Hardware control interface for IEEE standard 802.11

• US 9,652,420 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2012
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kuehnel, Thomas W., Ruan, Jiandong
• Primary Examiner(s): Donaghue, Larry
• Application Number:
  US13/720,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20130145069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/36 for access to common bus or bus system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements

Abstract

A standardized 802.11 hardware control interface may be provided such that a driver may communicate with any one or more of a variety of network adapters.

Claims

1. A method performed on a computing device, the method comprising:

exchanging information via a hardware control interface (“

HCI”

) between a hardware network adapter and a driver software module that corresponds to the hardware network adapter, where the hardware control interface is configured for operating with a variety of different hardware network adapters of different types, where the different hardware network adapters include the hardware network adapter, and where the hardware control interface is network adapter independent.

2. The method of claim 1 where the hardware control interface is configured for supporting at least a portion of a wireless communication standard.

3. The method of claim 1 where the hardware control interface comprises:

a transmission control interface;

a transmission status interface;

a reception control interface;

or

a channel switching interface.

4. The method of claim 1 where the driver software module comprises the hardware control interface.

5. The method of claim 4 where the driver software module controls the hardware network adapter according to at least a portion of a wireless communication standard.

6. The method of claim 5 where the wireless communication standard comprises at least one 802.11 standard.

7. The method of claim 1 where the hardware control interface is implemented at least in part in software.

8. At least one computer storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, based on execution by a computing device, configure the computing device to perform actions comprising:

exchanging information via a hardware control interface (“

HCI”

) between a hardware network adapter and a driver software module that corresponds to the hardware network adapter, where the hardware control interface is configured for operating with a variety of different hardware network adapters of different types, where the different hardware network adapters include the hardware network adapter, and where the hardware control interface is network adapter independent.

9. The at least one computer storage media of claim 8 where the hardware control interface is configured for supporting at least a portion of a wireless communication standard.

10. The at least one computer storage media of claim 8 where the hardware control interface comprises:

a transmission control interface;

a transmission status interface;

a reception control interface;

or

a channel switching interface.

11. The at least one computer storage media of claim 8 where the driver software module comprises the hardware control interface.

12. The at least one computer storage media of claim 11 where the driver software module controls the hardware network adapter according to at least a portion of a wireless communication standard.

13. The at least one computer storage media of claim 12 where the wireless communication standard comprises at least one 802.11 standard.

14. The at least one computer storage media of claim 8 where the hardware control interface is implemented at least in part in software.

15. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor;

memory coupled to the at least one processor;

a hardware network adapter coupled to the at least one processor and the memory;

a hardware control interface (“

HCI”

) via which the computing device exchanges information between the hardware network adapter and a driver software module that corresponds to the hardware network adapter, where the hardware control interface is configured for operating with a variety of different hardware network adapters of different types, where the different hardware network adapters include the hardware network adapter, and where the hardware control interface is network adapter independent.

16. The computing device of claim 15 where the hardware control interface is configured for supporting at least a portion of a wireless communication standard.

17. The computing device of claim 15 where the hardware control interface comprises:

a transmission control interface;

a transmission status interface;

a reception control interface;

or

a channel switching interface.

18. The computing device of claim 15 where the driver software module comprises the hardware control interface that is implemented at least in part in software.

19. The computing device of claim 18 where the driver software module controls the hardware network adapter according to at least a portion of a wireless communication standard.

20. The computing device of claim 19 where the wireless communication standard comprises at least one 802.11 standard.