Selective suppression of 802.11 ACK frames
US8325753B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 19, 2008 |
| Grant date | Dec 4, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 5, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W88/08
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
ACK messages by access points are suppressed when those access points receive messages from wireless stations for which those access points should not respond. This might occur in wireless communication systems based upon 802.11 protocols in which seamless mobility is desired, with a system controller that assigns wireless stations to specific access points. The access point examines an incoming message from a wireless device to decide whether or not to suppress a responsive ACK message to that wireless device. An access point may suppress an ACK message by suppressing the generation of the ACK, or by suppressing the transmission of a generated ACK. Mechanisms for suppressing an ACK message include setting the ACK transmission to a relatively unpowered transmitting antenna; interrupting a PHY-layer element during receipt of an incoming frame; and limiting entries in a key cache table to suppress ACK messages in response to encrypted incoming frames.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.