€ ROSS-RE f E RENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[00 ! I This a plica n e¾.ms the benefit of and priority to L S . Patent Application No, 1 /6 1 1,3 ? _> filed February 2, 2015, entitled "Systems Aad Methods For Dynamic Band Switching/' which s assigned io ths assignee hereof and which is Incorporated herein by reference irs its entirety.

FIELD OF Till PRESENT DISCLOSURE

[002] His disclosure generall relates to wifeless communication systems and more specifically to systems and methods for facilitating gathering information about available wireless networks.

BACKGROUND

[0031 Wii-eless: local area networks (WEANs) conform mg to specifications In the Institute of Blcetrieai and Electronics Engineer f TBEE ^V, > S02, H family typically involve a basic service s&L (BSS) mana ed by a device acting in the role of an access point (AP), Each BSS may be identified by a service set identifier (SSiDk such that a wireless coniniumeations device, or station {S ^' fA} using a WEAN protocol may receive broadcast messages or beacons from access: points within range advertising the SS10 of their associated networks. Stations may also form wireless links directl with each other In peer-to- peer or ad lioe topologies in which WEAN devices may discover each other and share data traffic directly, without the instanc of a traditional access point. This type of network configuration may be known as an Independent basic, service set (IBSS). One exam le of a pee.r~n>peer network is a Wireles fidelit (Wi.fi) Direct™ network. As I BSS networks typically do not have a distri u io system or other dedicated device to control the network, one peer may undertake certain management: ttmctkms by acting in the role of peer~to-peer group owner (P2P GO) and one or more additional devices may associate with the GO as P2P clients. In other situations, one wireless device may ass me ne or more ote associated with access point functionality, acting as a software-enabled access point (SAP).

[004] As a consequence of the. Increase popularity of WLAN technologies, congestion for operations on the 2.4GHx band has increased. Thi situation is exacerbated given that the :2.4Gii¾ band is pa t of the Industrial, Science and Medical radio band allocated by the FCC lor a wide range of wireless technologies, including Bluetooth, Although WLAN eorm-nuniea lons operate on an asynchronous protocol and access the wireless medium using Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanisms while Bluetooth communications rely on time division multiplex -access {TD A] mechanisms. Sharing the 2.4 GHz band may still _. result in interference between the two communications systems. This problem Is exacerbated by the physical collocation of the systems when both are im te -o ^' ted in a single device. Indeed, current trends are moving from each system being carried on separate integrated circuits to me ing both onto a single chip In system on a chip (SoC) designs, As a result there Is a trend to provid devices with the capability to operate on -different hands, such as the SGf-fe band, to avoid congestion and potentially benefit from increased performance. Correspondingly, -a wireless communications device ma be able to operate o a plurality of bands, such as the 2.4GHx band, the SQHz band or others, as noted. However, when wireless communications devices associate with each other, the link may still be formed on one band,, such as the 2.4GH¾. hand, by default or by chance. This may cause peridnnanee degradation when WLAN operation of the device experiences interference with another wireless technology, such as Bluetooth. Pe fo m nce degradation may also result from congestion on the selected hand or from other conditions that difl¾rentiaiiy affect only some of the available bands of operation.

[005] Accordingly, It would be desirable to provide a wireless communications device that may select amon bands of operation to enhance performance. Similarly, it would be desirable to exchange information regarding operation on different frequency bands, As will be appreciated from the material that follow, this -disclosure satisfies these and other goals. SUMMA RY

This speeiticstt on discloses a wifeless comffiuniesiiori device having a _. flm transceiver ¾ eommyhicatirsg with a first network node over a first frequence band and a: second tr sc iv r lor communicating with the first network node over a second frequency band and a band manager to process alternate band ioiorntatinm wherein the alternate hand informatio is comniunicafed .using, the fist transceiver and enables eonnmmication with the first network node over the second frequency band. As desired, the alternate band information enables communication over the second frequency band without; additional handshake exchanges.

[097] In one aspect, the band manager may process aken¾ate band information by transmitting the alternate band information to the first network node.

[008] In one aspect the band mana er may process alternate band: Information by receiving the alternate band mifnmation f m the first network: node. The band manager may also comtnu ieate with the first network node by switching fern using the first transceiver to using the second transceiver based at least in part on a defined criterion. Farther, the wireless communications device may include a ioetoofo roodo!a and the defined criterion may be ah operational stains of the Bluetooth module. in one embodiment, the first frequency band may be a 2.4 (Mz band and the second frequency band may foe a 5 G!fe band,

[ 09] This disclosure is also directed to a method for communication with a wireless communication device that includes providing a wireless communications device having a first transceiver configured to communicate with a first network node over first frequency band and a second transceiver co figured to communicate with the first network node over a second frequency band and processing alternate hand festmation, wherein the alternate band information is communicated using the fist transceiver and enables cemmun!cation with the first network node over the second f equency hand. As desired, the alternate band information enables communication over the second frequenc band without additional handshake exchanges, j;00101 In one aspect processin alternate band information ma include transmitting the alternate band information to the first network node. fOfil i\ in one aspect processing alternate band information may include receiving the alternate band information fern the first network node. The method may also include communicating w ith the first network node by switching from using the first transceiver to using the second transceiver based at least in part on a defined criterion. The d fined criterion may be m operations! status of Bluetooth module collocated with the first transceiver, in one embodiment the first frequency band may be a 2.4 GH . band arid the second fre uency band may be a.5 Q z band.

|0 12} This disclosure also includes a non-transitory pmcessor-readabie storage medium for operating a wireless communications device having a first transceiver configured to eonun nieate with a first network node over a first frequency band and a second transceiver configured to sommunieate with the first network node over a second frequency band, the processor-readable storage medium having instructions thereon, such that the instructions may comprise code for processhig aliernate baud information, wherein the alternate i@nd- Information k communicated using the fist transceiver and enables communicate with the first network node over the second frequency band. As desired, the alternate band information may enahie

communication over the second frequency band without additional handshake exchanges.

[001 ] In one aspect, the instructions amy be configured m process alternate b d information by transmitting the alternate band information to the first network node,

[GO 14] In one aspect, the instructions may be configured to process alternate band information by receiving the alternate band information from the first network node. The Instructions may also Include code for communicating with the first network node by switching from using the first transceiver to using the second transceiver based at least in part on a defined criterion, lite defined criterion may be an operational status of a Bluetooth module collocated with the first transceiver,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Further features and advantages will become apparent front the followin and mo e particular description of the embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which like referenced characters generally refer to ti e same parts or ^■ element throughout: the views, and in which:

[0016| FIG, I schematically depicts a wireless environment including wireless communications devices, capable of operating on & plurality ot ^' frequenc bands., according to one embodiment:

100 ί 7] FIG. 2 schematically depicts functional blocks of a wireless communications device configured for dynamic baud switching, according to one embodiment;

[0018] Π . 3 is a equence diagram showing coordination between wireless eommumeatldm devices to transmit alternate band information, according to one embodiment; i 9] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram lo in coordination between wireless communications devices to receive alternate band information, according to one embodiment; and

[0020] FIG; 5 is a flowchart showing an exemplary routine for dynamic band switching, according to- o e embodiment.

DETA ILED DESCRIPTION OF T i ll- INVENTION

[002 ! J At the outset, it is to be understood tha this disclosure is not limited to particularly exemplified materials, architectures, routines,, method or structures as such may vary. Thus, although a number of such options, similar or equivalent to those described herein, eau be used in the practice or embodiments of this disclosure, the preferred materials and -methods, are described herein. fO022] It is also to be tmderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of this disclosure onl and is not intended to be limiting.

10023] The detailed description set forth below in connection with. the appended drawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only exemplary embodiments that may be practiced. The term '-m&m kty' ^* «sed throughout this- description means "serving as an exam le, instatsee, or illustration," and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other exemplary embodiments, The detailed description includes; specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understand im of the exemplary embodiments of the specification. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art tha the exemplary embodiments of the specification may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the novelty of the exemplary embodiments presented herein..

[0024] For purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as top, bottom, left right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear, back, and front, may be used with respect to the accompanying drawings or chip embodiments. These- a similar directional terms should not be construed t limit the scope of the disclosure In any ^' manner.

[0025] In this specifica ion and in the claims, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being '"connected ί * ^Λ or "coupled ttr another element, it can be ^• directly connected or coupled to the other eiemem or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "direeily connected t " or "directly coupled t " another element, there are no Intervening elements, present.

[0026} Some portions of the detailed descriptions which fellow are presented in terms of procedures, logic blocks, processing and other sy mbolic representations of operations on dat bits within a com uter memory. These descriptions and

^presentations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the subs ance of their work to the s skilled in the r In the present application, a procedure, logic lock, process, or the like, Is conceived to be a self- consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result.. The steps are those requiring physical ani ulations- of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily, these quantities take the T m of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. £O027j It should be borne in. mind, however, thai all of these arid similar terms are ftr be associated with the appropriate physical ua sdes and are m ely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent fr m the following dlseussious. it is appreciated that throughout the present application, discussi ns utdfeirsg the terms such as "aeeesslng," ^{^} receivmg," "sending ¹ "usin ,"

actions and processes of a compute?. system _. , or similar electronic eornpuimg device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into othe -data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

[ 2S] Embodiments described herein may be discussed in the general context of processor-executable instructions residing on some form of processor-readable medium, such as program modules, executed by one or more compute Or other devices.

Generally, p ogram modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data, structures, etc, that perform particular tasks o implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program, rn.od.ute may be combined or distributed as desired in various emb diments,

|¾029j In the figures, a single block may be described as performing a junction or functions; however, in actual practise, the function or funcnons performed by that block may be performed in a single component or across multiple components.. and/or may be ^• performed using hardware, using software, or using a combination -of hardware and software. To clearly illustrate this imercbangeabiilty of hardware and software, various illustrative eomporsents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality, Whether such fenetionality Is implemented a hardware or software depends upon the - partsedat .application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans str implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such Implementation decisions should not be Interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure-. Also, the exemplar wireles eommunications devices may include- components other tha those shown, including weildmow ^: n components such as a processor, memory and the like. [0030;) The techniques- d scribed herein may be implemented in hardware _* software, firmware, or any combinati n thereof; unless specifically described as being im lemented in a specific manner, Any features described as modules or components may also be- implemented together in an integrated logic device or separately as discrete but mteropemb logic devices. If implemented In software, the techniques may be reabxed at least in part by a nos transifory processor-readable storage medium comprising histmetions that, when executed, performs one or more of the methods described above, l te non ransitory processor-readable data storage medium may form e of a compute.!- rogram p oduct, w-hfeh may include ackagi g maieriais.

[00 ! ) The non-transitory processor-readable storage mi ium ^' ma comprise random access memory ^' (RA ) such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), read only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NV AM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EBS ^s ROM), FLASH memory, other known storage media, and the like. The techniques additionally, or alternatively, may be realized at least in part by a processor-readable communication medium that carries or -communica es code the form of Instructions or data structures and mat can be accessed, read, and/or executed by a computer or other processor,

| 32] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules circuits and Instructions described in connection with the em o iments disclosed herein may be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general, purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific instruction set processors (ASi s), field programmable gate arrays (FP6 As), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry. The term ''processor," as used herein may refer to any of the foregoing structure or any -other structure suitable for implementation of the techniques described herein, its addition, In some aspects, the functionality described herein may be provided within dedicated software modules or hardware modules configured as described herein. Also, he: techniques could be fully implemented in. one or more circuits or logic elements:. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but In the alternative, the processor ma be a y conventional processor, -controller, microcontroller, or state machine, processor may also be implemented as a .combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such coniiguratlon. s [0033] Emho m-tenfc; are described herein with regard to a wireless eomi:mtnieaik>«s device, which may incl des my suitab e type of user e uipment,, such as syst m, subscriber unit, subscriber s , -mobile station, mobile wireless terminal, mobile device, node, device, remote station, remote terminal, terminal, wireless e-fantrmmc ion device, wireless communication apparatus, user agent, or other client devices, Further examples of a wireless communications device incl de mobile devices such as a: cellular telephone, cordless telephone:, Session Initiation Protocol t SIP) phone, sma phone, wireless local loo C ^' LL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop, ^' handheld commo seat ion device, handheld c mpeting device, satellite -radio, wireless . _. modem card and/or smother processing device for communicating over a w ire less system.

[0034 Moreover, embodiments may also be described herein with regard to an access point (AF). An AP may be utilized for communicating with one or more wireless nodes and may be termed also be called and exhibit functionality associated with a base station, node, Node B, evolved NodeB (eM ) or other suitable network entity. An AP eonununicates over the air-interlace with, wireless terminals. The communication may take place through one or more. ectors. The AP may act as a router between the wireless terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include aft Internet. Protocol (IP) network by converting received air- interface frames to IF packets. The AP may also coordinate management of attributes for the air interface, and may also he the gateway between a wired network and the wireless network,

[0035] Further, embodiments are discussed in specific reference to wireless networks, As such, this disclosure is applicable to my suitable wireless

communication systems having the necessary characteristics, for example, one of skill In the art will recog ise that these techniques- may be. applied when the access point hanetionaiity Is embedded in other devices of an information handling system such as, lor example, routers, switches, servers, computers, or the like, and the designation as an AP Is not limited to dedicated access point devices, further, in addition to infrastructure WLA ^' topologies, the techniques of this disclosure may be applied to other network configurations, such as the ad hoe or peer-to-peer topologies discussed above, or to other wireless eonTrnunieation systems or other wireless- protocols involving wireless links formed on specific- frequency bands. P j Unless defined otherwise,: all tfcc meal and seientlile terms used herein have the same meaning, a commonl derst fc. by one having ordinary skill in the an which fh disel sure pertains,

[0037] Finally, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a, "air' and ^' "the"- Include plural refeents unless: the content clearly dictates otherwise. f003 j The techni ues of this isclosu e Involve dynamically switching between frequency bands as a result of a detected condition t hat has the potential to degrade performance o the curren t band of operation. A n access point having the capability to operate on multiple bands advertises this capability to stations, eit er during the association process or after association, The access point also provides any information necessary to %m a eomm«nieation link: on a different band of operation, such a the channel of operatio and an security credentials. Accordingly, a device that i associated with the access point on one frequency band ma first recei ve the band switching information. Subsequently, when the device delect a condition that may degrade perrdrmaoee on the first frequency band, it may dynamically switch to a different band of operation using the band switching in formation, in one embodiment the band switch may be unilaterally determined by the one of the devices:, for example, the device may detec when a collocated Bluetooth transceiver is operating and dynamically switch from operation on the ^' 2. GH¾ band to the 5Gi¾ band to prevent interference with the Bluetooth communications. Since the device has already received the information necessary to form the link on the SGfk band, dela in switching to that band is substantially reduced. In other embodiments, the device ma switch from a first band of operation to a second band of operation using association Info mation received on the first band in response- to any suitable trigger,

[0039] Aspects of the present disclosure may be exemplified in the context of the wireless environment 1.00 depicted in FIG. h As shown, wireless eotnmuniostiouS: device fWCD) 102, acting In the role of a S A, may be within sufficient range So form a eonsmtinleatiosiS link: with AF 104. A cording to the teehnk ues of this disclosure, both 102 and AP 104 are capable of concurrently operating on a plurality of frequency bands through the use of independent: transceivers, such as o the 2AQHz h i to the -SQHz tend. Wireless commnnleations device 102 may also be able to form a direct communications link with another wireless c t imieaikins dev ice also acting in the rote of a STA-, such as STA 106, using any suitable ad hoc or peer-to-peer protocol For example, wireless communications device 302 may employ SAP techniques, may operate as a P2P GO, or may provide other equivalent mueuonality. in this context, STA. 106 is also capable of concurrent operation on at least two separate frequency bands that a e supported by- wireless- communications device 102. Θ040] Still farther, wireless communications device 102 may also employ additional wireless protocols or radio access technologies ( A ^' Ts). For example, shorter range communications, which may be characterised as a personal area network (PAN), m y be pro ided using aBLUETOOTH# (Bluetooth) protocol to connect and exchange Information etween mobile phones, computers, wearables, digital cameras, wireless headsets, speakers, key board s, mice or other input peripherals, and similar devices. As shown, wireless communicatio s device 102 may form a Bluetooth communications link with wrist band 1 8, which may function as a watch, notification ^■ device, fitness tracker, or may provide other-similar* services, in other embodiments, wireless communications device 102 may feature a ty number of suitable RA ^' I s, Including, without limitation, code division multiple access (CDMA), time division synchronous code division multiple Access (TD-SCDM A), high speed packet access (f-ISFA( )), high-speed downlink packet access {f iSDPA), global system tor mobile

■communications {GSM}, enhanced dat GSM environment (EDGE), WiMaxts ZigBee®, wireless universal serial bus (USB), and the like.

[00 1 J Additional details regarding one embodiment of wireless communications device 102 are depicted as high level schematic blocks in FIG. 2. Devices acting in other network roles, such as an access point, P2P client or the like, may foe similarly configured. Generally, wireless communications device 102 may employ an architecture in which the lower levels of the WLA protocol stack are implemented in firmware and hardware of L N transceiver 202. A shown, 2.4 Glte transceiver 202 Includes media access controller (MAC) 204 that performs functions related to the handling and processing of 802. 1 1 frames of data including verification,

acknowledgment, routing, formatting and the like. Incoming and outgoing -frames are exchanged between MAC 204 and physical layer (PHY) 20b, which as shown includes the functions of modulating the f mes according to the relevant 802.1 1 protocol as well

5 5 as providing the analog processing and RF conversion necessary to provide

transmission -aad reception of wireless signals. Further, wireless communications device 1.02. may -also include S GHx transceiver 208 having MAC 210 and PHY 21 . As discussed above, wireless c mmunicatio s .-device 1 02 may also be able to form communication links using other l¾ATs. In this embodiment, wireless communieaiS ns device 102 may include Bluetooth module 214 having a link manager (LM) 216 for managing the Bluetooth RF link as well as link controller (1..C) 21 S for nerfornOng hardware-speclfic transmission and reception of electronic signals, and may be coupled to an amen na .224.

£00423 As shown, 2.4 GHz transceiver 202, 5 fe transceiver 208 and Bluetooth module 14 are each coupled to separate antennas 220, 222 and 224, respectively. However, as desired and dependin upon the wireless protocols employed, one or more antennas may be shared between the. ansceive s using switching techniques known in the art. Likewise, some or all elements of the respecti e transceivers may be collocated on a common system, (e.g., on the s me circuit board or on distinct circuit boards within the saute system, or may be embedded on the same integrated circuit as in a system on a chip (SoC) implementation),

£0043.3 Wireless communications device 102 also includes host CPU 2:20 configured to perform the various computations and operations involved with the OiBetiemng of wireless commu ications devlee 102. Most CPU 220 Is coupled to 2.4 GI½ transceiver 202, 5 GHz transceiver 208 and Bluetooth module 214 through bus 228, which may he implemented as peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus, a universal serial bus {USB}, a. universal synchron us recervcr/tmnsm liter (U A T) serial bus, a suitable advanced nOeroeomroller bus architecture (AMB ) interface, a serial digital input output (SJDIQ) bus, or other equivalent interface. As shown, wireless

communications device 1 2 may Include hand manager 230- implemented as processor- readable instructions stored In memory 232 that may be executed by CPU 2:20 to coordinate operation of 2,4 G! fe transceiver 202, 5 GHz transceiver 208 and Bluetooth module 14 according to the techniques of this disclosure. One of ordinary skill the art will recognize that the Omctlouallty of hand, manager 230 may be implemented using any desired combination of hardware, firmware and/or software, in any suitable architecture.

ic [0044 As described below, band manager 230 may be configure to perform different operations depending upon the role of wireless communications device i 02 within the W ^' tA . Generally, formation of a wireless commyr ca ions link may involve a node acting as the Initiator and a node acting as the responder. The initiator requests the formation of the wireless communications link while the responder either accepts or denies the request

[0045] When acting In the role of AP or peer, wireless communications device 102 may respond to an initiator's request to form a eo ratm lections link. Correspondingly, band manager 230 may monitor one transceiver, such as 2.4 G k transceiver 202 lor newly- brmed communications link with another wireless communications device. Either durin the association process or subsequently, hand manager 230 may the transmit alternate band information regarding another transceiver,, such as 5 GHz.

transceiver 208, Consequently, the other wireless communications device may use the alternate band information to d namically switch operation from communication using the 2,4 GHz band to communication using the 5 Gl-fe band. In one aspect, the other wireless communications device may unilaterally determine when to sw itch bands, without requiring involvement or communication exchanges using 2,4 GHz transceiver 202.

10046] To help illustrate aspects of these embodiments, FIG. 3 -depicts a sequence diagram sho ing the exchange of messages be een wireless communications device 102 and I A 106 in a peer-to-peer communications link. A similar exchange may occur when wireless eommunieations device 102 is acting in the role of SAP. STA 106- initiates a first handshake by sending an authentication request.. Generally, STA 106 may send the authentication request using the SSID associated with one of the transceiver of wireless communications device 1 2, 2,4 GHz transceiver 202 in this example. STA 1 may obtain the SS!D as per the relevant 802, I I protocols, such as bom a beacon frame sent by wireless eommunieations device 102 or from a probe request and probe respons exchange. Wireless communications device 102 may then reply with an authentication response frame t validate the respective identities. The authentication exchange may also be used to establish the use of a suitable encryption scheme, such as i-fi Protected Access II (WPA2), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Wired-eq ivu!em Pnvaey (WEP), or the like, following authentication, second handshake is performed in which STA i 06 sends an association request frame and

5 ¾ ireless combustions device may reply with an association response frame as shown. The association exchange may result ^' i so all cati n of network resources by wireless comnHinkaiions device ! 02 nd the formation of an active link- Thus, substantia! overhead in the form .of the abov handshake xc ¾nges,£>ceu s during the initial formation of the wireless communications link.

{0047) W reless communications device ) 02 may then send alternate band information to STA 1G& As shown, this may constitute a dedicated signal "Info Request' ^' sent in response to specific request ''Info Request" from STA 6.

Alternatively, wireless communications device 1 2 may automatically transmit the alternate band information. This may be achieved with a dedicated frame or some or all of the .alternate hand information may be incorporated into a frame that has already been exchanged, such as the association response or authentication response frames,. The alternate ba d information may include any details needed to associate with wireless communications device 102 using a different transceiver, such as 5 GHz transceiver 208. This may include the SS!D, MAC address of the GHz transceiver, channel of operation- time stamps, supported rates, signal strength for rate selection, connection parameters, security type, security code, as well as any other information needed to ■Successfully transmit a frame from STA 106 to wireles communications device 10:2 on the 5 GHz band, in one aspects the alternate hand Information, removes the necessity o performing the authentication or association handshakes described above when switching from one frequency band to the other. Further, band manager 230 may update the alternate band information as warranted by operation of 5 GHz transceiver 208 and resend the alternate band information when updated, periodically or in response to a request from STA 1.06.

[0048] Correspondingly- STA 1 b ^' may dynamically switch operation, from the 2.4 GHz hand to the 5 GHz band. As indicated, STA. 106 may initially communicate by sending one or more data frames to wireless communications device 1 2 using the 2.4 GHz band. Upon determination of any suitable criteria, STA 106 may directly switch to employing the 5 GHz hand to send one or more dat frames. As wiil be appreciated, this does not invoke the _. overhead involved, with a. conventional association process,

10049] When acting in the role of STA or peer, wireless communications device 102 may be the initiator for a communications link, After formation of the link using one transceiver, such l A OJfe transceiv r 202, ¼n i .mana er 230 may receive alternate and information rega din operation ojisBiother re uency fe¾«4 *ac-h as lt 5 Gllz tr nsceiver 2 B, As such, band manager 2¾0 may use the alternate band Momiaiion \® allow wireless eoOTnumieattoRa device H)2 to dynamically switch operatio from communication using the 2.4 Gi b band to communication using the 5 Ofe baud. In one aspect, wireless communications device 02 may unilaterally determine when *» switch bands, without requiring Involvement or eomnmnieatien of the transceiver that was iniiiaily used to foots the eoannunicarions link, 00S0] A$ another example, G, 4 depicts a se< nersce diagram showing the exchange of messages between wireless communications device I CS and AP 104 in an infrastructure topology, A similar exchange may occur wh n wireless communications device 102 is acting in the role of a eer, initiating a request for a wireless

eoaununieadons link. Here wireless communications device 102 initiates the first handshake by sending an authentication, request management frame. AF 104 may then reply with an authentication response frame to validate the respective identities and establish any security protocol following authentication, wireless communications device 102 conducts the second handshake by sending an association request management frame and AP 104 may reply with an association response management frame as shown. In this example, AP 10 incorporates the alternate band information into the association response, although as described above, the information may also he sent in a dedicated frame.

[005 I j Upon receipt of the alternate baud infonnai!on, wireless eonnnunieations device 102 may dynamically switch operation tfotn the 2.4 GH¾ band to the 5 Gfte band. In a similar manner to the above embodiment, wireless communications device 102 may initially communicate by aendmg one or more data fi¾mes to AP 1 4 using the 2.4 GHz band. Upon determination of any suitable criteria, wireless communications device 102 may directly switch bands, For example, Bluetooth module 21 may become aetsve as indicated. Consequently, band manager 230 ma switch operation, from 2.4 GHz transceiver 202 to 3 Gi te transceiver 2 8, la one aspect, a

deant entlead n frame may be sent on the 2,4 QHz band prior to. the switch as shown. This may contain an explicit Indication that operation is switching to the S.01¾¼«d or the switch may be implicit Alternatively, band manager 230 ma directly switch to emplo i g he 5 -Q z band to. send one or more dais frames -without additional exchanges with AP 104.

(1)0521 As noted _* any define criterion may be employed when determining to switch operation tram one frequency band to another, in one s ect this way include operations being reformed by the device performing the switch. For example, wireles c unnunications device 102 includes Bluetooth module 214 as describe above, Since Bluetooth communications may cause Interference on the 2,4 GM¾ band, band manager 23 may mon itor the operational stains of Bluetooth module 2 4, i f Bluetooth module 214 is acti e, or if activity is impending, band manager 230 may switch operation from 2,4 Gik transceiver 202 to 5 GHz transceiver 68. As another example, the alternate transceiver ma be associated with higher performance. As such, band manager 230 may switch fre uency bands upo determining a higher quality of service (QoS) is desired. In another aspect, a suitable criterion may be link quality, which may be assessed in any suitable manner. Including signal strength (e,g., a received signal strength indication ( SSf)), congestion,- throughput and the like. Thus, band manager 231) may institute a switch from operatio on a first ^' frequen band to a second

'fre uency band upon de&cfion of any condition that may

respect to the first frequency band. In one aspect, band manager 230 may send a request for alternate band information after detection of the defined criterion before switching ope ration.

[00S3 ] To help illustrate the techniques of this diselosore with regard to performing a -.dynamic band switch* an exemplary routine is represented by the flowchart of F G. 5. Beginning with 500, a first wireless communications device may form

communications link over a first frequency band with a second wireless

eouununieafions device, In $02, the first wireless communications device receives alternate band information sent by the second wireless communications device over the first itequenc band. The first wireless eontn anleations device may detect a defined condition that may degrade performance on the first frequency band in 504, Upon detection, the first wireless communications device then communicates i 306 with the second wifeles communications device by switching f om using the first frequency band to using the second frequency band. [0054] In another as ec hand manager 230 may be configur d to intelligently select between frequency bands dyrhig an initial -association. For example, if Bluetooth module 214 is active when wireless com utations d ice 102 discovers AP 104 band: manager 230 may form the association with 5 GB¾ transceiver 20S rather than 2.4 GHz transceiver 202, I» this exam pie, AF 104 may employ the same SSi D for both bands.

| 055 J Although described in the context, of wireless communications device 102 switching from the 2,4 GHz band to the 5 GHz band, any suitable number of frequenc bands may be employed. For example, depending upon the 802.1 1 standard being employed, the wireless communications may be carried on one or mom frequency bands. For example, E02, I I b gm networks may use a 2.4 GHz ^' frequency band, 802.1 i am/ae networks may use a 5 Gffc frequency band, 802.1 ij networks may use a 4,9 Gffc frequency band, $02.1 lad networks may use a 00 Gffe band and legacy 802. 1 1 net orks, may use a 900 MHz band. The dynamic switch may be between any of these or other frequency bands. iOOSb] Described herein are presently preferred embodiments. However, one skilled in the art that pertains to the present invention will understand that t¾e principles of this disclosure can be extended easily with appropriate modifications to other applications.