Wake-up radio assisted WLAN power saving technologies

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10484941-B2
Application number	US-201715631351-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2017
Priority date	Jul 25, 2016
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

A dual-radio AP including both a high-power (e.g., Wi-Fi) radio and a low-power (e.g., BLE) radio may support an assisted wakeup service for a power-limited dual-radio mobile device (STA). The power-limited STA may register with the AP for the assisted wakeup service, and may then disable its Wi-Fi radio (or otherwise initiate a lower-power mode). The power-limited STA may receive a BLE communication indicating the AP has pending Wi-Fi transmissions or updates applicable to the power-limited STA. In response, the power-limited STA may turn on its Wi-Fi radio and receive the pending transmissions or updates from the AP. If an AP does not include a low-power radio, then a high-power/low-power dual-radio STA that is not power-limited may serve as an assisted wakeup service proxy. The proxy may scan and trace the Wi-Fi beacons from the AP, and generate the BLE communication to the power-limited STA on behalf of the AP.

First claim

We claim:

1. A wireless communication device, comprising:
a high-power communication module configured to communicate according to a first communication protocol;
a low-power communication module configured to communicate according to a second, different communication protocol; and
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the high-power communication module and the low-power communication module, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute software instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:
receive from an access point a first beacon according to the first communication protocol, wherein the first beacon indicates that the access point is capable of including in a low-power update (LPU) message, according to the second communication protocol, an indication that the access point has data available to send to the wireless communication device according to the first communication protocol;
after receiving the first beacon, transition the high-power communication module to an inactive state;
receive the LPU message via the low-power communication module, according to the second communication protocol, while the high-power communication module is in an inactive state;
determine that the LPU message comprises a traffic indication map (TIM) indicating that the access point has data available to send to the wireless communication device according to the first communication protocol;
in response to the determining, transition the high-power communication module from the inactive state to an active state; and
receive a data message including the data via the high-power communication module while the high-power communication module is in the active state.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the first communication protocol is a Wi-Fi protocol, and the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the LPU message is received from the access point.

4. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the LPU message is received from a proxy device that is not the access point.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the low-power communication module is configured to periodically transition from an inactive state to an active state to scan for the LPU message.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the low-power communication module is configured to transmit an advertisement message, wherein the LPU message is responsive to the advertisement message.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute software instructions to further cause the wireless communication device to:
transition the low-power communication module from an inactive state to an active state, while the high-power communication module is in the inactive state;
responsive to the transitioning, transmit an advertisement message via the low-power communication module, according to the second communication protocol;
determine whether a scan request message was received via the low-power communication module, responsive to the advertisement message, within a predetermined amount of time following the transmitting the advertisement message;
in response to determining that the scan request message was not received within the predetermined amount of time:
transition the low-power communication module from the active state to the inactive state; and

in response to determining that the scan request message was received within the predetermined amount of time:
transmit a scan response message via the low-power communication module, indicating that the wireless communication device will scan for further communication according to the second communication protocol, wherein the LPU message is responsive to the scan response message.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute software instructions to further cause the wireless communication device to:
instruct the access point to include in the LPU message according to the second communication protocol, an indication that the access point has data available to send to the wireless communication device according to the first communication protocol; and
cause the high-power communication module to enter the inactive state after the instructing.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute software instructions to further cause the wireless communication device to:
receive from the access point a beacon according to the first communication protocol, wherein the beacon indicates that the access point is capable of including in the LPU message, according to the second communication protocol, an indication that the access point has data available to send to the wireless communication device according to the first communication protocol.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software instructions executable by a processor of a wireless communication device to cause the wireless communication device to:
receive from an access point, via a high-power communication module of the wireless communication device, a first beacon according to a high-power communication protocol, wherein the first beacon indicates that the access point is capable of including in a low-power update (LPU) message, according to a low-power communication protocol, an indication that the access point has data available to send to the wireless communication device according to the high-power communication protocol;
after receiving the first beacon, transition the high-power communication module to an inactive state;
receive the LPU message via the low-power communication module of the wireless communication device, according to the low-power communication protocol, while the high-power communication module of the wireless communication device is in the inactive state;
determine that the LPU message comprises a traffic indication map (TIM) indicating that the access point has data available to send to the wireless communication device according to the high-power communication protocol;
in response to the determining, transition the high-power communication module from the inactive state to an active state; and
receive a data message including the data via the high-power communication module while the high-power communication module is in the active state.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the LPU message is received from the access point.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the LPU message is received from a proxy device that is not the access point.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the software instructions are further executable to cause the wireless communication device to:
transition the low-power communication module from an inactive state to an active state, while the high-power communication module is in the inactive state;
responsive to the transitioning, transmit an advertisement message via the low-power communication module, according to the low-power communication protocol;
determine whether a scan request message was received via the low-power communication module, responsive to the advertisement message, within a predetermined amount of time following the transmitting the advertisement message;
in response to determining that the scan request message was not received within the predetermined amount of time:
transition the low-power communication module from the active s

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Liu Yong
• Hartman Christiaan A
• Lehmann Siegfried
• Yong Su Khiong
• Li Guoqing

Classifications

• H04W88/10

  adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points · CPC title

• H04W48/12

  using downlink control channel · CPC title

• H04W52/0216 Primary

  using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame · CPC title

• H04L69/18

  Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title