Clustering management in mmWave wireless systems
View Patent ↗According to various embodiments, a method is disclosed that includes detecting if a first cluster capable PCP/AP is within range of a non-PCP/non-AP STA; and transmitting a message to a second cluster capable PCP/AP associated with the non-PCP/non-AP STA requesting that the second cluster capable PCP/AP start or continue the use of clustering in a basic service set (BSS) of the second cluster capable PCP/AP.
1. A method comprising:
determining, by a station (STA) associated with a first personal basic service set (PBSS), whether the first PBSS and a second PBSS are overlapping based on a beacon frame from the second PBSS; and
responsive to a determination that the first PBSS and the second PBSS are overlapping, generating, at the STA, a message based on information within the beacon frame;
wherein:
a first portion of the message indicates a request to a first PBSS control point (PCP) of the first PBSS to start use of an IEEE 802.11ad clustering scheme in the first PBSS that allows the first PCP to schedule transmissions in non-overlapping time periods with respect to other members of the same cluster; and
the first portion of the message to the first PCP allows the first PCP to schedule transmissions in non-overlapping time periods with respect to members associated with the second PBSS or create a specific time period including moving a beacon time interval (BTI) associated with the first PBSS in order to mitigate interference with transmissions of the second PBSS;
wherein:
the STA is a non-access point STA (non-AP STA); and
the method further comprises transmitting the message from the STA to the first PCP in an announce or information response frame.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining includes receiving the beacon frame at the STA, and wherein the message includes timing information of the reception of the beacon frame at the STA.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message includes at least some of the information within the beacon frame.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said generating is performed based at least on a determination that the beacon frame is associated with a PCP other than the PCP of the first PBSS.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beacon frame is an mmWave beacon frame and comprises a directional transmission.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the STA and the PCP of the first PBSS are configured to communicate wirelessly using frequencies of around 60 GHz.
7. An apparatus comprising: a memory unit; and a processor comprising hardware to:
determine whether a first personal basic service set (PBSS) and a second PBSS are overlapping based on a beacon frame from the second PBSS;
wherein:
the apparatus is configured as a station (STA) in the first PBSS;
the STA is a non PBSS control point (PCP) non-access point STA (non-PCP non-AP STA);
responsive to a determination that the first PBSS and the second PBSS are overlapping; the apparatus is configured to generate a message based on information within the beacon frame;
wherein:
a first portion of the message indicates a request to a first PBSS control point (PCP) of the first PBSS to start use of an IEEE 802.11ad clustering scheme in the first PBSS that allows the first PCP to schedule transmissions in non-overlapping time periods with respect to other members of the same cluster; and
the first portion of the message to the first PCP allows the first PCP to schedule transmissions in non-overlapping time periods with respect to members associated with the second PBSS or create a specific time period including moving a beacon time interval (BTI) associated with the first PBSS in order to mitigate interference with transmissions of the second PBSS;
the apparatus further comprises a radio transmitter configured to transmit the message to the first PCP.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a receiver to receive the beacon frame, wherein the message includes timing information of the reception of the beacon frame at the receiver.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the message includes at least some of the information within the beacon frame.
10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processor is to generate the message based at least on a determination that the beacon frame is associated with an PCP other than the PCP of the first PBSS.
11. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the beacon frame is an mmWave beacon frame and comprises a directional transmission.
12. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the apparatus and the PCP of the first PBSS are configured to communicate wirelessly using frequencies of around 60 GHz.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that contains instructions, which when executed, configure one or more processors to:
determine, by a station (STA) associated with a first personal basic service set (PBSS), whether the first PBSS and a second PBSS are overlapping based on a beacon frame from the second PBSS; and
responsive to a determination that the first PBSS and the second PBSS are overlapping,
generate, at the STA, a message based on information within the beacon frame;
wherein:
a first portion of the message indicates a request to a first PBSS control point (PCP) of the first PBSS to start use of an IEEE 802.11 ad clustering scheme in the first PBSS that allows the first PCP to schedule transmissions in non-overlapping time periods with respect to other members of the same cluster;
the first portion of the message to the first PCP allows the first PCP to schedule transmissions in non-overlapping time periods with respect to members associated with the second PBSS or create a specific time period including moving a beacon time interval (BTI) associated with the first PBSS in order to mitigate interference with transmissions of the second PBSS;
the STA is a non-access point STA (non-AP STA); and
the operations are further configured to transmit the message from the STA to the first PCP.
14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the determination includes receipt of the beacon frame at the STA, and wherein the message includes timing information of the reception of the beacon frame at the STA.
15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the message includes at least some of the information within the beacon frame.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the beacon frame is an mmWave beacon frame and comprises a directional transmission.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the STA and the PCP of the first PBSS are configured to communicate wirelessly using frequencies of around 60 GHz.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein during the use of clustering, transmissions are scheduled in non-overlapping time periods with respect to other PCPs of the cluster.