Preempting downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for transmission preemption in a wireless local area network. Downlink transmissions may be performed by an access point device on a first wireless link. Signaling requesting or indicating preemption of downlink transmission may be provided by the non-access point device to the access point device on the second wireless link. Downlink transmissions may be preempted based at least in part on signaling requesting or indicating preemption of the downlink transmissions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to wireless communications, including techniques and devices for preempting downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events in a wireless local area network architecture. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless communication systems are ubiquitous. Furthermore, wireless communication technology has evolved from solely voice communication to also include the transmission of data such as the internet and multimedia content.

[0003] Mobile electronic devices or stations (STAs) or user equipment (UEs) may take the form of smartphones or tablets typically carried by users. One aspect of wireless communication, typically performed by mobile devices, may include wireless networking, for example, via a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may include devices operating according to one or more communication standards in the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. In a WLAN, certain services may be delayed while other communications within the network are being performed. In at least some cases, this can potentially lead to performance degradation for services where low latency is critical. Therefore, improvements in this area are desired. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This paper presents implementation schemes, particularly for devices in wireless local area network architectures, for preempting downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events.

[0005] A wireless device may include: one or more antennas; one or more radio components operatively coupled to the one or more antennas; and a processor operatively coupled to the one or more radio components. The wireless device may be configured to establish a connection with an access point via a wireless local area network (WLAN) on one or more wireless links, or may be an access point configured to establish a connection with one or more other wireless devices via a WLAN on one or more wireless links. The wireless device may operate in each of the plurality of wireless links using a corresponding radio component from the one or more radio components.

[0006] According to the techniques described herein, a wireless device can determine whether to preempt downlink data transmission from an access point on one link and can provide preemption signaling to the access point on another link to facilitate preemption. The preemption signaling may include an implicit or explicit preemption indication to indicate that the wireless device has stopped receiving downlink data transmissions, or it may include a preemption request to indicate that the wireless device is requesting to preempt downlink data transmissions.

[0007] Once downlink data transmission has been preempted, the wireless device can continue to perform one or more operations that facilitated the preemption of downlink data transmission. This may include performing uplink data transmission (e.g., for uplink data with low latency requirements or with higher priority than the downlink data being transmitted) or participating in coexistence events, as well as various other possibilities.

[0008] Because the access point may be aware of downlink data transmission preemption, the wireless device may not be penalized with a reduction in its downlink transmission rate for any lost data after it stops receiving downlink data transmissions. Therefore, at least according to some implementations, the techniques described herein can be used to better support low-latency uplink services with minimal impact on other aspects of wireless device operation and network efficiency. It should be noted that in some implementations, the techniques described herein can also be applied to uplink transmission.

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

[0010] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subjects described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are merely illustrative and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or substance of the subjects described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subjects described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0011] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following specific description of the implementation scheme in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems including wireless devices are illustrated according to some implementation schemes;

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

[0014] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating example network elements or access points according to some implementation schemes;

[0015] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating an example modem or baseband processor according to some implementation schemes;

[0016] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating an example method for preempting downlink data transmission for uplink data or coexistence events in a wireless local area network, according to some implementation schemes;

[0017] Figure 6 Examples of possible scenarios, according to some implementations, in which a wireless device can preempt downlink transmissions from an access point on one link to perform low-latency uplink transmissions on another link, without directly notifying the access point;

[0018] Figure 7 Examples of scenarios in which preemption signaling, according to some implementation schemes, can be used to achieve uplink preemption of downlink data;

[0019] Figures 8 to 9 Examples of possible scenarios in which preemption signaling, according to some implementation schemes, can be used to preempt downlink data for coexistence operations are illustrated;

[0020] Figures 10 to 11 Examples of other possible scenarios in which preemption signaling can be used for uplink preemption of downlink data, according to some implementation schemes, are illustrated;

[0021] Figure 12 Examples of access point-centric approaches based on some implementation schemes are shown. Figures 10 to 11 Examples of variations of the scenario;

[0022] Figure 13 This illustrates an example aspect of another possible scenario in which preemption signaling, according to some implementation schemes, can be used to preempt downlink data for coexistence operations;

[0023] Figures 14 to 15 Examples of aspects of preemption signaling, according to some implementation schemes, are illustrated for more possible scenarios in which it can be used to preempt downlink data for uplink data;

[0024] Figure 16 Examples of possible sets of A-control subfields that can be used for preemption indication according to some implementation schemes are illustrated;

[0025] Figure 17 An example of a possible preemption indication frame, including a possible preemption indication information subfield, is shown according to some implementation schemes;

[0026] Figure 18 Examples of multi-station block confirmation frames that can be used to provide preemption indications according to some implementation schemes are illustrated;

[0027] Figure 19Examples of possible preemption request frames, including a possible preemption request information subfield, are illustrated according to some implementation schemes; and

[0028] Figure 20 An example of a potentially preemptive response frame, including a potentially preemptive response information subfield, is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0029] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternatives, specific embodiments thereof are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit one to the specific forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0030] the term

[0031] The following are definitions of the terms used in this disclosure:

[0032] Memory media—any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory media" is intended to include any computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDORAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, e.g., hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The term "memory media" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations (e.g., different computer systems connected via a network). Memory media may store program instructions (e.g., embodied in a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0033] Carrier medium—such as memory media as described above, and physical transmission medium, such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media for transmitting signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals).

[0034] Computer system—any of all types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), server-based computer systems, wearable computers, networked appliances, internet-connected appliances, smartphones, television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0035] User equipment (UE) (or “UE device”) — any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone-based). ™ Android ™ This includes mobile phones, portable gaming devices, laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. Generally speaking, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined as encompassing any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunications device (or a combination of these devices) that is easily transportable by the user and capable of wireless communication.

[0036] A wireless device or station (STA) is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in a location. The terms "station" and "STA" are used similarly. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0037] A communication device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, which may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or it may be stationary or fixed in a location. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0038] Base station or access point (AP) — The term “base station” (also known as “eNB” or “gNB”) has the full breadth of its common meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed in a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless communication system. The term “access point” (or “AP”) is generally associated with and used similarly to Wi-Fi-based communication.

[0039] A processing element (or processor) is a component or combination of components capable of performing the functions of a device (e.g., a communication device or a network infrastructure device). A processor may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, circuitry such as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), portions or circuitry of individual processor cores, an entire processor core, a processor array, programmable hardware devices such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or a large portion of a system comprising multiple processors, as well as any combination of the above components.

[0040] Automatically—means that an action or operation is performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform that action or operation. Therefore, the term "automatic" contrasts with an action performed or specified manually by the user (where the user provides input to directly perform the action). An automatic process may be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input to specify information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, radio selection, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that can be performed automatically in response to actions taken by the user.

[0041] IEEE 802.11 refers to technology based on the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard (such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11-2012, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.11be, and / or other IEEE 802.11 standards). IEEE 802.11 technology can also be referred to as "Wi-Fi" or "Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)" technology.

[0042] "Configured as"—Various components can be described as being "configured as" to perform one or more tasks. In this context, "configured as" is a broad expression generally meaning "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Therefore, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently performing one (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect one module to another, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured as" can be a broad expression generally meaning "having a circuit" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Therefore, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently powered on. Generally, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured as" can include hardware circuitry.

[0043] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Statements describing a component as configured to perform one or more tasks are expressly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C., 112(6).

[0044] Figures 1 to 2 —Wireless communication system

[0045] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system is given. It should be noted that... Figure 1 This represents one of many possibilities, and the features of this disclosure can be implemented as needed through any of various systems. For example, the embodiments described herein can be implemented in any type of wireless device. The wireless implementation described below is an example implementation.

[0046] As shown in the figure, the example wireless communication system includes an access point (AP) 102, which communicates with one or more wireless devices 106A, 106B, etc., via a transmission medium. Wireless devices 106A and 106B can be user equipment, such as a station (STA), a non-AP STA, or a WLAN device.

[0047] STA 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, wearable device, computer or tablet computer, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned aerial controller (UAC), automobile, or virtually any type of wireless device. STA 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. STA 106 may execute any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, STA 106 may include programmable hardware elements, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), integrated circuit, and / or any of a variety of other possible hardware components configured (e.g., individually or in combination) to perform any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein or any part thereof.

[0048] AP 102 can be a standalone AP or a corporate AP, and may include hardware capable of enabling wireless communication with STA devices 106A and 106B. AP 102 may also be equipped to communicate with network 100 (e.g., WLAN, corporate network, and / or another communication network connected to the Internet, and various other possibilities). Therefore, AP 102 can facilitate communication between STA devices 106 and / or communication between STA devices 106 and network 100. In other specific implementations, AP 102 may be configured to provide communication via one or more wireless technologies, such as any, any combination of, or all of the following: 802.11 a, 802.11 b, 802.11 g, 802.11 n, 802.11 ac, 802.11 ad, 802.11 ax, 802.11 ay, 802.11 be and / or other 802.11 versions, or cellular protocols such as 5G or LTE, including in unlicensed frequency bands (e.g., LAA, NR-U).

[0049] The communication area (or coverage area) of AP 102 may be referred to as the Basic Service Area (BSA) or cell. AP 102 and STA 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RAT) or wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G NR, Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc.

[0050] Therefore, AP 102 and other similar access points (not shown) operating according to one or more wireless communication technologies can be configured as a network that can, for example, provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to STA devices 106A to 106B and similar devices within a geographical area via one or more communication technologies. STAs can roam directly from one AP to another, or can switch between APs and cellular network cells.

[0051] It should be noted that, at least in some cases, the STA device 106 may be able to communicate using any of a variety of wireless communication technologies. For example, the STA device 106 may be configured to communicate using one or more of Wi-F, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, Bluetooth, UWB, one or more satellite systems, etc. Other combinations of wireless communication technologies (including more than two wireless communication technologies) are also possible. Similarly, in some cases, the STA device 106 may be configured to communicate using only a single wireless communication technology.

[0052] As shown in the figure, the example wireless communication system may also include an access point (AP) 104 that communicates with the wireless device 106B via a transmission medium. AP 104 also provides a communication connection to network 100. Therefore, according to some embodiments, a wireless device may be able to connect to one or both of AP 102 (or a cellular base station) and access point 104 (or another access point) to access network 100. For example, a STA may roam from AP 102 to AP 104 based on one or more factors such as coverage, interference, and capability. It should be noted that AP 104 may also allow access to networks different from those allowed by AP 102 (e.g., enterprise Wi-Fi networks, home Wi-Fi networks, etc.).

[0053] STA 106A and STA 106B may include handheld devices such as smartphones or tablets, wearable devices such as smartwatches or smart glasses, and / or may include any of a variety of types of devices with cellular communication capabilities. For example, one or more of STA 106A and / or STA 106B may be wireless devices designed for stationary or nomadic deployments, such as home appliances, measuring devices, control devices, etc.

[0054] STA 106B can also be configured to communicate with STA 106A. For example, STA 106A and STA 106B may be able to perform direct device-to-device (D2D) communication. In some implementations, this direct communication between UEs may also be referred to as, or alternatively as, peer-to-peer (P2P) communication. Direct communication may be supported by AP 102 (e.g., easily discoverable by AP 102, and with various possible forms of assistance), or may be performed in a manner not supported by AP 102. Depending on the implementation, this P2P communication may be performed using any of the following communication technologies: 3GPP-based D2D communication technology, Wi-Fi-based P2P communication technology, UWB, BT, and / or various other direct communication technologies.

[0055] STA 106 may include one or more devices or integrated circuits for facilitating wireless communication, potentially including Wi-Fi modems, cellular modems, and / or one or more other wireless modems. The wireless modem may include one or more processors (processor elements) and various hardware components as described herein. STA 106 may execute any method implementation (or any portion thereof) of the method implementations described herein by executing instructions on one or more programmable processors. For example, as with the various implementations described herein, STA 106 may be configured to perform techniques for preempting downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events in a wireless communication system. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may be one or more programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or other circuitry configured to execute any method implementation or any portion thereof of the method implementations described herein. The wireless modem described herein may be used with STA devices as defined herein, wireless devices as defined herein, or communication devices as defined herein. The wireless modem described herein may also be used with APs, base stations, picocells, femtocells, or other similar network-side devices.

[0056] STA 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using two or more wireless communication protocols or radio access technologies. In some embodiments, STA 106 may be configured to communicate using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna or to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Alternatively, STA 106 may include two or more radio components, each configured to communicate via a corresponding wireless link. Other configurations are also possible.

[0057] Figure 2 –Example block diagram of STA device

[0058] Figure 2A possible block diagram of a STA device, such as STA device 106, is illustrated. In some cases, STA 106 may alternatively be referred to as UE 106. STA 106 may also be referred to as a non-AP STA 106. As shown, STA 106 may include a System-on-Chip (SOC) 300, which may include one or more components configured for various purposes. Some or all of the various illustrated components (and / or other device components not illustrated, e.g., in variant and alternative arrangements) may be “communically coupled” or “operationally coupled”, terms used herein to refer to components that can communicate directly or indirectly when the device is in operation.

[0059] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 and a display circuit 304. The processor executes program instructions for the STA 106, and the display circuit performs graphics processing and provides display signals to the display 360. The SOC 300 may also include a motion sensing circuit 370, which may use, for example, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of various other motion sensing components to detect the motion of the STA 106. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and translate these addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, flash memory 310). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0060] As shown in the figure, SOC 300 can be coupled to various other circuits of STA 106. For example, STA 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to computer systems, docking stations, charging stations, etc.), display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, UWB, etc.).

[0061] STA device 106 may include at least one antenna and, in some embodiments, may include multiple antennas 335a and 335b for performing wireless communication with a base station and / or other devices. For example, STA device 106 may use antennas 335a and 335b to perform wireless communication. As described above, STA device 106 may be configured in some embodiments to perform wireless communication using a variety of wireless communication standards or radio access technologies (RATs).

[0062] The wireless communication circuitry 330 may include a Wi-Fi modem 332, a cellular modem 334, and a Bluetooth modem 336. The Wi-Fi modem 332 enables STA 106 to perform Wi-Fi or other WLAN communications, for example, on an 802.11 network. The Bluetooth modem 336 enables STA 106 to perform Bluetooth communications. The cellular modem 334 may be a cellular modem capable of performing cellular communications according to one or more cellular communication technologies, such as according to one or more 3GPP specifications.

[0063] As described herein, STA 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing embodiments of this disclosure. For example, one or more components of the wireless communication circuitry 330 of STA 106 (e.g., Wi-Fi modem 332, cellular modem 334, BT modem 336) may be configured, for example, to implement part or all of the method described herein for preempting downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events using, for example, a processor executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium), a processor configured as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and / or using dedicated hardware components that may include ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits).

[0064] Figure 3 —Block diagram of the access point

[0065] Figure 3 Example block diagrams of access point (AP) 104 according to some implementation schemes are shown. In some cases (e.g., in an 802.11 communication context), AP 104 may also be referred to as a station (STA), and may be more specifically referred to as an AP STA. It should be noted that... Figure 3 The AP is merely one example of a possible access point. As shown, AP 104 may include a processor 404 capable of executing program instructions for AP 104. Processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450) or into other circuitry or devices.

[0066] AP 104 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to the telephone network, as described above. Figure 1 The document describes providing access to the telephone network to multiple devices, such as STA device 106.

[0067] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to couple to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by a cellular service provider).

[0068] AP 104 may include one or more radio components 430A to 430N and at least one antenna 434 (and may include multiple antennas), each radio component being coupled to a corresponding communication link. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as radio transceivers and may also be configured to communicate with UE devices 106 / 107 via radio component 430. Antennas 434A to 434N communicate with their corresponding radio components 430A to 430N via communication links 432A to 432N. Communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio components 430A to 430N may be configured to communicate according to various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, UWB, Wi-Fi, BT, etc. AP 104 may be configured to operate on multiple radio links using one or more radio components 430A to 430N, each radio component being used for operation on a corresponding radio link.

[0069] AP 104 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, AP 104 may include multiple radio components that enable network entities to communicate according to various wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, AP 104 may include 4G or 5G radio components for performing communication according to 3GPP wireless communication technologies, and Wi-Fi radio components for performing communication according to Wi-Fi. In this case, AP 104 may be able to operate as both a cellular base station and a Wi-Fi access point. As another possibility, AP 104 may include multimode radio components capable of performing communication according to any of the various wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, 5G NR and LTE, etc.). As yet another possibility, AP 104 may be configured exclusively as a Wi-Fi access point, for example, in the absence of cellular communication capabilities.

[0070] As further described herein, AP 104 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of features described herein, such as preempting downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events, and other possible features. The processor 404 of AP 104 may be configured, for example, to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) to operate multiple wireless links using multiple corresponding radio components. Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or additionally), in conjunction with one or more of other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of AP 104 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the features described herein.

[0071] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a modem or baseband processor

[0072] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a modem 400 is shown, which may also be referred to as a baseband processor 400. Modem 400 can provide signal processing functionality for one or more wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and / or cellular (e.g., 3GPP) communication technologies. Therefore, as an option, modem 400 may represent a Wi-Fi modem; for example, Figure 4 The illustrated modem 400 can represent Figure 2 One possible example of the illustrated Wi-Fi modem 232. Alternatively, modem 400 could represent a cellular modem or a cellular baseband processor; for example... Figure 4 The illustrated modem 400 can represent Figure 2 One possible example of the illustrated cellular modem 234. As another possibility, modem 400 could represent a Bluetooth modem; for example... Figure 4 The illustrated modem 400 can represent Figure 2 This is one possible example of the illustrated Wi-Fi modem 236. In some cases, modem 400 may implement functionality to support communication according to various wireless communication technologies. In at least some cases, modem 400 may run a real-time operating system, for example, to facilitate the performance of time-dependent wireless communication functionality.

[0073] In some cases, modem 400 can be configured to perform concurrent data transmission and reception across multiple channels in a single and / or multiple frequency bands (e.g., such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and / or 6 GHz band). Therefore, modem 400 can be configured to perform multi-link operation (MLO). For example, modem 400 can be configured to perform simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) operation (e.g., configured for simultaneous uplink and downlink traffic on a pair of links) and / or enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR) operation (e.g., configured to allow a single radio to simultaneously listen on two or more links).

[0074] Modem 400 may include processing circuitry 402, which may include one or more processor cores, ASICs, programmable hardware elements, digital signal processors, and / or other processing elements. The processing circuitry may be able to prepare baseband signals for up-conversion and transmission by the radio component circuitry of a wireless device, and / or process baseband signals received and down-converted by the radio component circuitry of the wireless device. Such processing may include signal modulation, encoding, decoding, etc., among various possible functions. The processing circuitry may also be able to, or alternatively, perform functionality of one or more baseband and / or other layers / sublayers of the protocol stack for a wireless communication technology implemented by modem 400, such as physical layer (PHY) functionality, media access control (MAC) functionality, logical link control (LLC) functionality, radio resource control (RRC) functionality, radio link control (RLC) functionality, etc. In some cases, modem 400 itself may include at least some radio circuitry (e.g., for performing input baseband signal to RF signal conversion and / or input RF signal to baseband signal conversion). Alternatively or additionally, some or all of these functions may be performed by separate radio components / transceiver assemblies of the wireless device.

[0075] The modem 400 may also include a memory 404, which may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The memory 404 may include program instructions for performing signal processing and / or any of a variety of possible general-purpose processing functions. The processing circuitry 402 may be able to execute the program instructions stored in the memory 404. The memory 404 may also store data generated and / or used during processing performed by the processing circuitry 402.

[0076] As shown in the figure, the modem 400 may also include, for example, for communication with wireless devices (such as...) Figures 1 to 3Interface circuitry that communicates with other components of the illustrated STA 106 or AP 104 (such as the application processor, radio / transceiver circuitry, and / or any of the various other components). Such an interface can be implemented in any of a variety of ways; for example, as one possibility, the modem 400 may have a direct interface to the transceiver circuitry of the wireless device and may have additional indirect interfaces via the system bus to the application processor and / or other components of the wireless device. Other configurations are also possible.

[0077] In at least some cases, the hardware and software components of modem 400 may be configured to implement or support the features described herein (such as performing preemption of downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events, and various other possible features). For example, the processing circuitry 402 of modem 400 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) 404 and / or using dedicated hardware components.

[0078] Figure 5 -flow chart

[0079] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating methods for supporting preemption of downlink data for uplink data or coexistence events in a WLAN, according to some implementation schemes. In various implementation schemes, some elements of the methods shown may be executed simultaneously in a different order than shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed.

[0080] Figure 5 The various aspects of the method can be derived from wireless devices (such as, Figures 1 to 4 The method can be implemented using the illustrated AP 104 or STA 106 described with respect to these figures, or more generally, it can be implemented as needed in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements, or components shown in the figures. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device can be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0081] It should be noted that, although described in a manner relating to the use of communication technologies and / or features associated with the IEEE 802.11 specification document... Figure 5 This method incorporates at least some elements, but this description is not intended to limit this disclosure. Figure 5 Various aspects of these methods can be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. As shown in the figure, these methods can be operated as follows.

[0082] At least two wireless devices can establish a wireless association (552). According to various implementations, the wireless association can be established using Wi-Fi, at least partially Wi-Fi-based wireless communication technologies, and / or any of a variety of other wireless communication technologies. For example, as a possibility, an access point (AP) wireless device can provide beacon transmission including information for association with the AP wireless device, and one or more other wireless devices (e.g., non-AP wireless devices) can use the information provided in the beacon transmission to request association with the AP wireless device. Variations and / or other technologies for establishing the association are also possible.

[0083] According to at least some implementations, the AP wireless device can provide wireless LAN functionality to associated wireless devices. As part of the wireless LAN functionality, depending on the general specifications of the wireless communication technology used by the wireless LAN (e.g., as a possibility, Wi-Fi) and / or the network-specific parameters configured by the AP wireless device, the wireless devices may contend for medium access and may perform wireless transmissions on one or more wireless communication channels (each of which may include multiple sub-channels).

[0084] Wireless associations can include multiple links. For example, an AP wireless device can be an AP multi-link device (MLD), and a non-AP wireless device can be a non-AP MLD, where links are established on two or more of the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz bands. Therefore, both AP and non-AP MLDs can communicate on at least the first and second links. It should be noted that this multi-link operation can be supported by a wireless device with enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) capability or by a wireless device with simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) capability, among other possibilities. For an eMLSR device, a non-AP wireless device can include a “primary” radio component and a “secondary” radio component, where the secondary radio component is capable of performing limited wireless receive operations and may also perform transmit operations (e.g., as a possibility, up to a modulation and decoding scheme (MCS) and operating bandwidth, such as MCS-4 and a 20 MHz bandwidth), and is therefore used for channel sensing and may also perform some signaling transmissions, while the primary radio component is capable of performing a wider range of wireless receive and transmit operations and may include transmitting and receiving data. For STR devices, at least in some implementations, non-AP wireless devices may include multiple radio components capable of performing a full range of uplink and downlink communications, such that uplink data can be transmitted on one link and downlink data can be received on another link.

[0085] The AP wireless device may initiate a first data transmission (554) on the associated first wireless link to a non-AP wireless device with which it has established an association. According to at least some embodiments, initiating the first data transmission may include contention for medium access (e.g., to avoid collisions and potential interference), and once medium access is obtained, a Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) (which may also be referred to as a downlink frame) is transmitted to the destination wireless device. The downlink frame may include physical layer signaling (e.g., including preambles for frame detection, timing and frequency synchronization, channel estimation, etc., and header information indicating packet configuration, format, data rate, channel occupancy time, and / or other control information) and data (which may in turn include one or more higher-layer packets, such as Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (MPDUs)). The non-AP wireless device may receive the downlink transmission on the first wireless link.

[0086] A non-AP wireless device can determine to preempt downlink transmission (556). As a possibility, this determination may be based on low-latency uplink data arriving at the non-AP wireless device's baseband layer (e.g., this data may have higher priority than downlink transmission). For example, the uplink data may have a shorter latency ceiling than the indicated downlink transmission duration, such that QoS requirements may not be met if the non-AP wireless device waits for the downlink transmission to complete before transmitting the uplink data. In this scenario, if the non-AP wireless device is an eMLSR device that cannot simultaneously receive downlink transmission on the first wireless link and transmit uplink data on the second wireless link, the non-AP wireless device can determine to preempt the first data transmission so that it may be able to transmit uplink data within the latency ceiling of the uplink data.

[0087] In another possible scenario, a non-AP wireless device with STR capability might preempt the first data transmission due to differences in the link characteristics of the first and second wireless links. For example, in some scenarios, the 2.4GHz link is more likely to be interfered with, or has lower data capacity or higher expected latency compared to a 5GHz or 6GHz link. In this case, even if the non-AP wireless device is able to receive the first data transmission on the first wireless link while simultaneously transmitting uplink data on the second wireless link, the non-AP wireless device might still preempt the first data transmission, for example, so that the first wireless link might be used for higher-priority uplink data.

[0088] As another possible scenario, a non-AP wireless device may have scheduled a coexistence event (e.g., for Wi-Fi-based peer-to-peer communication with another wireless device, Bluetooth-based communication, or any of the various possible types of coexistence events) and may have determined to preempt the first data transmission in order to execute the coexistence event. It should be noted that in addition to these various possible reasons for determining to preempt the first data transmission on the first wireless link, there may be other reasons, or alternatives to these reasons.

[0089] Non-AP wireless devices can provide preemption signaling (558) to AP wireless devices on the second wireless link for the first data transmission. Depending on the scenario in which the preemption signaling is provided, the preemption signaling may take any of the possible forms. In some cases, the preemption signaling may include preemption reason or cause information, for example, indicating whether the preemption is for low-latency uplink data, coexistence events, etc.

[0090] As a possibility, preemption signaling may include an explicit preemption indication frame. In this scenario, the preemption indication frame may indicate that a non-AP wireless device has terminated reception of downlink transmissions. At least in some implementations, the preemption indication frame may have a frame format defined in the IEEE 802.11 specification. Alternatively or additionally, the frame format used may depend at least in part on the AP implementation and / or the configuration / negotiation between the AP wireless device and the non-AP wireless device, for example, as part of establishing a wireless association. The frame format may include fields indicating any or all of the following: a wireless link identifier for the preempted wireless link (e.g., indicating that a first wireless link is being preempted), a power management bit for the preempted wireless link, the start sequence number of the preempted packet, the service identifier (TID) value of the preempted packet, or whether a retransmission of the preempted packet is requested. Other fields are also possible.

[0091] As another possibility, preemption signaling may include implicit preemption indication frames. In this scenario, a frame sent by a non-AP radio device and received by an AP radio device on the second radio link of the eMLSR link pair may be interpreted by the AP radio device (e.g., based on certain characteristics or circumstances of the transmitted frame) as an implicit indication that the non-AP radio device has terminated receiving downlink transmissions on the first radio link. The frame itself may be a control signaling frame, such as a request-to-transmit (RTS) frame (e.g., a multi-user RTS or MU-RTS), a allow-to-transmit (CTS) frame, or any of various other types of frames. According to some implementations, it is possible that the IEEE 802.11 specification describes a situation where frames are interpreted as such implicit preemption indications. Alternatively or additionally, such situations may depend on the AP implementation and / or be configured / negotiated between the AP radio device and the non-AP radio device, for example, as part of establishing a radio association. One such set of possible situations may include an eMLSR device that is the non-AP transmitting any frame on the second radio link during downlink transmissions on the first radio link. For example, since such a device may not be able to transmit and receive simultaneously on multiple links, in at least some cases, uplink transmission on a second wireless link during downlink transmission on a first wireless link may require the non-AP wireless device to have given up downlink transmission in order to be able to perform uplink transmission.

[0092] As another possibility, preemption signaling may include an explicit preemption request frame. In this scenario, the preemption request frame may indicate that a non-AP wireless device has not terminated reception of downlink transmissions but is requesting to preempt downlink transmissions. At least in some implementations, the preemption request frame may have a frame format defined in the IEEE 802.11 specification. Alternatively or additionally, the frame format used may depend at least in part on the AP implementation and / or the configuration / negotiation between the AP wireless device and the non-AP wireless device, for example, as part of establishing a wireless association. The frame format may include fields indicating any or all of the following: a wireless link identifier for the preempted wireless link (e.g., indicating that a first wireless link is being preempted), power management bits for the preempted wireless link, the start sequence number of the preempted packet, the service identifier (TID) value of the preempted packet, or whether a retransmission of the preempted packet is requested. The frame format may additionally or alternatively include fields indicating any or all of the following: a request to transmit a trigger frame on a first radio link, a tolerable delay limit for requesting to preempt uplink traffic transmitted on the downlink, or a queue size for requesting to preempt uplink traffic transmitted on the downlink. Other fields are also possible. For example, a radio device with STR capability may use this frame format to transmit uplink data on a first radio link instead of a second radio link. As another possibility, this frame format may be used by a radio device with eMLSR capability and limited simultaneous transmission capability, which may, for example, be able to use an auxiliary radio component on a second radio link to transmit a preemption request while continuing to use the primary radio component to receive the first data transmission on the first radio link.

[0093] In some implementations, the non-AP wireless device may combine preemption signaling with additional control signaling. For example, the non-AP wireless device may send an initial control frame (ICF), such as an RTS or CTS, to itself after performing media contention on a second wireless link before transmitting preemption signaling. Alternatively, as previously mentioned, in at least some cases, such control signaling may itself be used as preemption signaling, for example, as an implicit preemption indication. Depending on various implementations and possibly depending on the multi-link capabilities of the non-AP wireless device (e.g., eMLSR and STR, etc.), control signaling and / or preemption signaling may be transmitted by any combination of various possible combinations of the primary or secondary radio components of the non-AP wireless device. At least where the non-AP wireless device uses an RTS frame, the AP wireless device may respond with a CTS frame.

[0094] In some implementations, the non-AP wireless device may send an ICF (e.g., MU-RTS) with additional padding to provide sufficient time for the non-AP wireless device's main radio component to switch from the first wireless link to the second wireless link. In this scenario, at least as a possibility, after receiving a CTS frame from the AP wireless device, the non-AP wireless device's main radio component can be used to send preemption signaling from the non-AP wireless device to the AP wireless device.

[0095] In some implementations, the non-AP wireless device may also provide block acknowledgment (BA) information (e.g., a BA frame) for the first data transmission, for example, to indicate which portion of the first data transmission was received by the non-AP wireless device before it preempted. According to various implementations, this information may be provided as a separate frame from the frame providing preemption signaling (e.g., possibly after an uplink data transmission that performs preemption), or it may be provided together (e.g., incorporated into a single aggregated MPDU transmission). As another possibility, the BA frame itself may include preemption indication information.

[0096] After providing preemption signaling, the non-AP wireless device may perform uplink transmission or coexistence communication, or otherwise follow up on the reason for providing preemption signaling. In the case of performing uplink transmission, as one possibility, the uplink transmission may be performed on a second wireless link (e.g., as a continuation of the use of the medium obtained for providing preemption signaling). As another possibility, the uplink transmission may be performed on the first wireless link. In some implementations, this may occur if the preemption signaling requests preemption of the first downlink data transmission in order to perform uplink transmission on the first wireless link. In this case, the AP wireless device may provide a trigger frame to the non-AP wireless device on the first wireless link to trigger uplink transmission, and the non-AP wireless device may, in response to the trigger frame, perform uplink transmission to the AP wireless device on the first wireless link.

[0097] It's possible that when the first data transmission is preempted, the AP (Access Point) determines not to reduce the downlink transmission rate for non-AP devices. For example, in preemption signaling, the AP might know that any lost packets in the first data transmission are not due to poor channel conditions, so reducing the downlink transmission rate for non-AP devices might not be beneficial.

[0098] It should be noted that, according to various implementations, although many implementations described herein may include a (“first”) non-AP wireless device that is the receiver of downlink transmissions on a first link preempted for downlink transmission, such downlink transmissions may also be preempted by another (“second”) non-AP wireless device. For example, the second non-AP wireless device may be able to detect that the first wireless link is occupied by a first downlink data transmission from the AP wireless device to the first non-AP wireless device, and determine to preempt the first downlink data transmission, for example, due to high-priority uplink data arriving at the baseband. In this scenario, the second non-AP wireless device may be able to provide preemption signaling on the second wireless link requesting or instructing to preempt downlink transmissions on the first wireless link, and the AP wireless device may choose how to respond to this signaling.

[0099] Therefore, according to Figure 5 This method can preempt downlink transmissions in a WLAN setup, for example, to provide better handling for low-latency uplink services and / or coexistence events and various possibilities. At least according to some implementations, such techniques can provide improved latency for target service types, reduced need for error handling, reduced coexistence interference, and / or provide any of a variety of other potential benefits.

[0100] Figures 6 to 20 and additional information

[0101] Figures 6 to 20 Examples are shown that can be used with, if needed. Figure 5 This method is used in combination with other aspects. However, it should be noted that in Figures 6 to 20 The example details illustrated and described with respect to these figures are not intended to limit this disclosure in their entirety: many variations and alternatives to the details provided herein are possible and should be considered within the scope of this disclosure.

[0102] In Wi-Fi-based wireless communication systems, the following scenarios may occur: a station (STA) has low-latency traffic to transmit to an access point (AP), or a coexistence event is scheduled while the station is receiving downlink (DL) data with the AP. Typically, the STA may wait for the AP to complete its DL transmission to notify the AP of latency-sensitive data or contention for channel access. However, in some implementations (e.g., in Enhanced Multilink Single Radio (eMLSR) or Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (STR) modes), the STA may preempt DL data and transmit low-latency uplink (UL) data or observe coexistence events. For example, an eMLSR STA may be able to preempt downlink transmission on one link when it has access to a second link, including notifying the AP on the second link that it is no longer listening on the first link. This allows the AP to cancel DL transmission on the first link and trigger UL data transmission; the STA may also, or alternatively, be able to use the second link to transmit low-latency data (if appropriate) and may notify the AP of its unavailability on the first link.

[0103] In some cases, the STA can effectively preempt DL transmissions on one link to perform low-latency UL transmissions on another link without explicitly notifying the AP. Figure 6 An example aspect of such a possible scenario according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. In the illustrated scenario, an AP multi-link device (MLD) (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD eMLSR (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz). The "primary" radio component of the STA can receive DL data from the AP on "Link 1". When low-latency UL data arrives, the "secondary" radio component can contend for channel access on another link ("Link 2"). The STA can preempt DL service as follows: When the backoff counter is about to expire, the primary radio component can switch to Link 2 (e.g., abandon the DL service). The primary radio component can start using Link 2 for UL service. The AP can continue DL transmission and may not receive block acknowledgments (BA) after completing the Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), for example, because the STA may have abandoned DL transmission. This method may have several disadvantages. After switching the primary radio component from Link 1 to Link 2, the channel may be busy, and channel access may not be guaranteed. This approach may also lead to inefficient media usage and cause the AP to reduce the DL rate for the STA, for example, due to the lack of BA for DL ​​data reception. This can also cause confusion or problems for the AP implementation when the STA is assumed to be an eMLSR, but from the AP's perspective, transmission and reception appear to occur simultaneously.

[0104] Figure 7Examples of alternative scenarios for UL preemption of DL data according to some implementation schemes are illustrated. In the illustrated scenarios, such as in Figure 6 In this context, an AP MLD (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD eMLSR (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz). The STA's primary radio unit can receive DL data from the AP on link 1. When low-latency UL data arrives, the secondary radio unit can contend for channel access on link 2. The STA can preempt DL service in the following ways: When the backoff counter is about to expire, the primary radio unit can switch to link 2 (e.g., relinquish DL service). The primary radio unit can transmit a (explicit or implicit) preemption indication to the AP to indicate preemption of DL data; the use of Request to Transmit (RTS) and Allow to Transmit (CTS) signaling can be optional. An explicit preemption frame can be a frame sent to the AP to notify the AP that the STA is no longer receiving data on one or more links. Implicit preemption may occur if the rules are configured (e.g., as part of network configuration, or in the IEEE 802.11 specification, and various other possibilities) to indicate when the AP considers a DL frame to have been preempted by the receiving STA and not lost. This rule can be configured, for example, for the following scenario: the AP begins exchanging DL frames with the eMLSR STA using RTS and CTS or other initial control frames, and then begins receiving UL frames from the same STA on different links belonging to the same eMLSR pair. Upon receiving a (explicit or implicit) preemption indication, the AP can stop DL transmission and terminate the Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) or reuse the time for other STAs. The AP may choose not to reduce the DL transmission rate for the STA because the AP may know that the STA is unavailable (e.g., as a possibility, not due to poor channel conditions causing data loss). As shown, a non-AP eMLSR STA can also provide a BA for frames received from DL data preempted on link 1, for example, to indicate any Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) received before preemption, and can provide this with or without a BA request (BAR) from the AP. Note that, relative to... Figure 6 This method, while making more efficient use of the medium and reducing the possibility of confusion for the AP, may still result in the channel being busy after the main radio components are switched, making it impossible to guarantee channel access.

[0105] Figures 8 to 9 Examples of possible scenarios where preemption signaling can be used to preempt DL data for coexisting operations are illustrated according to some implementation schemes. In the illustrated scenarios, such as in Figures 6 to 7In this context, an AP MLD (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD eMLSR (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz). The STA's primary radio unit can receive DL data from the AP on link 1. If a coexistence event expires (e.g., as some possibility, Bluetooth or peer-to-peer (P2P) coexistence event), the secondary radio unit can contend for channel access on the other link. The STA can preempt DL service in the following ways: When the backoff counter is about to expire, the primary radio unit can switch to link 2 (e.g., relinquish DL service). The primary radio unit can transmit an optional CTS to protect the medium. The primary radio unit can transmit a preemption indication to the AP to indicate that it is preempting DL data for coexistence reasons. After the preemption indication (PI) of the DL MPDU received on link 1, a BA (e.g., as shown in the image) can be transmitted. Figure 9 (As shown), or both PI and BA can be combined into a single aggregated MPDU (AMPDU) transmission. Alternatively, BA may not be provided (e.g., as shown). Figure 8 (As shown). Upon receiving a preemption indication, the AP can stop DL transmissions on Link 1 and can terminate TXOP or reuse time for other STAs. The AP may choose not to reduce the DL transmission rate for STAs, as the AP may know that the STA is unavailable. Similar to... Figure 7 The method, in Figures 8 to 9 In this method, the channel may still be busy after the main radio component is switched, which may make it impossible to guarantee channel access.

[0106] Figures 10 to 11 Examples of other possible scenarios where preemption signaling can be used for UL preemption of DL data, according to some implementation schemes, are illustrated. In the illustrated scenarios, such as in Figures 6 to 9 In this scenario, an AP MLD (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD eMLSR (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz). In these scenarios, the auxiliary scanning radio unit on the STA may have limited transmission capabilities (e.g., as a possibility, a maximum bandwidth (BW) of 20 MHz and a modulation and decoding scheme (MCS)4). The STA's primary radio unit can receive DL data from the AP on link 1. When low-latency UL data arrives, the auxiliary radio unit can contend for channel access on link 2. The STA can preempt DL traffic in the following manner: when the backoff counter is about to expire, the primary radio unit can switch to link 2 (e.g., relinquish DL traffic).

[0107] exist Figure 10In this scenario, the auxiliary radio unit (AR) can send an initial control frame (ICF), such as a multi-user RTS (MU-RTS), to the AP on link 2, padding to cover the time the primary radio unit switches from link 1 to link 2. Once the primary radio unit stops listening for DL ​​data on link 1 and switches to link 2, it can receive CTS frames from the AP and can send a (explicit or implicit) preemption indication to the AP to indicate preemption of DL data after receiving the CTS frame. Upon receiving the preemption indication, the AP can stop DL transmission and terminate TXOP or reuse time for other STAs. The AP may choose not to reduce the DL transmission rate for STAs, as the AP may know that a STA is unavailable. After low-latency data transmission and acknowledgment, a BA can be sent with or without a BAR to indicate preemption of previously received MPDUs.

[0108] exist Figure 11 In scenarios where STA may be able to eliminate Figure 10 In this scenario, padding delay is used to enable the primary radio component to switch to the link that will transmit low-latency services. In this case, the secondary radio component can transmit an RTS frame and wait to receive a CTS frame. During the time between transmitting the RTS frame and receiving the CTS frame (e.g., RTS + Short Interframe Spacing (SIFS) + CTS + SIFS), the primary radio component may be able to switch from link 1 to link 2. This allows the primary radio component, having switched to link 2, to transmit a preemption indication one SIFS after receiving the CTS from the AP. Subsequently, the primary radio component can proceed similarly... Figure 10 Send low-latency data in the manner shown.

[0109] Figure 12 Examples of AP-centric implementations are provided. Figures 10 to 11 Examples of variations of the scenario. In the illustrated scenario, such as in Figures 6 to 11In this scenario, an AP MLD (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD eMLSR (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz). In these scenarios, the auxiliary scanning radio unit on the STA may have limited transmission capabilities (e.g., as a possibility, a maximum BW of 20 MHz and MCS4). The STA's primary radio unit can receive DL data from the AP on link 1. When low-latency UL data arrives, the auxiliary radio unit can contend for channel access on link 2. If the auxiliary radio unit gains access to the channel on link 2 while the STA's primary radio unit is transmitting DL data on link 1, preemption can occur. The auxiliary radio unit can transmit a preemption request to the AP on link 2, and if the AP accepts the preemption request, the AP can stop DL transmission and transmit a trigger frame to the STA on link 1 to initiate UL transmission. After the UL transmission, the AP can transmit a BAR to the STA to request a BA for any received DL frames from the preempted DL transmission.

[0110] Figure 13 Example aspects are illustrated, based on some implementation schemes, of another possible scenario where preemption signaling can be used to preempt DL data for coexisting operations. In the illustrated scenario, such as in Figures 6 to 12In this scenario, an AP MLD (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD eMLSR (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 GHz and 6 GHz). In this scenario, the auxiliary scanning radio unit on the STA may have limited transmit capabilities (e.g., as a possibility, a maximum BW of 20 MHz and MCS 4). The STA's primary radio unit can receive DL data from the AP on link 1. If a coexistence event expires (e.g., as some possibilities, a Bluetooth or P2P coexistence event), the auxiliary radio unit can contend for channel access on the other link. The STA can preempt DL service as follows: When the backoff counter expires, the primary radio unit can switch to link 2. It is possible that if the auxiliary radio unit has successfully obtained channel access, the primary radio unit simply relinquishes the DL service. When the primary radio unit switches from link 1 to link 2, the auxiliary radio unit can transmit an optional CTS to the AP to protect the medium and a preemption indication to indicate that it is preempting DL data for coexistence reasons. When the master radio unit completes the transition from link 1 to link 2, it can begin using link 2 for P2P data (e.g., in the illustrated scenario, or alternatively for Bluetooth communication or other coexistence communication) and optionally transmit BAs for any DL MPDUs received on link 1. Upon receiving a preemption indication, the AP can stop DL transmissions on link 1 and can terminate TXOPs or reuse time for other STAs. The AP may choose not to reduce the DL transmission rate for STAs, as the AP may know that a STA is unavailable.

[0111] Figures 14 to 15 Examples of further possible scenarios where preemption signaling can be used to preempt DL data for UL data, according to some implementation schemes, are illustrated. In the illustrated scenario, an AP MLD (or simply "AP") can wirelessly connect to a non-AP MLD (or simply "STA") on two links (e.g., 5 or 6 GHz and 2.4 GHz) in simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) mode. This STA may need to preempt high BW transmission on one link to achieve low-latency service. The STA may be able to obtain channel access on link 2. For example... Figure 14 As shown, the STA can use link 2 to send its UL data; however, it is possible that this link is slower and / or more BW-dependent than link 1. Therefore, as another option, and as... Figure 15As shown, a STA may request to preempt DL transmissions on the faster link 1 to transmit UL low-latency services. In this scenario, the STA may send a preemption request to the AP on link 2. The AP may respond with a preemption request, indicating approval or rejection. If the request is rejected, the STA may continue UL transmissions on link 2. If the request is accepted, the AP may stop DL transmissions on link 1 and may send a trigger frame to the STA. The STA may then perform UL transmissions on link 1. The AP may send a BAR after the UL transmission to request the STA to perform BA transmissions for any DL MPDUs received on link 1 before the DL transmission preemption. Note that in some implementations, the receiver of the downlink data may request to preempt the downlink data, or another STA in the same wireless communication system may request to preempt the downlink data.

[0112] Preemption indications, requests, and / or responses can be provided in any of a variety of ways. As an option, preemption indication information may be included in the A-control subfield transmitted in a control frame or data frame. Figure 16 Examples of possible sets of A-control subfields for this purpose, according to some implementation schemes, are illustrated. As another possibility, the instruction information may be included in a new management or control frame, for example, a new management or control frame that can be incorporated into the A-MPDU. Figure 17 Examples of such a preemption indication frame, including a possible preemption indication information subfield, are illustrated according to some implementation schemes. In any such case, the information in the preemption indication may include any or all of the following: a link bitmap (e.g., a bitmap indicating which link the frame indicates is preempted, which may be 1 or 2 octets), a power management (PM) bit (e.g., a power management bit for the link on which the packet is preempted, which may be 1 bit), a start sequence control (e.g., an indication of the start sequence number of the preempted packet, which may be 2 octets), a TID value (e.g., an indication of the TID value of the preempted packet, which may be 4 bits), or a retransmission request (e.g., an indication of requesting a retransmission of the entire preempted PPDU (if set) or notifying the peer STA to wait for a BA or request a BA (if not set), which may be 1 bit), and various other possibilities.

[0113] Another possibility could be to use a multi-STA (M-STA) block acknowledgment (BA) frame as a preemption indication. The multi-STA BA may carry additional information (e.g., in addition to the BA bitmap) to acknowledge the A-MPDU and / or MPDU; for example, indication information could be provided in the M-STA BA frame to indicate that preemption has occurred on different links. Figure 18 Examples of possible BA frames with preemption indications according to some implementation schemes are illustrated. As shown, the BA frame may indicate BA type (11), i.e., multi-STA BA. Preemption indication information can be added using a new per-AID TID information field. The AID11 field may use a special value configured to indicate that it carries a preemption indication. Alternatively, the AID11 field may use the peer STA AID. An acknowledgment (ACK) type and TID combination may be selected to indicate that the M-STA BA carries a preemption indication. Other fields in the TID information section of each AID may be used to carry preemption indication information.

[0114] Figure 19 Examples of possible preemption request frames according to some implementation schemes are illustrated. These frames may be new management or control frames, for example, new management or control frames that can be incorporated into an A-MPDU, including possible preemption request information subfields. As shown, the information in the preemption request may include any one or all of the following: a link bitmap (e.g., a bitmap indicating which link the frame requests to be preempted; this may be one or two octets), a power management (PM) bit (e.g., a power management bit for the link on which the preempted packet is located; this may be one bit), a start sequence control (e.g., an indication of the start sequence number of the preempted packet; this may be two octets), a TID value (e.g., an indication of the TID value of the preempted packet; this may be four bits), and a retransmission request. Requests (e.g., indicating a request to retransmit the entire preempted PPDU (if set) or notifying the peer STA to wait for or request a BA (if not set), as a possibility, the retransmission request can be 1 bit), trigger frame requests (e.g., indicating that the STA is requesting the AP to transmit a trigger frame, as a possibility, the trigger frame request can be 1 bit), delay limits (e.g., indicating the tolerable delay limit of the service when packets are being preempted, as a possibility, the delay limit can be 2 octets), or queue sizes (e.g., indicating the queue size of the service when packets are being preempted (e.g., in bytes), the queue size can be 2 octets), and various other possibilities.

[0115] Figure 20Examples of possible preemption response frames according to some implementation schemes are illustrated. These frames can be new management or control frames, for example, new management or control frames that can be incorporated into the A-MPDU, including possible preemption response information subfields. As shown, the information in the preemption response may include any or all of the following: a preemption response field (e.g., indicating whether a preemption request is accepted or rejected; as a possibility, this preemption response field may be 1 bit) or a trigger frame scheduling field (e.g., indicating whether a trigger frame will be scheduled based on the latency cap and queue size on the preempted link; as a possibility, this trigger frame scheduling field may be 1 bit), and various other possibilities.

[0116] Further example implementations are provided below.

[0117] One set of implementations may include a method comprising: via a non-access point (AP) wireless device: receiving downlink transmissions from the AP wireless device on a first wireless link; and sending a preemption signaling to the AP wireless device on a second wireless link, wherein the preemption signaling indicates preemption of the downlink transmissions on the first wireless link.

[0118] According to some implementations, the non-AP wireless device is an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) wireless device, wherein the preemption signaling includes any signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during downlink transmission on the first wireless link.

[0119] According to some implementations, the preemption signaling includes fields indicating one or more of the following: a radio link identifier for the radio link being preempted; a power management bit for the radio link being preempted; a start sequence number for the packet being preempted; a service identifier (TID) value for the packet being preempted; or whether to request a retransmission of the packet being preempted.

[0120] According to some implementations, the preemption signaling also includes fields indicating one or more of the following: a request to transmit a trigger frame on the first radio link; a tolerable delay limit for uplink traffic transmitted on the downlink; and a queue size for the uplink traffic transmitted on the downlink.

[0121] According to some implementations, the method further includes: sending a request transmission frame to the AP wireless device on the second wireless link using an auxiliary radio component of the non-AP wireless device, wherein the request transmission frame includes a padding amount selected to provide sufficient time to switch the main radio component of the non-AP wireless device from the first wireless link to the second wireless link; and receiving an allow transmission frame from the AP wireless device on the second wireless link in response to the request transmission frame, wherein the main radio component of the non-AP wireless device receives the allow transmission frame, and wherein after receiving the allow transmission frame from the AP wireless device, the main radio component of the non-AP wireless device sends the preemption signaling to the AP wireless device.

[0122] According to some implementation schemes, the preemption signaling is transmitted at least in part based on low-latency uplink data arriving at the baseband layer of the first wireless device.

[0123] According to some implementation schemes, the preemption signaling is sent at least in part based on a coexistence event for the first wireless device.

[0124] Another set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a first wireless device to: determine that a first wireless link is occupied by downlink transmissions from a second wireless device; and send a preemption signaling to the second wireless device on the second wireless link, wherein the preemption signaling is associated with the downlink transmissions occupying the first wireless link.

[0125] According to some implementation schemes, the preemption signaling is transmitted at least in part based on low-latency uplink data arriving at the baseband layer of the first wireless device, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the wireless device to transmit the low-latency uplink data to the second wireless device after transmitting the preemption signaling.

[0126] According to some implementations, the preemption signaling is sent at least in part based on a coexistence event for the first wireless device, wherein the processor is further configured to enable the wireless device to coexist with a third wireless device during the coexistence event.

[0127] According to some implementations, the preemption signaling includes one or more of the following: a frame configured to implicitly indicate, based on the fact that the first radio device is an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) radio device transmitting on the second radio link, that the first radio device has terminated receiving the downlink transmission during the downlink transmission on the first link; a preemption indication frame configured to explicitly indicate that the first radio device has terminated receiving the downlink transmission; or a preemption request frame configured to explicitly request termination of the downlink transmission.

[0128] According to some implementation schemes, the first wireless device is the receiver of the downlink transmission.

[0129] According to some implementation schemes, the third wireless device is the receiver of the downlink transmission.

[0130] Another set of embodiments may include an access point (AP) wireless device comprising: one or more antennas; a radio component operatively coupled to the one or more antennas; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio component; wherein the AP wireless device is configured to: transmit downlink transmissions to a non-AP wireless device on a first wireless link; receive signaling from the non-AP wireless device on a second wireless link during the downlink transmissions; and preempt the downlink transmissions at least in part based on the signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link.

[0131] According to some implementations, the non-AP wireless device is an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) wireless device, wherein the AP wireless device is further configured to: determine that the signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link is an implicit preemption indication for transmission on the downlink, the determination being at least in part based on the fact that the signaling was received during downlink transmission on a different wireless link than the downlink transmission, and that the signaling was received from the eMLSR wireless device.

[0132] According to some implementations, the signaling received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission includes a preemption indication frame that explicitly indicates that the non-AP wireless device has terminated reception of the downlink transmission.

[0133] According to some implementations, the signaling received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission includes a preemption request frame that explicitly requests preemption of the downlink transmission.

[0134] According to some implementations, the AP wireless device is further configured to determine, at least in part, not to reduce the downlink transmission rate for the non-AP wireless device based on the signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission.

[0135] According to some implementation schemes, the wireless device is further configured to: receive uplink transmissions from the non-AP wireless device; and after receiving the uplink transmissions from the non-AP wireless device, receive block acknowledgments from the non-AP wireless device for the downlink transmissions.

[0136] According to some implementations, the AP wireless device is further configured to: send a trigger frame to the non-AP wireless device to trigger uplink transmission based at least in part on the signaling received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission; and receive uplink transmission from the non-AP wireless device in response to the trigger frame.

[0137] Another example implementation may include a method comprising: performing any or all of the foregoing examples by a wireless device.

[0138] Another example implementation may include a device comprising: an antenna; a radio component coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operatively coupled to the radio component, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0139] Another set of example implementations may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions that, when executed at the device, cause the device to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0140] Another set of example implementations may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the examples described above.

[0141] Another set of example implementations may include an apparatus comprising components for performing any or all elements of any of the examples described above.

[0142] Another set of embodiments of the examples may include an apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause a wireless device to perform any or all elements of any of the examples described above.

[0143] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0144] In addition to the example embodiments described above, further embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0145] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein, if executed by a computer system, the program instructions cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any method embodiment of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of method embodiments described herein, or any subset or combination of any such subset of any method embodiments described herein.

[0146] In some implementations, the device (e.g., AP 104 or UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a collection of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the program instructions may be executed to implement any method implementation (or any combination of method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets) of the various method implementations described herein. The device may be implemented in any of the various forms.

[0147] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the following claims be construed as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, the method comprising: via non-access point (AP) wireless devices: Receive downlink transmissions from the AP wireless device on the first wireless link; as well as A preemption signaling message is sent to the AP wireless device on the second wireless link, wherein the preemption signaling message indicates that the downlink transmission on the first wireless link is preempted.

2. The method according to claim 1, The non-AP wireless device is an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) wireless device, and the preemption signaling includes any signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission on the first wireless link.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: The auxiliary radio component of the non-AP wireless device is used to send a request transmission frame to the AP wireless device on the second wireless link, wherein the request transmission frame includes a padding amount selected to provide sufficient time for the main radio component of the non-AP wireless device to switch from the first wireless link to the second wireless link. as well as In response to the request transmission frame, a transmit permission frame is received from the AP wireless device on the second wireless link, wherein the transmit permission frame is received using the main radio component of the non-AP wireless device. After receiving the permission frame from the AP wireless device, the non-AP wireless device sends the preemption signaling to the AP wireless device using the main radio component of the non-AP wireless device.

4. The method according to claim 1, The preemption signaling is transmitted at least in part based on low-latency uplink data arriving at the baseband layer of the first wireless device, and the method further includes: After sending the preemption signaling, the low-latency uplink data is sent to the AP wireless device.

5. The method according to claim 1, The preemption signaling is sent at least in part based on a coexistence event for the first wireless device, and the method further includes... During the coexistence event, coexistence communication is conducted with another wireless device.

6. The method according to claim 1, The non-AP wireless device is the receiver of the downlink transmission.

7. The method according to claim 1, Another non-AP wireless device is the receiver of the downlink transmission.

8. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry and a memory, the memory being configured such that the processing circuitry: It is determined that the first wireless link is occupied by downlink transmissions from the wireless device; and Generate a preemption signaling message for transmission to the wireless device on the second wireless link, wherein the preemption signaling message is associated with the downlink transmission that occupies the first wireless link.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, The preemption signaling is generated at least in part based on low-latency uplink data arriving at the processor.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, The preemption signaling is generated at least in part based on coexistence events.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the preemption signaling comprises one or more of the following: A frame, configured to implicitly indicate termination of reception of the downlink transmission by being transmitted on the second radio link by an enhanced multilink single radio (eMLSR) radio device during the downlink transmission on the first link; A preemption indication frame, configured to explicitly indicate the termination of reception of the downlink transmission; or A preemption request frame, configured to explicitly request termination of the downlink transmission.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the preemption signaling includes a field indicating one or more of the following: Radio link identifier used for radio links that are being preempted; Power management bits used for the wireless link that is being preempted; The starting sequence number of the group being preempted; The Service Identifier (TID) value of the packet being preempted; or Do you request a retransmission of the packet that is being preempted? 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the preemption signaling further includes a field indicating one or more of the following: A request to transmit a trigger frame on the first wireless link; The request preempts the tolerable delay limit of the uplink service transmitted on the downlink; The request requests the queue size of the uplink service sent on the downlink.

14. An access point (AP) wireless device, the access point (AP) wireless device comprising: One or more antennas; A radio component capable of being operatively coupled to the one or more antennas; and A processor capable of being operatively coupled to the radio component; The AP wireless device is configured as follows: Send downlink transmissions to non-AP wireless devices on the first wireless link; During the downlink transmission, signaling is received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link; as well as The downlink transmission is preempted at least in part based on the signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link.

15. The AP wireless device according to claim 14, The non-AP wireless device is an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) wireless device, and the AP wireless device is further configured to: The signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link is determined to be an implicit preemption indication for the downlink transmission based at least in part on the following: the signaling is received during the downlink transmission, on a different wireless link than the downlink transmission, and the signaling is received from the eMLSR wireless device.

16. The AP wireless device according to claim 14, The signaling received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission includes a preemption indication frame, which explicitly indicates that the non-AP wireless device has terminated its reception of the downlink transmission.

17. The AP wireless device according to claim 14, The signaling received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission includes a preemption request frame that explicitly requests to preempt the downlink transmission.

18. The AP wireless device of claim 14, wherein the AP wireless device is further configured to: The determination of not reducing the downlink transmission rate for the non-AP wireless device is based at least in part on the signaling from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission.

19. The AP wireless device of claim 14, wherein the AP wireless device is further configured to: Receive uplink transmissions from the non-AP wireless device; and After receiving the uplink transmission from the non-AP wireless device, block acknowledgments for the downlink transmission are received from the non-AP wireless device.

20. The AP wireless device of claim 14, wherein the AP wireless device is further configured to: At least in part, based on the signaling received from the non-AP wireless device on the second wireless link during the downlink transmission, a trigger frame is sent to the non-AP wireless device to trigger uplink transmission; and In response to the trigger frame, the uplink transmission is received from the non-AP wireless device.

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