Improved Spatial Reuse for Wireless Networks

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to improved spatial reuse for a wireless network. Disclosed is a method for wireless communication at a first access point, including: sending a first poll including a first message to a station (STA) served by the first access point, the first message including an indication for the STA to send a first response to a set of one or more access points; receiving the first response to the first poll from the STA; receiving a second response from a second access point in the set of one or more access points, the second response including a signal strength indication of the first response; and selecting the second access point for coordinated spatial reuse associated with receiving the second response.

Description

[0001] Cross - reference

[0002] This application is a divisional application of a Chinese patent application with an application date of August 29, 2019, an application number of 201980055258.2, an invention title of "Improved Spatial Reuse for Wireless Networks", and an applicant of Qualcomm Incorporated. This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 554,058, filed on August 28, 2019, by CHERIAN et al. and titled "IMPROVED SPATIAL REUSE FOR WLAN NETWORKS", and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 724,533, filed on August 29, 2019, by CHERIAN et al. and titled "IMPROVED SPATIAL REUSE FOR WLAN NETWORKS". Each of these applications is assigned to the assignee of this application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, to features for improved spatial reuse in wireless local area network (WLAN) networks. Background Art

[0004] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for a large number of client devices, also known as stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN that complies with the 802.11 series of standards is a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a service set identifier (SSID) broadcast by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames so that any STA within the wireless range of the AP can establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0005] In a typical WLAN, each STA can be associated with only one AP at a time. To identify the AP to which it is to be associated, the STA is configured to perform scans of the wireless channels in each of one or more frequency bands (e.g., the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band). Since wireless networks are becoming increasingly prevalent, the STA may have the opportunity to select one of many WLANs within the STA's range or to select among multiple APs that together form an extended BSS. After associating with an AP, the STA can also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to discover a more suitable AP to which it can be associated. For example, a STA that is moving relative to its associated AP can perform a "roaming" scan to discover an AP with more desirable network characteristics (such as a larger received signal strength indicator (RSSI)).

[0006] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These systems can be multi-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and space). An AP can be coupled to a network, such as the Internet, and can enable stations to communicate via the network, including communicating with other devices coupled to the AP.

[0007] Some wireless devices in a WLAN (such as an AP or a STA) can be configured for extended high throughput (EHT) operation across an extended radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidth spectrum. The extended channel bandwidth spectrum can include spectral portions that include frequency bands traditionally used by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11x Wi-Fi technologies, such as the 5 GHz band, the 2.4 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, the 900 MHz band, etc. The spectrum can also include other frequency bands (such as the 6 GHz band). The wireless connection between an AP and a STA can be referred to as a channel or a link. Each frequency band (e.g., the 5 GHz band) can contain multiple channels (such as each spanning 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, etc.), and each of these channels can be used by an AP or a STA. Based on the enhanced functionality supported by the EHT operation mode at the devices in a WLAN, flexibility and extension in the support for existing fields, frames, and constructs, signaling, and features associated with the operation when utilizing wireless resources may be required. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, or apparatuses for supporting coordinated reuse in an un-managed wireless local area network (WLAN) network. Generally, the described technology provides flexibility expansion and supports access point (AP) coordination, including air signaling cooperation to coordinate and improve spatial reuse (SR) opportunities for signaling on a transmission opportunity (TXOP). AP coordination can support synchronous transmissions of one or more APs that can participate in the coordinated reuse process, while reducing interference and improving system throughput through a managed basic service set (BSS). An AP can be configured for enhanced operation (e.g., extended high throughput (EHT)) and participate in coordinated reuse, including interference management and simultaneous uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) transmissions of one or more APs within a configured range.

[0009] The systems, methods, and devices of this disclosure each have several innovative aspects, none of which alone is responsible for the desired attributes disclosed herein.

[0010] A method for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The method can include: sending a first poll including a first message to a STA served by the first access point after winning a contention for the wireless medium; receiving a first response to the first poll from the STA based on sending the first poll; receiving a second response from a second access point in a set of access points based on sending the first poll, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response; and selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response.

[0011] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The apparatus can include a processor, a memory electronically communicating with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: send a first poll including a first message to a STA served by the first access point after winning a contention for the wireless medium; receive a first response to the first poll from the STA based on sending the first poll; receive a second response from a second access point in a set of access points based on sending the first poll, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response.

[0012] Describes another apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point. The apparatus may include components for performing the following operations: sending a first round of queries including a first message to a STA served by the first access point after winning a contention for a wireless medium; receiving a first response to the first round of queries from the STA based on sending the first round of queries; receiving a second response from a second access point in a set of access points based on sending the first round of queries, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response; and selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response.

[0013] Describes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first access point. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to perform the following operations: sending a first round of queries including a first message to a STA served by the first access point after winning a contention for a wireless medium; receiving a first response to the first round of queries from the STA based on sending the first round of queries; receiving a second response from a second access point in a set of access points based on sending the first round of queries, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response; and selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response.

[0014] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP based on selecting the second access point.

[0015] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, performing synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending an indication for a second access point in a set of access points to perform synchronous DL signaling.

[0016] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication includes an SR start frame and an indication of a maximum allowable transmit power for performing DL signaling on a TXOP.

[0017] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a second round of queries to the second access point after receiving the first response from the STA, wherein receiving the second response may be based on sending the second round of queries.

[0018] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP of a second access point based on one or more of a second poll or a second response, wherein selection of the second access point may be based on determining the criteria.

[0019] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining that a second access point meets the criteria for coordinated reuse, wherein selection of the second access point may be based on determining that the second access point meets the criteria.

[0020] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the criteria for coordinated reuse includes a maximum allowable transmit power of a set of access points and may be based on a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of a first access point to serve a STA at a modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0021] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for identifying an amount of a set of access points and determining a calculation for backoff adjustment to the criteria based on identifying the amount, wherein determining the criteria may be based on determining the calculation.

[0022] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining a first criterion for coordinated reuse associated with a first subchannel of a wireless medium and a second criterion for coordinated reuse associated with a second subchannel of the wireless medium based on at least one of a transmit power requirement of the first subchannel of the wireless medium or a tolerance level associated with the first subchannel, wherein determining the criteria may be based on determining the first criterion for the first subchannel and the second criterion for the second subchannel.

[0023] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a second poll and receiving a second response may be part of a polling procedure for a set of access points initiated by a first access point.

[0024] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a second round of polls to a second access point may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the second round of polls to one or more access points in the set of access points that are different from the second access point.

[0025] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining that one or more access points do not meet the criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP based on determining the criterion, wherein sending the second round of polls to the second access point may be based on determining that one or more access points do not meet the criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0026] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a second round of polls to the second access point may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the second round of polls to the set of access points of the set of access points.

[0027] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a response from a third access point in the set of access points based on sending the second round of polls and selecting the third access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the response from the third access point.

[0028] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second round of polls includes a spatial reuse (SR) poll frame.

[0029] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the SR poll frame includes a trigger frame.

[0030] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the SR poll frame includes one or more of scheduling information for a TXOP or DL reuse information.

[0031] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the scheduling information includes the DL slot size and duration of one or more DL time slots of a TXOP.

[0032] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the DL reuse information includes one or more of the maximum allowable interference for the first access point or the basic service set (BSS) identifier (BSSID) of the set of access points.

[0033] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following: sending a second poll to a third access point in an access point set after receiving a first response from a STA; receiving a response from the third access point based on sending the second poll to the third access point; and selecting the third access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the response from the third access point.

[0034] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP using a second access point and a third access point based on selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse and selecting the third access point for coordinated reuse.

[0035] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, performing synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP may include operations, features, components, or instructions for multiplexing DL signaling of a second access point and DL signaling of a third access point on the TXOP, and wherein the multiplexing includes one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) of time slots or sub-bands of the TXOP.

[0036] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second response includes an SR response frame.

[0037] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the SR response frame of the second response includes one or more of a received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement of a first response made by a STA served by a first access point, a minimum DL transmit power for serving one or more additional STAs by a second access point, buffer status report (BSR) information, or bandwidth query report (BQR) information.

[0038] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the SR response frame of the second response may be included in a high efficiency (HE) trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU).

[0039] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a first round of polling may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a second message to an access point set and receiving a response to the first round of polling from the access point set, where the response may be received after receiving a first response from the STA to the first round of polling.

[0040] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a response to the first round of polling from one or more access points in the access point set, where the response may be based on an indication provided by one or more in the access point set for reuse feedback within the first response.

[0041] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication may be at least part of a preamble of the first response.

[0042] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for having a STA served by a first access point perform a request-to-send (RTS) clear-to-send (CTS) procedure, where the first round of polling may be a multi-user RTS (MU-RTS) frame.

[0043] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the MU-RTS frame of the first round of polling includes one or more of information of a STA served by the first access point or information about one or more BSSIDs of the access point set.

[0044] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first response includes an enhanced CTS (e-CTS) frame.

[0045] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the e-CTS frame of the first round of polling includes a HE preamble and one or more HE-SIG fields.

[0046] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the HE-SIG field of the e-CTS frame includes an indication for identifying one or more access points in the access point set for providing RSSI measurements of the e-CTS frame of the first round of polling.

[0047] A method for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The method may include: sending a first round of queries to a second access point in a set of access points after winning a contention for a wireless medium; measuring a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first round of queries; and selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse based on measuring the signal strength indication.

[0048] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: send a first round of queries to a second access point in a set of access points after winning a contention for a wireless medium; measure a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first round of queries; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on measuring the signal strength indication.

[0049] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The apparatus may include components for: sending a first round of queries to a second access point in a set of access points after winning a contention for a wireless medium; measuring a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first round of queries; and selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse based on measuring the signal strength indication.

[0050] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: send a first round of queries to a second access point in a set of access points after winning a contention for a wireless medium; measure a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first round of queries; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on measuring the signal strength indication.

[0051] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP for utilizing the second access point based at least in part on the measurement, wherein selecting the second access point may be based on determining the criteria.

[0052] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining that the second access point meets the criteria for coordinated reuse, wherein selecting the second access point may be based on determining that the second access point meets the criteria.

[0053] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the criterion for coordinated reuse includes the maximum allowable transmit power of a set of access points and may serve a STA under a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) based on the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of a first access point.

[0054] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP using a second access point based on the selection of the second access point.

[0055] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP may include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting an indication for causing a second access point in the set of access points to participate in the synchronous UL signaling.

[0056] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication includes an SR start frame and an indication of the maximum allowable transmit power for performing UL signaling on a TXOP.

[0057] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting a first poll and measuring the signal strength indication, which may be part of a polling procedure for the set of access points initiated by a first access point.

[0058] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the first poll to a second access point may include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting the first poll to one or more access points in the set of access points.

[0059] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining that one or more access points do not meet the criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP based on determining the criterion, wherein transmitting the first poll to a second access point may be based on determining that one or more access points do not meet the criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0060] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following operations: transmitting the first poll to a third access point in the set of access points; measuring the signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the third access point based on the transmission; and selecting the third access point for coordinated reuse based on the measurement.

[0061] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP using a second access point and a third access point based on selecting the second access point and the third access point for coordinated reuse.

[0062] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP may include operations, features, components, or instructions for allocating a first sub-band of the TXOP for UL signaling associated with a second access point and allocating a second sub-band of the TXOP for UL signaling associated with a third access point.

[0063] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending an SR poll frame to a second access point may include operations, features, components, or instructions for allocating resources for a first poll to a group of access points in a set of access points and sending the first poll to the group of access points based on the allocated resources of the SR poll frame.

[0064] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for measuring a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by a third access point in a set of access points and selecting the third access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication.

[0065] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP using a second access point and a third access point based on selecting the second access point and the third access point for coordinated reuse.

[0066] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for determining, based on transmission, the content of a preamble of a second poll performed by one or more access points in a set of access points, wherein the measured signal strength indication may be based on the content of the preamble.

[0067] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second poll includes a null packet trigger frame.

[0068] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the null data packet trigger frame includes one or more broadcast resource units (RUs) containing a BSS color mapping, where the BSS color mapping of the one or more broadcast RUs can be based on a bit indication in a field of the null data packet trigger frame.

[0069] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first polling includes an SR polling frame.

[0070] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the SR polling frame includes one or more of scheduling information for a TXOP or UL reuse information.

[0071] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the scheduling information includes the UL slot size and duration of one or more UL time slots of a TXOP.

[0072] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the UL reuse information includes one or more of the maximum allowable interference for the first access point or the BSSIDs of a set of access points.

[0073] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the SR polling frame of the first polling includes a trigger frame.

[0074] A method for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The method can include: measuring a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by a STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first polling sent by the second access point; identifying, based on the measurement, an indication of a measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA; and sending a second response to the second access point based on the indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response.

[0075] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The apparatus can include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: measure a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by a STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first polling sent by the second access point; identify, based on the measurement, an indication of a measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA; and send a second response to the second access point based on the indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response.

[0076] Describes another apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point. The apparatus may include components for performing the following operations: measuring a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by a STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first poll sent by the second access point; identifying, based on the measurement, an indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA; and sending a second response to the second access point based on the indication identifying the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response.

[0077] Describes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first access point. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to perform the following operations: measuring a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by a STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first poll sent by the second access point; identifying, based on the measurement, an indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA; and sending a second response to the second access point based on the indication identifying the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response.

[0078] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a second poll from the second access point, where the second poll may be sent after receiving the first response from a STA served by the first access point.

[0079] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a second poll based on one or more access points in an access point set not meeting criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0080] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second poll includes an SR poll frame.

[0081] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second response and performing synchronous DL signaling on the TXOP with the second access point based on receiving the indication to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP from the second access point.

[0082] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first poll includes a MU-RTS frame.

[0083] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first response includes a CTS frame.

[0084] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second response includes an SR response frame.

[0085] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing one or more of the following: determining one or more measurements including an RSSI measurement of a first response made by a STA served by a first access point, a minimum DL transmit power for a second access point to serve one or more additional STAs, buffer status report (BSR) information, or bandwidth query report (BQR) information, wherein transmitting the SR response frame of the second response may be based on determining the one or more measurements.

[0086] A method for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The method may include: receiving a first poll from a second access point in a set of access points; sending a second poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first poll; and receiving an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second poll.

[0087] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive a first poll from a second access point in a set of access points; send a second poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first poll; and receive an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second poll.

[0088] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The apparatus may include components for performing the following operations: receiving a first poll from a second access point in a set of access points; sending a second poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first poll; and receiving an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second poll.

[0089] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first access point is described. The code can include instructions executable by a processor to: receive a first poll from a second access point in a set of access points; send a second poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first poll; and receive an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second poll.

[0090] Some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP with the second access point based on receiving the indication to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP from the second access point.

[0091] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the first poll may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving an indication of resource allocation for a set of access points in the access point set within the first poll, wherein sending the second poll may be based on the indication of the resource allocation.

[0092] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first poll includes an SR poll frame.

[0093] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending the second poll may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a null data packet trigger frame to one or more STAs served by the first access point.

[0094] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the null data packet trigger frame includes one or more broadcast resource units (RUs) containing a BSS color mapping indicated by bits in a field of the null data packet trigger frame.

[0095] In some embodiments of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending the null data packet trigger frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the null data packet trigger frame in a high efficiency (HE) multi-user (MU) PPDU.

[0096] Disclosed is a method for wireless communication at a first access point, including: sending a first probe including a first message to a station (STA) served by the first access point, the first message including an indication for the STA to send a first response to a set of one or more access points; receiving the first response to the first probe from the STA; receiving a second response from a second access point in the set of one or more access points, the second response including an indication of the signal strength of the first response; and selecting the second access point for coordinated spatial reuse associated with receiving the second response.

[0097] Disclosed is a method for wireless communication at a first access point, including: sending a first probe to a second access point in a set of access points, the first probe including a request for a first response sent by one or more stations (STA) served by the second access point to the second access point; receiving a first signal strength indication associated with sending the first probe from the one or more STAs served by the second access point; and selecting the second access point for coordinated spatial reuse associated with the first signal strength indication.

[0098] Disclosed is a method for wireless communication at a first access point, including: receiving a first response including a signal strength indication sent by a station (STA), the first response being associated with a first probe sent by a second access point served by the STA; and sending a second response associated with an indication for reporting the signal strength indication of the first response sent by the STA to the second access point.

[0099] Disclosed is a method for wireless communication at a first access point, including: receiving a first probe from a second access point in a set of access points; sending a second probe associated with receiving the first probe to one or more STAs served by the first access point; and receiving an indication of participating in coordinated spatial reuse on a TXOP associated with sending the second probe from the second access point.

[0100] Details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following drawings may not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0101] Figure 1 Illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0102] Figure 2Block diagram showing an example AP supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0103] Figure 3 Block diagram showing an example STA supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0104] Figure 4 Example of a wireless communication system supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0105] Figure 5 Example of a call flow supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0106] Figure 6 Example of a call flow supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0107] Figure 7 Example of a wireless communication system supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0108] Figure 8 Example of a call flow supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0109] Figure 9 Example of a call flow supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0110] Figure 10 Example of a null packet trigger frame structure supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0111] Figure 11 and Figure 12 Block diagram showing a device supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0112] Figure 13 Block diagram showing a communication manager supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0113] Figure 14 Diagram showing a system including a device supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0114] Figures 15 to 24 Flowchart showing a method supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation Modes

[0115] The following description is directed to implementation modes for purposes of describing innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementation modes can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to either the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or any one of the standards.

[0116] The described implementation modes can also be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to any one of the following arts or technologies: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), AMPS, or other known signals for communication within wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) networks, such as systems utilizing 3G, 4G, or 5G or further implementations thereof.

[0117] In some wireless communication systems including a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), an Extended High Throughput (EHT) environment can provide additional capabilities for coordinated functionality between access points (APs) of one or more Basic Service Sets (BSSs) of the network. The APs can operate independently as part of unmanaged networks supported by different vendors or operators without a backhaul connectivity between the APs. Depending on the configured EHT capabilities, a set of unmanaged APs can cooperate according to air signaling to support coordination to identify improved spatial reuse opportunities on transmission opportunities (TXOPs) of the wireless medium. This coordination for spatial reuse can also be referred to as coordinated reuse. Coordinated reuse can include synchronized uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) transmissions by a group of unmanaged APs on a TXOP. In some examples, implementation modes of coordinated reuse can improve interference management for traffic corresponding to one or more supported BSSs of the AP group and can improve system throughput associated with UL or DL transmissions to managed stations (STAs) of the supported BSSs.

[0118] Techniques for identifying spatial reuse opportunities for coordinated reuse are described. The techniques described may include AP coordination via one or more of a polling procedure or a measured signal strength indication, and include enabling TXOP operation with AP coordination. An AP group may coordinate to determine one or more reuse criteria for performing spatial reuse on a TXOP. The group may be selected on a transient basis to participate in synchronous transmissions based on participating in coordinated reuse, and increase reuse opportunities for medium resources.

[0119] As described, an AP may compete for resources of a wireless medium and may identify a TXOP for signaling for access based on winning the competition. The AP may be referred to as an AP owner (or in some examples a TXOP leader or an AP leader). The AP (e.g., AP owner, TXOP leader, AP leader) may initiate a procedure for selecting unmanaged APs based on received measured signal strength indications. The AP (e.g., AP owner, TXOP leader, AP leader) may also determine one or more reuse criteria associated with participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. The AP owner may perform polling of a set of unmanaged APs that support coordinated reuse, including transmission of one or more spatial reuse polling frames, as part of determining the one or more reuse criteria. In some examples, the AP owner may perform polling and may individually (e.g., sequentially) send spatial reuse polling frames to one or more APs within the set of APs. In other examples, the AP owner may send each of one or more spatial reuse polling frames to multiple APs. In some examples, one or more spatial reuse polling frames may be or include trigger frames.

[0120] Based on the polling, the AP owner may receive response indications from one or more APs in the set of unmanaged APs, or directly measure potential interference to services (e.g., UL transmissions) supported at one or more APs in the set of unmanaged APs, and determine an AP group for coordinated reuse on a TXOP. The AP owner may determine the AP group on a transient basis (such as on a per-TXOP basis) based on meeting one or more reuse criteria. Resources may then be allocated to the determined AP group during the TXOP as part of spatial reuse for synchronous transmissions on the TXOP. Spatial reuse of resources during the TXOP may reduce interference and improve data throughput associated with coordinated UL or DL transmissions during the TXOP. The techniques described herein may further provide enhanced access priority for the AP owner, for example, based on the number of overlapping BSS (OBSS) APs included in participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP, the ability of multiple APs to span multiple time slots of an acquired TXOP, or the inclusion of one or more reuse criteria for allocation (such as subbands) during the TXOP.

[0121] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is described. According to some aspects, the wireless communication system 100 can be an example of a WLAN (and will be referred to hereinafter as WLAN 100). For example, WLAN 100 can be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 series of standards. WLAN 100 can include a plurality of wireless devices, such as AP 105 and a plurality of associated STAs 115. Each of the STAs 115 can also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile phone, wireless phone, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit, among other possibilities. The STAs 115 can represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, mini laptops, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), printers, remote key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0122] Each of the STAs 115 can be associated with the AP 105 and communicate with the AP via a communication link 110. The various STAs 115 in the network can communicate with each other via the AP 105. A collection of a single AP 105 and the associated STAs 115 can be referred to as a BSS. Figure 1 An example coverage area 120 of the AP 105 is also shown, which can represent the basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. Although only one AP 105 is shown, the WLAN 100 can include multiple APs 105. An extended service set (ESS) can include a collection of connected BSSs. Extended network sites associated with the WLAN 100 can be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that can allow multiple APs 105 to be connected in such an ESS. Thus, the STAs 115 can be covered by more than one AP 105 and can be associated with different APs 105 at different times for different transmissions.

[0123] STA 115 can operate and communicate (via the respective communication link 110) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family of standards and amendments, including but not limited to 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ah, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, and 802.11ba. These standards define the WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the physical layer and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The wireless devices in WLAN 100 can communicate within an unlicensed spectrum, which can be a portion of the spectrum that includes the 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). The unlicensed spectrum can also include other bands, such as the emerging 6 GHz band. The wireless devices in WLAN 100 can also be configured to communicate within other bands, such as a shared licensed band, where multiple operators can have licenses to operate within the same or overlapping one or more bands.

[0124] In some examples, STA 115 can form a network without an AP 105 or other devices other than STA 115 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network can alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection. In some examples, an ad hoc network can be implemented within a larger wireless network such as WLAN 100. In such an implementation, when STA 115s are able to communicate with each other via the AP 105 using the communication link 110, STA 115s can also communicate directly with each other via a direct wireless communication link 125. Additionally, two STA 115s can communicate via the direct communication link 125 regardless of whether the two STA 115s are associated with and served by the same AP 105. In such an ad hoc system, one or more of the STA 115s can assume the role played by the AP 105 in a BSS. Such a STA 115 can be referred to as a group owner (GO) and can coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of the direct wireless communication link 125 include Wi-Fi Direct connections, connections established through the use of Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) links, and other peer-to-peer (P2P) group connections.

[0125] In some examples, some types of STAs 115 or APs 105 can be configured for EHT operation and can have functionality supporting a dynamic channel bandwidth spectrum. The dynamic channel bandwidth spectrum can be a portion of the spectrum that includes frequency bands above the radio frequency (RF) spectrum (including bands traditionally used for Wi-Fi technology or the emerging 6 GHz band). Each frequency band (e.g., the 5 GHz band) can contain multiple channels (e.g., each channel can span a 20 MHz frequency, a 40 MHz frequency, an 80 MHz frequency), and each of these channels can be used by a configured STA 115 or AP 105. Based on the enhanced functionality supported by the EHT operation mode, an extension of the support for the available channel bandwidth spectrum (e.g., 320 MHz, 160 + 160 MHz) can be possible.

[0126] Some types of STAs 115 can provide automated communication. Automated wireless devices can include those that implement Internet of Things (IoT) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, or machine-type communication (MTC). IoT, M2M, or MTC can refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate without human intervention. For example, IoT, M2M, or MTC can refer to communication from STAs 115 that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application that can utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with a program or application.

[0127] Some types of APs 105 can provide AP coordination using air signaling. Different levels of coordination can be supported by the AP 105 for different levels of associated synchronization. For example, in some examples, one or more APs 105 can support coordination without synchronization (known as level 1 synchronization in some examples), where the AP 105 can coordinate to share load information, user management, admission control, and BSS transition management, such as handover. In some examples, one or more APs 105 can support coordination with loose synchronization (known as level 2 synchronization in some examples), where the AP 105 can coordinate for interference management and simultaneous transmission on a per-TXOP basis. In some examples, one or more APs 105 can support coordination with strict (e.g., symbol-level) synchronization (known as level 3 synchronization in some examples), where the AP 105 can perform coordinated beamforming and send null packets to STAs 115 served on other BSSs to reduce interference. In other cases, one or more APs 105 can support coordination with strict (e.g., sub-symbol-level) synchronization (known as level 4 synchronization in some examples), where the AP 105 can coordinate for joint multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless system transmission, where the STA 115 can be served by multiple APs 105.

[0128] Some of the STAs 115 can be MTC devices, such as MTC devices designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications of MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, device monitoring, medical monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based service billing. MTC devices can operate using half-duplex (one-way) communication at reduced peak rates. MTC devices can also be configured to enter a power-saving "deep sleep" mode when not participating in active communication.

[0129] WLAN 100 can support beamforming transmission. As an example, AP 105 can use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with STA 115. Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering or directional transmission) is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitter (e.g., AP 105) to shape or direct an overall antenna beam in the direction of a target receiver (e.g., STA 115). Beamforming can be achieved by combining components in an antenna array in such a way that signals transmitted at a particular angle experience constructive interference while other signals experience destructive interference. In some examples, the way the elements of the antenna array are combined at the transmitter can depend on channel state information (CSI) associated with the channels (over which AP 105 can communicate with STA 115). That is, based on this CSI, AP 105 can appropriately weigh the transmissions from each antenna (e.g., or antenna port) such that the desired beamforming effect is achieved. In some examples, these weights can be determined before beamforming can be employed. For example, a transmitter (e.g., AP 105) can send one or more sounding packets to a receiver to determine the CSI.

[0130] WLAN 100 can further support a MIMO wireless system. Such a system can use a transmission scheme between a transmitter (e.g., AP 105) and a receiver (e.g., STA 115), where both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas. For example, AP 105 can have an antenna array having a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that AP 105 can use for beamforming when communicating with STA 115. Signals can be sent multiple times in different directions (e.g., each transmission can be beamformed in a different way). The receiver (e.g., STA 115) can try multiple beams (e.g., antenna sub-arrays) when receiving the signals.

[0131] A WLAN PDU can be transmitted within a radio frequency spectrum band, which in some examples can include multiple sub-bands or channels. In some examples, the radio frequency spectrum band can have a bandwidth of 80 MHz, and each of the sub-bands or channels can have a bandwidth of 20 MHz. Transmissions to and from STA 115 and AP 105 typically include control information within a header sent before data transmission. The information provided in the header is used by the receiver to decode subsequent data. A traditional WLAN preamble can include legacy short training field (L-STF) information, legacy long training field (L-LTF) information, and legacy signaling (L-SIG) information. The traditional preamble can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, among other uses. The traditional preamble can also be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices.

[0132] Figure 2 A block diagram showing an example AP 200 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network. For example, AP 200 can be an example of aspects of AP 105 described with reference to Figure 1 AP 200 can be configured to transmit and receive WLAN frames (also referred to herein as transmissions or communications) compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard, such as the 802.11ac or 802.11ax amendments to the 802.11 family of standards, and to encode and decode such frames. AP 200 includes a processor 210, a memory 220, at least one transceiver 230, and at least one antenna 240. In some embodiments, AP 200 also includes one or both of an AP communication module 260 and a network communication module 270. Each of the components (or "modules") described with reference to Figure 2 can communicate directly or indirectly with each other via at least one bus 205.

[0133] Memory 220 can include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 220 can also store processor- or computer-executable software code 225 containing instructions that, when executed by processor 210, cause the processor to perform the various functions for wireless communication described herein, including generating and transmitting DL frames and receiving UL frames.

[0134] The processor 210 may include intelligent hardware devices such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a programmable logic device (PLD) such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), among other possibilities. The processor 210 processes information received via the transceiver 230, the AP communication module 260, and the network communication module 270. The processor 210 may also process information to be transmitted to the transceiver 230 for transmission via the antenna 240, information to be transmitted to the AP communication module 260, and information to be transmitted to the network communication module 270. The processor 210 may generally be configured to perform various operations related to generating and transmitting DL frames and receiving UL frames.

[0135] The transceiver 230 may include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna 240 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna 240. The transceiver 230 may be implemented as at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter and at least one separate RF receiver. The transceiver 230 may communicate bidirectionally with at least one STA 115, such as shown in the reference Figure 1 Although only one transceiver 230 and one antenna 240 are shown in the reference Figure 2 the AP 200 may generally include multiple transceivers 230 and antennas 240. For example, in some AP implementations, the AP 200 may include multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain). The AP 200 may communicate with the core network 280 via the network communication module 270. The system may also use the AP communication module 260 to communicate with other APs, such as AP105.

[0136] Figure 3 A block diagram showing an example STA 300 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is shown. For example, the STA300 may be an example of aspects of the STA 115 described in the reference Figure 1 The STA300 may be configured to transmit and receive WLAN frames (also referred to herein as transmissions or communications) that comply with the IEEE 802.11 standard, such as the 802.11ac or 802.11ax amendments to the 802.11 series of standards, and to encode and decode such frames. The STA 300 includes a processor 310, a memory 320, at least one transceiver 330, and at least one antenna 340. In some embodiments, the STA 300 additionally includes one or more of a sensor 350, a display 360, and a user interface (UI) 370, such as a touch screen or keypad. Each of the components (or “modules”) described in the reference Figure 3 may communicate directly or indirectly with each other via at least one bus 305.

[0137] The memory 320 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 320 may also store processor- or computer-executable software code 325 that includes instructions which, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform the various functions for wireless communication described herein, including receiving DL frames and generating and transmitting UL frames.

[0138] The processor 310 includes intelligent hardware devices such as a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, or a PLD such as an FPGA, among other possibilities. The processor 310 processes information received via the transceiver 330 and information to be transmitted to the transceiver 330 for transmission via the antenna 340. The processor 310 may be configured to perform various operations related to receiving DL frames and generating and transmitting UL frames.

[0139] The transceiver 330 may include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna 340 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna 340. The transceiver 330 may be implemented as at least one RF transmitter and at least one separate RF receiver. The transceiver 330 may communicate bidirectionally with at least one AP 105, such as shown in the reference Figure 1 Although only one transceiver 330 and one antenna 340 are shown in the reference Figure 3 The STA 300 may include two or more antennas. For example, in some STA implementations, the STA 300 may include multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain).

[0140] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication system 400 that illustrates features supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is described. The wireless communication system 400 may be an example of a WLAN as described in the reference Figure 1 The wireless communication system 400 may include multiple APs 105 that serve one or more associated STAs 115 within a coverage area 120 (e.g., coverage areas 120-a, 120-b, 120-c). The APs 105 may be associated with and communicate with one or more associated STAs 115 via communication links 110, as described in the reference Figure 1 A single AP 105 and the associated STAs 115 served by the AP 105 (e.g., STA 115-a served by AP 105-a) may be referred to as a BSS.

[0141] The wireless communication system 400 can be an unmanaged wireless network where there is limited air interface cooperation between the APs 105 of the network. Each of the APs 105-a, 105-b, or 105-c can operate independently as part of an unmanaged network that may not support backhaul connectivity or centralized control. For example, in the case of limited air interface cooperation, each of the APs 105-a, 105-b, or 105-c can be supported by a different vendor or operator. As described, each of the APs 105-a, 105-b, or 105-c can be configured for EHT operation of the wireless communication system 400 and can be configured for coordinated reuse within a configured range (e.g., within a configured distance between the APs 105 and preventing natural reuse implementation). Based on the supported EHT operation, the unmanaged APs 105 can support enhanced operation of the reuse supported for the spatial reuse parameters.

[0142] In some examples, the enhanced operation can include coordination of the APs 105 according to air interface signaling to identify improved spatial reuse opportunities on the TXOP of the wireless medium. The coordination can include loose synchronization of signaling between the BSSs of the unmanaged network on the TXOP (e.g., level 2 coordination). The synchronization can be associated with parallel UL or DL transmissions performed by a group of unmanaged APs 105 on a per-TXOP basis to improve interference management of the traffic corresponding to the BSSs and improve the system throughput of the transmissions.

[0143] The first unmanaged AP 105-a can compete with one or more additional unmanaged APs 105 for the resource medium of the network. The AP 105-a can win the competition and thus identify and obtain a TXOP for data transmission (e.g., DL or UL transmission). Based on the identification, the AP 105-a can perform a polling procedure for a group of unmanaged APs 105 to determine coordinated reuse of resources during the obtained TXOP. The polling procedure can include transmissions to one or more devices of the network. In some examples, the polling procedure can include sending a first message to the served STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-a) of the BSS supported by the AP 105-a. Additionally or alternatively, the polling procedure can include sending a second message to the unmanaged APs of the network, such as APs 105-b or 105-c.

[0144] In the case of a DL TXOP, the AP 105-a may send control signaling to the intended STA 115-a. The STA 115-a may be one of a number of STAs 115 included in a BSS associated with the AP 105-a. Additionally, the sent control signaling may include one or more indications, which include reuse feedback for an unmanaged AP 105 (e.g., AP 105-b or 105-c) configured for coordinated reuse regarding an unmanaged network. In some examples, the AP 105-a may send an enhanced or modified request to send (RTS) frame (such as a multi-user RTS (MU-RTS) frame) to the STA 115-a as part of a request to send clear to send (CTS) procedure. The MU-RTS frame may prompt the APs 105-b and 105-c to measure the CTS message provided by the STA 115-a in response to the RTS frame transmission. For example, the MU-RTS frame may include a user information field for the STA 115-a that is used to provide a CTS response to the MU-RTS frame. Additionally, the MU-RTS frame may include one or more additional user information fields addressed to other APs in the AP set (including APs 105-b and 105-c). Each of the one or more additional user information fields may include an indication to sense and measure the received signal strength indication (RSSI) of the CTS response made by the STA 115-a and report the measured RSSI based on the sensing. When providing the indication to at least APs 105-b and 105-c via the user information field of the MU-RTS frame, the AP 105-a may format the MU-RTS frame according to a modified field format.

[0145] Following the control signaling, the AP 105-a may send a spatial reuse poll frame to one or more unmanaged APs 105. The spatial reuse poll frame may include one or more of the scheduled information of the obtained TXOP or the DL reuse information on the TXOP. In response to sending the spatial reuse poll frame, one or more unmanaged APs 105 may send a spatial reuse response to the AP 105-a. The spatial reuse response may be a frame including one or more of the measured reuse feedback information (e.g., the measured power level of the CTS associated with the RTS CTS procedure initiated by the AP 105-a), the expected minimum transmit power for serving the supported STAs 115 (such as STAs 115-b, 115-c) for DL reuse transmission, or additional feedback information.

[0146] Based on the polling procedure, AP 105-a can determine one or more reuse criteria for selecting unmanaged AP 105 for coordinated DL reuse on the obtained TXOP. That is, AP 105-a can set one or more reuse criteria for determining whether the DL signaling of AP 105-b or AP 105-c can be supported for DL reuse. The one or more reuse criteria can correspond to a transmit power threshold for acceptable interference between the BSS associated with AP 105-a and the BSS associated with unmanaged AP 105. AP 105-a can be configured with a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) to serve STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-a) of the BSS associated with AP105-a using a desired modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Based on the configured SIR value, AP 105-a can determine the maximum allowable transmit power of each of the unmanaged APs 105 included in the polling procedure. For example, AP 105-a can determine the maximum allowable transmit power of AP105-b according to the following equation (1).

[0147] T2 = (T1 - SIR) + (PL2 - PL1) (1)

[0148] In equation (1), T1 can be the DL signal transmit power of AP 105-a for the supported STA 115-a, SIR can be the configured SIR of AP 105-a, as detailed above, and PL1 and PL2 can be the measured path loss values for AP105-a and AP 105-b for STA 115-a, respectively. As illustrated, the path loss PL1 can be associated with the attenuation 405 within the spatial displacement between AP 105-a and STA 115-a for DL transmission via the communication link. Similarly, the path loss PL2 can be associated with the attenuation within the spatial distance of AP 105-b from STA 115-a supported by AP 105-b. In other cases, AP 105-a can determine the maximum allowable transmit power of AP 105-b, for example, according to the following equation (2), based on the measured received power of the CTS provided by STA 115-a as part of the RTS CTS procedure for control signaling.

[0149] T2 = (T1 - SIR) + (C1 - C2) (2)

[0150] In Equation (2), C1 can be the received power of the CTS transmitted by STA 115-a as measured, and C2 can be the received power of the CTS transmitted by STA 115-a, where AP 105-b can send the measured received power to AP 105-a as part of the spatial reuse response frame. The calculated values of Equations (1) and (2) can be made equal, for example, according to the relationship between path loss and the CTS measurement value in the following Equation (3).

[0151] (C1 - C2) = (T C - PL1) - (T C - PL2) = PL1 - PL2 (3)

[0152] In Equation (3), Tc represents the total transmit power of the CTS frame sent by STA 115-a. Additionally, as described, AP 105-a can perform a similar procedure for determining the maximum allowable transmit power of additional unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-c) based on one or more determined measurement values.

[0153] AP 105-a can evaluate the reported expected minimum transmit power of one or more unmanaged APs 105 received in the spatial reuse response frame and determine whether the reported transmit power meets the determined maximum allowable transmit power, as indicated above. Based on the determination, AP 105-a can then select from one or more unmanaged APs 105 for synchronous DL transmission in the TXOP. For example, AP 105-a can determine that the reported minimum transmit power of AP 105-b serving at least STA 115-b exceeds the calculated maximum transmit power for acceptable interference. AP 105-a can then not select AP 105-b for coordinated reuse. Alternatively, AP 105-a can determine that the reported minimum transmit power of AP 105-c serving at least STA 115-c of the associated BSS meets (is below) the calculated maximum transmit power for acceptable interference. AP 105-a can then select AP 105-c for synchronous DL transmission in the TXOP.

[0154] Based on the selection, AP 105-a can provide an indication to one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-c) selected for synchronous DL transmission on the TXOP. In some examples, the indication can be provided as a spatial reuse start frame for one or more unmanaged (e.g., selected) APs 105. Following the indication, AP 105-a and the selected one or more unmanaged APs 105 can perform synchronous DL transmission in the DL time slot of the TXOP as part of the coordinated reuse procedure.

[0155] Figure 5 An example of a call flow 500 that describes features supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is provided. The features of call flow 500 correspond to operations performed by unmanaged APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c, as described in reference Figure 4 Each of unmanaged APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c can be independent and can serve STAs 115 associated with their respective BSSs, as further described in reference Figure 4 As described, call flow 500 can be an example of an ordered polling procedure for determining coordinated reuse on a TXOP. Such an ordered polling procedure can include sending reuse poll frames to individual APs and can include receiving spatial reuse response frames from individual APs.

[0156] APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c can count down a timer value for the selection of a contention window range for contention for access to the network's resource medium. AP 105-a can win the contention and identify and obtain a TXOP for DL data transmission via the wireless medium. Based on the identification, AP 105-a can send a control frame, MU-RTS (mRTS) 505, to one or more STAs 115 served by AP 105-a as part of an RTS-CTS procedure. In some examples, AP 105-a can be configured for multi-user (MU) transmission in different DL time slots. Thus, according to the IEEE 802.11ax standard protocol, MU-RTS 505 can be a derivative of MU-RTS indication. Additionally, MU-RTS 505 can include one or more indications that include reuse feedback signaling for one or more additional unmanaged APs 105 (such as APs 105-b or 105-c) regarding coordinated reuse of the unmanaged network. For example, MU-RTS 505 can carry information about an adjacent Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) from which AP 105-a requests reuse feedback. The indication of reuse feedback signaling can at least include an indication that causes unmanaged AP 105 to measure CTS frame transmissions 510 made by each of one or more STAs 115 served by AP 105-a in response to the MU-RTS control frame. Each of the STAs 115 served by AP 105-a can send a CTS response (e.g., CTS frame 510) to AP 105-a, and at least APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c can measure the RSSI of CTS frame 510.

[0157] Following control signaling (e.g., CTS RTS procedure), AP 105-a may perform a sequential polling procedure for one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-b or 105-c) where the indication includes reuse feedback signaling. In some examples, AP 105-a may send a first spatial reuse poll frame 515-a to unmanaged AP 105-b. The spatial reuse poll frame 515-a may include scheduling information of the obtained TXOP (including DL slot size and duration) and DL reuse information (such as the BSSID of the unmanaged AP 105 capable of coordinated reuse). The spatial reuse poll frame 515-a may also include a request to report the RSSI of the CTS frame 510 measured at AP 105-b.

[0158] In response to the spatial reuse poll frame 515-a, unmanaged AP 105-b may send a spatial reuse response frame 520-a to AP 105-a. The spatial reuse response frame 520-a may include the measured CTS responses of each of one or more STAs 115 served by AP 105-a. The spatial reuse response frame 520-a may also include the minimum DL transmit power for serving one or more STAs 115 served by unmanaged AP 105-b as part of the BSS. Additionally, in some examples, the spatial reuse response frame 520-a may include BSR or BQR information.

[0159] AP 105-a may receive the spatial reuse response frame 520-a and process the included measurements. Based on the information provided in the spatial reuse response frame 520-a, AP 105-a may determine one or more reuse criteria, including the maximum transmit power of unmanaged AP 105-b that supports coordinated reuse in the case where there is acceptable interference between the BSSs of AP 105-a and AP 105-b, as detailed with reference to equations (1) and (2). In some examples, AP 105-a may determine that the minimum transmit power indicated by unmanaged AP 105-b as part of the spatial reuse response frame 520-a exceeds one or more reuse criteria for participating in coordinated reuse on the TXOP. Thus, AP 105-a may not select AP 105-b for coordinated reuse and continue with the polling procedure for the next unmanaged AP (e.g., AP 105-c). Accordingly, the polling procedure may also include sending a spatial reuse poll frame to unmanaged AP 105-c and receiving a spatial reuse response frame from unmanaged AP 105-c.

[0160] As described, AP 105-a may send a spatial reuse poll frame 515-b to AP 105-c. The spatial reuse poll frame 515-b may include one or more of the scheduling information of the spatial reuse poll frame 515-a or the DL reuse information value. The unmanaged AP 105-c may receive the spatial reuse poll frame 515-b and, in response, send a spatial reuse response frame 520-b to AP 105-a. The spatial reuse response frame 520-b may include the measured CTS response of each of one or more STAs 115 served by AP 105-a. The spatial reuse response frame 520-b may also include the minimum DL transmit power for serving one or more STAs 115 served by the unmanaged AP 105-c as part of a BSS. Additionally, in some examples, the spatial reuse response frame 520-b may include BSR or BQR information.

[0161] AP 105-a may receive the spatial reuse response frame 520-b and determine one or more reuse criteria based on the information provided in the spatial reuse response frame 520-c, including the maximum transmit power for supporting coordinated reuse in the presence of acceptable interference. In some examples, AP 105-a may determine that the included minimum transmit power indicated by the unmanaged AP 105-c meets the reuse criteria for calculating participation in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. AP 105-a may then select AP 105-c for synchronous DL transmission on the obtained TXOP as part of a coordinated reuse procedure.

[0162] AP 105-a and one or more selected unmanaged APs 105 (including at least AP 105-c) may send DL signaling 525 (e.g., 525-a, 525-b) on a TXOP based on meeting one or more criteria for coordinated reuse. In some examples where multiple APs 105 are selected for coordinated reuse, AP 105-a may multiplex the multiple APs 105 on different time slots or sub-bands of the obtained TXOP. By performing spatial reuse of resources during a TXOP and facilitating synchronous DL transmission by unmanaged APs 105, AP 105-a may reduce interference between BSSs of the network and may improve the total data throughput associated with DL transmission to served STAs 115. Additionally, in some examples, AP 105-a may obtain a longer TXOP or enhanced access priority for resources of the wireless medium based on the number of unmanaged APs of an OBSS selected for coordinated reuse.

[0163] Figure 6Describe an example of a call flow 600 that supports features for improved spatial reuse in a WLAN network. The features of call flow 600 correspond to operations performed by unmanaged APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c, as described in references Figure 4 and Figure 5 Each of unmanaged APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c can be independent and can serve the associated STAs 115 of the corresponding BSS, as further described in references Figure 4 and Figure 5 As described, call flow 600 can be an example of a polling procedure for multiple APs. Such a polling procedure can include sending a spatial reuse poll frame, which can be an example of a trigger frame, to multiple APs and receiving a spatial reuse response frame via a high-efficiency (HE) trigger-based (TB) physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), and can be used to determine participation in coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0164] APs 105-a, 105-b, and 105-c can count down a timer value for the selection of a contention window range for contention for access to the network's resource medium. AP 105-a can win the contention and identify and obtain a TXOP for DL data transmission via the wireless medium. Based on the identification, AP 105-a can send a control frame MU-RTS 605 to one or more STAs 115 served by AP 105-a as part of an RTS CTS procedure. Additionally, the control frame can include one or more indications for reuse feedback signaling for one or more additional unmanaged APs 105 (such as AP 105-b or 105-c) configured for coordinated reuse in an unmanaged network. The indication of reuse feedback can at least include an indication to cause unmanaged AP 105 to measure the CTS frame transmission 610 performed by each of the STAs 115 served by AP 105-a in response to the MU-RTS control frame. Each of the STAs 115 served by AP 105-a can send a CTS response (e.g., CTS frame 610) to AP 105-a, and at least to AP 105-a, 105-b. STA 105-c can measure the RSSI indication of CTS frame 610.

[0165] In some examples, AP 105-a may execute a multi-AP polling procedure and provide the functionality of the spatial reuse polling frame 615 in the MU-RTS frame 605 (e.g., MU-RTS-TF) for STAs 115-a that are associated with and supported by the BSS of AP 105-a. The MU-RTS frame 605 may have a trigger frame structure and support EHT operation for the wireless medium. For example, the MU-RTS frame 605 may include a first field for user information for multi-access point RTS operation, including a request for a CTS response 610. Additionally, the MU-RTS frame 605 may further include one or more additional fields of user information that are encoded to include one or more BSSIDs requesting an SR response frame from a set of unmanaged APs 105 (including at least APs 105-b and 105-c). In some examples, a single field of the user information of the MU-RTS frame 605 may contain the BSSIDs of the set of unmanaged APs. In other cases, fields of the user information may be allocated for each BSSID of the set of unmanaged APs. When providing the transmission of the spatial reuse polling frame as part of the MU-RTS 605, AP 105-a may reduce the message overhead for performing the polling procedure associated with the participation selection for coordinated reuse.

[0166] In some examples, AP 105-a may execute a polling procedure for multiple APs and provide the functionality of the spatial reuse polling frame 615 in the CTS frame 610 (e.g., e-CTS) provided by the STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-a) served by AP 105-a in response to the MU-RTS 605. The CTS frame 610 may include a HE preamble and support EHT operation for the wireless medium (e.g., similar to the structure of a HE TB PPDU). In some examples, the HE-SIG field within the CTS frame 610 may provide an identification indication for the set of unmanaged APs 105 that monitor the CTS frame 610 indicated in the MU-RTS frame 605. For example, the HE-SIG-A field of the CTS frame 610 may include a total of 25 + 1 available candidate bits for providing an identification indication for the set of unmanaged APs 105. The available candidate bits may correspond to 16 (4×4) candidate bits for SR to supplement the 9 bits (e.g., bits 7 to 15) available within the CTS frame 610 plus 1 bit (e.g., bit 23). The candidate bits of the CTS frame 610 may further support the encoding of BSS coloring indications (e.g., 6 bits for each BSS) for resolving medium contention overhead (such as due to OBSS spatial reuse). When transmitting the spatial reuse polling frame as part of the CTS frame 610, AP 105-a may reduce the message overhead for performing the polling procedure associated with the participation selection for coordinated reuse.

[0167] In other cases, following control signaling (e.g., CTS RTS procedures), AP 105-a may perform a multi-AP polling procedure and send a spatial reuse poll frame 615 to at least non-managed APs 105-b and 105-c as a trigger frame. The spatial reuse poll frame 615 may include scheduling information of the obtained TXOP (including DL slot size and duration) and DL reuse information (such as the BSSIDs of non-managed APs 105 capable of coordinated reuse). The spatial reuse poll frame 615 may also include a request to report the measured RSSI of the CTS frame 610.

[0168] In response to sending a spatial reuse poll frame by at least one of the MU-RTS 605, CTS frame 610, or different SR poll frames 615, non-managed APs 105-b and 105-c may respectively send spatial reuse response frames 620-a and 620-b to AP 105-a. In the case of sending a spatial reuse poll frame as part of the MU-RTS 605 or CTS frame 610, APs 105-b and 105-c may send the spatial reuse response frames 620-a and 620-b after the short inter-frame space (SIF) duration. Each of the spatial reuse response frames 620-a and 620-b may be carried in the HE TB PPDU format. For example, the spatial reuse response frames 620-a and 620-b may be carried as part of being encoded as sub-fields of a signal (SIG) field (such as the HE-SIG-A or HE-SIG-B field of the HE TB PPDU). The spatial reuse response frame 620 may include the measured CTS response of each of the STAs 115 served by AP 105-a. The spatial reuse response frame 620-a may include the minimum DL transmit power for serving one or more STAs 115 served by AP 105-b. Similarly, the spatial reuse response frame 620-b may include the minimum DL transmit power. Additionally, in some examples, the spatial reuse response frame 620 may include BSR or BQR information.

[0169] AP 105-a can receive spatial reuse response frames (e.g., as part of a received HE TB PPDU) for a set of unmanaged APs 105 included in a polling procedure, including at least spatial reuse response frames 620-a and 620-b, and determine one or more reuse criteria. In some examples, the criteria can include the maximum allowable transmit power for AP 105-a to support coordinated reuse on a TXOP with acceptable interference, as detailed with reference to equations (1) and (2). In some examples, AP 105-a can determine that the included minimum transmit power indicated by unmanaged AP 105-b exceeds the reuse criteria used for calculations for participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. Additionally or alternatively, AP 105-a can determine that the included minimum transmit power indicated by unmanaged AP 105-c meets the reuse criteria used for calculations for participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. AP 105-a can then select AP 105-c for coordinated reuse on a TXOP based on one or more calculated reuse criteria, but not select AP 105-b.

[0170] AP 105-a can determine, based on the selection, a reuse opportunity for providing synchronized DL signaling on the obtained TXOP for a group of unmanaged APs 105 (including AP 105-c). As part of the determination, AP 105-a can send an indication for identifying the selected group of unmanaged APs 105. For example, AP 105-a can send a spatial reuse start frame 625 to unmanaged AP105, including an indication for identifying the determined group of unmanaged APs 105 participating in synchronized DL signaling on the obtained TXOP. The spatial reuse start frame 625 can also include an indication for the maximum allowable transmit power supported for DL reuse transmission on a TXOP.

[0171] AP 105-a and one or more selected unmanaged APs 105 (including at least AP 105-c) may send DL signaling 630 (e.g., 630-a, 630-b) on the TXOP following the spatial reuse start frame 625. In some examples, AP 105-a may multiplex multiple APs 105 on different time slots or sub-bands of the obtained TXOP for selecting multiple APs 105 for coordinated reuse. Additionally or alternatively, the DL time slots of the TXOP may be repeated to amortize the overhead of one or more reuse criteria, and these DL time slots may be determined by AP 105-a. By performing spatial reuse of resources during the TXOP and facilitating synchronized DL transmissions by unmanaged APs 105, AP 105-a may reduce interference between the BSSs of the network and may improve the total data throughput associated with DL transmissions to the STAs 115 for the service. Additionally, in some examples, AP 105-a may obtain a longer TXOP or enhanced access priority for resources of the wireless medium based on the number of unmanaged APs of the OBSS selected for coordinated reuse.

[0172] Figure 7 An example of a wireless communication system 700 that illustrates features supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is described. The wireless communication system 700 may be an example of a WLAN as referenced Figure 1 and Figure 4 described. The wireless communication system 700 may include multiple APs 105 that serve one or more associated STAs 115 within a coverage area 120 (e.g., coverage areas 120-d, 120-e, and 120-f). The APs 105 may be associated with and communicate with each of one or more associated STAs 115 via a communication link 110, as referenced Figure 1 and Figure 4 described. A single AP 105 and the associated STAs 115 served by the AP 105 (e.g., STA 115-d served by AP 105-d) may be referred to as a BSS.

[0173] The wireless communication system 700 can be an unmanaged wireless network where there is limited air interface cooperation among the APs 105 of the network. Each of the APs 105-d, 105-e, or 105-f can operate independently as part of the unmanaged network without a backhaul connectivity or a centralized control. For example, in the case of limited air interface cooperation, each of the APs 105-d, 105-e, or 105-f can be supported by a different vendor or operator. As described, each of the APs 105-d, 105-e, or 105-f can be configured for EHT operation of the wireless communication system 700 and can be configured for coordinated reuse within a configured range (e.g., within a configured distance between the APs 105 and preventing natural reuse implementation). Based on the supported EHT operation, the unmanaged APs 105 can support enhanced operation for the reuse enabled by the spatial reuse parameters.

[0174] In some examples, the enhanced operation can include coordination of the APs 105 according to the air interface signaling to identify improved spatial reuse opportunities on the TXOP of the wireless medium. The coordination can include loose synchronization of the signaling between the BSSs of the unmanaged network on the TXOP (e.g., level 2 coordination). The synchronization can be associated with parallel UL or DL transmissions performed by a group of unmanaged APs 105 on a per-TXOP basis to improve interference management for the traffic corresponding to the BSSs and to improve the system throughput of the transmissions.

[0175] The first unmanaged AP 105-d can compete with one or more additional unmanaged APs 105 for the resource medium of the network. The AP 105-d can win the competition and thus can identify and obtain a TXOP for data transmission (e.g., DL or UL transmission). Based on the identification, the AP 105-d can execute a procedure for the group of unmanaged APs 105 to determine coordinated reuse of the resources for the obtained TXOP.

[0176] In the case of UL TXOP, the AP 105-d may perform a polling procedure on one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-e or 105-f). The polling procedure may include the AP 105-d sending a spatial reuse polling frame to one or more unmanaged APs 105. The spatial reuse polling frame may include one or more of the scheduling information of the obtained TXOP or the UL reuse information on the TXOP. One or more unmanaged APs 105 may receive the spatial reuse polling frame and, based on the reception, send a null packet trigger frame to the STAs 115 of the managed BSS. For example, at least one of AP 105-e or AP 105-f may receive the transmission of the spatial reuse polling frame from AP105-d and may send a null packet trigger frame to the supported STAs (e.g., STA 115-e or 115-f) of the managed BSS. The null packet trigger frame may include an indication for resource allocation to one or more unmanaged APs 105 of the network (e.g., as part of a common preamble encoding determined by AP 105-d). The AP 105-d may determine the common preamble encoding and may provide an indication of the preamble content to one or more unmanaged APs 105. In some examples, the null packet trigger frame may also include one or more resource units (e.g., broadcast resource units) that contain BSS coloring indications for resolving medium contention overhead (such as attributable to OBSS spatial reuse).

[0177] In response to the null packet trigger frame transmission, the managed STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-e or 115-f) may perform a null packet transmission to the corresponding serving AP 105. For example, STA 115-e may receive a null packet trigger frame from AP 105-e and send a null packet to AP 105-e based on the received trigger frame. Similarly, STA 115-f may receive a null packet trigger frame from AP 105-f and may send a null packet to AP 105-f. In some examples, the unmanaged AP 105 may serve multiple STAs 115 as part of the BSS. The null packet may be sent by multiple STAs (e.g., in the HE TB PPDU format), and the unmanaged AP 105 may receive the combined interference of the UL null packet transmissions.

[0178] AP 105-d can directly measure the interference associated with null packet transmissions made by a STA 115 served by a set of one or more unmanaged APs 105 (including AP 105-e and 105-f). AP 105-d can measure the interference to determine whether UL signaling associated with STAs 115-e and 115-f can be supported to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP using AP 105-e or 105-f. One or more reuse criteria can correspond to transmit power thresholds for acceptable interference between the BSS associated with AP 105-d and the associated BSSs of the unmanaged APs 105. AP 105-d can be configured with an SIR to serve STAs 115 (e.g., STA 115-d) of the BSS associated with AP 105-d at a desired MCS. Based on the configured SIR value, AP 105-d can determine whether the measured interference at the BSS of AP 105-e or 105-f meets one or more reuse criteria on the obtained TXOP.

[0179] In some examples, for the subchannels of a TXOP, the described features can also include one or more variants of one or more configured reuse criteria for AP 105-d. Different reuse criteria can be supported for different subchannels of a TXOP and can be based on different subchannels with different transmit powers. Additionally or alternatively, different subchannels of a TXOP can target different receivers with different tolerance levels. In some examples, AP 105-d can determine one or more reuse criteria based on the most constrained subband across different subbands of a TXOP. In other cases, AP 105-d can determine multiple reuse criteria for an associated subband.

[0180] Based on the measurements and determinations for one or more unmanaged APs 105, AP 105-d can then select an AP from the one or more unmanaged APs 105 for synchronous UL transmissions during a TXOP. For example, AP 105-d can determine that the measured UL traffic of the BSS served by AP 105-e exceeds the maximum transmit power for acceptable interference. AP 105-d can then not select AP 105-e for coordinated reuse. Alternatively, AP 105-d can determine that the measured transmission interference of at least STA 115-f (which is served via the BSS associated with AP 105-f) meets (is below) the calculated maximum transmit power for acceptable interference. AP 105-d can then select AP 105-f for synchronous UL transmissions in the TXOP.

[0181] Based on this selection, AP 105-d can provide an indication to one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-f) of the selection for synchronous UL transmission on a TXOP. In some examples, the indication can be provided as a spatial reuse trigger frame for one or more unmanaged APs 105 of the selection. Following the indication, AP 105-d and the one or more unmanaged APs 105 of the selection can send synchronous UL transmissions based on the UL time slots of the TXOP as part of coordinated reuse.

[0182] Figure 8 An example of a call flow 800 illustrating features supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is described. The features of call flow 800 correspond to operations performed by unmanaged APs 105-d, 105-e, and 105-f, as referenced Figure 7 as described. Each of unmanaged APs 105-d, 105-e, and 105-f can be independent and can serve STAs 115 associated with the respective BSS, as further referenced Figure 7 as described. As described, call flow 800 can be an example of an ordered polling procedure for determining participation in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. Such a polling procedure can include sending spatial reuse poll frames to individual APs and can include receiving spatial reuse response frames.

[0183] APs 105-d, 105-e, and 105-f can count down a timer value for a selected range of contention window for contention for access to the network's resource medium. AP 105-d can win the contention and identify and obtain a TXOP for UL data transmission via the wireless medium. Based on the identification, AP 105-d can perform an ordered polling procedure for one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-e or 105-f) that support coordinated reuse of the wireless medium. In some examples, AP 105-d can send a first spatial reuse poll frame 805-a, which can be directed to unmanaged AP 105-e. The spatial reuse poll frame 805-a can include scheduling information (including UL time slot size and duration) of the obtained TXOP and UL reuse information. The UL reuse information can include the BSSID of the unmanaged APs 105 capable of coordinated reuse and an indication of the maximum allowable interference.

[0184] AP 105-e can receive the spatial reuse poll frame 805-a and send a null data group trigger frame 810-a to the STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-e) of the BSS supported by the AP 105-e. In some examples, the null data group trigger frame 810-a can include an indication for resource allocation for the null data group exchange of the STAs served by the AP 105-e (e.g., within the common preamble coding of the null data group trigger frame 810-a that can be determined by the AP 105-d for multi-AP coordinated reuse). In some examples, the null data group trigger frame 810-a can also include one or more resource units (e.g., broadcast resource units) that contain BSS coloring indications for the BSS supported by the AP 105-e (e.g., to address the medium contention overhead attributed to OBSS spatial reuse).

[0185] In response to the transmission of the null data group trigger frame 810-a, the managed STAs 115 (including STA 115-e) of the AP 105-e can perform a UL null data group transmission 815-a to the AP 105-e. In the case of multiple supported STAs within the BSS associated with the AP 105-e, the null data group transmission can be carried as part of the HE TB PPDU format. The AP 105-d can directly measure the interference associated with the null data group transmission 815-a. The AP 105-d can then determine, based on the measurement, whether the interference associated with the UL transmission of the BSS regarding the AP 105-e meets one or more configured criteria of the AP 105-d for coordinated reuse. That is, the AP 105-d can determine whether the measured interference of the UL data traffic of the BSS regarding the AP 105-e meets the configured transmit power threshold of the acceptable interference between the BSS associated with the AP 105-d and the BSS associated with the AP 105-e. In some examples, the AP 105-d can determine that the measured interference of the null data group transmission 815-a exceeds the reuse criteria configured for participating in coordinated reuse on the TXOP. Thus, the AP 105-d can not select the AP 105-e for coordinated reuse and continue with the polling procedure, including sending the spatial reuse poll frame to the next unmanaged AP 105-f.

[0186] As described, the AP 105-d may send a spatial reuse poll frame 805-b to the AP 105-f. The spatial reuse poll frame 805-b may include one or more of the scheduling information of the spatial reuse poll frame 805-a or the UL reuse information value. The unmanaged AP 105-f may receive the spatial reuse poll frame 805-a and, in response, may send a null packet trigger frame 810-b to the STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-f) of the BSS supported by the AP 105-f. In some examples, the null packet trigger frame 810-b may include an indication for resource allocation for null packet exchange of the STAs served by the AP 105-f. In some examples, the null packet trigger frame 810-a may further include one or more resource units (e.g., broadcast resource units) that contain BSS coloring indications for the BSS supported by the AP 105-f.

[0187] In response to the transmission of the null packet trigger frame 810-b, the managed STAs 115 (including STA 115-f) of the AP 105-f may send UL null packet transmissions 815-b to the AP 105-f. In the case of multiple supported STAs 115 within the BSS associated with the AP 105-f, the null packet transmissions 815-b may be carried as part of the HE TB PPDU format. The AP 105-d may directly measure the interference associated with the null packet transmissions 815-b. The AP 105-d may then determine, based on the measurement, whether the interference associated with the UL transmissions for the BSS of the AP 105-f meets one or more configured criteria for coordinated reuse for the AP 105-d. In some examples, the AP 105-d may determine that the measured interference of the null packet transmissions 815-b meets one or more reuse criteria for participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. The AP 105-d may then select the AP 105-f for synchronous UL transmissions on the obtained TXOP.

[0188] The AP 105-d and one or more selected unmanaged APs 105 (including at least the AP 105-f) may send DL signaling 820 (e.g., 820-a, 820-b) on a TXOP based on meeting the criteria for coordinated reuse. By performing spatial reuse of resources during a TXOP and facilitating synchronous UL transmissions by the unmanaged APs 105, the AP 105-d may reduce interference between the BSSs of the network and may improve the total data throughput associated with UL transmissions to the served STAs 115. Additionally, in some examples, the AP 105-d may obtain a longer TXOP or enhanced access priority for resources of the wireless medium based on the number of unmanaged APs of the OBSS selected for coordinated reuse.

[0189] Figure 9 An example of call flow 900 that illustrates features supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network. The features of call flow 900 correspond to operations performed by unmanaged APs 105-d, 105-e, and 105-f, as described with reference to Figure 7 and Figure 8 Each of unmanaged APs 105-d, 105-e, and 105-f can be independent and can serve the associated STAs 115 of the respective BSSs, as further described with reference to Figure 7 and Figure 8 As described, call flow 900 can be an example of a polling procedure for determining multiple APs participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP. In such a polling procedure, AP 105-d can allocate resources (e.g., subbands) for spatial reuse polling frames for multiple unmanaged APs 105 of the network.

[0190] APs 105-d, 105-e, and 105-f can count down timer values for the selection of a contention window range for contention for access to the resource medium of the network. AP 105-d can win the contention and can identify and obtain a TXOP for DL data transmission via the wireless medium. Based on the identification, for one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-e or 105-f) that support coordinated reuse regarding the wireless medium, AP 105-d can perform a polling procedure for multiple APs. AP 105-d can send a spatial reuse polling frame 905 for unmanaged AP 105 as part of the polling procedure. The spatial reuse polling frame 905 can include scheduling information (including UL slot size and duration) of the obtained TXOP and UL reuse information. The UL reuse information can include the BSSID of the unmanaged AP 105 capable of coordinated reuse and an indication of the maximum allowable interference. In some examples, AP 105-d can allocate a portion of the resource bandwidth spectrum of the wireless medium for each of one or more unmanaged APs 105. For example, the contended medium can operate across an 80 MHz operating bandwidth. AP 105-d can allocate the first 40 MHz subband of the wireless medium for null packet exchange (such as null packet triggered transmission and null packet data reception) to unmanaged AP 105-e. AP 105-d can then allocate the second 40 MHz subband of the medium for null packet exchange to unmanaged AP 105-f. AP 105-d can provide an indication of this resource allocation as part of the spatial reuse polling frame 905.

[0191] One or more unmanaged APs 105 (including APs 105-e and 105-f) may receive a spatial reuse poll frame 905 and send a null packet trigger frame 910 to a managed STA 115 as part of a HE MU PPDU in response to the spatial reuse poll frame 905. For example, AP 105-e may receive the spatial reuse poll frame 905 and may send a null packet trigger frame 910-a to the STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-e) of the supported BSS. Similarly, AP 105-f may receive the spatial reuse poll frame 905 and may send a null packet trigger frame 910-b to the STA 115 (e.g., STA 115-f) of the supported BSS. Each of the null packet trigger frames 910-a and 910-b may include an indication of the supported STA 115 for APs 105-e and 105-f to provide resource allocation for UL transmissions for APs 105-e and 105-f within the provided subband allocation. For example, AP105-e may receive a 40 MHz subband allocation of the operating bandwidth of the wireless medium for performing a null packet exchange with the managed STA 115 of the supported BSS. AP 105-e may indicate the resource allocation within the 40 MHz subband for at least STA 115-e within the common preamble of the null packet trigger frame 910-a. In some examples, STA 115-e may be the only STA managed by AP 105-e and may occupy a 40 MHz subband allocation. In other cases, AP 105-e may manage multiple STAs 115, including STA 115-e, and may provide resource allocation within the subband allocation for each managed STA 115 (e.g., 10 MHz, 20 MHz, etc.). AP 105-f may perform a similar operation based on the resource subband allocation provided by AP 105-d and the number of STAs managed by AP 105-f within the supported BSS.

[0192] In response to receiving the null data packet trigger frame 910, the associated STAs 115 of the supported BSSs for at least AP 105-e or 105-f can perform null data packet transmissions 915 via the supported resource allocation provided in the null data packet trigger frame 910. In the case of multiple supported STAs 115 within the BSSs for AP 105-e or 105-f, the null data packet transmissions can be carried as part of the HE TB PPDU format. AP 105-d can directly measure the interference associated with at least the null data packet transmissions 915-a and 915-b. Due to the subband allocations provided to APs 105-e and 105-f via the spatial reuse polling 905, AP 105-d can distinguish the combined energy from UL transmissions that are associated with the supported BSS associated with AP 105-e and the supported BSS associated with AP 105-f.

[0193] AP 105-d can then determine, based on the measurements, whether the interference associated with the UL transmissions of the BSS of AP 105-e and the UL transmissions of the BSS of AP 105-f meets the criteria of one or more configurations of AP 105-d for coordinated reuse. That is, AP 105-d can determine whether the measured interference on the UL data traffic of the BSS of AP 105-e and the BSS of AP 105-f meets the transmit power threshold of the acceptable interference of the OBSS STA 115 of the BSS associated with AP 105-d. In some examples, AP 105-d can determine that the measured interference of the null data packet transmission 915-a exceeds the reuse criteria of one or more configurations for participating in coordinated reuse on the TXOP. Thus, AP 105-d may not select AP 105-e for coordinated reuse. In other cases, AP 105-d can determine that the measured interference of the null data packet transmission 915-b meets the reuse criteria of one or more configurations for participating in coordinated reuse on the TXOP. AP 105-d can then select AP 105-f for synchronous UL transmissions on the obtained TXOP.

[0194] Based on the selection, AP 105-d will indicate one or more unmanaged APs 105 (e.g., AP 105-f) that are selected for synchronous UL transmission on the TXOP. In some examples, the indication can be provided as a spatial reuse trigger frame 920 for one or more unmanaged APs 105 for the selection. Following the indication, AP 105-d and the one or more selected unmanaged APs 105 (at least including AP 105-f) can perform UL signaling 925 (e.g., 925-a, 925-b) on the TXOP based on meeting one or more criteria for coordinated reuse. By performing spatial reuse of resources during the TXOP and facilitating synchronous UL transmission by unmanaged APs 105, AP 105-d can reduce interference between BSSs of the network and can improve the total data throughput associated with UL transmission to STAs 115 for services. Additionally, in some examples, AP 105-d can obtain a longer TXOP or can obtain enhanced access priority for resources of the wireless medium based on the number of unmanaged APs of the OBSS selected for coordinated reuse.

[0195] Figure 10 An example of a null packet trigger frame structure 1000 that illustrates features supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network is described. As described, the null packet trigger frame 1005 can be an example of aspects of the null packet trigger frame 810 or 910 as Figure 8 and Figure 9 described. In some examples, the null packet trigger frame 1005 can be a multi-BSS PPDU that presents as a DL MU PPDU for associated STAs of a BSS. The null packet trigger frame 1005 can be implemented by one or more APs 105 as Figures 1 to 9 described.

[0196] The null packet trigger frame 1005 can include a common preamble 1010 that spans the bandwidth of the null packet trigger frame 1005. The content of the common preamble 1010 can be determined by the AP owner after winning the contention for the wireless medium and obtaining the TXOP. The common preamble 1010 can include one or more index values for identifying resource units 1015 allocated to STAs associated with the BSS of the network. In some examples, the common preamble 1010 can include allocation information for performing the determination of coordinated reuse. For example, the common preamble 1010 can include an indication of one or more subband allocations for unmanaged APs of the network as part of the HE MU PPDU.

[0197] The null data packet trigger frame 1005 may also include one or more resource units (e.g., broadcast resource units) 1015, which are encoded with numbers (referred to as colors) for the indicated inter-BSS detection. Bits within the SIG-A field of the null data packet trigger frame 1005 (e.g., via one or more reserved bits in the SIG-A field) may indicate an identifier (e.g., the STA_ID field) in the SIG-B field that indicates the BSS color. In some examples, the broadcast resource unit 1015-a may be encoded with a first color for indicating a first BSS of the WLAN network. Additionally, the broadcast resource unit 1015-b may be encoded with a second color for indicating a second BSS. As described, one or more additional resource units 1015 may be encoded, including encoding the broadcast resource unit 1015-c with a third color for indicating a third BSS and encoding the broadcast resource unit 1015-d with a fourth color for indicating a fourth BSS. Each of one or more BSSs associated with the resource unit 1015 of the null data packet trigger frame 1005 may correspond to an OBSS of the WLAN network. The formatting of the null data packet trigger frame 1005 may help address the media contention overhead attributed to the OBSS and may improve spatial reuse across network resources without significantly reducing the selected MCS due to interference.

[0198] Figure 11 FIG. 1100 is a block diagram showing a device 1105 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of aspects of an AP as described herein. The device 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a communication manager 1115, and a transmitter 1120. The communication manager 1115 may be implemented at least in part by one or both of a modem and a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0199] The receiver 1110 may receive information, such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information regarding improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device. The receiver 1110 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1420 described with reference to Figure 14 FIG. 1420. The receiver 1110 may utilize a single antenna or an antenna array.

[0200] The communication manager 1115 may: send a first round of queries to the STAs served by a first access point after winning the contention for the wireless medium; receive a first response to the first round of queries from the STA based on sending the first round of queries; receive a second response from a second access point in the set of access points based on sending the first round of queries, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response.

[0201] The communication manager 1115 may also: send a first round of queries to a second access point in the set of access points after winning the contention for the wireless medium; measure the signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first round of queries; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on measuring the signal strength indication.

[0202] The communication manager 1115 may also: measure the signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by an STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first round of queries sent by the second access point; identify a measurement indicating the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA based on the measurement; and send a second response to the second access point based on the identified measurement indicating the signal strength indication of the first response.

[0203] The communication manager 1115 may also: receive a first round of queries from a second access point in the set of access points; send a second round of queries to one or more STAs served by a first access point based on receiving the first round of queries; and receive an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second round of queries. The communication manager 1115 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1410 described herein.

[0204] The communication manager 1115 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1115 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure. Actions performed by the communication manager 1115 as described herein may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One example may allow the AP 105 to conserve energy consumption by efficiently coordinating with other APs 105 to operate in an environment with reduced interference. Additionally or alternatively, the AP 105 may further synchronize UL / DL transmissions and increase reuse opportunities that may provide improved quality of service and reliability.

[0205] The transmitter 1120 can transmit signals generated by other components of the device. In some examples, the transmitter 1120 can be co-located with the receiver 1110 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1120 can be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1420 described with reference to Figure 14 The transmitter 1120 can utilize a single antenna or an antenna array.

[0206] Figure 12 FIG. 1200 is a block diagram illustrating a device 1205 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1205 can be an example of aspects of the device 1105 or the AP 105 described herein. The device 1205 can include a receiver 1210, a communication manager 1215, and a transmitter 1250. The communication manager 1215 can be implemented, at least in part, by one or both of a modem and a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0207] The receiver 1210 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information regarding improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, etc.). The information can be passed to other components of the device. The receiver 1210 can be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1420 described with reference to Figure 14 The receiver 1210 can utilize a single antenna or an antenna array.

[0208] The communication manager 1215 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1115 described herein. The communication manager 1215 can include a control indication component 1220, a polling component 1225, a selection component 1230, a measurement component 1235, a STA management component 1240, and a monitoring component 1245. The communication manager 1215 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1410 described herein.

[0209] The control indication component 1220 can send a first poll to STAs served by a first access point after winning contention for the wireless medium and receive a first response to the first poll from the STAs based on sending the first poll.

[0210] The polling component 1225 may receive a second response from a second access point in the set of access points based on sending a first poll, the second response including a signal strength indication of a measured first response. The polling component 1225 may send the first poll to the second access point in the set of access points after winning contention for the wireless medium. The polling component 1225 may send the second response to the second access point based on identifying an indication of a measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response. The polling component 1225 may receive the first poll from the second access point in the set of access points and send a second poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first poll.

[0211] The selection component 1230 may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response. The selection component 1230 may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication.

[0212] The measurement component 1235 may measure a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first poll. The measurement component 1235 may measure the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA to the second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on the first poll sent by the second access point.

[0213] The monitoring component 1245 may identify an indication of a measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA based on the measurement. The monitoring component 1245 may receive an indication of participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second poll.

[0214] The transmitter 1250 may send signals generated by other components of the device. In some examples, the transmitter 1250 may be co-located with the receiver 1210 in the transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1250 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1420 described in Figure 14 The transmitter 1250 may utilize a single antenna or an antenna array.

[0215] Figure 13FIG. 1300 is a block diagram illustrating a communication manager 1305 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1305 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1115, the communication manager 1215, or the communication manager 1410 described herein. The communication manager 1305 may include a control indication component 1310, a polling component 1315, a selection component 1320, a synchronization component 1325, a criterion component 1330, a STA management component 1335, a measurement component 1340, an allocation component 1345, and a monitoring component 1350. Each of these modules may communicate directly or indirectly with each other (such as via one or more buses).

[0216] The control indication component 1310 may send a first poll including a first message to STAs served by a first access point after winning contention for the wireless medium. In some examples, the control indication component 1310 may receive a first response to the first poll from an STA based on sending the first poll. In some examples, sending the first poll further includes sending the first poll to a set of access points. In some examples, the control indication component 1310 may receive a response to the first poll from the set of access points, where the response is received after receiving the first response from the STA to the first poll.

[0217] In some examples, the control indication component 1310 may receive a response to the first poll from one or more access points in the set of access points, where the response is based on an indication of reuse feedback for one or more access points in the set of access points provided within the first response. In some examples, the indication is at least part of a preamble of the first response.

[0218] The polling component 1315 may receive a second response from a second access point in the set of access points based on sending the first poll, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response.

[0219] In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the first poll to a second access point in the set of access points after winning contention for the wireless medium. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the second response to the second access point based on an indication of a measurement identifying a signal strength indication of the first response. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may receive the first poll from a second access point in the set of access points. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send a second poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first poll. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the second poll to the second access point after receiving the first response from the STA, where receiving the second response is based on sending the second poll.

[0220] In some examples, the polling component 1315 sending a second poll and receiving a second response is part of a polling procedure for a set of access points initiated by a first access point. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the second poll to one or more access points in the set of access points that are different from a second access point. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may determine that one or more access points do not meet the criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP, where sending the second poll to the second access point is based on determining that one or more access points do not meet the criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0221] In some examples, sending the second poll to the second access point includes sending the second poll to a group of access points in the set of access points. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may receive a response from a third access point in the set of access points based on sending the second poll.

[0222] In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the second poll to a third access point in the set of access points to receive a first response from a STA. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may receive a response from the third access point based on sending the second poll to the third access point. In some examples, the polling component 1315 sending a first poll and measuring signal strength indication is part of a polling procedure for a set of access points initiated by a first access point.

[0223] In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the first poll to one or more access points in the set of access points. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may send the first poll to a third access point in the set of access points. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may receive a second poll sent after the first poll to a STA served by a first access point from a second access point. In some examples, the polling component 1315 may receive the second poll based on one or more access points in the set of access points not meeting the criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0224] In some examples, the polling component 1315 may determine one or more measured values including one or more of RSSI measurements made by a STA served by a first access point, a minimum DL transmit power for one or more additional STAs served by a second access point, BSR information, or BQR information, where an SR response frame sending the second response is based on determining the one or more measured values.

[0225] In some examples, sending a second round of polling includes sending a null packet trigger frame to one or more STAs served by a first access point. In some examples, sending the null packet trigger frame includes sending the null packet trigger frame in a High Efficiency (HE) Multi-User (MU) PPDU. In some examples, the second round of polling includes a Spatial Reuse (SR) polling frame. In some examples, the SR polling frame includes a trigger frame. In some examples, the SR polling frame includes one or more of scheduling information for a TXOP or DL reuse information. In some examples, the scheduling information includes the DL slot size and duration of one or more DL slots of a TXOP. In some examples, the DL reuse information includes one or more of the maximum allowable interference for the first access point or the BSSID of a set of access points.

[0226] In some examples, the second response includes an SR response frame. In some examples, the SR response frame of the second response includes one or more of the RSSI measurements of the first response made by an STA served by the first access point, the minimum DL transmit power for serving one or more additional STAs by a second access point, BSR information, or BQR information. In some examples, the SR response frame of the second response is included in a High Efficiency (HE) TB PPDU.

[0227] In some examples, the first round of polling includes an SR polling frame. In some examples, the SR polling frame includes one or more of scheduling information for a TXOP or UL reuse information. In some examples, the scheduling information includes the UL slot size and duration of one or more UL slots of a TXOP. In some examples, the UL reuse information includes one or more of the maximum allowable interference for the first access point or the BSSID of a set of access points.

[0228] In some examples, the SR polling frame of the first round of polling includes a trigger frame. In some examples, the second round of polling includes an SR polling frame. In some examples, the first round of polling includes a MU-RTS frame. In some examples, the first response includes a CTS frame. In some examples, the first round of polling includes an enhanced CTS (e-CTS) frame. In some examples, the e-CTS frame of the first round of polling includes a HE preamble and one or more HE-SIG fields including an indication for identifying a set of access points.

[0229] In some examples, the second response includes an SR response frame. In some examples, the first round of polling includes an SR polling frame. In some examples, the null packet trigger frame includes one or more Broadcast Resource Units (RUs) that contain a BSS color mapping indicated by bits in a field of the null packet trigger frame.

[0230] The selection component 1320 may select a second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving a second response. In some examples, the selection component 1320 may select a second access point for coordinated reuse based on a measured signal strength indication. In some examples, the selection component 1320 may select a third access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving a response from a third access point. In some examples, the selection component 1320 may select a third access point for coordinated reuse based on a measurement. In some examples, the selection component 1320 may select a third access point for coordinated reuse based on a measured signal strength indication.

[0231] The measurement component 1340 may measure the signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending a first poll. In some examples, the measurement component 1340 may measure the signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by an STA to the second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first poll sent by the second access point. In some examples, the measurement component 1340 may measure the signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by a third access point based on sending. In some examples, the measurement component 1340 may measure the signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by a third access point in a set of access points.

[0232] The monitoring component 1350 may identify an indication of a measurement reporting the signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by an STA based on a measurement. In some examples, the monitoring component 1350 may receive an indication of participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending a second poll. In some examples, the monitoring component 1350 may receive an indication of participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending a second response. In some examples, receiving the first poll includes receiving an indication of resource allocation for a group of access points in a set of access points within the first poll, where sending the second poll is based on the indication of the resource allocation.

[0233] The synchronization component 1325 may perform synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP based on selecting the second access point. In some examples, performing synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP includes sending an indication for the second access point in a set of access points to perform synchronous DL signaling. In some examples, the synchronization component 1325 may utilize the second access point and the third access point to perform synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP based on selecting the second access point for coordinated reuse and selecting the third access point for coordinated reuse. In some examples, performing synchronous DL signaling on a TXOP includes multiplexing the DL signaling of the second access point and the DL signaling of the third access point on the TXOP, and where the multiplexing includes one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) of time slots or subbands of the TXOP.

[0234] In some examples, the synchronization component 1325 may perform synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP using a second access point based on the selection of the second access point. In some examples, performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP includes transmitting an indication that causes a second access point in a set of access points to perform synchronous UL signaling.

[0235] In some examples, the synchronization component 1325 may perform synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP using a second access point and a third access point for coordinated reuse based on the selection of the second access point and the third access point. In some examples, performing synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP includes allocating a first sub-band of the TXOP for UL signaling associated with the second access point and allocating a second sub-band of the TXOP for UL signaling associated with the third access point.

[0236] In some examples, the synchronization component 1325 may perform synchronous DL signaling on the TXOP using a second access point based on an indication received from the second access point to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP.

[0237] In some examples, the synchronization component 1325 may perform synchronous UL signaling on the TXOP using a second access point based on an indication received from the second access point to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP. In some examples, the indication includes an SR start frame and an indication of a maximum allowable transmit power for performing DL signaling on the TXOP. In some examples, the indication includes an SR start frame and an indication of a maximum allowable transmit power for performing UL signaling on the TXOP.

[0238] The criterion component 1330 may determine a criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP using a second access point based on one or more of a second poll or a second response, wherein the second access point is selected based on the determination of the criterion. In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine that the second access point meets the criterion for coordinated reuse, wherein the second access point is selected based on the determination that the second access point meets the criterion.

[0239] In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may identify a quantity of a set of access points. In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine a calculation for backoff adjustment for the criterion based on the identification of the quantity, wherein the determination of the criterion is based on the determination of the calculation.

[0240] In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine a first criterion for coordinated reuse associated with a first subchannel based on at least one of a transmit power requirement of the first subchannel of the wireless medium or a tolerance level associated with the first subchannel.

[0241] In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine a second criterion for coordinated reuse associated with a second subchannel based on at least one of a transmit power requirement of a second subchannel of the wireless medium or a tolerance level associated with the second subchannel, wherein determining the criterion is based on determining a first criterion for a first subchannel and a second criterion for the second subchannel.

[0242] In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine a criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP of a second access point based at least in part on measurements, wherein selecting the second access point is based on determining the criterion.

[0243] In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine that a second access point meets the criterion for coordinated reuse, wherein selecting the second access point is based on determining that the second access point meets the criterion.

[0244] In some examples, the criterion component 1330 may determine that one or more access points do not meet the criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP based on determining the criterion, wherein sending a first poll to the second access point is based on determining that one or more access points do not meet the criterion for coordinated reuse on a TXOP.

[0245] In some examples, the criterion for coordinated reuse includes a maximum allowable transmit power of a set of access points and is based on the SIR of a first access point serving an STA under a modulation and coding scheme (MCS). The STA management component 1335 may execute a request to send / clear to send (RTS / CTS) procedure by an STA served by the first access point, wherein the first poll is a multi-user (MU)-RTS frame. In some examples, the MU-RTS frame of the first poll includes one or more of information of an STA served by the first access point or information about one or more basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs) of the set of access points. In some examples, the first response includes a CTS frame.

[0246] The allocation component 1345 may allocate resources for a first poll to a set of access points of the set of access points. In some examples, the allocation component 1345 may send the first poll to the set of access points based on allocating resources for a scheduled request (SR) poll frame.

[0247] In some examples, the allocation component 1345 may determine the content of a preamble of a second poll by one or more access points of the set of access points based on transmission, wherein the measured signal strength indication is based on the content of the preamble. In some examples, the second poll includes a null data packet trigger frame. In some examples, the null data packet trigger frame includes one or more broadcast resource units (RUs) containing a BSS color map, wherein the BSS color map of the one or more broadcast RUs is indicated by bits in a field of the null data packet trigger frame.

[0248] Figure 14 FIG. showing a system 1400 including a device 1405 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1405 may be an example of or include components of the device 1105, the device 1205, or an AP as described herein. The device 1405 may include components for two-way voice and data communication (including components for sending and receiving communication), including a communication manager 1410, a network communication manager 1415, a transceiver 1420, an antenna 1425, a memory 1430, a processor 1440, and an inter-station communication manager 1445. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1450).

[0249] The communication manager 1410 may: send a first probe to an STA served by a first access point after winning contention for the wireless medium; receive a first response to the first probe from the STA based on sending the first probe; receive a second response from a second access point in an access point set, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response. The communication manager 1410 may also: send a first probe to a second access point in an access point set after winning contention for the wireless medium; measure a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first probe; and select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on measuring the signal strength indication. The communication manager 1410 may also: measure a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by an STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first probe sent by the second access point; identify an indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA based on the measurement; and send a second response to the second access point based on the indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response. The communication manager 1410 may also: receive a first probe from a second access point in an access point set; send a second probe to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first probe; and receive an indication of participating in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second probe.

[0250] The network communication manager 1415 may manage communication with a core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communication manager 1415 may manage the delivery of data communication for client devices such as one or more STAs 115.

[0251] The transceiver 1420 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described above. For example, the transceiver 1420 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1420 can also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from these antennas.

[0252] In some examples, the wireless device can include a single antenna 1425. However, in some examples, the device can have more than one antenna 1425 capable of simultaneously transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

[0253] The memory 1430 can include RAM and ROM. The memory 1430 can store computer-readable computer-executable code 1435 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some examples, the memory 1430 can in particular contain a basic input / output system (BIOS) that can control basic hardware or software operations, such as interactions with peripheral components or devices.

[0254] The processor 1440 can include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some examples, the processor 1440 can be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller can be integrated into the processor 1440. The processor 1440 can be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network).

[0255] The inter-station communication manager 1445 can manage communication with other APs 105 and can include a controller or scheduler for controlling the communication in which the STAs 115 cooperate with other APs 105. For example, the inter-station communication manager 1445 can coordinate scheduling for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission for transmissions to the STAs 115. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 1445 can provide an X2 interface within the LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to enable communication between the APs 105.

[0256] Figure 15 A flowchart illustrating a method 1500 supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of method 1500 can be implemented by an AP or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 can be performed by referring toFigures 11 to 14 The described communication manager performs. In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control the functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0257] At 1505, the AP may send a first round of polls including a first message to the STAs served by the first access point after winning the contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 1505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1505 may be performed by a control indication component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0258] At 1510, the AP may receive a first response to the first round of polls from the STAs based on sending the first round of polls. The operation of 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1510 may be performed by a control indication component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0259] At 1515, the AP may receive a second response from a second access point in the set of access points based on sending the first round of polls, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response. The operation of 1515 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1515 may be performed by a polling component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0260] At 1520, the AP may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response. The operation of 1520 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1520 may be performed by a selection component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0261] Figure 16 A flowchart illustrating a method 1600 supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of method 1600 may be implemented by an AP or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a communication manager referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described. In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control the functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0262] At 1605, the AP can send a first round of polls including a first message to the STAs served by the first access point after winning the contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 1605 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1605 can be performed by a control indication component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0263] At 1610, the AP can receive a first response to the first round of polls from the STAs based on sending the first round of polls. The operation of 1610 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1610 can be performed by a control indication component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0264] At 1615, the AP can send a second round of polls to a second access point after receiving the first response from the STAs, where receiving a second response is based on sending the second round of polls. The operation of 1615 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1615 can be performed by a polling component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0265] At 1620, the AP can receive a second response from a second access point in the set of access points based on sending the first round of polls, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response. The operation of 1620 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1620 can be performed by a polling component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0266] At 1625, the AP can determine criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP of the second access point based on one or more of the second round of polls or the second response, where selecting the second access point is based on determining the criteria. The operation of 1625 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1625 can be performed by a criteria component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0267] At 1630, the AP can select a second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response. The operation of 1630 can be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1630 can be performed by a selection component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0268] Figure 17FIG. 1700 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Operations of method 1700 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, operations of method 1700 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0269] At 1705, the AP may send a first round of polls including a first message to STAs served by the first access point after winning contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 1705 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1705 may be performed by a control indication component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1705 may be performed by a control indication component as described with reference to

[0270] At 1710, the AP may receive a first response to the first round of polls from the STAs based on sending the first round of polls. The operation of 1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1710 may be performed by a control indication component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1710 may be performed by a control indication component as described with reference to

[0271] At 1715, the AP may receive a second response from a second access point in a set of access points based on sending the first round of polls, the second response including a signal strength indication of the measured first response. The operation of 1715 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1715 may be performed by a polling component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1715 may be performed by a polling component as described with reference to

[0272] At 1720, the AP may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on receiving the second response. The operation of 1720 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1720 may be performed by a selection component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1720 may be performed by a selection component as described with reference to

[0273] At 1725, the AP may perform synchronous DL signaling on the TXOP based on selecting the second access point. The operation of 1725 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1725 may be performed by a synchronization component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1725 may be performed by a synchronization component as described with reference to

[0274] Figure 18FIG. 1800 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1800 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Operations of method 1800 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, operations of method 1800 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0275] At 1805, the AP may send a first poll to a second access point in a set of access points after winning contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 1805 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1805 may be performed by a polling component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 At 1810, the AP may measure a signal strength indication transmitted by one or more STAs served by the second access point based on sending the first poll. The operation of 1810 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1810 may be performed by a measurement component as described with reference to

[0276] At 1815, the AP may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication. The operation of 1815 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1815 may be performed by a selection component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 At 1815, the AP may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication. The operation of 1815 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1815 may be performed by a selection component as described with reference to

[0277] At 1815, the AP may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication. The operation of 1815 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1815 may be performed by a selection component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 At 1815, the AP may select the second access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication. The operation of 1815 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1815 may be performed by a selection component as described with reference to

[0278] Figure 19 FIG. 1900 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1900 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Operations of method 1900 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, operations of method 1900 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0279] At 1905, the AP may send a first poll to a second access point in a set of access points after winning contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 1905 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1905 may be performed by a polling component as described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 At 1905, the AP may send a first poll to a second access point in a set of access points after winning contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 1905 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1905 may be performed by a polling component as described with reference to

[0280] At 1910, the AP may measure signal strength indications transmitted by one or more STAs served by a second access point based on sending a first round of polls. The operation of 1910 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1910 may be performed by a measurement component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0281] At 1915, the AP may determine criteria for coordinated reuse on a TXOP of the second access point based at least in part on the measurement, wherein the second access point is selected based on determining the criteria. The operation of 1915 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1915 may be performed by a criteria component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0282] At 1920, the AP may select a second access point for coordinated reuse based on the measured signal strength indication. The operation of 1920 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1920 may be performed by a selection component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0283] Figure 20 A flowchart illustrating a method 2000 supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of method 2000 may be implemented by an AP or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2000 may be performed by a communication manager as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described. In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0284] At 2005, the AP may send a first round of polls to a second access point in a set of access points after winning contention for the wireless medium. The operation of 2005 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2005 may be performed by a polling component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0285] At 2010, the AP may measure signal strength indications transmitted by one or more STAs served by a second access point based on sending the first round of polls. The operation of 2010 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2010 may be performed by a measurement component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0286] At 2015, the AP may select a second access point for coordinated reuse based on a measurement signal strength indication. The operations of 2015 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2015 may be performed by a selection component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 and described.

[0287] At 2020, the AP may perform synchronous UL signaling on a TXOP using the second access point based on the selection of the second access point. The operations of 2020 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2020 may be performed by a synchronization component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 and described.

[0288] Figure 21 A flowchart illustrating a method 2200 that supports improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of method 2200 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2200 may be performed by a communication manager as referenced Figures 11 to 14 and described. In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control the functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0289] At 2105, the AP may measure a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by the STA to a second access point serving the STA, where the first response is based on a first poll sent by the second access point. The operations of 2105 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2105 may be performed by a measurement component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 and described.

[0290] At 2110, the AP may identify an indication of a measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response transmitted by the STA based on the measurement. The operations of 2110 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2110 may be performed by a monitoring component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 and described.

[0291] At 2115, the AP may send a second response to the second access point based on identifying the indication of the measurement reporting the signal strength indication of the first response. The operations of 2115 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2115 may be performed by a polling component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 and described.

[0292] Figure 22A flowchart illustrating a method 2200 for supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2200 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2200 may be implemented by reference to Figures 11 to 14 The communication manager described herein performs. In some examples, the AP may execute a set of instructions to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0293] At 2205, the AP may measure a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by the STA to a second access point serving the STA, wherein the first response is based on a first poll sent by the second access point. The operations of 2205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2205 may be described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 The described measurement components are performed.

[0294] At 2210, the AP may identify, based on the measurement, an indication of a measurement reporting a signal strength indication of a first response transmitted by the STA. The operations of 2210 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2210 may be described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 The monitoring components described are executed.

[0295] At 2215, the AP may send a second response to the second access point based on identifying the indication of the measurement of the signal strength indication that reported the first response. The operations of 2215 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2215 may be described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 The polling component described performs the following.

[0296] At 2220, the AP may receive an indication from the second access point to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP based on sending the second response. The operations of 2220 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2220 may be described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 The monitoring components described are executed.

[0297] At 2225, the AP may perform synchronized DL signaling on the TXOP with the second access point based on receiving an indication from the second access point to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP. The operations of 2225 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2225 may be described with reference to Figures 11 to 14 The described synchronization components are executed.

[0298] Figure 23FIG. 2400 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Operations of method 2400 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, operations of method 2400 may be performed by a communication manager as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described. In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use special purpose hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0299] At 2305, the AP may receive a first poll from a second access point in an access point set. The operation of 2305 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2305 may be performed by a polling component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0300] At 2310, the AP may send a second poll to one or more STAs served by a first access point based on receiving the first poll. The operation of 2310 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2310 may be performed by a polling component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0301] At 2315, the AP may receive an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on a TXOP from the second access point based on sending the second poll. The operation of 2315 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2315 may be performed by a monitoring component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0302] Figure 24 FIG. 2400 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supporting improved spatial reuse for a WLAN network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Operations of method 2400 may be implemented by an AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, operations of method 2400 may be performed by a communication manager as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described. In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control functional components of the AP for performing the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use special purpose hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0303] At 2405, the AP may receive a first poll from a second access point in an access point set. The operation of 2405 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2405 may be performed by a polling component as referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0304] At 2410, the AP may send a second round of polls to one or more STAs served by the first access point based on receiving the first round of polls. The operations at 2410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations at 2410 may be performed by a polling component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0305] At 2415, the AP may receive an indication to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP from a second access point based on sending the second round of polls. The operations at 2415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations at 2415 may be performed by a monitoring component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0306] At 2420, the AP may perform synchronous UL signaling on the TXOP with the second access point based on receiving the indication to participate in coordinated reuse on the TXOP from the second access point. The operations at 2420 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations at 2420 may be performed by a synchronization component referenced Figures 11 to 14 as described.

[0307] Note that the method descriptions above describe possible implementations, and the operations and steps may be reconfigured or otherwise modified, and other implementations are possible. Additionally, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

[0308] The techniques described herein may be used in various wireless communication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. CDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 version may generally be referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is generally referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, high rate packet data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as GSM.

[0309] OFDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A Pro are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in the literature from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in the literature from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The technologies described herein can be used in the systems and radio technologies mentioned herein, as well as in other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for example purposes and the terms LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR may be used in a large number of descriptions, the technologies described herein are also applicable to applications outside of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR applications.

[0310] Macro cells typically cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and can allow STAs 115 with a service subscription to the network provider to have unrestricted access. Compared to macro cells, small cells can be associated with low-power APs 105, and small cells can operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells. According to various examples, small cells can include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells. For example, a pico cell can cover a small geographical area and can allow STAs 115 with a service subscription to the network provider to have unrestricted access. A femto cell can also cover a small geographical area (e.g., a home) and can provide restricted access to STAs 115 associated with the femto cell (e.g., STAs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), STAs 115 of users in the home, etc.). The eNB for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro eNB. The eNB for a small cell can be referred to as a small cell eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, or home eNB. An eNB can support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells and can also use one or more component carriers to support communication.

[0311] The WLAN 100 or system described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operations. For synchronous operations, the APs 105 may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different APs 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operations, the APs 105 may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different APs 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operations.

[0312] Any of a number of different art and techniques may be used to represent the information and signals disclosed herein. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0313] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor; but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0314] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwired, or any combination of these. The features implementing the functions may also be physically located at different positions, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0315] A computer-readable medium includes both a non-transitory computer storage medium and a communication medium including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code components in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or a general purpose or special purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0316] As used herein, and as included in the claims, the term "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items that begins with a phrase such as "at least one of... " or "one or more of... ") indicates an inclusive list, such that a list of at least one of A, B, or C, for example, means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (such as A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as referring to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "at least partially based on".

[0317] In the figures, similar components or features may have the same reference numeral. Additionally, various components of the same type can be distinguished by following the dashed lines and the reference numerals with a second label, which are used to differentiate among the similar components. If only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second reference numeral or any other subsequent reference numeral.

[0318] The embodiments described in this document with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrate example configurations and do not represent all examples that can be implemented or are within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration" and not "preferred" or "superior" to other examples. For the purpose of providing an understanding of the technologies described, the embodiments include specific details. However, the technologies can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0319] The description provided herein enables a person of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure are readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a first access point, comprising: Send a first round of queries including a first message to a station STA served by the first access point, the first message including an indication for the STA to send a first response to a set of one or more access points; Receive the first response to the first round of queries from the STA; Receive a second response from a second access point in the set of one or more access points, the second response including an indication of the signal strength of the first response; and Select the second access point for coordinated spatial reuse associated with receiving the second response.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Perform synchronous DL signaling on a transmission opportunity TXOP at least partially based on selecting the second access point, where performing the synchronous DL signaling on the TXOP includes: Send an indication for the second access point in the set of one or more access points to perform the synchronous DL signaling, where the signal strength indication includes a spatial reuse start frame and an indication of the allowed transmit power for performing the DL signaling on the TXOP.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After receiving the first response from the STA, send a second round of queries to the second access point, where receiving the second response is at least partially based on sending the second round of queries.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: Determine criteria for coordinated spatial reuse on a transmission opportunity TXOP for utilizing the second access point at least partially based on one or more of the second round of queries or the second response, where selecting the second access point is at least partially based on determining the criteria.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: Determine that the second access point meets the criteria for coordinated spatial reuse, where selecting the second access point is at least partially based on determining that the second access point meets the criteria.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the criteria for coordinating spatial reuse include the allowed transmit power of the set of one or more access points and are at least partially based on the signal-to-interference ratio SIR of the first access point to serve the STA under a modulation and coding scheme MCS.

7. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: Identify the quantity of the set of one or more access points; And Determine a calculation for backoff adjustment for the criteria at least partially based on identifying the quantity, where determining the criteria is at least partially based on determining the calculation.

8. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: Determine a first criterion for coordinated spatial reuse associated with a first subchannel of the wireless medium at least partially based on at least one of the transmit power requirement of the first subchannel or the tolerance level associated with the first subchannel; and Determine a second criterion for coordinated spatial reuse associated with a second subchannel of the wireless medium at least partially based on at least one of the transmit power requirement of the second subchannel or the tolerance level associated with the second subchannel, where determining the criteria is at least partially based on determining the first criterion for the first subchannel and the second criterion for the second subchannel.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein transmitting the second poll and receiving the second response are part of a polling procedure for the set of one or more access points initiated by the first access point.

10. The method according to claim 3, wherein transmitting the second poll to the second access point further comprises: Send the second round of queries to a subset of the set of one or more access points that is different from the second access point, the method further including: Receive a response from the subset of the set of one or more access points at least partially based on the sending; and Determine criteria for coordinated spatial reuse on a TXOP for utilizing the subset of the set of one or more access points at least partially based on receiving the response from the subset of the set of one or more access points.

11. The method according to claim 3, wherein transmitting the second poll to the second access point includes transmitting the second poll to a plurality of access points in the set of one or more access points, and the method further comprises: Receiving a response from a third access point in the set of one or more access points, at least in part based on sending the second poll; And Selecting the third access point for coordinated spatial reuse, at least in part based on receiving the response from the third access point.

12. The method according to claim 3 further comprises: After receiving the first response from the STA, sending the second poll to a third access point in the set of one or more access points; Receiving a response from the third access point, at least in part based on sending the second poll to the third access point; And Selecting the third access point for coordinated spatial reuse, at least in part based on receiving the response from the third access point.

13. The method according to claim 12 further comprises: Performing synchronized DL signaling on a TXOP using the second access point and the third access point, at least in part based on selecting the second access point for coordinated spatial reuse and selecting the third access point for coordinated spatial reuse, where performing the synchronized DL signaling on the TXOP includes multiplexing the DL signaling of the second access point and the DL signaling of the third access point on the TXOP, and where the multiplexing includes one or more of time-division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) on a time slot or sub-band of the TXOP.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second response comprises a spatial reuse SR response frame.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The SR response frame of the second response includes one or more of a received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement of the first response made by the STA served by the first access point, a DL transmit power that meets a threshold for serving one or more additional STAs by the second access point, buffer status report (BSR) information, or bandwidth query report (BQR) information; and The SR response frame of the second response is included in a high-efficiency (HE) trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU).

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first poll further comprises a request for the signal strength indication of the first response sent by the STA, and wherein sending the first poll further comprises: Sending the first poll after performing a contention procedure for the wireless medium; Sending a second message to the set of one or more access points; And Receiving a response to the first poll from the set of one or more access points, where the response is received after receiving the first response of the STA to the first poll.

17. The method according to claim 1 further comprises: Receiving a response to the first poll from one or more access points in the set of one or more access points, where the response is at least in part based on an indication within the first response that provides reuse feedback by one or more access points in the set of one or more access points, and where the indication is at least part of the preamble of the first response.

18. A method for wireless communication at a first access point, comprising: Sending a first poll to a second access point in the set of access points, the first poll including a request for a first response sent by one or more stations (STAs) served by the second access point to the second access point; Receiving a first signal strength indication associated with sending the first poll from the one or more STAs served by the second access point; and Selecting the second access point for coordinated spatial reuse associated with the first signal strength indication.

19. The method according to claim 18 further comprises: Determine the allowed transmit power of the set of access points for coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP of the second access point, wherein the second access point is selected at least in part based on determining the allowed transmit power; And Determine that the second access point meets the allowed transmit power for coordinated spatial reuse, wherein the second access point is selected at least in part based on determining that the second access point meets the allowed transmit power, wherein the allowed transmit power of the set of access points and at least in part based on the signal-to-interference ratio SIR of the first access point to serve the STA under the modulation and coding scheme MCS.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein sending the first poll to the second access point comprises: Execute a contention procedure for the wireless medium, wherein the first access point sends the first round of polling after executing the contention procedure; Send the first round of polling to one or more access points in the set of access points, the method further comprising: Determine the criteria for coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP of the one or more access points at least in part based on the second signal strength indication sent by one or more STAs served by the one or more access points, the method further comprising: Determine that the one or more access points do not meet the criteria for coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP at least in part based on determining the criteria, wherein the first round of polling is sent to the second access point at least in part based on determining that the one or more access points do not meet the criteria for coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP.

21. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: Send the first round of polling to a third access point in the set of access points; Measure the second signal strength indication sent by one or more STAs served by the third access point at least in part based on the sending; and Select the third access point for coordinated spatial reuse at least in part based on the measurement.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein sending the first poll to the second access point comprises: Allocate resources for the first round of polling to multiple access points in the set of access points; And Send the first round of polling to the multiple access points at least in part based on allocating the resources for the first round of polling.

23. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: Determine the content of the preamble of the second round of polling performed by one or more access points in the set of access points at least in part based on the sending, wherein measuring the first signal strength indication is at least in part based on the content of the preamble, and wherein the second round of polling includes a null packet trigger frame.

24. A method for wireless communication at a first access point, comprising: Receive a first response including a signal strength indication sent by a station STA, the first response being associated with the first round of polling sent by a second access point served by the STA; And Send a second response associated with an indication for reporting the signal strength indication of the first response sent by the STA to the second access point.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising: Receive a second round of polling from the second access point at least in part based on one or more access points in the set of access points not meeting the criteria for coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP, the second round of polling being sent after the first response sent by the STA served by the first access point.

26. The method according to claim 24, further comprising: Receive an indication for participating in coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP from the second access point at least in part based on sending the second response; And Perform synchronous DL signaling on the TXOP of the second access point at least in part based on receiving an indication for participating in coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP from the second access point.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the second response comprises an SR response frame, and the method further comprises: Determine one or more measurement values, the one or more measurement values including one or more of a received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement of the first response made by the STA served by the first access point, a DL transmit power that meets a threshold for one or more additional STAs served by the second access point, buffer status report (BSR) information, or bandwidth query report (BQR) information, wherein the SR response frame transmitting the second response is at least in part based on determining the one or more measurement values.

28. A method for wireless communication at a first access point, comprising: Receive a first poll from a second access point in a set of access points; Send a second poll associated with receiving the first poll to one or more STAs served by the first access point; and Receive an indication for participating in coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP associated with sending the second poll from the second access point.

29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising: Send synchronous UL signaling on the TXOP of the second access point at least in part based on receiving an indication for participating in coordinated spatial reuse on the TXOP from the second access point.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein receiving the first poll comprises receiving an indication of resource allocation for a plurality of access points in the set of access points within the first poll, and wherein sending the second poll is at least partially based on the indication of the resource allocation.

31. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: At least one processor, A memory coupled to the at least one processor; And Instructions stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

32. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: At least one processor, A memory coupled to the at least one processor; And Instructions stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 18 to 23.

33. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: At least one processor, A memory coupled to the at least one processor; And Instructions stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 24 to 27.

34. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: At least one processor, A memory coupled to the at least one processor; And Instructions stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 28 to 30.

35. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein, The program code is executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

36. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein, The program code is executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 18 to 23.

37. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein, The program code is executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 24 to 27.

38. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein, The program code is executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 28 to 30.

39. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

40. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 18 to 23.

41. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 24 to 27.

42. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 28 to 30.

43. A computer program product comprising instructions, wherein the instructions are executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

44. A computer program product comprising instructions which are executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 18 to 23.

45. A computer program product comprising instructions which are executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 24 to 27.

46. A computer program product comprising instructions which are executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 28 to 30.

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