Responding to a ranging request from a peer device in a wireless network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10075516-B2
Application number	US-201615077173-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 22, 2016
Priority date	Aug 6, 2015
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

The application layer of a first wireless device may be configured to receive a ranging request indication from a MAC layer of the first wireless device, determine whether the MAC layer should respond to the ranging request, and send a ranging response to the MAC layer with an indication of whether to respond to the ranging request. The MAC layer may be configured to decode a ranging set-up request from a second wireless device, where the ranging set-up request comprises time slots. If an auto-response is set to false, send a ranging request indication to the application layer and receive from the application layer a ranging response, and if the auto-response is set to true or the ranging response indicates the MAC layer should respond to the ranging set-up request, select a time slot, and encode a ranging response with an indication of the selected time slot.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of a first wireless device comprising memory;
an application layer coupled to the memory, wherein the application layer is configured to:
receive a ranging request indication from a media access control (MAC) layer, wherein the ranging request indication indicates a ranging request was received by the MAC layer;
determine whether the MAC layer should respond to the ranging request; and
send a ranging response to the MAC layer with an indication of whether to respond to the ranging request; and
the MAC layer coupled to the memory and the application layer, the MAC layer comprising processing circuitry configured to:
receive a ranging set-up initiation from the application layer;
set an auto-response to false if the ranging set-up initiation indicates to set the auto-response to false;
set the auto-response to true if the ranging set-up initiation indicates to set the auto-response to true;
decode a ranging set-up request from a second wireless device, wherein the ranging set-up request comprises one or more requested time slots and one or more available time slots;
if the auto-response is set to false, send the ranging request indication to the application layer and receive from the application layer the ranging response; and
if the auto-response is set to true or the ranging response indicates the MAC layer should respond to the ranging set-up request, select a time slot from either the one or more requested time slots or the one or more available time slots, and encode the ranging response with an indication of the selected time slot.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
if the time slot is selected from the one or more available time slots, wait to decode a ranging set-up confirmation from the second wireless device, wherein the ranging set-up confirmation confirms the time slot selected from the one or more available time slots; and
perform a fine timing measurement with the second wireless device in accordance with the selected time slot from the one or more available time slots.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
select the time slot from the one or more requested time slots if the first wireless device is free for one of the one or more requested time slots.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ranging set-up initiation further comprises one or more response conditions to be used by the MAC layer to filter the ranging request.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
reject the ranging request if the one or more response conditions are not met by the ranging request.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the one or more response conditions comprises MAC addresses, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
reject the ranging request if a MAC address of the ranging request is not included in the one or more response conditions as an acceptable MAC address.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
encode a second ranging response with an indication that the ranging response is deferred, if the auto-response is set to true.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the application layer is further configured to:
prompt a user for whether to respond to the ranging request;
receive input from the user; and
determine whether the MAC layer should respond to the ranging request based on the input from the user.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is part of a neighbor area network (NAN) engine.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the ranging request further comprises a service identification (ID) that identifies a fine timing measurement service of the NAN engine.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive a ranging report frame from the second wireless device, the ranging report indicating a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second wireless device is a peer of the first wireless device.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first wireless device and the second wireless device are each one from a following group: a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) device, a NAN 2 device, a NAN ranging device, a wireless device configured to operate in accordance with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, an IEEE 802.11 station, an IEEE 802.11 access point, a wireless device to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.llax, and a wireless device to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.llay.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprises transceiver circuitry coupled to the memory.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the memory is configured to store the ranging request.

17. A method performed by a first wireless device, the method comprising:
a media access control (MAC) layer receiving a ranging set-up initiation from an application layer;
the MAC layer setting an auto-response to false if the ranging set-up initiation indicates to set the auto-response to false;
the MAC layer setting the auto-response to true if the ranging set-up initiation indicates to set the auto-response to true;
the MAC layer decoding a ranging set-up request from a second wireless device, wherein the ranging set-up request comprises one or more requested time slots and one or more available time slots;
if the auto-response is set to false, the MAC layer sending a ranging request indication to the application layer,
the application layer receiving the ranging request indication from the MAC, wherein the ranging request indication indicates a ranging request was received by the MAC layer,
the application layer determining whether the MAC layer should respond to the ranging request,
the application layer sending a ranging response to the MAC layer with an indication of whether to respond to the ranging request, and
the MAC layer receiving from the application layer the ranging response;
if the auto-response is set to true or the ranging response indicates the MAC layer should respond to the ranging set-up request, the MAC layer selecting a time slot from either the one or more requested time slots or the one or more available time slots, and encoding the ranging response with an indication of the selected time slot.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
if the time slot is selected from the one or more available time slots, the MAC layer waiting to decode a ranging set-up confirmation from the second wireless device, wherein the ranging set-up confirmation confirms the time slot selected from the one or more available time slots; and
the MAC layer performing a fine timing measurement with the second wireless device in accordance with the selected time slot from the one or more available time slots.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors, the instructions to configure the one or more processors to cause:
an application layer of a first wireless device to receive a ranging request indication from a media access control (MAC) layer of the first wireless device, wherein the ranging request indication indicates a ranging request was received by the MAC layer;
the application layer to determin

Assignees

• Intel Ip Corp

Inventors

• Qi Emily H
• Segev Jonathan

Classifications

• H04W4/023

  using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds · CPC title

• H04L67/104 Primary

  Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks · CPC title

• G01S11/08

  using synchronised clocks · CPC title

• G01S13/74

  Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems · CPC title

• H04W4/21

  for social networking applications · CPC title