Methods and apparatus relating to wireless terminal beacon signal generation, transmission, and/or use

摘要

A portable wireless terminal generates and transmits a beacon signal. The beacon signal includes a sequence of beacon signal bursts, each beacon signal burst including one or more beacon symbols. A beacon symbol is transmitted using the air link resources of a beacon symbol transmission unit at a relatively high transmission power level with respect to user data symbols transmitted from the same wireless terminal, thus facilitating easy detection by other wireless terminals. The beacon symbols of the beacon signal occupy a small fraction of the total available air link resources. Beacon signals can, and sometimes do, convey wireless terminal identification information, via the location of the beacon symbols within the portion of the air link resource reserved for beacon symbol transmission units.

主权项

1. A method of operating a first wireless terminal comprising:
transmitting a beacon signal burst during a beacon transmission time period in accordance with a timing structure including said beacon transmission time period and a beacon receive time period which recur in accordance with said timing structure, said beacon receive time period being longer than said beacon transmission time period, said beacon signal burst including one or more beacon symbols, each beacon symbol occupying a beacon symbol transmission unit; monitoring for beacon signals from other devices during said beacon receive time period in accordance with said timing structure, said other devices including a second wireless terminal; communicating data symbols using OFDM symbol transmission units during a user data time period which occurs in said timing structure following said beacon receive time period, said user data time period being distinct from said beacon receive time period in said timing structure; and wherein said timing structure is used by both the first and second wireless terminals but with the start of the timing structure used by the first wireless terminal being offset from the start of the timing of the timing structure used by the second wireless terminal by an amount which is greater than the duration of the beacon transmission time period and less than the duration of the beacon receive time period and the start of the of the beacon transmission time period of the second wireless terminal following the end of the beacon transmission time period of the first wireless terminal by an amount which is less than the duration of the beacon transmission time period.