Systems and methods for establishing a personal basic service set (PBSS) over a wireless network to facilitate peer-to-peer group communication

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10091625-B2
Application number	US-201414496903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2014
Priority date	Sep 25, 2014
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

Certain embodiments herein relate to establishing a personal basic service set (PBSS) before negotiating formation of a peer-to-peer group. A device may discover candidate devices on a wireless network (e.g., operating in the sixty (60) Gigahertz (GHz) range), and may select a target device among the candidate devices with which to engage for establishing the PBSS and forming the peer-to-peer group. A time limit may be implemented for forming the peer-to-peer group, after which time the device or the target device may disengage and discover other devices with which they may engage to form a peer-to-peer group using a PBSS. Devices may conserve power during communication of peer-to-peer messages by virtue of using a PBSS to facilitate the peer-to-peer group formation, among other benefits.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a modulator;
a demodulator;
at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive, during a first discovery, respective information about one or more candidate devices, the respective information comprising a respective identifier of the candidate devices, a direction of the one or more candidate devices, and a respective capability information of the one or more candidate devices;
determine a target device of the one or more candidate devices identified during the first discovery with which to engage to establish a personal basic service set (PBSS) based on the respective information of the one or more candidate devices, to facilitate formation of a peer-to-peer group comprising the device and the target device;
beamforming in a direction of the target device;
send, during a second discovery, a directional unicast beacon to the target device based at least in part on the beamforming, wherein an association beamforming training (ABFT) responder field of the directional unicast beacon comprises the identifier of the target device, wherein the directional unicast beacon indicates a request that the target device engage the device to establish the PBSS;
receive an acknowledgement from the target device, the acknowledgement comprising an indication that the target device has engaged with the device to establish the PBSS;
establish the PBSS to facilitate formation of the peer-to-peer group; and
send, at a beacon time interval using the PBSS, one or more messages for forming the peer-to-peer group with the target device.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more messages comprise one or more first messages, and wherein the at least one processor is further to:
determine that the device is a PBSS control point (PCP) based at least in part on respective capabilities of the device and the target device;
wherein when establishing the PBSS, the at least one processor is further to:
send at least one non-discovery beacon to the target device, the at least one non-discovery beacon comprising one or more second messages associated with formation of the peer-to-peer group with the target device; and
after sending the at least one non-discovery beacon, receive at least one response from the target device, the at least one response comprising (i) an indication that the target device has joined the PBSS and (ii) one or more third messages associated with formation of the peer-to-peer group with the device.

3. The device of claim 1 , the at least one processor further is to:
determine that the peer-to-peer group has been formed based at least in part on the one or more messages for forming the peer-to-peer group; and
determine that the device or the target device is a group owner of the peer-to-peer group.

4. The device of claim 1 , the at least one processor further to:
send one or more discovery beacons in a plurality of directions to the one or more candidate devices; and
in response to sending the one or more discovery beacons, receive one or more respective ABFT responses to the one or more discovery beacons, the one or more ABFT responses comprising the respective information.

5. The device of claim 1 , the at least one processor further to:
after receiving the acknowledgement from the target device, send a probe request to the target device, the probe request comprising first information associated with the device;
receive a probe response from the target device, the probe response comprising second information associated with the target device; and
determine a PCP for creating the PBSS, the determination of the PCP based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

6. The device of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one radio; and
at least one memory.

7. The device of claim 6 , further comprising:
at least one antenna.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the target device comprises a first target device, wherein the at least one processor is further to:
determine a time limit for forming the peer-to-peer group;
after determining that the time limit has been reached:
disengage with the target device; and
determine a second target device of the one or more candidate devices with which to engage for establishing the PBSS to facilitate forming the peer-to-peer group.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein when determining the target device, the at least one processor is further to:
receive a selection of the target device from a user or determine the target device based at least in part on a predetermined configuration.

10. A method comprising:
receiving, by a first device during a first discovery, respective information about one or more candidate devices, the respective information comprising a respective identifier of the candidate devices, a direction of the one or more candidate devices, and a respective capability information of the one or more candidate devices;
determining, by the first device, a target device of the one or more candidate devices identified during the first discovery with which to engage to establish a personal basic service set (PBSS) based on the respective information of the one or more candidate devices, to facilitate formation of a peer-to-peer group comprising the first device and the target device;
beamforming, by the first device, in a direction of the target device;
sending, by the first device during a second discovery, a directional unicast beacon to the target device based at least in part on the beamforming, wherein an association beamforming training (ABFT) responder field of the directional unicast beacon comprises the identifier of the target device, wherein the directional unicast beacon indicates a request that the target device engage the first device to establish the PBSS;
receiving, by the first device, an acknowledgement from the target device, the acknowledgement comprising an indication that the target device has engaged with the first device to establish the PBSS;
establishing, by the first device, the PBSS to facilitate formation of the peer-to-peer group; and
sending, by the first device, at a beacon time interval using the PBSS, one or more messages for forming the peer-to-peer group with the target device.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining, by the first device, that the first device is a PBSS control point (PCP) based at least in part on respective capabilities of the first device and the target device;
wherein establishing the PBSS comprises:
sending at least one non-discovery beacon to the target device, the at least one non-discovery beacon comprising one or more second messages associated with formation of the peer-to-peer group with the target device; and
after sending the at least one non-discovery beacon, receiving at least one response from the target device, the at least one response comprising (i) an indication that the target device has joined the PBSS and (ii) one or more third messages associated with formation of the peer-to-peer group with the first device.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining, by the first device, that the peer-to-peer group has been formed based at least in part on the one or more messages for forming the peer-to-peer group; and
determining, by the first device, that the first device or the target device is a group owner of the peer-to-peer group.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
sending, by the first device, one or more discovery beacons in a plurality of directions to the one or more candidate devices; and
in response to sending the one or mo

Assignees

• Levy Elad
• Trainin Solomon
• Glik Michael
• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Levy Elad
• Trainin Solomon
• Glik Michael

Classifications

• H04W76/14

  Direct-mode setup · CPC title

• Y02D70/22

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02D70/144

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02D70/162

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H04L67/1068

  Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers · CPC title