Basic service set translation management with ultra-high reliability enhanced roaming

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and devices related to enhanced BSS roaming. A device may generate a basic service set conversion management (BTM) query frame including one or more fields. For example, a device may include an indication of an intent to receive information from an associated AP, where the information is related to a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP to maintain one or more agreements. The device may cause a frame to be sent to the AP. A device may identify a BTM request frame received from an associated AP.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for wireless communication, and more specifically, to basic service set (BSS) transition management with ultra-high reliability (UHR) enhanced roaming. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless devices are becoming increasingly ubiquitous and are requesting access to wireless channels more and more. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has been developing one or more standards to enable Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs). The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular technology has also begun supporting RLANs by introducing Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology to LTE and later extending 5G New Radio (NR) to New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U). Attached Figure Description

[0003] Figure 1 This is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment for enhanced BSS roaming according to one or more example embodiments of this disclosure.

[0004] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating a process for illustrative enhanced BSS roaming according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0005] Figure 3 A functional diagram of an exemplary communication station that can be adapted for use as a user equipment is shown according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0006] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example machine on which any one or more techniques (e.g., methods) can be performed according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] Figure 5 It is a block diagram of a radio architecture based on some examples.

[0008] Figure 6 One or more example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown for use with Figure 5 Example front-end module circuitry in a radio architecture.

[0009] Figure 7 One or more example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown for use with Figure 5 Example radio IC circuit in a radio architecture.

[0010] Figure 8 One or more example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown for use with Figure 5 Example baseband processing circuitry in a radio architecture. Detailed Implementation

[0011] The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may be combined with structural variations, logical variations, electrical variations, process variations, algorithmic variations, and other changes. Parts and features of some embodiments may be included in or replaced by parts and features of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims cover all available equivalents of those claims.

[0012] Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn or Ultra-High Reliability (UHR)) is the next generation of Wi-Fi and the successor to the IEEE 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) standard. Consistent with all previous Wi-Fi standards, Wi-Fi 8 will focus on improving wireless performance, along with introducing new innovative features to further advance Wi-Fi technology.

[0013] One of the key goals of Wi-Fi 8 is to allow smooth movement with zero or low latency and zero or low packet loss during transitions between AP MLDs in different locations.

[0014] The proposal so far focuses on enabling context transfer between the source AP MLD (to which the non-AP MLD is associated) and the new AP MLD (to which the non-AP MLD will be transferred) during roaming. As part of this transfer, the goal is to make the transition as smooth as possible, allowing the non-AP MLD to remain in associated state 4, retaining its security key, and preserving the same context such as SN, PN, and BA protocols.

[0015] Currently, there are other agreements between the STA and its AP, or between the non-AP MLD and its AP MLD, which, ideally, will be retained and maintained as a new AP / AP MLD is established after roaming. Essentially, the transition occurs seamlessly without any interruption to service or system parameters.

[0016] Example embodiments of this disclosure relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for BSS transition management with Ultra-High Reliability (UHR) enhanced roaming.

[0017] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system may enhance the BSS transition management protocol, which is currently used for APs or AP MLDs, to recommend possible transitions to neighboring APs / AP MLDs to STAs / non-AP MLDs. These enhancements will allow STAs to retain their agreements with the current AP MLD to those with the AP MLDs they may transition to.

[0018] The above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting. Many other examples, configurations, processes, algorithms, etc., may exist, some of which are described in more detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment for enhanced BSS roaming according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user equipments 120 and one or more access points (APs) 102, which can communicate according to the IEEE 802.11 communication standard. User equipment 120 may be a non-stationary (e.g., not having a fixed location) mobile device, or it may be a stationary device.

[0020] In some embodiments, user equipment 120 and AP 102 may include similar... Figure 3 Functional diagrams of computer systems and / or Figure 4 One or more computer systems, which are example machines / systems.

[0021] One or more illustrative user equipment 120 and / or AP 102 may be operable by one or more users 110. It should be noted that any addressable unit can be a station (STA). An STA can exhibit a variety of different characteristics, each shaping its functionality. For example, a single addressable unit may simultaneously be a portable STA, a Quality of Service (QoS) STA, a subordinate STA, and a hidden STA. One or more illustrative user equipment 120 and AP 102 can be STAs. One or more illustrative user equipment 120 and / or AP 102 can operate as a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) control point / access point (PCP / AP). User equipment 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and / or AP 102 may include any suitable processor-driven device, including but not limited to mobile or non-mobile devices (e.g., static devices). For example, user equipment 120 and / or AP 102 may include user equipment (UE), station (STA), access point (AP), software-enabled AP (SoftAP), personal computer (PC), wearable wireless device (e.g., wristband, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), desktop computer, mobile computer, laptop computer, ultrabook TMComputers, laptops, tablets, server computers, handheld computers, handheld devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, sensor devices, PDA devices, handheld PDA devices, onboard devices, offboard devices, hybrid devices (e.g., combining cellular phone functionality with PDA device functionality), consumer devices, in-vehicle devices, non-in-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, PCS devices, PDA devices incorporating wireless communication devices, mobile or portable GPS devices, DVB devices, relatively small computing devices, non-desktop computers, "Lightweight, Enjoy Life" (CSLL) devices, Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs), Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs), Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), "origami" Devices or computing devices, devices supporting Dynamic Combination Computing (DCC), context-aware devices, video devices, audio devices, A / V devices, set-top boxes (STBs), Blu-ray disc (BD) players, BD burners, digital video disc (DVD) players, high-definition (HD) DVD players, DVD burners, HDDVD burners, personal video recorders (PVRs), broadcast HD receivers, video sources, audio sources, video sinks, audio sinks, stereo tuners, broadcast radio receivers, flat panel displays, personal media players (PMPs), digital video cameras (DVCs), digital audio players, speakers, audio receivers, audio amplifiers, gaming devices, data sources, data sinks, digital cameras (DSCs), media players, smartphones, televisions, music players, etc. Other devices, including smart devices (e.g., lights, climate control, automotive components, home components, appliances, etc.), may also be included in this list.

[0022] As used herein, the term "Internet of Things (IoT) device" refers to any object (e.g., appliance, sensor, etc.) that has an addressable interface (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address, Bluetooth identifier (ID), Near Field Communication (NFC) ID, etc.) and is capable of sending information to one or more other devices via wired or wireless connections. IoT devices can have passive communication interfaces (e.g., Quick Response (QR) codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, NFC tags, etc.) or active communication interfaces (e.g., modems, transceivers, transmitter-receivers, etc.). IoT devices can have a specific set of attributes (e.g., device status or condition (e.g., whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, etc.), cooling or heating functions, environmental monitoring or recording functions, light emission functions, sound emission functions, etc.), which can be embedded in and / or controlled / monitored by a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, ASIC, etc., and configured to connect to an IoT network (e.g., a local ad-hoc network or the Internet). For example, IoT devices can include, but are not limited to, refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwave ovens, freezers, dishwashers, tableware, hand tools, washing machines, dryers, furnaces, air conditioners, thermostats, televisions, lamps, vacuum cleaners, sprinklers, electricity meters, gas meters, etc., as long as these devices are equipped with addressable communication interfaces for communicating with IoT networks. IoT devices can also include cellular phones, desktop computers, laptops, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Therefore, IoT networks can consist of a combination of devices with “legacy” internet access (e.g., laptops or desktop computers, cellular phones, etc.) and devices that typically do not have internet connectivity (e.g., dishwashers, etc.).

[0023] According to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards and / or 3GPP standards, user equipment 120 and / or AP 102 may also include, for example, mesh stations in a mesh network.

[0024] Any of user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 can be configured to communicate with each other wirelessly or wiredly via one or more communication networks 130 and / or 135. User equipment 120 can also communicate with each other point-to-point or directly, with or without AP 102. Any of communication networks 130 and / or 135 can be, but is not limited to, any combination of suitable communication networks of different types, such as broadcast networks, wired networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and / or public networks. Furthermore, any of communication networks 130 and / or 135 can have any suitable communication range associated with it and can include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, any one of the communication networks 130 and / or 135 may include any type of medium capable of carrying network services, including but not limited to coaxial cable, twisted pair, optical fiber, hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceiver, radio frequency communication medium, white space communication medium, ultra-high frequency communication medium, satellite communication medium, or any combination thereof.

[0025] Either user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) or AP 102 may include one or more communication antennas. The one or more communication antennas may be any suitable type of antenna corresponding to the communication protocol used by user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, and 128) and AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communication antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, antennas compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard family, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, omnidirectional antennas, quasi-omnidirectional antennas, etc. The one or more communication antennas may be communicatively coupled to radio components to transmit signals (e.g., communication signals) to and / or receive signals from user equipment 120 and / or AP 102.

[0026] Either user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) or AP 102 can be configured to perform directed transmission and / or directed reception in conjunction with wireless communication within a wireless network. Either user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) or AP 102 can be configured to perform such directed transmission and / or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., DMG antenna arrays, etc.). Each of the multiple antenna arrays can be used for transmission and / or reception in a specific corresponding direction or directional range. Either user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) or AP 102 can be configured to perform any given directed transmission to one or more defined transmit sectors. Either user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) or AP 102 can be configured to perform any given directed reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0027] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network can be implemented using RF beamforming and / or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, when performing a given MIMO transmission, user equipment 120 and / or AP 102 can be configured to perform MIMO beamforming using all or a subset of its one or more communication antennas.

[0028] Either user equipment 120 (e.g., user equipment 124, 126, 128) or AP 102 may include any suitable radio and / or transceiver for transmitting and / or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in a bandwidth and / or channel corresponding to a communication protocol used by either user equipment 120 or AP 102 to communicate with each other. The radio components may include hardware and / or software for modulating and / or demodulating communication signals according to a pre-established transmission protocol. The radio components may also have hardware and / or software instructions for communicating via one or more Wi-Fi and / or Wi-Fi Direct protocols standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. In some example embodiments, the radio components and communication antennas can be configured to communicate via 2.4 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ax), 5 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 502.11bn, etc.), 6 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11bn, etc.), or 60 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11ad, 802.11ay), or 800 MHz channels (e.g., 802.11ah). The communication antennas can operate at 28 GHz and 40 GHz. It should be understood that this list of communication channels according to certain 802.11 standards is only a partial list, and other 802.11 standards (e.g., next-generation Wi-Fi or other standards) can be used. In some embodiments, non-Wi-Fi protocols may be used for communication between devices, such as Bluetooth, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Ultra High Frequency (UHF) (e.g., IEEE 802.11af, IEEE 802.22), white band frequencies (e.g., white space), or other packet-switched radio communications. Radio components may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communication via a communication protocol. Radio components may also include a low-noise amplifier (LNA), additional signal amplifiers, an analog-to-digital (A / D) converter, one or more buffers, and a digital baseband.

[0029] In one embodiment, and referring to Figure 1User equipment 120 can communicate with one or more APs 102. For example, one or more APs 102 can enable enhanced BSS roaming 142 with one or more user equipment 120. One or more APs 102 can be multi-link devices (MLDs), and one or more user equipment 120 can be non-AP MLDs. Each of the one or more APs 102 can include multiple individual APs (e.g., AP1, AP2, ..., APn, where n is an integer), and each of the one or more user equipment 120 can include multiple individual STAs (e.g., STA1, STA2, ..., STAn). AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs can establish one or more links (e.g., link 1, link 2, ..., link n) between each of the individual APs and STAs. It should be understood that the above description is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to be limiting.

[0030] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system can enhance the BSS transition management protocol, currently used for APs or AP MLDs, to recommend possible transitions to neighboring APs / AP MLDs to STAs / non-AP MLDs. These enhancements will allow STAs to retain their agreements with their current AP MLDs to those with the AP MLDs they may transition to. The proposal outlines the various methods and rules necessary to achieve these seamless transitions.

[0031] The following is a set of rules and methods:

[0032] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system may allow a non-AP MLD to send a BTM query frame (BSS transition management query frame) to its associated APMLD, wherein it includes one or more indications that it wants to maintain its current agreement with the AP MLD and that it wants to maintain its agreement with the target APMLD if the non-AP MLD transitions to the target AP MLD.

[0033] In one or more embodiments, the interest agreement is:

[0034] 1) The SCS agreement between non-AP MLD and its AP MLD;

[0035] 2) TWT protocols on different links;

[0036] 3) P2P TWT protocols on different links; and / or

[0037] 4) System configuration / capabilities of non-AP MLD (e.g., BW, MCS, operating frequency band, etc.).

[0038] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system may create and include new fields (possibly in new elements) in the BTM query frame to include its intent regarding whether the protocol received from the AP MLD will be retained on the target neighbor AP MLD.

[0039] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system can define a single field for all protocols.

[0040] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system can define specific fields for each type of agreement (one for SCS, one for TWT).

[0041] There is a list of agreements categorized by type, including:

[0042] 1) For the SCS: list of SCSIDs, since each SCSID represents a service that the non-AP MLD has described in the SCS process and that the AP MLD has approved (meaning it should meet the requirements of that type of service: latency limits, scheduling, etc.). Alternatively, it may include the full QoS feature elements for a specific SCSID.

[0043] 2) For TWT: A list of TWT IDs for each link. In this case, a request is made to maintain the existing TWT SP with the neighboring AP MLD on links in the same frequency band as the link on the current AP.

[0044] 3) P2P TWT: A list of P2P TWT IDs for each link.

[0045] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced BSS roaming system may allow an AP MLD to send a BTM request frame in response to the query frame or as an unsolicited transmission to recommend a neighboring AP MLD, and for each AP MLD (and optionally for each affiliated AP if the agreement is per AP), include an indication of whether the agreement between the non-AP MLD and the current AP MLD can be maintained if the non-AP MLD wants to switch to a neighboring AP MLD.

[0046] This will be a very small field indicating whether all agreements can be maintained, or a portion of the agreements can be maintained, or a very small field indicating whether the agreements cannot be maintained.

[0047] Conversely, by protocol type (SCS, TWT, or P2P TWT), or even by protocol identifier (SCSID, TWTID, or P2P TWTID), this might be more accurate. For example, if the target AP MLD can maintain and satisfy SCSIDs, then include a list of those SCSIDs.

[0048] Additionally, the proposal allows these fields to be omitted or set to values ​​that indicate the current AP MLD has no information.

[0049] There may also be alternative proposals for the agreement (e.g., for the TWT agreement).

[0050] These fields will be included in the neighbor report element describing the candidate neighbor report, either as fields in the core of the neighbor report element (possibly in the supplement), or in the CommonInfo field in the multi-link element included in the neighbor report (to identify whether the candidate AP is actually a candidate AP MLD) (if the protocol is at the AP MLD level (e.g., for SCS)), or in the Per STA Profile in the multi-link element of the neighbor report element (if the protocol is at the link level (e.g., P2P TWT or TWT protocol)).

[0051] Furthermore, upon receiving a BTM request frame with an indication that an agreement can be maintained with the candidate AP MLD, the non-AP MLD initiates a roaming transition to the candidate AP MLD (possibly with a specific time limit after receiving the BTM request frame—such a time limit may be indicated in the BTM request frame (incidentally, in some kind of overdue time indication field) by agreement or for all agreements). The AP MLD then responds to the roaming initiation, thereby establishing an association with the target AP MLD and establishing an agreement that it deems sustainable. The roaming confirmation frame will contain information to confirm the maintenance of the agreement in different possible forms:

[0052] - Fields in each AP MLD indicate the maintenance of all agreements.

[0053] - A list of SCSID, TWT ID, or P2P TWT ID, indicating the maintained protocol.

[0054] More likely: fields that describe the agreement and may assign new IDs (especially for TWT IDs or P2PTWT IDs, where the ID range is shared among all STAs, so IDs used in previous AP MLDs can be used in new AP MLDs for other non-AP MLDs, etc.).

[0055] In one or more embodiments, there will be indications available for notifying a non-AP MLD that wishes to switch from the current AP MLD to another AP MLD, where information exchange is not possible. This is not a condition that the AP MLD no longer supports the method, but rather due to other circumstances where it is unable to exchange information with some or all other local AP-MLDs.

[0056] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating an illustrative process 200 for an enhanced BSS roaming system according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0057] In box 202, the device (e.g., Figure 1 User equipment 120 and / or AP 102 and / or Figure 4 The enhanced BSS roaming device 419 can generate a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame that includes one or more fields.

[0058] In box 204, the device may include an indication of an intention to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information relates to maintaining one or more agreements with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP.

[0059] In box 206, the device can enable the sending of frames to the AP.

[0060] In box 208, the device can identify BTM request frames received from the associated AP.

[0061] It should be understood that the above description is for illustrative purposes and does not imply limitation.

[0062] Figure 3 A functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 300 according to one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In one embodiment, Figure 3 It is shown that, according to some embodiments, it may be suitable for use as AP 102 ( Figure 1 ) or user equipment 120 ( Figure 1 The communication station 300 is a functional block diagram of a communication station. The communication station 300 can also be used as a handheld device, mobile device, cellular phone, smartphone, tablet, netbook, wireless terminal, laptop computer, wearable computer device, femtocell, high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, access point, access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[0063] Communication station 300 may include communication circuitry 302 and transceiver 310 for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from other communication stations using one or more antennas 301. Communication circuitry 302 may include circuitry capable of operating physical layer (PHY) communication and / or media access control (MAC) communication for controlling access to a wireless medium and / or any other communication layer for transmitting and receiving signals. Communication station 300 may also include processing circuitry 306 and memory 308 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, communication circuitry 302 and processing circuitry 306 may be configured to perform the operations detailed in the foregoing figures, diagrams, and flowcharts.

[0064] According to some embodiments, communication circuitry 302 may be arranged to compete for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for transmission over the wireless medium. Communication circuitry 302 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. Communication circuitry 302 may also include circuitry for modulation / demodulation, up-conversion / down-conversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 306 of communication station 300 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 301 may be coupled to communication circuitry 302 arranged for transmitting and receiving signals. Memory 308 may store information for configuring processing circuitry 306 to perform operations such as configuring and transmitting message frames and performing various operations described herein. Memory 308 may include any type of memory (including non-transitory memory) for storing information in a machine-readable (e.g., computer) form. For example, memory 308 may include computer-readable storage devices, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and other storage devices and media.

[0065] In some embodiments, the communication station 300 may be part of a portable wireless communication device (such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capabilities, a network tablet, a cordless phone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that can wirelessly receive and / or transmit information).

[0066] In some embodiments, communication station 300 may include one or more antennas 301. Antenna 301 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture can be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas can be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each antenna and the antenna of the transmitting station.

[0067] In some embodiments, the communication station 300 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, a speaker, and other mobile device components. The display may be an LCD screen including a touchscreen.

[0068] Although the communication station 300 is shown as having several separate functional elements, two or more of these functional elements may be combined and implemented by a combination of software-configurable elements (e.g., processing elements including a digital signal processor (DSP)) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element of the communication station 300 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0069] Some embodiments may be implemented using one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storing information in a machine-readable (e.g., computer) form. For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, communication station 300 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

[0070] Figure 4 A block diagram illustrating an example of a machine 400 or system on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein can be performed. In other embodiments, machine 400 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, machine 400 may operate as a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In the example, machine 400 may act as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Machine 400 may be a personal computer (PC), tablet PC, set-top box (STB), personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, wearable computing device, network appliance, network router, switch, or bridge, or any machine capable of (sequentially or otherwise) executing instructions specifying actions to be taken by that machine (e.g., a base station). Furthermore, although only a single machine is shown, the term "machine" should also be considered to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or more) of instructions to perform any one or more methods discussed herein, such as cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0071] The examples described herein may include logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms, or on which operations may be performed. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) capable of performing a specified operation at operational time. A module includes hardware. In the examples, the hardware may be specifically configured to perform a particular operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer-readable medium containing instructions that configure the execution units to perform a specific operation at operational time. Configuration may occur under the guidance of the execution units or loading mechanisms. Thus, when the device operates, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium. In this example, the execution units may be members of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at a point in time, and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[0072] Machine (e.g., computer system) 400 may include a hardware processor 402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), main memory 404, and static memory 406, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnect (e.g., a bus) 408. Machine 400 may also include a power management device 432, a graphics display device 410, an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 414 (e.g., a mouse). In the example, the graphics display device 410, the alphanumeric input device 412, and the UI navigation device 414 may be a touchscreen display. Machine 400 may additionally include a storage device (i.e., a drive unit) 416, a signal generation device 418 (e.g., a speaker), an enhanced BSS roaming device 419, a network interface device / transceiver 420 coupled to an antenna 430, and one or more sensors 428 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors). Machine 400 may include an output controller 434, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)) connection, a parallel connection, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., printers, card readers, etc.). Operation according to one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be performed by a baseband processor. The baseband processor may be configured to generate corresponding baseband signals. The baseband processor may also include physical layer (PHY) and media access control layer (MAC) circuitry, and may also interface with hardware processor 402 for generating and processing baseband signals, and controlling the operation of main memory 404, storage device 416, and / or enhanced BSS roaming device 419. The baseband processor may be provided on a single radio card, a single chip, or an integrated circuit (IC).

[0073] Storage device 416 may include machine-readable medium 422 on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 424 (e.g., software) embodying or used by any one or more technologies or functions described herein. Instructions 424 may also reside wholly or at least partially within main memory 404, static memory 406, or hardware processor 402 during execution by machine 400. In this example, one or any combination of hardware processor 402, main memory 404, static memory 406, or storage device 416 may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0074] The enhanced BSS roaming device 419 can run or perform any of the operations and processes described and shown above (e.g., process 200).

[0075] It should be understood that the above is only a subset of the actions that the enhanced BSS roaming device 419 can be configured to perform, and other functions included in the entire disclosure can also be performed by the enhanced BSS roaming device 419.

[0076] Although machine-readable medium 422 is shown as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 424.

[0077] Various embodiments can be implemented entirely or partially in software and / or firmware. This software and / or firmware can take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions can then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions can be in any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, etc. Such computer-readable medium can include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in one or more computer-readable forms, such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc.

[0078] The term "machine-readable medium" can include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions that are executed by machine 400 and cause machine 400 to perform any one or more of the techniques disclosed herein, or any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Examples of non-limiting machine-readable media can include solid-state memory, as well as optical and magnetic media. In examples, mass-capacity machine-readable media includes machine-readable media having a plurality of particles having rest masses. Specific examples of mass-capacity machine-readable media can include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0079] Instruction 424 can also be sent or received via a network interface device / transceiver 420 using a transmission medium through a communication network 426, utilizing any of a variety of transport protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), mobile phone networks (e.g., cellular networks), ordinary old-style telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., referred to as…). The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard series, known as The IEEE 802.16 series of standards, the IEEE 802.15.4 series of standards, and point-to-point (P2P) networks are examples of such standards. In the example, network interface device / transceiver 420 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet jacks, coaxial jacks, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to communication network 426. In the example, network interface device / transceiver 420 may include multiple antennas to perform wireless communication using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technologies. The term "transmission medium" should be understood to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executed by machine 400, and including digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software.

[0080] The operations and processes described and illustrated above can be performed or carried out in any suitable order desired in various implementations. Furthermore, in some implementations, at least some operations can be performed in parallel. Additionally, in some implementations, fewer or more operations than described can be performed.

[0081] Figure 5 These are block diagrams of radio architectures 105A and 105B according to some embodiments, which can... Figure 1 Implemented in either example AP102 and / or example STA120. Radio architectures 105A and 105B may include radio front-end module (FEM) circuitry 504a-b, radio IC circuitry 506a-b, and baseband processing circuitry 508a-b. The radio architectures 105A and 105B shown include both Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Bluetooth (BT) functionality, but embodiments are not limited thereto. In this disclosure, "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi" are used interchangeably.

[0082] FEM circuits 504a-b may include a WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuit 504a and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuit 504b. The WLAN FEM circuit 504a may include a receive signal path, which includes circuitry configured to operate on WLAN RF signals received from one or more antennas 501, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the WLAN radio IC circuit 506a for further processing. The BT FEM circuit 504b may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on BT RF signals received from one or more antennas 501, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the BT radio IC circuit 506b for further processing. The FEM circuit 504a may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify the WLAN signals provided by the radio IC circuit 506a for wireless transmission via one or more antennas 501. Furthermore, the FEM circuit 504b may also include a transmission signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify the BT signal provided by the radio IC circuit 506b for wireless transmission via one or more antennas. Figure 5 In the embodiments, although FEM 504a and FEM 504b are shown to be different from each other, the embodiments are not limited thereto and include, within their scope, the use of an FEM (not shown) that includes a transmit path and / or receive path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more FEM circuits, wherein at least some of the FEM circuits share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0083] The radio IC circuits 506a-b shown in the figure may include a WLAN radio IC circuit 506a and a BT radio IC circuit 506b. The WLAN radio IC circuit 506a may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting the WLAN RF signal received from the FEM circuit 504a and providing the baseband signal to the WLAN baseband processing circuit 508a. The BT radio IC circuit 506b may subsequently include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting the BT RF signal received from the FEM circuit 504b and providing the baseband signal to the BT baseband processing circuit 508b. The WLAN radio IC circuit 506a may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting the WLAN baseband signal provided by the WLAN baseband processing circuit 508a and providing the WLAN RF output signal to the FEM circuit 504a for subsequent wireless transmission via one or more antennas 501. The BT radio IC circuit 506b may also include a transmission signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting the BT baseband signal provided by the BT baseband processing circuit 508b and providing the BT RF output signal to the FEM circuit 504b for subsequent wireless transmission via one or more antennas 501. Figure 5 In the embodiments, although radio IC circuits 506a and 506b are shown as different from each other, the embodiments are not limited thereto and include, within their scope, the use of radio IC circuits (not shown) that include transmit signal paths and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more radio IC circuits, wherein at least some of the radio IC circuits share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0084] The baseband processing circuits 508a-b may include a WLAN baseband processing circuit 508a and a BT baseband processing circuit 508b. The WLAN baseband processing circuit 508a may include a memory, such as a set of RAM arrays in a Fast Fourier Transform or Inverse Fast Fourier Transform block (not shown) of the WLAN baseband processing circuit 508a. Each of the WLAN baseband circuit 508a and the BT baseband circuit 508b may also include one or more processors and control logic to process signals received from the corresponding WLAN or BT receive signal path of the radio IC circuits 506a-b, and to generate corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the radio IC circuits 506a-b. Each of the baseband processing circuits 508a and 508b may also include physical layer (PHY) and media access control layer (MAC) circuitry, and may interface with devices used for generating and processing baseband signals and controlling the operation of the radio IC circuits 506a-b.

[0085] Still refer to Figure 5 According to the illustrated embodiment, the WLAN-BT coexistence circuit 513 may include logic providing an interface between the WLAN baseband circuit 508a and the BT baseband circuit 508b to implement use cases requiring WLAN and BT coexistence. Furthermore, a switch 503 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuit 504a and the BT FEM circuit 504b to allow switching between WLAN and BT radios as needed by the application. Additionally, while antenna 501 is depicted as being connected to the WLAN FEM circuit 504a and the BT FEM circuit 504b respectively, embodiments within their scope include: sharing one or more antennas between the WLAN and BT FEMs, or providing more than one antenna connected to each FEM 504a or 504b.

[0086] In some embodiments, the front-end module circuitry 504a-b, radio IC circuitry 506a-b, and baseband processing circuitry 508a-b may be provided on a single radio card (e.g., wireless radio card 502). In some other embodiments, one or more antennas 501, FEM circuitry 504a-b, and radio IC circuitry 506a-b may be provided on a single radio card. In some other embodiments, the radio IC circuitry 506a-b and baseband processing circuitry 508a-b may be provided on a single chip or integrated circuit (IC) (e.g., IC 512).

[0087] In some embodiments, the wireless radio card 502 may include a WLAN radio card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communication, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some embodiments of these embodiments, the radio architectures 105A, 105B may be configured to receive and transmit Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication signals via a multi-carrier communication channel. The OFDM or OFDMA signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0088] In some embodiments of these multi-carrier implementations, radio architectures 105A and 105B may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA) (e.g., a wireless access point (AP), base station, or mobile device including Wi-Fi devices). In some embodiments of these implementations, radio architectures 105A and 105B may be configured to transmit and receive signals according to specific communication standards and / or protocols (e.g., any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards, including 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11-2016, 802.11n-2009, 802.11ac, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, and / or 802.11ax standards, and / or specifications proposed for WLAN), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this. Radio architectures 105A and 105B may also be adapted to transmit and / or receive communications according to other technologies and standards.

[0089] In some embodiments, radio architectures 105A and 105B can be configured for high-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) communication according to the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In these embodiments, radio architectures 105A and 105B can be configured to communicate according to OFDMA technology, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0090] In some other embodiments, radio architectures 105A and 105B may be configured to transmit signals using one or more other modulation techniques (e.g., spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and / or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) modulation), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this aspect.

[0091] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As further shown, the BT baseband circuit 508b can conform to Bluetooth (BT) connectivity standards, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth 8.0, or Bluetooth 6.0, or any other generation of the Bluetooth standard.

[0092] In some embodiments, radio architectures 105A and 105B may include other radio cards, such as cellular radio cards configured for cellular (e.g., 5GPP such as LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 7G communications).

[0093] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, radio architectures 105A and 105B can be configured for communication over a variety of channel bandwidths, including bandwidths with center frequencies of approximately 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz, and bandwidths of approximately 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 5.5 MHz, 6 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz (with continuous bandwidth) or 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (with discontinuous bandwidth). In some embodiments, a 920 MHz channel bandwidth may be used. However, the scope of the embodiments is not limited to the above center frequencies.

[0094] Figure 6 A WLAN FEM circuit 504a according to some embodiments is shown. Although Figure 6 The example is described in conjunction with WLAN FEM circuit 504a, but it can also be described in conjunction with example BT FEM circuit 504b. Figure 5 To describe Figure 6 This is an example, although other circuit configurations may also be suitable.

[0095] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 504a may include a TX / RX switch 602 to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. FEM circuit 504a may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit 504a may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 606 to amplify the received RF signal 603 and provide the amplified received RF signal 607 as an output (e.g., provided to radio IC circuits 506a-b). Figure 5 The transmission signal path of circuit 504a may include: a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying (e.g., provided by radio IC circuits 506a-b) the input RF signal 609; and one or more filters 612, such as bandpass filters (BPF), low-pass filters (LPF), or other types of filters, for generating an RF signal 615 for subsequent transmission via example duplexer 614 (e.g., via one or more antennas 501). Figure 5 ))send.

[0096] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the FEM circuit 504a can be configured to operate in either the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuit 504a may include a receive signal path duplexer 604 to separate signals from each spectrum and provide a separate LNA 606 for each spectrum, as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 504a may also include a power amplifier 610 and a filter 612 (e.g., BPF, LPF, or another type of filter) for each spectrum, as well as the transmit signal path duplexer 604, to provide signals from one of the different spectra onto a single transmit path for subsequent transmission through one or more antennas 501 (…). Figure 5 The BT communication can be transmitted using a 2.4 GHz signal path and can utilize the same FEM circuit 504a as that used for WLAN communication.

[0097] Figure 7 A radio IC circuit 506a according to some embodiments is shown. Radio IC circuit 506a is suitable for use as a WLAN or BT radio IC circuit 506a / 506b. Figure 5 This is one example of a circuit, but other circuit configurations may also be suitable. Alternatively, it can be described in conjunction with the example BT radio IC circuit 506b. Figure 7 Examples.

[0098] In some embodiments, radio IC circuit 506a may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of radio IC circuit 506a may include at least mixer circuit 702 (e.g., down-conversion mixer circuit), amplifier circuit 706, and filter circuit 708. The transmit signal path of radio IC circuit 506a may include at least filter circuit 712 and mixer circuit 714 (e.g., up-conversion mixer circuit). Radio IC circuit 506a may also include synthesizer circuit 704 for synthesizing frequency 705 for use by mixer circuit 702 and mixer circuit 714. According to some embodiments, mixer circuit 702 and / or 714 may each be configured to provide direct conversion functionality. The latter type of circuit presents a much simpler architecture compared to standard superheterodyne mixer circuits and can mitigate any flicker noise introduced by it, for example, by using OFDM modulation. Figure 7Only a simplified version of the radio IC circuitry is shown, and each depicted circuit may include (though not shown) embodiments comprising more than one component. For example, mixer circuitry 714 may each include one or more mixers, and filter circuitry 708 and / or 712 may each include one or more filters, such as one or more BPFs and / or LPFs depending on the application requirements. For example, when the mixer circuitry is of the direct conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers.

[0099] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 702 can be configured to: based on the synthesis frequency 705 provided by synthesizer circuit 704, synthesize the frequency from FEM circuits 504a-b ( Figure 5 The received RF signal 607 is down-converted. Amplifier circuit 706 can be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 708 may include an LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal 707. The output baseband signal 707 can be provided to baseband processing circuits 508a-b. Figure 5 This signal is used for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 707 may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 702 may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this aspect.

[0100] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 714 may be configured to up-convert input baseband signal 711 based on synthesis frequency 705 provided by synthesizer circuit 704 to generate RF output signal 609 for FEM circuits 504a-b. Baseband signal 711 may be provided by baseband processing circuits 508a-b and may be filtered by filter circuit 712. Filter circuit 712 may include LPF or BPF, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0101] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 702 and mixer circuit 714 may each include two or more mixers and may be arranged, with the aid of synthesizer 704, for quadrature downconversion and / or upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 702 and mixer circuit 714 may each include two or more mixers, each mixer configured for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, mixer circuit 702 and mixer circuit 714 may be arranged for direct downconversion and / or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 702 and mixer circuit 714 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, but this is not required.

[0102] According to one embodiment, mixer circuit 702 may include: quadrature passive mixers (e.g., for in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) paths). In such an embodiment, from Figure 6 The RF input signal 607 can be down-converted to provide I and Q baseband output signals to be sent to the baseband processor.

[0103] Quadrature passive mixers can be driven by zero-degree and ninety-degree time-varying LO switching signals provided by quadrature circuits. These quadrature circuits can be configured to receive the LO frequency (fLO) from a local oscillator or synthesizer, such as the 704 synthesizer. Figure 7 The LO frequency is 705. In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a portion of the carrier frequency (e.g., half or one-third of the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the zero-degree and ninety-degree time-varying switching signals may be generated by a synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this aspect.

[0104] In some embodiments, the LO signal may differ in terms of duty cycle (the percentage of time the LO signal is high in a cycle) and / or offset (the difference between the start points of the cycle). In some embodiments, the LO signal may have an 85% duty cycle and an 80% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuit (e.g., the in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) paths) may operate with an 80% duty cycle, which can result in a significant reduction in power consumption.

[0105] RF input signal 607 ( Figure 6 The I and Q baseband output signals may include a balanced signal, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this. The I and Q baseband output signals may be provided to a low-noise amplifier (e.g., amplifier circuit 706). Figure 7 or filter circuit 708 ( Figure 7 ).

[0106] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 707 and the input baseband signal 711 may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal 707 and the input baseband signal 711 may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the radio IC circuitry may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry.

[0107] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided to process signals for each spectrum or other spectrums not mentioned herein, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this.

[0108] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 704 may be a fractional N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited to this, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 704 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 704 may include digital synthesizer circuitry. The advantage of using digital synthesizer circuitry is that, although it may still include some analog components, its footprint can be reduced to a much smaller footprint than that of analog synthesizer circuitry. In some embodiments, the frequency input to synthesizer circuit 704 may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. Baseband processing circuits 508a-b ( Figure 5 Depending on the desired output frequency, 705 may further provide a divider control input. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table (e.g., within a Wi-Fi card) based on the channel number and channel center frequency determined or indicated by the example application processor 510. The application processor 510 may include or otherwise connect to one of the example security signal converter 101 or the example receive signal converter 103 (e.g., depending on which device the example radio architecture is implemented in).

[0109] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 704 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as output frequency 705, while in other embodiments, output frequency 705 may be a portion of the carrier frequency (e.g., half or one-third of the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, output frequency 705 may be the LO frequency (fLO).

[0110] Figure 8 A functional block diagram of a baseband processing circuit 508a according to some embodiments is shown. The baseband processing circuit 508a is suitable for use as a baseband processing circuit 508a. Figure 5 This is one example of a circuit, but other circuit configurations may also be suitable. Alternatively, one could use... Figure 7 Example implementation Figure 5 Example BT baseband processing circuit 508b.

[0111] The baseband processing circuit 508a may include radio IC circuits 506a-b for processing. Figure 5 The baseband processing circuit 508a provides a receive baseband processor (RX BBP) 802 for receiving baseband signals 809 and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 804 for generating transmit baseband signals 711 for use in radio IC circuits 506a-b. The baseband processing circuit 508a may also include control logic 806 for coordinating the operation of the baseband processing circuit 506a.

[0112] In some embodiments (e.g., when exchanging analog baseband signals between baseband processing circuits 508a-b and radio IC circuits 506a-b), baseband processing circuit 508a may include an ADC 810 to convert analog baseband signals 809 received from radio IC circuits 506a-b into digital baseband signals for processing by RX BBP 802. In these embodiments, baseband processing circuit 508a may also include a DAC 812 to convert digital baseband signals from TX BBP 804 into analog baseband signals 811.

[0113] In some embodiments, such as those transmitting OFDM or OFDMA signals via baseband processor 508a, transmitting baseband processor 804 may be configured to generate OFDM or OFDMA signals suitable for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Receiving baseband processor 802 may be configured to process the received OFDM or OFDMA signals by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, receiving baseband processor 802 may be configured to detect the presence of OFDM or OFDMA signals by performing autocorrelation to detect preambles (e.g., short preambles) and by performing cross-correlation to detect long preambles. The preamble may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communication.

[0114] Return to reference Figure 5 In some embodiments, antenna 501 ( Figure 5 Each antenna 501 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas can be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result. Each antenna 501 may include a set of phased array antennas, but the embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0115] Although radio architectures 105A and 105B are shown as having several separate functional elements, one or more of these functional elements can be combined and implemented by a combination of software-configurable elements (e.g., processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs)) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0116] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other embodiments. As used herein, the terms "computing device," "user equipment," "communication station," "station," "handheld device," "mobile device," "wireless device," and "user equipment" (UE) refer to wireless communication devices such as cellular phones, smartphones, tablets, netbooks, wireless terminals, laptops, femtocells, high data rate (HDR) subscriber stations, access points, printers, point-of-sale equipment, access terminals, or other personal communication system (PCS) devices. The device may be mobile or stationary.

[0117] As used herein, the term "communication / transmission" is intended to include sending or receiving, or both. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing an organization of data sent by one device and received by another device, but where the functionality of only one of these devices would infringe the claim. Similarly, a bidirectional data exchange between two devices (where both devices send and receive during the exchange) can be described as "communication / transmission" when only the functionality of one of these devices is claimed. The term "communication / transmission" as used herein with respect to wireless communication signals includes sending and / or receiving wireless communication signals. For example, a wireless communication unit capable of transmitting wireless communication signals may include a wireless transmitter for sending wireless communication signals to at least one other wireless communication unit, and / or a wireless communication receiver for receiving wireless communication signals from at least one other wireless communication unit.

[0118] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the use of ordinal adjectives such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe common objects merely indicates that different instances of similar objects are referred to, and is not intended to imply that the objects described in this way must be in a given order in time, space, hierarchy, or any other way.

[0119] As used herein, the term "access point" (AP) can refer to a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, base station, evolved Node B (eNodeB), or some other similar terminology known in the art. An access terminal may also be referred to as a mobile station, user equipment (UE), wireless communication device, or some other similar terminology known in the art. The embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to wireless networks. Some embodiments may relate to wireless networks operating according to one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.

[0120] Some embodiments can be used with a variety of devices and systems, such as personal computers (PCs), desktop computers, mobile computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, server computers, handheld computers, handheld devices, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, handheld PDA devices, onboard devices, offboard devices, hybrid devices, in-vehicle devices, non-in-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, consumer devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, wireless communication stations, wireless communication devices, wireless access points (APs), wired or wireless routers, wired or wireless modems, video devices, audio devices, audio-video (A / V) devices, wired or wireless networks, wireless local area networks, wireless video local area networks (WVANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless LANs (WLANs), personal area networks (PANs), wireless PANs (WPANs), etc.

[0121] Some embodiments can be used in conjunction with the following devices: one-way and / or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio telephone communication systems, mobile phones, cellular phones, wireless phones, personal communication system (PCS) devices, PDA devices that include wireless communication devices, mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) devices, devices that include GPS receivers or transceivers or chips, devices that include RFID elements or chips, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transceivers or devices, single-input multiple-output (SIMO) transceivers or devices, multiple-input single-output (MISO) transceivers or devices, devices with one or more internal antennas and / or external antennas, digital video broadcasting (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard wireless devices or systems, wired or wireless handheld devices (e.g., smartphones), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) devices, etc.

[0122] Some embodiments can be used with one or more types of wireless communication signals and / or systems that follow one or more wireless communication protocols (e.g., radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), time division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi-tone (DMT)). It can be used in combination with Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, 5G mobile networks, 3GPP, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced, and Enhanced Data Rate GSM Evolution (EDGE), etc. Other embodiments can be used in a variety of other devices, systems, and / or networks.

[0123] The following examples are further embodiments.

[0124] Example 1 may include: an apparatus comprising processing circuitry coupled to storage, the processing circuitry being configured to: generate a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame including one or more fields; include an indication of intent to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information may be related to maintaining one or more agreements with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; cause the frame to be sent to the AP; and identify a BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

[0125] Example 2 may include: a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the associated AP may be a multi-link device (MLD).

[0126] Example 3 may include: a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the device may be a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0127] Example 4 may include: a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the one or more agreements are directed to the associated AP.

[0128] Example 5 may include a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes a recommendation for the target neighbor AP.

[0129] Example 6 may include a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes an indication of whether the one or more agreements between the associated APs can be maintained on the target neighbor AP.

[0130] Example 7 may include a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to initiate a roaming transition to the target neighboring AP after receiving the BTM request frame from the associated AP.

[0131] Example 8 may include a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame indicates a time limit for performing a roaming transition after the BTM request frame is received.

[0132] Example 9 may include: a device as described in Example 1 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the processing circuitry may also be configured to: establish an association with the target neighbor AP; and establish one or more agreements to be maintained.

[0133] Example 10 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause to perform the following operations: generating a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame including one or more fields; including an indication of an intent to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information may relate to one or more agreements maintained with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; causing the frame to be sent to the AP; and identifying a BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

[0134] Example 11 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the associated AP may be a multi-link device (MLD).

[0135] Example 12 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the device may be a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0136] Example 13 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the one or more agreements are directed to the associated AP.

[0137] Example 14 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes a recommendation for the target neighbor AP.

[0138] Example 15 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes an indication of whether the one or more agreements between the associated APs can be maintained on the target neighbor AP.

[0139] Example 16 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the operation further includes: initiating a roaming transition to the target neighboring AP after receiving the BTM request frame from the associated AP.

[0140] Example 17 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame indicates a time limit for performing a roaming transition after the BTM request frame is received.

[0141] Example 18 may include: a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Example 10 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the operation further includes: establishing an association with the target neighbor AP; and establishing one or more agreements to be maintained.

[0142] Example 19 may include: a method comprising: generating a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame including one or more fields; including an indication of intent to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information may relate to maintaining one or more agreements with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; causing the frame to be sent to the AP; and identifying a BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

[0143] Example 20 may include methods such as those in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the associated AP may be a multi-link device (MLD).

[0144] Example 21 may include methods such as those in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the device may be a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0145] Example 22 may include: methods such as those in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the one or more agreements are directed to the associated AP.

[0146] Example 23 may include: the method as described in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes a recommendation for the target neighbor AP.

[0147] Example 24 may include: the method as described in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes an indication of whether the one or more agreements between the associated APs can be maintained on the target neighbor AP.

[0148] Example 25 may include: the method as described in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, further comprising: initiating a roaming transition to the target neighbor AP after receiving the BTM request frame from the associated AP.

[0149] Example 26 may include: the method as described in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame indicates a time limit for performing a roaming transition after the BTM request frame is received.

[0150] Example 27 may include: the method described in Example 19 and / or some other examples herein, further including: establishing an association with the target neighbor AP; and establishing one or more agreements to be maintained.

[0151] Example 28 may include: an apparatus comprising components for: generating a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame including one or more fields; including an indication of intent to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information may relate to one or more agreements maintained with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; causing the frame to be sent to the AP; and identifying a BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

[0152] Example 29 may include: an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the associated AP may be a multi-link device (MLD).

[0153] Example 30 may include: an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the apparatus may be a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0154] Example 31 may include: an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the one or more agreements are directed to the associated AP.

[0155] Example 32 may include an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes a recommendation for the target neighbor AP.

[0156] Example 33 may include an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame includes an indication of whether the one or more agreements between the associated APs can be maintained on the target neighbor AP.

[0157] Example 34 may include an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, further comprising: initiating a roaming transition to the target neighboring AP after receiving the BTM request frame from the associated AP.

[0158] Example 35 may include: an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, wherein the BTM request frame indicates a time limit for performing a roaming transition after the BTM request frame is received.

[0159] Example 36 may include: an apparatus as described in Example 28 and / or some other examples herein, further including: establishing an association with the target neighbor AP; and establishing one or more agreements to be maintained.

[0160] Example 37 may include: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1-36, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0161] Example 38 may include: an apparatus comprising logic, modules and / or circuitry for performing one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1-36, or any other methods or processes described herein.

[0162] Example 39 may include: a method, technique, or process as described or associated with any one of Examples 1-36, or in part or in part thereof.

[0163] Example 40 may include: an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media, including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process as described or associated with any one of or in part of Examples 1-36.

[0164] Example 41 may include: a method for communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0165] Example 42 may include: a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0166] Example 43 may include: a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0167] Embodiments of this disclosure are specifically disclosed in the appended claims relating to methods, storage media, apparatus, and computer program products, wherein any feature mentioned in one claim class (e.g., method) may also be claimed in another claim class (e.g., system). Dependencies or reverse references in the appended claims are chosen solely for formal reasons. However, any subject matter arising from intentional reverse references to any prior claim (particularly multiple dependencies) may also be claimed such that any combination of claims and their features is disclosed and can be claimed regardless of the dependency chosen in the appended claims. Subject matter that can be claimed includes not only combinations of features set forth in the appended claims but also any other combination of features in the claims, wherein each feature mentioned in a claim may be combined with any other feature or combination of features in the claims. Furthermore, any embodiments and features described or depicted herein may be claimed in a separate claim and / or in any combination with any embodiments or features described or depicted herein or with any features of the appended claims.

[0168] The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the foregoing teachings, or they may be obtained from practice with various embodiments.

[0169] Certain aspects of this disclosure have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowcharts of systems, methods, apparatuses, and / or computer program products according to various implementations. It should be understood that one or more blocks in the block diagrams and flowcharts, as well as combinations of such blocks, can be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Similarly, according to some implementations, some blocks in the block diagrams and flowcharts may not necessarily need to be executed in the order presented, or may not need to be executed at all.

[0170] These computer-executable program instructions can be loaded onto a special-purpose computer or other specific machine, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus, create components for implementing one or more functions specified in one or more flowchart frames. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or memory that can direct the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture comprising instruction components that implement one or more functions specified in one or more flowchart frames. As an example, some implementations may provide a computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium in which computer-readable program code or program instructions are implemented, the computer-readable program code being adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in one or more flowchart frames. The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart frames.

[0171] Therefore, the boxes in these block diagrams and flowcharts support combinations of components for performing a specified function, combinations of elements or steps for performing a specified function, and program instruction components for performing a specified function. It should also be understood that each box in these block diagrams and flowcharts, and combinations of boxes in these block diagrams and flowcharts, can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based computer system or a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions that performs the specified function, element, or step.

[0172] Conditional languages, such as “can,” “may,” “may,” or “may,” are generally intended to convey, unless otherwise specifically stated or otherwise understood in the context in which they are used, that some implementations may include certain features, elements, and / or operations, while other implementations do not. Therefore, such conditional languages ​​are generally not intended to imply that one or more implementations require features, elements, and / or operations in any way, or that one or more implementations must include logic for determining (with or without user input or prompts) whether or to perform such features, elements, and / or operations in any particular implementation.

[0173] Many modifications and other implementations of the present disclosure set forth herein will be apparent from the teachings presented in the foregoing description and associated drawings. Therefore, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific implementations disclosed, and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terminology is used herein, it is used only in a general and descriptive sense and not for limiting purposes.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry coupled to storage, the processing circuitry being configured to: Generate a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame that includes one or more fields; This includes an indication of the intention to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information relates to one or more agreements maintained with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; This enables the transmission of the frame to the AP; and Identify the BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The associated AP is a multi-link device (MLD).

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The device is a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The one or more agreements are for the associated AP.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The BTM request frame includes a recommendation for the target neighbor AP.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The BTM request frame includes an indication of whether the one or more agreements between the associated APs can be maintained on the target neighbor AP.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The processing circuit is further configured to: After receiving the BTM request frame from the associated AP, a roaming transition to the target neighbor AP is initiated.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The BTM request frame indicates a time limit for performing a roaming transition after the BTM request frame is received.

9. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-8, wherein, The processing circuit is further configured to: Establish an association with the target neighbor AP; and To establish one or more agreements to be maintained.

10. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause to perform the following operations: Generate a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame that includes one or more fields; This includes an indication of the intention to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information relates to one or more agreements maintained with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; This enables the transmission of the frame to the AP; and Identify the BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The associated AP is a multi-link device (MLD).

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The device is a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The one or more agreements are for the associated AP.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The BTM request frame includes a recommendation for the target neighbor AP.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The BTM request frame includes an indication of whether the one or more agreements between the associated APs can be maintained on the target neighbor AP.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The operation also includes: After receiving the BTM request frame from the associated AP, a roaming transition to the target neighbor AP is initiated.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein, The BTM request frame indicates a time limit for performing a roaming transition after the BTM request frame is received.

18. The computer-readable medium as claimed in any one of claims 10-17, wherein, The operation also includes: Establish an association with the target neighbor AP; and To establish one or more agreements to be maintained.

19. A method comprising: Generate a Basic Service Set Transformation Management (BTM) query frame that includes one or more fields; This includes an indication of the intention to receive information from an associated AP, wherein the information relates to one or more agreements maintained with a target neighbor AP recommended by the associated AP; This enables the transmission of the frame to the AP; and Identify the BTM request frame received from the associated AP.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The associated AP is a multi-link device (MLD).

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