Techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods, components, devices, and systems for ultra-high reliability techniques for coordinating medium access. More specifically, some aspects relate to access point (AP)-to-AP coordination via, for example, one or more management frames. In some implementations, a wireless communication device may coordinate timing information with one or more other APs, and may notify a set of stations (STAs) of the coordinated timing information, where a set of configured identifiers (IDs) may be used to distinguish which timing information is related to which AP, and notify the set of STAs of how the STAs are expected to resolve the coordinated timing information. Additionally or alternatively, a wireless communication device may exchange one or more common action frames to facilitate AP-to-AP coordination, where such one or more common action frames may specifically be associated with providing information related to coordinated medium access. In addition, the described techniques may be applicable to a multi-hop relay topology.

Description

Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 510,397, filed November 15, 2023, by PATIL et al., and titled “TECHNIQUES FOR COORDINATED MEDIUM ACCESS FOR ULTRA-HIGH RELIABILITY,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 499,191, filed April 28, 2023, by PATIL et al., and titled “TECHNIQUES FOR COORDINATED MEDIUM ACCESS FOR ULTRA-HIGH RELIABILITY,” each of which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and each of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability (UHR). BACKGROUND

[0003] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more wireless access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by multiple client devices, also referred to as wireless stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN that conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID) that is advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STAs within wireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN. SUMMARY

[0004] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirability of the present disclosure.

[0005] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device. The method can include obtaining first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs), transmitting one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device based on coordination with the first timing information, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first and second communication periods, and communicating with one or more wireless stations (STAs) associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period.

[0006] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include at least one memory and at least one processor (such as a processing system including one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors) communicatively coupled with the at least one memory. The at least one processor can be operable (or the processing system can be configured) to cause the first wireless communication device to obtain first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, transmit one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device based on coordination with the first timing information, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods, and communicate with one or more wireless STAs associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period.

[0007] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless device can include means for obtaining first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs), means for transmitting one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device based on coordination with the first timing information, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods, and means for communicating with one or more wireless STAs associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period.

[0008] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications by a first wireless communication device. The code can include instructions executable by one or more processors to obtain first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, transmit one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device based on coordination with the first timing information, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods, and communicate with one or more wireless STAs associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period.

[0009] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the set of configured IDs, and transmitting the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the set of configured IDs.

[0010] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the set of configured IDs to distinguish the first communication period as corresponding to one or more overlapping basic service sets (OBSSs), and the unique ID of each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields distinguishes the second communication period as one or more schedules of communication periods of the first wireless communication device.

[0011] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first wireless communication device can be a restricted target wake time (R-TWT) scheduling AP, the R-TWT scheduling AP can announce an R-TWT schedule with a restricted TWT schedule information subfield value set to three, and the R-TWT scheduling AP can be configured to set a broadcast TWT ID subfield to a fixed value in a broadcast TWT field corresponding to the R-TWT schedule according to the R-TWT schedule announcing the restricted TWT schedule information subfield set to three.

[0012] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a first subset of the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, transmitting the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, and transmitting a second subset of the first timing information within a third set of fields of a second information element of the one or more management frames.

[0013] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first subset of the first timing information relates to a first subset of the first communication period that corresponds to a first set of APs associated with the first wireless communication device, and the second subset of the first timing information relates to a second subset of the first communication period that corresponds to a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the first wireless communication device.

[0014] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields and the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the set of configured IDs, and each respective second ID field associated with the third set of fields includes respective identification information corresponding to a respective AP of a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the first wireless communication device.

[0015] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second information element can be an extended element, and the respective identification information includes respective basic service set (BSS) ID (BSSID) identification information.

[0016] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means for, or instructions for transmitting the first timing information within a first set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective first scheduling information subfield value of each field of the first set of fields can be set to a same value according to the first communication period corresponding to the set of APs belonging to a same co-managed BSSID set as the first wireless communication device, and transmitting the second timing information within a second set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective second scheduling information subfield value of each field of the second set of fields can be set to a value from a set of values according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0017] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the respective first scheduling information subfield value can be a dedicated value of a scheduling information field indicating that a corresponding schedule of communication periods can be for one of the set of APs, and the set of values can be a set of values of a scheduling information field indicating that a corresponding schedule of communication periods can be for the first wireless communication device.

[0018] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication performable at a first wireless communication device. The method can include transmitting a common action frame according to a coordinated medium access involving the first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication device, and communicating with one or more wireless communication devices based on the coordinated medium access.

[0019] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include at least one memory and at least one processor (such as a processing system including one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors) communicatively coupled with the at least one memory. The at least one processor can be operable to (or the processing system can be configured to) cause the first wireless communication device to transmit a common action frame according to a coordinated medium access involving the first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication device, and communicate with one or more wireless communication devices based on the coordinated medium access.

[0020] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include means for transmitting a public action frame in accordance with a coordinated medium access involving the first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication device, and means for communicating with one or more wireless communication devices based on the coordinated medium access.

[0021] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device. The code can include instructions executable by one or more processors to transmit a public action frame in accordance with a coordinated medium access involving the first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication device, and communicate with one or more wireless communication devices based on the coordinated medium access.

[0022] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the information included within the public action frame includes timing information associated with one or more communication periods, and the coordinated medium access can be associated with the one or more communication periods.

[0023] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a frame associated with sharing of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first wireless communication device with the second wireless communication device, and receiving the public action frame from the second wireless communication device based on the sharing of the TXOP, where the public action frame indicates a return of a remaining portion of the TXOP to the first wireless communication device.

[0024] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a frame associated with sharing of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first wireless communication device with the second wireless communication device, communicating with the one or more wireless communication devices during a portion of the TXOP, and transmitting the public action frame to the second wireless communication device, where the public action frame indicates a return of a remaining portion of the TXOP to the second wireless communication device.

[0025] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication, executable at a first wireless communication device. The method can include assigning an association identifier (AID) to an edge client, constructing a tri- address frame format for one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or to a root AP in accordance with including the AID in the one or more data frames transmitted to the edge client, and transmitting the one or more data frames in accordance with the tri-address frame format.

[0026] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include at least one memory and at least one processor (such as a processing system including one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors) communicatively coupled with the at least one memory. The at least one processor can be operable (or the processing system can be configured) to cause the first wireless communication device to assign an AID to an edge client, construct a tri-address frame format for one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or to a root AP in accordance with including the AID in the one or more data frames transmitted to the edge client, and transmit the one or more data frames in accordance with the tri-address frame format.

[0027] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include means for assigning an AID to an edge client, means for constructing a tri-address frame format for one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or to a root AP in accordance with including the AID in the one or more data frames transmitted to the edge client, and means for transmitting the one or more data frames in accordance with the tri-address frame format.

[0028] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device. The code can include instructions executable by one or more processors to assign an AID to an edge client, construct a tri-address frame format for one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or to a root AP in accordance with including the AID in the one or more data frames transmitted to the edge client, and transmit the one or more data frames in accordance with the tri-address frame format.

[0029] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the data frames can be relayed to the edge client via one or more relay devices according to a multi-hop relay path, a receiver address (RA) and a transmitter address (TA) change at each hop of the multi-hop relay path, and the relay device immediately upstream of the edge client determines the final RA according to the AID.

[0030] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the AID can be included in an A control field of the one or more data frames.

[0031] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication performable at a first wireless communication device. The method can include obtaining one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device based on coordination of first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period, and communicating with the second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

[0032] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include at least one memory and at least one processor (such as a processing system including one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors) communicatively coupled with the at least one memory. The at least one processor can be operable to (or the processing system can be configured to) cause the first wireless communication device to obtain one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device based on coordination of first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period, and communicate with the second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

[0033] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device can include means for obtaining one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device based on coordination of first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; and means for communicating with the second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

[0034] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device. The code can include instructions executable by one or more processors to obtain one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device based at least in part on coordination of first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured IDs corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; and communicate with the second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

[0035] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein further can include operations, features, means, or instructions for obtaining the first timing information related to the first communication period, wherein the set of APs to which the first communication period corresponds can be OBSS APs; and respecting a set of rules associated with the first communication period.

[0036] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, respecting the first communication period can include operations, features, means, or instructions for terminating a transmission opportunity of the first wireless communication device prior to a start of each of the first communication period and following termination of a set of channel access rules within each of the first communication period.

[0037] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the set of configured IDs, and obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the set of configured IDs.

[0038] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the set of configured IDs to distinguish the first communication period as corresponding to one or more OBSS, and a unique ID of each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields distinguishes the second communication period as one or more schedules of communication periods of the second wireless communication device.

[0039] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for obtaining a first subset of the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, and obtaining a second subset of the first timing information within a third set of fields of a second information element of the one or more management frames.

[0040] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first subset of the first timing information relates to a first subset of the first communication period that corresponds to a first set of APs associated with the second wireless communication device, and the second subset of the first timing information relates to a second subset of the first communication period that corresponds to a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the second wireless communication device.

[0041] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields and the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the set of configured IDs, and each respective second ID field associated with the third set of fields includes respective identification information corresponding to a respective AP of a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the second wireless communication device.

[0042] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the second information element can be an extended element, and the respective identification information includes respective BSSID identification information.

[0043] Some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective first scheduling information subfield value of each field of the first set of fields can be set to a same value according to the first communication period corresponding to the set of APs, such as matching to a respective AP of the set of APs, the set of APs belonging to a same co-hosted BSSID set as the second wireless communication device, and obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective second scheduling information subfield value of each field of the second set of fields can be set to a value from a set of values according to the second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0044] In some examples of the method, the first wireless communication device, and the non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the respective first scheduling information subfield value can be a dedicated value of a scheduling information field indicating that a corresponding schedule of communication periods can be for one AP of the set of APs associated with the second wireless communication device, and the set of values can be a set of values of a scheduling information field indicating that a corresponding schedule of communication periods can be for the second wireless communication device.

[0045] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures can not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 An intuitive diagram illustrating an example wireless communication network.

[0047] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communications system that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] Figure 3 An example of a frame format that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0049] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communications system that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0050] Figure 5 and Figure 6 A block diagram of an example wireless communications device that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0051] Figures 7-12 A flow diagram illustrating an example process that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0052] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The following description relates to some particular examples for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a multitude of different ways. Some or all of the described examples can be implemented in any device, system or network that is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the following: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, IEEE 802.15 standards, the Bluetooth® standards as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), among other standards. The described examples can be implemented in any device, system or network that is capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), Rate- Division Multiple Access (RSMA), Multi-User Shared Access (MUSA), Single-User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and Multi-User (MU) MIMO. The described examples can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals that are suitable for use in one or more of a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), or an Internet of Things (IOT) network.

[0054] Various aspects generally relate to coordinated medium access among wireless communication devices. More specifically, some aspects relate to coordinated medium access among access points (APs), where such coordinated medium access can include various types of coordinated medium access as described herein. In some implementations, an AP can transmit one or more frames (such as one or more management or announcement frames) indicating information related to coordinated medium access, and can also include an identifier (ID) of a configured set of IDs to distinguish potential medium access opportunities for STAs associated with the AP and other medium access opportunities that STAs associated with the AP can expect to avoid. For example, an AP can indicate first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to other APs and second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the AP, as well as one or more IDs from the configured set of IDs to enable a receiving STA (and receiving AP) to identify which communication periods will be used or protected by each of a plurality of neighboring APs. As described herein, such configured set of IDs can refer to a broadcast target wake-up time (TWT) ID or restricted TWT (which can be understood or referred to as r-TWT, R-TWT, or rTWT) schedule information subfield value, among other examples. Further, in some implementations, an AP can exchange one or more public action frames to facilitate coordinated medium access. Such public action frames can include timing information such as TWT schedule information or can indicate other information related to coordinated medium access such as returning a shared TXOP to the original transmission opportunity (TXOP) owner. Moreover, in some implementations, wireless communication devices can implement the described coordinated medium access techniques along a multi-hop relay path and can support one or more mechanisms for using a 3-address format for any relay frames.

[0055] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some implementations, by enabling and further defining mechanisms associated with coordinated medium access, various wireless communication devices within a system can achieve more efficient medium utilization. For example, coordinated medium access can enable higher priority traffic flows to have predictable medium access opportunities, which can result in greater throughput, lower latency, and improved user experience in various application and deployment scenarios. Further, by using a common action frame to facilitate aspects of AP-to-AP coordination, unassociated APs can still exchange coordination information with one another in a low-overhead and timely manner without causing system ambiguity. Moreover, by extending the described techniques to multi-hop relay topologies and using a 3-address format for relay frames, wireless communication devices can relay data in a more timely and predictable manner and can experience lower processing costs (as compared to using other address formats along a multi-hop relay path). As such, the described techniques can be implemented to realize greater throughput, higher data rates, greater coordination, greater spectral efficiency, and improved user experience, among other benefits as described herein.

[0056] Figure 1 A diagram illustrating an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 can be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network. For example, the wireless communication network 100 can be a network implementing at least one of the wireless communication protocol standards of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, such as defined by the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or revisions thereof, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11bd, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and 802.11 revisions associated with Wi-Fi 8. The wireless communication network 100 can include a plurality of wireless communication devices, such as a wireless AP 102 and a plurality of wireless STAs 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown in Figure 1 The wireless communication network 100 can also include a plurality of APs 102. Figure 1 The illustrated AP 102 can represent various different types of APs, including but not limited to enterprise-grade APs, single-band APs, dual-band APs, standalone APs, software-enabled APs (softAPs), and multi-link APs. The coverage area and capacity of a cellular network, such as LTE, 5G NR, and the like, can be further improved by small cells supported by APs 102 acting as micro base stations. In addition, a dedicated cellular network can also be established by using a wireless local area network of small cells.

[0057] Each of the STAs 104 can also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile handset, a wireless handset, an access terminal (AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS) or a subscriber unit, among other examples. The STAs 104 can represent various devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, chromebooks, extended reality (XR) headsets, wearable devices, display devices such as TVs (including smart TVs), computer monitors, navigation systems, among other examples. The STAs 104 can also represent music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices (“remotes”), printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators), or other home appliances, key fobs such as for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, vehicles, among other examples. The various STAs 104 in the network are able to communicate with one another via the AP 102.

[0058] A single AP 102 and associated set of STAs 104 can be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102. Figure 1 An example coverage area 108 of the AP 102 is also shown, which can represent a basic service area (BSA) of the wireless communication network 100. The BSS can be identified or indicated to users by a service set identifier (SSID), and identified to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which can be a medium access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 can periodically broadcast beacon frames (“beacons”) that include the BSSID, to enable any STAs 104 that are within wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate” or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a respective communication link 106 (also referred to hereinafter as a “Wi-Fi link”) with the AP 102. The beacons can include, for example, an identification or indication of a primary channel used by the respective AP 102, and timing synchronization functionality to establish or maintain timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 can provide the various STAs 104 in the WLAN with access to external networks via the respective communication links 106.

[0059] To establish a communication link 106 with an AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scanning") on a frequency channel in one or more frequency bands, such as the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands. To perform passive scanning, a STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by a respective AP 102 at periodic time intervals called target beacon transmission times (TBTTs), measured in time units (TUs), where one TU can equal 1024 microseconds (ps). To perform active scanning, a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102. Each STA 104 can identify, determine, ascertain, select an AP 102 with which to associate according to scanning information obtained through passive or active scanning, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. At the end of the association operations, the AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 that the AP 102 uses to track the STA 104.

[0060] As wireless networks become more ubiquitous, a STA 104 can have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within range of the STA 104 or among multiple APs 102 that collectively form an extended service set (ESS) comprising multiple connected BSSs. An extended network station associated with the wireless communication network 100 can be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that can allow multiple APs 102 to be connected in such an ESS. Thus, a STA 104 can be covered by more than one AP 102 and can associate with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Furthermore, after associating with an AP 102, a STA 104 can also periodically scan its surroundings for a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 can perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more desirable network characteristics, such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load.

[0061] In some examples, the STAs 104 can form a network without the AP 102 or other device other than the STAs 104 themselves. One example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network can alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some examples, an ad hoc network can be implemented within a larger wireless network, such as the wireless communication network 100. In such examples, while the STAs 104 can be capable of communicating with each other through the AP 102 using the communication links 106, the STAs 104 can also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless communication links 110. Additionally, two STAs 104 can communicate via a direct wireless communication link 110 regardless of whether both STAs 104 are associated with and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more of the STAs 104 can assume a role filled by the AP 102 in a BSS. Such a STA 104 can be referred to as a group owner (GO) and can coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless communication links 110 include Wi-Fi Direct connections, connections set up through the use of a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0062] The APs 102 and the STAs 104 can operate and communicate (via respective communication links 106) in accordance with one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. These standards define the WLAN radio and baseband protocol for the PHY and MAC layers. The APs 102 and the STAs 104 transmit to, and receive from, each other wireless communications in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) (also referred to herein as “Wi-Fi communications” or “wireless packets”). The APs 102 and the STAs 104 in the wireless communication network 100 can transmit PPDUs over an unlicensed frequency spectrum, which can be a portion of the frequency spectrum including frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz frequency band, the 5 GHz frequency band, the 60 GHz frequency band, the 3.6 GHz frequency band, and the 900 MHz frequency band. Some examples of the APs 102 and the STAs 104 described herein can also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz frequency bands, which can support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The APs 102 and the STAs 104 can also communicate over other frequency bands, such as a shared licensed frequency band in which multiple operators can have licenses to operate in the same or overlapping frequency band or bands.

[0063] Each of these frequency bands can include multiple sub-bands or multiple frequency channels. For example, PPDUs conforming to the IEEE 802.11η, 802.1 lac, 802.1 lax, and 802.1 lbe standard amendments can be transmitted on a 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency band, each of which is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are transmitted on physical channels having a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but can form larger channels through channel bonding. For example, PPDUs can be transmitted on physical channels having a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0064] Each PPDU is a composite structure including a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU). A receiving device can use information provided in the preamble to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In examples in which a PPDU is transmitted on a bonded channel, the preamble fields can be duplicated and transmitted in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble can include a legacy portion (or “legacy preamble”) and a non-legacy portion (or “non-legacy preamble”). The legacy preamble can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control and channel estimation, among other uses. The legacy preamble can also generally be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format of the non-legacy portion of the preamble, the encoding of the non-legacy portion of the preamble, and the information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are associated with the particular IEEE 802.11 protocol that will be used to transmit the payload.

[0065] Access to the shared wireless medium is generally managed by a distributed coordination function (DCF). With DCF, there is generally no centralized master device allocating time and frequency resources of the shared wireless medium. Instead, a wireless communication device, such as an AP 102 or a STA 104, can wait for a certain time and then contend for access to the wireless medium before it is granted to transmit data. DCF is implemented through the use of time intervals, including a slot time (or “slot interval”) and interframe space (IFS). The IFS provides priority access for control frames for proper network operation. A transmission can begin at a slot boundary. There are different kinds of IFS, including a short IFS (SIFS), a distributed IFS (DIFS), an extended IFS (EIFS), and an arbitration IFS (AIFS). Values for the slot time and IFS can be provided by a suitable standard specification, such as one or more of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocols in the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0066] In some implementations, a wireless communication device can implement DCF by using a carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) technique. According to such a technique, a wireless communication device can perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) and can determine (such as identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) that a relevant wireless channel is clear before transmitting data. CCA includes both physical (PHY level) carrier sensing and virtual (MAC level) carrier sensing. Physical carrier sensing is accomplished via a measurement of the received signal strength of an incoming frame, which is then compared to a threshold to determine (such as identify, detect, determine, calculate, or compute) whether the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of a detected preamble is above the threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier sensing also includes energy detection. Energy detection involves measuring the total energy received by the wireless communication device, regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the detected total energy is above a threshold, the medium is considered busy.

[0067] Virtual carrier sensing is implemented via the use of a network allocation vector (NAV), which effectively serves as a duration that elapses before a wireless communication device can contend for access even if no symbols are detected or even if the detected energy is below a relevant threshold. The NAV is reset each time a valid frame is received that is not addressed to the wireless communication device. When the NAV reaches 0, the wireless communication device performs physical carrier sensing. If the channel remains clear for an appropriate IFS, the wireless communication device initiates a backoff timer, which represents the duration that the device senses the medium to be clear before the medium is granted for transmission. If the channel remains clear until the backoff timer expires, the wireless communication device becomes the holder (or "owner") of a transmit opportunity (TXOP) and can begin transmitting. A TXOP is the duration that a wireless communication device can transmit frames on the channel after it has "won" contention for the wireless medium. The TXOP duration can be indicated in the U-SIG field of a PPDU. If, on the other hand, one or more of the carrier sensing mechanisms indicate that the channel is busy, the MAC controller within the wireless communication device will not allow transmission.

[0068] Each time a wireless communication device generates a new PPDU for transmission in a new TXOP, it randomly selects a new backoff timer duration. The available distribution of numbers that can be randomly selected for the backoff timer is referred to as the contention window (CW). There are different CWs and TXOP durations for each of the four access categories (ACs): voice (AC_VO), video (AC_VI), background (AC_BK), and best effort (AC_BE). This enables certain types of traffic to be prioritized in the network.

[0069] Some APs 102 and STAs 104 can implement spatial reuse techniques. For example, APs 102 and STAs 104 configured for communication using IEEE 802.1 lax or 802.1 lbe can be configured with a BSS color. APs 102 associated with different BSSs can be associated with different BSS colors. The BSS color is a numerical identifier of the respective BSS of the AP, such as a 6-bit field carried by a SIG field. Each STA 104 can learn its own BSS color upon associating with the respective AP 102. The BSS color information is conveyed at both the PHY and MAC sublayers. If an AP 102 or STA 104 detects, obtains, selects, or identifies a wireless packet from another wireless communication device while contending for access, the AP 102 or STA 104 can apply different contention parameters depending on whether the wireless packet is sent by another wireless communication device within its BSS or to another wireless communication device within its BSS from a wireless communication device of an overlapping BSS (OBSS), as determined, identified, ascertained, or calculated by the BSS color indication in the preamble of the wireless packet. For example, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA 104, the AP 102 or STA 104 can use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is different from the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA 104, the AP 102 or STA 104 can use a second RSSI detection threshold instead of the first RSSI detection threshold when performing CCA on the wireless channel, the second RSSI detection threshold being greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the standard for winning contention is relaxed when the interfering transmission is associated with an OBSS.

[0070] Some APs 102 and STAs 104 can implement spatial reuse techniques that involve participating coordinated communication schemes. According to such techniques, an AP 102 can contend for access to the wireless medium to gain control of the medium for a TXOP. The AP 102 that wins contention (hereinafter “the sharing AP”) can select one or more other APs 102 (hereinafter “the shared APs”) to share resources of the TXOP. The sharing and shared APs 102 can be in close proximity to one another such that at least some of their wireless coverage areas overlap at least partially. Some examples can involve coordinated AP TDMA or OFDMA techniques for sharing time or frequency resources of a TXOP. To share their time or frequency resources, the sharing AP 102 can divide the TXOP into a plurality of time or frequency segments, each including respective time or frequency resources representing a portion of the TXOP. The sharing AP 102 can allocate the time or frequency segments to itself or to one or more of the shared APs 102. For example, each shared AP 102 can utilize the portion of the TXOP assigned by the sharing AP 102 for its uplink or downlink communications with STAs 104 associated with it.

[0071] In some examples of such TDMA techniques, each of the plurality of portions of the TXOP includes a set of time resources that do not overlap with any time resources of any other of the plurality of portions. In such examples, the scheduling information can include an indication of time resources of the plurality of time resources of the TXOP that are associated with each portion of the TXOP. For example, the scheduling information can include an indication of a time period of the TXOP, such as an indication of one or more sets of time slots or symbol periods associated with each portion of the TXOP (such as for multi-user TDMA).

[0072] In some other examples of OFDMA techniques, each of the plurality of portions of the TXOP includes a set of frequency resources that do not overlap with any frequency resources of any other of the plurality of portions. In such implementations, the scheduling information can include an indication of frequency resources of the plurality of frequency resources of the TXOP that are associated with each portion of the TXOP. For example, the scheduling information can include an indication of a bandwidth portion of the wireless channel, such as an indication of one or more sub-channels or resource units (RUs) associated with each portion of the TXOP (such as for multi-user OFDMA).

[0073] In this manner, the shared AP gaining the TXOP enables communication between one or more additional shared APs 102 and their respective BSSs to be subject to proper power control and link adaptation. For example, the shared AP 102 can limit the transmit power of the selected shared AP 102 such that interference from the selected AP 102 does not prevent the STAs 104 associated with the TXOP owner from successfully decoding packets transmitted by the shared AP 102. This technique can be used to reduce latency because the other APs 102 can not need to wait to win a contention TXOP to be able to transmit and receive data according to traditional CSMA / CA or EDCA techniques. Additionally, by enabling a group of APs 102 associated with different BSSs to participate in a coordinated AP transmission session during which the group of APs 102 can share at least a portion of a single TXOP gained by any of the participating APs 102, this technique can increase the throughput of the BSSs associated with the participating APs 102 and can also enable an improvement in throughput fairness. Furthermore, with proper selection of the shared APs 102 and scheduling of their respective time or frequency resources, medium utilization can be maximized or otherwise increased while packet loss due to OBSS interference is minimized or otherwise reduced. Various implementations can achieve these and other advantages without requiring the shared APs 102 or the shared APs 102 to be aware of the STAs 104 associated with other BSSs, without requiring a pre-assigned or dedicated master AP 102 or a pre-assigned group of APs 102, and without requiring backhaul coordination between the APs 102 participating in the TXOP.

[0074] In some examples in which the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP 102 is relatively low, such as less than a given value, or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP 102 is relatively low, such as less than a threshold, the start time of the communication between the different BSSs can be synchronized. Conversely, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP 102 is relatively high, such as greater than a given value, or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP 102 is relatively high, such as greater than a threshold, the start times can be offset from each other by a time period associated with decoding the preamble of a wireless packet and determining from the decoded preamble whether the wireless packet is an intra-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. For example, the time period between the transmission of an intra-BSS packet and the transmission of an OBSS packet can allow the respective AP 102 (or its associated STAs 104) to decode the preamble of the wireless packet and obtain the BSS color value carried in the wireless packet to determine whether the wireless packet is an intra-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. In this manner, each of the participating APs 102 and their associated STAs 104 can be able to receive and decode intra-BSS packets in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0075] In some implementations, the sharing AP 102 can perform polling of a set of non- managed or non-co-managed APs 102 that support coordinated reuse to identify candidates for future spatial reuse opportunities. For example, the sharing AP 102 can transmit one or more spatial reuse poll frames as part of determining one or more spatial reuse criteria and selecting one or more other APs 102 to be part of the sharing AP 102. From the polling, the sharing AP 102 can receive responses from one or more of the polled APs 102. In some particular examples, the sharing AP 102 can transmit a coordinated AP TXOP indication (CTI) frame to other APs 102 indicating time and frequency of resources of a TXOP that can be shared. The sharing AP 102 can select one or more candidate APs 102 upon receiving a coordinated AP TXOP request (CTR) frame from a respective candidate AP 102 indicating that the respective AP 102 desires to participate in the TXOP. The poll response or CTR frame can include a power indication, e.g., a RX power or RSSI measured by the respective AP 102. In some other examples, the sharing AP 102 can directly measure potential interference of services supported at one or more APs 102, such as UL transmissions, and select the sharing AP 102 based on the measured potential interference. The sharing AP 102 generally selects APs 102 to participate in coordinated spatial reuse such that it still protects its own transmissions to and from STAs 104 in its BSS, which can be referred to as primary transmissions. Resources can then be allocated to the selected APs 102 during the TXOP, as described above.

[0076] In some implementations, multiple APs 102 can transmit to one or more STAs 104 at a time utilizing a distributed MU-MIMO scheme. Examples of such distributed MU-MIMO transmissions include coordinated beamforming (CBF) and joint transmission (JT). With CBF, a signal (such as a data stream) intended for a given STA 104 can be transmitted by only a single AP 102. However, the coverage areas of neighboring APs 102 can overlap, and the signal transmitted by a given AP 102 can reach STAs 104 in an OBSS associated with a neighboring AP 102 as an OBSS signal. CBF allows multiple neighboring APs 102 to transmit at the same time while minimizing or avoiding interference, which can result in more spatial reuse opportunities. More specifically, using CBF techniques, an AP 102 can beamform a signal to a STA 104 within a BSS while forming nulls in the direction of STAs 104 in an OBSS such that any signal received at the OBSS STAs 104 has a low enough power to limit interference at the STAs 104. To accomplish this, an inter-BSS coordination set can be defined among neighboring APs 102 containing the identifiers of all APs 102 and STAs 104 participating in CBF transmissions.

[0077] With JT, a signal intended for a given STA 104 can be transmitted by multiple coordinating APs 102. To enable multiple APs 102 to transmit data to a STA 104 concurrently, multiple APs 102 can all need a copy of the data to transmit to the STA 104. Thus, APs 102 can need to exchange data among each other for transmission to the STA 104. With JT, the antenna combinations of the multiple APs 102 transmitting to one or more STAs 104 can be considered as one large antenna array (which can be represented as a virtual antenna array) for beamforming and transmitting signals. In conjunction with MU-MIMO techniques, multiple antennas of multiple APs 102 can be able to transmit data via multiple spatial streams. Thus, each STA 104 can receive data via one or more of the multiple spatial streams.

[0078] Some wireless communication devices, including both APs 102 and STAs 104, are capable of multi-link operation (MLO). In some implementations, MLO supports the establishment of multiple different communication links between a STA 104 and an AP 102, such as a first link over a 2.4 GHz frequency band, a second link over a 5 GHz frequency band, and a third link over a 6 GHz frequency band. Each communication link can support one or more sets of channels or logical entities. In some examples, each communication link associated with a given wireless communication device can be associated with a respective radio of the wireless communication device, which can include one or more transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) chains, including or being coupled with one or more physical antennas, or including signal processing components, among other components. A device that is MLO capable can be referred to as a multi-link device (MLD). For example, an AP MLD can include multiple APs 102, each configured to communicate with a respective one of multiple STAs 104 of a non-AP MLD (also referred to as a “STA MLD”) over a respective communication link. A STA MLD can communicate with an AP MLD over one or more of the multiple communication links at a given time.

[0079] One type of MLO is multi-link aggregation (MLA), in which traffic associated with a single STA 104 is sent in parallel across multiple communication links simultaneously to maximize utilization of available resources to achieve higher throughput. That is, during at least some durations, a transmission or a portion of a transmission can occur in parallel on two or more links simultaneously. In some implementations, the parallel wireless communication links can support synchronous transmissions. In some other examples, or during some other durations, transmissions on the links can be parallel but not synchronous or concurrent. In some examples or durations, two or more of the links can be used for communication between the wireless communication devices in the same direction, such as all uplink or all downlink. In some other examples or durations, two or more of the links can be used for communication in different directions. For example, one or more links can support uplink communications and one or more links can support downlink communications. In such examples, at least one of the wireless communication devices operates in full-duplex mode. Generally, full-duplex operation enables bidirectional communication in which at least one of the wireless communication devices can transmit and receive simultaneously.

[0080] The MLA can be implemented in a variety of ways. In some implementations, the MLA can be packet-based. For packet-based aggregation, frames of a single traffic stream (such as all traffic associated with a given traffic identifier (TID)) can be transmitted concurrently across multiple communication links. In some other examples, the MLA can be stream-based. For stream-based aggregation, each traffic stream (such as all traffic associated with a given TID) can be transmitted using a single one of multiple available communication links. As an example, a single STA MLD can access a web browser while concurrently streaming a video. Traffic associated with the web browser access can be communicated on a first communication link, while traffic associated with the video stream can be communicated on a second communication link in parallel (such that at least some of the data can be transmitted on the first channel at the same time as data transmitted on the second channel).

[0081] In some other examples, the MLA can be implemented as a hybrid of stream-based aggregation and packet-based aggregation. For example, an MLD can employ stream-based aggregation in the case of creating multiple traffic streams, and can employ packet-based aggregation in other cases. The determination to switch between MLA techniques or modes can additionally or alternatively be associated with other metrics (such as time of day, traffic load within the network, or battery power of the wireless communication device, among other factors or considerations).

[0082] To support MLO techniques, an AP MLD and a STA MLD can exchange supported MLO capability information (such as information of supported aggregation types or supported frequency bands, among other examples). In some implementations, the information exchange can occur via a beacon signal, a probe request or probe response, an association request or association response frame, a dedicated action frame, or an operating mode indicator (OMI), among other examples. In some implementations, an AP MLD can designate a given channel in a given frequency band as an anchor channel (such as a channel on which it transmits beacons and other management frames). In such examples, the AP MLD can also transmit beacons on other channels (such as beacons that can contain less information) for discovery purposes.

[0083] MLO techniques can provide a variety of benefits to WLANs. For example, MLO can improve user perceived throughput (UPT) (such as by quickly flushing per-user transmit queues). Similarly, MLO can improve throughput by improving utilization of available channels, and can increase spectral utilization (e.g., increase bandwidth-time product). Further, MLO can enable smooth transitions between multiple frequency band radios (e.g., where each radio can be associated with a given RF band) or enable a framework that establishes separation of control channels from data channels. Other benefits of MLO include reducing modem on-time, which can benefit wireless communication devices in terms of power consumption. Another benefit of MLO is increased multiplexing opportunities in the case of a single BSS. For example, multi-link aggregation can increase the number of users per multiplexed transmission served by a multi-link AP MLD.

[0084] As described herein, by Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability is shown and described with reference to FIG. 2. The wireless communication system 200 can implement aspects of the wireless communication network 100, or can be implemented to achieve aspects of the wireless communication network 100. For example, the wireless communication system 200 illustrates communication between various wireless communication devices, including a co-located AP set including the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b (such that the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b can be understood as a virtual AP (VAP)), a non-co-located AP 102-c, a wireless STA 104-a, a wireless STA 104-b, and a wireless STA 104-c. As described herein, any such AP or STA can be referred to or understood as a wireless communication device. Figure 1 Any one or more of the described wireless communication devices can implement any one or more coordinated medium access schemes or coordinated medium access techniques. For example, a wireless communication device can use a configuration set of ID, public action frame, and 3-address frame formats to facilitate coordinated medium access, and enable flexible decision-making associated with one or both of lower signaling overhead and reduced device processing.

[0085] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability is shown and described with reference to FIG. 2. The wireless communication system 200 can implement aspects of the wireless communication network 100, or can be implemented to achieve aspects of the wireless communication network 100. For example, the wireless communication system 200 illustrates communication between various wireless communication devices, including a co-located AP set including the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b (such that the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b can be understood as a virtual AP (VAP)), a non-co-located AP 102-c, a wireless STA 104-a, a wireless STA 104-b, and a wireless STA 104-c. As described herein, any such AP or STA can be referred to or understood as a wireless communication device.

[0086] An AP 102-a of the co-located AP set 202 can communicate with a wireless STA 104-a via a communication link 106-a, an AP 102-b of the co-located AP set 202 can communicate with a wireless STA 104-b via a communication link 106-b, and a non-co-located AP 102-c can communicate with a wireless STA 104-c via a communication link 106-c. As described herein, communicating with a wireless communication device can include transmitting one or more messages or frames to the wireless communication device, or receiving one or more messages or frames from the wireless communication device, or both.

[0087] In some systems, such as in ultra-high reliability (UHR) systems, wireless communication devices can support one or more of several aspects or features involving medium access coordination between APs 102 and STAs 104, including between APs 102 and STAs 104 belonging to different BSSs. Such medium access coordination can include coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA) between neighboring APs 102, coordinated scheduling request (C-SR), or coordinated OFDMA (C-OFDMA), TWT (such as restricted-TWT (R-TWT)) coordination between neighboring OBSSs, or multi-master channel access techniques, among other examples.

[0088] In some aspects, wireless communication devices can employ an R-TWT framework to assist with low-latency flows, such as to prioritize low-latency flows over non-low-latency flows. In such aspects, wireless communication devices, such as any combination of APs 102 and STAs 104, can negotiate timing aspects related to R-TWT, including a time epoch or service period (SP) associated with the R-TWT. The R-TWT can be a variant of a broadcast-TWT (B-TWT). During the R-TWT, in-BSS STAs 104 (that support the R-TWT) can terminate (such as according to system expectations or constraints) a TXOP prior to the start of the R-TWT SP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more wireless communication devices can restart one or more counters associated with channel access (contention) at the start of the R-TWT SP.

[0089] In some aspects, some coordinated medium access mechanisms can be employed or extended to multi-hop relay topologies. For example, if two wireless communication devices communicate with each other via multiple (or at least one) relay devices, the wireless communication devices and the multiple (or at least one) relay devices can support TXOP sharing (such as via a C-TDMA mechanism) or establish an ordered (and coordinated) back-to-back (such as end-to-end) R-TWT (such as R-TWT SPs) to assist with low-latency delivery of low-latency flows over multiple hops.

[0090] Devices with UHR capabilities can utilize or extend some coordination access mechanisms to enable some such medium access coordination. For example, one or more wireless communication devices can use a multi-user (MU) request-to-send (RTS) TXOP sharing (TXS) framework or R-TWT coordination between co-located APs 102 (APs 102 in a multi-BSSID set, such as the co-located AP set 202). Further, some wireless communication devices can support one or more rules for coordinating R-TWTs among APs 102 belonging to a multi-BSSID set. For example, some wireless communication devices can support or define (such as according to a standard or network configuration) a special value (such as 3) to indicate a schedule (such as an R-TWT SP schedule) for another AP 102 in the set. Such a special value can be carried in a schedule information subfield (such as a restricted TWT schedule information (RTSI) subfield) of a TWT information element (IE) (which can alternatively be referred to as a TWT element). As described herein, the RTSI subfield can be an example of a schedule information subfield and can be included in any field or subfield of any frame (such as a management frame (such as a beacon frame or a probe response frame, etc.).

[0091] However, in some systems, such rules can be insufficiently specified and ambiguous. For example, some coordination rules can fail to provide determinism or universal applicability to various types of scenarios that can be expected in systems featuring greater throughput, denser deployments, higher efficiency, and lower latency medium access, etc. In an example, some coordination rules can be deficient due to a lack of clarity associated with what information to include within a TWT element carried in a management frame (e.g., a beacon frame or a probe response frame) of a transmitted BSSID or within a non-transmitted BSSID-profile. Additionally, coordination rules for a co-hosted BSSID set are ambiguously defined or provided, which can lead to ambiguity in some deployment scenarios. Moreover, without any or sufficient coordination rules, one or more STAs 104 belonging to an OBSS can intervene in an R-TWT (e.g., perform transmissions during an R-TWT), thereby limiting the benefits of any other AP coordination.

[0092] In some implementations of the disclosure, various wireless communication devices can support one or more configuration or signaling based mechanisms according to which such wireless communication devices can address various aspects related to medium access coordination. More specifically, aspects of the disclosure provide several options or several different mechanisms, which can be utilized independently or in combination, for coordinated medium access (including coordinating B-TWTs and / or R-TWTs) among APs 102 (and their associated STAs 104) belonging to a multi-BSSID set and a co-hosted BSSID set, as well as among non-co-located APs 102.

[0093] In other words, the described techniques provide various mechanisms or aspects related to AP-to-AP coordination, including coordinated medium access (which can be referred to as CMA) between neighboring APs 102 (such as between neighboring APs 102) (via, using, or otherwise in accordance with R-TWT). Such mechanisms or aspects for coordinating medium access and coordinating R-TWT (c-R-TWT) can include announcing OBSS schedules to STAs 104 within a BSS, in-SP channel access, group formation, signaling between APs 102, mechanisms associated with critical updates, aspects and mechanisms associated with beacon offload, etc.

[0094] An AP 102, such as AP 102-a, can transmit a frame, such as frame 204, that includes timing information related to one or more TWT schedules provided by the AP 102 and any one or more TWT schedules provided by one or more other APs 102, such as AP 102-b or AP 102-c or both. In some aspects, the AP 102 can transmit information related to one or more broadcast TWT schedules, each broadcast TWT schedule identified by an ID. The ID can be carried in a broadcast TWT ID field. In some implementations, the broadcast TWT ID field can be, carry, or include 5 bits, such that there can be 32 possible values that can be indicated by the broadcast TWT ID field. In some implementations, the value 0 can have a special or reserved meaning, such that there can effectively be 31 available values that can be indicated by the broadcast TWT ID field to identify a TWT schedule. Of the 31 available values, a wireless communication device can select one value to include in the broadcast TWT ID field to identify a corresponding TWT schedule, but some systems can lack a clear or unambiguous mechanism by which the wireless communication device is expected to make that selection, which can lead to ambiguity.

[0095] In particular, some systems can lack mechanisms for determining to include values in the broadcast TWT ID field that are useful across various deployment scenarios. For example, some mechanisms can lack scalability because the coordinating AP 102 can include OBSS APs from the same multiple BSSID (which can be referred to as MBSSID) set or the same co-hosted set (such as AP 102-b with respect to AP 102-a) as well as non-co-located APs 102 (such as non-co-located AP 102-c). If the AP 102 is to use unique broadcast TWT ID values for each schedule that the AP 102 announces (such as for its own schedule as well as for any schedules of other APs 102), it can be significantly limited in the number of R-TWT or B-TWT schedules it can establish for itself. For example, in a set of 16 BSSIDs, each AP 102 can be able to use an upper limit of 2 IDs. Furthermore, the signaling mechanisms associated with allocating individual ones of the 31 available IDs to different APs can involve coordinating the broadcast TWT IDs between co-located and non-co-located APs 102, which can introduce additional signaling overhead and impart greater processing costs at individual wireless communication devices.

[0096] Accordingly, in some implementations, one or more wireless communication devices can select (such as reserve) a value (such as value 31, which can correspond to all 1 bits in the broadcast TWT ID field) to indicate a B-TWT of OBSS APs 102 (where such OBSS APs 102 can include one or more MBSSIDs, co-hosted, or non-co-located APs 102). For example, AP 102-a can transmit frame 204, and frame 204 can include one or more first broadcast TWT ID fields corresponding to one or more first TWT schedules of AP 102-a, one or more second broadcast TWT ID fields corresponding to one or more second TWT schedules of AP 102-b, and one or more third broadcast TWT ID fields corresponding to one or more third TWT schedules of AP 102-c. In such an example, the one or more first broadcast TWT ID fields can include a value selected from a set of available values (such as a set of values 1-30, which can be understood as a subset of a set of configured IDs, where 1-30 is a subset of 1-31; similarly, the set of available values can be understood as values in a range greater than 0 and less than 31), and both the one or more second broadcast TWT ID fields and the one or more third broadcast TWT ID fields can include the selected (reserved) value (such as value 31) to indicate that the corresponding TWT schedules belong to OBSS APs 102 (such that AP 102-b and AP 102-c are understood to be OBSS APs 102).

[0097] In some other implementations, AP 102 in an MBSSID set or co-hosted set may share the same ID space (such as the same set of available values ​​for the broadcast TWT ID field). In such an implementation, each AP 102 in the MBSSID set or co-hosted set may receive or otherwise have an upper limit on the number of IDs that limits the number of broadcast or restricted TWTs that an AP 102 can establish. For example, in a set including 16 AP 102s (such as 16 BSSIDs) and in a scenario where there are approximately 31 available values, each AP 102 in the set may receive or otherwise have an upper limit of 2 IDs. In such an implementation, a sending AP 102 (such as AP 102-a) may carry in a separate IE (such as a TWT extended IE) one or more sets of R-TWT parameters for other AP 102s (such as non-co-located AP 102s, including AP 102-c) and information identifying each AP among the other AP 102s (such as AP ID). This type of information identifying AP 102 may include the BSSID identified by the BSS color, and the number of LSBs, which can be understood as n. The identifier of the least significant bit (LSB) or associated therewith. For example, AP 102-a may send frame 204, and frame 204 may include one or more first broadcast TWT ID fields corresponding to one or more first TWT schedules of AP 102-a and one or more second broadcast TWT ID fields corresponding to one or more second TWT schedules of AP 102-b, wherein the one or more first broadcast TWT ID fields and the one or more second broadcast TWT ID fields may include values ​​selected from a set of available values ​​(such as value sets 1-31), and AP 102-a may include information associated with the TWT schedule of the non-co-located AP 102-c in a separate IE of frame 204 (or in a separate (such as subsequent) frame).

[0098] Alternatively, each (if not all) of the APs in the multi-BSSID set of AP 102 can be managed to use a unique ID not used by other BSSIDs. Alternatively, some wireless communication devices can provide additional identifiers for broadcasting / restricted TWT parameter sets, where such additional identifiers can be extended elements carrying BSSID identification information (such as MAC addresses and other examples of BSSID identification information).

[0099] According to the techniques described herein, one or more wireless communication devices can additionally or alternatively support advertising within an MBSSID or co-hosted set. For coordination in an MBSSID set, system efficiency can benefit from a STA 104 associated with any BSS knowing or otherwise having information about R-TWTs belonging to its associated BSS and every other BSS in the set. As such, the STA 104 can respect (e.g., accept and avoid violating) one or more R-TWT rules (e.g., rules associated with termination of TXOPs prior to the start of an SP and channel access rules at the start of an SP). However, in some systems, some wireless communication devices can experience ambiguity due to insufficient specification of expected behavior associated with informing a STA 104 of other relevant R-TWTs that the STA 104 is expected to respect and a lack of rules generally applicable to co-hosted BSSID sets.

[0100] Accordingly, the described techniques can be implemented by one or more wireless communication devices to address such ambiguity in both the context of co-hosted BSSID sets and multi-BSSID sets. In some implementations, for a co-hosted BSSID set, management frames (such as beacon frames or probe response frames, etc.) from each AP 102 can carry the AP’s 102 R-TWT parameter set (with RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2) and R-TWT parameter sets for other APs 102 in the same co-hosted BSSID set (with RTSI subfield value set to 3). In such implementations, APs 102 and non-APs (such as STAs 104) can extend one or more procedures and / or processing operations to generate and / or parse such management frames (such as without defining new procedures or processing operations) while more fully sharing or obtaining timing information related to various APs 102 that can facilitate or enable coordinated medium access.

[0101] In some other implementations, for a co-hosted BSSID set, management frames (such as beacon frames or probe response frames, etc.) from each AP 102 can exclusively (such as only) carry the R-TWT parameter set(s) of that AP 102 (with the RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2). In such implementations, a non-AP (such as a STA 104) can process (or can be expected to process) the beacons of all APs 102 within the co-hosted BSSID set to determine (such as identify) and respect the R-TWT schedules (including R-TWT SPs) of the other APs 102. For example, in such implementations, a non-AP can (constantly or periodically) monitor the beacons of all APs 102 to track any changes to the R-TWT schedules (according to the critical update procedure). In some aspects, one or more wireless communication devices can select to implement such a mechanism according to a selection of prioritizing smaller management frames (e.g., smaller beacon frames or smaller probe response frames, etc.), at the potential cost of greater processing overhead at the non-AP (which can be negligible in deployments associated with a relatively small number of APs 102, or otherwise be worth the benefit of the smaller management frames).

[0102] In some implementations, for a multi-BSSID set, the transmitted BSSID's management frames can carry a multi-BSSID IE (which can alternatively be referred to as a multi-BSSID element) and a TWT IE (TWT element), and the TWT IE carried outside of the multi-BSSID IE can include one or more R-TWT parameter sets for the transmitted BSSID (with the RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2) and R-TWT parameter sets corresponding to all non-transmitted BSSIDs of the multi-BSSID set that are currently active (with the RTSI subfield value set to 3). As shown and described in more detail with reference to Figure 3 The multi-BSSID IE can include one or more non-transmitted BSSID profiles, each non-transmitted BSSID profile including a TWT IE. The TWT IE carried within the non-transmitted BSSID profile (contained within the multi-BSSID element) can include R-TWT parameters (with the RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2) exclusively (such as only) for that particular non-transmitted BSSID.

[0103] In such implementations, a STA 104 receiving the transmitted BSSID's management frames (such as beacon frames and / or probe response frames) can parse the management frames based on whether the STA 104 is associated with the transmitted BSSID. For example, if the STA 104 is associated with the transmitted BSSID, the STA 104 can (only) parse the TWT IE outside the multiple BSSID IE and follow any R-TWT parameter set corresponding to non-zero RTSI subfield value. Such an associated STA 104 can subscribe to the R-TWT schedules with RTSI subfield value of 0 or 1. If the STA 104 is R-TWT capable and is associated with a non-transmitted BSSID, the STA 104 can parse the TWT information carried in the TWT IE outside the multiple BSSID IE, adhere to all R-TWT parameter sets corresponding to non-zero RTSI subfield value, and parse the TWT IE within the non-transmitted BSSID profile of its associated (non-transmitted) AP 102. The STA 104 can subscribe to the R-TWT schedules with RTSI subfield value of 0 or 1 (advertised in the parsed non-transmitted BSSID profile of the AP 102 the STA 104 is associated with). Furthermore, some TWT schedules (such as R-TWT schedules indicated by R-TWT parameter sets) with RTSI subfield value set to 3 and carried in the TWT IE contained in the transmitted BSSID's management frames can match the non-transmitted BSSID's R-TWT parameter sets with RTSI subfield value set to 1 or 2. Likewise, other R-TWT schedules in the transmitted BSSID's TWT IE can match the R-TWT schedules of other non-transmitted BSSIDs (such as the multiple BSSID set or the co-hosted BSSID set) in the set.

[0104] For example, for a client not associated with the transmitted BSSID, the client can parse the TWT IE carried outside the MBSSID IE to identify all R-TWT SPs, and compare the R-TWT schedules advertised in their corresponding non-transmitted BSSID profiles to identify the R-TWT schedules applied to its profile. The client can then join the TWT schedules based on the value carried in the RTSI subfield (0 or 1), and adhere to (e.g., respect) any TWT schedules associated with RTSI subfield value 2. Furthermore, the client can also adhere to the rest of the R-TWT schedules indicated in the TWT IE outside the MBSSID IE (such as TWT schedules belonging to the transmitted BSSID or other non-transmitted BSSIDs).

[0105] Further, in such implementations, inheritance can be applied at the R-TWT parameter set level rather than at the element level. For example, STA 104 can apply inheritance on a R-TWT parameter set basis, as the TWT elements carried outside the Multi-BSSID IE can include R-TWT parameter set fields associated with various different APs 102 (rather than exclusively corresponding to the R-TWT parameter set field of the transmitting AP 102).

[0106] In some implementations, for a multi-BSSID set, the transmitted BSSID's beacon and probe response frames (or any other management frames) can carry a Multi-BSSID IE and a TWT IE, and the TWT IE carried outside the Multi-BSSID IE can include an R-TWT parameter set that is exclusive to the transmitted BSSID (with the RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2). Further, in such implementations, the TWT IE carried within the non-transmitted BSSID profiles (included within the Multi-BSSID element) can include R-TWT parameters that are exclusive to that particular non-transmitted BSSID (with the RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2).

[0107] In such implementations, a STA 104 receiving a transmitted BSSID's management frames, such as a beacon frame or a probe response frame, can parse the management frame based on whether the STA 104 is associated with the transmitted BSSID. If the STA 104 is associated with the transmitted BSSID, then, for example, the STA 104 can parse the TWT IE outside the Multi-BSSID IE and the TWT IE carried within each non-transmitted BSSID profile (included within the Multi-BSSID IE). As such, the STA 104 can obtain TWT scheduling information for its associated AP 102 as well as other APs 102, and can comply with the TWT schedules (such as R-TWT schedules) belonging to the other APs 102, and can subscribe to the TWT schedules with RTSI subfield value of 0 or 1 belonging to its associated AP 102. In some aspects, the STA 104 associated with the transmitted BSSID can employ an inheritance rule based on such parsing of the TWT IE within each non-transmitted BSSID profile and the TWT IE outside the Multi-BSSID IE (such as being exclusive or otherwise associated therewith).

[0108] In some aspects, one or more wireless communication devices can select such signaling mechanisms to prioritize efficiency in signaling. For example, one or more wireless communication devices can select such relatively more efficient signaling at the expense of additional processing and state maintenance at all associated STAs 104. For example, in such implementations, each associated STA 104 can process all TWT IEs within the management frame and track TWT schedules for each AP 102 (if not every other AP 102) in the multi-BSSID set (such as according to or based on critical updates).

[0109] In some other implementations, for a multi-BSSID set, the transmitted management frame for a transmitted BSSID can carry a multi-BSSID IE and a TWT IE, and the TWT IE carried outside of the multi-BSSID IE can include an R-TWT parameter set for the transmitted BSSID (with an RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2) and an R-TWT parameter set corresponding to a currently active (such as all) non-transmitted BSSID set in the multi-BSSID set (with an RTSI subfield value set to 3). The TWT IEs carried within the non-transmitted BSSID profiles (contained within the multi-BSSID element) can include an R-TWT parameter for that particular non-transmitted BSSID (with an RTSI subfield value set to 0, 1, or 2) and an R-TWT parameter set corresponding to other BSSID sets (such as every other BSSID) in the multi-BSSID set that are currently active (with an RTSI subfield value set to 3).

[0110] In such implementations, a STA 104 receiving a management frame (such as a beacon frame or a probe response frame, etc.) that is transmitted with a BSSID can parse the management frame based on which BSSID the STA 104 is associated with. In other words, the STA 104 can parse the TWT IE(s) that belong to its profile and discard (such as ignore) other TWT IE(s) in the management frame. For example, if the STA 104 is associated with the transmitted BSSID, the STA 104 can parse the TWT IE(s) outside of the multi-BSSID IE. Alternatively, if the STA 104 is associated with a non-transmitted BSSID, the STA 104 can parse the TWT IE(s) within the non-transmitted BSSID profile corresponding to the non-transmitted BSSID that the STA 104 is associated with. The STA 104 can comply with all R-TWT parameters with non-zero RTSI subfield value and can subscribe to R-TWT schedules with RTSI subfield value of 0 or 1. In some aspects, one or more wireless communication devices can choose to employ such signaling mechanisms to reduce processing at wireless STAs 104 (such as preserving or extending some element inheritance rules) at the cost of potentially larger signaling overhead (however, this can be negligible or otherwise worth the benefit of lower STA processing if the number of APs 102 is relatively small).

[0111] In some systems, an AP 102 can include R-TWT parameter sets of other (friendly) APs 102 in the neighborhood of the AP 102. In accordance with the described techniques, a wireless communication device can employ or otherwise use or reference various criteria for determining a "friendly" AP 102 and can accordingly employ mechanisms (such as setting the RTSI subfield value to 3 and / or setting the broadcast TWT ID to 31, etc.) to indicate (via a frame 204, which can be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or any other management or announcement frame) that the R-TWT parameter set belongs to another friendly AP 102. In some aspects, a wireless communication device can report (such as indicate, announce, or otherwise inform other devices) an "active" TWT schedule. Such an "active" schedule can be any TWT schedule with a corresponding RTSI subfield value set to 1 or 2. Such determination of a "friendly" AP 102 and such reporting can be applicable to various deployment scenarios, including deployments in which other potential friendly APs 102 belong to the same multi-BSSID set, the same co-hosted BSSID set, or are non-co-located APs 102, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, with such signaling mechanisms, an AP 102 and its associated STAs 104 can comply (such as respect or otherwise avoid performing transmissions during) R-TWTs of neighboring (friendly) APs 102.

[0112] Further, in some implementations, one or more wireless communication devices can support one or more configuration or signaling based mechanisms associated with critical updates. In some implementations, such an addition or deletion can trigger a critical update, for example, if an R-TWT parameter set is added or deleted from a TWT IE (either belonging to a sending AP 102 or an OBSS AP 102). In some aspects, such a critical update can cause a field to change its value (such as triggering a wireless communication device to change the value of a field). Such a change in the value of a field can include one or more of setting a critical update flag to 1 (such as a critical update flag or a non- sending BSSID critical update flag field), incrementing a parameter change count (such as a value carried in a BSS parameter change count field), or incrementing a check beacon field value (such as a check beacon field in a TIM frame). Additionally or alternatively, a wireless communication device can define, add, generate, or otherwise support a field dedicated to tracking TWT (or specifically R-TWT) related changes or changes related to coordinated medium access operations. A wireless communication device can increment the value of such a field specific or dedicated to protected communication related changes each time there is an update (such as an R-TWT parameter set being added or deleted from a management frame (such as a beacon frame or a probe response frame)). As such, client devices (such as one or more STAs 104) that do not support R-TWT can not be triggered to wake up to check for updates. In some aspects, the field can be carried in an element (such as a TWT extension element or a coordinated medium access element) that can be dedicated to carrying additional information related to TWT operations. In such aspects, a wireless communication device can avoid extending a TWT IE (such as increasing the size of a TWT IE).

[0113] In some implementations, a change to an RTSI subfield value can also trigger a critical update. Such a change to an RTSI subfield value can include a schedule changing from inactive to active (as indicated by an RTSI subfield value changing from 0 to 1) or a schedule changing from active to inactive (as indicated by an RTSI subfield value changing from 1 to 0), a schedule changing from not accepting new membership to allowing new membership (as indicated by an RTSI subfield value changing from 2 to 1, or from 2 to 0) or a schedule changing from allowing new membership to not accepting new membership (as indicated by an RTSI subfield value changing from 1 to 2, or from 0 to 2), an OBSS becoming active (which can cause a neighboring AP 102 to start reporting a schedule with an RTSI subfield value set to 3), or an OBSS becoming inactive (which can cause a neighboring AP 102 to stop reporting, such as removing an R-TWT parameter set corresponding to the OBSS AP 102 from a TWT IE of the neighboring AP 102).

[0114] Further, some implementations provide one or more configuration or signaling based mechanisms according to which a wireless communication device can select, identify, ascertain, detect, or otherwise determine a set or group of friendly APs 102 (which can be understood as a set or group of APs 102 with which the wireless communication device coordinates communication schedules). In other words, the wireless communication device can respect the communication schedules (such as TWT or R-TWT schedules) of APs 102 that are identified as "friendly." In some implementations, the wireless communication device can identify whether an AP 102 is "friendly" based on a service set ID (SSID) associated with the AP 102. For example, in such implementations, the wireless communication device can identify a set of neighboring APs 102 (such as all neighboring APs 102) in the same ESS as the wireless communication device as friendly. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device can identify whether an AP 102 is "friendly" based on an announcement group ID. For example, APs 102 can transmit (such as send or receive, or both) an indication of a respective group ID, and APs 102 with the same group ID can coordinate communication schedules (such as TWT schedules) with each other. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device can identify whether an AP 102 is "friendly" based on a vendor-specific mechanism or manufacturer-specific mechanism. For example, a set of neighboring APs 102 (such as all neighboring APs 102) associated with the same manufacturer or the same vendor can coordinate communication schedules (such as TWT schedules) with each other (such as adhere to or respect communication periods of each other).

[0115] Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device can identify whether an AP 102 is "friendly" according to a similar neighbor aware network (NAN) mechanism. For example, for the purpose of inter-AP coordination, APs 102 can be grouped together based on having the same group leader (e.g., a NAN anchor host), where the wireless communication device can determine that another wireless communication device has the same group leader according to the two wireless communication devices exchanging (e.g., sending or receiving, or both) information associated with the identity of their respective group leader.

[0116] Additionally or alternatively, wireless communication devices can be grouped together for the purpose of coordination according to dynamic formation. For example, a first wireless communication device, such as a first AP, can initially adhere to a R-TWT SP of a second wireless communication device from which the first wireless communication device receives, such as hears, a management frame, such as a beacon frame or a probe response frame. The first wireless communication device can add the second wireless communication device to a group of coordinating APs, such as a set of coordinating APs. The first wireless communication device can monitor for OBSS transmissions that violate a communication period, such as a R-TWT SP, of the first wireless communication device, and if the second wireless communication device violates, the first wireless communication device can remove the second wireless communication device from the group of coordinating APs. In some implementations, the first wireless communication device can remove the second wireless communication device after a threshold number of violations by the second wireless communication device, where such a threshold number can be any number, including 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

[0117] Further, in some implementations, the first wireless communication device can use the same (or similar) rules for violations as a STA 104 associated with the second wireless communication device AP 102. For example, the first wireless communication device can count a violation by a STA 104 associated with the second wireless communication device as a violation by the second wireless communication device itself or otherwise consider it as such. As such, general rules associated with tracking a threshold number of violations by a coordinating AP 102 before no longer coordinating with that coordinating AP can account for non-friendly (or non-R-TWT implementing) STAs 104.

[0118] Additionally or alternatively, wireless communication devices can default, such as always or according to a standard or network configuration, to respect the TWT schedules of all other APs 102 in a neighborhood that can be heard by the wireless communication device. As such, coordinating wireless communication devices can not define or track a selective group of coordinating APs 102, but rather can expect that all known APs 102 in proximity to each other are coordinating APs 102. In such implementations, APs 102 can exchange additional information or support additional prioritization rules to avoid channel access starvation at wireless communication devices, such as a wireless communication device that starts late or has low latency flows that start late and can not have enough remaining time to establish its own R-TWT schedule because all (or most) of the medium time is taken or reserved by other (neighboring) APs 102.

[0119] Further, although described in the context of TWT schedules, such as R-TWT schedules, any of the group formation mechanisms described herein can apply to any form of coordinated medium access. For example, such group formation mechanisms can apply to coordinating R-TWTs, TXOP sharing, distinct channel access, such as distinct EDCA, or any other medium access coordination or prioritization technique.

[0120] To support coordination within a group of coordinating APs, for mechanisms or class-NAN-like mechanisms associated with TWT schedules that respect APs 102 identified as friendly, the group can be predetermined (such as preconfigured or otherwise determined, identified, or selected prior to data scheduling (such as prior to data scheduling)) and the described signaling mechanisms can involve some form of backend support. As such, APs 102 can be provided with additional information that can help with coordination. For example, APs 102 can provide scheduling information to each other. Such scheduling information can include information related to coordination of R-TWTs, such as which devices can go together (such as communicate) (such as which R-TWTs can overlap in time) or which R-TWTs (or R-TWTs of which devices) are expected to be orthogonal (such as not overlap in time and frequency) to any other R-TWT, among other examples. Additionally or alternatively, such scheduling information can include information related to TXOP sharing, such as which APs 102 share (or are able to or allowed to share) with which other APs 102. In some implementations, a centralized entity (such as an anchor or master AP 102) can provide security keys for secure communication between APs 102.

[0121] To support coordination within a group of coordinating APs 102, for mechanisms or class-NAN-like mechanisms associated with TWT schedules that always respect TWT schedules of all detected APs 102 in the neighborhood, the group can not exist or can be dynamic. As such, APs 102 can include security information within the coordination frame itself. For example, when APs 102 share a TXOP, the frame distributing the schedule can include security information or session information to provide some level of secure communication between APs 102. In other words, APs 102 can include security information or session information in the coordination frame to assist or help with authentication of each other (such as authenticating the AP 102 as a coordinating AP 102). In some aspects, the security information can be a transient key, such as a key that changes in each frame and is authenticated. In such aspects, the key can be based on a group key of the APs 102.

[0122] Further, the described techniques can provide mechanisms associated with channel access within a TWT, such as within an R-TWT. In some systems, one or more rules can dictate that STAs 104 within a BSS terminate a TXOP prior to the start of an R-TWT SP. Further, at the start of an R-TWT SP, all in-BSS devices (or set of in-BSS devices) can restart respective counters associated with contention, such as a backoff counter or a random backoff counter, to gain access to the medium. Additionally or alternatively, an AP 102 can announce a quiet period, such as a quiet interval, to give the AP 102 that owns the TXOP priority to gain access. Such a quiet period can be relatively short, such as approximately 1 millisecond.

[0123] With coordinated medium access, APs 102 (and their associated STAs 104) can coordinate and respect each other's communication schedules, such as each other's R-TWT schedules. However, in some (dense) deployments, it can still be possible for multiple APs 102 to have overlapping R-TWTs. In such deployments, there can be multiple devices contending for access to the medium at the same time, which can lead to collisions between friendly APs 102. To overcome this issue, the AP 102 that owns the TXOP can have prioritized access. Such prioritized access can be achieved through (such as associated with) a quiet period announced to other contending devices or other units, such as using a smaller countdown value, such as a smaller arbitration interframe space number (AIFSN) or a smaller contention window (CW) value.

[0124] In some implementations, one or more wireless communication devices can support a TWT extension element (and / or a coordinated medium access element) and / or a subsequent frame, such as a subsequent management frame, e.g., a subsequent beacon frame. For example, because elements carried in management frames of an AP 102 can be received and processed by both STAs 104 capable of protected communication, such as R-TWT, and STAs 104 incapable of protected communication, such as R-TWT, including timing information related to protected communication in a TWT extension element (and / or a coordinated medium access element) and / or a subsequent (separate) frame can increase or preserve backwards compatibility of TWT IEs sent within management frames.

[0125] Accordingly, in some implementations, the described wireless communication devices can support elements dedicated to coordinating medium access (such as TWT extension elements) and / or elements (such as coordination medium access elements) carrying additional information related to TWT scheduling for the transmitting AP 102 or one or more OBSS APs 102 and other information related to medium access coordination. Such additional information can be useful for larger timing granularity, indication of (OBSS) AP identifiers, carrying R-TWT information for one or more OBSS APs 102, and the like. In some implementations, elements can be carried (included) in a subsequent frame (such as a beacon A frame) to offload some information from management frames (such as beacon frames). In some implementations, the wireless communication devices can transmit the subsequent frame after (e.g., approximately immediately after, e.g., within a SIFS duration) the management frame. The subsequent frame can be another management or announcement frame, such as in the form of a beacon frame or in the form of a probe response frame, among other examples.

[0126] In some implementations, the wireless communication devices can include an indication in the management frame about whether the receiving STAs 104 are expected to remain awake to listen (and process) the subsequent frame (such as a beacon A frame). For example, the indication can inform the receiving STAs 104 that additional (R-)TWT information is included in the subsequent frame. Further, in some implementations, the subsequent frame can include any other information that is sometimes included in the management frame, and the management frame can include one or more indications of which information is offloaded from the management frame to the subsequent frame. In some aspects, the subsequent frame can carry a TWT IE (and / or a TWT extension element and / or a coordination medium access element) containing information for OBSS APs 102. For example, the R-TWT IE in the beacon can carry exclusively information for the transmitting AP 102 (and other APs 102 in the co-located or MBSSID set), while information for non-co-located APs 102 is carried in the subsequent frame (via another TWT IE, TWT extension element, or coordination medium access element included in the subsequent frame).

[0127] In some implementations, a wireless communication device can schedule (protected) communication periods to implement or enable TBTT protection. For example, one or more APs 102 can learn the R-TWT schedules of other APs 102 and other information related to coordination by listening to one or more management frames (such as beacon frames) of a neighboring AP 102, where a receiving AP 102 can record R-TWT parameter sets with RTSI subfield values set to 0, 1, or 2 (as those belong to the sending AP 102). Further, if a neighboring AP 102 belongs to a multiple BSSID set, the receiving AP 102 can be expected to consider the active schedule for the BSSID set (such as all BSSIDs) as well (by monitoring the non-sending BSSID profiles as well, as the sent BSSID profile can advertise any corresponding TWT schedule with RTSI subfield value 3). Additionally or alternatively, the APs 102 can exchange explicit frames to provide each other's R-TWT schedules and other information related to inter-AP coordination. Moreover, the APs 102 can exchange or otherwise learn (such as obtain) other pieces of information (such as pieces of information useful for other UHR mechanisms, such as multi-AP associated with C-TDMA) by listening to beacon frames (and any subsequent frames) sent by each other. Further, while described in the context of R-TWT, the described techniques can be applied to any other coordination scheme (such as C-TDMA, etc.). As such, it can be desirable for the APs 102 to avoid collisions of beacon frames (and any subsequent frames).

[0128] Thus, in some implementations, a wireless communication device can establish a protected communication schedule (such as an R-TWT schedule) for protecting TBTTs of the wireless communication device. In some aspects, the wireless communication device can set an RTSI subfield value corresponding to such protected communication schedule to 2 or 3 to protect the associated communication period and avoid (such as preempt) any subscription requests associated with the protected communication schedule. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device can advertise a broadcast TWT ID as a value 31 (such as all 1 bits) to protect the associated communication period and avoid (such as preempt) any subscription requests associated with the protected communication schedule. Further, while described in the context of using a protected communication period to protect TBTTs, the described techniques can be used to similarly protect any other periodic communication.

[0129] Further, in some implementations, one or more wireless communication devices can support A-control based signaling. For example, the described techniques can provide A-control based signaling between APs 102. In some aspects, the HT Control field in the MAC header of a frame can be used to piggyback information to a receiving device, such as a receiving STA 104, where the receiver can be an AP 102 or a non-AP STA. In other words, piggybacked information via the HT Control field can be used in either uplink or downlink direction. The HT Control frame can be included in various frame types, including in a QoS Null frame, a QoS Data frame, or a management frame. Various communication mechanisms or schemes can utilize signaling via HT Control (A-Control). For example, in TXS based sharing, the sharing AP 102 can return the shared TXOP via CAS Control. A-control based signaling can be carried in unicast frames and can be limited to associated peers. For example, QoS Null frames and QoS Data frames can be exchanged between associated peers (such as only exchanged).

[0130] However, some systems, such as UHR systems, can involve several mechanisms that can involve AP-to-AP coordination. Because two APs 102 can not be associated with each other, QoS Null frames or QoS Data frames can not be usable. Public Action (Management) frames can be exchanged between two devices in a non-associated state. As such, a Public Action frame can be a suitable candidate to carry A-Control information between two APs 102 according to AP-to-AP coordination medium access. However, each Public Action frame can be designated to carry specific information, and there can be a specific action associated with a given Public Action frame upon receiving such a frame.

[0131] In some implementations, to use a Public Action frame for coordinated medium access between multiple APs 102, a wireless communication device can use (and can define) a (null) Public Action frame. Such a frame can lack a frame body, and instead only include a MAC header. For example, a TXOP sharing AP 102 can return a TXOP via a (null) Public Action frame that piggybacks CAS Control in the HT Control field (such as a HE variant HT Control field, such as an A-Control subfield that can be specifically defined or supported for coordinated medium access) of the MAC header of the Public Action frame, which can be a type of management frame. Additionally or alternatively, the frame can include a field or element (such as a Multi-Link ID element) to identify a link for which A-Control information (such as information related to coordinated medium access) is applicable. For example, such a field or element can include a bitmap or some other information that indicates which link(s) coordinated medium access information is applicable for.

[0132] In some other implementations, a field in the MAC header of the public action frame can indicate that the contents of the frame body are to be ignored. In other words, the field can indicate that only the MAC header carries useful information and is for the purposes of the frame, such that any receiving device parses (such as decodes) the MAC header and ignores (such as discards or refrains from parsing) the frame body. Across these two implementations, the public action frame can be transmitted via unicast signaling (1 : 1 communication between two APs 102, where the RA is the MAC address of the intended AP), or transmitted to a broadcast address to propagate the information (such as information related to coordinating medium access) to multiple APs 102. In some aspects, a wireless communication device can support a dedicated or specific broadcast address for public action frames that includes a field indicating that only the MAC header carries useful information (where the RA of such public action frames is set to such dedicated or specific broadcast address) so that devices that cannot coordinate medium access ignore the frame.

[0133] Additionally, according to some implementations of the present disclosure, a wireless communication device can support one or more interpretations of a TWT field. In some aspects, such different interpretations can be based on an indication carried in the same frame (such as in the same frame carrying the TWT field). In some cases, the indication can be carried in the same TWT element (such as via a value of a TWT wake-up interval in a broadcast TWT parameter set field). For example, a TWT field carried in a TWT element within a broadcast TWT parameter set can carry an indication of a TSF timer value corresponding to a first (reference) R-TWT SP start time that happens (such as occurs) after a first R-TWT SP start time in the schedule (such as at a scheduled first TBTT (Time 0) or a first R-TWT SP start time). When the first R-TWT SP start time corresponds to a start time of a first R-TWT SP in the schedule, additional information about the TSF timer corresponding to the start time (such as bits 26-63 or bits 0-9) can be provided in the same frame (such as in a TWT constraint parameter element or another element associated with the indication of one or more TWT parameters) or in another frame. As such, a device can enable or support a sub-1 time unit (TU) granularity in a subsequent R-TWT SP start time, which can enable or allow the SP start time to match various traffic patterns (such as XR traffic patterns, where traffic can arrive every approximately 16.667 milliseconds). In some other systems, broadcast TWT signaling can not support such sub-1 TU granularity indication of a TWT start time, where a scheduled subsequent SP start time can be constrained to a TU level granularity (such as a TSF timer value in an integer multiple of 1 TU). As such, if a STA 104 infers an R-TWT as a B-TWT, there can be a mismatch in the interpretation of the expected time of a SP between the R-TWT AP 102 and the STA 104, which erroneously derives the indicated R-TWT as a B-TWT. For example, with some signaling mechanisms, a STA 104 can interpret a TWT field in an R-TWT parameter set as a next TWT SP start time, while an AP 102 can announce a first R-TWT SP time in the case of an R-TWT SP, such that a STA 104 supporting b-TWT STAs can interpret the time as a past time and can thus assume the schedule is invalid (and accordingly ignore it).

[0134] Accordingly, in some implementations of the disclosure, a wireless communication device can support at least two interpretations of the TWT field. If sub-1 TU granularity is not used, the wireless communication device can fall back to the baseline way of announcing the next TWT SP start time (as opposed to the first or initial TWT SP start time). As such, the wireless communication device can allow or otherwise support backward compatibility for STAs 104 that support broadcast TWT and request to join an R-TWT schedule. In this case, if the TWT wake-up interval is in TU units (such that the TWT wake-up interval modulo 1 TU is zero, e.g., mod(TWT wake-up interval, 1024) = 0), the TWT field can be interpreted as the next R-TWT SP start time. Alternatively, the TWT field for R-TWT can be interpreted to indicate the first R-TWT SP start time based on the TWT wake-up interval not being an integer number of TUs. Another interpretation can be associated with how a broadcast TWT capable device interprets the TWT field, where the TWT field corresponds to the next R-TWT SP start time (as opposed to the first R-TWT SP start time). Such interpretation mechanisms can apply to various systems, including UHR systems, for coordinating medium access, such as R-TWT coordination among APs 102.

[0135] As described herein, R-TWT can be understood as a variant of B-TWT, and some STAs 104 can understand or interpret R-TWT as B-TWT. For example, a non-R-TWT capable STA 104 can not understand the RTSI subfield (and thus can not understand RTSI subfield values 2 or 3), and thus can attempt to join the corresponding TWT as a B-TWT, which can actually be an R-TWT. Similar interpretation issues can occur for R-TWTs that are distinguished by a broadcast TWT ID set to 31 (such as all 1 bits) or for other scenarios involving R-TWTs, such as timing. As such, in some implementations, and because any TWT setup is negotiated, if the AP 102 receives a TWT setup request from a non-R-TWT capable STA 104, the AP 102 can reject (and / or suggest an alternative TWT schedule).

[0136] According to one or more of the coordinated medium access mechanisms described, AP 102-a, for example, can obtain information related to a first communication period, which can be a communication period corresponding to other APs 102, such as one or more of AP 102-b and AP 102-c. Such a first communication period can include a time period or time epoch associated with a B-TWT, R-TWT, C-TDMA, etc. AP 102-a can determine or schedule a second communication period based on the first communication period. For example, to the extent possible, AP 102-a can schedule the second communication period (which can correspond to a time period or time epoch associated with a B-TWT, R-TWT, C-TDMA, etc. for communications between AP 102-a and its associated STAs 104, such as STA 104-a) to avoid overlapping (in time or frequency or both) with the first communication period. For example, and as shown by the example of FIG. 2, the second communication period can include communication period 206-a and communication period 206-b, while the first communication period can include communication period 208-a, communication period 210-a, communication period 208-b, and communication period 210-b. In some aspects, communication period 208-a and communication period 208-b can correspond to AP 102-b, and communication period 210-a and communication period 210-b can correspond to AP 102-c. Figure 2

[0137] AP 102-a can transmit frame 204 (which can be one or more management frames, including one or more of a beacon frame, a subsequent beacon frame, a probe response frame, or a public action frame) to indicate information (such as timing information) related to at least the second communication period corresponding to AP 102-a. In some implementations, AP 102-a can additionally indicate information (such as timing information) related to the first communication period via frame 204. As described herein, AP 102-a can indicate such information (such as timing information) via a set of fields of frame 204 (such as a set of parameter set fields, such as TWT parameter set fields, where each parameter set field can indicate a schedule of a communication period), which can include fields outside of a multiple BSSID IE of frame 204 and / or fields within the multiple BSSID IE of frame 204. In some implementations, AP 102-a can use a set of configured IDs to distinguish the second communication period from the first communication period, where such a set of configured IDs can refer to one or both of a broadcast TWT ID or a RTSI subfield value, and can be used to distinguish other example IDs or values of TWT schedules that an associated STA 104 can use from TWT schedules that an associated STA 104 is expected to avoid.

[0138] ​The AP 102-a and the STAs 104-a can communicate (such as transmit or receive, or both) during one or both of the communication period 206-a and the communication period 206-b. Further, in some implementations, other STAs 104 that are not associated with the AP 102-a can receive the frame 204 and obtain the indicated information associated with coordinated medium access. In such implementations, such unassociated STAs 104 can communicate according to the indicated information, such as according to the second communication period. Such communication according to the second communication period can be understood as communication during any one or more of the second communication period (if the STA is associated with the AP 102-a) or as communication avoiding the second communication period (if the STA is not associated with the AP 102-a). As described herein, which IEs (and similarly, which parameter set fields) of the frame 204 that a STA 104 parses can be based on whether the STA 104 is associated with the transmitted BSSID and / or based on which signaling or frame format construction mechanism the AP 102-a employs, such as based on which fields or IEs the AP 102-a includes information about the first communication period and the second communication period.

[0139] Figure 3 An example of a frame format 300 that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability is shown, in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The frame format 300 can illustrate an example format of the frame 204 as shown and described with reference to Figure 2 Figure 2 For example, the frame format 300 can be a format of the frame 204 that provides information related to coordinated medium access, such as timing information including, for example, any one or more of TWT information, R-TWT information, B-TWT information, TXOP sharing information, C-TDMA information, and the like. In some aspects, the frame 204 can include various portions, including a MAC header (which can include a set of initial elements or fields of the frame 204, such as a frame control field and / or a duration field, among other fields) and a frame body 302 (which can include another set of elements or fields of the frame 204).

[0140] ​In some aspects, the frame body 302 can include one or more elements (each identified by a corresponding ID), a multiple BSSID element 304, and one or more vendor-specific elements (each identified by a corresponding ID). Each vendor-specific element can include an organization identifier field and a contents field. In some aspects, the multiple BSSID element 304 (which can be equivalently referred to herein as a multiple BSSID IE) can include an element ID field, a length field, a maxBSSID indicator field, and one or more non-transmitted BSSID profiles 308. Further, such one or more elements can refer to any one or more IEs described herein, such as the TWT IE 306. The TWT IE 306 can be understood as a TWT IE outside of the multiple BSSID IE. In some aspects, the TWT IE 306 can include one or more TWT parameter set fields, where each parameter set field indicates a TWT schedule (such as a B-TWT schedule or an R-TWT schedule).

[0141] Each non-transmitted BSSID profile 308 (which can be equivalently referred to herein as a non-Tx BSSID profile) can include a sub-element ID subfield, a length subfield, and a data subfield. The data subfield can include a non-transmitted BSSID capabilities subfield, a SSID subfield, a multiple BSSID index subfield, one or more elements (each identified by a corresponding ID), one or more vendor-specific elements (each identified by a corresponding ID), and a non-inheritance subfield. Such one or more elements can refer to any one or more IEs described herein, such as a TWT IE (where such TWT IE can be understood to be within the non-transmitted BSSID profile 308). In some aspects, the TWT IE within the non-transmitted BSSID profile 308 can include one or more TWT parameter set fields, where each parameter set field indicates a TWT schedule (such as a B-TWT schedule or an R-TWT schedule).

[0142] In some aspects, an element or a vendor-specific element included in the non-transmitted BSSID profile 308 can override a same element or a same vendor-specific element included outside of the multiple BSSID element 304 (where the same element is identified based on such element being identified by a same ID). Otherwise, if a STA parses an element outside of the multiple BSSID element 304 and the same element (as identified by the ID) is not included in the non-transmitted BSSID profile 308, the STA can inherit (and transmit according to) information communicated via the element outside of the multiple BSSID element 304. Such inheritance can be understood as multiple BSSID inheritance.

[0143] In some aspects, each TWT parameter set field can be associated with an RTSI subfield, where the value of the RTSI subfield indicates various information related to the corresponding TWT schedule. Example values for the RTSI subfield are shown and explained below in the context of Table 1. As described herein, the RTSI subfield can be an example of a schedule information subfield. Table 1: Example RTSI Subfield Values

[0144] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication system 400 that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 400 illustrates communication between various wireless communication devices according to a mesh-like or mesh-based system topology.

[0145] For example, the wireless communication system 400 illustrates communication between a root AP 102-a, satellite APs 102-b, 102-c, and 102-d, and wireless STAs 104-a, 104-b, and 104-c. The root AP 102-a and the satellite APs 102-b, 102-c, and 102-d can communicate with one another via one or more backhaul links. Each of the wireless STAs 104-a, 104-b, and 104-c can communicate with at least one AP 102 (and potentially multiple APs 102) via at least one front-haul link. In some aspects, the root AP 102-a can be directly connected to the Internet, which can be referred to or otherwise understood as a wide area network (WAN). The satellite APs 102-b, 102-c, and 102-d can be indirectly connected to the Internet via at least the root AP 102-a. As such, the satellite APs 102 can relay data traffic directly or indirectly between the root AP 102-a (the Internet) and one or more wireless STAs 104.

[0146] In the example of wireless communication system 400, root AP 102-a can communicate with satellite AP 102-b via backhaul link 402-a, satellite AP 102-b can communicate with satellite AP 102-c via backhaul link 402-b, and root AP 102-a can communicate with satellite AP 102-d via backhaul link 402-c. As further shown in the example of wireless communication system 400, satellite AP 102-c can communicate with wireless STA 104-a via front-haul link 404-a, and satellite AP 102-d can communicate with wireless STA 104-b and wireless STA 104-c via front-haul link 404-b and front-haul link 404-c, respectively. As described herein, a wireless communication device can refer to any of root AP 102-a, satellite APs 102-b, 102-c, and 102-d, or wireless STAs 104-a, 104-b, and 104-c. Moreover, any of such wireless communication devices can utilize the described coordination medium access techniques in a relay topology, such as across one or more hops of a multi-hop relay path between a root AP 102 and an edge client, such as, for example, STA 104-a.

[0147] In some implementations, various wireless communication devices can support medium access coordination in a relay topology. In some aspects, operations at an intermediate STA, such as a relay AP, can be simplified when involving minimal processing. In some aspects, not changing the size of relay frames can be associated with one way of limiting the amount of processing involved. Frames sent to or received from an edge client can be in 3-address format. For example, a frame can include a RA, a TA, and a source address (SA) or a destination address (DA), depending on the direction in which the frame is sent, such as uplink or downlink. However, in some systems, frames sent by a root AP 102-a and intended for an edge client can be configured in 4-address format, including each of a RA, a TA, a DA, and a SA. As such, it can be desirable to have a mechanism that enables all frames traversing a relay STA, such as sent along a multi-hop relay path, to be in 3-address format for lower processing, but some systems can preempt some of the benefits associated with lower processing by using 4-address format for frames sent by a root AP and intended for an edge client.

[0148] In some implementations of the disclosure, during association, an edge client can be assigned an association identifier (AID). In some aspects, an edge relay STA that currently serves the client or edge client performing association can report the MAC address and AID of the edge client to the root AP 102-a (such as by sending a frame to the root AP 102). The root AP 102-a can map the (MAC) address of the client with the AID. Thus, in (all) frame exchanges intended for the edge client, the AID of the client can be used as an identifier (such as instead of the 6-octet address field). In some aspects, the AID can be carried in an A-Control field (such as a high throughput (HT) Control field), which can be present in QoS data frames. Such A-Control field can be a high-efficiency (HE) variant HT Control field, which can be specially defined or supported for coordinated medium access. Additionally or alternatively, the AID information (which can be expressed as a STA ID) can be carried in a preamble (such as a PHY header) of a PPDU carrying the frame.

[0149] For downlink communications, when constructing a frame intended for an edge client, the root AP 102-a can generate a 3-address MAC protocol data unit (PDU) (MPDU) (according to including the AID of the edge client instead of the 6-octet address field). When the frame traverses intermediate relay APs 102 (such as satellite APs 102), the size of the frame can remain unchanged, as the format of the frame (MPDU) remains a 3-address format (with only the RA and TA changing at any given hop along the multi-hop relay path). At the final hop (such as at the final satellite AP 102 or relay STA before the edge client), the edge relay device can use the AID of the edge client to identify, select, compute, or otherwise determine the MAC address of the edge client. The edge relay device can include the MAC address of the edge client in the RA address of the MPDU that the edge relay device correspondingly sends to the edge client. In some implementations, the AID can not be included in the HT Control field (A-Control field) in the final hop, as the edge client can not expect the AID (such as can not expect the AID to address the edge client).

[0150] For uplink communications, when the edge relay device receives a frame from an edge client, the edge relay device can use the MAC address of the edge client to identify, select, compute, or otherwise determine the AID of the edge client. Thus, the edge relay device can include the AID in the A-Control field of the frame (MPDU) sent upstream to the next-hop relay device or the root AP 102-a. In some aspects, as the frame traverses the intermediate relay APs 102, the size of the frame can remain the same because the format of the frame (MPDU) remains a 3 address format (where only the RA and TA change at any given hop along the multi-hop relay path).

[0151] As such, when the intermediate STA relays the frame, the described techniques can not require changing the MAC frame header size, which can limit complexity and processing costs and save overhead (as the A-Control subfield can be 26 bits, while the MAC address, if included, would be 6 octets). Moreover, the described techniques can simplify the procedures and processing at each relay AP 102 and / or at the root AP 102-a, as in some implementations, hardware can relatively quickly replace the addresses without having to change the size of each frame.

[0152] Figure 5 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 500 that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In various examples, the wireless communication device 500 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that can include one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem, such as a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem), one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements (collectively “processors”), one or more radios (collectively “radios”), and one or more memories or memory blocks (collectively “memory” 535).

[0153] In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 can be for use in an AP, such as with reference to FIG. 1, or in a STA, such as with reference to FIG. 1. Figure 1The wireless communication device 500 can be an example of a device used in the described AP 102. In some other examples, the wireless communication device 500 can be an AP that includes such a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device, as well as multiple antennas. The wireless communication device 500 is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communications in the form of, for example, wireless packets. For example, the wireless communication device can be configured or operated to transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) protocol data units (PDUs) that conform to one or more standards in the family of IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 also includes or can be coupled with an application processor, which can be further coupled with another memory 535. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 also includes at least one external network interface that enables communication with a core network or a backhaul network for access to external networks including the Internet.

[0154] The wireless communication device 500 includes a communication manager 525. Portions of the communication manager 525 can be implemented at least partly in hardware or firmware. For example, the communication manager 525 can be implemented at least partly by a modem. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can be implemented at least partly by a processor and as software stored in the memory 535. For example, portions of the communication manager 525 can be implemented as non-transitory instructions (or “code”) executable by the processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding module.

[0155] In some implementations, the processor can be a component of the processing system 530. The processing system 530 can generally refer to a system or series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs (the set of outputs can be passed to other systems or components of the wireless communication device 500, for example). For example, the processing system 530 of the wireless communication device 500 can refer to a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of the wireless communication device 500, such as a processor, or a transceiver, or the communication manager 525, or a combination of other components or components of the wireless communication device 500. The processing system 530 of the wireless communication device 500 can interface with other components of the wireless communication device 500 and can process information received from other components (such as inputs or signals) or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of the wireless communication device 500 can include the processing system 530, a first interface 540 for outputting information, and a second interface 540 for obtaining information. In some implementations, the first interface 540 can refer to an interface between the processing system 530 of the chip or modem and a transmitter, such that the wireless communication device 500 can transmit information output from the chip or modem. In some implementations, the second interface 540 can refer to an interface between the processing system 530 of the chip or modem and a receiver, such that the wireless communication device 500 can obtain information or signal inputs and the information can be passed to the processing system 530. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the first interface 540 can also obtain information or signal inputs and the second interface 540 can also output information or signal outputs.

[0156] According to examples as disclosed herein, the wireless communication device 500 can support wireless communications. The communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for obtaining first timing information related to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs). In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device based on coordination with the first timing information, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for communicating with one or more wireless stations (STAs) associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period.

[0157] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of one or more management frames, where each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the set of configured IDs. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the set of configured IDs.

[0158] In some implementations, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the set of configured IDs to distinguish the first communication period as corresponding to one or more overlapping basic service sets (OBSS). In some implementations, the unique ID of each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields distinguishes the second communication period as one or more schedules of communication periods of the first wireless communication device.

[0159] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device is a restricted target wake time (R-TWT) scheduled AP that announces an R-TWT schedule with a restricted TWT schedule information subfield value set to three. In some implementations, the R-TWT scheduled AP is to set a broadcast TWT ID subfield to a fixed value in a broadcast TWT field corresponding to the R-TWT schedule in accordance with announcing the R-TWT schedule with the restricted TWT schedule information subfield set to three.

[0160] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting a first subset of first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting a second subset of the first timing information within a third set of fields of a second information element of the one or more management frames.

[0161] In some implementations, the first subset of the first timing information relates to a first subset of the first communication period that corresponds to a first set of APs associated with the first wireless communication device. In some implementations, the second subset of the first timing information relates to a second subset of the first communication period that corresponds to a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the first wireless communication device.

[0162] In some implementations, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields and the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the configured set of IDs. In some implementations, each respective second ID field associated with the third set of fields includes respective identification information corresponding to a respective AP of a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the first wireless communication device.

[0163] In some implementations, the second information element is an extended element. In some implementations, the respective identification information includes respective basic service set (BSS) ID identification information.

[0164] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting means for transmitting first timing information within a first set of fields of one or more management frames, where a respective first scheduling information subfield value of each field of the first set of fields is set to a same value according to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs that belong to a same co-hosted basic service set (BSS) ID set as the first wireless communication device, such as matching to a corresponding AP of the set of APs. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting means for transmitting second timing information within a second set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective second scheduling information subfield value of each field of the second set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0165] In some implementations, the respective first scheduling information subfield value is a dedicated value of the scheduling information subfield that indicates that a corresponding schedule of the communication period is for one of the set of APs. In some implementations, the set of multiple values is a set of values in the scheduling information field that indicates that a corresponding schedule of the communication period is for the first wireless communication device.

[0166] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting means for transmitting second timing information exclusively within a set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective scheduling information subfield value of each field of the set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting means for excluding first timing information from the one or more management frames according to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs that belong to a same co-hosted basic service set (BSS) ID set as the first wireless communication device, such as matching to a corresponding AP of the set of APs.

[0167] In some implementations, the set of multiple values is a set of values in the scheduling information field that indicates that a corresponding schedule of the communication period is for the first wireless communication device.

[0168] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting a respective subset of the first timing information within respective fields of a respective non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element, which can be equivalently referred to as a multiple BSSID element.

[0169] In some implementations, a respective first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to a same value according to a first communication period corresponding to the set of APs, such as matching with a corresponding AP in the set of APs. In some implementations, a respective scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0170] In some implementations, each respective non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element includes a respective subset of the first timing information and excludes a remainder of the first timing information. In some implementations, a scheduling information subfield of the respective non-transmitting BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0171] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting second timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting a respective subset of the first timing information within respective fields of a respective non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0172] In some implementations, a respective scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0173] In some implementations, each respective non-transmitting BSSID subelement of the multiple BSSID information element includes a respective subset of the first timing information and excludes a remainder of the first timing information. In some implementations, a schedule information subfield of the respective non-transmitting BSSID subelement is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0174] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting both the first timing information and the second timing information within a third set of one or more fields of each non-transmitting BSSID subelement of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0175] In some implementations, a respective first schedule information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to a same value according to a first communication period corresponding to the set of APs, such as matching with a corresponding AP in the set of APs. In some implementations, a respective schedule information subfield value of each field in the second set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0176] In some implementations, each respective non-transmitting BSSID subelement of the multiple BSSID information element includes a first field including a subset of the first timing information for the corresponding non-transmitting BSSID and includes one or more second fields including a remainder of the first timing information and the second timing information. In some implementations, the first field includes a first schedule information subfield value set to a value from a set of multiple values, and each of the one or more second fields includes a second schedule information subfield value set to a same value.

[0177] In some implementations, the first communication period is an active schedule of communication periods corresponding to the set of APs.

[0178] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for a means for changing timing information of the first timing information or the second timing information or one or more statuses associated with the first communication period or the second communication period. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for a means for setting a field value in the one or more second management frames based on changing the timing information or the one or more statuses. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for a means for transmitting the one or more second management frames according to the field value.

[0179] In some implementations, setting the field value is associated with setting a critical update flag to a value, incrementing a basic service set (BSS) parameter change count, or incrementing a value associated with checking a beacon field value.

[0180] In some implementations, the field value is specific to changes related to protected communications.

[0181] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for a means for adding or removing timing information from the first timing information or the second timing information, where changing the timing information is associated with adding or removing the timing information from the first timing information or the second timing information.

[0182] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for a means for changing one or more scheduling information subfield values corresponding to one or more schedules of a communication period of the first communication period or the second communication period, where changing the one or more statuses is associated with changing the one or more scheduling information subfield values.

[0183] In some implementations, changing the scheduling information subfield values is associated with changing a corresponding schedule of the communication period from active to inactive, from inactive to active, from open to new members to closed to new members, or from closed to new members to open to new members.

[0184] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for a means for selecting a set of APs as coordinating APs, where coordination with the first timing information is based on the set of APs being the coordinating APs.

[0185] In some implementations, the set of APs is selected as the coordinating APs according to the set of APs being members of the same extended service set (ESS) as the first wireless communication device.

[0186] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for transmitting an indication of a group ID associated with a set of coordinating APs, where the set of APs is in accordance with being a member of a set of coordinating APs having a same group ID.

[0187] In some implementations, the set of APs is selected as coordinating APs in accordance with the set of APs being associated with a same manufacturer or a same vendor.

[0188] In some implementations, the set of APs is selected as coordinating APs in accordance with the set of APs being associated with a same anchor AP as the first wireless communication device.

[0189] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for detecting frame transmissions from a set of APs, where the set of APs is selected as coordinating APs in accordance with detecting the frame transmissions.

[0190] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for detecting an AP in the set of APs or a wireless STA associated with at least one AP in the set of APs performing a threshold number of transmissions during a second communication period. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for removing the AP or the wireless STA from coordination based on detecting the AP or the wireless STA performing the threshold number of transmissions during the second communication period.

[0191] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for obtaining information indicating a coordinating AP group, where the coordination of the first timing information is based on the AP and a set of APs belonging to the coordinating AP group.

[0192] In some implementations, the information indicating the coordinating AP group includes scheduling information related to which APs can have overlapping communication periods, which communication periods will be orthogonal to other communication periods, and rules associated with transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing during the communication periods.

[0193] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for obtaining a security key for communications between the first wireless communication device and other wireless communication devices in the coordinating AP group.

[0194] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable to support means for transmitting one or more coordination frames with at least a subset of the set of APs, where obtaining the first timing information is associated with transmitting the one or more coordination frames, and where the one or more coordination frames include security information associated with authentication of the coordinating APs.

[0195] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for obtaining a transmission opportunity for the first wireless communication device during a communication period in the second communication period, where obtaining the transmission opportunity during the communication period is associated with prioritized access for the first wireless communication device during the second communication period.

[0196] In some implementations, the prioritized access for the first wireless communication device is associated with one or more quiet intervals to other wireless communication devices or a relatively small channel access countdown value compared to the other wireless communication devices.

[0197] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for transmitting the first timing information or the second timing information in an information element outside of a target wake time (TWT) information element.

[0198] In some implementations, the information element outside of the TWT information element is included in a management frame after a beacon frame. In some implementations, the beacon frame indicates that the first timing information or the second timing information is included in an information element included in the management frame after the beacon frame.

[0199] In some implementations, the beacon frame includes a first subset of the first timing information or the second timing information related to a first set of APs associated with the first wireless communication device, and the management frame after the beacon frame includes a second subset of the first timing information related to a second set of APs that are not co-located with the first wireless communication device. In some implementations, the one or more management frames include the beacon frame and the management frame after the beacon frame.

[0200] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for scheduling the second communication period based on the first communication period of the first wireless communication device and the one or more periodic transmissions.

[0201] In some implementations, to support scheduling the second communication period, the communication manager 525 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting a means for scheduling the second communication period such that a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) corresponding to the first wireless communication device is during the second communication period, the one or more periodic transmissions including a periodic beacon transmission associated with the TBTT.

[0202] In some implementations, the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed based on a millisecond being unevenly divided into time units (TUs). In some implementations, the first timing information or the second timing information indicates a start time of an initial communication period of the first communication period or the second communication period based on the first timing information or the second timing information being expressed based on a millisecond being unevenly divided into TUs.

[0203] In some implementations, the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed based on a time unit (TU). In some implementations, the first timing information or the second timing information indicates a start time of a next communication period in the first communication period or the second communication period based on the first timing information or the second timing information being expressed based on a TU.

[0204] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining a request from a second wireless communication device to join a schedule of communication periods in a second communication period. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting an indication of an alternative schedule of communication periods in the second communication period.

[0205] In some implementations, a device capability of the second wireless communication device is associated with being unable to distinguish between a restricted target wake time (R-TWT) parameter set and a broadcast target wake time (b-TWT) parameter set. In some implementations, the indication of the alternative schedule of communication periods is transmitted based on the device capability.

[0206] In some implementations, the first communication period and the second communication period are associated with any combination of one or more restricted target wake time (R-TWT) service periods (SPs), one or more TWT epochs, one or more quiet intervals, selective transmission opportunities (TXOPs), or one or more distinct channel access parameters that prioritize channel access to at least one wireless communication device.

[0207] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device is an AP. In some implementations, the set of APs includes a first set of APs associated with the first wireless communication device, a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the first wireless communication device, or any combination thereof.

[0208] In some implementations, the AP and the first set of APs are members of a same multi-basic service set (BSS) ID set or a same co-located BSSID set.

[0209] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device and the set of APs are members of a same multi-basic service set (BSS) ID (BSSID) set or a same co-located BSSID set.

[0210] In some implementations, the first communication period is a first protected communication period associated with a first restricted target wake time (R-TWT). In some implementations, the second communication period is a second protected communication period associated with a second R-TWT.

[0211] In some implementations, the first timing information related to the first communication period indicates a set of multiple communication schedules, each respective AP in the set of APs corresponding to a respective set of one or more communication schedules in the set of multiple communication schedules. In some implementations, the second timing information related to the second communication period indicates one or more communication schedules corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0212] Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device 500 can support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting a public action frame in accordance with a coordinated medium access involving a first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for communicating with one or more wireless communication devices based on the coordinated medium access.

[0213] In some implementations, the information included within the public action frame includes timing information associated with one or more communication periods. In some implementations, the coordinated medium access is associated with the one or more communication periods.

[0214] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting a frame associated with sharing of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) by a first wireless communication device with a second wireless communication device. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for receiving a public action frame from the second wireless communication device based on the sharing of the TXOP, where the public action frame indicates a remainder of the TXOP is returned to the first wireless communication device.

[0215] In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for receiving a frame associated with sharing of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) by a second wireless communication device with a first wireless communication device. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for communicating with one or more wireless communication devices during a portion of the TXOP. In some implementations, the communication manager 525 is capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting a public action frame to the second wireless communication device, where the public action frame indicates a remainder of the TXOP is returned to the second wireless communication device.

[0216] In some implementations, a medium access control (MAC) header of the public action frame includes information related to the coordinated medium access.

[0217] In some implementations, a frame body of the public action frame includes information related to one or more communication links to which the coordinated medium access applies.

[0218] In some implementations, a medium access control (MAC) header of the public action frame includes an indication to ignore a frame body of the public action frame and to parse information related to coordinated medium access from the MAC header.

[0219] In some implementations, if the public action frame is transmitted via unicast signaling, a receiver address (RA) of the public action frame indicates the ID of the first wireless communication device or the second wireless communication device. In some implementations, the RA of the public action frame indicates a value addressing multiple APs if the public action frame is transmitted via broadcast signaling, the value addressing multiple APs corresponding to a broadcast address specific to wireless communication devices capable of coordinated medium access.

[0220] Additionally or alternatively, wireless communication device 500 can support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some implementations, communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for assigning an association identifier (AID) to an edge client. In some implementations, communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for constructing a three-address frame format of one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or transmitted to a root AP according to including the AID in the one or more data frames transmitted to the edge client. In some implementations, communication manager 525 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting the one or more data frames according to the three-address frame format.

[0221] In some implementations, the data frames are relayed to the edge client via one or more relay devices according to a multi-hop relay path. In some implementations, a receiver address (RA) and a transmitter address (TA) change at each hop of the multi-hop relay path. In some implementations, a relay device immediately upstream of the edge client determines a final RA according to the AID.

[0222] In some implementations, the AID is included in an A control field of the one or more data frames.

[0223] Figure 6 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 600 that supports techniques for coordinated medium access for ultra-high reliability in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In various examples, the wireless communication device 600 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that can include one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem, or a cellular modem, such as a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem), one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements (collectively “processors”), one or more radios (collectively “radio”), and one or more memories or memory blocks (collectively “memory” 635).

[0224] In some implementations, the wireless communication device 600 can be used for use in STAs (such as references). Figure 1 The device described in STA 104). In some other examples, wireless communication device 600 may be an STA including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device, and multiple antennas. Wireless communication device 600 is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communications, for example, in the form of wireless packets. For example, wireless communication device may be configured or operated to transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer PPDUs and MPDUs conforming to one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol family of standards. In some implementations, wireless communication device 600 also includes or may be coupled to an application processor, which may be further coupled to another memory 635. In some implementations, wireless communication device 600 also includes a user interface (UI) (such as a touchscreen or keypad) and a display, which may be integrated with the UI to form a touchscreen display. In some implementations, wireless communication device 600 may also include one or more sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors.

[0225] Wireless communication device 600 includes a communication manager 625. A portion of the communication manager 625 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. For example, the communication manager 625 may be implemented at least partially by a modem. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 may be implemented at least partially by a processor and implemented as software stored in memory 635. For example, a portion of the communication manager 625 may be implemented as non-transitory instructions (or "code") executable by the processor to perform the functions or operations of a corresponding module.

[0226] In some implementations, the processor can be a component of a processing system 630. Processing system 630 can generally refer to a system or series of machines or components that receives input and processes the input to produce a set of outputs (which can be passed to other systems or components of, for example, wireless communication device 600). For example, processing system 630 of wireless communication device 600 can refer to a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of wireless communication device 600, such as a processor, or a transceiver, or a communication manager, or a combination of other components or components of wireless communication device 600. Processing system 630 of wireless communication device 600 can interface with other components of wireless communication device 600 and can process information received from other components (such as input or signals) or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of wireless communication device 600 can include processing system 630, a first interface 640 for outputting information, and a second interface 640 for obtaining information. In some implementations, first interface 640 can refer to an interface between processing system 630 of the chip or modem and a transmitter, such that wireless communication device 600 can transmit information output from the chip or modem. In some implementations, second interface 640 can refer to an interface between processing system 630 of the chip or modem and a receiver, such that wireless communication device 600 can obtain information or signal input and the information can be passed to processing system 630. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that first interface 640 can also obtain information or signal input and second interface 640 can also output information or signal output.

[0227] According to examples as disclosed herein, wireless communication device 600 can support wireless communications. Communication manager 625 can be capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for assigning an association identifier (AID) to an edge client. In some implementations, communication manager 625 can be capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for constructing a three-address frame format of one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or transmitted to a root AP according to including an AID in the one or more data frames transmitted to the edge client. In some implementations, communication manager 625 can be capable of, configured for, or operable for supporting a means for transmitting the one or more data frames according to the three-address frame format.

[0228] In some implementations, the data frames are relayed to the edge client via one or more relay devices according to a multi-hop relay path. In some implementations, a receiver address (RA) and a transmitter address (TA) change at each hop of the multi-hop relay path. In some implementations, a relay device immediately upstream of the edge client determines a final RA according to the AID.

[0229] In some implementations, the AID is included in an A control field of the one or more data frames.

[0230] Additionally or alternatively, in accordance with examples as disclosed herein, wireless communication device 600 can support wireless communications. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining one or more management frames indicating second timing information relating to at least a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device based on coordination with first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs), the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a set of configured identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for communicating according to the second communication period with the second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device.

[0231] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining the first timing information relating to the first communication period, where the set of APs to which the first communication period corresponds are overlapping basic service set (OBSS) APs. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for respecting a set of rules associated with the first communication period.

[0232] In some implementations, to support respecting the first communication period, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for terminating a transmission opportunity of the first wireless communication period prior to a start of each of the first communication period. In some implementations, to support respecting the first communication period, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for following a set of channel access rules within each of the first communication period.

[0233] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields comprises a same ID of the set of configured IDs. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, where each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields comprises a unique ID of the set of configured IDs.

[0234] In some implementations, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes a same ID of the configured set of IDs to distinguish the first communication period as corresponding to one or more overlapping basic service sets (OBSS). In some implementations, a unique ID of each respective second ID field associated with the second set of fields distinguishes the second communication period as one or more schedules of communication periods for the second wireless communication device.

[0235] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining a first subset of first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable for supporting a means for obtaining a second subset of the first timing information within a third set of fields of a second information element of the one or more management frames.

[0236] In some implementations, the first subset of first timing information relates to a first subset of first communication periods corresponding to a first set of APs associated with the second wireless communication device. In some implementations, the second subset of first timing information relates to a second subset of first communication periods corresponding to a second set of APs that are non-colocated with the second wireless communication device.

[0237] In some implementations, each respective first ID field associated with the first set of fields and the second set of fields includes a unique ID of the configured set of IDs. In some implementations, each respective second ID field associated with the third set of fields includes respective identification information corresponding to a respective AP of the second set of APs that are non-colocated with the second wireless communication device.

[0238] In some implementations, the second information element is an extended element. In some implementations, the respective identification information includes respective basic service set (BSS) ID identification information.

[0239] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting means for obtaining first timing information within a first set of fields of one or more management frames, where a respective first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to a same value according to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs that belong to a same set of co-managed basic service set (BSS) IDs as the second wireless communication device. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting means for obtaining second timing information within a second set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective second scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0240] In some implementations, the respective first scheduling information subfield value is a dedicated value of the scheduling information field that indicates that the corresponding schedule of the communication period is for one AP of the set of APs that is associated with the second wireless communication device. In some implementations, the set of multiple values is a set of values in the scheduling information field that indicates that the corresponding schedule of the communication period is for the second wireless communication device.

[0241] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting means for obtaining the second timing information exclusively within a set of fields of the one or more management frames, where a respective scheduling information subfield value of each field in the set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values according to a second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0242] In some implementations, the set of multiple values is a set of values in the scheduling information field that indicates that the corresponding schedule of the communication period is for the second wireless communication device.

[0243] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting means for obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting means for obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can enable, be configured as, or be operable for supporting means for obtaining a respective subset of the first timing information within respective fields of a respective non-transmitting BSSID subelement of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0244] In some implementations, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value based on a first communication period corresponding to the AP set (such as matching a corresponding AP in the AP set). In some implementations, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values ​​based on a second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0245] In some implementations, each corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multi-BSSID information element includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information. In some implementations, the scheduling information sub-field of the corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0246] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and ignores multiple BSSID information elements based on the association between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, and the association between the second wireless communication device and the transmitted BSSID.

[0247] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and, based on the association between the first wireless communication device and the AP, and the association between the AP and the non-transmitted BSSID, parses the non-transmitted BSSID sub-element in the multiple BSSID information element that corresponds to the AP in the AP set.

[0248] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for obtaining second timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element in one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple Basic Service Set (BSS) ID information element. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for obtaining a corresponding subset of the first timing information within a corresponding field of a corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of a multiple BSSID information element.

[0249] In some implementations, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values, based on the second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0250] In some implementations, each corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multi-BSSID information element includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information. In some implementations, the scheduling information sub-field of the corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0251] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and parses each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multi-BSSID information element according to the association of the first wireless communication device with any AP associated with the multi-BSSID information element in the multi-BSSID set.

[0252] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for obtaining first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element in one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple Basic Service Set (BSS) ID information element. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for obtaining second timing information within a second set of fields of a first information element in one or more management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for obtaining both the first and second timing information within a third set of fields of one or more fields of each non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0253] In some implementations, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value based on a first communication period corresponding to the AP set (such as matching a corresponding AP in the AP set). In some implementations, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values ​​based on a second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0254] In some implementations, each corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of a multi-BSSID information element includes a first field containing a subset of first timing information for the corresponding non-transmitting BSSID, and one or more second fields containing the remainder of the first and second timing information. In some implementations, the first field includes a first scheduling information sub-field value set to a set of values ​​from a plurality of values, and each of the one or more second fields includes a second scheduling information sub-field value set to the same value.

[0255] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and ignores multiple BSSID information elements based on the association between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, and the association between the second wireless communication device and the transmitted BSSID.

[0256] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device ignores the first information element and resolves the non-transmitted BSSID sub-element in the multiple BSSID information elements corresponding to the AP in the AP set based on the association between the first wireless communication device and the AP, and the association between the AP and the non-transmitted BSSID.

[0257] In some implementations, the first communication period is the activity scheduling corresponding to the communication period of the AP set.

[0258] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for acquiring one or more second management frames. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for detecting changes in timing information or one or more states associated with a first or second communication period based on field values ​​in one or more second management frames.

[0259] In some implementations, the field value is associated with a key update flag that has a single value, an increment of the Basic Service Set (BSS) parameter change count, or an increment of the value associated with the check beacon field value.

[0260] In some implementations, field values ​​are dedicated to changes related to protected communication.

[0261] In some implementations, changes to the state are associated with changes to the scheduling of communication sessions from active to inactive, from inactive to active, from open to new members to closed to new members, or from closed to new members to open to new members.

[0262] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for accessing the wireless channel during a communication period in the second communication period based on priority access to the first wireless communication device during the second communication period.

[0263] In some implementations, the priority access of the first wireless communication device is associated with one or more silence intervals to other wireless communication devices or a channel access count value that is relatively small compared to other wireless communication devices.

[0264] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 can be configured or operable to support units for obtaining first timing information or second timing information within an information element other than the Target Wake-Up Time (TWT) information element.

[0265] In some implementations, information elements other than the TWT information elements are included in the management frame following the beacon frame. In some implementations, the beacon frame indicates that first timing information or second timing information is included in the information elements included in the management frame following the beacon frame.

[0266] In some implementations, the beacon frame includes second timing information and a first subset of the first timing information relating to a first set of access points (APs) associated with the second wireless communication device, and a subsequent management frame includes a second subset of the first timing information relating to a second set of APs not co-located with the second wireless communication device. In some implementations, one or more management frames include the beacon frame and subsequent management frames.

[0267] In some implementations, the first or second timing information is expressed based on milliseconds that are not uniformly divided into time units (TUs). In some implementations, the first or second timing information, expressed based on milliseconds that are not uniformly divided into TUs, indicates the start time of the initial communication period of the first or second communication period.

[0268] In some implementations, the first or second timing information is expressed based on a unit of time (TU). In some implementations, the first or second timing information, expressed based on TU, indicates the start time of the next communication segment within a first or second communication segment.

[0269] In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for sending requests for scheduling of communication segments to be added to the second communication period. In some implementations, the communication manager 625 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support units for receiving instructions for obtaining replacement scheduling of communication segments in the second communication period.

[0270] In some implementations, the device capabilities of the first wireless communication device are associated with the inability to distinguish between the Restricted Target Wake-Up Time (R-TWT) parameter set and the Broadcast Target Wake-Up Time (b-TWT) parameter set. In some implementations, indications for replacement scheduling of communication sessions are obtained based on device capabilities.

[0271] In some implementations, the first and second communication periods are associated with one or more restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT) service periods (SPs), one or more TWT epochs, one or more silence intervals, selective transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing, or any combination of one or more distinct channel access parameters that prioritize channel access to at least one wireless communication device.

[0272] In some implementations, the first wireless communication device is a wireless STA, and the second wireless communication device is an AP.

[0273] In some implementations, the AP set includes a first AP set associated with a first wireless communication device, a second AP set not co-located with the first wireless communication device, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the APs and the first AP set are members of the same multi-basic service set (BSS) ID set or the same co-hosted BSSID set.

[0274] In some implementations, the second wireless communication device and the AP set are members of the same multi-basic service set (BSS) ID (BSSID) set or the same co-hosted BSSID set.

[0275] In some implementations, the first communication period is a first protected communication period associated with a first restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT). In some implementations, the second communication period is a second protected communication period associated with a second R-TWT.

[0276] In some implementations, first timing information relating to a first communication period indicates a set of multiple communication schedules, each corresponding AP in the set of APs corresponding to one or more sets of communication schedules in the multiple sets of communication schedules. In some implementations, second timing information relating to a second communication period indicates one or more communication schedules corresponding to a second wireless communication device.

[0277] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example process 700 that may be performed at a wireless AP supporting technologies for ultra-high reliability coordinated media access, according to some aspects of this disclosure, is shown. The operation of process 700 may be an example of a method implemented by a wireless AP or its components as described herein. For example, process 700 may be implemented by a wireless communication device (such as reference ... Figure 5 The described wireless communication device 700 performs the operation either as a wireless access point (AP) or within a wireless AP. In some implementations, process 700 can be performed by a wireless AP (such as referenced in [reference]). Figure 1 The AP described in AP 102 is used to perform this action.

[0278] In some implementations, in block 705, the wireless AP can obtain first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs. The operation of block 705 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 705 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0279] In some implementations, in block 710, the wireless AP can transmit one or more management frames indicating at least second timing information related to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, based on coordination with first timing information. These one or more management frames distinguish the second communication period from the first communication period according to a configured set of IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods. The operation of block 710 can be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 710 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0280] In some implementations, in block 715, the wireless AP can communicate with one or more wireless STAs associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period. The operation of block 715 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 715 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0281] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating an example process 800 that may be performed at a wireless AP supporting technologies for ultra-reliable coordinated media access, according to some aspects of this disclosure, is shown. The operation of process 800 may be an example of a method implemented by a wireless AP or its components as described herein. For example, process 800 may be implemented by a wireless communication device (such as reference...) Figure 5 The described wireless communication device 800 performs the operation either as a wireless access point (AP) or within a wireless AP. In some implementations, process 800 can be performed by a wireless AP (such as referenced in [reference]). Figure 1 The AP described in AP 102 is used to perform this action.

[0282] In some implementations, in block 805, the wireless AP can transmit common action frames based on coordinated medium access involving a first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication device. The operation of block 805 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 805 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0283] In some implementations, within block 810, the wireless AP can communicate with one or more wireless communication devices based on coordinated medium access. The operation of block 810 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 810 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0284] Figure 9A flowchart illustrating a process 900, executable at a wireless AP or wireless STA according to one or more aspects of this disclosure, supporting techniques for ultra-reliable coordinated media access. Operation of process 900 can be implemented by the AP or STA or components thereof. For example, operation of process 900 can be performed by the AP or STA, as described in reference... Figures 1-6 As described above. In some implementations, the AP or STA can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless AP or STA to perform the described functions. Alternatively or concurrently, the wireless AP or STA can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0285] In some implementations, within box 905, a wireless AP or wireless STA can assign an AID to an edge client. The operations of box 905 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of box 905 can be defined as described in reference [reference needed]. Figure 5 and Figure 6 The described communication manager 525 or communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0286] In some implementations, in box 910, the wireless AP or wireless STA can construct a three-address frame format for one or more data frames to be sent to the edge client or to the root AP, based on including the AID in one or more data frames sent to the edge client. The operation of box 910 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of box 910 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 and Figure 6 The described communication manager 525 or communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0287] In some implementations, within box 915, a wireless AP or wireless STA can transmit one or more data frames according to a three-address frame format. The operation of box 915 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of box 915 can be determined by referring to... Figure 5 and Figure 6 The described communication manager 525 or communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0288] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1000 that can be performed at a wireless STA supporting technologies for ultra-high reliability coordinated media access, according to some aspects of this disclosure, is shown. The operation of process 1000 can be an example of a method implemented by a wireless STA or its components as described herein. For example, process 1000 can be performed by a wireless communication device (such as reference ... Figure 6The described wireless communication device 600 performs the operation, which operates as a wireless STA or within a wireless AP. In some implementations, process 1000 can be performed by a wireless STA (such as referenced in the documentation). Figure 1 The STA described in STA 104 is used to perform this action.

[0289] In some implementations, in block 1005, the wireless STA can obtain one or more management frames indicating second timing information at least related to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device, based at least in part on coordination of first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, wherein the one or more management frames distinguish the second communication period from the first communication period according to a configured set of IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods. The operation of block 1005 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 1005 can be determined by reference to... Figure 6 The described communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0290] In some implementations, within block 1010, the wireless STA can communicate with a second or third wireless communication device based on a second communication period. The operation of block 1010 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 1010 can be determined by reference to... Figure 6 The described communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0291] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1100 that may be performed at a wireless AP supporting technologies for ultra-reliable coordinated media access, according to some aspects of this disclosure, is shown. The operation of process 1100 may be an example of a method implemented by a wireless AP or its components as described herein. For example, process 1100 may be implemented by a wireless communication device (such as reference...) Figure 5 The described wireless communication device 500 operates as a wireless access point (AP) or within a wireless AP. In some implementations, process 1100 can be performed by a wireless AP (such as referenced in [reference]). Figure 1 The AP described in AP 102 is used to perform this action.

[0292] In some implementations, in block 1105, the wireless AP can send one or more management frames indicating first timing information and second timing information, the first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of APs, and the second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to a first wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period based on a configured set of IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods. The operation of block 1105 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 1105 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0293] In some implementations, in block 1110, the wireless AP can communicate with one or more wireless STAs associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period. The operation of block 1110 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 1110 can be determined by reference to... Figure 5 The described communication manager 525 is used to execute this.

[0294] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1200 that can be performed at a wireless STA supporting technologies for ultra-high reliability coordinated media access, according to some aspects of this disclosure, is shown. The operation of process 1200 can be an example of a method implemented by a wireless STA or its components as described herein. For example, process 1200 can be implemented by a wireless communication device (such as reference ... Figure 6 The described wireless communication device 600 performs the operation either as a wireless STA or within a wireless STA. In some implementations, process 1200 can be performed by a wireless STA (such as referenced in the documentation). Figure 1 The STA described in STA 104 is used to perform this action.

[0295] In some implementations, in block 1205, the wireless STA may receive one or more management frames indicating first timing information and second timing information, the first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to an AP set, and the second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period based on a configured set of IDs corresponding to the first and second communication periods. The operation of block 1205 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 1205 may be determined by reference to... Figure 6 The described communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0296] In some implementations, in block 1210, the wireless STA can communicate with a second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device according to a second communication period. The operation of block 1210 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operation of 1210 can be determined by reference to... Figure 6 The described communication manager 625 is used to execute this.

[0297] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0298] Clause 1: A method for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, comprising: obtaining first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs); transmitting one or more management frames, at least in part based on coordination with the first timing information, indicating at least second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a configured set of identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; and communicating with one or more wireless stations (STAs) associated with the first wireless communication device during at least a subset of the second communication period.

[0299] Clause 2: The method according to Clause 1 further includes: sending the first timing information within a first set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, wherein each corresponding first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes the same ID in the configured ID set; and sending the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, wherein each corresponding second ID field associated with the second set of fields includes a unique ID in the configured ID set.

[0300] Clause 3: The method according to Clause 2, wherein each corresponding first ID field associated with the first field set includes the same ID in the configured ID set to distinguish the first communication period as corresponding to one or more overlapping basic service sets (OBSS), and the unique ID of each corresponding second ID field associated with the second field set distinguishes the second communication period as one or more schedulings of communication periods of the first wireless communication device.

[0301] Clause 4: The method according to any one of Clauses 2-3, wherein the first wireless communication device is a Restricted Target Wake-up Time (R-TWT) scheduling AP, the R-TWT scheduling AP announces an R-TWT schedule having a restricted TWT schedule information subfield value set to three, and the R-TWT scheduling AP is configured to set the broadcast TWTID subfield to a fixed value in the broadcast TWT field corresponding to the R-TWT schedule according to the R-TWT schedule that announces the restricted TWT schedule information subfield set to three.

[0302] Clause 5: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-4 further includes: sending a first subset of the first timing information within a first set of fields of the first information elements of the one or more management frames; sending the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information elements of the one or more management frames; and sending a second subset of the first timing information within a third set of fields of the second information elements of the one or more management frames.

[0303] Clause 6: The method according to Clause 5, wherein the first subset of the first timing information relates to a first subset of the first communication period, the first subset of the first communication period corresponding to a first set of APs associated with the first wireless communication device, and the second subset of the first timing information relates to a second subset of the first communication period, the second subset of the first communication period corresponding to a second set of APs that are not co-located with the first wireless communication device.

[0304] Clause 7: The method according to any one of Clauses 5-6, wherein each corresponding first ID field associated with the first field set and the second field set includes a unique ID in the configured ID set, and each corresponding second ID field associated with the third field set includes corresponding identification information corresponding to a corresponding AP in the second AP set that is not co-located with the first wireless communication device.

[0305] Clause 8: The method described in Clause 7, wherein the second information element is an extended element, and the corresponding identification information includes the corresponding Basic Service Set (BSS) ID identification information.

[0306] Clause 9: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-8 further comprises: transmitting the first timing information within a first set of fields of the one or more management frames, wherein, according to a first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to the same value, the AP set belonging to the same co-hosted Basic Service Set (BSS) ID set as the first wireless communication device; and transmitting the second timing information within a second set of fields of the one or more management frames, wherein, the corresponding second scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values ​​according to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

[0307] Clause 10: The method according to Clause 9, wherein the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value is a dedicated value of the scheduling information field, the dedicated value indicating that the corresponding scheduling of the communication period is for one AP in the AP set, and the set of the plurality of values ​​is a set of values ​​of the scheduling information field, the set of values ​​indicating that the corresponding scheduling of the communication period is for the first wireless communication device.

[0308] Clause 11: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-10 further comprises: exclusively transmitting the second timing information within a set of fields of the one or more management frames, wherein, according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values; and excluding the first timing information from the one or more management frames according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the AP set belonging to the same co-managed Basic Service Set (BSS) ID set as the first wireless communication device.

[0309] Clause 12: The method according to Clause 11, wherein the plurality of value sets are value sets in the scheduling information field indicating that the corresponding scheduling for the communication period is for the first wireless communication device.

[0310] Clause 13: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-12 further includes: sending the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element; sending the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames; and sending a corresponding subset of the first timing information within a corresponding field of a corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0311] Clause 14: The method according to Clause 13, wherein, according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value, and according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0312] Clause 15: The method according to any one of Clauses 13-14, wherein each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information elements includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information, and the scheduling information sub-field of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0313] Clause 16: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-15 further includes: transmitting the second timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element; and transmitting a corresponding subset of the first timing information within a corresponding field of a corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0314] Clause 17: The method according to Clause 16, wherein, according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0315] Clause 18: The method according to any one of Clauses 16-17, wherein each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information elements includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information, and the scheduling information sub-field of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0316] Clause 19: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-18 further comprises: sending the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element; sending the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames; and sending both the first timing information and the second timing information within a third set of one or more fields of each non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0317] Clause 20: The method according to Clause 19, wherein, according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value, and according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0318] Clause 21: The method according to any one of Clauses 19-20, wherein each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element includes a first field containing a subset of the first timing information of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID and one or more second fields containing the remainder of the first timing information and the second timing information, and the first field includes a first scheduling information sub-field value set to a value from a set of multiple values, and each of the one or more second fields includes a second scheduling information sub-field value set to the same value.

[0319] Clause 22: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-21, wherein the first communication period is an activity schedule of a communication period corresponding to the AP set.

[0320] Clause 23: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-22 further includes: changing the timing information of the first timing information or the second timing information or one or more states associated with the first communication period or the second communication period; setting a field value in one or more second management frames based at least in part on the change of the timing information or the one or more states; and sending the one or more second management frames according to the field value.

[0321] Clause 24: The method described in Clause 23, wherein setting the field value is associated with setting a critical update flag to a value, incrementing the Basic Service Set (BSS) parameter change count, or incrementing a value associated with the check beacon field value.

[0322] Clause 25: The method according to any one of Clauses 23-24, wherein the field value is dedicated to changes related to protected communications.

[0323] Clause 26: The method according to any one of Clauses 23-25 ​​further includes: adding the timing information to the first timing information or the second timing information or removing the timing information from the first timing information or the second timing information, wherein changing the timing information is associated with adding or removing the timing information from the first timing information or the second timing information.

[0324] Clause 27: The method according to any one of Clauses 23-26 further includes: changing one or more scheduling information subfield values ​​corresponding to one or more scheduling periods in the first communication period or the second communication period, wherein changing the one or more states is associated with changing the one or more scheduling information subfield values.

[0325] Clause 28: The method described in Clause 27, wherein changing the value of the scheduling information subfield is associated with changing the corresponding scheduling of the communication period from active to inactive, from inactive to active, from open to new members to closed to new members, or from closed to new members to open to new members.

[0326] Clause 29: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-28 further includes: selecting the set of APs as coordinating APs, wherein the coordination with the first timing information is based at least in part on the set of APs being coordinating APs.

[0327] Clause 30: The method according to Clause 29, wherein the set of APs is selected as the coordinating APs based on the fact that the set of APs is a member of the same Extended Service Set (ESS) as the first wireless communication device.

[0328] Clause 31: The method according to any one of Clauses 29-30 further includes: transmitting an indication of a group ID associated with a coordinated set of APs, wherein the set of APs is a member of the coordinated set of APs having the same group ID.

[0329] Clause 32: The method according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein the AP set is selected as the coordinated AP based on the fact that the AP set is associated with the same manufacturer or the same supplier.

[0330] Clause 33: The method according to any one of Clauses 29-32, wherein the set of APs is selected as the coordinating AP based on the same anchor AP associated with the first wireless communication device.

[0331] Clause 34: The method according to any one of Clauses 29-33 further includes: detecting frame transmissions from the set of APs, wherein the set of APs is selected as a coordinating AP based on the detection of the frame transmissions.

[0332] Clause 35: The method according to Clause 34 further includes: detecting that an AP in the AP set or a wireless STA associated with at least one AP in the AP set performs a threshold number of transmissions during the second communication period; and removing the AP or the wireless STA from the coordination based at least in part on the detection that the AP or the wireless STA performs the threshold number of transmissions during the second communication period.

[0333] Clause 36: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-35 further includes: obtaining information indicating a coordinated AP group, wherein the coordination with the first timing information is based at least in part on the APs and the set of APs belonging to the coordinated AP group.

[0334] Clause 37: The method according to Clause 36, wherein the information indicating the coordinated AP group includes scheduling information relating to which APs may have overlapping communication periods, which communication periods will be orthogonal to other communication periods, and rules associated with sharing transmission opportunities (TXOPs) during communication periods.

[0335] Clause 38: The method according to any one of Clauses 36-37 further includes: obtaining a security key for communication between the first wireless communication device and other wireless communication devices in the coordinated AP group.

[0336] Clause 39: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-38 further includes: transmitting one or more coordination frames with at least a subset of the AP set, wherein obtaining the first timing information is associated with transmitting the one or more coordination frames, and wherein the one or more coordination frames include security information associated with authentication of the coordinating AP.

[0337] Clause 40: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-39 further includes: obtaining a transmission opportunity for the first wireless communication device during a communication period in the second communication period, wherein obtaining the transmission opportunity during the communication period is associated with priority access for the first wireless communication device during the second communication period.

[0338] Clause 41: The method according to Clause 40, wherein the priority access for the first wireless communication device is associated with one or more silence intervals to other wireless communication devices or a channel access countdown value that is relatively small compared to the other wireless communication devices.

[0339] Clause 42: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-41 further includes: sending the first timing information or the second timing information in an information element other than the Target Wake-up Time (TWT) information element.

[0340] Clause 43: The method according to Clause 42, wherein information elements other than the TWT information elements are included in a management frame following the beacon frame, and the beacon frame indicates that the first timing information or the second timing information is included in the information elements included in the management frame following the beacon frame.

[0341] Clause 44: The method according to Clause 43, wherein the beacon frame includes the second timing information and a first subset of the first timing information, the first subset relating to a first set of access points associated with the first wireless communication device, and the management frame following the beacon frame includes a second subset of the first timing information, the second subset of the first timing information relating to a second set of access points not co-located with the first wireless communication device, and the one or more management frames include the beacon frame and the management frame following the beacon frame.

[0342] Clause 45: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-44 further includes: scheduling the second communication period based at least in part on the first communication period of the first wireless communication device and one or more periodic transmissions.

[0343] Clause 46: The method according to Clause 45, wherein scheduling the second communication period includes: scheduling the second communication period such that the Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) corresponding to the first wireless communication device is during the second communication period, and the one or more periodic transmissions include periodic beacon transmissions associated with the TBTT.

[0344] Clause 47: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-46, wherein the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed based on milliseconds that are not uniformly divided into time units (TUs), and the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed at least in part based on the first timing information or the second timing information being expressed based on milliseconds that are not uniformly divided into TUs, to indicate the start time of the initial communication period of the first communication period or the second communication period.

[0345] Clause 48: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-47, wherein the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed based on a time unit (TU), and the first timing information or the second timing information is at least partially based on the first timing information or the second timing information being expressed based on the TU, to indicate the start time of the next communication period in the first communication period or the second communication period.

[0346] Clause 49: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-48 further includes: obtaining from the second wireless communication device a request to schedule a communication segment to be added to the second communication segment; and sending an instruction for an alternative schedule of the communication segment in the second communication segment.

[0347] Clause 50: The method according to Clause 49, wherein the device capability of the second wireless communication device is associated with an inability to distinguish between a limited target wake-up time (R-TWT) parameter set and a broadcast target wake-up time (b-TWT) parameter set, and the indication of the alternative scheduling of the communication period is transmitted at least in part based on the device capability.

[0348] Clause 51: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-50, wherein the first communication period and the second communication period are associated with any combination of one or more restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT) service periods (SP), one or more TWT epochs, one or more silence intervals, selective transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing, or prioritizing channel access for at least one wireless communication device.

[0349] Clause 52: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-51, wherein the first wireless communication device is an AP, and the set of APs includes a first set of APs associated with the first wireless communication device, a second set of APs not co-located with the first wireless communication device, or any combination thereof.

[0350] Clause 53: The method described in Clause 52, wherein the AP and the first set of APs are members of the same set of multiple basic service set (BSS) IDs or the same set of co-hosted BSSIDs.

[0351] Clause 54: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-53, wherein the first communication period is a first protected communication period associated with a first restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT), and the second communication period is a second protected communication period associated with a second R-TWT.

[0352] Clause 55: A method for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, comprising: transmitting a common action frame based on a coordinated medium access relating to the first wireless communication and at least a second wireless communication device; and communicating with one or more wireless communication devices at least in part based on the coordinated medium access.

[0353] Clause 56: The method according to Clause 55, wherein the information included in the common action frame includes timing information associated with one or more communication periods, and the coordination medium access is associated with the one or more communication periods.

[0354] Clause 57: The method according to any one of Clauses 55-56 further includes: sending a frame associated with the sharing of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device; and receiving the common action frame from the second wireless communication device at least in part based on the sharing of the TXOP, wherein the common action frame instructs the remainder of the TXOP to return to the first wireless communication device.

[0355] Clause 58: The method according to any one of Clauses 55-57 further includes: receiving a frame associated with a shared transmission opportunity (TXOP) between the second wireless communication device and the first wireless communication device; communicating with the one or more wireless communication devices during a portion of the TXOP; and sending the common action frame to the second wireless communication device, wherein the common action frame indicates returning the remainder of the TXOP to the second wireless communication device.

[0356] Clause 59: The method according to any one of Clauses 55-58, wherein the Media Access Control (MAC) header of the common action frame includes information relating to the coordinated media access.

[0357] Clause 60: The method according to any one of Clauses 55-59, wherein the frame body of the common action frame includes information relating to one or more communication links to which the coordination medium access is applied.

[0358] Clause 61: The method according to any one of Clauses 55-60, wherein the Media Access Control (MAC) header of the common action frame includes an indication to ignore the frame body of the common action frame and to parse information relating to the coordinated media access from the MAC header.

[0359] Clause 62: The method according to any one of Clauses 55-61, wherein if the common action frame is transmitted via unicast signaling, the receiver address (RA) of the common action frame indicates the ID of the first wireless communication device or the second wireless communication device, and if the common action frame is transmitted via broadcast signaling, the RA of the common action frame indicates a value for addressing a plurality of APs, the value for addressing the plurality of APs corresponding to a broadcast address specific to a wireless communication device capable of coordinating medium access.

[0360] Clause 63: A method for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, comprising: assigning an association identifier (AID) to an edge client; constructing a three-address frame format for one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client or to a root AP, based on the AID being included in one or more data frames to be transmitted to the edge client; and transmitting the one or more data frames according to the three-address frame format.

[0361] Clause 64: The method according to Clause 63, wherein data frames are relayed to the edge client via one or more relay devices based on a multi-hop relay path, changes in receiver address (RA) and transmitter address (TA) at each hop of the multi-hop relay path, and the relay device immediately upstream of the edge client determines the final RA based on the AID.

[0362] Clause 65: The method according to any one of Clauses 63-64, wherein the AID is included in the A control field of the one or more data frames.

[0363] Clause 66: A method for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, comprising: obtaining one or more management frames, at least in part, indicating second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device, based on coordination of first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs), the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period according to a configured set of identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; and communicating with the second wireless communication device or a third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

[0364] Clause 67: The method according to Clause 66 further includes: obtaining first timing information in relation to the first communication period, wherein the set of APs corresponding to the first communication period is an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) AP; and respecting the set of rules associated with the first communication period.

[0365] Clause 68: The method according to Clause 67, wherein respecting the first communication period includes: terminating the transmission opportunity of the first wireless communication period before the start of each communication period in the first communication period; and following the set of channel access rules within each communication period of the first communication period.

[0366] Clause 69: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-68 further comprises: obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, wherein each corresponding first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes the same ID in the configured ID set; and obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames, wherein each corresponding second ID field associated with the second set of fields includes a unique ID in the configured ID set.

[0367] Clause 70: The method according to Clause 69, wherein each corresponding first ID field associated with the first field set includes the same ID from the configured ID set to distinguish the first communication period as corresponding to one or more overlapping basic service sets (OBSS), and the unique ID of each corresponding second ID field associated with the second field set distinguishes the second communication period as one or more schedulings of communication periods of the second wireless communication device.

[0368] Clause 71: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-70 further includes: obtaining a first subset of the first timing information within a first set of fields of the first information elements of the one or more management frames; obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information elements of the one or more management frames; and obtaining a second subset of the first timing information within a third set of fields of the second information elements of the one or more management frames.

[0369] Clause 72: The method according to Clause 71, wherein the first subset of the first timing information relates to a first subset of the first communication period, the first subset of the first communication period corresponding to a first set of APs associated with the second wireless communication device, and the second subset of the first timing information relates to a second subset of the first communication period, the second subset of the first communication period corresponding to a second set of APs not co-located with the second wireless communication device.

[0370] Clause 73: The method according to any one of Clauses 71-72, wherein each corresponding first ID field associated with the first field set and the second field set includes a unique ID in the configured ID set, and each corresponding second ID field associated with the third field set includes corresponding identification information corresponding to a corresponding AP in the second AP set that is not co-located with the second wireless communication device.

[0371] Clause 74: The method described in Clause 73, wherein the second information element is an extended element, and the corresponding identification information includes the corresponding Basic Service Set (BSS) ID identification information.

[0372] Clause 75: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-74 further comprises: obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of the one or more management frames, wherein, according to a first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to the same value, the AP set belonging to the same co-hosted Basic Service Set (BSS) ID set as the second wireless communication device; and obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the one or more management frames, wherein, the corresponding second scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values ​​according to a second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device.

[0373] Clause 76: The method according to Clause 75, wherein the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value is a dedicated value of the scheduling information field, the dedicated value indicating that the corresponding scheduling for the communication period is for an AP in the AP set associated with the second wireless communication device, and the set of the plurality of values ​​is a set of values ​​of the scheduling information field, the set of values ​​indicating that the corresponding scheduling for the communication period is for the second wireless communication device.

[0374] Clause 77: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-76 further comprises: exclusively obtaining the second timing information within a set of fields of the one or more management frames, wherein, according to the second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the set of fields is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0375] Clause 78: The method according to Clause 77, wherein the plurality of value sets are value sets in the scheduling information field indicating that the corresponding scheduling for the communication period is for the second wireless communication device.

[0376] Clause 79: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-78 further comprises: obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element; obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames; and obtaining a corresponding subset of the first timing information within a corresponding field of a corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0377] Clause 80: The method according to Clause 79, wherein, according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value, and according to the second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0378] Clause 81: The method according to any one of Clauses 79-80, wherein each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information elements includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information, and the scheduling information sub-field of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0379] Clause 82: The method according to any one of Clauses 79-81, wherein the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and ignores the multiple BSSID information element based on the association of the first wireless communication device with the second wireless communication device and the association of the second wireless communication device with the transmitted BSSID.

[0380] Clause 83: The method according to any one of Clauses 79-82, wherein the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and parses the non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element corresponding to the AP in the AP set based on the association of the first wireless communication device with the AP and the association of the AP with a non-transmitted BSSID.

[0381] Clause 84: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-83 further comprises: obtaining the second timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element; and obtaining a corresponding subset of the first timing information within a corresponding field of a corresponding non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0382] Clause 85: The method according to Clause 84, wherein, according to the second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0383] Clause 86: The method according to any one of Clauses 84-85, wherein each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information elements includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information, and the scheduling information sub-field of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0384] Clause 87: The method according to any one of Clauses 84-86, wherein the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and parses each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multi-BSSID information element according to the first wireless communication device being associated with any AP in the multi-BSSID set associated with the multi-BSSID information element.

[0385] Clause 88: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-87 further comprises: obtaining the first timing information within a first set of fields of a first information element of the one or more management frames, the first information element being outside of a multiple basic service set (BSS) ID information element; obtaining the second timing information within a second set of fields of the first information element of the one or more management frames; and obtaining both the first timing information and the second timing information within a third set of fields of one or more fields of each non-transmitting BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element.

[0386] Clause 89: The method according to Clause 88, wherein, according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value, and according to the second communication period corresponding to the second wireless communication device, the corresponding scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

[0387] Clause 90: The method according to any one of Clauses 88-89, wherein each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID sub-element of the multiple BSSID information element includes a first field containing a subset of the first timing information of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID and one or more second fields containing the remainder of the first timing information and the second timing information, and the first field includes a first scheduling information sub-field value set to a value from a set of multiple values, and each of the one or more second fields includes a second scheduling information sub-field value set to the same value.

[0388] Clause 91: The method according to any one of Clauses 88-90, wherein the first wireless communication device parses the first information element and ignores the multiple BSSID information element based on the association of the first wireless communication device with the second wireless communication device and the association of the second wireless communication device with the transmitted BSSID.

[0389] Clause 92: The method according to any one of Clauses 88-91, wherein the first wireless communication device ignores the first information element and resolves the non-transmitted BSSID sub-element in the multiple BSSID information element corresponding to an AP in the AP set based on the association of the first wireless communication device with the AP and the association of the AP with a non-transmitted BSSID.

[0390] Clause 93: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-92, wherein the first communication period is an activity schedule of a communication period corresponding to the set of APs.

[0391] Clause 94: The method according to any one of Clauses 66 to 93 further includes: obtaining one or more second management frames; and detecting, at least in part, a change in timing information of the first timing information or the second timing information or a change in one or more states associated with the first communication period or the second communication period based on field values ​​in the one or more second management frames.

[0392] Clause 95: The method described in Clause 94, wherein the field value is associated with a key update flag having a value, an increment of the Basic Service Set (BSS) parameter change count, or an increment of the value associated with the inspection beacon field value.

[0393] Clause 96: The method according to any one of Clauses 94-95, wherein the field value is dedicated to changes related to protected communications.

[0394] Clause 97: The method according to any one of Clauses 94-96, wherein the change of state is associated with a change in the scheduling of communication periods from active to inactive, inactive to active, open to new members to closed to new members, or closed to new members to open to new members.

[0395] Clause 98: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-97 further includes: accessing the wireless channel during a communication period in the second communication period, based at least in part on priority access for the first wireless communication device during the second communication period.

[0396] Clause 99: The method according to Clause 98, wherein the priority access for the first wireless communication device is associated with one or more silence intervals to other wireless communication devices or a channel access countdown value that is relatively small compared to the other wireless communication devices.

[0397] Clause 100: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-99 further includes: obtaining the first timing information or the second timing information in an information element other than the Target Wake-Up Time (TWT) information element.

[0398] Clause 101: The method according to Clause 100, wherein information elements other than the TWT information elements are included in a management frame following the beacon frame, and the beacon frame indicates that the first timing information or the second timing information is included in the information elements included in the management frame following the beacon frame.

[0399] Clause 102: The method according to Clause 101, wherein the beacon frame includes the second timing information and a first subset of the first timing information, the first subset relating to a first set of APs associated with the second wireless communication device, and the management frame following the beacon frame includes a second subset of the first timing information, the second subset of the first timing information relating to a second set of APs not co-located with the second wireless communication device, and the one or more management frames include the beacon frame and the management frame following the beacon frame.

[0400] Clause 103: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-102, wherein the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed based on milliseconds that are not uniformly divided into time units (TUs), and the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed at least in part based on milliseconds that are not uniformly divided into TUs, to indicate the start time of the initial communication period of the first communication period or the second communication period.

[0401] Clause 104: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-103, wherein the first timing information or the second timing information is expressed based on a time unit (TU), and the first timing information or the second timing information is at least partially based on the first timing information or the second timing information being expressed based on the TU, to indicate the start time of the next communication period in the first communication period or the second communication period.

[0402] Clause 105: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-104 further includes: sending a request to join the scheduling of a communication segment in the second communication segment; and obtaining an instruction for an alternative scheduling of a communication segment in the second communication segment.

[0403] Clause 106: The method according to Clause 105, wherein the device capability of the first wireless communication device is associated with an inability to distinguish between a limited target wake-up time (R-TWT) parameter set and a broadcast target wake-up time (b-TWT) parameter set, and the indication of the alternative scheduling of the communication period is obtained at least in part based on the device capability.

[0404] Clause 107: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-106, wherein the first communication period and the second communication period are associated with any combination of one or more restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT) service periods (SP), one or more TWT epochs, one or more silence intervals, selective transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing, or prioritizing channel access for at least one wireless communication device.

[0405] Clause 108: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-107, wherein the first wireless communication device is a wireless STA and the second wireless communication device is an AP.

[0406] Clause 109: The method according to Clause 108, wherein the AP set includes a first AP set associated with the first wireless communication device, a second AP set not co-located with the first wireless communication device, or any combination thereof, and the APs and the first AP set are members of the same multi-basic service set (BSS) ID set or the same co-hosted BSSID set.

[0407] Clause 110: The method according to any one of Clauses 66-109, wherein the first communication period is a first protected communication period associated with a first restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT), and the second communication period is a second protected communication period associated with a second R-TWT.

[0408] Clause 111: A first wireless communication device includes: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to said at least one memory, said at least one processor being operable to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method as described in any one of Clauses 1-54.

[0409] Clause 112: A first wireless communication device includes: a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1-54.

[0410] Clause 113: A first wireless communication device comprising at least one unit for performing the method as described in any one of Clauses 1-54.

[0411] Clause 114: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, the code including instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the methods of any one of Clauses 1-54.

[0412] Clause 115: A first wireless communication device includes: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to said at least one memory, said at least one processor being operable to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method as described in any one of Clauses 55-62.

[0413] Clause 116: A first wireless communication device includes: a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 55-62.

[0414] Clause 117: A first wireless communication device comprising at least one unit for performing the method as described in any one of Clauses 55-62.

[0415] Clause 118: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, the code including instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the methods of any one of Clauses 55-62.

[0416] Clause 119: A first wireless communication device includes: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to said at least one memory, said at least one processor being operable to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method as described in any one of Clauses 63-65.

[0417] Clause 120: A first wireless communication device includes: a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 63-65.

[0418] Clause 121: A first wireless communication device comprising at least one unit for performing the method as described in any one of Clauses 63-65.

[0419] Clause 122: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, the code including instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the methods of any one of Clauses 63-65.

[0420] Clause 123: A first wireless communication device includes: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to said at least one memory, said at least one processor being operable to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method as described in any one of Clauses 66-110.

[0421] Clause 124: A first wireless communication device includes: a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 66-110.

[0422] Clause 125: A first wireless communication device comprising at least one unit for performing the method as described in any one of Clauses 66-110.

[0423] Clause 126: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication executable at a first wireless communication device, the code including instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the methods of any one of Clauses 66-110.

[0424] As used herein, the term "determine" or "determining" encompasses a wide variety of operations; therefore, "determining" can include calculating, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, searching (e.g., via searching in a table, database, or other data structure), reasoning, assertion, measurement, etc. Furthermore, "determining" can include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data stored in memory), sending (such as sending information), etc. Additionally, "determining" can also include solving, selecting, obtaining, choosing, establishing, and other similar actions.

[0425] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of the items” refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc. As used herein, “or” is intended to indicate inclusion unless otherwise expressly indicated. For example, “a or b” could include only a, only b, or a combination of a and b.

[0426] As used herein, unless otherwise expressly indicated, “based on” is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense. For example, unless otherwise expressly indicated, “based on” may be used interchangeably with “at least partially based on,” “associated with,” or “according to.” Specifically, unless the phrase refers to “based solely on 'a'” or its equivalent in the context, both “based on 'a'” and “at least partially based on 'a'” may be based solely on “a” or on a combination of “a” and one or more other factors, conditions, or information.

[0427] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the examples disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. The interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described around functionality, and the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above demonstrates this. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system.

[0428] Various modifications to the examples described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the examples shown herein, but are given the broadest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0429] Furthermore, the various features described in this specification in the context of separate examples can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple examples. Accordingly, although features may be described above as taking action in a particular combination, and even initially claimed in this manner, in some cases, one or more features from the claimed combination may be removed from that combination, and the claimed combination may be for sub-combinations or variations thereof.

[0430] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in sequential order, or performing all shown operations to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the drawings may schematically illustrate one or more example processes in the form of flowcharts or block diagrams. However, other operations not depicted may be incorporated into the schematically illustrated exemplary processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the shown operations. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the examples described above should not be construed as requiring such separation in all examples, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. A first wireless communication device, comprising: A processing system, including one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, is configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: One or more management frames are sent indicating first timing information and second timing information, the first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs) and the second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period based on a configured set of identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; as well as During at least a subset of the second communication period, communication is conducted with one or more wireless stations (STAs) associated with the first wireless communication device.

2. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: The first timing information is sent within a first field set of a first element of one or more management frames, wherein the first element is outside the multi-basic service set (BSS) ID (BSSID) element of one or more management frames; The second timing information is sent within the set of second fields of the first element of the one or more management frames; as well as The corresponding subset of the first timing information is sent within the corresponding field of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID profile of the multiple BSSID elements.

3. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: According to the first communication period that matches the corresponding AP in the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first field set is set to the same value; as well as According to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the corresponding second scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

4. The first wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein: The same value is the value 3 of the Limited Target Wake-up Time (TWT) Scheduling Information (RTSI) subfield; and The set of values ​​includes the RTSI subfield values ​​0, 1, and 2.

5. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: Each corresponding non-transmitted BSSID profile of the multiple BSSID elements includes a corresponding subset of the first timing information and excludes the remainder of the first timing information. as well as The scheduling information subfield of the target wake-up time (TWT) element of the corresponding non-sent BSSID profile is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

6. The first wireless communication device according to claim 5, wherein, The set of values ​​includes the values ​​0, 1, and 2 of the Restricted Target Wake-up Time (TWT) Scheduling Information (RTSI) subfield.

7. The first wireless communication device according to claim 5, wherein, The broadcast target wake-up time (TWT) ID subfield of the TWT element in the corresponding non-sent BSSID profile is set to the ID of a subset of the configured ID set.

8. The first wireless communication device according to claim 7, wherein, The subset of the configured ID set includes broadcast TWT ID subfield values ​​in the range of greater than 0 and less than 31.

9. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The first field set includes one or more first broadcast target wake-up time (TWT) ID subfields, each field in the first field set includes a corresponding first broadcast TWTID subfield in the one or more first broadcast TWT ID subfields, and the one or more first broadcast TWT ID subfields are set to the same ID in the configured ID set; as well as The second field set includes one or more second broadcast TWT ID subfields, each field in the second field set includes a corresponding second broadcast TWT ID subfield from the one or more second broadcast TWT ID subfields, and each second broadcast TWT ID subfield from the one or more second broadcast TWT ID subfields includes a corresponding ID from a subset of the configured ID set.

10. The first wireless communication device according to claim 9, wherein: The one or more first broadcast TWT ID subfields include the same ID in the configured ID set to distinguish the first communication period as one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs corresponding to the same set of multiple basic service set (BSS) IDs (BSSIDs) as the first wireless communication device or the same set of co-hosted BSSIDs. as well as The one or more second broadcast TWT ID subfields include unique IDs of the subset of the configured ID set to distinguish the second communication period from one or more schedulings of communication periods of the first wireless communication device.

11. The first wireless communication device according to claim 9, wherein: The same ID is broadcast TWT ID subfield value 31; and The subset of the configured ID set includes broadcast TWT ID subfield values ​​in the range of greater than 0 and less than 31.

12. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: The first timing information is transmitted within a first set of fields in one or more management frames, wherein, according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, each corresponding first ID field associated with the first set of fields includes the same ID in the configured ID set, the AP set belonging to the same Multi-Basic Service Set (BSS) ID (BSSID) set or the same co-hosted set as the first wireless communication device; and The second timing information is transmitted within a second set of fields in one or more management frames, wherein each corresponding second ID field associated with the second set of fields includes a unique ID of a subset of the configured ID set, according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device.

13. The first wireless communication device according to claim 12, wherein: The first wireless communication device is a Restricted Target Wake-Up Time (TWT) (R-TWT) scheduling AP, which announces R-TWT scheduling with a Restricted TWT Scheduling Information (RTSI) subfield value set to 3; and The R-TWT scheduling AP sets the broadcast TWT ID subfield to a fixed value of 31 in the broadcast TWT field corresponding to the R-TWT scheduling, based on the announcement of the R-TWT scheduling with the RTSI subfield set to 3.

14. The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, wherein: The R-TWT scheduling is indicated by the first timing information; and The identical IDs in the configured ID set are equal to the fixed value 31.

15. The first wireless communication device according to claim 12, wherein, The first set of fields and the second set of fields are outside the multi-BSSID elements of the one or more management frames.

16. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: The first timing information is transmitted within a first set of fields in one or more management frames, wherein, according to the first communication period corresponding to the AP set, the corresponding first scheduling information subfield value of each field in the first set of fields is set to the same value, and the AP set belongs to the same set of multiple basic service set (BSS) IDs (BSSIDs) or the same co-hosted set as the first wireless communication device; and The second timing information is sent within the second field set of the one or more management frames, wherein, according to the second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the corresponding second scheduling information subfield value of each field in the second field set is set to a value from a set of multiple values.

17. The first wireless communication device according to claim 16, wherein, The same value is the Limited Target Wake-up Time (TWT) Scheduling Information (RTSI) subfield value 3, and wherein the broadcast TWTID subfield of each field in the first field set is set to value 31 according to the RTSI subfield value 3.

18. The first wireless communication device according to claim 16, wherein, The first set of fields and the second set of fields are outside the multi-BSSID elements of the one or more management frames.

19. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: Change the timing information of the first timing information or the second timing information, or one or more states associated with the first communication period or the second communication period; At least in part, field values ​​in one or more second management frames are set based on changes to the timing information or the one or more states, wherein setting the field value is associated with setting a critical update flag to a value, incrementing the Basic Service Set (BSS) parameter change count, or incrementing a value associated with a check beacon field value; and The one or more second management frames are sent according to the field value.

20. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: The second communication period is scheduled at least in part based on the first communication period and one or more periodic transmissions performed by the first wireless communication device, wherein the one or more periodic transmissions, corresponding to the Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) of the first wireless communication device during the second communication period, include periodic beacon transmissions associated with the TBTT.

21. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The first communication period and the second communication period are associated with any combination of one or more restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT) service periods (SP), one or more TWT epochs, one or more silence intervals, selective transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing, or one or more distinct channel access parameters that prioritize channel access for at least one wireless communication device.

22. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The first wireless communication device is an AP; and The AP set includes a first AP set associated with the first wireless communication device, a second AP set that is not co-located with the first wireless communication device, or any combination thereof.

23. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The first wireless communication device and the AP set are members of the same set of Basic Service Set (BSS) IDs (BSSIDs) or the same set of co-hosted BSSIDs.

24. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The first communication period is a first protected communication period associated with the first restricted target wake-up time (R-TWT); and The second communication period is the second protected communication period associated with the second R-TWT.

25. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The first timing information related to the first communication period indicates multiple communication schedules, and each corresponding AP in the AP set corresponds to a corresponding set of one or more communication schedules among the multiple communication schedules; as well as The second timing information related to the second communication period indicates one or more communication schedules of the first wireless communication device.

26. A first wireless communication device, comprising: A processing system, including one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, is configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: One or more management frames are obtained that indicate first timing information and second timing information, the first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs) and the second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period based on a configured set of identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; as well as Communicate with the second wireless communication device or the third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

27. The first wireless communication device according to claim 26, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: Respect the set of rules associated with the first communication period, wherein the AP set corresponding to the first communication period is associated with one or more BSSIDs in the same set of multiple basic service set (BSS) IDs (BSSIDs) or the same co-hosted set as the second wireless communication device.

28. The first wireless communication device according to claim 27, wherein, To respect the first communication period, the processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: The transmission opportunity of the first wireless communication device is terminated before the start of each communication period in the first communication period; as well as Within each communication period of the first communication period, the channel access rule set is followed.

29. The first wireless communication device according to claim 26, wherein, The processing system is also configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: The first timing information is obtained within the first field set of the first element of the one or more management frames, wherein the first element is outside the multi-basic service set (BSS) ID (BSSID) element of the one or more management frames; The second timing information is obtained from the set of second fields of the first element of the one or more management frames; as well as Obtain the corresponding subset of the first timing information in the corresponding field of the corresponding non-transmitted BSSID profile of the multiple BSSID elements.

30. The first wireless communication device according to claim 29, wherein, The first wireless communication device parses the first element based on the association between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, and the association between the second wireless communication device and the transmitted BSSID, and ignores the multiple BSSID elements.

31. The first wireless communication device according to claim 29, wherein, The first wireless communication device parses the first element based on the association between the first wireless communication device and the AP, and the association between the AP and the non-transmitted BSSID, and parses the non-transmitted BSSID profile in the multiple BSSID elements corresponding to the AP in the AP set.

32. The first wireless communication device according to claim 29, wherein, The first wireless communication device parses the first element and parses the non-transmitted BSSID profile of the multiple BSSID elements, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the following operations: If a second element with the same ID as the first element is not included in the unsent BSSID profile, then the information conveyed via the first element is inherited, and the inherited information consists only of the set of second fields with Broadcast Target Wake-up Time (TWT) ID subfield values ​​in the range of greater than 0 and less than 31.

33. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device, comprising: One or more management frames are sent indicating first timing information and second timing information, the first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs) and the second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to the first wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period based on a configured set of identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; as well as During at least a subset of the second communication period, communication is conducted with one or more wireless stations (STAs) associated with the first wireless communication device.

34. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device, comprising: One or more management frames are obtained that indicate first timing information and second timing information, the first timing information relating to a first communication period corresponding to a set of access points (APs) and the second timing information relating to a second communication period corresponding to a second wireless communication device, the one or more management frames distinguishing the second communication period from the first communication period based on a configured set of identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the first communication period and the second communication period; as well as Communicate with the second wireless communication device or the third wireless communication device according to the second communication period.

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