Methods and arrangements to coordinate communications in a wireless network

• US 10,172,099 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2016
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• 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): Kumar, Shailendra
• Application Number:
  US15/070,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20160198417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• 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, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first communications device, a communication from the station, the communication to indicate entry into an idle state by the receive circuitry of the station, the entry into the idle state to facilitate reception of a wake frame by the station to wake the receive circuitry for reception of a data packet by the station;

transmitting an acknowledgement in response to receipt of the communication;

determining, by the first communications device, to transmit the data packet to the station after an unknown time interval;

transmitting, by the first communications device, the wake frame after determining to transmit the data packet, to wake the receive circuitry of the station from the idle state to an active state, to facilitate receipt of the data packet by the station; and

transmitting, by the first communications device, the data packet to the station after the unknown time interval.

2. The method of claim 1, the 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 the 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 transmitting the wake frame comprises transmitting a duration and a receiver address to a physical layer of the first communications device and generating a physical layer wake frame comprising the duration and the receiver address.

7. An apparatus to wake receive circuitry of a station, the apparatus comprising:

logic to receive a communication from the station, the communication to indicate entry into an idle state by the receive circuitry of the station, the entry into the idle state to facilitate reception of a wake frame by the station to wake the receive circuitry for] reception of a data packet by the station;

to transmit an acknowledgement in response to receipt of the communication;

to determine to transmit the data packet to the station after an unknown time interval;

to transmit the wake frame after determining to transmit the data packet, to wake the receive circuitry of the station from the idle state to an active state, to facilitate receipt of the data packet by the station; and

a physical layer device in communication with the logic to transmit the data packet to the station after the unknown time interval.

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 a duration and a receiver address for the wake frame.

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 the 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, 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;

receiving a communication from the station, the communication to indicate entry into an idle state by the receive circuitry of the station, the entry into the idle state to facilitate reception of a wake frame by the station to wake the receive circuitry for reception of a data packet by the station;

transmitting an acknowledgement in response to receipt of the communication;

determining, by the processor-based device, to transmit the data packet to the station after an unknown time interval;

transmitting the wake frame after determining to transmit the data packet, to wake receive circuitry of the station from the idle state to an active state, to facilitate receipt of the data packet by the station; and

transmitting the data packet to the station after the unknown time interval.

15. The program 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 program product of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating the 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 program 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 program 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 program product of claim 14, wherein transmitting the wake frame comprises transmitting a duration and a receiver address to a physical layer of the processor-based device and generating a physical layer wake frame comprising the duration and the receiver address.

20. A method to wake receive circuitry of a station, the method comprising:

transmitting a communication, the communication to indicate entry into an idle state by the receive circuitry of the station, the entry into the idle state to facilitate reception of a wake frame by the station to wake the receive circuitry for reception of a data packet by the station;

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

receiving the acknowledgement responsive to the communication;

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

waiting, in an idle state, an unknown time interval to receive the data packet;

receiving, by the station, the wake frame, while the receive circuitry of the station remains in the idle state;

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

receiving the data packet after the unknown time interval.

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