Efficient time synchronization in wireless time sensitive networks using trigger-based negotiation for hybrid polling and non-polling operations

Abstract

When operating as a responding STA (RSTA) for time synchronization of a plurality of initiating STAs (ISTAs) in a time synchronization network (TSN), a station (STA) may determine, during a negotiation phase, whether each ISTA request intended to participate in one or more measurement phases is polled or not. For the ISTA requesting to be polled, the RSTA may perform a polling phase prior to performing each of the one or more measurement phases. For ISTAs for which requests are not polled, the RSTA may refrain from performing the polling phase prior to performing each of the one or more measurement phases. For ISTAs for which requests are not polled, the RSTA may directly trigger a measurement phase. By grouping the ISTAs into the polling group and the non-polling group, the efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless networks including wireless local area networks (WLANs), including those operating according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. Some embodiments relate to wireless time-sensitive networks (TSNs) and wireless time-sensitive networking (WTSNs). Background Art

[0002] Emerging time-sensitive (TS) applications represent a new market for Wi-Fi. Industrial automation, robotics, AR / VR, and HMI (human-machine interface) are example applications. Many time-sensitive applications require ultra-low latency (ULL) with minimal queuing and medium access delays within the wireless system. For example, a programmable logic controller (PLC) may execute a control loop that requires isochronous (cyclic) transmission of small time-critical (TC) packets (typically a few bytes) with 10 cycles of a few microseconds. In addition, applications that require ULL typically also require very high reliability. The ULL requirement for TC packets actually imposes very high reliability requirements, as multiple retransmissions (as per typical Wi-Fi protocols) are not feasible.

[0003] One issue with time-sensitive networking is the accuracy of time synchronization. For example, in implementations of some IEEE standards (e.g., IEEE 802.1AS - Timing and Synchronization for Time-Sensitive Applications), single-digit microsecond (μs) accuracy may be required for a station (STA) associated with an access point (AP). Therefore, there is a general need for an efficient time synchronization process suitable for use with time-sensitive networking. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a radio architecture according to some embodiments.

[0005] Figure 2 According to some embodiments, a Figure 1 Front-end module circuits in radio architectures.

[0006] Figure 3 According to some embodiments, a Figure 1 Radio IC circuit in the radio architecture.

[0007] Figure 4 According to some embodiments, a Figure 1 Baseband processing circuitry in a radio architecture.

[0008] Figure 5 A WLAN according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 6A wireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Figure 7 Overhead signaling savings for a network with more than 20 STAs per BSS according to some embodiments are shown.

[0011] Fig. 8A Trigger-based (TB) polling, probing, and reporting phases are shown according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 8B A negotiation phase and a measurement phase are shown according to some embodiments, the measurement phase including a TB ranging availability window with two instances of the polling / probing / reporting triplet in a single transmission opportunity (TXOP).

[0013] Figure 8C A TB ranging availability window is shown with two instances of polling / probing / reporting triplets in separate TXOPs in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Fig.8D A TB ranging availability window is shown with two instances of poll / probe / report triplets in separate TXOPs in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] Fig. 9A Trigger-based polling, probing, and reporting phase mixing for polled and non-polled devices according to some embodiments is shown.

[0016] Fig. 9B Trigger-based non-polling, probing, and reporting phases for non-polled devices are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0017] Fig.10 A ranging parameter field format according to some embodiments is shown.

[0018] Fig.11 Periodic non-polling ISTA probing is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0019] Fig.12 The ranging sub-element field format according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following description and accompanying drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may include structural changes, logical changes, electrical changes, process changes, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for portions and features of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0021] Some embodiments disclosed herein relate to efficient time synchronization in a wireless time-sensitive network (TSN) for hybrid polling and non-polling operations using a trigger-based (TB) negotiation. Some embodiments relate to a station (STA). In these embodiments, when the time synchronization operation for multiple initiating STAs (ISTAs) in a time synchronization network (TSN) is a response STA (RSTA), the RSTA can determine during the negotiation phase whether each ISTA intended to participate in one or more measurement phases is requesting to be polled or requesting not to be polled. In these embodiments, for an ISTA that requests to be polled, the RSTA can perform a polling phase before executing each of one or more measurement phases. In these embodiments, for an ISTA that requests not to be polled, the RSTA can suppress the execution of the polling phase before executing each of one or more measurement phases. In these embodiments, the RSTA can directly trigger the measurement phase for an ISTA that requests not to be polled. Therefore, by grouping the ISTAs into polling groups and non-polling groups, efficiency improvement is achieved. These embodiments and other embodiments are described in more detail below.

[0022] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of a radio architecture 100 according to some embodiments. The radio architecture 100 may include a radio front end module (FEM) circuit 104, a radio IC circuit 106, and a baseband processing circuit 108. The illustrated radio architecture 100 includes both a wireless local area network (WLAN) function and a Bluetooth (BT) function, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. In the present disclosure, "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi" may be used interchangeably.

[0023] The FEM circuit 104 may include a WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuit 104A and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuit 104B. The WLAN FEM circuit 104A may include a receive signal path including circuitry configured to operate on WLAN RF signals received from one or more antennas 101, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the WLAN radio IC circuit 106A for further processing. The BT FEM circuit 104B may include a receive signal path including circuitry configured to operate on BT RF signals received from one or more antennas 101, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the BT radio IC circuit 106B for further processing. The FEM circuit 104A may also include a transmit signal path including circuitry configured to amplify WLAN signals provided by the radio IC circuit 106A for wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. Additionally, the FEM circuit 104B may also include a transmit signal path including circuitry configured to amplify BT signals provided by the radio IC circuit 106B for wireless transmission by one or more antennas. exist Figure 1 In the embodiment, although the FEM circuit 104A and the FEM circuit 104B are shown as being different from each other, the embodiments are not limited thereto and include within their scope: using a FEM (not shown) that includes a transmit signal path and / or a receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals; or using one or more FEM circuits, wherein at least some of the FEM circuits share a transmit signal path and / or a receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0024] The illustrated radio IC circuit 106 may include a WLAN radio IC circuit 106A and a BT radio IC circuit 106B. The WLAN radio IC circuit 106A may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for down-converting a WLAN RF signal received from the FEM circuit 104A and providing a baseband signal to the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A. The BT radio IC circuit 106B may in turn include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for down-converting a BT RF signal received from the FEM circuit 104B and providing a baseband signal to the BT baseband processing circuit 108B. The WLAN radio IC circuit 106A may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting a WLAN baseband signal provided by the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A and providing a WLAN RF output signal to the FEM circuit 104A for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. The BT radio IC circuit 106B may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for up-converting a BT baseband signal provided by the BT baseband processing circuit 108B and providing a BT RF output signal to the FEM circuit 104B for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. Figure 1 In the embodiment, although the radio IC circuits 106A and 106B are shown as being different from each other, the embodiments are not limited to this and include within their scope: using a radio IC circuit (not shown) that includes a transmit signal path and / or a receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals; or using one or more radio IC circuits, wherein at least some of the radio IC circuits share a transmit signal path and / or a receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0025] The baseband processing circuit 108 may include a WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A and a BT baseband processing circuit 108B. The WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A may include a memory, such as a set of RAM arrays in a fast Fourier transform or inverse fast Fourier transform block (not shown) of the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A. Each of the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A and the BT baseband processing circuit 108B may also include one or more processors and control logic for processing signals received from a corresponding WLAN or BT receive signal path of the radio IC circuit 106, and also generating corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the radio IC circuit 106. Each of the baseband processing circuits 108A and 108B may also include a physical layer (PHY) and a medium access control layer (MAC) circuit, and may also interface with the application processor 111 for generating and processing baseband signals and controlling the operation of the radio IC circuit 106.

[0026] Still refer to Figure 1 According to the illustrated embodiment, the WLAN-BT coexistence circuit 113 may include logic to provide an interface between the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A and the BT baseband processing circuit 108B to implement use cases requiring WLAN and BT coexistence. In addition, a switch 103 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuit 104A and the BT FEM circuit 104B to allow switching between the WLAN radio and the BT radio as required by the application. In addition, although the antenna 101 is depicted as being connected to the WLAN FEM circuit 104A and the BT FEM circuit 104B, respectively, embodiments include within their scope: sharing one or more antennas between the WLAN FEM and the BT FEM; or providing more than one antenna connected to each of the FEM circuits 104A or 104B.

[0027] In some embodiments, the front end module circuit 104, the radio IC circuit 106, and the baseband processing circuit 108 may be provided on a single radio card (e.g., wireless radio card 102). In some other embodiments, one or more antennas 101, the FEM circuit 104, and the radio IC circuit 106 may be provided on a single radio card. In some other embodiments, the radio IC circuit 106 and the baseband processing circuit 108 may be provided on a single chip or integrated circuit (IC) (e.g., IC 112).

[0028] In some embodiments, the wireless radio card 102 may include a WLAN radio card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communications, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel. The OFDM or OFDMA signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0029] In some of these multi-carrier embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA) (e.g., a wireless access point (AP), a base station, or a mobile device including a Wi-Fi device). In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to send and receive signals according to a specific communication standard and / or protocol (e.g., any one of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards, including IEEE 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE802.11-2016, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ax, and / or IEEE P802.11be standards and / or specifications proposed for WLAN), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard. The radio architecture 100 may also be suitable for sending and / or receiving communications according to other technologies and standards.

[0030] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured for high efficiency (HE) Wi-Fi (HEW) communications according to the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured for extremely high throughput (EHT) communications according to the IEEE 802.11be standard. In these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to communicate according to OFDMA technology, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard. In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured for next generation vehicle to everything (NGV) according to the IEEE 802.11bd standard, and one or more stations including the AP 502 may be next generation vehicle to everything (NGV) stations (STAs).

[0031] In some other embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to send signals using one or more other modulation techniques and receive signals sent using one or more other modulation techniques, such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and / or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) modulation, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0032] In some embodiments, Figure 1 As further shown in FIG. 1 , the BT baseband processing circuit 108B may comply with a Bluetooth (BT) connection standard, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth 4.0, or Bluetooth 5.0, or any other generation of the Bluetooth standard. Figure 1In the embodiments of the BT functionality shown in , the radio architecture 100 can be configured to establish a BT synchronous connection-oriented (SCO) link and / or a BT low energy (BT LE) link. In some embodiments including BT functionality, the radio architecture 100 can be configured to establish an extended SCO (eSCO) link for BT communications, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments of these embodiments including BT functionality, the radio architecture can be configured to participate in BT asynchronous connectionless (ACL) communications, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, as Figure 1 As shown, the functionality of a BT radio card and a WLAN radio card may be combined on a single wireless radio card (eg, a single wireless radio card 102), but embodiments are not so limited and include separate WLAN and BT radio cards within their scope.

[0033] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may include other radio cards, such as a cellular radio card configured for cellular (e.g., 3GPP, such as LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 5G communications).

[0034] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the radio architecture 100 can be configured to communicate over a variety of channel bandwidths, including bandwidths having a center frequency of about 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and a bandwidth of about 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 16 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz (continuous bandwidth) or 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (non-continuous bandwidth). In some embodiments, a channel bandwidth of 320 MHz can be used. However, the scope of the embodiments is not limited to the above center frequencies.

[0035] Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a FEM circuit 200 according to some embodiments. The FEM circuit 200 is a circuit that can be suitable for use as a WLAN and / or BT FEM circuit 104A / 104B ( Figure 1 ) is an example of a circuit, but other circuit configurations may also be suitable.

[0036] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 200 may include a TX / RX switch 202 for switching between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 200 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 200 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) 206 for amplifying the received RF signal 203 and (e.g., providing the radio IC circuit 106 with a signal) transmitted to the receiver. Figure 1)) provides an amplified received RF signal 207 as an output. The transmit signal path of the circuit 200 may include: a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal 209 (e.g., provided by the radio IC circuit 106); and one or more filters 212, such as a bandpass filter (BPF), a lowpass filter (LPF), or other types of filters, for generating an RF signal 215 for subsequent (e.g., by one or more antennas 101 ( Figure 1 ) to send.

[0037] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communications, the FEM circuit 200 can be configured to operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum or the 5 GHz spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuit 200 can include a receive signal path duplexer 204 for separating the signals from each spectrum and providing a separate LNA 206 for each spectrum, as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 200 can also include: a power amplifier 210 and a filter 212 (e.g., a BPF, LPF, or other type of filter for each spectrum); and a transmit signal path duplexer 214 for providing a signal of one of the different spectrums onto a single transmit path for subsequent transmission by one or more antennas 101 ( Figure 1 In some embodiments, BT communication may utilize a 2.4 GHZ signal path and may utilize the same FEM circuit 200 as the FEM circuit used for WLAN communication.

[0038] Figure 3 1 shows a radio IC circuit 300 according to some embodiments. The radio IC circuit 300 is a circuit that can be suitable for use as a WLAN or BT radio IC circuit 106A / 106B ( Figure 1 ) is an example of a circuit, but other circuit configurations may also be suitable.

[0039] In some embodiments, the radio IC circuit 300 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the radio IC circuit 300 may include at least a mixer circuit 302 (e.g., a down-conversion mixer circuit), an amplifier circuit 306, and a filter circuit 308. The transmit signal path of the radio IC circuit 300 may include at least a filter circuit 312 and a mixer circuit 314 (e.g., an up-conversion mixer circuit). The radio IC circuit 300 may also include a synthesizer circuit 304 for synthesizing a frequency 305 for use by the mixer circuit 302 and the mixer circuit 314. According to some embodiments, the mixer circuits 302 and / or 314 may each be configured to provide a direct conversion function. The latter type of circuit presents a much simpler architecture than a standard superheterodyne mixer circuit, and any flicker noise introduced thereby may be mitigated, for example, by using OFDM modulation. Figure 3 Only a simplified version of the radio IC circuit is shown, and may include (although not shown) embodiments in which each of the depicted circuits may include more than one component. For example, as required by the application, mixer circuits 302 and / or 314 may each include one or more mixers, and filter circuits 308 and / or 312 may each include one or more filters, such as one or more BPFs and / or LPFs. For example, when the mixer circuits are of the direct conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers.

[0040] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 302 may be configured to down-convert the synthesized frequency 305 provided by synthesizer circuit 304 from FEM circuit 104 ( Figure 1 ) received RF signal 207. Amplifier circuit 306 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 308 may include an LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate output baseband signal 307. Output baseband signal 307 may be provided to baseband processing circuit 108 ( Figure 1 ) for further processing. In some embodiments, output baseband signal 307 may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 302 may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0041] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 314 may be configured to up-convert input baseband signal 311 based on synthesized frequency 305 provided by synthesizer circuit 304 to generate RF output signal 209 for FEM circuit 104. Baseband signal 311 may be provided by baseband processing circuit 108 and may be filtered by filter circuit 312. Filter circuit 312 may include an LPF or a BPF, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0042] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 302 and mixer circuit 314 may each include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and / or up-conversion, respectively, with the aid of synthesizer circuit 304. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 302 and mixer circuit 314 may each include two or more mixers, each mixer being configured for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, mixer circuit 302 and mixer circuit 314 may each be arranged for direct down-conversion and / or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 302 and mixer circuit 314 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, but this is not a requirement.

[0043] According to one embodiment, mixer circuit 302 may include: a quadrature passive mixer (eg, for an in-phase (I) path and a quadrature-phase (Q) path). In such an embodiment, the mixer circuit 302 may include: a quadrature passive mixer (eg, for an in-phase (I) path and a quadrature-phase (Q) path). Figure 3 The RF input signal 207 is down converted to provide I and Q baseband output signals to be sent to the baseband processor.

[0044] The quadrature passive mixers can be driven by zero-degree and ninety-degree time-varying LO switching signals provided by a quadrature circuit that can be configured to receive the LO frequency (f LO ), such as synthesizer circuit 304 ( Figure 3 ) 305. In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., half the carrier frequency, one third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the zero-degree and ninety-degree time-varying switching signals may be generated by a synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0045] In some embodiments, the LO signal can differ in duty cycle (the percentage of a cycle that the LO signal is high) and / or offset (the difference between the start points of the cycle). In some embodiments, the LO signal can have a 25% duty cycle and a 50% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuit (e.g., the in-phase (I) path and the quadrature-phase (Q) path) can operate at a 25% duty cycle, which can result in significant reductions in power consumption.

[0046] RF input signal 207 ( Figure 2 ) may include balanced signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The I and Q baseband output signals may be provided to a low noise amplifier (eg, amplifier circuit 306 ( Figure 3 )) or filter circuit 308 ( Figure 3 ).

[0047] In some embodiments, output baseband signal 307 and input baseband signal 311 may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, output baseband signal 307 and input baseband signal 311 may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the radio IC circuit may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuits.

[0048] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum or other spectrums not mentioned herein, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0049] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 304 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 304 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 304 may include a digital synthesizer circuit. An advantage of using a digital synthesizer circuit is that, while it may still include some analog components, its footprint may be much reduced than that of an analog synthesizer circuit. In some embodiments, the frequency input to synthesizer circuit 304 may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not a requirement. Depending on the desired output frequency 305, the divider control input may also be provided by baseband processing circuit 108 ( Figure 1 ) or application processor 111 ( Figure 1 ) is provided. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table (e.g., within a Wi-Fi card) based on the channel number and channel center frequency determined or indicated by the application processor 111.

[0050] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 304 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as output frequency 305, while in other embodiments, output frequency 305 may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., half the carrier frequency, one third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, output frequency 305 may be the LO frequency (f LO ).

[0051] Figure 4 4 is a functional block diagram of a baseband processing circuit 400 according to some embodiments. The baseband processing circuit 400 is a circuit that can be suitable for use as the baseband processing circuit 108 ( Figure 1 ), but other circuit configurations may also be suitable. Baseband processing circuit 400 may include circuitry for processing signals received by radio IC circuit 106 ( Figure 1) and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 404 for generating a transmit baseband signal 311 for the radio IC circuit 106. The baseband processing circuit 400 may also include control logic 406 for coordinating the operation of the baseband processing circuit 400.

[0052] In some embodiments (e.g., when analog baseband signals are exchanged between baseband processing circuitry 400 and radio IC circuitry 106), baseband processing circuitry 400 may include ADC 410 for converting analog baseband signals received from radio IC circuitry 106 into digital baseband signals for processing by RX BBP 402. In these embodiments, baseband processing circuitry 400 may also include DAC 412 for converting digital baseband signals from TX BBP 404 into analog baseband signals.

[0053] In some embodiments, for example, in which OFDM signals or OFDMA signals are communicated via baseband processor 108A, transmit baseband processor 404 may be configured to generate an OFDM or OFDMA signal suitable for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Receive baseband processor 402 may be configured to process the received OFDM or OFDMA signal by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, receive baseband processor 402 may be configured to detect the presence of an OFDM or OFDMA signal by performing an autocorrelation to detect a preamble, such as a short preamble, and by performing a cross-correlation to detect a long preamble. The preamble may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communications.

[0054] Return to reference Figure 1 In some embodiments, antenna 101 ( Figure 1 ) can each include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas can be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and possible different channel characteristics. Antennas 101 can each include a set of phased array antennas, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0055] Although the radio architecture 100 is shown as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software-configured elements (e.g., a processing element including a digital signal processor (DSP)) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and various combinations of hardware and logic circuits to perform at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0056] Figure 5 A WLAN 500 is shown according to some embodiments. The WLAN 500 may include a basic service set (BSS), which may include an access point (AP) 502 (which may be an AP), a plurality of stations 504, and a plurality of legacy (e.g., IEEE 802.11n / ac / ax) devices 506. In some embodiments, the WLAN 500 may be configured for extremely high throughput (EHT) communications according to the IEEE 802.11be standard, and one or more stations including the AP 502 and the station 504 may be EHT STAs. In some embodiments, the WLAN 500 may be configured for ultra-high speed (UHR) communications according to one of the IEEE 802.11 standards or draft standards, and one or more stations including the AP 502 and the station 504 may be UHR and / or UHR+STAs.

[0057] In some embodiments, the WLAN 500 may be configured for next generation vehicle-to-everything (NGV) communications according to the IEEE 802.11bd standard, and one or more stations including the AP 502 may be next generation vehicle-to-everything (NGV) stations (STAs).

[0058] AP 502 may be an AP that transmits and receives using IEEE 802.11. AP 502 may be a base station. AP 502 may use other communication protocols as well as the IEEE 802.11 protocol. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may be IEEE 802.11ax. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include the use of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and / or code division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include multiple access technologies. For example, the IEEE 802.11 protocol may include space division multiple access (SDMA) and / or multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO). There may be more than one AP 502 that is part of an extended service set (ESS). A controller (not shown) may store information common to more than one AP 502.

[0059] The legacy device 506 may operate according to one or more of IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ad / af / ah / aj / ay or other legacy wireless communication standards. The legacy device 506 may be a STA or an IEEE STA. The STA 504 may be a wireless transmitting and receiving device, such as a cellular phone, a portable electronic wireless communication device, a smart phone, a handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, a wireless watch, a wireless personal device, a tablet, or other devices that can transmit and receive using the IEEE 802.11 protocol (e.g., IEEE802.11ax) or other wireless protocols. In some embodiments, the STA 504 may be referred to as a high efficiency (HE) station.

[0060] The AP 502 may communicate with the legacy device 506 according to the legacy IEEE 802.11 communication technology. In an example embodiment, the AP 502 may also be configured to communicate with the STA 504 according to the legacy IEEE 802.11 communication technology.

[0061] In some embodiments, a frame may be configured to have the same bandwidth as a channel. A frame may be a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, there may be different types of PPDUs, which may have different fields and different physical layers and / or different medium access control (MAC) layers.

[0062] The bandwidth of the channel can be 20MHz, 40MHz or 80MHz, 160MHz, 320MHz continuous bandwidth, or 80+80MHz (160MHz) non-continuous bandwidth. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel can be 1MHz, 1.25MHz, 2.03MHz, 2.5MHz, 4.06MHz, 5MHz and 10MHz or a combination thereof, or other bandwidths less than or equal to the available bandwidth can also be used. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel can be based on the number of active data subcarriers. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel is based on 26, 52, 106, 242, 484, 996 or 2x996 active data subcarriers or tones, which are spaced 20MHz apart. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel is 256 tones spaced 20MHz apart. In some embodiments, the channel is a multiple of 26 tones or a multiple of 20MHz. In some embodiments, a 20MHz channel may include 242 active data subcarriers or tones, which may determine the size of a fast Fourier transform (FFT). According to some embodiments, the allocation of bandwidth or number of tones or subcarriers may be referred to as resource unit (RU) allocation.

[0063] In some embodiments, 26 subcarrier RUs and 52 subcarrier RUs are used in 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 106 subcarrier RUs are used in 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 242 subcarrier RUs are used in 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 484 subcarrier RUs are used in 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 996 subcarrier RUs are used in 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO PPDU formats.

[0064] The frame may be configured to transmit multiple spatial streams, the number of spatial streams may be based on MU-MIMO and may be based on OFDMA. In other embodiments, the AP 502, the STA 504, and / or the legacy device 506 may also implement different technologies, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA 2000 IX, CDMA 2000 Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), or other techniques.

[0065] Some embodiments relate to HE and / or EHT communications. According to some IEEE 802.11 embodiments (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax embodiments), AP 502 may operate as a master station, which may be arranged to compete for a wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for a control period. In some embodiments, the control period may be referred to as a transmission opportunity (TXOP). AP 502 may send a primary synchronization transmission at the beginning of the control period, which may be a trigger frame or a control and scheduling transmission. AP 502 may send the duration and subchannel information of the TXOP. During the control period, STA 504 may communicate with AP 502 based on a non-contention-based multiple access technology (e.g., OFDMA or MU-MIMO). This is different from conventional WLAN communications, in which devices communicate based on contention-based communication technologies rather than multiple access technologies. During the control period, AP 502 may communicate with STA 504 using one or more frames. During the control period, STA 504 may operate on a subchannel less than the operating distance of AP 502. During the control period, legacy stations refrain from communicating. Legacy stations may need to receive communications from AP 502 to defer delivery.

[0066] According to some embodiments, during the TXOP, the STA 504 may contend for the wireless medium, wherein the legacy device 506 is excluded from contending for the wireless medium during the primary synchronization transmission. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate an uplink (UL) UL-MU-MIMO and / or UL OFDMA TXOP. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may include DL UL-MU-MIMO and / or DL ​​OFDMA, wherein the scheduling is indicated in the preamble of the trigger frame.

[0067] In some embodiments, the multiple access technology used during the TXOP may be a scheduled OFDMA technology, but this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a time division multiple access (TDMA) technology or a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technology. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a space division multiple access (SDMA) technology. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a code division multiple access (CDMA).

[0068] The AP 502 may also communicate according to legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques with legacy devices 506 and / or non-legacy stations 504. In some embodiments, the AP 502 may also be configured to communicate according to legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques with the STAs 504 outside of the TXOP, but this is not a requirement.

[0069] In some embodiments, station 504 and / or AP 502 may be configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11mc. Figure 1 The radio architecture of is configured to implement station 504 and / or AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 2 The front-end module circuit is configured to implement station 504 and / or AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit of is configured to implement station 504 and / or AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 4 The baseband processing circuitry is configured to implement station 504 and / or AP 502.

[0070] In an example embodiment, the station 504, the AP 502, the apparatus of the station 504, and / or the apparatus of the AP 502 may include one or more of the following: Figure 1 The radio architecture Figure 2 Front-end module circuit, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit and / or Figure 4 Baseband processing circuit.

[0071] In an example embodiment, Figure 1 The radio architecture Figure 2 Front-end module circuit, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit and / or Figure 4 The baseband processing circuit can be configured to perform the methods and operations / functions described herein.

[0072] In an example embodiment, the station 504 and / or the AP 502 are configured to perform the methods and operations / functions herein. In an example embodiment, the apparatus of the station 504 and / or the apparatus of the AP 502 are configured to perform the methods and functions herein. The term Wi-Fi may refer to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 communication standards. AP and STA may refer to the access point 502 and / or the station 504 and the legacy device 506.

[0073] In some embodiments, the AP and STA may communicate according to one of the IEEE 802.11 standards. IEEE Std 802.11-2020, IEEE P802.11ax / D8.0 (October 2020), IEEE P802.11REVmd / D5.0, IEEE P802.11be / D3.0 (January 2023), and IEEE P802.11-REVme / D1.3 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0074] Figure 6 1 shows a functional block diagram of a wireless communication device according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, Figure 6 A functional block diagram of a communication device (STA) that may be suitable for use as an AP STA, non-AP STA, or other user device according to some embodiments is shown. The wireless communication device 600 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, a mobile device, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a wearable computer device, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber device, an access point, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[0075] The wireless communication device 600 may include a communication circuit 602 and a transceiver 610 for sending signals to other communication devices and receiving signals from other communication devices using one or more antennas 601. The communication circuit 602 may include a physical layer (PHY) communication and / or a medium access control (MAC) communication that can be operated to control access to a wireless medium, and / or circuits of any other communication layer for sending and receiving signals. The wireless communication device 600 may also include a processing circuit 606 and a memory 608 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communication circuit 602 and the processing circuit 606 may be configured to perform the operations described in detail in the above figures, diagrams, and processes.

[0076] According to some embodiments, the communication circuit 602 may be arranged to: compete for a wireless medium and configure a frame or packet for transmission on the wireless medium. The communication circuit 602 may be arranged to send and receive signals. The communication circuit 602 may also include circuits for modulation / demodulation, up-conversion / down-conversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 606 of the wireless communication device 600 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 601 may be coupled to the communication circuit 602 arranged to send and receive signals. The memory 608 may store information for configuring the processing circuit 606 to perform the following operations, which are used to configure and send message frames and perform various operations described herein. The memory 608 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a machine (e.g., computer) readable form. For example, the memory 608 may include a computer-readable storage device, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a disk storage medium, an optical storage medium, a flash memory device, and other storage devices and media.

[0077] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 600 may be part of a portable wireless communication device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capabilities, a web tablet, a wireless phone, a smart phone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that can wirelessly receive and / or send information.

[0078] In some embodiments, wireless communication device 600 may include one or more antennas 601. Antenna 601 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered as a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and different channel characteristics that may be generated between each antenna and the antenna of the transmitting device.

[0079] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 600 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, a speaker, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[0080] Although the wireless communication device 600 is shown as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software-configured elements (e.g., a processing element including a digital signal processor (DSP)) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the wireless communication device 600 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0081] In some embodiments, the processing circuit may include a baseband processor and be configured to store in a memory information related to whether each ISTA is requested to be polled or requested not to be polled. These embodiments are described in more detail below.

[0082] The following patent applications are incorporated by reference:

[0083] PCT / US2017 / 067134, filed on December 18, 2017, published on June 27, 2019 as WO2019 / 125396, and entitled “ENHANCED TIME SENSITIVE NETWORKING FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS” [Ref No. AA5687-PCT];

[0084] PCT / US2018 / 035868, filed on June 4, 2018, published on December 12, 2019 as WO2019 / 236052, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO FACILITATE A SYNCHRONOUSTRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY IN A WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK”, [Ref No. AA8799-PCT];

[0085] US SN 16 / 870,156, filed May 8, 2020, published as US2020-0267636A1, entitled “EXTREME HIGH THROUGHPUT (EHT) TIME-SENSITIVE NETWORKING,” [Ref No. AC2096-US]; and

[0086] US SN 17 / 824,520, filed May 25, 2022, entitled “ACCESS POINT CONFIGUREDFOR SIGNALING CONFIGURATION AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION INSIDE A SYNCHRONIZED TRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY (S-TXOP)” [Ref No. AD8034-US].

[0087] Figure 7 Overhead signaling savings for networks with more than twenty STAs per BSS according to some embodiments are shown. Wireless time synchronization requires the implementation of a standard such as IEEE 802.1AS. This standard can be implemented through the 802.11 Fine Timing Measurement (FTM) protocol with single-digit microsecond (μs) accuracy for stations (STAs) associated with an access point (AP). The main limitation of this approach is its efficiency, as a separate FTM session between each pair of leader and follower is required to synchronize the devices. Figure 7 As shown, this topology is particularly inefficient for larger networks. An alternative solution is to use the trigger-based (TB) 802.11az FTM protocol, which results in a much more efficient time synchronization protocol implementation, such as Figure 7 shown. Figure 7 802.1AS over 802.11ax FTM vs. 802.11az FTM - 80MHz & 4SS is shown. For networks with more than 20 STAs per BSS, up to 9x signaling overhead savings.

[0088] While time synchronization using TB 802.11az FTM is clearly beneficial in terms of efficiency, the protocol itself can be further optimized when used for the dual purpose of providing accurate time synchronization and positioning. The current 802.11az FTM process includes a polling phase that adds overhead, which can be further optimized in the case where the device maintains continuous time synchronization with a reference clock on the network, which is a typical case in a TSN-enabled network.

[0089] Some embodiments described herein provide a new 802.11az negotiation mechanism to avoid the polling phase in devices that do not require the polling phase (e.g., power-unconstrained devices that require consistent time synchronization). Some embodiments described herein provide a new TB 802.11az negotiation mechanism to enable 802.11az FTM to be efficiently used for time synchronization and positioning for devices and applications with different requirements. These embodiments support networks with devices that require polling (e.g., in power-constrained devices that require positioning and / or time synchronization) and devices that do not require polling (e.g., power-unconstrained devices that require accurate time synchronization). By using such a signaling mechanism disclosed herein, the integration of devices in a wireless network that requires accurate positioning capabilities, time synchronization, or both is improved by reducing the signaling overhead required for their support.

[0090] Fig. 8A The trigger-based (TB) polling, detection and reporting phases according to some embodiments are shown. Fig. 8A An example of the 802.11az FTM protocol is shown in FIG. The protocol includes a polling phase 804, a detection phase 806, and a reporting phase 808. In the polling phase, the initiating station (ISTA) (e.g., client device) is asked whether they want to participate in the next round of measurements. The subsequent phase performs measurements of the active ISTA and reports the information back to all involved ISTAs.

[0091] Figure 8B A negotiation phase and a measurement phase are shown according to some embodiments, the measurement phase including a TB ranging availability window with two instances of the polling / probing / reporting triplet in a single transmission opportunity (TXOP).

[0092] Figure 8C A TB ranging availability window is shown with two instances of polling / probing / reporting triplets in separate TXOPs in accordance with some embodiments.

[0093] Fig.8D A TB ranging availability window is shown with two instances of polling / probing / reporting triplets in separate TXOPs in accordance with some embodiments.

[0094] Fig. 9A A hybrid of trigger-based polling, probing, and reporting phases for polling devices and non-polling devices according to some embodiments is shown. Some embodiments described herein divide the measurement phase into two sub-phases. The first measurement sub-phase is reserved for devices that do not require polling (i.e., are expected to participate in measurement exchanges in a regular manner), while the second measurement sub-phase is reserved for devices that require polling. Fig. 9A An example of this is shown in Fig. 9AIn FIG. 1 , a trigger-based polling, detection and reporting phase hybrid of polling devices and non-polling devices is shown. In this example, 50% of the ISTAs are polled, and the remaining ISTAs are assumed to be ranging, so the polling phase signaling time is reduced by half.

[0095] Fig. 9B 1 shows the trigger-based non-polling, detection, and reporting phases for non-polling devices according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the measurement phase need not have two sub-phases. In another embodiment, the RSTA can group the ISTAs that do not require polling and directly trigger the measurement phase. Further efficiency gains can be achieved by grouping the ISTAs into polling groups and non-polling groups, such as Fig. 9B shown. Fig. 9B Trigger-based non-polling, probing and reporting phases for non-polling devices are shown. In this example, the polling phase is bypassed and the RSTA directly triggers ranging.

[0096] Fig.10 1000 ( 1001 ) shows the ranging parameter field format according to some embodiments. To allow triggering of measurements in poll-free ISTA, during the negotiation phase, the device indicates its intent to participate in the measurement and how to participate (i.e., whether polling is required). To signal this, some embodiments may use the ranging parameter element 1000 ( Fig.10 ). The reserved bit B30 1006 in the ranging parameter field 1002 may be used to signal polling (B30=0) or no polling (B30=1). Note that the ranging parameter field 1002 may be used during the negotiation for TB ranging to configure how each ISTA performs ranging in the network. Fig.10 The ranging parameter field format is shown. In some embodiments, B30 may be used to indicate whether an ISTA request is polled or not.

[0097] Fig.11 Shown is a periodic non-polling ISTA detection according to some embodiments. In these embodiments, the non-polling ISTA signaling should not affect the way both RSTA and ISTA behave. Since the non-polling phase for these ISTAs is expected, the following behaviors can be expected from RSTA and ISTA:

[0098] • ISTA declares during the negotiation phase their intention to participate in the ranging phase in a periodic manner.

[0099] The availability window bit in the ranging sub-element field is used to set the period T during which ISTA is willing to be detected. p .

[0100] Both RSTA and ISTA assume no polling. Therefore, failure of TF detection is due to STA's NAV set or channel loss.

[0101] • ISTA remains available for the entire given availability window unless it is already being served in that window.

[0102] • The non-associated ISTA is expected to track the RSTA's beacon (or other management frames (eg, probe responses)) to synchronize its clock with that of the RSTA.

[0103] Fig.11 An example of this detection method is shown in Fig.11 In FIG. 1 , a periodic non-polling ISTA detection is shown. In this example, the non-polling ISTA is detected in the SP N. The detection is based on the availability window bit field 1204 in the ranging sub-element field 1004 (see Fig.12 ) described in the period T p And happened.

[0104] Fig.12 1004 in order to signal the above behavior. This field may be represented as a polling mode, and it may be formed by a bit that may signal the polling form of the ISTA. The AP may also use this bit to confirm whether it will poll the STA in the negotiated SP. Fig.12 The ranging sub-element field format including a new polling mode to indicate the polling form of the ISTA is shown. In another embodiment, the associated STA may not need to be polled within the negotiated availability window.

[0105] Referring to the accompanying drawings, some embodiments are directed to a station (STA) configured to operate in a time synchronization network (TSN). In these embodiments, when operating as a responding STA (RSTA) for time synchronization of multiple initiating STAs (ISTAs), the RSTA may, during the negotiation phase 802 ( Figure 8B ) during the determination of whether each ISTA that intends to participate in one or more measurement phases requests to be polled or requests not to be polled. In these embodiments, for an ISTA that requests to be polled (i.e., a polling ISTA 904 ( Fig. 9A )), the RSTA may perform a polling phase 804 before performing each of the one or more measurement phases 806. In these embodiments, for an ISTA that requests not to be polled (i.e., a non-polling ISTA 902 ( Fig. 9A ), the RSTA may refrain from performing the polling phase before performing each of the one or more measurement phases. In these embodiments, the RSTA may directly trigger the measurement phase for the ISTA that requests not to be polled. Therefore, by grouping the ISTAs into a polling group and a non-polling group, efficiency is improved.

[0106] In some embodiments, during the negotiation phase 802, for each ISTA that requests not to be polled, the RSTA may determine a periodically occurring availability window indicating when the ISTA that requests not to be polled is available to perform ranging measurements during the measurement phase. In these embodiments, the RSTA may schedule the ISTA that requests not to be polled for ranging during the periodically occurring availability window.

[0107] In some embodiments, during the negotiation phase, the RSTA may provide a ranging parameter element 1000 (see Fig.10 ) to determine whether each ISTA requests to be polled or whether each ISTA requests not to be polled. The RSTA may also decode the availability window field (see Fig.12 ) is decoded to determine the periodic availability window for each ISTA that requests not to be polled. In these embodiments, the availability window bit in the ranging sub-element field 1004 can be used to set the period T that the ISTA is willing to be detected. p .

[0108] In some embodiments, the bit in the ranging parameter element 1000 is a bit in the ranging parameter field 1002 of the ranging parameter element 1000 (eg, B30 1006 ( Fig.10 )).exist Fig.10 An example of this is shown in FIG. 1004. In some embodiments, the bits in the ranging parameter element are new fields 1206 in the ranging sub-element field 1004 (see Fig.12 ) in the polling mode bit.

[0109] In some embodiments, the measurement phase 806 is a measurement detection phase and is followed by a measurement reporting phase 808. In these embodiments, for each ISTA that requests to be polled, the availability window includes a polling phase, a measurement detection phase, and a measurement reporting phase (in Figure 8C and Fig.8D . An example of which is shown in FIG. 1 . In these embodiments, for each ISTA that requests not to be polled, the periodically occurring availability window includes a measurement detection phase and a measurement reporting phase, but does not include a polling phase.

[0110] In some embodiments, RSTA can be configured to request the availability window of at least some ISTAs polled to overlap with the availability window of periodic occurrence of at least some ISTAs for requesting not to be polled. In these embodiments, ISTA can be scheduled to perform ranging based on the availability window described in the ranging sub-element. Preferably, ranging is performed in the same availability window to increase efficiency. In these embodiments, the more polling / non-polling RSTAs that can perform ranging in the availability window, the higher the gain in efficiency that can be achieved.

[0111] In some embodiments, for an ISTA that requests not to be polled (i.e., ISTA 902 Fig. 9A ), the RSTA may encode a ranging detection trigger frame for transmission to an ISTA that requests not to be polled. In these embodiments, the RSTA may also decode an initiator-to-responder (I2R) null data packet (NDP) from each ISTA that requests not to be polled, encode a ranging NDP announcement frame for transmission to an ISTA that requests not to be polled, and encode a responder-to-initiator (R2I) NDP for transmission to each ISTA that requests not to be polled. In these embodiments, the measurement reporting phase may include transmission of a link measurement report (LMR) frame from the RSTA to the ISTA.

[0112] In some embodiments, the ISTAs requesting to be polled may include STAs that are not expected to participate in the measurement exchange for time synchronization in a regular manner. In these embodiments, the ISTAs requesting not to be polled may include STAs that are expected to participate in the measurement exchange for time synchronization in a regular manner.

[0113] In some embodiments, the ISTAs requesting to be polled may include power-constrained STAs that require less accurate time synchronization. In these embodiments, the ISTAs requesting not to be polled may include power-unconstrained STAs that require more accurate time synchronization.

[0114] Some embodiments relate to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by a processing circuit of a station (STA) operating as a responding STA (RSTA) for time synchronization of a plurality of initiating STAs (ISTAs) in a time synchronization network (TSN).

[0115] Some embodiments relate to non-access point stations (STAs). In these embodiments, when operating as an initiating STA (ISTA) in a time synchronization network (TSN), the ISTA may encode a ranging parameter element during a negotiation phase with a responding STA (RSTA) to indicate whether the ISTA requests to be polled before performing each of one or more measurement phases. In these embodiments, when the ISTA has indicated that polling is not requested, the ISTA may encode the ranging parameter element to indicate information for determining a periodically occurring availability window. The ISTA may also suppress the execution of the polling phase 804 before executing each of the one or more measurement phases 806. In these embodiments, when the ISTA has indicated a request for polling, the ISTA may be configured to execute the polling phase 804 before executing each of the one or more measurement phases 806.

[0116] In some embodiments, when ISTA has indicated that polling is not requested, ISTA may be configured to remain available to perform measurements during periodically occurring availability windows.

[0117] In some embodiments, ISTA may synchronize its clock based on the measurement results determined from one or more measurement phases. In some embodiments, when ISTA expects to participate in measurement exchanges for time synchronization in a regular manner, ISTA may encode the ranging parameter element to indicate that ISTA requests not to be polled before performing each of the one or more measurement phases. In these embodiments, when ISTA does not expect to participate in measurement exchanges for time synchronization in a regular manner, ISTA may encode the ranging parameter element to indicate that ISTA requests to be polled before performing each of the one or more measurement phases.

[0118] The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 CFR Section 1.72(b), which requires an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. A station (STA) device, the device comprising: Processing circuit; and a memory, wherein, when operating as a responding STA (RSTA) for time synchronization of a plurality of initiating STAs (ISTAs) in a time synchronization network (TSN), the processing circuit is configured to: During the negotiation phase, determining whether each ISTA intending to participate in one or more measurement phases requests to be polled or requests not to be polled; wherein, for an ISTA that requests to be polled, a polling phase is performed before performing each of the one or more measurement phases; and Wherein, for an ISTA that requests not to be polled, executing a polling phase is suppressed before executing each of the one or more measurement phases.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: During the negotiation phase, for each ISTA requesting not to be polled, the processing circuit is configured to: determining a periodically occurring availability window indicating when the ISTA requesting not to be polled is available for performing ranging measurements during the measurement phase, and The processing circuit is used for: scheduling the ISTA that is not polled to perform ranging during the periodic availability window.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: During the negotiation phase, the processing circuit is configured to: decoding bits in the ranging parameter element to determine whether each ISTA requests to be polled or whether each ISTA requests not to be polled; as well as The availability window field of the ranging sub-element field of the ranging parameters element is decoded to determine the periodically occurring availability window for each ISTA that is requested not to be polled.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein: The bit in the ranging parameters element is a bit in the ranging parameters field of the ranging parameters element.

5. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein: This bit in the ranging parameters element is the polling mode bit in the ranging sub-element field.

6. The device according to claim 3, wherein: The measurement phase is a measurement detection phase and is followed by a measurement reporting phase. Wherein, for each ISTA that requests to be polled, the availability window includes the polling phase, the measurement detection phase and the measurement reporting phase, and For each ISTA that requests not to be polled, the periodically occurring availability window includes the measurement detection phase and the measurement reporting phase, but does not include the polling phase.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein: The processing circuit is configured to: The availability window for at least some of the ISTAs requested to be polled is configured to overlap with the periodically occurring availability window for at least some of the ISTAs requested not to be polled.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein: For the measurement probe phase of the ISTA for requesting not to be polled, the processing circuit of the RSTA is configured to: Encode a ranging detection trigger frame for transmission to an ISTA requesting not to be polled; Decoding an Initiator to Responder (I2R) Null Data Packet (NDP) from each ISTA requesting not to be polled; encoding a ranging NDP announcement frame for transmission to an ISTA requesting not to be polled; and decodes the Responder to Initiator (R2I) NDP for transmission to each ISTA that requests not to be polled, and The measurement reporting phase includes transmission of a link measurement report (LMR) frame from the RSTA to the ISTA.

9. The device of claim 3, wherein: ISTAs requesting to be polled include STAs that are not expected to participate in the exchange of measurements for time synchronization on a regular basis, and Among them, an ISTA requesting not to be polled includes a STA that expects to participate in measurement exchanges for time synchronization on a regular basis.

10. The device of claim 3, wherein: The ISTAs requesting to be polled include power-constrained STAs that do not require accurate time synchronization, and Among them, the ISTA requesting not to be polled includes a power-unconstrained STA that requires more accurate time synchronization.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by a processing circuit station (STA), wherein: When operating as a responding STA (RSTA) for time synchronization of a plurality of initiating STAs (ISTAs) in a time synchronization network (TSN), the processing circuit is configured to: During the negotiation phase, determining whether each ISTA intending to participate in one or more measurement phases requests to be polled or requests not to be polled; wherein, for an ISTA that requests to be polled, a polling phase is performed before performing each of the one or more measurement phases; and Wherein, for an ISTA that requests not to be polled, executing a polling phase is suppressed before executing each of the one or more measurement phases.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein: During the negotiation phase, for each ISTA requesting not to be polled, the processing circuit is configured to: determining a periodically occurring availability window indicating when the ISTA requesting not to be polled is available for performing ranging measurements during the measurement phase, and The processing circuit is used for: scheduling the ISTA that is not polled to perform ranging during the periodic availability window.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein: During the negotiation phase, the processing circuit is configured to: decoding bits in the ranging parameter element to determine whether each ISTA requests to be polled or whether each ISTA requests not to be polled; as well as The availability window field of the ranging sub-element field of the ranging parameters element is decoded to determine the periodically occurring availability window for each ISTA that is requested not to be polled.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein: The bit in the ranging parameters element is a bit in the ranging parameters field of the ranging parameters element.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein: This bit in the ranging parameters element is the polling mode bit in the ranging sub-element field.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein: The measurement phase is a measurement detection phase and is followed by a measurement reporting phase. Wherein, for each ISTA that requests to be polled, the availability window includes the polling phase, the measurement detection phase and the measurement reporting phase, and For each ISTA that requests not to be polled, the periodically occurring availability window includes the measurement detection phase and the measurement reporting phase, but does not include the polling phase.

17. A non-access point station (STA) apparatus, the apparatus comprising: Processing circuit; and a memory, wherein, when operating as an initiating STA (ISTA) in a time synchronization network (TSN), the processing circuit is configured to: During a negotiation phase with a responding STA (RSTA), encoding a ranging parameter element to indicate whether the ISTA requests to be polled prior to performing each of one or more measurement phases; Wherein, when the ISTA has indicated that polling is not requested, the processing circuit is further configured to: encoding the ranging parameter element to indicate information for determining a periodically occurring availability window; and refraining from executing a polling phase prior to executing each of the one or more measurement phases, and Wherein, when the ISTA has indicated that a request is being polled, the processing circuit is used to: The ISTA is configured to perform a polling phase prior to performing each of the one or more measurement phases.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein: When the ISTA has indicated that polling is not requested, the processing circuit is configured to: The ISTA is configured to remain available to perform measurements during the periodically occurring availability windows.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: A clock of the ISTA is synchronized based on the measurement results determined from the one or more measurement phases.

20. The device according to claim 18, in, The processing circuit is used for: When the ISTA expects to participate in measurement exchanges for time synchronization on a regular basis, the ranging parameters element is encoded to indicate that the ISTA requests not to be polled prior to performing each of one or more measurement phases, and Wherein, the processing circuit is used for: When the ISTA is not expected to participate in measurement exchanges for time synchronization on a regular basis, the ranging parameters element is encoded to indicate that the ISTA requests to be polled prior to performing each of one or more measurement phases.

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