Apple Inc.

Marvell International Limited

Other

Google Inc.

Pierre B Vandwalle

Tito Thomas

Charles Francis Dominguez

Christiaan A Hartman

Tashbeeb Haque

Robert J Stacey

Yiwen Zhou

Partho Pratim Mishra

Sandesh Goel

Joakim Linde

Rahul Kopikare

Saravanan Balasubramaniyan

Andreas Wolf

Yong Liu

Wei Wang

Peter M Agboh

Mohammed Waleed Kadous

Peter N Heerboth

Aarti Kumar

Prem Kumar

Vinit Chandrakant Deshpande

Meghan Desai

A system, apparatus and method for organizing devices in a peer-to-peer communication environment. A number of devices synchronize among themselves and select masters (or synchronization stations) to organize the devices into a hierarchy. Master devices have associated preference values reflecting their preference or suitability to be a master device, and broadcast synchronization frames to keep devices synchronized. When multiple devices in one or more hierarchies execute a common application or service, they form a private group to exchange or share data (e.g., play a game, transfer a file). All devices in the hierarchy maintain and advertise a public or default identifier of the hierarchy, and all devices in the private group maintain and advertise a private identifier specific to the group. Members of the group synchronize under a top group master (or root sync station), which synchronizes with a master that is part of the hierarchy.

Group formation within a synchronized hierarchy of peer-to-peer devices

Operating conditions of a remote device and operating conditions of a local device are compared, where the local device and the remote device are located within a predetermined proximity of a wireless network. An advertisement request is transmitted from the local device to the remote device based on the comparison of the operating conditions of the local device and the remote device. The advertisement request includes information identifying one or more services advertised by the local device, whereby the remote device is configured to advertise the one or more services on behalf of the local device in the wireless network.

Efficient service advertisement and discovery in a peer-to-peer networking environment with cooperative advertisement

A system, apparatus and method for selecting one or more synchronization stations, or masters, in a peer-to-peer communication environment. Synchronization (or sync) stations broadcast periodic synchronization frames to advertise future availability windows, during which devices rendezvous for discovery and communication. Devices that can act as sync stations advertise preference values, which indicate their preference or suitability for the role. All devices execute the same algorithm to sort the preference values and identify a root sync station and any number of branch sync stations; leaf devices synchronize with the root or a branch sync station. This passive synchronization scheme allows individual devices to conserve power, because they need not actively discover other devices and services, and can power off their radios for periods of time without sacrificing discoverability. Synchronization and peer-to-peer communication as provided herein coexist with other device demands, such as Bluetooth&#xae; operations and infrastructure-based communications.

Selection of synchronization stations in a peer-to-peer network environment

A system, apparatus, and method are provided for operating a peer-to-peer communication environment. The environment includes one or more clusters of peer devices, wherein devices in a single cluster are organized into a logical hierarchy under an anchor master (at the root of the hierarchy) and any number of synchronization masters; other devices are non-master devices. Synchronization parameters established by the anchor master and disseminated throughout the hierarchy enable the clusters' devices to rendezvous, discover peers and services, and communicate among themselves. The anchor master may adjust the synchronization parameters to avoid conflict with another hierarchy. Each device issues beacons (e.g., heartbeats, discovery beacons) that identify the number of devices synchronized with the reporting device, which allows the anchor master to calculate the total number of cluster members. Devices may also report details of a neighboring cluster (e.g., its synchronization parameters) via a beacon or some other communication.

Operating a cluster of peer-to-peer devices

A method and apparatus are provided for conducting peer-to-peer communications while channel hopping among two or more wireless channels, at least one of which is a restricted channel. One type of restricted channel requires the use of DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) or a similar scheme for avoiding use of the channel during certain circumstances (e.g., for radar avoidance). Communicating peers may synchronize a channel-hopping sequence with TBTTs (Target Beacon Transmission Times) of the restricted channel(s), so that they switch to such a channel in time to capture a beacon and determine whether the channel is free. If the channel is free, or if no beacon is received, they may immediately begin or resume their communications. They may also quiesce just before another TBTT so as to capture that beacon. Thus, the peer-to-peer communications do not diminish a peer device's ability to receive and comply with channel switch announcements.

Peer-to-peer communications on restricted channels

Methods and apparatuses for operating a wireless mobile station configured to communicate with a wireless access point are described. A wireless mobile station can determine an interval of time between successive target beacon transmission times. The wireless mobile station can adjust, based at least in part on the interval of time, a period of time of an awake timer in response to having determined the interval of time.

Power management of a radio data transceiver

An apparatus and methods are provided for opportunistically conducting data communications on multiple wireless channels. In these methods, a device is engaged in data communications with a second device and receives a conflicting communication demand requiring action on one or more channels other than the data-communication channel (e.g., to conduct a channel scan, to issue or receive a beacon). The device arranges a schedule of channel switches to satisfy the communication demand and advises the second device of the schedule, and may explicitly invite the second device to implement the schedule. To the extent the second device does so, the data communications continue on the other channels. The devices may be participating in a synchronized peer-to-peer communication environment that requires their attendance on the data-communication channel and that is not associated with the other channels.

Method and apparatus for cooperative channel switching

An electronic device performs a scan of each wireless channel in a sequence of wireless channels to detect advertising frames transmitted from other electronic devices. When performing the scan, the electronic device waits for a next transmit time. After the next transmit time, the electronic device configures the electronic device to monitor a next wireless channel from the sequence of wireless channels. The electronic device then monitors the next wireless channel for the advertising frames for a scanning time interval, wherein a duration of the scanning time interval is set in accordance with one or more transmit times used for transmitting advertising frames on the wireless channels in the sequence of wireless channels. When wireless channels from the sequence of wireless channels remain to be scanned, the electronic device returns to wait for a next transmit time.

Wireless scan and advertisement in electronic devices

A system and method for peer-to-peer communications is disclosed. A first wireless device receives a message from a second wireless device identifying communication requirements of a point-to-point communication involving the second wireless device. The first wireless device determines whether the second wireless device's communication requirements can be satisfied based on communication resources already committed for other communications. When the communication requirements of the second wireless device can be satisfied, the first wireless device generates a time sharing schedule to be used by the first and second wireless devices based on the already-committed communication requirements and the second device's communication requirements. The time sharing schedule may include a first portion for broadcast communication among a group of devices to which the first and second wireless devices belong, and a second portion for the point-to-point communications of the second wireless devices.

WiFi real-time streaming and bluetooth coexistence

A system, apparatus and method for synchronizing devices in a peer-to-peer communication environment. Devices select a master to facilitate their synchronization, and rendezvous according to a schedule of availability windows broadcast by the master. Devices may attend some or all of the availability windows, during which they may send and receive unicast and/or multicast messages. Individual devices conserve power by being automatically synchronized instead of having to individually discover other devices and services, and can power off their radios without sacrificing discoverability. Synchronization and peer-to-peer communication as provided herein coexists with other device demands, such as Bluetooth&#xae; operations, infrastructure-based communications and so on.

Synchronization of devices in a peer-to-peer network environment

Methods and systems for performing a round trip time determination between two devices are described. An example method may include publishing, over a wireless network interface by a first device within a neighbor aware network (NAN) cluster, a schedule that invites devices within the NAN cluster to request, within a time window, to perform a round trip time (RTT) determination with the first device. The schedule may indicate that the time window begins at a time offset from a NAN discovery window and ends after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. The method may also include receiving a request, from a second device within the NAN cluster, to perform the RTT determination with the first device. The method may also include performing the RTT determination with the second device.

Device to device round-trip time (RTT) measurement via neighbor aware network

A local device is configured to monitor operating conditions coupled to a wireless network. An advertisement period is dynamically adjusted based on the operating conditions of the local device, where the advertisement period is dynamically adjusted based on at least one of a battery condition of the local device, a user behavior of the local device, network traffic condition, and a type of service to be advertised. The local device broadcasts a service advertisement in the wireless network according to the adjusted advertisement period, the service advertisement including one or more service IDs for identifying one or more services to be advertised from the local device.

Efficient service advertisement and discovery in a peer-to-peer networking environment with dynamic advertisement and discovery periods based on operating conditions

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Pierre B Vandwalle