METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM FOR JOINING NEIGHBOR AWARENESS NETWORK DEVICE CLUSTER

• US 20150098388A1
• Filed: 12/15/2014
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Device Company Limited (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Device Company Limited (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: FANG, Ping, CHEN, Ji, DING, Zhiming, DU, Zhenguo
• Granted Patent: US 9,480,013 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

In a process for a wireless network device in a first Neighbor Awareness Network device cluster (NAN cluster) to join a second NAN cluster, the wireless network device first discovers the second NAN cluster by means of scanning for networking signals from the second NAN cluster. If it determines, based on the discovery information, to join the second NAN cluster, the wireless network device sends an event message to other wireless network devices in the first NAN cluster to inform them that it is leaving the first NAN cluster to join the second NAN cluster. The event message also contains a cluster ID (CID) of the second NAN cluster. The wireless network device then leaves the first NAN cluster and joins the second NAN cluster.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless network device in a first Neighbor Awareness Network device cluster (NAN cluster) to join a second NAN cluster, wherein each of the first and second NAN clusters is a Wi-Fi NAN of Wi-Fi Alliance and comprises a plurality of wireless network devices, the method comprising:

discovering the second NAN cluster;

determining to join the second NAN cluster based on discovery information obtained regarding the second NAN cluster;

sending an event message to other wireless network devices in the first NAN cluster, wherein the event message indicates that the wireless network device is leaving the first NAN cluster to join the second NAN cluster, and comprises a cluster ID (CID) of the second NAN cluster; and

after sending the event message, leaving the first NAN cluster and joining the second NAN cluster.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of discovering comprises:

receiving a beacon frame or service frame including the CID and attribute information of the second NAN cluster.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the attribute information of the second NAN cluster comprises at least one of the following types of information:

a number of wireless network devices in the second NAN cluster, an anchor master rank in the second NAN cluster, a hop count from the wireless network device to an anchor master device in the second NAN cluster, and a transmission time of a beacon frame of the anchor master device in the second NAN cluster.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining comprises:

calculating, by the wireless network device, a first score based on multiple pieces of attribute information of the first NAN cluster, and a second score based on multiple pieces of attribute information of the second NAN cluster;

comparing the first score and the second score;

determining to join the second NAN cluster when the second score is greater than the first score.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the event message is a beacon frame or a service frame and comprises the CID and the attribute information of the second NAN cluster;

or

the event message is a beacon frame or a service frame and comprises the CID of the second NAN cluster and merging indication information for instructing the other wireless network devices in the first NAN cluster that receive the event message to join the second NAN cluster.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the event message is:

a beacon frame comprising the CID of the second NAN cluster in a destination address field of the beacon frame, and the attribute information of the second NAN cluster in an NAN attribute information field of the beacon frame;

or

a service frame comprising the CID of the second NAN cluster in a destination address field of the service frame, and the attribute information of the second NAN cluster in a frame body of the service frame.

7. A wireless network device comprising:

a memory storing computer executable instructions for the wireless network device in a first Neighbor Awareness Network device cluster (NAN cluster) to join a second NAN cluster,

a processor is configured to execute the computer executable instructions to perform operations of;

discovering the second NAN cluster;

determining to join the second neighbor awareness network device cluster based on discovery information obtained regarding the second NAN cluster;

sending an event message to other wireless network devices in the first NAN cluster, wherein the event message indicates that the wireless network device is leaving the first NAN cluster to join the second NAN cluster and comprises a cluster ID (CID) of the second NAN cluster; and

after sending the event message, leaving the first NAN cluster and joining the second NAN cluster.

8. The wireless network device according to claim 7, wherein the operation of discovering comprises:

receiving a beacon frame or service frame;

comparing a cluster ID (CID) in the received beacon frame or service frame to a locally recorded CID of the first NAN Cluster;

determining that the second NAN cluster is discovered when the CID in the received beacon frame or service frame is different from the CID of the first NAN cluster; and

obtaining attribute information of the second NAN cluster from the received beacon frame or service frame.

9. The wireless network device according to claim 8, wherein the attribute information of the second NAN cluster comprises at least one of the following types of information:

a number of wireless network devices in the second NAN cluster, an anchor master rank in the second NAN cluster, a hop count from the wireless network device to an anchor master device in the second NAN cluster, and a transmission time of a beacon frame of the anchor master device in the second NAN cluster.

10. The wireless network device according to claim 7, wherein the operation of determining comprises:

considering multiple pieces of attribute information of the second NAN Cluster in view of corresponding pieces of attribute information of the first NAN cluster to determine whether to join the second NAN cluster.

11. The wireless network device according to claim 7, wherein the event message is:

a beacon frame or a service frame comprising the CID and the attribute information of the second NAN cluster;

or

a beacon frame or a service frame comprising the CID of the second NAN cluster and merging indication information for instructing other wireless network devices in the first NAN cluster to join the second NAN Cluster.

12. The wireless network device according to claim 11, wherein the operation of sending comprises:

placing the CID of the second NAN cluster in a destination address field of a beacon frame and placing attribute information of the second NAN Cluster in an attribute information field of the beacon frame, and sending the beacon frame as the event message;

or

placing the cluster ID of the second NAN Cluster in a destination address field of a service frame and placing attribute information of the second NAN Cluster in a frame body of the service frame, and sending the service frame as the event message.