Method for sharing mode

Abstract

The invention provides a method for sharing a mode, and in one aspect of the invention, various schemes related to a coordinated time division multiple access (C-TDMA) protocol, a transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing mode for time allocation and parameter exchange in a multi-access point (Multi-AP) system are provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to a coordinated time division multiple access (C-TDMA) protocol, a transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing mode for time allocation, and parameter exchange in a multi-access point (Multi-AP) system for wireless communication. Background Art

[0002] In wireless communications, such as Wi-Fi (or WiFi) and wireless local area networks (WLANs) that comply with one or more Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, multiple access point (MAP) coordination is a key feature of next generation IEEE 802.11-based networks. In a MAP network, there is typically a set of access points (APs) connected via a wired or wireless backhaul to enable coordination between APs for resource management and exchange of system parameters.

[0003] There are many coordination techniques that can benefit from MAP, such as coordinated beamforming (CBF), coordinated spatial reuse (CSR), and C-TDMA. Generally, coordination techniques share common resources among APs participating in MAP. Resource sharing, synchronization, and coordination are managed by a central AP, also called a shared AP. The AP that wins the competition and obtains the TXOP in MAP is the TXOP owner and is designated as the shared AP function. On the other hand, a shared AP refers to an AP that uses a portion of the resources allocated (shared) by a shared AP. In C-TDMA, a shared AP shares the obtained TXOP with two or more shared APs. For resource management, coordination techniques rely on the use of a set of physical layer (PHY) and / or media access control (MAC) parameters that are known in advance by all APs participating in MAP.

[0004] Specifically, in the C-TDMA scheme, a shared AP obtains a TXOP and allocates parts of the TXOP duration to the shared APs using the C-TDMA protocol. APs in C-TDMA can only exchange frames with their STAs within the allocated time (e.g., in a 3-AP MAP, AP1 exchanges frames with its STAs within the allocated time t1 within the TXOP, AP2 exchanges frames with its STAs within the allocated time t2 within the TXOP, and AP3 exchanges frames with its STAs within the allocated time t3 within the TXOP). APs participating in C-TDMA do not need each other to be within range, so the APs may act as hidden nodes to each other. In terms of performance, C-TDMA is a technology designed to reduce latency. In order to provide latency gains, C-TDMA requires an efficient resource allocation mechanism and a viable C-TDMA protocol. If the allocation mechanism is not designed properly, it may result in failure to provide latency gains. Other techniques, such as CBF and / or CSR, require the shared AP to understand the MAC / PHY parameters of the shared APs. However, parameter sharing and exchange between APs may incur overhead due to additional protocol signals.

[0005] In the 3-AP MAP example, the shared AP employs a resource allocation algorithm to calculate the TXOP allocation times t1, t2, and t3 within its acquired TXOP. When the algorithm implementation is not constrained by any requirements, a shared AP may prioritize its own low-latency traffic over traffic from shared APs. In this case, a shared AP may behave "greedily" and only share a relatively small portion of the TXOP with other APs, or may even choose not to share at all. This greedy performance behavior often leads to starvation of shared APs. When the problem is not addressed, it may result in C-TDMA failing to provide latency gains. In addition, C-TDMA also requires a simple and efficient protocol, which is critical to achieving low latency in a MAP.

[0006] Coordinated transmission schemes rely on knowledge of PHY and / or MAC parameters that need to be shared and / or exchanged between APs participating in the MAP. Since parameter exchange between APs can reduce system throughput, it is important to find a way to reduce this protocol overhead. For CBF, parameters that need to be exchanged or shared between APs include, but are not limited to, channel state information (CSI) between APs and STAs, selection of STAs for transmission, and grouping of spatial streams. For CSR, parameters that need to be exchanged or shared between APs include, but are not limited to, channel path loss, power allocation, and buffer status between APs and STAs. For C-TDMA, parameters that need to be exchanged or shared between APs include, but are not limited to, knowledge of the number of associated STAs, low-latency traffic information, and TXOP allocation time.

[0007] Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problems of C-TDMA protocol, time allocation of TXOP sharing mode and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system of wireless communication. Summary of the invention

[0008] A simplified summary of one or more aspects is presented below to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not a comprehensive overview of all intended aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects, nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that is presented later.

[0009] The present invention relates to a method and a user equipment to define a mobility management state transition due to discontinuous coverage of a satellite. According to one embodiment, a method for a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method comprises: determining in a mobility management whether an access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or during discontinuous coverage; and entering a specific state when the access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or during discontinuous coverage. The specific state is an xMM-DEREGISTERED.NO-CELL-AVAILABLE state entered by the user equipment (UE), when the access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or when the user equipment (UE) is in discontinuous coverage and the user equipment (UE) is in an unregistered state; or an xMM-REGISTERED.NO-CELL-AVAILABLE state entered by the user equipment (UE) when the access layer (AS) is disabled due to discontinuous coverage in mobility management or when the user equipment (UE) is in discontinuous coverage and the user equipment (UE) is in a registered state.

[0010] According to another embodiment, a user equipment (UE) is provided. The user equipment (UE) includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver is configured to wirelessly communicate with a network. The processor is connected to the transceiver and configured to perform operations, including: determining whether an access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or during discontinuous coverage in mobility management; and when the access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or during discontinuous coverage, entering a specific state in the mobility management. The specific state is the xMM-DEREGISTERED.NO-CELL-AVAILABLE state entered by the user equipment (UE) when the access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or the user equipment (UE) is in discontinuous coverage and the user equipment (UE) is in an unregistered state. The specific state is the xMM-REGISTERED.NO-CELL-AVAILABLE state entered by the user equipment (UE) when the access layer (AS) is deactivated due to discontinuous coverage or the user equipment (UE) is in discontinuous coverage and the user equipment (UE) is in a registered state.

[0011] One objective of the present disclosure is to provide schemes, concepts, designs, techniques, methods, and devices related to C-TDMA protocol, time allocation of TXOP sharing mode, and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system in wireless communication. It is believed that embodiments of the proposed scheme may solve or otherwise alleviate the above-mentioned problems. For example, embodiments of the proposed scheme may enhance the coordinated MAP technology in the following ways: a C-TDMA protocol for frame exchange, a mechanism to solve the TXOP sharing problem, which incorporates the TXOP sharing mode into the MAP negotiation phase, a variety of TXOP sharing modes that specify how to allocate time within a TXOP, and a method for sharing PHY / MAC resource allocation parameters between APs participating in C-TDMA, reducing protocol overhead by utilizing the broadcast properties of beacons.

[0012] The present invention relates to a coordinated time division multiple access C-TDMA protocol, a transmission opportunity TXOP sharing mode for time allocation, and an exchange of parameters in a multi-access point Multi-AP system for wireless communication. According to one embodiment, a method for a shared AP to obtain a TXOP is provided. The method may also involve a shared AP triggering one or more shared APs to perform C-TDMA communications with their associated STAs within the TXOP.

[0013] According to another embodiment, a method is provided that may involve a shared AP negotiating with one or more shared APs to select a TXOP sharing mode. The method may also involve the shared AP triggering one or more shared APs to perform C-TDMA communication with their associated STAs using the selected TXOP sharing mode within the TXOP.

[0014] According to another embodiment, a method is provided that may involve a shared AP receiving an enhanced multi-user request to send MU-RTS TXOP shared TXS trigger frame from a shared AP in a TXOP. The method may also involve the shared AP sending a response frame (e.g., a clear to send (CTS) frame) to the shared AP in response to the received enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame. The method may also involve the shared AP exchanging downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) with one or more STAs associated with the shared AP during a corresponding portion of the TXOP allocated to the shared AP. The enhanced MU-RTS TXS frame may carry scheduling times t1, t2, ... by announcing the TXOP allocation time of the shared AP, and may carry additional control information related to an AP identification code (ID) address or low-latency traffic.

[0015] It is worth noting that although the description provided herein may be in the context of certain wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies (e.g., Wi-Fi), the proposed concepts, schemes, and any variants / derivatives thereof may be implemented in other types of wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as and not limited to, Bluetooth, ZigBee, 5th Generation (5G) / New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Professional, Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein.

[0016] To accomplish the foregoing and related ends, the features included in one or more aspects and specifically pointed out in the claims are fully described below. The following description and the accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. However, these features are indicative of several of the various ways of employing the principles of the various aspects, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 A diagram of an example network environment is shown in accordance with various solutions and aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 2 An example scenario diagram in accordance with the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Figure 3 An example scenario diagram in accordance with the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 4 An example scenario diagram in accordance with the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 5An example design diagram according to the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 6 An example scenario diagram in accordance with the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example communication system is shown according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 8 An example process flow diagram according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Fig. 9 An example process flow diagram according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Fig.10 A process flow diagram according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] In the following detailed description, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, it will be apparent that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, known structures and devices are shown in schematic form in order to simplify the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The technical terms in this specification are used in the technical field. If there is an explanation or definition of certain technical terms in this specification, the technical terms in this part will take precedence over the explanation or definition elsewhere. The present invention of each embodiment has one or more technical features. Where possible, a person of ordinary skill in the art can selectively implement some or all of the technical features of the present invention, or selectively combine these technical features of the present invention.

[0029] Implementations according to the present disclosure relate to various technologies, methods, schemes and / or solutions in a multi-access point (AP) system in wireless communications, which are related to C-TDMA protocols, TXOP sharing modes of time allocation, and parameter exchange. According to the present disclosure, many possible solutions can be implemented individually or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions can be implemented in some combination.

[0030] Figure 1 An example network environment 100 is shown in which various solutions and schemes according to the present disclosure may be implemented. Figures 2 to 10Examples of implementing various proposed solutions in the network environment 100 according to the present disclosure are shown. The following descriptions of various proposed solutions are based on Figures 1 to 10 Provided.

[0031] Reference Figure 1 , the network environment 100 may involve a multi-AP system, including at least a first AP (e.g., AP1), and its associated stations (STAs), a second AP (AP2), and its associated STAs, and a third AP (AP3), and its associated STAs. Each of AP1, AP2, and AP3, and their associated STAs, can be configured to communicate with each other by utilizing the C-TDMA protocol, a time-allocated TXOP sharing mode, and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system. For example, under the various proposals described herein, AP1 can be used as a shared AP, and AP2 and AP3 can also be used as shared APs. It is worth noting that although the various proposals may be described separately or separately, in actual implementation, some or all of the proposals may be used or implemented in conjunction. Of course, each proposal can be used or implemented separately or separately.

[0032] Figure 2 An example scenario 200 under a proposed scheme according to the present disclosure is shown. Under the proposed scheme, the framework of the C-TDMA protocol may be defined according to the Triggered TXOP Sharing (TXS) protocol described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. The C-TDMA protocol may have certain specificities, including: (a) multiplexing and enhancing the existing TXS protocol in an enhanced multi-user request to send (MU-RTS) TXS trigger frame; (b) the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame carries control information to a shared AP, such as a TXOP allocation time allocated to the shared AP, an AP identification code (ID) or address of the shared AP, and other low-latency traffic information; (c) the enhanced MU-RTS TXS has two or more user information fields in its format to support APs (including shared APs); (d) the enhanced MU-RTS TXS is extended by a field to distinguish it from an enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame that only supports non-AP extremely high throughput (EHT) STAs; (e) the enhanced MU-RTS TXS is extended to support trigger-based (TB) physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs); (f) the enhanced MU-RTS TXS announces the time allocation allocated to the TXOP portion of the shared AP; and (g) the enhanced MU-RTS TXS has scheduling options that reduce protocol overhead and allow flexibility in coordination among APs.

[0033] Figure 2The scenario 200 shown in may involve a C-TDMA protocol describing a frame exchange sequence for a TXOP obtained by a shared AP. The AP that wins the TXOP contention becomes the shared AP and sends a control frame (e.g., an enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame) under a proposed scheme. The enhanced MU-RTS TXS may carry the AP IDs of the shared APs with which the shared AP intends to share the TXOP. Each shared AP addressed in the enhanced MU-RTS TXS may respond with a response frame (e.g., a clear to send (CTS) frame). All other non-AP STAs and APs may set their network allocation vectors (NAVs) after receiving the enhanced MU-RTS TXS and response frames. The enhanced MU-RTS TXS may carry the TXOP allocation times t1, t2, ... allocated to the shared AP and may support multiple user information fields. The TXOP allocation times may also be distributed to the shared APs using the proposed scheme for sharing PHY / MAC parameters to be described below. Each user information field of the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame may contain a specific subfield corresponding to the shared AP and the corresponding one of the shared APs. The allocation time may be specified in the allocation subfield of the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame and may be calculated by the shared AP. Figure 2 The shared AP and shared APs can perform uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) transmissions within the allocated times t1, t2, ... within the TXOP. These transmissions can be single-user (SU), multi-user (MU), or TB-based PPDU transmissions. Frame exchanges within the allocated times can use the traditional enhanced MU-RTS / CTS mechanism for additional protection.

[0034] Under the proposed scheme, in C-TDMA, APs may coordinate with other APs to establish their C-TDMA membership. This may involve configuration settings requiring the APs to perform discovery, startup, negotiation, and, if necessary, creation of a C-TDMA group. The discovery phase may involve finding APs with C-TDMA capabilities. During the startup phase, the AP may send a C-TDMA membership request and receive responses from all APs in the C-TDMA group being formed. Additionally, during the negotiation phase, the AP may negotiate with other APs participating in C-TDMA on a set of parameters related to bandwidth, TXOP duration, low-latency traffic, etc. If the negotiation is successful, the APs involved may be granted membership of the C-TDMA group.

[0035] Under one solution proposed in the present disclosure, a mechanism to address the TXOP sharing problem, namely the TXOP sharing mode, can be incorporated into the negotiation phase. With this approach, an AP can negotiate its needs with other APs by selecting a TXOP sharing mode. For example, an AP can request resources from other APs in a C-TDMA group by selecting a TXOP sharing mode. The decision whether to accept the TXOP sharing mode can be made individually by each AP in the C-TDMA group. If all APs in the C-TDMA group accept the resource sharing request, the AP can be granted membership in the C-TDMA group. APs in the C-TDMA group can send a renegotiation request after a certain period of time. If C-TDMA membership is not granted, the AP can negotiate again after a predetermined or random time.

[0036] According to the scheme proposed in the present disclosure, there may be multiple TXOP sharing modes for APs participating in C-TDMA. In the first TXOP sharing mode (Type 1) under the proposed scheme, the shared AP can share the obtained TXOP equally with all shared APs in the C-TDMA group. The shared AP can allocate a time length of where N represents the number of APs in the C-TDMA group. For example, if there are 3 APs in the C-TDMA group, the TXOP can be divided into 3 parts so that each AP is allocated an equal amount of time, that is, This mode may be simple and easy to implement, but the shared AP may need to allocate most of the resources to the shared AP, thereby sacrificing its own performance in terms of throughput and latency. Therefore, this mode may be suitable for scenarios where the AP load is not high and there is less low-latency traffic.

[0037] In the second TXOP sharing mode (Type 2) under the proposed scheme, the shared APs may be constrained by the previously negotiated range when allocating the shared time of the obtained TXOP. That is, each AP in the C-TDMA group can negotiate its TXOP sharing range TXOP in the negotiation phase. duration ×[T min , T max ], so that for APi, the time ti needs to be in the following range:

[0038]

[0039] For example, for 3 APs in a C-TDMA group, the shared AP may need to allocate t1, t2, and t3 so that these times are within the following ranges:

[0040] For AP1, T min，AP1 ×TXOP duration ≤t1≤T max，AP1×TXOP duration ;

[0041] For AP2, T min，AP2 ×TXOP duration ≤t2≤T max，AP2 ×TXOP duration ;as well as

[0042] For AP3, T min，AP3 ×TXOP duration ≤t3≤T max，AP3 ×TXOP duration .

[0043] In addition, the allocated time needs to satisfy (t1+t2+t3)≤TXOP duratin requirements.

[0044] In this second TXOP sharing mode, the AP can use one of two options to select the range. In option (a), the AP is free to choose [0, TXOP duration ] In option (b), the AP can choose from a set of predefined ranges {[0.1,0.9],[0.2,0.8],…[0.9,0.1]}. In the second TXOP sharing mode, if the offered range is rejected by the APs in the C-TDMA group, the protocol can provide additional resource request rounds with new values. Alternatively, the AP can start a new round of negotiation after a certain period of time.

[0045] In the third TXOP sharing mode (Type 3) under the proposed scheme, the shared APs may need to maintain an overall isochronous rule between any two APs. Figure 3 An example scenario 300 is shown for the third TXOP sharing mode under the proposed scheme. In this mode, the total allocated time Ti,j can be referred to as the “total time”, i.e., the time allocated by APi to APj in M ​​previous TXOPs (e.g., T i，j =∑ k＝1，...，M t i，j (k), where t i,j (k) indicates the kth th The amount of time allocated by APi to APj in a TXOP. This mode may require APi to comply with T i，j =T j，i That is, after M TXOPs, APi needs to allocate the same amount of time to APj as APi receives from APj.

[0046] The third TXOP sharing mode can be implemented between any two APs in a C-TDMA group. The main advantage of this mode is flexibility, because as long as the shared AP maintains the total isochronous rule over the M TXOPs, it is not bound by any rules on how to allocate the time of each acquired TXOP. Therefore, this mode may be suitable for scenarios where the APs in the C-TDMA group experience bursty low-latency traffic.

[0047] In the fourth TXOP sharing mode (Type 4) under the proposed scheme, the shared AP can find the allocation time t1, t2, ... by the following calculation: t i =N i / ∑ i＝1，..，L N TXOP duration , for all i=1,…,L, where L represents the number of APs in the C-TDMA group and Ni represents the number of STAs with low latency traffic served by APi. The shared AP may collect information N1,…NL on the number of active STAs with low latency traffic served by each shared AP before calculating the TXOP sharing time. Collecting the STAs number information may be done using the proposed scheme described below or in the C-TDMA phase. Whenever the number of supported / serviced STAs changes, the affected AP may need to update other APs participating in the C-TDMA to inform it of the new number of STAs served. Therefore, this mode may be computationally fast and simple, may require only a minimum number of parameters to be obtained from the shared APs, and may be flexible in providing fairness.

[0048] Figure 4 An example scenario 400 of the fourth TXOP sharing mode under the proposed scheme is shown. In this mode, STA fairness can be provided by allocating TXOP time in proportion to the number of STAs served by each participating AP. Figure 4 , one of the example MAP networks has the fourth TXOP sharing mode enabled. Without C-TDMA, AP1 and AP2 may have fairly equal channel access probabilities when serving different numbers of STAs. This means that STA1 associated with AP1 may have a higher access rate than STAs associated with AP2. For example, STA1 associated with AP1 may have an access rate of 0.5, while STA1~STA10 associated with AP2 may have an access rate of 0.05. Under the proposed scheme, C-TDMA can be achieved by allocating For AP1 and AP2 is given to provide fairness to each STA.

[0049] It is worth noting that when APs are operating in any TXOP mode under the proposed scheme described here, an AP can send requests to other APs for more resources. When the request is approved by an AP in the C-TDMA group, that AP can allocate more resources to the requesting AP in future TXOPs. If the request is rejected by another AP, the requesting AP can try again after a period of time.

[0050] Figure 5 An example design 500 is shown for a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure. Under the proposed scheme, beacons may be used to exchange and share PHY / MAC parameters. This may reduce protocol overhead by leveraging the broadcast property of beacons. The parameters broadcast by APs in beacons may include: (a) in CSR, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values ​​used to estimate channel path loss between APs and STAs; and (b) in C-TDMA, the number of STAs N1,…NL served by each shared AP. This proposed scheme employs a quality of service (QoS) enhanced basic service set (QBSS) information element (IE), which may be advertised by APs in each beacon. Figure 5 An example QBSS payload element format under the proposed scheme is shown.

[0051] Figure 6 An example scenario 600 is shown under a proposed scheme according to the present disclosure. Under the proposed scheme, for CSR, the access field of the QBSS IE can be used for parameter exchange between APs. The parameter value can represent a 256-level RSSI value between the AP and the STA, and the index ID of the STA is contained in the utilization field of the QBSS IE. Each beacon can carry only one RSSI measurement value between the AP and the STA. It can be assumed that the AP can estimate the RSSI value from the management frame received by the STA using the traditional PHY preamble. The RSSI values ​​of other STAs can be sent in subsequent beacons. Under the proposed scheme, for C-TDMA, the parameter value carried in the access field of the QBSS IE can represent the number of STAs supported by the AP. Reference Figure 6 , for the example of 3-AP coordination, when APs exchange parameters with other APs, the beacons can carry the parameters retrieved by other APs. Figure 6 In the figure, "BCN" indicates a beacon.

[0052] Figure 7An example system 700 is shown, which includes at least an example device 710 and an example device 720, which is consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 710 and device 720 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, technologies, processes and methods described herein regarding C-TDMA protocol, TXOP sharing mode of time allocation, and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system in wireless communication, including the above descriptions of various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods and the processes described below. For example, device 710 can be an example implementation of a shared AP (e.g., AP1), and device 720 can be an example implementation of a shared AP (e.g., AP2 or AP3).

[0053] Device 710 and device 720 may be part of an electronic device, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, device 710 and device 720 may be implemented in a smart phone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device, such as a tablet, a laptop, or a notebook computer. Device 710 and device 720 may also be part of a machine type device, which may be an Internet of Things device, such as a fixed or static device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, device 710 and device 720 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. When implemented in a network device or as a network device, device 710 and / or device 720 may be implemented in a network node, such as an AP in a WLAN.

[0054] In some embodiments, the apparatus 710 and the apparatus 720 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors. In the above various schemes, the apparatus 710 and the apparatus 720 may be implemented as a STA or an AP. The apparatus 710 and the apparatus 720 may include Figure 7 , such as processor 712 and processor 722. Device 710 and device 720 may also include one or more other components that are not related to the solution proposed in the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device and / or user interface device). Therefore, for simplicity and brevity, these components of device 710 and device 720 are not shown in FIG. Figure 7 It is not shown in the figure and is not described below.

[0055] In one aspect, the processor 712 and the processor 722 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term "a processor" is used here to refer to the processor 712 and the processor 722, in some embodiments, the processor 712 and the processor 722 may include multiple processors, and in other embodiments may include a single processor. In another aspect, the processor 712 and the processor 722 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware), including electronic components such as but not limited to one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more variable capacitors, which are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes in various embodiments of the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some embodiments, the processor 712 and the processor 722 are special-purpose machines specially designed, arranged, and configured to perform tasks related to the C-TDMA protocol, the TXOP sharing mode of time allocation, and the parameter exchange in the multi-AP system in wireless communication. For example, processor 712 and processor 722 may be configured with hardware components or circuits to implement one, some, or all of the examples described and depicted herein.

[0056] In some embodiments, the device 710 may further include a transceiver 716 connected to the processor 712. The transceiver 716 may have the ability to wirelessly transmit and receive data. In some embodiments, the device 720 may further include a transceiver 726 connected to the processor 722. The transceiver 726 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data.

[0057] In some embodiments, the device 710 may further include a memory 714 connected to the processor 712 and accessible by the processor 712 and storing data therein. In some embodiments, the device 720 may further include a memory 724 connected to the processor 722 and accessible by the processor 722 and storing data therein. The memory 714 and the memory 724 may include a random access memory (RAM) type, such as a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and / or a zero capacitance RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, the memory 714 and the memory 724 may also include a read-only memory (ROM) type, such as a mask ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and / or an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively, the memory 714 and the memory 724 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) type, such as a flash memory, a solid-state memory, a ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and / or a phase change memory.

[0058] Device 710 and device 720 may be communication entities that can communicate with each other using various schemes proposed in the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, the following provides descriptions of the capabilities of device 710 as a shared AP (e.g., AP1) and device 720 as a shared AP (e.g., AP2 or AP3), which are provided in the context of example processes 800, 900, and 1000. It is worth noting that although the example embodiments described below are provided in the context of a WLAN, they may also be implemented in other types of networks. Therefore, although the following description of the example embodiments relates to a scenario in which device 710 is a transmitting device and device 720 is a receiving device, it is also applicable to another scenario in which device 710 is a receiving device and device 720 is a transmitting device.

[0059] Figure 8 An example process 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 800 may represent one aspect of implementing the various designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods proposed above. More specifically, process 800 may represent one aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes, which relate to the C-TDMA protocol, the TXOP sharing mode for time allocation, and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system in wireless communications according to the present disclosure. Process 800 may include one or more operations, actions or functions, as shown by one or more blocks 810 and 820. Although presented as a block diagram, the various blocks of process 800 may be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 800 may be arranged in accordance with Figure 8, or may be performed in a different order. In addition, one or more blocks / sub-blocks of process 800 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 800 may be implemented by device 710 and device 720 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 800 is described below in the context of device 710 as a shared AP (e.g., AP1) and device 720 as a shared AP (e.g., AP2 or AP3) in a multi-AP system in a wireless local area network according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. Process 800 may start from block 810.

[0060] At 810, process 800 may involve processor 712 of device 710 acquiring a TXOP via transceiver 716. Process 800 may continue from 810 to 820.

[0061] At 820 , process 800 may involve processor 712 triggering, via transceiver 716 , one or more shared APs (including device 720 ) to perform C-TDMA communications with respective associated STAs within the TXOP.

[0062] In certain embodiments, upon triggering, process 800 may involve processor 712 performing certain operations. For example, process 800 may involve processor 712 sending an enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame to one or more shared APs. Additionally, process 800 may involve processor 712 receiving a corresponding response frame (e.g., a CTS frame) from one or more shared APs in response to sending the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame. Additionally, process 800 may involve processor 712 exchanging DL and UL PPDUs with one or more STAs associated with a shared AP during a corresponding portion of a TXOP allocated to the shared AP.

[0063] In some embodiments, the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame may include information about the corresponding TXOP allocation time of one or more shared APs, the AP ID of one or more shared APs, and low-latency traffic information as an announcement frame. In addition, the one or more shared APs may communicate with the corresponding one or more STAs within the corresponding TXOP allocation time.

[0064] In some embodiments, the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame may include two or more user information fields corresponding to one or more shared APs and the shared AP. In this case, the one or more user information fields may include a specific subfield corresponding to the one or more shared APs and a corresponding one of the shared APs.

[0065] In some embodiments, prior to being triggered, process 800 may involve processor 712 performing additional operations. For example, process 800 may involve processor 712 discovering at least one C-TDMA capable AP via transceiver 716 during a discovery phase. Additionally, process 800 may involve processor 712 requesting at least one C-TDMA capable AP via transceiver 716 to form a C-TDMA group during a startup phase. Additionally, process 800 may involve processor 712 negotiating a set of parameters with one or more of the at least one C-TDMA capable AP via transceiver 716 during a negotiation phase, and the APs respond positively to the request. Additionally, process 800 may involve processor 712 creating a C-TDMA group with one or more APs as one or more shared APs after the negotiation phase is successfully completed.

[0066] In certain embodiments, parameter sets may be related to bandwidth, TXOP duration, and low-latency traffic.

[0067] In some embodiments, during the negotiation, process 800 may further involve processor 712 selecting one of a plurality of TXOP sharing modes to be used by all APs in the C-TDMA group when sharing the TXOP. In some embodiments, the plurality of TXOP sharing modes may include: (1) a first TXOP sharing mode requiring the shared AP to share the TXOP equally among all APs in the C-TDMA group; (2) a second TXOP sharing mode requiring the shared AP to allocate the TXOP sharing time to all APs in the C-TDMA group within the previously negotiated range, such that for APi, a corresponding TXOP allocation time is within T min ,AP i xTXOP duration ≤ t i ≤T max ,APi x TXOP duration, and Σti≤TXOP duration, where Tmin,APi and Tmax,APi represent the minimum sharing time and maximum sharing time for APi respectively, and ti represents a corresponding TXOP allocation time for APi; (3) The third TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to maintain a total isochronous rule between any two APs of all APs in the C-TDMA group, such that T i,j =T j,i, where Ti,j and Tj,i represent the total amount of time allocated by APi to APj and by APj to APi after M TXOPs, respectively, and M is a positive integer; and (4) the fourth TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to calculate t1, t2, … by calculating ti = Ni / (Σi = 1, …L Ni) x TXOP duration, for all i = 1, …, L, where L is the number of APs in the C-TDMA group and Ni represents the number of STAs served by APi.

[0068] In some embodiments, process 800 may involve processor 712 performing additional operations. For example, process 800 may involve processor 712 transmitting a beacon via transceiver 716. Additionally, process 800 may involve processor 712 receiving a corresponding beacon from one or more shared APs via transceiver 716. The transmitted and received beacons may include one or more parameters.

[0069] In some embodiments, the one or more parameters may include: (a) RSSI regarding the channel path loss between the shared AP or one of the one or more shared APs in the CSR and the corresponding associated STA; and / or (b) the number of STAs served by the shared AP or one of the one or more shared APs in the C-TDMA.

[0070] Fig. 9 An example process 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 900 may represent one aspect of implementing the various designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods proposed above. More specifically, process 900 may represent one aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes for C-TDMA protocol, time-allocated TXOP sharing mode, and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system in wireless communication consistent with the present disclosure. Process 900 may include one or more operations, actions or functions, as shown by one or more blocks 910 and 920. Although presented as a block diagram, the various blocks of process 900 may be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 900 may be arranged in Fig. 9 The process 900 may be performed in the order shown, or may be performed in a different order. In addition, one or more blocks / sub-blocks of process 900 may be repeated or iteratively performed. Process 900 may be implemented by device 710 and device 720 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 900 is described below in the context of a wireless network (e.g., a multi-AP system in a WLAN) in which device 710 is a shared AP (e.g., AP1) and device 720 is a shared AP (e.g., AP2 or AP3), and the wireless network complies with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. Process 900 may start from block 910.

[0071] At 910, process 900 may involve processor 712 of device 710 negotiating with one or more shared APs (including device 720) via transceiver 716 to select a TXOP sharing mode. Process 900 may continue from 910 to 920.

[0072] At 920 , process 900 may involve processor 712 , via transceiver 716 , triggering one or more shared APs to participate in C-TDMA communications with respective associated STAs within the TXOP using the selected TXOP sharing mode.

[0073] In some embodiments, the selected TXOP sharing mode may require the shared AP to share the TXOP equally among all APs in the C-TDMA group.

[0074] Alternatively, the selected TXOP sharing mode may require the shared AP to allocate a shared time of the TXOP to all APs in the C-TDMA group within a previously negotiated range, such that for APi, a corresponding TXOP allocation time is within the range of Tmin,APi x TXOP duration ≤ti ≤Tmax,APi x TXOP duration, and Σti ≤ TXOP duration, where Tmin,APi and Tmax,APi represent the minimum sharing time and the maximum sharing time with respect to APi, and ti represents a corresponding TXOP allocation time for APi.

[0075] Alternatively, the selected TXOP sharing mode may require the shared AP to maintain a total isochronous rule between any two APs of all APs in the C-TDMA group such that Ti,j = Tj,i, where Ti,j and Tj,i represent the total amount of time allocated by APi to APj and by APj to APi after M TXOPs, respectively, and M is a positive integer.

[0076] Alternatively, the selected TXOP sharing mode may require the shared AP to calculate t1, t2, … by calculating ti = Ni / (Σi = 1, …L Ni) x TXOP duration, for all i = 1, …, L, where L is the number of APs in the C-TDMA group and Ni represents the number of STAs served by APi.

[0077] Fig.10An example process 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 1000 may represent one aspect of implementing the various designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods proposed above. More specifically, process 1000 may represent one aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes for C-TDMA protocol, time-allocated TXOP sharing mode, and parameter exchange in a multi-AP system in wireless communication consistent with the present disclosure. Process 1000 may include one or more operations, actions or functions, as shown by one or more blocks 1010, 1020 and 1030. Although shown as discrete blocks, the various blocks of process 1000 may be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 1000 may be arranged in a manner such that: Fig.10 The process 1000 may be performed in the order shown, or may be performed in a different order. In addition, one or more blocks / sub-blocks of process 1000 may be repeated or iteratively performed. Process 1000 may be implemented by device 710 and device 720 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 1000 is described below in the context of a wireless network (e.g., a multi-AP system in a WLAN) in which device 710 is a shared AP (e.g., AP1) and device 720 is a shared AP (e.g., AP2 or AP3), and the wireless network complies with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. Process 1000 may start from block 1010.

[0078] At 1010, process 1000 may involve processor 722 of device 720 receiving, via transceiver 726, an enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame from device 710 (as a shared AP). Process 1000 may continue from 1010 to 1020.

[0079] At 1020 , process 1000 may involve processor 722 sending a response frame to the shared AP via transceiver 726 in response to the received enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame. Process 1000 may continue from 1020 to 1030 .

[0080] At 1030 , process 1000 may involve processor 722 , via transceiver 726 , exchanging DL and UL PPDUs with one or more STAs associated with the shared AP within respective portions of a TXOP allocated to the shared AP.

[0081] In some embodiments, the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame, as an announcement frame, may include information about corresponding TXOP allocation times of one or more shared APs, AP IDs of one or more shared APs, and low-latency traffic information. In addition, one or more shared APs may communicate with corresponding one or more STAs within the corresponding TXOP allocation time.

[0082] In some embodiments, the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame may include two or more user information fields corresponding to one or more shared APs. In this case, the one or more user information fields may include a specific subfield corresponding to a corresponding one of the one or more shared APs. In addition, the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame may be extended to support SU, MU, and TB PPDUs.

[0083] In some implementations, process 1000 may further involve processor 722 negotiating with the sharing AP via transceiver 726 to select one of a plurality of TXOP sharing modes to be used by all APs in the C-TDMA group when sharing the TXOP.

[0084] In some implementations, the multiple TXOP sharing modes may include: (1) a first TXOP sharing mode requiring the shared AP to share the TXOP equally among all APs in the C-TDMA group; (2) a second TXOP sharing mode requiring the shared AP to allocate the TXOP sharing time to all APs in the C-TDMA group within a previously negotiated range, such that for APi, a corresponding TXOP allocation time is within the range Tmin, APi x TXOP duration ≤ ti ≤ Tmax, APi x TXOP duration, and Σti≤TXOP duration, where Tmin,APi and Tmax,APi represent the minimum sharing time and the maximum sharing time for APi respectively, and ti represents a corresponding TXOP allocation time for APi; (3) the third TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to maintain a total isochronous rule between any two APs of all APs in the C-TDMA group so that after M TXOPs, Ti,j=Tj,i, where Ti,j and Tj,i represent the total amount of time allocated by APi to APj and APj to APi, respectively, where M is a positive integer; and (4) the fourth TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to calculate t1,t2,… by calculating ti=Ni / (Σi=1,…L Ni)x TXOP duration, for all i=1,…,L, where L is the number of APs in the C-TDMA group and Ni represents the number of STAs served by APi.

[0085] The above disclosure provides various characteristics of some implementations or examples of the present disclosure. In order to simplify / illustrate some implementations of the present disclosure, specific components and configurations (such as numerical values ​​or names mentioned) are described above. In addition, some embodiments of the present disclosure may repeat reference symbols and / or letters in different instances. This repetition is for simplicity and clarity, and does not inherently indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or configurations discussed.

[0086] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an exemplary method. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the process / flowchart may be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present the elements of the various blocks in an example order and are not intended to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0087] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but should be given a full scope consistent with the claims text, wherein unless explicitly stated, the reference to the elements in the singular form is not intended to represent "one and only one", but to represent "one or more". The word "exemplary" is used herein to represent "used as an example, instance or illustration". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein is not necessarily interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C" and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B or multiple C. Specifically, phrases such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects of the description of the present invention that are known or will later be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public. The terms "module," "mechanism," "element," "device," and the like may not replace the term "device." Therefore, unless a claim element is expressly recited using the phrase "device for...", no claim element should be interpreted as a device plus function.

Claims

1. A method for sharing a mode, comprising: Acquiring, by a processor of a device implemented in a shared AP, a transmission opportunity TXOP; as well as The processor triggers one or more shared APs to participate in coordinated time division multiple access C-TDMA communication with their associated stations STAs within the TXOP.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering comprises: Sending an enhanced multi-user request to send MU-RTS TXOP shared TXS trigger frame to one or more shared APs; receiving each corresponding response frame from the one or more shared APs in response to the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame; as well as During a corresponding portion of the TXOP allocated to the shared AP, downlink DL and uplink UL physical layer protocol data units PPDUs are exchanged with one or more STAs associated with the shared AP.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame is an announcement frame, comprising information about the corresponding TXOP allocation time of each of the one or more shared APs, the AP identification ID of each of the one or more shared APs, and low-latency traffic information, wherein each of the one or more shared APs communicates with one or more STAs associated with each of them within the corresponding TXOP allocation time.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame comprises two or more user information fields corresponding to one or more shared APs, wherein each of the two or more user information fields comprises a specific subfield corresponding to one or more shared APs.

5. The method according to claim 1, before triggering, further comprising: The processor discovers at least one C-TDMA capable AP during a discovery phase; The processor requests at least one C-TDMA capable AP to form a C-TDMA group during a startup phase; Negotiating, by the processor, a set of parameters in a negotiation phase with one or more of the at least one C-TDMA capable APs that responded to the request; as well as The processor creates a C-TDMA group with one or more APs as a shared AP after the negotiation phase is successfully completed. The method of claim 5 , wherein the set of parameter sets is related to bandwidth, TXOP duration, and low-latency traffic.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the negotiation further comprises selecting one of a plurality of TXOP sharing modes for use when all APs in the C-TDMA group share the TXOP.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of TXOP sharing modes comprises: A first TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to share the TXOP equally among all APs in the C-TDMA group; a second TXOP sharing mode requiring the shared AP to allocate the TXOP sharing time to all APs in the C-TDMA group within the previously negotiated range, such that for APi a corresponding TXOP allocation time is within the range of Tmin,APi x TXOP duration ≤ ti ≤ Tmax,APi x TXOP duration, and Σti ≤ TXOP duration, where Tmin,APi and Tmax,APi represent the minimum sharing time and the maximum sharing time for APi, respectively, and ti represents a corresponding TXOP allocation time for APi; A third TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to maintain a total isochronous rule between any two APs among all APs in the C-TDMA group so that Ti,j=Tj,i, where Ti,j and Tj,i represent the total time allocated by APi to APj and the total time allocated by APj to APi after M TXOPs, respectively, where M is a positive integer; as well as A fourth TXOP sharing mode requires the shared AP to calculate t1, t2, ... by calculating ti = Ni / (Σi = 1, ... LNi) x TXOP duration for all i = 1, ..., L, where L is the number of APs in the C-TDMA group and Ni represents the number of STAs served by APi.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending a beacon by the processor; as well as receiving, by the processor, a corresponding beacon from each of the one or more shared APs, Each of the transmitted and received beacons contains one or more parameters.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more parameters include: a received signal strength indicator RSSI regarding a channel path loss between the shared AP or one of the one or more shared APs and the respectively associated STAs, the RSSI being used for coordinated spatial reuse CSR; as well as The number of STAs served by the shared AP or one of the one or more shared APs.

11. A method for sharing a mode, comprising: A processor of a device implemented in a shared access point (AP) negotiates with one or more shared APs to select a transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing mode; as well as The processor triggers the one or more shared APs to participate in coordinated time division multiple access C-TDMA communication with respectively associated stations STAs within a TXOP using the selected TXOP sharing mode.

12. A method for sharing a mode, comprising: A processor of a device of a shared access point (AP) implemented in one or more shared APs receives an enhanced multi-user request to send (MU-RTS) TXOP shared TXS trigger frame from a shared AP in a TXOP. The processor sends a response frame to the shared AP in response to the received enhanced MU-RTS TXS trigger frame; as well as Downlink DL and uplink UL physical layer protocol data units PPDUs are exchanged by the processor with one or more STAs associated with the shared AP within corresponding portions of a TXOP allocated to the shared AP.

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