Method and apparatus for dormant mode support with paging

• US 20070233863A1
• Filed: 05/24/2007
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daichi Funato, Fujio Watanabe, Toshio Miki
• Original Assignee: Daichi Funato, Fujio Watanabe, Toshio Miki
• Inventors: Watanabe, Fujio, Miki, Toshio, Funato, Daichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,510,442 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• 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 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods are disclosed herein for implementing dormant mode with paging in a WLAN. Power savings in the computing device and reduction in traffic across the network are achieved by requiring a computing device to inform the WLAN of its location only when it crosses a paging area boundary or is to receive IP traffic. Dormant mode with paging is implemented in a protocol that supports dormant functionality and paging functionality but does not itself provide methods or standards for implementing such functionality, such as the IEEE 802.11. The methods and apparatuses disclosed herein provide the methods needed to implement dormant mode with paging in such a protocol. Generally, the methods and apparatuses for implementing dormant mode with paging basically include (1) establishing paging areas; (2) communicating access group information to a computing device; and (3) locating a computing device.

Claims

1. A method for channel allocation for a WLAN, wherein the WLAN comprises a plurality of access point groups with at least one access point group having a plurality of access points, comprising assigning a common dedicated channel for paging for each of the plurality of access point groups to enable paging of a computing device, which is capable of entering and exiting a dormant mode, so that the computing device is able to associate with an access point that is different than the previous access point associated with the computing device only when the computing device crosses a boundary between paging areas of two access point groups.

2. A method for channel allocation for a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least one access point groups has a root access point to perform assignment of the common dedicated channel in each access point group.

3. A method for channel allocation for a WLAN, as claimed in claim 2, wherein the paging channel is different from an IP channel.