Apparatus for use in wireless communication device

Abstract

The present application relates to an apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, the apparatus comprising processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device to function as a TxOP holder to: transmit a BSRP trigger frame to a TxOP responder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or RU allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receiving a non-HT PPDU or a TB PPDU from the TxOP responder, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being transmitted as a response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 690,953, filed September 5, 2024, and U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 698,971, filed September 25, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communication, and more specifically to a wireless communication device and means for use in a wireless communication device. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless devices are becoming increasingly prevalent and requesting access to wireless channels more and more frequently. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has been developing one or more standards to implement Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs). The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular technology also began supporting RLANs by introducing Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology for LTE, and subsequently extended to New Radio (NR-U) with 5G New Radio (NR). Summary of the Invention

[0005] One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) holder, to perform the following operations: sending a Buffer State Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame to a TxOP responder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receiving from the TxOP responder a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being sent as a response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

[0006] Another aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) responder, to perform the following operations: receive a Buffer State Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame from a TxOP holder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and, based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information, in response to the BSRP trigger frame, transmit a Non-High Throughput (HT) Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or a Triggered (TB) PPDU to the TxOP holder. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings by way of example and not limitation, wherein similar reference numerals refer to similar elements.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a network schematic diagram illustrating an example network environment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the infrastructure framework for communication between an Access Point (AP) Multilink Device (MLD) and a non-AP MLD according to some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an infrastructure framework in which two peer MLDs communicate with each other according to some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0011] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a process for dynamic channel puncturing optimization implemented at the Transport Opportunity (TxOP) holder according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a process for dynamic channel puncturing optimization implemented in the TxOP responder according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a process for primary channel switching implemented in both the TxOP holder and the TxOP responder according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 7 This is a functional block diagram of an exemplary communication station 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 8 This is a functional block diagram of an example machine or system 800 that can perform any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein.

[0016] Figure 9 It is possible to achieve this. Figure 1 Functional block diagrams of radio architectures 900A, 900B according to some embodiments of either AP 104 or user equipment 102.

[0017] Figure 10 This is a functional block diagram of a WLAN FEM circuit 904a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 11 This is a functional block diagram of a radio IC circuit 906a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 12 This is a functional block diagram of a baseband processing circuit 908a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The illustrative embodiments will be described using terminology commonly used by those skilled in the art to convey the essence of this disclosure to them. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alternative embodiments can be implemented using portions of the described aspects. Specific figures, materials, and configurations are set forth for purposes of explanation to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that alternative embodiments can be implemented without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features may be omitted or simplified to avoid obscuring the illustrative embodiments.

[0021] Furthermore, the various operations will be described sequentially as a plurality of discrete operations in a manner most conducive to understanding the illustrative embodiments; however, the order of description should not be construed as implying that these operations are necessarily order-dependent. In particular, these operations do not need to be performed in the order presented.

[0022] The phrases “in an embodiment,” “in one embodiment,” and “in some embodiments” are used repeatedly throughout this document. These phrases do not typically refer to the same embodiment; however, they may refer to the same embodiment. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are synonyms. The phrases “A or B” and “A / B” mean “(A), (B), or (A and B).”

[0023] Figure 1 This is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example... Figure 1As shown, the wireless network 100 may include one or more user equipment 102 and one or more access points (APs) 104, which can communicate in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 communication standard. User equipment 102 may be a non-fixed (e.g., without a fixed location) mobile device or a fixed device.

[0024] In some embodiments, user equipment 102 and AP 104 may include similar... Figure 7 Exemplary communication stations and / or Figure 8 One or more functional modules in an example machine / system.

[0025] One or more user equipment 102 and / or AP 104 may be operated by one or more users 110. It should be noted that any addressable unit can be a station (STA). An STA can have several different characteristics, each shaping its functionality. For example, a single addressable unit can simultaneously be a portable STA, a Quality of Service (QoS) STA, a subordinate STA, and a hidden STA. One or more user equipment 102 and one or more AP 104 can be STAs. One or more user equipment 102 and / or AP 104 can operate as a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) control point / access point (PCP / AP). User equipment 102 (e.g., 1024, 1026, or 1028) and / or AP 104 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 102 and / or access point 104 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, personal digital assistant (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, off-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, personal communication service (PCS) devices, PDA devices incorporating wireless communication devices, mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) devices, digital video broadcasting (DVB) devices, relatively small computing devices, non-desktop computers, "Carry Life" Small Live Large (CSLL) devices, Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs), Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs), Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), "Origami" devices or computing devices, devices supporting Dynamically Composable 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, HD DVD Burners, Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), Broadcast HD Receivers, Video Sources, Audio Sources, Video Receivers, Audio Receivers, Stereo Tuners, Broadcast Radio Receivers, Flat Panel Displays, Personal Media Players (PMPs), Digital Cameras (DVCs), Digital Audio Players, Speakers, Audio Receivers, Audio Amplifiers, Gaming Devices, Data Sources, Data Receivers, Digital Cameras (DSCs), Media Players, Smartphones, Televisions, Music Players, etc. Other devices, including smart devices such as lighting fixtures, climate controls, automotive components, home components, and appliances, may also be included in this list.

[0026] As used herein, the term "Internet of Things (IoT) device" is used to refer 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 a wired or wireless connection. 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, transceivers, etc.). IoT devices can have a specific set of attributes (e.g., device status or condition, such as whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, 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 are 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, plates, 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 mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Therefore, IoT networks can include not only devices that typically do not have internet connectivity (e.g., dishwashers), but also combinations of "traditional" internet-accessible devices (e.g., laptops or desktop computers, mobile phones, etc.).

[0027] According to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards and / or 3GPP standards, user equipment 102 and / or AP 104 may also include, for example, a mesh station in a mesh network.

[0028] Any of user equipment 102 (e.g., user equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) and AP 104 can be configured to communicate wirelessly or wiredly with each other through one or more communication networks 130 and / or 135. User equipment 102 can also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with or without AP 104. Any of communication networks 130 and / or 135 can include, but is not limited to, any or a combination of different types of suitable communication networks, 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). Furthermore, either of the communication networks 130 and / or 135 may include any type of medium capable of carrying network traffic, 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.

[0029] Either user equipment 102 (e.g., user equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) and AP 104 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 102 (e.g., user equipment 1024, 1026, and 1028) and AP 104. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communication antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, IEEE 802.11 family of standard-compliant antennas, 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 and / or receive signals, such as communication signals to and / or from user equipment 102 and / or AP 104.

[0030] Either User Equipment 102 (e.g., User Equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) or AP 104 can be configured to perform directional transmission and / or directional reception in conjunction with wireless communication in a wireless network. Either User Equipment 102 (e.g., User Equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) or AP 104 can be configured to perform such directional 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 102 (e.g., User Equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) or AP 104 can be configured to perform any given directional transmission toward one or more defined transmit sectors. Either User Equipment 102 (e.g., User Equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) or AP 104 can be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0031] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network can be implemented using radio frequency (RF) beamforming and / or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, when performing a given MIMO transmission, user equipment 102 and / or AP 104 can be configured to perform MIMO beamforming using all or a subset of its one or more communication antennas.

[0032] Either user equipment 102 (e.g., user equipment 1024, 1026, 1028) or access point 104 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 the communication protocol used by either user equipment 102 or access point 104 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, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard. 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) may 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 radio communications. The radio components may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communication via a communication protocol. The radio components may also include a low-noise amplifier (LNA), an additional signal amplifier, an analog-to-digital (A / D) converter, one or more buffers, and a digital baseband.

[0033] In some embodiments, reference Figure 1 User equipment 120 can communicate with one or more APs 102. The one or more APs 102 can be AP multilink devices (MLDs), while the 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., Link1, Link2, ..., Linkn) 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.

[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the infrastructure framework for communication between an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD according to some embodiments of this disclosure. Figure 2As shown, AP MLD 202 includes APs 202-1 to 202-3 operating at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, respectively. Non-AP MLD 204 includes non-AP STAs 204-1 to 204-3. Link 206-1 exists between AP 202-1 and non-AP STA 204-1, link 206-2 exists between AP 202-2 and non-AP STA 204-2, and link 206-3 exists between AP 202-3 and non-AP STA 204-3. AP MLD 202 can communicate with non-AP MLD 204 on any of the links 206-1 to 206-3. For example, AP MLD 202 can communicate with non-AP MLD 204 only on link 206-1 (i.e., AP 202-1 communicates with non-AP STA 204-1). As another example, AP MLD 202 can simultaneously communicate with non-AP MLD 204 on both link 206-2 (i.e., AP204-2 communicates with non-AP STA 206-2) and link 206-3 (i.e., AP 204-3 communicates with non-AP STA 206-3). Furthermore, as... Figure 2 As shown, the solid line represents the distribution system (DS), and the dashed line represents the distribution system medium (DSM). AP MLD 202 can communicate with another AP MLD on the DSM.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an infrastructure framework for two peer MLDs to communicate with each other according to some embodiments of this disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, MLD 302 includes STAs 302-1 to 302-3, and MLD 304 includes STAs 304-1 to 304-3. Link 306-1 exists between STAs 302-1 and STA 304-1, link 306-2 exists between STAs 302-2 and STA 304-2, and link 306-3 exists between STAs 302-3 and STA 304-3. MLD 302 can communicate with MLD 304 on any of the links 306-1 to 306-3. For example, MLD 302 can communicate with MLD 304 only on link 306-1 (i.e., STA 302-1 communicates with STA 304-1). As another example, MLD 302 can communicate with MLD 304 simultaneously on both link 306-2 (i.e., STA 304-2 communicates with STA 306-2) and link 306-3 (i.e., STA 304-3 communicates with STA 306-3). It should be understood that MLD 302 and MLD 304 can be two AP MLDs or two non-AP MLDs.

[0036] It should be understood that each MLD has an MLD MAC address, and each STA of the MLD has an STA MAC address. Different STAs of the MLD have different MAC addresses. The MAC address of the MLD may be the same as or different from one of the MAC addresses of the STAs of the MLD. The MAC address of the MLD is introduced to ensure that the traditional mapping of AP STAs and non-AP STAs is preserved from a high-level perspective and that the traditional mapping is replaced by a mapping of AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs that is independent of the MAC addresses of the STAs of the MLD.

[0037] The IEEE 802.11be standard defines static channel puncturing and dynamic channel puncturing:

[0038] - Static channel puncturing is based on statically punctured channels announced by the AP in the Extremely High Throughput (EHT) operational element included in its transmitted beacon frames. Based on the channel puncturing information in the EHT operational element, non-AP STAs associated with the AP will always consider these channels to be punctured.

[0039] Dynamic channel puncturing can be performed on each transmission opportunity (TxOP) and depends on the information provided in the allocation field. This mode is only permitted for multi-user (MU) transmissions in the downlink (DL) or uplink (UL), where RUs or MRUs are used to assign resource units (RUs) to non-AP STAs on non-punctured channels. However, dynamic channel puncturing is not permitted for single-user (SU) transmissions unless the response frame is triggered by the TxOP initiator and thus transmitted on an RU that does not overlap with the punctured channel.

[0040] Given the above, it is recommended to enable dynamic channel puncturing for SU transmissions without restrictions. This is particularly important for Non-Master Channel Access (NPCA), where an AP or non-AP STA on the NPCA Master Channel can use any channel within the Basic Service Set (BSS) bandwidth (BW), which includes the NPCA Master Channel but excludes channels whose switching to the NPCA Master Channel is triggered by overlapping BSS (OBSS) frame switching. Therefore, when using NPCA, dynamic channel puncturing is needed to benefit from the maximum possible BW. For example, if OBSS frame switching on the BSS Master Channel only occupies 20MHz, and the BSS BW is 320MHz, a non-AP STA or AP supporting NPCA will move to the NPCA Master Channel and want to be able to use a BW of 280 or 300MHz (all channels in the 320MHz BSS BW, except for the occupied BSS Master Channel).

[0041] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a process for dynamic channel puncturing optimization implemented in a TxOP holder according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4As shown, the process 400 for dynamic channel puncturing optimization includes: S402, sending a Buffer Status Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame to the TxOP responder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and S404, receiving a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU from the TxOP responder, the non-HT PPDU or TB PPDU being sent as a response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or RU allocation information.

[0042] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a process for dynamic channel puncturing optimization implemented in the TxOP responder according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, the process 500 for dynamic channel puncturing optimization includes: S502, receiving a BSRP trigger frame from a TxOP holder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or RU allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and S504, based on the channel puncturing information or RU allocation information, in response to the BSRP trigger frame, sending a non-HT PPDU or TB PPDU to the TxOP holder.

[0043] In other words, in the process described above for dynamic channel puncturing optimization, the BSRP trigger frame is used as the initial control frame, and the TB PPDU or non-HT PPDU is used as the initial control response to the BSRP trigger frame.

[0044] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field that is set as the media access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

[0045] In some embodiments, the BSRP trigger frame includes an RU allocation field in the user information field, which indicates a Multiple Resource Unit (MRU) that does not use the punctured channel. In this case, the MRU may be an RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an OBSS TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to the NPCA main channel, and the MRU is an MRU that is permitted for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

[0046] In some embodiments, where the BSRP trigger frame does not include a user information field, the BSRP trigger frame includes a disabled subchannel bitmap field in the public information field, and the disabled subchannel bitmap field indicates which channels are punctured or not.

[0047] In some embodiments, where the BSRP trigger frame includes a user information field, the BSRP trigger frame includes a punched channel bitmap field in the user information field, and the punched channel bitmap field indicates which channels are punched or not punched.

[0048] In some embodiments, when channel puncturing information or RU allocation information is received in the BSRP trigger frame, the TxOP responder may generate a non-HT PPDU for transmission on a 20MHz channel and reproduce the non-HT PPDU on all 20MHz channels within the MRU or on all 20MHz channels not indicated as punctured in the BSRP trigger frame.

[0049] In some embodiments, when channel puncturing information or RU allocation information is received in the BSRP trigger frame, the TxOP responder may use the channel puncturing mode indicated by the channel puncturing information in all subsequent transmissions between the TxOP holder and the TxOP responder during the ongoing TxOP. For example, if the TxOP responder needs to later use a non-HT PPDU to send a block acknowledgment (BA) frame in response to a PPDU carrying a data frame during the ongoing TxOP, it may use the channel puncturing mode to ensure that it replicates the non-HT PPDU on all 20MHz channels within the MRU (except for the 20MHz channels indicated as punctured in the BSRP trigger frame).

[0050] Currently, according to the NPCA concept, when an AP and a non-AP STA receive OBSS transmissions from the same OBSS, they set the Network Allocation Vector (NAV) on the BSS primary channel to the same time period and simultaneously switch from the BSS primary channel to the NPCA primary channel. Furthermore, the AP and non-AP STAs have the same operational termination on the NPCA primary channel and will switch back to the BSS primary channel from the NPCA primary channel at the same time before the NAV on the BSS primary channel ends.

[0051] However, there may be a situation where the AP and non-AP STA receive OBSS transmissions from two different OBSSs almost simultaneously. For example, the AP receives OBSS transmissions from OBSS1, and the non-AP STA receives OBSS transmissions from OBSS2. In this case, the AP and non-AP STA set the NAV on the BSS master channel to different durations. For example, assuming the AP sets the NAV on the BSS master channel to 4ms and the non-AP STA sets the NAV on the BSS master channel to 5ms, the AP and non-AP STA will switch from the BSS master channel to the NPCA master channel almost simultaneously, but the AP's duration on the NPCA master channel is expected to be 4ms, and the non-AP STA's duration on the NPCA master channel is expected to be 5ms. Once switching from the BSS master channel to the NPCA master channel, the AP and non-AP STA will compete for the medium, and:

[0052] If the AP wins the contention and sends an initial control frame to a non-AP STA, such as a Request to Transmit (RTS) frame, it may indicate a TxOP duration of slightly less than 4 ms in the RTS frame. In this case, at the end of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel, both the AP and non-AP STAs will return from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel. The non-AP STA will still have approximately 1 ms of NAV setting, while the AP will have no NAV setting and will be able to return to the BSS main channel to compete.

[0053] - If a non-AP STA wins the contention and sends an initial control frame to the AP, such as an RTS frame, it may indicate a TxOP duration of slightly less than 5ms in the RTS frame. In this case, after 4ms, the AP will return from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel, while the non-AP STA remains on the NPCA main channel.

[0054] In view of the above, it is recommended to optimize the main channel handover mechanism under the concept of NPCA.

[0055] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a process for primary channel handover implemented in a TxOP holder and a TxOP responder according to some embodiments of this disclosure. Figure 6As shown, the process 600 for primary channel handover includes: S602, when an OBSS frame is received on the BSS primary channel, switching from the BSS primary channel to the NPCA primary channel, wherein the NAV on the BSS primary channel is set when an OBSS frame is received on the BSS primary channel; and S604, when the duration of the NAV on the BSS primary channel is longer than the transmission opportunity (TxOP) involving the TxOP holder and TxOP responder on the NPCA primary channel, switching back from the NPCA primary channel to the BSS primary channel before the NAV on the BSS primary channel expires. In this case, after switching back from the NPCA primary channel to the BSS primary channel, it is not necessary to apply a media synchronization recovery process on the BSS primary channel.

[0056] In some embodiments, the process 600 for switching the main channel further includes, when the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel is longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel: leaving the NPCA main channel before the TxOP on the NPCA main channel ends, and switching back from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel before the NAV on the BSS main channel ends.

[0057] In some embodiments, the process 600 for switching the primary channel further includes, when the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA primary channel is longer than the NAV on the BSS primary channel: communicating on the NPCA primary channel before the TxOP on the NPCA primary channel ends; switching back from the NPCA primary channel to the BSS primary channel when the TxOP on the NPCA primary channel expires; and applying a media synchronization recovery process on the BSS primary channel.

[0058] In some embodiments, in order to implement the process 600 for main channel switching, the TxOP holder sends an initial frame to the TxOP responder and receives a response frame from the TxOP responder. The initial frame indicates a first TxOP duration value pointing to a first end point of the TxOP on the NPA main channel, and the response frame indicates a second TxOP duration value pointing to a second end point of the TxOP on the NPA main channel, wherein the second end point is earlier than the first end point and is taken as the expected end point of the TxOP on the NPA main channel.

[0059] In some embodiments, the initial frame is a Request to Send (RTS) frame, and the response frame is a Allow to Send (CTS) frame. In this case, the CTS frame indicates the desired duration of the TxOP from the responding party.

[0060] In some embodiments, the initial frame is an initial control frame (ICF), and the response frame is an initial control response (ICR). For example, the ICF is a Buffer Status Report Polling (BSRP) Trigger Frame (TF), and the ICR is a Multi-Station (M-STA) Block Acknowledgment (BA) frame, which includes an unavailability indication indicating the start time and duration of unavailability for the TxOP responder on the NPCA main channel.

[0061] In some embodiments, the initial control response is a Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame containing a TxOP duration field.

[0062] In some embodiments, to implement the process 600 for master channel handover, the TxOP holder sends an NPCA report frame to the TxOP responder, which instructs the TxOP holder to switch from the BSS master channel to the NPCA master channel based on a specific OBSS. For example, the MAC address of the OBSS or the BSS color may be included in the NPCA report frame.

[0063] In some embodiments, in order to implement the process 600 for primary channel handover, the TxOP holder sends an initial frame to the TxOP responder, which sets the TxOP on the NPCA primary channel only until the initial control frame exchange plus the short inter-frame interval (SIFS) plus the end of a time slot, or only for a predefined duration or the duration announced by the TxOP responder, and both the TxOP responder and the TxOP holder increment the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA primary channel based on the predefined duration or the duration announced by the TxOP responder.

[0064] In some embodiments, in order to implement the process 600 for primary channel switching, when an initial control frame is received from the TxOP holder and the initial control frame sets the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA primary channel to be longer than the NAV on the BSS primary channel, the TxOP responder does not send an initial control response to the TxOP holder.

[0065] Figure 7 This is a functional block diagram of an exemplary communication station 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, Figure 7 This illustrates an AP 104 that can be suitable for use according to some embodiments. Figure 1 ) or user equipment 102 ( Figure 1 The functional block diagram of the communication station 700. The communication station 700 can also be used as a handheld device, mobile device, cellular phone, smartphone, tablet device, 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.

[0066] Communication station 700 may include communication circuitry 702 and transceiver 710 for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from other communication stations using one or more antennas 701. Communication circuitry 702 may include circuitry capable of operating physical layer (PHY) communication and / or media access control (MAC) communication to control access to the wireless medium and / or operating any other communication layer for transmitting and receiving signals. Communication station 700 may also include processing circuitry 706 and memory 708 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, communication circuitry 702 and processing circuitry 706 may be configured to perform the operations described in detail in the above figures, schematic diagrams, and flowcharts.

[0067] According to some embodiments, communication circuitry 702 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communication over the wireless medium. Communication circuitry 702 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. Communication circuitry 702 may also include circuitry for modulation / demodulation, up-conversion / down-conversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 of communication station 700 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 701 may be coupled to communication circuitry 702 arranged for transmitting and receiving signals. Memory 708 may store information for configuring processing circuitry 706 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and for performing the various operations described herein. Memory 708 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a machine-readable (e.g., computer) form. For example, memory 708 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.

[0068] In some embodiments, the communication station 700 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 device, a cordless phone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television set, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or other devices capable of wirelessly receiving and / or transmitting information.

[0069] In some embodiments, the communication station 700 may include one or more antennas 701. Antenna 701 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 RF signal transmission. In some embodiments, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used instead of two or more antennas. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas can be effectively separated to obtain spatial diversity and potentially different channel characteristics between each antenna and the transmitting station's antennas.

[0070] In some embodiments, the communication station 700 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 a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, including a touchscreen.

[0071] Although the communication station 700 is shown as having multiple independent functional elements, two or more of these functional elements can be combined together and implemented by software-configurable combinations of 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 at least performing the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element of the communication station 700 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0072] Some embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device that can 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 700 may include one or more processors and may be configured using instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

[0073] Figure 8This is a functional block diagram of an example machine or system 800 capable of performing any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein. In other embodiments, machine 800 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, machine 800 may operate as a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In one example, machine 800 may be used as a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Machine 800 may be a personal computer (PC), tablet PC, set-top box (STB), personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, wearable computing device, network device, network router, switch or bridge, or any machine (e.g., base station) capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) specifying the actions to be taken by the machine. Furthermore, while only one machine is shown, the term "machine" should also be considered as including 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.

[0074] The examples described herein may include logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms, and may operate on logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) capable of performing a specified operation at operation. Modules include hardware. In one example, the hardware may be specifically configured to perform a particular operation (e.g., hardwiring). 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 operation. Configuration may be performed under the guidance of the execution units or loading mechanisms. Thus, when the device is operating, 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 can be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at a point in time, and the execution units can be reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[0075] Machine (e.g., computer system) 800 may include a hardware processor 802 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), main memory 804, and static memory 806, wherein some or all of them may communicate with each other via interconnect (e.g., bus) 808. Machine 800 may also include a power management device 832, a graphics display device 810, an alphanumeric input device 812 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 814 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the graphics display device 810, the alphanumeric input device 812, and the UI navigation device 814 may be a touchscreen display. Machine 800 may also include a storage device (i.e., a drive unit) 816, a signal generation device 818 (e.g., a speaker), a multi-link parameter and capability indicator device 819, a network interface device / transceiver 820 coupled to one or more antennas 830, and one or more sensors 828 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors). Machine 800 may include an output controller 834, for example, serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, 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 example 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 further include physical layer (PHY) and media access control layer (MAC) circuitry, and may further interface with hardware processor 802 for the generation and processing of baseband signals and for controlling the operation of main memory 804, storage device 816, and / or multi-link parameter and capability indication device 819. The baseband processor may be located on a single RFID card, a single chip, or an integrated circuit (IC).

[0076] Storage device 816 may include machine-readable medium 822 on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 824 (e.g., software) are stored, which embody or be utilized by any one or more of the technologies or functions described herein. During execution of instructions 824 by machine 800, instructions 824 may also reside wholly or at least partially in main memory 804, static memory 806, or hardware processor 802. In one example, one or any combination of hardware processor 802, main memory 804, static memory 806, or storage device 816 may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0077] The multi-link parameter and capability indicator device 819 can implement or perform any of the operations and processes described and shown above.

[0078] It should be understood that the above is only a subset of the functions that the multi-link parameter and capability indicator device 819 can be configured to perform, and other functions included in this disclosure can also be performed by the multi-link parameter and capability indicator device 819.

[0079] Although machine-readable medium 822 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 824.

[0080] Various embodiments may be implemented, in whole or in part, in software and / or firmware. This software and / or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. These instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, source code, compiled code, parsed code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, etc. Such computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory, etc.

[0081] The term "machine-readable medium" can include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used or associated with such instructions for execution by machine 800 and enabling machine 800 to perform any one or more of the technologies disclosed herein, or any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used 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 one example, 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 (e.g., 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 (e.g., internal hard disks and removable disks); magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.

[0082] Instruction 824 can also be sent or received via network interface device / transceiver 820, using a transmission medium, on communication network 826 using 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), conventional telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., the IEEE 802.11 standard series, referred to as...). ), IEEE 802.16 series of standards (referred to as This includes standards such as the IEEE 802.15.4 series and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In one example, the network interface device / transceiver 820 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 826. In one example, the network interface device / transceiver 820 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 considered to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by machine 800, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media that facilitate the transmission of such software.

[0083] In various implementations, the operations and processes described and illustrated above can be implemented or executed in any suitable order as needed. Furthermore, in some implementations, at least some operations can be executed in parallel. Additionally, in some implementations, more or fewer operations than those described can be performed.

[0084] Figure 9 It is possible Figure 1 This is a functional block diagram of a radio architecture 900A, 900B implemented in either AP 104 or User Equipment 102, according to some embodiments. The radio architecture 900A, 900B may include radio front-end module (FEM) circuitry 904a-b, radio IC circuitry 906a-b, and baseband processing circuitry 908a-b. The radio architectures 900A, 900B shown include Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) functionality and Bluetooth (BT) functionality, although embodiments are not limited thereto. In this disclosure, "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi" are used interchangeably.

[0085] FEM circuits 904a-b may include a WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuit 904a and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuit 904b. The WLAN FEM circuit 904a may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry configured to operate on WLAN RF signals received from one or more antennas 901 to amplify the received signal and provide an amplified version of the received signal to the WLAN radio IC circuit 906a for further processing. The BT FEM circuit 904b may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry configured to operate on BT RF signals received from one or more antennas 901 to amplify the received signal and provide an amplified version of the received signal to the BT radio IC circuit 906b for further processing. The FEM circuit 904a may also include a transmit signal path that includes circuitry configured to amplify the WLAN signal provided by the radio IC circuit 906a for wireless transmission through one or more antennas 901. Furthermore, the FEM circuit 904b may also include a transmission signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify the BT signal provided by the radio IC circuit 906b for wireless transmission via one or more antennas. Figure 9 In the embodiments, although FEM 904a and FEM 904b are shown as different from each other, the embodiments are not limited thereto, and the use of FEMs (not shown) including transmission and / or reception paths for both WLAN signals and BT signals, or the use of one or more FEM circuits (where at least some FEM circuits share transmission and / or reception signal paths for WLAN signals and BT signals) are included in their scope.

[0086] The radio IC circuits 906a-b shown in the figure may include a WLAN radio IC circuit 906a and a BT radio IC circuit 906b. The WLAN radio IC circuit 906a may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting the WLAN RF signal received from the FEM circuit 904a and providing a baseband signal to the WLAN baseband processing circuit 908a. The BT radio IC circuit 906b may also include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting the BT RF signal received from the FEM circuit 904b and providing a baseband signal to the BT baseband processing circuit 908b. The WLAN radio IC circuit 906a 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 908a and providing a WLAN RF output signal to the FEM circuit 904a for subsequent wireless transmission via one or more antennas 901. The BT radio IC circuit 906b 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 908b and providing a BT RF output signal to the FEM circuit 904b for subsequent wireless transmission via one or more antennas 901. Figure 9 In the embodiments, although radio IC circuits 906a and 906b are shown as different from each other, the embodiments are not limited thereto, and the use of radio IC circuits (not shown in the figures) that include transmit signal paths and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN signals and BT signals, or the use of one or more radio IC circuits (where at least some radio IC circuits share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN signals and BT signals) are included within their scope.

[0087] The baseband processing circuits 908a-b may include a WLAN baseband processing circuit 908a and a BT baseband processing circuit 908b. The WLAN baseband processing circuit 908a 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 908a. Each of the WLAN baseband circuit 908a and the BT baseband circuit 908b 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 906a-b and generate corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the radio IC circuits 906a-b. Each of the baseband processing circuits 908a and 908b may also include physical layer (PHY) and media access control layer (MAC) circuitry and may further interface with devices used for baseband signal generation and processing and for controlling the operation of the radio IC circuits 906a-b.

[0088] Still referencing Figure 9 According to the illustrated embodiment, the WLAN-BT coexistence circuit 913 may include logic providing an interface between the WLAN baseband circuit 908a and the BT baseband circuit 908b to enable use cases requiring WLAN and BT coexistence. Furthermore, a switch 903 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuit 904a and the BT FEM circuit 904b to allow switching between WLAN and BT radios as needed by the application. Additionally, although the antenna 901 is depicted as being connected to the WLAN FEM circuit 904a and the BT FEM circuit 904b 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 of the FEMs 904a or 904b.

[0089] In some embodiments, the front-end module circuitry 904a-b, the radio IC circuitry 906a-b, and the baseband processing circuitry 908a-b may be housed on a single RFID card, such as a wireless RFID card 902. In some other embodiments, one or more antennas 901, FEM circuitry 904a-b, and the radio IC circuitry 906a-b may be housed on a single RFID card. In some other embodiments, the radio IC circuitry 906a-b and the baseband processing circuitry 908a-b may be housed on a single chip or integrated circuit (IC), such as IC 912.

[0090] In some embodiments, the wireless radio frequency card 902 may include a WLAN radio frequency card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communication, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments of these embodiments, radio architectures 900A, 900B may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication signals on a multi-carrier communication channel. OFDM or OFDMA signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0091] In some embodiments of these multi-carrier implementations, radio architectures 900A and 900B may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA), such as a wireless access point (AP) or a mobile device or base station including Wi-Fi devices. In some embodiments of these implementations, radio architectures 900A and 900B may be configured to transmit and receive signals according to specific communication standards and / or protocols, such as any IEEE standard (including 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11-2016, 802.11n-2009, 802.11ac, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, and / or 802.11ax standards), and / or proposed specifications for WLAN, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Radio architectures 900A and 900B may also be adapted to transmit and / or receive communications according to other technologies and standards.

[0092] In some embodiments, radio architectures 900A and 900B can be configured for efficient Wi-Fi (HEW) communication according to the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In these embodiments, radio architectures 900A and 900B can be configured to communicate according to OFDMA technology, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0093] In some other embodiments, radio architectures 900A, 900B may be configured to transmit and receive signals transmitted using one or more other modulation techniques, including, for example, 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, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0094] In some embodiments, such as Figure 9 As further shown, the BT baseband circuit 908b can conform to Bluetooth (BT) connectivity standards, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth 8.0 or Bluetooth 6.0, or any other iteration of the Bluetooth standard.

[0095] In some embodiments, radio architectures 900A and 900B may include other radio frequency cards, such as cellular radio frequency cards configured for cellular (e.g., 5GPP, such as LTE, LTE Advanced, or 7G) communications.

[0096] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, radio architectures 900A and 900B can be configured for communication over various 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 (continuous bandwidth), or 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (discontinuous bandwidth). In some embodiments, a channel bandwidth of 920 MHz can be used. However, the scope of the embodiments is not limited to the aforementioned center frequencies.

[0097] Figure 10 This is a functional block diagram of a WLAN FEM circuit 904a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although described in conjunction with the WLAN FEM circuit 904a... Figure 10 Examples are provided, but they can be combined with example BT FEM circuit 904b ( Figure 9 )describe Figure 10 This is an example, although other circuit configurations may also apply.

[0098] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 904a may include a transmit (TX) / receive (RX) switch 1002 for switching between transmit and receive mode operation. FEM circuit 904a may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit 904a may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 1006 to amplify the received RF signal 1003 and provide an amplified received RF signal 1007 as an output (e.g., to radio IC circuits 906a-b). Figure 9 The output of circuit 904a may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal 1009 (e.g., provided by radio IC circuits 906a-b) and a power amplifier (PA) for generating an RF signal 1015 for subsequent transmission via example duplexer 1014 (e.g., through one or more antennas 901). Figure 9 One or more filters 1012 (e.g., bandpass filter (BPF), lowpass filter (LPF), or other types of filters).

[0099] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the FEM circuit 904a can be configured to operate in a 2.4 GHz spectrum or a 5 GHz spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuit 904a may include a receive signal path duplexer 1004 to separate the signal from each spectrum and provide a separate LNA 1006 for each spectrum, as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 904a may also include a power amplifier 1010, a filter 1012 (e.g., a BPF, LPF, or other type of filter for each spectrum), and a transmit signal path duplexer 1014 to provide the signal from one spectrum in different spectrums onto a single transmit path for subsequent transmission via one or more antennas 901. Figure 9 In some embodiments, BT communication may utilize a 2.4 GHz signal path and may utilize the same FEM circuitry as that used for WLAN communication, FEM circuitry 904a.

[0100] Figure 11 This is a functional block diagram of a radio IC circuit 906a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio IC circuit 906a is suitable for use as a WLAN or BT radio IC circuit 906a / 906b. Figure 9 This is an example of a circuit, although other circuit configurations may also be applicable. Alternatively, it can be described in conjunction with the example BT radio IC circuit 906b. Figure 11 Examples.

[0101] In some embodiments, the radio IC circuit 906a may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the radio IC circuit 906a may include at least a mixer circuit 1102 (e.g., a down-conversion mixer circuit), an amplifier circuit 1106, and a filter circuit 1108. The transmit signal path of the radio IC circuit 906a may include at least a filter circuit 1112 and a mixer circuit 1114 (e.g., an up-conversion mixer circuit). The radio IC circuit 906a may also include a synthesizer circuit 1104 for synthesizing a frequency 1105 for use by the mixer circuits 1102 and 1114. According to some embodiments, both mixer circuits 1102 and / or 1114 may be configured to provide direct conversion functionality. Compared to standard superheterodyne mixer circuits, the latter type of circuit presents a simpler architecture and can mitigate any flicker noise introduced by using, for example, OFDM modulation. Figure 11Only a simplified version of the radio IC circuitry is shown, and embodiments of each circuit depicted may include (though not shown) more than one component. For example, mixer circuit 1114 may each include one or more mixers, while filter circuits 1108 and / or 1112 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 circuits are of the direct conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers.

[0102] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1102 may be configured to adjust the frequency from FEM circuits 904a-b based on the synthesis frequency 1105 provided by synthesizer circuit 1104. Figure 9 The received RF signal 1007 is down-converted. Amplifier circuit 1106 can be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 1108 may include an LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal 1107. The output baseband signal 1107 can be provided to baseband processing circuits 908a-b. Figure 9 Further processing is then performed. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 1107 may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1102 may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0103] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1114 may be configured to up-convert input baseband signal 1111 based on synthesis frequency 1105 provided by synthesizer circuit 1104 to generate RF output signal 1009 for FEM circuits 904a-b. Baseband signal 1111 may be provided by baseband processing circuits 908a-b and may be filtered by filter circuit 1112. Filter circuit 1112 may include LPF or BPF, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0104] In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1102 and 1114 may each include two or more mixers and may be arranged to perform quadrature downconversion and / or upconversion respectively with the aid of synthesizer 1104. In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1102 and 1114 may each include two or more mixers, each mixer configured for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1102 and 1114 may be arranged for direct downconversion and / or direct upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1102 and 1114 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, although this is not required.

[0105] According to one embodiment, mixer circuit 1102 may include: quadrature passive mixers (e.g., for in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) paths). In such an embodiment, from Figure 10 The RF input signal 1007 can be down-converted to provide I and Q baseband output signals to be sent to the baseband processor.

[0106] The quadrature passive mixer can be driven by a zero-degree and 90-degree time-varying LO switching signal provided by a quadrature circuit, which can be configured to receive the LO frequency (fLO) from a local oscillator or synthesizer (e.g., synthesizer 1104). Figure 11 The LO frequency (1105) is used. 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 synthesizer may generate a time-varying switching signal between zero and 90 degrees, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0107] In some embodiments, the LO signal may vary in 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 cycles). 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 (Q) paths) may operate at an 80% duty cycle, which can result in a significant reduction in power consumption.

[0108] RF input signal 1007 ( Figure 10 The I and Q baseband output signals can include a balanced signal, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The I and Q baseband output signals can be provided to a low-noise amplifier, for example, amplifier circuit 1106 ( Figure 11 ) or filter circuit 1108 ( Figure 11 ).

[0109] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 1107 and the input baseband signal 1111 may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal 1107 and the input baseband signal 1111 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.

[0110] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided to process signals for each spectrum or other spectrums not mentioned herein, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0111] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1104 may be a fractional N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 1104 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 1104 may include digital synthesizer circuitry. One advantage of using digital synthesizer circuitry is that, although it may still include some analog components, its footprint is much smaller than that of analog synthesizer circuitry. In some embodiments, the frequency input to synthesizer circuit 1104 may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. Depending on the desired output frequency 1105, the frequency divider control input may also be provided by baseband processing circuitry 908a-b (… Figure 9 One of the following is provided. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) can 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 910. The application processor 910 may include or otherwise connect to one of the example secure signal converter or the example receive signal converter (e.g., depending on which device the example radio architecture is implemented in).

[0112] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1104 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as output frequency 1105, while in other embodiments, output frequency 1105 may be a portion of the carrier frequency (e.g., half or one-third of the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, output frequency 1105 may be the LO frequency (fLO).

[0113] Figure 12 This is a functional block diagram of a baseband processing circuit 908a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The baseband processing circuit 908a is suitable for use as a baseband processing circuit 908a. Figure 9 This is an example of a circuit, although other circuit configurations may also apply. Alternatively, Figure 12 Examples can be used to implement Figure 9 Example BT baseband processing circuit 908b.

[0114] Baseband processing circuit 908a may include methods for processing data generated by radio IC circuits 906a-b. Figure 9 The baseband processing circuit 908a provides a receive baseband processor (RX BBP) 1202 for receiving baseband signals 1209 and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 1204 for generating transmit baseband signals 1211 for radio IC circuits 906a-b. The baseband processing circuit 908a may also include control logic 1206 for coordinating the operation of the baseband processing circuit 908a.

[0115] In some embodiments (e.g., when analog baseband signals are exchanged between baseband processing circuits 908a-b and radio IC circuits 906a-b), baseband processing circuit 908a may include an ADC 1210 to convert analog baseband signals 1209 received from radio IC circuits 906a-b into digital baseband signals for processing by RX BBP 1202. In these embodiments, baseband processing circuit 908a may also include a DAC 1212 to convert digital baseband signals from TX BBP 1204 into analog baseband signals 1211.

[0116] In some embodiments that transmit OFDM or OFDMA signals via a baseband processor 908a, the transmitting baseband processor 1204 may be configured to generate an OFDM or OFDMA signal suitable for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). The receiving baseband processor 1202 may be configured to process the received OFDM or OFDMA signal by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, the receiving baseband processor 1202 may be configured to detect the presence of an OFDM or OFDMA signal, detect a preamble (e.g., a short preamble) by performing autocorrelation, and detect a long preamble by performing cross-correlation. The preamble may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communication.

[0117] Return to reference Figure 9 In some embodiments, antenna 901 ( Figure 9 Each antenna 901 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 RF signal transmission. 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. Antenna 901 may each include a set of phased array antennas, although embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0118] Although radio architectures 900A and 900B are shown as having multiple independent functional elements, one or more functional elements can be combined together and implemented by software-configurable combinations of 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 at least performing the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0119] The term "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 being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments. The terms "computing device," "user equipment," "communication station," "station," "handheld device," "mobile device," "wireless device," and "user equipment (UE)" as used herein refer to wireless communication devices, such as cellular phones, smartphones, tablets, netbooks, wireless terminals, laptops, femtocells, high data rate (HDR) user stations, access points, printers, point-of-sale equipment, access terminals, or other personal communication system (PCS) devices. Such devices can be mobile or fixed.

[0120] The term "transmission" as used in this document is intended to include sending or receiving, or both. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing data organization that is sent by one device and received by another device, but requiring only the functionality of one of these devices would infringe the claim. Similarly, bidirectional data exchange between two devices (where both devices send and receive during the exchange) can be described as "transmission" when only the functionality of one of the devices is claimed. The term "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.

[0121] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of ordinal adjectives such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common object merely indicates that different instances of similar objects are being referenced, and does not imply that the objects described in this way must be in a given order in time, space, ranking, or any other way.

[0122] 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.

[0123] 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, off-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 area networks (WVANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless LANs (WLANs), personal area networks (PANs), wireless PANs (WPANs), etc.

[0124] Some embodiments can be used in conjunction with one-way and / or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, mobile phones, cell phones, cordless 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 radio devices or systems, wired or wireless handheld devices (e.g., smartphones), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) devices, and the like.

[0125] Some embodiments can be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and / or systems that conform to one or more of the following wireless communication protocols, including, for example, 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), and Bluetooth. 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, GSM Evolution Enhanced Data Rate (EDGE), etc. Other embodiments can be used in a variety of other devices, systems, and / or networks.

[0126] The following paragraphs describe examples of various embodiments.

[0127] Example group I

[0128] Example 1 includes an apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) holder, to perform the following operations: send a Buffer State Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame to a TxOP responder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receive from the TxOP responder a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being sent as a response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

[0129] Example 2 includes the apparatus described in Example 1, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set as the media access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

[0130] Example 3 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 2, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes an RU allocation field in the user information field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punched channel.

[0131] Example 4 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the MRU is an RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to the Non-Main Channel Access (NPCA) main channel.

[0132] Example 5 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the MRU is an MRU that allows for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

[0133] Example 6 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a punched channel bitmap field in the user information field or a disabled sub-channel bitmap field in the public information field, and the punched channel bitmap field or the disabled sub-channel bitmap field indicates which channels are punched or not punched.

[0134] Example 7 includes an apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) responder, to: receive a Buffer State Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame from a TxOP holder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and, based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information, in response to the BSRP trigger frame, send a Non-High Throughput (HT) Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or a Triggered (TB) PPDU to the TxOP holder.

[0135] Example 8 includes the apparatus described in Example 7, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set as the media access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

[0136] Example 9 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 8, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to use the channel puncturing pattern indicated by the channel puncturing information in all subsequent transmissions between the TxOP holder and the TxOP responder during an ongoing TxOP.

[0137] Example 10 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 9, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes an RU allocation field in the user information field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punched channel.

[0138] Example 11 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 10, wherein the MRU is an RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to the Non-Main Channel Access (NPCA) main channel.

[0139] Example 12 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 11, wherein the MRU is an MRU that allows for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

[0140] Example 13 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 12, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to generate the non-HT PPDU for transmission on a 20MHz channel, and to replicate the non-HT PPDU on all 20MHz channels within the MRU or on all 20MHz channels not indicated as punctured in the BSRP trigger frame.

[0141] Example 14 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 7 to 13, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a punched channel bitmap field in the user information field or a disabled sub-channel bitmap field in the public information field, and the punched channel bitmap field or the disabled sub-channel bitmap field indicates which channels are punched or not punched.

[0142] Example 15 includes a wireless communication device comprising the means described in any one of Examples 1 to 14.

[0143] Example 16 includes a method for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) holder, and the method includes: sending a Buffer State Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame to a TxOP responder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receiving from the TxOP responder a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being sent as a response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

[0144] Example 17 includes the method described in Example 16, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set as the media access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

[0145] Example 18 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 17, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes an RU allocation field in the user information field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punched channel.

[0146] Example 19 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 18, wherein the MRU is an RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to a Non-Main Channel Access (NPCA) main channel.

[0147] Example 20 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 19, wherein the MRU is an MRU that allows for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

[0148] Example 21 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a punched channel bitmap field in a user information field or a disabled sub-channel bitmap field in a public information field, and the punched channel bitmap field or the disabled sub-channel bitmap field indicates which channels are punched or not punched.

[0149] Example 22 includes a method for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) responder, and the method includes: receiving a Buffer State Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame from a TxOP holder, the BSRP trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource element (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and, based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information, in response to the BSRP trigger frame, sending a Non-High Throughput (HT) Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or a Triggered (TB) PPDU to the TxOP holder.

[0150] Example 23 includes the method described in Example 22, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set as the media access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

[0151] Example 24 includes the method of any one of Examples 22 to 23, wherein the method further includes: during an ongoing TxOP, using a channel puncturing pattern indicated by the channel puncturing information in all subsequent transmissions between the TxOP holder and the TxOP responder.

[0152] Example 25 includes the method of any one of Examples 22 to 24, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes an RU allocation field in the user information field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punched channel.

[0153] Example 26 includes the method of any one of Examples 22 to 25, wherein the MRU is an RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to a Non-Main Channel Access (NPCA) main channel.

[0154] Example 27 includes the method of any one of Examples 22 to 26, wherein the MRU is an MRU that allows for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

[0155] Example 28 includes the method of any one of Examples 22 to 27, wherein the method further includes: generating the non-HT PPDU for transmission on a 20MHz channel, and replicating the non-HT PPDU on all 20MHz channels within the MRU or on all 20MHz channels not indicated as punctured in the BSRP trigger frame.

[0156] Example 29 includes the method of any one of Examples 22 to 28, wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a punched channel bitmap field in a user information field or a disabled sub-channel bitmap field in a public information field, and the punched channel bitmap field or the disabled sub-channel bitmap field indicates which channels are punched or not punched.

[0157] Example 30 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions thereon, wherein, when executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, the computer-executable instructions cause the wireless communication device to perform the method of any one of Examples 16 to 29.

[0158] Example 31 includes a computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein, when executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, the computer-executable instructions cause the wireless communication device to perform any one of Examples 16 to 29.

[0159] Example Group II

[0160] Example 1 includes an apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device to: switch from the BSS primary channel to a non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel when an overlapping BSS (OBSS) frame is received on the primary channel of the Basic Service Set (BSS), wherein the Network Allocation Vector (NAV) on the primary BSS channel is set when the OBSS frame is received on the primary BSS channel; and switch back from the primary NPCA primary channel to the primary BSS primary channel before the NAV on the primary BSS primary channel expires when the duration of the NAV on the primary BSS primary channel is longer than the Transmission Opportunity (TxOP) on the primary NPCA primary channel in which the wireless communication device participates.

[0161] Example 2 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to perform the following operations when the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel is longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel: leave the NPCA main channel before the TxOP on the NPCA main channel ends, and switch back from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel before the NAV on the BSS main channel ends.

[0162] Example 3 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 2, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to perform the following operations when the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel is longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel: communicate on the NPCA main channel before the TxOP on the NPCA main channel ends; switch back from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel when the TxOP on the NPCA main channel expires; and apply a medium synchronization recovery process on the BSS main channel.

[0163] Example 4 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a TxOP holder, to: send an initial frame to a TxOP responder indicating a first TxOP duration value pointing to a first end point of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel; and receive a response frame from the TxOP responder indicating a second TxOP duration value pointing to a second end point of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel, wherein the second end point is earlier than the first end point and is taken as the expected end point of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel.

[0164] Example 5 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a TxOP responder, to perform the following operations: receive an initial frame from a TxOP holder indicating a first TxOP duration value pointing to a first end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel; and send a response frame to the TxOP holder indicating a second TxOP duration value pointing to a second end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel, wherein the second end point is earlier than the first end point and is taken as the expected end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel.

[0165] Example 6 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the initial frame is a request to send (RTS) frame and the response frame is a allow to send (CTS) frame.

[0166] Example 7 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the initial frame is an initial control frame (ICF) and the response frame is an initial control response (ICR).

[0167] Example 8 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 7, wherein the ICF is a Buffer Status Report Polling (BSRP) Trigger Frame (TF), the ICR is a Multi-Station (M-STA) Block Acknowledgment (BA) frame, and the M-STA BA frame includes an unavailability indication indicating the start time and duration of unavailability of the TxOP responder on the NPCA main channel.

[0168] Example 9 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the initial control response is a Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame containing a TxOP duration field.

[0169] Example 10 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 9, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a TxOP holder, to perform the following operation: send an NPCA report frame to a TxOP responder, the NPCA report frame instructing the wireless communication device to switch from the BSS master channel to the NPCA master channel based on a specific OBSS.

[0170] Example 11 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to act as a TxOP responder to perform the following operation: receive an NPCA report frame from a TxOP holder, the NPCA report frame instructing the TxOP holder to switch from the BSS main channel to the NPCA main channel based on a specific OBSS.

[0171] Example 12 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 11, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a TxOP responder, to perform the following operations: receive an initial frame from the TxOP holder, the initial frame setting the TxOP on the NPCA main channel only to the initial control frame exchange plus a short inter-frame interval (SIFS) plus the end of a time slot, or only to a predefined duration or a duration announced by the wireless communication device; and increment the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel based on the predefined duration or the duration announced by the wireless communication device.

[0172] Example 13 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 12, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device, acting as a TxOP holder, to perform the following operations: send an initial frame to a TxOP responder, the initial frame setting the TxOP on the NPCA main channel only to the initial control frame exchange plus a short inter-frame interval (SIFS) plus the end of a time slot, or only to a predefined duration or a duration announced by the TxOP responder; and incrementing the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel based on the predefined duration or the duration announced by the TxOP responder.

[0173] Example 14 includes the apparatus of any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to act as a TxOP responder, receive an initial control frame from the TxOP holder and not send an initial control response to the TxOP holder, the initial control frame setting the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel to be longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel.

[0174] Example 15 includes a wireless communication device comprising the means described in any one of Examples 1 to 14.

[0175] Example 16 includes a method for use in a wireless communication device, wherein the method includes: switching from the BSS primary channel to a non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel when an overlapping BSS (OBSS) frame is received on a basic service set (BSS) primary channel, wherein the network allocation vector (NAV) on the BSS primary channel is set when the OBSS frame is received on the BSS primary channel; and switching back from the NPCA primary channel to the BSS primary channel before the NAV on the BSS primary channel expires when the duration of the NAV on the BSS primary channel is longer than the transmission opportunity (TxOP) on the NPCA primary channel in which the wireless communication device participates.

[0176] Example 17 includes the method of Example 16, wherein the method further includes, when the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel is longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel: leaving the NPCA main channel before the TxOP on the NPCA main channel ends, and switching back from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel before the NAV on the BSS main channel ends.

[0177] Example 18 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 17, wherein the method further includes, when the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel is longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel: communicating on the NPCA main channel before the TxOP on the NPCA main channel ends; switching back from the NPCA main channel to the BSS main channel when the TxOP on the NPCA main channel expires; and applying a media synchronization recovery process on the BSS main channel.

[0178] Example 19 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 18, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP holder, and the method further includes: sending an initial frame to a TxOP responder, the initial frame indicating a first TxOP duration value pointing to a first end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel; and receiving a response frame from the TxOP responder, the response frame indicating a second TxOP duration value pointing to a second end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel, wherein the second end point is earlier than the first end point and is taken as the expected end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel.

[0179] Example 20 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 19, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP responder, and the method further includes: receiving an initial frame from a TxOP holder, the initial frame indicating a first TxOP duration value pointing to a first end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel; and sending a response frame to the TxOP holder, the response frame indicating a second TxOP duration value pointing to a second end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel, wherein the second end point is earlier than the first end point and is used as the expected end point of a TxOP on the NPCA main channel.

[0180] Example 21 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 20, wherein the initial frame is a request to send (RTS) frame and the response frame is a allow to send (CTS) frame.

[0181] Example 22 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 21, wherein the initial frame is an initial control frame (ICF) and the response frame is an initial control response (ICR).

[0182] Example 23 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 22, wherein the ICF is a Buffer Status Report Polling (BSRP) Trigger Frame (TF), the ICR is a Multi-Station (M-STA) Block Acknowledgment (BA) frame, and the M-STA BA frame includes an unavailability indication indicating the start time and duration of unavailability of the TxOP responder on the NPCA main channel.

[0183] Example 24 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 23, wherein the initial control response is a Quality of Service (QoS) empty frame containing a TxOP duration field.

[0184] Example 25 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 24, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP holder, and the method further includes: sending an NPCA report frame to a TxOP responder, the NPCA report frame instructing the wireless communication device to switch from the BSS master channel to the NPCA master channel based on a specific OBSS.

[0185] Example 26 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 25, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP responder, and the method further includes: receiving an NPCA report frame from a TxOP holder, the NPCA report frame instructing the TxOP holder to switch from the BSS primary channel to the NPCA primary channel based on a specific OBSS.

[0186] Example 27 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 26, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP responder, and the method further includes: receiving an initial frame from a TxOP holder, the initial frame setting the TxOP on the NPCA main channel only to the initial control frame exchange plus a short inter-frame interval (SIFS) plus the end of a time slot, or only to a predefined duration or a duration announced by the wireless communication device; and incrementing the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel based on the predefined duration or the duration announced by the wireless communication device.

[0187] Example 28 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 27, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP holder, and the method further includes: sending an initial frame to a TxOP responder, the initial frame setting the TxOP on the NPCA main channel only to the initial control frame exchange plus a short inter-frame interval (SIFS) plus the end of a time slot, or only to a predefined duration or a duration announced by the TxOP responder; and incrementing the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel based on the predefined duration or the duration announced by the TxOP responder.

[0188] Example 29 includes the method of any one of Examples 16 to 28, wherein the wireless communication device acts as a TxOP responder, and the method further includes: receiving an initial control frame from a TxOP holder and not sending an initial control response to the TxOP holder, the initial control frame setting the duration of the TxOP on the NPCA main channel to be longer than the NAV on the BSS main channel.

[0189] Example 30 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein, when executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, the computer-executable instructions cause the wireless communication device to implement the method of any one of Examples 16 to 29.

[0190] Example 31 includes a computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein, when executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, the computer-executable instructions cause the wireless communication device to implement the method of any one of Examples 16 to 29.

[0191] While certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description, various alternative and / or equivalent embodiments or implementations may be used instead of the illustrated and described embodiments to achieve the same purpose without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This application is intended to cover any changes or variations to the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, the embodiments described herein are clearly limited only to the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein, The apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device, operating as a transmission opportunity (TxOP) holder, to: transmit, to a TxOP responder, a buffer status report poll (BSRP) trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource unit (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receive, from the TxOP responder, a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being transmitted in response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set to a medium access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a RU allocation field in a user info field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punctured channel.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The MRU is a RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to a non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The MRU is a MRU that is allowed for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a punctured channel bitmap field in a user info field or a disabled subchannel bitmap field in a common info field, and the punctured channel bitmap field or the disabled subchannel bitmap field indicates which channels are punctured or not punctured.

7. An apparatus for use in a wireless communication device, wherein, The apparatus includes processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device, operating as a transmission opportunity (TxOP) responder, to: receive, from a TxOP holder, a buffer status report poll (BSRP) trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource unit (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and transmit, to the TxOP holder in response to the BSRP trigger frame, a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set to a medium access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, The processor circuitry is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to use a channel puncturing pattern indicated by the channel puncturing information in all subsequent transmissions between the TxOP holder and the TxOP responder during an ongoing TxOP.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a RU allocation field in a user info field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punctured channel. The MRU is a RU that does not overlap with a channel occupied by an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to a non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein, The MRU is a RU that does not overlap with channels occupied by an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the TxOP holder to move to a non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein, The MRU is a MRU that allows for non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmissions.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein, The processor circuit is further configured to cause the wireless communication device to generate the non-HT PPDU for transmission on a 20 MHz channel and duplicate the non-HT PPDU on all 20 MHz channels within the MRU or on all 20 MHz channels not indicated as punctured in the BSRP trigger frame.

14. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a punctured channel bitmap field in a user info field or a disabled subchannel bitmap field in a common info field, and the punctured channel bitmap field or the disabled subchannel bitmap field indicates which channels are punctured or not punctured.

15. A wireless communication device comprising the apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein, The computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to function as a transmission opportunity (TxOP) holder to: transmit, to a TxOP responder, a buffer status report poll (BSRP) trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource unit (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receive, from the TxOP responder, a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being transmitted in response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set to a medium access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a RU allocation field in a user info field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use punctured channels.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein, The MRU is a RU that does not overlap with channels occupied by an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) TxOP that triggers the wireless communication device to move to a non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein, The BSRP trigger frame includes a punctured channel bitmap field in a user info field or a disabled subchannel bitmap field in a common info field, and the punctured channel bitmap field or the disabled subchannel bitmap field indicates which channels are punctured or not punctured.

21. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer- executable instructions, wherein, The computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor of a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to function as a transmission opportunity (TxOP) responder to: receive, from a TxOP holder, a buffer status report poll (BSRP) trigger frame containing channel puncturing information or resource unit (RU) allocation information associated with the TxOP holder; and receive, from the TxOP holder, a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, the non-HT PPDU or the TB PPDU being transmitted in response to the BSRP trigger frame based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information. based on the channel puncturing information or the RU allocation information, transmitting, in response to the BSRP trigger frame, a non-high throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) or a trigger-based (TB) PPDU to the TxOP holder.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein, the BSRP trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field set to a medium access control (MAC) address of the TxOP responder.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor of the wireless communication device, further cause the wireless communication device to use a channel puncturing pattern indicated by the channel puncturing information in all subsequent transmissions between the TxOP holder and the TxOP responder during the ongoing TxOP.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein, the BSRP trigger frame includes a RU allocation field in a user info field, and the RU allocation field indicates a multiple resource unit (MRU) that does not use a punctured channel.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor of the wireless communication device, further cause the wireless communication device to generate the non-HT PPDU for transmission on a 20 MHz channel, and duplicate the non-HT PPDU on all 20 MHz channels within the MRU or all 20 MHz channels that are not indicated as punctured in the BSRP trigger frame.

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