US 8,553,605 B2 · Packet identification for power saving in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A network coordinator can assign an association identifier (AID) and/or a group identifier (GID) to identify a client station to which a packet is to be transmitted and to enable the client station to determine whether to receive an incoming packet. The network coordinator can randomly generate a base AID that is representative of the network coordinator and can assign at least one AID to client stations to minimize the probability of client stations associated with proximate network coordinators being assigned the same AIDs. The network coordinator can also randomly assign at least one GID to a group of client stations to minimize the probability of groups of client stations associated with the proximate network coordinators being assigned the same GID. The client station can analyze indications of a received AID and/or received GID to determine whether to receive the packet or whether to switch to an inactive power state.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

randomly generating, at a first network coordinator of a wireless communication network, a base association identifier that is representative of the first network coordinator based on one or more association identifier constraints;
determining, at the first network coordinator, to associate with a client device of the wireless communication network;
selecting, at the first network coordinator, at least one association identifier for the client device based, at least in part, on the base association identifier;
assigning the at least one association identifier to represent the client device;
and
in response to determining to transmit a packet to the client device, inserting at least a predefined number of bits of a first of the at least one association identifier in the packet to identify the client device and inserting, in the packet, a group identifier that indicates that the packet is destined for a single client device.

3 more elements

A wireless network device of a wireless communication network comprising:

a processor;
a network interface coupled to the processor;
an association identifier (AID) and group identifier (GID) processing unit coupled to the network interface and to the processor, the AID/GID processing unit operable to:
randomly generate a base association identifier that is representative of the wireless network device based on one or more association identifier constraints;
assign at least one association identifier to a client device of the wireless communication network connected to the wireless network device based, at least in part, on the base association identifier;
randomly generate at least one group identifier for the client device based, at least in part, on one or more group identifier constraints;
assign the at least one group identifier to the client device;
and in response to determining to transmit a packet to the client device, insert, in the packet to identify the client device, at least a predefined number of bits of one of the at least one association identifier assigned to the client device and one of the at least one group identifier assigned to the client device, wherein the one of the at least one group identifier assigned to the client device indicates that the packet is destined for a single client device.

5 more elements

One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media, having instructions stored therein, which, when executed by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform operations that comprise:

randomly generating, at a network coordinator, a base association identifier that is representative of the network coordinator based on one or more association identifier constraints;
assigning at least one association identifier to a client device connected to the network coordinator based, at least in part, on the base association identifier;
randomly generating at least one group identifier for the client device based, at least in part, on one or more group identifier constraints;
assigning the at least one group identifier to the client device;
and in response to determining to transmit a packet to the client device, inserting, in the packet to identify the client device, at least a predefined number of bits of one of the at least one association identifier assigned to the client device and one of the at least one group identifier assigned to the client device, wherein the one of the at least one group identifier assigned to the client device indicates that the packet is destined for a single client device.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Packet identification for power saving in wireless communication networks

Life of this patent

Packet identification for power saving in wireless communication networks

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20