CN111034282A - Enhanced wake-up signal for wireless communication - Google Patents

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus related to enhanced wake frame transmission. A device may determine a wake-up frame addressed to a group of station devices and formatted for a low-power receiver of the station devices. The device may send a wake-up frame and the device may send a group-addressed transmission formatted for each primary connection radio to the group of station devices.

Description

Enhanced wake-up signal for wireless communication

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No.62/552, 197 filed on 30/8/2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for wireless communication, and more particularly, to device wake-up signaling for power control.

Background

Wireless devices are becoming more and more popular and are increasingly requesting access to wireless channels. The increase in wireless deployment density requires increased network and spectrum availability. The wireless devices may communicate over a next generation 60GHz (NG60) network, an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) network, and/or any other network.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a portion of a wake frame format in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3A depicts a flow diagram of an exemplary process for enhanced wake-up signaling in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3B depicts a flow diagram of an exemplary process for enhanced wake-up signaling in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station, which may be suitable for use as a user equipment, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an example machine on which any of one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Example embodiments described herein provide certain systems, methods, and devices for enhanced device wake-up signaling in wireless communications. The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for those of others. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

The use of a low power wake-up receiver (LP-WRx) may be one technique for enabling Wi-Fi devices to operate with ultra-low power. For example, the LP-WURx may use less power than the main connection radio (PCR). The device may conserve power (e.g., battery power) by limiting the time that the PCR is active. However, to still receive some data when the PCR is not valid, the device may use the active LP-WURX.

The LP-WURx of a device may not be able to receive the same packets as the PCR, and thus, when the LP-WURx on the device is active and the PCR is not active, the device may be limited by the type of packets the device may receive. One way to allow the device to remain in a low power mode until a packet formatted for a PCR is sent to the device is to use a wake-up packet (e.g., a wake-up frame).

A device may have a minimum radio configuration (e.g., using LP-WURx), it may receive a wake-up packet from a peer device, and the device may remain in a low power mode until the wake-up packet is received. When a Station (STA) device receives a wake packet addressed to the STA, the STA may wake up the PCR of the STA and may facilitate communication with an Access Point (AP) to initiate a particular protocol, such as Power Save Mode (PSM) or unscheduled automatic power save delivery (U-APSD), to obtain data from the AP. This procedure may be performed when the AP has individually addressed packets to be sent to individual STAs through PCRs.

Some wake-up packets may not allow groups addressed to STAs. For example, in order for an AP to wake up multiple STAs, a wake-up packet may be sent to each STA separately, requiring multiple wake-up packet transmissions. Otherwise, when the STAs may activate their respective PCRs to receive transmissions that the LP-WURx may not receive, the STAs may remain in a low power mode until a scheduled time (e.g., according to a beacon interval).

Devices may transmit beacons at defined times rather than using multicast wake-up packets, meaning that STAs may have to turn on their respective PCRs to receive beacons. The activation of the PCR may be a waste of STA resources because the STA may activate the PCR to receive the beacon only for determining that there is no buffered traffic for the STA.

In some PCR operations, the AP may send a group-addressed transmission to a group of STAs. Using the beacon, the AP may set bit 0 of a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) bitmap of the DTIM beacon to 1 to indicate that there may be buffered group-addressed traffic at the AP intended for the group of STAs. After transmitting the DTIM beacon, the AP may transmit the group-addressed transmission through a channel access. A STA may recognize bit 0 of the DTIM bitmap and if the value of bit 0 is set to 1, the STA may keep its PCR active to wait for a subsequent group-addressed transmission from the AP, while the STA may not need to inform the AP that the STA's PCR is active (e.g., awake). In this way, the STA may activate the PCR at the expected beacon arrival time to receive the beacon and may then determine whether there is buffered traffic at the AP that the STA may need its PCR activity based on the DTIM bitmap.

The default behavior when a STA receives an individually addressed wake-up packet may be to wake-up the PCR and initiate transmission to the AP to initiate a particular protocol, such as PSM or U-APSD, to acquire data from the AP. This process may work when the AP has individually addressed packets to be sent to a single STA through the STA's PCR. However, when an AP has a group-addressed transmission (e.g., for a particular multicast group, the AP may send a wake-up frame with an address field equal to a particular group ID, then all STAs addressed by the group ID may follow the same behavior and initiate transmissions to the AP to initiate a particular protocol to acquire data from the AP). In order for a STA to know that it is addressed by a particular group ID, the AP may need to indicate to the STA which group ID the STA belongs to through a negotiation process using the STA's PCR.

The STA may not recognize that it does not need to initiate transmissions to the AP and does not need to acquire packets for specific group-addressed transmissions. This may result in wasted communication medium and/or inefficient device operation.

The AP may not know which STA is in the multicast group associated with the multicast service and the multicast address. Therefore, the AP may not correctly allocate the group ID to the STAs joining the multicast group.

Therefore, it may be advantageous to implement multicast wakeup packet transmissions to multiple STAs in a group.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems, methods, and devices for enhanced wake-up signaling for wireless communications.

Group-addressed transmissions may also be referred to as multicast transmissions or broadcast transmissions. These terms may mean that the transmission addresses a group of potential STAs, not just one STA.

In one or more embodiments, the wake-up packet may include an address field, such as a receiver identifier (RXID) field, that may be recognized by the receiving STA to determine whether the wake-up packet is addressed to the STA. The address field may include a group identifier that may be used to identify a group of STAs that may or may not include a receiving STA. The address field may be an identifier field of a page or may be referenced by other names. The address field may be added to an existing wake-up frame format (e.g., as defined in the IEEE802.11 standard). The use of the address field may allow the AP to assign a group ID to multiple STAs and send a wake-up frame with the group ID in the address field.

In one or more embodiments, the address field of the wakeup frame may indicate that the AP needs to send a group-addressed transmission to a plurality of STAs that need to use their respective PCRs. The indication may be represented by one or more bits in the wake frame and may be embedded in the group ID indicated in the address field. The embedded information may be indicated by the AP when the AP and the STA negotiate to Wake Up Receiver (WUR) operation using PCRs (e.g., before sending a wake-up packet). Such an indication may not require additional bits in the wake-up frame.

In one or more embodiments, advantages of enhanced wake-up signaling may include: the STA may receive additional information in the wake-up frame that the STA may use to determine that the STA does not need to activate a PCR to initiate a transmission to the AP or to obtain a packet for a particular group-addressed transmission. Accordingly, the STA can implement a conventional operation for receiving group addressing traffic and can improve operation efficiency.

In one or more embodiments, advantages of enhanced wakeup signaling may include allowing an AP to indicate a group ID with associated multicast group information for each associated STA without determining whether the STA is in a particular multicast group. Each STA may decide whether to react to a particular group ID by evaluating the associated multicast group information in the wakeup frame.

The foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration and not limitation. There may be many other examples, configurations, processes, etc., some of which are described in more detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment 100, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user devices 120 and one or more Access Points (APs) 102, which may communicate in accordance with the IEEE802.11 communication standard. The user equipment 120 may be a mobile device that is not fixed (e.g., does not have a fixed location), or may be a fixed device.

In some embodiments, user device 120 and AP 102 may include one or more computer systems similar to the system of the functional diagram of fig. 4 or the exemplary machine/system of fig. 5.

One or more exemplary user devices 120 and/or APs 102 may be operated by one or more users 110. It should be noted that any addressable unit may be a Station (STA). A STA may have a number of different features, each forming its functionality. For example, a single addressable unit may be a portable STA, a quality of service (QoS) STA, a dependent STA, and a hidden STA at the same time. One or more exemplary user devices 120 and AP 102 may be STAs. One or more exemplary user devices 120 and/or APs 102 may operate as Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) control points/access points (PCPs/APs). User device 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and/or AP 102 may comprise any suitable processor-driven device, including but not limited to a mobile device or a non-mobile device such as a stationary device. For example, user device 120 and/or AP 102 may include a User Equipment (UE), a Station (STA), an Access Point (AP), a software-enabled AP (softap), a Personal Computer (PC), a wearable wireless device (e.g., bracelet, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an ultrabook computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld device, an internet of things (IoT) device, a sensor device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an in-vehicle device, an out-of-vehicle device, a hybrid device (e.g., incorporating cellular telephone functionality with PDA device functionality), a consumer device, a vehicle device, a non-vehicle device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a PCs device incorporating a wireless communication device, Mobile or portable GPS devices, DVB devices, relatively Small computing devices, non-desktop computers, "life-conscious" (CSLL) devices, ultra-mobile devices (UMD), ultra-mobile pcs (umpc), Mobile Internet Devices (MID), "paper-folded" devices or computing devices, devices supporting Dynamic Combinable Computing (DCC), environment-aware devices, video devices, audio devices, a/V devices, set-top boxes (STB), blu-ray disc (BD) players, BD recorders, Digital Video Disc (DVD) players, High Definition (HD) DVD players, DVD recorders, HD DVD recorders, Personal Video Recorders (PVR), broadcast high definition receivers, video sources, audio sources, video receiving points, audio receiving points, stereo tuners, broadcast radio receivers, flat panel displays, Personal Media Players (PMP), Digital Video Cameras (DVCs), digital audio players, speakers, audio receivers, audio amplifiers, gaming devices, data sources, data sinks, digital cameras (DSCs), media players, smart phones, televisions, music players, and the like. Other devices, including smart devices such as lights, environmental controls, automotive parts, household parts, appliances, etc., may also be included in this list.

As used herein, the term "internet of things (IoT) device" is used to refer to any object (e.g., a device, a sensor, etc.) that has an addressable interface (e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a bluetooth Identifier (ID), a Near Field Communication (NFC) ID, etc.) and can send information to one or more other devices over a wired or wireless connection. IoT devices may have passive communication interfaces such as Quick Response (QR) codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, NFC tags, etc., or active communication interfaces such as modems, transceivers, transmitter-receivers, etc. IoT devices may have a particular set of attributes (e.g., device status or condition, such as whether the IoT device is on or off, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, etc., cooling or heating functions, environmental monitoring or recording functions, lighting functions, sound emission functions, etc.) that may be embedded in and/or controlled/monitored by a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microprocessor, ASIC, etc., and configured to connect to an IoT network, such as a local ad hoc network or the internet. For example, an IoT device may include, but is not limited to, a refrigerator, toaster, oven, microwave oven, freezer, dishwasher, tableware, hand tool, washer, dryer, furnace, air conditioner, thermostat, television, light fixture, vacuum cleaner, sprinkler, electricity meter, gas meter, etc., as long as the device is equipped with an addressable communication interface to communicate with the IoT network. The internet of things devices may also include cell phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like. Thus, an internet of things network may be made up of a combination of "traditional" internet-accessible devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computers, cell phones, etc.) and devices that typically do not have internet connectivity (e.g., dishwashers, etc.).

User equipment 120 and/or AP 102 may also include mesh stations in, for example, a mesh network, according to one or more IEEE802.11 standards and/or 3GPP standards.

Any of user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 may be configured to communicate with each other, wirelessly or by wire, via one or more communication networks 130 and/or 135. User devices 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with each other with or without AP 102. Any of the communication networks 130 and/or 135 may include, but are not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communication networks, such as, for example, a broadcast network, a cable network, a public network (e.g., the internet), a private network, a wireless network, a cellular network, or any other suitable private and/or public network. Further, any of communication networks 130 and/or 135 may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, a global network (e.g., the internet), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), or a Personal Area Network (PAN). Additionally, any of the communication networks 130 and/or 135 may include any type of medium upon which network traffic may be carried, including but not limited to coaxial cable, twisted pair, fiber optic, coaxial Hybrid Fiber (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceiver, radio frequency communication medium, white space communication medium, ultra high frequency communication medium, satellite communication medium, or any combination thereof.

Any of user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 may include one or more communication antennas. The one or more communication antennas may be any suitable type of antenna corresponding to a communication protocol used by user device 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, and 128) and AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communication antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 series standard compliant antennas, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, omni-directional antennas, quasi-omni-directional antennas, and the like. One or more communication antennas may be communicatively coupled to the radio portion to transmit signals to user device 120 and/or AP 102 and/or to receive signals, e.g., communication signals, from user device 120 and/or AP 102.

User devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and/or directional reception in conjunction with wireless communications in a wireless network. Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may be configured to perform such directional transmission and/or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., DMG antenna arrays, etc.). Each of the plurality of antenna arrays may be used for transmission and/or reception in a particular respective direction or range of directions. Any of user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 can be configured to perform any given directional transmission to one or more defined transmission sectors. Any of user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 can be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined reception sectors.

MIMO beamforming in a wireless network may be implemented using RF beamforming and/or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, in performing a given MIMO transmission, user device 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to perform MIMO beamforming using all or a subset of its one or more communication antennas.

Any of user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 may include any suitable radio and/or transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving Radio Frequency (RF) signals in a bandwidth and/or channel corresponding to a communication protocol utilized by any of user devices 120 and AP 102 to communicate with each other. The radio section may include hardware and/or software to modulate and/or demodulate communication signals according to a pre-established transmission protocol. The radio section may also have hardware and/or software instructions to communicate via one or more Wi-Fi and/or Wi-Fi direct protocols standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 standard. In some example embodiments, the radio portion, in cooperation with the communications antenna, may be configured to communicate via a 2.4GHz channel (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ax), a 5GHz channel (e.g., 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax), or a 60GHz channel (e.g., 802.11 ad). In some embodiments, non-Wi-Fi protocols may be used for communication between devices, such as bluetooth, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Ultra High Frequency (UHF) (e.g., IEEE802.11 af, IEEE 802.22), white band frequency (e.g., white space), or other packet radio communication. The radio part may comprise any known receiver and baseband suitable for communication via a communication protocol. The radio section may further include a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), an additional signal amplifier, an analog-to-digital (a/D) converter, one or more buffers, and a digital baseband.

In one or more embodiments, one or more user devices 120 can operate in an ultra-low power mode to conserve power. During this time, the LP-WUR 146 (e.g., LP-WURX) of the user device 120 may be active, while the main radio 144 (e.g., PCR) may be inactive. Because the LP-WUR 146 may operate in a lower power state than the main radio 144, power may be conserved on the user device 120.

The use of the LP-WUR 146 may reduce the delay caused by using the low power mode. For example, power may be saved when implementing a low power mode in which the primary radio 144 is deactivated for a period of time and then activated for a short period of time, but sometimes at the expense of delaying transmission/reception due to the interval in which the primary radio 144 may be deactivated. To reduce this latency problem of the power save mode, the LP-WUR 146 may also be implemented on a device having the master radio 144 so that, for example, the device may receive transmissions when the master radio 144 is deactivated. The wake-up packet 140 may be transmitted/received using a lower data rate and modulation than the data packet 138 so that, for example, a lower power radio such as the LP-WUR 146 may receive the wake-up packet.

In one or more embodiments, the master radio 142 of the AP 102 may communicate with one or more user devices 120. For example, the master radio 142 of the AP 102 may communicate one or more packets (e.g., data packets 138) with one or more user devices 120. The data packet 138 may be sent in a group-addressed transmission to a device associated with a group address, for example. The data packet 138 may also include one or more indications of a group identifier of STAs to be used in the wake-up packet.

In one or more embodiments, the AP 102 may send one or more wake-up packets 140 in a multicast transmission to one or more user devices 120 whose LP-WURs 146 will be turned on during the agreed-upon period. The wake-up packet 140 may instruct the user device 120 to activate a higher power mode, which may include activating the primary radio 144 on the user device 120.

In one or more embodiments, AP 102 may include a master radio 142 (e.g., an 802.11 radio) and user device 120 may include a master radio 144 and LP-WUR 146. The LP-WUR 146 may receive the wake-up packet 140 from the AP 102 and may send a signal to activate the master radio 144. Once the primary radio 144 is active, the user device 120 is able to receive 802.11 transmissions from the AP 102.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting.

Fig. 2 illustrates a portion 200 of a wake frame format in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one or more embodiments, a wake frame (e.g., wake packet 140 of fig. 1) may include multiple portions. For example, the wake frame may include a Media Access Control (MAC) header, which may include a plurality of fields (e.g., other field 202, RXID/address field 204, other field 206). The wake-up frame may include a variable length frame body, which may include information specific to the frame type. The wake-up frame may also include a Frame Check Sequence (FCS), which may include cyclic redundancy check bits. The RXID/address field 204 may include an identifier for the wake frame, and this identifier may depend on the type of wake frame (e.g., WUR beacon, WUR wake frame, WUR discovery frame, WUR vendor specific frame). The identifier may identify one or more receiving STAs (e.g., a group of STAs).

In one or more embodiments, the wake-up frame may include an indication in the RXID/address field 204 to indicate (e.g., using one bit) that the AP is transmitting the frame (e.g., the AP 102 of fig. 1) due to a need to transmit a group-addressed transmission received using a PCR (e.g., the main radio 144 of fig. 1). The indication may be provided by a bit in the wake-up frame and may indicate that the frame was sent due to an intention of the AP to send a group-addressed transmission (e.g., group-addressed traffic) to be received by the PCR after the transmission of the wake-up frame. The indication may be a group identifier identifying all STAs associated with the AP, in which case a broadcast identifier may be used.

In one or more embodiments, after a STA wakes up its PCR, the AP may not expect the STA addressed by the wake frame to initiate transmission to the AP through the PCR.

In one or more embodiments, the AP may need to send a group-addressed transmission after a duration of time has elapsed from the end of the transmitted wake-up frame. The duration may be greater than a maximum time required to wake up the PCR in all STAs that can receive the wake-up frame. In this way, the AP may allow all group-addressed STAs sufficient time to activate their respective PCRs to receive the group-addressed transmission.

In one or more embodiments, the group-addressed transmission may be a beacon. The AP may need to send a wakeup frame before the duration of the next Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT). The duration may be greater than a maximum time required to wake up the respective PCRs in all STAs that can receive the wake-up frame. The indication of the beacon may be a separate bit in the wake-up frame. One reason for sending the wakeup frame before the next beacon transmission is to conserve power of the STA. For example, the STAs may know the time at which the AP will transmit the next beacon, and therefore, the STAs may activate their respective PCRs to receive the beacon. Because additional power is required to activate the PCR, some power at the STA may be conserved by the AP sending a wake-up packet that may be received by a lower power radio (e.g., the LP-WUR 146 of fig. 1). Because the wake packet may indicate whether a particular STA is intended to receive traffic from the AP, the STA may determine whether to activate a PCR based on the RXID/address field 204.

In one or more embodiments, the indication may be embedded in a group identifier indicated in the RXID field of the wake-up frame. When the AP and the STA negotiate WUR operation through PCR, the AP may associate a multicast address, a multicast service indication, or a multicast group indication with the indicated group identifier. The group identifier in the wake-up frame may indicate that the AP has buffered group-addressed traffic for the associated multicast group. The group identifier indicated by the PCR may be a WRU mode element, which may be in a WUR action frame. If the STA is in the multicast group, the STA may determine whether the group identifiers are related. After the wakeup frame is sent with the group identifier in the RXID field, the AP may send the associated group-addressed transmission for the multicast group. The AP may need to send the group-addressed transmission after a duration from the end of the transmitted wakeup frame, which may be greater than the maximum time required to wake up the PCR in all STAs that can receive the wakeup frame. After a STA wakes up its PCR, the AP may not expect the addressed STA to initiate transmissions to the AP through the PCR.

In one or more embodiments, the AP may indicate that group-addressed traffic may be buffered and may communicate the group ID indication during negotiation (e.g., negotiation may be performed using PCR) before sending the wakeup frame. The indicated group identifier may be included or indicated in a WUR mode element, which may be included in a WUR action frame. The AP may send all group-addressed transmissions after the wake-up frame, which includes the group identifier and RXID/address field 204.

In one or more embodiments, an indication of group-addressed traffic may be embedded in the group ID indicated in the RXID/address field 204. Thus, when a STA receives a wake-up packet with a group ID, the STA may determine that the AP may have buffered group-addressed traffic for the STAs associated with the group ID. Because the STA should know its group ID from previous negotiations with the AP, the STA can identify the group ID and identify whether to address the group-addressed traffic for that STA or for another group of STAs that does not include that STA.

In one or more embodiments, if the STA is associated with a group ID contained in the RXID/address field 204 of the wake-up packet, enhanced wake-up signaling may be used to instruct the STA to check for the next beacon.

In one or more embodiments, when the AP and the STA negotiate WUR operations using PCR, the AP may associate the beacon transmission with the indicated group identifier. The indicated group identifier may be included in a WUR mode element in the WUR action frame. If the STA is addressed by the wakeup frame, the AP may indicate that the STA should listen for the beacon. The next beacon may be the beacon scheduled for the next TBTT after the STA wakes up its PCR. The AP may need to send the wakeup frame before the duration of the next TBTT, which may be greater than the maximum time required to wake up the PCRs in all STAs that can receive the wakeup frame. The group identifier may be a specific group identifier (e.g., group 1) in the RXID field of the wake-up frame.

In one or more embodiments, the group identifier may not have any association information, so the STA may initiate a transmission to the AP to obtain data from the AP.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

Fig. 3A shows a flow diagram of an exemplary process 300 for enhanced wake-up signaling in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

At block 302, one or more processors of a device (e.g., AP 102 of fig. 1) may determine a multicast wake-up frame (e.g., wake-up packet 140 of fig. 1). The multicast wakeup frame may include an address field (e.g., RXID/address field 204) that identifies a group of STAs (e.g., user equipment 120 of fig. 1) that may include the first STA, and may also include an indication that group-addressed traffic is to be transmitted to the PCRs of the group of STAs. The group of STAs may include all STAs associated with the device or a subset of all STAs associated with the device, and the address field may include a broadcast identifier. The address field may include a group identifier negotiated between the device and the group of STAs, and the group identifier may indicate that the device has group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of STAs. The device may also transmit another frame including a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with the group of STAs such that the group identifier is known to the group of STAs when the group of STAs receives the wake-up frame. The other frame may be a beacon or another type of frame. The address field may include an indication that the first STA should activate the primary connection radio at the time of the next beacon associated with a beacon interval (e.g., DTIM beacon and DTIM beacon interval). For example, the multicast wakeup frame may be transmitted at a lower data rate than the frame transmitted to the device PCR.

In block 304, the one or more processors of the device may cause the device to transmit a multicast wakeup frame. The multicast wakeup frame may be transmitted using a lower data rate and/or modulation than the frame transmitted to the device PCRs, and may be transmitted with the addressed STA in a low power mode where the PCRs are inactive.

At block 306, the one or more processors of the device may cause the device to transmit a group-addressed frame (e.g., data packet 138 of fig. 1) to the STAs associated with the group identifier in the address field. The group-addressed frames may be transmitted after a period of time has elapsed after the transmission of the wakeup frame to allow the group-addressed STAs to activate their respective PCRs. The group-addressed frames may be transmitted at a higher data rate and/or modulation than the wakeup frames and may be transmitted before the next beacon, so that the group-addressed STAs may not need to wait for another beacon to activate their PCR to receive the frame to be used for the PCR.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

Fig. 3B shows a flow diagram of an exemplary process 350 for enhanced wake-up signaling in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

In block 352, one or more processors of a receiving device (e.g., user device 120 of fig. 1) may identify a multicast wake-up frame (e.g., wake-up packet 140 of fig. 1). The multicast wakeup frame may include an address field identifying a group of STAs, the group of STAs including a receiving device, and further include an indication that group addressing traffic is to be sent to the PCRs of the group of STAs. The group of STAs may include all STAs associated with the AP from which the multicast wakeup frame was received, and the address field may include the broadcast identifier, or the group of STAs may include a subset of all STAs associated with the AP. The receiving device may receive one or more additional multicast wakeup frames, which may include an address field having a group identifier associated with the receiving device or not. The group identifier of the address field may have been negotiated between the receiving device and the AP and may indicate that the AP has buffered traffic for the group of STAs. The group identifier may be included in a wake-up receiver mode element (e.g., beacon) of the frame and may indicate that the receiving device should activate the PCR when the next beacon is transmitted by the AP.

At block 354, the one or more processors of the receiving device may determine an indication indicating that the receiving device is associated with the group of STAs identified in the address field of the multicast wakeup frame. The group of STAs may include all STAs associated with the AP, or may include a subset of STAs associated with the AP. If the receiving device determines that the group identifier in the address field is associated with the receiving device, the STA may identify that the AP has group buffered traffic for the receiving device.

In block 356, one or more processors of the receiving device may initialize PCRs (e.g., the master radio 144 of fig. 1) on the receiving device. The receiving device may receive the multicast wakeup frame using the LP-WURx when the PCR may be disabled. The receiving device may activate the PCR and deactivate the LP-WURx.

At block 358, the one or more processors of the receiving device may identify a frame received from the AP by the PCR of the receiving device. The frame may be transmitted by the AP after a period of time to allow the receiving device to activate the PCR.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

Fig. 4 illustrates a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 400 in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, fig. 4 illustrates a functional block diagram of a communication station, which may be suitable for use as AP 102 (fig. 1) or user equipment 120 (fig. 1), in accordance with some embodiments. Communication station 400 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, mobile device, cellular telephone, smartphone, tablet, netbook, wireless terminal, laptop computer, wearable computer device, femtocell, High Data Rate (HDR) subscriber station, access point, access terminal, or other Personal Communication System (PCS) device.

Communication station 400 may include communication circuitry 402 and a transceiver 410 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 401. The transceiver 410 may be a device that includes a transmitter and a receiver that are combined and share a common circuit (e.g., the communication circuit 402). The communication circuit 402 may include amplifiers, filters, mixers, analog-to-digital converters, and/or digital-to-analog converters. The transceiver 410 may transmit and receive analog or digital signals. The transceiver 410 may allow for reception of signals during the transmit period. This mode is known as full duplex and may require the transmitter and receiver to operate on different frequencies to minimize interference between the transmitted and received signals. The transceiver 410 may operate in a half-duplex mode, wherein the transceiver 410 may transmit or receive signals in one direction at a time.

Communication circuitry 402 may include circuitry that may operate as a physical layer (PHY) communication and/or a Medium Access Control (MAC) communication to control access to a wireless medium, and/or any other communication layer to transmit and receive signals. Communication station 400 may also include processing circuitry 406 and memory 408 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communication circuitry 402 and the processing circuitry 406 may be configured to perform the operations detailed in fig. 2, 3A, and 3B.

According to some embodiments, the communication circuit 402 may be configured to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communication over the wireless medium. The communication circuit 402 may be configured to transmit and receive signals. The communication circuit 402 may also include circuits for modulation/demodulation, up/down conversion, filtering, amplification, and so forth. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 406 of communication station 400 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 401 may be coupled to the communication circuit 402 configured to transmit and receive signals. The memory 408 may store information for configuring the processing circuit 406 to perform operations for configuring and sending message frames and for performing various operations described herein. Memory 408 can comprise any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, memory 408 may include a computer-readable storage device, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk storage media, an optical storage media, a flash memory device, and other storage devices and media.

In some embodiments, the communication station 400 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable device computer device, or other device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly.

In some embodiments, communication station 400 may include one or more antennas 401. Antenna 401 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and different channel characteristics that may result between each antenna and the antennas of the transmitting station.

In some embodiments, the communication station 400 may include one or more elements of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile devices. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

Although communication station 400 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, certain elements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of communication station 400 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

Some embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory storage mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, communication station 400 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a machine 500 or system on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein may be implemented. In other embodiments, the machine 500 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 500 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both, in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 500 may operate in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment as a peer machine. The machine 500 may be a Personal Computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a wearable computer device, a network appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine, such as a base station, capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

As described herein, examples may include or may operate on logic or multiple portions, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) capable, when operated, of performing specified operations. The modules include hardware. In one example, the hardware may be specifically configured to perform specific operations (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium containing instructions that configure the execution units to perform specific operations when operated on. The configuration may be under the direction of an execution unit or loading mechanism. Thus, when the device is operating, the execution unit is communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium. In this example, an execution unit may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, an execution unit may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and may be reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

A machine (e.g., computer system) 500 may include a hardware processor 502 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof) a main memory 504 and a static memory 506, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnection link (e.g., bus) 508. The machine 500 may further include a power management device 532, a graphical display device 510, an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), and a User Interface (UI) navigation device 514 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the graphical display device 510, the alphanumeric input device 512, and the UI navigation device 514 may be touch screen displays. The machine 500 may additionally include a storage device (i.e., drive unit) 516, a signal generation device 518 (e.g., a speaker), an enhanced wake-up device 519, a network interface device/transceiver 520 coupled to an antenna 530, and one or more sensors 528, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 500 may include an output controller 534, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., Infrared (IR), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 516 may include a machine-readable medium 522 having stored thereon one or more sets of data structures or instructions 524 (e.g., software), the data structures or instructions 524 being implemented or utilized by one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 524 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 504, within static memory 506, or within the hardware processor 502 during execution thereof by the machine 500. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 502, the main memory 504, the static memory 506, or the storage device 516 may constitute machine-readable media.

Enhanced wake-up device 519 may perform or implement any of the operations and processes described and illustrated above (e.g., process 300 of fig. 3A and process 350 of fig. 3B).

In one or more embodiments, enhanced wake-up device 519 may determine a wake-up frame that includes an address field identifying a group of station devices including the first station device and includes an indication of group addressing traffic associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; causing a wake-up frame to be sent to a group of station devices; and causes a group addressing frame to be transmitted after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

In one or more embodiments, the enhanced wake-up device 519 may perform operations including identifying, at the first station device, a wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from the access point device, the wake-up frame including an address field identifying a station device group including the first station device and an indication of group addressing traffic associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; determining that the first station device is associated with the group of station devices; causing activation of the PCR of the first device; and identifying the group-addressed frames received by the PCR from the access point device.

In one or more embodiments, the enhanced wake-up device 519 may perform a method comprising: determining, by processing circuitry of a device, a wake-up frame, the wake-up frame comprising an address field identifying a station device group comprising a first station device and an indication of group addressing traffic, the indication of group addressing traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; causing a wake-up frame to be sent by the processing circuit to the group of stations; and causing a group addressing frame to be transmitted by the processing circuitry after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

It should be understood that the above are only a subset of the actions that enhanced wake-up device 519 may be configured to perform, and that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by enhanced wake-up device 519.

While the machine-readable medium 522 is shown to be a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 524.

Various embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in software and/or firmware. The software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such computer-readable media may include any tangible, non-transitory medium for storing information in one or more computer-readable forms, such as, but not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, and the like.

The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 500 and that cause the machine 500 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. In one example, a high capacity machine readable medium includes a machine readable medium having a plurality of particles with a static mass. Particular examples of a mass machine-readable medium may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

Multiple transport protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol) may also be utilized(IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.) sends or receives instructions 524 over a communication network 526 using a transmission medium via the network device interface device/transceiver 520. Exemplary communication networks can include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile telephone network (e.g., a cellular network, a Plain Old Telephone (POTS) network, a wireless data network (e.g., referred to as

Of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards, referred to as

IEEE 802.16 family of standards), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In one example, the network interface device/transceiver 520 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 526. In one example, the network interface device/transceiver 520 may include multiple antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 500, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. The operations and processes described and illustrated above may be performed or carried out in any suitable order as desired in various embodiments. Additionally, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the operations may be performed in parallel. Further, in some embodiments, fewer or more operations than are described may be performed.

The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. As used herein, the terms "computing device," "user device," "communication station," "handheld device," "mobile device," "wireless device," and "user equipment" (UE) refer to a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, smartphone, tablet, netbook, wireless terminal, laptop computer, femtocell, High Data Rate (HDR) subscriber station, access point, printer, point-of-sale device, access terminal, or other Personal Communication System (PCS) device. The device may be mobile or stationary.

As used herein, the term "communication" is intended to include transmitting or receiving, or both. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data sent by one device and received by another device, but the functionality of only one of those devices needs to infringe the claim. Similarly, when the functionality of only one of those devices requires protection, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmitting and receiving during the exchange) may be described as "communicating. The term "communicating" as used herein with respect to wireless communication signals includes transmitting wireless communication signals and/or receiving wireless communication signals. For example, a wireless communication unit capable of communicating wireless communication signals may include: a wireless transmitter for transmitting a wireless communication signal to at least one other wireless communication unit; the wireless communication receiver is configured to receive a wireless communication signal from at least one other wireless communication unit.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

The term "access point" (AP) as used herein may be a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, a base station, an evolved node b (enodeb), or some other similar terminology known in the art. An access terminal may also be called a mobile station, User Equipment (UE), a wireless communication device, or some other similar terminology known in the art. Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to wireless networks. Some embodiments may relate to a wireless network operating according to one of the IEEE802.11 standards.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, such as, for example, Personal Computers (PCs), desktop computers, mobile computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, server computers, handheld devices, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices, handheld PDA devices, vehicle-mounted devices, hybrid devices, vehicle devices, non-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, consumer devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, wireless communication stations, wireless communication devices, wireless access points (APs, wired or wireless routers, wired or wireless modems, video devices, audio video (A/V) devices, wired or wireless networks, wireless local area networks, wireless video local area networks (WVANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Personal Area Networks (PANs), wireless PANs (wpans), and the like.

Some embodiments may be used with one-way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radiotelephone communication systems, mobile telephones, cellular telephones, radiotelephones, Personal Communication Systems (PCS) devices, PDA devices that incorporate wireless communication devices, mobile or portable Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, devices that incorporate GPS receivers or transceivers or chips, devices incorporating RFID elements or chips, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transceivers or devices, single-input multiple-output (SIMO) transceivers or devices, multiple-input single-output (MISO) transceivers or devices, device antennas with one or more internal antennas and/or external devices, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, wired or wireless handheld devices (e.g., smartphones), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) devices, and the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems that conform to one or more wireless communication protocols, e.g., Radio Frequency (RF), Infrared (IR), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (ofdm), timeTime Division Multiplexing (TDM), time division multiple access (TDM A), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), extended GPRS, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), Discrete Multitone (DMT),

Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, Ultra Wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, 3GPP, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), and the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks.

Example 1 may include an apparatus comprising storage and processing circuitry configured to: determining a wake-up frame, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group addressing traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including a first station device, the indication of group addressing traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; causing a wake-up frame to be sent to a group of station devices; and causes a group addressing frame to be transmitted after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

Example 2 may include the apparatus of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the apparatus, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 3 may include the apparatus of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station apparatuses includes a subset of all station apparatuses associated with the apparatus.

Example 4 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the device has group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

Example 5 may include the apparatus of example 1 and/or other examples herein, wherein the storage and processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of a second frame comprising a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with the group of station devices, wherein the address field comprises the group identifier.

Example 6 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group-addressed frame is a beacon.

Example 7 may include the apparatus of example 1 and/or other examples herein, wherein the group addressing frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

Example 8 may include the device of example 7 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate the primary connection radio at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with the DTIM beacon interval.

Example 9 may include the device of example 9 and/or some other example herein, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device of the second station device group is to remain in the low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with the beacon interval.

Example 10 may include the device of example 1 and/or other examples herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

Example 11 may include the apparatus of example 10 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

Example 12 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of operations comprising: at a first station device, identifying a wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from an access point device, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including the first station device, and the indication of group-addressed traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; determining that the first station device is associated with the group of station devices; causing activation of a PCR of the first station device; group-addressed frames received by the PCRs from the access point device are identified.

Example 13 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the access point device, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 14 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of all station devices associated with the access point device.

Example 15 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or some other example herein, wherein the wake frame is a first wake frame, wherein the address field is a first address field, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, the operations further comprising: identifying a second wake-up frame received by the wake-up receiver of the first station device from the access point device, the second wake-up frame comprising a second address field identifying a second group of station devices comprising the second station device and further comprising an indication of a second group of addressing traffic associated with the PCR of the second station device; determining that the first station device is not associated with the second station device group; a low power mode to keep the PCR of the first station device inactive.

Example 16 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or other examples herein, wherein the address field includes a group identifier negotiated between the access point device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the access point device has group addressing traffic cached for the group of station devices.

Example 17 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or other examples herein, the operations further comprising: a second frame is identified that includes a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with a group of station devices, wherein the address field includes the group identifier.

Example 18 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or other examples herein, wherein the group-addressed frame is a beacon.

Example 19 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group addressing frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

Example 20 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate the PCR at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with the DTIM beacon interval.

Example 21 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 18 and/or some other example herein, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device of the second station device group is to remain in the low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with the beacon interval.

Example 22 may include a method comprising: determining, by processing circuitry of a device, a wake-up frame, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group addressing traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including a first station device, and the indication of group addressing traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; causing a wake-up frame to be sent by the processing circuit to the group of stations; and causing a group addressing frame to be transmitted by the processing circuitry after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

Example 23 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the device, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 24 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of all station devices associated with the device.

Example 25 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes a group identifier negotiated between the device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the device has group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

An apparatus comprising means for performing a method according to any of examples 22-25.

A system comprising at least one storage device having programming instructions that, in response to execution, cause at least one processor to perform the method of any of examples 22-25.

A machine-readable medium comprising code, which when executed, causes a machine to perform the method of any of examples 22-25.

Example 29 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of operations comprising: determining a wake-up frame, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group addressing traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including a first station device, the indication of group addressing traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; causing a wake-up frame to be sent to a group of station devices; and causes a group addressing frame to be transmitted after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

Example 30 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the device, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 31 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of all station devices associated with the device.

Example 32 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the device has group addressing traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

Example 33 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise causing transmission of a second frame comprising a wake receiver element indicating a group identifier associated with the group of station devices, wherein the address field comprises the group identifier.

Example 34 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of addressed frames are beacons.

Example 35 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or other examples herein, wherein the group of addressing frames are frames indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

Example 36 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 35 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate the primary connection radio at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with the DTIM beacon interval.

Example 37 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device of the second station device group is to remain in the low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with the beacon interval.

Example 38 may include an apparatus comprising means for: determining, by processing circuitry of a device, a wake-up frame, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group addressing traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including a first station device, and the indication of group addressing traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; causing a wake-up frame to be sent by the processing circuit to the group of stations; and causing a group addressing frame to be transmitted by the processing circuitry after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

Example 39 may include the apparatus of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the apparatus, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 40 may include the apparatus of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station apparatuses includes a subset of all station apparatuses associated with the apparatus.

Example 41 may include the apparatus of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the apparatus and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the apparatus has group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

Example 42 may include an apparatus comprising storage and processing circuitry configured to: at a first station device, identifying a wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from an access point device, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including the first station device, and the indication of group-addressed traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; determining that the first station device is associated with the group of station devices; causing activation of a PCR of the first station device; group-addressed frames received by the PCRs from the access point device are identified.

Example 43 may include the apparatus of example 42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the access point device, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 44 may include the apparatus of example 42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of all station devices associated with the access point device.

Example 45 may include the device of example 42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the wake frame is a first wake frame, wherein the address field is a first address field, and wherein the group of station devices is a first group of station devices, the storage and processing circuitry further configured to: identifying a second wake-up frame received by the wake-up receiver of the first station device from the access point device, the second wake-up frame comprising a second address field identifying a second group of station devices comprising the second station device and further comprising an indication of a second group of addressing traffic associated with the PCR of the second station device; determining that the first station device is not associated with the second station device group; a low power mode to keep the PCR of the first station device inactive.

Example 46 may include the apparatus of example 42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the access point device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the access point device has group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

Example 47 may include the apparatus of example 42 and/or some other example herein, the storage and processing circuitry further configured to: identifying a second frame comprising a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with a group of station devices, wherein the address field comprises the group identifier.

Example 48 may include the device of example 42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group-addressed frame is a beacon.

Example 49 may include the apparatus of example 42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group addressing frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

Example 50 may include the device of example 49 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate a PCR at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with the DTIM beacon interval.

Example 51 may include the apparatus of example 48 and/or some other example herein, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device of the second station device group is to remain in the low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with the beacon interval.

Example 52 may include a method comprising: at a first station device, identifying a wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from an access point device, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including the first station device, and the indication of group-addressed traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; determining that the first station device is associated with the group of station devices; causing activation of a PCR of the first station device; group-addressed frames received by the PCRs from the access point device are identified.

Example 53 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group station device includes all station devices associated with the access point device, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 54 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of all station devices associated with the access point device.

Example 55 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the wake frame is a first wake frame, wherein the address field is a first address field, and wherein the station device group is a first station device group, the method further comprising: identifying a second wake-up frame received by the wake-up receiver of the first station device from the access point device, the second wake-up frame comprising a second address field identifying a second group of station devices comprising the second station device and further comprising an indication of a second group of addressing traffic associated with the PCR of the second station device; determining that the first station device is not associated with the second station device group; a low power mode to keep the PCR of the first station device inactive.

Example 56 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the access point device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the access point device has group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

Example 57 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: a second frame is identified that includes a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with a group of station devices, wherein the address field includes the group identifier.

Example 58 may include the method of example 52 and/or other examples herein, wherein the group addressing frame is a beacon.

Example 59 may include the method of example 52 and/or other examples herein, wherein the group addressing frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

Example 60 may include the method of example 59 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate the PCR at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with the DTIM beacon interval.

Example 61 may include the method of example 58 and/or some other example herein, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes a low power mode indication for a second station device of the second station device group to maintain at a time of a next beacon associated with the beacon interval.

Example 62 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing the method claimed in any of examples 52-61.

Example 63 may include a system comprising at least one storage device having programming instructions that, in response to execution, cause at least one processor to perform the method of any of examples 52-61.

Example 64 may include a machine-readable medium comprising code, which when executed, causes a machine to perform the method of any of examples 52-61.

Example 65 may include an apparatus comprising means for: at a first station device, identifying a wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from an access point device, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, the address field identifying a group of station devices including the first station device, and the indication of group-addressed traffic being associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of the first station device; determining that the first station device is associated with the group of station devices; causing activation of a PCR of the first station device; group-addressed frames received by the PCRs from the access point device are identified.

Example 66 may include the method of example 65 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes all station devices associated with the access point device, and wherein the address field includes the broadcast identifier.

Example 67 may include the method of example 65 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of all station devices associated with the access point device.

Example 68 may include the method of example 65 and/or some other example herein, wherein the wake frame is a first wake frame, wherein the address field is a first address field, and wherein the station device group is a first station device group, the method further comprising means for: identifying a second wake-up frame received by the wake-up receiver of the first station device from the access point device, the second wake-up frame comprising a second address field identifying a second group of station devices comprising the second station device and further comprising an indication of a second group of addressing traffic associated with the PCR of the second station device; determining that the first station device is not associated with the second station device group; a low power mode to keep the PCR of the first station device inactive.

Example 69 may include the method of example 65 and/or other examples herein, wherein the address field includes a group identifier negotiated between the access point device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the access point device has group-addressed traffic cached for the group of station devices.

Example 70 may include the method of example 65 and/or some other example herein, the method further comprising identifying a second frame comprising a wake receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with the group of station devices, wherein the address field comprises the group identifier.

Example 71 may include the method of example 65 and/or some other example herein, wherein the group-addressed frame is a beacon.

Example 72 may include the method of example 65 and/or other examples herein, wherein the group addressing frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

Example 73 may include the method of example 72 and/or some other example herein, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate a PCR at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with the DTIM beacon interval.

Example 74 may include the method of example 71 and/or some other example herein, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device of the second station device group is to remain in the low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with the beacon interval.

Example 75 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in any of examples 1-74 or one or more elements of any other method or process described herein.

Example 76 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or associated with any of examples 1-74 or any other method or process described herein.

Example 77 may include, or a portion of, a method, technique, or process as described or associated with any of examples 1-74.

Example 78 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques, or processes, or portions thereof, described in or associated with any of examples 1-74.

Example 79 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Example 80 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

Example 81 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure are described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of systems, methods, apparatus, and/or computer program products according to various embodiments. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Also, according to some embodiments, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may not necessarily have to be performed in their entirety.

These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto a special purpose computer or other specific machine, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing one or more functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement one or more functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. By way of example, some embodiments may provide a computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code or program instructions embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose, hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Conditional language, such as "may" or "may" is generally intended to indicate that certain embodiments may include certain functions, elements, and/or operations, while other embodiments do not, unless expressly stated otherwise or understood otherwise in the context of the use. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that one or more embodiments necessarily require the function, element, and/or operation or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining or prompting whether such feature, element, and/or operation is included or is to be performed in any particular embodiment, with or without user input or prompting.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims (25)

1. An apparatus comprising storage and processing circuitry configured to:

determining a wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, wherein the address field identifies a group of station devices, and wherein the indication of group-addressed traffic is associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of a first station device in the group of station devices;

causing the wake-up frame to be transmitted to the group of station devices; and

causing a group addressing frame to be transmitted after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the group of station devices includes one or more station devices associated with the device, and wherein the address field includes a broadcast identifier.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the group of station devices comprises a subset of one or more station devices associated with the device.

4. The device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates: the device has the group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

5. The device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the storage and processing circuitry is further configured to: cause transmission of a second frame including a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with the group of station devices, wherein the address field includes the group identifier.

6. The device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the group-addressed frame is a beacon.

7. The device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the group addressed frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate the PCR at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with a DTIM beacon interval.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device of a second station device group is to remain in a low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with a beacon interval.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of operations comprising:

at a first station device, identifying a wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from an access point device, the wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, wherein the address field identifies a group of station devices, and wherein the indication of group-addressed traffic is associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of a first station device of the group of station devices;

determining that the first station device is associated with the group of station devices;

causing activation of a PCR of the first station device; and

identifying a group-addressed frame received by a PCR from the access point device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the group of station devices includes one or more station devices associated with the access point device, and wherein the address field includes a broadcast identifier.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the group of station devices includes a subset of one or more station devices associated with the access point device.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of claims 12-14, wherein the wake-up frame is a first wake-up frame, wherein the address field is a first address field, and wherein the station device group is a first station device group, the operations further comprising:

identifying a second wake-up frame received by a wake-up receiver of the first station device from the access point device, the second wake-up frame comprising a second address field identifying a second group of station devices comprising a second station device and further comprising an indication of a second group addressing traffic associated with a PCR of the second station device;

determining that the first station device is not associated with the second station device group; and

a low power mode to keep the PCR of the first station device inactive.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the access point device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the access point device has the group-addressed traffic buffered for the group of station devices.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of claims 12 to 16, the operations further comprising: identifying a second frame comprising a wake-up receiver mode element indicating a group identifier associated with the group of station devices, wherein the address field comprises the group identifier.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of claims 12-17, wherein the group-addressed frame is a beacon.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of claims 12-17, wherein the group addressed frame is a frame indicated in a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) beacon.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the address field includes an indication that the first station device is to activate the PCR at a time of a next DTIM beacon associated with a DTIM beacon interval.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the station device group is a first station device group, wherein the address field includes an indication that a second station device in a second station device group is to remain in a low power mode at a time of a next beacon associated with a beacon interval.

22. A method, comprising:

determining, by processing circuitry of a device, a wake-up frame comprising an address field and an indication of group-addressed traffic, wherein the address field identifies a group of station devices, and wherein the indication of group-addressed traffic is associated with a Primary Connection Radio (PCR) of a first station device of the group of station devices;

causing the wake-up frame to be transmitted by the processing circuit to the group of station devices; and

causing a group addressing frame to be transmitted by the processing circuitry after a period of time to allow the first station device to activate the PCR.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the set of station devices comprises one or more station devices associated with the device, and wherein the address field comprises a broadcast identifier.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the group of station devices comprises a subset of one or more station devices associated with the device.

25. The method of any of claims 22 to 24, wherein the address field comprises a group identifier negotiated between the device and the group of station devices, wherein the group identifier indicates that the device has the buffered group-addressed traffic for the group of station devices.

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