Detailed basic service set load information

Abstract

The invention relates to detailed basic service set load information. The present disclosure relates to a method for providing detailed basic service set load information in a wireless local area network. A wireless device may receive basic service set load information including one or more of overlapping basic service set channel utilization information, intra-basic service set channel utilization information for a basic service set, or load history information for the basic service set. The wireless device may select a basic service set to be associated therewith based at least in part on the load information for the basic service set.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, including techniques and devices for providing detailed basic service set load information in a wireless local area network architecture.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] Wireless communication systems are ubiquitous. In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from voice communications only to also include the transmission of data such as the Internet and multimedia content.

[0004] A mobile electronic device or station (STA) or user equipment device (UE) may take the form of a smartphone or tablet device that a user typically carries. One aspect of wireless communication that may typically be performed by a mobile device may include, for example, wireless networking via a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may include devices that operate according to one or more communication standards in the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. In a wireless local area network, a wireless device may take a certain amount of time to find a suitable wireless network to join. At least in some cases, this may potentially result in performance degradation for traffic where low latency is important. Therefore, improvements are expected in this area. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods are presented herein, particularly for use in devices for providing detailed basic service set load information in a wireless local area network architecture.

[0006] A wireless device may include: one or more antennas; one or more radio components, the one or more radio components can be operatively coupled to the one or more antennas; and a processor, the processor can be operatively coupled to the one or more radio components. The wireless device can be configured to establish a connection with an access point through a wireless local area network (WLAN) over one or more wireless links, or can be an access point configured to establish a connection with one or more other wireless devices through a WLAN over one or more wireless links. The wireless device can operate in each of the multiple wireless links using a corresponding radio component of the one or more radio components.

[0007] The access point wireless device may provide basic service set load information for one or more basic service sets, which may include those basic service sets operated by the access point wireless device and / or those basic service sets operated by other access point wireless devices. The basic service set load information may include information about specific components of channel utilization for a basic service set (such as overlapping basic service set utilization, utilization within the total basic service set) and possibly one or more or even more specific aspects of basic service set utilization. The basic service set load information may additionally or alternatively include load history information for the basic service set, such as specific percentile values ​​for various load aspects over an averaging window from a load history histogram that includes multiple load samples. Other possible information that may be provided in the basic service set load information may include power saving operation information, cooperative basic service set utilization information, and / or transmission opportunity duration distribution information, as well as various other possibilities.

[0008] The basic service set load information may be used by the non-access point wireless device for initial basic service set selection and / or for roaming basic service set selection. Since the load information may include information for multiple basic service sets, it is possible that the overall scan time for access point and link selection performed by the non-access point wireless device may be reduced. Additionally or alternatively, since the load information may include various detailed aspects of current and / or historical channel utilization, it is possible that, at least according to some embodiments, access point and link selection using such basic service set load information may be more accurate with respect to the specific circumstances of the non-access point wireless device.

[0009] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of cellular telephones, tablet computers, accessory and / or wearable computing devices, portable media players, base stations and other network infrastructure equipment, servers, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aerial controllers, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0010] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figure 1An example wireless communication system including a wireless device according to some embodiments is shown;

[0013] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless device according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example network element or access point according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for providing detailed basic service set load information in a wireless local area network according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 5 illustrates example aspects of possible timelines for total delay of data transmission for single-link and multi-link operations according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a possible example AP MLD scanning process according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 7 illustrates example aspects of a possible communication timeline for a channel over which both OBSS traffic and intra-BSS traffic are transmitted according to some embodiments;

[0019] Figure 8 shows one possible BSS load element according to some embodiments;

[0020] Fig. 9 illustrates various possible components of channel utilization for a channel used by a BSS according to some embodiments;

[0021] Fig.10 illustrates a possible communication timeline including various possible intra-BSS transmission modes according to some embodiments;

[0022] Fig.11 illustrates an example timeline in which only the latest BSS load information is provided in a beacon frame according to some embodiments;

[0023] Fig.12 shows an example timeline according to some embodiments, where load history information is provided in a beacon frame in addition to latest BSS load information;

[0024] Figures 13 to 16 shows example details of possible UHR payload elements and various possible fields of such UHR payload elements according to some embodiments;

[0025] Fig.17illustrates aspects of one example of possible UHR AP beacon content including capability information signaling according to some embodiments;

[0026] Fig.18 illustrates aspects of a possible example set of UHR AP load characteristics for links of AP MLD according to some embodiments, and examples of potential corresponding UHR STA operation profiles for those links;

[0027] Fig.19 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another possible example AP MLD scanning process according to some embodiments, in which more detailed UHR load information may be provided;

[0028] Fig. 20 illustrates possible components of AP time usage corresponding to channels used by a BSS for an example scenario in which the AP operates in a power saving state for a portion of the time according to some embodiments;

[0029] Figure 21 to Figure 23 An example scenario with AP power conservation according to some embodiments is shown;

[0030] Fig.24 Example aspects of a coordinated time division multiple access scheme for sharing use of a channel among multiple APs according to some embodiments are shown;

[0031] Fig.25 illustrates possible components of AP time usage including cooperative BSS channel utilization among other components of AP time usage according to some embodiments;

[0032] Fig.26 is a table illustrating aspects of an example intra-BSS load field including an indication of cooperating BSS utilization according to some embodiments;

[0033] Fig. 27 illustrates example aspects of scenarios in which "normal" preamble detection occurs and in which OBSS preamble detection is missed due to overlap with AP transmissions, according to some embodiments;

[0034] Fig.28 shows an example timeline portion for two different BSSs having the same channel utilization but different TXOP duration distributions according to some embodiments;

[0035] Fig.29 The line graph shows the Fig.28 different distributions of TXOP durations for example BSSs of

[0036] Fig.30Example aspects of possible TXOP duration distribution elements according to some embodiments are shown.

[0037] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] the term

[0039] The following are definitions of terms used in this disclosure:

[0040] Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include any computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations (e.g., in different computer systems connected by a network). The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0041] Carrier Media—Memory media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0042] Computer System—Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a server-based computer system, a wearable computer, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a smart phone, a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0043] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone-based TM 、Android TMphones), portable gaming devices, laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of these devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0044] Wireless device or station (STA) - Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. The terms "station" and "STA" are used similarly. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0045] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0046] Base Station or Access Point (AP)—The term “base station” (also referred to as “eNB” or “gNB”) has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless communication system. The term “access point” (or “AP”) is often associated with Wi-Fi-based communications and is used similarly.

[0047] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device (e.g., a communications device or network infrastructure device). Processors may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, programmable hardware devices such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and / or a larger portion of a system including multiple processors, as well as any of the various combinations of the above elements.

[0048] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0049] IEEE 802.11—refers to technologies based on IEEE 802.11 wireless standards, such as 802.11a, 802.11.b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11-2012, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.11be, and / or other IEEE 802.11 standards. IEEE 802.11 technologies may also be referred to as “Wi-Fi” or “wireless local area network (WLAN)” technologies.

[0050] Configured to—Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a collection of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad statement that generally means “having a structure” that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, the component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, circuitry that forms a structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuitry.

[0051] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke the interpretation of the sixth paragraph of Section 112 of Title 35 of the United States Code on that component.

[0052] Figure 1 to Figure 2 —Wireless communication system

[0053] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system is illustrated. It should be noted that Figure 1 represents one possibility among many, and the features of the present disclosure may be implemented by any of a variety of systems as desired. For example, the embodiments described herein may be implemented in any type of wireless device. The wireless embodiment described below is an example embodiment.

[0054] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes an access point (AP) 102 that communicates with one or more wireless devices 106A, 106B, etc. over a transmission medium. Wireless devices 106A and 106B may be user devices such as stations (STAs), non-AP STAs, or WLAN devices.

[0055] STA 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer or tablet computer, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an unmanned flight controller (UAC), a car, or virtually any type of wireless device. STA 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. STA 106 may perform any method implementation in the method implementation described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, STA 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of a variety of other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any method implementation in the method implementation described herein or any part of any method implementation in the method implementation described herein.

[0056] AP 102 may be a standalone AP or an enterprise AP and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with STA devices 106A and 106B. AP 102 may also be equipped to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a WLAN, an enterprise network, and / or another communication network connected to the Internet, among various possible networks). Thus, AP 102 may facilitate communication between STA devices 106 and / or communication between STA devices 106 and network 100. In other embodiments, the AP 102 may be configured to provide communications via one or more wireless technologies, such as any, any combination, or all of 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.11be, and / or other 802.11 versions, or cellular protocols such as 5G or LTE, including in unlicensed bands (e.g., LAA, NR-U).

[0057] The communication area (or coverage area) of the AP 102 may be referred to as a basic service area (BSA) or a cell. The AP 102 and the STA 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) or wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G NR, Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc.

[0058] Thus, AP 102 and other similar access points (not shown) operating according to one or more wireless communication technologies can be arranged as a network that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to STA devices 106A-106B and similar devices in a geographic area, for example, via one or more communication technologies. A STA can roam directly from one AP to another, or can transition between APs and cellular network cells.

[0059] Note that, at least in some cases, the STA device 106 may be capable of communicating using any of a variety of wireless communication technologies. For example, the STA device 106 may be configured to communicate using one or more of Wi-Fi, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, Bluetooth, UWB, one or more satellite systems, etc. Other combinations of wireless communication technologies (including more than two wireless communication technologies) are also possible. Likewise, in some cases, the STA device 106 may be configured to communicate using only a single wireless communication technology.

[0060] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system may also include an access point (AP) 104 that communicates with a wireless device 106B via a transmission medium. AP 104 also provides a communication connection to network 100. Therefore, according to some embodiments, a wireless device may be able to connect to one or both of AP 102 (or a cellular base station) and access point 104 (or another access point) to access network 100. For example, a STA may roam from AP 102 to AP 104 based on one or more factors such as coverage, interference, and capabilities. Note that AP 104 may also allow access to a network different from the network that AP 102 allows access to (e.g., an enterprise Wi-Fi network, a home Wi-Fi network, etc.).

[0061] STA 106A and STA 106B may include handheld devices such as smart phones or tablet devices, wearable devices such as smart watches or smart glasses, and / or may include any of various types of devices with cellular communication capabilities. For example, one or more of STA 106A and / or STA 106B may be wireless devices intended for fixed or nomadic deployment, such as home appliances, measurement devices, control devices, etc.

[0062] STA 106B may also be configured to communicate with STA 106A. For example, STA 106A and STA 106B may be able to perform direct device-to-device (D2D) communication. In some embodiments, such direct communication between STAs may also be referred to as or alternatively referred to as peer-to-peer (P2P) communication. Direct communication may be supported by AP 102 (e.g., AP 102 may facilitate discovery, as well as various possible forms of assistance), or may be performed in a manner not supported by AP 102. According to various embodiments, such P2P communication may be performed using any of 3GPP-based D2D communication technology, Wi-Fi-based P2P communication technology, UWB, BT, and / or various other direct communication technologies.

[0063] STA 106 may include one or more devices or integrated circuits for facilitating wireless communication, which potentially include a Wi-Fi modem, a cellular modem, and / or one or more other wireless modems. The wireless modem may include one or more processors (processor elements) and various hardware components as described herein. STA 106 may perform any method implementation (or any part thereof) in the method implementation described herein by executing instructions on one or more programmable processors. For example, STA may be configured to perform a technique for providing and / or receiving detailed basic service set information in a wireless communication system, such as according to various implementations described herein. Alternatively or in addition, one or more processors may be one or more programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or other circuits configured to perform any method implementation in the method implementation described herein or any part of any method implementation in the method implementation described herein. The wireless modem described herein may be used for a STA device as defined herein, a wireless device as defined herein, or a communication device as defined herein. The wireless modem described herein may also be used for an AP, a base station, a micro cell, a femto cell, or other similar network side devices.

[0064] STA 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using two or more wireless communication protocols or radio access technologies. In some embodiments, STA 106 may be configured to communicate using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Alternatively, STA 106 may include two or more radio components, each of which may be configured to communicate via a corresponding wireless link. Other configurations are also possible.

[0065] Figure 2 – Example block diagram of a STA device

[0066] Figure 2 One possible block diagram of a STA device such as STA device 106 is shown. In some cases, STA 106 may alternatively be referred to as UE 106. STA 106 may also be referred to as non-AP STA 106. As shown, STA 106 may include a system on a chip (SOC) 300, which may include one or more parts configured for various purposes. Some or all of the various illustrated components (and / or other device components not illustrated, for example, in variants and alternative arrangements) may be "communicatively coupled" or "operably coupled", which terms may be used herein to refer to components that can communicate directly or indirectly when the device is in operation.

[0067] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a display circuit 304 and one or more processors 302, the display circuit may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360, and the processor may execute program instructions for the STA 106. The SOC 300 may also include a motion sensing circuit 370, which may detect the motion of the STA 106, for example, using any of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or various other motion sensing components. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert these addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 306 and a read-only memory (ROM) 350, a flash memory 310). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0068] As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the STA 106. For example, the STA 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, UWB, etc.).

[0069] STA 106 may include at least one antenna and in some embodiments may include multiple antennas 335a and 335b for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. For example, STA 106 may use antennas 335a and 335b to perform wireless communications. As described above, STA 106 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards or radio access technologies (RATs) in some embodiments.

[0070] The wireless communication circuit 330 may include a Wi-Fi modem 332, a cellular modem 334, and a Bluetooth modem 336. The Wi-Fi modem 332 is used to enable the STA 106 to perform Wi-Fi or other WLAN communications, for example, on an 802.11 network. The Bluetooth modem 336 is used to enable the STA 106 to perform Bluetooth communications. The cellular modem 334 may be a cellular modem capable of performing cellular communications according to one or more cellular communication technologies, for example, according to one or more 3GPP specifications.

[0071] As described herein, the STA 106 may include hardware components and software components for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, one or more components of the wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., Wi-Fi modem 332, cellular modem 334, BT modem 336) of the STA 106 may be configured to implement a portion or all of the methods described herein for providing detailed basic service set load information, such as by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), a processor configured as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), and / or a processor using dedicated hardware components that may include an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

[0072] Figure 3 – Block diagram of an access point

[0073] Figure 3 An example block diagram of an access point (AP) 104 according to some embodiments is shown. In some cases (e.g., in the context of 802.11 communications), the AP 104 may also be referred to as a station (STA), and may be more specifically referred to as an AP STA. Note that Figure 3 The AP of is only one example of a possible access point. As shown, the AP 104 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the AP 104. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0074] AP 104 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as STA device 106.

[0075] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0076] The AP 104 may include one or more radio components 430A-430N and at least one antenna 434 (and may include multiple antennas), each of which may be coupled to a corresponding communication chain. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antennas 434A-N communicate with their corresponding radio components 430A-N via communication chains 432A-N. The communication chain 432 may be a receiving chain, a transmitting chain, or both. The radio components 430A-N may be configured to communicate according to various wireless communication standards (including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, UWB, Wi-Fi, BT, etc.). The AP 104 may be configured to operate on multiple wireless links using one or more radio components 430A-N, each of which is used to operate on a corresponding wireless link.

[0077] AP 104 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, AP 104 may include multiple radio components that enable network entities to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, AP 104 may include a 4G or 5G radio component for performing communications according to 3GPP wireless communication technology, and a Wi-Fi radio component for performing communications according to Wi-Fi. In this case, AP 104 may be able to operate as both a cellular base station and a Wi-Fi access point. As another possibility, AP 104 may include a multimode radio component that can perform communications according to any of a variety of wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, 5G NR and LTE, etc.). As another possibility, AP 104 may be configured to be used exclusively as a Wi-Fi access point, for example, without cellular communication capabilities.

[0078] As further described herein, the AP 104 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the features described herein, such as providing detailed basic service set load information. The processor 404 of the AP 104 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium) to operate multiple wireless links using multiple corresponding radio components. Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the AP 104 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the features described herein.

[0079] Figure 4 -flow chart

[0080] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supporting fast multi-link scanning in a WLAN setting according to some embodiments. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method illustrated may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that illustrated, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired.

[0081] Figure 4 Aspects of the method may be performed by a wireless device (such as, Figures 1 to 3 The method may be implemented by the AP 104 or STA 106 shown and described in relation to these figures, or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures, etc., as desired. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the method elements shown and / or other method elements.

[0082] Note that although the present invention is described in a manner that relates to the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with IEEE 802.11 specification documents, Figure 4 but this description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and Figure 4 The various aspects of the method can be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0083] An access point (AP) wireless device may provide one or more basic service sets (BSS). In some embodiments, an AP wireless device may be an AP multi-link device (MLD), which may be capable of providing a BSS on each of multiple links, such as a 2.4 GHz link, a 5 GHz link, and / or a 6 GHz link. An AP wireless device may operate in an independent manner or may be attached to one or more other devices (e.g., as part of a larger network). For example, in some embodiments, an AP wireless device may be a member of a multiple access point (MAP) system, which may include multiple AP wireless devices.

[0084] An AP wireless device may be able to establish a wireless association with one or more non-AP (or "STA") wireless devices. According to various embodiments, such wireless associations may be established using any of Wi-Fi, wireless communication technologies based at least in part on Wi-Fi, and / or various other wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, an access point (AP) wireless device may provide (e.g., broadcast) a beacon transmission that includes information for associating with an AP wireless device, and one or more other wireless devices (e.g., non-AP wireless devices) may request to associate with the AP wireless device using the information provided in the beacon transmission. In some cases, it may also be possible for a non-AP wireless device to obtain AP parameters and / or other system information for an AP wireless device using (e.g., unicast) probe requests and probe responses. Variants and / or other techniques for establishing associations are also possible.

[0085] According to at least some embodiments, the AP wireless device may provide wireless LAN functionality to associated wireless devices. As part of the wireless LAN functionality, the wireless devices may contend for medium access and may perform wireless transmissions on one or more wireless communication channels (each of which may include multiple subchannels) according to general provisions of the wireless communication technology used by the wireless LAN (e.g., as one possibility, Wi-Fi) and / or network-specific parameters configured by the AP wireless device.

[0086] For example, at least according to some embodiments, performing downlink data transmission from an AP wireless device to a non-AP wireless device in such a wireless local area network may include competing for medium access (e.g., to avoid collisions and potential interference), and once medium access is obtained, transmitting a physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) (which may also be referred to as a downlink frame) to the destination wireless device. The downlink frame may include physical layer signaling (e.g., including: a preamble for frame detection, timing and frequency synchronization, channel estimation, etc., and header information indicating packet configuration, format, data rate, channel occupancy time, and / or other control information) and data (which may in turn include one or more higher layer packets, such as a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU)). It should be noted that in such a wireless local area network, other types of transmissions (e.g., including triggered uplink frames, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) uplink frames, transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, etc.) are also possible.

[0087] Prior to or during an existing association with a non-AP wireless device, the AP wireless device may provide BSS load information to the non-AP wireless device. For example, such information may be provided in a broadcast (e.g., beacon) frame, in a probe response frame (e.g., in response to a probe request frame), or in a BSS transition management (BTM) request frame (e.g., in response to a BTM query frame), among various possibilities. The BSS load information may be used to help the non-AP wireless device select one or more BSSs to initially associate with it, and / or to perform mobility management (e.g., to determine whether to perform a handover from a currently associated BSS to one or more different BSSs).

[0088] In some embodiments, the BSS load information may include information related to the BSS used to provide the BSS load information. Additionally or alternatively, it is possible that the BSS load information includes information related to one or more other BSSs, such as those provided by the same AP wireless device on different links (e.g., as one possibility, an AP MLD having a 2.4 GHz link BSS, a 5 GHz link BSS, and a 6 GHz link BSS may provide complete load information for all of those links on each of those links), or even potentially information for one or more BSSs provided by one or more other AP wireless devices (e.g., as one possibility, other AP wireless devices in the same MAP system). Providing BSS load information for multiple BSSs may reduce the time (e.g., scanning time) required to identify suitable APs and links for non-AP wireless devices to associate with them, for example because it may reduce the need to receive such information separately from each of multiple potential BSSs, particularly where such BSSs may be operated by the same AP (e.g., by an AP multi-link device providing BSSs on multiple links).

[0089] In some embodiments, the BSS load information may include overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information for at least one BSS and possibly for multiple BSSs (e.g., those BSSs operated by the same AP wireless device and / or one or more other AP wireless devices, as previously described herein). According to at least some embodiments, the OBSS channel utilization information for a given BSS may indicate the percentage of time during a measurement period that a channel (e.g., a primary channel) of the BSS was occupied by OBSS traffic (e.g., traffic associated with a different BSS).

[0090] In some embodiments, the BSS load information may include intra-BSS channel utilization information for at least one BSS and possibly for multiple BSSs (e.g., those BSSs operated by the same AP wireless device and / or one or more other AP wireless devices, as previously described herein). According to at least some embodiments, the intra-BSS channel utilization information for a given BSS may indicate the percentage of time that a channel (e.g., a primary channel) of the BSS was occupied by intra-BSS traffic (e.g., traffic associated with the BSS) during a measurement period. In some embodiments, the total intra-BSS channel utilization (e.g., the intra-BSS channel utilization including all components) may be indicated; additionally or alternatively, various components of the intra-BSS channel utilization may be discretely indicated. These may include intra-BSS triggered utilization (e.g., the percentage of time during the measurement period that the channel is used for triggered frames and triggered-based uplink frames), intra-BSS uplink EDCA utilization (e.g., the percentage of time during the measurement period that the channel is used for uplink EDCA frames), intra-BSS downlink utilization (e.g., the percentage of time during the measurement period that the channel is used for downlink frames), intra-BSS TXOP sharing P2P utilization (e.g., the percentage of time during the measurement period that the channel is used for P2P frames using a TXOP shared by AP wireless devices), etc. Note that in some cases, some of these components may be combined; as one such example, it is possible that, if desired, intra-BSS TXOP sharing P2P utilization is included as part of intra-BSS triggered utilization rather than being indicated separately.

[0091] It is possible that the BSS load information may additionally or alternatively include clear channel assessment (CCA) busy utilization for at least one BSS and possibly for multiple BSSs (e.g., those BSSs operated by the same AP wireless device and / or one or more other AP wireless devices, as previously described herein). According to at least some embodiments, the CCA busy utilization information for a given BSS may indicate the percentage of time during a measurement period that a channel (e.g., a primary channel) of the BSS was considered busy for unknown reasons (e.g., due to high energy detection). It is noted that in some cases, such information may be inferred and calculated by non-AP wireless devices, for example based on total channel utilization, OBSS channel utilization, and intra-BSS channel utilization, so that in preferred cases it is not necessary to explicitly include such information in the BSS load information.

[0092] In some embodiments, the BSS load information may include load history information for at least one BSS and possibly for multiple BSSs (e.g., those BSSs operated by the same AP wireless device and / or one or more other AP wireless devices, as previously described herein). The BSS load history information may include or be based on one or more histograms that include information from multiple BSS load samples (e.g., from one or more previous BSS load measurements and possibly also the current BSS load). For example, the AP wireless device may store / maintain such BSS load history information to enable construction of such histograms, or may store / maintain such BSS load history information directly in one or more histograms that may be used to provide the BSS load history information.

[0093] The BSS load history information may include one or more percentile values ​​over an average window for one or more aspects of the load of the BSS. For example, low (e.g., as one possibility, 10%), medium (e.g., as one possibility, 50%), and high (e.g., as one possibility, 95%) percentile values ​​over an average window may be indicated for each of the aspects of the BSS load for which the BSS load history information is provided. Note that other (e.g., additional or alternative) percentile values ​​are also possible. In some embodiments, the BSS load history may include such information for intra-BSS load (e.g., for total intra-BSS utilization and / or for each of the various components of intra-BSS utilization) and / or OBSS load. Additionally or alternatively, the BSS load history may include such information for one or more legacy BSS load element fields (e.g., STA count, channel load, licensed capacity), extended BSS load element fields (e.g., HE STA count, utilization, frequency underutilization, spatial stream underutilization), one or more high-efficiency (HE) BSS load element fields (e.g., MU-MIMO capable STA count, spatial stream underutilization, observed auxiliary 20 MHz utilization, observed auxiliary 40 MHz utilization, observed auxiliary 80 MHz utilization). According to at least some embodiments, the load history information may also include an indication of the number of BSS load samples included in the load history information and / or the duration of an averaging window for the load history information.

[0094] In some cases, an AP radio operating a BSS may also spend some time in a power saving (or "doze") state. For example, the AP radio may be a mobile AP with limited power availability (e.g., from battery reserves), or may temporarily disable or have its AP functionality unavailable due to coexistence and / or other considerations. During such times, the AP may not perform channel utilization measurements. For such scenarios, it may be beneficial to support providing AP power saving operation information as part of the BSS load information. Such information may be provided in a doze state field of the BSS load information, which may signal the percentage of time during the measurement period that the AP was unavailable on the channel.

[0095] Some wireless communication systems may potentially utilize a cooperative transmission scheme, for example, where multiple APs operate on the same channel with at least some degree of coordination. For example, in some embodiments, cooperative BSS utilization may include sharing transmission opportunities with a cooperating OBSS. Such cooperative BSS utilization may be included as part of OBSS utilization, or as part of intra-BSS utilization, although this type of channel utilization may have different characteristics than OBSS or intra-BSS channel utilization, at least in some embodiments. As another possibility, cooperative BSS utilization may be reported as its own channel utilization type. For example, it is possible to include a cooperative BSS utilization field as part of the intra-BSS load field of BSS load information.

[0096] Another type of information that may be included in the BSS load information is the transmission opportunity (TXOP) duration distribution information. In some cases, different systems with different TXOP duration distributions may have the same channel utilization profile, but due to different TXOP duration distributions, these systems may provide different performance for different use cases. For example, at least in some embodiments, in all other equal cases, a system with a shorter TXOP duration may provide better performance for STA devices with low latency services, for example because a shorter TXOP duration may potentially mean an average shorter channel access delay. Therefore, in some embodiments, the BSS load information may include TXOP duration distribution information. In some cases, this may include an indication of the density of TXOP durations between each of a plurality of duration time intervals. Other formats are also possible. This information may be provided for any of a variety of measurement periods, such as various possibilities including recent load history samples (e.g., the last average period, which may be a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) interval) and / or multiple recent load history samples (e.g., in a BSS load histogram).

[0097] As previously noted herein, BSS load information may be provided by the AP wireless device in any of a variety of ways. One such possibility may include providing the BSS load information in one or more broadcast management frames. The broadcast management frames may include one or more beacon frames (e.g., delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) beacons and / or potentially separate ultra-high reliability (UHR) beacon frames, as various possibilities). In some embodiments, it may be possible to provide different amounts of BSS load information in different broadcast frames. For example, some beacons may include a "short" UHR BSS load element, which may include BSS load information for the BSS in which the beacon is being transmitted (e.g., potentially including any or all of OBSS utilization information, intra-BSS utilization information, and / or load history information), while other beacons may include a "long" UHR BSS load element, which may include BSS load information for both the BSS in which the beacon is being transmitted and any other BSS operated by the same AP wireless device (e.g., on other links) (e.g., potentially including any or all of OBSS utilization information, intra-BSS utilization information, and / or load history information).

[0098] Another such possibility may include providing BSS load information in a probe response frame. For example, a non-associated non-AP wireless device may send a probe request frame to an AP wireless device via a BSS to request BSS load information for the BSS and / or one or more other BSSs, and the AP wireless device may send a probe response frame including the requested information to the non-AP wireless device. In such a scenario, it is possible for the non-AP wireless device to request specific parameters for the BSS load information, such as the level of detail of the requested BSS load history information, the averaging window and / or number of BSS load samples for the requested BSS load history information, for which BSS or BSSs the BSS load information is requested, and / or any of various other parameters for the BSS load information request. Alternatively, it is possible that the probe request format supports only limited or no specific parameter requests for BSS load information. Note that in some embodiments, the probe request / response frame exchange may be used by a non-AP wireless device when in a non-associated state and may be an unencrypted frame exchange.

[0099] Yet another possibility may include providing BSS load information in a BTM request frame. For example, an associated non-AP wireless device may send a BTM query frame to an AP wireless device via a BSS to request BSS load information for the BSS and / or one or more other BSSs, and the AP wireless device may send a BTM request frame including the requested information to the non-AP wireless device. As in the scenario described previously, it is possible for the non-AP wireless device to request specific parameters for BSS load information, such as the level of detail of the requested BSS load history information, the number of averaging windows and / or BSS load samples for the requested BSS load history information, for which BSS or BSSs the BSS load information is requested, and / or any of the various other parameters for the BSS load information request. Alternatively, it is possible that the BTM query format supports only limited or no specific parameter requests for BSS load information. Note that in some embodiments, the BTM query / request frame exchange may be used by the non-AP wireless device when in an associated state, and may be an encrypted frame exchange.

[0100] The non-AP wireless device may select a BSS to associate with based at least in part on the BSS load information (454). As one possibility, this may include an initial BSS selection (e.g., based on BSS load information provided by the AP wireless device in a broadcast management frame and / or a probe response frame when the non-AP wireless device is in a non-associated state). As another possibility, this may include a BSS selection for transition or handover (e.g., based on BSS load information provided by the AP wireless device in a broadcast management frame, a probe response frame, and / or a BTM request frame when the non-AP wireless device is already in an associated state with the BSS).

[0101] The selection may be based on one or more of OBSS utilization, intra-BSS utilization, and / or BSS load history information included in the BSS load information. In some cases, the selection may also be based at least in part on the type of traffic and / or channel access mechanism supported and / or used by the non-AP wireless device. For example, the selection may be based on whether the non-AP wireless device has low latency traffic (e.g., traffic with a delay bound), whether the non-AP wireless device has best effort and / or background traffic, whether the non-AP wireless device uses a triggered uplink for channel access, whether the non-AP wireless device uses an EDCA uplink for channel access, and / or any of a variety of other considerations. At least in some cases, such considerations, together with the BSS load information provided by the AP wireless device, may result in the non-AP wireless device being able to select one or more links that are expected to provide better performance for a particular situation of the non-AP wireless device. For example, for low latency traffic, OBSS utilization and CCA busyness may be relatively important metrics (e.g., in some cases, lower OBSS utilization and CCA busyness may be preferred for low latency traffic), while for best effort and / or background traffic, total channel idle time may be a more important metric than the breakdown of specific components of total channel utilization. Other relationships between specific scenarios of non-AP wireless devices and various components of BSS load information are also possible. Similarly, load history information may provide a more accurate long-term overview of various aspects of channel utilization, which may, for example, help non-AP wireless devices determine how likely current values ​​of total channel utilization, CCA busyness, OBSS utilization, intra-BSS utilization, etc. are to represent corresponding future values.

[0102] Therefore, according to Figure 4 According to at least some embodiments of the method, it is possible for an AP wireless device to provide a detailed breakdown of channel utilization components for a network provided by the AP wireless device, which can assist non-AP wireless devices in more quickly and efficiently selecting an AP to associate with, a multi-link operating mode and / or a link to operate, among other possible benefits.

[0103] Figures 5 to 30 and additional information

[0104] Figures 5 to 30 Shown can be combined if necessary Figure 4 However, it should be noted that Figures 5 to 30 The exemplary details shown and described with respect to these drawings are not intended to limit the present disclosure as a whole: many variations and alternatives to the details provided herein below are possible and should be considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0105] A STA may typically need to scan for available APs and AP MLDs to associate with an AP or AP MLD for the first time. Scanning may also be required when a STA switches to operate in a different network (e.g., from a home network to an operator network as one possibility). Scanning for available networks may typically be performed in the background during STA operation. It may be the case that a network only advertises available APs in its network, such that no cross-network scanning assistance is provided, for example.

[0106] Figure 5 Example aspects of possible timelines for total latency of data transmission for single link and multi-link operations according to some embodiments are shown. As shown, for fast initial link setup (FILS), a scan may be performed to discover an AP to associate with, then an association may be performed to establish a link with the one AP, after which a data transfer may be performed to send data with the AP. For fast initial multi-link setup (FMLS), a scan may be performed to discover an AP MLD (e.g., providing multiple links), then an association may be performed to establish a link with the AP MLD, after which a data transfer may be performed (e.g., potentially on multiple links) to send data with the AP MLD. This may include sending low latency data signaled in a flow classification service setup with the AP MLD.

[0107] Figure 6is a signal flow diagram illustrating a possible example AP MLD scanning process according to some embodiments. A non-AP STA may actively or passively scan available APs and AP MLDs to try to find a suitable AP or AP MLD to associate with. In order to associate with an AP / AP MLD, at least according to some embodiments, the STA may require at least a network service set identifier (SSID) and a security mode, AP MLD capabilities (e.g., Wi-Fi 7 MLD, Wi-Fi 8 AP MD, low latency, etc.), and the throughput and quality of service (QoS) achievable on the AP. In the illustrated scenario, the STA may first scan on the 2.4 GHz band because the 2.4 GHz band may have only 3 non-overlapping channels and 2.4 GHz APs may generally have good coverage. During the scan, the STA may attempt to receive beacons and probe responses; these frames may contain a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element that may identify other (affiliated) APs on other bands and their operating channels. Thus, as shown, STA 602 may send a probe request (606) to AP1 of APMLD 604 (e.g., operating on 2.4 GHz), and may receive a probe response (608) including response AP parameters and RNR. STA 602 may also or alternatively receive beacon information (610) from AP1, which may include integrity protection, response AP parameters, and RNR. Using the information in the RNR, the STA may send a probe request (612) to AP2 of AP MLD 604, and may receive a probe response (614) including response AP parameters. Similarly, the STA may send a probe request (616) to AP3 of AP MLD 604, and may receive a probe response (618) including response AP parameters.

[0108] Current Wi-Fi developments (e.g., including Wi-Fi 8) may focus on ultra-high reliability (UHR). Roaming, AP discovery, and AP selection may be key to reliable QoS performance. It may be the case that overlapping basic station set (OBSS) transmissions occurring on a channel cannot be controlled and add random delays to base station set (BSS) transmissions, for example, because the BSS may not be able to use the transmission time and resources allocated by the OBSS. This may be detrimental to high reliability and / or low latency transmissions. Figure 7Example aspects of possible communication timelines for a channel over which both OBSS traffic and intra-BSS traffic are transmitted are shown according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, EDCA transmissions may also cause transmission conflicts and random delays. EDCA UL TXOP acquisition may cause conflicts on the link. The BSS may need to have free resources for EDCA transmissions, which may cause random (non-network controlled) OBSS / BSS transmissions on the link. A non-AP MLD may select an AP or an AP MLD for association, and therefore information about how suitable a link is for low latency transmissions may be useful for such selection. Therefore, it may be beneficial for the AP to provide relevant information for OBSS transmissions and EDCA transmissions in the link, at least according to some embodiments.

[0109] Currently, the BSS load element signals the primary channel utilization, or the percentage of time that the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) is busy or the Network Allocation Vector (NAV) is set, and the number of associated STAs in the AP. Figure 8 One such possible BSS load element is shown according to some embodiments. However, channel utilization may include a variety of different component aspects. Fig. 9 Various such possible components of channel utilization for channels used by a BSS according to some embodiments are shown. At least in some cases, it may be useful to provide BSS load information that includes more information about OBSS channel utilization and / or intra-BSS channel utilization. According to some embodiments, intra-BSS channel utilization may signal the percentage of time that the AP has received UL transmissions, transmitted DL frames, or TXOP shared P2P transmissions. OBSS channel utilization may signal the percentage of time that the AP has detected OBSS transmissions in the primary channel. In some cases, the remainder from the BSS load minus the OBSS load minus the intra-BSS load may form a percentage of CCA busy (e.g., including transmission conflicts or interference seen in the channel). The AP may perform ongoing measurements of the BSS load and may transmit BSS load information in beacon frames and probe responses.

[0110] In at least some embodiments, the STA may also measure the BSS load in active mode. In such cases, the STA may compare internally measured statistics with statistics received from the AP. For example, such comparison may be used to determine whether the STA's operating environment is the same as the AP's operating environment and / or whether the STA or AP is affected by a hidden STA. In at least some embodiments, the STA may consider both internally measured BSS load information and received BSS load information when deciding whether to roam.

[0111] Note that in some cases, it may be the case that the AP cannot measure the BSS load all the time. For example, the AP may operate in a power saving mode to reduce power consumption, so that the AP may not always be available for STA transmissions. The AP may use such a power saving mode in order to reduce operating costs, or because the AP is battery powered, which has a correspondingly increased importance for reducing power consumption, among various possibilities. Alternatively or additionally, the AP device may be a mobile AP that temporarily shares Internet access, such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. In such a scenario, the AP device may operate multiple radio components and some radio components may prevent BSS load measurement, or the AP may share its WLAN operating time with devices operating in different links, which may prevent continuous BSS load measurement.

[0112] Thus, in some cases, the BSS load information may include a measurement percentage field that may indicate the percentage of time that the AP has ongoing BSS load measurements. The maximum possible value for this field may be configured to indicate that the AP is always performing such measurements. If the measurement percentage field indicates a lower value, the provided BSS load statistics may potentially be understood by the receiving STA as having a reduced level of accuracy, for example because the AP may not be available for measurement during a certain portion of time. AP unavailability may also result in situations where some transmissions may not be detected, for example, because the AP cannot synchronize and receive transmissions during the preamble transmission. In at least some scenarios, this may increase the CCA busy time or the time that the AP considers the channel idle.

[0113] The STA may be able to determine the AP availability times from the power saving information shared by the AP. For example, the AP may be available during beacon transmission times and / or the AP may wake up periodically to transmit and receive transmissions. It may be the case that a low latency real-time application requires periodic operation from the AP. In at least some embodiments, if the STA plans to operate during the AP availability times, the BSS load information may provide a sufficiently accurate and meaningful load estimate.

[0114] In some cases, a STA may be able to estimate how aggressively an AP is operating in a power save mode. For example, if an AP has very little idle time, the AP may only be available for a minimum time to send buffered data for that AP. In such a scenario, it may be the case that a STA determines to avoid transmissions to an AP when the AP does not explicitly signal availability, or if the AP is not known to be available from the transmission stream of other frames.

[0115] In some embodiments, the AP may include an indication of a measurement start time for load measurement statistics provided by the AP. This may be useful, for example, because the AP may not have any measurement statistics available prior to the measurement start time, so that this may provide an indication of the sample size and potentially the relevance of the load information signaled by the AP.

[0116] The AP can also track the transmission mode time usage within the BSS. As an example, Fig.10 A possible communication timeline including various possible intra-BSS transmission modes is shown. The AP may report the percentage of transmission time usage for any or all of UL EDCA, UL triggered and DL transmissions. Optionally, TXOP shared P2P transmissions may also be listed.

[0117] In some cases, it is possible that the link has poor MU EDCA parameters, but the STA continues to operate EDCA on the link. UL EDCA transmissions can effectively create randomness for low latency transmissions. UL EDCA transmissions may require available transmission resources and idle time to allow good throughput for EDCA. The triggering performance of the AP may not perform well.

[0118] In some cases, it may be the case that if the AP reports long duration OBSS transmissions and / or CCA busy, the STA considers the BSS to be unreliable for transmitting low latency Wi-Fi 8 transmissions. If the STA plans to use triggered access, the STA may prefer to find a BSS with no OBSS transmission time and no CCA busy time. At least in some cases, high intra-BSS DL transmission time and triggered access time are acceptable for such STAs, for example, because the AP may still be able to schedule transmissions to the STA according to its scheduling logic. For STAs that want to transmit best efforts and background services, it may be preferred to find a BSS with available idle time. Low latency transmissions may not require idle time on the BSS because low latency transmissions may be able to replace best efforts and background transmissions. If the STA plans to use EDCA, the STA may benefit from finding a BSS with more channel idle time, for example, because the channel idle time can be used for EDCA transmissions. An AP with many triggered transmissions may be less suitable for the transmitted EDCA, for example, because the triggered transmissions may have priority in obtaining a TXOP and cause less TXOP to be obtained for EDCA transmissions.

[0119] It may be the case that the AP provides only the latest BSS load information in the beacon and probe response frames. Fig.11Example aspects of such methods according to some embodiments are shown. Channel load information may be averaged over a static averaging period. For example, in the illustrated scenario, the BSS load may be measured and averaged over three beacon periods. The duration of the averaging period may not be signaled (e.g., it may be known only to the measuring AP). Therefore, in such a framework, if a STA wants to obtain a BSS load history, the STA may need to receive multiple consecutive beacons. However, the reception of multiple beacons may consume power and radio resources, especially when the STA monitors multiple APs. In addition, the STA may not be available to receive all consecutive beacons, so it may not be able to obtain a reliable load history. Therefore, a scanning STA may benefit from the BSS load history information provided to the STA. For example, this information may assist the STA in estimating whether the load of the AP is temporary or has been going on for a period of time, and the STA may obtain a better understanding of BSS load changes.

[0120] Fig.12 Example aspects of a method in which such load history information may be provided according to some embodiments are shown. In the illustrated scenario, in addition to the BSS load, a BSS histogram with BSS load history information may be provided in a beacon frame. The histogram may include information from previous BSS load elements and fields within the BSS. BSS load statistics may be provided, for example, including the number of BSS load samples (beacons) on which the BSS load is considered. The averaging window may provide a duration of BSS load averaging. The histogram may provide 10, 50, and 95 percentiles of the BSS load value. For each percentile, a BSS load field matching the BSS load field value percentile may be provided. Statistics of other BSS load samples may be provided for other numbers of BSS load samples. In some embodiments, a probe request or a BTM request may request BSS load histogram information for other durations and / or multiple durations. The associated STA may use this information to benchmark the estimated performance on the link.

[0121] Figures 13 to 16Example details of possible UHR load elements and various possible fields of such UHR load elements according to some embodiments are shown. The UHR load element may be used to report the current intra-BSS load obtained during the last averaging period (e.g., may include an intra-BSS load field), as well as histogram information of intra-BSS field values ​​for the last number of BSS load samples. The averaging window may provide the duration of BSS load averaging. The load histogram field may provide the 10th, 50th, and 95th percentiles of the BSS load value. An intra-BSS load field matching the percentile of the BSS load field value may be provided. If the BSS load exists, the extended BSS load exists, or the HE BSS load exists field is set to 1, the content of the corresponding element may be included in the BSS load histogram. The link ID bitmap may allow statistical value reporting for APs reporting AP MLD. The intra-BSS load may always be present in the average load, 10% load, and 95% load fields. In some embodiments, if the corresponding field in the control field has a value of 1, there may be corresponding histogram content for the BSS load, extended BSS load, and HE BSS load fields.

[0122] It is noted that, in at least some embodiments, it is possible to provide load history information for a BSS (e.g., including one or more histograms or content derived from one or more histograms) in other scenarios, e.g., in addition to or instead of incorporating a UHR load element. For example, a very high throughput (VHT) load element histogram may be provided in conjunction with a VHT load element (or load history information may be otherwise provided), and / or an HE load element histogram may be provided in conjunction with an HE load element (or load history information may be otherwise provided), even when a UHR load element is not provided.

[0123] As about Figure 6 As noted, beacon and probe response frames may include only limited performance information, such as potentially only optionally including performance information (BSS load) of the transmitting AP. Thus, for AP MLD, the STA may need to obtain performance information from each affiliated AP individually, which may increase latency. Making information for all affiliated APs readily available may facilitate improved selection of a link in which the associated STA operates.

[0124] Fig.17Aspects of an example of possible UHR AP beacon content including performance information signaling are shown. An AP may send a BSS load and UHR load element with a complete set of performance information for all affiliated APs. In the illustrated example, this may be AP2 operating in the 5 GHz band. A complete set of performance information may be transmitted in a delivery service indication message (DTIM) beacon. Alternatively, the UHR load information may be sent in a separate UHR beacon frame. Otherwise, the AP may send the most recent BSS load and / or a UHR load with the most recent information for the reporting BSS (e.g., as shown for all AP1, AP2, and AP3). The BSS load element may exist for legacy STAs (e.g., in the illustrated scenario, it may be provided by AP1 operating in the 2.4 GHz band). If there are no legacy STAs, it may be the case that the AP only provides the UHR load element (e.g., as shown for AP2 and AP3 in the illustrated scenario). The scanning AP may be able to obtain a complete set of all affiliated AP performance information by sending a probe request (or ML probe request) or a BTM query frame.

[0125] If the UHR STA has low latency traffic, the UHR STA may preferably select an AP MLD that does not report OBSS traffic on at least one link. In this case, the STA may choose to operate on that link, or the link may be selected as part of the operated STR or EMLSR link. If the associated AP MLD has OBSS transmissions or a considerable amount of CCA busy time on a 5GHz or 6GHz link, it may be beneficial for the STA to operate in STR or EMLSR mode, for example, because multi-link operation can alleviate delays caused by OBSS transmissions or CCA busy periods. It may be the case that the AP has triggered access only on some links. In some embodiments, this may be visible through load information (e.g., a high UL triggered access amount compared to EDCA usage). If another link has higher UL EDCA usage, the AP may force EDCA users to other links. The STA may estimate the AP-allowed channel access mechanisms for each link and be prepared to operate according to these mechanisms. The STA may additionally or alternatively estimate the urgency of roaming based on load information of the links; for example, in at least one case, if the APMLD has only congested links or links unsuitable for low-latency traffic available, the STA may actively roam.

[0126] Fig.18Examples of various aspects of a set of UHR AP load characteristics for possible examples of links for AP MLD according to some embodiments and potential corresponding UHR STA operation profiles for these links are shown. In the illustrated scenario, the link operated by AP1 in the 2.4 GHz band may include OBSS traffic and all UL traffic may be EDCA. The link operated by AP2 in the 5 GHz band may have a high BSS load, with most UL traffic being EDCA. The link operated by AP3 in the 6 GHz band may not have OBSS traffic, and most UL traffic may be triggered. In this set of scenarios, at least in some cases, the UHR STA may consider the 2.4 GHz link to be suitable only for best-effort EDCA, the 5 GHz link to be most likely used for EDCA and potentially part of a set of STR / EMLSR links, and the 6 GHz link to be preferably used for low latency triggered transmissions.

[0127] Fig.19 1 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another possible example AP MLD scanning process according to some embodiments, in which more detailed UHR load information may be provided. In the illustrated scenario, STA 1902 may send a multi-link (ML) probe request (which includes a request for complete UHR load information) to AP1 of AP MLD 1904 (e.g., operating on 2.4 GHz) (1906), and may receive a probe response (1908) including response AP parameters, ML elements, and BSS / OBSS performance information for all links operated by AP MLD 1904. STA 1902 may also or alternatively transmit a BTM query (1910) to AP1, which may request complete load information for one or more selected AP MLDs. In this case, AP MLD 1904 may provide a BTM request (1912) to STA 1902, which includes the queried AP parameters and a complete set of UHR load information for all links of the selected AP MLD.

[0128] A STA that obtains the performance information of all affiliated APs in the ML probe response frame can help the STA select a link for operation. According to various embodiments, a UHR STA may be able to obtain the UHR load periodically, for example, via beacon information, or may request UHR load information periodically. In AP MLD selection for roaming, the STA may be able to obtain UHR load information for the selected APMLD, which can help the STA select a suitable AP MLD for roaming. Among various possible benefits, obtaining such information in one signaling operation can reduce the need to scan other channels, make link establishment faster and more accurate, and / or reduce reporting overhead.

[0129] While it is possible that an AP always operates in an active state, it is also possible that an AP sometimes operates in a power saving state (which may also be referred to as a "sleep" state). For example, in at least some embodiments, some devices may be able to operate as a mobile AP that may be powered by one or more batteries with limited capacity, making it more important to operate in a power efficient manner than a fixed deployed AP with a constant power source (such as a wall outlet). As one such possibility, some versions of IEEE 802.11 may potentially allow an attached AP to temporarily suspend operation (e.g., making the AP temporarily unavailable).

[0130] Therefore, for some AP operations, the amount of time spent in the sleep state may also be used to indicate to associated or potentially associated STAs. Fig. 20 Possible components of AP time usage corresponding to channels used by a BSS are shown for an example scenario in which the AP operates in a power saving state for a portion of the time, according to some embodiments. In the illustrated scenario, channel utilization information may be provided to signal, for example, the percentage of time that the AP has been unavailable in the channel (e.g., while in an AP sleep state), potentially in addition to channel idle time, CCA busy, OBSS transmissions, and intra-BSS transmissions.

[0131] This information can be used for reporting, since it may be the case that channel utilization measurements are not possible during the sleep state. Sleep state signaling may indicate the percentage of time when the AP radio is off. This may allow a scanning STA to know the percentage of time the AP has been available, which may help the STA operate in a power saving mechanism where the AP dynamically extends its availability time. In some cases, low idle time and high sleep time may indicate that the mobile AP is more aggressive in saving power, while high idle time and low sleep time may indicate that the mobile AP is sleeping only during inactive times.

[0132] Fig.21An example of a scenario in which the AP Sleep field may be used is shown, where the AP Broadcast (BC) Target Wake Time (TWT) feature is used for power saving operations. In the illustrated scenario, for AP MLD, AP 1 is in active mode and is always available, while AP 2 utilizes AP BC TWT to save power. When an AP is available, the beacon transmission may indicate the AP BC TWT service period (SP) (e.g., future information for the AP). In the BSS Load element, the AP using the sleep state may then signal the power savings achieved from its history. This may help use the power saving feature to indicate the overall availability of the AP, including whether the AP is available only for a minimum time or can extend its availability. For example, as shown, in "Case 1", AP2 has more availability (AP2 Sleep = 25%), while in "Case 2", AP2 has less availability (AP2 Sleep = 75%). At least in some embodiments, early termination of the AP SP may also be visible through the signaling.

[0133] Figure 22 to Figure 23 Other example scenarios with AP power conservation according to some embodiments are shown. Fig. 22 As shown, an AP in active mode that is intended to be always available may also have coexistence issues that result in unavailable time, which may be reported as AP sleep time. Fig.23 As shown, an AP that has been disabled may also report such time as AP sleep time.

[0134] Cooperative transmission schemes may also potentially be considered as aspects of providing detailed BSS load information. Fig.24 An example of 3 APs sharing the use of a channel using a coordinated time division multiple access (C-TDMA) scheme according to some embodiments is shown. Other cooperative transmission schemes (C-SR, C-OFDMA, etc.) are also possible. Cooperative transmission can result in high channel utilization; multiple APs can operate on the same channel, and cooperative transmission can have very long TXOPs or multiple TXOPs with a minimum inter-frame space (IFS) between TXOPs. Therefore, it is possible that cooperative transmission has little opportunity for EDCA and device-to-device transmission. Fig.25 Possible components of AP time usage that also include collaborative BSS channel utilization among other components of AP time usage are shown according to some embodiments.

[0135] The time of transmission in the BSS of the reporting AP can be classified as intra-BSS utilization. As a possibility, C-TDMA or C-RTWT TXOPs shared to other BSSs can be classified as OBSS utilization because OBSS is transmitting. However, collaborative transmission can have more certain delay and throughput performance than traditional OBSS, so OBSS classification may potentially make scanning STA think that collaborative BSS performance is worse than reasonable level. As another possibility, C-TDMA or C-RTWT TXOPs shared to other BSSs can be classified as intra-BSS utilization because this can be considered similar to reporting BSS transmission to other STAs in "larger BSS". However, it may be the case that the reporting BSS cannot transmit during the shared TXOP, so such intra-BSS classification may potentially make scanning STA think that collaborative BSS performance is better than reasonable level. Therefore, at least in some embodiments, it may be beneficial to support new reports on collaborative BSS utilization time for TXOPs shared to collaborative OBSSs, such as to provide more accurate reports for scanning STAs. Fig.26 is a table illustrating aspects of an example intra-BSS load field including an indication of cooperative BSS utilization according to some embodiments.A scanning STA may thus detect the percentage of time that other BSSs in a cooperative scheme are using the channel.

[0136] The AP may potentially miss OBSS transmissions due to its energy detection (ED) and preamble detection (PD) levels. The intra-BSS transmission values ​​may potentially be accurate, however, the intra-BSS transmission may be transmitted over the OBSS transmission; if the AP misses or ignores the preamble of the OBSS transmission, it may be the case that only the clear channel assessment (CCA) ED is applied to the OBSS transmission and the channel may appear to be idle. Fig. 27 Example aspects of such scenarios are shown where "normal" preamble detection occurs and where OBSS preamble detection is missed due to overlap with AP transmissions.

[0137] The CCA-PD level may not be static in the AP; the AP may have an OBSS-specific CCA-PD level, and if the AP becomes congested, the AP may increase the CCA-PD level. As a possibility, CCA-ED may be set to -62dBM, or the AP may use a lower ED threshold. It may be the case that the lower the threshold, the more likely the detection of a CCA-ED busy value becomes, so it is possible that the CCA-ED level is a static setting in the AP. Note also that it may be the case that Wi-Fi does not test the CCA-PD level of the AP under test (APUT); the APUT may have a simple context with high interference at some selected times, so that the exact CCA-PD level is untested. Therefore, in at least some embodiments, the AP may not be able to provide relevant and tested CCA-PD level information.

[0138] Regardless of the AP CCA-PD level, intra-BSS load and OBSS load information are potentially relevant information to report to the STA. OBSS transmissions can be strong and prevent AP transmissions, intra-BSS transmissions signal the AP when BSS transmissions are detected on the channel, and idle time signals whether the AP will respond with a CTS on the UL transmission. At least in some embodiments, the AP may generally optimize the CCA-PD level to obtain high throughput, and the results may be correlated with AP performance, such that it may not be necessary to provide CCA-ED and CCA-PD level reports. However, other configurations in which such reports are provided are also possible.

[0139] Another aspect of channel utilization that may be provided in the detailed BSS load information may include information about the distribution of TXOP durations. Channel utilization itself may not be transparent to the actual medium air time occupancy pattern. For example, two different BSSs may have the same channel utilization with different TXOP duration distributions. Fig.28 An example timeline portion for such a scenario is shown, where BSS#1 has longer TXOPs with longer gaps between them to achieve 50% channel utilization, while BSS#2 has shorter TXOPs with shorter gaps between them to also achieve 50% channel utilization. Fig.29Different distributions of TXOP durations for these example BSSs are shown in line graphs. STAs with low latency traffic may have better performance in BSS#2, for example, because most TXOPs are shorter and the medium is likely not to be blocked for a long time by other transmissions, so that reduced channel access latency may be potentially obtained. However, without TXOP duration distribution information, such STAs may potentially roam to BSS#1 and suffer from worse UL QoS performance than would otherwise be available from BSS#2.

[0140] Thus, in some embodiments, the AP may provide TXOP duration statistics, e.g., as part of detailed BSS load information for the BSS. As one possibility, the TXOP duration distribution may be measured during the last averaging period TBTT interval and indicated as part of the BSS load. Additionally or alternatively, BSS load values ​​may be provided for the last 50 or 100 (or another number) as part of a BSS load histogram. Thus, beacon intervals (e.g., up to a long duration) and TXOP durations may be provided over a longer averaging time. Fig.30 An example TXOP duration distribution element that may be used according to some embodiments is shown. As shown, the example element may include an element identifier, an element length indicator, an indication of the measurement period over which the TXOP duration distribution is measured, and an indication of the density of TXOP durations between various configuration values. It should be noted that although Fig.30 The reporting ranges shown represent one possible set of reporting ranges, but other reporting ranges or groupings are possible.

[0141] In some embodiments, the AP may provide two separate statistics for TXOP duration. All TXOP durations in the vicinity (all TXOPs and channel busy time may be included in the same statistic) may be included together, or separate statistics may be maintained for intra-BSS TXOP duration and OBSS TXOP duration. Thus, intra-BSS TXOPs may be collected separately from OBSS TXOPs and channel busy time.

[0142] When a STA transmits UL frames using EDCA, it may be the case that the AP provides statistics about all TXOP durations in the BSS load; in some cases, the STA may consider the measured TXOP duration as a possible delay caused to the UL transmission. Although the use of EDCA for UL transmission may be common to STAs, triggered access for UL may also potentially be used. In triggered access, the AP may provide the STA with UL transmission time by sending a trigger time to allocate resource units to the STA or sending a TXOP sharing frame (e.g., a MU-RTS frame that allocates UL transmission time to the STA). For such scenarios, it may be the case that the AP reports the OBSS TXOP duration and the intra-BSS TXOP duration separately. The AP may coordinate the intra-BSS TXOP content and duration, and may schedule UL transmissions to occur flexibly for triggered STAs. If the AP provides separate statistics for intra-BSS and OBSS TXOP durations, the STA may also potentially be able to combine the two statistics by multiplying the statistics with the OBSS and intra-BSS channel utilization values. According to various embodiments, the STA may also signal whether to provide 1 or 2 TXOP duration statistics and whether to provide statistics for the most recent measurement period or for long-term histogram values ​​or both.

[0143] Therefore, since current scanning mechanisms may not provide OBSS performance information or detailed BSS load information that may be more relevant to UHR BSSs supporting low latency transmissions, the techniques presented herein may be used to enhance such operations by providing support for signaling more performance information about OBSS transmission times and channel access mechanisms, as well as historical information (e.g., in a histogram) of AP performance. Additionally, possible rules for determining when AP performance information is added to beacons and probe responses transmitted by an AP, as well as further possible techniques for providing performance information for affiliated APs in ML probe response frames are presented herein. These potential enhancements, at least according to some embodiments, may enable the provision of broadcast information that may be used for link selection for all scanning STAs, multi-link operation modes and operations for more accurate AP MLD, as well as faster scanning and reduced power consumption for scanning operations.

[0144] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0145] In addition to the above exemplary embodiments, more embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments can be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments can be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments can be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0146] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if executed by a computer system, the program instructions cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0147] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., AP 104 or UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a processor set) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions may be executed to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0148] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: By First Wireless Device: receiving, from a second wireless device, BSS load information including overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information for one or more basic service sets (BSSs); and A BSS to associate with is selected based at least in part on the OBSS channel utilization information.

2. The method according to claim 1, The BSS load information further includes BSS intra-channel utilization information for the one or more BSSs, Wherein selecting the BSS to associate with is also based at least in part on channel utilization information within the BSS.

3. The method according to claim 2, The channel utilization information within the BSS includes an indication of one or more of the following: Utilization of triggers within the BSS; Uplink Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) utilization within the BSS; Downlink utilization within the BSS; or The transmission opportunities (TXOPs) within the BSS share the utilization of peer-to-peer (P2P) transmissions.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: A delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) beacon frame including the BSS load information is received from the second wireless device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: An ultra high reliability (UHR) beacon frame including the BSS load information is received from the second wireless device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a probe request frame to the second wireless device; as well as A probe response frame including the BSS load information is received from the second wireless device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a BSS transition management (BTM) query frame to the second wireless device; as well as A BTM request frame including the BSS load information is received from the second wireless device.

8. The method according to claim 1, The BSS load information further includes load history information for the one or more BSSs.

9. The method according to claim 1, The BSS load information is received on a first link, wherein the one or more BSSs include one or more of the following: a BSS provided by the second wireless device on the first link; a BSS provided by the second wireless device over the second link; or A BSS provided by a third wireless device on a third link.

10. A processor, the processor comprising a memory, the memory being configured to cause the processor to perform operations comprising: BSS load information including overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information and intra-BSS channel utilization information for a basic service set (BSS) is received.

11. The processor according to claim 10, The channel utilization information within the BSS includes an indication of one or more of the following: a utilization rate of intra-BSS triggers for the BSS; an intra-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the BSS; Intra-BSS downlink utilization for the BSS; or Intra-BSS transmission opportunities (TXOPs) for the BSS share peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization.

12. The processor according to claim 10, The BSS load information further includes power saving operation information for a wireless device providing the BSS.

13. The processor according to claim 10, The BSS load information further includes cooperative BSS utilization information for the BSS.

14. The processor according to claim 10, The BSS load information further includes transmission opportunity duration distribution information for the BSS.

15. The processor of claim 10, wherein the BSS load information further comprises load history information for the BSS, wherein the load history information indicates one or more percentile values ​​over an average window for one or more of: Load within BSS; OBSS load; One or more BSS payload element fields; One or more Extended BSS Payload Element fields; or One or more High Efficiency (HE) BSS Payload Element fields.

16. A wireless device, comprising: one or more antennas; a radio operably coupled to the one or more antennas; as well as a processor operatively coupled to the radio; The wireless device is configured to: BSS load information including at least overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information for a first basic service set (BSS) is provided.

17. The wireless device according to claim 16, The BSS load information further includes information indicating one or more of the following: a total intra-BSS channel utilization for the first BSS; a utilization rate of intra-BSS triggers for the first BSS; an intra-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the first BSS; an intra-BSS downlink utilization rate for the first BSS; sharing a peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization for an intra-BSS transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first BSS; a percentage of time that the wireless device has an ongoing BSS load measurement; a measurement start time of a BSS load measurement performed by the wireless device; a percentage of time that the wireless device is in power save operation; a utilization rate of the cooperative BSS for the first BSS; or A transmission opportunity duration distribution for the first BSS.

18. The wireless device according to claim 16, The BSS load information is provided in one of the following: Broadcast beacon frame; A probe response frame; or BSS Transition Management (BTM) request.

19. The wireless device according to claim 16, The BSS load information further includes load history information for the first BSS, wherein the load history information indicates one or more of the following: a number of BSS load samples included in the load history information; a duration of an averaging window for the load history information; One or more BSS load percentile values ​​over the averaging window.

20. The wireless device according to claim 16, The BSS load information further includes at least OBSS channel utilization information for the second BSS.

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