Method and apparatus to facilitate scanning in a wireless local area network

• Main Authors: SMITH BRIAN K, WILSON TIMOTHY J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.02.2007
• Subjects: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THIR OWNENERGY USE; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

A wireless two-way communications apparatus ( 700 ) having a radio resource manager ( 706 ) is configured and arranged to effect one or more modes of operation ( 203, 204, 206 , and 207 ) as a function, at least in part, of whether the apparatus is presently operating in a power saving mode of operation ( 201 ) and/or is presently supporting an active plesiochronous communication session ( 202 and 205 ). Pursuant to one approach, when the apparatus is operating in a power saving mode of operation and presently supports such a communication session and when the apparatus further determines ( 301 ) that a wireless access point beacon or supplemental beacon is at least largely coincident with a scheduled active window of that communication session, the apparatus can determine ( 302 ) whether to facilitate rescheduling a next monitoring of the beacon or supplemental beacon and/or altering the scheduled active window itself to thereby render the beacon or supplemental beacon monitorable by the apparatus.