Power control for wireless communication devices and methods

Abstract

A shared access point (AP) (110) is disclosed for sharing at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) with at least one shared AP (130) within a set of multiple APs (M-APs) to participate in coordinated transmissions, with at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a to 140c) being associated with the shared AP (130). The shared AP (110) comprises: processing circuitry (111) for generating a trigger frame; and a communication interface (113) for transmitting the trigger frame (501) to the at least one OBSS non-AP station (140a to 140c) to trigger a power control report frame from the at least one OBSS non-AP station (140a to 140c). The communication interface (113) is further configured to receive the power control report frame from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a-140c), where the power control report frame comprises power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a-140c), the power control information being configured to adjust a transmission power of the at least one OBSS non-AP site through the shared AP (110).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to power control for wireless communication devices and methods in wireless communication networks, in particular, IEEE 802.11 based WLANs. Background Art

[0002] IEEE 802.11-based WLANs (also known as Wi-Fi networks) are becoming more popular than ever before. The 802.11 family of standards has been continuously expanded through revisions to previous 802.11 standards and the introduction of new generations of standards, providing new and improved technical features for WLAN technology.

[0003] 802.11be (also known as "Wi-Fi 7") introduces multi-AP (M-AP) coordinated transmission operation, in which multiple access points (APs) share resources to enable parallel transmissions, thereby more efficiently utilizing the resources of these APs. Some coordination schemes involve UL PPDU transmissions, in which a station (STA) can send frames addressed to an OBSS AP. When requesting a trigger based (TB) UL transmission, one of the problems that the AP needs to solve is power control for all STAs participating in the current UL transmission. Power control for each STA allows each STA to use the optimal modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for transmission, and also allows alignment between different STAs participating in the UL transmission. This ensures efficient transmission and reception of UL PPDUs. However, the power control mechanism is designed for APs and non-PASTAs within the same BSS, and assumes continuous (or at least frequent) communication between APs and STAs. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object is to provide an improved wireless device for wireless communication in a wireless network, in particular, a wireless communication network based on IEEE 802.11, ie, a Wi-Fi network, and a corresponding method for achieving efficient power control.

[0005] The above and other objects are achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Other implementations are apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

[0006] According to a first aspect, a shared access point (AP) is used to share at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) with at least one shared AP in a multi-AP (M-AP) set to participate in coordinated transmission, wherein at least one non-AP station is associated with the shared AP (when described in conjunction with the shared AP, since the at least one non-AP station associated with the shared AP is an OBSS non-AP station relative to the shared AP, the at least one non-AP station associated with the shared AP is referred to as at least one OBSS non-AP station hereinafter). The shared AP includes: a processing circuit for generating a trigger frame; and a communication interface for sending the trigger frame to the at least one OBSS non-AP station to trigger a power control report frame from the at least one OBSS non-AP station. The communication interface is also used to receive the power control report frame from the at least one OBSS non-AP station in response to sending the trigger frame. The power control report frame includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP station, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the at least one OBSS non-AP station through the shared AP.

[0007] In another possible implementation, the communication interface is used to receive an uplink physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the at least one OBSS non-AP site, and the power control information includes a power margin value under each of a plurality of modulation and coding schemes (MCS) that can be used by the at least one OBSS non-AP site.

[0008] In another possible implementation manner, the trigger frame includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

[0009] In another possible implementation, the trigger frame includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP and the shared AP operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

[0010] In another possible implementation, the trigger frame includes information for identifying the at least one OBSS non-AP site. In the case where there are several OBSS non-AP sites, the information may include a list of identifiers and / or addresses of the several OBSS non-AP sites.

[0011] In another possible implementation, the trigger frame also includes at least an allocated resource unit (RU), a target received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and / or a target modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for use by the at least one OBSS non-AP site in an upcoming uplink transmission from the at least one OBSS non-AP site to the shared AP.

[0012] In another possible implementation, the trigger frame is a beamforming report polling trigger frame for OBSS non-AP sites within the M-AP set, and the OBSS non-AP sites include the at least one OBSS non-AP site. The beamforming report polling trigger frame includes an additional indication for triggering the at least one OBSS non-AP site (and any other OBSS non-AP site within the M-AP set) to send a coordinated beamforming sounding report and the power control information, and the coordinated beamforming sounding report and the power control information may be aggregated in the same PPDU.

[0013] In another possible implementation, the communication interface is further configured to send an M-AP trigger frame to the at least one shared AP (under the same coordination protocol as the shared AP and to participate in the upcoming coordinated transmission) to trigger the shared AP to send other trigger frames (e.g., power control information request frames) to at least one other OBSS non-AP station to trigger the at least one other OBSS non-AP station to send other power control report frames to the shared AP. The at least one other OBSS non-AP station may be associated with other shared APs or with the shared AP.

[0014] In another possible implementation manner, the M-AP trigger frame includes an identifier of the shared AP.

[0015] In another possible implementation manner, the M-AP trigger frame includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

[0016] In another possible implementation, the M-AP trigger frame includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP and the shared AP operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

[0017] In another possible implementation, the M-AP trigger frame includes an indication (e.g., one or more flag bits) for triggering the shared AP to perform the following operations: invoking a power control information process with at least one other OBSS non-AP site (e.g., one or more OBSS non-AP sites associated with an OBSS AP under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set).

[0018] In another possible implementation, the communication interface is further configured to receive a power control report completion frame from the shared AP to notify the shared AP that the shared AP has received the power control report frame from the at least one other OBSS non-AP station and has completed the shared AP's stage in the sequential process. Therefore, the shared AP can initiate the same process defined by the above implementation with another shared AP operating under the same coordination protocol and participating in the next coordinated transmission.

[0019] In another possible implementation, the M-AP trigger frame also includes an indication for triggering the shared AP to perform the following operations: starting the EHT sequential detection process, and calling the power control information process of the one or more other OBSS non-AP sites under the same coordination protocol with the at least one OBSS non-AP site and / or the M-AP set, provided that the OBSS non-AP site is included in the EHT sequential detection process.

[0020] In another possible implementation, the indication of the M-AP trigger frame for triggering the shared AP to start the EHT sequential detection process includes an indication for triggering the shared AP to perform the following operations: sending a beamforming report poll to the at least one OBSS non-AP site and / or the one or more other OBSS non-AP sites under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set, wherein the beamforming report poll includes information for triggering the at least one other OBSS non-AP site to perform the following operations: providing one or more parts of the beamforming report (i.e., any part thereof) and the power control information.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the beamforming report polling includes information for triggering the at least one other OBSS non-AP station to perform the following operations: sending one or more beamforming report parts that have been sent and / or one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent by the at least one other OBSS non-AP station.

[0022] In another possible implementation, the information for triggering the at least one other OBSS non-AP site to send the one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts that have already been sent includes an indication (e.g., a bitmap) for identifying the one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts that have already been sent.

[0023] In another possible implementation manner, the one or more transmitted beamforming report parts include a most recently transmitted beamforming report part.

[0024] According to a second aspect, a method for operating a shared AP is provided, wherein the shared AP is used to share at least a portion of a TXOP with at least one shared AP in an M-AP set to participate in coordinated transmission, wherein at least one OBSS non-AP station is associated with the shared AP. The method comprises:

[0025] generating a trigger frame, the trigger frame being used to poll power control information from the at least one OBSS non-AP station;

[0026] Sending the trigger frame to the at least one OBSS non-AP site;

[0027] In response to sending the trigger frame for polling the power control information, a power control report frame is received from the at least one OBSS non-AP station, wherein the power control report frame includes the power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP station, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the at least one OBSS non-AP station through an associated AP (i.e., the shared AP) of the at least one OBSS non-AP station. The power control information may include one or more power headroom values ​​under each MCS.

[0028] The method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure can be performed by the shared AP according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. Therefore, the other features of the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure are directly implemented by the functions of the shared AP according to the first aspect of the present disclosure and its different implementations described above and below.

[0029] According to a third aspect, a shared AP is used to participate in coordinated transmission using at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) shared by shared APs within an M-AP set, wherein the shared AP is associated with at least one non-AP site (for the shared AP, the at least one non-AP site is an OBSS non-AP site). The shared AP includes a communication interface, the communication interface being used to receive an M-AP trigger frame from the shared AP to invoke a power control information process with at least one OBSS non-AP site (the at least one OBSS non-AP site is not associated with the shared AP). Thus, the at least one OBSS non-AP site is associated with an AP different from the shared AP. The at least one OBSS non-AP site may be associated with the shared AP or with a different shared AP operating under the same coordination protocol within the same M-AP set. The communication interface is also used to: in response to receiving the M-AP trigger frame from the shared AP, send other trigger frames (specifically, power control information request frames) to the at least one OBSS non-AP station not associated with the shared AP (the shared AP is one of the one or more OBSS APs under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set) to request the at least one OBSS non-AP station to send a power control report frame to the shared AP. The power control report frame includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP station, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the at least one OBSS non-AP station through the shared AP.

[0030] In another possible implementation, in response to receiving the power control report frame from the at least one OBSS non-AP site, the communication interface is also used to send a power control report completion frame to the shared AP to notify the shared AP that the power control report frame from the at least one OBSS non-AP site has been successfully received by the shared AP.

[0031] In another possible implementation manner, the power control information request frame includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set, where the M-AP set includes the sharing AP, the shared AP, and potentially one or more other shared APs.

[0032] In another possible implementation, the power control information request frame includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP and the shared AP operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set. For example, the sharing AP and the shared AP may use the same parameters and / or settings defined by the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

[0033] In another possible implementation manner, the power control information request frame includes information (eg, an address or an identifier) ​​for identifying the at least one OBSS non-AP station.

[0034] In another possible implementation, the power control information request frame further includes at least an allocated resource unit (RU), a target received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and / or a target modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for use by the at least one OBSS non-AP site in an upcoming uplink transmission from the at least one OBSS non-AP site to the shared AP, wherein the at least one OBSS non-AP site is associated with an AP that is different from the shared AP and operates under the same coordination protocol within the same M-AP set.

[0035] In another possible implementation, the power control information includes a power headroom value associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP site under each of a plurality of modulation and coding schemes (MCS).

[0036] In another possible implementation, the M-AP trigger frame received from the shared AP is an EHT sequential detection trigger frame, and the EHT sequential detection trigger frame is used to further trigger the shared AP to call the EHT sequential detection process (which may include the transmission of NDPA frames and detection NDPs) and call the power control information process with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (for example, one or more OBSS non-AP sites associated with the OBSS AP operating under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set) (provided that these OBSS non-AP sites are included in the EHT sequential detection process).

[0037] In another possible implementation, the M-AP trigger frame includes an indication (e.g., a flag bit) for triggering the shared AP to perform the following operations: invoking a power control information process associated with at least one OBSS non-AP site (e.g., one or more OBSS non-AP sites associated with an OBSS AP operating under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set).

[0038] In another possible implementation, as part of the EHT sequential detection process, the communication interface is used to send a beamforming report poll to the at least one OBSS non-AP site (for example, the one or more OBSS non-AP sites associated with the OBSS AP operating under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set), wherein the beamforming report poll includes information for triggering the one or more OBSS non-AP sites to perform the following operations: provide one or more parts of the beamforming report and the power control information.

[0039] In another possible implementation, the beamforming report polling includes information for triggering at least one OBSS non-AP site (e.g., the one or more OBSS non-AP sites) to perform the following operations: sending one or more beamforming report parts that have been sent and / or one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent.

[0040] In another possible implementation, the information for triggering the one or more OBSS non-AP sites to send the one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts that have already been sent includes an indication (e.g., a bitmap) for identifying the one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts that have already been sent.

[0041] In another possible implementation manner, the one or more transmitted beamforming report parts include a most recently transmitted beamforming report part.

[0042] According to a fourth aspect, a method for operating a shared AP is provided, wherein the shared AP is used to participate in coordinated transmission using at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) shared by shared APs in a set of M-APs, and the shared AP is associated with at least one non-AP station (for the shared AP, the at least one non-AP station is an OBSS non-AP station). The method comprises the following steps:

[0043] Receiving an M-AP trigger frame from the shared AP to invoke a power control information process with at least one OBSS non-AP station (which is not associated with the shared AP); in response to receiving the M-AP trigger frame from the shared AP, sending other trigger frames (specifically, power control information request frames) to the at least one OBSS non-AP station not associated with the shared AP to request the at least one OBSS non-AP station to send a power control report frame to the shared AP, wherein the power control report frame includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP station, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the at least one OBSS non-AP station through the shared AP. The at least one OBSS non-AP station not associated with the shared AP may be associated with the shared AP or with a different shared AP operating under the same coordination protocol within the same M-AP set.

[0044] The method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure can be performed by the shared AP according to the third aspect of the present disclosure. Therefore, the other features of the method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure are directly implemented by the functions of the shared AP according to the third aspect of the present disclosure and its different implementation modes described above and below.

[0045] According to a fifth aspect, a non-AP station is provided, wherein the non-AP station is associated with an AP in an M-AP set, and the associated AP is used to participate in coordinated transmission by utilizing at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) shared by a shared AP in the M-AP set. As can be understood, the associated AP of the non-AP station is one of a plurality of shared APs in the M-AP set, and for the shared AP, the non-AP station is an OBSS non-AP station associated with a shared AP. The non-AP station includes a communication interface, and the communication interface is used to receive a trigger frame (specifically, a power control report request frame) from the shared AP or other shared APs in the M-AP set. The non-AP station also includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is used to generate a power control report frame in response to receiving the trigger frame, wherein the power control report frame includes power control information associated with the non-AP station. The communication interface of the non-AP station is also used to send the power control report frame to a requesting AP, wherein the requesting AP can be the shared AP or the other shared AP.

[0046] In another possible implementation manner, the power control information includes a power headroom value of the non-AP station under each MCS index in a plurality of modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indexes.

[0047] In another possible implementation manner, the power control report frame includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

[0048] In another possible implementation, the power control report frame includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP and the shared AP operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

[0049] In another possible implementation manner, the power control report request frame includes information (for example, an identifier or an address) for identifying the non-AP station.

[0050] In another possible implementation, the trigger frame (specifically, the power control report request frame) also includes at least an allocated resource unit (RU), a target received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and / or a target modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for use by the non-AP station in an upcoming uplink transmission toward the requesting AP (i.e., the shared AP or the other shared AP).

[0051] In another possible implementation manner, the power control report request frame includes an identifier of the requesting AP (ie, the shared AP or the other shared APs in the M-AP set).

[0052] In another possible implementation, the communication interface is used to send a power control report frame as a triggered physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the requesting AP (i.e., the shared AP or the other shared AP) using an OFDMA scheme and / or a MU-MIMO scheme.

[0053] In another possible implementation, the power control report request frame is part of a beamforming report poll received from the other shared APs, wherein the beamforming report poll includes an indication to send the power control report frame (in addition to the beamforming report frame that is part of the received PPDU).

[0054] In another possible implementation manner, the beamforming report polling further includes information for triggering the non-AP station to perform the following operations: providing one or more parts of the beamforming report frame as part thereof and the power control information.

[0055] In another possible implementation manner, the beamforming report polling includes information for triggering the non-AP station to perform the following operations: sending one or more beamforming report parts that have been sent and / or one or more beamforming report parts that have not been sent.

[0056] In another possible implementation, the information used to trigger the non-AP site to send the one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts that have been sent includes an indication (e.g., a bitmap) for identifying the one or more beamforming report parts that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts that have been sent.

[0057] In another possible implementation manner, the information used to trigger the non-AP station to send the one or more beamforming report parts includes an indication for indicating whether the beamforming report part currently being sent is the last part to be sent.

[0058] In another possible implementation manner, the one or more transmitted beamforming report parts include a most recently transmitted beamforming report part.

[0059] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a method for operating a non-AP station associated with an AP in an M-AP set, wherein the associated AP is used to participate in coordinated transmission using at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) shared by a shared AP in the M-AP set. The method comprises the following steps:

[0060] receiving a trigger frame (specifically, a power control report request frame) from the shared AP or other shared APs in the M-AP set that are not associated with the non-AP station;

[0061] In response to receiving the trigger frame, generating a power control report frame, wherein the power control report frame includes power control information associated with the non-AP station;

[0062] The power control report frame is sent to a requesting AP, wherein the requesting AP may be the shared AP or another shared AP in the same M-AP set.

[0063] The method according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure may be performed by the non-AP station according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure. Therefore, other features of the method according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure are directly implemented by the functions of the non-AP station according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure and its different implementations described above and below.

[0064] According to the seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer-readable storage medium for storing program code, and when the program code is executed by a computer or a processor, the computer or the processor executes the method according to the second aspect, the method according to the fourth aspect and / or the method according to the sixth aspect.

[0065] The following drawings and description set forth in detail one or more embodiments. Other features, objects, and advantages are apparent in the description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0067] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication network including a sharing AP according to one embodiment, a shared AP according to one embodiment, and a plurality of OBSS non-AP stations according to one embodiment is shown;

[0068] Figure 2 A timing diagram showing several iterations of a power control process between an AP and its associated non-AP stations;

[0069] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing different exemplary power levels defined for non-AP stations;

[0070] Figure 4 A timing diagram of the coordinated beamforming detection process between an AP, a BSS non-AP station, and an OBSS non-AP station is shown;

[0071] Figure 5 A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control reporting protocol implemented by a sharing AP, a shared AP, and an OBSS non-AP station according to one embodiment;

[0072] Figure 6A schematic diagram showing a portion of an M-AP trigger frame sent by a sharing AP according to an embodiment to a shared AP according to an embodiment, wherein the M-AP trigger frame is Figure 5 part of the agreement;

[0073] Figure 7 A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control reporting protocol implemented by a sharing AP, a shared AP, and an OBSS non-AP station as part of a coordinated beamforming sequential sounding protocol according to one embodiment;

[0074] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing a portion of a BFRP trigger frame sent by a shared AP to an OBSS non-AP STA according to an embodiment, wherein the BFRP trigger frame is Figure 7 part of the agreement;

[0075] Fig. 9 A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control reporting protocol implemented by a sharing AP, a shared AP, and an OBSS non-AP station as part of a coordinated beamforming sequential sounding protocol with segmented beamforming reporting according to one embodiment;

[0076] Fig.10 A schematic diagram showing a portion of a trigger frame sent by a sharing AP or a shared AP to an OBSS non-APSTA according to an embodiment, wherein the trigger frame is Fig. 9 part of the agreement;

[0077] Fig.11 A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control reporting protocol implemented by a sharing AP, a shared AP, and an OBSS non-AP station according to one embodiment;

[0078] Fig.12 A schematic diagram illustrating a portion of a power control report frame sent by an OBSS non-AP station according to one embodiment;

[0079] Fig.13 A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control reporting protocol implemented by a sharing AP, a shared AP, and an OBSS non-AP station using OFDMA according to one embodiment;

[0080] Fig.14 A flowchart showing the steps of a method for operating a shared AP according to one embodiment;

[0081] Fig.15 A flowchart showing the steps of a method for operating a shared AP according to one embodiment;

[0082] Fig.16 A flow chart showing the steps of a method for operating an OBSS non-AP station according to one embodiment.

[0083] In the following, identical reference signs refer to identical or at least functionally equivalent features. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0084] In the following description, reference is made to the drawings that form part of the present disclosure and show, by way of illustration, specific aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure or specific aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure in which the present disclosure may be used. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in other aspects and may include structural or logical changes not depicted in the drawings. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be understood in a restrictive sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

[0085] For example, it should be understood that the disclosure related to describing a method may also be applicable to a corresponding device or system for performing the method, and vice versa. For example, if one or more specific method steps are described, the corresponding device may include one or more units (e.g., functional units) to perform the one or more method steps described (e.g., one unit performs one or more steps, or multiple units perform one or more of the multiple steps respectively), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or illustrated in the drawings. On the other hand, for example, if a specific device is described based on one or more units (e.g., functional units), the corresponding method may include a step to perform the function of one or more units (e.g., one step performs the function of one or more units, or multiple steps perform the function of one or more of the multiple units respectively), even if the one or more steps are not explicitly described or illustrated in the drawings. In addition, it should be understood that, unless otherwise stated, the features of the various exemplary embodiments and / or aspects described herein may be combined with each other.

[0086] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication network 100 is shown including a sharing AP 110 and a shared AP 130 for coordinated transmissions (eg, coordinated beamforming (CoBF) transmissions).

[0087] Figure 1 The shared AP 110 is shown to share at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) with a shared AP 130 under the same coordination protocol within a multi-AP set (also referred to as an M-AP set) to participate in coordinated transmission. Figure 1In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the sharing AP 110 is used to communicate with its associated BSS sites 120 a , 120 b , and 120 c , while the shared AP 120 is used to communicate with its associated sites 140 a , 140 b , which are OBSS sites of the sharing AP 110 .

[0088] like Figure 1 As shown, the shared AP 110 includes a processing circuit 111 and a communication interface 113 (specifically, a wireless communication interface 113 according to the IEEE802.11 standard framework). The processing circuit 111 can be implemented in hardware and / or software, and can include a digital circuit, or both an analog circuit and a digital circuit. The digital circuit may include components such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a general-purpose processor. The shared AP 110 may also include a memory 115, which is used to store executable program code. When the executable program code is executed by the processing circuit 111, the shared AP 110 performs the functions and methods described herein.

[0089] Similarly, Figure 1 The shared AP 130 shown includes a processing circuit 131 and a communication interface 133 (specifically, a wireless communication interface 133 according to the IEEE 802.11 standard framework). The processing circuit 131 can be implemented in hardware and / or software, and can include a digital circuit, or both an analog circuit and a digital circuit. The digital circuit may include components such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a general-purpose processor. The shared AP 130 may also include a memory 135, which is used to store executable program code, and when the executable program code is executed by the processing circuit 131, the shared AP 130 performs the functions and methods described herein.

[0090] Similarly, Figure 1The exemplary OBSS non-AP site 140a shown includes a processing circuit 141 and a communication interface 143 (specifically, a wireless communication interface 143 according to the IEEE 802.11 standard framework). The processing circuit 141 can be implemented in hardware and / or software, and can include a digital circuit, or both an analog circuit and a digital circuit. The digital circuit can include components such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a general-purpose processor. The exemplary OBSS non-AP site 140a may also include a memory 145, which is used to store executable program code, which, when executed by the processing circuit 141, enables the OBSS non-AP site 140a to perform the functions and methods described herein.

[0091] Before describing different embodiments of the sharing AP 110, the shared AP 130, and the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 140a in more detail, some technical background and terminology of wireless devices related to the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard framework are introduced below by one or more of the following abbreviations:

[0092] AP Access Point

[0093] BSS Basic Serving Set

[0094] BW Bandwidth

[0095] CoBF Coordinated Beamforming

[0096] MAC Medium Access Control

[0097] M-AP Multi-AP

[0098] MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0099] MRU Multiple Resource Unit

[0100] OBSS Overlapping BSS

[0101] OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0102] PHY Physical Layer

[0103] PPDU Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PHY Protocol Data Unit)

[0104] PSD Power Spectral Density

[0105] RU Resource Unit

[0106] STA Station (Generally, it can be AP STA or non-AP STA)

[0107] TB Trigger based

[0108] TF Trigger Frame: The 802.11ax standard introduces trigger frames as a way to trigger a non-AP STA or multiple non-AP STAs to send to the trigger AP in a synchronous manner.

[0109] As mentioned above, 802.11be (also known as "Wi-Fi 7") introduces multi-AP (Multi-AP, M-AP) coordinated transmission operation, in which multiple access points (APs) share resources to enable parallel transmission and more efficiently utilize the resources of these APs. Some coordination schemes involve trigger based (TB) UL PPDU transmission, in which a station (STA) can send a frame addressed to an OBSS AP. For example, Figure 1 The exemplary coordinated beamforming scheme shown may require a sequential sounding process, wherein a station such as the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 140a may need to send respective sounding feedback reports to its associated AP 130 and the OBSS AP 110 .

[0110] Traditionally, an AP applies long-term adaptation to control the transmit power and MCS of each associated STA in a triggered UL transmission using the following scheme. When transmitting, the AP sets the target RSSI and MCS for each non-AP STA requested in the trigger frame. When receiving the EHT / HE TB PPDU from the corresponding non-AP STA, the AP measures the actual value of the RSSI and can read (if the STA reports it) the power headroom value relative to the maximum available power of the current operating point (the maximum power value is different for different MCS). These values ​​allow the AP to adjust the target RSSI and MCS for the next UL transmission of this particular STA. Assuming continuous communication between the AP and a given STA over a specific time period, the AP can iteratively optimize and improve the system efficiency in UL transmission by better adjusting the target RSSI, the allocated RU size, and the MCS selected for the UL MU PPDU (including MU-MIMO). This is achieved by Figure 2 The example shown illustrates that non-AP STA 2 needs to initially fill UL TB PPDU 230a, 230b (compared to UL PPDU 220a, 220b of non-AP STA 1) due to the higher MCS set by the AP for STA 1 in the corresponding trigger frames (TF) 210a to 210c. However, after two iterations, the AP has adjusted the target RSSI value and MCS value of STA 1, and therefore, the filling portion of STA 2 can be eliminated (see UL TB PPDU 220c and 230c).

[0111] As we all know, the STA sets the maximum available transmit power value for each MCS based on the RF conditions. This value depends on the backoff required to achieve the EVM requirement for each MCS (the difference between the absolute maximum transmit power for that MCS and the actual maximum transmit power). In general, the higher the MCS value, the greater the backoff required. Therefore, the maximum transmit power at a higher MCS value will be lower than the maximum transmit power at a lower MCS value. When the AP sets the target RSSI, the STA calculates the required transmit power and derives the difference between the maximum power of the indicated MCS and the transmit power required to achieve the target RSSI. This difference is called the power margin.

[0112] Figure 3An example of different power levels defined for a station is shown, where, as an example, the absolute maximum available transmit power of a STA is 20dBm. When the STA transmits at MCS 4, the STA needs to reduce the maximum power by 10dB (this is the back-off value). In order to achieve a target RSSI of –70dBm at MCS 4, the STA will transmit at 7dBm, which is 3dB lower than the maximum power of MCS 4. Therefore, with a target RSSI of –70dBm, the power headroom value of MCS 4 will be 3dB.

[0113] When a STA sends a UL PPDU to its associated AP, the STA may report the power headroom value of the MCS value specified in the aforementioned TF. Figure 3 In the example shown, the STA can report a power margin value of 3dB for MCS 4. This provides the associated AP with information about the power changes that may occur the next time this STA is triggered. Typically, the STA does not report absolute power, but only reports the margin value relative to the maximum power of the currently used MCS and the specific target RSSI indicated by the AP (in the aforementioned TF). Typically, the power margin value is reported to the associated AP in a single-byte uplink power margin (UPH) control field defined in the 802.11-2020 WLAN standard. Reporting a single margin value relative to the current operating point allows the associated AP to make small changes to the MCS and target RSSI. However, if the STA does not include a data frame, it may not include the UPH control field in the specific ULPPDU. Therefore, this traditional solution is only applicable to long-term communication between a specific STA and its associated AP.

[0114] However, in the above-described coordinated transmission scenario, for example, the shared AP 110 does not communicate with the OBSS sites 140a, 140b frequently. In the case of CoBF, for example, frame exchanges with the OBSS sites 140a, 140b are only completed during the aforementioned sequential probing process. In addition, the same site may not be scheduled for the next coordinated transmission with the same AP, and therefore, any power control information acquired will no longer be relevant. Therefore, each time the AP triggers an OBSS site to send an UL PPDU, it should be considered as the first time the AP triggers the site and has no previous information about the headroom value and expected Rx RSSI on the allocated channel.

[0115] Figure 4 A timing diagram of a coordinated beamforming detection process between an AP, a BSS (i.e., associated) non-AP station, and an OBSS non-AP station is shown, which illustrates the problem solved by the embodiments disclosed herein. Figure 4In the example shown, the AP sends an NDPA 401, a sounding NDP 403, and then a beamforming report poll (BFRP) 405. As can be appreciated, Figure 4 In the example shown, these frames are specific frames that can trigger BSS STA and OBSS STA. Therefore, the AP triggers BSS STA and OBSS STA to send corresponding beamforming reports (BFR) 407, 409 in the same UL PPDU. Although BSS STA can send at a high MCS (because the link parameters of the associated STA are known), the duration of the TB PPDU containing BFR is actually defined by the OBSS STA link parameters, which results in a very long detection process and is very inefficient.

[0116] To solve at least some of the above problems, the embodiments described in more detail below make Figure 1 The shared AP 110 indicated in the figure can be Figure 1 OBSS stations such as OBSS station 140a are shown obtaining power headroom values. According to embodiments described in more detail below, power headroom values ​​for all available MCSs may be obtained. In addition, according to embodiments described in more detail below, one or more power headroom values ​​may always be reported for each AP request (regardless of the reported UPH A control availability).

[0117] The embodiments disclosed herein provide a power control information process or protocol that allows Figure 1 The shared AP 110 or the shared AP 130 shown in FIG. Figure 1 The OBSS station of other shared APs not shown in the figure or one of the stations 120a to 120c associated with the shared AP 110 (for the shared AP 130, the shared AP 110 is an OBSS station) requests the power control information. According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the OBSS station (for example, Figure 1 The OBSS site 120a shown can reply the power control information under all MCSs for the specific target RSSI indicated by the requesting AP in the request. The following describes the embodiment with the OBSS site being one of the sites 120a to 120c associated with the shared AP 110 (for the shared AP 130, the shared AP 110 is the OBSS site). It can be understood that the OBSS site can also be a site associated with other APs in the M-AP set.

[0118] Figure 5A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control information protocol implemented by a sharing AP 110, a shared AP 130, and an exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a according to one embodiment. Figure 5 In the first stage shown, the shared AP 130 is triggered by the shared AP 110 to send a power control information request frame 503 to the exemplary OBSS station 120a. Figure 5 As shown, the sharing AP 110 may request the shared AP 130 to invoke the power control information protocol using a specific M-AP trigger frame 501. In the second stage, a power control information request frame 503 may be sent by the shared AP 130 to the exemplary OBSS station 120a. In the third stage, the exemplary OBSS station 120a may send a power control information report frame 505 to the requesting AP (i.e., the shared AP 130) in response to the request 503. As can be appreciated, although for clarity, only the power control information request frame 503 is shown in FIG. Figure 5 A single OBSS station is shown in FIG. 1 , but according to embodiments disclosed herein, the power control information protocol implemented by the sharing AP and the shared AP may involve multiple OBSS stations associated with different APs.

[0119] More specifically, the shared AP 110 is configured to share at least a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) with at least one shared AP 130 in the M-AP set to participate in coordinated transmission, wherein, as described above, the non-AP station 140a is associated with the shared AP 130. The processing circuit 111 of the shared AP 110 is configured to generate a trigger frame (e.g., Figure 5 In the example embodiment, the communication interface 113 is used to send a trigger frame to the OBSS non-AP site 140a to request the OBSS non-AP site 140a to send a power control report frame 505 back to the shared AP 110. Therefore, the communication interface 113 is also used to receive the power control report frame 505 from the OBSS non-AP site 140a in response to sending the trigger frame. The power control report frame includes power control information corresponding to the OBSS non-AP site 140a, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the OBSS non-AP site 140a through the shared AP 110. In one embodiment, the power control information included in the power control report frame 505 may include a corresponding power headroom value under each of a plurality of modulation and coding schemes (MCS) that the OBSS non-AP site 140a can use.

[0120] As a supplement to the shared AP 110, the shared AP 130 is used to participate in coordinated transmission by utilizing at least a portion of the TXOP shared by the shared APs 110 in the M-AP set. The communication interface 133 of the shared AP 130 is used to receive an M-AP trigger frame (eg, Figure 5 The communication interface 133 is further configured to: in response to receiving the M-AP trigger frame 501 from the shared AP 110, send other trigger frames (specifically, the M-AP trigger frame 501) to the exemplary OBSS non-AP site 120a (the OBSS non-AP site 120a is one of the one or more OBSSAPs under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set) Figure 5 1 ) to request the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a to send a power control report frame 505 to the shared AP 130. As described above, the power control report frame 505 includes power control information corresponding to the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the OBSS non-AP station 120a through the requesting (OBSS) AP (i.e., the shared AP 130) of the OBSS non-AP station 120a. In one embodiment, the power control information included in the power control report frame 505 may include a corresponding power headroom value under each of a plurality of modulation and coding schemes (MCS) that the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a can use.

[0121] As a supplement to the sharing AP 110 and the shared AP 130, the communication interface 143 of the OBSS station 140a is used to receive a trigger frame (specifically, a power control report request frame 503) from the sharing AP 110 or any other shared AP in the same M-AP set except the shared AP 130. The processing circuit 141 is used to generate a power control report frame 505 in response to receiving the trigger frame 503, wherein, as described above, the power control report frame 505 includes power control information associated with the non-AP station 140a. The communication interface 143 of the non-AP station 140a is also used to send the power control report frame 505 to the requesting AP, which may be the sharing AP 110 or any other shared AP in the same M-AP set except the shared AP 130.

[0122] Other embodiments of the sharing AP 110, the shared AP 130, and the exemplary OBSS non-AP site 140a are described in more detail below.

[0123] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the shared AP 110 may request a power control information procedure / protocol through at least two options. According to the first option, the power control information procedure / protocol may be implemented as part of another sequential pre-coordinated transmission procedure, such as a CoBF detection procedure. In this case, the shared AP 110 may use a trigger frame variant that may be designed for a specific coordination procedure and may be in Figure 6 A dedicated indication 601 is added to the triggerdependent common info field of the trigger frame 501 shown. According to the second option, the shared AP 110 may request the power control information procedure / protocol using the dedicated trigger frame 501. In both options, the trigger frame variant 501 may include: an M-AP set identifier, a coordination protocol identifier, a shared AP 130 identifier (i.e., an identifier of the AP 130 requested to send the power control information request frame 503) and / or a list of unique site identifiers within the M-AP set indicating the OBSS sites 120a, 120b, 120c (the requesting AP 130 should request power control information from the OBSS sites 120a, 120b, 120c). As can be appreciated, typically, if the trigger frame variant 501 is initiated by the shared AP 110 for any shared AP to initiate a sequential process of CoBF detection or power control information, the trigger frame variant 501 includes the shared AP identifier.

[0124] As described above, according to the embodiments disclosed herein, the shared AP 110 may be used to request a power control information process / protocol as part of another coordination process / protocol. In the embodiments described below, as an example, the other coordination process / protocol is a CoBF detection process. However, it should be understood that the power control information process / protocol disclosed herein may also be implemented as part of other coordination processes / protocols.

[0125] Figure 7 A timing diagram illustrating various aspects of a power control information protocol implemented by a sharing AP 110, a shared AP 130, and an exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a as part of a coordinated beamforming sounding protocol according to one embodiment. Figure 7As shown, in this case, the shared AP 110 may indicate that a power control information frame is requested within a trigger frame 501 requesting a CoBF detection process (i.e., a CoBF detection trigger frame 501). In response to the trigger frame 501, the shared AP 130 may send an OBSS NDPA 502a, a detection NDP 502b, and an OBSS beamforming report polling frame 503 including a request for power control information from the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a. The power control information may be provided by the exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a as part of a response PPDU (the response PPDU including a BFR frame and a power control report frame) 505. As can be appreciated, in a sequence invoked by the shared AP 130 for an OBSS STA (e.g., the exemplary OBSS STA 120a) according to one embodiment, specific types of NDPA frames and BFRP frames (referred to herein as OBSS NDPA, OBSS BFRP) may be used. The NDPA frame and the BFRP frame may include additional parameters, such as an M-AP set identifier, a coordination protocol identifier, and / or a unique identifier of an OBSS STA within the M-AP set.

[0126] Similar to Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, in one embodiment, the shared AP 130 may indicate in the trigger frame 503 that a power control report poll is requested. Figure 8 As shown, the indication 801 may be provided in a trigger-dependent common information field of a BFRP frame 503. In this case, the BFRP frame 503 may include an M-AP set identifier and a coordination protocol identifier. In one embodiment, the requesting OBSS station 120a aggregates the requested power control report frame with the BFR frame 505 (within a single PPDU).

[0127] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, in order to improve the transmission efficiency of the response PPDU 505 (including the power control report frame) from the OBSS STA 120a, the response PPDU 505 may be sent in several segments or parts 505a, 505b, such as Fig. 9 In one embodiment, the size of each portion 505a, 505b may be indicated by the requesting AP (i.e., the shared AP 130). Fig. 9 As shown, the shared AP 130 may first request a short response PPDU portion 505a including a power control report frame (or portion thereof), and then request a subsequent other response PPDU portion 505b (with other portions of a power control information report frame and / or a BFR frame).

[0128] In one embodiment, the shared AP 130 may be configured to repeatedly request power control information from the same exemplary OBSS site 120a at least once in order to improve power adjustment. In this case, the shared AP 130 may request several response PPDU fragments or parts via a BFRP frame 503a including a request for a power control report frame. According to one embodiment, in order to inform the requesting OBSS site 120a which BFR parts are requested by the current BFRP frame 503a, a bitmap 1001 of N bits may be added to the BFRP frame 503a, wherein each bit of the bitmap indicates a specific response PPDU part 505a, 505b among the N BFR parts (e.g., 8 BFR parts). Fig.10 As shown, the bitmap 1001 may be added to the trigger-dependent common information field of the BFRP frame 503a or 503b.

[0129] As described above, according to the embodiments disclosed herein, the power control information protocol can be implemented as an independent protocol rather than as part of another sequential pre-coordinated transmission process (e.g., the CoBF detection process in the above embodiments). For such an independent implementation, the sharing AP 110 and / or the shared AP 130 can be used to generate and send a trigger frame variant, which is referred to herein as a power control report polling frame 503, such as Fig.11 As shown. In this case, the trigger frame variant may be sent by the sharing AP 110 or the shared AP 130, and the sharing AP 110 uses a dedicated trigger frame 501 (also referred to herein as an M-AP trigger frame 501) to request the shared AP 130 to perform the power control information protocol. In one embodiment, the power control report polling frame 503 may include an M-AP set identifier, a coordination protocol identifier, a list of unique site identifiers within the M-AP set (the list indicates the OBSS sites requested to send the power control report frame 505), and / or transmission parameters of each site (e.g., allocated RU, MCS, NSS, target RSSI).

[0130] As described above, according to the embodiments disclosed herein, after receiving the power control report polling frame 503, the exemplary OBSS station 120a is used to reply with a power control report frame 505 (the power control report frame 505 may include additional information such as an M-AP set identifier, a coordination protocol identifier, and / or the number of spatial streams that the exemplary OBSS station 120a can decode). Fig.12 As shown, the power control report frame 505 may also include uplink headroom control fields 1201-0, ..., 1201-N, which include headroom values ​​of all MCSs from MCS 0 to MCS N (the highest MCS index that the OBSS STA can use).

[0131] Fig.13 Other embodiments are shown, in which the power control report frame 505 may be transmitted in a TB PPDU format, and several OBSS stations transmit in parallel using an OFDMA method or / and a MU-MIMO method.

[0132] Fig.14 is a diagram showing a method for operating a shared AP (eg, Figure 1 1400). The method 1400 includes step 1401: generating an OBSS trigger frame, wherein the OBSS trigger frame is used to poll the power control information from the OBSS non-AP site 140a. In addition, the method 1400 includes step 1403: sending a trigger frame to the OBSS non-AP site 140a (provided that the trigger frame is called by the shared AP 110). The method 1400 also includes step 1405: in response to sending the OBSS trigger frame for polling the power control information, receiving a power control report frame 505 from the OBSS non-AP site 140a, wherein the power control report frame 505 includes the power control information corresponding to the OBSS non-AP site 140a, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the OBSS non-AP site 140a by requesting the AP (i.e., the shared AP 110).

[0133] Fig.15 is a diagram showing a method for operating a shared AP (eg, Figure 1 130 in a shared AP 130) for utilizing a shared AP (eg, Figure 1 The shared AP 110 in the example embodiment participates in coordinated transmission by using at least a portion of a TXOP shared by the shared AP 110, wherein the shared AP 130 receives data from one or more OBSS STAs (e.g., Figure 1The method 1500 includes step 1501: receiving an M-AP trigger frame 501 from the shared AP 110 to invoke a power control information procedure with at least one exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a. In addition, the method 1500 includes step 1503: in response to receiving the M-AP trigger frame 501 from the shared AP 110, sending other OBSS trigger frames (specifically, a power control information request frame 503) to at least one exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a to request the at least one exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a to send a power control report frame 505 to the shared AP 130, wherein the power control report frame includes power control information corresponding to the at least one exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a, and the power control information is used to adjust the transmission power of the at least one exemplary OBSS non-AP station 120a through the shared AP 130.

[0134] Fig.16 is a diagram showing a method for operating a non-AP station (e.g., Figure 1 1. The method 1600 is a flowchart of a method 1600 for an exemplary OBSS site 120a in a non-AP set. The method 1600 includes step 1601: receiving a power control report request frame 503 from a shared AP 110 or an OBSS trigger frame 503 (specifically, a power control report request frame) from a shared AP 130 in an M-AP set. In addition, the method 1600 includes step 1603: in response to receiving the trigger frame 503, generating a power control report frame 505, wherein the power control report frame 505 includes power control information corresponding to the non-AP site 120a. The method 1600 also includes step 1605: sending the power control report frame 505 to a requesting AP, which may be the shared AP 110 or the shared AP 130.

[0135] Embodiments disclosed herein allow the AP to select the best MCS and / or target RSSI for an OBSS site. In addition, the AP can ensure accurate power alignment of the UL MU / MU-MIMO PPDU (e.g., when triggering BSS and OBSS to transmit within the same TB PPDU). The UL PPDU can reduce the transmission overhead of the OBSS site.

[0136] Those skilled in the art will understand that the “boxes” (“units”) of the various figures (methods and devices) represent or describe the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure (and not necessarily separate “units” in hardware or software), and therefore equally describe the functions or features of the device embodiments and the method embodiments (unit equivalent steps).

[0137] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the described embodiments of the device are merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is only a logical function division, which can be another division in the actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be merged or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not performed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be implemented through some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units can be implemented in electronic, mechanical or other forms.

[0138] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one location, or may be distributed over multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0139] Furthermore, the functional units in the embodiments disclosed herein may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of these units may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

Claims

1. A shared access point AP (110), wherein: The shared AP (110) is used to share at least a portion of a transmission opportunity TXOP with at least one shared AP (130) in a multi-AP (M-AP) set to participate in coordinated transmission, wherein at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c) related to the shared AP (130) is associated with the shared AP (110), and at least one OBSS non-AP station (140a and 140b) related to the shared AP (110) is associated with the shared AP (130); the shared AP (110) comprises: A processing circuit (111) for generating a trigger frame; a communication interface (113) for sending the trigger frame to the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b) to trigger a power control report frame (505) from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b), The communication interface (113) is further used to receive the power control report frame (505) from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b), wherein the power control report frame (505) includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b).

2. The shared AP (110) according to claim 1, wherein: The communication interface (113) is used to receive an uplink physical layer protocol data unit PPDU (505) from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b), and the power control information includes a power headroom value under each MCS of a plurality of modulation and coding schemes MCS.

3. A shared AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The trigger frame includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

4. A shared AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The trigger frame includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP (110) and the shared AP (130) operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

5. The shared AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The trigger frame includes information for identifying the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b) within the M-AP set.

6. A shared AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The trigger frame also includes at least an allocated resource unit RU, a target received signal strength indication RSSI and / or a target modulation coding scheme MCS for use by the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b) in an upcoming uplink transmission from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b) to the shared AP (110).

7. A shared AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The trigger frame is a beamforming report polling trigger frame for OBSS non-AP STAs within the M-AP set, and the beamforming report polling trigger frame includes an additional indication for triggering the at least one OBSS non-AP STA (140a, 140b) to send a coordinated beamforming sounding report and a power control information report.

8. A shared AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The communication interface (113) is further used to send an M-AP trigger frame (501) to the shared AP (130) to trigger the shared AP (130) to send other trigger frames (503) to at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to trigger the at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to send the power control report frame (505).

9. The shared AP (110) according to claim 8, wherein: The M-AP trigger frame (501) includes an identifier of the shared AP (130).

10. The shared AP (110) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: The M-AP trigger frame (501) includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

11. The shared AP (110) according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein: The M-AP trigger frame (501) includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP (110) and the shared AP (130) operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

12. The shared AP (110) according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein: The M-AP trigger frame (501) includes an indication for triggering the shared AP (130) to perform the following operations: invoking the power control information process with the at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c), wherein the at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) is associated with an OBSS AP under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set.

13. The shared AP (110) according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein: The communication interface (113) is also used to receive a power control report completion frame from the shared AP (130) to notify the shared AP (110) that the shared AP (130) has received the power control report frame (505) from the at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) and has completed the shared AP (130) stage in the sequential process.

14. The shared AP (110) according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein: The M-AP trigger frame (501) also includes an instruction for triggering the shared AP (130) to perform the following operations: start a sequential detection process and call the power control information process of at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set.

15. The shared AP (110) according to claim 14, wherein: The indication of the M-AP trigger frame (501) for triggering the shared AP (130) to start the sequential detection process includes an indication for triggering the shared AP (130) to perform the following operations: sending a beamforming report poll (503, 503a, 503b) to the at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) associated with the OBSS AP (110) under the same coordination protocol within the M-AP set, wherein the beamforming report poll (503, 503a, 503b) includes an indication for triggering the at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to perform the following operations: providing one or more parts (505a, 505b) of a beamforming report and information of the power control information.

16. The shared AP (110) according to claim 15, wherein: The beamforming report polling (503, 503a, 503b) includes instructions for triggering at least one other OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c) to perform the following operations: sending information of one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have been sent and / or one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent.

17. The shared AP (110) of claim 15, wherein: The information for triggering at least one other OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to send the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have already been sent includes an indication (1010) for identifying the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have already been sent.

18. The shared AP (110) according to claim 16 or 17, wherein: The one or more transmitted beamforming report portions (505a, 505b) include a most recently transmitted beamforming report portion.

19. A method (1400) for operating a shared access point AP (110), wherein: The shared AP (110) is used to share at least a portion of a transmission opportunity TXOP with at least one shared AP (130) in a multi-AP (M-AP) set to participate in coordinated transmission, wherein at least one OBSS non-AP station (140a, 140b) is associated with the shared AP (130); the method (1400) comprises: generating (1401) a trigger frame, the trigger frame being used to poll power control information from the at least one OBSS non-AP station (140a, 140b); Sending (1403) the trigger frame to the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b); A power control report frame (505) is received (1405) from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b), wherein the power control report frame (505) includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (140a, 140b).

20. A shared access point AP (130), wherein: The shared AP (130) is used to utilize at least a portion of the transmission opportunity TXOP shared by the shared AP (110) under the same coordination protocol in the multi-AP (M-AP) set to participate in one or more coordinated transmissions; the shared AP (130) includes: A communication interface (131) is used to receive an M-AP trigger frame (501) from the shared AP (110), wherein: The communication interface (131) is used to: in response to receiving the M-AP trigger frame (501) from the shared AP (110), send a power control information request frame (503) to at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to trigger the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to send a power control report frame (505) to the shared AP (130), wherein the power control report frame (505) includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c).

21. The shared AP (130) according to claim 20, wherein: In response to receiving the power control report frame (505) from the at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c), the communication interface (133) is further configured to send a power control report completion frame to the shared AP (110).

22. The shared AP (130) according to claim 20 or 21, wherein: The power control information request frame (503) includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

23. The shared AP (130) according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein: The power control information request frame (503) includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP (110) and the shared AP (130) operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

24. The shared AP (130) according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein: The power control information request frame (503) includes information for identifying the at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c) within the M-AP set.

25. The shared AP (130) according to any one of claims 20 to 24, wherein: The power control information request frame (503) also includes at least an allocated resource unit RU, a target received signal strength indication RSSI and / or a target modulation and coding scheme MCS for use by the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) in an upcoming uplink transmission from the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to the shared AP (130).

26. The shared AP (130) according to any one of claims 20 to 25, wherein: The power control information includes a power headroom value of the at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c) at each of a plurality of modulation and coding schemes (MCSs).

27. The shared AP (130) according to any one of claims 19 to 26, wherein: The received M-AP trigger frame (501) is an EHT sequential detection trigger frame (501), and the EHT sequential detection trigger frame (501) is used to further trigger the shared AP (130) to call the EHT sequential detection process and call the power control information process with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c).

28. The shared AP (130) according to any one of claims 19 to 27, wherein: The M-AP trigger frame (501) includes an instruction for triggering the shared AP (130) to perform the following operations: invoking the power control information procedure with the at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c).

29. The shared AP (130) according to claim 27, wherein: As part of the EHT sequential sounding process, the communication interface (133) is used to send a beamforming report poll (503, 503a, 503b) to the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c), wherein the beamforming report poll (503, 503a, 503b) includes information for triggering the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to perform the following operations: provide one or more parts (505a, 505b) of the beamforming report and the power control information.

30. The shared AP (130) according to claim 29, wherein: The beamforming report poll (503, 503a, 503b) includes information for triggering the at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c) to perform the following operations: sending one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have been sent and / or one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent.

31. The shared AP (130) according to claim 30, wherein: The information for triggering the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to send the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have already been sent includes an indication (1001) for identifying the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have already been sent.

32. The shared AP (130) according to claim 30 or 31, wherein: The one or more transmitted beamforming report portions (505a, 505b) include a most recently transmitted beamforming report portion.

33. A method (1500) for operating a shared access point AP (130), wherein: The shared AP (130) is used to utilize at least a portion of a transmission opportunity TXOP shared by a shared AP (110) in a multi-AP (M-AP) set to participate in one or more coordinated transmissions; the method (1500) includes: Receiving (1501) an M-AP trigger frame (501) from the shared AP (110) to invoke a power control information process with at least one OBSS non-AP station (120a to 120c); In response to receiving the M-AP trigger frame (501) from the shared AP (110), a power control information request frame (503) is sent (1503) to the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to request the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c) to respond via a power control report frame (505), wherein the power control report frame (505) includes power control information associated with the at least one OBSS non-AP site (120a to 120c).

34. A non-AP station (140a to 140c) associated with an AP (130) in a multi-AP (M-AP) set, wherein: The associated AP (130) is used to utilize at least a portion of the transmission opportunity TXOP shared by the shared AP (110) in the M-AP set to participate in coordinated transmission; the non-AP station (140a to 140c) includes: a communication interface (143) for receiving a power control report request frame (503) from other OBSS shared APs within the M-AP set and operating under the same coordination protocol or a power control report request frame (503) from the shared AP (110); a processing circuit (141) configured to generate a power control report frame (505), wherein the power control report frame (505) includes power control information associated with the non-AP site (140a to 140c), The communication interface (143) is further used to send the power control report frame (505) to the requesting AP (110).

35. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to claim 34, wherein: The power control information includes a power headroom value of the non-AP station (140a to 140c) at each MCS index of a plurality of modulation and coding scheme MCS indexes.

36. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 35, wherein: The power control report frame (505) includes an M-AP set identifier indicating the M-AP set.

37. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 36, wherein: The power control report frame (505) includes a coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set, wherein the coordination protocol identifier identifies one of multiple coordination protocols within the M-AP set, and both the sharing AP (110) and the shared AP (130) operate under the coordination protocol identified by the coordination protocol identifier within the M-AP set.

38. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 37, wherein: The power control request frame (503) includes information for identifying the non-AP stations (140a to 140c) within the M-AP set.

39. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 38, wherein: The power control request frame (503) also includes at least an allocated resource unit RU, a target received signal strength indication RSSI and / or a target modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for use by the non-AP station (140a to 140c) in an upcoming uplink transmission toward the requesting AP (110).

40. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 39, wherein: The power control request frame (503) includes an identifier of the requesting AP (110) within the M-AP set.

41. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 40, wherein: The communication interface (143) is used to send the power control report frame (505) as a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the requesting AP (110) using an OFDMA scheme and / or a MU-MIMO scheme.

42. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 34 to 41, wherein: The power control request is part of a beamforming report poll frame (503) which includes an indication to send the power control information report frame (505).

43. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) of claim 41, wherein: The beamforming report polling frame (503, 503a, 503b) further includes information for triggering the non-AP station (140a to 140c) to perform the following operations: provide one or more parts (505a, 505b) of the beamforming report and the power control information.

44. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) of claim 43, wherein: The beamforming report polling frame (503, 503a, 503b) includes information for triggering the non-AP station (140a to 140c) to perform the following operations: sending one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have been sent and / or one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent.

45. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) of claim 44, wherein: The information for triggering the non-AP site (140a to 140c) to send the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have already been sent includes an indication (1001) for identifying the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have not yet been sent and / or the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) that have already been sent.

46. ​​The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to claim 44 or 45, wherein: The information for triggering the non-AP station (140a to 140c) to send the one or more beamforming report parts (505a, 505b) includes an indication for indicating whether the currently sent beamforming report part (505a, 505b) is the last part to be sent.

47. The non-AP station (140a to 140c) according to any one of claims 44 to 46, wherein: The one or more transmitted beamforming report portions (505a, 505b) include a most recently transmitted beamforming report portion.

48. A method (1600) for operating non-AP stations (140a to 140c) associated with an AP (130) under a specific coordination protocol within a specific multi-AP (M-AP) set, wherein: The associated AP (130) is used to participate in coordinated transmission by utilizing at least a portion of a transmission opportunity TXOP shared by a shared AP (110) in the M-AP set; the method (1600) comprises: Receiving (1601) a power control report request frame (503) from other shared APs in the M-AP set and operating under the same coordination protocol or a power control report request frame (503) from the shared AP (110); generating (1603) a power control report frame (505), wherein the power control report frame (505) includes power control information associated with the non-AP site (140a to 140c); The power control report frame (505) is sent (1605) to the requesting AP (110).

49. A computer program product, wherein: The computer program product comprises a computer-readable storage medium for storing program code, which, when executed by a computer or a processor, causes the computer or the processor to perform the method (1400) according to claim 19, the method (1500) according to claim 33, or the method (1600) according to claim 48.

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