CN114650602A - Method and apparatus for contending for a medium based on TWT - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides various schemes related to Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention minimization in a mesh network. The device acting as a proxy aggregates the TWT durations requested by the plurality of Stations (STAs) to produce a total TWT duration. The device sends information of the total TWT duration to the controller. In response to the transmission, the apparatus receives an allocation of a time slot from a controller. The apparatus then causes the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the time slot.

Description

Method and apparatus for contending for a medium based on TWT

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to contention minimization in mesh networks (mesh) based on a Target Wakeup Time (TWT).

Background

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims set forth below, and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In a mesh network, such as a mesh network implementing one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, a Target Wake Time (TWT) allows a controller to manage activities (activities) in a Basic Service Set (BSS) by scheduling mesh devices in the mesh network to Serve Stations (STAs) to which it is connected (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax STAs) at different times, thereby minimizing contention/contention (contention) between these IEEE 802.11ax STAs. When the radio frequencies of multiple agents are on the same channel, each radio frequency may have multiple STAs connected to it. Each agent is able to manage the Target Wake Time (TWT) of these STAs connected to itself. However, the cross-proxy STAs can still compete for the medium/transmission medium (medium) at the same time because they do not know the target wake-up time (TWT) of other devices (e.g., other STAs connected to other proxies in the mesh network). This will negatively impact the overall performance of the mesh network. Therefore, a solution is needed to minimize Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention in mesh networks.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for contention based on TWT for medium to reduce contention.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for contending for a medium based on TWT, comprising: collating target wake-up time, TWT, durations requested by a plurality of stations, STAs, to produce a total TWT duration; transmitting information of the total TWT duration to a controller; receiving an allocation of a time slot from the controller in response to the transmission; and enabling the plurality of STAs to compete for the use right of the medium during the time slot.

In some embodiments, causing the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the time slot includes: the STAs are kept in the awake mode for the entire duration of the timeslot, thereby enabling the STAs to contend for use of the medium for the entire duration of the timeslot.

In some embodiments, causing the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the time slot includes: waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time such that the respective ones of the plurality of STAs compete for usage of the medium for a duration of a respective portion of the time slot.

In some embodiments, waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time comprises: a respective portion of the time slot is allocated to the respective STA, wherein the respective portion corresponds to the respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: the timing synchronization function TSF is synchronized with the controller.

In some embodiments, the TWT start time indicated in the allocation of the timeslot is derived using a target beacon transmission time, TBTT, or an offset reference.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a configuration from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel on which to operate such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for contending for a medium based on TWT, comprising: receiving information of a plurality of total Target Wake Time (TWT) durations from a plurality of agents, wherein each of the plurality of total TWT durations is collated by a respective agent of the plurality of agents based on TWT durations requested by a plurality of respective Stations (STAs) connected to the respective agent; allocating a plurality of time slots for the plurality of agents based on the received information; and transmitting an assignment of a respective time slot of the plurality of time slots to a respective agent of the plurality of agents, such that the respective agent controls a plurality of respective STAs connected thereto to contend for use of the medium during the respective time slot.

In some embodiments, the plurality of respective STAs remain in the awake mode for the entire duration of the respective time slot, such that the plurality of respective STAs compete for usage of the medium for the entire duration of the respective time slot.

In some embodiments, the plurality of respective STAs are awakened one at a time such that respective ones of the plurality of respective STAs compete for usage of the medium for a duration of the respective portion of the respective time slot.

In some embodiments, respective ones of the plurality of respective STAs are allocated respective portions of the respective time slot, wherein the respective portions of the respective time slot correspond to respective TWT durations requested by the respective STAs.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: a timing synchronization function TSF is synchronized with the plurality of agents.

In some embodiments, the TWT start time indicated in the allocation is derived using a target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: a configuration is sent to each agent of the plurality of agents to assign a channel on which the plurality of agents operate such that a plurality of respective STAs of each agent contend for use of a medium on the channel during a respective time slot.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for contending for a medium based on TWT, comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to perform operations comprising: collating target wakeup time TWT durations requested by a plurality of stations STA connected with the device to generate a total TWT duration; transmitting information of the total TWT duration to a controller; receiving an allocation of a time slot from the controller in response to the transmission; and enabling the plurality of STAs to compete for the usage right of the medium during the time slot.

In some embodiments, in causing the plurality of STAs to contend for usage rights of the medium during the time slot, the processor is configured to: the STAs are kept in the awake mode for the entire duration of the timeslot, thereby enabling the STAs to contend for use of the medium for the entire duration of the timeslot.

In some embodiments, in causing the plurality of STAs to contend for the usage rights of the medium during the time slot, the processor is configured to: waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time such that the respective ones of the plurality of STAs compete for usage of the medium for a duration of a respective portion of the time slot.

In some embodiments, in waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time, the processor is configured to: a respective portion of the slot is allocated to the respective STA, wherein the respective portion corresponds to the respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: a timing synchronization function TFT synchronized with the controller; wherein the TWT start time indicated in the allocation of the time slot is derived using a target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: receiving a configuration from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel on which to operate such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

These and other objects of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the various drawing figures. A detailed description will be given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The figures, in which like numerals represent like components, illustrate embodiments of the invention. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this embodiment of the invention. The drawings illustrate the implementation of embodiments of the present invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, since some features may be shown out of proportion to actual implementation dimensions in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example network environment in which various solutions and techniques according to this invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary scenario in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary scenario in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention. It may be evident, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details, and that different embodiments may be combined as desired, and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth in the accompanying drawings.

Detailed Description

The following description is of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, which are provided for illustration of the technical features of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Certain terms are used throughout the description and claims to refer to particular elements, it being understood by those skilled in the art that manufacturers may refer to a like element by different names. Therefore, the present specification and claims do not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. The terms "component," "system," and "apparatus" used herein may be an entity associated with a computer, wherein the computer may be hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. In the following description and claims, the terms "include" and "comprise" are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean "include, but not limited to …". Furthermore, the term "coupled" means either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Thus, if one device is coupled to another device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.

Wherein corresponding numerals and symbols in the various figures of the drawing generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The accompanying drawings, which are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant portions of the embodiments, are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The term "substantially" or "approximately" as used herein means within an acceptable range that a person skilled in the art can solve the technical problem to substantially achieve the technical effect to be achieved. For example, "substantially equal" refers to a manner that is acceptable to the skilled artisan with some error from "substantially equal" without affecting the correctness of the results.

SUMMARY

Embodiments according to the present invention relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions related to minimization of contention/contention (content) based on a Target Wake Time (TWT) in a mesh network. According to the invention, a plurality of possible solutions can be implemented individually or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions are described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one or another combination.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 in which various solutions and techniques according to this invention may be implemented. Figures 2 through 6 illustrate examples of implementations of various proposed schemes in a network environment 100 according to the present invention. The following description of various proposed schemes is provided with reference to fig. 1-6.

It is noted that, in the present invention, the term "agent" refers to an entity (entity) or device (device) that is part of a mesh network controlled by a controller and supports the functions of an Access Point (AP) STA or a non-access point (non-AP) STA. Furthermore, the term "controller" refers to a centralized entity (or centralized device) that controls devices (e.g., agents) present in the mesh network. In some embodiments, an AP STA may function as a controller, while one or more other AP STAs may function as one or more proxies.

Referring to fig. 1, network environment 100 may relate to a wireless network (e.g., a mesh network, a relay network, or some type of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)) having a controller, a plurality of agents, and a plurality of STAs. For purposes of illustration and simplicity, two agents (e.g., agent 1 and agent 2) are shown in fig. 1, each agent having two associated STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2 associated with agent 1, and STA3 and STA4 associated with agent 2), and there may be a different number of agents and STAs in various implementations, as the invention is not limited in this respect. Under various proposed schemes according to the present invention, each of the controller, proxy 1, proxy 2, and STAs 1-4 may be configured to perform various aspects of minimizing Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention in a mesh network according to the various proposed schemes described. It will be appreciated that in embodiments of the present invention, each agent has one or more STAs connected, and in the case of multiple STAs, each agent has an associated plurality of STAs, the respective plurality of STAs corresponding to the respective agent. For example, a respective plurality of STAs (STA1 and STA2) correspond to/are associated with a respective proxy 1, and a respective plurality of STAs (STA3 and STA4) correspond to/are associated with a respective proxy 2.

Under the proposed scheme according to the present invention, in a mesh network (e.g., wireless network 120), a Target Wake Time (TWT) corresponding to a STA may be managed by a centralized entity, such as a controller. The controller may first configure the proxies in the mesh network to a clean channel (e.g., channel 36 shown in fig. 1, although different channels may be selected in various implementations) so that all proxies can operate on the same clean channel. This may simplify control of the controller compared to the case of multiple agents assigned to different (separate) channels, where some of the agents may encounter external Overlapping BSS (OBSS) traffic (e.g., interference). Under the proposed scheme, each STA connected to a given proxy in the mesh network may request that the proxy provide a Target Wake Time (TWT) duration (duration) for that STA. Accordingly, the agent may collect/sort (queue) the requested Target Wake Time (TWT) duration, to accumulate the TWT durations requested by all connected STAs (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax STAs) and obtain a total (total) TWT duration (duration), and to provide information of the total TWT duration (also referred to as "total wake duration" in the present invention) to the controller. That is, all agents in the mesh network may share information of the Target Wake Time (TWT) of their associated STAs (e.g., the total TWT duration consolidated by each agent) to the controller. The controller, as a centralized entity, may determine the wake duration (wake duration) of each agent such that only one agent uses/accesses (access) medium (e.g., transmission medium) at any given time (e.g., the time allocated for an agent and its associated STAs). The controller may then provide the slot information and cumulative wake-up duration responses to each agent.

Under the proposed scheme according to the present invention, a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) can be synchronized between the controller and all agents (all agents) so that the entire mesh network follows the same Timing Synchronization Function (TSF). Once the Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) is synchronized, the controller may utilize/reference a Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) or some other offset value to obtain a target wake-up time (TWT) start time (e.g., the target wake-up time (TWT) start time for each agent is indicated in the allocation of its respective slot, or alternatively, the TWT start time for each agent is indicated in the slot allocation, i.e., the slot information allocated to an agent by the controller may include the TWT start time for that agent). The controller may assign each agent a respective slot for its total wake-up duration so that the two slots of different agents do not collide and the repetition of the time intervals (intervals) of different agents will be different without overlap.

Under the proposed scheme according to the invention, the proxy can take two approaches to help improve network efficiency. In a first approach of the proposed scheme, an agent may request that all STAs connected to itself remain in an awake mode or state for a full (complete) total awake duration indicated by the controller, so that STAs compete for medium access to the medium for the full (incident) duration. However, this approach may increase the wake-up time of STAs and, therefore, may increase the power consumption of some STAs.

Fig. 2 shows an example scenario 200 under the first approach. In scenario 200, initially, each of agent 1 and agent 2 receives and collates (collolate) the target wake-up time (TWT) durations requested by the respective STAs to which it is connected and accumulates them to obtain a total TWT duration for each agent. Each of the agents 1 and 2 then shares information of the total Target Wake Time (TWT) duration of its associated STAs to the controller (e.g., via an Information Element (IE)). The controller then provides each agent (e.g., via a proprietary IE) with a response having slot information (e.g., TWT start time) and a cumulative wake duration (e.g., total duration that the controller allocates for use by the agent based on the total TWT duration shared by the agent, which may be the same or different from the total TWT duration). Specifically, the controller may provide a first response to agent 1 before (prior) or at the beginning (beginning) of a first time slot and then provide a second response to agent 2 before or at the beginning of a second time slot (e.g., the second time slot is after the first time slot), as shown in fig. 2. In the first time slot, agent 1 may wake up its connected STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2) for the entire duration (entire duration) of the first time slot, so that the STA(s) (e.g., STA1 and STA2 shown in the figure) connected to agent 1 compete for the usage right of the medium during the first time slot. Similarly, in the second slot, agent 2 may wake up its connected STA(s) (e.g., STA3 and STA4 shown in the figure) for the entire duration of the second slot, so that the STA(s) (e.g., STA3 and STA4) connected to agent 2 contend for use of the medium during the second slot.

In the second method of the proposed scheme, the agent may allocate the above-described cumulative wake duration (cumulative wake duration) allocated by the controller to all STAs connected to itself based on Target Wake Time (TWT) durations requested by all STAs connected to itself. For example, respective portions of the slots allocated or otherwise assigned to a given STA may correspond to (e.g., be proportional to) the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by the given STA (e.g., STA1 and STA2 may be allocated 40% and 60% of the first slot/the accumulated wake-up duration, respectively, where the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by STA2 is 1.5 times the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by STA 1). STAs may wake up one by one, each at their own time, and compete for the use of the medium during the corresponding part of the slot. This is therefore a more energy efficient method.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example scenario 300 according to the second approach. In scenario 300, initially, each of agent 1 and agent 2 receives and collates the Target Wakeup Time (TWT) durations requested by all STAs connected to itself and accumulates them to obtain a total TWT duration for each agent (agent 1 obtains a total TWT duration from the TWT durations requested by all STAs connected to agent 1, and agent 2 obtains another total TWT duration from the TWT durations requested by all STAs connected to agent 2). Each of agent 1 and agent 2 then shares information of the total Target Wake Time (TWT) duration of its associated STA to the controller (e.g., via a proprietary IE). The controller then provides the slot information and the response of the accumulated wake-up duration to each agent (e.g., via a proprietary IE). In particular, the controller may provide a first response to agent 1 before or at the beginning of a first time slot and a second response to agent 2 before or at the beginning of a second time slot after the first time slot, as shown in fig. 3. In the first time slot, agent 1 may wake up its connected STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2) one at a time (one at a time), so that each of STA1 and STA2 contends for use of the medium itself during the corresponding portion of the first time slot. Similarly, in the second slot, agent 2 may wake up its connected STAs (e.g., STA3 and STA4) one at a time, such that each of STA3 and STA4 contends for use of the medium itself during the respective portion of the second slot.

In view of the above, it can be seen that certain advantages or benefits can be obtained by embodiments of the proposed solution. For example, when the controller makes centralized decisions (centralized decisions) in the mesh network based on the Target Wake Time (TWT) durations of STAs connected across proxies, contention between STAs connected across different proxies in the mesh network may be reduced or otherwise minimized, thereby helping to improve the overall system performance of the mesh network. In addition, the controller may provide slot information and align the wakeup times of the STAs accordingly to avoid unnecessary early STA wakeup. Accordingly, the STA may be in a sleep mode or a low power mode for a longer duration, thereby improving power efficiency of the device.

It is noted that there may be more than one method used in various implementations of the proposed scheme with respect to Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) synchronization between the controller and the respective agents. The proxy in the mesh network has an AP entity and an STA entity, which may also be referred to as an APCLI, which may also be referred to as a backhaul (backhaul) STA, cooperating with each other. In the first method, the STA entity in the proxy synchronizes its TSF time with the beacon from the controller. The agent then updates its corresponding Access Point (AP) with the Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) that has synchronized with the controller and starts advertising (advertising) the new Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) in its beacon. At this time, each of the respective agents connected to the agent (controller-synchronized agent) that has synchronized with the controller may update their Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) and their respective APs. In this way, the entire mesh network can synchronize its Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) based on the Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) of the controller.

As an example of the first method, in a daisy chain (daisy chain) method, an agent 1 is connected to a controller and an agent 2 is connected to the agent 1. Initially, the APCLI of agent 1 may have a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) synchronized to the controller, and then the AP corresponding to agent 1 updates the Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) in its beacon with the value that the APCLI of agent 1 is synchronized to the controller (e.g., the AP beacon of agent 1 now has synchronized the Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) per controller). In response to receiving a beacon from the AP corresponding to agent 1, agent 2 may synchronize its own Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) and update its AP Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) with the APCLI value it synchronized from agent 1's beacon. In this way, all devices in the mesh network can synchronize with the controller.

In a second approach, agents in the mesh network may periodically synchronize their Timing Synchronization Functions (TSFs) with the controller. Once synchronized, each agent may update in its beacon (whose Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) is synchronized). The synchronized beacon may then be used to synchronize its Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) when any unsynchronized agent listens to the synchronized agent's beacon. In this way, all devices in the mesh network can synchronize with the controller.

Illustrative implementations

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system 400 having at least an example apparatus 410 and an example apparatus 420, according to an embodiment of the invention. Each of the devices 410 and 420 may perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein relating to Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention/contention minimization in a mesh network, including the various schemes described above with respect to various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods and the processes described below. For example, apparatus 410 may be implemented in STA 110 and apparatus 420 may be implemented in STA 120, or vice versa.

Each of the device 410 and the device 420 is part of an electronic device, which may be a non-AP STA or an AP STA, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device (such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a notebook computer). Each of the devices 410 and 420 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT device (such as a stationary or fixed device), a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of the device 410 and the device 420 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may be implemented in a network node, e.g., an AP in a WLAN.

In some embodiments, each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction-set-computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors. In the various aspects described above, each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 is implemented in or as a non-AP STA or an AP STA. Each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may include at least some of those components shown in fig. 4, such as a processor 412 and a processor 422, respectively. Each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may further include one or more other components (e.g., an internal power source, a display device, and/or a user interface device) not relevant to the proposed solution of the present invention, and thus, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, such components are not shown in each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 shown in fig. 4, and are not described below.

In an aspect, each of processor 412 and processor 422 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to both the processor 412 and the processor 422, each of the processor 412 and the processor 422 may include multiple processors in some implementations, and a single processor in other implementations consistent with the invention. In another aspect, each of the processors 412 and 422 may be implemented in hardware (and optionally solid state) with electronic components including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and/or one or more varactors configured and arranged to achieve particular objectives according to embodiments of the present invention. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of the processor 412 and the processor 422 are dedicated machines specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks that include TWT-based contention minimization in a mesh network according to one embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with various implementations of embodiments of the present invention.

In some implementations, the apparatus 410 may also include a transceiver 416 coupled to the processor 412, the transceiver 416 being capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, the apparatus 420 may also include a transceiver 426 coupled to the processor 422, the transceiver 426 being capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data.

In some implementations, the apparatus 410 further includes a memory 414 coupled to the processor 412 and capable of being accessed by the processor 412 and storing data therein. In some implementations, the device 420 may also include a memory 424, the memory 424 being coupled to the processor 422 and capable of being accessed by the processor 422 and storing data therein. Thus, each of the device 410 and the device 420 wirelessly communicate with each other via the transceiver 416 and the transceiver 426. Each of memory 414 and memory 424 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM), such as Dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (static RAM, SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, or in addition, each of the memories 414 and 424 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM), such as a mask ROM, a programmable ROM (prom), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), and/or an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively or additionally, each of memory 414 and memory 424 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and/or phase-change memory.

Each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes according to the present invention. For illustrative purposes and not limitation, the following description of the capabilities of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 is provided in the context of the apparatus 410 being implemented in or as an agent (e.g., agent 1 or agent 2) and the apparatus 420 being implemented in or as a controller of a mesh network, which may be a WLAN in the network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards, for example. It is noted that although the example implementations described below are provided in the context of a WLAN, they may be implemented in other types of networks as well.

According to the proposed scheme related to Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention minimization in mesh networks of the present invention, in the network environment 100 according to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards, the apparatus 410 is implemented in or as a proxy, and the apparatus 420 is implemented in or as a controller, the processor 412 of the apparatus 410 may collate (align) TWT durations requested by a plurality of STAs (e.g., a plurality of STAs connected to the apparatus 410) via the transceiver 416 to generate a total TWT duration. Further, the processor 412 may send information of the total TWT duration to the apparatus 420 via the transceiver 416. Further, in response to sending the information of the total TWT duration to the device 420, the processor 412 may receive an allocation of time slots from the device 420 via the transceiver 416 (e.g., the allocation includes time slot information such as a start time and a duration of the time slot, which may correspond to the TWT start time and the accumulated wake-up duration in the above description). Further, the processor 412 may control/command/cause (cause), via the transceiver 416, the plurality of STAs (e.g., the plurality of STAs connected to the device 410) to contend for use of the medium during the time slot.

In some embodiments, in causing the plurality of STAs to contend for the usage right of the medium during the time slot, the processor 412 may cause the plurality of STAs to be in an awake mode during the time slot, thereby causing the plurality of STAs to contend for the usage right of the medium during the time slot.

Alternatively, in the process of having the plurality of STAs contend for the usage right of the medium during the time slot, the processor 412 may wake up each STA of the plurality of STAs one at a time (one at a time) so that each STA contends for the usage right of the medium during the corresponding portion of the time slot. In some implementations, upon waking up each STA of the plurality of STAs one at a time, the processor 412 may allocate a respective portion of the time slot to the respective STA, wherein the respective portion of the time slot corresponds to (e.g., is proportional or equal to) the respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

In some embodiments, the processor 412 may also synchronize a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) with the device 420 via the transceiver 416. In some embodiments, the Target Wake Time (TWT) start time indicated in the allocation of the time slot is derived by reference to the TBTT or an offset.

In some implementations, the processor 412 may receive a configuration (configuration) from the apparatus 420 via the transceiver 416 that allocates/assigns (assign) a channel (e.g., a clean channel) on which to operate, such that the plurality of STAs compete for usage of the medium on the channel during the time slot.

According to the proposed scheme of the invention with respect to Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention minimization in mesh networks, in a network environment 100 according to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards, the device 410 is implemented in or as a proxy, and the device 420 is implemented in or as a controller, the processor 422 of the device 420 may receive information of the total TWT duration from a plurality of agents including the device 410 via the transceiver 426. Each of the total TWT durations is consolidated by a respective agent of the plurality of agents a Target Wake Time (TWT) duration requested based on a respective plurality of STAs connected to the respective agent. Further, processor 422 may allocate (allocate) a plurality of time slots to a plurality of agents via transceiver 426 based on the received information. Further, processor 422 may transmit, via transceiver 426, to each of the plurality of agents, an allocation of a respective time slot of the plurality of time slots, whereby each agent causes its respective plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the respective time slot.

In some implementations, the respective plurality of STAs may remain in an awake mode during the respective time slot such that the respective plurality of STAs compete for use of the medium for the duration of the time slot.

Alternatively, the respective plurality of STAs may be awakened one at a time such that each STA of the respective plurality of STAs contends for use of the medium during a respective portion of a respective time slot. In some implementations, each STA of the respective plurality of STAs may be allocated a respective portion of the respective time slot, where the respective portion corresponds to a respective Target Wake Time (TWT) duration requested by the STA.

In some embodiments, processor 422 may also synchronize a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) with multiple agents via transceiver 426. In some implementations, the Target Wake Time (TWT) start time indicated in the allocation of the time slot is derived using the TBTT or an offset reference.

In some embodiments, processor 422 may send, via transceiver 426, a configuration to each agent of the plurality of agents to allocate a channel on which the plurality of agents operate such that a respective plurality of STAs of each agent contend for use of a medium on the channel during a respective time slot.

Illustrative Process

Fig. 5 illustrates an example process 500 according to an embodiment of the invention. Process 500 may represent aspects of the designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods that implement the various proposals described above. More specifically, process 500 may represent aspects of concepts and schemes presented in accordance with the present invention relating to Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention minimization in mesh networks. Process 500 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as indicated by one or more of blocks 510, 520, 530, and 540. Although shown as discrete blocks, the various blocks of process 500 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Further, the blocks of process 500 may be performed in the order shown in FIG. 5, or, alternatively, in a different order. Further, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process 500 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 500 may be implemented by device 410 and device 420 and any variations thereof or in device 410 and device 420 and variations thereof. For purposes of illustration only and not to limit scope, process 500 is described below in the context of apparatus 410 being implemented as or in an agent (e.g., agent 1 or agent 2) and apparatus 420 being implemented in or as a controller of a mesh network (e.g., a WLAN in network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards). Process 500 may begin at block 510.

At step 510, process 500 may include: the processor 412 of the device 410 collates/collects Target Wake Time (TWT) durations requested by a plurality of STAs connected thereto via the transceiver 416 to generate a total TWT duration. Process 500 may proceed from 510 to 520.

At step 520, process 500 may include: the processor 412 sends information of the total TWT duration to the device 420 via the transceiver 416. Process 500 may proceed from 520 to 530.

At step 530, process 500 may include: in response to sending the information of the total TWT duration to the device 420, the processor 412 receives an allocation of slots (allocation of a slots) from the device 420 via the transceiver 416. Process 500 may proceed from 530 to 540.

At step 540, process 500 may include: the processor 412, via the transceiver 416, causes the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the time slot.

In some implementations, in causing the plurality of STAs to contend for usage rights of the medium during the time slot, the process 500 may include: the processor 412 maintains the plurality of STAs in the awake mode during the time slot, thereby enabling the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the time slot.

Alternatively, in the process of having the plurality of STAs contend for the usage rights of the medium during the time slot, the process 500 may include: the processor 412 wakes up each STA of the plurality of STAs one at a time so that each STA contends for use of the medium during the corresponding portion of the time slot. In some implementations, in waking up each of the plurality of STAs one at a time, the process 500 may include: the processor 412 allocates a respective portion of the slot to each STA that corresponds to a respective Target Wake Time (TWT) duration requested by the respective STA.

In some embodiments, process 500 may further include: the processor 412 synchronizes a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) with the device 420 via the transceiver 416. In some embodiments, the TBTT or offset may be utilized to reference a Target Wake Time (TWT) start time indicated in the assignment of the time slot.

In some implementations, the process 500 may further include: the processor 412 receives a configuration from the apparatus 420 via the transceiver 416 that allocates a channel (e.g., a clean channel) on which to operate such that a plurality of STAs compete for usage of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 600 according to an embodiment of the invention. Process 600 may represent aspects of the designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods that implement the various proposals described above. More specifically, the process 600 may represent aspects of the proposed concepts and schemes related to Target Wake Time (TWT) based contention minimization in mesh networks in accordance with the present invention. Process 600 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as indicated by one or more of blocks 610, 620, and 630. Although shown as discrete blocks, the various blocks of process 600 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Further, the blocks/sub-blocks of the process 600 may be performed in the order shown in fig. 6, or in a different order. Further, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process 600 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 600 may be implemented by or in apparatus 410 and apparatus 420, and any variations thereof. For purposes of illustration only and not to limit scope, process 600 is described below in the context of apparatus 410 being implemented in or as an agent (e.g., agent 1 or agent 2) and apparatus 420 being implemented in or as a controller of a mesh network (e.g., a WLAN in network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards). Process 600 may begin at step 610.

At step 610, the process 600 may include: processor 422 of apparatus 420 receives information of a plurality of total TWT durations from a plurality of agents including apparatus 410 via transceiver 426. Each of the plurality of total TWT durations is collated by each of the plurality of agents based on Target Wake Time (TWT) durations requested by a respective plurality of STAs connected to each agent. Process 600 may proceed from 610 to 620.

At step 620, process 600 may include: processor 422 assigns a plurality of time slots to a plurality of agents via transceiver 426 based on the received information. Process 600 may proceed from 620 to 630.

At step 630, process 600 may include: processor 422 sends, via transceiver 426, an allocation of a respective time slot of the plurality of time slots to a respective agent of the plurality of agents, such that each agent causes its respective plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the respective time slot.

In some implementations, the respective plurality of STAs may remain in the awake mode during the respective time slot such that the respective plurality of STAs compete for use of the medium for the duration of the entire time slot.

Alternatively, the respective plurality of STAs may be awakened one at a time such that each STA of the respective plurality of STAs contends for use of the medium during a respective portion of the respective time slot. In some implementations, each STA of the respective plurality of STAs may be allocated a respective portion of the respective slot corresponding to a respective Target Wake Time (TWT) duration requested by the STA.

In some implementations, the process 600 may further include: processor 422 synchronizes a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) with a plurality of agents via transceiver 426. In some implementations, the Target Wake Time (TWT) start time indicated in the allocation of the time slot may be referenced using the TBTT or an offset.

In some implementations, the process 600 may further include: processor 422 sends, via transceiver 426, a configuration to each agent of the plurality of agents to allocate a channel on which the plurality of agents operate such that a respective plurality of STAs of each agent contend for use of a medium on the channel during a respective time slot.

Supplementary notes

The subject matter described herein sometimes describes different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components that achieves the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Similarly, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected," or "operably coupled," to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable," to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

Furthermore, for any plural and/or singular terms used herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. For the sake of clarity, various permutations between the singular/plural are expressly set forth herein.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that, in general, words used herein, and especially words used in the appended claims, such as in the main part of the claims, are generally intended to have an "open" meaning, e.g., the word "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the word "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the word "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific value is included in an introduced claim recitation, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. To facilitate understanding, for example, the appended claims may contain usage of introductory phrases such as "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, such phrases should not be construed to limit the recitation of this patent application to the extent that: the incorporation of the indefinite article "a" or "an" means that any particular claim containing such an recitation is limited to only one embodiment containing the recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an", as is the case, i.e., "a" or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more". Also, the use of the definite article to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific value is explicitly recited in a claim recitation, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to include at least the recited values, e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without any other recitation, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. Further, if the use of the term "at least one of A, B and C, etc." is used, it is generally understood by those skilled in the art that the term "a system having at least one of A, B and C" will include, but not be limited to, a system having only A, a system having only B, a system having only C, a system having both A and B, a system having both A and C, a system having both B and C, and/or a system having A, B and C, etc. If a "A, B or C or the like" similarity is used, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, for example, "a system having at least one of A, B or C" will include but not be limited to systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, and the like. It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually all disjunctive words and/or phrases connecting two or more alternative words or phrases appearing in the specification, claims, or drawings are to be understood to contemplate all possibilities, including inclusion of one of the words or both words or phrases. For example, the phrase "a or B" should be understood to include the following possibilities: "A", "B" or "A and B".

The use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc., in the claims to modify a claimed element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claimed element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claimed element having the same name from another element having the same name using ordinal terms.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art), e.g., combinations or substitutions of different features in different embodiments. The scope of the appended claims should, therefore, be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.

Claims (20)

1. A method for TWT-based contention for a medium, comprising:

collating target wake-up time, TWT, durations requested by a plurality of stations, STAs, to produce a total TWT duration;

transmitting information of the total TWT duration to a controller;

receiving an allocation of a time slot from the controller in response to the transmission; and the number of the first and second groups,

the STAs are caused to contend for use of the medium during the time slot.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the timeslot comprises: the STAs are kept in the awake mode for the entire duration of the timeslot, thereby enabling the STAs to contend for use of the medium for the entire duration of the timeslot.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the timeslot comprises: waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time such that the respective ones of the plurality of STAs compete for usage of the medium for a duration of a respective portion of the time slot.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time comprises: a respective portion of the time slot is allocated to the respective STA, wherein the respective portion corresponds to the respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the timing synchronization function TSF is synchronized with the controller.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the TWT start time indicated in the allocation of the slot is obtained using a Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) or an offset reference.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a configuration from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel on which to operate such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

8. A method for TWT-based contention for a medium, comprising:

receiving information of a plurality of total Target Wake Time (TWT) durations from a plurality of agents, wherein each of the plurality of total TWT durations is collated by a respective agent of the plurality of agents based on TWT durations requested by a plurality of respective Stations (STAs) connected to the respective agent;

allocating a plurality of time slots for the plurality of agents based on the received information; and the number of the first and second groups,

the allocation of the respective time slot of the plurality of time slots is transmitted to a respective agent of the plurality of agents such that the respective agent controls a plurality of respective STAs connected thereto to contend for use of the medium during the respective time slot.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of corresponding STAs remain in awake mode for an entire duration of the corresponding timeslot, such that the plurality of corresponding STAs contend for use of the medium for the entire duration of the corresponding timeslot.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of respective STAs are awakened one at a time such that respective ones of the plurality of respective STAs compete for usage of the medium for a duration of the respective portion of the respective time slot.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein respective ones of the plurality of respective STAs are allocated respective portions of the respective slots, wherein the respective portions of the respective slots correspond to respective TWT durations requested by the respective STAs.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

a timing synchronization function TSF is synchronized with the plurality of agents.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the TWT start time indicated in the allocation is derived using a target beacon transmission time, TBTT, or an offset reference.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

a configuration is sent to each agent of the plurality of agents to assign a channel on which the plurality of agents operate such that a plurality of respective STAs of each agent contend for use of a medium on the channel during a respective time slot.

15. An apparatus for TWT-based contention for a medium, comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to perform operations comprising:

collating target wakeup time TWT durations requested by a plurality of stations STA connected with the device to generate a total TWT duration;

transmitting information of the total TWT duration to a controller;

receiving an allocation of a time slot from the controller in response to the transmission; and the number of the first and second groups,

the STAs are caused to contend for use of the medium during the time slot.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein in the process of causing the plurality of STAs to contend for usage rights of the medium during the timeslot, the processor is configured to: the STAs are kept in the awake mode for the entire duration of the timeslot, thereby enabling the STAs to contend for use of the medium for the entire duration of the timeslot.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein in the process of causing the plurality of STAs to contend for usage rights of the medium during the timeslot, the processor is configured to: waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time such that the respective ones of the plurality of STAs compete for usage of the medium for a duration of a respective portion of the time slot.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein in waking up respective ones of the plurality of STAs one at a time, the processor is configured to: a respective portion of the slot is allocated to the respective STA, wherein the respective portion corresponds to the respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: a timing synchronization function TFT synchronized with the controller;

wherein the TWT start time indicated in the allocation of the time slot is derived using a target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: receiving a configuration from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel on which to operate such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

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