Hellosoft, Inc.

Imagination Technologies Limited

Allan A Johnson

Kaushik Barman

Raghavendra Malladi

Luis Aldaz

Luis Aldaz, Sr, Legal Representative

Sriram Kankipati

Parag Dighe

Luis Aldaz, Jr

Conditional activation and deactivation of a microprocessor. A hardware portion of an apparatus performs packet processing on received data, where the hardware portion selectively decodes the received data. A microprocessor performs data processing on decoded data, where the microprocessor is conditionally activated for performing the data processing and is conditionally deactivated when not performing the data processing. An output portion receives processed data and audibly renders the processed data without requiring the microprocessor.

Conditional activation and deactivation of a microprocessor

A battery-powered WLAN communication device has an activity sensor operable to identify an available packet. A PHY module is awakened to begin receiving the packet. The PHY module decodes a full MAC address from a MAC portion of a header of the packet. A MAC address parser receives the MAC address and determines whether the packet is to be received by comparing the full MAC address to a MAC address of the WLAN communication device. The MAC address parser is awakened to perform the comparing and shutdown after. Packets to be received include beacon packets. A hardware centric MAC separate from the MAC address parser has a beacon processor capable of being awakened from a shutdown state to process a beacon packet. The PHY module, the MAC address parser, and the beacon processor module are operable to be awakened and shutdown independently of each other and of a microprocessor.

Hardware-based beacon processing

An apparatus comprises a network physical layer and an activity sensor for sensing a packet and activating the network physical layer from shutdown. The network physical layer decodes a PHY header portion and a media access control header portion of a packet header. A MAC has a fixed hardware media access plane implementing IEEE 802.11 series MAC functionality and couples to a microprocessor. A MAC address parser receives the MAC header portion of the packet, for processing the MAC header portion of the packet, and for activating the MAC from a shutdown in response to recognizing a MAC address within the MAC header portion of the packet, such that the MAC is not activated if the MAC parser does not recognize the MAC address, wherein the MAC is operable, after activation, to perform MAC functionality without the microprocessor and to provide data from the packet to the microprocessor.

Hardware-based packet address parsing for packet reception in wireless networks

Passive listening in wireless communication. An activity sensor device senses a packet. A medium access control (MAC) address parser receives the packet, processes a header of the packet, and activates a MAC device in response to recognizing a MAC address within the header, such that the MAC device is not activated if the MAC address parser does not recognize the MAC address.

Passive listening in wireless communication

Hardware-based beacon processing. A hardware-centric medium access control (MAC) device includes a packet receiver and a beacon processor. The packet receiver receives a plurality of packets comprising at least one beacon packet. The beacon processor receives packets of the plurality of packets and filters out unwanted packets of the plurality of packets without requiring the use of other components of the hardware-centric MAC device and without requiring the use of a microprocessor.

A hardware-centric medium access control (MAC) device comprises a control plane module and a hardware media access planed module. The control plane module is configured for providing control functions of the hardware-centric MAC device. The hardware media access plane module communicatively coupled to the control plane module is configured for performing real-time data communication functions without requiring a microprocessor.

Hardware-centric medium access control (MAC) device

A hardware-centric medium access control (MAC) device comprises a control plane module and a hardware media access planed module. The control plane module is for providing control functions of the hardware-centric MAC device. The hardware media access plane module communicatively coupled to the control plane module is for performing real-time data communication functions without requiring a microprocessor.

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Allan A Johnson