Power management methods and systems

• US 7,848,277 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2006
• Issued: 12/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Institute For Information Industry
• Original Assignee: Institute For Information Industry
• Inventors: Hsu, Ching-Chi, Chou, Zi-Tsan
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan; Mehmood B
• Application Number:
  US11/359,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20070129093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,748 Days
• Field of Search: 455/13.3, 455/574, 455/522, 455/41.2, 370/449, 370/346, 370/318
• US Class Current: 370/318
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• 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

Power management methods and systems for a first station and a second station in an ad-hoc network. Each station enters the normal beacon interval (NBI) every certain number of beacon intervals (BIs) for data transmission, a Listen Interval (LI). When a station switches to a power-saving mode, it first determines the number of “beacon-window-only beacon intervals (BBIs)” within a LI. In addition, each station broadcasts a beacon frame comprising at least information about “the remaining number of BIs (RBI)” within a beacon window. Once the first station correctly receives the beacon frame from the second station, the first station predicts the NBI of the second station according to the RBI. At the NBI of the second station, the first station transmits data frames to the second station.

Claims

1. A power management method for use in a first station and a second station in an ad hoc wireless local area network, the method comprising:

the second station entering a NBI (Normal Beacon Interval) every certain number of BIs (Beacon Intervals), called an LI (Listen interval), for power saving and data receptions, wherein the LI comprises one NBI, some SBI (Sleep Beacon Intervals) and some BBIs (Beacon-Window-Only Beacon Intervals), wherein the NBI comprises an AW (ATIM Window) comprising a BW (Beacon Window), where the second station transmits and the first station receives beacon frames within the BW, the first station transmits and the second station receives ATIM frames within the AW, the second station returns an ATIM ACK (acknowledgement) to the first station that transmitted the ATIM frame and the second station remains awake after the AW ends to wait for the reception of data frames when having received the ATIM frame within the AW, and the first station returns a data ACK if a data frame is received, and each of the BBIs comprises the BW, where the second station broadcasts its beacon frame within the BW of the BBIs, and enters a doze state after the end of the BW in the BBI, and remains the doze state during the whole SBI, wherein the second station is disable from receiving and transmitting frames in the doze state,

determining a number and the positions of the BBIs within the LI, wherein the number of the BBIs in the LI is no more than the half of the total number of BIs in the LI, and the positions of those respective BBIs are randomly selected, and the second station broadcasts a beacon frame within the BW of the BBIs, and enters the doze state in the BBI, wherein the second station is disabled from receiving and transmitting frames in the doze state, and the beacon frame comprises a RBI (Remaining number of BIs) representing the remaining number of BIs between the BBI where the beacon frame is transmitted and the NBI;

the first station receiving the beacon frame from the second station via the ad hoc wireless local area network, recording the RBI corresponding to the second station, predicting the NBI of the second station according to the RBI, and transmitting a data frame to the second station at the NBI of the second station via the ad hoc wireless local area network;

the second station transmitting the beacon frame comprising the LI value to the first station;

the first station reducing the RBI by 1 when one of the BI passes; and

setting the RBI as the LI value when the RBI equals 0.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the first station deleting the RBI corresponding to the beacon frame if no other beacon frame is received from the second station.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the number of SBIs (Sleep Beacon Intervals), in which the second station enters a doze state in the SBIs.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the number of the BBIs and the SBIs equals the LI value minus 1.

5. A power management system for use in an ad hoc wireless local area network, comprising:

a second station entering a NBI (Normal Beacon Interval) every certain number of BIs (Beacon Intervals) for power saving and data receptions, where an LI (Listen Interval) consists of the certain number of BIs, wherein the NBI comprises a AW (ATIM Window) comprising a BW (Beacon Window), where the second station transmits and the first station receives beacon frames within the BW, the first station transmits and the second station receives ATIM frames within the AW, the second station returns an ATIM ACK (acknowledgement) to the first station transmitting the ATIM frame and the second station remains awake after the AW ends to wait for the-reception of data frames when having received the ATIM frame within the AW, and the first station returns a data ACK if a data frame is received, the second station determining a number and the positions of BBIs (Beacon-Window-Only Beacon Intervals) within the LI, the second station broadcasting a beacon frame within the BBIs, in which the number of BBIs in the LI is no more than the half of the total number of BIs in the LI, and the positions of those respective BBIs are randomly selected, and the second station transmits the beacon frame within the BW, and enters the doze state in the BBI except during the interval of the BW, and remains the doze state during the whole SBI, wherein the second station is disabled from receiving and transmitting frames in the doze state, and the beacon frame comprises a RBI(Remaining number of BIs) representing the remaining number of BIs between the BBI where the beacon frame is transmitted and the NBI; and

a first station receiving the beacon frame from the second station via the ad hoc wireless local area network, recording the RBI corresponding to the second station, predicting the NBI of the second station according to the RBI, and transmitting a data frame to the second station at the NBI of the second station via the ad hoc wireless local area network,

wherein the second station further transmits the beacon frame comprising the LI value to the first station, the first station reduces the RBI by 1 when one of the BI passes, and the RBI is set as the LI value when the RBI equals 0.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the first station further deletes the RBI corresponding to the beacon frame if no other beacon frame is received from the second station.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the second station further determines the number of SBIs (Sleep Beacon Intervals), in which the second station enters a doze state in the SBIs.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the number of the BBIs and the SBIs equals the LI value minus 1.

9. A power management method for use in a second station in an ad hoc wireless local area network, the method comprising:

the second station entering a NBI (Normal Beacon Interval) every certain number of BIs (Beacon Intervals) for power saving and data receptions, a LI (Listen Interval) comprising one NBI, some SBI (Sleep Beacon Intervals) and some BBIs (Beacon-Window-Only Beacon Intervals), wherein the NBI comprises an AW (ATIM Window) comprising a BW (Beacon Window), where the second station transmits and the first station receives beacon frames within the BW, the first station transmits and the second station receives ATIM frames within the AW, the second station returns an ATIM ACK (acknowledgement) to the first station transmitting the ATIM frame and the second station remains awake after the AW ends to wait for the reception of data frames when have received the ATIM frame within the AW, and the first station returns a data ACK if a data frame is received, and each of the BBIs comprises the BW, where the second station broadcasts its beacon frame within the BW of the BBIs, and enters a doze state after the end of BW in the BBI, and remains the doze state during the whole SBI, wherein the second station is disable from receiving and transmitting frames in the doze state,

determining a number and the positions of the BBIs (Beacon-Window-Only Beacon Intervals) within the LI, wherein the number of BBIs in the LI is no more than the half of the total number of BIs in the LI, and the positions of those respective BBIs are randomly selected, and the second station broadcasts a beacon frame within the BW of the BBIs, and enters the doze state after the end of BW in the BBI, wherein the second station is disabled from receiving and transmitting frames in the doze state, and the beacon frame comprises a RBI (Remaining number of BIs) representing the remaining number of BIs between the BBI where the beacon frame is transmitted and the NBI;

a first station receiving the beacon frame from the second station via the ad hoc wireless local area network, recording the RBI corresponding to the second station, predicting the NBI of the second station according to the RBI, and transmitting a data frame to the second station at the NBI of the second station via the ad hoc wireless local area network;

the second station transmitting the beacon frame comprising the LI value to the first station;

the first station reducing the RBI by 1 when one of the BI passes; and

setting the RBI as the LI value when the RBI equals 0.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

the first station receiving the beacon frame from the second station;

predicting the NBI of the second station according to the RBI; and

transmitting the data frame to the second station at the NBI of the second station.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising determining the number of SBIs (Sleep Beacon Intervals), in which the second station enters a doze state in the SBIs.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the number of the BBIs and the SBIs equals the LI value minus 1.