Selective spatial reuse transmission

Abstract

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for selectively using spatial reuse (SR) transmissions in the presence of overlapping basic service set (OBSS) transmissions. In some implementations, a wireless communication device may use SR packets to transmit data to another wireless communication device only if the signal strength of the SR packet received at that other wireless communication device is greater than the amount of signal degradation caused by the SR transmission from the OBSS transmission.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims priority to Indian foreign patent application No. 202041047773, filed on November 2, 2020, entitled “SELECTIVE SPATIAL REUSETRANSMISSIONS,” which has been assigned to the assignee of this application. The disclosure of that earlier application is considered part of this patent application and is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to opportunities for spatial reuse (SR) over shared wireless media.

[0004] Related technical descriptions

[0005] A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more Access Points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by several client devices (also known as stations (STAs)). The basic building block of a WLAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards is the Basic Service Set (BSS) managed by the AP. Each BSS is identified by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the AP's wireless range to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0006] Many wireless networks use random channel access mechanisms to control access to a shared wireless medium. In these networks, wireless devices contend for access to the medium. The device that wins the contention becomes the owner of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) and can use the medium for the duration of the TXOP. For example, to prevent interference with transmissions from the TXOP owner, other wireless devices are typically not allowed to transmit during the TXOP.

[0007] If the power level of a transmission from the TXOP owner is below a certain value, spatial reuse (SR) technology allows other wireless devices to transmit packets on the wireless medium while the TXOP owner is transmitting. Due to network conditions, conventional SR technology may unnecessarily allow wireless devices to transmit SR packets that ultimately interfere with the TXOP owner's transmission, and may also unnecessarily restrict wireless devices from transmitting SR packets, even if interference may not occur.

[0008] Overview

[0009] The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein each have several innovative aspects, and no single aspect is solely responsible for the desired properties disclosed herein.

[0010] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point (AP) associated with a first basic service set (BSS). In some implementations, the method includes: determining a first expected received signal strength at a first wireless station associated with the first BSS for a first wireless packet to be transmitted over a wireless medium by the first AP; and determining a second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a second wireless packet transmitted by or to be transmitted by a second AP associated with an overlapping BSS (OBSS). The method includes: determining a third expected received signal strength at a second wireless station associated with the OBSS for the first wireless packet to be transmitted by the first AP; and determining the noise floor of the wireless medium. The method includes: transmitting or not transmitting the first wireless packet based on whether a first ratio of the first expected received signal strength to the sum of the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

[0011] In some implementations, determining the first expected received signal strength may include: transmitting one or more intra-BSS packets to the first radio station, receiving a first indication of the first received signal strength of the one or more intra-BSS packets as measured at the first radio station, and determining the first expected received signal strength based on the first received signal strength. In some instances, determining the first expected received signal strength may further include: determining a path loss to the first radio station based on the first received signal strength of the one or more intra-BSS packets as measured by the first radio station, and determining the first expected received signal strength based on the determined path loss to the first radio station. The path loss to the first radio station can be determined by determining the average path loss to the first radio station over a period of time during which the one or more intra-BSS packets are transmitted to the first radio station.

[0012] In some implementations, the method may further include transmitting to the first radio station a first request to measure the received signal strength of the one or more packets within the BSS. In some instances, each of the one or more packets within the BSS may be a beacon frame. In some other instances, the first request may be a beacon request, and the first indication may be received in response to the beacon request in one or more beacon reports.

[0013] In some implementations, determining the second expected received signal strength may include: receiving a second indication of the second received signal strength of each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP, as measured at the first radio station; determining a third received signal strength of each of the one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP, as measured at the first AP; and determining the second expected received signal strength based on the second and third received signal strengths. In some instances, the method may further include: transmitting to the first radio station a second request to measure the Received Channel Power Indicator (RCPI) of the one or more OBSS packets. The second request may be a frame request, and the second indication may be received in a frame report in response to the frame request. In some instances, the second indication may be the average RCPI of the RCPI determined for the one or more OBSS packets.

[0014] In some other implementations, determining the second expected received signal strength may include: determining an average of the third received signal strengths of the one or more OBSS packets at the first AP, and determining the second expected received signal strength based on the average RCPI of the one or more OBSS packets received at the first radio station plus an instantaneous value of the third received signal strength minus the average of the third received signal strengths. In some instances, determining the third received signal strength may include: determining an average received power at the first AP based on the third received signal strength determined for the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second expected received signal strength is based on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

[0015] In some implementations, determining the third expected received signal strength may include: determining a fourth received signal strength of at least one OBSS packet transmitted from the second wireless station and measured at the first AP; and determining the third expected received signal strength based on the fourth received signal strength, an estimate of the transmit power of the second wireless station, and the transmit power of the first AP for the first wireless packet. In some instances, the transmit power of the second wireless station may be estimated by: estimating the path loss to each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS; determining the average received power at the first AP for wireless packets received from each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS; estimating the average transmit power of each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmissions by the respective wireless stations; and estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS. In some other instances, estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station may include determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as the estimate of the transmit power of the second wireless station. In some aspects, the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS includes the first wireless station.

[0016] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device may include: at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one memory may store processor-readable code configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: determine a first expected received signal strength at a first wireless station associated with a first BSS for a first wireless packet to be transmitted by the wireless communication device over a wireless medium, and to determine a second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a second wireless packet transmitted by or to be transmitted by an AP associated with an OBSS. Execution of the processor-readable code is configured to: determine a third expected received signal strength at a second wireless station associated with the OBSS for the first wireless packet to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, and to determine the noise floor of the wireless medium. Execution of the processor-readable code is configured to: transmit or not transmit the first wireless packet based on whether a first ratio of the first expected received signal strength to the sum of the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor. In some instances, each of the packets within one or more BSSs can be a beacon frame.

[0017] In some implementations, the execution of processor-readable code for determining the first expected received signal strength is configured to: transmit one or more intra-BSS packets to the first radio station; receive a first indication of the first received signal strength of the one or more intra-BSS packets as measured at the first radio station; and determine the first expected received signal strength based on the first received signal strength. In some instances, the execution of processor-readable code for determining the first expected received signal strength is configured to: determine a path loss to the first radio station based on the first received signal strength of the one or more intra-BSS packets as measured by the first radio station; and determine the first expected received signal strength based on the determined path loss to the first radio station. The path loss to the first radio station can be determined by determining the average path loss to the first radio station during the time period in which the one or more intra-BSS packets are transmitted to the first radio station.

[0018] In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code may also be configured to transmit a first request to the first radio station for measuring the received signal strength of the one or more packets within the BSS. In some instances, each of the one or more packets within the BSS may be a beacon frame. In some other instances, the first request may be a beacon request, and the first indication may be received in response to the beacon request in one or more beacon reports.

[0019] In some implementations, processor-readable code for determining the second expected received signal strength may be configured to: receive a second indication of the second received signal strength for each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the AP, as measured at the first wireless station; determine a third received signal strength for each of the one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the AP, as measured at the wireless communication device; and determine the second expected received signal strength based on the second and third received signal strengths. In some instances, execution of the processor-readable code may also be configured to: transmit a second request to the first wireless station for measuring the RCPI of the one or more OBSS packets. The second request may be a frame request, and the second indication may be received in a frame report in response to the frame request. In some instances, the second indication may be the average RCPI of the RCPI determined for the one or more OBSS packets.

[0020] In some other implementations, the execution of processor-readable code for determining the second expected received signal strength may be configured to: determine the average of the third received signal strengths of the one or more OBSS packets at the wireless communication device, and determine the second expected received signal strength based on the average RCPI of the one or more OBSS packets received at the first wireless station plus the instantaneous value of the third received signal strength minus the average of the third received signal strengths. In some instances, the execution of processor-readable code for determining the third received signal strength may be configured to: determine the average received power at the wireless communication device based on the third received signal strength determined for the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second expected received signal strength is based on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

[0021] In some implementations, the execution of processor-readable code for determining the third expected received signal strength can be configured to: determine a fourth received signal strength of at least one OBSS packet transmitted from the second wireless station and measured at the wireless communication device, and determine the third expected received signal strength based on the fourth received signal strength, an estimate of the transmit power of the second wireless station, and the transmit power of the wireless communication device for the first wireless packet. In some instances, the transmit power of the second wireless station can be estimated by: estimating the path loss to each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, determining the average received power at the wireless communication device for wireless packets received from each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, estimating the average transmit power of each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding MCS used for transmissions by the respective wireless station, and estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS. In some other instances, estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station may include determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as the estimate of the transmit power of the second wireless station. In some aspects, the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS includes the first wireless station.

[0022] Another inventive aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a method for wireless communication by a first AP associated with a first BSS. In some implementations, the method includes: transmitting one or more first wireless packets, and receiving from a first wireless station associated with the first BSS a first received signal strength of the one or more first wireless packets, as measured at the first wireless station. The method includes: receiving from the first wireless station a second received signal strength of one or more second wireless packets transmitted by a second AP associated with an OBSS, as measured at the first wireless station. The method includes: determining a third received signal strength of one or more third wireless packets transmitted by the second AP, as measured at the first AP, and determining a fourth received signal strength of one or more fourth wireless packets transmitted by the second wireless station associated with the OBSS, as measured at the first AP. The method includes: transmitting or not transmitting a fifth wireless packet to the first wireless station based on the first, second, third, and fourth received signal strengths.

[0023] In some implementations, one or more of the first received signal strength, second received signal strength, third received signal strength, or fourth received signal strength may be the average received signal strength. In some instances, each of the one or more first radio packets may be a beacon frame, each of the one or more second radio packets may be an OBSS packet, and each of the one or more third radio packets may be an OBSS packet. In some implementations, the one or more second radio packets may be the same packet as the one or more third radio packets.

[0024] In some implementations, the method may include transmitting to the first wireless station a first request to measure a first received signal strength of the one or more first wireless packets. In some instances, the first request may be a beacon request, and the first indication may be received in a beacon report in response to the beacon request. In some other implementations, the method may further include transmitting to the first wireless station a second request to measure a second received signal strength of the one or more second wireless packets. In some instances, the second request may be a frame request, and the second indication may be received in one or more frame reports in response to the frame request. In some other instances, the second indication may be the average RCPI of the one or more second wireless packets transmitted by a second AP.

[0025] In some implementations, the method may further include: determining a path loss to the first wireless station based on a first received signal strength, and determining a first expected received signal strength for the fifth wireless packet at the first wireless station based at least in part on the determined path loss. In some instances, the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth wireless packet may be based at least in part on the first expected received signal strength. In some other implementations, determining the path loss to the first wireless station may include: determining an average path loss to the first wireless station over a time period during which the one or more first wireless packets are transmitted, wherein the first expected received signal strength may be based at least in part on the determined average path loss.

[0026] In some implementations, the method may further include: determining a second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a wireless packet transmitted by the second AP based on a second received signal strength and a third received signal strength, wherein transmitting or not transmitting the fifth wireless packet may be based at least in part on the second expected received signal strength. In some instances, determining the third received signal strength of the one or more third wireless packets may include: determining an average received power at the first AP based on the third received signal strength, wherein the second expected received signal strength may be based at least in part on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

[0027] In some implementations, the method may further include: estimating the transmit power of a second wireless station associated with the OBSS, and determining the expected received signal strength at the second wireless station for the fifth wireless packet based on a fourth received signal strength, the estimated transmit power of the second wireless station, and the transmit power of the first AP for the fifth wireless packet. In some instances, whether or not the fifth wireless packet is transmitted may be based at least in part on the expected received signal strength at the second wireless station for the fifth wireless packet.

[0028] In some implementations, estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station may include: estimating the path loss to each of a plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS; determining the average received power at the first AP for radio packets received from each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS; estimating the average transmit power for each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding MCS used for transmissions by the respective wireless station; and estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS. The plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS may include the first wireless station. In some instances, estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station may include: determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as the estimated transmit power of the second wireless station.

[0029] In some implementations, the method may further include: determining a noise floor, wherein transmitting or not transmitting a fifth radio packet is further based on determining that a first ratio of the sum of the first expected received signal strength and the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

[0030] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device associated with a first BSS. The wireless communication device may include: at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one memory may store processor-readable code configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: transmit one or more first wireless packets, and receive from a first wireless station associated with the first BSS a first received signal strength for one or more first wireless packets, as measured at the first wireless station. Execution of the processor-readable code is configured to: receive from the first wireless station a second received signal strength for one or more second wireless packets transmitted by an AP associated with the OBSS, as measured at the first wireless station. Execution of the processor-readable code is configured to: determine a third received signal strength for one or more third wireless packets transmitted by the second AP, as measured at the wireless communication device, and determine a fourth received signal strength for one or more fourth wireless packets transmitted by the second wireless station associated with the OBSS, as measured at the wireless communication device. The execution of the processor-readable code is configured to transmit or not transmit a fifth wireless packet from the wireless communication device to the first wireless station based on the first received signal strength, the second received signal strength, the third received signal strength, and the fourth received signal strength.

[0031] In some implementations, one or more of the first received signal strength, second received signal strength, third received signal strength, or fourth received signal strength may be the average received signal strength. In some instances, each of the one or more first radio packets may be a beacon frame, each of the one or more second radio packets may be an OBSS packet, and each of the one or more third radio packets may be an OBSS packet. In some implementations, the one or more second radio packets may be the same packet as the one or more third radio packets.

[0032] In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code can be configured to: transmit to the first wireless station a first request for measuring the first received signal strength of the one or more first wireless packets. In some instances, the first request may be a beacon request, and the first indication may be received in a beacon report in response to the beacon request. In some other implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code can also be configured to: transmit to the first wireless station a second request for measuring the second received signal strength of the one or more second wireless packets. In some instances, the second request may be a frame request, and the second indication may be received in one or more frame reports in response to the frame request. In some other instances, the second indication may be the average RCPI of the one or more second wireless packets transmitted by the AP.

[0033] In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code may be configured to: determine a path loss to the first wireless station based on a first received signal strength, and determine a first expected received signal strength for the fifth wireless packet at the first wireless station based at least in part on the determined path loss. In some instances, transmitting or not transmitting the fifth wireless packet may be based at least in part on the first expected received signal strength. In some other implementations, determining the path loss to the first wireless station may include: determining an average path loss to the first wireless station over a period of time during which the one or more first wireless packets are transmitted, wherein the first expected received signal strength may be based at least in part on the determined average path loss.

[0034] In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code may be configured to: determine a second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a wireless packet transmitted by the AP based on a second received signal strength and a third received signal strength, wherein the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth wireless packet may be based at least in part on the second expected received signal strength. In some instances, determining the third received signal strength of the one or more third wireless packets may include: determining an average received power at the wireless communication device based on the third received signal strength, wherein the second expected received signal strength may be based at least in part on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

[0035] In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code can be configured to: estimate the transmit power of the second wireless station associated with the OBSS, and determine the expected received signal strength at the second wireless station for the fifth wireless packet transmitted by the wireless communication device based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimated transmit power of the second wireless station, and the transmit power of the wireless communication device for the fifth wireless packet. In some instances, the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth wireless packet can be based at least in part on the expected received signal strength at the second wireless station for the fifth wireless packet.

[0036] In some implementations, the execution of processor-readable code for estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station may be configured to: estimate the path loss to each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS; determine the average received power at the wireless communication device for radio packets received from each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS; estimate the average transmit power for each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding MCS used for transmissions by the respective wireless station; and estimate the transmit power of the second wireless station based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS. The plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS may include the first wireless station. In some instances, estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station may include: determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as the estimated transmit power of the second wireless station.

[0037] In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code can be configured to: determine the noise floor, wherein transmitting or not transmitting the fifth radio packet is further based on determining that a first ratio of the sum of the first expected received signal strength and the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

[0038] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from this description, the drawings, and the claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions in the following drawings may not be drawn to scale. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0040] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0041] Figure 2A An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is shown that can be used for communication between an Access Point (AP) and several Stations (STAs).

[0042] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example fields in the PDU.

[0043] Figure 3A An example physical layer (PHY) preamble is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and each of several STAs.

[0044] Figure 3B Another example PHY preamble is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and each of several stations.

[0045] Figure 3CExample signal fields that can be carried in a PDU are shown.

[0046] Figure 4 An example Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0047] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0048] Figure 6A A block diagram of an example AP is shown.

[0049] Figure 6B A block diagram of an example STA is shown.

[0050] Figure 7 The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0051] Figure 8A The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0052] Figure 8B The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0053] Figure 8C The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0054] Figure 8D The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0055] Figure 9A The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0056] Figure 9B The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0057] Figure 9C The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0058] Figure 10A The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0059] Figure 10B The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0060] Figure 10C The diagram illustrates a flowchart illustrating example operations of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations.

[0061] Figure 11 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0062] Figure 12 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0063] Figure 13 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0064] Figure 14A The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0065] Figure 14B The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0066] Figure 15 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0067] Figure 16 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0068] Figure 17 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0069] Figure 18 The diagram illustrates the timing of the transmission of communication that supports space reuse according to some implementations.

[0070] Figure 19A An example measurement request element is shown, based on some implementations, that can be used for wireless communication to support space reuse.

[0071] Figure 19B Example measurement report elements are shown based on some implementations of wireless communication that can be used to support space reuse.

[0072] Figure 20A An example beacon request, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used to support spatial reuse of wireless communications.

[0073] Figure 20B Example beacon reports based on some implementations that can be used to support spatial reuse of wireless communications are shown.

[0074] Figure 21A An example frame request element is shown, based on some implementations, that can be used for wireless communication to support spatial reuse.

[0075] Figure 21B Example frame report elements are shown, based on some implementations, that can be used to support wireless communication for spatial reuse.

[0076] Figure 22 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0077] Figure 23 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0078] Figure 24 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0079] Figure 25 The flowchart illustrates an example operation of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations.

[0080] Similar reference numerals and naming conventions in the various figures indicate similar elements.

[0081] Detailed description

[0082] The following description is directed to some specific implementations in order to illustrate the innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, and as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The described implementation can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the following standards, or those published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP): Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)). The described implementation can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and Multi User (MU) MIMO. The described implementation can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), or Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

[0083] The following description is directed to some specific implementations in order to illustrate the innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, and as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The described implementation can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the following standards, or those published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP): Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)). The described implementation can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and Multi User (MU) MIMO. The described implementation can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), or Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

[0084] Typically, wireless communication devices deployed in a Basic Service Set (BSS) determine whether to use Spatial Reuse (SR) transmissions to send data to one or more other wireless communication devices in the presence of overlapping BSS (OBSS) transmissions, considering only the energy received from the OBSS transmission. For example, when an access point (AP) associated with a BSS detects one or more OBSS packets on the wireless medium, the AP typically compares the received energy of the OBSS packets to a threshold to determine whether to use SR transmissions to send data to the associated radio station (STA). Specifically, when the measured energy of an OBSS packet received at the AP is less than the threshold, the AP can use SR packets to send data to its associated STA, and when the measured energy of an OBSS packet received at the AP is greater than the threshold, the AP may not use SR packets to send data to its associated STA.

[0085] When an associated STA is closer to the OBSS receiver than the AP, the level of OBSS interference at the associated STA may be greater than the level of OBSS interference at the AP. In some instances, the difference between the OBSS energy detected at the AP and the OBSS energy detected at its associated STA may allow the AP to use SR transmissions from its associated STA even when the OBSS energy detected at the AP is less than a threshold, and even when the OBSS energy detected at the associated STA is greater than the threshold. In such instances, OBSS interference may impair or even prevent the associated STA from receiving or successfully decoding SR packets. Proximity between the associated STA and the OBSS receiver can also cause SR transmission interference or interrupt ongoing OBSS transmissions to or from the OBSS receiver. Therefore, even if the OBSS energy detected at the AP is less than the threshold, these SR transmissions may still reduce the overall gain or throughput over the wireless medium.

[0086] The various aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to providing SR opportunities over a wireless medium that is at least partially shared by multiple adjacent and independent wireless communication networks. The example implementations disclosed herein recognize that by considering not only the OBSS energy level detected at the AP, but also the level of OBSS interference detected at one or more receiver devices associated with the AP and at one or more receiver devices associated with the OBSS, when determining whether to utilize SR transmissions in the presence of ongoing OBSS transmissions to or from one or more OBSS receiver devices, the overall gain or throughput over the shared wireless medium can be increased, maintained at a certain level, or kept within a certain range during SR opportunities.

[0087] According to various aspects of this disclosure, a wireless communication device may transmit data to another wireless communication device using SR packets only when the signal strength of the SR packet received at that other wireless communication device is greater than the amount of signal degradation of the OBSS packet caused by the SR transmission. For example, in some instances, the wireless communication device may be an AP, configured to transmit SR packets to the first STA only when the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the SR packet received at the first STA associated with the AP is greater than the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the OBSS packet received at the second STA associated with the OBSS, minus the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of the OBSS packet received at the second STA. The SNR of the OBSS packet can indicate the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the second STA in the absence of SR transmission, and the SIR of the OBSS packet can indicate the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the second STA in the absence of noise on the wireless medium. That is, the difference between the SNR and the SIR of the OBSS packet received at the second STA can indicate the signal degradation of the OBSS packet caused by the SR transmission from the AP to the first STA. Specifically, if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is greater than the OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission, then the SR transmission can increase the overall gain and throughput on the radio medium (and is therefore permissible). Conversely, if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is less than the OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission, then the SR transmission can decrease the overall gain and throughput on the radio medium (and may therefore be disallowed).

[0088] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. As described above, by configuring the AP to transmit SR packets to the associated STA only when an ongoing OBSS transmission exists, aspects of this disclosure can ensure that the overall gain or throughput over the wireless medium is not degraded by an SR transmission if the signal strength of the SR packet received at the associated STA is greater than the amount of signal degradation caused by the transmission of the SR packet. In some instances, when an AP employing aspects of this disclosure transmits SR packets to one or more associated STAs in the presence of an ongoing OBSS transmission, the overall gain or throughput over the wireless medium can be increased.

[0089] Figure 1A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. Depending on some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) (such as a Wi-Fi network) (and will be referred to WLAN 100 below). For example, WLAN 100 may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 standard family (such as standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be). WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, such as access points (APs) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, WLAN 100 may also include multiple APs 102.

[0090] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile handheld device, wireless handheld device, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit, and other possibilities. STA 104 may represent a variety of devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, laptops, tablets, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices (“remote controllers”), printers, kitchen or other household appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0091] A single AP 102 and its associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102. Figure 1Example coverage area 106 of AP 102 is also shown, which may represent the Basic Service Area (BSA) of WLAN 100. The BSA can be identified to users by a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and to other devices by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), which may be the Media Access Control (MAC) address of AP 102. AP 102 periodically broadcasts a beacon frame (“beacon”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of AP 102 to “associate” or reassociate with AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 108 with AP 102 (also referred to hereinafter as a “Wi-Fi link”). For example, the beacon may include an identifier of the primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with AP 102. AP102 can provide access to external networks to each STA 104 in the WLAN via the corresponding communication link 108.

[0092] In order to establish a communication link 108 with AP 102, each STA 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations (“scanning”) on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz, 6.0 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals (referred to as Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT) (measured in units of time (TU), where one TU can be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform an active scan, STA 104 generates probe requests and transmits these probe requests sequentially on each channel to be scanned, and listens for probe responses from AP 102. Each STA 104 can be configured to identify or select an AP 102 to associate with based on scan information obtained through passive or active scanning, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 108 with the selected AP 102. At the end of the association operation, AP 102 assigns an Association Identifier (AID) to STA 104, which AP 102 uses to track STA 104.

[0093] As wireless networks become increasingly prevalent, STA 104 can have the opportunity to choose from one of many BSSs within its range or from multiple APs 102 that together form an Extended Service Set (ESS) (comprising multiple connected BSSs). The extended network station associated with WLAN 100 can be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to be connected in such an ESS. Thus, STA 104 can be covered by more than one AP 102 and can be associated with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after being associated with an AP 102, STA 104 can also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 to associate with. For example, a STA 104 moving relative to its associated AP 102 can perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more suitable network characteristics, such as a larger Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) or reduced traffic load.

[0094] In some scenarios, STA 104 can form a network without AP 102 or other equipment besides STA 104 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). Ad hoc networks are alternatively referred to as mesh networks or peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In some scenarios, ad hoc networks can be implemented within a larger wireless network (such as WLAN 100). In such implementations, while STA 104 can communicate with each other via AP 102 using communication link 108, STA 104 can also communicate directly with each other via direct communication link 110. Furthermore, two STA 104 can communicate via direct communication link 110 regardless of whether the two STA 104 are associated with and served by the same AP 102. In such ad hoc systems, one or more STA 104 can assume the role played by AP 102 in the BSS. Such STA 104 can be referred to as the group owner (GO) and can coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct communication links 110 include Wi-Fi direct connections, connections established by using Wi-Fi Tunneling Direct Link Establishment (TDLS) links, and other P2P group connections.

[0095] AP 102 and STA 104 can operate and communicate (via the corresponding communication link 108) according to the IEEE 802.11 standard family (such as standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its revisions, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be). These standards define the WLAN radio and baseband protocols used for the PHY and Media Access Control (MAC) layers. AP 102 and STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications (also referred to below as "Wi-Fi communication") to and from each other in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs). AP 102 and STA 104 in WLAN 100 can transmit PPDUs on unlicensed spectrum, which can be a portion of the spectrum including bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technologies, such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5.0 GHz band, 60 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, and 900 MHz band. Some implementations of AP 102 and STA 104 described herein can also communicate in other bands, such as the 6.0 GHz band, that can support both licensed and unlicensed communication. AP 102 and STA 104 can also be configured to communicate on other bands, such as shared licensed bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping bands.

[0096] Each frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs conforming to revisions of the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax standards can be transmitted in the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz bands, where each band is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are transmitted on physical channels with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels can be formed through channel bonding. For example, PPDUs can be transmitted on physical channels with bandwidths of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0097] Each PPDU is a composite structure comprising a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PLCP Service Data Unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving equipment to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In instances where the PPDU is transmitted over a bonded channel, the preamble field may be copied and transmitted in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). The legacy preamble can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, among other applications. The legacy preamble is also generally used to maintain compatibility with legacy equipment. The format, decoding, and information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are based on the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used for transmitting the payload.

[0098] Figure 2A An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) 200 for wireless communication between AP 102 and one or more STAs 104 is shown. For example, PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a payload 204. For example, the preamble 202 may include a legacy portion, which itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 consisting of two BPSK symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 consisting of two BPSK symbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210 consisting of two BPSK symbols. The legacy portion of the preamble 202 can be configured according to the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. Prefix 202 may also include a non-legacy portion, which includes one or more non-legacy fields 212, for example, conforming to IEEE wireless communication protocols (such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be or later wireless communication protocols).

[0099] L-STF 206 generally enables the receiver equipment to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF 208 generally enables the receiver equipment to perform fine timing and frequency estimation, and also enables it to perform initial estimation of the wireless channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables the receiver equipment to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmission over the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208, and L-SIG 210 can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. Payload 204 may include a PSDU containing a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry higher-level data in the form of, for example, a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0100] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example L-SIG 210 in PDU 200. L-SIG 210 includes a data rate field 222, reserved bits 224, a length field 226, parity bits 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field 222 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in the payload 204). The length field 226 indicates the packet length, for example, in symbols or bytes. The parity bits 228 can be used to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits, which can be used by the receiving device to terminate the operation of the decoder (e.g., the Viterbi decoder). The receiving device can use the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field 222 and the length field 226 to determine the packet duration, for example, in microseconds (μs) or other time units.

[0101] Figure 3A An example PHY preamble 300 is shown that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and one or more STAs. The PHY preamble 300 can be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmissions. The PHY preamble 300 can be formatted as a High Efficiency (HE) WLAN PHY preamble according to the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard. The PHY preamble 300 includes a legacy section 302 and a non-legacy section 304. The PHY preamble 300 can be followed by a PHY payload 306 (e.g., in the form of a PSDU including a data field 324).

[0102] The legacy portion 302 of the PHY preamble 300 includes L-STF 308, L-LTF 310, and L-SIG 312. The non-legacy portion 304 includes a repetition of L-SIG (RL-SIG) 314, a first HE signal field (HE-SIG-A) 316, a short HE training field (HE-STF) 320, and one or more long HE training fields (or symbols) (HE-LTF) 322. For OFDMA or MU-MIMO communication, the non-legacy portion 304 further includes a second HE signal field (HE-SIG-B) 318 encoded separately from HE-SIG-A 316. Similar to L-STF 308, L-LTF 310, and L-SIG 312, in instances involving the use of bonded channels, the information in RL-SIG 314 and HE-SIG-A 316 can be copied and transmitted in each component 20MHz channel. In contrast, the contents of HE-SIG-B318 can be unique for each 20MHz channel and target-specific STA 104.

[0103] RL-SIG 314 indicates to HE-compatible STA 104 that the PDU carrying PHY preamble 300 is an HE PPDU. AP 102 can use HE-SIG-A 316 to identify multiple STAs 104 and notify them that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for them. For example, HE-SIG-A 316 may include a resource allocation subfield indicating resource allocation for the identified STA 104. HE-SIG-A 316 can be decoded by each HE-compatible STA 104 served by AP 102. For MU transmissions, HE-SIG-A 316 further includes information that can be used by each identified STA 104 to decode the associated HE-SIG-B 318. For example, HE-SIG-A 316 may indicate the frame format (including the location and length of HE-SIG-B 318), available channel bandwidth, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and other examples. HE-SIG-A 316 may also include HE WLAN signaling information that can be used by STA 104 other than the identified STA 104.

[0104] HE-SIG-B 318 may carry STA-specific scheduling information, such as, for example, STA-specific (or "user-specific") MCS values ​​and STA-specific RU allocation information. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, this information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding Resource Unit (RU) in the associated data field 324. Each HE-SIG-B 318 includes a common field and at least one STA-specific field. The common field may indicate RU allocations (including RU assignments in the frequency domain) for multiple STAs 104, indicating which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmissions and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmissions, as well as the number of users in the allocation and other examples. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. The user-specific field is assigned to a specific STA 104 and can be used to schedule a specific RU and indicate that scheduling to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields. Each user block field may include two user fields, which contain information about the corresponding RU payload in the two corresponding STA decoding data fields 324.

[0105] Figure 3B Another example PHY preamble 350 is shown that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and one or more STAs. The PHY preamble 350 can be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmissions. The PHY preamble 350 can be formatted as an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) WLAN PHY preamble according to the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, or it can be formatted as a PHY preamble of any later (post-EHT) version conforming to a new wireless communication protocol (conforming to future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards or other wireless communication standards). The PHY preamble 350 includes a legacy portion 352 and a non-legacy portion 354. The PHY preamble 350 can be followed by a PHY payload 356 (e.g., in the form of a PSDU including a data field 374).

[0106] The legacy portion 352 of the PHY preamble 350 includes L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362. The non-legacy portion 354 of the preamble includes RL-SIG 364 and signal fields associated with various wireless communication protocol versions following RL-SIG 364. For example, the non-legacy portion 354 may include a general signal field 366 (referred to herein as "U-SIG 366") and an EHT signal field 368 (referred to herein as "EHT-SIG 368"). One or both of U-SIG 366 and EHT-SIG 368 may be configured for other wireless communication protocol versions above EHT and carry information related to that version. The non-legacy portion 354 further includes an additional short training field 370 (referred to herein as "EHT-STF 370," but may also be constructed to carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions besides EHT) and one or more additional long training fields 372 (referred to herein as "EHT-LTF 372," but may be constructed to carry version-related information for other wireless communication protocol versions besides EHT). Similar to L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362, in instances involving the use of bonded channels, the information in U-SIG 366 and EHT-SIG 368 may be copied and transmitted in each component 20MHz channel. In some implementations, EHT-SIG 368 may additionally or alternatively carry information different from that carried in the primary 20MHz channel in one or more non-primary 20MHz channels.

[0107] EHT-SIG 368 may include one or more jointly encoded symbols and may be encoded in a different block than the block in which U-SIG 366 is encoded. EHT-SIG 368 may be used by the AP to identify multiple STAs 104 and to notify those STAs that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources for them. EHT-SIG 368 may be decoded by each compatible STA 104 served by AP 102. EHT-SIG 368 may generally be used by the receiving device to interpret the bits in data field 374. For example, EHT-SIG 368 may include RU allocation information, spatial flow configuration information, and per-user signaling information (such as MCS) and other examples. EHT-SIG 368 may further include a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) (e.g., 4 bits) and a tail (e.g., 6 bits) that may be used for binary convolutional codes (BCC). In some implementations, EHT-SIG 368 may include one or more code blocks, each containing a CRC and a tail. In some aspects, each code block may be encoded individually.

[0108] EHT-SIG 368 can carry STA-specific scheduling information, such as, for example, user-specific MCS values ​​and user-specific RU allocation information. EHT-SIG 368 can generally be used by the receiving device to interpret the bits in data field 374. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, this information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field 376. Each EHT-SIG 368 may include a common field and at least one user-specific field. The common field may indicate the RU distribution across multiple STAs 104, indicate RU assignment in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmissions and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmissions, and the number of users in the allocation, among other examples. The common field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits. The user-specific field is assigned to a specific STA 104 and can be used to schedule specific RUs and indicate this scheduling to other WLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user block fields. Each user block field may include, for example, two user fields containing information for the two corresponding STAs to decode their respective RU payloads.

[0109] The presence of RL-SIG 364 and U-SIG 366 ensures compatibility with EHT or later versions. STA 104 indicates that a PDU carrying PHY preamble 350 is an EHT PPDU or a PPDU of any later (post-EHT) version conforming to a new wireless communication protocol (conforming to the future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard). For example, U-SIG 366 can be used by the receiving equipment to interpret bits in one or more of EHT-SIG 368 or data field 374.

[0110] Figure 3C An example signal field 380 that can be carried in a WLAN PPDU is shown. In an implementation where signal field 380 is carried in an HE PPDU, signal field 380 can be or may correspond to an HE-SIG-A field (such as...). Figure 3A The HE-SIG-A field 316 of the preamble 300). In the implementation where signal field 380 is carried in the EHT PPDU, signal field 380 can be or may correspond to the EHT-SIG field (such as... Figure 3BThe preamble 350 is EHT-SIG 368. Signal field 380 may include a UL / DL subfield 382 indicating whether the PPDU is transmitting UL or DL, a SIGB-MCS subfield 384 indicating the MCS of HE-SIG-B 318, and a SIGB DCM subfield 386 indicating whether HE-SIG-B 318 uses dual-carrier modulation (DCM). Signal field 380 may also include a BSS color field 388 indicating the BSS color that identifies the BSS. Each device in the BSS can identify itself with the same BSS color. Therefore, receiving a transmission with a different BSS color indicates that the transmission comes from another BSS, such as the OBSS.

[0111] Signal field 380 may further include a spatial reuse subfield 390, which indicates whether spatial reuse is permitted during the transmission of the corresponding PPDU. Signal field 380 may also include a bandwidth subfield 392, which indicates the bandwidth of the PPDU data field, such as 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, etc. Signal field 380 may further include a number of HE-SIG-B symbols or a MU-MIMO user subfield 394, which indicates the number of OFDM symbols or the number of MU-MIMO users in the HE-SIG-B field. Signal field 380 may also include a SIGB compression subfield 396 indicating the presence of a shared signaling field, and may include a GI+LTF size subfield 398 indicating the duration of the guard interval (GI) and the size of the non-legacy LTF. The signal field 380 may also include a Doppler subfield 399, which indicates whether the number of OFDM symbols in the PPDU data field is greater than the periodic increment of the center code notified by the signal, and the center code exists; or whether the number of OFDM symbols in the PPDU data field is less than or equal to the periodic increment of the center code notified by the signal, the center code does not exist, but the channel is rapidly changing.

[0112] Figure 4An example PPDU 400 is shown that can be used for communication between AP 102 and several STAs 104. As described above, each PPDU 400 includes a PHY preamble 402 and a PSDU 404. Each PSDU 404 may carry one or more MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs), such as an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 406 including multiple MPDU subframes 408. Each MPDU subframe 408 may include a MAC delimiter 412 and a MAC header 414 preceding an accompanying frame body 416, which includes the data portion or "payload" of the MPDU subframe 408. The frame body 416 may carry one or more MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs), such as an aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 422 including multiple MSDU subframes 424. Each MSDU subframe 424 contains a corresponding MSDU 426, which includes a subframe header 428, a frame body 430, and one or more padding bits 432.

[0113] Referring back to A-MPDU subframe 406, MAC header 414 may include several fields containing information defining or indicating the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within frame body 416. MAC header 414 also includes several fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated within frame body 416. For example, MAC header 414 may include a combination of source address, sender address, receiver address, or destination address. MAC header 414 may include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field specifies the frame type, such as a data frame, control frame, or management frame. MAC header 414 may further include a duration field indicating the duration from the end of the PPDU until the acknowledgment (ACK) of the last PPDU to be transmitted by the wireless communication device (e.g., block ACK (BA) in the case of A-MPDU). The duration field is used to preserve the indicated duration of the wireless medium, thereby establishing NAV. Each A-MPDU subframe 408 may also include a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field 418 for error detection. For example, FCS field 418 may include cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and may be followed by one or more padding bits 420.

[0114] As described above, AP 102 and STA 104 can support multi-user (MU) communication. That is, concurrent transmission from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink (DL) communications from AP 102 to corresponding STA 104s), or concurrent transmission from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink (UL) transmissions from corresponding STA 104s to AP 102). To support MU transmission, AP 102 and STA 104 can utilize multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MU-OFDMA) technologies.

[0115] In the MU-OFDMA scheme, the available spectrum of the radio channel can be divided into multiple resource elements (RUs), each comprising several different frequency subcarriers (“frequency modulo”). Different RUs can be allocated by AP 102 at specific times or assigned to different STAs 104. The size and distribution of RUs are referred to as RU allocation. In some implementations, RUs can be allocated in 2MHz intervals, and thus, the minimum RU can include 26 frequency moduloes, comprising 24 data frequency moduloes and 2 pilot frequency moduloes. Therefore, in a 20MHz channel, up to 9 RUs (such as 2MHz, 26-frequency modulo RUs) can be allocated (because some frequency moduloes are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160MHz channel, up to 74 RUs can be allocated. Larger RUs of 52, 106, 242, 484, and 996 frequency moduloes can also be allocated. Adjacent RUs can be separated by empty subcarriers (such as DC subcarriers) to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiver DC offset, and avoid leakage of the transmit center frequency.

[0116] For UL MU transmissions, AP 102 can transmit trigger frames to initiate and synchronize UL MU-OFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmissions from multiple STAs 104 to AP 102. Such trigger frames thus enable multiple STAs 104 to concurrently send UL traffic to AP 102 in time. The trigger frame can address one or more STAs 104 via a corresponding Association Identifier (AID), and can assign one or more RUs to each AID (and thus to each STA 104), which can be used to send UL traffic to AP 102. The AP can also specify one or more Random Access (RA) RUs that are contentious for by unscheduled STAs 104.

[0117] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 500 is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may be for STAs (such as those mentioned above). Figure 1Examples of devices in one of the STAs 104 described above. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 may be for an AP (such as those described above). Figure 1 Example of a device in the described AP 102. Wireless communication device 500 is capable of transmitting (or outputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (e.g., in the form of wireless packets). For example, wireless communication device 500 can be configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) and Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) conforming to IEEE 802.11 standards (such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0118] The wireless communication device 500 may be or may include a chip, system-on-a-chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device that includes one or more modems 502 (e.g., a Wi-Fi (compliant with IEEE 802.11) modem). In some implementations, the one or more modems 502 (collectively, "Modem 502") additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 also includes one or more radios 504 (collectively, "Radio 504"). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 further includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements (collectively, "Processor 506") and one or more memory blocks or elements (collectively, "Memory 508").

[0119] Modem 502 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)). Modem 502 is generally configured to implement a PHY layer. For example, modem 502 is configured to modulate packets and output modulated packets to radio 504 for transmission over a wireless medium. Similarly, modem 502 is configured to acquire modulated packets received by radio 504 and demodulate these packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to modulators and demodulators, modem 502 may further include digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry, automatic gain control (AGC), decoders, decoders, multiplexers, and demultiplexers. For example, when in transmission mode, data acquired from processor 506 is provided to a decoder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. The encoded bits are then mapped to points in a modulation constellation (using a selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. Subsequently, the modulated symbols may be mapped to a number NSS A spatial flow or a number N STS A space-time stream. The modulated symbols in the corresponding space stream or space-time stream can then be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently provided to the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signal can then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal can then be provided to an up-converter and ultimately to Radio 504. In beamforming implementations, the modulated symbols in the corresponding space stream are pre-coded via a guiding matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0120] In receive mode, the digital signal received from radio 504 is provided to a DSP circuitry system configured to acquire the received signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating the initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuitry system is further configured to digitally condition the digital signal, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering, analog impairment conditioning (such as correcting I / Q imbalance), and applying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. The output of the DSP circuitry system can then be fed to an AGC, configured to use information extracted from the digital signal (e.g., in one or more received training fields) to determine an appropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuitry system is also coupled to a demodulator configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and, for example, calculate the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator is coupled to a decoder configured to process the LLR to provide decoded bits. The decoded bits from all spatial streams are then fed to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits can then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 506) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0121] Radio 504 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or “transmitter chain”) and at least one RF receiver (or “receiver chain”), which may be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and receiver may include various DSP circuitry systems, each including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low-noise amplifier (LNA). The RF transmitter and receiver may further be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, wireless communication device 500 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain). Symbols output from modem 502 are provided to radio 504, which then transmits these symbols via the coupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received via the antennas are acquired by radio 504, which then provides these symbols to modem 502.

[0122] Processor 506 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices designed to perform the functions described herein, such as, for example, processing cores, processing blocks, central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. Processor 506 processes information received via radio 504 and modem 502, and processes information to be output via modem 502 and radio 504 for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, processor 506 may implement a control plane and a MAC layer, configured to perform various operations related to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames, or packets. The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate frame decoding and decoding, spatial multiplexing, space-time block decoding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, and other operations or techniques. In some implementations, processor 506 may generally control modem 502 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0123] Memory 508 may include tangible storage media, such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. Memory 508 may also store non-transient processor or computer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by processor 506, cause the processor to perform various operations described herein for wireless communication, including the generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the components disclosed herein, or the various blocks or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein, may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0124] Figure 6A A block diagram of example AP 602 is shown. For example, AP 602 could be a reference... Figure 1 The described example implementation of AP 102. AP 602 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 610 (but AP 602 itself may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 610 may be a reference... Figure 5An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 500 is described. AP 602 also includes a plurality of antennas 620 coupled to the wireless communication device 610 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. In some implementations, AP 602 additionally includes an application processor 630 coupled to the wireless communication device 610, and a memory 640 coupled to the application processor 630. AP 602 further includes at least one external network interface 650, which enables AP 602 to communicate with a core network or backhaul network to obtain access to external networks, including the Internet. For example, external network interface 650 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Components of the foregoing can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. AP 602 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 610, application processor 630, memory 640, and at least a portion of the antennas 620 and external network interface 650.

[0125] Figure 6B A block diagram of example STA 604 is shown. For example, STA 604 could be a reference... Figure 1 The example implementation of STA 104 described herein. STA 604 includes wireless communication device 615 (but STA 604 itself may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 615 may be a reference... Figure 5 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 500. STA 604 also includes one or more antennas 625 coupled to the wireless communication device 615 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. STA 604 additionally includes an application processor 635 coupled to the wireless communication device 615, and a memory 645 coupled to the application processor 635. In some implementations, STA 604 further includes a user interface (UI) 655 (such as a touchscreen or keyboard) and a display 665, which can be integrated with the UI 655 to form a touchscreen display. In some implementations, STA 604 may further include one or more sensors 675 (for example, one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors). Components of the foregoing can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. STA 604 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 615, the application processor 635, the memory 645, and at least portions of the antenna 625, the UI 655, and the display 665.

[0126] Traditional SR (Spatial Reuse) technology can be used to increase media utilization and throughput by allowing a wireless communication device belonging to a first BSS to transmit SR packets to one or more other wireless communication devices in the first BSS during an OBSS transmission when the energy level of the detected OBSS transmission is less than a threshold. In some instances, this threshold may correspond to an OBSS PD threshold defined by one or more revisions of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication standards family. As discussed, wireless communication devices typically consider only the level of OBSS energy detected at the wireless communication device when determining whether to use spatial reuse in the presence of an OBSS transmission. Specifically, when an AP associated with the first BSS detects one or more OBSS packets on the wireless medium, the AP is typically allowed to use SR transmission to transmit data to the associated STA, provided that the level of OBSS energy received at the AP is less than the threshold. When the associated STA is closer to the OBSS receiver device than the AP, the level of OBSS interference at the associated STA may be greater than the level of OBSS interference at the AP. In some instances, the difference between the OBSS energy level detected at the AP and the OBSS energy level detected at the associated STA can cause the AP to transmit SR packets to the associated STA during an ongoing OBSS transmission, even when the OBSS energy level detected at the associated STA is greater than a threshold (which typically indicates that the OBSS transmission is strong enough to interrupt the SR transmission). In such instances, the OBSS transmission may impair or even prevent the associated STA from receiving and successfully decoding SR packets, and the SR transmission may interfere with or interrupt the OBSS transmission. Therefore, even if the OBSS energy level detected at the AP is less than the threshold, these SR transmissions can still reduce the overall gain or throughput over the wireless medium.

[0127] The example implementations disclosed herein recognize that by considering not only the OBSS energy level detected at the AP, but also the level of OBSS interference detected at one or more receiver devices in the first BSS and at one or more receiver devices in the OBSS, when determining whether to utilize SR transmission in the presence of an ongoing OBSS transmission, the overall gain or throughput over the wireless medium can be increased (or at least maintained at a certain level or range) during the SR opportunity. According to various aspects of this disclosure, a wireless communication device may use SR packets to transmit data to another wireless communication device in the presence of an ongoing OBSS transmission only if the signal strength of the SR packet received at that other wireless communication device is greater than the amount that would cause signal degradation of the OBSS packet due to the SR transmission.

[0128] In some implementations, a first AP associated with a first BSS may transmit SR packets to a first STA associated with the first BSS only if the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the SR packet received at the first STA is greater than the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the OBSS packet received by the second STA associated with the OBSS minus the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of the OBSS packet received by the second STA. The SNR of the OBSS packet indicates the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the second STA in the absence of interfering SR transmission, and the SIR of the OBSS packet indicates the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the second STA in the absence of noise on the radio medium. The difference between the SNR and SIR of the OBSS packet received at the second STA indicates the amount of signal degradation of the OBSS packet caused by the SR transmission.

[0129] Therefore, if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is greater than the amount of OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission, the SR transmission can increase the overall gain and throughput on the wireless medium (and is therefore permissible). Conversely, if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is less than the amount of OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission, the SR transmission can decrease the overall gain and throughput on the wireless medium (and may therefore be disallowed). In this way, the various implementations of the subject matter disclosed herein can ensure that when a wireless communication device utilizes SR transmission in the presence of ongoing OBSS transmission, the overall gain or throughput on the wireless medium is increased (or at least maintained at a certain level or range).

[0130] For the examples discussed herein, the first BSS and OBSS can be sufficiently close to each other that the transmission of packets (such as intra-BSS packets and SR packets) between radio devices associated with the first BSS can interfere with the transmission of packets (such as OBSS packets) between radio devices associated with the OBSS, and the transmission of packets between radio devices associated with the OBSS can interfere with the transmission of packets between radio devices associated with the first BSS. The first BSS can be operated by a first AP and can include any number of first wireless communication devices (such as a first STA). The OBSS can be operated by a second AP and can include any number of second wireless communication devices (such as a second STA).

[0131] In some implementations, the first AP can estimate the received signal strength of SR packets at the first STA, estimate the received signal strength of SR packets at the second STA, and estimate the received signal strength of one or more OBSS packets at the first STA. The first AP can determine the SINR of the SR packets at the first STA based on the ratio of the estimated received signal strength of the SR packets at the first STA to the estimated received signal strength of the OBSS packets at the first STA. The first AP can also determine the SNR of the OBSS packets received by the second STA and the SIR of the OBSS packets received by the second STA. The determined SINR of the SR packets can indicate the signal strength of the SR packets received by the first STA in the presence of OBSS interference. The determined SNR of the OBSS packets can indicate the signal strength of the OBSS packets received by the second STA in the absence of SR transmission, and the determined SIR of the OBSS packets can indicate the signal strength of the OBSS packets received by the second STA in the absence of noise on the radio medium. In this way, the difference between the SNR and the SIR of the OBSS packets received by the second STA can indicate the amount of signal degradation of the OBSS packets caused by SR transmission.

[0132] In some implementations, when the SINR of an SR packet received at the first STA is greater than the difference between the SNR and SIR of an OBSS packet received by the second STA, the first AP may transmit the SR packet to the first STA during an ongoing OBSS transmission between the second AP and the second STA. For example, if the received signal strength of the SR transmission at the first STA is greater than the amount of OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission (indicating that the SR transmission can increase the overall gain and throughput on the wireless medium), the first AP may transmit the SR packet to the first STA during an ongoing OBSS transmission. Conversely, if the received signal strength of the SR transmission at the first STA is less than the amount of OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission (indicating that the SR transmission may reduce the overall gain and throughput on the wireless medium), the first AP may not transmit the SR packet to the first STA during an ongoing OBSS transmission.

[0133] In other words, when SINR1 > SNR2 – SIR2, the first AP can utilize SR transmission during an ongoing OBSS transmission, where SINR1 indicates the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA, SNR2 indicates the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the second STA in the absence of interference from the SR transmission, and SIR2 indicates the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the second STA in the absence of noise on the wireless medium. By allowing SR transmission in the presence of an ongoing OBSS transmission only if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is greater than the amount of OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission at the second STA, aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein can ensure that the overall gain or throughput on the wireless medium is increased (or at least maintained at a certain level or range) through SR transmission.

[0134] The example implementation disclosed in this paper recognizes that the expression SINR1>SNR2–SIR2 can be represented as Where S AP1→STA1 Indicates the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA, S AP2→STA1 Indicates interference caused by OBSS transmission at the first STA, S AP1→STA2 The received signal strength of the SR packet at the second STA is indicated, and N represents the noise level on the wireless medium. In some instances, the first AP can determine the noise floor of the wireless medium and can determine whether to transmit the SR packet to the first STA based on a first ratio of the expected received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA to the sum of the expected received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the first STA and the noise floor, relative to a second ratio of the expected received signal strength of the SR packet at the second STA to the noise floor. That is, when At that time, the first AP can transmit SR packets, when At this time, the first AP may not transmit SR packets.

[0135] In some implementations, the first AP can use measurement frames (such as beacon requests and beacon reports) to request received signal strength measurements of one or more beacon frames from each of its associated STAs, and can estimate the path loss between the first AP and each of the associated STAs based on the corresponding received signal strength measurements. In some instances, the first AP can determine the path loss to a particular STA based on the difference between the transmit power used by the first AP to transmit a frame to that particular STA and the received signal strength of that frame at that particular STA. The first AP can then determine S based on the estimated path loss to each of its associated STAs. AP1→STA1 The value of .

[0136] In some implementations, the first AP can use measurement frames (such as frame requests and frame reports) to request the received channel power indicator (RCPI) values ​​of OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP and received by each of its associated STAs. In some instances, each of the associated STAs can report the average RCPI value of the received OBSS packets, and the first AP can determine the S based on the average RCPI provided by its associated STAs. AP2→STA1 The value of . In some other instances, the first AP may determine S based on the sum of the average RCPI value of OBSS packets received by its associated STA and the instantaneous RCPI value of OBSS packets received by the first AP, minus the average RCPI value of OBSS packets received by the first AP. AP2→STA1 The difference between the instantaneous RCPI value of the OBSS packet received by the first AP and the average RCPI value of the OBSS packet received by the first AP can be used as a correction factor to compensate for the different transmit power levels used by the second AP to transmit different OBSS packets.

[0137] The example implementation disclosed herein also recognizes that the interference level at the second STA caused by the SR transmission performed by the first AP can be expressed as S. AP1→STA2 =T AP1 +S STA2→AP1 –T STA2 T AP1 S represents the transmit power of the first AP. STA2→AP1 This indicates the received signal strength of the OBSS packet transmitted by the second STA and received by the first AP, and T STA2 This represents the transmit power of the second STA. The difference between the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at the first AP and the transmit power of the second STA (denoted as S) STA2→AP1 –T STA2 This can indicate the path loss from the second STA to the first AP. In some instances, the first AP can use measurement frames (such as beacon requests and beacon reports) to request received signal strength measurements of beacon frames from each of its associated STAs, and can do so based on the first AP's transmit power (denoted as T above). AP1 The average path loss between the first AP and its associated STA is estimated by the difference between the received signal strength of the beacon frame measured by the AP and the received signal strength of the beacon frame measured by the associated STA.

[0138] In some implementations, the first AP can estimate the average transmit power T used by its associated STA based on the sum of the received signal strength measured by the first AP and the determined average path loss between the first AP and its associated STA. STA1Because the STA associated with the OBSS is likely to use a similar transmit power level to the STA associated with the first BSS, the first AP can determine the average transmit power T for its associated STA. STA1 Transmit power T used as the second STA STA2 An approximation. In some instances, the first AP can transmit the second STA's transmit power T. STA2 This is expressed as a function of the data rate or MCS used by the second STA, and then the minimum average transmit power of the first STA is selected as an approximation of the transmit power of the second STA. Finally, the first AP can... AP1→STA2 The value (and therefore the difference SNR2 – SIR2) is estimated to be = S AP1→STA2 –N, where N represents the noise floor of the wireless medium.

[0139] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example operation 700 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations is shown. Operation 700 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The operation 700 is performed by the wireless communication device 500 described above. In some implementations, operation 700 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 7 In the example, operation 700 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0140] In block 702, the first AP determines a first expected received signal strength at a first radio station (STA) associated with the first BSS for a first wireless packet to be transmitted by the first AP over the radio medium. In block 704, the first AP determines a second expected received signal strength at the first STA for a second wireless packet transmitted by or to be transmitted by a second AP associated with an overlapping BSS (OBSS). In block 706, the first AP determines a third expected received signal strength at a second STA associated with the OBSS for the first wireless packet to be transmitted by the first AP. In block 708, the first AP determines the noise floor of the radio medium. In block 710, the first AP transmits or does not transmit the first wireless packet based on whether a first ratio of the first expected received signal strength to the sum of the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

[0141] In some instances, the first AP can only transmit the first radio packet as an SR packet to the first STA if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is greater than the OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission at the second STA, even if an ongoing OBSS transmission exists. That is, when At that time, the first AP can transmit SR packets, and when At this time, the first AP may not transmit SR packets.

[0142] Figure 8A The diagram illustrates an example operation 800 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations. Operation 800 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above performs the operation. In some implementations, operation 800 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The first wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (one of the described APs 102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 8A In the example, operation 800 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0143] In some implementations, operation 800 can be Figure 7 An example of determining a first expected received signal strength in block 702. For example, in block 802, a first AP transmits one or more intra-BSS packets to a first STA. In block 804, the first AP receives from the first STA a first indication of the first received signal strength of the one or more intra-BSS packets as measured at the first STA. In block 806, the first AP determines the first expected received signal strength based on the first received signal strength determined by the first STA. In some instances, the one or more intra-BSS packets may be beacon frames, and the first AP may use beacon requests and beacon reports to request received signal strength measurements of beacon frames from each of its associated STAs.

[0144] Figure 8B A flowchart illustrating example operation 810 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations, is shown. Operation 810 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 810 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 8B In the example, operation 810 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0145] In some implementations, operation 810 can be Figure 7 Another example of determining the first expected received signal strength in box 702. In some other implementations, operation 810 could be... Figure 8A Examples of determining a first expected received signal strength in block 806. For example, in block 812, the first AP determines the path loss to the first STA based on the first received signal strength of packets within the one or more BSSs as measured by the first STA. In block 814, the first AP determines the first expected received signal strength based on the determined path loss to the first STA.

[0146] Figure 8C A flowchart illustrating example operation 820 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some implementations, is shown. Operation 820 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 820 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 8C In the example, operation 820 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0147] In some implementations, operation 820 can be Figure 8B Example of determining path loss in block 812. For example, in block 822, the first AP determines the average path loss to the first STA over the time period during which packets are transmitted to the first STA within one or more BSSs. In some instances, the first expected received signal strength may be based on the average path loss between the first AP and the first STA.

[0148] Figure 8D A flowchart illustrating an example operation 830 for supporting space reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations is shown. Operation 830 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 830 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 8D In the example, operation 830 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0149] In some implementations, operation 830 can be combined Figure 7The determination of the first expected received signal strength in box 702 is performed. In some other implementations, operation 830 can be combined with... Figure 8A The determination of the first expected received signal strength in block 806 is performed. For example, in block 832, the first AP transmits a first request to the first STA to measure the received signal strength of the one or more packets within the BSS. As discussed, in some instances, the one or more packets within the BSS may be beacon frames, and the first AP may transmit a beacon request to the first STA to measure the received signal strength of the beacon frames. The first STA may measure the received signal strength of the beacon frames and report the measured signal strength of the beacon frames to the first AP in a beacon report.

[0150] Figure 9A A flowchart illustrating an example operation 900 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations is shown. Operation 900 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above performs the operation. In some implementations, operation 900 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 9A In the example, operation 900 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0151] In some implementations, operation 900 can be Figure 7 Example of determining a second expected received signal strength in block 704. For example, in block 902, the first AP receives from the first STA a second indication of the second received signal strength for each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP and received by the first STA. In block 904, the first AP determines a third received signal strength for each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP and received by the first AP. In block 906, the first AP determines a second expected received signal strength based on the second received signal strength and the third received signal strength.

[0152] Figure 9B A flowchart illustrating example operation 910 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementation is shown. Operation 910 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 910 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 9BIn the example, operation 910 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0153] In some implementations, operation 910 can be combined Figure 9A The second instruction is received in block 902 to perform this action. For example, in block 912, the first AP transmits a second request to the first STA to measure the received channel power indicator (RCPI) value of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP. In some instances, the first AP may transmit a frame request to the first STA to measure the RCPI value of each packet received or detected by the first STA, and the first STA may report the measured RCPI value to the first AP in one or more frame reports.

[0154] Figure 9C A flowchart illustrating an example operation 920 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations is shown. Operation 920 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 920 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 9C In the example, operation 920 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0155] In some implementations, operation 920 can be Figure 7 The example in box 704 is determining the second expected received signal strength. In some other implementations, operation 920 could be... Figure 9A Example of determining a second expected received signal strength in box 906. For example, in box 922, the first AP determines the average of the third received signal strength of one or more OBSS packets at the first AP. In box 924, the first AP determines the second expected received signal strength based on the average RCPI of one or more OBSS packets received at the first radio station plus the instantaneous value of the third received signal strength minus the average of the third received signal strength.

[0156] Figure 10A The diagram illustrates an example operation 1000 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations. Operation 1000 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above performs this operation. In some implementations, operation 1000 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 10A In the example, operation 1000 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0157] In some implementations, operation 1000 can be Figure 7 Another example of determining the second expected received signal strength in box 704. In some other implementations, operation 1000 could be... Figure 9A Another example of determining a second expected received signal strength in box 906. For example, in box 1002, the first AP determines the average received power at the first AP based on a third received signal strength determined for one or more OBSS packets. In some instances, the second expected received signal strength may be based on a second received signal strength and the determined average received power at the first AP.

[0158] Figure 10B A flowchart illustrating an example operation 1010 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations is shown. Operation 1010 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 1010 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 10B In the example, operation 1010 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0159] In some implementations, operation 1010 can be Figure 7 An example of determining a third expected received signal strength in box 706. For example, in box 1012, the first AP determines a fourth received signal strength for at least one OBSS packet transmitted from the second STA, as measured at the first AP. In box 1014, the first AP determines the third expected received signal strength based on the fourth received signal strength, an estimate of the second STA's transmit power, and the first AP's transmit power for the first wireless packet.

[0160] Figure 10C A flowchart illustrating an example operation 1020 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some implementations is shown. Operation 1020 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 1020 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 10CIn the example, operation 1020 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0161] In some implementations, operation 1020 can be Figure 10B Example of estimating the transmit power of the second STA in block 1014. For example, in block 1022, the first AP estimates the path loss to each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS. In some instances, the plurality of STAs in the first BSS includes the first STA. In block 1024, for each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS, the first AP determines the average received power at the first AP for radio packets received from the respective STA. In block 1026, for each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS, the first AP estimates the average transmit power at the respective STA based on the respective estimated path loss, the respective average received power, and the respective modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmissions by the respective STA. In block 1028, the first AP estimates the transmit power of the second STA based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS. In some implementations, the first AP may estimate the transmit power of the second STA by determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as an estimate of the transmit power of the second STA.

[0162] Figure 11 The diagram illustrates an example operation 1100 for wireless communication supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations. Operation 1100 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, see references respectively). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 11 In the example, operation 1100 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0163] In block 1102, the first AP transmits one or more first radio packets. In block 1104, the first AP receives from a first STA associated with the first BSS a first received signal strength for the one or more first radio packets as measured at the first STA. In block 1106, the first AP receives from the first STA a second received signal strength for one or more second radio packets transmitted by a second AP associated with the OBSS, as measured at the first STA. In block 1108, the first AP determines a third received signal strength for one or more third radio packets transmitted by the second AP as measured at the first AP. In block 1110, the first AP determines a fourth received signal strength for one or more fourth radio packets transmitted by the second STA associated with the OBSS, as measured at the first AP. In block 1112, the first AP transmits a fifth radio packet to the first STA or does not transmit a fifth radio packet to the first STA based on the first, second, third, and fourth received signal strengths.

[0164] In some implementations, the fifth radio packet can be an SR packet, and the first AP can only transmit the SR packet to the first STA if the received signal strength of the SR packet at the first STA is greater than the OBSS signal degradation caused by the SR transmission at the second STA, even if an ongoing OBSS transmission exists. That is, when At that time, the first AP can transmit SR packets to the first STA, and when At this time, the first AP may not transmit SR packets to the first STA.

[0165] Figure 12 The diagram illustrates an example operation 1200 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations. Operation 1200 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 1200 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 12 In the example, operation 1200 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0166] In some instances, operation 1200 can be combined Figure 11The first AP performs the receiving of the first and second instructions in the corresponding blocks 1104 and 1106. For example, in block 1202, the first AP transmits a first request to the first wireless station to measure a first received signal strength, wherein the first instruction is received in response to the first request. In block 1204, the first AP transmits a second request to the first wireless station to measure a second received signal strength, wherein the second instruction is received in response to the second request.

[0167] In some implementations, one or more first radio packets may be beacon frames, and the first AP may transmit a beacon request to the first STA to measure the received signal strength of the beacon frame. The first STA may measure the received signal strength of the beacon frame and report the measured signal strength of the beacon frame to the first AP in a beacon report. In some implementations, one or more second radio packets may be OBSS packets, and the first AP may transmit a frame request to the first STA to measure the RCPI value of each packet received or detected by the first STA. The first STA may measure the RCPI value of the received OBSS packets and may report the measured RCPI value to the first AP in a frame report. In some instances, the first STA may report the average RCPI value of the received OBSS packets to the first AP in a frame report.

[0168] Figure 13 The diagram illustrates an example operation 1300 for wireless communication supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations. Operation 1300 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, see references respectively). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either the described AP 102 or 602) performs this function. Figure 13 In the example, operation 1300 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0169] In some instances, operation 1300 can be performed. Figure 11 The action in block 1104 is performed after receiving the first instruction from the first STA. For example, in block 1302, the first AP determines the path loss to the first STA based at least in part on the first received signal strength. In block 1304, the first AP determines the first expected received signal strength for the fifth radio packet at the first STA based at least in part on the determined path loss. In some instances, the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth radio packet to the first STA may be based at least in part on the first expected received signal strength.

[0170] Figure 14A A flowchart illustrating example operation 1400 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some other implementations is shown. Operation 1400 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 1400 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 14A In the example, operation 1400 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0171] In some instances, operation 1400 can be combined with... Figure 11 The transmission or non-transmission of the fifth radio packet in block 1112 is performed in combination. For example, in block 1402, the first AP determines the second expected received signal strength at the first STA for the radio packet transmitted by the second AP based at least in part on the second received signal strength and the third received signal strength. In some instances, the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth radio packet to the first STA may be based at least in part on the second expected received signal strength. In some implementations, the radio packet may be part of an OBSS transmission from the second AP, the second received signal strength may be the average RCPI value of one or more OBSS packets transmitted from the second AP and received by the first STA, and the third received signal strength may be the received signal strength or RCPI value of one or more OBSS packets transmitted from the second AP and received by the first AP.

[0172] Figure 14B A flowchart illustrating example operation 1410 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations, is shown. Operation 1410 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 1410 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 14B In the example, operation 1410 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0173] In some instances, operation 1410 can be Figure 14A The example of determining a second expected received signal strength in block 1402. For example, in block 1412, the first AP determines the average received power at the first AP based at least in part on the third received signal strength. In some implementations, the second expected received signal strength may be based at least in part on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power at the first AP.

[0174] Figure 15The diagram illustrates an example operation 1500 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations. Operation 1500 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The operation 1500 is performed by the wireless communication device 500 described above. In some implementations, operation 1500 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 15 In the example, operation 1500 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0175] In some instances, operation 1500 can be performed. Figure 11 The determination of the fourth received signal strength in block 1110 is performed afterward. For example, in block 1502, the first AP estimates the transmit power of the second STA associated with the OBSS. In block 1504, the first AP determines the expected received signal strength for the fifth radio packet at the second STA based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimated transmit power of the second STA, and the first AP's transmit power for the fifth radio packet. In some instances, the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth radio packet to the first STA may be based at least in part on the expected received signal strength for the fifth radio packet at the second STA.

[0176] Figure 16 The diagram illustrates an example operation 1600 of wireless communication for supporting space reuse, based on some other implementations. Operation 1600 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 1600 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 16 In the example, operation 1600 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0177] In some instances, operation 1600 can be Figure 15Example of estimating the transmit power of the second STA in block 1502. For example, in block 1602, the first AP estimates the path loss to each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS. In block 1604, for each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS, the first AP determines the average received power at the first AP for radio packets transmitted by the corresponding STA in the first BSS. In block 1606, for each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS, the first AP estimates the average transmit power at the corresponding STA based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding MCS used for transmissions by the corresponding STA in the first BSS. In block 1608, the first AP estimates the transmit power of the second STA based at least in part on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS.

[0178] In some implementations, the first AP can use measurement frames (such as beacon requests and beacon reports) to request received signal strength measurements of one or more beacon frames from each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS, and can estimate the path loss between the first AP and each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS based on the difference between the transmit power used by the first AP and the determined path loss of the corresponding STA from the first AP to the plurality of STAs in the first BSS. In some implementations, the first AP can estimate the average transmit power used by each of the plurality of STAs in the first BSS based on the sum of the received signal strength measured by the first AP and the determined path loss of the corresponding STA from the first AP to the plurality of STAs in the first BSS. The second STA associated with the OBSS is likely to use a transmit power level similar to that used by the plurality of STAs associated with the first BSS, and the first AP can use the average determined transmit power of the plurality of STAs associated with the first BSS as an approximation of the transmit power of the second STA. In some instances, the first AP may express the transmit power of the second STA as a function of the data rate or MCS used by the second STA, and then select the minimum of the average transmit power of a plurality of STAs associated with the first BSS as an approximation of the transmit power of the second STA.

[0179] Figure 17 A flowchart illustrating example operation 1700 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some other implementations is shown. Operation 1700 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above performs this operation. In some implementations, operation 1700 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 17In the example, operation 1700 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0180] In some instances, operation 1700 can be combined with Figure 11 This is performed by one or more operations. For example, in block 1702, the first AP determines a first expected received signal strength at the first STA for the fifth radio packet based on a first received signal strength. In block 1704, the first AP determines a second expected received signal strength at the first STA for the radio packet transmitted by the second AP based on a second and a third received signal strength. In block 1706, the first AP determines a third expected received signal strength at the second STA for the fifth radio packet based on a fourth received signal strength, an estimate of the second STA's transmit power, and the first AP's transmit power for the fifth radio packet. In some instances, the first AP may determine whether to transmit or not transmit the fifth radio packet based at least in part on the first, second, and third expected received signal strengths.

[0181] Figure 18 A timing diagram 1800 illustrating the transmission of communications supporting spatial reuse according to some implementations is shown. These communications may involve spatial reuse (SR) transmissions by wireless communication devices associated with or belonging to a first BSS in the presence of interference associated with overlapping BSS (OBSS) transmissions. The first BSS may include a first wireless access point (AP1) and one or more first wireless stations (STA1), and the OBSS may include a second wireless access point (AP2) and one or more second wireless stations (STA2). In some instances, wireless access points AP1 and AP2 may be respectively referenced to… Figure 1 and Figure 6A In the example of one of AP 102 and AP 602 described above, and wireless stations STA1 and STA2 can be respectively referenced Figure 1 and Figure 6B An example of one of the STA 104 and STA 604 described above. Although the first BSS is in Figure 18 The example is shown as including one access point (AP1) and one wireless station (STA1), but in some other implementations, the first BSS can include any suitable number of access points and any suitable number of wireless stations. Similarly, although the OBSS is... Figure 18 The example is shown to include one access point (AP2) and one wireless station (STA2), but in some other implementations, OBSS can include any suitable number of access points and any suitable number of wireless stations.

[0182] The first BSS and OBSS may be sufficiently close to each other that intra-BSS packet transmission between AP1 and its associated radio station STA1 in the first BSS may interfere with packet transmission between AP2 and its associated radio station STA2 in the OBSS, and packet transmission between AP2 and its associated radio station STA2 may interfere with intra-BSS packet transmission between AP1 and its associated radio station STA1. In some implementations, STA1 may be closer to STA2 than AP1 is to AP2. In some instances, the distance D between STA1 and STA2 is... STA-to-STA Compare the distance D between AP1 and AP2 AP-to-AP At least one amount that causes the level of OBSS interference detected at STA1 to be greater than the level of OBSS interference detected at AP1. In some other instances, the difference between the level of OBSS interference detected at STA1 and the level of OBSS interference detected at AP1 is at least an amount that could cause the level of OBSS interference detected at STA1 to be greater than a threshold and the level of OBSS interference detected at AP1 to be less than that threshold.

[0183] In some implementations, AP1 transmits a first measurement request frame requesting STA1 to measure and report the signal strength of one or more intra-BSS packets to be transmitted from AP1 and received by STA1. AP1 then transmits the one or more intra-BSS packets to STA1 via the radio medium associated with the first BSS. STA1 receives the one or more intra-BSS packets, measures the received signal strength of the one or more intra-BSS packets, and reports the measured received signal strength to AP1 in one or more first measurement report frames. The one or more intra-BSS packets can be any suitable packet or frame from which STA1 can determine the received signal strength. In some instances, the one or more intra-BSS packets can be beacon frames transmitted by AP1, the first measurement request frame can carry one or more beacon requests to STA1 to measure the received signal strength of one or more corresponding beacon frames, and the first measurement report frame can carry one or more beacon reports containing the measured received signal strength of the corresponding one or more beacon frames.

[0184] AP1 receives the first measurement report frame from STA1 and determines the expected received signal strength at STA1 for the SR packet to be transmitted from AP1 based on the signal strength of the packet within the BSS as measured by STA1. In some instances, the expected received signal strength determined by AP1 corresponds to the value S. AP1→STA1In some other instances, AP1 can use the received signal strength measurement reported by STA1 to estimate the path loss from AP1 to STA1, and then estimate the expected received signal strength of the SR packet at STA1 based on AP1's transmit power and the determined path loss to STA1.

[0185] In some implementations, AP1 transmits a second measurement request frame that requests STA1 to measure and report the RCPI value of each radio packet received by STA1. In some instances, STA1 receives one or more OBSS packets transmitted from AP2, measures the RCPI value of the one or more OBSS packets, and reports the measured RCPI value of the OBSS packets to AP1 in one or more second measurement report frames. In some instances, the second measurement request frame may carry one or more frame request elements for STA1 to measure the RCPI value of each radio packet received by STA1, and the second measurement report frame may carry one or more frame report elements containing the measured RCPI value of the OBSS packets.

[0186] In some implementations, AP2 contends for channel access to the radio medium, obtains a TXOP on the radio medium, and transmits or broadcasts one or more OBSS packets to STA2 via the radio medium. As discussed, the first BSS and OBSS are sufficiently close to each other and operate on the same or sufficiently similar frequency bands, such that radio packets transmitted between devices associated with the OBSS can be received (or at least detected) by one or more devices associated with the first BSS, and radio packets transmitted between devices associated with the first BSS can be received (or at least detected) by one or more devices associated with the OBSS. Therefore, in some instances, both STA2 and STA1 receive OBSS packets transmitted by AP2.

[0187] In response to the second measurement request frame, STA1 measures the RCPI value of each OBSS packet and sends the measured RCPI value to AP1 in one or more measurement report frames. In some implementations, the second measurement report frame carries one or more frame reports containing or indicating the RCPI values ​​of the OBSS packets as measured by STA1. In some instances, STA1 may provide the average RCPI value of the OBSS packets and the RCPI value of the last received OBSS packet in the frame response.

[0188] AP1 receives the RCPI value measured by STA1 and determines the received signal strength of OBSS packets transmitted by AP2 and received at STA1. AP1 also receives one or more OBSS packets transmitted by AP2 and determines the average received signal strength of the OBSS packets transmitted by AP2 and received by AP1. The determined average received signal strength can indicate the average power level of OBSS interference received at AP1. In some implementations, AP1 can determine the S based on the reported RCPI value of the OBSS packets and the average received power of the OBSS packets at AP1. AP2→STA1 The value of S. In some other implementations, AP1 can determine S based on the sum of the average power of the OBSS packets received by STA1 and the instantaneous power level of the OBSS packets received by AP1, minus the average power level of the OBSS packets received by AP1. AP2→STA1 The value of . In some instances, the difference between the instantaneous power level of the OBSS packets received by AP1 and the average power level of the OBSS packets received by AP1 can be used as a correction factor to compensate for the different transmit power levels used by the second AP to transmit different OBSS packets.

[0189] STA2 transmits OBSS packets to AP2 via this wireless medium, and AP2 receives the OBSS packets. AP1 also receives the OBSS packets transmitted by STA2 and measures the received signal strength of the OBSS packets from STA2. In some instances, the received signal strength of the OBSS packets from STA2 can be used to estimate S. STA2→AP1 The value of AP1 can be used to determine its transmit power T. AP1 And it can be based at least in part on the transmit power T of STA1. STA1 To estimate the transmit power T of STA2 STA2 AP1 can then be based on expression S. AP1→STA2 =T AP1 +S STA2→AP1 –T STA2 To estimate S AP1→STA2 The value is as discussed above. In some instances, the difference between the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at AP1 and the transmit power of STA2 (denoted as S) is the difference between the received signal strength of the OBSS packet at AP1 and the transmit power at STA2. STA2→AP1 –T STA2 This can indicate the path loss from STA2 to AP1.

[0190] In some implementations, AP1 uses the noise floor (N) of the wireless medium to determine a first ratio (R1) of the expected received signal strength of the SR packet at STA1 to the sum of the expected received signal strength of the OBSS packet at STA1 and the noise floor. AP1 also uses the noise floor to determine a second ratio (R2) of the expected received signal strength of the SR packet at STA2 to the noise floor. As discussed, the first ratio R1 can be expressed as... And the second ratio R2 can be expressed as R2 =

[0191]

[0192] In some implementations, AP1 determines whether to transmit SR packets to STA1 in the presence of OBSS transmission based on the value of a determined first ratio R1 relative to the value of a determined second ratio R2. In some instances, when At that time, AP1 can transmit SR packets to STA1 in the presence of OBSS transmission or interference, and when In this case, AP1 can transmit SR packets to STA1 without the presence of OBSS transmission or interference. In other words, AP1 can use SR transmission to STA1 in the presence of OBSS transmission or interference when the signal strength of the SR packet received at STA1 is greater than the signal degradation of the OBSS packet caused by the SR transmission, and can not use SR transmission to STA1 in the presence of OBSS transmission or interference when the signal strength of the SR packet received at STA1 is less than the signal degradation of the OBSS packet caused by the SR transmission. In this way, the various implementations of the subject matter disclosed herein can ensure that when AP1 transmits SR packets to STA1 in the presence of ongoing OBSS transmission between AP2 and STA2, the overall gain or throughput on the wireless medium is increased (or at least maintained at a certain level or range).

[0193] Figure 19AAn example measurement request element 1900 for use in wireless communication is illustrated according to some implementations. In some instances, measurement request element 1900 may request a receiving device to perform iterative measurements for all primary channel locations of a corresponding AP. Measurement request element 1900 may include an element ID field 1902, a length field 1904, a measurement token field 1906, a measurement request mode field 1908, a measurement type field 1910, and a measurement request field 1912. In some instances, the element ID field 1902 may be an octet long and may include an identifier for the measurement request element 1900. The length field 1904 may be an octet long and may indicate the length of the measurement request element 1900. The measurement token field 1906 carries a unique non-zero number among the measurement request elements in a particular measurement request frame. The Measurement Request Mode field 1908 is a bit field that includes a parallelism bit indicating whether more than one measurement should be started in parallel, an enable bit distinguishing between a request to perform a measurement and a request to control a measurement request, and a duration-mandatory bit indicating whether the measurement duration included in the measurement request is mandatory. The Measurement Type field 1910 carries a value indicating the type of measurement to be performed (such as passive mode, active mode, or beacon table mode). The Measurement Request field 1912 carries a description of the individual measurement request corresponding to that measurement type.

[0194] Figure 19B An example measurement response element 1950 for use in wireless communication is shown according to some implementations. Measurement response element 1950 may include an element ID field 1952, a length field 1954, a measurement token field 1956, a measurement report mode field 1958, a measurement type field 1960, and a measurement report field 1962. In some instances, the element ID field 1952 may be one octet long and may include an identifier for the measurement response element 1950. The length field 1954 may be one octet long and may indicate the length of the measurement response element 1950.

[0195] In some instances, the Measurement Token field 1956 is set to the value of the Measurement Token field 1906 in the corresponding Measurement Request element 1900. The Measurement Report Mode field 1958 is used to indicate the reason for a failed or rejected measurement request. The Measurement Type field 1960 carries a value identifying the measurement report carried in or otherwise associated with the Measurement Report field 1962. In some instances, the Measurement Report field 1962 contains a single measurement report. In other instances, the Measurement Report field 1962 contains multiple measurement reports.

[0196] Figure 20AAn example beacon request 2000, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for wireless communication. The beacon request 2000 can be carried in... Figure 19A The measurement request element 1900 includes an operation category field 2002, a channel number field 2004, a randomization interval field 2006, a measurement duration field 2008, a measurement mode field 2010, a BSSID field 2012, and an optional sub-element field 2014. The operation category field 2002 indicates the operation category of the channel set to which the measurement request applies. The channel number field 2004 can indicate the channel or frequency subband to which the measurement request applies. The randomization interval field 2006 specifies the upper limit of the random delay to be used before performing the measurement. The measurement duration field 2008 indicates the time period during which the measurement operation is performed. In some instances, the measurement duration field 2008 can be set to the preferred or mandatory duration of the requested measurement.

[0197] The Measurement Mode field 2010 indicates the mode to be used for measurement (such as passive mode, active mode, or beacon table mode). The BSSID field 2012 indicates the BSSID of the BSS(s) for which one or more beacon reports are requested. Thus, in some instances, the BSSID field 2012 includes the BSSID of the BSS. In other instances, when the Beacon Request 2000 requests beacon reports for all BSSs on a particular channel, the BSSID field 2012 may include a wildcard BSSID. The Optional Sub-Element field 2014 contains zero or more sub-elements, such as, for example, an SSID sub-element, a beacon report sub-element, a report details sub-element, a request, an extended request, an AP channel report, a wideband channel handover, or a vendor-specific information element.

[0198] Figure 20B Example beacon reports 2050, based on some implementations, are shown and can be used for wireless communication. Figure 19B The beacon report 2050 carried in the measurement response element 1950 includes an operation category field 2052, a channel number field 2054, an actual measurement start time field 2056, a measurement duration field 2058, a reported frame information field 2060, an RCPI field 2062, an RSNI field 2064, a BSSID field 2066, an antenna ID field 2068, a parent TSF field 2070, and an optional child element field 2072. The operation category field 2052 indicates the operation category of the channel set to which the measurement request applies. The channel number field 2054 indicates the channel or frequency subband to which the measurement request applies. The actual measurement start time field 2056 is set to the value of the TSF timer of the measuring STA at the start of the measurement.

[0199] The Measurement Duration field 2058 is set to the duration measured on which the beacon report 2050 was performed. The Reported Frame Information field 2060 includes a Simplified PHY Type subfield and a Reported Frame Type subfield. The Simplified PHY Type subfield indicates the physical medium type on which the beacon frame, measurement pilot frame, or probe response frame was received. The Reported Frame Type subfield indicates the type of the reported frame. The RCPI field 2062 indicates the RCPI value of the corresponding beacon frame, measurement pilot frame, or probe response frame. The RSNI field 2064 indicates the Received Signal-to-Noise Ratio Indication (RSNI) of the corresponding beacon frame, measurement pilot frame, or probe response frame. The BSSID field 2066 contains the BSSID from the reported corresponding beacon frame, measurement pilot frame, or probe response frame. The Antenna ID field 2068 contains the identification number of the antenna(s) used for the reported measurement. The parent TSF field 2070 contains the lower four octets of the TSF timer value of the measuring STA at the beginning of the STA's reception of the corresponding beacon frame, measurement pilot frame, or probe response frame. The optional child element field 2072 contains zero or more child elements.

[0200] Figure 21A An example frame request 2100, according to some implementation, is shown that can be used for wireless communication. Frame request 2100 can be carried in... Figure 19A The measurement request element 1900 includes an operation category field 2102, a channel number field 2104, a randomization interval field 2106, a measurement duration field 2108, a frame request type field 2110, a MAC address field 2112, and an optional sub-element field 2114. The operation category field 2102 indicates the operation category that identifies the set of channels to which the measurement request applies. The channel number field 2104 indicates the channel or frequency subband to which the measurement request applies. The randomization interval field 2106 specifies the upper limit of the random delay to be used before performing the measurement. The measurement duration field 2108 indicates the time period during which the measurement operation is performed. In some instances, the measurement duration field 2108 can be set to the preferred or mandatory duration of the requested measurement. The frame request type field 2110 indicates the type of frame requested for the measurement. A value of 0 indicates a beacon frame or probe response frame, and a value of 1 indicates a measurement pilot frame. The MAC address field 2112 can contain a broadcast address or a transmitter address. The optional child element field 2114 contains zero or more child elements.

[0201] Figure 21B An example frame report element 2150, according to some implementation, is shown that can be used for wireless communication. The frame report element 2150 can be carried in... Figure 19BThe measurement response element 1950 includes an operation category field 2152, a channel number field 2154, an actual measurement start time field 2156, a measurement duration field 2158, and an optional sub-element field 2160. The operation category field 2152 indicates the operation category of the channel set identifying the received beacon frame or probe response frame. The channel number field 2154 indicates the channel number of the received beacon frame or probe response frame. In some aspects, the channel number can be defined within the operation category. The actual measurement start time field 2156 can be set to the value of the TSF timer of the measuring STA at the start of the measurement. The measurement duration field 2158 can be set to the duration measured in its previous frame report 2150. The optional sub-element field 2160 contains zero or more sub-elements.

[0202] Figure 22 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 2200 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 2200 is configured to perform the above-mentioned references. Figure 7 , 8A -8D, 9A-9C, 10A-10C, 11, 12, 13, 14A-14B, 15, 16, and 17 are any of the operations described. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 2200 may be any of the operations described above. Figure 5 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 500. For example, wireless communication device 2200 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0203] Wireless communication device 2200 includes a receiving component 2210, a communication manager 2220, and a transmitting component 2230. The communication manager 2220 may further include a received signal strength measurement component 2222, a noise floor determination component 2224, and a path loss determination component 2226. A portion of one or more of components 2222, 2224, and 2226 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, at least one of components 2222, 2224, and 2226 is implemented at least partially as software stored in a memory (such as memory 508). For example, a portion of one or more of components 2222, 2224, and 2226 may be implemented as non-transient instructions or code executable by a processor (such as processor 506) to perform the function or operation of the respective component.

[0204] Receiving component 2210 is configured to receive RX signals from one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, RX signals may include OBSS packets, intra-BSS packets, measurement report elements, beacon reports, frame reports, and various other wireless communication signals. Communication manager 2220 is configured to determine whether wireless communication device 2200 employs SR transmission in the presence of ongoing OBSS transmission, or suppresses SR transmission in the presence of ongoing OBSS transmission. In some implementations, received signal strength measurement component 2222 measures the received signal strength of one or more OBSS packets, one or more intra-BSS packets, or other suitable packets, frames, or signals from which received signal strength, received channel power indicators, or other indications of power levels can be determined. Noise floor determination component 2224 determines the value of the noise floor of the wireless medium. Path loss determination component 2226 determines the path loss associated with the transmission of signals, frames, or packets from wireless communication device 2200 to each of the one or more other wireless communication devices. Transmission component 2230 is configured to transmit TX signals to one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the TX signal may include BSS intra-packets, beacon frames, measurement request elements, beacon requests, frame requests, and various other wireless communication signals.

[0205] The example implementation disclosed in this paper recognizes that the expression SINR1>SNR2–SIR2 can also be represented as SINR. AP1→STA1 >SNR AP1→STA2 SINR AP1→STA1 The SNR indicates the received signal strength of the SR packet transmitted by the first AP, as measured at the first STA, and if the second STA is associated with the first AP (e.g., rather than with the OBSS), then... AP1→STA2 This indicates the received signal strength of SR packets transmitted by the first AP, as measured at the second STA. In some implementations, the first AP may include two separate rate adaptation tables for each of its associated STAs. Specifically, the first rate adaptation table may store a first MCS value that can be used when OBSS interference is present on the radio medium (such as when the first AP allows other APs to use SR transmission), and the second rate adaptation table may store a second MCS value that can be used when OBSS interference is not present on the radio medium (such as when the first AP does not allow other APs to use SR transmission). In some instances, the SINR may be estimated based on the MCS value used to transmit SR packets from the first AP to the first STA. AP1→STA1 The value can be used to estimate the SNR based on the MCS value that the first AP would use to transmit SR packets to the first STA under conditions where there is no OBSS interference on the wireless medium. AP1→STA2The value. For example, the MCS value used for SR transmission can be obtained from the first rate adaptation table, and the MCS value that would originally be used for SR transmission in the absence of OBSS interference can be obtained from the second rate adaptation table.

[0206] Figure 23 A flowchart illustrating example operation 2300 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some other implementations is shown. Operation 2300 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 2300 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 23 In the example, operation 2300 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0207] In block 2302, the first AP selects a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) value for each of one or more transmit power levels, which will be used for wireless transmissions to one or more first wireless stations associated with the first BSS. In block 2304, the first AP transmits one or more first wireless packets to the one or more first wireless stations via the wireless medium in the absence of overlapping BSS (OBSS) interference on the wireless medium. In block 2306, the first AP receives one or more second wireless packets from each of the one or more first wireless stations via the wireless medium. In block 2308, the first AP determines the average received signal strength of the one or more second wireless packets received at the first AP from each of the one or more first wireless stations. In block 2310, the first AP determines a first mapping between the first MCS value and the average received signal strength of the one or more second wireless packets. In block 2312, the first AP detects one or more OBSS packets transmitted via the wireless medium from the second wireless station associated with the OBSS. In block 2314, the first AP determines the average received signal strength of the one or more OBSS packets at the first AP. In block 2316, the first AP estimates a second MCS value associated with the transmission of one or more OBSS packets, at least in part, based on a first mapping. In block 2318, the first AP selects a third MCS value for the transmission of radio packets destined for the first radio station based on a second rate adaptation table. In block 2320, the first AP transmits or does not transmit one or more spatial reuse (SR) packets to at least one of the first radio stations based on the difference between the first MCS value and the estimated second MCS value for a corresponding transmit power level of the first AP. In some implementations, the first AP transmits one or more SR packets to at least one first radio station based on a third MCS value exceeding the estimated second MCS value, and suppresses the transmission of one or more SR packets to at least one first radio station based on a third MCS value not exceeding the estimated second MCS value.

[0208] In some implementations, the one or more OBSS packets can be transmitted from a second STA to a second AP associated with the OBSS via the radio medium. In some instances, the one or more OBSS packets can be one or more received frames. In some other instances, the one or more OBSS packets can be spatial reuse (SR) opportunities within the OBSS.

[0209] In some implementations, each of the one or more first radio packets may be a beacon frame. In some instances, each of the one or more second radio packets may be a confirmation frame. In some other instances, each of the one or more second radio packets may be a response frame.

[0210] In some implementations, the first AP may store a first mapping between the first MCS value and the average received signal strength of one or more second radio packets received from the corresponding first radio station in a corresponding first mapping table, and may store a second mapping between the estimated second MCS value and the average received signal strength of one or more OBSS packets in a corresponding second mapping table.

[0211] Figure 24 A flowchart illustrating example operation 2400 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some other implementations is shown. Operation 2400 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The wireless communication device 500 described above is used to perform this operation. In some implementations, operation 2400 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 24 In the example, operation 2400 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0212] In some implementations, operation 2400 can be... Figure 23 The operation is performed after 2300. For example, in block 2402, the first AP determines the presence of an ongoing OBSS transmission on the wireless medium. In block 2404, based on the determined presence of an ongoing OBSS transmission, the first AP selects an MCS value from a second rate adaptation table. In block 2406, the first AP transmits one or more third wireless packets to one or more first wireless stations using the selected MCS value from the second rate adaptation table. In some implementations, the second rate adaptation table may include one or more MCS values ​​for transmitting wireless packets to one or more first wireless stations in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0213] Figure 25 The diagram illustrates an example operation 2500 for supporting spatial reuse of wireless communication according to some other implementations. Operation 2500 can be performed by wireless communication devices (such as those mentioned above). Figure 5 The operation 2500 is performed by the wireless communication device 500 described above. In some implementations, operation 2500 can be performed by an AP (such as those described above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 6A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either of the described AP102 and 602) performs this function. Figure 25 In the example, operation 2500 is performed by the first AP associated with the first BSS.

[0214] In some implementations, operation 2500 can be performed... Figure 23The operation 2300 is executed afterward. For example, in block 2502, the first AP determines that an ongoing OBSS transmission does not exist on the wireless medium. In block 2504, based on the determined absence of an ongoing OBSS transmission, the first AP selects an MCS value from a first rate adaptation table. In block 2506, the first AP transmits one or more third wireless packets to one or more first wireless stations using the selected MCS value from the first rate adaptation table. In some implementations, the first rate adaptation table may include one or more MCS values ​​for transmitting wireless packets to one or more first wireless stations in the absence of OBSS interference.

[0215] Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0216] 1. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising:

[0217] Determine the first expected received signal strength at the first radio station associated with the first BSS for the first radio packet to be transmitted over the radio medium by the first radio access point;

[0218] Determine the second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a second wireless packet transmitted by or to be transmitted by the second wireless access point associated with the overlapping BSS (OBSS);

[0219] Determine the third expected received signal strength at the second radio station associated with the OBSS for the first radio packet to be transmitted by the first radio access point;

[0220] Determine the noise floor of the wireless medium; and

[0221] The transmission or non-transmission of the first wireless packet is determined based on whether a first ratio of the sum of the first expected received signal strength and the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

[0222] 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein determining the first expected received signal strength includes:

[0223] Transmit one or more BSS packets to the first wireless station;

[0224] Receive from the first radio station a first indication of the first received signal strength of a packet within the one or more BSSs as measured at the first radio station; and

[0225] The first expected received signal strength is determined based on the first received signal strength.

[0226] 3. The method as described in Clause 2, wherein determining the first expected received signal strength includes:

[0227] The path loss to the first wireless station is determined based on the first received signal strength of the one or more packets within the BSS, as measured by the first wireless station; and

[0228] The first expected received signal strength is determined based on the path loss to the first wireless station.

[0229] 4. The method of Clause 3, wherein determining the path loss to the first wireless station comprises: determining the average path loss to the first wireless station during a period in which packets are transmitted to the first wireless station within the one or more BSSs, wherein the first expected received signal strength is based on the determined average path loss to the first wireless station.

[0230] 5. The method of any of Clauses 2-4, wherein each of the one or more packets within the BBS includes a beacon frame.

[0231] 6. The method of any of Clauses 2-5 further comprises: transmitting to the first radio station a first request to measure the received signal strength of packets within the one or more BSSs, wherein the first indication is received in response to the first request.

[0232] 7. The method of Clause 6, wherein the first request includes a beacon request element and the first instruction is received in one or more beacon report elements.

[0233] 8. The method of any of Clauses 1-7, wherein determining the second expected received signal strength includes:

[0234] Receive a second indication from the first wireless station of the second received signal strength for each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second wireless access point as measured at the first wireless station.

[0235] Determine the third received signal strength of each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second wireless access point, as measured at the first wireless access point; and

[0236] The second expected received signal strength is determined based on the second received signal strength and the third received signal strength.

[0237] 9. The method of Clause 8 further includes: transmitting to the first radio station a second request for measuring the received channel power indicator (RCPI) of the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second indicator is received in response to the second request.

[0238] 10. The method of any of Clauses 8-9, wherein the second request includes a frame request element and the second instruction is received in a frame report element.

[0239] 11. The method of Clause 10, wherein the second instruction includes the average RCPI determined for the one or more OBSS groups.

[0240] 12. The method of any of Clauses 8-11, wherein determining the second expected received signal strength comprises:

[0241] Determine the average of the third received signal strength of the one or more OBSS packets at the first wireless access point; and

[0242] The second expected received signal strength is determined based on the average RCPI of one or more OBSS packets received at the first wireless station plus the instantaneous value of the third received signal strength minus the average of the third received signal strength.

[0243] 13. The method of Clause 12, wherein determining the strength of the third received signal includes:

[0244] The average received power at the first wireless access point is determined based on the third received signal strength determined for the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second expected received signal strength is based on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

[0245] 14. The method of any of Clauses 1-13, wherein determining the third expected received signal strength includes:

[0246] Determine the fourth received signal strength of at least one OBSS packet transmitted from the second wireless station, as measured at the first wireless access point; and

[0247] The third expected received signal strength is determined based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimated transmission power of the second wireless station, and the transmission power of the first wireless access point for the first wireless packet.

[0248] 15. The method of Clause 14 further includes estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station by:

[0249] Estimate the path loss of each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, including the first wireless station;

[0250] For each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, determine the average received power at the first wireless access point for wireless packets received from the respective wireless station.

[0251] For each of the plurality of radio stations in the first BSS, the average transmit power at the respective radio station is estimated based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmissions performed by the respective radio station; and

[0252] The transmit power of the second wireless station in the OBSS is estimated based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS.

[0253] 16. The method of Clause 15, wherein estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station comprises: determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as the estimate of the transmit power of the second wireless station.

[0254] 17. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising:

[0255] At least one modem;

[0256] At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0257] At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, cause the wireless communication device to perform the methods described in any or more of the terms 1-16.

[0258] 18. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising means for performing the method as described in any or more of the provisions of 1-16.

[0259] 19. An access point, comprising:

[0260] Wireless communication equipment, such as those specified in Clause 17;

[0261] At least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem;

[0262] At least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and wirelessly receive signals to be input to the at least one transceiver; and

[0263] A housing that encloses at least a portion of the at least one modem, the at least one processor, the at least one memory, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one antenna.

[0264] 20. A method for wireless communication by a first radio access point of a first basic service set (BSS), comprising:

[0265] Transmit one or more first wireless packets;

[0266] Receive a first indication of the first received signal strength of one or more first radio packets as measured at the first radio station associated with the first BSS;

[0267] Receive a second indication of the second received signal strength of one or more second wireless packets transmitted by a second wireless access point associated with an overlapping BSS (OBSS) as measured at the first wireless station;

[0268] Determine the third received signal strength of one or more third wireless packets transmitted from the second wireless access point, as measured at the first wireless access point;

[0269] Determine the fourth received signal strength of one or more fourth radio packets transmitted by a second radio station associated with the OBSS and measured at the first radio access point; and

[0270] The fifth wireless packet is transmitted to or not transmitted to the first wireless station based on the first received signal strength, the second received signal strength, the third received signal strength, and the fourth received signal strength.

[0271] 21. The method of Clause 20, wherein the one or more second radio packets include the one or more third radio packets.

[0272] 22. The method of any of Clauses 20-21, wherein each of the one or more first radio packets includes a beacon frame.

[0273] 23. The method of any of Clauses 20-22, further comprising: transmitting to the first wireless station a first request for measuring the strength of a first received signal, wherein the first indication is received in response to the first request.

[0274] 24. The method of Clause 23, wherein the first request includes a beacon request and the first instruction is received in a beacon report.

[0275] 25. The method of any of Clauses 20-24, further comprising: transmitting to the first wireless station a second request for measuring the strength of a second received signal, wherein the second indication is received in response to the second request.

[0276] 26. The method of Clause 25, wherein the second request includes a frame request, and the second instruction is received in one or more frame reports.

[0277] 27. The method of Clause 26, wherein the second indication includes the average received channel power indicator (RCPI) of the one or more second radio packets transmitted by the second radio access point.

[0278] 28. The method of any of Clauses 20-27, wherein one or more of the first received signal strength, the second received signal strength, the third received signal strength or the fourth received signal strength is the average received signal strength.

[0279] 29. The method of any of Clauses 20-28 further includes:

[0280] The path loss to the first wireless station is determined at least in part based on the first received signal strength; and

[0281] The first expected received signal strength for the fifth radio packet at the first radio station is determined at least in part based on the determined path loss, wherein the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth radio packet is based at least in part on the first expected received signal strength.

[0282] 30. The method of Clause 28, wherein determining the path loss to the first wireless station comprises: determining the average path loss to the first wireless station during a time period in which the one or more first wireless packets are transmitted, wherein the first expected received signal strength is at least partially based on the average path loss.

[0283] 31. The method of any of Clauses 20-30, further comprising: determining, at least in part, a second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a wireless packet transmitted by the second wireless access point, based on a second received signal strength and a third received signal strength, wherein the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth wireless packet is based at least in part on the second expected received signal strength.

[0284] 32. The method of Clause 31, wherein determining the third received signal strength of the one or more third radio packets comprises:

[0285] The average received power at the first wireless access point is determined at least in part based on the third received signal strength, wherein the second expected received signal strength is at least in part based on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power at the first AP.

[0286] 33. The method of any of Clauses 20-32 further includes:

[0287] Estimate the transmit power of the second wireless station associated with the OBSS; and

[0288] The expected received signal strength at the second wireless station for the fifth wireless packet transmitted by the first wireless access point is determined based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimated transmit power of the second wireless station, and the transmit power of the first wireless access point for the fifth wireless packet, wherein the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth wireless packet is based at least in part on the expected received signal strength at the second wireless station for the fifth wireless packet.

[0289] 34. The method of Clause 33, wherein estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station includes:

[0290] Estimate the path loss of each of the multiple radio stations in the first BSS;

[0291] For each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, determine the average received power of the wireless packets transmitted by the corresponding wireless station in the first BSS at the first wireless access point.

[0292] For each of the plurality of radio stations in the first BSS, the average transmit power at the respective radio station is estimated based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmissions performed by the respective radio station in the first BSS; and

[0293] The transmit power of the second wireless station is estimated at least in part based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS.

[0294] 35. The method of Clause 34, wherein the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS includes the first wireless station.

[0295] 36. The method of any of Clauses 33-34, wherein estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station comprises: determining the lowest of the estimated average transmit powers as the estimated transmit power of the second wireless station.

[0296] 37. The method of any of Clauses 33-36 further includes:

[0297] The first expected received signal strength for the fifth wireless packet is determined at the first wireless station based on the first received signal strength.

[0298] The second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for OBSS packets transmitted by the second wireless access point is determined based on the second received signal strength and the third received signal strength; and

[0299] The third expected received signal strength for the fifth wireless packet at the second wireless station is determined based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimate of the transmission power of the second wireless station, and the transmission power of the first wireless station for the fifth wireless packet.

[0300] Whether or not the fifth radio packet is transmitted is based at least in part on the first expected received signal strength, the second expected received signal strength, and the third expected received signal strength.

[0301] 38. The method of Clause 37 further includes determining the noise background, wherein the transmission or non-transmission of the fifth radio packet is further based on the determined noise background.

[0302] 39. The method of Clause 38, wherein transmitting or not transmitting the fifth radio packet is based on determining that a first ratio of the sum of the first expected received signal strength and the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

[0303] 40. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising:

[0304] At least one modem;

[0305] At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0306] At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing instructions for the at least one processor, which, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, cause the wireless communication device to perform the methods described in any or more of the terms 20-39.

[0307] 41. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising means for performing the method described in any or more of clauses 20-39.

[0308] 42. An access point, comprising:

[0309] Such as wireless communication equipment under Clause 40;

[0310] At least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem;

[0311] At least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and wirelessly receive signals to be input to the at least one transceiver; and

[0312] A housing that encloses at least a portion of the at least one modem, the at least one processor, the at least one memory, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one antenna.

[0313] 43. A method for wireless communication by a first radio access point of a first basic service set (BSS), the method comprising:

[0314] For each of one or more transmit power levels, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) value to be used for wireless transmissions to one or more first radio stations associated with the first BSS is selected from a first rate adaptation table.

[0315] In the absence of overlapping BSS (OBSS) interference on the wireless medium, one or more first wireless packets are transmitted to the one or more first wireless stations via the wireless medium;

[0316] Receive one or more second wireless packets from each of the one or more first wireless stations via the wireless medium;

[0317] Determine the average received signal strength of the one or more second wireless packets received at the first AP from each of the one or more first wireless stations;

[0318] Determine a first mapping between a first MCS value and the average received signal strength of the one or more second wireless packets;

[0319] Detect one or more OBSS packets transmitted via the wireless medium from a second wireless station associated with the OBBS;

[0320] Determine the average received signal strength of the one or more OBSS packets at the first AP;

[0321] The second MCS value associated with the transmission of the one or more OBSS packets is estimated at least in part based on the first mapping;

[0322] The third MCS value is selected based on the second rate adaptation table for the transmission of wireless packets to the first wireless station; and

[0323] One or more spatial reuse (SR) packets may be transmitted to or not transmitted to at least one of the first wireless stations based on the difference between the third MCS value and the estimated second MCS value corresponding to the transmit power level of the first AP.

[0324] 44. The method of Clause 43, wherein the one or more OBSS packets are transmitted from the second STA to the second AP associated with the OBSS via the wireless medium.

[0325] 45. The method of any of Clauses 43-44, wherein the one or more OBSS packets comprise one or more received frames.

[0326] 46. ​​The method as described in any one or more of Clauses 43-45, wherein the one or more OBSS groups include space reuse (SR) opportunities in the OBSS.

[0327] 47. The method as described in any one or more of clauses 43-46, wherein each of the one or more first radio packets includes a beacon frame.

[0328] 48. The method of Clause 47, wherein each of the one or more second radio packets includes a received frame.

[0329] 49. The method of Clause 47, wherein each of the one or more second radio packets includes a response frame.

[0330] 50. The method of any or more of clauses 43-49, wherein the first AP transmits the one or more SR packets to the at least one first radio station based on the third MCS value exceeding the estimated second MCS value.

[0331] 51. The method of any or more of clauses 43-49, wherein the first AP suppresses the transmission of the one or more SR packets to the at least one first radio station based on the third MCS value not exceeding the estimated second MCS value.

[0332] 52. The method described in any or more of clauses 43-51 further includes:

[0333] The first mapping between the first MCS value and the average received signal strength of the one or more second radio packets received from the corresponding first radio station is stored in a corresponding first mapping table; and

[0334] The second mapping between the estimated second MCS value and the average received signal strength of the one or more OBSS packets is stored in the corresponding second mapping table.

[0335] 53. The method of Clause 52, wherein the first AP stores the first mapping table and the second mapping table for use in each of the one or more first wireless stations.

[0336] 54. The method of any of clauses 43-53, wherein the first AP stores the first rate adaptation table and the second rate adaptation table for use in each of the one or more first wireless stations.

[0337] 55. The method as described in any of Clauses 53-54, wherein:

[0338] The first rate adaptation table includes one or more MCS values ​​for transmitting radio packets to the one or more first radio stations in the absence of OBSS interference; and

[0339] The second rate adaptation table includes one or more MCS values ​​for transmitting radio packets to the one or more first radio stations in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0340] 56. The method described in any or more of clauses 43-55 further includes:

[0341] Determine the existence of an ongoing OBSS transmission on the wireless medium;

[0342] The MCS value is selected from the second rate adaptation table based on the existence of the identified ongoing OBSS transmission; and

[0343] One or more third wireless packets are transmitted to the one or more first wireless stations using the selected MCS value from the second rate adaptation table.

[0344] 57. The method described in any or more of clauses 43-55 further includes:

[0345] Determine that no ongoing OBSS transmission exists on the wireless medium;

[0346] The MCS value is selected from the first rate adaptation table based on the absence of a determined ongoing OBSS transmission; and

[0347] One or more third wireless packets are transmitted to the one or more first wireless stations using the selected MCS value from the first rate adaptation table.

[0348] 58. The method as described in any one or more of Clauses 43-57, wherein the received signal strength includes the average received channel power indicator (RCPI).

[0349] 59. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising:

[0350] At least one modem;

[0351] At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and

[0352] At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, cause the wireless communication device to perform the methods described in any or more of the terms 43-58.

[0353] 60. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising means for performing the methods described in any one or more of clauses 43-58.

[0354] 61. An access point, comprising:

[0355] Wireless communication equipment, such as those specified in Clause 59;

[0356] At least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem;

[0357] At least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and wirelessly receive signals to be input to the at least one transceiver; and

[0358] A housing that encloses at least a portion of the at least one modem, the at least one processor, the at least one memory, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one antenna.

[0359] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” or “one or more of” referring to a list of items means any combination of these items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover the following possibilities: only a, only b, only c, a combination of a and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination of a, b, and c.

[0360] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of its functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0361] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but are to be granted the broadest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0362] Furthermore, the various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple implementations. Thus, although features may be described above as operating in a particular combination and even initially claimed in this way, one or more features from the claimed combination may be removed from that combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be for sub-combinations or variations thereof.

[0363] Similarly, although the operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or requiring the execution of all explained operations to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other operations not depicted may be incorporated into the schematically explained example processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any explained operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of the various system components in the implementation described above should not be construed as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a first wireless access point (AP) associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising: Determine the first expected received signal strength at the first wireless station associated with the first BSS for the first wireless packet to be transmitted by the first AP over the wireless medium; Determine the second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a second wireless packet transmitted by or to be transmitted by the second AP associated with the overlapping BSS (OBSS); Determine the third expected received signal strength at the second wireless station associated with the OBSS for the first wireless packet to be transmitted by the first AP; Determine the noise floor of the wireless medium; as well as The transmission or non-transmission of the first wireless packet is determined based on whether a first ratio of the sum of the first expected received signal strength and the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, Determining the first expected received signal strength includes: Transmit one or more BSS packets to the first wireless station; Receive from the first wireless station a first indication of the received signal strength of a first packet within the one or more BSSs measured at the first wireless station; and The first expected received signal strength is determined based on the first received signal strength.

3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein, Determining the first expected received signal strength includes: The path loss to the first wireless station is determined based on the first received signal strength of the one or more packets within the BSS measured by the first wireless station; and The first expected received signal strength is determined based on the path loss to the first wireless station.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: A first request is transmitted to the first radio station to measure the received signal strength of packets within the one or more BSSs, wherein the first request includes a beacon request element, and the first indication is received in one or more beacon report elements in response to the first request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, Determining the second expected received signal strength includes: Receive a second indication of the second received signal strength for each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP and measured at the first wireless station; Determine the third received signal strength of each of the one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP, measured at the first AP; and The second expected received signal strength is determined based on the second received signal strength and the third received signal strength.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: A second request is transmitted to the first radio station to measure the Received Channel Power Indicator (RCPI) of the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second request includes a frame request element and the second indication is received in a frame report element in response to the second request.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, Determining the second expected received signal strength includes: Determine the average of the third received signal strength of the one or more OBSS packets at the first AP; and The second expected received signal strength is determined based on the average RCPI of the one or more OBSS packets received at the first wireless station plus the instantaneous value of the third received signal strength minus the average of the third received signal strength.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein, Determining the strength of the third received signal includes: The average received power at the first AP is determined based on the third received signal strength determined for the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second expected received signal strength is based on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, Determining the third expected received signal strength includes: Determine the fourth received signal strength of at least one OBSS packet transmitted from the second wireless station at the first AP; and The third expected received signal strength is determined based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimate of the transmission power of the second wireless station, and the transmission power of the first AP for the first wireless packet.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising estimating the transmit power of the second wireless station by: The path loss of each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, including the first wireless station, is estimated. For each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, determine the average received power at the first AP for wireless packets received from the respective wireless station; For each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, the average transmit power at the respective wireless station is estimated based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmissions carried out by the respective wireless station. as well as The transmit power of the second wireless station in the OBSS is estimated based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS.

11. A wireless communication device associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as At least one memory, communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: Determine the first expected received signal strength at the first wireless station associated with the first BSS for a first wireless packet to be transmitted over the wireless medium by the wireless communication device; Determine the second expected received signal strength at the first wireless station for a second wireless packet transmitted by or to be transmitted by a wireless access point (AP) associated with an overlapping BSS (OBSS); Determine the third expected received signal strength at the second wireless station associated with the OBSS for the first wireless packet to be transmitted by the wireless communication device; Determine the noise floor of the wireless medium; as well as The transmission or non-transmission of the first wireless packet is determined based on whether a first ratio of the sum of the first expected received signal strength and the second expected received signal strength and the noise floor is greater than a second ratio of the third expected received signal strength to the noise floor.

12. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 11, wherein, The execution of processor-readable code used to determine the strength of the first expected received signal is configured to: Transmit one or more BSS packets to the first wireless station; Receive a first indication of the first received signal strength of a packet within one or more BSSs measured at the first wireless station; as well as The first expected received signal strength is determined based on the first received signal strength.

13. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 12, wherein, The execution of processor-readable code used to determine the strength of the first expected received signal is configured to: The path loss to the first wireless station is determined based on the first received signal strength of the one or more packets within the BSS measured by the first wireless station; and The first expected received signal strength is determined based on the path loss to the first wireless station.

14. The wireless communication device of claim 12, wherein the execution of the processor-readable code is further configured to: A first request is transmitted to the first radio station to measure the received signal strength of packets within the one or more BSSs, wherein the first request includes a beacon request element, and the first indication is received in one or more beacon report elements in response to the first request.

15. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the execution of the processor-readable code for determining the second expected received signal strength is configured to: Receive a second indication of the second received signal strength for each of one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP and measured at the first wireless station; Determine the third received signal strength of each of the one or more OBSS packets transmitted by the second AP, as measured at the first AP; as well as The second expected received signal strength is determined based on the second received signal strength and the third received signal strength.

16. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 15, wherein, The execution of the processor-readable code is further configured to: A second request is transmitted to the first radio station to measure the Received Channel Power Indicator (RCPI) of the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second request includes a frame request element and the second indication is received in a frame report element in response to the second request.

17. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 15, wherein, The execution of processor-readable code used to determine the second expected received signal strength is configured to: Determine the average of the third received signal strength of the one or more OBSS packets at the first AP; as well as The second expected received signal strength is determined based on the average RCPI of the one or more OBSS packets received at the first wireless station plus the instantaneous value of the third received signal strength minus the average of the third received signal strength.

18. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 15, wherein, The execution of processor-readable code used to determine the strength of the third received signal is configured to: The average received power at the first AP is determined based on the third received signal strength determined for the one or more OBSS packets, wherein the second expected received signal strength is based on the second received signal strength and the determined average received power.

19. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 11, wherein, The execution of processor-readable code used to determine the third expected received signal strength is configured to: Determine the fourth received signal strength of at least one OBSS packet transmitted from the second wireless station as measured at the first AP; as well as The third expected received signal strength is determined based on the fourth received signal strength, the estimate of the transmission power of the second wireless station, and the transmission power of the first AP for the first wireless packet.

20. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 19, wherein, The execution of the processor-readable code is further configured to: The transmission power of the second wireless station is estimated by the following operation: The path loss of each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, including the first wireless station, is estimated. For each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, determine the average received power at the first AP for wireless packets received from the respective wireless station; For each of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS, the average transmit power at the respective wireless station is estimated based on the corresponding estimated path loss, the corresponding average received power, and the corresponding modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmissions carried out by the respective wireless station. as well as The transmit power of the second wireless station in the OBSS is estimated based on the estimated average transmit power of the plurality of wireless stations in the first BSS.

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