CN110062370B

CN110062370B - Techniques to manage connection capability information in a wireless communication system

Info

Publication number: CN110062370B
Application number: CN201811245844.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 齐红; 朴珉英
Original assignee: Intel Corp
Current assignee: Intel Corp
Priority date: 2013-05-15
Filing date: 2013-12-20
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Anticipated expiration: 2033-12-20
Also published as: WO2014185954A1; CN110062370A; EP2997786A4; CN104488349A; EP2997786A1

Abstract

The subject of the invention is "technology for a wireless communication system to manage connection capability information". In various embodiments, for example, an apparatus may comprise: a processor circuit; a communication component executed by a processor circuit to perform Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) service discovery and receive NAN Information Elements (IEs) during NAN service discovery, the NAN IEs including a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device; and a determination component executed by the processor circuit to determine whether to initiate a connection with the remote device based on the connection capability bitmap field. Other embodiments are also described and claimed herein.

Description

Techniques to manage connection capability information in a wireless communication system

Related case

This application claims priority to us provisional patent application 61/823800, filed on 5/15/2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

Embodiments described herein relate generally to communication over a wireless network. More specifically, embodiments described herein relate generally to transferring connection capabilities during wireless network service discovery operations.

Background

In a wireless communication system, a device may utilize service discovery techniques in order to determine services provided by other devices in the system. To allow discovery of the services it provides, a particular device may periodically advertise service information. However, such periodic advertising can cause significant power and traffic loads. To address this issue, techniques for device-to-device low power background service discovery may be utilized. Such techniques may allow devices to enable and/or maintain awareness of nearby devices and services provided by those devices without consuming significant amounts of power or generating excessive traffic.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an operating environment.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a first attribute format.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of fields of a first attribute format.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a second attribute format.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a third attribute format.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a fourth attribute format.

Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a first device and an embodiment of a first system.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a first logic flow.

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a second device and an embodiment of a second system.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a second logic flow.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a storage medium.

Fig. 12 illustrates an embodiment of an apparatus.

Detailed Description

Techniques for managing connection capability information for a wireless communication system are described herein. In various embodiments, for example, an apparatus may comprise: a processor circuit; a communication component executed by a processor circuit to perform Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) service discovery and receive NAN Information Elements (IEs) during NAN service discovery, the NAN IEs including a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device; and a determination component executed by the processor circuit to determine whether to initiate a connection with the remote device based on the connection capability bitmap field. Other embodiments are also described and claimed herein.

Various embodiments are generally directed to advanced wireless communication systems. Some embodiments are directed specifically to wireless networks implementing one or more Wi-Fi alliance (WFA) standards. In some embodiments, for example, the wireless network may operate in accordance with the WFA Wi-Fi direct standard, version 2010. In various embodiments, Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) techniques may be implemented for wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi direct networking, to allow device-to-device low power background service discovery. In some embodiments, an improved NAN service discovery scheme may be implemented to allow for exchanging device connection capabilities during NAN service discovery. However, the embodiments are not limited to these examples.

The present disclosure is not limited to Wi-Fi direct-related standards, but may also be applied to Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), such as WLANs implementing one or more Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (sometimes collectively referred to as Wi-Fi). The present disclosure is also applicable to Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), and 3G or 4G wireless standards (including successors and variations) related to wireless devices, user equipment, or network equipment included in WWANs. Examples of 3G or 4G wireless standards may include, but are not limited to, any of the IEEE 802.16m and 802.16p standards, the third generation partnership project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-advanced (LTE-a) standards, and the international mobile telecommunications advanced (IMT-ADV) standard, including revisions, successors, and variants thereof. Other suitable examples include, but are not limited to, global system for mobile communications (GSM)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) technology, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)/High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) or WiMAX II technology, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 system technology (e.g., CDMA2000 lxRTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, CDMA EV-DV, etc.), high performance radio metropolitan area network (HIPERMAN) technology as defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Broadband Radio Access Network (BRAN), wireless broadband (WiBro) technology, GSM (GSM/GPRS) technology of a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology, high speed Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) packet Access (HSOPA) technology, High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) system technology, 3GPP Release 8-12 of LTE/System Architecture Evolution (SAE), and so on. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the Wi-Fi direct network may operate according to standards and/or techniques currently under development by the WFA neighbor aware networking task group. For example, in some embodiments, devices in a Wi-Fi direct network may perform service discovery according to neighbor aware networking technologies that conform to standards adopted by the WFA neighbor aware networking task group ("NAN task group"). According to the current solution provided by the NAN task group, once a NAN device has identified a desired service, no mechanism is specified to allow other actions to be performed on the part of the device. An attribute is disclosed herein that may address this deficiency by allowing NAN devices to obtain connection capability information during service discovery and determine how to connect to other devices based on such connection capability information. In various embodiments, for example, a NAN device in a Wi-Fi direct network may identify a desired service on a remote device based on one or more attributes received from the remote device, and determine how to connect to the remote device based on connection capability information included in the one or more attributes. Embodiments are not limited to this example.

The detailed description may be presented in terms of procedures executed on a computer or network of computers by generally referring to symbols and terms used herein. These process descriptions and representations are used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art.

A process is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be noted, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to those quantities.

Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms such as adding or comparing, which are often associated with mental operations performed by an operator. In most cases, such capabilities of the operator are not necessary or desirable in any of the operations described herein that form part of one or more embodiments. Instead, the operation is a machine operation. Useful machines for performing the operations of the various embodiments include general purpose digital computers or similar devices.

Various embodiments are also directed to an apparatus or system for performing these operations. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The processes described herein are not inherently related to a particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a number of these machines will appear from the description given.

Reference is now made to the figures. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. However, it is understood that novel embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate a description thereof. The intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the subject matter described.

FIG. 1 illustrates an operating environment 100 such as may represent various embodiments. As shown in fig. 1, wireless device 102 may generate NAN Information Element (IE) 104. In some embodiments, the wireless device 102 may comprise a NAN-enabled wireless communication device, such as a NAN-enabled tablet, a laptop or desktop computing device, a smartphone, a cellular telephone, an electronic reading device, a personal digital assistant, or other electronic device. In an example embodiment, the wireless device 102 may comprise an Ultrabook cell device produced by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. In various embodiments, the NAN IE 104 may include information to be provided to one or more remote devices in connection with NAN service discovery. For example, in some embodiments, the NAN IE 104 may include information about the services provided by the wireless device 102 and may be generated and provided to the remote wireless device 106 in connection with NAN service discovery on the part of the remote wireless device 106. In various embodiments, the wireless device 106 may comprise another NAN-capable wireless communication device, such as any of the examples previously mentioned with respect to the wireless device 102. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In some embodiments, NAN IE 104 may include connection capability attribute 108. The connection capability attribute 108 may include a data element for conveying information related to the connection capabilities of the wireless device 102. In various embodiments, wireless device 102 may be used to transmit NAN IEs 104 to wireless device 106 when wireless device 106 initiates NAN service discovery. The wireless device 106 may be used to determine whether the wireless device 102 provides any services that the wireless device 106 wants to obtain based on the NAN IE 104. In some embodiments, the information that has been received in the connection capability attribute 108 may allow the wireless device 106 to determine an appropriate way to connect with the wireless device 102 after NAN service discovery when the wireless device 102 does provide one or more desired services. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 2 illustrates a connection capability attribute 200, such as may include an example of the connection capability attribute 108 of FIG. 1. For example, a NAN device in a Wi-Fi direct network may, in some embodiments, generate a NAN Information Element (IE) including the connection capability attribute 200 during NAN service discovery. As shown in fig. 2, the connection capability attribute 200 may include an attribute ID field 202, a length field 204, and a connection capability bitmap field 206. In various embodiments, the attribute ID field 202 may include 1 octet, the length field 204 may include 2 octets, and the connection capability bitmap field 206 may include 2 octets. In some embodiments, the attribute ID field 202 may include a value indicating that the attribute is a connection capability attribute. In various embodiments, the length field 204 may include a value indicating the length of the subsequent fields of the connection capability attribute 200. For example, the length field 204 may include a value indicating the length of the connection capability bitmap 206. In various embodiments, length field 204 may include a value of 2. In some embodiments, as will be discussed in more detail below, the connection capability bitmap field 206 may include a set of bits describing the connection capabilities of the device generating the connection capability attribute 200. These fields and field sizes are exemplary, and a given implementation of the connectivity capability attribute 200 may have different fields and field sizes. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Fig. 3 illustrates a connection capability bitmap field 300, such as may be included in the connection capability attribute 200 of fig. 2 for an example of the connection capability bitmap field 206. As shown in fig. 3, the connection capability bitmap field 300 may include a Wi-Fi direct subfield 302, a Wi-Fi direct services subfield 304, a TDLS subfield 306, an AP infrastructure subfield 308, a P2P operations subfield 310, and a cellular services subfield 312. In various embodiments, these subfields may each include one bit. In some embodiments, the connection capability bitmap field 300 may include one or more reserved bits 314. In various embodiments, for example, the connection capability bitmap field 300 may include 10 reserved bits 314. These sub-fields and sub-field sizes are exemplary, and a given implementation of the connection capability bitmap field 300 may have different sub-fields and sub-field sizes. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, the Wi-Fi direct subfield 302 may include a value indicating whether the device that generated the connection capability attribute 200 supports Wi-Fi direct. In various embodiments, the Wi-Fi direct subfield 302 may include a value of 1 if the device supports Wi-Fi direct and may include a value of 0 otherwise. In various embodiments, the Wi-Fi direct services subfield 304 may include a value indicating whether the device generating the connection capability attribute 200 supports Wi-Fi direct services. In various embodiments, the Wi-Fi direct services subfield 304 may include a value of 1 if the device supports Wi-Fi direct services and a value of 0 otherwise. In some embodiments, TDLS subfield 306 may include a value indicating whether the device generating connection capability attribute 200 supports Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS). In various embodiments, the TDLS subfield 306 may include a value of 1 if the device supports TDLS and may include a value of 0 otherwise. Embodiments are not limited to these example values.

In various embodiments, the AP infrastructure subfield 308 may include a value indicating whether the device generating the connection capability attribute 200 is connected to an infrastructure Access Point (AP). In various embodiments, the AP infrastructure subfield 308 may include a value of 1 if the device is connected to an infrastructure AP and may include a value of 0 otherwise. In some embodiments, the P2P operation subfield 310 may include a value indicating whether the device generating the connection capability attribute 200 is operating as a peer (P2P) device, group, or client. In various embodiments, the P2P operation subfield 310 may include a value of 1 if the device is operating as a P2P device, a P2P group, or a P2P client, and may include a value of 0 otherwise. In various embodiments, cellular service subfield 312 may include a value indicating whether the device generating connection capability attribute 200 is connected to a cellular service. In various embodiments, the cellular service subfield 312 may include a value of 1 if the device is connected to a cellular service and may include a value of 0 otherwise. Embodiments are not limited to these example values.

In some embodiments, a device receiving the connection capability attribute 200 from a second device may determine whether to obtain service from the second device based on the connection capabilities indicated by the various fields of the connection capability bitmap field 300. For example, wireless device 106 of fig. 1 may initiate a connection with wireless device 102 to obtain service from wireless device 102 based on a determination that a desired type of connection is to be made according to the capabilities of wireless device 102 of connection capability bitmap field 300. In another example, wireless device 104 may not initiate a connection with wireless device 102 based on a determination from connection capability bitmap field 300 that wireless device 102 is unable to make the desired type of connection. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In some embodiments, a device that indicates in connection capability attribute 200 that it is capable of making a particular connection may generate one or more additional information attributes to provide additional information about those capabilities. In various embodiments, the device may include one or more such additional information attributes in the same information element as the connection capability attribute 200. For example, in some embodiments, wireless device 102 of fig. 1 may generate NAN IE 104 such that it includes connection capability attribute 108 and one or more additional information attributes including additional information about the capabilities identified in connection capability attribute 108. Examples of additional information attributes that may be generated by the apparatus in various embodiments are discussed below with respect to fig. 4-6.

Fig. 4 illustrates AP infrastructure information attributes 400 that a device connected to an infrastructure AP may generate during service discovery. In various embodiments, a connection capability attribute 200 is generated indicating that a device it is connected to an infrastructure AP may include an AP infrastructure information attribute 400 in the same IE as the connection capability attribute 200. For example, a NAN device generating a NAN IE including a connection capability attribute 200 indicating that the NAN device is connected to the infrastructure AP may include an AP infrastructure information attribute 400 within the NAN IE.

As shown in fig. 4, the AP infrastructure attributes 400 may include an attribute ID field 402, a length field 404, a MAC address field 406, a country string field 408, an operation class field 410, a channel number field 412, and a time offset field 414. In some embodiments, the attribute ID field 402 may include 1 octet, the length field 404 may include 2 octets, the MAC address field 406 may include 6 octets, the country string field 408 may include 3 octets, the operation class field 410 may include 1 octet, the channel number field 412 may include 1 octet, and the time offset field 411 may include 4 octets. These fields and field sizes are exemplary, and a given implementation of AP infrastructure information attribute 400 may have different fields and field sizes. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, attribute ID field 402 may include a value indicating that the attribute is an AP infrastructure information attribute. In some embodiments, length field 404 may include a value indicating the length of a subsequent field of AP infrastructure information attribute 400. In some embodiments, the length field 404 may include a value of 15. In various embodiments, MAC address field 406 may include a Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID) of an infrastructure AP to which the device generating AP infrastructure information attribute 400 is connected. In some embodiments, the country string field 408 may include a value indicating a country code whose values in the operation class field 410 and the channel number field 412 are valid. In various embodiments, country string field 408 may include a value defined in annex J ("annex J") of IEEE Standard 802.11J-2008 for a country string attribute, such as the "dot 11 countryString" attribute. In some embodiments, the third eight-bit character of the country string 408 may include a value x04 to indicate that table J-4 of annex J is used. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In various embodiments, the operation class field 410 may include a value indicating the frequency band in which the infrastructure AP is currently operating. In some embodiments, the values defined in annex J may be used for non-directional multi-gigabit (non-DMG) connections, and the values defined in annex E of IEEE standards 802.11-2012 ("annex E") may be used for DMG connections. In some embodiments, channel number field 412 may include a value indicating the channel number on which the infrastructure AP is currently operating. In some embodiments, the value defined in annex J may be used for non-DMG connections and the value defined in annex E may be used for DMG connections. In various embodiments, the time offset field 414 may include a value that indicates a start time at which the device will operate the channel using the simultaneous operation channel identified by the channel number field 412. In some embodiments, the time offset field 414 may comprise a value expressed in 802.11 Time Units (TUs). Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

Fig. 5 illustrates P2P operational information attributes 500 that may be generated during service discovery at a device operating as a P2P device. In various embodiments, the connection capability attribute 200 is generated indicating that it may include the P2P operation information attribute 500 in the same IE as the connection capability attribute 200 in a device operating as a P2P device. For example, a NAN device generating a NAN IE including the connection capability attribute 200 indicating that the NAN device is operating as a P2P device may include the P2P operation information attribute 500 within the NAN IE.

As shown in fig. 5, the P2P operation information attribute 500 may include an attribute ID field 502, a length field 504, a P2P device role field 506, a MAC address field 508, a country string field 510, an operation class field 512, a channel number field 514, and a time offset field 516. In some embodiments, the attribute ID field 502 may include 1 octet, the length field 504 may include 2 octets, the P2P device role field 506 may include 1 octet, the MAC address field 508 may include 6 octets, the country string field 510 may include 3 octets, the operation class field 512 may include 1 octet, the channel number field 514 may include 1 octet, and the time offset field 516 may include 4 octets. These fields and field sizes are exemplary, and a given implementation of P2P operation information attribute 500 may have different fields and field sizes. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, attribute ID field 502 may include a value indicating that the attribute is a P2P operation information attribute. In some embodiments, length field 504 may include a value indicating the length of a subsequent field of P2P operation information attribute 500. In various embodiments, length field 504 may comprise a value of 15. In some embodiments, the P2P device role field 506 indicates a role for the device if operating as a P2P device. In various embodiments, the device generating the P2P operation information attribute 500 may belong to a P2P group, and the MAC address field 508 may include the MAC address of the P2P group. In other embodiments, the device generating the P2P operation information attribute 500 may operate as a P2P device, but may not belong to the P2P group, and the MAC address field 508 may include a P2P device address for the device. In some embodiments, the country string field 510 may include a value indicating a country code whose values in the operation class field 512 and the channel number field 514 are valid. In various embodiments, the country string field 510 may include a value defined in I annex J for a country string attribute, such as the "dot 11 CountryString" attribute. In some embodiments, the third eight-bit character of the country string 510 may include a value x04 to indicate that table J-4 of annex J is used. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In various embodiments where the device generating the P2P operation information attribute 500 belongs to the P2P group, the operation class field 512 may include a value indicating the frequency band in which the P2P group is currently operating. In some embodiments where the device generating the P2P operation information attribute 500 operates as a P2P device, but does not belong to the P2P group, the operation class field 512 may include a value indicating the frequency band of the P2P listening channel for the device. In some embodiments, the values defined in annex J may be used for non-directional multi-gigabit (non-DMG) connections and the values defined in annex E may be used for DMG connections. In some embodiments in which the device generating the P2P operation information attribute 500 belongs to the P2P group, the channel number class field 514 may include a value indicating the channel number at which the P2P group is currently operating. In various embodiments in which the device generating the P2P operation information attribute 500 operates as a P2P device, but does not belong to the P2P group, the channel number field 514 may include a value indicating the channel number of the P2P listening channel for the device. In some embodiments, the value defined in annex J may be used for non-DMG connections and the value defined in annex E may be used for DMG connections. In various embodiments, time offset field 516 may include a value indicating a start time at which a device will use the operating channel or listening channel identified by channel number field 514. In some embodiments, the time offset field 516 may comprise a value expressed in 802.11 TU. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

Fig. 6 illustrates cellular service information attributes 600 that a device connected to a cellular service may generate during service discovery. In various embodiments, connection capability attribute 200 is generated indicating that a device to which it is connected to a cellular service may include cellular service information attribute 600 in the same IE as connection capability attribute 200. For example, a NAN device generating a NAN IE including a connection capability attribute 200 indicating that the NAN device is connected to a cellular service may include a cellular service information attribute 600 within the NAN IE.

As shown in fig. 6, cellular service information attribute 600 may include an attribute ID field 602, a length field 604, and a phone number field 606. In some embodiments, the attribute ID field 602 may include 1 octet, the length field 604 may include 2 octets, and the telephone number field 606 may include 8 octets. These fields and field sizes are exemplary, and a given implementation of cellular service information attribute 600 may have different fields and field sizes. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, attribute ID field 602 may include a value indicating that the attribute is a cellular service information attribute. In some embodiments, length field 604 may include a value indicating the length of a subsequent field of cellular service information attribute 600. In some embodiments, the length field 604 may include a value of 8. In various embodiments, telephone number field 606 may include a value indicative of a telephone number of the device that generated cellular service information attribute 600. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of a device 700. The device 700 comprises an example of a device, such as the wireless apparatus 102 of fig. 1, which may generate and transmit a NAN IE comprising a connection capability attribute, such as the connection capability attribute 200 of fig. 2. As shown in fig. 7, device 700 includes a number of elements including a processor circuit 702, a memory unit 704, a reporting component 706, and a communication component 708. However, embodiments are not limited to the type, number, or arrangement of elements shown in this figure.

In various embodiments, the apparatus 700 may include a processor circuit 702. The processor circuit 702 may be implemented using any processor or logic device, such as a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) microprocessor, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) microprocessor, a Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) microprocessor, an x86 instruction set compatible processor, a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets, a multi-core processor such as a dual-core processor or a dual-core mobile processor, or any other microprocessor or Central Processing Unit (CPU). The processor circuit 702 may also be implemented as a special-purpose processor, such as a controller, microcontroller, embedded processor, Chip Multiprocessor (CMP), coprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), network processor, media processor, input/output (170) processor, Media Access Control (MAC) processor, radio baseband processor, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or the like. For example, in one embodiment, the processor circuit 702 may be implemented as a general purpose processor such as those manufactured by Intel corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, device 700 may include, or be arranged to be communicatively coupled with, memory unit 704. The memory unit 704 may be implemented using any machine-readable or computer-readable media capable of storing data, including volatile and non-volatile memory. For example, memory unit 704 may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (dram), dual-data-rate dram (ddram), synchronous dram (sdram), static RAM (sram), programmable ROM (prom), erasable programmable ROM (eprom), electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), flash memory, polymer memory, such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase-change or ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing information. It is worthy to note that some portion or all of memory unit 704 may be included on the same integrated circuit as processor circuit 702, or alternatively some portion or all of memory unit 704 may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium external to the integrated circuit of processor circuit 702, e.g., on a hard disk drive. Although memory unit 704 is included in device 700 in fig. 7, in some embodiments, memory unit 704 may be external to device 700. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the device 700 may include a reporting component 706. The reporting component 706 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions to generate NAN IEs for transmission to remote devices in connection with NAN service discovery on the part of those remote devices. In some embodiments, reporting component 706 may be operative to generate NAN IEs including information identifying one or more services provided by device 700 and information describing various connection capabilities of device 700. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, device 700 may include a communications component 708. The communication component 708 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions to send messages to one or more remote devices and/or receive messages from one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, the communication component 708 may be operative to exchange messages with one or more remote devices in connection with NAN service discovery on the part of the remote devices and/or in connection with providing services to those remote devices. In various embodiments, the communication component 708 may be operative to send the NAN IE generated by the reporting component 706 to one or more remote devices. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Fig. 7 also shows a block diagram of the system 740. The system 740 may include any of the aforementioned elements of the device 700. The system 740 may also include one or more additional components. For example, in various embodiments, system 740 may include a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver 744. RF transceiver 744 may include one or several radios capable of transmitting and receiving signals using various suitable wireless communication techniques.

Such techniques may involve communication across one or several wireless networks. Exemplary wireless networks include, but are not limited to, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), cellular networks, and satellite networks. In communicating across such networks, RF transceiver 744 may operate in accordance with one or several applicable standards of any version. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, system 740 may include one or more RF antennas 757. Examples of any particular RF antenna 757 may include internal antennas, omni-directional antennas, monopole antennas, dipole antennas, end fed antennas, circularly polarized antennas, microstrip antennas, diversity antennas, dual characteristic antennas, tri-band antennas, quad-band antennas, and so forth. Embodiments are not limited to these examples. In some embodiments, communications component 708 may be operative to exchange communications with one or more remote devices using an RF transceiver 747 and/or one or more RF antennas 757. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the system 740 may include a display 745. The display 745 can

Including any display device capable of displaying information received from processor circuit 702. Examples of display 745 may include televisions, monitors, projectors, and computer screens. For example, in one embodiment, display 745 may be implemented by a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED), or other type of suitable visual interface. Display 745 may comprise, for example, a touch-sensitive display screen ("touch screen"). In various embodiments, display 745 may comprise one or more Thin Film Transistor (TFT) LCDs with embedded transistors. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In general operation, the apparatus 700 and/or system 740 may be used to provide one or more services for use by one or more remote devices that may perform NAN service discovery to identify such services. In various embodiments, apparatus 700 and/or system 740 may be used to generate NAN IEs for transmission to remote devices during NAN service discovery. In some embodiments, the NAN IE may include information identifying services provided by the device 700 and/or the system 740 and information describing connection capabilities of the device 700 and/or the system 740. In various embodiments, a remote device receiving such NAN IEs may be used to obtain services from the apparatus 700 and/or the system 740 via a connection established according to the connection capability information included in such NAN IEs. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, reporting component 706 may be used to determine that service information should be transmitted for use in connection with NAN service discovery by one or more remote devices, which may include remote device 750. The remote device 750 may comprise a NAN-capable device and may be similar or identical to the wireless device 104 of fig. 1. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, reporting component 706 may be used to generate NAN IE 710 to allow NAN service discovery on remote device 750 and/or portions of one or more other remote devices. In some embodiments, NAN IE 710 may include information about services provided by device 700 and/or system 740, and may be the same as or similar to NAN IE 104 of fig. 1. In various embodiments, NAN IE 710 may include a connectivity capability attribute 712. The connection capability attribute 712 may include data elements for conveying information related to the connection capabilities of the device 700 and/or the system 740, and may be the same as or similar to the connection capability attribute 108 of fig. 1 and/or the connection capability attribute 200 of fig. 2. In some embodiments, the connection capability attribute 712 may include a connection capability bitmap field 714. The connection capability bitmap field 714 may include information describing one or more connection capabilities of the device 700 and/or the system 740, and may be the same as or similar to the connection capability bitmap field 206 of fig. 2 and/or the connection capability bitmap field 300 of fig. 3. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, communications component 708 may be operative to send NAN IE 710 to remote device 750 and/or one or more other remote devices. For example, in some embodiments, communications component 708 may be operative to transmit NAN IE 710 to remote device 750 using RF transceiver 744 and/or one or more RF antennas 757. In various embodiments, the remote apparatus 750 may be operative to receive the NAN IE 710 and determine whether to initiate a connection with the device 700 and/or the system 740 based on the NAN IE 710. In some embodiments, the remote apparatus 750 may be used to determine whether the device 700 and/or the system 740 provides one or more desired services based on the NAN IE 710. In various embodiments, remote device 750 may be used to determine that a connection is to be initiated with apparatus 700 and/or system 740 when apparatus 700 and/or system 740 provide one or more desired services. In some embodiments, the remote device 750 may be used to determine a connection type for such a connection based on the connection capability bitmap field 714. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a logic flow 800, which may be representative of operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein, such as the device 700 and/or the system 740 of fig. 7. As shown in fig. 8, at 802 it may be determined that service information should be transmitted for use in NAN service discovery by one or more remote devices. For example, reporting component 706 of fig. 7 may be used to determine that service information identifying one or more services provided by apparatus 700 and/or system 740 should be transmitted to remote device 750. At 804, a NAN IE may be generated that includes a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities. For example, reporting component 706 of fig. 7 may be used to generate NAN IE 710 comprising connection capability bitmap field 714 that describes one or more connection capabilities of device 700 and/or system 740. At 806, the NAN IE may be sent to one or more remote devices. For example, communication component 708 of fig. 7 may be used to send NAN IE 710 to remote device 750. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

Fig. 9 shows a block diagram of a device 900. The device 900 comprises an example of a device, such as the wireless apparatus 104 of fig. 1, which may receive a NAN IE comprising a connection capability attribute, such as the connection capability attribute 200 of fig. 2. As shown in fig. 9, device 900 includes multiple elements including a processor circuit 902, a memory unit 904, a communication component 906, and a determination component 908. However, embodiments are not limited to the type, number, or arrangement of elements shown in this figure.

In various embodiments, the device 900 may include a processor circuit 902. The processor circuit 902 may be implemented using any processor or logic device and may be the same as or similar to the processor circuit 702 of fig. 7. The embodiments are not limited in this context. In some embodiments, device 900 may include, or be arranged to be communicatively coupled with, a memory unit 904. Memory unit 904 may be implemented using any machine-readable or computer-readable media capable of storing data, including volatile and non-volatile memory, and may be the same as or similar to memory unit 704 of FIG. 7. It is worthy to note that some portion or all of memory unit 904 may be included on the same integrated circuit as processor circuit 902, or alternatively some portion or all of memory unit 904 may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium external to the integrated circuit of processor circuit 902, e.g., on a hard disk drive. Although memory unit 904 is included in device 900 in fig. 9, in some embodiments, memory unit 904 may be external to device 900. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, device 900 may include a communications component 906. The communication component 906 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions to send messages to and/or receive messages from one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, communications component 908 may be operative to exchange messages with a remote device in connection with performing NAN service discovery of services provided by the remote device and/or in connection with connecting to the remote device to obtain such services. In various embodiments, the communication component 906 may be operative to receive one or more NAN IEs from such remote devices during NAN service discovery. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 900 may include a determination component 908. The determining component 908 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/or instructions to determine whether and/or how to establish a connection to a remote device in order to obtain one or more services provided by the remote device. In various embodiments, reporting component 906 may be used to generate NAN IEs including information identifying one or more services provided by device 900 and information describing various connection capabilities of device 900. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Fig. 9 also shows a block diagram of system 940. System 940 may include any of the aforementioned elements of device 900. The system 940 may also include one or more additional components. For example, in various embodiments, system 940 may include an RF transceiver 944. RF transceiver 944 may include one or more radios capable of transmitting and receiving using various suitable wireless communication techniques and may be the same as or similar to RF transceiver 744 of fig. 7.

In some embodiments, system 940 may include one or more RF antennas 957. Examples of any particular RF antenna 957 may include any of those antennas previously mentioned with respect to RF antenna 757 of fig. 7. In some embodiments, communications component 906 may be used to exchange communications with one or more remote devices using RF transceiver 944 and/or one or more RF antennas 957. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the system 940 may include a display 945. Display 945 can include any display device capable of displaying information received from processor circuit 902 and may be the same as or similar to display 745 of FIG. 7. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In general operation, the apparatus 900 and/or system 940 may be used to perform NAN service discovery to identify one or more services provided by one or more remote devices. In various embodiments, during NAN service discovery, the apparatus 900 and/or system 940 may be used to receive various NAN IEs including information identifying available services and information describing connection capabilities of remote devices providing those services. In some embodiments, apparatus 900 and or system 940 may be used to obtain services from one or more remote devices via a connection established according to connection capability information included in such NAN IEs. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the communication component 906 may be used to initiate NAN service discovery with the remote device 960. The remote device 960 may comprise a NAN capable device providing one or more services and may be the same as or similar to the wireless device 102 of fig. 1 and/or the apparatus 700 and/or the system 740 of fig. 7. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, during NAN service discovery, communications component 906 may be operable to receive NAN IE 910 from remote device 960. In various embodiments, NAN IE 910 may include information regarding services provided by wireless device 960, and may be the same as or similar to NAN IE 104 of fig. 1 and/or NAN IE 710 of fig. 7. In some embodiments, the NAN IE 910 may include a connection capability attribute 912. The connection capability attribute 912 may include data elements for conveying information related to the connection capabilities of the wireless device 960 and may be the same as or similar to the connection capability attribute 108 of fig. 1, the connection capability attribute 200 of fig. 2, and/or the connection capability attribute 712 of fig. 7. In various embodiments, the connection capability attribute 912 may include a connection capability bitmap field 914. The connection capability bitmap field 914 may include information describing one or more connection capabilities of the remote device 960 and may be the same as or similar to the connection capability bitmap field 206 of fig. 2, the connection capability bitmap field 300 of fig. 3, and/or the connection capability bitmap field 714 of fig. 7. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, the determining component 908 may be used to determine whether to initiate a connection with the remote device 960 based on the NAN IE 910. In various embodiments, the determining component 908 may be used to determine whether the remote device 960 provides one or more desired services based on the NAN IE 910. In some embodiments, the determination component 908 may be used to determine whether to initiate a connection with the remote device 960 when the remote device 960 provides one or more desired services. In various embodiments, upon determining to initiate a connection with remote device 960, determining component 908 may be configured to determine a connection type for connecting to remote device 960. In some such embodiments, the determination component 908 may be operative to determine the connection type based on the connection capability bitmap field 914. In an example embodiment, the determination component 908 may be used to determine that the remote device 960 provides the desired service and, thus, the connection is to be initiated, and may be used to determine that the connection is to be a Wi-Fi direct connection based on information indicating in the connection capability bitmap field 914 that the remote device 960 is capable of establishing the Wi-Fi direct connection. Embodiments are not limited to this example.

Fig. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a logic flow 1000, which may be representative of operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein, such as device 900 and/or system 940 of fig. 9. As shown in fig. 10, NAN service discovery may be initiated at a wireless device at 1002. For example, the communication component 906 of fig. 9 may be used to initiate NAN service discovery to determine whether the remote device 960 provides any desired services. At 1004, during NAN service discovery, NAN IEs may be received, the NAN IEs including a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device. For example, during NAN service discovery with respect to the remote device 960, the communication component 906 of fig. 9 may be operable to receive a NAN IE 910, which may include a connection capability attribute 912 indicating a connection capability bitmap field 914. At 1006, based on the NAN IE, it may be determined whether to initiate a connection with a remote device. For example, based on the NAN IE 910, the determining component 908 of fig. 9 may be used to determine whether to initiate a connection with the remote device 960 by determining whether the remote device 960 provides any required services. If it is determined at 1006 that a connection is not to be initiated, the logic flow may end. If at 1006 it is determined that a connection is to be initiated, the logic flow may proceed to 1008. At 1008, based on the connection capability bitmap field, a connection type for connecting to the remote device may be determined. For example, the determining component 908 of fig. 9 may be used to determine a connection type for connecting to the remote device 960 based on the connection capability bitmap field 914. Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a storage medium 1100. Storage medium 1100 may comprise an article of manufacture. In one embodiment, the storage medium 1100 may include any non-transitory computer-readable or machine-readable medium, such as an optical, magnetic, or semiconductor storage device. Storage medium 1100 may store various types of computer-executable instructions, such as computer-executable instructions to implement logic flow 800 of fig. 8 and/or logic flow 1000 of fig. 10. Examples of a computer-readable or machine-readable storage medium may include any tangible medium capable of storing electronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. Examples of computer-executable instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, and the like. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Fig. 12 illustrates an embodiment of an apparatus 1200 for use in a wireless communication system, such as an IEEE 802.11 WLAN system. Apparatus 1200 may be suitable for implementing various embodiments, such as device 700 and/or system 740 of fig. 7, logic flow 800 of fig. 8, system 900 and/or system 940 of fig. 9, and/or logic flow 1000 of fig. 10. Apparatus 1200 may be implemented, for example, in a User Equipment (UE), a base station, storage medium 1100, and/or logic 1230. Logic circuitry 1230 may include physical circuitry to perform operations described for a UE or base station. As shown in fig. 12, device 1200 may include a radio interface 1210, baseband circuitry 1220, and a computing platform 1230, although embodiments are not limited to this configuration.

The apparatus 1200 may implement some or all of the structure and/or operations for the UE, the base station, the storage medium 1100 and/or the logic circuitry 1230 in a single computing entity, such as all within a single apparatus. Alternatively, apparatus 1200 may use a distributed system architecture to distribute portions of the structure and/or operations for UEs, base stations, storage medium 1100, and/or logic 1230 across multiple computing entities, such as a client server architecture, a 3-tier architecture, an N-tier architecture, a tightly coupled or clustered architecture, a peer-to-peer architecture, a master-slave architecture, a shared database architecture, and other types of distributed systems. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In one embodiment, radio interface 1210 may include a component or combination of components suitable for transmitting and/or receiving single-or multi-carrier modulated signals (e.g., including Complementary Code Keying (CCK) and/or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols), although the inventive embodiments are not limited to any particular air interface or modulation scheme. The radio interface 1210 may include, for example, a receiver 1212, a transmitter 1216, and/or a frequency synthesizer 1214. The radio interface 1210 may include bias control, a crystal oscillator, and/or one or more antennas 1218-p. In another embodiment, a radioInterface 1210 may use an external Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), a surface acoustic wave filter, an Intermediate Frequency (IF) filter, and/or an RF filter as desired. Its expanded description is omitted for a number of possible RF interface design reasons.

Baseband circuitry 1220 may communicate with radio interface 1210 to process, receive, and/or transmit signals, and may include, for example, an analog-to-digital converter 1222 to down-convert a received signal, a digital-to-analog converter 1224 to up-convert a signal for transmission. Further, baseband circuitry 1220 may include baseband or physical layer (PHY) processing circuitry 1256 for PHY link layer processing of respective receive/transmit signals. The baseband circuitry 1220 may include, for example, processing circuitry 1228 for Media Access Control (MAC)/data link layer processing. The baseband circuitry 1220 may include a memory controller 1232 for communicating with the processing circuitry 1228 and/or the computing platform 1230, e.g., via one or more interfaces 1234.

In some embodiments, PHY processing circuit 1226 may include a frame construction and/or detection module that is combined with additional circuitry, such as a buffer memory, to construct and/or deconstruct communication frames. Alternatively or additionally, MAC processing circuit 1228 may share processing for certain of these functions, or perform these processes independently of PHY processing circuit 1226. In some embodiments, the MAC and PHY processing may be integrated into a single circuit.

Computing platform 1230 may provide computing functionality for device 1200. As shown, the computing platform 1230 may include a processing component 1240. In addition to, or as an alternative to, baseband circuitry 1220, apparatus 1200 may perform processing operations or logic for the UE, the base station, storage medium 1100, and/or logic circuitry 1230 using processing component 1230. Processing component 1230 (and/or PHY 1226 and/or MAC 1228) may include various hardware elements, software elements, or a combination of both. Examples of hardware elements may include devices, logic devices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits, processor circuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integrated circuits, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Programmable Logic Devices (PLD), Digital Signal Processors (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), memory units, logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips, chip sets, and so forth. Examples of software elements may include software components, programs, applications, computer programs, system programs, software development programs, machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces, Application Program Interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code, computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodiment is implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may vary in accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computational rate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design or performance constraints, as desired for a given implementation.

Computing platform 1230 may also include other platform components 1250. Other platform components 1250 include common computing elements, such as one or more processors, multi-core processors, co-processors, memory units, chipsets, controllers, peripherals, interfaces, oscillators, timing devices, video cards, audio cards, multimedia input/output (I/O) components (e.g., digital displays), power supplies, and so forth. Examples of memory units may include but are not limited to various types of computer-readable and machine-readable storage media in the form of one or more higher speed memory units, such as read-only memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), double data rate DRAM (DDRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Static RAM (SRAM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory, such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase change or ferroelectric memory, Silicon Oxide Nitride Oxide Silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or optical cards, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) drives, solid state memory devices (e.g., USB memory, Solid State Drives (SSDs)), and any other type of storage medium suitable for storing information.

Device 1200 may be, for example, a ultra-mobile device, a fixed device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile computing device, a smartphone, a telephone, a digital telephone, a cellular telephone, a user equipment, an e-book reader, a handset, a one-way pager, a two-way pager, a messaging device, a computer, a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a server array or server farm, an Internet server, a workstation, a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, a supercomputer, a network appliance, a web appliance, a distributed computing system, multiprocessor system, a processor-based system, a consumer electronics device, a programmable consumer electronics device, a gaming device, a mobile device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile computing device, a smartphone, a smart phone, a telephone, a digital telephone, a cellular telephone, a server array or a server farm, a server, a workstation, a server, a computer system, a computer system, a computer, A television, a digital television, a set-top box, a wireless access point, a base station, a node B, an evolved node B (enb), a subscriber station, a mobile subscriber center, a radio network controller, a router, a hub, a gateway, a bridge, a switch, a machine, or a combination thereof. Accordingly, the functionality and/or specific configuration of the apparatus 1200 described herein may be included or omitted in various embodiments of the apparatus 1200, as appropriate. In an example embodiment, wireless device 1200 may comprise an Ultrabook cell device produced by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. In some embodiments, apparatus 1200 may be configured to be compatible with protocols and frequencies associated with one or more of the 3GPP LTE specifications and/or IEEE 1202.16 standards for WMANs and/or other broadband wireless networks described herein, although embodiments are not limited in this respect.

Embodiments of apparatus 1200 may be implemented using a single-input single-output (SISO) architecture. However, some implementations may include multiple antennas (e.g., antenna 1218-p) For transmitting and/or receiving using adaptive antenna techniques for beamforming or Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) and/or using MIMO communication techniques.

The components and features of apparatus 1200 may be implemented using any combination of discrete circuitry, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), logic gates and/or single chip architectures. Further, where appropriate, the features of the apparatus 1200 may be implemented using microcontrollers, programmable logic arrays and/or microprocessors or any combination of the foregoing. Note that hardware, firmware, and/or software elements may be referred to herein, collectively or individually, as "logic" or "circuitry".

It should be appreciated that the example apparatus 1200 illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 12 may represent one functionally descriptive example of many possible implementations. Accordingly, the division, omission or inclusion of block functions depicted in the accompanying figures does not imply that, in an embodiment, the hardware components, circuits, software, and/or elements used to implement such functions would necessarily be divided, omitted, or included.

Example 1 is a wireless communication device, comprising: a processor circuit; a communication component executed by a processor circuit to initiate Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) service discovery and receive NAN Information Elements (IEs) during NAN service discovery, the NAN IEs including a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device; and a determination component executed by the processor circuit to determine whether to initiate a connection with a remote device based on the NAN IE.

In example 2, the determining component of example 1 may be selectively for execution by the processor circuit to determine a connection type for connecting to the remote device based on the connection capability bitmap field when it has been determined that a connection is to be initiated with the remote device.

In example 3, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 2 optionally includes a Wi-Fi direct subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct connection.

In example 4, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 3 may optionally include a Wi-Fi direct services subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct services connection.

In example 5, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 4 may optionally include a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a TDLS connection.

In example 6, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 5 may optionally include an Access Point (AP) infrastructure subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to an infrastructure AP.

In example 7, the AP infrastructure subfield of example 6 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to the infrastructure AP, and the NAN IE may optionally include an AP infrastructure information attribute including a field identifying a Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID) of the infrastructure AP to which the remote device is connected.

In example 8, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 7 may optionally include an operation class field indicating a frequency band in which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 9, the AP infrastructure information attribute of any of examples 7 to 8 may optionally include a channel number field indicating a channel number on which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 10, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 9 may optionally include a time offset field indicating a start time at which the remote device will be able to use the operating channel identified by the channel number field.

In example 11, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 10 may optionally include a peer to peer (P2P) operations subfield indicating that the remote device is operating as a P2P device.

In example 12, the P2P operation subfield of example 11 may optionally indicate that the remote device is operating as a P2P device, and the NAN IE may optionally include a P2P operation information attribute including a field identifying a P2P device address or a P2P group address for the remote device.

In example 13, the P2P operation information attribute of example 12 may optionally include a channel number field, and the channel number field may optionally indicate a channel number for the P2P listening channel of the remote device when the remote device does not belong to the P2P group.

In example 14, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 13 may optionally include a cellular service subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to a cellular service.

In example 15, the cellular service subfield of example 14 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to a cellular service, and the NAN IE may optionally comprise a cellular service information attribute comprising a field identifying a phone number of the remote device.

In example 16, the NAN IE of any one of examples 1 to 15 may optionally comprise an attribute Identifier (ID) field comprising a value indicating that the NAN IE is a connection capability attribute.

In example 17, the NAN IE of any one of examples 1 to 16 may optionally comprise a length field comprising a value indicating a length of the connection capability bitmap field.

In example 18, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 1 to 17 may optionally comprise one or more reserved bits.

Example 19 is a system comprising a wireless communication device, a display, a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver, and one or more RF antennas according to any of examples 1 to 18.

Example 20 is at least one machine readable medium comprising a plurality of service discovery instructions that in response to being executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to initiate Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) service discovery at a wireless device, receive a NAN Information Element (IE) during the NAN service discovery, the NAN IE comprising a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device, and determine whether to initiate a connection with the remote device based on the NAN IE.

In example 21, the at least one machine readable medium of example 20 may optionally include service discovery instructions that, in response to being executed on the computing device, cause the computing device to determine a connection type for connecting to the remote device based on the connection capability bitmap field when it has been determined that a connection is to be initiated with the remote device.

In example 22, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 21 may optionally comprise a Wi-Fi direct subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct connection.

In example 23, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 22 may optionally comprise a Wi-Fi direct services subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct services connection.

In example 24, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 23 may optionally comprise a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a TDLS connection.

In example 25, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 24 may optionally comprise an Access Point (AP) infrastructure subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to an infrastructure AP.

In example 26, the AP infrastructure subfield of example 25 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to the infrastructure AP, and the NAN IE may optionally include an AP infrastructure information attribute including a field identifying a Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID) of the infrastructure AP to which the remote device is connected.

In example 27, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 26 may optionally comprise an operation class field indicating a frequency band in which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 28, the AP infrastructure information attribute of any of examples 26 to 27 may optionally comprise a channel number field indicating a channel number on which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 29, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 28 may optionally comprise a time offset field indicating a start time at which the remote device will be able to use the operating channel identified by the channel number field.

In example 30, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 29 may optionally include a peer to peer (P2P) operations subfield indicating that the remote device is operating as a P2P device.

In example 31, the P2P operation subfield of example 30 may optionally indicate that the remote device is operating as a P2P device, and the NAN IE may optionally include a P2P operation information attribute including a field identifying a P2P device address or a P2P group address for the remote device.

In example 32, the P2P operation information attribute of example 31 may optionally include a channel number field, and the channel number field may optionally indicate a channel number for the P2P listening channel of the remote device when the remote device does not belong to the P2P group.

In example 33, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 32 may optionally comprise a cellular service subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to a cellular service.

In example 34, the cellular service subfield of example 33 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to the cellular service, and the NAN IE may optionally comprise a cellular service information attribute comprising a field identifying a phone number of the remote device.

In example 35, the NAN IE of any one of examples 20 to 34 may optionally comprise an attribute Identifier (ID) field comprising a value indicating that the NAN IE is a connection capability attribute.

In example 36, the NAN IE of any one of examples 20 to 35 may optionally comprise a length field comprising a value indicating a length of the connection capability bitmap field.

In example 37, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 20 to 36 may optionally comprise one or more reserved bits.

Example 38 is a service discovery method comprising initiating Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) service discovery at a wireless device, receiving a NAN Information Element (IE) during the NAN service discovery, the NAN IE comprising a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device, and determining, by a processor circuit, whether to initiate a connection with the remote device based on the NAN IE.

In example 39, the service discovery method of example 38 may optionally comprise determining a connection type for connecting to the remote apparatus based on the connection capability bitmap field when it is determined that a connection is to be initiated with the remote apparatus.

In example 40, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 39 may optionally comprise a Wi-Fi direct subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct connection.

In example 41, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 40 may optionally comprise a Wi-Fi direct services subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct services connection.

In example 42, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 41 may optionally comprise a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a TDLS connection.

In example 43, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 42 may optionally comprise an Access Point (AP) infrastructure subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to an infrastructure AP.

In example 44, the AP infrastructure subfield of example 43 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to the infrastructure AP, and the NAN IE may optionally comprise an AP infrastructure information attribute comprising a field identifying a Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID) of the infrastructure AP to which the remote device is connected.

In example 45, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 44 may optionally comprise an operation class field indicating a frequency band in which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 46, the AP infrastructure information attribute of any of examples 44 to 45 may optionally include a channel number field indicating a channel number on which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 47, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 46 may optionally comprise a time offset field indicating a start time at which the remote device will be able to use the operating channel identified by the channel number field.

In example 48, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 47 may optionally include a peer to peer (P2P) operations subfield indicating that the remote device is operating as a P2P device.

In example 49, the P2P operation subfield of example 48 may optionally indicate that the remote device is operating as a P2P device, and the NAN IE may optionally include a P2P operation information attribute including a field identifying a P2P device address or a P2P group address for the remote device.

In example 50, the P2P operation information attribute of example 49 may optionally include a channel number field, and the channel number field may optionally indicate a channel number for the P2P listening channel of the remote device when the remote device does not belong to the P2P group.

In example 51, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 50 may optionally comprise a cellular service subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to a cellular service.

In example 52, the cellular service subfield of example 51 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to a cellular service, and the NAN IE may optionally comprise a cellular service information attribute comprising a field identifying a phone number of the remote device.

In example 53, the NAN IE of any one of examples 38 to 52 may optionally comprise an attribute Identifier (ID) field comprising a value indicating that the NAN IE is a connection capability attribute.

In example 54, the NAN IE of any one of examples 38 to 53 may optionally comprise a length field comprising a value indicating a length of the connection capability bitmap field.

In example 55, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 38 to 54 may optionally comprise one or more reserved bits.

Example 56 is at least one machine readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that in response to being executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to carry out a service discovery method according to any one of examples 38 to 55.

Example 57 is an apparatus comprising means for performing a service discovery method according to any one of examples 38 to 55.

Example 58 is a system comprising a device according to example 57, a display, a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver, and one or more RF antennas.

Example 58 is a communications device arranged to perform a service discovery method according to any of examples 38 to 55.

Example 60 is a wireless communication apparatus comprising means for initiating Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) service discovery at a wireless device, means for receiving a NAN Information Element (IE) during the NAN service discovery, the NAN IE comprising a connection capability bitmap field describing one or more connection capabilities of a remote device, and means for determining whether to initiate a connection with the remote device based on the NAN IE.

In example 61, the wireless communication apparatus of example 60 may optionally comprise means for determining a connection type for connecting to the remote device based on the connection capability bitmap field when it is determined that a connection is to be initiated with the remote device.

In example 62, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 61 may optionally comprise a Wi-Fi direct subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct connection.

In example 63, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 62 may optionally comprise a Wi-Fi direct services subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a Wi-Fi direct services connection.

In example 64, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 63 may optionally comprise a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) subfield indicating whether the remote device is capable of establishing a TDLS connection.

In example 65, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 64 may optionally comprise an Access Point (AP) infrastructure subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to an infrastructure AP.

In example 66, the AP infrastructure subfield of example 65 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to the infrastructure AP, and the NAN IE may optionally comprise an AP infrastructure information attribute comprising a field identifying a Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID) of the infrastructure AP to which the remote device is connected.

In example 67, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 66 may optionally comprise an operation class field indicating a frequency band in which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 68, the AP infrastructure information attribute of any of examples 66 to 67 may optionally include a channel number field indicating a channel number on which the infrastructure AP is currently operating.

In example 69, the AP infrastructure information attribute of example 68 may optionally include a time offset field indicating a start time at which the remote device will be able to use the operating channel identified by the channel number field.

In example 70, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 69 may optionally include a peer to peer (P2P) operations subfield indicating that the remote device is operating as a P2P device.

In example 71, the P2P operation subfield of example 70 may optionally indicate that the remote device is operating as a P2P device, and the NAN IE may optionally include a P2P operation information attribute including a field identifying a P2P device address or a P2P group address for the remote device.

In example 72, the P2P operation information attribute of example 71 may optionally include a channel number field, and the channel number field may optionally indicate a channel number for the P2P listening channel of the remote device when the remote device does not belong to the P2P group.

In example 73, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 72 may optionally comprise a cellular service subfield indicating whether the remote device is connected to a cellular service.

In example 74, the cellular service subfield of example 73 may optionally indicate that the remote device is connected to a cellular service, and the NAN IE may optionally comprise a cellular service information attribute comprising a field identifying a phone number of the remote device.

In example 75, the NAN IE of any one of examples 60 to 74 may optionally comprise an attribute Identifier (ID) field comprising a value indicating that the NAN IE is a connection capability attribute.

In example 76, the NAN IE of any one of examples 60 to 75 may optionally comprise a length field comprising a value indicating a length of the connection capability bitmap field.

In example 77, the connection capability bitmap field of any one of examples 60 to 76 may optionally comprise one or more reserved bits.

Example 78 is a system comprising a wireless communication device, a display, a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver, and one or more RF antennas according to any of examples 60 to 77.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" along with their derivatives. The terms mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, in the following description and/or claims, the terms coupled and connected, along with their derivatives, may be used. In particular embodiments, connected may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical contact with each other. Coupled may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical contact. However, coupled may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other, but may still cooperate and/or interact with each other. For example, "coupled" may mean that two or more elements are not in contact with each other, but are indirectly joined together through another element or intermediate elements.

Additionally, the term "and/or" may mean "and," "or," "exclusive-or," "one," "some but not all," "neither," and/or "both," although the scope of the described subject matter is not limited in this respect. In the following description and/or claims, the terms "include" and "comprise," along with their derivatives, may be used and are intended as synonyms for each other.

It is emphasized that the abstract section of the disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing detailed description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "in", respectively. In addition, the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

The foregoing includes examples of the disclosed architecture. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus of a first Neighbor Aware Networked (NAN) device, the apparatus comprising a processor circuit and a memory coupled to the processor circuit and comprising instructions that the processor executes to:

generating a NAN message during NAN service discovery initiated by a second NAN device, the NAN message comprising a connection capability attribute, the connection capability attribute includes an attribute ID field having a value to indicate a connection capability attribute, a length field having a value to indicate a length of a subsequent field of the connection capability attribute, and a capability bitmap field including a set of bits describing connection capabilities of the first NAN device, wherein the connection capability bitmap field comprises a Wi-Fi direct subfield to indicate whether the first NAN device is capable of establishing Wi-Fi direct, a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) subfield to indicate whether the device is capable of establishing a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) connection, a Peer-to-Peer P2P subfield to indicate whether the device is capable of establishing a Peer-to-Peer P2P connection, and an infrastructure subfield to indicate whether the device is connected to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point (AP); and

establishing a wireless connection with the second NAN device according to the connection capability attribute.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein based on the first NAN device being connected to the WLAN AP, the NAN message is to further comprise infrastructure attributes comprising an attribute identification, ID, field having a value to indicate an infrastructure attribute, a length field having a value to indicate a length of a subsequent field of the infrastructure attribute, and a field indicating an infrastructure service set identification, BSSID, of the AP.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the NAN message is to further comprise a P2P operation information attribute based on the first NAN device establishing a P2P connection, the P2P operation information attribute comprising an attribute identification, ID, field having a value to indicate a P2P attribute, a length field having a value to indicate a length of a subsequent field of the P2P attribute, a media access control, MAC, address field comprising a P2P device address for the first NAN device, and a P2P device role field indicating a role for the first NAN device.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 2 and 3, wherein the attribute ID is 1 octet and the length field is 2 octets.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the MAC address is 6 octets.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the P2P operation information attribute comprises information about the first NAN device belonging to a P2P group.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3 and 5-6, wherein:

the Wi-Fi direct subfield having a value of 1 to indicate that the first NAN device is capable of establishing Wi-Fi direct and the Wi-Fi direct subfield having a value of 0 to indicate otherwise;

the tunneled direct link setup TDLS subfield having a value of 1 is to indicate that the apparatus is capable of establishing a TDLS setup and the tunneled direct link setup TDLS subfield having a value of 0 is to indicate the opposite;

the peer P2P subfield having a value of 1 is to indicate that the device is capable of establishing a P2P connection and the peer P2P subfield having a value of 0 is to indicate the opposite; and

the infrastructure subfield having a value of 1 is to indicate that the apparatus is connected to a wireless local area network, WLAN, access point, AP, and the infrastructure subfield having a value of 0 is to indicate the opposite.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a radio interface coupled to the processor circuit, the radio interface comprising a receiver, a transmitter, and a frequency synthesizer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of antennas coupled to the radio interface, the antennas to send the NAN message to the second NAN device.

10. A method to be performed by a first Neighbor Aware Networked (NAN) device, the method comprising:

11. The method of claim 10, wherein based on the first NAN device being connected to the WLAN AP, the NAN message is to further comprise infrastructure attributes comprising an attribute identification, ID, field having a value to indicate an infrastructure attribute, a length field having a value to indicate a length of a subsequent field of the infrastructure attribute, and a field indicating an infrastructure service set identification, BSSID, of the AP.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the NAN message is to further comprise a P2P operation information attribute based on the first NAN device establishing a P2P connection, the P2P operation information attribute comprising an attribute identification, ID, field having a value to indicate a P2P attribute, a length field having a value to indicate a length of a subsequent field of the P2P attribute, a media access control, MAC, address field comprising a P2P device address for the first NAN device, and a P2P device role field indicating a role for the first NAN device.

13. The method of any of claims 11 and 12, wherein the attribute ID is 1 octet and the length field is 2 octets.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the MAC address is 6 octets.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the P2P operation information attribute comprises information about the first NAN device belonging to a P2P group.

16. The method of any of claims 10-12 and 14-15, wherein:

17. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of the preceding claims.

18. A machine readable storage device comprising computer readable instructions which when executed are to implement a method or implement an apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim.