Enabling wireless clients for low-power operation when clients require control messages from external sources for communication

A non-transitory machine readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions in a wireless client, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said wireless client causes said wireless client to perform the actions of:

• determining an interval between successive ones of a sequence of control messages transmitted by an access point on a wireless medium, said access point being designed to transmit control messages periodically to wireless clients on a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) wherein said interval is determined based on monitoring said WLAN for said sequence of control messages;
• computing at least some future time instances at which said access point is expected to start transmissions of corresponding control messages, wherein said wireless client computes said future time instances based on an interval between successive ones of said monitored sequence of control messages;
• operating in a power-save mode in which said wireless client is in a power-ON state in some intervals and in a power-OFF state in other intervals, wherein said wireless client is enabled to receive said control messages only in said power-ON state, but not said power-OFF state;
• and
• ensuring that said wireless client is in said power-ON state in corresponding time intervals encompassing start and end of each transmission at said at least some future time instances, said wireless client thereby enabled to receive said control messages.

A wireless client comprising:

• a processor;
• an antenna;
• a transmit block to receive data values from said processor and to generate corresponding modulated radio frequency (RF) signals for transmission, on a wireless medium, via said antenna;
• a receive block to receive, on said wireless medium, RF signals bearing data via said antenna, and to extract said data by demodulating said RF signals, said receive block to provide said data to said processor,
• wherein said processor is operable to:
• determine an interval between successive ones of a sequence of control messages transmitted by an access point on a wireless medium, said access point being designed to transmit control messages periodically to wireless clients on a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) wherein said interval is determined based on monitoring said WLAN for said sequence of control messages;
• compute at least some future time instances at which said access point is expected to start transmissions of corresponding control messages, wherein said wireless client computes said future time instances based on an interval between successive ones of said monitored sequence of control messages;
• operate said wireless client in a power-save mode in which said wireless client is in a power-ON state in some intervals and in a power-OFF state in other intervals, wherein said wireless client is enabled to receive said control messages only in said power-ON state, but not said power-OFF state;
• and
• ensure that said wireless client is in said power-ON state in corresponding time intervals encompassing start and end of each transmission at said at least some future time instances, thereby enabling said wireless client to receive at least some of said control messages.