Method and apparatus for TWT-based contention medium

Abstract

This invention provides various schemes related to minimizing contention based on Target Wake-up Time (TWT) in mesh networks. A device acting as a broker compiles TWT durations requested by multiple stations (STAs) to generate a total TWT duration. The device sends this total TWT duration information to a controller. In response to this transmission, the device receives time slot allocations from the controller. The device then allows multiple STAs to compete for media access during the period of that time slot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to contention minimization based on a target wakeup time (TWT) in a mesh network. Background Art

[0002] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section do not constitute prior art to the listed claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0003] In a mesh network, such as a mesh network that implements 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 in a basic service set (BSS) by scheduling mesh devices in the mesh network to provide services to its connected stations (STAs) (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax STAs) at different times, thereby minimizing contention between these IEEE 802.11ax STAs. When multiple agents' radios are on the same channel, each radio can have multiple STAs connected to it. Each agent is able to manage the target wake time (TWT) of these STAs connected to itself. However, STAs across agents can still compete for the medium / transmission medium at the same time because they are unaware of the target wake time (TWT) of other devices (e.g., other STAs connected to other agents in the mesh network). This will have a negative impact on the overall performance of the mesh network. Therefore, a solution is needed to minimize the contention based on target wake time (TWT) in mesh networks. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for TWT-based contention media to reduce contention.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for TWT-based contention for a medium, comprising: collating target wake-up time TWT durations requested by multiple stations STA to generate a total TWT duration; sending information of the total TWT duration to a controller; receiving an allocation of a time slot from the controller in response to the sending; and enabling the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

[0006] In some embodiments, causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot includes: causing the multiple STAs to remain in an awake mode for the entire duration of the time slot, thereby causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium for the entire duration of the time slot.

[0007] In some embodiments, causing the multiple STAs to compete for use of the medium during the time slot includes waking up corresponding STAs of the multiple STAs one at a time so that the corresponding STAs of the multiple STAs compete for use of the medium for a duration of a corresponding portion of the time slot.

[0008] In some embodiments, waking up a corresponding STA of the plurality of STAs one at a time includes allocating a corresponding portion of the time slot to the corresponding STA, wherein the corresponding portion corresponds to a corresponding TWT duration requested by the corresponding STA.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: synchronizing a timing synchronization function TSF with the controller.

[0010] In some embodiments, the TWT start time indicated in this allocation in this time slot is derived using a target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

[0011] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a configuration from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel to operate on such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

[0012] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for TWT-based contention for a medium, comprising: receiving information of multiple total target wake-up time TWT durations from multiple agents, wherein each of the multiple total TWT durations is obtained by collating the TWT durations requested by multiple corresponding stations STA connected to the corresponding agent by a corresponding agent among the multiple agents; allocating multiple time slots to the multiple agents based on the received information; and sending the allocation of corresponding time slots among the multiple time slots to a corresponding agent among the multiple agents, so that the corresponding agent controls the multiple corresponding STAs connected to it to compete for the right to use the medium during the corresponding time slot.

[0013] In some embodiments, the plurality of respective STAs remain in the awake mode for the entire duration of the respective time slot, so that the plurality of respective STAs compete for the right to use the medium for the entire duration of the respective time slot.

[0014] In some embodiments, the plurality of respective STAs are awakened one at a time such that respective STAs of the plurality of respective STAs contend for use of the medium for a duration of a respective portion of the respective time slot.

[0015] In some embodiments, a respective STA among the plurality of respective STAs is allocated a respective portion of the respective time slot, wherein the respective portion of the respective time slot corresponds to a respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

[0016] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: synchronizing a timing synchronization function TSF with the plurality of agents.

[0017] In some embodiments, the TWT start time indicated in the allocation is derived using a target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending a configuration to each of the plurality of agents to assign a channel on which the plurality of agents operate such that a plurality of corresponding STAs of each agent contend for use of a medium on the channel during a corresponding time slot.

[0019] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a device for TWT-based contention medium, comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to perform the following operations, including: collating target wake-up time TWT durations requested by multiple stations STA connected to the device to generate a total TWT duration; sending information of the total TWT duration to a controller; receiving an allocation of time slots from the controller in response to the sending; and enabling the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

[0020] In some embodiments, in the process of causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the processor is configured to: cause the multiple STAs to remain in an awake mode for the entire duration of the time slot, thereby causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium for the entire duration of the time slot.

[0021] In some embodiments, in the process of causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the processor is configured to: wake up corresponding STAs among the multiple STAs one at a time so that the corresponding STAs among the multiple STAs compete for the right to use the medium during the duration of the corresponding part of the time slot.

[0022] In some embodiments, in the process of waking up a corresponding STA among the multiple STAs one at a time, the processor is configured to: allocate a corresponding portion of the time slot to the corresponding STA, wherein the corresponding portion corresponds to a corresponding TWT duration requested by the corresponding STA.

[0023] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: synchronize a timing synchronization function TFT with the controller; wherein the TWT start time indicated in the allocation in the time slot is obtained using a target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

[0024] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: receive a configuration from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel to operate on such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

[0025] Those skilled in the art will no doubt understand these and other objects of the present invention after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description will be given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings (wherein like numbers represent like components) illustrate embodiments of the present invention. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, and the accompanying drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of the embodiments of the present invention. The accompanying drawings illustrate implementation methods of the embodiments of the present invention and are used together with the description to explain the principles of the embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, as some components may be shown to be not proportional to the size in actual implementation to clearly illustrate the concepts of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary network environment in which various solutions and technical solutions according to the present invention can be implemented.

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to the present invention.

[0030] Figure 4 is a block diagram of an example communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 6 is a flow chart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] In the following detailed description, for the purpose of illustration, many specific details are set forth so that those skilled in the art can more thoroughly understand the embodiments of the present invention. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may be implemented without these specific details, and different embodiments may be combined as needed, and should not be limited to the embodiments listed in the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following description is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is only used to illustrate the technical features of the present invention, and is not used to limit the scope of the present invention. Certain words are used throughout the specification and claims to refer to specific components. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that manufacturers may use different names to refer to the same components. Therefore, the present specification and claims do not use the difference in name as a way to distinguish components, but use the difference in function of the components as a basis for distinction. The terms "component", "system" and "device" used in the present invention can be entities related to computers, wherein the computer can be hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The terms "including" and "comprising" mentioned in the following description and claims are open-ended terms, so they should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to...". In addition, the term "coupled" means an indirect or direct electrical connection. Therefore, if a device is described as coupled to another device, it means that the device can be directly electrically connected to the other device, or indirectly electrically connected to the other device through other devices or connection means.

[0035] Corresponding numbers and symbols in the various figures of the drawings generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The drawings are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant parts of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0036] The term "substantially" or "approximately" as used herein means that within an acceptable range, a person skilled in the art can solve the technical problem to be solved and basically achieve the technical effect to be achieved. For example, "approximately equal to" means that a certain error from "completely equal to" is acceptable to a person skilled in the art without affecting the correctness of the result.

[0037] Overview

[0038] Embodiments according to the present invention relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and / or solutions related to minimizing contention based on target wake-up time (TWT) in mesh networks. According to the present invention, multiple feasible solutions can be implemented individually or jointly. That is, although these feasible solutions are described separately below, two or more of these feasible solutions can be implemented in one or another combination.

[0039] Figure 1 An example network environment 100 is shown in which various solutions and techniques according to the present invention may be implemented. Figures 2 to 6 An example of implementation of various proposed solutions in a network environment 100 according to the present invention is shown. Figures 1 to 6 The following description of various proposed approaches is provided.

[0040] It is worth noting that in the present invention, the term "agent" refers to an entity or 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-AP STA. In addition, 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 be used as a controller, and one or more other AP STAs may be used as one or more agents.

[0041] Reference Figure 1 , the network environment 100 may involve a wireless network (e.g., a mesh network, a relay network, or some type of wireless local area network (WLAN)) having a controller, multiple agents, and multiple STAs. For illustration purposes and simplicity, Figure 1 Two agents (e.g., agent 1 and agent 2) are shown, each agent has two associated STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2 associated with agent 1, and STA3 and STA4 associated with agent 2). In various implementations, there may be different numbers of agents and STAs, and the present invention is not limited to this. Under various proposed schemes according to the present invention, each of the controller, agent 1, agent 2, and STA1~STA4 can be configured to perform various aspects of minimizing contention based on the target wake-up time (TWT) in the mesh network according to the various proposed schemes described. It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present invention, each agent has one or more STAs connected, taking multiple STAs as an example, each agent has multiple STAs associated with it, and the corresponding multiple STAs correspond to the corresponding agents. For example, the corresponding multiple STAs (STA1 and STA2) correspond to / associated with the corresponding agent 1, and the corresponding multiple STAs (STA3 and STA4) correspond to / associated with the corresponding agent 2.

[0042] According to the proposed scheme of the present invention, in a mesh network (e.g., wireless network 120), the target wake-up time (TWT) corresponding to the STA can be managed by a centralized entity (such as a controller). The controller can first configure the agents in the mesh network to a clean channel (e.g., Figure 1 Channel 36 shown in , although different channels may be selected in various implementations), so that all agents can operate on the same clean channel. This can simplify the control of the controller compared to the case where multiple agents are assigned to different (separate) channels, in which case some of these agents may encounter external overlapping BSS (OBSS) traffic (e.g., interference). Under the proposed scheme, each STA connected to a given agent in the mesh network can request the agent to provide a target wake-up time (TWT) duration for the STA. Accordingly, the agent can collect / collate the requested target wake-up time (TWT) duration to accumulate the TWT durations requested by all connected STAs (e.g., IEEE802.11ax STAs) and obtain a total TWT duration, and provide information of the total TWT duration (also referred to as "total wake-up duration" in the present invention) to the controller. That is, all agents in the mesh network can share information about the target wake-up time (TWT) of their associated STAs (e.g., the total TWT duration compiled by each agent) with the controller. The controller, as a centralized entity, can determine the wake-up duration of each agent so that only one agent uses / accesses the medium (e.g., the transmission medium) at any given time (e.g., the time allocated for the agent and its associated STAs). The controller can then provide each agent with a response with the time slot information and the cumulative wake-up duration.

[0043] Under the proposed scheme according to the present invention, the timing synchronization function (TSF) can be synchronized between the controller and 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 can use / reference the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) or some other offset value to obtain the target wake-up time (TWT) start time (for example, the target wake-up time (TWT) start time of each agent is indicated in the allocation of its corresponding time slot, or, the TWT start time for each agent is indicated in the time slot allocation, that is, the time slot information allocated by the controller to the agent may include the TWT start time for the agent) for reference. The controller can allocate a corresponding time slot to each agent for the total wake-up duration of each agent, so that two time slots of different agents will not conflict, and the repetition of time intervals (intervals) of different agents will be different without overlap.

[0044] Under the proposed scheme according to the present invention, the agent can take two approaches to help improve network efficiency. In the first approach of the proposed scheme, the agent can request all STAs connected to itself to remain in the awake mode or state for the complete total awake duration indicated by the controller, so that the STAs compete for access to the medium for the entire duration. However, this method may increase the wake-up time of STAs, and therefore, may increase the power consumption of some STAs.

[0045] Figure 2An example scenario 200 under the first method is shown. In scenario 200, initially, each of agent 1 and agent 2 receives and collates the target wake time (TWT) durations requested by the corresponding STAs to which it is connected, and accumulates them to obtain the total TWT duration of each agent. Then, each of agent 1 and agent 2 shares the information of the total target wake time (TWT) duration of its associated STAs with the controller (for example, through a proprietary information element (IE)). Thereafter, the controller provides each agent (for example, through a proprietary IE) with a response having time slot information (such as TWT start time) and cumulative wake duration (cumulative wake duration, such as the total duration allocated to the agent for use by the controller based on the total TWT duration shared by the agent, and the cumulative wake duration may be the same as or different from the total TWT duration). Specifically, the controller may provide a first response to agent 1 prior to or at the beginning of a first time slot, and then provide a second response to agent 2 prior to or at the beginning of a second time slot (for example, the second time slot is located after the first time slot), such as Figure 2 As shown. In the first time slot, agent 1 can wake up its connected STAs (such as STA1 and STA2) for the entire duration of the first time slot, so that (one or more) STAs (such as STA1 and STA2 shown in the figure) connected to agent 1 compete for the right to use the medium during the first time slot. Similarly, in the second time slot, agent 2 can wake up its connected (one or more) STAs (such as STA3 and STA4 shown in the figure) for the entire duration of the second time slot, so that (one or more) STAs (such as STA3 and STA4) connected to agent 2 compete for the right to use the medium during the second time slot.

[0046] In the second method of the proposed scheme, the agent can allocate the above-mentioned cumulative wake-up duration (cumulative wakeduration) allocated by the controller to all STAs connected to itself based on the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by all STAs connected to itself. For example, the corresponding portion of the time slot allocated or otherwise assigned to a given STA may correspond to (e.g., proportionally) the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by the given STA (e.g., in the case where the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by STA2 is 1.5 times the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by STA1, STA1 and STA2 can be allocated 40% and 60% of the first time slot / the cumulative wake-up duration, respectively). STAs can wake up one by one, each at their own time, and compete for the right to use the medium during the corresponding portion of the time slot. Therefore, this is a more energy-efficient method.

[0047] Figure 3 An example scenario 300 according to the second method is shown. In scenario 300, initially, each of agent 1 and agent 2 receives and sorts the target wake-up 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 based on the TWT durations requested by all STAs connected to agent 1, and agent 2 obtains another total TWT duration based on the TWT durations requested by all STAs connected to agent 2). Then, each of agent 1 and agent 2 shares information about the total target wake-up time (TWT) duration of its associated STA with the controller (e.g., through a proprietary IE). Thereafter, the controller provides a response of the time slot information and the accumulated wake-up duration to each agent (e.g., through a proprietary IE). Specifically, the controller may provide a first response to agent 1 before or at the beginning of a first time slot, and provide a second response to agent 2 before or at the beginning of a second time slot after the first time slot, such as Figure 3 As shown. In the first time slot, agent 1 can wake up its connected STAs (such as STA1 and STA2) one at a time, so that each of STA1 and STA2 competes for the right to use the medium during the corresponding part of the first time slot. Similarly, in the second time slot, agent 2 can wake up its connected STAs (such as STA3 and STA4) one at a time, so that each of STA3 and STA4 competes for the right to use the medium during the corresponding part of the second time slot.

[0048] In summary, it can be seen that certain advantages or benefits can be obtained through embodiments of the proposed scheme. For example, when the controller makes centralized decisions based on the target wake-up time (TWT) duration of STAs across proxy connections in a mesh network, contention between STAs across different proxy connections in the mesh network can be reduced or otherwise minimized, thereby helping to improve the overall system performance of the mesh network. In addition, the controller can provide time slot information accordingly and align the wake-up time of the STA to avoid unnecessary STA waking up early. Therefore, the STA can be in sleep mode or low power mode for a longer duration, thereby improving the power efficiency of the device.

[0049] It is worth noting that with respect to the synchronization of the timing synchronization function (TSF) between the controller and the corresponding agent, more than one method can be used in various implementations of the proposed scheme. The agent in the mesh network has an AP entity and a STA entity that cooperate with each other. The STA entity can also be called APCLI, which can also be called backhaul STA. In the first method, the STA entity in the agent 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 been synchronized with the controller and starts advertising the new timing synchronization function (TSF) in its beacon. At this point, each of the corresponding agents connected to the controller-synchronized agent can update their timing synchronization function (TSF) and their corresponding AP. In this way, the entire mesh network can synchronize its timing synchronization function (TSF) based on the timing synchronization function (TSF) of the controller.

[0050] As an example of the first method, in a daisy chain method, agent 1 is connected to the controller and agent 2 is connected to 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 using the value of the APCLI of agent 1 synchronized to the controller (e.g., now the AP beacon of agent 1 has synchronized the timing synchronization function (TSF) according to each 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 synchronized from the beacon of agent 1. In this way, all devices in the mesh network can be synchronized with the controller.

[0051] In the second method, the agents in the mesh network can periodically synchronize their timing synchronization function (TSF) with the controller. Once synchronized, each agent can then update in its beacon that its timing synchronization function (TSF) is synchronized. Then, when any unsynchronized agent listens to the beacon of the synchronized agent, it can synchronize its timing synchronization function (TSF) using the synchronized beacon. In this way, all devices in the mesh network can be synchronized with the controller.

[0052] Illustrative Implementation

[0053] Figure 4 An example system 400 having at least an example device 410 and an example device 420 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Each of the devices 410 and 420 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes and methods described herein related to contention / contention minimization based on target wake-up time (TWT) 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, the device 410 can be implemented in the STA 110, and the device 420 can be implemented in the STA 120, or vice versa.

[0054] Each of the devices 410 and 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 devices 410 and 420 may be implemented in a smart phone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device (such as a tablet computer, a portable calculator, 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 device, 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 devices 410 and 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 devices 410 and 420 may be implemented in a network node, such as an AP in a WLAN.

[0055] 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 schemes described above, each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 is implemented in a non-APSTA or an AP STA, or is implemented as a non-AP STA or an AP STA. Each of the apparatus 410 and the apparatus 420 may include at least Figure 4 Some of those components shown in the figure, such as processor 412 and processor 422. Each of device 410 and device 420 may further include one or more other components (e.g., internal power supply, display device and / or user interface device) that are not related to the solution proposed by the present invention, so for the sake of simplicity and brevity, such components are not shown in the figure. Figure 4 Each of the illustrated devices 410 and 420 is not shown and will not be described below.

[0056] On the one hand, each of processor 412 and processor 422 can 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 processor 412 and processor 422, each of processor 412 and processor 422 may include multiple processors in some implementations, and may include a single processor in other embodiments according to the present invention. On the other hand, each of processor 412 and processor 422 can be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally, solid) having electronic components, the electronic components including, for example but not limited to, 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 varactor diodes, which are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes according to embodiments of the present invention. In other words, in at least some implementations, according to various implementations of embodiments of the present invention, each of processor 412 and processor 422 is a dedicated machine specially designed, arranged and configured to perform a specific task, which includes TWT-based contention minimization in a mesh network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] In some implementations, the device 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 device 420 may also include a transceiver 426 coupled to the processor 422, the transceiver 426 being capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data.

[0058] In some implementations, the device 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 coupled to the processor 422 and capable of being accessed by the processor 422 and storing data therein. Therefore, each of the device 410 and the device 420 wirelessly communicates with each other through the transceiver 416 and the transceiver 426. Each of the memory 414 and the memory 424 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and / or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, or in addition, each of the memory 414 and the memory 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 in addition, each of the memory 414 and the 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.

[0059] Each of the devices 410 and 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 devices 410 and 420 is provided in the context of the device 410 being implemented in or as a proxy (e.g., Proxy 1 or Proxy 2) and the device 420 being implemented in or as a controller of a mesh network, for example, the mesh network may be a WLAN in the network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. It is worth noting that although the example implementations described below are provided in the context of a WLAN, they may also be implemented in other types of networks.

[0060] According to the proposed scheme related to contention minimization based on target wake-up time (TWT) in a mesh network of the present invention, in a network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards, a device 410 is implemented in or as a proxy, and a device 420 is implemented as or in a controller, and a processor 412 of the device 410 can collate TWT durations requested by multiple STAs (e.g., multiple STAs connected to the device 410) via a transceiver 416 to generate a total TWT duration. In addition, the processor 412 can send information about the total TWT duration to the device 420 through the transceiver 416. In addition, in response to sending the information about the total TWT duration to the device 420, the processor 412 can receive an allocation of a time slot from the device 420 through the transceiver 416 (e.g., the allocation includes time slot information, such as a start time and a duration of the time slot, which can correspond to the TWT start time and the accumulated wake-up duration in the above description). In addition, the processor 412 may control / command / cause the plurality of STAs (eg, the plurality of STAs connected to the apparatus 410 ) to contend for the right to use the medium during the time slot via the transceiver 416 .

[0061] In some embodiments, in the process of causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the processor 412 may cause the multiple STAs to be in an awake mode during the time slot, thereby causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

[0062] Alternatively, in causing the plurality of STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the processor 412 may wake up each of the plurality of STAs one at a time so that each STA competes for the right to use the medium during a corresponding portion of the time slot. In some implementations, when waking up each of the plurality of STAs one at a time, the processor 412 may allocate a corresponding portion of the time slot to the corresponding STA, wherein the corresponding portion of the time slot corresponds to (e.g., is proportional to or equal to) a corresponding TWT duration requested by the corresponding STA.

[0063] In some embodiments, processor 412 may also synchronize a timing synchronization function (TSF) with device 420 via 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 a TBTT or an offset.

[0064] In some implementations, the processor 412 may receive a configuration from the device 420 via the transceiver 416 that allocates / assigns a channel (e.g., a clean channel) on which to operate such that the multiple STAs compete for use of the medium on the channel during the time slot.

[0065] According to the proposed scheme for minimizing contention based on target wake-up time (TWT) in a mesh network of the present invention, in a network environment 100 according to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards, the device 410 is implemented in a proxy or as a proxy, and the device 420 is implemented in a controller or as a controller, and the processor 422 of the device 420 can receive information of the total TWT duration from a plurality of agents including the device 410 via a transceiver 426. Each of the total TWT durations is collated by a corresponding agent among the plurality of agents based on the target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by a corresponding plurality of STAs connected to the corresponding agent. In addition, the processor 422 can allocate a plurality of time slots to the plurality of agents via the transceiver 426 based on the received information. In addition, the processor 422 can send the allocation of a corresponding time slot in a plurality of time slots to each of the plurality of agents via the transceiver 426, so that each agent causes its corresponding plurality of STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the corresponding time slot.

[0066] In some implementations, the corresponding plurality of STAs may remain in an awake mode during the corresponding time slot, such that the corresponding plurality of STAs compete for the use of the medium for the duration of the time slot.

[0067] Alternatively, the corresponding plurality of STAs may be awakened one at a time so that each of the corresponding plurality of STAs competes for use of the medium during a corresponding portion of a corresponding time slot. In some implementations, each of the corresponding plurality of STAs may be assigned a corresponding portion of a corresponding time slot, wherein the corresponding portion corresponds to a corresponding target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by the STA.

[0068] In some embodiments, processor 422 may also synchronize timing synchronization functions (TSFs) 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 a TBTT or offset reference.

[0069] In some implementations, the processor 422 may send a configuration to each of the plurality of agents via the transceiver 426 to allocate channels on which the plurality of agents operate such that the respective plurality of STAs of each agent compete for use of the medium on the channel during respective time slots.

[0070] Illustrative Process

[0071] Figure 5 An example process 500 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 500 may represent aspects of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More specifically, process 500 may represent aspects of concepts and schemes related to contention minimization based on a target wake time (TWT) in a mesh network according to the present invention. Process 500 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown in 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. In addition, the blocks of process 500 may be arranged in accordance with Figure 5 , or, optionally, in a different order. In addition, one or more of the blocks / sub-blocks of process 500 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 500 may be implemented by or in devices 410 and 420 and any variants thereof. For purposes of illustration only and without limiting the scope, process 500 is described below in the context of device 410 being implemented as an agent or in an agent (e.g., agent 1 or agent 2) and device 420 being implemented in a controller of a mesh network (e.g., a WLAN in a network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards) or in a controller. Process 500 may start at block 510.

[0072] At step 510 , process 500 may include processor 412 of device 410 collating / collecting target wake time (TWT) durations requested by multiple STAs connected thereto via transceiver 416 to generate a total TWT duration. Process 500 may proceed from 510 to 520 .

[0073] At step 520, process 500 may include processor 412 sending information of the total TWT duration to device 420 via transceiver 416. Process 500 may proceed from 520 to 530.

[0074] At step 530, process 500 may include, in response to sending the information of the total TWT duration to device 420, processor 412 receiving an allocation of a slot from device 420 via transceiver 416. Process 500 may proceed from 530 to 540.

[0075] At step 540 , process 500 may include processor 412 , via transceiver 416 , causing the plurality of STAs to contend for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

[0076] In some implementations, in the process of causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, process 500 may include: the processor 412 causes the multiple STAs to remain in an awake mode during the time slot, so that the multiple STAs compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

[0077] Alternatively, in causing the plurality of STAs to contend for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the process 500 may include: the processor 412 waking up each of the plurality of STAs one at a time so that each STA contends for the right to use the medium during a corresponding portion of the time slot. In some implementations, in causing the plurality of STAs to waking up each of the plurality of STAs one at a time, the process 500 may include: the processor 412 allocating a corresponding portion of the time slot to each STA, the corresponding portion corresponding to a corresponding target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by the corresponding STA.

[0078] In some embodiments, process 500 may further include processor 412 synchronizing a timing synchronization function (TSF) with device 420 via transceiver 416. In some embodiments, a TBTT or offset may be used to reference a target wake time (TWT) start time indicated in the allocation of the time slot.

[0079] In some implementations, process 500 may also include processor 412 receiving a configuration from device 420 via transceiver 416 that allocates a channel (eg, a clean channel) to operate on such that multiple STAs compete for use of the medium on the channel during the time slot.

[0080] Figure 6 An example process 600 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 600 may represent aspects of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More specifically, process 600 may represent aspects of the proposed concepts and schemes related to contention minimization based on target wake time (TWT) in a mesh network according to the present invention. Process 600 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown in 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. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 600 may be arranged in accordance with Figure 6 600. The process 600 may be performed in the order shown, or in a different order. In addition, one or more of the blocks / sub-blocks of process 600 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 600 may be implemented by device 410 and device 420 and any variants thereof or in device 410 and device 420 and their variants. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 600 is described below in the context of device 410 being implemented in an agent or as an agent (e.g., agent 1 or agent 2) and device 420 being implemented in a controller of a mesh network (e.g., a WLAN in a network environment 100 according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards) or as a controller. Process 600 may start at step 610.

[0081] At step 610, the process 600 may include: the processor 422 of the device 420 receives information of a plurality of total TWT durations from a plurality of agents including the device 410 via the transceiver 426. Each of the plurality of total TWT durations is collated by each of the plurality of agents based on the target wake-up time (TWT) durations requested by the corresponding plurality of STAs connected to the respective agents. The process 600 may proceed from 610 to 620.

[0082] At step 620, process 600 can include processor 422 allocating a plurality of time slots to a plurality of agents via transceiver 426 based on the received information. Process 600 can proceed from 620 to 630.

[0083] At step 630, process 600 may include processor 422 sending, via transceiver 426, allocations of corresponding ones of the plurality of time slots to corresponding ones of the plurality of agents such that each agent causes its corresponding plurality of STAs to contend for use of the medium during the corresponding time slots.

[0084] In some implementations, the corresponding plurality of STAs may remain in an awake mode during the corresponding time slot, such that the corresponding plurality of STAs compete for the right to use the medium for the duration of the entire time slot.

[0085] Alternatively, the corresponding plurality of STAs may be awakened one at a time so that each of the corresponding plurality of STAs competes for use of the medium during a corresponding portion of a corresponding time slot. In some implementations, each of the corresponding plurality of STAs may be assigned a corresponding portion of the corresponding time slot corresponding to a corresponding target wake-up time (TWT) duration requested by the STA.

[0086] In some embodiments, process 600 may further include processor 422 synchronizing timing synchronization functions (TSFs) with multiple agents via transceiver 426. In some implementations, the target wake time (TWT) start time indicated in the allocation of time slots may be referenced using a TBTT or an offset.

[0087] In some embodiments, process 600 may further include processor 422 sending a configuration to each of the plurality of agents via transceiver 426 to allocate channels on which the plurality of agents operate so that the corresponding plurality of STAs of each agent compete for use of the medium on the channel during corresponding time slots.

[0088] Additional Notes

[0089] The subject matter described herein sometimes describes different components contained in other different components, or different components connected to other different components. It should be understood that the described structure is only an example, and in fact, the same function can also be achieved by implementing other structures. Conceptually, any component configuration that can achieve the same function is effectively "associated" to achieve the desired function. Therefore, any two components combined herein to achieve a certain specific function can be regarded as "associated" with each other to achieve the desired function, regardless of their structure or intermediate components. Similarly, any two components associated in this way can also be regarded as "operationally connected" or "operationally coupled" to achieve the desired function, and any two components that can be associated in this way can also be regarded as "operationally couplable" to each other to achieve the desired function. Specific examples of operational coupling include but are not limited to physically pairable and / or physically interactive components and / or wirelessly interactive and / or wirelessly interactive components and / or logically interactive and / or logically interactive components.

[0090] In addition, for any plural and / or singular words used in this article, those skilled in the art can convert the plural to the singular and / or the singular to the plural according to whether the context and / or application scenario is appropriate. For the sake of clarity, various substitutions between singular and plural in this article are clearly stipulated here.

[0091] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, the words used herein, especially in the appended claims, such as the words used in the body of the claims, generally have an "open" meaning, for example, the word "including" should be understood as "including but not limited to", the word "having" should be understood as "having at least", the word "including" should be understood as "including but not limited to", etc. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that if an introductory claim list intends to include a specific value, such intention will be explicitly listed in the claim list, and if it is not listed, such intention does not exist. To help understanding, for example, the appended claims may include introductory phrases such as "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce the claim list. However, such phrases should not cause the claim enumeration to be interpreted as meaning that the introduction of the indefinite article "a" or "an" will limit any particular claim enumeration containing such an introductory claim enumeration to only one embodiment of such an enumeration, even when the same claim enumeration includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a", i.e., "a" should be interpreted as "at least one" or "one or more". The same is true for the use of definite articles to introduce a claim enumeration. In addition, even if a specific value is explicitly enumerated in an introductory claim enumeration, those skilled in the art will recognize that such enumeration should be understood to include at least the enumerated value, for example, "two enumerations" without any other qualification means at least two enumerations, or two or more enumerations. In addition, if the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, it is generally understood by those skilled in the art that, for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" will include, but is not limited to, a system having only A, a system having only B, a system having only C, a system having A and B, a system having A and C, a system having B and C, and / or a system having A, B, and C, etc. If the phrase "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, it is generally understood by those skilled in the art that, for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" will include, but is not limited to, a system having only A, a system having only B, a system having only C, a system having A and B, a system having A and C, a system having B and C, and / or a system having A, B, and C, etc. It is further understood by those skilled in the art that almost all separating words and / or phrases connecting two or more alternative words appearing in the specification, the scope of the claims, or the drawings should be understood to take into account all possibilities, that is, including one of all the words, either of the two words, or both words. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the following possibilities: "A", "B", or "A and B".

[0092] The use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc. in the claims to modify claim elements does not in itself indicate any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element relative to another claim element, or the temporal order of performing method actions, but serves solely as a marker to distinguish one claim element with the same name from another element with the same name using ordinal terms.

[0093] Although the present invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Instead, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar structures (as will be apparent to those skilled in the art), for example, combinations or replacements of different features in different embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications and similar structures.

Claims

1. A method for TWT-based contention medium, comprising: Arrange the target wake-up time TWT durations requested by multiple stations STA to generate a total TWT duration; Sending information of the total TWT duration to the controller; receiving an assignment of a time slot from the controller in response to the transmitting; as well as, The multiple STAs are made to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Enabling the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot includes: maintaining the multiple STAs in an awake mode for the entire duration of the time slot, thereby enabling the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium for the entire duration of the time slot.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Allowing the plurality of STAs to contend for the right to use the medium during the time slot includes waking up corresponding STAs of the plurality of STAs one at a time so that the corresponding STAs of the plurality of STAs contend for the right to use the medium for a duration of a corresponding portion of the time slot.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Waking up a corresponding STA among the multiple STAs one at a time includes: allocating a corresponding portion of the time slot to the corresponding STA, wherein the corresponding portion corresponds to a corresponding TWT duration requested by the corresponding STA.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further includes: The controller is synchronized with the timing synchronization function TSF.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The TWT start time indicated in this allocation for this time slot is derived using the target beacon transmission time TBTT or an offset reference.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further includes: A configuration is received from the controller, the configuration assigning a channel to operate on 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 medium, comprising: Receiving information of a plurality of total target wake-up time TWT durations from a plurality of agents, wherein each of the plurality of total TWT durations is obtained by collating a corresponding agent among the plurality of agents based on TWT durations requested by a plurality of corresponding stations STA connected to the corresponding agent; allocating a plurality of time slots to the plurality of agents based on the received information; and, The allocation of a corresponding time slot among the plurality of time slots is sent to a corresponding agent among the plurality of agents, so that the corresponding agent controls a plurality of corresponding STAs connected thereto to compete for a right to use the medium during the corresponding time slot.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The plurality of corresponding STAs remain in the awake mode for the entire duration of the corresponding time slot, so that the plurality of corresponding STAs compete for the right to use the medium for the entire duration of the corresponding time slot.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The plurality of corresponding STAs are awakened one at a time so that corresponding STAs of the plurality of corresponding STAs contend for use of the medium for a duration of a corresponding portion of the corresponding time slot.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that A respective STA among the plurality of respective STAs is allocated a respective portion of the respective time slot, wherein the respective portion of the respective time slot corresponds to a respective TWT duration requested by the respective STA.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein: The method further includes: A timing synchronization function TSF is synchronized with the plurality of agents.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The TWT start time indicated in the allocation is derived using the target beacon transmission time TBTT or offset reference.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein: The method further includes: A configuration is sent to each of the plurality of agents to assign a channel on which the plurality of agents operate such that a plurality of corresponding STAs of each agent contend for use of a medium on the channel during corresponding time slots.

15. An apparatus for TWT-based contention medium, comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein: The transceiver and the processor are configured to perform the following operations, including: Arrange target wake-up time TWT durations requested by multiple stations STA connected to the device to generate a total TWT duration; Sending information of the total TWT duration to the controller; receiving an allocation of a time slot from the controller in response to the transmitting; and, The multiple STAs are made to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that In the process of making the multiple STAs compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the processor is configured to: keep the multiple STAs in the awake mode for the entire duration of the time slot, thereby making the multiple STAs compete for the right to use the medium for the entire duration of the time slot.

17. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that In the process of causing the multiple STAs to compete for the right to use the medium during the time slot, the processor is configured to: wake up corresponding STAs among the multiple STAs one at a time so that the corresponding STAs among the multiple STAs compete for the right to use the medium during the duration of the corresponding part of the time slot.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that In waking up a corresponding STA among the plurality of STAs one at a time, the processor is configured to: allocate a corresponding portion of the time slot to the corresponding STA, wherein the corresponding portion corresponds to a corresponding TWT duration requested by the corresponding STA.

19. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The processor is further configured to: synchronize the timing synchronization function TFT with the controller; Therein, the TWT start time indicated in the allocation in the time slot is obtained using the target beacon transmission time TBTT or offset reference.

20. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The processor is further configured to receive a configuration from the controller that assigns a channel to operate on such that the plurality of STAs contend for use of a medium on the channel during the time slot.

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