Visible light communications personal area network controller and access point systems and methods
AssigneeExtreme Networks, Inc.
InventorsJeelan Poola, Somesh Agrawal, Prasad K, Sundaresan Sundaram
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Abstract
A network, a Visible Light Communications controller (120), and a method relate to a network architecture splitting frame processing functionality between Light Fidelity Access Points (130) and the Visible Light Communications controller or a virtualized controller. In such configurations, the Light Fidelity Access Points are so-called thin devices that may be widely deployed through an infrastructure to concurrently provide illumination and network access via Visible Light Communications protocols such as IEEE 802.15.7 or variants thereof.
Claims20
A method for providing network connectivity using a wireless local area network and visible light communications, the method comprising:
- identifying, at a network controller, that a device connected to a wireless local area network (WLAN) domain is also connected to a visible light communications (VLC) domain;
- receiving downlink data packets at the device from a server using the VLC domain;
- determining that the connection of the device to the VLC domain has decreased light connection;
- ending the connection of the device to the VLC domain;
- and
- subsequent to ending the connection of the device to the VLC domain, receiving subsequent downlink data packets from the server using the WLAN domain.
A system for providing network connectivity using a wireless local area network and visible light communications, the system comprising:
- a device configured to:
- receive downlink data packets from a server using a visible light communications (VLC) domain;
- determine that the connection to the VLC domain has decreased light connection;
- end the connection to the VLC domain;
- and
- subsequent to ending the connection of the device to the VLC domain, receive subsequent downlink data packets from the server using a wireless local area network (WLAN) domain;
- and
- a network controller configured to identify that the device connected to the WLAN domain is also connected to the VLC domain.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.