# US 7,610,053 B2 · Method and apparatus for dormant mode support with paging

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- Number: US 7,610,053 B2
- Document ID: US7610053B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 11/336,236
- Filed: 2006-01-19
- Published: 2006-07-13
- Granted: 2009-10-27
- Earliest claimed: 2002-01-28
- Assignees: Ntt Docomo, Inc.
- Inventors: Daichi Funato; Fujio Watanabe; Toshio Miki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7610053B2

## CPC

- H04W 68/00: User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
- H04W 48/20: Selecting an access point
- H04W 48/16: Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
- H04W 52/0216: {using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame}
- H04W 52/0219: {where the power saving management affects multiple terminals}
- H04W 64/00: Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
- H04W 76/20: Manipulation of established connections
- H04W 80/04: Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
- H04W 84/12: WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
- H04W 88/08: Access point devices
- Y02D 30/70: in wireless communication networks
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- Y02D: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE

## 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

### Claim 1

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, wherein the WLAN comprises a plurality of access points, comprising:
forming a plurality of access point groups, wherein each of the plurality of access point groups is formed from a subset of the plurality of access points that is organized as a tree structure, and each access point group defining a paging area having a unique paging area identification number that is broadcasted by each access point in the access group throughout the access point group;
establishing a protocol for communications among the plurality of access points; and
adding operations to the protocol for manipulating the tree structure of each access point group, wherein the operations comprise a first access point sending a request to a second access point to cause the second access point to change a list that includes all of slave access points associated with the second access point.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein forming the plurality of access point groups comprises the steps of:
assigning at least one role to each of the access points in the access point group, wherein the roles comprise master and slave; and
associating each access point assigned the master role with at least one access point assigned the slave role and associating each access point assigned the slave role with exactly one access point assigned the master role.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protocol established for communications among the plurality of access points is an IEEE Inter Access Point Protocol.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein establishing a protocol for manipulating access point groups comprises modifying and providing an IEEE Inter Access Point Protocol.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 4, wherein modifying the IEEE Inter Access Point Protocol comprises adding a join operation, a leave operation, a group merge operation, a group prune operation and a devolution operation.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein each access point group comprises exactly one root access point, the root access point associated with one or more slave access points, the operations for manipulating the tree structure comprising a devolution operation, in which the root access point delegates each of its slave access points as a new root access point for a new access point group.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein each access point group comprises exactly one root access point, the root access point maintaining a list of all the access points in the access point group to which the root access point belongs.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, as claimed in claim 1, wherein each access point group comprises one or more master access points, each master access point maintaining a list of all the access points that depend from the master access point.

### Claim 9

A method for establishing a plurality of paging areas in a WLAN, wherein the WLAN enables dormant mode with paging and comprises a plurality of access points, comprising:
forming a plurality of access point groups, wherein each of the plurality of access point groups is formed from a subset of the plurality of access points, has a tree structured distributed grouping model as the structure, and defines a paging area, comprising:
assigning at least one role to each of the access points in the access point group, wherein the roles comprise master and slave; and
associating each access point assigned the master role with at least one access point assigned the slave role and associating each access point assigned the slave role with exactly one access point assigned the master role;
the protocol established for communications among the plurality of access points is an IEEE Inter Access Point-Protocol;
establishing a protocol for manipulating access point groups comprises modifying the IEEE Inter Access Point Protocol by adding a join operation, a leave operation, a group merge operation, a group prune operation and a devolution operation;
assigning each of the plurality of access point groups a unique paging area identification number; and
having each of the access points in each of the plurality of access point groups broadcast the paging area identification number associated with each access point's access point group throughout each access point's access point group.