Coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) framework for ultra high reliability (UHR)

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods, components, devices, and systems for an ultra high reliability (UHR) coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) framework. Some aspects are more particularly directed to one or more mechanisms in which access points (APs) may coordinate with each other according to a C-SR framework. In some embodiments, a first access point (AP) may conditionally share a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP with a second AP according to an interference management procedure between the first AP (and any one or more client devices of the first AP) and the second AP (and any one or more client devices of the second AP). For example, a first AP and a second AP may support one or more frame exchanges associated with interference measurements, and if the second AP satisfies transmit power constraints associated with interference measurements, the second AP may share a TXOP.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 049,172, titled "COORDINATED SPATIAL REUSE (C-SR) FRAMEWORK FOR ULTRA-HIGH RELIABILITY (UHR)", filed on October 24, 2022, by Ajami et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The following relates to wireless communication, including a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) framework for ultra-high reliability (UHR). Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These systems can be multi-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources, such as time, frequency, and power. A wireless network (e.g., a WLAN, such as a Wi-Fi (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11) network) can include an AP that can communicate with one or more stations (STAs) or mobile devices. The AP can be coupled to a network such as the Internet and can enable the mobile device to communicate via the network (or communicate with other devices coupled to the access point). Wireless devices can communicate bidirectionally with network devices. For example, in a WLAN, an STA can communicate with an associated AP via the DL and UL. The DL (or forward link) can refer to the communication link from the AP to the station, while the UL (or reverse link) can refer to the communication link from the station to the AP. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, none of which alone is responsible for the desired attributes disclosed herein.

[0006] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point (AP). The apparatus includes one or more interfaces and a processing system. The one or more interfaces can be configured to output an indication of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP. The one or more interfaces can also be configured to output a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0007] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication at a first AP. The method includes: sending to a second AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and sending a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0008] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in another apparatus for wireless communication at a first AP. The apparatus includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: send to a second AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and send a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0009] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in another apparatus for wireless communication at a first AP. The apparatus includes: means for sending an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and means for sending a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first AP. The code may include instructions executable by a processor for: sending an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and sending a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0011] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication at a second AP. The apparatus includes one or more interfaces and a processing system. The one or more interfaces may be configured to: obtain, at the second AP, an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP. The one or more interfaces may also be configured to: output a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0012] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication at a second AP. The method can include: receiving, at the second AP, an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and transmitting a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0013] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in another apparatus for wireless communication at a second AP. The apparatus includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, at the second AP, an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and transmit a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0014] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in another apparatus for wireless communication at a second AP. The apparatus can include: means for receiving, at the second AP, an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and means for transmitting a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0015] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a second AP. The code can include instructions executable by a processor to: receive, at the second AP, an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditionally sharing the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with interference measurements between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and transmit a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0016] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating an example wireless communication network supporting a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) framework for ultra-high reliability (UHR).

[0018] Figure 2 An example signaling diagram illustrating a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0019] Figure 3 An example frame transmission schedule illustrating a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0020] Figures 4 - 7 An example communication timeline illustrating a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0021] Figure 8 An example frame exchange illustrating a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0022] Figure 9 An example frame alignment illustrating a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0023] Figure 10 and Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating an example process executable by a wireless AP to illustrate a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0024] Figure 12 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device supporting a C-SR framework for UHR.

[0025] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following description refers to some specific examples for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. Some or all of the described examples can be implemented in any device, system, or network that is capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, IEEE 802.15 standards, as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or the like. Standards, or Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and other examples. The described examples may be implemented in any device, system or network capable of sending and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following techniques or technologies: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), Rate Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA), Multi-User Shared Access (MUSA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and Multi-User (MU)-MIMO. The described examples may also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more networks in a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), or an Internet of Things (IOT) network.

[0027] Various aspects generally relate to supporting one or more signaling or configuration-based mechanisms by which access points (APs) can coordinate with each other in various communication aspects, such as according to a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) framework. Some aspects more specifically relate to how a first AP can conditionally share a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP with a second AP according to an interference management process between the first AP (and any one or more client devices of the first AP) and the second AP (and any one or more client devices of the second AP). In some embodiments, the first AP and the second AP can perform an interference measurement process (which can include exchanging one or more frames, triggering the transmission of one or more frames from a client device of the first AP or the second AP, or any combination thereof). The first AP or the second AP or both can receive an indication of, measure, or otherwise ascertain information associated with interference between communications involving the first AP and communications involving the second AP.

[0028] Thus, in a scenario where the first AP obtains a TXOP, the first AP can conditionally share the TXOP with the second AP based on information associated with the interference between the first AP and the second AP. In some embodiments, the first AP can send information associated with the conditional sharing to the second AP, where the information can indicate an upper transmit power that the second AP can use for downlink communication or configure for uplink communication during a portion of the TXOP allocated to the second AP. Depending on the format of the interference measurement procedure, the information sent by the first AP to the second AP can include an explicit indication of the upper transmit power or can include an indication of one or more parameters based on which the second AP can determine, calculate, operate, or select the upper transmit power. Thus, if the second AP is able to use or configure a transmit power that is less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP (such that both the first AP and the second AP can transmit or receive simultaneously).

[0029] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some embodiments, by supporting a C-SR framework that adjusts based on interference measurements between communication involving a first AP and communication involving a second AP, the techniques described can be used to enhance coordination in time and frequency between APs to achieve greater reliability (such as ultra-high reliability (UHR)) of the network in terms of latency, throughput, and channel access fairness. For example, according to the described interference-based conditional TXOP sharing, the first AP can provide the second AP with more opportunities for communication between the second AP and one or more client devices of the second AP without compromising the integrity or reliability of the primary transmission between the first AP and the client devices of the first AP. Thus, the first AP and the second AP can achieve lower or more predictable latency (or both lower and more predictable latency), higher data rates, greater spectral efficiency, and greater system capacity, among other advantages.

[0030] Figure 1Schematic diagram showing an example wireless communication network 100 that supports the C-SR framework for UHR. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 can be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, WLAN 100 can be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard family (e.g., the standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or its revisions, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11bd, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and revisions of 802.11 associated with WiFi 8). WLAN 100 can include multiple wireless communication devices, such as wireless AP 102 and multiple wireless STAs 104. Although Figure 1 only one AP 102 is shown in Figure 1 , WLAN 100 can also include multiple APs 102. The AP 102 shown in

[0031] can represent various different types of APs, including but not limited to enterprise-level APs, single-band APs, dual-band APs, independent APs, software-implemented APs (soft APs), and multi-link APs. The coverage area and capacity of a cellular network (such as LTE or 5G NR) can be further enhanced by small cells supported by APs acting as small base stations. Additionally, a dedicated cellular network can be established via a wireless local area network using small cells. Each of the STAs 104 can also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile phone, wireless phone, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS) or subscriber unit, and other examples. The STA 104 can represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, laptops, tablet computers, notebook computers, Chromebooks, extended reality (XR) headsets, wearable devices, display devices (e.g., televisions (including smart TVs), computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices ("remote controls"), printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators) or other household appliances, key fobs (such as for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and vehicles, and other examples. Various STAs 104 in the network can communicate with each other via the AP 102.

[0032] A single AP 102 and the associated STAs 104 can be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP102. Figure 1Also shown is an example coverage area 108 of the AP 102, which may represent the basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. A BSS may be identified or indicated to a user via a service set identifier (SSID), and to other devices via a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be the media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 may periodically broadcast beacon frames (“beacons”) including the BSSID so that any STA 104 within the wireless range of the AP 102 can “associate” or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish a corresponding communication link 106 (also referred to hereinafter as a “Wi-Fi link”) with the AP 102, or maintain the communication link 106 with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include an identification or indication of the primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102, and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 may provide access to an external network to various STAs 104 in the WLAN via the corresponding communication link 106.

[0033] To establish a communication link 106 with the AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations (“scanning”) on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (such as the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform passive scanning, the STA 104 listens for beacons sent by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals, which are referred to as the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) (measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform active scanning, the STA 104 generates probe requests and sequentially sends the probe requests on each channel to be scanned, and listens for probe responses from the AP 102. Each STA 104 may identify, determine, ascertain, or select the AP 102 with which to associate based on the scanning information obtained via passive or active scanning, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. At the end of the association operation, the AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 for the AP 102 to track the STA 104.

[0034] Due to the increasing popularity of wireless networks, STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within the range of the STA or to select between multiple APs 102, which together form an extended service set (ESS) including multiple connected BSSs. Extended network stations associated with the WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system, which may allow multiple APs 102 to be connected within such an ESS. Thus, STA 104 may be covered by more than one AP 102 and may associate with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after associating with an AP 102, STA 104 may also periodically scan its surrounding environment to find a more suitable AP 102 to associate with. For example, a STA 104 that moves relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more desirable network characteristics (such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reduced traffic load).

[0035] In some embodiments, STA 104 may form a network without an AP 102 or other devices different from the STA 104 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network may alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some embodiments, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network such as the WLAN 100. In such examples, although STA 104 may be able to communicate with each other via an AP 102 using the communication link 106, STA 104 may also communicate directly with each other via a direct wireless communication link 110. Additionally, two STAs 104 may communicate via the direct communication link 110 regardless of whether the two STAs 104 are associated with the same AP 102 and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more of the STAs 104 may assume the role that an AP 102 assumes in a BSS. Such a STA 104 may be referred to as a group owner (GO) and may coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of the direct wireless communication link 110 include Wi-Fi direct connections, connections established using Wi-Fi tunnel direct link setup (TDLS) links, and other P2P group connections.

[0036] AP 102 and STA 104 can operate according to one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard family and communicate (via the respective communication link 106). These standards define the WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and MAC layers. AP 102 and STA 104 send and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications" or "wireless packets") in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs). The AP 102 and STA 104 in the WLAN 100 can send PPDUs on an unlicensed spectrum, which can be a part of the spectrum including frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technologies (such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 60 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, and 900 MHz band). Some examples of the AP 102 and STA 104 described herein can also communicate in other frequency bands (such as the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz bands), which can support both licensed and unlicensed communications. AP 102 and STA 104 can also communicate on other frequency bands (such as shared licensed bands), where multiple service operators can have licenses to operate on the same or overlapping one or more frequency bands.

[0037] Each of the frequency bands can include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs compliant with the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be standard revisions can be sent on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz bands, each of which is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are sent via physical channels with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but can form larger channels via channel bonding. For example, PPDUs can be sent on physical channels with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0038] Each PPDU is a composite structure that includes a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY service data unit (PSDU). A receiving device can use the information provided in the preamble to decode the subsequent data in the PSDU. In the case where the PPDU is transmitted on a bonded channel, the preamble field can be replicated and transmitted in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble can include both a legacy portion (or “legacy preamble”) and a non-legacy portion (or “non-legacy preamble”). The legacy preamble can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, among other uses. The legacy preamble can generally also be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble, as well as the format, encoding, and particular IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used for transmitting the payload, are associated with each other.

[0039] Access to the shared wireless medium is generally managed by the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). In the case of DCF, there is generally no centralized master device that allocates the time and frequency resources of the shared wireless medium. Instead, before a wireless communication device such as AP 102 or STA 104 is allowed to transmit data, it can wait for a specific time and contend for access to the wireless medium at that specific time. DCF is implemented via the use of time intervals, including the slot time (or “slot interval”) and the Inter-Frame Space (IFS). The IFS provides preferential access for control frames for proper network operation. Transmissions can start at the slot boundary. There are different types of IFS, including the Short IFS (SIFS), the Distributed IFS (DIFS), the Extended IFS (EIFS), and the Arbitration IFS (AIFS). The values of the slot time and the IFS can be provided by appropriate standard specifications, such as one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0040] In some embodiments, a wireless communication device may implement DCF via use of Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) techniques. According to such techniques, before transmitting data, a wireless communication device may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) and may determine (e.g., identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) that the relevant wireless channel is idle. CCA includes both physical (PHY-level) carrier sensing and virtual (MAC-level) carrier sensing. Physical carrier sensing is achieved by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame and then comparing the received signal strength to a threshold to determine (e.g., identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) whether the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of a detected preamble is above the threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier sensing also includes energy detection. Energy detection involves measuring the total energy received by the wireless communication device, regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the detected total energy is above the threshold, the medium is considered busy.

[0041] Virtual carrier sensing is achieved via use of a Network Allocation Vector (NAV), which effectively serves as the duration remaining before a wireless communication device may contend for access, even in the absence of detected symbols or even if the detected energy is below the relevant threshold. The NAV is reset each time a valid frame not addressed to the wireless communication device is received. When the NAV reaches 0, the wireless communication device performs physical carrier sensing. If the channel remains idle within an appropriate IFS, the wireless communication device starts a backoff timer, which represents the duration for which the device senses the medium idle before the device is allowed to transmit. If the channel remains idle until the backoff timer expires, the wireless communication device becomes the holder (or “owner”) of a TXOP and may initiate transmission. A TXOP is the duration for which a wireless communication device may transmit frames on a channel after it has “won” contention for the wireless medium. The TXOP duration may be indicated in the U-SIG field of a PPDU. On the other hand, if one or more of the carrier sensing mechanisms indicate that the channel is busy, the MAC controller within the wireless communication device will not permit transmission.

[0042] Each time a wireless communication device generates a new PPDU for transmission in a new TXOP, it randomly selects a new backoff timer duration. The available distribution of numbers that may be randomly selected for the backoff timer is referred to as the contention window (CW). There are different CWs and TXOP durations for each of four access categories (ACs): voice (AC_VO), video (AC_VI), background (AC_BK), and best effort (AC_BE). This enables specific types of traffic to be prioritized in the network.

[0043] Some APs 102 and STAs 104 can implement spatial reuse techniques. For example, APs 102 and STAs 104 configured to communicate using IEEE 802.11ax or 802.11be can be configured to have a BSS color. An AP 102 associated with a different BSS can be associated with a different BSS color. The BSS color is a digital identifier for each BSS of the AP (e.g., a 6-bit field carried by the SIG field). Each STA 104 can learn its own BSS color when associated with the corresponding AP. The BSS color information is transmitted at both the PHY and MAC sublayers. If an AP 102 or STA 104 detects, obtains, selects, or identifies a wireless packet from another wireless communication device during contention access, the AP 102 or STA 104 can apply different contention parameters depending on whether the wireless packet is sent by another wireless communication device within its BSS, sent to another wireless communication device within its BSS, or sent from a wireless communication device in an overlapping BSS (OBSS) (as determined, identified, ascertained, or calculated by the BSS color indication in the preamble of the wireless packet). For example, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 can use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is different from the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 can use a second RSSI detection threshold instead of the first RSSI detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel, where the second RSSI detection threshold is greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the criteria for winning contention are relaxed when interfering transmissions are associated with an OBSS.

[0044] Some APs 102 and STAs 104 may implement techniques for spatial reuse involved in participating in a coordinated communication scheme. According to such techniques, an AP 102 may contend for access to the wireless medium to obtain control of the medium for a TXOP. The AP 102 that wins the contention (hereinafter also referred to as the "sharing AP") may select one or more other APs 102 (hereinafter also referred to as "sharing APs 102") to share the resources of the TXOP. The sharing and shared APs 102 may be located in close proximity to each other such that at least some of their wireless coverage areas at least partially overlap. Some examples may specifically relate to coordinated AP 102 TDMA or OFDMA techniques for sharing the time or frequency resources of a TXOP. To share its time or frequency resources, the sharing AP 102 may divide the TXOP into multiple time periods or frequency segments, where each time period or frequency segment includes corresponding time or frequency resources representing a part of the TXOP. The sharing AP 102 may allocate the time or frequency segments to itself or to one or more of the shared APs 102. For example, each shared AP 102 may utilize the portion of the TXOP allocated by the sharing AP 102 for its uplink or downlink communication with the associated STAs 104.

[0045] In some examples of such TDMA techniques, each of the multiple parts of the TXOP includes a set of time resources that do not overlap with any time resources of any other of the multiple parts. In such examples, the scheduling information may include an indication of the time resources of the multiple time resources of the TXOP associated with each part of the TXOP. For example, the scheduling information may include an indication of the time periods of the TXOP, such as an indication of one or more sets of time slots or symbol periods associated with each part of the TXOP, such as for multi-user TDMA.

[0046] In some other examples of OFDMA techniques, each of the multiple parts of the TXOP includes a set of frequency resources that do not overlap with any frequency resources of any other of the multiple parts. In such embodiments, the scheduling information may include an indication of the frequency resources of the multiple frequency resources of the TXOP associated with each part of the TXOP. For example, the scheduling information may include an indication of the bandwidth portions of the wireless channel, such as an indication of one or more sub-channels or resource units (RUs) associated with each part of the TXOP, such as for multi-user OFDMA.

[0047] In this way, the sharing of the TXOP acquisition by the shared AP enables communication between one or more additional shared APs 102 and their respective BSSs, subject to appropriate power control and link adaptation. For example, the shared AP 102 may limit the transmit power of the selected shared AP 102 such that interference from the selected AP 102 does not prevent the STA 104 associated with the TXOP owner from successfully decoding the packets transmitted by the shared AP. Such techniques can be used to reduce latency because other APs 102 may not need to wait to win contention for the TXOP and can thus transmit and receive data according to conventional CSMA / CA or EDCA techniques. Additionally, by enabling a group of APs 102 associated with different BSSs to participate in a coordinated AP102 transmission session during which the group of APs 102 can share at least a portion of a single TXOP acquired by any one of the participating APs 102, such techniques can increase throughput on the BSSs associated with the participating APs 102 and can also achieve an improvement in throughput fairness. Additionally, by appropriate selection of the shared APs 102 and scheduling of their respective time or frequency resources, medium utilization can be maximized or otherwise increased while packet loss due to OBSS interference is minimized or otherwise reduced. Various embodiments can achieve these and other advantages without the shared AP 102 or the shared APs 102 knowing about the STAs 104 associated with other BSSs, without a pre-allocated or dedicated master AP 102 or a pre-allocated group of APs 102, and without backhaul coordination between the APs 102 participating in the TXOP.

[0048] In some examples where the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP 102 is relatively low (e.g., less than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP 102 is relatively low (e.g., less than a threshold), the start times of communication between different BSSs can be synchronized. Conversely, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP 102 is relatively high (e.g., greater than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP 102 is relatively high (e.g., greater than a threshold), the start times can be offset from each other by a period related to decoding the preamble of the wireless packet and determining whether the wireless packet is an in-BSS packet or an OBSS packet based on the decoded preamble. For example, the period between the transmission of an in-BSS packet and the transmission of an OBSS packet can allow each AP 102 (or its associated STA 104) to decode the preamble of the wireless packet and obtain the BSS color value carried in the wireless packet to determine whether the wireless packet is an in-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. In this way, each AP among the participating APs 102 and its associated STA 104 can receive and decode in-BSS packets in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0049] In some embodiments, the shared AP 102 may perform polling of a group of unmanaged or non-co-managed APs 102 that support coordinated reuse to identify candidates for future spatial reuse opportunities. For example, the shared AP 102 may send one or more spatial reuse polling frames as part of determining one or more spatial reuse criteria and selecting one or more other APs 102 to be part of the shared AP 102. Based on the polling, the shared AP 102 may receive responses from one or more of the polled APs 102. In some specific examples, the shared AP 102 may send a coordinated AP TXOP indication (CTI) frame to other APs 102, which indicates the time and frequency of resources that can be shared for the TXOP. Once the shared AP 102 receives a coordinated AP 102 TXOP request (CTR) frame from a corresponding candidate AP 102 indicating that the corresponding AP 102 wishes to participate in the TXOP, the shared AP 102 may select one or more candidate APs 102. The polling response or CTR frame may include a power indication, e.g., the RX power or RSSI measured by the corresponding AP. In some other examples, the shared AP 102 may directly measure the potential interference of services supported at one or more APs 102 (such as UL transmissions) and select the shared AP 102 based on the measured potential interference. The shared AP 102 generally selects APs 102 to participate in coordinated spatial reuse such that it still protects its own transmissions to STAs 104 in its BSS (which may be referred to as primary transmissions) and transmissions from STAs 104 in its BSS. Resources may then be allocated to the selected APs 102 during the TXOP as described above.

[0050] In some systems or networks, the APs 102 may lack a mechanism according to which the APs 102 can support coordination between them. For example, some network specifications may lack a signaling mechanism that supports, according to which, the APs 102 can effectively coordinate or share communication resources (such as time or frequency resources), e.g., according to the C-SR framework. In some aspects, this lack of support for coordination between APs 102 may lead to a low adoption rate of C-SR in Wi-Fi systems, which may be associated with or otherwise cause relatively high latency, relatively low throughput, and relatively frequent or high levels of channel access unfairness (e.g., relatively large differences in channel access between APs 102, which may be associated with a lack of fairness in terms of transmission opportunities) compared to systems that more effectively utilize C-SR.

[0051] In some embodiments, the AP 102 may support the C-SR framework for high-reliability communications, such as UHR communications, according to which the AP 102 may employ one or more signaling mechanisms that enable the AP 102 to consider one or more C-SR considerations. For example, according to the techniques described herein, the AP 102 may utilize a scheme for one or both of primary transmission protection or total throughput gain to control interference from overlapping BSS (OBSS) transmissions. Some specific aspects relate to how the AP 102 may measure, collect, receive, or otherwise ascertain link measurement information for controlling interference and preventing control frame erasures (such as trigger frame or block acknowledgment (BA) failures) and false locking (which may refer to how the STA 104 locks onto a PPDU from an OBSS and fails to decode a PPDU within the BSS).

[0052] Accordingly, the first AP 102 can obtain a TXOP for the first AP 102 and, in some embodiments, share the TXOP with the second AP 102 based on one or more C-SR considerations. Such C-SR considerations can include scenarios in which C-SR is used with coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA), coordinated target wake time (TWT), or other potential coordinated AP transmissions. In some aspects, the coordinated TWT can include coordinated individual or broadcast or restricted or off-channel TWT or any combination thereof, or be associated therewith. Off-channel TWT can allow the STA 104 to negotiate a TWT schedule with its AP on a channel where the AP is not operating. The first AP 102 can be referred to as the TXOP sharing AP 102 or the TXOP owner, and the second AP 102 can be referred to as the TXOP shared AP (since the second AP is the AP that shares at least a portion of the TXOP of the first AP 102). The first AP 102 and the second AP 102 can be within range of each other to facilitate an over-the-air (OTA) signaling mechanism between the first AP 102 and the second AP 102. Additionally, the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 can support backhaul coordination, but can support the described techniques based on the desire for lack of backhaul coordination. In scenarios where the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 support backhaul coordination, the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 can exchange backhaul signaling to avoid some OTA signaling. In some aspects, two TXOP shared APs 102 (e.g., the second AP 102 and the third AP 102 that also share the TXOP for the first AP 102) can be within range of each other or may not be within range of each other. Additionally, any AP 102 can become the TXOP sharing AP 102 when it wins or otherwise obtains a TXOP (such that there may be no pre-assigned primary AP 102 or pre-assigned group of APs).

[0053] In some embodiments, the first AP 102 may share a TXOP with the second AP 102, or grant a TXOP to the second AP, and the second AP may become the TXOP owner. In other words, the second AP 102 may obtain a TXOP based on the resources for which the TXOP is granted or shared by the first AP 102 (or may otherwise effectively become the TXOP owner). In such embodiments, the second AP 102 may share the resources of the TXOP with one or more other APs 102. One or more other APs 102 that share the TXOP with the second AP 102 may or may not be within the range of the first AP 102. In some aspects, one or more other APs 102 may include the first AP 102. Thus, in a coordinated individual / broadcast / controlled Target Wake Time (TWT) scenario, the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 may exchange (e.g., send or receive or both) signaling to negotiate one or more C-SR parameters in the case where the coordinated TWT service periods (SPs) overlap, where such overlap may be full overlap or partial overlap.

[0054] In some aspects, the first AP 102 (TXOP-sharing AP 102) and the second AP 102 (TXOP-shared AP 102) may use the same or different bandwidths, and may use the same or different primary channels, or both. In embodiments in which the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 use different primary channels, the TXOP sharing protocol may account for the differences in the primary channels (as long as the primary channel of the second AP falls within the BSS bandwidth of the first AP 102). In some embodiments, the C-SR signaling and authorization frames (and any other frames associated with the coordination between the first AP 102 and the second AP 102) exchanged between the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 may be sent on the overlapping portion of the coordinated AP 102 bandwidths. For example, the first AP 102 may be associated with a first BSS bandwidth, while the second AP 102 may be associated with a second BSS bandwidth that at least partially overlaps with the first BSS bandwidth. Thus, the first AP 102 may send information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP for the first AP 102 in a repeated format (e.g., repeated on multiple different frequencies) so that the second AP 102 can receive the information via the overlapping portion between the first BSS bandwidth and the second BSS bandwidth. In other words, at least in the overlapping portion of the coordinated AP 102 bandwidths, the C-SR signaling and authorization frames may be sent in a non-HT repeated format. Such C-SR signaling and authorization frames may be different from other frames sent only via the primary channel (which may or may not overlap with the operating bandwidth of another AP), such as beacon frames.

[0055] The first AP 102 may use one or more of various frame types to transmit C-SR grants, measurement signaling, or other signaling associated with conditional TXOP sharing. In some embodiments, the first AP 102 may include a C-SR grant in a control frame that is dedicated to conveying the C-SR grant associated with conditional TXOP sharing. Such a control frame may be a trigger frame, a multi-user (MU) request to send (RTS) TXOP sharing (TXS) trigger frame, or a TXS trigger frame variant, which may be referred to herein as a TXS’ frame. In some aspects, a triggered TXOP sharing mode may be defined specifically or exclusively for C-SR. In some aspects, the same TXS’ frame may include both a C-TDMA allocation and a C-SR allocation. In such aspects, the triggered TXOP sharing mode may not be dedicated to C-SR and may include additional coordinated AP resources (e.g., C-TDMA resources).

[0056] The first AP 102 and the second AP 102 may each communicate with one or more respective client devices, which may be STAs 104, and the clients of the second AP (TXOP-shared AP 102) may or may not be within the range of the first AP 102 (TXOP-sharing AP 102). Additionally, the wireless communication network may support scheduling of pre-UHR (such as extremely high throughput (EHT) or high efficiency (HE)) STAs without changing the pre-UHR feature set. In some aspects, the first AP 102 may share the TXOP for the first AP 102 such that the number of reuse transmissions is equal to 1 at a given time, which may facilitate network simplification and relatively low complexity. In some other aspects, the first AP 102 may share the TXOP for the first AP 102 such that the number of reuse transmissions is equal to two or more at a given time, which may facilitate greater throughput and system capacity.

[0057] In some embodiments, the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 may desire or support a relatively small number of OTA information exchanges between the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 (e.g., minimum OTA information exchange between APs 102), and may support a configuration or expectation that interference measurements of STAs 104 within each BSS will not be shared with other BSSs. In some aspects, the first AP 102 may limit C-SR TXOP to downlink-downlink or uplink-uplink coordination. In other words, the first AP 102 may share the TXOP for the first AP 102 with the second AP 102 such that the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 concurrently transmit downlink messaging or concurrently transmit uplink messaging. For example, TXOP sharing may be associated with the expectation of primarily performing uplink transmissions or primarily performing downlink transmissions during the period when the TXOP is shared by all APs 102, although per-PPDU level alignment may or may not be expected.

[0058] Furthermore, as described herein, a primary transmission may refer to a transmission between the first AP 102 (TXOP-sharing AP 102) and a client device of the first AP 102, such as a transmission within the TXOP-owner BSS. Similarly, depending on the execution, scheduling, or triggering of the primary transmission, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 (e.g., the TXOP owner) may be referred to as the primary AP 102. In other words, an AP 102 that obtains the TXOP and shares the TXOP with other APs may be referred to as the primary AP 102. A reuse transmission may refer to a transmission between the second AP 102 (TXOP-shared AP 102) and a client device of the second AP, such as a transmission permitted by C-SR within the TXOP-shared BSS. For example, the second AP 102 may "reuse" the TXOP for the first AP 102 to perform a reuse transmission. In some aspects, the primary transmission may be associated with a relatively higher priority than the reuse transmission, and in some embodiments, the first AP and the second AP may coordinate TXOP sharing to protect the primary transmission from interference caused by the reuse transmission. In some other aspects, the primary transmission and the reuse transmission may be associated with the same priority. In such aspects, the first AP 102 and the second AP 102 may coordinate or negotiate TXOP sharing to enable concurrent transmission of both the primary transmission and the reuse transmission (e.g., to increase overall system throughput).

[0059] In addition, although described in the context of conditional (and potentially negotiated) TXOP sharing between two APs 102, the described techniques can be applied to conditional (and potentially negotiated) TXOP sharing between various device types or functions. In some embodiments, for example, a TXOP sharing AP 102 can share a TXOP with a STA 104 for concurrent transmissions involving the AP 102 and the STA 104. In such embodiments, the TXOP sharing AP 102 can receive uplink transmissions or perform downlink transmissions, and the STA 104 can simultaneously initiate a peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission with a peer STA 104, where the interference can be manageable.

[0060] Figure 2 FIG. 200 shows an example signaling diagram that supports a C-SR framework for UHR. The signaling diagram 200 can be implemented or be implemented to implement or facilitate aspects of the WLAN 100. For example, the signaling diagram 200 illustrates communication and coordination between an AP 102-a and an AP 102-b. As referenced Figure 1 above, the AP 102-a can be an example of the AP 102, such as a first AP 102 or a TXOP sharing AP 102. The AP 102-b can be an example of the AP 102, such as a second AP 102 or a TXOP being shared AP 102, as referenced Figure 1 above. In some embodiments, the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b can support a signaling mechanism according to which the AP 102-a can conditionally share a TXOP for the AP 102-a with the AP 102-b based on interference measurements that involve communications to or from the AP 102-a and communications to or from the AP 102-b.

[0061] As shown in signaling diagram 200, AP 102-a may send signaling to AP 102-b via communication link 210-a, and AP 102-b may send signaling to AP 102-a via communication link 210-b. In some aspects, the communication between AP 102-a and AP 102-b via communication link 210-a and communication link 210-b may include one or both of OTA signaling or backhaul signaling. AP 102-a may communicate with client device 205-a of AP 102-a via communication link 215-a, and AP 102-b may communicate with client device 205-b of AP 102-b via communication link 215-b. Additionally, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may be associated with various device types that are capable of acting or operating as an AP. In some deployments, for example, one or both of AP 102-a or AP 102-b may be a mobile AP (such as, a soft AP). For example, AP 102-a or AP 102-b may be a phone that acts as or is used as a mobile AP.

[0062] In some scenarios, AP 102-a may obtain a TXOP for AP 102-a, and AP 102-a may obtain the TXOP according to a channel access procedure. In some embodiments, AP 102-a may support an interference management or measurement procedure, according to which AP 102-a may conditionally share the TXOP for AP 102-a with one or more other APs 102 (such as, AP 102-b) without causing harm or negative impact to the primary transmission between AP 102-a and client device 205-a. The interference management or measurement procedure may include one or more frame exchanges between one or more of AP 102-a, AP 102-b, client device 205-a, or client device 205-b.

[0063] AP 102-a and AP 102-b may support one or more interference measurement designs. In some aspects, which design AP 102-a and AP 102-b support may be associated with or depend on the capabilities or classifications of one or more of AP 102-a, AP 102-b, client device 205-a, or client device 205-b. For example, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may support UHR frame-based interference measurement or non-UHR-frame-based interference measurement. Such non-UHR-frame-based interference measurement may be referred to herein as conventional frame-based interference measurement, which may include frame-based interference measurements such as 802.11be, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, etc.

[0064] According to a UHR-based measurement design (e.g., based on the UHR measurement principle), each of AP 102-a and AP 102-b (UHR AP 102) can send measurement frames, and client devices 205-a and client device 205-b (UHR clients) from adjacent APs 102 can measure the measurement frames and report the measurement results to the associated AP 102. In some aspects, AP 102-a or AP 102-b or both can send measurement frames at regular (such as fixed or configured) times, and client devices 205-a and client device 205-b can perform measurements in the background. As described herein, background measurements can occur at any time. For example, client devices 205-a and client device 205-b can perform background measurements in the same TXOP. According to the UHR-based measurement process, each of AP 102-a and AP 102-b (UHR AP 102) can receive an indication, learn, or otherwise determine the path loss of each of its clients relative to each adjacent AP 102 and the information for controlling the reuse transmit power to protect the primary transmit power. In some aspects, such a UHR-based measurement process can be associated with more refined C-SR power control and background measurements (e.g., measurements not at the TXOP level) and can be used by devices with UHR capabilities. Via Figure 4 and Figure 5 illustrates and refers to Figure 4 and Figure 5 Additional aspects related to interference management or measurement processes associated with UHR-based measurement designs are described.

[0065] According to non-UHR-based measurement designs (e.g., based on traditional measurement principles), AP 102-a and AP 102-b can rely on the supported frame exchanges, such as control frames including MU RTS or clear to send (CTS) frames. In such designs, AP 102-a (TXOP-shared AP 102) can trigger an uplink transmission (such as a control frame, which can be a CTS frame in response to MU RTS) from a target or primary uplink or downlink client (such as client device 205-a). AP 102-a can instruct an adjacent / reuse AP 102 (such as the second AP 102) to measure the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the uplink transmission (such as a control frame, which can be a CTS frame) of the primary client (such as client device 205-a) and the upper limit (such as maximum) allowed interference for the reuse transmission. In some aspects, the measurement can be performed during each TXOP. AP 102-b (TXOP-shared by AP 102) can use such information to select, identify, determine, or otherwise ascertain the transmit power for the uplink or downlink transmission for reuse. According to such non-UHR-based measurement designs (which can be associated with relatively coarse power control and a relatively low signaling management burden), AP 102-a and AP 102-b can support a relatively simple design that can be used to schedule both UHR clients and non-UHR clients for C-SR transmission. Via Figure 6 and Figure 7 illustrates and refers to Figure 6 and Figure 7 Additional aspects related to interference management or measurement processes associated with non-UHR-based measurement designs are described.

[0066] According to the interference measurement or management process, AP 102-a or AP 102-b or both can receive, obtain, or otherwise ascertain interference measurements. The interference measurement can refer to the measurement of interference between communication link 215-a and communication link 215-b. According to performing the interference measurement or management process, AP 102-a can send TXOP sharing information 220 to AP 102-b. In some aspects, the TXOP sharing information 220 can include an indication of the TXOP for AP 102-a (or an indication of allocating at least a portion of the TXOP to AP 102-b) and information associated with the interference measurement between communication link 215-a and communication link 215-b. Such information can include an explicit indication of the upper limit transmit power that AP 102-b can use for uplink or downlink transmission, or an indication of one or more parameters or measurements (such as measurements performed at AP 102-a) that AP 102-b can use to calculate or compute the upper limit transmit power that AP 102-b can use for uplink or downlink transmission.

[0067] In some embodiments, AP 102-b may send TXOP sharing capability information 225 to AP 102-a. In some aspects, AP 102-b may send TXOP sharing capability information 225 to AP 102-a based on (e.g., in response to) receiving TXOP sharing information 220. The TXOP sharing capability information 225 may include an indication as to whether AP 102-b intends to send or schedule reuse transmissions during a TXOP shared with AP 102-a. For example, AP 102-b may indicate via the TXOP sharing capability information 225 whether AP 102-b can meet the peak transmit power constraint according to which AP 102-b may share the TXOP. If AP 102-b does not intend to use or otherwise cannot use the TXOP shared with AP 102-b, then AP 102-b may include in the TXOP sharing capability information information regarding the minimum (e.g., lowest) transmit power that AP 102-b may use (e.g., to meet quality of service (QoS) or signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) constraints associated with communications at AP 102-b). Stated another way, if AP 102-b cannot use the peak transmit power that allows AP 102-b to share the TXOP (e.g., if the peak transmit power is not sufficient for AP 102-b), then AP 102-b may indicate via the TXOP sharing capability information 225 that AP 102-b cannot meet the constraint.

[0068] In some embodiments, correspondingly, an AP 102-a (such as the TXOP owner, which may be referred to as the primary AP 102) may allocate C-SR grants to an AP 102-b or another AP 102. In other words, the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b may negotiate one or more operating parameters, such as maximum power backoff, allowable transmit power, or interference-related information (such as, measurement scheduling), based on the transmission of the TXOP sharing capability information 225 from the AP 102-b. For example, the AP 102-a may allow some additional transmit power flexibility to enable the AP 102-b to share the TXOP with the AP 102-a, or instead of sharing the TXOP with the AP 102-b, it may share the TXOP with another AP 102. In embodiments where the AP 102-a shares the TXOP with another AP 102 (for example, in embodiments where the allocation to the AP 102-b is unsuccessful or no longer used), the AP 102-a may perform medium recovery and allocate resources from the TXOP to another AP 102. The medium recovery may be associated with time (such as time associated with SIFS or point coordination function (PCF) IFS (PIFS) duration recovery), or with an indication received from the AP 102 that shares the received grant, where such an indication may be located in a frame (such as in a control frame or in the header of a QoS data or null frame, such as in the A control subfield). In some embodiments, the AP 102-b may not send the TXOP sharing capability information 225. In such embodiments, if the AP 102-b does not intend to use the shared TXOP to send a reuse transmission, the AP 102-b may not respond to the TXOP sharing information 220 (such as a frame that allocates a C-SR transmission).

[0069] Additionally or alternatively, AP 102-b may send an indication regarding a set of one or more TXOP sharing parameters 230. The indication regarding the TXOP sharing parameters 230 may indicate or convey information associated with a set of operating parameters (e.g., maximum tolerable power backoff or minimum transmit power) for either or both of uplink communication and downlink communication, which the AP 102-b is capable of using or complying with while still meeting one or more QoS constraints or expectations between the AP 102-b and the client devices of the AP 102-b. For example, AP 102-b may send an indication regarding the TXOP sharing parameters 230 as part of a negotiation process between AP 102-a and AP 102-b associated with whether AP 102-b is capable of sharing the TXOP for AP 102-a. Further, although shown as being sent by AP 102-b, additionally or alternatively, AP 102-a may send an indication regarding the TXOP sharing parameters to AP 102-b. If AP 102-b acquires the TXOP, AP 102-b may use such an indication regarding the TXOP sharing parameters sent by AP 102-a, or the indication may be sent as part of a negotiation process between AP 102-a and AP 102-b. For example, the indication from AP 102-a may indicate an updated set of parameters for TXOP sharing that AP 102-b is capable of complying with. Additionally, the TXOP sharing capability information 225 and the indication regarding the TXOP sharing parameters 230 may be included in the same message or may be sent in different messages.

[0070] Thus, depending on whether AP 102-b is capable of using a transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit transmit power, AP 102-a may conditionally share the TXOP for AP 102-a with AP 102-b, where the upper limit transmit power is associated with the constraints on AP 102-b such that communication to or from AP 102-b avoids interfering with (or results in less than a threshold amount of interference with) the primary transmission to or from AP 102-a. Thus, AP 102-a may contribute to greater channel access fairness, which may increase data rate, system throughput, and reduce system latency.

[0071] In addition, although various interference measurement and resource allocation designs are shown and described herein, aspects of one or more of the various interference measurement and resource allocation designs may be implemented in any combination. Additionally, the following aspects may equally apply to the various signaling described herein, specifically with respect to C-SR, TXOP sharing (TXS’) messaging, and resource polling. As described herein, a TXS’ message, which may be referred to as a TXS’ frame or TXS’ signaling, may be a control frame (e.g., a trigger frame or a trigger frame variant). For example, a TXS’ message may be a variant of a MU RTS TXS trigger frame and may be used for coordinated AP communication, such as C-TDMA or C-SR. In other words, a MU RTS TXS trigger frame may be used or extended for coordinated AP communication, and such a differently used or extended MU RTS TXS trigger frame may be referred to as a TXS’ message.

[0072] For example, for C-SR, one or both of AP 102-a or AP 102-b may use one reserved bit in the user information field to group the APs 102 for C-SR (primary or non-primary), use a C-SR specific user information field to group the APs 102 for C-SR, or may use a common information field to carry group information. Additionally or alternatively, NP frames (such as measurement packet frames) may be sent in a non-HT duplicate form in the overlapping portions of the coordinated APs 102 (since beacons are sent via the primary channel, there may be scenarios where the primary channel does not overlap with the operating bandwidth of other APs 102). Additionally or alternatively, each AP 102 may announce how much power the AP 102 is willing or able to back off for C-SR transmission and may indicate the current transmit power of that AP 102 (e.g., for measurement packets or beacon frames and other examples), which may allow other APs 102 to identify or determine whether they can perform C-SR with that AP 102.

[0073] In some aspects, each STA 104 (such as each client device) can notify the associated AP 102 of how much power the STA 104 is willing or able to back off for C-SR uplink transmissions and can indicate the current transmit power of the STA 104 (e.g., during association or after using requested or unrequested NP RPTs). Additionally or alternatively, each AP 102 can notify one or more other APs 102 participating in C-SR of an upper limit uplink or downlink transmit power or tolerable interference that can be used to determine the transmit power for a secondary or overlapping transmission. Additionally or alternatively, each AP 102 can announce a schedule at which the AP 102 can send measurement packets (e.g., via a target transmission time or period) so that other APs 102 and corresponding clients can wake up to receive the measurement packets and measure or estimate RSSI or path loss. Additionally or alternatively, each AP 102 can indicate to the client devices of the AP 102 the transmission time of measurement packets from other APs 102 so that the client devices can wake up to receive the measurement packets (via coordinated TWT (such as coordinated restricted TWT (C-R-TWT) scheduling), beacon announcements, or other broadcast frames). For uplink C-SR transmissions in parallel at two or more APs 102, the APs 102 can align trigger frame transmissions to avoid interference between primary and secondary client transmissions. Additionally or alternatively, the C-SR authorization can indicate that a measurement update is to be performed (e.g., if the SINR drops at the primary or master device or channel).

[0074] In some embodiments, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may negotiate an overlapping coordinated TWT with a set of C-SR parameters to control interference between a primary or main transmission and one or more secondary or reuse transmissions. This negotiation of the overlapping coordinated TWT may be associated with a UHR measurement procedure or a non-UHR measurement procedure. According to the UHR measurement procedure, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may achieve relatively more accurate interference measurements. Thus, in some embodiments, members of the coordinated TWT, which may be an individual TWT (I-TWT), a broadcast TWT (B-TWT), or a restricted TWT (R-TWT), may be examples of UHR STAs, although in some scenarios non-UHR STAs may not be excluded from the coordinated TWT. Thus, in some embodiments, AP 102-b may receive a frame associated with the overlapping TWT of AP 102-a and AP 102-b from AP 102-a. In such embodiments, the frame may indicate a set of C-SR parameters associated with the overlapping TWT, where the set of C-SR parameters indicated by the frame may be associated with interference measurements between communications involving AP 102-a and communications involving AP 102-b. Additionally, such a frame may be a request or response frame. For example, the frame may be a TWT request or response frame that includes additional elements or fields for indicating the C-SR parameters.

[0075] When TXS’ messaging, the transmitting AP 102 may use the order of the user list for scheduling and delay control. For example, the transmitting AP 102 may use a special value for the allocation duration for an AP 102 that has already been served (such as 0) or a special value for the allocation duration for an AP on the waiting list (such as greater than 0). In some aspects, the same information may be carried via a common information field. For TXS’ messaging with C-SR, the user list may include allocated time-domain resources and transmit power control information to be used by the receiving secondary AP 102. In some aspects, the user information field may allocate resources to each of one or more APs 102 or STAs 104, and the common information field may be used to convey information applicable to (e.g., common to) multiple APs 102 or STAs 104 in the same trigger frame. When resource polling, the AP 102 may request QoS constraints. Such QoS constraints may include time-bandwidth requirements, periods, or static or real-time delay bounds. Additionally or alternatively, the AP 102 may request an indication of coordinated OFDMA (C-OFDMA) feedback regarding a set of operating channels, C-SR, C-TDMA, or regarding failures (such as packet error rate (PER) or MAC service data unit (MSDU) discard rate) to assist the scheduler in making decisions.

[0076] Figure 3 Examples of frame transmission schedules 300 and 301 that support the C-SR framework for UHR are shown. The frame transmission schedules 300 and 301 may be implemented or be implemented to implement or facilitate aspects of the WLAN 100 or the signaling diagram 200. For example, two or more APs 102 may communicate according to one or both of the frame transmission schedules 300 or 301. Such APs 102 may be examples of the AP 102, AP 102-a, and AP 102-b as shown by Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown and described with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In some embodiments, the frame transmission schedules 300 and 301 may show two signaling designs according to which a TXOP-sharing AP 102 (such as the first AP 102 or AP 102-a) may schedule reuse transmissions that overlap with one or more primary transmissions within the TXOP obtained by the TXOP-sharing AP 102.

[0077] The frame transmission schedules 300 and 301 may both include interference measurements according to which interference may be measured from the TXOP-shared BSS such that the TXOP-owner AP 102 may control the TXOP-shared AP transmissions. The interference measurements may be scheduled and maintained as an independent process for the UHR STA 104 or may be performed at the TXOP level for non-UHR STAs 104. The frame transmission schedules 300 and 301 may include optional resource polling according to which feedback may be collected from neighboring APs 102. Such feedback may include buffer status or C-SR parameters such as QoS information or transmit power constraints (such as minimum transmit power constraints). Additionally, feedback for the buffer status or C-SR parameters may be sent via a MAC frame header, a control frame, or a management frame. In embodiments where feedback is sent via a MAC frame header, the feedback may be included in a variant of the HE control field such as the HE variant HT control field (A control field), the EHT variant HT control field, or the UHR variant HT control field. Such resource polling may be an independent operation or part of a TXOP and may be associated with the exchange of control frames or management frames between APs 102.

[0078] Frame transmission schedulers 300 and 301 can each include a scheduling allocation and a data transmission, via which the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can announce, configure, or indicate an allocation of BSS-level resources for (each TXOP) data transmission. For example, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can notify (e.g., send an indication to) the TXOP-shared AP 102 of the allocated time resources and interference or transmit power information within the TXOP. In some aspects, the scheduling allocation phase can be performed before the data transmission phase, which can allow one or more TXOP-shared APs 102 to prepare schedules for their respective BSSs.

[0079] According to frame transmission scheduler 300, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can send scheduling allocation information in advance, which can give the TXOP-shared AP 102 relatively more time to prepare for transmission. For example, according to frame transmission scheduler 300, one or more APs 102 can perform interference measurements at 305 and perform optional resource polling at 310. The TXOP-sharing AP 102 can send allocation information at 315. In some aspects, the allocation information can include a list of the shared APs 102. For example, the allocation information can indicate the time-domain resource allocation for each of a group of APs 102 with which the TXOP-sharing AP 102 shares the TXOP. At 320, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 (which can be referred to as AP1) can perform a transmission. At 325, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can poll AP2 (which can be an example of a TXOP-shared AP 102), and at 330, AP1 and AP2 (the TXOP-sharing AP 102 and a TXOP-shared AP 102) can perform concurrent or at least partially overlapping transmissions. At 335, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can poll AP3 (which can be an example of another TXOP-shared AP 102), and at 340, AP1 and AP3 (the TXOP-sharing AP 102 and a TXOP-shared AP 102) can perform concurrent or at least partially overlapping transmissions. According to frame transmission scheduler 300, AP2 can have a duration 380 to prepare for transmission. For example, duration 380 can span the period between the transmission of the allocation information at 315 and the transmission from AP2 at 330.

[0080] According to frame transmission schedule 301, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can achieve a lower signaling management burden by using a faster-responsive TXOP by the shared AP 102 (e.g., a shared AP that can prepare a PPDU in the SIFS). For example, one or more APs 102 can perform interference measurements at 345 and perform optional resource polling at 350 (which can be performed before or during the TXOP). At 355, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 (which can be referred to as AP1) can perform a transmission. At 360, AP1 can poll AP2 (e.g., the shared AP of the TXOP), and at 365, AP1 and AP2 (the TXOP-sharing AP 102 and a shared AP of the TXOP) can perform concurrent or at least partially overlapping transmissions. At 370, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 (e.g., AP1) can poll AP3 (e.g., another shared AP of the TXOP), and at 375, AP1 and AP3 can perform concurrent or at least partially overlapping transmissions. Thus, according to frame transmission schedule 301, the TXOP-sharing AP 102 can share the TXOP without signaling allocation information to one or more shared APs of the TXOP.

[0081] Figure 4 Illustrates an example communication timeline 400 supporting the C-SR framework for UHR. The communication timeline 400 can implement or be implemented to implement or facilitate aspects of the WLAN 100, the signaling diagram, the frame transmission schedule 300, or the frame transmission schedule 301. For example, the communication timeline 400 illustrates communication between AP 102-a, AP 102-b, and the client device 205-a of AP 102-a, where AP 102-a, AP 102-b, and the client device 205-a are by Figure 2 Also shown and referenced Figure 2 is described. In some embodiments, AP 102-a and AP 102-b can employ the communication timeline 400, which includes an interference measurement phase 405 and a TXOP sharing phase 410, as part of a process to protect the primary downlink transmission from reuse downlink transmissions according to a UHR-based measurement design.

[0082] For example, according to the communication timeline 400, a client can measure the downlink RSSI from one or more APs 102 at a scheduled time and can report the measurement results to the AP 102 associated with the client for quality and interference control, e.g., signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) control. For example, the interference measurement phase 405 can include background interference measurement collection, based on which one or more APs 102 (such as all the involved APs 102) can learn the path loss for each of their respective client devices relative to each of one or more neighboring APs 102. For example, AP 102-a can learn the interference caused by AP 102-b to one or more client devices of AP 102-a (such as client device 205-a).

[0083] To establish or configure such background interference measurement collection, AP 102-b can notify (e.g., send an indication to) AP 102-a of the schedule for the transmission of measurement packets from AP 102-b. The measurement packet can be one of various different frame or packet types. In some embodiments, for example, the measurement packet can be a null packet (NP). In some other embodiments, the measurement packet can not be an NP. In such embodiments, the measurement packet can carry some information, such as an indication of the transmit power. Based on receiving the schedule for the measurement packet transmission from AP 102-b, AP 102-a can notify the client devices of AP 102-a (such as client device 205-a) of one or more target measurement packet transmission times from AP 102-b. Additionally, in some embodiments, AP 102-a can wake up the client devices of AP 102-a (such as client device 205-a) to measure the RSSI of the measurement packets sent from AP 102-b.

[0084] Thus, AP 102-b can send one or more measurement packets 415 (shown as NPs in the example of Figure 4 ) at the target transmission time (and with the transmit power known at AP 102-a and AP 102-b), and client device 205-a can obtain one or more link measurements based on measuring the interference from the measurement packets 415 sent from AP 102-b. In one example, AP 102-b can use a transmit power of 30 dBm for the measurement packets 415, and client device 205-a can measure an RSSI of -80 dBm. Thus, client device 205-a can expect an estimated path loss of 110 dB from AP 102-b to client device 205-a.

[0085] AP 102-a can poll a client device of AP 102-a (e.g., client device 205-a) via a polling message 420 to obtain link measurement results (e.g., measured path loss or measured RSSI) of the client device of AP 102-b to the client device of AP 102-a obtained by the client device. The client device 205-a can send a measurement packet report 425 including the link measurement results obtained by the client device 205-a to AP 102-a according to the received polling message 420. AP 102-a can utilize channel reciprocity to estimate the downlink SINR at the client device of AP 102-a, and can send TXOP sharing information 430 (which can be shown as a TXS' message in the example of Figure 4 to notify AP 102-b of the upper limit tolerable transmit power that AP 102-b can use, so as to maintain the downlink SINR constraint between AP 102-a and one or more client devices (e.g., client device 205-a). In other words, AP 102-a can select or calculate the upper limit tolerable transmit power such that if AP 102-b uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit tolerable transmit power, then AP 102-b can share the TXOP and transmit concurrently with AP 102-a without negatively affecting the downlink SINR constraint of one or more primary downlink transmissions.

[0086] In some embodiments, AP 102-a and AP 102-b can also exchange additional information, such as the amount of transmit power that each AP 102 can reduce. The scheduling AP 102 (e.g., AP 102-a) can use such information to select the time domain resource allocation for different AP 102s sharing the TXOP. For example, according to the indication received regarding how much transmit power AP 102-b can reduce, AP 102-a can select a time period within the TOXP for sharing with AP 102-b such that AP 102-b may be able to meet the sharing constraints associated with the TXOP without affecting the downlink SINR constraint of one or more primary downlink transmissions. In addition, in some aspects, the period of the measurement packet frame (NP frame) can be configured according to the PER experienced during the C-SR transmission or according to feedback from other AP 102s, or both. In addition, although shown as polling the client device 205-a, AP 102-a can poll multiple client devices of AP 102-a simultaneously (or approximately simultaneously) to obtain measurement packet reports (NP reports).

[0087] In a scenario where AP 102-b can use a transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit tolerable transmit power indicated by AP 102-a, AP 102-b can share the TXOP with AP 102-a. Thus, AP 102-a and AP 102-b can perform simultaneous or at least partially overlapping downlink transmissions during the TXOP. Such downlink transmissions can be referred to or understood as C-SR downlink transmissions.

[0088] Figure 5 Illustrates an example communication timeline 500 that supports a C-SR framework for UHR. The communication timeline 500 can be implemented or be implemented to realize or facilitate aspects of the WLAN 100, the signaling diagram, the frame transmission schedule 300, or the frame transmission schedule 301. For example, the communication timeline 500 illustrates communications between AP 102-a, AP 102-b, the client device 205-a of AP 102-a, and the client device 205-b of AP 102-b, where AP 102-a, AP 102-b, the client device 205-a, and the client device 205-b are Figure 2 Also shown and described with reference to Figure 2 In some embodiments, AP 102-a and AP 102-b can adopt the communication timeline 500, which includes an interference measurement phase 505 and a TXOP sharing phase 510, as part of a process to protect primary uplink transmissions from being affected by reused uplink transmissions according to a UHR-based measurement design.

[0089] For example, according to the communication timeline 500, a client can measure downlink link measurement results (e.g., RSSI or path loss) from an AP 102 at a scheduled time and can report the measurement results to the AP 102 associated with the client for quality and interference control, such as SINR control. For example, the interference measurement phase 505 can include background interference measurement collection, according to which one or more APs 102 (such as all the involved APs 102) can learn the path loss for each of their respective client devices relative to each of one or more neighboring APs 102. For example, AP 102-b can learn the interference caused by AP 102-a to one or more client devices of AP 102-b (such as the client device 205-b).

[0090] To establish or configure such interference measurement collection, AP 102-a can notify (e.g., via signaling) AP 102-b of the schedule of measurement packet transmissions from AP 102-a, and AP 102-b can in turn notify the client device of AP 102-b (e.g., client device 205-b) of the measurement packet transmission schedule of AP 102-a. In some aspects, AP 102-b can wake up the client device of AP 102-b to measure link measurements (such as RSSI or path loss) of the measurement packet transmission from AP 102-a. AP 102-a can send one or more measurement packets 515 (shown as NP in the example of Figure 5 ), and client device 205-b can obtain link measurements (such as RSSI values or path loss values) associated with received interference (e.g., caused by the measurement packet) associated with one or more of the measurement packets sent by AP 102-a. AP 102-b can send a polling message 520 to client device 205-b to learn the measured RSSI or path loss from AP 102-a to client device 205-b, and client device 205-b can respond with a measurement packet report 525 (NP report) including the link measurements obtained by client device 205-b.

[0091] For uplink SINR, AP 102-a and AP 102-b can utilize channel reciprocity to estimate the uplink SINR and, with respect to conditional sharing of the TXOP of AP 102-a with AP 102-b, AP 102-a can indicate to AP 102-b one or more parameters that AP 102-b can use to calculate the upper limit transmit power allowed for AP 102-b to use if AP 102-b shares the TXOP with AP 102-a. For example, AP 102-a can send TXOP sharing information 530 (shown as a TXS’ message in the example of Figure 5 ) to notify AP 102-b of the upper limit (e.g., maximum) allowed interference of the uplink transmission from the client device of AP 102-b (e.g., client device 205-b) to AP 102-a.

[0092] AP 102-a can know the target or expected SIR of the uplink transmission at the target or expected modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and can know the target RSSI of the client device of AP 102-a (e.g., client device 205-a) based on previous uplink transmissions. In some aspects, AP 102-a can based on SIR=(T 1 –PL1 )-(T 2 –PL 2 ) to calculate the target or expected SIR, where T 1 is the transmit power of client device 205-a (the primary client of AP 102-a), and T 2 is the transmit power of client device 205-b (the reuse client), and PL 1 is the path loss from client device 205-a to AP 102-a, and PL 2 is the path loss from client device 205-b to AP 102-a. Thus, AP 102-a can indicate to AP 102-b the target RSSI at AP 102-a for reuse uplink transmission. AP 102-b can obtain the estimated path loss PL 2 associated with measurement packet 515 from AP 102-a from client device 205-b (e.g., via measurement packet report 525), calculate the transmit power T 2 = target RSSI from AP 102-a – PL 2 , and perform uplink power control for the TB PPDU by setting the transmit power for client device 205-b by using T 2 (which can be added to or included in a trigger frame such as a UHR trigger frame).

[0093] In a scenario where AP 102-b is able to configure the uplink transmit power to avoid exceeding the upper limit of allowed interference indicated by AP 102-a, AP 102-b can share the TXOP with AP 102-a. Thus, AP 102-a and AP 102-b can trigger and receive simultaneous or at least partially overlapping uplink transmissions during the TXOP. Such uplink transmissions can be referred to as or understood as C-SR uplink transmissions, and can be TB or non-TB.

[0094] Figure 6 Illustrates an example communication timeline 600 that supports the C-SR framework for UHR. The communication timeline 600 can implement or be implemented to realize or facilitate aspects of WLAN 100, the signaling diagram, frame transmission schedule 300, or frame transmission schedule 301. For example, the communication timeline 600 illustrates the communication between AP 102-a, AP 102-b, the client device 205-a of AP 102-a, and the client device 205-b of AP 102-b, where AP 102-a, AP 102-b, client device 205-a, and client device 205-b are by Figure 2 Also shown and referenced Figure 2is described. In some embodiments, APs 102-a and 102-b may employ communication timeline 600, which includes an interference measurement phase 605 and a TXOP sharing phase 610, as part of a process to protect primary downlink transmissions from reused downlink transmissions according to a non-UHR-based measurement design.

[0095] According to communication timeline 600, APs 102-a and 102-b may support C-SR downlink power control. To facilitate such C-SR downlink power control, AP 102-a may send frame 615 (shown as a TXS’ message in the Figure 6 example) to one or more client devices of AP 102-a (e.g., client device 205-a). In some aspects, AP 102-a may send frame 615 to the most challenging downlink client of AP 102-a, e.g., the client device that is most likely to experience interference from AP 102-b or otherwise most likely to encounter communication failures. Frame 615 may include a MU RTS or a TXS’ message. According to the received frame 615, client device 205-a may send a response frame 620. The response frame 620 may be a control frame or a management frame. In some aspects, the response frame 620 may include a CTS frame or a BA frame.

[0096] According to interference measurement phase 605, APs 102-a and 102-b may both obtain a link measurement (e.g., an RSSI value or a path loss value) of response frame 620 sent by client device 205-a. In some aspects, AP 102-a may measure or learn value C 1 (e.g., the received power of response frame 620 measured at AP 102-a), and AP 102-b may measure or learn value C 2 (e.g., the received power of response frame 620 measured at AP 102-b). In some embodiments, AP 102-a may schedule data transmission with a client device of AP 102-a before sending a C-SR grant associated with a TXOP. AP 102-a may send TXOP sharing information 625 to AP 102-b (in the Figure 6In an example, it can be the TXS’ message). The TXOP sharing information 625 can include the C-SR grant and information associated with one or more C-SR parameters (via the TXS’ message), and AP102-b can use the one or more C-SR parameters to calculate the transmit power of the downlink communication from AP 102-b within the shared TXOP. In some embodiments, such transmit power can be calculated such that the target downlink SINR constraint is satisfied at the client device 205-a. AP 102-b can send a frame 630 (in Figure 6 an example, it can be a CTS frame), and in a scenario where AP 102-b can use the calculated transmit power (e.g., without negatively affecting the SINR or QoS target at the client device 205-b), AP 102-a can send a downlink message 635, and AP102-b can concurrently send a downlink message 640.

[0097] AP 102-a can expect that the SIR between AP 102-a and the client device 205-a is such that SIR = (T 1 –PL 1 )-(T 2 –PL 2 ), where T 1 can be the transmit power of AP 102-a (the primary AP 102), T 2 can be the transmit power of AP 102-b (the reused AP102), PL 1 can be the path loss from AP 102-a to the client device 205-a, and PL 2 can be the path loss from AP 102-b to the client device 205-a. AP 102-a can receive an indication of, set, or otherwise configure the SIR constraint in order to serve the client device 205-a at a given MCS, and accordingly, can calculate the upper limit allowed downlink transmit power from AP 102-b such that T 2 =(T 1 –SIR)+(PL 2 –PL 1 ). Both AP 102-a and AP102-b can measure the received power level of the response frame 620 (e.g., a CTS frame or a BA frame, or any other control or management frame) sent by the client device 205-a in response to the frame 615 sent by AP 102-a (C 1 and C 2 respectively). Thus, C 1 –C 2 =(T RF –PL1 )–(T RF –PL 2 )=PL 2 –PL 1 , where T RF can be the transmit power of response frame 620. Thus, AP 102-a can send the allocation duration and C-SR parameters (e.g., T 1 , SIR, and C 1 ) to AP 102-b via TXOP sharing information 625 (e.g., in a TXS’ frame), such that AP 102-b can calculate T 2 according to T 1 =(T 1 –SIR)+(C 2 –C 2 ), because AP 102-b can have the value C 2 that has been measured based on the response frame 620 from client device 205-a.

[0098] In some aspects, if AP 102-b intends to perform a reuse transmission, AP 102-b can send frame 630 (e.g., a CTS frame), otherwise it can avoid sending frame 630. Additionally, in some embodiments, the TXOP sharing information 625 (such as a TXS’ message) can include additional padding to allow AP 102-b extra time to check or otherwise determine whether AP 102-b can meet T 2 (such as being able to use a transmit power less than or equal to T 2 ) and prepare a response (such as a CTS frame or a PPDU or both). In some embodiments, if AP 102-a does not receive a response (such as frame 630, such as a CTS frame) in response to the TXOP sharing information 625 from AP 102-b, AP 102-a can schedule another AP 102 during the time domain resources initially allocated for AP 102-b.

[0099] Figure 7 Illustrates an example communication timeline 700 that supports a C-SR framework for UHR. The communication timeline 700 can be implemented or be implemented to implement or facilitate aspects of the WLAN 100, the signaling diagram, the frame transmission schedule 300, or the frame transmission schedule 301. For example, the communication timeline 700 illustrates communication among AP 102-a, AP 102-b, the client device 205-a of AP 102-a, and the client device 205-b of AP 102-b, where AP 102-a, AP 102-b, the client device 205-a, and the client device 205-b are by Figure 2 Additionally illustrated and referenced Figure 2is described. In some embodiments, APs 102-a and 102-b may employ communication timeline 700, which includes an interference measurement phase 705 and a TXOP sharing phase 710, as part of a process to protect a primary uplink transmission from being affected by a reused uplink transmission according to a non-UHR-based measurement design.

[0100] According to communication timeline 700, APs 102-a and 102-b may support C-SR uplink power control. To facilitate such C-SR uplink power control, AP 102-a may opportunistically monitor and measure frames from a client device of AP 102-b (e.g., client device 205-b), and may use the maximum measured or known RSSI (which may be understood as the C 2 value) for power control. For example, AP 102-a may optionally (e.g., in some scenarios) send frame 715 (e.g., a TXS’ message), and AP 102-b may send a frame 720 that prompts or triggers one or more frames 725 from a client device of AP 102-b (e.g., client device 205-b). AP 102-a may send frame 715 to trigger AP 102-b to make measurements, and if AP 102-a desires to obtain measurement results from the client device of AP 102-b more opportunistically, AP 102-a may avoid sending frame 715. In some aspects, according to winning or obtaining the medium and polling one AP at a certain time, AP 102-a may send frame 715.

[0101] Thus, AP 102-a may occasionally or periodically measure the received power level C of frames 725 sent by a client device of AP 102-b 2 , and AP 102-b may record the received power level of an uplink PPDU sent by a client device of AP 102-b. Additionally or alternatively, AP 102-a may measure the RSSI of a TBPPDU sent by client device 205-b, which RSSI may be associated with the C 1 value. In this way, at least one of AP 102-a or AP 102-b is able to access or have a recorded value of C 1 (the received power of an uplink PPDU or measurement packet sent by client device 205-a or client device 205-b collected at AP 102-a), C 2 (the highest received power of frames 725 sent by a client device of AP 102-b measured at AP 102-a), and C3 (the received power of an uplink PPDU sent by client device 205-b collected at AP 102-b). In which C1 in the aspect related to the value associated with the received power of the measurement packet sent by the client device 205-b (and measured at the AP 102-a), C 1 may cause C 1 = T NP – PL 2 . Thus, PL 2 = (T NP – C 1 ) and T NP may be expected to be transmitted at the maximum transmit power (e.g., to facilitate a conservative path loss estimate).

[0102] In some aspects, the frame 720 may include a MU RTS frame (which may trigger the client device 205-b to send a TBPPDU), and one or more frames 725 may include one or more CTS frames sent by one or more client devices of the AP 102-b. Accordingly, the AP 102-a may opportunistically measure the frames 725 sent by the client devices of the AP 102-b, and may select, measure, or otherwise identify the strongest (e.g., maximum) RSSI value associated with at least one of the frames 725. The frame 720 and one or more frames 725 may or may not be located in the same shared TXOP. The AP 102-a may be expected to transmit the frame 725 at the maximum or upper limit transmit power such that the interference from the data transmission may not be greater than the interference from the frame 725. Thus, when the AP 102-a wins or obtains the TXOP and grants C-SR to the AP 102-b, the AP 102-b may indicate a set of one or more C-SR parameters associated with (e.g., depending on) the strongest RSSI received at the AP 102-a from the client devices of the AP 102-b.

[0103] For example, at the AP 102-a, the SIR may be calculated such that SIR = (T 1 – PL 1 ) – (T 2 – PL 2 ) = C 1 – C 2 , where the AP 102-a may receive an indication of, set, or otherwise configure a sufficient SIR to serve the client device 205-a at a given MCS and may access the C 1 value of the previous uplink PPDU transmission from the client devices of the AP 102-a. T 1 may be the transmit power of the client device 205-a (e.g., the primary client), and T 2 may be the transmit power of the client device 205-b (e.g., the reuse client), and PL1 can be the path loss from the client device 205-a to the AP 102-a, and PL 2 can be the path loss from the client device 205-b to the AP 102-a. The AP 102-a may expect that the frame 725 sent by the client device 205-b is sent using the upper limit transmit power in order to facilitate conservative path loss estimation and the highest (e.g., worst case) C 2 .

[0104] In some aspects, the AP 102-a may send an indication of one or more C-SR parameters to the AP 102-b via the TXOP sharing information 730 (which may be a TXS’ message in the example of Figure 7 ). The TXOP sharing information 730 may include the C-SR authorization and power back-off for the AP 102-b to be able to share the TXOP. The power back-off may be equal to the target SIR minus the SIR experienced without power control (e.g., C 1 –C 2 ). In some aspects, the AP 102-a may select a relatively conservative C 1 value (e.g., the minimum C 1 value). In some embodiments, if the AP 102-b intends to schedule a reused uplink transmission, the AP 102-b may send the frame 735, and if the AP 102-b does not intend to schedule a reused uplink transmission, it may avoid sending the frame 735. The AP 102-b may control the transmit power of the client device 205-b by setting the target RSSI in the trigger frame to be equal to the value of C 2 minus the indicated power back-off. In other words, if the AP 102-b can meet the C-SR parameter constraints, the AP 102-a may send the uplink message 740, and the AP 102-b may send the uplink message 745 (which may be an example of a C-SR triggered uplink message), and the AP 102-b may configure the client device 205-b such that the uplink transmission from the client device 205-b meets the T 2 constraints (where T 2 =(T 1 –SIR)+(PL 2 –PL 1 ), as calculated by the AP102-a or the AP 102-b or both).

[0105] To facilitate the decision at AP 102-b as to whether to schedule a reused uplink transmission at AP 102-b, AP 102-a may send TXOP sharing information 730 (e.g., a TXS’ message) to include additional padding to allow AP 102-b to check whether AP 102-b can meet the constraints associated with the indicated C-SR parameters. If AP 102-b cannot meet the constraints associated with the indicated C-SR parameters, then AP 102-a may schedule another AP 102. For example, based on receiving an indication that AP 102-b cannot meet the C-SR parameter constraints, or in the absence of a response from AP 102-b, AP 102-a may attempt to share the TXOP with another AP 102.

[0106] Figure 8 Illustrate example frame exchanges 800 and 801 that support the C-SR framework for UHR. Frame exchanges 800 and 801 may implement or be implemented to implement aspects of any one or more of the communication timelines of WLAN 100, signaling diagram 200, frame transmission schedule 300, frame transmission schedule 301, or communication timelines 400, 500, 600, or 700. For example, frame exchanges 800 and frame exchange 801 illustrate communication between AP 102-a, AP 102-b, the client device 205-a of AP 102-a, and the client device 205-b of AP 102-b, where AP 102-a, AP 102-b, client device 205-a, and client device 205-b are Figure 2 Also illustrated and described with reference to Figure 2 In some embodiments, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may support control frame transfer during C-SR transmission and may use considerations for interference between control frames and data frames to avoid one or more potential problems associated with overlap between control frames and data frames during C-SR transmission.

[0107] As shown in frame exchange 800, AP 102-a may send frame 805, which may include TXOP sharing information and may be an example of a TXS’ message, and AP 102-b may send frame 810, which may be a CTS frame. If AP 102-a and AP 102-b share a TXOP, then AP 102-a and AP 102-b may transmit concurrently or during at least partially overlapping time periods. For example, AP 102-a may send a downlink PPDU 820 while AP 102-b may send a downlink PPDU 815. Client device 205-a may send a BA 825 associated with downlink PPDU 820, and client device 205-b may send a BA 830 associated with downlink PPDU 815. AP 102-a may also send a downlink PPDU 835, and AP 102-b may also send a downlink PPDU 840, and client device 205-a may send a BA 850 associated with downlink PPDU 835, and client device 205-b may send a BA 845 associated with downlink PPDU 840.

[0108] In some scenarios, various devices may encounter interference between downlink PPDUs and BAs. For example, depending on the misalignment of downlink PPDU transmissions, downlink PPDU 815 may interfere with BA 825. In such a TXOP sharing implementation for downlink, AP 102-a may be a BA receiver and it may be applicable for AP 102-a to receive a BA in another downlink transmission because APs 102 may be naturally separated from each other (such that downlink and BA interference is relatively small due to the nature of network deployment). This may result in relatively few MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) retransmissions in the downlink.

[0109] As shown in frame exchange 801, AP 102-a may send frame 852, which may include TXOP sharing information and may be an example of a TXS’ message, and AP 102-b may send frame 855, which may be an example of a CTS frame. In an example where AP 102-a and AP 102-b share a TXOP for uplink transmission, AP 102-a may send a trigger frame 858 (which may be shown as TF 858 in Figure 8 that triggers an uplink (UL) TB PPDU 862), and AP 102-b may send a trigger frame 856 (which may be shown as Figure 8is shown as TF 856). AP 102-a may provide feedback associated with the uplink TB PPDU 862 via BA 865, and AP 102-b may provide feedback associated with the uplink TB PPDU 860 via BA 870. AP 102-a may also send a trigger frame 868 that triggers the uplink TB PPDU 875 (in Figure 8 which it may be shown as TF 868), and AP 102-b may also send a trigger frame 872 that triggers the uplink TB PPDU 878 (in Figure 8 which it may be shown as TF 872).

[0110] In some scenarios, various devices may encounter interference between the uplink PPDU and the BA. For example, the uplink TB PPDU 860 may interfere with BA 865. Additionally or alternatively, various devices may encounter interference between the uplink PPDU and the trigger frame. For example, the uplink TB PPDU 875 may interfere with the trigger frame 872. In this TXOP sharing implementation for the uplink, the clients may be the trigger frame and BA receivers, where the clients may not be naturally separated from each other in a system deployment. For example, the client devices 205-a and 205-b may be relatively close to each other, and an uplink transmission from one client device may interfere with the trigger frame or BA frame destined for the other client device (such that the trigger frame or BA frame may not be deliverable). Such a failure may be associated with MPDU loss or an incorrect lock on the OBSS PPDDU.

[0111] Thus, in some embodiments, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may support a design principle according to which control frames may have a higher priority than data frames. In some aspects, for both primary transmissions and reuse transmissions, control frames may have a higher priority than data frames. Thus, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may allow uplink or downlink control frames and sacrifice one or more MPDU transmissions (since BA decoding may be relatively easier as BA sometimes uses a relatively more robust MCS compared to data frames or packets). Additionally or alternatively, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may identify or determine whether the SINR is sufficient (e.g., large enough or greater than a threshold) to reliably decode control frames. In some embodiments, to increase the likelihood that the SINR is sufficient, AP 102-a or AP 102-b or both may select or otherwise use a reuse factor greater than a threshold (e.g., a reuse factor greater than or equal to 3). According to using a reuse factor greater than a threshold, neighboring APs 102 are more likely to use different frequency bands, which may reduce interference between communications involving AP 102-a and communications involving AP 102-b. In other words, STA-STA interference may be relatively low, which may reduce the frequency or likelihood of TF / BA erasure or false locking problems. Additionally or alternatively, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may support PPD alignment during conditional TXOP sharing for C-SR, as Figure 9 shown and referenced Figure 9 in more detail.

[0112] Figure 9 Examples of frame alignments 900 and 901 that support the C-SR framework for UHR are shown. Frame alignments 900 and 901 may implement or be implemented to implement aspects of any one or more of WLAN 100, signaling diagram 200, frame transmission schedule 300, frame transmission schedule 301, communication timeline 400, 500, 600, 700, frame exchange 800, or frame exchange 801. For example, frame alignments 900 and 901 show communications between AP 102-a and AP 102-b, where AP 102-a and AP 102-b are described by Figure 2 additionally shown and referenced Figure 2 therein. Frame alignment 900 and frame alignment 901 may show different design options associated with PPDU alignment, and AP 102-a and AP 102-b may support one or both design options to avoid erroneously locking to the wrong AP 102 at the client device, to achieve greater medium utilization or simpler scheduling, or any combination thereof.

[0113] As shown by both frame alignments 900 and 901, AP 102-a may send frame 905, which may include TXOP sharing information and may be an example of a TXS’ message, while AP 102-b may send frame 910. In the context of frame alignment 900, AP 102-a may send data frame 915-a including preamble portion 920-a, and AP 102-b may send data frame 915-b including preamble portion 920-b. According to the design option shown by frame alignment 900, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may coordinate such that data frame 915-a and data frame 915-b are aligned at the start position (such that preamble portion 920-a and preamble portion 920-b start at the same time point). Such data frames associated with the same start position may be understood as trigger-aligned PPDUs and may facilitate greater medium utilization and relatively simpler scheduling. In some aspects, AP102-a and AP 102-b may trade off greater medium utilization and relatively simpler scheduling against the risk of false locking of OBSS transmissions, where such risk may depend on SINR, environment, and cross-implementation variations. In some embodiments, if AP 102-a and AP 102-b are separated by a threshold physical distance (such that AP 102-a and AP 102-b are remote APs 102 that produce a relatively strong SINR), then AP 102-a and AP 102-b may use trigger-aligned PPDUs.

[0114] In the context of frame alignment 901, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may stagger or offset the start points of data frame 915-a and data frame 915-b. In some aspects, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may stagger or offset the start points such that preamble portion 920-a avoids overlapping with preamble portion 920-b. Such data frames staggered or offset in the time domain may be understood as trigger-staggered PPDUs and may facilitate relatively greater robustness against false locking. In some aspects, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may trade off relatively greater robustness against false locking with slightly lower medium utilization (which may be negligible compared to TXOP durations on the order of milliseconds).

[0115] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1000 executable at a wireless AP supporting a C-SR framework for UHR is shown. The operations of process 1000 may be implemented by a wireless AP or components thereof as described herein. For example, process 1000 may be executed by a wireless communication device acting as or operating within a wireless AP, e.g., with reference to Figure 12The described wireless communication device 1200. In some embodiments, process 1000 may be performed by a wireless AP, such as one of the APs 102 referenced Figure 1 in the description.

[0116] At 1002, a first AP may send an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by a second AP to the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP. The operation of 1002 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0117] At 1004, the first AP may send a message to the first client device during the TXOP. The operation of 1004 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0118] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1100 that may be performed at a wireless AP supporting a C-SR framework for UHR. The operations of process 1100 may be implemented by a wireless AP or its components as described herein. For example, process 1100 may be performed by a wireless communication device acting as or operating within a wireless AP, such as the wireless communication device 1200 referenced Figure 12 in the description. In some embodiments, process 1100 may be performed by a wireless AP, such as one of the APs 102 referenced Figure 1 in the description.

[0119] At 1102, a second AP may receive at the second AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP from the first AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP. The operation of 1102 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0120] At 1104, the second AP may send a message to the second client device during the TXOP. The operation of 1104 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0121] Figure 12 A block diagram illustrating an example wireless communication device 1200 supporting a C-SR framework for UHR. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 1200 is configured or operable to perform with reference to Figure 10 or Figure 11The described processes 1000 and / or 1100. In various examples, the wireless communication device 1200 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that can include: one or more modems (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compliant modem); one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing components (collectively referred to as "processors"); one or more radio units (collectively referred to as "radio units"); and one or more memories or storage blocks (collectively referred to as "memory").

[0122] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 1200 can be a device for use in an AP (such as the AP 102 described in the reference Figure 1 described). In some other examples, the wireless communication device 1200 can be an AP that includes such a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device and multiple antennas. The wireless communication device 1200 is capable of sending and receiving wireless communications, for example, in the form of wireless packets. For example, the wireless communication device 1200 can be configured or operable to send and receive packets in the form of physical layer PPDUs and MPDUs that comply with one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard family. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 1200 also includes or can be coupled to an application processor, which can further be coupled to another memory. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 1200 also includes at least one external network interface that enables communication with a core network or a backhaul network to obtain access to an external network including the Internet.

[0123] The wireless communication device 1200 includes a TXOP sharing component 1202, a TXOP communication component 1204, a scheduling component 1206, an interference management component 1208, a TXOP allocation component 1210, a buffer status component 1212, or any combination thereof. Portions of one or more of the components 1202, 1204, 1206, 1208, 1210, and 1212 can be implemented at least in part using hardware or software. For example, the TXOP communication component 1204 can be implemented at least in part by a modem. In some embodiments, at least some of the components 1202, 1204, 1206, 1208, 1210, and 1212 are implemented at least in part by a processor and stored in the memory as software. For example, portions of one or more of the components 1202, 1204, 1206, 1208, 1210, or 1212 can be implemented as non-transitory instructions (or "code") executable by the processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding modules.

[0124] In some embodiments, the processor may be a component of a processing system. A processing system generally may refer to a system or series of machines or components that receive input and process the input to produce a set of outputs (which may be passed to other systems or components such as device 1200, for example). For example, the processing system of device 1200 may refer to a system that includes various other components or sub-components of device 1200, such as a processor, or a transceiver, or a communication manager, or a combination of other components or components of device 1200. The processing system of device 1200 may interface with other components of device 1200 and may process information (such as input or signals) received from other components or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of device 1200 may include a processing system, a first interface for outputting information, and a second interface for obtaining information. In some embodiments, the first interface may refer to the interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and the transmitter, such that device 1200 can send the information output from the chip or modem. In some embodiments, the second interface may refer to the interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and the receiver, such that device 1200 can obtain information or signal input, and the information can be passed to the processing system. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the first interface may also obtain information or signal input, and the second interface may also output information or signal output.

[0125] The TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to: output to the second AP an indication of the TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with interference measurements between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP. The TXOP communication component 1204 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0126] The scheduling component 1206 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive from the second AP an indication of the scheduling of measurement packets from the second AP. In some embodiments, the scheduling component 1206 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send to the first client device an indication of one or more transmission times of measurement packets from the second AP, where the one or more transmission times are associated with the scheduling, and where the interference measurements are associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

[0127] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a frame to a first client device requesting link measurements associated with measurement packets from a second AP. In some embodiments, the interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive from the first client device link measurements associated with measurement packets from the second AP, where interference measurements are associated with the link measurements.

[0128] To support sending information associated with conditional TXOP sharing by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operably send an indication of the maximum transmit power of the second AP based on link measurements received from the first client device, where the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that: if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP.

[0129] The scheduling of measurement packets from the second AP is associated with transmit power. In some embodiments, the first AP receives an indication of transmit power from the second AP, or the measurement packet indicates the transmit power.

[0130] The scheduling component 1206 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send an indication of the scheduling of measurement packets from the first AP to the second AP. In some embodiments, the interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send measurement packets according to the scheduling.

[0131] To support sending information associated with conditional TXOP sharing by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operably send an indication of the maximum interference level of uplink transmissions from a second client device at the first AP, where the indication of the maximum interference level is used to indicate that: if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the maximum interference level at the first AP, the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP.

[0132] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a frame to the first client device triggering a response frame from the first client device.

[0133] To support sending information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of the target SIR between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the first received power of a response frame at the first AP, wherein the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, and the second received power of the response frame at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power.

[0134] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive one or more frames from one or more client devices of the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames received at the first AP from the one or more client devices of the second AP.

[0135] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a frame triggering an interference measurement to the second AP, wherein receiving one or more frames from one or more client devices of the second AP is associated with sending the frame triggering the interference measurement.

[0136] To support sending information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send an indication of an uplink power backoff associated with the strongest received power of one or more frames, wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP.

[0137] To support sending an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP allocation component 1210 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates a corresponding time-domain resource allocation within the TXOP for communication by a respective AP in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

[0138] The buffer status component 1212 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a request to the second AP for the buffer status of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP, wherein sending an indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer status of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

[0139] To support sending an indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP, the TXOP allocation component 1210 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a frame that allocates the conditional sharing of the TXOP with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of the communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or padding is associated with facilitating the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

[0140] The TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive from the second AP an indication that the second AP cannot share the TXOP based on the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP.

[0141] In some embodiments, the message includes a control frame. In some embodiments, the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP. In some embodiments, based on the first AP and the second AP using different frequency channels, the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame.

[0142] In some embodiments, the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: an indication that the second AP is able to share the TXOP based on the alignment between a first transmission associated with a first communication link and a second transmission associated with a second communication link. In some embodiments, the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

[0143] In some embodiments, the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates the time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates the interference constraint or transmit power constraint or both that the second AP needs to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

[0144] In some embodiments, the message includes a downlink data message, or includes a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the first client device.

[0145] The TXOP sharing component 1202 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive, at a second AP, an indication of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for a first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP. In some embodiments, the TXOP communication component 1204 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0146] The scheduling component 1206 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to send an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from a second AP to the first AP, where the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

[0147] To support receiving information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the interference management component 1208 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive an indication of a maximum transmit power of the second AP, where the maximum transmit power is associated with a link measurement of measurement packets from the second AP, and where the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power.

[0148] The scheduling component 1206 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the first AP from the first AP. In some embodiments, the scheduling component 1206 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to send an indication of one or more transmission times of measurement packets from the first AP to the second client device, where the one or more transmission times are associated with the schedule, and where the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the first AP.

[0149] The interference management component 1208 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a frame requesting a link measurement associated with measurement packets from the first AP to the second client device. In some embodiments, the interference management component 1208 can be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive a link measurement associated with measurement packets from the first AP from the second client device, where the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

[0150] To support receiving information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive an indication of a ceiling interference level for an uplink transmission from a second client device at a first AP, wherein the indication of the ceiling interference level is used to indicate that: if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the ceiling interference level at the first AP, the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP, and wherein the interference level at the first AP is associated with a link measurement received from the second client device.

[0151] To support sending a message, the interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a control frame indicating a ceiling transmit power for the second client device based on the ceiling interference level, wherein the uplink transmit power is less than or equal to the ceiling transmit power.

[0152] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive one or more frames from one or more client devices of the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames received from one or more client devices of the first AP at the second AP.

[0153] To support receiving information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target SIR between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the received power of a frame in one or more frames at the first AP, wherein the ceiling transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the received power at the first AP, and the strongest received power at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that: if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the ceiling transmit power, the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP.

[0154] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a trigger frame to the second client device, the trigger frame triggering an uplink transmission or a peer-to-peer transmission from the second client device and indicating a transmit power less than or equal to the ceiling transmit power.

[0155] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send a frame to one or more client devices of the second AP, the frame triggering one or more response frames from one or more client devices of the second AP.

[0156] The interference management component 1208 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive a second frame from a first AP that triggers an interference measurement, where the frame that triggers the transmission of one or more response frames is associated with the second frame that triggers the interference measurement.

[0157] To support receiving information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive an indication of uplink power backoff, where the uplink power backoff is associated with one or more frames, and where the indication of uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0158] To support receiving an indication of a TXOP for a first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP, the TXOP allocation component 1210 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, where the allocation information indicates corresponding time-domain resource allocations within the TXOP for communication by respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and where the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

[0159] The buffer status component 1212 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive from a first AP a request for the buffer status of a second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP, where receiving an indication of a TXOP for a first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of a TXOP by a second AP is associated with the buffer status of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

[0160] To support receiving an indication of a TXOP for a first AP, the TXOP sharing component 1202 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to receive a frame that allocates conditional sharing of a TXOP with a second AP, where the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and a first client device, and where the communication schedule or padding is associated with enabling the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

[0161] The TXOP allocation component 1210 may be capable of, configured to, or operable to send to a first AP an indication of a minimum transmit power associated with a second communication link between a second AP and a second client device, where receiving a frame that allocates conditional sharing of a TXOP is associated with the indication of the minimum transmit power.

[0162] In some embodiments, the message includes a control frame. In some embodiments, the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to reuse factors associated with the first AP and the second AP. In some embodiments, according to the first AP and the second AP using different frequency channels, during a TXOP associated with the control frame, the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP.

[0163] In some embodiments, the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes an indication that the second AP is able to share the TXOP based on the alignment between a first transmission associated with a first communication link and a second transmission associated with a second communication link. In some embodiments, the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

[0164] In some embodiments, the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP is to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

[0165] In some embodiments, the message includes a downlink data message, or includes a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the second client device.

[0166] Examples of embodiments are described in the numbered clauses below:

[0167] Clause 1: An apparatus for wireless communication at a first AP, comprising: one or more interfaces configured to: output to a second AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, where the information is associated with interference measurements between a first communication link and a second communication link, where the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and output a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0168] Clause 2: The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain from the second AP an indication of the scheduling of measurement packets from the second AP; and output to the first client device an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packets from the second AP, where the one or more transmission times are associated with the scheduling, and where the interference measurements are associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

[0169] Clause 3: The apparatus according to Clause 2, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a frame to the first client device requesting a link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the second AP; and obtain, from the first client device, the link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

[0170] Clause 4: The apparatus according to Clause 3, wherein, in order to output the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output an indication of the maximum transmit power of the second AP according to the link measurement obtained from the first client device, wherein the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0171] Clause 5: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 2 to 4, wherein the scheduling of the measurement packet from the second AP is associated with the transmit power, and the first AP obtains an indication of the transmit power from the second AP, or the measurement packet indicates the transmit power.

[0172] Clause 6: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output an indication of the scheduling of the measurement packet from the first AP to the second AP; and output the measurement packet according to the scheduling.

[0173] Clause 7: The apparatus according to Clause 6, wherein, in order to output the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output an indication of the maximum interference level of the uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the maximum interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the maximum interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0174] Clause 8: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a frame to the first client device triggering a response frame from the first client device.

[0175] Clause 9: The apparatus according to Clause 8, wherein in order to output the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target SIR between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of a first received power of the response frame at the first AP, wherein the upper limit transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, and a second received power of the response frame at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit transmit power, the second AP is able to share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0176] Clause 10: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain one or more frames from one or more client devices of the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with a strongest received power of the one or more frames obtained at the first AP from the one or more client devices of the second AP.

[0177] Clause 11: The apparatus according to Clause 10, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a frame that triggers the interference measurement to the second AP, wherein obtaining the one or more frames from the one or more client devices of the second AP is associated with outputting the frame that triggers the interference measurement.

[0178] Clause 12: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 10 to 11, wherein in order to output the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output an indication of uplink power backoff associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames, wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP is able to share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0179] Clause 13: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, wherein in order to output the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates corresponding time domain resource allocations for communication by respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP within the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

[0180] Clause 14: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 13, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a request for a buffer status of the second AP, QoS associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP to the second AP, wherein outputting the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer status of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

[0181] Clause 15: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 14, wherein, in order to output the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output a frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with facilitating the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

[0182] Clause 16: The apparatus according to Clause 15, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain an indication from the second AP that the second AP cannot share the TXOP according to the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP.

[0183] Clause 17: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 16, wherein the message includes a control frame, the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

[0184] Clause 18: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 17, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: an indication that the second AP is able to share the TXOP based on an alignment between a first transmission associated with the first communication link and a second transmission associated with the second communication link, and the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

[0185] Clause 19: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 18, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates a time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP needs to meet in order to be able to output or obtain during the time domain resource allocation.

[0186] Clause 20: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 19, wherein the message comprises a downlink data message or a frame triggering an uplink data message from the first client device.

[0187] Clause 21: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 20, wherein in addition to having one or more interfaces, the apparatus for wireless communication at the first AP may further comprise: a processing system capable of (or configured to) implement the innovative features of the present disclosure.

[0188] Clause 22: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: one or more interfaces configured to: obtain, at a second AP, an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditionally sharing the TXOP with the second AP from the first AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and output a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0189] Clause 23: The apparatus according to Clause 22, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the second AP to the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

[0190] Clause 24: The apparatus according to Clause 23, wherein in order to obtain the information associated with conditionally sharing the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain an indication of a maximum transmit power of the second AP, wherein the maximum transmit power is associated with a link measurement of the measurement packets from the second AP, and wherein the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP.

[0191] Clause 25: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 24, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the first AP from the first AP; and output an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packets from the first AP to the second client device, wherein the one or more transmission times are associated with the schedule, and wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the first AP.

[0192] Clause 26: The apparatus according to Clause 25, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a frame to the second client device requesting a link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP; and obtain, from the second client device, the link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

[0193] Clause 27: The apparatus according to Clause 26, wherein, in order to obtain the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain an indication of an upper interference level of an uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the upper interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the upper interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP, and wherein the interference level at the first AP is associated with the link measurement obtained from the second client device.

[0194] Clause 28: The apparatus according to Clause 27, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output, according to the upper interference level, a frame indicating an upper transmit power for the second client device, wherein the uplink transmit power is less than or equal to the upper transmit power, and wherein the frame includes a control frame or a management frame.

[0195] Clause 29: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 28, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain one or more frames from one or more client devices of the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames obtained from the one or more client devices of the first AP at the second AP.

[0196] Clause 30: The apparatus according to Clause 29, wherein, in order to obtain the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target SIR between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the received power of a frame in the one or more frames at the first AP, wherein the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the received power at the first AP, and the strongest received power at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0197] Clause 31: The apparatus according to Clause 30, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a trigger frame to the second client device, the trigger frame triggering an uplink transmission or a peer-to-peer transmission from the second client device and indicating the transmit power that is less than or equal to the upper limit transmit power.

[0198] Clause 32: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 31, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a frame to one or more client devices of the second AP, the frame triggering one or more response frames from the one or more client devices of the second AP.

[0199] Clause 33: The apparatus according to Clause 32, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain a second frame from the first AP that triggers the interference measurement, wherein outputting the frame that triggers the one or more response frames is associated with obtaining the second frame that triggers the interference measurement.

[0200] Clause 34: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 32 to 33, wherein in order to obtain the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain an indication regarding an uplink power backoff, wherein the uplink power backoff is associated with the one or more frames, and wherein the indication regarding the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0201] Clause 35: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 34, wherein in order to obtain the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain an indication regarding allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates corresponding time domain resource allocations within the TXOP for communication by respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

[0202] Clause 36: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 35, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain a request from the first AP for a buffer state of the second AP, QoS associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP, wherein obtaining the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

[0203] Clause 37: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 36, wherein in order to obtain the indication of the TXOP for the first AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain a frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication or padding of a communication schedule between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with enabling the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

[0204] Clause 38: The apparatus according to Clause 37, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output to the first AP an indication of a minimum transmit power associated with the second communication link between the second AP and the second client device, wherein obtaining the frame that allocates the conditional sharing of the TXOP is associated with the indication of the minimum transmit power.

[0205] Clause 39: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 38, wherein the message includes a control frame, the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

[0206] Clause 40: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 39, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: an indication that the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP according to an alignment between the first transmission associated with the first communication link and the second transmission associated with the second communication link, and the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

[0207] Clause 41: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 40, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP is to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

[0208] Clause 42: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 41, wherein the message includes a downlink data message, or includes a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the second client device.

[0209] Clause 43: The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 22 to 42, wherein in addition to having one or more interfaces, the apparatus for wireless communication at the second AP may further include: a processing system capable of (or configured to) implement the innovative features of the present disclosure.

[0210] Clause 44: A method for wireless communication at a first AP, including: sending an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP to the second AP, wherein the information is associated with interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP, and sending a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0211] Clause 45: The method according to Clause 44, further including: receiving an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the second AP; and sending an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packets from the second AP to the first client device, wherein the one or more transmission times are associated with the schedule, and wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

[0212] Clause 46: The method according to Clause 45, further including: sending a frame requesting a link measurement associated with the measurement packets from the second AP to the first client device; and receiving the link measurement associated with the measurement packets from the second AP from the first client device, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

[0213] Clause 47: The method according to Clause 46, wherein sending the information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: sending an indication of an upper transmit power of the second AP according to the link measurement received from the first client device, wherein the indication of the upper transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0214] Clause 48: The method according to any one of Clauses 45 to 47, wherein the schedule of the measurement packets from the second AP is associated with transmit power, and the first AP receives an indication of the transmit power from the second AP, or the measurement packets indicate the transmit power.

[0215] Clause 49: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 48 further includes: sending an indication of the scheduling of the measurement packet from the first AP to the second AP; and sending the measurement packet according to the scheduling.

[0216] Clause 50: The method according to Clause 49, wherein sending the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: sending an indication of the upper interference level of the uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the upper interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures the uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the upper interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0217] Clause 51: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 50 further includes: sending a frame to the first client device to trigger a response frame from the first client device.

[0218] Clause 52: The method according to Clause 51, wherein sending the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: sending a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of the target SIR between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, wherein the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, and the second received power of the response frame at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0219] Clause 53: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 52 further includes: receiving one or more frames from one or more client devices of the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames received from the one or more client devices of the second AP at the first AP.

[0220] Clause 54: The method according to Clause 53 further includes: sending a frame to the second AP to trigger the interference measurement, wherein receiving the one or more frames from the one or more client devices of the second AP is associated with sending the frame to trigger the interference measurement.

[0221] Clause 55: The method according to any one of Clauses 53 to 54, wherein transmitting the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP includes: transmitting an indication of an uplink power backoff associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames, wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0222] Clause 56: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 55, wherein transmitting the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP includes: transmitting an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates corresponding time domain resource allocations within the TXOP for respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

[0223] Clause 57: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 56, further comprising: sending a request to the second AP for a buffer state of the second AP, QoS associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP, wherein transmitting the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

[0224] Clause 58: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 57, wherein transmitting the indication of the TXOP for the first AP includes: transmitting a frame allocated for the second AP to conditionally share the TXOP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with facilitating the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

[0225] Clause 59: The method according to Clause 58, further comprising: receiving from the second AP an indication that the second AP cannot share the TXOP based on the information associated with conditionally sharing the TXOP.

[0226] Clause 60: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 59, wherein the message includes a control frame, the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

[0227] Clause 61: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 60, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: an indication that the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP based on the alignment between a first transmission associated with the first communication link and a second transmission associated with the second communication link, and the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

[0228] Clause 62: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 61, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates the time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates the interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP needs to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

[0229] Clause 63: The method according to any one of Clauses 44 to 62, wherein the message includes a downlink data message, or includes a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the first client device.

[0230] Clause 64: A method for wireless communication, including: at a second AP, receiving from a first AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with interference measurements between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and, during the TXOP, sending a message to the second client device.

[0231] Clause 65: The method according to Clause 64, further including: sending to the first AP an indication of the scheduling of measurement packets from the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

[0232] Clause 66: The method according to Clause 65, wherein receiving the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: receiving an indication of the maximum transmit power of the second AP, wherein the maximum transmit power is associated with a link measurement of the measurement packet from the second AP, and wherein the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0233] Clause 67: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 66, further comprising: receiving, from the first AP, an indication of the scheduling of the measurement packet from the first AP; and sending, to the second client device, an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packet from the first AP, wherein the one or more transmission times are associated with the scheduling, and wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packet from the first AP.

[0234] Clause 68: The method according to Clause 67, further comprising: sending, to the second client device, a frame requesting a link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP; and receiving, from the second client device, the link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

[0235] Clause 69: The method according to Clause 68, wherein receiving the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: receiving an indication of the maximum interference level of an uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the maximum interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the maximum interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP, and wherein the interference level at the first AP is associated with the link measurement received from the second client device.

[0236] Clause 70: The method according to Clause 69, wherein sending the message includes: sending, according to the maximum interference level, a control frame indicating the maximum transmit power for the second client device, wherein the uplink transmit power is less than or equal to the maximum transmit power.

[0237] Clause 71: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 70, further comprising: receiving, from one or more client devices of the first AP, one or more frames, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames received from the one or more client devices of the first AP at the second AP.

[0238] Clause 72: The method according to clause 71, wherein receiving the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: receiving a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target SIR between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the received power of the frames in the one or more frames at the first AP, wherein the upper limit transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the received power at the first AP, and the strongest received power at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit transmit power, the second AP is able to share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0239] Clause 73: The method according to clause 72, further comprising: sending a trigger frame to the second client device, the trigger frame triggering an uplink transmission or a peer-to-peer transmission from the second client device and indicating the transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit transmit power.

[0240] Clause 74: The method according to any one of clauses 64 to 73, further comprising: sending a frame triggering one or more response frames from one or more client devices of the second AP to the one or more client devices of the second AP.

[0241] Clause 75: The method according to clause 74, further comprising: receiving a second frame triggering the interference measurement from the first AP, wherein sending the frame triggering the one or more response frames is associated with receiving the second frame triggering the interference measurement.

[0242] Clause 76: The method according to any one of clauses 74 to 75, wherein receiving the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: receiving an indication of an uplink power backoff, wherein the uplink power backoff is associated with the one or more frames, and wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP is able to share the TXOP with the first AP.

[0243] Clause 77: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 76, wherein receiving the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: receiving an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates corresponding time-domain resource allocations within the TXOP for communication by respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

[0244] Clause 78: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 77, further comprising: receiving, from the first AP, a request for a buffer state of the second AP, QoS associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP, wherein receiving the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

[0245] Clause 79: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 78, wherein receiving the indication of the TXOP for the first AP includes: receiving a frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with enabling use of the TXOP at the second AP.

[0246] Clause 80: The method according to Clause 79, further comprising: sending, to the first AP, an indication of a minimum transmit power associated with the second communication link between the second AP and the second client device, wherein receiving the frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP is associated with the indication of the minimum transmit power.

[0247] Clause 81: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 80, wherein the message includes a control frame, the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

[0248] Clause 82: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 81, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: an indication that the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP based on the alignment between a first transmission associated with the first communication link and a second transmission associated with the second communication link, and the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

[0249] Clause 83: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 82, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates the time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates the interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP needs to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

[0250] Clause 84: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 83, wherein the message includes a downlink data message or a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the second client device.

[0251] Clause 85: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 84, further comprising: obtaining the TXOP from the first AP according to the received indication of the TXOP; and sending, according to obtaining the TXOP from the first AP, an indication of the TXOP and second information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the third AP to the third AP.

[0252] Clause 86: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 85, wherein the first BSS bandwidth of the first AP and the second BSS bandwidth of the second AP at least partially overlap, and the second AP receives the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP via the overlapping portion of the first BSS bandwidth and the second BSS bandwidth.

[0253] Clause 87: The method according to any one of Clauses 64 to 86, further comprising: receiving a frame associated with the overlapping TWT between the first AP and the second AP from the first AP, wherein the frame indicates a set of C-SR parameters associated with the overlapping TWT, and wherein the set of C-SR parameters indicated by the frame is associated with the interference measurement.

[0254] Clause 88: A device for wireless communication at a first AP, comprising: at least one component for sending to a second AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and a component for sending a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0255] Clause 89: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first AP, the code including instructions executable by a processor to: send to a second AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and send a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

[0256] Clause 90: A device for wireless communication, comprising: a component for receiving at the second AP from a first AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and a component for sending a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0257] Clause 91: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to: receive at a second AP from a first AP an indication of a TXOP for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and send a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

[0258] As used herein, the term "determine" or "determining" includes a variety of actions, and thus "determine" can include computing, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., via a lookup in a table, database, or other data structure), inferring, ascertaining, measuring, etc. In addition, "determining" can include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in a memory), sending (such as sending information), etc. Further, "determine" can also include resolving, selecting, obtaining, picking, establishing, and other such like actions.

[0259] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" a list of recited items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. By way of example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, and a - b - c. As used herein, unless otherwise expressly indicated, "or" is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense. For example, "a or b" can include only a, only b, or a combination of a and b.

[0260] As used herein, "based on" is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense, unless otherwise expressly indicated. For example, unless otherwise expressly indicated, "based on" can be used interchangeably with "at least partially based on", "associated with", or "in accordance with". Specifically, unless the phrase refers to "only based on 'a'" or an equivalent in the context, both "based on 'a'" and "at least partially based on 'a'" can be based solely on "a" or on a combination of "a" and one or more other factors, conditions, or pieces of information.

[0261] The various illustrative components, logics, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in connection with the examples disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of hardware, software, or firmware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and structural equivalents thereof. The interchangeability of hardware, software, and firmware has been described generally in terms of functionality and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, software, or firmware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0262] For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications to the examples described in this disclosure may be apparent, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the examples shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and novel features.

[0263] In addition, various features described in the context of separate examples in this specification can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented separately in multiple examples or in any appropriate subgroup combination. Thus, although features may be described above as acting in a particular combination and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination may in some embodiments be deleted from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variant of a subcombination.

[0264] Similarly, although operations are shown in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. Additionally, the drawings may schematically show one or more example processes in the form of a flowchart or process diagram. However, other operations not shown may be incorporated into the example processes schematically shown. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the operations shown. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Further, the separation of various system components in the above examples should not be construed as requiring such separation in all examples, and it should be understood that the described process components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged in multiple software products.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a first access point (AP), comprising: one or more interfaces configured to: output to a second AP an indication of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP and information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and output a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain from the second AP an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the second AP; and output to the first client device an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packets from the second AP, wherein the one or more transmission times are associated with the schedule, and wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output to the first client device a frame requesting link measurements associated with the measurement packets from the second AP; and obtain from the first client device the link measurements associated with the measurement packets from the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurements.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in order to output the information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: output, based on the link measurements obtained from the first client device, an indication of a maximum transmit power of the second AP, wherein the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the schedule of the measurement packets from the second AP is associated with a transmit power, and wherein the first AP obtains an indication of the transmit power from the second AP, or the measurement packets indicate the transmit power.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output to the second AP an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the first AP; and output the measurement packets according to the schedule.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, in order to output the information associated with conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Output an indication of an upper interference level for an uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the upper interference level is used to indicate that: if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the upper interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output a frame to the first client device, the frame triggering a response frame from the first client device.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, in order to output the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Output a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of a first received power of the response frame at the first AP, wherein the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, and a second received power of the response frame at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that: if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Obtain one or more frames from one or more client devices of the second AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames obtained from the one or more client devices of the second AP at the first AP.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output a frame to the second AP that triggers the interference measurement, wherein obtaining the one or more frames from the one or more client devices of the second AP is associated with outputting the frame that triggers the interference measurement.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, in order to output the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Output an indication of an uplink power backoff associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames, wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that: if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in order to output the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Output an indication regarding the allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates the corresponding time-domain resource allocation within the TXOP for communication by a respective AP in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output a request for the buffer state of the second AP, the quality of service (QoS) associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP to the second AP, wherein outputting the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in order to output the indication regarding the TXOP for the first AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Output a frame that allocates the TXOP to be conditionally shared with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of the communication schedule between the first AP and the first client device or padding, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with facilitating the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Obtain an indication from the second AP that the second AP is unable to share the TXOP based on the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message includes a control frame, wherein the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and wherein the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame based on the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

18. The information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: An indication that the second AP is able to share the TXOP based on the alignment between a first transmission associated with the first communication link and a second transmission associated with the second communication link, and wherein the alignment includes start-time alignment or staggered start-time alignment.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates time-domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP needs to meet in order to be able to transmit or obtain during the time-domain resource allocation.

20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message includes a downlink data message or a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the first client device.

21. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: one or more interfaces configured to: obtain, at a second access point (AP), an indication of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with interference measurements between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and output a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output an indication of the scheduling of measurement packets from the second AP to the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein, in order to obtain the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: obtain an indication of the maximum transmit power of the second AP, wherein the maximum transmit power is associated with link measurements of the measurement packets from the second AP, and wherein the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

24. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: obtain an indication of the scheduling of measurement packets from the first AP from the first AP; and output an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packets from the first AP to the second client device, wherein the one or more transmission times are associated with the scheduling, and wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the first AP.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: output a frame to the second client device requesting link measurements associated with the measurement packets from the first AP; and Obtain the link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP at the second client device, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein in order to obtain the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Obtain an indication of an upper interference level of an uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the upper interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the upper interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP, and wherein the interference level at the first AP is associated with the link measurement obtained from the second client device.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output a frame indicating an upper transmit power for the second client device according to the upper interference level, wherein the uplink transmit power is less than or equal to the upper transmit power, and wherein the frame includes a control frame or a management frame.

28. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Obtain one or more frames from one or more client devices of the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames obtained from the one or more client devices of the first AP at the second AP.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein in order to obtain the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Obtain a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the received power of the frame in the one or more frames at the first AP, wherein the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the received power at the first AP, and the strongest received power at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output a trigger frame to the second client device, the trigger frame triggering an uplink transmission or a peer-to-peer transmission from the second client device and indicating the transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power.

31. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output a frame that triggers one or more response frames from one or more client devices of the second AP to the one or more client devices of the second AP.

32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Obtain a second frame that triggers the interference measurement from the first AP, wherein outputting the frame that triggers the one or more response frames is associated with obtaining the second frame that triggers the interference measurement.

33. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein, in order to obtain the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Obtain an indication of uplink power backoff, wherein the uplink power backoff is associated with the one or more frames, and wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

34. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, in order to obtain the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Obtain an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates corresponding time-domain resource allocations for communication by respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP within the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

35. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Obtain a request for a buffer state for the second AP, quality of service (QoS) associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP from the first AP, wherein obtaining the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

36. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, in order to obtain the indication of the TXOP for the first AP, the one or more interfaces are configured to: Obtain a frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with the ability to use the TXOP at the second AP.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the one or more interfaces are further configured to: Output an indication of a minimum transmit power associated with the second communication link between the second AP and the second client device to the first AP, where the frame that obtains the conditional sharing of the TXOP is associated with the indication of the minimum transmit power.

38. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the message comprises a control frame, wherein the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and wherein the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

39. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP comprises: An indication that the second AP is able to share the TXOP based on an alignment between a first transmission associated with the first communication link and a second transmission associated with the second communication link, and wherein the alignment comprises start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

40. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP indicates a time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP is to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

41. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the message comprises a downlink data message, or a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the second client device.

42. A method for wireless communication at a first access point (AP), comprising: Sending an indication of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP and information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP to a second AP, wherein the information is associated with an interference measurement between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and Sending a message to the first client device during the TXOP.

43. The method according to claim 42, further comprising: Receiving an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the second AP; and Sending an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packets from the second AP to the first client device, wherein the one or more transmission times are associated with the schedule, and wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

44. The method according to claim 43, further comprising: Send a frame requesting link measurements associated with the measurement packet from the second AP to the first client device; and Receive the link measurements associated with the measurement packet from the second AP at the first client device, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the link measurements.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein sending the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprises: Sending an indication of the upper transmit power of the second AP according to the link measurements received from the first client device, wherein the indication of the upper transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

46. The method according to claim 43, wherein the scheduling of the measurement packet from the second AP is associated with the transmit power, and wherein the first AP receives an indication of the transmit power from the second AP, or the measurement packet indicates the transmit power.

47. The method according to claim 42, further comprises: Sending an indication of the scheduling of the measurement packet from the first AP to the second AP; and Sending the measurement packet according to the scheduling.

48. The method according to claim 47, wherein sending the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprises: Sending an indication of the upper interference level of the uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, wherein the indication of the upper interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures the uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the upper interference level at the first AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

49. The method according to claim 42, further comprises: Sending a frame triggering a response frame from the first client device to the first client device.

50. The method according to claim 49, wherein sending the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprises: Sending a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of the target signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, wherein the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the first received power of the response frame at the first AP, and the second received power of the response frame at the second AP, and wherein the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

51. The method according to claim 42, further comprising: receiving, from one or more client devices of the second AP, one or more frames, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames received at the first AP from the one or more client devices of the second AP.

52. The method according to claim 51, further comprising: sending a frame to trigger the interference measurement to the second AP, wherein receiving the one or more frames from the one or more client devices of the second AP is associated with sending the frame to trigger the interference measurement.

53. The method according to claim 51, wherein sending the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprising: sending an indication of an uplink power backoff associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames, wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

54. The method according to claim 42, wherein sending the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprising: sending an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates a corresponding time-domain resource allocation for communication by a respective AP in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP within the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

55. The method according to claim 42, further comprising: sending a request to the second AP for a buffer state of the second AP, a quality of service (QoS) associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP, wherein sending the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

56. The method according to claim 42, wherein sending the indication of the TXOP for the first AP comprising: sending a frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with facilitating the use of the TXOP at the second AP.

57. The method according to claim 56, further comprising: receiving, from the second AP, an indication that the second AP cannot share the TXOP based on the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP.

58. The method according to claim 42, wherein the message includes a control frame, wherein the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and wherein the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels.

59. The method according to claim 42, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: an indication that the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP based on an alignment between a first transmission associated with the first communication link and a second transmission associated with the second communication link, and wherein the alignment includes start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

60. The method according to claim 42, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates a time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both for the second AP to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

61. The method according to claim 42, wherein the message includes a downlink data message or a frame triggering an uplink data message from the first client device.

62. A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, at a second access point (AP), from a first AP an indication of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) for the first AP and information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP, wherein the information is associated with interference measurements between a first communication link and a second communication link, wherein the first communication link is between the first AP and a first client device of the first AP, and the second communication link is between the second AP and a second client device of the second AP; and sending a message to the second client device during the TXOP.

63. The method according to claim 62, further comprising: sending an indication of a schedule of measurement packets from the second AP to the first AP, wherein the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packets from the second AP.

64. The method according to claim 63, wherein receiving the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP includes: receiving an indication of a maximum transmit power of the second AP, wherein the maximum transmit power is associated with a link measurement of the measurement packets from the second AP, and wherein the indication of the maximum transmit power is used to indicate that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the maximum transmit power, the second AP is capable of sharing the TXOP with the first AP.

65. The method according to claim 62, further comprising: Receive an indication of a schedule for a measurement packet from the first AP; and Send an indication of one or more transmission times of the measurement packet from the first AP to the second client device, where the one or more transmission times are associated with the schedule, and where the interference measurement is associated with the measurement packet from the first AP.

66. The method according to claim 65, further comprising: Send a frame to the second client device requesting a link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP; and Receive the link measurement associated with the measurement packet from the first AP from the second client device, where the interference measurement is associated with the link measurement.

67. The method according to claim 66, where receiving the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP comprises: Receive an indication of an upper interference level for an uplink transmission from the second client device at the first AP, where the indication of the upper interference level is used to indicate that if the second AP configures an uplink transmit power associated with an interference level less than or equal to the upper interference level at the first AP, then the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP, and where the interference level at the first AP is associated with the link measurement received from the second client device.

68. The method according to claim 67, where sending the message comprises: Send a control frame indicating an upper transmit power for the second client device according to the upper interference level, where the uplink transmit power is less than or equal to the upper transmit power.

69. The method according to claim 62, further comprising: Receive one or more frames from one or more client devices of the first AP, where the interference measurement is associated with the strongest received power of the one or more frames received from the one or more client devices of the first AP at the second AP.

70. The method according to claim 69, where receiving the information associated with the second AP conditionally sharing the TXOP comprises: Receive a message including an indication of the transmit power of the first AP, an indication of a target signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) between the first AP and the first client device, and an indication of the received power of a frame in the one or more frames at the first AP, where the upper transmit power of the second AP is associated with the transmit power of the first AP, the target SIR, the received power at the first AP, and the strongest received power at the second AP, and where the message indicates that if the second AP uses a transmit power less than or equal to the upper transmit power, then the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

71. The method according to claim 70, further comprises: sending a trigger frame to the second client device, the trigger frame triggering an uplink transmission or a peer-to-peer transmission from the second client device and indicating the transmit power less than or equal to the upper limit transmit power.

72. The method according to claim 62, further comprises: sending a frame to one or more client devices of the second AP to trigger one or more response frames from the one or more client devices of the second AP.

73. The method according to claim 72, further comprises: receiving, from the first AP, a second frame that triggers the interference measurement, wherein sending the frame that triggers the one or more response frames is associated with receiving the second frame that triggers the interference measurement.

74. The method according to claim 72, wherein receiving the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprises: receiving an indication of uplink power backoff, wherein the uplink power backoff is associated with the one or more frames, and wherein the indication of the uplink power backoff is used to indicate that if the second AP uses the uplink power backoff for an uplink transmission to the second AP, the second AP can share the TXOP with the first AP.

75. The method according to claim 62, wherein receiving the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprises: receiving an indication of allocation information associated with the TXOP, wherein the allocation information indicates corresponding time-domain resource allocations for communication by respective APs in a group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP, and wherein the group of APs that conditionally share the TXOP includes the second AP.

76. The method according to claim 62, further comprises: receiving, from the first AP, a request for a buffer state of the second AP, quality of service (QoS) associated with the second AP, or a target transmit power of the second AP, wherein receiving the indication of the TXOP for the first AP and the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP is associated with the buffer state of the second AP, the QoS associated with the second AP, or the target transmit power of the second AP.

77. The method according to claim 62, wherein receiving the indication of the TXOP for the first AP comprises: receiving a frame that allocates conditional sharing of the TXOP with the second AP, wherein the frame includes one or both of an indication of a communication schedule or padding between the first AP and the first client device, and wherein the communication schedule or the padding is associated with the ability to use the TXOP at the second AP.

78. The method according to claim 77, further comprises: Send an indication of the minimum transmit power associated with the second communication link between the second AP and the second client device to the first AP, wherein the frame that receives the conditional sharing of the TXOP is associated with the indication of the minimum transmit power.

79. The method according to claim 62, wherein the message comprises a control frame, wherein the first AP and the second AP communicate using different frequency channels according to a reuse factor associated with the first AP and the second AP, and wherein according to the first AP and the second AP using the different frequency channels, the first AP and the second AP share the TXOP during the TXOP associated with the control frame.

80. The method according to claim 62, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP comprises: An indication that the second AP is able to share the TXOP based on the alignment between the first transmission associated with the first communication link and the second transmission associated with the second communication link, and wherein the alignment comprises start time alignment or staggered start time alignment.

81. The method according to claim 62, wherein the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP indicates the time domain resource allocation for the second AP within the TXOP, and indicates the interference constraints or transmit power constraints or both that the second AP needs to meet in order to be able to transmit or receive during the time domain resource allocation.

82. The method according to claim 62, wherein the message comprises a downlink data message, or a frame that triggers an uplink data message from the second client device.

83. The method according to claim 62, further comprises: Obtain the TXOP from the first AP according to the received indication of the TXOP; and According to obtaining the TXOP from the first AP, send an indication of the TXOP and second information associated with the second conditional sharing of the TXOP by the third AP to the third AP.

84. The method according to claim 62, wherein the first basic service set (BSS) bandwidth of the first AP and the second BSS bandwidth of the second AP at least partially overlap, and wherein the second AP receives the information associated with the conditional sharing of the TXOP by the second AP via the overlapping portion of the first BSS bandwidth and the second BSS bandwidth.

85. The method according to claim 62, further comprises: Receive a frame associated with the overlapping target wake time (TWT) of the first AP and the second AP from the first AP, wherein the frame indicates a set of coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) parameters associated with the overlapping TWT, and wherein the set of C-SR parameters indicated by the frame is associated with the interference measurement.

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