoff signal based on the checksum.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the second transmission bandwidth is less than an 802.11 transmission bandwidth.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the second transmission bandwidth is less than an IEEE 802.11 preamble transmission bandwidth, and wherein the bandwidth of the wireless channel is less than the IEEE 802.11 preamble transmission bandwidth.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a null frame transmitted by the wireless station; and

performing a clear channel assessment based at least partially on the null frame.

47. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a clear to send signal transmitted by the wireless station, the clear to send signal configured to indicate information of a third time period, the third time period comprising at least one of the first time period or the second time period; and

refraining from transmitting the wireless signal during the third time period.

48. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises deactivating the first receiver after waking the first receiver to receive the data packets or before waking the first receiver to receive the data packets.

49. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises deactivating the second receiver before detecting the wake-up signal or after detecting the wake-up signal.

50. The method of claim 40, wherein detecting the wake-up signal comprises detecting the wake-up signal at a recurring time period.

51. The method of claim 40, wherein detecting the wake-up signal further comprises detecting a transmission time period of the wake-up signal.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein detecting the transmission time period comprises detecting the transmission time period based on an IEEE 802.11 preamble.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein detecting the transmission time period comprises detecting an IEEE 802.11 PPDU transmission duration.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein detecting the wake-up signal comprises detecting a successful decoding of the wake-up signal based on a checksum of the wake-up signal.

55. The method of claim 40, wherein detecting the wake-up signal further comprises decoding a payload of the wake-up signal.

56. The method of claim 40, wherein detecting the wake-up signal further comprises detecting the wake-up signal using a plurality of correlators.

57. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises detecting a clear to send signal sent by the transmitter station, and wherein the clear to send signal comprises information of a transmission time period of the wake-up signal.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein detecting the clear to send signal further comprising detecting information of at least one destination address of the clear to send signal, the at least one destination address comprising information of at least one of an address of the transmitter station, an address of the second receiver or another predefined address.

59. The method of claim 40, wherein detecting the wake-up signal further comprises decoding the wake-up signal using at least one of on-off keying or frequency-shift keying.

60. A method of wirelessly communicating with a wireless first transceiver, a second transceiver and a second wireless receiver via a wireless medium, the method comprising:

transmitting data packets to the first transceiver over a first transmission bandwidth;

determining a back-off time period based, at least in part, on a phase-locked loop (PLL) converge time and calibration coefficients of the second wireless receiver and a duration of a low power wake up signal;

generating a clear to send (CTS) frame configured to indicate a time period to the first transceiver such that the first transceiver defers an access to the wireless medium during the time period;

transmitting the clear to send (CTS) frame to the first transceiver;

transmitting the low power wake-up signal to the second receiver via a wireless channel with a second transmission bandwidth less than the first transmission bandwidth, the wake-up signal configured to wakeup the second transceiver.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein generating the backoff signal further comprises generating the backoff signal comprising a preamble, the preamble configured to indicate a transmission duration of the backoff signal to the first transceiver such that the first transceiver defers the access to the wireless medium during the transmission duration of the backoff signal.

62. The method of claim 60, wherein generating the backoff signal further comprises generating the backoff signal comprising a checksum, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver is configured to detect a successful decoding of the backoff signal based on the checksum.

63. The method of claim 60, wherein generating the backoff signal further comprises generating the backoff signal comprising a data payload, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver is further configured to decode the data payload.

64. The method of claim 60, wherein transmitting the backoff signal comprises transmitting the backoff signal during an IEEE 802.11 PPDU transmission duration.

65. The method of claim 60, wherein the second transmission bandwidth of the wireless channel is configured to be less than an 802.11 transmission bandwidth.

66. The method of claim 60, wherein generating the backoff signal comprises generating the backoff signal comprising at least one single-phase signal.

67. The method of claim 60, wherein the method further comprises:

generating another backoff signal configured to indicate another time period to the first transceiver such that the first transceiver defers an access to the wireless medium during the another time period the transmitter; and

transmitting the another backoff signal to wake up a third receiver.

68. The method of claim 60, wherein the backoff signal and the another backoff signal share a preamble, the preamble comprising information of at least one of a transmission duration of the backoff signal or another transmission duration of the another backoff signal.

69. The method of claim 60, wherein the method further comprises transmitting a null frame, and wherein at least one of the first transceiver or the second receiver is further configured to perform a clear channel assessment based at least partially on the null frame.

70. The method of claim 60, wherein transmitting the backoff signal further comprises transmitting the backoff signal using at least one of on-off keying or frequency-shift keying.