System and Method for Communications Link Control

Abstract

A method for operating an access point includes identifying one or more stations to receive a transmission from the access point, and generating a traffic indication map (TIM) for the one or more stations identified, the TIM in accordance with a TIM generating rule, the TIM identifying at least an offset length and a number of entries. The method further includes broadcasting a beacon carrying the TIM to the one or more stations identified, the one or more stations configured to decode the beacon according to the TIM generating rule.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for operating a station having an indicator indicating whether the station supports a traffic indication map (TIM), the method comprising:
 receiving, by the station from an access point (AP), a downlink unicast beacon comprising TIM information and common data information;   detecting, by the station, a sub 1 GHz (SIG) physical layer (PHY) preamble of the downlink unicast beacon; and   ignoring, by station, the TIM information in the downlink unicast beacon if the indicator indicates that the station does not support the TIM.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting and decoding, by the station, the common data information in the downlink unicast beacon.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indicator is a portion of an access identifier (AID), wherein the indicator set to 1 indicates that the station does not support the TIM, and wherein the indicator set to 0 indicates that the station supports the TIM. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the station is in a power save mode if the indicator indicates that the station does not support the TIM. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the station wakes up after the power save mode and the indicator is reset to indicate that the station supports the TIM. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 detecting the TIM information in the downlink unicast beacon after the station is waked up after the power saved mode.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indicator is an address indictor. 
     
     
         8 . A method for operating an access point (AP), the method comprising:
 receiving, by the access point, information from a plurality of stations, wherein a first station of the plurality of stations is operating in a non-traffic-indication-map (non-TIM) mode;   generating, by the AP, a downlink unicast beacon comprising a sub 1 GHz (SIG) physical layer (PHY) preamble, traffic-indication-map (TIM) information and common data information, wherein the TIM information is generated in accordance with a TIM generating format, and wherein the TIM information is ignored by the first station operating in the non-TIM mode; and   transmitting, by the AP, the downlink unicast beacon to the plurality of stations.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 waking up the first station operating in the non-TIM mode; and   setting an access identifier (AID) of the first station to indicate that the first station is to operate in a TIM mode.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a portion of the AID is an indicator, wherein the indicator set to 1 indicates that the station does not support the TIM, and wherein the indicator set to 0 indicates that the station supports the TIM. 
     
     
         11 . A station having an indicator indicating whether the station supports a traffic indication map (TIM), the station comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive, from an access point (AP), a downlink unicast beacon comprising TIM information and common data information; and   a processor operatively coupled to the receiver and configured to:
 detect a sub 1 GHz (SIG) physical layer (PHY) preamble of the downlink unicast beacon; and 
 ignore the TIM information in the downlink unicast beacon if the indicator indicates that the station does not support the TIM. 
   
     
     
         12 . The station of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 detect and decode the common data information in the downlink unicast beacon.   
     
     
         13 . The station of  claim 11 , wherein the indicator is a portion of an access identifier (AID), wherein the indicator set to 1 indicates that the station does not support the TIM, and wherein the indicator set to 0 indicates that the station supports the TIM. 
     
     
         14 . The station of  claim 11 , wherein the station is in a power save mode if the indicator indicates that the station does not support the TIM. 
     
     
         15 . The station of  claim 14 , wherein the station wakes up after the power save mode and the indicator is reset to indicate that the station supports the TIM. 
     
     
         16 . The station of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 detect the TIM information in the downlink unicast beacon after the station is waked up after the power saved mode.   
     
     
         17 . The station of  claim 11 , wherein the indicator is an address indictor. 
     
     
         18 . An access point (AP) comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive information from a plurality of stations, wherein a first station of the plurality of stations is operating in a non-traffic-indication-map (non-TIM) mode;   a processor operatively coupled to the receiver and configured to generate a downlink unicast beacon comprising a sub 1 GHz (SIG) physical layer (PHY) preamble, traffic-indication-map (TIM) information and common data information, wherein the TIM information is generated in accordance with a TIM generating format, and wherein the TIM information is ignored by the first station operating in the non-TIM mode; and   a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the downlink unicast beacon to the plurality of stations.   
     
     
         19 . The AP of  claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 wake up the first station operating in the non-TIM mode; and   set an access identifier (AID) of the first station to indicate that the first station is to operate in a TIM mode.   
     
     
         20 . The AP of  claim 19 , wherein a portion of the AID is an indicator, wherein the indicator set to 1 indicates that the station does not support the TIM, and wherein the indicator set to 0 indicates that the station supports the TIM.