Access point-to-access point transmit opportunity sharing

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. An access point (AP) may support sharing a portion of a transmit opportunity (TXOP) with another AP using an AP-specific AID. For example, a first AP may obtain a TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel. The first AP may determine to allocate a portion of the TXOP to a second AP. To allocate the portion of the TXOP to the second AP, the first AP may transmit a frame indicating one or more resources of the TXOP allocated to the AP identified by the frame. To identify the second AP, the frame may include an AP-specific AID selected by or otherwise assigned to the second AP. The second AP may communicate one or more frames during the portion of the TXOP allocated to the second AP.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application No. 18 / 149,629, filed by SUN et al. on January 3, 2023, entitled “ACCESS POINT-TO-ACCESS POINT TRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY SHARING,” which has been assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to access point (AP) to AP transmit opportunity (TXOP) sharing.

[0004] Related technical description

[0005] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more wireless access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by multiple client devices, also known as wireless stations (STAs). The fundamental building block of a WLAN that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series of standards is the Basic Service Set (BSS) managed by the AP. Each BSS is identified by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) announced by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the AP's wireless range to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0006] In some WLANs, an AP may obtain a transmit opportunity (TXOP), such as via a contention-based process, and may communicate one or more frames with one or more other devices during the TXOP. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0008] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first access point (AP). The first AP includes at least one memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory. The at least one processor is operable to cause the first AP to: obtain a transmit opportunity (TXOP) associated with communication via a wireless channel; transmit a frame including an association identifier (AID) associated with a second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the TXOP to the second AP for communication via the wireless channel based on the AID associated with the second AP; and receive confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based on transmitting the frame.

[0009] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication. The method includes: obtaining, at a first AP, a TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel; transmitting a frame including an AID associated with a second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the TXOP to the second AP for communication via the wireless channel based on the AID associated with the second AP; and receiving confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based on transmitting the frame.

[0010] In some examples, the method and the first AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP, wherein sending the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the frame based on the indication.

[0011] In some examples, the method and the first AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: selecting the AID associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific AIDs; and sending an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP based on the selection, wherein sending the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the frame based on the indication.

[0012] In some examples, the method and the first AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving a first indication that the AID is associated with the second AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, wherein sending the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the frame based on the first indication.

[0013] In some examples, the method and the first AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving a first indication of a second AID associated with the second AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP; sending a second indication via the communication link that the second AID associated with the second AP matches an AID associated with a third AP; and receiving a third indication of the AID associated with the second AP via the communication link based on the second indication.

[0014] In some examples, the method and the first AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: sending a second frame associated with triggering the second AP to request the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity; and receiving a response frame indicating that the second AP requested the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity, wherein sending the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending the frame based at least in part on the response frame.

[0015] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a second AP. The second AP includes at least one memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory. The at least one processor is operable to cause the second AP to: receive a frame from a first AP, the frame including an AID associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of a TXOP associated with communications via a wireless channel obtained by the first AP to the second AP based on the AID of the second AP; transmit an acknowledgment of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based on receiving the frame; and transmit one or more frames during the portion of the second TXOP based on the allocation of the portion of the second TXOP to the second AP.

[0016] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication. The method includes: receiving, at a second AP, a frame from a first AP, the frame including an AID associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of a TXOP associated with communications via a wireless channel obtained by the first AP to the second AP based at least in part on the AID of the second AP; sending, based on receiving the frame, an acknowledgment of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP; and sending, based on the allocation of the portion of the second TXOP to the second AP, one or more frames during the portion of the second TXOP.

[0017] In some examples, the method and the second AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a backhaul link associated with a network controller that can be associated with the first AP and the second AP, wherein receiving the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the frame based on the indication.

[0018] In some examples, the method and the second AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, wherein receiving the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the frame based on the indication.

[0019] In some examples, the method and the second AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: selecting the AID associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific AIDs; and sending an indication of the AID associated with the second AP to the first AP based on the selection, wherein receiving the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the frame based on the indication.

[0020] In some examples, the method and the second AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: sending a first indication of a second AID associated with the second AP to the first AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP; receiving a second indication via the communication link that the second AID associated with the second AP matches an AID associated with a third AP; selecting an AID for association with the second AP based on the second indication; and sending a third indication of the AID associated with the second AP via the communication link based on the selection.

[0021] In some examples, the method and the second AP may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: receiving a second frame associated with triggering the second AP to request the allocation of the portion of the TXOP; and sending a response frame indicating that the second AP requested the allocation of the portion of the TXOP, wherein receiving the frame may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the frame based at least in part on the response frame.

[0022] Details of one or more specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0024] Figure 2 Example protocol data units (PDUs) that can be used for communications between a wireless access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations (STAs) are shown.

[0025] Figure 3 Example physical layer (PHY) PDUs (PPDUs) that can be used for communications between a wireless AP and one or more wireless STAs are shown.

[0026] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication network supporting AP-to-AP transmit opportunity (TXOP) sharing in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 5 An example of a communication sequence supporting AP-to-AP TXOP sharing in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 6 An example of a frame field diagram supporting AP-to-AP TXOP sharing in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 7 An example of a communication sequence supporting AP-to-AP TXOP sharing in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 8 and Figure 9 A flow chart illustrating an example process that can be performed by a wireless AP that supports AP-to-AP TXOP sharing in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 10 A block diagram is shown of an example wireless communication device supporting AP-to-AP TXOP sharing in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] The same reference numbers and designations in different drawings indicate the same elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following description is directed to certain specific examples to illustrate 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 examples described may be implemented in a manner that is compatible with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, or the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The described examples may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with one or more of the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The described examples may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals in accordance with one or more of the following technologies or techniques: code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), spatial 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 of 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.

[0034] In some cases, an access point (AP) may share a transmit opportunity (TXOP) with another AP. The AP may signal the allocation of a portion of the TXOP from the AP to another AP using an association identifier (AID) that is not used when identifying non-AP stations (STAs).

[0035] For example, a first AP may obtain a TXOP (such as a contention-based TXOP) associated with a wireless channel, the TXOP corresponding to a time duration during which the first AP may transmit frames via the wireless channel. In some examples, the first AP (which may be referred to as a TXOP-sharing AP or a shared AP) may allocate a portion of the TXOP to a non-AP STA (such as within a basic service set (BSS) managed by the first AP), for example, by including an association identifier (AID) of the non-AP STA in a frame (such as a multi-user request to transmit (MU-RTS) TXOP sharing (TXS) frame) that allocates the portion of the TXOP to the identified non-AP STA. To support allocation of the portion of the TXOP to a second AP (which may be referred to as a shared AP), the first AP may include an AID associated with the second AP in a frame that allocates the portion of the TXOP to a device corresponding to the AID. For example, various subsets of AIDs may be reserved or otherwise not used to identify non-AP STAs. One or more of the subsets of AIDs may be allocated for identifying APs in association with TXOP sharing. An AID from the one or more subsets of AIDs may be selected by or otherwise assigned to the second AP such that the first AP may send a frame including the AID associated with the second AP to allocate the portion of the TXOP to the second AP.

[0036] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. Inter-AP TXOP sharing can increase coordination between devices, improve resource utilization efficiency, and reduce latency, among other benefits. For example, inter-AP TXOP sharing can facilitate coordination between APs, enabling earlier delivery of higher-priority traffic by allocating portions of a TXOP to APs to deliver that traffic, rather than waiting for the AP to win contention for the TXOP. Additionally, through appropriate selection of shared APs and scheduling of their corresponding time or frequency resources, TXOP sharing can support increased medium utilization and efficiency. Furthermore, by assigning an AID for AP identification in conjunction with TXOP sharing, TXOP sharing can be extended to APs using existing frame structures. For example, even if other AP identifiers are too long to be included in a TXOP sharing frame, frames used for TXOP sharing with non-AP STAs can be used for inter-AP TXOP sharing, for example, by using an AP-specific AID to identify the AP.

[0037] Various aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of wireless communication networks, protocol data units (PDUs), and physical layer (PHY) PDUs (PPDUs). Various aspects of the present disclosure are additionally described in the context of communication sequences and field diagrams. Various aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to flowcharts and apparatus diagrams related to AP-to-AP TXOP sharing.

[0038] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, such as those 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 802.11 revisions associated with Wi-Fi 8. The WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, such as a wireless AP 102 and a plurality of wireless STAs 104. The WLAN 100 may include a plurality of APs 102. Figure 1The illustrated AP 102 may represent various types of APs, including but not limited to enterprise-class APs, single-band APs, dual-band APs, standalone APs, software-enabled APs (softAPs), and multi-link APs. The coverage area and capacity of cellular networks (such as LTE, 5G NR, etc.) can be further improved by small cells supported by APs that act as micro base stations. Small cells can also be used to set up private cellular networks over wireless area networks.

[0039] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile phone, a wireless phone, an access terminal (AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriber unit, among other examples. STA 104 may represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, Google Notebooks, extended reality (XR) headsets, wearable devices, display devices (e.g., TVs (including smart TVs), computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices ("remote controls"), printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators) or other home appliances, remote control keys (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and vehicles, among other examples. The various STAs 104 in the network are able to communicate with each other via AP 102.

[0040] A single AP 102 and the associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102 . Figure 1 Additionally shown is an example coverage area 108 of the AP 102, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. A BSS may be identified or indicated to users by a service set identifier (SSID), and to other devices by a BSS identifier (BSSID), which may be a media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 may periodically broadcast a beacon frame ("beacon") including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within wireless range of the AP 102 to "associate" or reassociate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 106 (hereinafter also referred to as a "Wi-Fi link") with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include an identification or indication of a 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 the various STAs 104 in the WLAN with access to external networks via respective communication links 106 .

[0041] To establish a communication link 106 with the AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (eg, the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, the STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals, referred to as target beacon transmit times (TBTTs), measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs). To perform an active scan, the STA 104 generates probe requests and sequentially transmits these 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 an AP 102 with which to associate based on the scan information obtained through passive or active scanning, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. The AP 102 assigns an AID to the STA 104 at the end of the association operation, and the AP 102 uses the AID to track the STA 104.

[0042] As wireless networks become increasingly common, a STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within range of the STA 104 or multiple APs 102 that together form an extended service set (ESS) (including multiple connected BSSs). Extended network stations associated with a WLAN 100 can connect to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to connect in such an ESS. Thus, a 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, the STA 104 may also periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate. For example, a STA 104 that is moving 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.

[0043] In some cases, STAs 104 may form a network without APs 102 or other equipment other than the STAs 104 themselves. One 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 cases, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network, such as WLAN 100. In such an example, while STAs 104 may be able to communicate with each other via APs 102 using communication links 106, STAs 104 may also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless communication links 110. Additionally, two STAs 104 may communicate via direct communication links 110 regardless of whether they are associated with and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more STAs 104 may assume the role played by APs 102 in a BSS. Such STAs 104 may be referred to as group owners (GOs) and may coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless communication links 110 include Wi-Fi direct connections, connections established by using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0044] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may operate and communicate in accordance with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards (via corresponding communication links 106). These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and MAC layers. The AP 102 and the STA 104 send and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications" or "wireless packets") to and from each other in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs). The AP 102 and the STA 104 in the WLAN 100 may send PPDUs over an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of the spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Some examples of the AP 102 and the STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands that may support both licensed and unlicensed communications, such as the 5.9 GHz band and the 6 GHz band. The AP 102 and STAs 104 may also communicate on other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping frequency bands.

[0045] Each frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs compliant with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be standard revisions may be transmitted in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency bands, each of which is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are transmitted on physical channels with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be transmitted on a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0046] Each PPDU is a composite structure that includes a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY service data unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In instances where the PPDU is transmitted on a bonded channel, the preamble field may be duplicated and transmitted in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). The legacy preamble may be used for other purposes such as packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation. The legacy preamble is also typically used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format, decoding, and information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are associated with the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol to be used to transmit the payload.

[0047] Access to the shared wireless medium is typically governed by a distributed coordination function (DCF). With DCF, there is generally no centralized master device that allocates the time and frequency resources of the shared wireless medium. Instead, a wireless communication device (such as AP 102 or STA 104) may wait for a specific time and then contend for access to the wireless medium before being allowed to transmit data. DCF is implemented by using time intervals, including slot times (or "slot intervals") and interframe spaces (IFS). IFS provides priority access to control frames for proper network operation. Transmissions may begin at slot boundaries. Different variants of IFS exist, including short IFS (SIFS), distributed IFS (DIFS), extended IFS (EIFS), and arbitration IFS (AIFS). Values for slot times and IFS may be provided by appropriate standard specifications, such as one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0048] In some examples, a wireless communication device may implement DCF by using carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) technology. According to such technology, before sending data, the 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 accomplished by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame, and then comparing this measurement 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 the detected preamble is above a 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 a threshold, the medium is considered busy.

[0049] Virtual carrier sensing is achieved through the use of a Network Allocation Vector (NAV), which effectively serves as a time duration before a wireless communication device can contend for access even when no detected symbols exist or even when the detected energy is below a 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 for the appropriate IFS, the wireless communication device initiates a backoff timer, which indicates the time duration the device senses the medium as idle before allowing the device to transmit. If the channel remains idle until the backoff timer expires, the wireless communication device becomes the holder (or "owner") of the TXOP and can begin transmitting. A TXOP is the time duration during which the wireless communication device can transmit frames on the channel after it has "won" contention for the wireless medium. The TXOP duration can be indicated in the U-SIG field of the PPDU. On the other hand, if one or more of the carrier sensing mechanisms in the carrier sensing mechanism indicates that the channel is busy, the MAC controller within the wireless communication device will not grant transmission.

[0050] 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 can be randomly selected for the backoff timer is called the contention window (CW). There is a different CW and TXOP duration for each of the four access categories (AC): voice (AC_VO), video (AC_VI), background (AC_BK), and best effort (AC_BE). This enables prioritization of specific types of traffic within the network.

[0051] The AP 102 and the STAs 104 may support multi-user (MU) communications; that is, concurrent transmissions from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink (DL) communications from the AP 102 to the corresponding STAs 104), or concurrent transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink (UL) transmissions from the corresponding STAs 104 to the AP 102). To support MU transmissions, the AP 102 and the STAs 104 may utilize multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and multi-user orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (MU-OFDMA) techniques.

[0052] In the MU-OFDMA scheme, the available spectrum of a wireless channel can be divided into multiple resource units (RUs), each of which includes multiple frequency subcarriers (also known as "tones"). Different RUs can be allocated or assigned to different STAs 104 by the AP 102 at a specific time. The size and distribution of the RUs can be referred to as RU allocation. In some examples, RUs can be allocated in 2 MHz intervals, and thus, the smallest RU can include 26 tones consisting of 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Therefore, in a 20 MHz channel, up to 9 RUs (such as 2 MHz, 26-tone RUs) can be allocated (because some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160 MHz channel, up to 74 RUs can be allocated. Larger 52-tone, 106-tone, 242-tone, 484-tone, and 996-tone RUs can also be allocated. Adjacent RUs can be separated by null subcarriers (such as DC subcarriers), for example to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiver DC offset, and avoid transmit center frequency leakage.

[0053] For UL MU transmissions, the AP 102 may send a trigger frame to initiate and synchronize UL MU-OFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmissions from multiple STAs 104 to the AP 102. Such a trigger frame may thereby enable multiple STAs 104 to transmit UL traffic concurrently in time to the AP 102. The trigger frame may address one or more STAs 104 by corresponding AIDs and may assign one or more RUs to each AID (and thus to each STA 104) that may be used to transmit UL traffic to the AP 102. The AP 102 may also specify one or more random access (RA) RUs that unscheduled STAs 104 may contend for.

[0054] Some APs 102 and STAs 104 may implement spatial reuse technology. For example, APs 102 and STAs 104 configured to communicate using IEEE 802.11ax or 802.11be may be configured with BSS colors. APs 102 associated with different BSSs may be associated with different BSS colors. The BSS color is a numeric identifier of the AP's corresponding BSS (such as a 6-bit field carried by the SIG field). Each STA 104 may learn its own BSS color after associating with the corresponding AP. BSS color information is communicated at both the PHY sublayer and the MAC sublayer. If the AP 102 or STA 104 detects, obtains, selects, or identifies a wireless packet from another wireless communication device while contention access, the AP 102 or STA 104 may apply different contention parameters, as determined, identified, ascertained, or calculated, depending on whether the wireless packet is sent by or to another wireless communication device within its BSS or from a wireless communication device from 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 may use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing 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 may use a second RSSI detection threshold when performing CCA on the wireless channel, instead of the first RSSI detection threshold, which is greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the criteria for winning contention is relaxed when the interfering transmission is associated with an OBSS.

[0055] Some APs 102 and STAs 104 may implement spatial reuse techniques involving participation in a coordinated communication scheme. According to such techniques, APs 102 may contend for access to the wireless medium to gain control of the medium for a TXOP. The AP 102 that wins the contention (hereinafter also referred to as a "sharing AP") may select one or more other APs 102 (hereinafter also referred to as "shared APs") to share the resources of the TXOP. The sharing AP 102 and the shared AP 102 may be located near each other such that at least some of their wireless coverage areas at least partially overlap. Some examples may specifically involve coordinated AP TDMA or OFDMA techniques for sharing the time or frequency resources of a TXOP. To share the time or frequency resources of a TXOP, the sharing AP 102 may divide the TXOP into multiple time or frequency segments, each of which includes corresponding time or frequency resources representing a portion of the TXOP. The sharing AP 102 may allocate these time or frequency segments to itself or to one or more of the shared APs 102. For example, each shared AP 102 may utilize a portion of the TXOP assigned by the shared AP 102 for uplink or downlink communications with its associated STAs 104 .

[0056] In some examples of such TDMA techniques, each of the multiple portions of a TXOP includes a set of time resources that do not overlap with any time resources of any other portion of the multiple portions. In such examples, the scheduling information may include an indication of time resources associated with each portion of the TXOP from the multiple time resources of the TXOP. For example, the scheduling information may include an indication of a time segmentation of the TXOP (such as an indication of one or more time slots or a set of symbol periods associated with each portion of the TXOP), such as for multi-user TDMA.

[0057] In some other examples of OFDMA technology, each of the multiple parts of a TXOP includes a set of frequency resources that do not overlap with any frequency resources of any other part of the multiple parts. In such specific implementations, the scheduling information may include an indication of a frequency resource associated with each part of the TXOP among the multiple frequency resources of the TXOP. For example, the scheduling information may include an indication of a bandwidth portion of a wireless channel (such as an indication of one or more subchannels or resource units (RUs) associated with each part of the TXOP), such as for multi-user OFDMA.

[0058] In this manner, the acquisition of a TXOP by a sharing AP enables communication between one or more additional shared APs 102 and their respective BSSs with appropriate power control and link adaptation. For example, a shared AP 102 may limit the transmit power of a selected shared AP 102 so that interference from the selected AP 102 does not prevent a STA 104 associated with the TXOP owner from successfully decoding packets transmitted by the shared AP. Such techniques may be used to reduce latency, as other APs 102 may be able to transmit and receive data according to conventional CSMA / CA or EDCA techniques without having to wait to win contention for the TXOP. Additionally, such techniques may increase throughput on the BSSs associated with the participating APs 102 by enabling a group of APs 102 associated with different BSSs to participate in a coordinated AP transmit session, during which the group of APs 102 may share at least a portion of a single TXOP acquired by any of the participating APs, and may also achieve improvements in throughput fairness. Furthermore, by appropriate selection of shared APs 102 and scheduling of their corresponding time or frequency resources, medium utilization can be maximized or otherwise increased while packet loss due to OBSS interference can be minimized or otherwise reduced. Various implementations can achieve these and other advantages without requiring the sharing AP 102 or the shared AP 102 to be aware of the STAs 104 associated with other BSSs, without requiring a pre-assigned or dedicated master AP 102 or a pre-assigned group of APs 102, and without requiring backhaul coordination between the APs 102 participating in the TXOP.

[0059] In some examples, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP 102 is relatively low (such as less than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP 102 is relatively low (such as less than a threshold), the start times of communications between different BSSs may be synchronized. Conversely, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP 102 is relatively high (such as greater than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP 102 is relatively high (such as greater than a threshold), the start times may be offset from each other by a period associated with decoding the preamble of a wireless packet and determining whether the wireless packet is an intra-BSS packet or an OBSS packet based on the decoded preamble. For example, the period between the transmission of an intra-BSS packet and the transmission of an OBSS packet may allow the respective AP 102 (or its associated STA) 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 intra-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. In this way, each of the participating APs 102 and their associated STAs 104 may be able to receive and decode intra-BSS packets in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0060] In some examples, a shared AP 102 may perform a poll of a set of unmanaged or non-co-managed APs 102 that support coordinated reuse to identify candidates for future spatial reuse opportunities. For example, a shared AP 102 may send one or more spatial reuse poll frames as part of determining one or more spatial reuse criteria and selecting one or more other APs 102 as shared APs 102. Following the poll, 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 the other APs 102, the CTI frame indicating the time and frequency of resources for a sharable TXOP. The shared AP 102 may select one or more candidate APs 102 upon receiving a Coordinated AP TXOP Request (CTR) frame from the respective candidate APs 102 indicating that the respective APs 102 desire to participate in the TXOP. The poll response or CTR frame may include a power indication, such as the RX power or RSSI measured by the respective APs. In some other examples, the shared AP 102 may directly measure the potential interference of services supported at one or more APs (such as UL transmissions) and select a shared AP 102 based on the measured potential interference. The shared AP 102 typically selects an AP 102 to participate in coordinated spatial reuse so that it still protects its own transmissions to and from STAs 104 in its BSS (these transmissions may be referred to as primary transmissions). Resources may then be allocated to the selected AP 102 during the TXOP, as described above.

[0061] According to the examples described herein, a shared AP 102 may utilize an AP-specific AID to identify the shared AP 102 to which resources of a TXOP are allocated. For example, various subsets of AIDs may be reserved for or otherwise unavailable for identifying a STA 104 (such as a non-AP STA 104). For example, some AIDs may be reserved for purposes other than identifying a STA 104 (or allocating a RU). Additionally, some AIDs may be available for identifying a STA in some communication scenarios, but excluded from use in other communication scenarios (such as associated with the communication of a High Efficiency (HE) MU PPDU or an EHT MU PPDU). One or more of the subsets of AIDs may be allocated for identifying an AP 102 in association with TXOP sharing. For example, an AID from one or more subsets of AIDs may be selected by the shared AP 102 or otherwise assigned to the shared AP 102, such that the sharing AP 102 may transmit a frame (such as a CTI, a MU-RTS frame, or a MU-RTS TXS frame) including the AID associated with the shared AP 102 to allocate the portion of the TXOP to the shared AP 102. In this manner, the AID subfield of the frame (which may otherwise be used to identify non-AP STAs for TXOP sharing) may be utilized to identify and indicate the shared AP 102 to which the portion of the TXOP is allocated.

[0062] Figure 2 An example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 is shown that can be used for wireless communication between a wireless AP 102 and one or more wireless STAs 104. For example, the PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, the PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the preamble 202 can include a legacy portion that itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 that can consist of two symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 that can consist of two symbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210 that can consist of two symbols. The legacy portion of the preamble 202 can be configured in accordance with the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. The preamble 202 can also include a non-legacy portion that includes, for example, one or more non-legacy fields 212 that comply with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0063] The L-STF 206 generally enables the receiving device to perform coarse timing and frequency tracking and automatic gain control (AGC). The L-LTF 208 generally enables the receiving device to perform fine timing and frequency tracking and also to perform an initial estimation of the wireless channel. The L-SIG 210 generally enables the receiving device to determine (e.g., obtain, select, identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmitting over the PDU. The legacy portion of the preamble, including the L-STF 206, L-LTF 208, and L-SIG 210, can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. The payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another suitable modulation scheme. The payload 204 may include a PSDU including a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry higher layer data, for example, in the form of a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0064] In some examples, a TXOP can be shared between APs 102 so that coordination and latency associated with communicating PDUs 200 can be improved. For example, a sharing AP 102 can allocate a portion of the TXOP obtained by the sharing AP 102 to the shared AP 102 using an AP-specific AID associated with the shared AP 102. The shared AP 102 can communicate one or more PDUs 200 during the allocated portion of the TXOP, for example, with one or more STAs 104 that are part of a BSS associated with (such as managed by) the shared AP 102, the sharing AP 102, one or more other APs 102, or any combination thereof. Thus, latency associated with communicating one or more PDUs 200 can be reduced because the shared AP 102 can communicate one or more PDUs 200 during that portion of the TXOP instead of waiting to obtain its own TXOP.

[0065] Figure 3Another example PPDU 350 is shown that can be used for wireless communications between a wireless AP and one or more wireless STAs. PPDU 350 can be used for SU, OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmissions. PPDU 350 can be formatted as an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) WLAN PPDU in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, or can be formatted as a PPDU compliant with any later (post-EHT) version of a new wireless communication protocol (compliant with a future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, such as an 802.11 amendment associated with Wi-Fi 8, or another wireless communication standard). PPDU 350 includes a PHY preamble that includes a legacy portion 352 and a non-legacy portion 354. PPDU 350 may also include a PHY payload 356 following the preamble (e.g., in the form of a PSDU including a data field 374).

[0066] The legacy portion 352 of the preamble includes an L-STF 358, an L-LTF 360, and an L-SIG 362. The non-legacy portion 354 of the preamble includes a repetition of the L-SIG (RL-SIG) 364 and a plurality of wireless communication protocol version-related signal fields following the RL-SIG 364. For example, the non-legacy portion 354 may include a universal signal field 366 (referred to herein as "U-SIG 366") and an EHT signal field 368 (referred to herein as "EHT-SIG 368"). The presence of the RL-SIG 364 and the U-SIG 366 may indicate to an EHT- or later-version compatible STA 104 that the PPDU 350 is an EHT PPDU or a PPDU compliant with any later (post-EHT) version of a new wireless communication protocol (compliant with future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards). One or both of the U-SIG 366 and the EHT-SIG 368 may be configured as other wireless communication protocol versions associated with revisions to the IEEE family of standards above the EHT and carry version-related information. For example, the U-SIG 366 may be used by a receiving device to interpret bits in one or more of the EHT-SIG 368 or the data field 374. As with the L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362, in instances involving the use of bonded channels, the information in the U-SIG 366 and the EHT-SIG 368 may be replicated and transmitted in each of the component 20 MHz channels.

[0067] The non-legacy portion 354 also includes an additional short training field 370 (referred to herein as "EHT-STF 370," but which may also be configured for other wireless communication protocol versions above EHT and carry version-related information) and one or more additional long training fields 372 (referred to herein as "EHT-LTF 372," but which may also be configured for other wireless communication protocol versions above EHT and carry version-related information). The EHT-STF 370 may be used for timing and frequency tracking and AGC, and the EHT-LTF 372 may be used for finer channel estimation.

[0068] The EHT-SIG 368 can be used by the AP 102 to identify one or more STAs 104 and notify them that the AP 102 has scheduled UL or DL resources for them. The EHT-SIG 368 can be decoded by each compatible STA 104 served by the AP 102. The EHT-SIG 368 can generally be used by a receiving device to interpret the bits in the data field 374. For example, the EHT-SIG 368 may include RU allocation information, spatial stream configuration information, and per-user (e.g., STA-specific) signaling information. Each EHT-SIG 368 may include a common field and at least one user-specific field. In the context of OFDMA, the common field may indicate the RU distribution for multiple STAs 104, indicate RU assignments in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmission and which RUs correspond to OFDMA transmission and the number of users in the allocation, etc. The user-specific field is assigned to a specific STA 104 and carries STA-specific scheduling information, such as a user-specific MCS value and user-specific RU allocation information. Such information enables the respective STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field 374 .

[0069] In some examples, a TXOP can be shared between APs 102 so that coordination and latency associated with communicating PPDUs 350 can be improved. For example, a sharing AP 102 can allocate a portion of the TXOP obtained by the sharing AP 102 to the shared AP 102 using an AP-specific AID associated with the shared AP 102. The shared AP 102 can communicate the one or more PPDUs 350 during the allocated portion of the TXOP, for example, with one or more STAs 104 that are part of a BSS associated with the shared AP 102, the sharing AP 102, one or more other APs 102, or any combination thereof. Thus, latency associated with communicating the one or more PPDUs 350 can be reduced because the shared AP 102 can communicate the one or more PPDUs 350 during that portion of the TXOP instead of waiting to obtain its own TXOP.

[0070] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication network 400 that supports AP-to-AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication network 400 may implement aspects of the wireless communication network 100 or be implemented by these aspects. For example, the wireless communication network 400 may include an AP 402 and one or more STAs 404, which may be any of the wireless communication networks described herein (including those referenced herein). Figures 1 to 3 An example of a corresponding device).

[0071] A wireless communication network may support the use of AP-specific AIDs to facilitate sharing of TXOPs between APs 402. For example, wireless communication network 400 may include AP 402-a and AP 402-b. AP 402-a may obtain a TXOP (such as a contention-based TXOP) associated with communication via a wireless channel. For example, AP 402-a may contend for access to a wireless channel (such as a wireless medium shared by AP 402 and other devices) to gain control of the wireless channel for the TXOP. A TXOP may correspond to a time duration during which AP 402-a may (in some cases, exclusively) use one or more frequency resources to communicate (such as send or receive) one or more frames.

[0072] AP 402-a may determine to share (such as allocate or assign) one or more portions of a TXOP with one or more other APs 402 with which AP 402-a may communicate. Figure 4 In the example of FIG. 4 , AP 402-a may determine to allocate a portion of a TXOP to AP 402-b such that AP 402-b may communicate via a wireless channel during (e.g., via) the portion of the TXOP. For example, AP 402-a may allocate time and / or frequency resources associated with the TXOP to AP 402-b, which AP 402-b may use to communicate one or more frames 440.

[0073] To allocate the portion of the TXOP to AP 402-b, AP 402-a may send a frame 430 to AP 402-b. For example, frame 430 may be a frame that allocates the indicated portion of the TXOP to the indicated device. For example, frame 430 may include one or more fields that indicate (such as specifying) the resources of the TXOP allocated by frame 430 and indicate the device to which the resources of the TXOP are allocated. In some examples, frame 430 may be a trigger frame, such as a MU-RTS frame, a MU-RTS TXS frame, or some other type of trigger frame. In some examples, frame 430 may be a report poll frame, such as a buffer status report poll (BSRP) frame or a null data PHY PDU feedback report poll (NFRP) frame, among other types of report poll frames. In some examples, frame 430 may be any type of control frame or management frame that indicates the allocated portion of the TXOP and the AP 402 to which the portion of the TXOP is allocated.

[0074] To indicate the AP 402 to which the portion of the TXOP is allocated, the frame 430 may include an AP-specific AID. For example, the frame 430 may include an AID subfield (such as the AID12 subfield of the user information field) indicating the device to which the portion of the TXOP is allocated. In some cases, various subsets of possible AIDs that may be indicated via the AID subfield may be used to identify (such as be reserved for) an associated STA 404 (such as a non-AP STA). Other subsets of possible AIDs may not be used to identify the STA 404, for example, certain AIDs may be reserved and not used for such identification of the STA 404, or certain AIDs used to identify the STA 404 in some communication scenarios may not be used for such identification in other communication scenarios (such as associated with the communication of a High Efficiency (HE) MU PPDU or an EHT MU PPDU, etc.). Reference Figure 6 An example of such a division among subsets of possible AIDs is described. One or more of the subsets of reserved or otherwise unused AIDs may be configured (e.g., assigned, defined) for use in identifying AP 402 in association with TXOP sharing and may be referred to as AP-specific AIDs. For example, an AP-specific AID may be selected or otherwise assigned to AP 402-b by AP 402-b such that AP 402-a may transmit a frame 430 including an AID associated with AP 402-b to allocate that portion of the TXOP to AP 402-b. In some examples, AP 402 may be prohibited from being assigned or selecting a STA-specific AID, and STA 404 may likewise be prohibited from being assigned or selecting an AP-specific AID, e.g., to avoid AID conflicts between AP 402 and STA 404 (e.g., selecting or assigning the same AID to multiple devices).

[0075] In some examples, the allocation (such as selection or assignment) of AP-specific AIDs to respective APs 402 may be based on the type of wireless communication network 400. For example, the wireless communication network 400 may be an example of a centralized network, in which a network controller 410 manages the operation of the network, for example, via backhaul links, and the network controller 410 may communicate with one or more APs 402 in the network via these backhaul links. For example, the wireless communication network 400 may include a network controller 410 that may communicate with APs 402-a and 402-b via respective backhaul links. Examples of centralized networks include enterprise networks and mesh networks, such as Wi-Fi Alliance EasyMesh networks, as well as other types of centralized networks. In some examples, the network controller 410 may be implemented at a root AP 402 of the network (such as an AP 402 that communicates directly with a core network or network provider). For example, AP 402-a may be the AP 402 that implements the network controller 410 and manages the operation of the wireless communication network 400. In some examples, if AP 402-a is root AP 402, then AP 402-b may be an example of a range extender that operates to extend the communication range of AP 402-a.

[0076] If the wireless communication network 400 is a centralized network, the network controller 410 (such as AP 402-a) may assign an AP-specific AID to the corresponding AP 402. For example, the network controller 410 may select a first AID from the AP-specific AID set and send an AID assignment indication 415-a to the AP 402-a indicating that the first AID is assigned to the AP 402-a. The network controller 410 may also select a second AID from the AP-specific AID set and send an AID assignment indication 415-b to the AP 402-b indicating that the second AID is assigned to the AP 402-b. In some examples, the AID assignment indication 415 may indicate additional AID assignment indications 415, or the network controller 410 may send additional AID assignment indications 415 indicating AIDs assigned to other APs 402 to enable these APs to use the assigned AIDs for TXOP sharing. For example, the AID assignment indication 415-a (or another AID assignment indication 415 sent to the AP 402-a) may indicate a second AID assigned to the AP 402-b, such that the AP 402-a may include the second AID in the frame 430 to allocate a portion of the TXOP to the AP 402-b. In some other examples, the APs 402 may send (such as broadcast) respective AID indications 420 indicating their respective assigned AIDs. For example, the AP 402-b may send an AID indication 420 to the AP 402-a, the AID indication indicating the second AID assigned to the AP 402-b by the network controller 410. In some examples, if the network controller 410 is implemented at AP 402-a, AP 402-a may select a first AID and assign the first AID to itself, and may send (such as broadcast) one or more AID assignment indications 415 to notify, for example, AP 402-b that the first AID is associated with AP 402-a, so that AP 402-b can share a portion of the obtained TXOP with AP 402-a.

[0077] To avoid conflicts between AIDs assigned to APs 402, network controller 410 can track which AIDs are assigned to which APs 402. For example, network controller 410 (such as AP 402-a, if operating as a root AP 402) can store a mapping between AIDs and APs 402 and use the mapping to select AIDs for assignment to different APs 402. In some examples, the same AID can be used to assign to multiple APs 402 based on the distance between the APs 402. For example, if the distance between two APs 402 is greater than a threshold distance from each other, network controller 410 can assign the same AID to both APs 402.

[0078] AID assignment by the network controller 410 in a centralized network can reduce the complexity of AP-specific AID assignment and reduce the possibility of AID conflicts, among other benefits. For example, due to AID allocation tracking and conflict avoidance handled by the root AP 402 or network controller 410, non-root APs 402 can be assigned and use AP-specific AIDs without having to perform any AID selection or conflict handling operations. Additionally, the root AP 402 or network controller 410 is the sole assigner of AP-specific AIDs, which can reduce or eliminate AID conflicts and simplify AID assignment.

[0079] Alternatively, the wireless communication network 400 may be an example of a distributed network that does not include the network controller 410. Here, management of the wireless communication network 400 may be handled jointly by one or more APs 402, for example, via the exchange of over-the-air (OTA) messages. In some examples where the wireless communication network 400 is a distributed network, the AP 402 may select its corresponding AP-specific AID and send (such as broadcast) the selected AID to one or more neighboring APs 402 for use in TXOP sharing. For example, the AP 402-a may select a first AP-specific AID (such as the first AID or another AP-specific AID) for the AP 402-a and send (such as broadcast) an AID indication 420-a that indicates the first AP-specific AID for the AP 402-a. Similarly, AP 402-b may select a second AP-specific AID (such as a second AID or another AP-specific AID) for AP 402-b and send an AID indication 420-b that indicates the second AP-specific AID as being for AP 402-b. In some examples, AID indication 420 may be sent via a control frame, a management frame (such as a beacon), or a combination thereof.

[0080] If an AID conflict occurs between the selected AIDs, such as if the second AP-specific AID is selected by both AP 402-b and another AP 402 (not shown), AP 402-a may detect the conflict based on the respectively received AID indications 420 and send a conflict indication 425 to AP 402-b or another AP 402 to modify (such as reselect) the selected AID to resolve the conflict. Figure 4 In the example of , AP 402-a may send a conflict indication 425 to AP 402-b, and AP 402-b may select a third AP-specific AID for AP 402-b and send an AID indication 420-c indicating the third AP-specific AID.

[0081] In some other examples where the wireless communication network 400 is a distributed network, the AP 402 may select corresponding AP-specific AIDs and assign these AIDs to neighboring APs 402 for use in TXOP sharing. For example, the AP 402-a may select an AP-specific AID for the AP 402-b and may send an AID assignment indication 415-c to the AP 402-b that assigns the selected AP-specific AID to the AP 402-b. The AP 402-a may use the selected AP-specific AID to share the portion of the TXOP with the AP 402-b. Figure 5 Includes additional details associated with AID assignments to neighboring APs.

[0082] Based on receiving frame 430, AP 402-b may communicate one or more frames 440 during the portion of the TXOP allocated to AP 402-b (such as shared with the AP). For example, AP 402-b may communicate one or more frames 440-a with one or more STAs 404 that are part of the BSS associated with AP 402-b. Additionally or alternatively, AP 402-b may communicate one or more frames 440 with one or more APs 402, such as AP 402-a or another AP 402. In other words, AP 402-b may be considered the owner of the portion of the TXOP and may communicate one or more frames 440 with one or more other devices during the TXOP.

[0083] In some examples, AP 402-b may send a response frame 435 based on receiving frame 430. For example, response frame 435 may be an explicit confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to AP 402-b. In some examples, the type of response frame 435 may be based on the type of frame 430. For example, if frame 430 is a trigger frame (such as a MU-RTS frame or a MU-RTS TXS frame), response frame 435 may be a clear to send (CTS) frame indicating the successful allocation of the portion of the TXOP to AP 402-b. Alternatively, if frame 430 is a report poll frame, response frame 435 may be a report in response to the report poll. For example, if frame 430 is a BSRP frame, response frame 435 may be a buffer status report frame that also includes or serves as a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to AP 402-b. In some examples, AP 402-b's communication of one or more frames 440 during the portion of the TXOP may be an implicit acknowledgement of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to AP 402-b. Here, a response frame 435 may not be sent to indicate the acknowledgement.

[0084] Figure 5An example of a communication sequence 500 supporting AP to AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication sequence 500 may be referred to as Figure 1 and Figure 4 The various aspects of the wireless communication networks 100 and 400 described herein may be implemented. For example, the communication sequence 500 may be implemented by an AP 502 and one or more STAs 504, which may be any of the STAs described herein (including those referenced herein). Figures 1 to 4 )An example of a corresponding device described.

[0085] The communication sequence 500 illustrates an example of a messaging exchange that uses AP-specific AIDs to support TXOP sharing between APs 502. For example, a first AP 502 may support allocating one or more portions of an acquired TXOP to a second AP 502 using an AP-specific AID associated with the second AP 502. Various techniques may be implemented to support the allocation of AP-specific AIDs to APs 502 in association with TXOP sharing. For example, a network controller (such as a separate network controller or a root AP 502) may select corresponding AP-specific AIDs and assign these AIDs to APs 502, as described with reference to FIG. Figure 4 described.

[0086] Alternatively, the AP 502 may select its own AID from a set of AP-specific AIDs and transmit (e.g., broadcast) the selected AID to neighboring APs 502 via corresponding AID indications 505. For example, the AP 502-a may select a first AID for the AP 502-a and transmit an AID indication 505-a indicating the first AID for the AP 502-a to one or more neighboring APs 502 (e.g., the AP 502-b, the AP 502-c, or any combination thereof). Similarly, the AP 502-b and the AP 502-c may select a second AID for the AP 502-b and a third AID for the AP 502-c, respectively, and transmit an AID indication 505-b and an AID indication 505-c indicating the second AID for the AP 502-b and the third AID for the AP 502-c, respectively.

[0087] In some examples, there may be a conflict between the selected AIDs. In some examples, the AID conflict may occur based on AP 502-b and AP 502-c not being neighboring APs (e.g., being out of communication range of each other). For example, if AP 502-a is neighboring both AP 502-b and AP 502-c, AP 502-a may receive the corresponding AID indication 505 and select an AID different from the AIDs selected by AP 502-b and AP 502-c. Similarly, AP 502-b and AP 502-c may receive AID indication 505-a and select an AID different from the AID selected by AP 502-a. However, if AP 502-b and AP 502-c are not adjacent, AP 502-b and AP 502-c may not receive the respectively transmitted AID indication 505, and as a result, the respectively selected AIDs may be unknown to AP 502-b and AP 502-c. In some examples, since AP 502-b and AP 502-c may not know the respectively selected AIDs, AP 502-b and AP 502-c may select the same AID.

[0088] To resolve the conflict, AP 502-a may request one of AP 502-b and AP 502-c to select a new AID from the AP-specific AID set. For example, AP 502-a may receive AID indication 505-b and AID indication 505-c and determine that there is a match between the AIDs selected by AP 502-b and AP 502-c based on the AIDs indicated by the respective AID indications 505. That is, AP 502-a may determine that AP 502-b and AP 502-c have selected the same AP-specific AID. AP 502-a may send a conflict indication 510 to AP 502-b or AP 502-c. In response to the conflict indication, AP 502-b or AP 502-c may select a new AID for itself and send an AID indication 505 (such as AID indication 505-d or AID indication 505-e) indicating the new AID. For example, the conflict indication 510 may indicate that there is a match between the AID selected by the AP 502 and another AP 502, and the AP 502 may select a new AID based on the indication of the match. In some examples, the conflict indication 510 may instruct (such as request) the AP 502 to modify (such as reselect, regenerate) the selected AID, and the AP 502 may select a new AID (such as modifying the selected AID to generate a new AID).

[0089] To reduce the likelihood of AID conflicts, the AID selected (e.g., generated) by the AP 502 may be based on various parameters. For example, the AP 502 may select an AID from a set of AP-specific AIDs (e.g., generate an AP-specific AID) based on a BSS color associated with the AP 502, a BSSID associated with the AP 502, a compressed BSSID associated with the AP 502, or any combination thereof. For example, a first portion of the AID (e.g., a first subset of bits of the AID) may correspond to (e.g., match, be the same as) the BSS color of the AP 502. Additionally or alternatively, a second portion of the AID (e.g., a second subset of bits of the AID) may correspond to one or more bits of the BSSID of the AP 502 (e.g., the last 5 bits of the BSSID, or some other subset of bits of the BSSID). Additionally or alternatively, a third portion of the AID (such as a third subset of the bits of the AID) may correspond to one or more bits (such as the last 5 bits of the compressed BSSID, or some other subset of the bits of the compressed BSSID) of the AP 502 (such as a hash value of the BSSID).

[0090] Alternatively, the AP 502 may select corresponding AIDs and assign these AIDs to the neighboring APs 502 for use in TXOP sharing. For example, the AP 502-a may select corresponding AIDs for the corresponding neighboring APs 502 and assign the corresponding AIDs to the corresponding neighboring APs 502 via corresponding AID assignment indicators 515 (such as via AID assignment indicators 515-a to 515-m). Similarly, the APs 502-b and 502-c may select corresponding AIDs and assign these AIDs to the corresponding neighboring APs 502 via corresponding AID assignment indicators (such as via AID assignment indicators 515-b to 515-n and AID assignment indicators 515-c to 515-o, respectively). Here, each AP 502 may be assigned a corresponding AID from each of its neighboring APs 502, which the AP 502 and the corresponding neighboring APs 502 may use in TXOP sharing. For example, AP 502-b may be assigned a first AID from AP 502-a and a second AID from AP 502-c. In some examples, the first AID and the second AID may be the same AID. In some examples, the first AID and the second AID may be different.

[0091] AP 502 may use the allocated AID in association with TXOP sharing. Figure 5In the example of FIG4 , AP 502-a may obtain TXOP 520 and determine that a portion 525 of TXOP 520 is to be shared with AP 502-b. AP 502-a may send a frame 535 (such as frame 430) to allocate portion 525 to AP 502-b. For example, AP 502-a may include an AID associated with (such as selected or assigned to) AP 502-b in frame 535 to indicate AP 502-b as the shared AP 502 (such as a recipient AP 502, a target AP 502) to which portion 525 is to be allocated.

[0092] In some examples, if the AID associated with AP 502-b is assigned to AP 502-b by AP 502-a (such as by assigning a first AID via AID assignment indication 515), AID conflicts can be avoided by conveying a tuple in frame 535 that ensures uniqueness of the indication to AP 502-b. For example, AP 502-a may include the first AID in frame 535 and may also include the BSSID of AP 502-a (such as the BSSID of the TXOP-sharing AP 502). In some examples, the respective BSSIDs of APs 502 may be different from one another. Thus, even if multiple respective AIDs selected and assigned to other APs 502 are the same, the combination of the assigned AID and the BSSID of the AP 502 that assigned the AID may constitute a unique tuple from which the shared AP 502 may be identified. For example, to share portion 525 with AP 502-b, AP 502-a may transmit a first frame 535 that includes an AID assigned by AP 502-a to AP 502-b and the BSSID of AP 502-a. Additionally or alternatively, to share portion 525 of TXOP 520 obtained by AP 502-c, AP 502-c may transmit a second frame 535 that includes an AID assigned by AP 502-c to AP 502-b and the BSSID of AP 502-c. Thus, even if AP 502-a is assigned an AID by, for example, AP 502-b or another AP 502 that is the same as the AID assigned to AP 502-b by AP 502-c, including the BSSID of AP 502-c in the second frame 535 may uniquely identify AP 502-b as the shared AP. In some examples, AP 502 can store or otherwise track which AIDs are assigned by which APs so that AP 502 can correctly decode frame 535 (or other frames including AIDs associated with AP 502).

[0093] In some examples, AP 502-b may send an acknowledgment 540 of the allocation of portion 525 of TXOP 520 to AP 502-b. For example, in response to receiving frame 535, AP 502-b may send an acknowledgment 540 that portion 525 was successfully allocated to AP 502-b.

[0094] AP 502-b may use the resources of portion 525 to communicate one or more frames with one or more devices during portion 525. Figure 5 In the example of FIG5 , during portion 525, AP 502-b may transmit data 545 to STA 504 that is part of a BSS associated with (such as managed by) AP 502-b, and STA 504 may transmit a frame 550, such as an acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative ACK (NACK), to AP 502-b in response to the transmission of data 545. In some examples, AP 502-b's communication of one or more frames during portion 525 may serve as an implicit acknowledgment of the allocation of portion 525. Here, AP 502-b may not transmit acknowledgment 540.

[0095] Figure 6 An example of a frame field diagram 600 supporting AP to AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The frame field diagram 600 may be referenced by Figure 1 and Figure 4 The various aspects of the wireless communication network 100 and the wireless communication network 400 described herein can be implemented. For example, the frame field diagram 600 can be implemented by Figures 1 to 5 ) is implemented by the AP described in .

[0096] Frame field diagram 600 illustrates a user information (info) field 605, which may be a field of a frame (such as frame 430 or frame 535) used to allocate a portion of a TXOP to an indicated AP (which may be referred to as a TXOP shared frame). User information field 605 may include various subfields that support the allocation of that portion of the TXOP. For example, the user information field may include an AID subfield 610, a RU allocation subfield 615, an allocation duration subfield 620, a reservation subfield 625, a PS160 subfield 630, or a combination thereof. AID subfield 610 may include an AP-specific AID of the AP to which the portion of the TXOP is allocated. In some examples, AID subfield 610 may be a 12-bit subfield (or some other number of bits). In some examples, AID subfield 610 may be referred to as the AID12 subfield of user information field 605. RU allocation subfield 615, PS160 subfield 630, or a combination thereof may indicate one or more RUs allocated to the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, the RU allocation subfield 615 may be an 8-bit subfield (or some other number of bits). The allocation duration subfield 620 may indicate the duration of the portion of the TXOP allocated to the AP. In some examples, the allocation duration subfield 620 may be a 9-bit subfield (or some other number of bits). The reserved subfield 625 may be a set of bits in the user information field 605 that are not used or are otherwise reserved for other or future purposes. In some examples, the reserved subfield 625 may be a 10-bit subfield (or some other number of bits).

[0097] In some examples, one or more bits of the reserved subfield 625 can be used to further increase the number of possible AP-specific AIDs. For example, one or more bits of the reserved subfield 625 can be allocated to the AID subfield 610 to increase the number of bits included in the AID subfield, thereby increasing the number of AP-specific AIDs from which an AP-specific AID can be selected for inclusion in the TXOP sharing frame.

[0098] Frame field diagram 600 shows an example subset of AIDs that may be included in AID subfield 610, and if an AID within the subset is used, a corresponding indication (PS160 subfield 630). For example, if the AID subfield is a 12-bit subfield, AIDs 0 through 4095 may be indicated by AID subfield 610. Frame field diagram 600 shows an example division of AIDs 0 through 4095 into various subsets of AIDs, but other AID divisions are possible.

[0099] exist Figure 6In the example of FIG, AID 0 and AID 2045 may indicate that the user information field 605 allocates one or more consecutive RU allocations (such as random access (RA) RUs) to the associated STA and non-associated STA, respectively. AIDs 1 to 2007 may indicate that the user information field is addressed to the associated STA whose AID is equal to the value in the AID subfield 610. AID 2046 may indicate that one or more RUs indicated in the RU allocation subfield 615 are unallocated RUs. AID 4095 may not be allowed to indicate the AID of the device or consecutive RU allocations, but may be used to indicate the start of a padding field.

[0100] Various AIDs from AID 0 to 4095 may not be used for the above-described purposes, but may be allocated for identifying an AP in association with TXOP sharing. For example, AIDs with a most significant bit (MSB) equal to 1 (such as AIDs 2047 to 4094 excluding AID 4095) may be allocated and used as AP-specific AIDs. Additionally or alternatively, AIDs 2008 to 2044 may not be used for the above-described purposes, and may be allocated and used as AP-specific AIDs. Additionally or alternatively, a subset of AIDs 1 to 2007 may be allocated and used as AP-specific AIDs. For example, if the TXOP sharing frame is associated with the transmission of a HE MU PPDU or EHT MU PPDU (such as included in, triggering the transmission of a HE MU PPDU or EHT MU PPDU), one or more AIDs from AID 1 to 2007 may not be used to identify a STA (such as a non-AP STA). For example, in Figure 6 In the example of FIG, AIDs 1 to 48 may be AIDs associated with HE MU PPDUs or EHT MU PPDUs that may not be used to identify STAs. Therefore, if AIDs 1 to 48 are not used as STA-specific AIDs, they may be allocated and used as AP-specific AIDs. In some examples, if one or more reserved bits are allocated to the AID subfield 610, the AID that may be indicated due to the allocation of the reserved bits to the AID subfield 610 may be an AP-specific AID.

[0101] Figure 7 An example of a communication sequence 700 supporting AP to AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication sequence 700 may be referred to as Figure 1 and Figure 4 The various aspects of the wireless communication networks 100 and 400 described herein may be implemented. For example, the communication sequence 700 may be implemented by an AP 702 and one or more STAs 704, which may be any of the STAs described herein (including those referenced herein). Figures 1 to 6 )An example of a corresponding device described.

[0102] Communication sequence 700 illustrates an example of a messaging exchange that uses an AP-specific AID to support TXOP sharing between APs 502. For example, AP 702-a may obtain TXOP 720 and determine to allocate portion 725 of TXOP 720 to another AP 702. AP 702-a may communicate one or more messages to determine which AP 702 to share portion 725 of TXOP 720 with. For example, AP 702-a may transmit (such as a broadcast) frame 705 that triggers a set of STAs to indicate whether the respective STAs request allocation of portion 725, indicate a priority associated with traffic to be communicated during portion 725, or a combination thereof. For example, AP 702 may be considered an STA, and non-AP STAs associated with AP 702 may also be considered STAs. For example, communication sequence 700 illustrates AP 702 and STA 704 triggered by frame 705. In some examples, AP 702 may be an STA acting as an AP, and STA 704 may be a non-AP STA. Accordingly, the set of STAs triggered by frame 705 may include AP 702 (such as AP 702-b and AP 702-c), one or more STAs 704 (such as STA 704-a, which is part of the BSS associated with AP 702-a), or a combination thereof.

[0103] exist Figure 7 In the example of , the set of STAs may include STA 704-a, AP 702-b, and AP 702-c. In response to frame 705, the set of STAs may send a response frame 710 that indicates whether the corresponding STA requests allocation of portion 725, the priority associated with the corresponding service to be communicated during portion 725, or a combination thereof. In one specific implementation, the priority may be indicated by one bit to indicate whether the corresponding service has a high priority. In another specific implementation, the priority may be indicated by multiple bits to indicate one or more access categories to which the corresponding service belongs. For example, if a total of four bits are used for indication, the first bit may be used to indicate whether the corresponding service includes one or more frames of a best effort (BE) access category, the second bit may be used to indicate whether the corresponding service includes one or more frames of a background (BK) access category, the third bit may be used to indicate whether the corresponding service includes one or more frames of a voice (VO) access category, and the last bit may be used to indicate whether the corresponding service includes one or more frames of a video (VI) access category. In Figure 7 In the example of , STA 704 - a may send a response frame 710 - a to indicate that STA 704 - a does not request allocation of portion 725 .

[0104] In some examples, AP 702-b may send a response frame 710-b to indicate that AP 702-b does request allocation of portion 725, and AP 702-c may send a response frame 710-c to indicate that AP 702-c does not request allocation of portion 725. Here, AP 702-a may select AP 702-b to request allocation of portion 725, for example, based on no other AP 702 requesting allocation of portion 725, and send a frame 730 (such as a TXOP sharing frame, frame 430, frame 535) including an AP-specific AID associated with AP 702-b to allocate portion 725 to AP 702-b.

[0105] In some examples, multiple APs 702 may request allocation of portion 725. For example, response frame 710-b and response frame 710-c may each indicate that APs 702-b and 702-c, respectively, request allocation of portion 725. Here, AP 702-a may select the AP 702 to which to allocate portion 725 based on the priority of the corresponding traffic indicated via response frame 710. For example, in Figure 7 In the example of FIG7 , response frame 710-b may indicate a first priority associated with first traffic to be communicated by AP 702-b during portion 725, and response frame 710-c may indicate a second priority associated with second traffic to be communicated by AP 702-c during portion 725. AP 702-a may select AP 702-b based on the first priority being greater than (such as higher than) the second priority and send frame 730 to AP 702-b.

[0106] In some examples, frame 705 may be a trigger frame. In some examples, frame 705 may be a report poll message, such as a BSRP frame or a NFRP frame. In some examples, the priority of the traffic indicated in response frame 710 may be a buffer status report or a feedback report sent in response to a BSRP frame or a NFRP frame, respectively.

[0107] AP 702-b may communicate one or more frames during portion 725 of TXOP 720 based on being allocated portion 725. For example, in some cases, AP 702-b may send an acknowledgment 735 of the allocation of portion 725 to AP 702-b to AP 702-a. Figure 7In the example of FIG. 7 , during portion 725, AP 502-b may transmit data 740 to STA 704-b, which is part of a BSS associated with (such as managed by) AP 702-b, and STA 704-b may transmit a frame 745, such as an ACK or NACK, to AP 702-b in response to the transmission of data 740. In some examples, AP 702-b's communication of one or more frames during portion 725 may serve as an implicit acknowledgement of the allocation of portion 725. Here, AP 702-b may not transmit acknowledgement 735.

[0108] Figure 8 A flow chart illustrating an example process 800 that can be performed at a wireless AP that supports AP-to-AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of process 800 can be implemented by an AP or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of process 800 can be performed by a wireless communication device operating as or within a wireless AP (such as a wireless communication device described in FIG. 1 ). Figure 10 The wireless communication device 1000 described herein is used to perform the following steps: Figures 1 to 7 and Figure 10 In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the AP to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0109] In some examples, at 805, the process may include obtaining, at the first AP, a TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel. The operations of 805 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein (such as Figure 1 Obtaining TXOP, Figure 4 Obtaining TXOP, Figure 5 TXOP 520 is obtained and / or Figure 7 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 805 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 10 The TXOP component 1002 described above is executed.

[0110] In some examples, at 810, the process may include sending a frame including an AID associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the TXOP to the second AP for communication via the wireless channel based on the AID associated with the second AP. The operations of 810 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 The frame 430 is sent, Figure 5 The transmission of frame 535 and / or Figure 7 The frame may include information related to the transmission of the frame 705 or the frame 730. Figure 6 Described and Figure 6In some examples, aspects of the operation of 810 can be performed as shown in FIG. Figure 10 The described TXOP sharing component 1004 is performed.

[0111] In some examples, at 815, the process can include receiving a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based on the transmitted frame. The operations of 815 can be in accordance with examples as disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 Receipt of response frame 435, Figure 5 Receipt of a response frame (acknowledgement 540) and / or Figure 7 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 815 may be performed by referring to Figure 10 The described confirmation component 1006 is executed.

[0112] Figure 9 A flow chart illustrating an example process 900 that can be performed at a wireless AP that supports AP-to-AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of process 900 may be implemented by an AP or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of process 900 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as or within a wireless AP, such as a wireless AP (e.g., a wireless AP) or a wireless AP device (e.g., a wireless AP) that operates as a wireless AP. Figure 10 The wireless communication device 1000 described herein is used to perform the following steps: Figures 1 to 7 and Figure 10 In some examples, the AP may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the AP to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0113] In some examples, at 905, the process may include receiving, at a second AP, a frame from a first AP, the frame including an AID associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of a TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel obtained by the first AP to the second AP based on the AID of the second AP. The operations of 905 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 Reception of frame 430, Figure 5 Reception of frame 535 and / or Figure 7 705 or 730 of the frame). The frame may include Figure 6 Described and Figure 6 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 905 can be as described in reference to Figure 10 The described TXOP sharing component 1004 is performed.

[0114] In some examples, at 910, the process may include sending a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based on the received frame. The operations of 910 may be in accordance with examples as disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 The response frame 435 is sent, Figure 5 The sending of a response frame (acknowledgement 540) and / or Figure 7 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 910 may be performed by referring to Figure 10 The described confirmation component 1006 is executed.

[0115] In some examples, at 915, the process may include transmitting one or more frames during the portion of the TXOP based on the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP. The operations of 915 may be in accordance with examples as disclosed herein (such as Figure 4 The transmission of frame 440, Figure 5 The data 545 is sent and / or Figure 7 In some examples, aspects of the operation of 915 may be performed by reference to Figure 10 The TXOP component 1002 described above is executed.

[0116] Figure 10 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1000 supporting AP to AP TXOP sharing according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the wireless communication device 1000 is configured or operable to perform a reference Figure 8 and Figure 9 The described process 800 or 900. In various examples, the wireless communication device 1000 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that can include: one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem (such as a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem); one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements (collectively, "processors"); one or more radio components (collectively, "radio components"); and one or more memories or memory blocks (collectively, "memory").

[0117] In some examples, wireless communication device 1000 may be a wireless communication device for an AP (such as a reference Figure 111. The wireless communication device 1000 may be a device in the AP 102 described herein. In some other examples, the wireless communication device 1000 may be an AP including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device and multiple antennas. The wireless communication device 1000 may be capable of sending and receiving wireless communications, for example, in the form of wireless packets. For example, the wireless communication device may be configured or operable to send and receive packets in the form of physical layer PPDUs and MPDUs that comply with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. In some examples, the wireless communication device 1000 further includes or may be coupled to an application processor, which may also be coupled to another memory. In some examples, the wireless communication device 1000 further includes at least one external network interface that enables communication with a core network or a backhaul network to gain access to an external network including the Internet.

[0118] The wireless communication device 1000 may be as shown in FIG. Figures 1 to 7

[0065] The AP 1020 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of AP-to-AP TXOP sharing as described herein. For example, the AP 1020 may include a TXOP component 1002, a TXOP sharing component 1004, a confirmation component 1006, an AID assignment component 1008, an AID management component 1010, an AID indication component 1012, an AID conflict component 1014, a mapping component 1016, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses). Portions of one or more of the components 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014, and 1016 may be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. For example, the TXOP sharing component 1004 may be implemented at least in part by a modem. In some examples, at least some of the components 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014, and 1016 are at least partially implemented by a processor and implemented as software stored in memory. For example, portions of one or more of the components 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014, and 1016 may be implemented as non-transitory instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding module.

[0119] In some implementations, the processor may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally refer to a system or a series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes those inputs to produce a set of outputs (which may be passed to, for example, other systems or components of device 1000). For example, the processing system of device 1000 may refer to a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of device 1000 (such as a processor or a transceiver or a communication manager or other components or combinations of components of device 1000). The processing system of device 1000 may interface with other components of device 1000 and may process information (such as inputs or signals) received from other components or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of device 1000 may include a processing system, a first interface for outputting information, and a second interface for obtaining information. In some implementations, the first interface may refer to an interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and a transmitter, so that device 1000 can transmit information output from the chip or modem. In some specific implementations, the second interface may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a receiver, so that the device 1000 can obtain information or signal input and the information can be transmitted to the processing system. A person skilled in the art will readily recognize that the first interface can also obtain information or signal input, and the second interface can also output information or signal output.

[0120] According to examples disclosed herein, device 1000 can support wireless communications. TXOP component 1002 can be configured as or otherwise support means for obtaining a TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel at a first AP (device 1000). TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a frame including an AID associated with a second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the TXOP to the second AP for communication via the wireless channel based on the AID associated with the second AP. Acknowledgment component 1006 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, based on the transmitted frame, an acknowledgment of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP.

[0121] In some examples, AID assigning component 1008 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP. In some examples, to transmit a frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a frame based on the indication.

[0122] In some examples, AID management component 1010 can be configured as or otherwise support means for selecting an AID associated with a second AP from a set of AP-specific AIDs. In some examples, AID assignment component 1008 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP based on the selection. In some examples, to transmit a frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a frame based on the indication.

[0123] In some examples, the frame includes an indication of a BSSID associated with the first AP.

[0124] In some examples, mapping component 1016 can be configured as or otherwise support means for storing mappings between AIDs and APs. In some examples, to select an AID, AID management component 1010 can be configured as or otherwise support means for selecting an AID that is different from AIDs associated with one or more other APs based on the mapping.

[0125] In some examples, AID indicating component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a first indication that an AID is associated with the second AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP. In some examples, to transmit a frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a frame based on the first indication.

[0126] In some examples, AID indication component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, via a communication link between the first AP and the third AP, a second indication of an AID associated with the third AP. In some examples, AID conflict component 1014 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending, via the communication link between the first AP and the third AP, a third indication to modify the AID associated with the third AP based on a match between the AID associated with the second AP and the AID associated with the third AP.

[0127] In some examples, the AID associated with the second AP is based on a BSS color associated with the second AP, a BSSID associated with the second AP, a compressed BSSID associated with the second AP, or any combination thereof.

[0128] In some examples, AID indication component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, via a communication link between a first AP and a second AP, a first indication of a second AID associated with the second AP. In some examples, AID conflict component 1014 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending, via the communication link, a second indication that the second AID associated with the second AP matches an AID associated with a third AP. In some examples, AID indication component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, via the communication link, a third indication of an AID associated with the second AP based on the second indication.

[0129] In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a second frame associated with triggering the second AP to request an allocation of the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a response frame indicating that the second AP requested an allocation of the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, to transmit the frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting the frame based on the response frame.

[0130] In some examples, the second frame is a BSRP frame or a NFRP frame.

[0131] In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a second frame associated with triggering the set of stations including the second AP to indicate whether the respective stations request allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a priority associated with traffic to be communicated during the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a first response frame indicating that the second AP requests allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a first priority associated with first traffic to be communicated by the second AP during the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a second response frame indicating that the third AP requests allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a second priority associated with second traffic to be communicated by the third AP during the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for selecting the second AP for allocation of the portion of the TXOP based on the first priority being greater than the second priority. In some examples, to transmit a frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting the frame based on selection.

[0132] In some examples, the frame is a trigger frame including a MU-RTS frame, a MU-RTS TXS frame, a BSRP frame, or a NFRP frame. In some examples, the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID12 subfield of a user information field of the trigger frame.

[0133] In some examples, the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID set used to identify the corresponding AP, an AID set with the most significant bit being 1, an AID set associated with HE MU PPDUs, an AID set associated with EHT MU PPDUs, or any combination thereof.

[0134] Additionally or alternatively, device 1000 can support wireless communications according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, at a second AP (device 1000), a frame from a first AP, the frame including an AID associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of a TXOP associated with communications via a wireless channel, obtained by the first AP, to the second AP based on the AID of the second AP. In some examples, confirmation component 1006 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting, based on the received frame, a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP. In some examples, TXOP component 1002 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more frames during the portion of the TXOP based on the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP.

[0135] In some examples, AID assigning component 1008 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP. In some examples, to receive the frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving the frame based on the indication.

[0136] In some examples, AID assigning component 1008 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP. In some examples, to receive a frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a frame based on the indication.

[0137] In some examples, the frame includes an indication of a BSSID associated with the first AP.

[0138] In some examples, AID assigning component 1008 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, via a communication link between the second AP and a third AP, a second indication that a second AID is assigned to the second AP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving, at the second AP, a second frame from the third AP, the second frame including a second AID associated with the second AP, the second frame allocating to the second AP a portion of a second TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel obtained by the third AP based on the second AID of the second AP. In some examples, TXOP component 1002 can be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting one or more frames during the portion of the second TXOP based on the allocation of the portion of the second TXOP to the second AP.

[0139] In some examples, AID management component 1010 can be configured as or otherwise support means for selecting an AID associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific AIDs. In some examples, AID indication component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending an indication of the AID associated with the second AP to the first AP based on the selection. In some examples, to receive frames, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving frames based on the indication.

[0140] In some examples, the AID associated with the second AP is selected based on: a BSS color associated with the second AP, a BSSID associated with the second AP, a compressed BSSID associated with the second AP, or any combination thereof.

[0141] In some examples, the AID indication component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a first indication of a second AID associated with the second AP to the first AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP. In some examples, the AID conflict component 1014 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a second indication via the communication link that the second AID associated with the second AP matches an AID associated with a third AP. In some examples, the AID management component 1010 can be configured as or otherwise support means for selecting an AID for association with the second AP based on the second indication. In some examples, the AID indication component 1012 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a third indication of the AID associated with the second AP via the communication link based on the selection.

[0142] In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a second frame associated with triggering the second AP to request an allocation of the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a response frame indicating that the second AP requested an allocation of the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, to receive the frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving the frame based on the response frame.

[0143] In some examples, the second frame is a BSRP frame or a NFRP frame.

[0144] In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a second frame associated with triggering the set of stations including the second AP to indicate whether the respective stations request allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a priority associated with traffic to be communicated during the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a first response frame indicating that the second AP requests allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a first priority associated with first traffic to be communicated by the second AP during the portion of the TXOP. In some examples, to receive the frame, TXOP sharing component 1004 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving the frame based on the first priority being greater than corresponding priorities indicated by other APs in the set of stations.

[0145] In some examples, the frame is a trigger frame including a MU-RTS frame, a MU-RTS TXS frame, a BSRP frame, or a NFRP frame. In some examples, the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID12 subfield of a user information field of the trigger frame.

[0146] In some examples, the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID set used to identify the corresponding AP, an AID set with the most significant bit being 1, an AID set associated with HE MU PPDUs, an AID set associated with EHT MU PPDUs, or any combination thereof.

[0147] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0148] Clause 1: A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: obtaining, at a first AP, a TXOP associated with communication via a wireless channel; sending a frame including an AID associated with a second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the TXOP to the second AP for communication via the wireless channel based at least in part on the AID associated with the second AP; and receiving confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based at least in part on sending the frame.

[0149] Clause 2: The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP, wherein sending the frame comprises: sending the frame based at least in part on the indication.

[0150] Clause 3: The method of clause 1, further comprising: selecting the AID associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific AIDs; and sending an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP based at least in part on the selection, wherein sending the frame comprises: sending the frame based at least in part on the indication.

[0151] Clause 4: The method of clause 3, wherein the frame includes an indication of a BSSID associated with the first AP.

[0152] Clause 5: The method of any of clauses 3 to 4, further comprising storing a mapping between AIDs and APs, wherein selecting the AID further comprises selecting the AID different from AIDs associated with one or more other APs based at least in part on the mapping.

[0153] Clause 6: The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving a first indication via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP that the AID is associated with the second AP, wherein sending the frame comprises: sending the frame based at least in part on the first indication.

[0154] Clause 7: The method according to clause 6 further comprising: receiving a second indication of the AID associated with the third AP via a communication link between the first AP and the third AP; and sending a third indication for modifying the AID associated with the third AP based at least in part on a match between the AID associated with the second AP and the AID associated with the third AP via the communication link between the first AP and the third AP.

[0155] Clause 8: The method of any one of clauses 6 to 7, wherein the AID associated with the second AP is based at least in part on a BSS color associated with the second AP, a BSSID associated with the second AP, a compressed BSSID associated with the second AP, or any combination thereof.

[0156] Clause 9: A method according to any one of clauses 1 and 6 to 8, the method further comprising: receiving a first indication of a second AID associated with the second AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP; sending a second indication via the communication link that the second AID associated with the second AP matches an AID associated with a third AP; and receiving a third indication of the AID associated with the second AP via the communication link based at least in part on the second indication.

[0157] Clause 10: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, the method further comprising: sending a second frame, the second frame being associated with triggering the second AP to request the allocation of the portion of the TXOP; and receiving a response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP, wherein sending the frame comprises: sending the frame based at least in part on the response frame.

[0158] Clause 11: The method of clause 10, wherein the second frame is a BSRP frame or a NFRP frame.

[0159] Clause 12: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 11, the method further comprising: sending a second frame, the second frame being associated with triggering a set of STAs including the second AP to indicate whether the corresponding STA requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a priority associated with the business to be communicated during the portion of the TXOP; receiving a first response frame, the first response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a first priority associated with the first business to be communicated by the second AP during the portion of the TXOP; receiving a second response frame, the second response frame indicating that a third AP requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicating a second priority associated with the second business to be communicated by the third AP during the portion of the TXOP; and selecting the second AP for the allocation of the portion of the TXOP based at least in part on the first priority being greater than the second priority, wherein sending the frame comprises: sending the frame based at least in part on the selection.

[0160] Clause 13: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the frame is a trigger frame including a MU-RTS frame, a MU-RTS TXS frame, a BSRP frame, or a NFRP frame, and the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID12 subfield of a user information field of the trigger frame.

[0161] Clause 14: A method according to any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID set used to identify corresponding APs, an AID set with a most significant bit of 1, an AID set associated with HE MU PPDUs, an AID set associated with EHT MU PPDUs, or any combination thereof.

[0162] Clause 15: A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving a frame at a second AP from a first AP, the frame including an AID associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of a TXOP obtained by the first AP associated with communication via a wireless channel to the second AP based at least in part on the AID of the second AP; sending a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP based at least in part on receiving the frame; and sending one or more frames during the portion of the TXOP based at least in part on the allocation of the portion of the TXOP to the second AP.

[0163] Clause 16: The method of clause 15, further comprising: receiving an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP, wherein receiving the frame comprises: receiving the frame based at least in part on the indication.

[0164] Clause 17: The method of clause 15, further comprising receiving, via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, an indication that the AID is assigned to the second AP, wherein receiving the frame comprises receiving the frame based at least in part on the indication.

[0165] Clause 18: The method of clause 17, wherein the frame includes an indication of a BSSID associated with the first AP.

[0166] Clause 19: A method according to any one of clauses 17 to 18, the method further comprising: receiving a second indication that a second AID is assigned to the second AP via a communication link between the second AP and a third AP; receiving a second frame from the third AP at the second AP, the second frame including the second AID associated with the second AP, the second frame allocating a portion of a second TXOP associated with communication via the wireless channel obtained by the third AP to the second AP based at least in part on the second AID of the second AP; and sending one or more frames during the portion of the second TXOP based at least in part on the allocation of the portion of the second TXOP to the second AP.

[0167] Clause 20: The method of clause 15, further comprising: selecting the AID associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific AIDs; and sending an indication of the AID associated with the second AP to the first AP based at least in part on the selection, wherein receiving the frame comprises: receiving the frame based at least in part on the indication.

[0168] Clause 21: The method of clause 20, wherein the AID associated with the second AP is selected based at least in part on: a BSS color associated with the second AP, a BSSID associated with the second AP, a compressed BSSID associated with the second AP, or any combination thereof.

[0169] Clause 22: A method according to any one of clauses 15 and 20 to 21, the method further comprising: sending a first indication of a second AID associated with the second AP to the first AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP; receiving a second indication via the communication link that the second AID associated with the second AP matches an AID associated with a third AP; selecting the AID for association with the second AP based at least in part on the second indication; and sending a third indication of the AID associated with the second AP via the communication link based at least in part on the selection.

[0170] Clause 23: A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 22, the method further comprising: receiving a second frame, the second frame being associated with triggering the second AP to request the allocation of the portion of the TXOP; and sending a response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP, wherein receiving the frame comprises: receiving the frame based at least in part on the response frame.

[0171] Clause 24: The method of clause 23, wherein the second frame is a BSRP frame or a NFRP frame.

[0172] Clause 25: A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 24, the method further comprising: receiving a second frame associated with triggering a set of STAs including the second AP to indicate whether the corresponding STA requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicates a priority associated with the service to be communicated during the portion of the TXOP; and sending a first response frame, the first response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the TXOP and indicates a first priority associated with a first service to be communicated by the second AP during the portion of the TXOP, wherein receiving the frame comprises: receiving the frame at least in part based on the first priority being greater than the corresponding priorities indicated by other APs in the set of STAs.

[0173] Clause 26: A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 25, wherein the frame is a trigger frame including a MU-RTS frame, a MU-RTS TXS frame, a BSRP frame, or a NFRP frame, and the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID12 subfield of a user information field of the trigger frame.

[0174] Clause 27: A method according to any of clauses 15 to 26, wherein the AID associated with the second AP is included in an AID set used to identify corresponding APs, an AID set with a most significant bit of 1, an AID set associated with HE MU PPDUs, an AID set associated with EHT MU PPDUs, or any combination thereof.

[0175] Clause 28: A first AP, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor, said at least one processor communicatively coupled to said at least one memory, said at least one processor operable to cause said first AP to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 14.

[0176] Clause 29: A first AP comprising at least one component for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 14.

[0177] Clause 30: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 14.

[0178] Clause 31: A second AP, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor, said at least one processor communicatively coupled to said at least one memory, said at least one processor operable to cause said second AP to perform the method of any one of clauses 15 to 27.

[0179] Clause 32: A second AP comprising at least one component for performing the method of any of clauses 15 to 27.

[0180] Clause 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any of clauses 15 to 27.

[0181] As used herein, the terms "determine" or "determine" encompass a wide variety of actions, and thus, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (such as via searching in a table, database, or other data structure), inferring, ascertaining, measuring, and the like. Additionally, "determining" may include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data stored in a memory), sending (such as sending information), and the like. Additionally, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, obtaining, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.

[0182] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items (including single members). For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to encompass: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc. As used herein, unless expressly indicated otherwise, "or" is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense. For example, "a or b" may include only a, only b, or a combination of a and b.

[0183] As used herein, unless explicitly indicated otherwise, "or" is intended to be interpreted as inclusive. For example, unless explicitly indicated otherwise, "based on" can be used interchangeably with "based at least in part on," "associated with," or "in accordance with." Specifically, unless the context indicates "based only on 'one'" or its equivalent, whether "based on 'one'" or "based at least in part on 'one'" can be based on "one" alone or on a combination of "one" and one or more other factors, conditions, or information.

[0184] The various illustrative components, logical elements, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the examples disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of their functionality and exemplified in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0185] Various modifications to the examples described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles, and the novel features disclosed herein.

[0186] Additionally, various features described in this specification in the context of separate examples may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented in multiple examples individually or in any suitable subcombination. Thus, although features may be described above as functioning in a particular combination and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be deleted from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variations of the subcombination.

[0187] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the figures, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In addition, the accompanying drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart or a flow diagram. However, other operations not depicted may be incorporated into the example processes schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, the separation of the various system components in the examples described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all examples, but it should be understood as the described program components and systems can usually be integrated together in a single software product, or be packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. A first access point (AP), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the first AP to: obtaining a transmission opportunity associated with communication via a wireless channel; transmitting a frame including an association identifier associated with a second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the transmit opportunities to the second AP for communicating via the wireless channel based at least in part on the association identifier associated with the second AP; as well as Receiving an acknowledgment of the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities to the second AP based at least in part on transmitting the frame.

2. The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: receiving, via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP, an indication that the association identifier is assigned to the second AP, wherein to send the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: The frame is sent based at least in part on the indication.

3. The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: selecting the association identifier associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific association identifiers; and sending an indication that the association identifier is assigned to the second AP based at least in part on the selection, wherein to send the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: The frame is sent based at least in part on the indication.

4. The first AP of claim 3, wherein the frame includes an indication of a basic service set identifier associated with the first AP.

5. The first AP of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: storing a mapping between association identifiers and APs, wherein the association identifier is selected for the purpose of selection; and The association identifier is selected based at least in part on the mapping as distinct from association identifiers associated with one or more other APs.

6. The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: receiving, via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, a first indication that the association identifier is associated with the second AP, wherein to send the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: The frame is sent based at least in part on the first indication.

7. The first AP of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: receiving, via a communication link between the first AP and a third AP, a second indication of an association identifier associated with the third AP; and A third indication for modifying the association identifier associated with the third AP is sent via the communication link between the first AP and the third AP based at least in part on a match between the association identifier associated with the second AP and the association identifier associated with the third AP.

8. A first AP according to claim 6, wherein the association identifier associated with the second AP is based at least in part on a basic service set color associated with the second AP, a basic service set identifier associated with the second AP, a compressed basic service set identifier associated with the second AP, or any combination thereof.

9. The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: transmitting a second frame associated with triggering the second AP to request the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity; and receiving a response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities, wherein to send the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first AP to: The frame is sent based at least in part on the response frame.

10. The first AP of claim 9, wherein the second frame is a Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) frame or a Null Data Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit Feedback Report Poll (NFRP) frame.

11. The first AP according to claim 1 , wherein: The frame is a trigger frame including a Multi-User Request to Transmit (MU-RTS) Transmit Opportunity Sharing (TXS) frame, a Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) frame, or a Null Data Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit Feedback Report Poll (NFRP) frame, and The association identifier associated with the second AP is included in an Association Identifier 12 (AID12) subfield of a User Information field of the trigger frame.

12. A second access point (AP), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the second AP to: receiving a frame from a first AP, the frame including an association identifier associated with the second AP, the frame allocating a portion of transmit opportunities associated with communications via a wireless channel obtained by the first AP to the second AP based at least in part on the association identifier of the second AP; transmitting a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities to the second AP based at least in part on receiving the frame; as well as One or more frames are transmitted during the portion of the transmit opportunity based at least in part on the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity to the second AP.

13. The second AP of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: receiving, via a backhaul link associated with a network controller associated with the first AP and the second AP, an indication that the association identifier is assigned to the second AP, wherein to receive the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: The frame is received based at least in part on the indication.

14. The second AP of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: receiving, via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, an indication that the association identifier is assigned to the second AP, wherein to receive the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: The frame is received based at least in part on the indication.

15. The second AP of claim 14, wherein the frame includes an indication of a basic service set identifier associated with the first AP.

16. The second AP of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: receiving, via a communication link between the second AP and a third AP, a second indication that a second association identifier is assigned to the second AP; receiving, at the second AP, a second frame from the third AP, the second frame including the second association identifier associated with the second AP, the second frame allocating a portion of second transmit opportunities obtained by the third AP and associated with communications via the wireless channel to the second AP based at least in part on the second association identifier of the second AP; as well as One or more frames are transmitted during the portion of the second transmit opportunity based at least in part on the allocation of the portion of the second transmit opportunity to the second AP.

17. The second AP of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: selecting the association identifier associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific association identifiers; and sending, to the first AP, an indication of the association identifier associated with the second AP based at least in part on the selection, wherein to receive the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: The frame is received based at least in part on the indication.

18. A second AP according to claim 17, wherein the association identifier associated with the second AP is selected at least in part based on: a basic service set color associated with the second AP, a basic service set identifier associated with the second AP, a compressed basic service set identifier associated with the second AP, or any combination thereof.

19. The second AP of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: receiving a second frame associated with triggering the second AP to request the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity; and sending a response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities, wherein to receive the frame, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the second AP to: The frame is received based at least in part on the response frame.

20. The second AP of claim 19, wherein the second frame is a Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) frame or a Null Data Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit Feedback Report Poll (NFRP) frame.

21. The second AP of claim 12, wherein the association identifier associated with the second AP is included in an association identifier set for identifying a corresponding AP, an association identifier set whose most significant bit is 1, an association identifier set associated with a high-efficiency (HE) multi-user (MU) physical protocol data unit (PPDU), an association identifier set associated with an extremely high throughput (EHT) MU PPDU, or any combination thereof.

22. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: obtaining, at a first access point (AP), a transmit opportunity associated with communication via a wireless channel; transmitting a frame including an association identifier associated with a second AP, the frame allocating a portion of the transmit opportunities to the second AP for communicating via the wireless channel based at least in part on the association identifier associated with the second AP; as well as Receiving an acknowledgment of the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities to the second AP based at least in part on transmitting the frame.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: selecting the association identifier associated with the second AP from a set of AP-specific association identifiers; as well as and sending an indication that the association identifier is assigned to the second AP based at least in part on the selection, wherein sending the frame comprises: The frame is sent based at least in part on the indication.

24. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: receiving, via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, a first indication of a second association identifier associated with the second AP; sending, via the communication link, a second indication that the second association identifier associated with the second AP matches an association identifier associated with a third AP; as well as A third indication of the association identifier associated with the second AP is received via the communication link based at least in part on the second indication.

25. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: transmitting a second frame associated with triggering a set of stations including the second AP to indicate whether respective stations request the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity and indicating a priority associated with traffic to be communicated during the portion of the transmit opportunity; receiving a first response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity and indicating a first priority associated with first traffic to be communicated by the second AP during the portion of the transmit opportunity; receiving a second response frame indicating that a third AP requests the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity and indicating a second priority associated with second traffic to be communicated by the third AP during the portion of the transmit opportunity; as well as selecting the second AP for allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities based at least in part on the first priority being greater than the second priority, wherein transmitting the frame comprises: The frame is sent based at least in part on the selection.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the association identifier associated with the second AP is included in an association identifier set for identifying a corresponding AP, an association identifier set whose most significant bit is 1, an association identifier set associated with a high-efficiency (HE) multi-user (MU) physical protocol data unit (PPDU), an association identifier set associated with an extremely high throughput (EHT) MU PPDU, or any combination thereof.

27. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving, at a second access point (AP), a frame from a first AP, the frame including an association identifier associated with the second AP, the frame allocating to the second AP a portion of transmit opportunities obtained by the first AP associated with communications via a wireless channel based at least in part on the association identifier of the second AP; transmitting a confirmation of the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunities to the second AP based at least in part on receiving the frame; as well as One or more frames are transmitted during the portion of the transmit opportunity based at least in part on the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity to the second AP.

28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising: sending, to the first AP via a communication link between the first AP and the second AP, a first indication of a second association identifier associated with the second AP; receiving, via the communication link, a second indication that the second association identifier associated with the second AP matches an association identifier associated with a third AP; selecting the association identifier for associating with the second AP based at least in part on the second indication; as well as A third indication of the association identifier associated with the second AP is sent via the communication link based at least in part on the selection.

29. The method according to claim 27, further comprising: receiving a second frame associated with triggering a set of stations including the second AP to indicate whether respective stations request the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity and indicating a priority associated with traffic to be communicated during the portion of the transmit opportunity; as well as sending a first response frame indicating that the second AP requests the allocation of the portion of the transmit opportunity and indicating a first priority associated with first traffic to be communicated by the second AP during the portion of the transmit opportunity, wherein receiving the frame comprises: The frame is received based at least in part on the first priority being greater than corresponding priorities indicated by other APs in the set of stations.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein: The frame is a trigger frame including a Multi-User Request to Transmit (MU-RTS) Transmit Opportunity Sharing (TXS) frame, a Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) frame, or a Null Data Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit Feedback Report Poll (NFRP) frame, and The association identifier associated with the second AP is included in an Association Identifier 12 (AID12) subfield of a User Information field of the trigger frame.

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