System and method for hibernation mode for beaconing devices

A wireless device that saves power by entering at least one of a hibernation or sleep mode, comprising:

• an antenna for sending and receiving messages over a wireless medium;
• a receiver coupled to the antenna to receive a message transmitted over the wireless medium;
• a transmitter coupled to the antenna to transmit messages over the wireless medium;
• a beacon processing module to perform beacon processing for the device;
• a processor to divide time into a sequence of at least one superframe having at least one beacon period and operatively coupled to:
• the transmitter and the receiver to send and receive data and respectively send and receive beacon frames announcing the intention of the device to hibernate and beacon frames indicating that other devices have pending data for the device,
• the beacon processing module to:
• process Hibernation Information Elements of received beacon frames of other devices and maintain therefrom a hibernation table of characteristics of the other devices;
• keep the device in an active mode if a received beacon announces pending data for the device;
• announce the intention of the device to enter a hibernation mode at a start time and for a sleep period;
• and
• periodically wake up the device when the device is hibernating to listen for beacons of other devices and to put the device back into a hibernation mode if other devices have indicated no pending traffic for the hibernating device in their beacons.