Coordinated device-to-device communication

Abstract

Various aspects of the technology, methods, and devices described in the present disclosure generally relate to enabling coexistence between WLAN and P2P networks, and specifically to coordinated D2D communications. Some aspects specifically relate to extending the capabilities of TWT elements transmitted by an AP to support periodic reserved access windows, during which D2D-enabled wireless devices are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications. Some other aspects relate to sharing time and frequency resources via CAP TDMA or CAP OFDMA technology, and specifically to allocating at least some time and frequency resources specifically for D2D communications. Some other aspects relate to periodic coordinated access windows, during which APs are scheduled to contend, but during which D2D devices are not allowed to contend, and specifically, scheduling reserved access windows within the periodic coordinated access windows, during which D2D devices can transmit direct communications to other D2D devices despite the permissions associated with the periodic coordinated access windows.

Description

[0001] Priority information

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 942,292, filed by Cherian et al. on December 2, 2019, and entitled “COORDINATED DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATIONS,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 16 / 951,873, filed by Cherian et al. on November 18, 2020, and entitled “COORDINATED DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATIONS,” both of which have been assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to coordinated device-to-device communications. Background Art

[0004] A wireless local area network (WLAN) may be formed by one or more access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by several client devices, also referred to as stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a basic service set (BSS) managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID) announced by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the wireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0005] In addition to participating in a WLAN, a STA may also participate in a peer-to-peer (P2P), ad hoc, or mesh network. In such instances, STAs may communicate directly with each other via a P2P wireless link without using an intermediate AP. In some deployments, conventional infrastructure traffic to and from an AP and a group of related STAs may interfere with P2P traffic between STAs, and vice versa. Techniques to achieve coexistence are needed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0007] The described subject matter generally relates to enabling coexistence between WLAN and P2P or ad hoc networks, and specifically to coordinated device-to-device (D2D) communication. One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless access point, the wireless communication device comprising at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor readable code, the processor readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes transmitting a first wireless packet to at least a first group of wireless stations in a first basic service set (BSS) controlled by the first wireless access point, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first wireless packet including an indication of a periodic reserved access window, the indication of the periodic reserved access window indicating to the first group of wireless stations that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels during the periodic reserved access window. The method further includes refraining from transmitting wireless communications during the periodic reserved access window.

[0008] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless station, the wireless communication device including at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor readable code, the processor readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes receiving a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including the first wireless station, the first wireless station being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first wireless packet including an indication of a periodic reserved access window, the indication of the periodic reserved access window indicating to the first wireless station that the first wireless station is allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to one or more other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels during the periodic reserved access window. The method further includes transmitting a second wireless packet directly to another wireless station during at least one of the periodic reserved access windows.

[0009] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless access point, the wireless communication device including at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor readable code, the processor readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes obtaining a transmission opportunity for wireless communication via one or more wireless channels. The method also includes selecting one or more other wireless access points to participate in the transmission opportunity. The method also includes allocating a corresponding time and frequency resource set of a plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity to each of the first wireless access point and the selected wireless access point. The method also includes allocating a first time and frequency resource subset of the time and frequency resource set allocated to the first wireless access point to a first group of wireless stations in a BSS controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The method also includes transmitting a first wireless packet to the one or more selected wireless access points, the first wireless packet including, for each selected wireless access point, an indication of the time and frequency resource set allocated to the corresponding wireless access point. The method additionally includes transmitting a second wireless packet to the first set of wireless stations, the second wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources. The method further includes refraining from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless access point, the wireless communication device including at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes receiving a first wireless packet from a second wireless access point, the first wireless packet indicating that a plurality of time and frequency resources of a transmission opportunity owned by the second wireless access point can be shared by the second wireless access point. The method also includes transmitting a second wireless packet to the second wireless access point, the second wireless packet indicating a desire to participate in the transmission opportunity. The method also includes receiving a third wireless packet from the second wireless access point, the third wireless packet including an indication of a first set of time and frequency resources among the plurality of time and frequency resources, the first set of time and frequency resources being allocated to the first wireless access point and being usable by the first wireless access point to transmit data to or receive data from a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point during the transmission opportunity. The method also includes allocating a first subset of time and frequency resources of the first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The method additionally includes transmitting a fourth wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the fourth wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources. The method further includes refraining from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

[0011] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless station, the wireless communication device including at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor readable code, the processor readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes receiving a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including the first wireless station, the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first wireless packet including an indication of a first time and frequency resource subset of a first time and frequency resource set allocated to the first BSS in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets of transmission opportunities owned by the first wireless access point or a second wireless access point, the first time and frequency resource subset being allocated for use by the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The method further includes transmitting a second wireless packet directly to another wireless station using the first time and frequency resource subset.

[0012] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless access point, the wireless communication device including at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes exchanging one or more first wireless packets with a first group of wireless access points including a first wireless access point to coordinate scheduling of a periodic coordinated access window, during which the first group of wireless access points are scheduled to contend for access to one or more wireless channels. The method also includes transmitting a second wireless packet including a first indication of the periodic coordinated access window. The method also includes determining that a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point is operating a neighbor awareness networking (NAN) network, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations in the NAN network, and the first group of wireless stations being not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels during the periodic coordinated access window. The method further includes transmitting a third wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the third wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window within one or more of the periodic coordinated access windows, the second indication indicating that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations in the NAN network on the one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. The method further includes refraining from transmitting wireless communications during the reserved access window.

[0013] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device operating in or as a first wireless station, the wireless communication device including at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory, the at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured to perform the method when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem. The method includes forming or joining a Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) network including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations in the NAN network. The method also includes receiving a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including the first group of wireless stations, the first wireless packet including a first indication of a periodic coordinated access window, during which wireless access points including the first wireless access point are scheduled to contend for access to one or more wireless channels, and during which wireless stations including the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels. The method additionally includes receiving a second wireless packet from the first wireless access point, the second wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window within one or more of the periodic coordinated access windows, the second indication indicating that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations in the NAN network on the one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. The method further includes transmitting a third wireless packet directly to another wireless station during at least one of the reserved access windows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in the present disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. However, the accompanying drawings illustrate only some typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered to limit its scope. Other features, aspects and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings and claims.

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0016] Figure 2A An example protocol data unit (PDU) that may be used for communications between an access point (AP) and a number of stations (STAs) is shown.

[0017] Figure 2B Shows Figure 2A Example fields in a PDU.

[0018] Figure 3A Another example PDU that may be used for communication between an AP and several STAs is shown.

[0019] Figure 3B Another example PDU that may be used for communication between an AP and several STAs is shown.

[0020] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another example wireless communication network is shown.

[0021] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0022] Fig. 6A A block diagram of an example access point (AP) is shown.

[0023] Figure 6B A block diagram of an example station (STA) is shown.

[0024] Figure 7 A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications supporting coordinated device-to-device (D2D) communications in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0025] Figure 8 Shown is a timing diagram illustrating an example periodic reserved access window to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments.

[0026] Fig. 9 A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0027] Fig.10 A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0028] Fig.11 Shown is a timing diagram illustrating example reserved time resources to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] Fig.12 Shown is a timing diagram illustrating example reserved frequency resources to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments.

[0030] Fig.13 A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0031] Fig.14A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0032] Fig.15 A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0033] Fig.16 Shown is a timing diagram illustrating an example reserved access window to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments.

[0034] Fig.17 A flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communications to support coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0035] Fig.18 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0036] Fig.19 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0037] Fig. 20 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0038] Fig.21 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0039] Fig. 22 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0040] Fig.23 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0041] Fig.24 Shown is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting coordinated D2D communications in accordance with some implementations.

[0042] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The following description is directed to certain specific implementations in order to describe the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented in a manner that can be implemented in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) standard, or any other standard defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards, or the like released by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network 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), single user (SU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO), and multi-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations may also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals 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), or an Internet of Things (IOT) network.

[0044] Various aspects of the technology, methods, and devices disclosed herein generally relate to enabling coexistence between WLAN and peer-to-peer (P2P) or ad hoc networks, and specifically to coordinated device-to-device (D2D) communications. Some aspects specifically relate to extending the capability of a target wake-up time (TWT) element transmitted by a wireless access point to support periodic reserved access windows during which D2D-enabled wireless devices are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other D2D-enabled wireless devices.

[0045] Some other aspects relate to sharing the time and frequency resources of a wireless medium, and more particularly, to a coordinated access point (CAP) time division multiple access (TDMA) or CAP orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technique for sharing the time and frequency resources of a transmission opportunity. According to such a technique, a wireless access point that wins contention and gains access to a wireless medium during a TXOP can share its time and frequency resources with other coordinated access points. The coordinated access points can then exclusively allocate at least some of their respective time and frequency resources for exclusive use for D2D communications.

[0046] In some other aspects, a D2D-enabled wireless device may form or join a P2P network that also includes a first group of other D2D-enabled wireless devices. The D2D-enabled wireless device may receive a first indication from a wireless access point indicating a periodic coordinated access window during which the wireless access point is scheduled for contention access and during which the group of D2D-enabled wireless devices are not allowed to contention access. The D2D-enabled wireless device may also receive a second indication of a reserved access window within one or more periodic coordinated access windows during which at least some of the group of D2D-enabled wireless devices are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to the network of other D2D-enabled wireless devices despite permissions associated with the first indication.

[0047] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, such as the standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or an amendment thereof, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. The WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, such as an access point (AP) 102 and a plurality of stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 may also include a plurality of APs 102.

[0048] Each STA 104 may 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 possibilities. STA 104 may represent a variety of devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, netbook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices (“remote controls”), printers, kitchen or other home appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0049] A single AP 102 and the associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102 . Figure 1Additionally shown is an example coverage area 106 of the AP 102, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. The BSS may be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID) and may also be identified to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be a media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 periodically broadcasts a beacon frame (“beacon”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate” or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 108 (hereinafter also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link”) with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include: an identification of a primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 may provide various STAs 104 in the WLAN with access to external networks via corresponding communication links 108 .

[0050] To establish a communication link 108 with the AP 102, each STA 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, the STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals, referred to as target beacon transmission times (TBTTs), measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs). To perform an active scan, the STA 104 generates probe requests and transmits them sequentially on each channel to be scanned, and listens for probe responses from the AP 102. Each STA 104 may be configured to identify or select an AP 102 to associate with based on the scan information obtained through passive or active scanning, and to perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 108 with the selected AP 102. The AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 at the end of the association operation, and the AP 102 uses the AID to track the STA 104.

[0051] As wireless networks become more and more common, STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within the range of the STA or to select among multiple APs 102 that together form an extended service set (ESS) (including multiple connected BSSs). Extended network stations associated with WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to be connected in such ESSs. In this way, STA 104 may be covered by more than one AP 102 and may be associated with different APs at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after associating with AP 102, STA 104 may also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 to associate with. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more suitable network characteristics (such as a larger received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load).

[0052] In some cases, STA 104 may form a network without AP 102 or other equipment other than STA 104 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network may alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some cases, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network (such as WLAN 100). In such an implementation, although STA 104 may be able to communicate with each other via AP 102 using communication link 108, STA 104 may also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless link 110. In addition, two STAs 104 may communicate via direct communication link 110, regardless of whether the two STAs 104 are associated with the same AP 102 and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more STAs 104 may assume the role played by AP 102 in the BSS. Such STA 104 may be referred to as a group master (GO) and may coordinate transmission within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless link 110 include a Wi-Fi Direct connection, a connection established by using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0053] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may function and communicate (via corresponding communication links 108) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and media access control (MAC) layers. The AP 102 and the STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications") to and from each other in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) (or physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) PDUs). The AP 102 and STA 104 in the WLAN 100 may transmit PPDUs on an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of a spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Some implementations of the AP 102 and STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 6 GHz band, that may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The AP 102 and STA 104 may also be configured to communicate on other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping frequency bands.

[0054] Each frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs that comply with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be standard amendments may be transmitted on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency bands, where each frequency band is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. In this way, these PPDUs are transmitted on a physical channel with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be transmitted on a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0055] Each PPDU is a composite structure including a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY service data unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In an instance where the PPDU is transmitted over a bonded channel, the preamble field can be replicated and transmitted in each of a plurality of component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a traditional part (or "traditional preamble") and a non-traditional part (or "non-traditional preamble"). Traditional preambles can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, as well as other purposes. Traditional preambles can also generally be used to maintain compatibility with traditional devices. The format, encoding, and information provided therein of the non-traditional part of the preamble are based on the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used to transmit the payload.

[0056] Figure 2A An example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and a number of STAs is shown. For example, the PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, the PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the preamble 202 may include a traditional portion, which itself includes a traditional short training field (L-STF) 206 that can be composed of two BPSK codewords, a traditional long training field (L-LTF) 208 that can be composed of two BPSK codewords, and a traditional signal field (L-SIG) 210 that can be composed of two BPSK codewords. The traditional portion of the preamble 202 can be configured according to the IEEE802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. The preamble 202 may also include a non-traditional portion, which includes, for example, one or more non-traditional fields 212 that comply with an IEEE wireless communication protocol (such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be or later wireless communication standards).

[0057] L-STF 206 generally enables the receiving device to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF 208 generally enables the receiving device to perform fine timing and frequency estimation, and can also perform initial estimation of the wireless channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables the receiving device to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmitting on the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208 and L-SIG 210 can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, an orthogonal BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, an orthogonal amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. Payload 204 may include a PSDU including a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry, for example, a higher layer data in the form of a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0058] Figure 2B Shows Figure 2A 2. An example L-SIG 210 in a PDU 200 of FIG. 210 includes a data rate field 222, a reserved (R) bit 224, a length field 226, a parity (P) bit 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field 212 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in the payload 204). The length field 226 indicates the packet length, for example, in units of symbols or bytes. The parity bit 228 may be used to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits, which may be used by a receiving device to terminate the operation of a decoder (e.g., a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device may use the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field 222 and the length field 226 to determine the packet duration, for example, in microseconds (μs) or other time units.

[0059] Figure 3AAnother example PDU 300 that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and a number of STAs is shown. The PDU 300 can be used for MU-OFDMA or MU-MIMO transmission. The PDU 300 includes a PHY preamble, which includes a legacy portion 302 and a non-legacy portion 304. The PDU 300 may further include a PHY payload 306 after the preamble (e.g., in the form of a PSDU including a data field 324). The legacy portion 302 of the preamble includes an L-STF 308, an L-LTF 310, and an L-SIG 312. According to the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, the non-legacy portion 304 of the preamble, and the data field 374 may be formatted as a high-efficiency (HE) WLAN preamble and frame, respectively. The non-legacy portion 304 includes a repeating legacy signal field (RL-SIG) 314, a first HE signal field (HE-SIG-A) 316, a second HE signal field (HE-SIG-B) 316 encoded separately from the HE-SIG-A 318, a HE short training field (HE-STF) 320, and a number of HE long training fields (HE-LTF) 322. As with the L-STF 308, L-LTF 310, and L-SIG 312, in instances involving the use of bonded channels, the information in the RL-SIG 314 and HE-SIG-A 316 may be replicated and transmitted in each component 20 MHz channel. In contrast, the HE-SIG-B 318 may be unique to each 20 MHz channel and may be targeted to a specific STA 104.

[0060] The RL-SIG 314 may indicate to the HE-compatible STA 104 that the PPDU is a HE PPDU. The AP 102 may use the HE-SIG-A 316 to identify multiple STAs 104 and inform the multiple STAs 104 that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for them. The HE-SIG-A 316 may be decoded by each HE-compatible STA 104 served by the AP 102. The HE-SIG-A 316 includes information that may be used by each identified STA 104 to decode the associated HE-SIG-B 318. For example, the HE-SIG-A 316 may indicate the frame format (including the location and length of the HE-SIG-B 318), the available channel bandwidth, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and other possibilities. The HE-SIG-A 316 may also include HE WLAN signaling information that may be used by STAs 104 other than the identified STAs 104.

[0061] HE-SIG-B 318 may carry STA-specific scheduling information, such as, for example, per-user MCS values ​​and per-user RU allocation information. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, such information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field. Each HE-SIG-B 318 includes a common field and at least one field that varies from STA to STA ("user-specific"). The common field may indicate the RU distribution to multiple STAs 104, indicate the RU assignment in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmission and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmission, and the number of users in the allocation, etc. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. The user-specific fields are assigned to a specific STA 104 and may be used to schedule a specific RU and indicate the schedule to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields (which may be followed by padding). Each user block field may include two user fields containing information for two corresponding STAs to decode their corresponding RU payloads in the data field 324 .

[0062] Figure 3B An example PPDU 350 that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and multiple STAs according to some embodiments is shown. The PPDU 350 can be used for SU, MU-OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmission. The PPDU 350 includes a PHY preamble, which includes a legacy portion 352 and a non-legacy portion 354. The PPDU 350 may further include a PHY payload 356 after the preamble, for example, in the form of a PSDU including a data field 376. The legacy portion 352 includes an L-STF 358, an L-LTF 360, and an L-SIG 362. The non-legacy portion 354 and the data field 376 of the preamble may be formatted as an ultra-high throughput (EHT) WLAN preamble and frame, respectively, in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, or may be formatted as a preamble and frame of any higher version (post-HE) of a new wireless communication protocol that complies with a future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard or other standards, respectively.

[0063] The non-legacy portion 354 of the preamble includes a second signal field (referred to herein as “Pre-SIG”) 366, a third signal field (referred to herein as “EHT-SIG-A”, but it may be constructed to carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT) 368, and a fourth signal field (referred to herein as “EHT-SIG-B”, but it may be constructed to carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT) 370. The non-legacy portion 354 further includes an additional short training field (referred to herein as “EHT-STF”, but it may be constructed to carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT) 372, and multiple additional long training fields (referred to herein as “EHT-LTF”, but they may be constructed to carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions other than EHT) 374. As with the L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362, the information in the Pre-SIG 366 and EHT-SIG-A 368 may be replicated and transmitted in each constituent 20 MHz channel in instances involving the use of bonded channels. In some embodiments, the EHT-SIG-A 368 may additionally or alternatively carry different information in one or more non-primary 20 MHz channels than in the primary 20 MHz channels. The EHT-SIG-B 370 may be unique for each 20 MHz channel and, as described above, may be targeted to a particular STA 104. The non-legacy portion 354 of the preamble may or may not include a repeated legacy signal field (RL-SIG) 364 after the L-SIG 362 and before the Pre-SIG 366.

[0064] The EHT-SIG-A 368 may include one or more jointly coded symbols and may be encoded in a different block than the block in which the Pre-SIG 366 is coded. The AP may use the EHT-SIG-A 368 to identify and inform multiple STAs 104 that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources. The EHT-SIG-A 368 may be decoded by each compatible STA 104 served by the AP 102. The EHT-SIG-A 368 includes information that may be used by the identified STA 104 to decode the associated EHT-SIG-B 370. The EHT-SIG-A 368 may generally be used by a receiving device to interpret bits in the EHT-SIG-B 370 or the data field 376. For example, the EHT-SIG-A 368 may indicate the location and length of the EHT-SIG-B 370 in various component channels, available channel bandwidth, and modulation and coding scheme (MCS), among other possibilities. The EHT-SIG-A 368 may further include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) (eg, four bits) and a tail (eg, 6 bits) that may be used for a binary convolutional code (BCC).

[0065] The EHT-SIG-B 370 may include multiple symbols that may be encoded in a different block than the block in which the EHT-SIG-A 368 is encoded. In some other embodiments, the EHT-SIG-A 368 may be jointly encoded with some or all of the EHT-SIG-B 370. For example, the EHT-SIG-A 368 may be jointly encoded with the first portion of the EHT-SIG-B 370, which includes information common to all users served by the PPDU 350. The EHT-SIG-B 370 may carry STA-specific scheduling information, such as, for example, per-user MCS values ​​and per-user RU allocation information. The EHT-SIG-B 370 may generally be used by a receiving device to interpret the bits in the data field 376. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, such information enables each STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field 376. Each EHT-SIG-B 370 includes one common field and at least one STA-specific ("user-specific") field. The common field may indicate the RU distribution to multiple STAs 104, indicate the RU assignment in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmission and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmission, and the number of users in the allocation, other possibilities. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. The user-specific field is assigned to a specific STA 104 and may be used to schedule a specific RU and indicate scheduling to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields (which may be followed by padding). Each user block field may include, for example, two user fields, which contain information for two corresponding STAs to decode their corresponding RU payloads.

[0066] The Pre-SIG 366 and the RL-SIG 364 (if present) may indicate to the STA 104 that is compliant with EHT or higher that the PPDU 350 is an EHT PPDU or a PPDU that complies with another non-legacy wireless communication protocol version. For example, the receiving device may use the Pre-SIG 366 to interpret bits in one or more of the EHT-SIG-A 368, the EHT-SIG-B 370, or the data field 376. In some embodiments, the Pre-SIG 366 may include a reserved bit that indicates whether the PPDU 350 complies with an EHT or higher version (e.g., after IEEE 802.11ax) of the IEEE 802.11 series of wireless communication protocol standards or other standards. In some embodiments, the Pre-SIG 366 includes a version field that includes at least one bit indicating a specific wireless communication protocol version that the PPDU 350 complies with.

[0067] Access to the shared wireless medium is typically managed by a distributed coordination function (DCF). With DCF, there is generally no centralized master device that allocates time and frequency resources for the shared wireless medium. Instead, before a wireless communication device (such as AP102 or STA 104) is allowed to transmit data, the wireless communication device must wait for a specific time and then contend for access to the wireless medium. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may be configured to implement DCF by using carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) technology and timing intervals. Before transmitting data, the wireless communication device may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) and determine that the appropriate wireless channel is idle. CCA includes physical (PHY level) carrier sense and virtual (MAC level) carrier sense. Physical carrier sense is accomplished via measurement of the received signal strength of a valid frame, which is then compared to a threshold to determine whether the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of the detected preamble is higher than a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier sense 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 total energy detected is above a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Virtual carrier sensing is accomplished via the use of a network allocation vector (NAV), which is an indicator of the time when the medium may next become idle. The NAV is reset each time a valid frame that is not addressed to the wireless communication device is received. The NAV effectively serves as a duration of time that must elapse before the wireless communication device can contend for access, even in the absence of detected symbols or even if the detected energy is below a related threshold.

[0068] As described above, DCF is implemented by using time intervals. These time intervals include slot time (or "slot interval") and inter-frame space (IFS). Slot time is the basic timing unit and can be determined based on one or more of the transmit-receive turnaround time, channel sensing time, propagation delay, and MAC processing time. Channel sensing measurements are performed for each slot. All transmissions can start at slot boundaries. There are different types of IFS, including short IFS (SIFS), distributed IFS (DIFS), extended IFS (EIFS), and arbitration IFS (AIFS). For example, DIFS can be defined as the sum of SIFS and twice the slot time. The values ​​of slot time and IFS can be provided by appropriate standard specifications, such as one of the IEEE 802.11 series of wireless communication protocol standards (such as standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its revision, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0069] When the NAV reaches 0, the wireless communication device performs physical carrier sensing. If the channel remains idle within an appropriate IFS (e.g., DIFS), the wireless communication device initiates a backoff timer, which indicates the duration of time the device must sense that the medium is idle before the device is allowed to transmit. The backoff timer decrements one slot each time the medium is sensed to be idle during the corresponding time slot interval. If the channel remains idle until the backoff timer expires, the wireless communication device becomes the owner (or "owner") of the transmission opportunity (TXOP) and can begin transmitting. TXOP is the duration of time the wireless communication device can transmit frames on the channel after the wireless communication device has won contention for the wireless medium. On the other hand, if one or more carrier sensing mechanisms indicate that the channel is busy, the MAC controller within the wireless communication device will not allow transmission.

[0070] Each time a wireless communication device generates a new PPDU for transmission in a new TXOP, the wireless communication device randomly selects a new backoff timer duration. The available distribution of numbers that can be randomly selected for the backoff timer is called a contention window (CW). When the backoff timer expires, if the wireless communication device transmits the PPDU, but the medium is still busy, there may be a conflict. Additionally, if there is too much energy on the wireless channel, resulting in a poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the communication may be damaged or otherwise not successfully received. In such instances, the wireless communication device may not receive a communication confirming the transmission of the PDU within the timeout interval. The MAC may then increase the CW exponentially (e.g., double it) and randomly select a new backoff timer duration from the CW before each retransmission attempted for the PPDU. Before each retransmission attempted, the wireless communication device may wait for a duration of DIFS, and if the medium remains idle, proceed to initiate a new backoff timer. There are different CW and TXOP durations for each of the four access categories (AC): Voice (AC_VO), Video (AC_VI), Background (AC_BK), and Best Effort (AC_BE). This enables prioritization of specific types of traffic in the network.

[0071] As described above, the AP 102 and the STA 104 may support multi-user (MU) communications; that is, concurrent transmissions from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink (DL) communications from the AP 102 to the corresponding STAs 104), or concurrent transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink (UL) transmissions from the corresponding STAs 104 to the AP 102). To support MU transmissions, the AP 102 and the STA 104 may utilize multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MU-OFDMA) techniques.

[0072] In the MU-OFDMA scheme, the available spectrum of a wireless channel may be divided into multiple resource units (RUs), each including several different frequency subcarriers ("tones"). Different RUs may be allocated or assigned to different STAs 104 by AP 102 at a specific time. The size and distribution of RUs may be referred to as RU allocation. In some implementations, RUs may be allocated in 2MHz intervals, and in this way, the minimum RU may include 26 tones consisting of 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Therefore, in a 20MHz channel, up to 9 RUs (such as 26 tone RUs of 2MHz) may be allocated (because some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160MHz channel, up to 74 RUs may be allocated. Larger 52 tone, 106 tone, 242 tone, 484 tone, and 996 tone RUs may also be allocated. Adjacent RUs may be separated by empty subcarriers (such as DC subcarriers), for example, to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiving side DC offset, and avoid transmission center frequency leakage.

[0073] For UL MU transmissions, the AP 102 may transmit a trigger frame to initiate and synchronize UL MU-OFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmissions from multiple STAs 104 to the AP 102. Such a trigger frame may thereby enable multiple STAs 104 to send UL traffic concurrently in time to the AP 102. The trigger frame may address one or more STAs 104 by a corresponding association identifier (AID), and may assign one or more RUs to each AID (and thus each STA 104) that may be used to send UL traffic to the AP 102. The AP may also specify one or more random access (RA) RUs that unscheduled STAs 104 may contend for.

[0074] Figure 4A schematic diagram of another example wireless communication network is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a WLAN. For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The wireless network 400 may include a plurality of STAs 404. As described above, each STA 104 may 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, and other possibilities. The STA 404 may represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, netbook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices ("remote controls"), printers, kitchen or other household appliances, remote control keys (key fobs) (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0075] The wireless network 400 is an example of a peer-to-peer (P2P), ad hoc, or mesh network. The STAs 404 can communicate directly with each other via a P2P wireless link 410 (without using an intermediate AP). In some embodiments, the wireless network 400 is an example of a Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) network. The NAN network operates in accordance with the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Neighbor Aware Networking (also referred to as NAN) standard specification. NAN-compliant STA 404 (hereinafter also referred to as "NAN device 404") uses a data packet routing protocol such as the Hybrid Wireless Mesh Protocol (HWMP) for path selection, and transmits and receives NAN communications (for example, in the form of Wi-Fi packets, including frames compliant with IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards, such as the wireless communication protocol standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba and 802.11be) between each other via a wireless P2P link 410 (hereinafter also referred to as a "NAN link").

[0076] A NAN network generally refers to a collection of NAN devices that share a set of common NAN parameters, including: the time period between consecutive discovery windows, the duration of the discovery window, the NAN beacon interval, and (multiple) NAN discovery channels. NANID is an identifier representing a specific set of NAN parameters used in a NAN network. The NAN network is dynamically self-organizing and self-configuring. The NAN devices 404 in the network automatically establish a self-organizing network with other NAN devices 404, so that network connectivity can be maintained. Each NAN device 404 is configured to relay data of the NAN network so that various NAN devices 404 can cooperate to distribute data within the network. Therefore, the message can be transmitted from the source NAN device to the destination NAN device by propagating it along the path, jumping from one NAN device to the next NAN device until it reaches the destination.

[0077] Each NAN device 404 is configured to transmit two types of beacons: NAN discovery beacons and NAN synchronization beacons. When the NAN device 404 is turned on, or when the NAN function is enabled, the NAN device periodically transmits NAN discovery beacons (e.g., every 100 TUs, every 128 TUs, or another suitable period) and NAN synchronization beacons (e.g., every 512 TUs or another suitable period). The discovery beacon is a management frame that is transmitted between discovery windows to facilitate the discovery of NAN clusters. A NAN cluster is a collection of NAN devices in a NAN network that are synchronized to the same clock and discovery window schedule using a time synchronization function (TSF). In order to join a NAN cluster, the NAN device 404 passively scans for discovery beacons from other NAN devices. When two NAN devices 404 enter each other's transmission range, they will discover each other based on such discovery beacons. The corresponding master preference value determines which of the NAN devices 404 will become the master device. If a NAN cluster is not found, the NAN device 404 can start a new NAN cluster. When a NAN device 404 starts a NAN cluster, it assumes the master role and broadcasts a discovery beacon. In addition, a NAN device may choose to participate in more than one NAN cluster in a NAN network.

[0078] The links between NAN devices 404 in a NAN cluster are associated with discovery windows - the time and channel on which NAN devices converge. At the beginning of each discovery window, one or more NAN devices 404 may transmit a NAN synchronization beacon, which is a management frame used to synchronize the timing of NAN devices within the NAN cluster with the timing of the master device. The NAN device 404 may then transmit a multicast or unicast NAN service discovery frame directly to other NAN devices within the service discovery threshold and in the same NAN cluster during the discovery window. The service discovery frame indicates the services supported by the corresponding NAN device 404.

[0079] In some instances, the NAN devices 404 may exchange service discovery frames to determine whether the two devices support ranging operations. The NAN devices 404 may perform such ranging operations ("ranging") during the discovery window. Ranging may involve the exchange of fine timing measurement (FTM) frames (such as those defined in IEEE 802.11-REVmc). For example, the first NAN device 404 may transmit a unicast FTM request to multiple peer NAN devices 404. The peer NAN devices 404 may then transmit a response to the first NAN device 404. The first NAN device 404 may then exchange multiple FTM frames with each peer NAN device 404. The first NAN device 404 may then determine the range between itself and each peer device 404 based on the FTM frames, and transmit a range indication to each peer NAN device 404. For example, the range indication may include a distance value or an indication of whether the peer NAN device 404 is within a service discovery threshold (e.g., 3 meters (m)) of the first NAN device 404. NAN links between NAN devices within the same NAN cluster can persist over multiple discovery windows as long as the NAN devices remain within each other's service discovery thresholds and synchronized to the anchor master device of the NAN cluster.

[0080] Some NAN devices 404 may also be configured to communicate wirelessly with other networks, such as with a Wi-Fi WLAN or a wireless (e.g., cellular) wide area network (WWAN), which in turn may provide access to external networks including the Internet. For example, a NAN device 404 may be configured to associate and communicate with an AP or base station 202 of a WLAN or WWAN network, respectively, via a Wi-Fi or cellular link 212. In such an instance, the NAN device 404 may include software-enabled access point (SoftAP) functionality, enabling a STA to operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot to provide access to external networks to other NAN devices 404 via an associated WLAN or WWAN backhaul. Such a NAN device 404 (referred to as a NAN concurrent device) is capable of operating in a NAN network as well as another type of wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi BSS. In some such embodiments, the NAN device 404 may advertise the ability to provide such access point services to other NAN devices 404 in a service discovery frame.

[0081] There are two general NAN service discovery messages: publish messages and subscribe messages. In general, publish is a mechanism for an application on a NAN device to provide selected information about the capabilities and services of the NAN device to other NAN devices, while subscription is a mechanism for an application on a NAN device to collect selected types of information about the capabilities and services of other NAN devices. A NAN device may generate and transmit a subscription message when requesting other NAN devices running within the same NAN cluster to provide a specific service. For example, in an active subscription mode, a subscription function executed within a NAN device may transmit a NAN service discovery frame to actively seek the availability of a specific service. A publishing function executed within a publishing NAN device that is capable of providing the requested service may, for example, transmit a publish message in response to meeting the criteria specified in the subscription message to reply to the subscribing NAN device. The publish message may include a range parameter indicating a service discovery threshold, which represents the maximum distance at which the subscribing NAN device itself can utilize the services of the publishing NAN device. NAN may also use publish messages in an autonomous manner, for example, a publishing NAN device may generate and transmit a publish message so that its services can be discovered by other NAN devices running within the same NAN cluster. In passive subscription mode, the subscription function does not initiate the delivery of any subscription messages, but rather the subscription function looks for matches in the received publication messages to determine the availability of the desired service.

[0082] After the discovery window is the transmission opportunity period. This period includes many resource blocks. NAN Device Link (NDL) refers to the resource blocks negotiated between NAN devices for NAN operation. NDL may include more than one "hop". The number of hops depends on the number of devices between the device providing the service and the device consuming or subscribing to the service. An example of an NDL including two hops includes three NAN devices: a provider, a subscriber, and an agent that relays information between the provider and the subscriber. In such a configuration, the first hop refers to the information communication between the provider and the agent, and the second hop refers to the information communication between the agent and the subscriber. NDL may refer to a subset of NAN devices capable of single-hop service discovery, but NDL may also be capable of service discovery and subscription through multiple hops (multi-hop NDL).

[0083] There are two general types of NDL: paged NDL (P-NDL) and synchronous NDL (S-NDL). Each common resource block (CRB) of the P-NDL includes a paging window (PW) followed by a transmission window (TxW). All NAN devices participating in the P-NDL operate in a state of receiving frames during the paging window. Typically, participating NAN devices wake up during the paging window to listen to the paging channel to determine whether there is any traffic buffered for the corresponding device. For example, a NAN device with data to be transmitted to other NAN devices can transmit a traffic announcement message to other NAN devices during the paging window to notify other NAN devices of the buffered data. If there is data available, the NAN device remains awake during the transmission window to exchange data. If there is no data to send, the NAN device can transition back to a sleep state during the transmission window to save power. If the NAN device has buffered data available for a peer device, the NAN device transmits a paging message to its NDL peer device during the paging window. The paging message includes, for example, a MAC address or identifier of the destination device for which the data is available. A NAN device listed as a receiver in a received paging message transmits a trigger frame to the transmitting device and remains awake to receive data during a subsequent transmission window. The NDL transmitter device transmits buffered data to the receiving device from which it received the trigger frame during the transmission window. A NAN device that establishes S-NDL with a peer NAN device can transmit data frames to the peer device from the beginning of each S-NDL CRB without previously transmitting a paging message.

[0084] Figure 5 1 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication device 500. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may be a wireless communication device for a STA (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 1 In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may be an example of a device in an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 described above). Figure 1 The wireless communication device 500 is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communications, for example, in the form of wireless packets. For example, the wireless communication device can be configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) and media access control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) that comply with IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards (such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0085] The wireless communication device 500 may be or may include a chip, system on chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device including one or more modems 502 (e.g., Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modems). In some implementations, the one or more modems 502 (collectively, “modems 502”) additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 also includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements 504 (collectively, “processors 504”) coupled to the modem 502. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 additionally includes one or more radios 506 (collectively, “radios 506”) coupled to the modem 502. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 further includes one or more memory blocks or elements 508 (collectively, “memory 508”) coupled to the processor 504 or the modem 502.

[0086] The modem 502 may include an intelligent hardware block or device, such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The modem 502 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer, and in some implementations also implements a portion of the MAC layer (e.g., a hardware portion of the MAC layer). For example, the modem 502 is configured to modulate packets and output the modulated packets to the radio 504 for transmission on the wireless medium. The modem 502 is similarly configured to obtain modulated packets received by the radio 504 and demodulate the packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to the modulator and demodulator, the modem 502 may further include a digital signal processing (DSP) circuit system, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit system, an encoder, a decoder, a multiplexer, and a demultiplexer. For example, when in a transmission mode, data obtained from the processor 506 may be provided to an encoder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. Subsequently, the encoded bits may be mapped to a number (N SS ) spatial streams for spatial multiplexing or several (N STSThe coded bits in each stream may then be mapped to points in a modulation constellation (using the selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. The modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial stream or space-time stream may be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and then provided to a DSP circuit system (e.g., for Tx windowing and filtering). The digital signal may then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal may then be provided to an upconverter and ultimately to the radio 504. In an implementation involving beamforming, the modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial streams are precoded via a steering matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0087] When in receive mode, the DSP circuit system is configured to acquire a signal including modulated symbols received from the radio 504, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuit system is further configured to digitally condition the signal, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering and analog impairment conditioning (such as correcting I / Q imbalance), and by applying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. Subsequently, the output of the DSP circuit system may be fed to the AGC, which is configured to use information extracted from the digital signal (e.g., in one or more received training fields) to determine the appropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuit system is also coupled to a demultiplexer that demultiplexes the modulated symbols when multiple spatial streams or space-time streams are received. The demultiplexed symbols may be provided to a demodulator that is configured to extract the symbols from the signal and, for example, calculate a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator is coupled to a decoder that may be configured to process the LLRs to provide decoded bits. The coded bits may then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 506) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0088] The radio 504 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or "transmitter chain") and at least one RF receiver (or "receiver chain"), which can be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, each of the RF transmitter and receiver may include various analog circuit systems, including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low noise amplifier (LNA), respectively. The RF transmitter and receiver may in turn be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain). The codewords output from the modem 502 are provided to the radio 504, which then transmits the codewords via the coupled antenna. Similarly, the codewords received via the antenna are obtained by the radio 504, which then provides the codewords to the modem 502.

[0089] The processor 506 may include an intelligent hardware block or device designed to perform the functions described herein, such as, for example, a processing core, a processing block, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The processor 506 processes information received through the radio 504 and the modem 502, and processes information to be output by the modem 502 and the radio 504 for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, the processor 506 may implement a control plane and at least a portion of a MAC layer, which is configured to perform various operations related to the generation, transmission, reception, and processing of MPDUs, frames, or packets. In some implementations, the MAC layer is configured to: generate an MPDU to provide to the PHY layer for encoding, and receive decoded information bits from the PHY layer for processing as an MPDU. The MAC layer may be further configured to allocate time and frequency resources, for example, for OFDMA, or other operations or technologies. In some implementations, processor 506 may generally control modem 502 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0090] The memory 504 may include a tangible storage medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM) or a combination thereof. The memory 504 may also store non-transient processor or computer executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by the processor 506, cause the processor to perform various operations for wireless communication described herein, including the generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MDPUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the various components disclosed herein or the various boxes or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0091] Fig. 6A 602 is a block diagram of an example AP 602. For example, the AP 602 may be a reference Figure 1 An example implementation of AP 102 is described. AP 602 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 610 (although AP 602 itself may also be generally referred to as a wireless communication device as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 610 may be a wireless communication device as described herein. Figure 5 An example implementation of the wireless communication device 500 described. The AP 602 also includes a plurality of antennas 620 coupled to the wireless communication device 610 to transmit and receive wireless communications. In some implementations, the AP 602 additionally includes an application processor 630 coupled to the wireless communication device 610, and a memory 640 coupled to the application processor 630. The AP 602 further includes at least one external network interface 650, which enables the AP 602 to communicate with a core network or a backhaul network to obtain access to an external network including the Internet. For example, the external network interface 650 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Components of the aforementioned components may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. The AP 602 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 610, the application processor 630, the memory 640, and encloses at least a portion of the antenna 620 and the external network interface 650.

[0092] Figure 6B 604. For example, STA 604 may be a reference Figure 1 104. STA 604 includes a wireless communication device 615 (although STA 604 itself may also be generally referred to as a wireless communication device as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 615 may be a wireless communication device. Figure 5An example implementation of the wireless communication device 500 described. The STA 604 also includes one or more antennas 625 coupled to the wireless communication device 615 to transmit and receive wireless communications. The STA 604 additionally includes an application processor 635 coupled to the wireless communication device 615, and a memory 645 coupled to the application processor 635. In some implementations, the STA 604 further includes a user interface (UI) 655 (such as a touch screen or keyboard) and a display 665, which can be integrated with the UI 655 to form a touch screen display. In some implementations, the STA 604 may further include one or more sensors 675 (such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors, for example). Components of the aforementioned components can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. The STA 604 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 615, the application processor 635, the memory 645, and at least a portion of the antenna 625, the UI 655, and the display 665.

[0093] In addition to participating in a WLAN, a STA may also participate in a peer-to-peer (P2P), ad hoc, or mesh network. In such instances, STAs may communicate directly with each other via a P2P wireless link without using an intermediate AP. In some deployments, conventional infrastructure traffic to and from an AP and a group of related STAs may interfere with P2P traffic between STAs, and vice versa. Techniques to achieve coexistence are needed.

[0094] The latest wireless communication protocols including IEEE 802.11be can support scheduled access technology as a supplement or replacement for conventional DCF and EDCA technology, thereby enabling multiple APs and STAs to share and communicate over a wireless medium. Such wireless communication protocols can additionally or alternatively support the use of time and frequency resource sharing within a transmission opportunity.

[0095] Various aspects of the technology, methods, and devices disclosed herein generally relate to enabling coexistence between WLAN and peer-to-peer (P2P) or ad hoc networks, and specifically to coordinated device-to-device (D2D) communications. (See Figures 7 to 9 , Fig.18 and Fig.19 Some aspects of the present invention relate specifically to extending the capability of a target wake time (TWT) element transmitted by a wireless access point to support periodic reserved access windows during which D2D-enabled wireless devices are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other D2D-enabled wireless devices.

[0096] (refer to Figures 10 to 14 , Figure 20 to Figure 22Some other aspects of the present invention relate to sharing the time and frequency resources of a wireless medium, and more particularly, to a coordinated access point (CAP) time division multiple access (TDMA) or CAP orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technique for sharing the time and frequency resources of transmission opportunities. According to such a technique, a wireless access point that wins contention and obtains access to a wireless medium during a TXOP can share its time and frequency resources with other coordinated access points. The coordinated access points can then exclusively allocate at least some of their respective time and frequency resources for exclusive use in D2D communications.

[0097] (refer to Figures 15 to 17 , Fig.23 and Fig.24 In some other aspects of the invention, a D2D-enabled wireless device may form or join a P2P network that also includes a first group of other D2D-enabled wireless devices. The D2D-enabled wireless device may receive a first indication from a wireless access point indicating a periodic coordinated access window during which the wireless access point is scheduled for contention access and during which the group of D2D-enabled wireless devices are not allowed to contention access. The D2D-enabled wireless device may also receive a second indication of a reserved access window within one or more periodic coordinated access windows during which at least some of the group of D2D-enabled wireless devices are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to the network of other D2D-enabled wireless devices despite permissions associated with the first indication.

[0098] Figure 7 A flow chart illustrating an example process 700 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 700 may be performed by a wireless access point or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 700 may be performed by a wireless access point such as described above with reference to Figure 5 In some embodiments, the process 700 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The depicted wireless access point may be one of AP 102 and AP 602 .

[0099] In block 702, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Figure 7In some embodiments, the first wireless access point (hereinafter referred to as a first wireless access point) transmits a first wireless packet to at least a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point. Each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations is also configured to perform D2D communication (also generally referred to herein as direct wireless communication) with other wireless stations. In some embodiments, the first wireless packet includes an indication of a periodic reserved access window. The indication of the periodic reserved access window indicates to the first group of wireless stations that the first group of wireless stations is allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels. In some embodiments, in block 704, the first wireless access point refrains from transmitting wireless communication during the periodic reserved access window.

[0100] Figure 8 A timing diagram illustrating an example periodic reserved access window 802 for supporting coordinated D2D communications according to some embodiments is shown. For example, the periodic reserved access window 802 is an example of the periodic reserved access window described with reference to process 700. The periodic reserved access window 802 is based on a time interval τ Res Repeatedly, the time interval may be consistent with the beacon interval τ of the first wireless access point 信标 The transmission of beacon frame 806 is synchronized.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations are not permitted to transmit direct wireless data communications to other wireless stations outside of the periodic reserved access window 802 (although they may be able to transmit other direct non-data wireless communications in, for example, discovery windows outside of the reserved access window). In some embodiments, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 indicates to the first group of wireless stations that the first group of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations outside of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., in other BSSs managed by other wireless access points) during at least a portion of one or more periodic reserved access windows 802. In some embodiments, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 indicates to other wireless stations in other BSSs that the other wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations, which may include the first group of wireless stations, on one or more wireless channels during at least a portion of the one or more reserved access windows 802.

[0102] In some embodiments, the first wireless access point periodically transmits a wireless packet, such as a first wireless packet. For example, each of the first wireless packet and the other periodic wireless packets may include a beacon frame, such as one of the beacon frames 806. In some such embodiments, each beacon frame includes one or more target wake-up time (TWT) information elements (IEs). Each TWT IE includes an indication of a wake-up period schedule for one or more wireless stations in the first BSS. For example, each TWT IE may be a separate TWT addressed to a single wireless station, or a broadcast TWT addressed to a group of wireless stations such as a first group of wireless stations. During each wake-up period, the wireless station or a group of wireless stations identified in the corresponding TWT will be awakened to receive wireless communications from the first wireless access point. In some embodiments, the identified wireless station may also contend for access to the wireless medium during the corresponding wake-up period. In some embodiments, at least one TWT IE includes an indication of a periodic reserved access window 802. For example, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 may include an indication that each wake-up period in the corresponding wake-up period schedule is a reserved access window 802. In some other implementations, the first wireless packet may be another type of frame, for example, another management frame such as a probe response frame including an indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 .

[0103] In some implementations, process 700 further includes exchanging one or more wireless packets with one or more other wireless access points to coordinate scheduling of periodic reserved access window 802. For example, the exchange of one or more wireless packets may include transmitting beacons and receiving beacons from other wireless access points, the beacons each including timing information for coordinating scheduling of periodic reserved access window 802.

[0104] In some implementations, the TWT IE indicating the periodic reserved access window 802 includes one or more other parameters for the periodic reserved access window 802. In some implementations, the one or more other parameters include a time slot schedule defining a series of time slots in the periodic reserved access window 802. For example, Figure 8An embodiment is shown in which each reserved access window 802 is divided into a plurality of time slots 804. In some embodiments, each time slot 804 may be separated from each other time slot 804 by an inter-frame space (IFS) (e.g., a short inter-frame space (SIFS)). In the illustrated example, each reserved access window 802 includes four time slots 8041-8044, but the number of time slots may be more or less than four and may be adjusted or distributed differently in different reserved access windows. In some such embodiments, the process 700 further includes allocating each of the one or more time slots 804 to a respective subset of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., two or more wireless stations) for direct wireless communication. For example, each wireless station subset in the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication in another time slot allocated to a different wireless station subset in the first group of wireless stations.

[0105] In some embodiments, at least some of the first group of wireless stations may be allowed to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points during at least one time slot 804. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may not restrict direct wireless communications to any single BSS in the at least one time slot 804. Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may exchange one or more wireless packets to further coordinate time slot scheduling of time slots 804 within the at least one reserved access window 802. In some such embodiments, the exchange includes transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations to at least one wireless access point. The exchange further includes receiving from the wireless access point identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the wireless access point configured for direct wireless communications with other wireless stations. The two wireless access points may coordinate which wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points during the one or more time slots 804 allocated to the other wireless access points. Similarly, the coordination may include determining which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations during one or more time slots 804 allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

[0106] In some embodiments, such as simplex embodiments, a wireless station receiving direct wireless communication from other wireless stations in a corresponding time slot 804 is allowed to transmit an acknowledgement of the direct wireless communication transmitted in the corresponding time slot 804 during the next time slot 804 in the corresponding reserved access window.

[0107] In some embodiments, the one or more other parameters identified in the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 may further include a frame type for allowing direct wireless communication transmitted during the periodic reserved access window 802 or any other control information for controlling direct wireless communication during the reserved access window 802.

[0108] In some implementations, the process 700 further includes transmitting a trigger frame to the first group of wireless stations at the beginning of the reserved access window 802, the trigger frame triggering or initiating direct wireless communication by the wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations. For example, the trigger frame may indicate to the first group of wireless stations that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to contend for access during corresponding time slots within the reserved access window 802. In some other implementations, the process 700 may further include transmitting a reverse direction grant (RDG) to one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations to initiate direct wireless communication with other wireless stations.

[0109] As described above, in some embodiments, for example, to reduce congestion caused by direct wireless communications outside the reserved access window 802, the first wireless access point may instruct the first group of wireless stations not to transmit direct wireless communications outside the periodic reserved access window 802 (except for direct wireless communications during the discovery window). In some such embodiments, the first wireless packet or another wireless packet may include one or more silence elements. Each silence element may indicate to any wireless station within range (including the first group of wireless stations) that they are not allowed to transmit on one or more wireless channels during the silence period associated with the silence element. For example, each silence element may include a plurality of fields, including an element identifier (ID), a length, a silence count, a silence period, a silence duration, and a silence offset, as defined, for example, in the IEEE 802.11 specification. Additionally or alternatively, to reduce congestion caused by direct wireless communications outside the reserved access window 802, the first wireless access point may include in the first wireless packet an indication to the first group of wireless stations to follow one or more multi-user (MU) enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters outside the periodic reserved access window 802.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations may be enabled for NAN operation, and the direct wireless communication may include NAN communication. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may only allow wireless stations in the NAN network to access one or more wireless channels in the periodic reserved access window 802. For example, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 transmitted in block 702 may include an indication of a NAN cluster ID identifying the wireless stations assigned to access the one or more wireless channels during the reserved access window 802. In some embodiments, except for direct wireless communication in the NAN discovery window, the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations outside the periodic reserved access window 802 (i.e., not allowed to conduct direct wireless data communication outside the periodic reserved access window 802). The first group of wireless stations may operate the NAN network alone or in combination with other NAN-enabled wireless stations, which may be associated with other BSSs controlled by other wireless access points.

[0111] In some such embodiments, the process 700 may further include receiving a wireless packet including an action frame from at least one wireless station in the first group of wireless stations, the wireless packet indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the periodic NAN discovery window. In some other embodiments, the process 700 may further include scanning one or more NAN discovery channels and determining that the first group of wireless stations is operating the NAN network. The first wireless access point may then identify one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window.

[0112] In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may transmit a wireless packet to each of the one or more other wireless access points, the wireless packet including an indication of one or more parameters associated with the NAN network. The first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may then schedule a periodic reserved access window 802 based on the one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, including the timing of the NAN discovery window. In some such embodiments, scheduling the periodic reserved access window 802 includes synchronizing the periodic reserved access window with the periodic NAN discovery window.

[0113] Fig. 9 A flow chart illustrating an example process 900 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 900 may be performed by a wireless station or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 900 may be performed by a wireless station such as described above with reference to Figure 5In some embodiments, process 900 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. In some embodiments, process 900 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a wireless station or operating within a wireless station, such as those described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 6B One of STAs 104 and 604 is described.

[0114] In block 902, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Fig. 9 The wireless station (referred to as the first wireless station) receives a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including the first wireless station. The first wireless station is also configured for direct (D2D) wireless communication with other wireless stations. The first wireless packet includes an indication of a periodic reserved access window 802 during which the first wireless station is allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to one or more other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels. In block 904, the first wireless station transmits a second wireless packet directly to another wireless station during at least one periodic reserved access window 802.

[0115] As mentioned above Figure 7 As described in process 700, in some embodiments, a first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station are not permitted to transmit direct wireless data communications to other wireless stations outside of the periodic reserved access window 802 (but they may be able to transmit other direct non-data wireless communications in discovery windows, for example, outside of the reserved access window 802). In some embodiments, an indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 indicates to the first group of wireless stations that the first group of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations outside of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., in other BSSs managed by other wireless access points) during at least a portion of one or more periodic reserved access windows 802. In some embodiments, an indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 indicates to other wireless stations in other BSSs that the other wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations that may include the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels during at least a portion of the one or more reserved access windows 802.

[0116] As described above, in some embodiments, the first wireless station periodically receives wireless packets such as the first wireless packet. For example, each of the first wireless packet and the other periodic wireless packets may include a beacon frame, such as one of the beacon frames 806. In some such embodiments, each beacon frame includes one or more TWT IEs. Figure 7As described in process 700, in some embodiments, at least one TWT IE includes an indication of a periodic reserved access window 802. For example, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 may include an indication that each wake-up cycle in the corresponding wake-up cycle schedule is a reserved access window 802.

[0117] In some embodiments, the TWT IE indicating the periodic reserved access window 802 includes one or more other parameters for the periodic reserved access window 802. As described above, in some embodiments, the one or more other parameters include a time slot schedule defining a series of time slots in the periodic reserved access window 802. In some such embodiments, the process 900 further includes receiving an indication that at least one of the time slots is allocated to the first wireless station or a group of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations that includes the first wireless station.

[0118] In some embodiments, the one or more other parameters identified in the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 may further include a frame type for allowing direct wireless communication transmitted during the periodic reserved access window 802 or any other control information for controlling direct wireless communication during the reserved access window 802.

[0119] In some implementations, the process 900 further includes receiving a trigger frame from the first wireless access point at the beginning of the reserved access window 802, the trigger frame triggering or initiating transmission of the second wireless packet by the first wireless station, in block 904. For example, the trigger frame may indicate to the first wireless station that it is allowed to contend for access during one or more time slots within the reserved access window 802. In some other implementations, the process 900 further includes receiving an RDG frame from the first wireless access point, in block 904, the RDG frame triggering or initiating transmission of the second wireless packet by the first wireless station.

[0120] In some embodiments, a first group of wireless stations may be enabled for NAN operation, and the direct wireless communication may include NAN communication. In some such embodiments, wireless stations in the NAN network are only allowed to access one or more wireless channels in the periodic reserved access window 802. For example, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 received in box 902 may include an indication of a NAN cluster ID identifying the wireless stations that are assigned to access the one or more wireless channels during the reserved access window 802. In some embodiments, except for direct wireless communication in the NAN discovery window, the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations outside the periodic reserved access window 802 (i.e., not allowed to conduct direct wireless data communication outside the periodic reserved access window 802). The first group of wireless stations may operate the NAN network alone or in combination with other NAN-enabled wireless stations, which may be associated with other BSSs controlled by other wireless access points.

[0121] In some embodiments, the first wireless station may form or join a NAN network including the first group of wireless stations prior to execution of process 900. In some such embodiments, the first wireless station transmits a wireless packet including an action frame to the first wireless access point, the wireless packet indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window. In some other embodiments, the first wireless station may periodically broadcast a wireless packet including an action frame indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window.

[0122] In some embodiments, the first wireless station transmits a wireless packet including an indication of the periodic reserved access window 802 to one or more wireless stations in the NAN network in each of the one or more NAN discovery windows. In some embodiments, the first wireless station exchanges one or more wireless packets with at least one other wireless station in the NAN network to establish a NAN data link (NDL) during at least one access window in the periodic reserved access window 802. In such embodiments, the first wireless station transmits the second wireless packet directly to the other wireless stations via the NDL in block 904.

[0123] In some other embodiments, the first wireless station may establish a tunnel direct link setup (TDLS) link with each of one or more other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations. In such embodiments, the first wireless station may transmit the second wireless packet directly to the other wireless stations via the TDLS link.

[0124] Various other aspects generally relate to sharing the time or frequency resources of a wireless medium. Specific embodiments more specifically relate to coordinated AP (CAP) time division multiple access (TDMA) or CAP orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) techniques for sharing the time and frequency resources of transmission opportunities. According to such techniques, a wireless access point that wins contention and obtains access to a wireless medium during a TXOP can share its time and frequency resources with other coordinated access points. In order to share its time resources, the winning access point can divide the TXOP into multiple TXOP segments or bandwidth segments. For example, the winning access point can assign, grant or allocate (interchangeably used hereinafter) one or more time periods and bandwidth segments to itself, and also allocate each of the one or more remaining time or frequency segments to one or more other coordinated access points in the coordinated access points. In some embodiments, the wireless access points can further allocate at least some of the time and frequency resources in their respective time periods and bandwidth segments to be used exclusively for D2D communication.

[0125] Fig.10 A flow chart illustrating an example process 1000 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 1000 may be performed by a wireless access point or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 1000 may be performed by a wireless access point such as described above with reference to Figure 5 In some embodiments, the process 1000 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The depicted wireless access point may be one of AP 102 and AP 602 .

[0126] In block 1002, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Fig.10A wireless access point (referred to as a first wireless access point or a TXOP owner) obtains a TXOP for wireless communication via one or more wireless channels. In box 1004, the first wireless access point selects one or more other wireless access points to participate in the TXOP. In box 1006, the first wireless access point allocates a corresponding set of time and frequency resources of a plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the TXOP to itself and each of the selected wireless access points. In box 1008, the first wireless access point allocates a first time and frequency resource subset of the time and frequency resource set allocated to the first wireless access point to a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point for direct (D2D) wireless communication with other wireless stations. In box 1010, the first wireless access point transmits a first wireless packet to the one or more selected wireless access points, the first wireless packet including, for each selected wireless access point, an indication of the time and frequency resource set allocated to the corresponding wireless access point. In box 1012, the first wireless access point transmits a second wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the second wireless packet including an indication of the first time and frequency resource subset. In block 1014, the first wireless access point refrains from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

[0127] Fig.11 A timing diagram illustrating an example reserved time resource for supporting coordinated D2D communications according to some embodiments is shown. For example, a first wireless access point and a neighboring access point may be configured for coordinated access point (CAP) TDMA. The first wireless access point (AP1) obtains a TXOP 1102 in block 1002 and shares the TXOP with one or more other coordinated access points (e.g., AP2 and AP3) using TDMA. Fig.11 As illustrated, in some implementations, TXOP 1102 includes multiple phases or periods, including a first TXOP indication phase 1104 , a second scheduling allocation phase 1106 , and a third data transmission phase 1108 .

[0128] In some implementations, to obtain TXOP 1102 in block 1002, the first wireless access point contends for access to the wireless medium on one or more channels using, for example, CSMA / CA and enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) techniques, the one or more channels including a primary operating channel (e.g., a primary 20 MHz channel and one or more secondary 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz channels). TXOP 1102 may obtain a broadband wireless channel, such as a bonded channel formed by the primary channel and the one or more secondary channels, at time t0. For example, the broadband wireless channel may be a 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz channel.

[0129] In some embodiments, after obtaining TXOP 1102, and to ensure interference-free communication during TXOP 1102, the first wireless access point may further reserve the wireless channel by transmitting a request to send (RTS) frame (not shown) to one or more of its associated wireless stations. The RTS frame is configured to cause at least one station to transmit a clear to send (CTS) frame. Any other wireless communication devices that receive one or both of the RTS or CTS frames, including wireless access points AP2 and AP3 and their associated wireless stations, may set their respective NAVs to the duration indicated in the RTS or CTS frame.

[0130] In some implementations, to select one or more other coordinating wireless access points to participate in the TXOP 1102 in block 1004, the first wireless access point performs a TXOP availability indication procedure during a TXOP indication phase 1104 during which the first wireless access point learns of the desire or intent of the other access points to participate in the TXOP 1102. For example, the process 1000 may further include advertising the availability of time resources in the TXOP 1102 during the TXOP indication phase 1104. Specifically, at time t1, the first wireless access point transmits a CAP TXOP indication (CTI) frame 1110 to the other wireless access points, e.g., to the other access points in its extended service set (ESS), indicating that the TXOP 1102 time resources may be shared by the first wireless access point. For example, the first wireless access point may have previously learned of the other neighboring access points in its vicinity based on information in beacons or other management frames received from the other access points.

[0131] After transmitting the CTI frame 1110, the first wireless access point may receive a CAP TXOP request (CTR) frame 1112 from each of the one or more candidate APs at time t2 indicating that the corresponding access point wishes to participate in the TXOP 1102. Fig.11 In the example shown, AP2 and AP3 are among the candidate APs that transmit respective CTR frames 11122 and 11123 to the first wireless access point. Based on the reception of CTR frame 1112, the first wireless access point may then select one or more candidate APs to participate in TXOP 1102.

[0132] In some embodiments, the CTI frame 1110 includes at least one trigger frame configured to trigger one or more candidate access points to transmit a corresponding CTR frame 1112. To transmit the CTI frame 1110, the first wireless access point may transmit a PPDU including the same CTI trigger frame in each of a plurality of subchannels of a wireless channel (e.g., in each of a plurality of 20 MHz channels). For example, the CTI frame 1110 may include a non-high throughput (non-HT) repetitive trigger frame in each 20 MHz channel. In this manner, other access points do not need to operate on the same 20 MHz primary channel to receive and process the CTI frame 1110. In some embodiments, a source address field and a BSSID field (e.g., in a MAC header) associated with the CTI frame 1110 are set to the MAC address of the first wireless access point, and a destination address field (e.g., in a MAC header) associated with the CTI frame 1110 is set to a broadcast address.

[0133] For each of the plurality of access points that may participate in the TXOP 1102, each repetitive trigger frame of the CTI frame 1110 may include an indication of one or both of a frequency resource or a spatial resource that may be used by the respective access point to transmit its respective CTR frame 1112. For example, each trigger frame of the CTI frame 1110 may include a user information field for each access point, the user information field including a respective indication of a frequency resource or a spatial resource that the access point will use to transmit its CTR frame 1112. Each user information field may include a respective AP identifier (APID) of the respective access point. For example, the APID may be a MAC address of the access point, a BSSID associated with the access point, or a BSS color associated with the access point. In some other embodiments where the first wireless access point may not be aware of some or all of the neighboring access points, the CTI frame 1110 may include an indication of a random access resource that may be used by the access point to transmit its respective CTR frame 1112.

[0134] In response to the CTI frame 1110, a CTR frame 1112 may be received from the candidate access point in a corresponding triggered-based PPDU using the frequency or spatial resources allocated by the CTI frame 1110. For example, the CTR frame 1112 may be transmitted via MU OFDMA or MU MIMO technology and may be received at time t4 (i.e., a SIFS duration after the CTI frame 1110). Notably, for access points with CAP TDMA capability, the CTI frame 1110 is configured to cause the access point to respond with a corresponding CTR frame 1112 regardless of their respective NAVs.

[0135] In some embodiments, the first wireless access point may transmit multiple CTI frames 1110 on an AP-by-AP sequential basis, each frame transmitted to a corresponding one of the access points. The access points that desire to participate in the TXOP 1102 may transmit a CTR frame 1112 in response to receiving a corresponding one of the CTI frames 1110 before transmitting the next CTI frame 1110 to the next AP. For example, each CTI frame 1110 may be a poll frame and each CTR frame 1112 may be a poll response frame. Such CTI frames 1110 and CTR frames 1112 may be transmitted as a single user (SU) transmission. In some other embodiments, the first wireless access point may transmit a single CTI frame 1110 and then transmit a poll frame (poll) to each access point on an AP-by-AP sequential basis requesting receipt of a response CTR frame 1112 from the corresponding access point before transmitting the poll to the next access point.

[0136] In some implementations, each of the CTR frames 1112 may include an indication of a buffer status of the corresponding AP or an indication of a duration of the time resource requested by the corresponding AP. In some such implementations, the first wireless access point may select a candidate access point to participate in the TXOP 1102 in block 1004 based on the indication of the buffer status or the indication of the desired duration of the time resource received in the CTR frame 1112.

[0137] As described above, in block 1006, the first wireless access point may allocate to itself and each selected access point a corresponding set of time and frequency resources for TXOP 1102. In some embodiments, the frequency resources in each set of time and frequency resources completely overlap across the entire bandwidth, while the time resources do not overlap at all within the time duration of TXOP 1202. In some other embodiments or examples, the frequency resources may also not overlap in at least some portions of the bandwidth. Thus, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point may allocate different frequency resources in addition to allocating different time resources.

[0138] For example, the first wireless access point may divide the available time resources of the TXOP 1102 into a plurality of time periods 1120, each time period including one or more time resources for itself or one of the selected access points, and each time resource does not overlap with any of the other time periods 1120. For example, each time period may include one or more symbols or time slots or other time units. In some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the TXOP 1102 into equal time periods 1120, wherein the number of equal time periods 1120 is equal to the number of access points sharing the TXOP 1102. For example, as Fig.11As illustrated, the first wireless access point may divide the TXOP 1102 into three equal time periods 1120, one time period 11201 for the first wireless access point, one time period 11202 for the selected access point AP2, and one time period 11203 for the third access point AP3. In some other embodiments or examples, the first wireless access point may divide the time resources into unequal time periods 1120. For example, the first wireless access point may select for itself a longer time period 11201 of the TXOP 1102 that includes more time resources than the time resources in the other time periods 1120 allocated to the other selected access points. In some embodiments where the CTR frame 1112 includes an indication of a buffer status or an indication of a desired duration of the time resources, the first wireless access point may allocate the time resources to the selected access points based on their respective buffer status or requested time resources.

[0139] As described above, in block 1008, the first wireless access point may allocate a subset of the time and frequency resources of TXOP 1102 to at least a first group of wireless stations in a BSS controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communication. For example, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the available time resources of time period 11201 into a plurality of portions, including a portion 11221 that it reserves for regular infrastructure BSS traffic from itself to the first group of wireless stations or from the first group of wireless stations to itself. Time period 11201 further includes a portion of the subset containing time resources that may be reserved for direct wireless communication between the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs. In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to transmit direct wireless data communications to other wireless stations outside the subset of time and frequency resources reserved for direct wireless communication.

[0140] In some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into one or more time slots 11241, each time slot including one or more time resources. For example, each time slot may represent one symbol, multiple symbols, or other time units. In some embodiments, each time slot 11241 may be separated from each other time slot 11241 by an IFS (e.g., SIFS). In some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into time slots 11241 of equal length. In some other embodiments or instances, the first wireless access point may divide the time resources into unequal time slots 1124. In the illustrated example, the time period 11201 includes three time slots 1124. 1A ,1124 2B and 1124 3C, but the number of time slots may be more or less than three, and may be adjusted or distributed differently in different time periods 1120 within the same TXOP 1102 or subsequent TXOPs 1102.

[0141] In some such embodiments, block 1008 of process 1000 may further include allocating each of the one or more time slots 11241 to a respective subset of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., two or more wireless stations) for direct wireless communication. For example, each subset of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication in another time slot 11241 allocated to a different subset of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations. In some embodiments, during at least one time slot 11241, for example, during the last time slot 1124 1C During the time slot 1124, at least some (or all) of the first group of wireless stations may be allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points including AP2 and AP3. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and other wireless access points may not be restricted to the time slot 1124. 1C Direct wireless communication to any single BSS in the network.

[0142] Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless access point and the selected wireless access points including AP2 and AP3 may exchange one or more wireless packets to further coordinate the time slot scheduling of the time slot 1124 in the time period 1120. For example, the exchange may include transmitting an identifier of one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations to at least one of the selected access points. For example, each wireless station may be uniquely identified by a combination of a BSS color and an associated identifier (AID). The exchange may further include receiving an identifier of one or more wireless stations associated with the wireless access point from the wireless access point, the one or more wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may coordinate which wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to wireless stations associated with other wireless access points during one or more time slots (e.g., time slots 11242 and 11243) respectively allocated to the other wireless access points AP2 and AP3. Similarly, the coordination may include determining which wireless stations in the group of wireless stations associated with other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations during one or more time slots in time slot 11241 allocated to the first group of wireless stations.

[0143] Similarly, each selected access point AP2 and AP3 may divide its allocated time period 11202 or 11203, respectively, into a portion 11222 or 11223, respectively, reserved for regular infrastructure BSS traffic of associated wireless stations in its BSS. As described above, each time period 11202 and 11203 further includes a portion of a subset of time resources that may be reserved for direct wireless communication between the corresponding wireless station or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs including the first group of wireless stations. As further described above, each access point AP2 and AP3 may divide the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into one or more time slots 11242 or 11243, respectively, each time slot including one or more time resources. In some embodiments, as further described below, the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 may be configured to synchronize the timing of at least the overlapping time slots of the time slots 11241, 11242, and 11243.

[0144] Each access point AP2 and AP3 may allocate each of the one or more time slots 11242 and 11243 to a respective subset of wireless stations associated with the respective access point for direct wireless communication. In some embodiments, at least some of the time slots 1124 may be coordinated or correspond to each other. For example, during at least one of the time slots 11241, 11242, and 11243, for example, corresponding common time slots 1124 in each time period 11201, 11202, and 11203, respectively. 1C ,1124 2B and 1124 3A During this time, at least some (or all) of the wireless stations associated with the corresponding access points may be allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 may not restrict direct wireless communications to any single BSS in the common time slot.

[0145] After selecting access points to participate in TXOP 1102 in block 1004 and allocating sets of time (and, in some embodiments, frequency) resources in blocks 1004 and 1006, the first wireless access point then grants, schedules, or otherwise actually allocates (e.g., indicates allocation) the corresponding time resources to the selected access points in a scheduling allocation phase 1106. For example, the first wireless access point may transmit a CAP TXOP AP Schedule (CTAS) frame 1114 at time t3, which, for each selected access point, includes an indication of the time (and, in some embodiments, frequency) resources allocated to the corresponding access point and usable by the corresponding access point and its BSS during TXOP 1102 to transmit data to or receive data from one or more corresponding associated wireless stations. For example, the CTAS frame 1114 may be transmitted at time t3 (i.e., a SIFS duration after the CTR frame 1112). In such an embodiment, the first wireless packet transmitted by the first wireless access point in block 1010 of process 1000 includes the CTAS frame 1114.

[0146] To transmit the CTAS frame 1114, the first wireless access point may transmit a PPDU including the same CTAS trigger frame in each of a plurality of subchannels of the wireless channel (e.g., in each of a plurality of 20 MHz channels). For example, the CTAS frame 1114 may include a non-HT repeat trigger frame in each 20 MHz channel. In this manner, other access points do not need to operate on the same 20 MHz primary channel to receive and process the CTAS frame 1114. In some implementations, a source address field and a BSSID field (e.g., in a MAC header) associated with the CTAS frame 1114 are set to the MAC address of the first wireless access point, and a destination address field (e.g., in a MAC header) associated with the CTAS frame 1114 is set to the broadcast address.

[0147] For each selected access point, each repetitive trigger frame of the CTAS frame 1114 may include an indication of the time resources allocated to the corresponding access point and its BSS. For example, each trigger frame of the CTAS frame 1114 may include a user information field for each selected access point. Each user information field may include a corresponding APID of the corresponding access point. For example, the APID may be a MAC address of the access point, a BSSID associated with the access point, or a BSS color associated with the access point. For the corresponding access point, each user information field includes an indication of the start time of the corresponding allocated time resource. For example, the user information field may include an indication of the absolute or relative time at which the symbol, time slot, or allocated time resource starts. The user information field may also include the time duration of the corresponding allocated time resource, for example, in symbols, time slots, or milliseconds (ms). In some embodiments, the CTAS frame 1114 further includes an indication of the time slot scheduling, for example, in one or more user information fields, and in some instances, further includes an identifier of the wireless station that is allocated to use the corresponding time slot. For the corresponding selected access point, each user information field may further include an indication of the frequency resources that the corresponding access point can use when using the corresponding allocated time resources. For example, the user information field may indicate one or more channels or subchannels (e.g., one or more 20 MHz channels) or one or more resource units (RUs) that may be used by the corresponding access point and its BSS when using the allocated time resources. As described elsewhere herein, in some embodiments or examples, the first wireless access point and one or more of AP2 and AP3 may be configured to communicate via CAP TDMA and CAP OFDMA simultaneously. As described above, in other embodiments or examples, the CTAS frame 1114 may allocate all available frequency resources to each selected access point for use when using its corresponding allocated time resources.

[0148] After transmitting the CTAS frame 1114, the first wireless access point transmits a CAP TXOP local scheduling (CTLS) frame 11161 to the first group of wireless stations in its BSS at time t4. Similarly, each selected access point AP2 and AP3 may also transmit corresponding CTLS frames 11162 and 11163 to the associated wireless stations in its corresponding BSS at time t4, respectively. In some embodiments, the CTAS frame 1114 includes at least one trigger frame configured to trigger the selected access points AP2 and AP3 to transmit corresponding CTLS frames 11162 and 11163 to their associated BSSs at the same time as the first wireless access point transmits the CTLS frame 11161 to its associated BSS at time t4 (e.g., after a SIFS time duration after the CTAS frame 1114). Each CTLS frame 1116 may identify the time (and frequency) resources allocated to the corresponding access point and its associated BSS, and may indicate that the identified time resources are reserved for use by the corresponding BSS or otherwise allocated to the corresponding BSS. Notably, for access points with CAP TDMA capabilities, the CTAS frame 1114 is configured to cause the selected access points to transmit corresponding CTLS frames 1116 regardless of their respective NAVs.

[0149] In some embodiments, the second wireless packet transmitted by the first wireless access point in block 1012 of process 1000 includes a CTLS frame 11161. In such embodiments, the CTLS frame 11161 includes an indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs for direct wireless communication. As described above, for each of one or more stations of the first group of wireless stations, the indication may include an indication of one or more specific time slots 11241 allocated to the corresponding wireless station for direct wireless communication. For example, in some embodiments, the CTLS frame 11161 includes a time slot schedule that defines the time slots and an identifier (e.g., based on the BSS color and AID) of the associated wireless station that is allocated to use the corresponding time slot 11241. In some other embodiments, the second wireless packet may include an indication of the subset of time and frequency resources allocated for direct wireless communication in another frame and may be transmitted, for example, after transmitting the wireless packet including the CTLS frame 12161. In some embodiments, the CTLS frame 11161 or other frames may include one or more other parameters of the time slot 11241, such as, for example, frame types of direct wireless communications allowed to be transmitted during the time slot 11241 or any other control information for controlling direct wireless communications during the time slot.

[0150] In some embodiments, the CTLS frames 1116 transmitted by the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 are non-HT repeat frames. That is, in some embodiments, each CTLS frame 1116 is the same as other frames. In addition, each CTLS frame 1116 transmitted by the first wireless access point and the selected access point can be transmitted simultaneously via all available frequency resources of the wireless channel. In this way, the CTLS frames 1116 will not interfere destructively with each other, and the stations receiving the CTLS frames 1116 can correctly decode them. In some embodiments, the source address field associated with each CTLS frame 1116 (e.g., in the MAC header) is set to the same multicast address or other predefined address associated with CAP TDMA transmission. Wireless stations supporting CAP TDMA can be configured so that when they receive a frame with a multicast address, they decode and parse the corresponding frame. In some embodiments, the BSSID field associated with each CTLS frame 1116 (e.g., in the MAC header) is set to the BSSID of the first wireless access point. In some such embodiments, the destination address field associated with each CTLS frame 1116 (eg, in a MAC header) is set to the same broadcast address.

[0151] In some embodiments, each CTLS frame 1116 transmitted by the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 includes an information element (IE) for each access point AP1, AP2 and AP3, and for the corresponding access point, the information element includes an indication of the start time of the corresponding allocated time resource. For example, each IE may include an indication of the absolute or relative time at which the symbol, time slot or allocated time resource starts. The IE may also include the duration of the corresponding allocated time resource, for example, in symbols, time slots or ms. In some embodiments, each CTLS frame 1116 further includes, for example, in one or more IEs, an indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated for direct wireless communication. For example, the IE may include a time slot schedule and an identifier of a wireless station allocated to use the corresponding time slot. As described elsewhere herein, each IE may further include an indication of frequency resources (e.g., one or more channels, subchannels or RUs) available for use when using the corresponding allocated time resources. Because stations associated with the selected access point may not be within range of the CTAS frame 1114, or otherwise unable to receive and process the CTAS frame, the use of the CTLS frame 1116 ensures that these stations are aware of the allocated time (and frequency) resources.

[0152] After the access point and local scheduling during the scheduling allocation phase 1106, the data transmission phase 1108 can begin. During the data transmission phase 1108, the BSS controlled by the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 can share the time and frequency resources of the TXOP 1102 as described above. For example, in the first portion 11221 of the first time period 11201, the first wireless access point can transmit downlink (DL) communications to the first group of wireless stations or receive uplink (UL) communications therefrom during the first portion 11221 using any of the single-user (SU) or multi-user (MU) techniques described above (e.g., MU MIMO or MU OFDMA).

[0153] During the time slot 11241, the first group of wireless stations may transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations within the BSS controlled by the first wireless access point, and in some embodiments or examples, to or from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by, for example, access points AP2 and AP3. In some embodiments, the first wireless access point avoids transmitting on one or more wireless channels associated with TXOP 1102 during the time slot 11241. However, as an exception, in some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may transmit a trigger frame at the beginning of one or more time slots 11241, the trigger frame initiating direct wireless communications by the wireless stations assigned to use the corresponding time slots 11241. For example, the trigger frame may indicate to the first group of wireless stations that they are allowed to contend for access during the corresponding time slots 11241. In some other such embodiments, the first wireless access point may transmit an RDG frame at the beginning of one or more time slots 11241, the RDG frame initiating direct wireless communications by the wireless stations assigned to use the corresponding time slots 11241.

[0154] In some implementations, there may be a guard (or "non-transmission") interval (eg, a SIFS duration) between the time periods 1120 allocated to the respective access points to buffer and prevent interference that may result from overlapping communications due to timing errors.

[0155] In order to ensure that the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 or their corresponding wireless stations transmit or receive their respective data communications only during their allocated time resources (so that they do not interfere with each other), the first wireless access point can synchronize the selected access point in time, and in some instances, synchronize their respective wireless stations. For example, in some embodiments, in the beginning of the data transmission phase 1108, the first wireless access point transmits a trigger frame (referred to herein as a CAP TXOP trigger (CTTRIG) frame) at time t5 after transmitting the CTLS frame 1116, so that the selected access point is synchronized in time with the first wireless access point. In some embodiments, data communication can start a SIFS duration after the CTTRIG frame. It is worth noting that access points with CAP TDMA capabilities are configured to transmit and receive data communications, acknowledgment (ACK) frames, and trigger frames during their allocated time resources, regardless of their respective NAVs. In addition, wireless stations compatible with CAP TDMA can be configured to be in active listening mode at least during the corresponding allocated time resources, and enable them to transmit and receive data communications, ACK frames, and trigger frames, regardless of their respective NAVs.

[0156] As described above, in some embodiments, such as simplex embodiments, a wireless station receiving direct wireless communication from other wireless stations in a corresponding time slot is allowed to transmit an acknowledgment of the direct wireless communication transmitted in the corresponding time slot during the next time slot.

[0157] Fig.12 A timing diagram illustrating an example reserved frequency resource supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. For example, a first wireless access point and a neighboring access point may be configured for coordinated access point (CAP) OFDMA. Still referring to reference Fig.10 In the process 1000 described, a first wireless access point (AP1) obtains a TXOP 1202 in block 1002 and shares the TXOP with one or more other coordinating access points (eg, AP2) using OFDMA. Fig.12 As illustrated, in some implementations, TXOP 1202 includes multiple phases or periods, including a first TXOP indication phase 1204 , a second scheduling allocation phase 1206 , and a third data transmission phase 1208 .

[0158] As mentioned above Fig.11As described, in order to obtain TXOP 1202 in block 1002, the first wireless access point contends for access to the wireless medium on one or more channels using, for example, CSMA / CA and EDCA techniques. TXOP 1202 may obtain a broadband wireless channel at time t0, such as a bonded channel formed by a primary channel and one or more secondary channels. For example, the broadband wireless channel may be a 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz channel. After obtaining TXOP 1202, and in order to ensure interference-free communication during TXOP 1202, the first wireless access point may further reserve the wireless channel by transmitting an RTS frame (not shown) to one or more of its associated wireless stations. The RTS frame is configured to cause at least one station to transmit a CTS frame.

[0159] As mentioned above Fig.11 As described, in some embodiments, in order to select one or more other coordinating wireless access points to participate in the TXOP 1202 in block 1004, the first wireless access point performs a TXOP availability indication procedure in a TXOP indication phase 1204, during which the first wireless access point learns of the desire or intent of the other access points to participate in the TXOP 1202. For example, the process 1000 may further include advertising the availability of frequency resources in the TXOP 1202 during the TXOP indication phase 1204. Specifically, at time t1, the first wireless access point transmits a CTI frame 1210 indicating that the TXOP 1202 frequency resources can be shared by the first wireless access point to the other wireless access points, for example, to the other access points in its ESS. For example, the first wireless access point may have previously learned about other neighboring access points in its vicinity based on information in beacons or other management frames received from the other access points.

[0160] As further described above, after transmitting the CTI frame 1210, the first wireless access point may receive a CTR frame 1212 from each of the one or more candidate APs at time t2 indicating that the corresponding access point wishes to participate in the TXOP 1202. Fig.12 In the example shown, AP2 and AP3 are among the candidate APs that transmit respective CTR frames 12122 and 12123 to the first wireless access point. Based on the reception of the CTR frame 1212, the first wireless access point may then select one or more candidate APs to participate in the TXOP 1202.

[0161] As mentioned above, in reference Fig.10In block 1006 of the described process 1000, the first wireless access point may allocate corresponding time and frequency resource sets of the TXOP 1202 to itself and each selected access point. In some embodiments, the time resources in each time and frequency resource set completely overlap over the time duration of the entire TXOP 1202, while the frequency resources do not overlap over at least a portion of the bandwidth. In some other embodiments or examples, the time resources may also not overlap over at least some portions of the time duration. Thus, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point may allocate different time resources in addition to allocating different frequency resources.

[0162] For example, the first wireless access point may divide the available frequency resources of the TXOP 1202 into a plurality of bandwidth segments 1220, each bandwidth segment including one or more frequency resources for itself or one of the selected access points, and each frequency resource does not overlap with any of the other bandwidth segments 1220. For example, each bandwidth segment 1220 may include one or more channels (e.g., 20 MHz subchannels) or resource units (RUs) within a bonded wireless channel. In some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the TXOP 1202 into equal bandwidth segments 1220, wherein the number of equal bandwidth segments 1220 is equal to the number of access points sharing the TXOP 1202. For example, as Fig.12 As illustrated, the first wireless access point may divide the TXOP 1202 into two equal bandwidth segments 1220, one bandwidth segment 12201 for the first wireless access point and one bandwidth segment 12202 for the selected access point AP2. In some other embodiments or examples, the first wireless access point may divide the frequency resources into unequal bandwidth segments 1220. For example, the first wireless access point may select for itself a wider bandwidth segment 12201 of the TXOP 1202 that includes more frequency resources than the frequency resources in the other bandwidth segments 1220 allocated to the other selected access points. In some embodiments where the CTR frame 1212 includes an indication of a buffer status or an indication of a desired amount of frequency resources, the first wireless access point may allocate frequency resources to the selected access points based on their respective buffer status or requested frequency resources.

[0163] As described above, in block 1008, the first wireless access point may allocate a subset of the time and frequency resources of TXOP 1202 to at least a first group of wireless stations in a BSS controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communication. For example, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the available frequency resources of bandwidth segment 12201 into a plurality of portions, including a portion 12221 that it reserves for conventional infrastructure BSS traffic from itself to the first group of wireless stations or from the first group of wireless stations to itself. Bandwidth segment 12201 further includes a portion of the subset containing frequency resources that may be reserved for direct wireless communication between the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs. In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to transmit direct wireless data communications to other wireless stations outside the subset of time and frequency resources reserved for direct wireless communication.

[0164] In some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into one or more frequency slots 12241, each frequency slot including one or more frequency resources. For example, each frequency slot can represent a group of subcarriers (or tones), an RU, or other frequency unit. In some embodiments, each frequency slot 12241 can be separated from each other frequency slot 12241 by a guard band. In some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into frequency slots 12241 of equal width. In some other embodiments or instances, the first wireless access point can divide the frequency resources into unequal frequency slots 1224. In the illustrated example, the frequency segment 12201 includes two frequency slots 1224. 1A , and 1224 2B However, the number of frequency slots 12241 may be more or less than two, and may be adjusted or distributed differently within different bandwidth segments 1220 within the same TXOP 1202 or subsequent TXOPs 1202.

[0165] In some such embodiments, block 1008 of process 1000 may further include allocating each of the one or more frequency slots 12241 to a respective subset of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., two or more wireless stations) for direct wireless communication. For example, each subset of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication in another frequency slot 12241 allocated to a different subset of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations. In some embodiments, during at least one of the frequency slots 12241, such as during the frequency slot 1224 1BDuring this period, at least some (or all) of the first group of wireless stations may be allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points including AP2 and AP3. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and other wireless access points may not be restricted to the frequency slot 1224. 1B Direct wireless communication to any single BSS in the network.

[0166] As mentioned above Fig.11 Similarly described, the first wireless access point and the selected access point including AP2 can exchange one or more wireless packets to further coordinate the frequency slot scheduling of the frequency slot 1224 in the frequency segment 1220. For example, the exchange can include transmitting the identifier of one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations to the selected access point. The exchange can further include receiving the identifier of one or more wireless stations associated with the wireless access point configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations from the wireless access point AP2. The first wireless access point and the selected wireless access point can coordinate which wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to wireless stations associated with other wireless access points during one or more frequency slots (e.g., frequency slot 12242) allocated to the selected wireless access point AP2. Similarly, the coordination can include determining which wireless stations in the group of wireless stations associated with the access point AP2 are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations during one or more frequency slots allocated to the first group of wireless stations in the time slot 12241.

[0167] Similarly, the selected access point AP2 can divide its allocated frequency segment 12202 into a portion 12222 of it reserved for regular infrastructure BSS traffic of associated wireless stations in its BSS. As described above, the bandwidth segment 12202 further includes a portion of a subset of frequency resources that can be reserved for direct wireless communication between the corresponding wireless station or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs including the first group of wireless stations. As further described above, the selected access point AP2 can divide the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into one or more frequency slots 12242, each of which includes one or more frequency resources.

[0168] As described above, the selected access point AP2 may allocate each of the one or more frequency slots 12242 to a corresponding subset of wireless stations associated with the corresponding access point for direct wireless communication. In some embodiments, at least some of the frequency slots 1224 may be coordinated or correspond to each other. For example, corresponding common frequency slots 1224 in bandwidth segment 12201 1B and 1224 2BIn some such embodiments, at least some (or all) of the wireless stations associated with the corresponding access point may be allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and the selected access point may not restrict direct wireless communications to any single BSS in a common frequency slot.

[0169] As mentioned above Fig.11 As described, after selecting access points to participate in TXOP 1202 in block 1004 and allocating sets of frequency (and in some embodiments, time) resources in blocks 1004 and 1006, the first wireless access point then grants, schedules, or otherwise actually allocates (e.g., indicates allocation) corresponding frequency resources to the selected access points in a scheduling allocation phase 1206. For example, the first wireless access point may transmit a CTAS frame 1214 at time t3, for each selected access point, the frame including an indication of frequency (and in some embodiments, time) resources allocated to the corresponding access point and usable by the corresponding access point and its BSS during TXOP 1202 to transmit data to or receive data from one or more corresponding associated wireless stations. In such an embodiment, the first wireless packet transmitted by the first wireless access point in block 1010 of process 1000 includes the CTAS frame 1214.

[0170] As similarly described above, for each selected access point, the CTAS frame 1214 may include an indication of the frequency resources allocated to the corresponding access point and its BSS. For example, each trigger frame of the CTAS frame 1214 may include a user information field for each selected access point. For the corresponding access point, each user information field includes an indication of the allocated frequency resources. For example, the user information field may include an indication of a group of subcarriers, RUs, or channels allocated to the corresponding access point. In some embodiments, the CTAS frame 1214 further includes an indication of frequency slot scheduling, for example in one or more user information fields, and in some instances, further includes an identifier of a wireless station that is allocated to use the corresponding frequency slot. As indicated above, for the corresponding selected access point, each user information field may further include an indication of the time resources that the corresponding access point can use when using the corresponding allocated frequency resources. In other embodiments or instances, the CTAS frame 1214 may allocate all available time resources to each selected access point for use when using its corresponding allocated frequency resources.

[0171] After transmitting the CTAS frame 1214, the first wireless access point transmits a CTLS frame 12161 to the first group of wireless stations in its BSS at time t4. Similarly, the selected access point AP2 may also transmit a corresponding CTLS frame 12162 to the associated wireless stations in its corresponding BSS at time t4. Each CTLS frame 1216 may identify the frequency (and time) resources allocated to the corresponding access point and its associated BSS, and may indicate that the identified frequency resources are reserved for use by the corresponding BSS or otherwise allocated to the corresponding BSS.

[0172] In some embodiments, the second wireless packet transmitted by the first wireless access point in block 1012 of process 1000 includes a CTLS frame 12161. In such embodiments, the CTLS frame 12161 includes an indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs for direct wireless communication. As described above, for each of one or more stations of the first group of wireless stations, the indication may include an indication of one or more specific frequency slots 12241 allocated to the corresponding wireless station for direct wireless communication. For example, in some embodiments, the CTLS frame 12161 includes a frequency slot schedule that defines the frequency slots and identifiers of associated wireless stations (e.g., based on BSS colors and AIDs) that are allocated to use the corresponding frequency slots 12241. In some other embodiments, the second wireless packet may include an indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated for direct wireless communication in another frame and may be transmitted, for example, after transmitting the wireless packet including the CTLS frame 12161. In some embodiments, the CTLS frame 12161 or other frames may include one or more other parameters of the frequency slot 12241, such as, for example, frame types of direct wireless communications allowed to be transmitted in the frequency slot 12241 or any other control information for controlling direct wireless communications in the frequency slot.

[0173] In some embodiments, each CTLS frame 1216 transmitted by the first wireless access point and the selected access point AP2 includes an IE for each access point, and for the corresponding access point, the IE includes an indication of the subcarrier, RU or channel in its allocated frequency resources. In some embodiments, each CTLS frame 1216 further includes, for example in one or more IEs, an indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated for direct wireless communication. For example, the IE may include a frequency slot schedule and an identifier of a wireless station allocated to use the corresponding time slot. As described elsewhere herein, each IE may further include an indication of the time resources (e.g., one or more symbols or time slots) available for use when using the corresponding allocated frequency resources.

[0174] After the access point and local scheduling during the scheduling allocation phase 1206, the data transmission phase 1208 can begin. During the data transmission phase 1208, the BSSs controlled by the first wireless access point and the selected access points AP2 and AP3 can share the time and frequency resources of the TXOP 1202 as described above. For example, in the first portion 12221 of the first bandwidth segment 12201, the first wireless access point can transmit DL communications to the first group of wireless stations or receive UL communications from them using any of the SU or MU techniques described above (e.g., MU MIMO or MU OFDMA) in the first portion 12221.

[0175] Within frequency slot 12241, the first group of wireless stations may transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations within the BSS controlled by the first wireless access point, and in some embodiments or examples, to or from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by, for example, the selected access point AP2 or other selected or non-selected access points. In some embodiments, the first wireless access point avoids transmitting in one or more frequency slots 12241.

[0176] As described above, the first wireless access point can synchronize the selected access point in time, and in some instances, synchronize their respective wireless stations. For example, in some embodiments, in the beginning portion of the data transmission phase 1208, the first wireless access point transmits a CTTRIG frame at time t5 after transmitting the CTLS frame 1216 to synchronize the selected access point in time with the first wireless access point. In some embodiments, data communication can begin a SIFS duration after the CTTRIG frame.

[0177] In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations may be enabled for NAN operation, and the direct wireless communication may include NAN communication. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may only allow wireless stations in the NAN network to access one or more wireless channels in the time slot 1124 or frequency slot 1224 allocated for direct wireless communication. For example, the indication of the subset of time and frequency resources transmitted in block 1012 may include an indication of a NAN cluster ID identifying the wireless stations that are allocated to access the one or more wireless channels in the time slot 1124 or frequency slot 1224. In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations outside of the time slot 1124 or frequency slot 1224. The first group of wireless stations may operate the NAN network alone or in combination with other NAN-enabled wireless stations, which may be associated with other BSSs controlled by other wireless access points.

[0178] In some such embodiments, process 1000 may further include receiving a wireless packet including an action frame from at least one wireless station in the first group of wireless stations, the wireless packet indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, including the timing of the periodic NAN discovery window. In some other embodiments, process 1000 may further include scanning one or more NAN discovery channels and determining that the first group of wireless stations is operating the NAN network. The first wireless access point may then identify one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, including the timing of the NAN discovery window. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may transmit a wireless packet to each of the one or more other wireless access points, the wireless packet including an indication of the one or more parameters associated with the NAN network. The first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may then synchronize or schedule time slots 1124 or frequency slots 1224 based on one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, including the timing of the NAN discovery window.

[0179] Fig.13 A flow chart illustrating an example process 1300 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 1300 may be implemented by a wireless access point or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 1300 may be implemented by a wireless access point such as described above with reference to Figure 5 In some embodiments, the process 1300 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The depicted wireless access point may be one of AP 102 and AP 602 .

[0180] In some implementations, in block 1302, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Fig.13A wireless access point (referred to as a first wireless access point) receives a first wireless packet from a second wireless access point that has obtained a TXOP (a TXOP owner). The first wireless packet indicates that a plurality of time resources and frequency resources of the TXOP can be shared by the TXOP owner. In block 1304, the first wireless access point can transmit a second wireless packet to the TXOP owner indicating a desire to participate in the TXOP. In block 1306, the first wireless access point can receive a third wireless packet from the TXOP owner, the third wireless packet including an indication of a first set of time and frequency resources of the TXOP, the first set of time and frequency resources having been allocated to the first wireless access point and its BSS and being usable by the first wireless access point to transmit data to or receive data from a first group of wireless stations associated with the first wireless access point during the TXOP. In block 1308, the first wireless access point allocates a first subset of time and frequency resources of the first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. In block 1310, the first wireless access point transmits a fourth wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the fourth wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources. Subsequently, in block 1312, the first wireless access point may refrain from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

[0181] As mentioned above Fig.11 and 12 As described, in box 1302, during a TXOP availability indication process in a TXOP indication phase of a TXOP, a first wireless access point may receive a first wireless packet from a second wireless access point. The first wireless packet may advertise the availability of time and frequency resources in the TXOP. For example, the first wireless packet may include a CTI frame as described above. After receiving the CTI frame, the first wireless access point may transmit a second wireless packet indicating a desire to participate in the TXOP at 1304. For example, the second wireless packet may include a CTR frame as described above. In box 1306, the first wireless access point receives a third wireless packet, the third wireless packet including an indication of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point by the second wireless access point. For example, the third wireless packet may include a CTAS frame as described above.

[0182] As described above, in block 1308, the first wireless access point may allocate a subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources to at least a first group of wireless stations in a BSS controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communication. For example, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides one or both of the available time resources and available frequency resources allocated to it into a plurality of portions, including a portion thereof reserved for regular infrastructure BSS traffic and a portion of the subset of time and frequency resources reserved for direct wireless communication between the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs. As described above with reference to Fig.11 and 12 As described, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the portion reserved for direct wireless communication into one or more time slots or frequency slots.

[0183] As further described above, after transmitting the CTAS frame, the first wireless access point may transmit a CTLS frame to a first group of wireless stations in its BSS. The CTLS frame identifies time and frequency resources allocated to the corresponding access point and its associated BSS, and may indicate that the identified time and frequency resources are reserved for use by the corresponding BSS or otherwise allocated to the corresponding BSS. In some embodiments, the fourth wireless packet transmitted by the first wireless access point in box 1310 includes a CTLS frame. In such an embodiment, the CTLS frame includes an indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs for direct wireless communication. As described above, for each of one or more stations in the first group of wireless stations, the indication may include an indication of one or more specific time slots or frequency slots allocated to the corresponding wireless station for direct wireless communication. The first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may refrain from transmitting in the indicated time slots and frequency slots.

[0184] As described above, a first group of wireless stations may be enabled for NAN operation, and direct wireless communication may include NAN communication. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may only allow wireless stations in the NAN network to access one or more wireless channels in time slots or frequency slots allocated for direct wireless communication. In some such embodiments, process 1300 may further include receiving a wireless packet from a second wireless access point, the wireless packet including an indication of one or more parameters associated with the NAN network. The first wireless access point and the second wireless access point may then synchronize or schedule time slots or frequency slots based on one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, including the timing of the NAN discovery window.

[0185] Fig.14A flow chart illustrating an example process 1400 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 1400 may be performed by a wireless station or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 1400 may be performed by a wireless station such as described above with reference to Figure 5 In some embodiments, the process 1400 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. Figure 1 and Figure 6B The description is performed by a wireless station such as one of STAs 104 and 604.

[0186] In some implementations, in block 1402, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Fig.14 A first wireless station (referred to as a first wireless station) receives a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including the first wireless station. The first group of wireless stations is configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The first wireless packet includes an indication of a first subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first BSS. As described above with reference to Fig.11 and Fig.12 As described above, the first set of time and frequency resources may be one of a plurality of sets of time and frequency resource sets of a TXOP owned by the first wireless access point or a second wireless access point controlling a second BSS. As further described above, the first wireless access point may allocate a subset of time and frequency resources to a first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. In block 1402, the first wireless station transmits a second wireless packet directly to another wireless station using one or more time and frequency resources of the first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless station. For example, the second wireless packet may be a SU PPDU that may be transmitted in accordance with 802.11be or a higher revision of the IEEE 802.11 specification.

[0187] As mentioned above Fig.11 and Fig.12 As described above, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides one or both of a first set of available time resources and available frequency resources allocated to the first BSS into a plurality of portions, including a portion thereof reserved for regular infrastructure BSS traffic and a portion comprising a subset of time and frequency resources reserved for direct wireless communications between the first set of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs. As further described above, in some embodiments, the first wireless access point divides the portion reserved for direct wireless communications into one or more time slots or frequency slots.

[0188] In some embodiments, the first wireless packet may be a wireless packet destined for a first group of wireless stations carrying a CTLS frame. As described above, the CTLS frame may include a first identifier of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the corresponding BSS and a second indication of a subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first group of wireless stations or other wireless stations associated with other BSSs for direct wireless communication. As described above, for the first wireless station, the indication may include an indication of one or more specific time slots or frequency slots allocated to the first wireless station and other wireless stations inside or outside the first BSS for direct wireless communication. The first wireless station may then contend for access to the wireless medium during the corresponding time slot.

[0189] As described above, the first group of wireless stations may be enabled for NAN operation, and the direct wireless communication may include NAN communication. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point may only allow wireless stations in the NAN network to access one or more wireless channels in time slots or frequency slots allocated for direct wireless communication. The first wireless station may form or join the NAN network before or after associating with the first wireless access point. In some embodiments, the first wireless station is configured to transmit a wireless packet including an action frame to the first wireless access point, the wireless packet indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window. In some other embodiments, the first wireless station may periodically broadcast a wireless packet indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window. In some embodiments, except for direct wireless communication in the NAN discovery window, the first group of wireless stations is not allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations outside the first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first group of wireless stations. In other words, the first group of wireless stations is not allowed to transmit direct wireless data communication outside the allocated time slots and frequency slots.

[0190] In some embodiments, in one or more allocated time slots and frequency slots, the first wireless station can exchange one or more wireless packets with at least one other wireless station in the NAN network to establish a NAN data link (NDL) in the allocated time slots and frequency slots. In such embodiments, the first wireless station can transmit the second wireless packet directly to the other wireless station via the NDL.

[0191] Some wireless communication protocols, including wireless communication protocols supporting the IEEE 802.11 standard, support the use of silent periods. Each silent period refers to a time duration during which generally no wireless communication devices (including APs and STAs) are allowed to access the indicated one or more wireless channels of the shared frequency band. One initial motivation for supporting silent periods is to allow the AP to perform measurements without interference, such as measurements for dynamic frequency selection (DFS) purposes. In some implementations, silent periods can recur, for example, based on a given beacon interval. In addition, more than one silent period can be defined for each beacon interval.

[0192] Various other aspects generally relate to synchronous channel access techniques. Each synchronized coordinated access window may include a scheduled contention period during which multiple synchronized access points contend for access, followed by a communication period during which the successful AP has a TXOP. In some embodiments, a synchronized access point may schedule periodically recurring synchronized coordinated access windows by periodically transmitting a silence element. The silence element establishes a recurring silence period during which legacy devices are not allowed to transmit. The wireless access point may also transmit one or more silence override elements associated with the corresponding silence element. The silence override element indicates to the synchronized access point, and in some instances to its associated wireless station, that the silence period established by the corresponding silence element will be used for synchronized channel access, and therefore, allows synchronized APs to contend for access during the corresponding contention period 1604. In some embodiments, the wireless access point may schedule a reserved access window within the coordinated access window, during which a D2D-enabled wireless device is allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other D2D-enabled wireless devices.

[0193] Fig.15 A flow chart illustrating an example process 1500 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 1500 may be implemented by a wireless access point or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 1500 may be implemented by a wireless access point such as described above with reference to Figure 5 In some embodiments, the process 1500 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The depicted wireless access point may be one of AP 102 and AP 602 .

[0194] In block 1502, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Fig.15A wireless access point (referred to as a first wireless access point) exchanges one or more first wireless packets with a first group of wireless access points including the first wireless access point to coordinate scheduling of a periodic coordinated access window, during which the first group of wireless access points are scheduled to contend for access to one or more wireless channels. In block 1504, the first wireless access point transmits a second wireless packet including a first indication of the periodic coordinated access window. In block 1506, the first wireless access point determines that a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point is operating a NAN network, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations in the NAN network. In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations is not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels during the periodic coordinated access window. In block 1508, the first wireless access point transmits a third wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the third wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window within the one or more periodic coordinated access windows. The second indication indicates that the first group of wireless stations is allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations in the NAN network on the one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. Then, at block 1510, the first wireless access point may refrain from transmitting wireless communications during the reserved access window.

[0195] Fig.16 A timing diagram illustrating an example reserved access window for supporting coordinated D2D communications according to some embodiments is shown. Fig.16 The coordinated access windows 1602 (eg, including a first coordinated access window 16021, a second coordinated access window 16022, and a third coordinated access window 16023) that appear synchronously and repeatedly are shown. The coordinated access windows 1602 are based on the time interval τ. 接入 Each coordinated access window 1602 includes a duration τ at the beginning of the coordinated access window. Cntd Each coordinated access window 1602 also includes a corresponding contention period 1604 (e.g., contention periods 16041, 16042, and 16043). Comm 1606 (e.g., communication periods 16061, 16062, and 16063). In some implementations, only during the contention period 1604 at the beginning of the scheduled coordinated access window 1602, the first group of wireless access points that enable synchronous channel access and wish to communicate over the wireless medium contend for access. During any portion of the periodic coordinated access window 1602, the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels. In some implementations, there may be a contention period of duration τ between adjacent coordinated access windows 1602. 开放An open period during which the wireless medium is open to regular contention-based access by other wireless communication devices (and optionally also by synchronized APs) as governed by, for example, CSMA / CA and EDCA techniques.

[0196] The second wireless packet transmitted in box 1504 includes channel access information for establishing one or more recurring synchronized coordinated access windows 1602. In some embodiments, the channel access information is conveyed by one or more silence elements and one or more silence override elements included in the first wireless packet. Each silence element indicates to the second group of wireless communication devices (which may include the first group of wireless access points and the first group of wireless stations) that they are not allowed to transmit on the wireless channel during the silence period defined by the silence element. In some embodiments, the silence override element indicates to the first group of wireless access points whether, for each of the one or more silence elements, the first group of wireless access points are allowed to contend for access to the wireless channel during the contention period of the silence period defined by the corresponding silence element. In this way, the first group of wireless access points can schedule periodically recurring synchronized coordinated access windows by establishing periodic silence periods, as described in reference to Fig.16 Described synchronous coordination access window 1602.

[0197] If the silence override element indicates that the first set of wireless access points is allowed to contend for access during a corresponding contention period 1604 of each of the one or more upcoming silence periods, each of the first set of wireless access points may contend for access to the wireless channel during the one or more contention periods 1604 indicated by the corresponding silence element and the silence override element. If the first wireless access point wins the contention during one of the contention periods 1604, it is the owner of the TXOP on the wireless channel during the corresponding communication period 1606 of the corresponding coordinated access window 1602. The first wireless access point may then exchange one or more wireless data packets on the wireless channel during the TXOP.

[0198] As described above, a silence element establishes a recurring silence period during which a compatible device that receives the silence element is generally not allowed to transmit. In this way, synchronous channel access can be protected. For example, compatible devices may include a first group of wireless access points and a first group of wireless stations. The first group of wireless access points are access points that support synchronous channel access (synchronous access points). However, although no device is generally allowed to contend for access during the silence period, the silence override element indicates to the first group of wireless access points (and the first group of wireless stations) that the silence period established by the corresponding silence element is for synchronous channel access, and therefore, the first group of wireless access points is allowed to contend for access during the corresponding contention period 1604. In addition, the first group of wireless stations that support synchronous channel access may also understand the silence override element, and therefore, may be configured to receive DL communications from the first wireless access point during the silence period, and transmit UL communications to the first wireless access point during the silence period in response to receiving a trigger frame from the first wireless access point.

[0199] The second group of wireless communication devices may also include legacy devices, which may be devices configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11ax or an earlier revision or version of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards but not configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11be or a subsequent revision or version of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The second group of wireless communication devices may also include devices that otherwise do not support or have disabled or do not implement synchronous channel access. The second group of wireless communication devices may be configured to interpret the silence element, but may not be configured to interpret the silence override element.

[0200] For example, exchanging one or more first wireless packets including channel access information in block 1502 may include broadcasting, multicasting, otherwise transmitting or receiving frames including or indicating silence elements and silence override elements, such as management frames. For example, channel access information including silence elements and silence override elements may be shared in beacons 1608 (including beacons 16081, 16082, and 16083) or probe response frames. For example, beacon 16081 may include a first silence element and a silence override element, which identifies a first silence period to be used by a first group of wireless access points as coordinated access window 16021.

[0201] In some embodiments or examples where the first wireless access point may or may not be a master (or controlling) access point (or configured to operate therein), the first wireless access point may transmit a first wireless packet including channel access information to other synchronization access points in the first set of wireless access points in block 1502. Alternatively, also in some other embodiments or examples where the first wireless access point may or may not be a master (or controlling) access point (or configured to operate therein), the first wireless access point may receive a first wireless packet including channel access information from at least one other synchronization access point in the first set of wireless access points in block 1502.

[0202] The channel access information exchanged in block 1502 may include various channel access parameters associated with the recurring coordinated access windows 1602, such as, for example, one or more of the following: defining one or more relevant wireless channels for scheduling channel access, a start time of the next coordinated access window 1602, a time interval τ between the start of consecutive coordinated access windows 1602, 接入 , the duration of each contention period 1604 τ Cntd , the duration of each communication period 1606 is τ Comm , or the total duration of each coordinated access window 1602. As described above, each silent period, and therefore coordinated access window 1602, may recur according to a TBTT or other time interval.

[0203] However, while devices are generally not allowed to contend for access during a silence period, the silence override element indicates to the first group of wireless access points (and in some instances to the first group of wireless stations) that the silence period established by the corresponding silence element is for synchronous channel access, and therefore, the first group of wireless access points are allowed to contend for access during the corresponding contention period 1604 of the corresponding synchronous coordinated access window 1602. The silence override element may include multiple fields, including an element ID, a length, and a silence override map, and in some embodiments, a duration field or a reserved field. The silence override map may include a bitmap in which each bit is associated with a corresponding silence element. The value of each bit in the bitmap may indicate whether the silence period defined by the corresponding silence element is used as a synchronous coordinated access window 1602, and therefore, whether the first group of wireless access points are allowed to contend for access during the contention period 1604 defined by the silence element associated with the bit in the corresponding coordinated access window 1602. The duration field may indicate the duration of each contention period 1604. For example, the duration field may include a 4-bit value indicating the duration to be used for all contention periods (in some other implementations, the duration field may include multiple subfields, each subfield indicating the duration of a corresponding contention period for a corresponding silent period). In some other examples, another field in a beacon or other management frame shared by synchronized access points may be used to signal the duration of the contention period.

[0204] As described above, if the first wireless access point wins the contention during one of the contention periods 1604, it is the owner of the TXOP on the wireless channel during the corresponding communication period 1606 of the corresponding coordinated access window 1602. The first wireless access point can then exchange one or more wireless data packets with the first group of wireless stations on the wireless channel during the TXOP. For example, the first wireless access point can transmit DL data to one or more of the first group of wireless stations. Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless access point can receive UL data from one or more of the first group of wireless stations.

[0205] In some implementations, the first group of wireless access points may signal their support for synchronization channel access to other wireless access points (and associated wireless stations) in the first group of wireless access points in management frames such as beacon frames and probe response frames, or other frames transmitted between synchronization access points. For example, the first group of wireless access points may signal their support for synchronization channel access in an operational element included in a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or other frame. The first group of wireless access points may also receive management frames, such as probe requests, from associated wireless stations, including the first group of wireless stations, indicating the stations' support for synchronization channel access. For example, the wireless stations may signal their support for synchronization channel access in a capability element included in a probe request frame.

[0206] In some embodiments, the first group of wireless access points may receive one or more explicit synchronization signals from a dedicated controller or another access point operating as a master (or controlling) access point. The first group of wireless access points may synchronize their respective clocks based on the synchronization signals to facilitate implementation of the recurring coordinated access windows. In some other embodiments, the first group of wireless access points may synchronize their clocks based on various frames (e.g., beacon frames or other management frames, control frames, or data frames) received from other wireless access points in the first group of wireless access points participating in the recurring coordinated access windows.

[0207] As described above, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations is also configured for D2D communication (also generally referred to herein as direct wireless communication) with other wireless stations. In a particular embodiment, the first group of wireless stations operates a NAN network alone or in combination with other NAN-enabled wireless stations associated with other wireless access points. As further described above, in box 1506, the first wireless access point determines that the first group of wireless stations is operating a NAN network. For example, in some embodiments, the determination in box 1506 includes scanning one or more NAN discovery channels to determine whether the first group of wireless stations is operating a NAN network. Additionally or alternatively, the determination in box 1506 may be based on receiving a wireless packet including an action frame from one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations, the wireless packet indicating one or more parameters associated with the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window.

[0208] In some embodiments, in response to determining that the first group of wireless stations is operating a NAN network, the first wireless access point transmits a third wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations in block 1508, for example, during a portion of the corresponding communication period 1606 (e.g., the end portion of the communication period 1606 as shown), the third wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window 1610 within one or more periodic coordinated access windows 1602. In some embodiments, the second packet and the third wireless packet may be the same packet; that is, a single wireless packet may include both the first indication of the coordinated access window 1602 and the second indication of the reserved access window 1610. The second indication indicates that despite the first indication, the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations in the NAN network on one or more wireless channels. The first group of wireless stations may then contend for access to the wireless medium during one or more portions of the reserved access window 1610. The first wireless access point may avoid transmitting wireless communications during the reserved access window 1610.

[0209] In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations are not permitted to transmit direct wireless data communications to other wireless stations outside of the reserved access window 1610 (although they may be able to transmit other direct non-data wireless communications in discovery windows, e.g., outside of the coordinated access window 1602). In some embodiments, the indication of the periodic reserved access window 1610 indicates to the first group of wireless stations that they are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations outside of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., in other BSSs managed by other wireless access points) during at least a portion of the one or more reserved access windows 1610. In some embodiments, the indication of the reserved access window 1610 indicates to other wireless stations in other BSSs that they are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations, which may include the first group of wireless stations, on one or more wireless channels during at least a portion of the one or more reserved access windows 1610.

[0210] In some implementations, process 1600 further includes exchanging one or more wireless packets with one or more other access points in the first set of wireless access points to coordinate scheduling of periodic reserved access windows 1610. For example, the exchange of one or more wireless packets may include transmitting beacons and receiving beacons from other wireless access points, the beacons each including timing information for coordinating scheduling of periodic reserved access windows 1610.

[0211] In some embodiments, the indication of the reserved access window 1610 includes one or more other parameters of the reserved access window 1610. In some embodiments, the one or more other parameters include a time slot schedule defining a series of time slots in the reserved access window 1610. In some embodiments, each time slot may be separated from each other time slot by an IFS (e.g., SIFS). The number of time slots may vary and may be adjusted or distributed differently in different reserved access windows 1610 in different coordinated access windows 1602. In some such embodiments, the process 1500 further includes allocating each of the one or more time slots to a respective subset of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., two or more wireless stations) for direct wireless communication. For example, each wireless station subset in the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication in another time slot allocated to a different wireless station subset in the first group of wireless stations.

[0212] In some embodiments, during at least one time slot, at least some of the first group of wireless stations may be allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points in the NAN network. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may not restrict direct wireless communications to any single BSS in at least one time slot. Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may exchange one or more wireless packets to further coordinate time slot scheduling of time slots within at least one reserved access window. In some such embodiments, the exchange includes transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations to at least one wireless access point. The exchange further includes receiving from the wireless access point identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the wireless access point configured for direct wireless communications with other wireless stations. The two wireless access points may coordinate which wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points during one or more time slots allocated to the other wireless access points. Similarly, the coordination may include determining which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with other wireless access points are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations during one or more time slots allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

[0213] In some embodiments, the one or more other parameters identified in the indication of the reserved access window 1610 may further include a frame type for allowing direct wireless communication transmitted during the reserved access window 1610 or any other control information for controlling direct wireless communication during the reserved access window 1610.

[0214] In some implementations, the process 1500 further includes transmitting a trigger frame to the first group of wireless stations at the beginning of the reserved access window 1610, the trigger frame triggering or initiating direct wireless communication by the wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations. For example, the trigger frame may indicate to the first group of wireless stations that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to contend for access during corresponding time slots within the reserved access window 1610. In some other implementations, the process 1500 may further include transmitting a RDG frame to one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations to initiate direct wireless communication with other wireless stations.

[0215] Fig.17 A flow chart illustrating an example process 1700 for wireless communication to support coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. The operations of process 1700 may be performed by a wireless station or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 1700 may be performed by a wireless station such as described above with reference to Figure 5In some embodiments, the process 1700 may be performed by a wireless communication device such as the wireless communication device 500 described above. Figure 1 and Figure 6B The description is performed by a wireless station such as one of STAs 104 and 604.

[0216] In block 1702, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as Fig.17 A wireless access point (hereinafter referred to as a first wireless station) forms or joins a NAN network including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including the first wireless station. Each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations is configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations in the NAN network. In block 1704, the first wireless station receives a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including the first group of wireless stations. The first wireless packet includes a first indication of a periodic coordinated access window during which wireless access points including the first wireless access point are scheduled to contend for access to one or more wireless channels, and during which wireless stations including the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels. In block 1706, the first wireless station receives a second wireless packet from the first wireless access point, the second wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window within one or more periodic coordinated access windows in the periodic coordinated access window, the second indication indicating that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations in the NAN network on one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. In block 1708, the first wireless station transmits a third wireless packet directly to another wireless station during at least one reserved access window in the periodic coordinated access windows.

[0217] As mentioned above about Fig.16As described, the first wireless packet received in box 1704 includes channel access information for establishing one or more recurring synchronized coordinated access windows 1602. During any portion of the periodic coordinated access window 1602, the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels. As described above, in some embodiments, the channel access information is conveyed by one or more silence elements and one or more silence override elements included in the first wireless packet. Each silence element indicates to a group of wireless communication devices, which may include a first group of wireless access points and a first group of wireless stations, that they are not allowed to transmit on the wireless channel during a silence period defined by the silence element. In some embodiments, the silence override element indicates to the first group of wireless access points whether, for each of the one or more silence elements, the first group of wireless access points are allowed to contend for access to the wireless channel during a contention period of the silence period defined by the corresponding silence element. In this way, the first group of wireless access points can schedule periodically recurring synchronized coordinated access windows by establishing periodic silence periods, as described with reference to Fig.16 Described synchronous coordination access window 1602.

[0218] As described above, a silence element establishes a recurring silence period during which a compatible device that receives the silence element is generally not allowed to transmit. In this way, synchronous channel access can be protected. For example, compatible devices may include a first group of wireless access points and a first group of wireless stations. The first group of wireless access points are access points that support synchronous channel access (synchronous access points). However, although no device is generally allowed to contend for access during the silence period, the silence override element indicates to the first group of wireless access points (and the first group of wireless stations) that the silence period established by the corresponding silence element is for synchronous channel access, and therefore, the first group of wireless access points is allowed to contend for access during the corresponding contention period 1604. In addition, the first group of wireless stations that support synchronous channel access may also understand the silence override element, and therefore, may be configured to receive DL communications from the first wireless access point during the silence period, and transmit UL communications to the first wireless access point during the silence period in response to receiving a trigger frame from the first wireless access point.

[0219] As described above, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations is also configured for D2D communication with other wireless stations. In a specific embodiment, the first group of wireless stations operates a NAN network alone or in combination with other NAN-enabled wireless stations associated with other wireless access points. In some such embodiments, the first wireless station transmits a wireless packet to the first wireless access point, the wireless packet including one or more parameters of the NAN network, the one or more parameters including the timing of the NAN discovery window. In some other embodiments, the first wireless station may schedule the NAN discovery window of the NAN network to start periodically after a fixed time duration after each periodic coordinated access window 1602. In some embodiments, the first wireless station may also transmit an indication of the periodic coordinated access window 1602 to other wireless stations in the NAN network in the NAN discovery window.

[0220] As described above, in block 1706, the first wireless station receives a second wireless packet from the first wireless access point, the second wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window 1610 within one or more periodic coordinated access windows 1602. As further described above, the second indication indicates that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations in the NAN network on one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. In some embodiments, the second packet and the third wireless packet may be the same packet; that is, a single wireless packet may include both the first indication of the coordinated access window 1602 and the second indication of the reserved access window 1610.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations are not permitted to transmit direct wireless data communications to other wireless stations outside of the reserved access window 1610 (although they may be able to transmit other direct non-data wireless communications in discovery windows outside of the coordinated access window 1602, for example). In some embodiments, the second indication of the reserved access window 1610 received in block 1706 indicates to the first group of wireless stations that they are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations outside of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., in other BSSs managed by other wireless access points) during at least a portion of the one or more reserved access windows 1610. In some embodiments, the indication of the reserved access window 1610 received in block 1706 indicates to other wireless stations in other BSSs that they are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations, which may include the first group of wireless stations, on one or more wireless channels during at least a portion of the one or more reserved access windows 1610.

[0222] In some embodiments, the indication of the reserved access window 1610 received in block 1706 includes one or more other parameters of the reserved access window 1610. In some embodiments, the one or more other parameters include a time slot schedule defining a series of time slots in the reserved access window 1610. In some embodiments, each time slot may be separated from each other time slot by an IFS (e.g., SIFS). The number of time slots may vary and may be adjusted or distributed differently in different reserved access windows 1610 in different coordinated access windows 1602. In some such embodiments, each of the one or more time slots may be allocated to a respective subset of the first group of wireless stations (e.g., two or more wireless stations) for direct wireless communication. For example, each subset of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations may not be allowed to transmit direct wireless communication in another time slot allocated to a different subset of wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations. In some embodiments, during at least one time slot, at least some of the first group of wireless stations may be allowed to transmit or receive direct wireless communication to or from other wireless stations associated with other BSSs controlled by other access points in the NAN network. In some such embodiments, the first wireless access point and the other wireless access points may not be restricted from direct wireless communication to any single BSS in at least one time slot.

[0223] In some embodiments, the one or more other parameters identified in the indication of the reserved access window 1610 may further include a frame type for allowing direct wireless communication transmitted during the reserved access window 1610 or any other control information for controlling direct wireless communication during the reserved access window 1610.

[0224] In some implementations, the process 1700 further includes receiving a trigger frame from the first wireless access point at the beginning of the reserved access window 1610, the trigger frame triggering or initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station. For example, the first wireless station may contend for access during a corresponding time slot within the reserved access window 1610 based on the reception of the trigger frame. In some other implementations, the process 1700 may further include receiving a RDG frame from the first wireless access point to initiate direct wireless communication with other wireless stations.

[0225] Fig.18 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 1800 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 1800 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.11 The wireless communication device 1800 may be the wireless communication device 1800 described above. Figure 51. The wireless communication device 1800 may be an example implementation of a wireless communication device 500 described herein. For example, the wireless communication device 1800 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 1800 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1800 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the respective embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in an AP such as one of the described APs 102 and 602. In some other implementations, the wireless communication device 1800 may be an AP including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 620).

[0226] The wireless communication device 1800 includes a receiving component 1810, a communication manager 1820, and a transmitting component 1830. The communication manager 1820 further includes a coordinated access component 1822. A portion of the coordinated access component 1822 can be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 1822 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 1822 can be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0227] The receiving component 1810 is configured to receive an RX signal representing an uplink communication from a wireless station or a communication from other APs. The transmitting component 1830 is configured to transmit a TX signal representing a downlink communication to a wireless station or a communication to other APs. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 1822 is configured to generate and cause the transmitting component 1830 to transmit a first wireless packet to at least a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by a first wireless access point, each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations being configured to perform direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The first wireless packet may include an indication of a periodic reserved access window, which indicates to the first group of wireless stations that they are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels during the periodic reserved access window. The coordinated access component 1822 is further configured to cause the transmitting component 1830 to refrain from transmitting wireless communication during the periodic reserved access window.

[0228] Fig.19A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 1900 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 1900 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.12 The wireless communication device 1900 may be the wireless communication device 1900 described above. Figure 5 1. The wireless communication device 1900 may be an example implementation of a wireless communication device 500 described herein. For example, the wireless communication device 1900 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 1900 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1900 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the respective embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in the STA is one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication device 1900 may be a STA including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 625).

[0229] The wireless communication device 1900 includes a receiving component 1910, a communication manager 1920, and a transmitting component 1930. The communication manager 1920 further includes a coordinated access component 1922. A portion of the coordinated access component 1922 can be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 1922 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 1922 can be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0230] The receiving component 1910 is configured to receive RX signals representing downlink communications from a wireless access point or communications directly from other wireless stations. The transmitting component 1930 is configured to transmit TX signals representing uplink communications to the wireless access point or communications directly to other wireless stations. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 1922 is configured to receive a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including a first group of wireless stations via the receiving component 1910, the first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station configured to communicate directly with other wireless stations. The first wireless packet may include an indication of a periodic reserved access window, which indicates to the first wireless station that it is allowed to communicate direct wireless communications to one or more other wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations on one or more wireless channels during the periodic reserved access window. The coordinated access component is further configured to generate a second wireless packet during at least one periodic reserved access window and cause the transmitting component 1930 to transmit the second wireless packet directly to another wireless station.

[0231] Fig. 20 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 2000 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2000 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.13 The wireless communication device 2000 may be the wireless communication device 2000 described above. Figure 5 2. The wireless communication device 2000 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 2000 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2000 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the respective embodiments. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in the AP such as one of the described APs 102 and 602. In some other implementations, the wireless communication device 2000 may be an AP including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 620).

[0232] The wireless communication device 2000 includes a receiving component 2010, a communication manager 2020, and a transmitting component 2030. The communication manager 2020 further includes a coordinated access component 2022. A portion of the coordinated access component 2022 can be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2022 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 2022 can be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0233] The receiving component 2010 is configured to receive an RX signal representing an uplink communication from a wireless station or a communication from other APs. The transmitting component 2030 is configured to transmit a TX signal representing a downlink communication to a wireless station or a communication to other APs. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2022 is configured to contend for access to the medium to obtain a transmission opportunity for wireless communication via one or more wireless channels. The coordinated access component 2022 is also configured to select one or more other wireless access points to participate in the transmission opportunity. The coordinated access component 2022 is also configured to allocate a corresponding time and frequency resource set of a plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity to each of the first wireless access point and the selected wireless access point. The coordinated access component 2022 is also configured to allocate a first time and frequency resource subset of the time and frequency resource set allocated to the first wireless access point to a first group of wireless stations in a BSS controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The coordinated access component 2022 is further configured to generate a first wireless packet and cause the transmitting component 2030 to transmit the first wireless packet to one or more selected wireless access points, the first wireless packet including, for each selected wireless access point, an indication of a set of time and frequency resources allocated to the respective wireless access point. The coordinated access component 2022 is additionally configured to generate a second wireless packet and cause the transmitting component 2030 to transmit the second wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the second wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources. The coordinated access component 2022 is further configured to cause the transmitting component 1030 to refrain from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

[0234] Fig.21 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 2100 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2100 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.14 The wireless communication device 2100 may be the wireless communication device 2100 described above. Figure 52. The wireless communication device 2100 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 2100 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2100 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the respective embodiments. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in an AP such as one of the described APs 102 and 602. In some other implementations, the wireless communication device 2100 may be an AP including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 620).

[0235] The wireless communication device 2100 includes a receiving component 2110, a communication manager 2120, and a transmitting component 2130. The communication manager 2120 further includes a coordinated access component 2122. A portion of the coordinated access component 2122 can be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2122 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 2122 can be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0236] The receiving component 2110 is configured to receive an RX signal representing an uplink communication from a wireless station or a communication from other APs. The transmitting component 2130 is configured to transmit a TX signal representing a downlink communication to a wireless station or a communication to other APs. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2122 is configured to receive a first wireless packet from a second wireless access point via the receiving component 2110, the first wireless packet indicating that a plurality of time and frequency resources of a transmission opportunity owned by the second wireless access point can be shared by the second wireless access point. The coordinated access component 2122 is also configured to generate a second wireless packet indicating an expectation to participate in the transmission opportunity and cause the transmitting component 2130 to transmit the second wireless packet to the second wireless access point. The coordinated access component 2122 is further configured to receive a third wireless packet from the second wireless access point via the receiving component 2110, the third wireless packet including an indication of a first set of time and frequency resources among a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources, the first set of time and frequency resources being allocated to the first wireless access point and being usable by the first wireless access point to transmit data to or receive data from a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point during a transmission opportunity. The coordinated access component 2122 is further configured to allocate a first subset of time and frequency resources of the first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations. The coordinated access component 2122 is additionally configured to generate a fourth wireless packet and cause the transmitting component 2130 to transmit the fourth wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the fourth wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources. The coordinated access component 2122 is further configured to cause the transmitting component 2130 to refrain from transmitting wireless communication in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

[0237] Fig. 22 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 2200 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2200 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.15 The wireless communication device 2200 may be the wireless communication device 2200 described above. Figure 5 2. The wireless communication device 2200 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 2200 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2200 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the wireless communication device 2200. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in the STA is one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication device 2200 may be a STA including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 625).

[0238] The wireless communication device 2200 includes a receiving component 2210, a communication manager 2220, and a transmitting component 2230. The communication manager 2220 further includes a coordinated access component 2222. A portion of the coordinated access component 2222 may be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2222 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 2222 may be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0239] The receiving component 2210 is configured to receive an RX signal representing a downlink communication from a wireless access point or a communication directly from another wireless station. The transmitting component 1930 is configured to transmit a TX signal representing an uplink communication to the wireless access point or a communication directly to another wireless station. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2222 is configured to receive a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including a first group of wireless stations via the receiving component 2210, the first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station, the first group of wireless stations being configured to communicate directly with other wireless stations. The first wireless packet may include an indication of a first time and frequency resource subset of a first time and frequency resource set allocated to the first BSS in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets of transmission opportunities owned by the first wireless access point or the second wireless access point, the first time and frequency resource subset being allocated for the first group of wireless stations to communicate directly with other wireless stations. The coordinated access component 2222 is further configured to generate a second wireless packet and cause the transmitting component 2230 to transmit the second wireless packet directly to another wireless station using the first time and frequency resource subset.

[0240] Fig.23 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 2300 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2300 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.16 The wireless communication device 2300 may be the wireless communication device 2300 described above. Figure 52. The wireless communication device 2300 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 2300 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2300 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the wireless communication device 2300. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in an AP such as one of the described APs 102 and 602. In some other implementations, the wireless communication device 2300 may be an AP including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 620).

[0241] The wireless communication device 2300 includes a receiving component 2310, a communication manager 2320, and a transmitting component 2330. The communication manager 2320 further includes a coordinated access component 2322. A portion of the coordinated access component 2322 can be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2322 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 2322 can be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0242] The receiving component 2310 is configured to receive an RX signal representing an uplink communication from a wireless station or a communication from other APs. The transmitting component 2330 is configured to transmit a TX signal representing a downlink communication to a wireless station or a communication to other APs. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2322 is configured to exchange one or more first wireless packets with a first group of wireless access points including a first wireless access point via the receiving component 2310 and the transmitting component 2330 to coordinate the scheduling of a periodic coordinated access window, during which the first group of wireless access points are scheduled to contend for access to one or more wireless channels. The coordinated access component 2322 is also configured to generate a second wireless packet and cause the transmitting component 2330 to transmit the second wireless packet, the second wireless packet including a first indication of the periodic coordinated access window. The coordinated access component 2322 is also configured to determine that a first group of wireless stations in a first BSS controlled by the first wireless access point is operating a NAN network, and each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations is configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations in the NAN network. In some embodiments, the first group of wireless stations is not allowed to contend for access to the one or more wireless channels during the periodic coordinated access window. The coordinated access component 2322 is further configured to generate a third wireless packet and cause the transmitting component 2330 to transmit the third wireless packet to the first group of wireless stations, the third wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window within the one or more periodic coordinated access windows, the second indication indicating that the first group of wireless stations is allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations in the NAN network on the one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. The coordinated access component 2322 is further configured to cause the transmitting component 2330 to refrain from transmitting wireless communications during the reserved access window.

[0243] Fig.24 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 2400 supporting coordinated D2D communication according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2400 is configured to perform the above-referenced Fig.17 The wireless communication device 2400 may be the wireless communication device 2400 described above. Figure 5 2400. For example, the wireless communication device 2400 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as modem 502), at least one processor (e.g., processor 504), and at least one memory (e.g., memory 508). The wireless communication device 2400 may further include at least one radio (e.g., radio 506). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 2400 may be a processor such as described above with reference to the wireless communication device 2400. Figure 1 and Fig. 6A The device used in the STA is one of the STAs 104 and 604 described above. In some other embodiments, the wireless communication device 2400 may be a STA including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one antenna (such as antenna 625).

[0244] The wireless communication device 2400 includes a receiving component 2410, a communication manager 2420, and a transmitting component 2430. The communication manager 2420 further includes a coordinated access component 2422. A portion of the coordinated access component 2422 can be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2422 is at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a portion of the coordinated access component 2422 can be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding component.

[0245] The receiving component 2410 is configured to receive an RX signal representing a downlink communication from a wireless access point or a communication directly from other wireless stations. The transmitting component 2430 is configured to transmit a TX signal representing an uplink communication to a wireless access point or a communication directly to other wireless stations. In some embodiments, the coordinated access component 2422 is configured to form or join a NAN network including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station, each of the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations in the NAN network. The coordinated access component 2422 is also configured to receive a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first BSS including the first group of wireless stations via the receiving component 2410. The first wireless packet may include a first indication of a periodic coordinated access window, during which wireless access points including the first wireless access point are scheduled to contend for access to one or more wireless channels, and during which wireless stations including the first group of wireless stations are not allowed to contend for access to one or more wireless channels. The coordinated access component 2422 is additionally configured to receive a second wireless packet from the first wireless access point via the receiving component 2410, the second wireless packet including a second indication of a reserved access window within one or more periodic coordinated access windows, the second indication indicating that the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to other wireless stations in the NAN network on the one or more wireless channels regardless of the first indication. The coordinated access component 2422 is further configured to generate a third wireless packet during at least one reserved access window and cause the transmitting component 2430 to transmit the third wireless packet directly to another wireless station.

[0246] As used herein, unless explicitly indicated otherwise, "or" is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense. For example, "a or b" may include only a, only b, or a combination of a and b. As used herein, a phrase that refers to "at least one of" or "one or more of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including individual members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover the following possibilities: only a, only b, only c, a combination of a and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination of a, b, and c.

[0247] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein may 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. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of their functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0248] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0249] In addition, various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Thus, while features may be described above as functioning in a particular combination and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be removed from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination, or a variation of a subcombination.

[0250] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all the illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In addition, the accompanying drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart or a flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted may be incorporated into the example processes schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously or between any illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the implementation described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, 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 method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point, the first wireless access point controlling a first basic service set (BSS), the method comprising: transmitting a first wireless packet to a first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station, the first wireless packet including an indication of a first subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first BSS from a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources of transmission opportunities owned by the first wireless access point, the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first subset of time and frequency resources being allocated for use by the first group of wireless stations for the direct wireless communication with the other wireless stations; as well as Transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources is refrained.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the BSS include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from the other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs. 4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from the other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station.

8. A wireless access point for wireless communication, the wireless access point comprising: at least one memory; as well as at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and operable to cause the wireless access point to: transmitting a first wireless packet to a first group of wireless stations in a first basic service set (BSS) controlled by the wireless access point, the first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station, the first wireless packet including an indication of a first subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first BSS from a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources of transmission opportunities owned by the wireless access point, the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first subset of time and frequency resources being allocated for use by the first group of wireless stations for the direct wireless communication with the other wireless stations; as well as Transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources is refrained.

9. The wireless access point of claim 8, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the BSS include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

10. The wireless access point of claim 9, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from the other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

11. The wireless access point of claim 9, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station.

12. The wireless access point of claim 8, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

13. The wireless access point of claim 12, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from the other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

14. The wireless access point of claim 12, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station.

15. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless station, the method comprising: receiving a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first basic service set (BSS) including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including the first wireless station, the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first wireless packet including an indication of a first subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first BSS from a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources of transmission opportunities owned by the first wireless access point or a second wireless access point, the first subset of time and frequency resources being allocated to be available for use by the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as A second wireless packet is transmitted directly to another wireless station using the first subset of time and frequency resources.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the BSS include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed contention access to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station, wherein the transmission of the second wireless packet is in response to the trigger frame.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed contention access to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station, wherein the transmission of the second wireless packet is in response to the trigger frame.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the first subset of time and frequency resources is available only for contention-based use by the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless data communications with other wireless stations.

23. A wireless communication device, comprising: at least one memory; as well as at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and operable to cause the wireless communication device to: receiving a first wireless packet from a first wireless access point controlling a first basic service set (BSS) including a first group of wireless stations, the first group of wireless stations including a first wireless station, the first group of wireless stations being configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations, the first wireless packet including an indication of a first subset of time and frequency resources of a first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first BSS from a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources of transmission opportunities owned by the first wireless access point or a second wireless access point, the first subset of time and frequency resources being allocated to be available for use by the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as A second wireless packet is transmitted directly to another wireless station using the first subset of time and frequency resources.

24. The wireless communication device of claim 23, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the BSS include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

25. The wireless communication device of claim 24, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed contention access to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

26. The wireless communication device of claim 24, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station, wherein transmission of the second wireless packet is responsive to the trigger frame.

27. The wireless communication device of claim 23, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

28. The wireless communication device of claim 27, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, the first wireless station is allowed contention access to transmit or receive direct wireless communications to or from other wireless stations associated with one or more other BSSs.

29. The wireless communication device of claim 27, wherein the first wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by the first wireless station, wherein transmission of the second wireless packet is responsive to the trigger frame.

30. The wireless communication device of claim 23, wherein the first subset of time and frequency resources is available only for contention-based use by the first group of wireless stations for direct wireless data communications with other wireless stations.

31. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point, the method comprising: obtaining a transmission opportunity for wireless communication via one or more wireless channels; allocating a respective set of time and frequency resources of a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources of the transmission opportunity to each of the first wireless access point and one or more other wireless access points; allocating a first subset of the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to a first group of wireless stations in a basic service set (BSS) controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communications with other wireless stations; transmitting a first wireless packet to the one or more other wireless access points, the first wireless packet including, for each of the one or more other wireless access points, an indication of a respective set of time and frequency resources allocated to the respective wireless access point; as well as A second wireless packet is transmitted to the first group of wireless stations, the second wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points in the other wireless access points.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to at least one other wireless access point of the other wireless access points; receiving, from the at least one other wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the at least one other wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to a wireless station associated with the at least one other wireless access point during one or more time slots in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the at least one other wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations during one or more time slots of the first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein: At least one of the one or more time slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding time slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to the other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations during the at least one time slot and the corresponding time slot.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein: The second wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points in the other wireless access points.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to at least one other wireless access point of the other wireless access points; receiving, from the at least one other wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the at least one other wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point in one or more frequency slots in a set of time and frequency resources allocated to the at least one other wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations in one or more frequency slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein: At least one of the one or more frequency slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding frequency slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to the other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations in the at least one frequency slot and the corresponding frequency slot.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein: The second wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

42. The method of claim 31 , further comprising selecting the one or more other wireless access points to participate in the transmission opportunity.

43. The method of claim 31 , further comprising refraining from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

44. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point, the method comprising: receiving a first wireless packet from a second wireless access point, the first wireless packet indicating that a plurality of time and frequency resources of a transmission opportunity owned or to be owned by the second wireless access point can be shared by the second wireless access point; receiving a second wireless packet from the second wireless access point, the second wireless packet including an indication of a first set of time and frequency resources of the plurality of time and frequency resources, the first set of time and frequency resources being allocated to the first wireless access point and usable by the first wireless access point to transmit data to or receive data from a first set of wireless stations in a first basic service set (BSS) controlled by the first wireless access point during the transmission opportunity; allocating a first subset of time and frequency resources of the first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to the first group of wireless stations for use in direct wireless communications with other wireless stations; as well as A third wireless packet is transmitted to the first group of wireless stations, the third wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points in the selected wireless access points.

47. The method of claim 45, further comprising: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to the second wireless access point; receiving, from the second wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point that are configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the second wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point during one or more time slots in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the second wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations during one or more time slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein: At least one of the one or more time slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding time slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to one or more other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations during the at least one time slot and the corresponding time slot.

49. The method of claim 46, wherein: The third wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

50. The method of claim 44, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points.

52. The method of claim 50, further comprising: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to the second wireless access point; receiving, from the second wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point that are configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the second wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point in one or more frequency slots in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the second wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations in one or more frequency slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein: At least one of the one or more frequency slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding frequency slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to one or more other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations in the at least one frequency slot and the corresponding frequency slot.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein: The third wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising refraining from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

56. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: at least one modem; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to: obtaining a transmission opportunity for wireless communication via one or more wireless channels; allocating a respective set of time and frequency resources of a plurality of sets of time and frequency resources for the transmission opportunity to each of the first wireless access point and the one or more other wireless access points; allocating a first subset of the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to a first group of wireless stations in a basic service set (BSS) controlled by the first wireless access point for direct wireless communications with other wireless stations; transmitting a first wireless packet to the one or more other wireless access points, the first wireless packet including, for each of the one or more other wireless access points, an indication of a respective set of time and frequency resources allocated to the respective wireless access point; as well as A second wireless packet is transmitted to the first group of wireless stations, the second wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources.

57. The wireless communication device of claim 56, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

58. The wireless communication device of claim 57, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points in the selected wireless access points.

59. The wireless communication device of claim 57, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to at least one other wireless access point of the other wireless access points; receiving, from the at least one other wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the at least one other wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to a wireless station associated with the at least one other wireless access point during one or more time slots in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the at least one other wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations during one or more time slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

60. The wireless communication device of claim 57, wherein: At least one of the one or more time slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding time slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to one or more other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations during the at least one time slot and the corresponding time slot.

61. The wireless communication device of claim 57, wherein: The second wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

62. The wireless communication device of claim 56, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

63. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points.

64. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to at least one other wireless access point of the other wireless access points; receiving, from the at least one other wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the at least one other wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point in one or more frequency slots in a set of time and frequency resources allocated to the at least one other wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the at least one other wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations in one or more frequency slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

65. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein: At least one of the one or more frequency slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding frequency slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to one or more other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations in the at least one frequency slot and the corresponding frequency slot.

66. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein: The second wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

67. The wireless communication device of claim 66, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to select the one or more other wireless access points to participate in the transmission opportunity.

68. The wireless communication device of claim 66, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to refrain from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

69. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: at least one modem; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one modem and storing processor readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to: receiving a first wireless packet from a second wireless access point, the first wireless packet indicating that a plurality of time and frequency resources of a transmission opportunity owned or to be owned by the second wireless access point can be shared by the second wireless access point; receiving a second wireless packet from the second wireless access point, the second wireless packet including an indication of a first set of time and frequency resources of the plurality of time and frequency resources, the first set of time and frequency resources being allocated to the first wireless access point and usable by the first wireless access point to transmit data to or receive data from a first set of wireless stations in a first basic service set (BSS) controlled by the first wireless access point during the transmission opportunity; allocating a first subset of time and frequency resources of the first set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point to the first group of wireless stations for use in direct wireless communications with other wireless stations; as well as A third wireless packet is transmitted to the first group of wireless stations, the third wireless packet including an indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources.

70. The wireless communication device of claim 69, wherein: The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The time resources in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the first wireless access point include a plurality of time slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more time slots of the plurality of time slots; and The indication of the first subset of time and frequency resources comprises an indication of a time slot schedule for the plurality of time slots.

71. The wireless communication device of claim 70, wherein: During at least one time slot of the one or more time slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points in the selected wireless access points.

72. The wireless communication device of claim 70, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to the second wireless access point; receiving, from the second wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point that are configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the second wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point during one or more time slots in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the second wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations during one or more time slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

73. The wireless communication device of claim 70, wherein: At least one of the one or more time slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding time slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to one or more other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations during the at least one time slot and the corresponding time slot.

74. The wireless communication device of claim 71, wherein: The third wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the time slot schedule and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

75. The wireless communication device of claim 69, wherein: The time resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets overlap with the time resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each time and frequency resource set of the multiple time and frequency resource sets do not overlap with any frequency resources in other time and frequency resource sets; The frequency resources in each of the plurality of time and frequency resource sets of the transmission opportunity include a plurality of frequency slots, and the first subset of time and frequency resources includes one or more frequency slots of the plurality of frequency slots; and The respective indications of the sets of time and frequency resources include an indication of a bandwidth schedule for the plurality of frequency slots.

76. The wireless communication device of claim 75, wherein: In at least one frequency slot of the one or more frequency slots included in the first subset of time and frequency resources, one or more wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to or receive direct wireless communications from other wireless stations associated with one or more other wireless access points.

77. The wireless communication device of claim 75, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to: transmitting identifiers of one or more wireless stations in the first set of wireless stations to the second wireless access point; receiving, from the second wireless access point, identifiers of one or more wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point that are configured for direct wireless communication with other wireless stations; as well as Coordinate with the second wireless access point one or both of the following: which wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations are permitted to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point in one or more frequency slots in the set of time and frequency resources allocated to the second wireless access point; as well as Which wireless stations of the set of wireless stations associated with the second wireless access point are allowed to transmit direct wireless communications to wireless stations of the first set of wireless stations in one or more frequency slots of a first subset of time and frequency resources allocated to the first set of wireless stations.

78. The wireless communication device of claim 75, wherein: At least one of the one or more frequency slots associated with the first subset of time and frequency resources corresponds to a corresponding frequency slot in each of one or more other time and frequency resource sets in a plurality of time and frequency resource sets allocated to one or more other wireless access points, and wherein each wireless station in the first group of wireless stations and each wireless station in the other groups of wireless stations associated with the other wireless access points are allowed to transmit direct wireless communication to each of the other wireless stations in the at least one frequency slot and the corresponding frequency slot.

79. The wireless communication device of claim 75, wherein: The third wireless packet includes a trigger frame indicating the bandwidth scheduling and initiating direct wireless communication by wireless stations in the first group of wireless stations.

80. The wireless communication device of claim 69, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to refrain from transmitting wireless communications in the first subset of time and frequency resources.

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