Error condition management in time division multiple access

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods, components, devices, and systems for error condition management in time division multiple access. Some aspects more specifically relate to a recovery procedure for an error condition associated with a shared transmission opportunity (TXOP) of a channel. A sharing access point (AP) can perform a recovery procedure to request control of the channel based on an absence of an expected response message from a shared AP. The expected response message can be in response to a message announcing that the shared AP will share one or more portions of the TXOP controlled by the shared AP, or a message allocating a portion of the TXOP to a particular shared AP. A shared AP can perform a contention procedure to access the channel based on an absence of the expected TXOP allocation frame after receiving a scheduling announcement for the TXOP from the sharing AP.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This patent application claims priority to Indian Patent Application No. 202441030561, filed on April 16, 2024, entitled “ERRORCONDITION MANAGEMENT IN TIME DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS”, which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates in general to wireless communications, and more specifically to error condition management in time division multiple access. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, message sending and receiving, and broadcasting. Some wireless communication networks can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources, such as time, frequency, or power. Furthermore, wireless communication networks can employ technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or Discrete Fourier Transform Extended Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). Wireless communication devices can communicate using any one or more of these wireless communication technologies and may include radio stations (STAs), radio access points (APs), user equipment (UEs), network entities, or other wireless nodes.

[0005] In some WLANs, access points (APs) can participate in coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA). In C-TDMA, an AP with a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) (referred to as the "sharing AP") can share a portion of that TXOP with one or more other APs (referred to as the "shared APs"). The sharing AP can initiate C-TDMA by sending a scheduling announcement frame that indicates the C-TDMA TXOP and identifies the shared APs it plans to allocate during that TXOP. The sharing AP can then send a TXOP allocation frame to the shared APs, indicating the portion of the TXOP that the shared APs can use. The shared APs can then send a response message to the TXOP allocation frame to acknowledge that they will use the indicated portion of the TXOP. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein each have some innovative aspects, but no single aspect is solely responsible for the desired properties disclosed herein.

[0007] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented by an apparatus in a method for wireless communication. The method may include: outputting a message associated with an assignment of a portion of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) associated with a channel; and, based on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message, performing a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP.

[0008] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include a processing system comprising processor circuitry and memory circuitry storing code. The processing system may be configured to cause the apparatus to: output a message associated with an assignment of a portion of a TXOP associated with a channel; and, based on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message, perform a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP.

[0009] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include: a component for outputting a message associated with an assignment of a portion of a TXOP associated with a channel; and a component for performing a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP, based on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to: output a message associated with an assignment of a portion of a TXOP associated with the channel; and, based on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message, perform a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP.

[0011] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting a notification message prior to an output message indicating that the apparatus intends to share one or more portions of the TXOP, wherein the message indicates an assignment of a portion of the TXOP.

[0012] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting or acquiring data communication during a portion of a TXOP and after the output of a second message.

[0013] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the timeout duration begins after the message has been output or while the message is being output.

[0014] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting or acquiring data communications during TXOP and before outputting messages.

[0015] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: instructing the assignment of a second portion of a TXOP for a channel via message output; obtaining a second message indicating the time at which control of the channel will return to the apparatus within the second portion; and, during a portion of the TXOP, outputting or obtaining data communication based on the second message.

[0016] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented by a device in a method for wireless communication. The method may include: obtaining a first message indicating sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with a channel; and performing a contention process for the channel during the TXOP based on the absence of a second message during a timeout period associated with the first message, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to the device.

[0017] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include a processing system comprising processor circuitry and memory circuitry storing code. The processing system may be configured to cause the apparatus to: receive a first message indicating sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with a channel; and, based on the absence of a second message during a timeout period associated with the first message, perform a contention process for the channel during the TXOP, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to the apparatus.

[0018] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include: components for obtaining a first message indicating the sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with a channel; and components for performing a contention process for the channel during the TXOP based on the absence of a second message during a timeout period associated with the first message, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to the apparatus.

[0019] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure is described, which can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to: obtain a first message indicating sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with a channel; and, based on the failure to obtain a second message during a timeout period associated with the first message, perform a contention process for the channel during the TXOP, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to a means.

[0020] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting or acquiring data communications during TXOP and after a competition process.

[0021] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the timeout duration may be based on the expected time for obtaining the second message.

[0022] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for outputting a response message to a first message, wherein the expected time for obtaining a second message may be based on the response message.

[0023] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for obtaining an indication of a response period for outputting a response message, wherein the response message may be output according to the response period.

[0024] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for obtaining an instruction for a resource unit to output a response message, wherein the response message can be output using the resource unit.

[0025] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and nontransitory computer-readable media described herein, the first message indicates the expected time for receiving the second message.

[0026] Details of one or more specific embodiments of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions in the following drawings may not be drawn to scale. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0028] Figure 2An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is shown that can be used for communication between a wireless access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations (STA).

[0029] Figure 3 An example physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) capable of being used for communication between a wireless AP and one or more wireless STAs is shown.

[0030] Figure 4 A hierarchical format of an example PPDU that can be used for communication between a wireless AP and one or more wireless STAs is shown.

[0031] Figure 5 An example of a signaling diagram supporting error condition management in Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is shown.

[0032] Figure 6 An example timing diagram supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0033] Figure 7 An example timing diagram supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0034] Figure 8 An example timing diagram supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0035] Figure 9 An example timing diagram supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0036] Figure 10 An example of the process flow supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0037] Figure 11 An example of the process flow supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0038] Figure 12 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown.

[0039] Figure 13 and Figure 14 A flowchart illustrating an example procedure that can be executed by an AP that supports error condition management in TDMA or at that AP is shown.

[0040] Similar reference numerals and names in the various figures indicate similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The following description refers to certain specific examples in order to illustrate the innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. Some or all of the examples described can be applied in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, or Bluetooth as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). ® This can be implemented in any device, system, or network that transmits and receives radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the standards or those published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, 5G (New Radio (NR)), or 6G. The described examples can be implemented in any suitable device, component, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), Rate Split Multiple Access (RSMA), Multi-User Shared Access (MUSA), Single-User (SU) Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), and Multi-User (MU)-MIMO (MU-MIMO). The described examples can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of the following: Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), or Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

[0042] The various aspects collectively relate to the recovery process for error conditions associated with a shared transmission opportunity (TXOP) of a channel. Some aspects more specifically involve a recovery process performed by the sharing AP for control of the channel based on the absence of an expected response message from the shared access point (AP). The wireless communication system may allow an AP that owns or controls the TXOP (e.g., the sharing AP) to share a portion of the TXOP with one or more other APs (e.g., the shared AP). In some examples, the expected response message may be a message responding to a message announcing that the sharing AP will share one or more portions of the TXOP controlled by the sharing AP (e.g., a scheduling announcement frame or message). In some examples, the expected response message may be a message responding to a message allocating a portion of the TXOP to a specific shared AP (e.g., a TXOP allocation frame or message). The sharing AP may be the AP controlling the TXOP, and the shared AP may be the AP receiving the allocation of a portion of the TXOP from the sharing AP. Some aspects may involve a timeout duration during which the sharing AP may wait for the expected response message before performing the recovery process. Some aspects may be more specifically related to the shared AP performing a contention process to access the channel after receiving a scheduling announcement for a TXOP from the shared AP, based on the absence of an expected TXOP allocation frame. Other aspects may involve a timeout duration during which the shared AP may wait for an expected TXOP allocation frame before performing the contention process.

[0043] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by performing a recovery process based on the absence of an expected response message from the shared AP, the described techniques can be used to allow a shared AP to maintain or regain control of a TXOP when the shared AP is not using or does not intend to use a portion of its allocated TXOP. By waiting for a configured timeout duration before performing the recovery process, the shared AP can allow the shared AP sufficient time to respond to messages from the shared AP without losing control of the TXOP. Furthermore, by performing a contention process based on the absence of an expected TXOP allocation frame after receiving a scheduling announcement for the TXOP from the shared AP, the described techniques can be used to enable the shared AP to access the channel more quickly to communicate with stations (STAs) associated with the shared AP. Therefore, the latency of communications involving the shared AP can be reduced. Moreover, channel efficiency can be improved because the shared AP can compete for unused portions of the TXOP.

[0044] Figure 1A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. Depending on some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) (such as a Wi-Fi network). For example, the wireless communication network 100 may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards (such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or its revisions, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11bc, 802.11bd, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and 802.11bn). In some other examples, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a cellular radio access network (RAN), such as a 5G RAN or 6G RAN implementing one or more cellular protocols (such as those specified in one or more 3GPP standards). In some other examples, the wireless communication network 100 may include a WLAN that operates in an interoperable or converged manner with one or more cellular RANs to provide greater or enhanced network coverage to wireless communication devices within the wireless communication network 100, or to enable these devices to connect to the core of the cellular network, such as accessing network management capabilities and functionality provided by the cellular network core. In some other examples, the wireless communication network 100 may include a WLAN that operates in an interoperable or converged manner with one or more personal area networks (such as networks implementing Bluetooth or other wireless technologies) to provide greater or enhanced network coverage or to provide or implement other capabilities, functionality, applications, or services.

[0045] The wireless communication network 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, including at least one wireless access point (AP) 102 and any number of wireless stations (STAs) 104. Although Figure 1 Only one AP 102 is shown, but the wireless communication network 100 may include multiple APs 102. AP 102 may be or represent various different types of network entities, including but not limited to home networking APs, enterprise APs, single-band APs, dual-band synchronous (DBS) APs, tri-band synchronous (TBS) APs, standalone APs, non-standalone APs, software-enabled APs (software APs), and multi-link APs (also known as AP multi-link devices (MLDs)), as well as cellular (such as 3GPP, 4G LTE, 5G, or 6G) base stations or other cellular network nodes (such as Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), gNB, Transmit Receive Point (TRP)) or another type of equipment or apparatus included in the radio access network (RAN), including open RAN (O-RAN) network entities such as central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), or radio units (RUs).

[0046] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile phone, wireless phone, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit, etc. STA 104 can represent a variety of devices such as mobile phones, other handheld or wearable communication devices, netbooks, laptops, tablets, laptops, Chromebooks, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), or extended reality (XR) wireless headsets or other peripherals, wireless earbuds, other wearable devices, display devices (e.g., televisions, computer monitors, or video game consoles), video game controllers, navigation systems, music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices, printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators) or other home appliances, remote keys (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, vehicles, etc.

[0047] A single AP 102 and its associated set of STA 104s may be referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS), which is managed by the respective AP 102. Figure 1 Additionally, an example coverage area 108 of AP 102 is shown, which may represent the Basic Service Area (BSA) of wireless communication network 100. The BSA can be identified by STA 104 and other devices via a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), which may be the Media Access Control (MAC) address of AP 102. AP 102 may periodically broadcast beacon frames (“beacons”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of AP 102 to “associate” or reassociate with AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 106 with AP 102 (also referred to hereinafter as a “Wi-Fi link”). For example, the beacon may include an identifier or indication of the primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102, and a Timing Synchronization Function (TSF) for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with AP 102. AP 102 can provide access to external networks to each STA 104 in the wireless communication network 100 via the corresponding communication link 106.

[0048] To establish a communication link 106 with AP 102, each STA 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations (“scans”) on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 45 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals (referred to as the Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT)). To perform an active scan, STA 104 generates probe requests and transmits these requests sequentially on each channel to be scanned, and listens for probe responses from AP 102. Each STA 104 can identify, determine, determine, or select an AP 102 to associate with based on the scanning information obtained through passive or active scanning, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. The selected AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to STA 104 at the end of the association operation, and AP 102 uses the association identifier (AID) to track STA 104.

[0049] As wireless networks become increasingly prevalent, STA 104 may have the opportunity to choose from one of many BSSs within its range or from multiple APs 102 that together form an Extended Service Set (ESS) (comprising multiple connected BSSs). For example, wireless communication network 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system capable of connecting multiple APs 102 in such an ESS. Therefore, STA 104 may be covered by more than one AP 102 and may be associated with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after associating with an AP 102, STA 104 may periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 to associate with. For example, STA 104 moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a “roaming” scan to find another AP 102 with more desirable network characteristics, such as a larger Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) or reduced traffic load.

[0050] In some examples, STA 104 can form a network without AP 102 or any other equipment besides STA 104 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). Ad hoc networks may also be referred to as mesh networks or peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In some examples, ad hoc networks can be implemented within a larger network, such as wireless communication network 100. In such examples, while STA 104 may be able to communicate with each other via communication link 106 through AP 102, STA 104 can also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless communication link 110. Additionally, two STA 104 can communicate via direct wireless communication link 110, regardless of whether the two STA 104 are associated with and served by the same AP 102. In such ad hoc systems, one or more STAs among STA 104 can assume the role played by AP 102 in the BSS. Such STA 104 can be referred to as the group owner (GO) and can coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless communication links 110 include Wi-Fi direct connections, connections established by using Wi-Fi Tunneling Direct Link Establishment (TDLS) links, and other P2P group connections.

[0051] In some networks, AP 102 or STA 104, or both, can support applications associated with high throughput or low latency requirements, or provide lossless audio to one or more other devices. For example, AP 102 or STA 104 can support applications and use cases associated with ultra-low latency (ULL), such as ULL gaming, or streaming lossless audio and video to one or more personal audio devices (such as peripherals) or AR / VR / MR / XR headsets. In scenarios where a user uses two or more peripherals, AP 102 or STA 104 can support extended personal audio networks that enable communication with these two or more peripherals. Additionally, AP 102 and STA 104 can support additional ULL applications with ULL and high throughput requirements, such as cloud-based applications (such as VR cloud gaming).

[0052] As indicated above, in some implementations, AP 102 and STA 104 may operate and communicate according to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard family (via the corresponding communication link 106). These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the physical (PHY) layer and MAC layer. AP 102 and STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications to and from each other in the form of PHY Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) (also referred to below as "Wi-Fi communication" or "wireless packets").

[0053] Each PPDU is a composite structure comprising a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In instances where the PPDU is transmitted on a bound channel or a wideband channel, the preamble field may be copied and transmitted in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). The legacy preamble can be used for other purposes such as packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation. The legacy preamble is also typically used to maintain compatibility with legacy equipment. The format, decoding, and information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are associated with the specific IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol to be used to transmit the payload.

[0054] AP 102 and STA 104 in wireless communication network 100 can transmit PPDUs on unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of the spectrum including frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technologies, such as the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 45 GHz, and 60 GHz bands. Some examples of AP 102 and STA 104 described herein can also communicate in other frequency bands that can support both licensed and unlicensed communication. For example, AP 102 or STA 104, or both, may also be able to communicate on licensed operating frequency bands, where multiple operators may have corresponding licenses to operate in the same or overlapping frequency ranges. Such licensed operating bands may be mapped to or associated with the following frequency ranges: FR1 (410MHz - 7.125GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz).

[0055] Each of these frequency bands may include multiple sub-bands and frequency channels (also referred to as sub-channels). The terms "channel" and "sub-channel" are used interchangeably herein, as each can refer to a portion of the spectrum within the frequency band (e.g., a 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, or 160MHz portion of the spectrum) through which communication between two or more wireless communication devices can occur. For example, PPDUs conforming to revisions of the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, and 802.11bn standards may be transmitted on one or more of the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency bands, each of which is divided into multiple 20MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are transmitted on physical channels with a minimum bandwidth of 20MHz, but larger channels can be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU can be transmitted on a physical channel with bandwidths of 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 240MHz, 320MHz, 480MHz, or 640MHz by bundling multiple 20MHz channels together.

[0056] AP 102 can determine or select the operating bandwidth for STA 104 in its BSS, and select a range of channels within that bandwidth to provide that operating bandwidth. For example, AP 102 can select sixteen 20MHz channels that collectively span a 320MHz operating bandwidth. Within the operating bandwidth, AP 102 typically selects a single primary 20MHz channel on which AP 102 and STA 104 in its BSS monitor contention-based access schemes. In some examples, AP 102 or STA 104 may be able to monitor only a single primary 20MHz channel for packet detection (e.g., for detecting the preamble of a PPDU). Under normal circumstances, any transmission made by AP 102 or STA 104 within its BSS must involve transmission on the primary 20MHz channel. Therefore, in a conventional system, the transmitting device must compete for and win the TXOP on the primary channel to transmit any content. However, some APs 102 and STAs 104 that support Ultra-High Reliability (UHR) communication or communication according to the IEEE 802.11bn standard amendment can be configured to operate, monitor, compete for, and communicate using multiple primary 20MHz channels. This monitoring of multiple primary 20MHz channels can be sequential, such that in response to determining, identifying, or detecting that a first primary 20MHz channel is unavailable, the wireless communication device can switch to monitoring and competing using a second primary 20MHz channel. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device can be configured to monitor multiple primary 20MHz channels in parallel. In some examples, the first primary 20MHz channel may be referred to as the main primary (M-primary) channel, and one or more additional secondary primary channels may each be referred to as the opportunistic primary (O-primary) channel. For example, if the wireless communication device measures, identifies, identifies, detects, or otherwise determines that the M-primary channel is busy or occupied (e.g., due to overlapping BSS (OBSS) transmissions), the wireless communication device can switch to monitoring and competing on the O-primary channel. In some examples, the M primary channel can be used for beacon transmission and servicing legacy client equipment, while the O primary channel can be used by non-legacy (e.g., UHR or IEEE 802.11bn compatible) equipment to opportunistically access spectrum that may otherwise be underutilized.

[0057] Figure 2 An example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 capable of wireless communication between a wireless access point (AP) and one or more wireless STAs is shown. For example, the AP and STA can be reference... Figure 1Examples of AP 102 and STA 104 are described. PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, preamble 202 may include a legacy portion, which itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 consisting of two symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 consisting of two symbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210 consisting of two symbols. The legacy portion of preamble 202 may be configured according to the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. Preamble 202 may also include a non-legacy portion, which includes one or more non-legacy fields 212, for example, conforming to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 series of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0058] L-STF 206 generally enables receiving devices (such as AP 102 or STA 104) to perform coarse timing and frequency tracking, as well as automatic gain control (AGC). L-LTF 208 generally enables receiving devices to perform fine timing and frequency tracking, and also to perform initial estimation of the radio channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables receiving devices to determine (e.g., acquire, select, identify, detect, determine, calculate, or compute) the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmission over the PDU. The legacy portion of the preamble can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme, including L-STF 206, L-LTF 208, and L-SIG 210. The payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another suitable modulation scheme. Payload 204 may include a PSDU containing a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry higher-level data in the form of, for example, MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) or Aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0059] Figure 3 An example physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) 350 capable of being used for communication between a wireless AP and one or more wireless STAs is shown. For example, the AP and STA can be reference... Figure 1Examples of AP 102 and STA 104 are described below. As shown, PPDU 350 includes a PHY preamble (which includes a legacy portion 352 and a non-legacy portion 354) and a payload 356 (which includes a data field 374). The legacy portion 352 of the preamble includes L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362. The non-legacy portion 354 of the preamble includes a repetition of L-SIG (RL-SIG) 364 and multiple wireless communication protocol version-related signal fields following RL-SIG 364. For example, the non-legacy portion 354 may include a general signal field 366 (referred to herein as "U-SIG 366") and an EHT signal field 368 (referred to herein as "EHT-SIG 368"). The presence of RL-SIG 364 and U-SIG366 indicates to STA 104, which is EHT compliant or later, that PPDU 350 is an EHT PPDU or any later (post-EHT) version of a PPDU conforming to a new wireless communication protocol (conforming to the future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard). One or both of U-SIG366 and EHT-SIG 368 can be constructed as other wireless communication protocol versions associated with revisions to the IEEE series of standards above EHT and carry version-related information for those protocol versions. For example, U-SIG 366 can be used by receiving devices (such as AP 102 and STA 104) to interpret bits in one or more of EHT-SIG 368 or data field 374. Similar to L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362, in instances involving the use of bound channels, the information in U-SIG 366 and EHT-SIG 368 can be repeated and transmitted in each of the component 20MHz channels.

[0060] The non-legacy portion 354 also includes an additional short training field 370 (referred to herein as "EHT-STF 370," but which can be constructed for other wireless communication protocol versions above EHT and carries version-related information for those protocols) and one or more additional long training fields 372 (referred to herein as "EHT-LTF 372," but which can be constructed for other wireless communication protocol versions above EHT and carry version-related information for those protocols). EHT-STF 370 can be used for timing and frequency tracking and AGC, while EHT-LTF 372 can be used for more refined channel estimation.

[0061] EHT-SIG 368 can be used by AP 102 to identify one or more STAs 104 and notify those STAs that AP 102 has scheduled uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) resources for them. EHT-SIG 368 can be decoded by each compatible STA 104 served by AP 102. EHT-SIG 368 can generally be used by the receiving device to interpret the bits in data field 374. For example, EHT-SIG 368 may include resource unit (RU) allocation information, spatial flow configuration information, and per-user (e.g., STA-specific) signaling information. Each EHT-SIG 368 may include a common field and at least one user-specific field. In the context of OFDMA, the common field may indicate the RU distribution across multiple STAs 104, indicate RU assignment in the frequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMO transmission and which RUs correspond to OFDMA transmission, and the number of users in the allocation, etc. The user-specific field is assigned to a specific STA 104 and carries STA-specific scheduling information, such as user-specific MCS values ​​and user-specific RU allocation information. This information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field 374.

[0062] Figure 4 A hierarchical format of an example PPDU capable of being used for communication between a wireless AP and one or more wireless STAs is shown. For example, the AP and STA can be references. Figure 1Examples of AP 102 and STA 104 described. As described, each PPDU 400 includes a PHY preamble 402 and a PSDU 404. Each PSDU 404 may represent (or “carry”) one or more MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) 416. For example, each PSDU 404 may carry an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 406, which includes an aggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 408. Each A-MPDU subframe 408 may include an MPDU frame 410, which includes a MAC delimiter 412 and a MAC header 414 preceding an accompanying MPDU 416, which includes the data portion (“payload” or “frame body”) of the MPDU frame 410. Each MPDU frame 410 may also include a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field 418 for error detection (e.g., the FCS field 418 may include a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)) and padding bits 420. MPDU 416 may carry one or more MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs) 430. For example, MPDU 416 may carry an aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 422, which comprises multiple A-MSDU subframes 424. Each A-MSDU subframe 424 may be associated with an MSDU frame 426 and may contain a corresponding MSDU 430, preceded by a subframe header 428, and in some examples, followed by padding bits 432.

[0063] Returning to reference MPDU frame 410, MAC delimiter 412 can be used as a marker for the start of associated MPDU 416 and indicates the length of associated MPDU 416. MAC header 414 may include multiple fields containing information defining or indicating the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within the frame body. MAC header 414 includes a duration field indicating the duration from the end of the PPDU to at least the end of an acknowledgment (ACK) or block ACK (BA) to be sent by the receiving wireless communication device to the PPDU. The use of the duration field is to preserve the wireless medium for the indicated duration and to enable the receiving device to establish its Network Allocation Vector (NAV). MAC header 414 also includes one or more fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated within the frame body. For example, MAC header 414 may include a combination of source address, transmitter address, receiver address, or destination address. MAC header 414 may also include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field may specify the frame type, such as a data frame, control frame, or management frame.

[0064] In some wireless communication systems, the wireless communication between AP 102 and its associated STA 104 can be protected. For example, AP 102 or STA 104 can establish a security key to protect its own wireless communication with another device, and this security key can be used to encrypt the contents of data frames and management frames. In some examples, fields in the MAC headers of control frames and data frames or management frames, or both, can also be protected via encryption or via integrity checks (e.g., by generating a message integrity check (MIC) for one or more relevant fields).

[0065] Access to a shared wireless medium is typically managed by a Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). With DCF, there is generally no centralized master device allocating time and frequency resources for the shared wireless medium. Instead, a wireless communication device (such as an AP102 or STA 104) can wait for a specific time and compete for access to the wireless medium before being permitted to transmit data. DCF is implemented using time intervals, which include time slot times (or “time slot intervals”) and inter-frame intervals (IFS). IFS provides priority access for control frames used for proper network operation. Transmission can begin at time slot boundaries. Different variations of IFS exist, including Short IFS (SIFS), Distributed IFS (DIFS), Extended IFS (EIFS), and Arbitrated IFS (AIFS). Values ​​for time slot times and IFS can be provided by appropriate standard specifications, such as one or more of the IEEE 802.11 series of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0066] In some examples, wireless communication devices (such as AP 102 or STA 104) can implement DCF using Carrier-Sensed Multiple Access (CSMA) with Collision Avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) technology. According to such technology, before transmitting data, the wireless communication device can perform an idle channel assessment (CCA) and determine (e.g., identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) whether the relevant wireless channel is idle. CCA includes both physical (PHY-level) carrier sensing and virtual (MAC-level) carrier sensing. Physical carrier sensing is accomplished by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame and comparing it to a threshold to determine (e.g., identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) whether the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of the detected preamble is higher than a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier sensing also includes energy detection. Energy detection involves measuring the total energy received by the wireless communication device, regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the detected total energy is higher than a threshold, the medium is considered busy.

[0067] Virtual carrier sensing is implemented using a Network Allocation Vector (NAV), which effectively serves as the elapsed time duration before a wireless communication device can contend for access, even in the absence of detected symbols or even when the detected energy is below a relevant threshold. The NAV is reset each time a valid frame not addressed to the wireless communication device is received. When the NAV reaches 0, the wireless communication device performs physical carrier sensing. If the channel remains idle for the appropriate Inception Frequency (IFS), the wireless communication device initiates a backoff timer, which represents the elapsed time duration during which the device senses the medium is idle before being allowed to transmit. If the channel remains idle until the backoff timer expires, the wireless communication device becomes the holder (or “owner”) of a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) and can begin transmitting. The TXOP is the elapsed time duration during which the wireless communication device can transmit frames on the channel after having “won” contention for the wireless medium. The TXOP duration can be indicated in the U-SIG field of the PPDU. Conversely, if one or more carrier sensing mechanisms in the carrier sensing mechanism indicate that the channel is busy, the MAC controller within the wireless communication device will not allow transmission.

[0068] Each time a wireless communication device generates a new PPDU for transmission in a new TXOP, it randomly selects a new backoff timer duration. The available distribution of numbers that can be randomly selected for the backoff timer is called the contention window (CW). Different CW and TXOP durations exist for each of the following four access classes (AC): Voice (AC_VO), Video (AC_VI), Background (AC_BK), and Best Effort (AC_BE). This allows for prioritizing specific types of traffic within the network.

[0069] In some other examples, wireless communication devices (e.g., AP 102 or STA 104) may compete for access to the wireless medium of a WLAN according to an Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) procedure. Random channel access mechanisms, such as EDCA, provide a greater likelihood of high-priority traffic gaining medium access than low-priority traffic. Wireless communication devices using EDCA can classify data into different access categories. Each AC can be associated with a different priority level and can be assigned a different range of random backoff (RBO), making higher-priority data more likely to win TXOPs (e.g., by assigning a lower RBO to higher-priority data and vice versa). While EDCA increases the likelihood that low-latency data traffic will gain access to the shared wireless medium during a given contention period, the unpredictable outcome of medium access contention operations may prevent low-latency applications from achieving specific levels of throughput or meeting specific latency requirements.

[0070] Some APs and STAs (e.g., reference) Figure 1 The described AP 102 and STA 104 enable space reuse technology. For example, AP 102 and STA 104 configured to communicate using protocols defined in the IEEE 802.11ax or 802.11be standard revisions can be configured with BSS colors. AP 102s associated with different BSSs can be associated with different BSS colors. The BSS color is a numerical identifier (such as a 6-bit field carried by the SIG field) of the corresponding BSS of AP 102. Each STA 104 can learn its own BSS color when associated with the corresponding AP 102. BSS color information is communicated at both the PHY sublayer and the MAC sublayer. If AP 102 or STA 104 detects, acquires, selects, or identifies a radio packet from another wireless communication device during contention for access, AP 102 or STA 104 may apply different contention parameters, such as those determined, identified, detected, or calculated by the BSS color indication in the preamble of the radio packet, depending on whether the radio packet was transmitted or received by another wireless communication device within its BSS (such as another AP 102 or STA 104) or from a wireless communication device in an overlapping BSS (OBSS). For example, if the BSS color associated with the radio packet is the same as the BSS color of AP 102 or STA 104, AP 102 or STA 104 may use a first RSSI detection threshold when performing CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with a radio packet differs from the BSS color of AP 102 or STA 104, AP 102 or STA 104 may use a second RSSI detection threshold, which is greater than the first RSSI detection threshold, instead of the first RSSI detection threshold when performing CCA on the radio channel. In this way, the criteria for winning contention are relaxed when interference transmission is associated with the OBSS.

[0071] Some APs and STAs (e.g., reference) Figure 1The described AP 102 and STA 104 implement techniques for spatial reuse involving coordinated communication schemes. According to such techniques, AP 102 can compete for access to a wireless medium to gain control of that medium for use in the TXOP. The AP that wins the competition (also referred to hereinafter as the "sharing AP") can select one or more other APs (also referred to hereinafter as the "shared AP") to share the TXOP resources. The sharing AP and the shared APs can be located close to each other such that at least some of their wireless coverage areas at least partially overlap. Some examples may specifically involve coordinated AP TDMA or OFDMA techniques for sharing time or frequency resources of the TXOP. To share the time or frequency resources of the TXOP, the sharing AP can divide the TXOP into multiple time segments or frequency segments, each time segment or frequency segment including a corresponding time or frequency resource representing a portion of the TXOP. The sharing AP can allocate the time or frequency segment to itself or to one or more of the shared APs. For example, each shared AP can use a portion of the TXOPs assigned by the shared AP to perform uplink or downlink communication with its associated STA.

[0072] In some examples of such TDMA technologies, each of the multiple sections of the TXOP includes a set of time resources that do not overlap with any time resources of any other section of the TXOP. In such examples, scheduling information may include indications of the time resources associated with each section of the TXOP among the multiple time resources. For example, scheduling information may include indications of time segments of the TXOP (such as indications of one or more time slots or sets of symbol periods associated with each section of the TXOP), such as for use in multi-user TDMA.

[0073] In some examples of OFDMA technology, each of the multiple sections of a TXOP includes a set of frequency resources that do not overlap with any frequency resources of any other section. In such examples, scheduling information may include indications of the frequency resources associated with each section of the TXOP. For example, scheduling information may include indications of bandwidth portions of a radio channel (such as indications of one or more sub-channels or RUs associated with each section of the TXOP), such as for use in multi-user OFDMA.

[0074] In this manner, the acquisition of TXOPs by a shared AP enables communication between one or more additional shared APs and their respective BSSs with appropriate power control and link adaptation. For example, the sharing AP can limit the transmit power of a selected shared AP so that interference from the selected AP does not prevent the STA associated with the TXOP owner from successfully decoding packets transmitted by the shared AP. Such techniques can be used to reduce latency because other APs can transmit and receive data according to conventional CSMA / CA or Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) techniques without waiting to win contention for the TXOP. Additionally, by enabling a group of APs 102 associated with different BSSs to participate in a coordinated AP transmission session, during which the group of APs can share at least a portion of a single TXOP acquired by any of the participating APs, such techniques can increase throughput on the BSSs associated with the participating APs and also improve throughput fairness. Furthermore, through the appropriate selection of shared APs and the scheduling of their respective time or frequency resources, media utilization can be maximized or otherwise increased, while packet loss caused by OBSS interference is minimized or otherwise reduced. Various implementations can achieve these and other advantages without requiring the sharing AP or the AP being shared to know about the STA 104 associated with other BSSs, without requiring pre-assigned or dedicated master APs or pre-assigned AP groups, and without requiring backhaul coordination between APs participating in TXOP.

[0075] In some examples where the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP is relatively low (e.g., less than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP is relatively low (e.g., less than a threshold), the start time of communication between different BSSs can be synchronized. Conversely, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP is relatively high (e.g., greater than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP is relatively high (e.g., greater than a threshold), the start time can be offset from each other by a time period associated with decoding the preamble of the radio packet and determining whether the radio packet is an intra-BSS packet or an OBSS packet based on the decoded preamble. For example, the time period between the transmission of an intra-BSS packet and the transmission of an OBSS packet can allow the corresponding AP (or its associated STA) to decode the preamble of the radio packet and obtain the BSS color value carried in the radio packet to determine whether the radio packet is an intra-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. In this way, each of the participating APs and its associated STAs can be able to receive and decode intra-BSS packets in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0076] In some examples, a shared AP may perform polling of a set of unmanaged or non-co-managed APs that support coordinated reuse to identify candidates for future space reuse opportunities. For example, the shared AP may send one or more space reuse polling frames to determine one or more space reuse criteria and select one or more other APs as part of the shared APs. Based on the polling, the shared AP may receive responses from one or more of the polled APs. In some specific examples, the shared AP may send a Coordinating AP TXOP Indication (CTI) frame to other APs, indicating the time and frequency of resources for a shareable TXOP. The shared AP may select one or more candidate APs upon receiving a Coordinating AP TXOP Request (CaTR) frame from the corresponding candidate AP, indicating that the corresponding AP expects to participate in the TXOP. The polling response or CaTR frame may include power indications, such as received (RX) power or RSSI measured by the corresponding AP. In some other examples, the shared AP may directly measure potential interference with services (such as UL transmission) supported at one or more APs and select the shared APs based on the measured potential interference. Shared APs typically select an AP to participate in coordinated space reuse, allowing it to still protect its own outgoing traffic and transmissions from STAs in its BSS (these transmissions may be referred to as primary transmissions). As described above, resources can be allocated to the selected AP during TXOP.

[0077] In some specific implementations, AP 102 and STA 104 can support various multi-user communications; that is, concurrent transmissions from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink communications from AP 102 to the corresponding STA 104), or concurrent transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink transmissions from the corresponding STA 104 to AP 102). As an example, in addition to MU-MIMO, AP 102 and STA 104 can also support OFDMA. In some respects, OFDMA is a multi-user version of OFDM.

[0078] In the OFDMA scheme, the available spectrum of the wireless channel can be divided into multiple RUs, each RU comprising multiple frequency subcarriers (also referred to as "tones"). Different RUs can be allocated by AP 102 at specific times or assigned to different STAs 104. The size and distribution of RUs are referred to as RU allocation. In some examples, RUs can be allocated in 2MHz intervals, and therefore, the minimum RU can include 26 tones consisting of 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Thus, in a 20MHz channel, up to 9 RUs (such as 2MHz, 26-tone RUs) can be allocated (because some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160MHz channel, up to 74 RUs can be allocated. Other tone RUs, such as 52-tone, 106-tone, 242-tone, 484-tone, and 996-tone RUs, can also be allocated. Adjacent RUs can be separated by empty subcarriers (such as DC subcarriers) to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiver DC offset, and avoid transmission center frequency leakage.

[0079] For UL MU transmissions, AP 102 can send trigger frames to initiate and synchronize ULOFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmissions from multiple STAs 104 to AP 102. Such trigger frames thus enable multiple STAs 104 to concurrently transmit UL services to AP 102 in time. The trigger frame can address one or more STAs 104 via a corresponding Association Identifier (AID), and can assign one or more RUs to each AID (and thus to each STA 104), which can be used to transmit UL services to AP 102. AP can also specify one or more Random Access (RA) RUs that unscheduled STAs 104 can contend for.

[0080] In some wireless communication systems, AP 102 can allocate or assign multiple RUs to a single STA 104 in OFDMA transmissions (hereinafter also referred to as "multi-RU aggregation"). Multi-RU aggregation, which facilitates puncturing and scheduling flexibility, can ultimately reduce latency. With emerging standards such as the IEEE 802.11be revision supporting 320MHz and the IEEE 802.11bn revision supporting 480MHz and 640MHz, various combinations of multiple RUs (multi-RUs) are possible. Values ​​indicating various multi-RU combinations can be provided by appropriate standard specifications, such as one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, including the 802.11be and 802.11bn revisions.

[0081] Since Wi-Fi is not the only technology operating in the 6 GHz band, combining channel puncturing with multiple RUs enables the use of large bandwidths, making high throughput possible, while avoiding transmissions on locally unlicensed frequencies due to existing operations. Punching can also be combined with multi-RU transmissions to enable the establishment of wide channels using discontinuous spectrum blocks. In such examples, a portion of the bandwidth between two RUs allocated to a specific STA 104 can be punctured. Accordingly, spectral efficiency and flexibility are improved.

[0082] As previously described, STA-specific RU allocation information can be included in the signaling fields of the PPDU preamble (such as the EHT-SIG field for EHT PPDUs). Preamble puncturing enables wider bandwidth transmission in the presence of interference from existing technologies and other wireless communication devices, thereby improving throughput and spectral efficiency. Because RUs can be allocated individually in MU PPDUs, the use of the MU PPDU format can indicate preamble puncturing for SU transmissions. While puncturing in the IEEE 802.11ax standard revision is limited to OFDMA transmissions, the IEEE 802.11be standard revision extends puncturing to SU transmissions. In some examples, RU allocation information in the common fields of EHT-SIG can be used to allocate RUs individually to a single user, thus avoiding punctured channels. In some other examples, U-SIG can be used to indicate SU preamble puncturing. For example, SU preamble puncturing can be indicated by the value of the EHT-SIG compression field in U-SIG.

[0083] In certain environments, locations, or conditions, regulatory agencies may impose power spectral density (PSD) limits on one or more communication channels or an entire frequency band (e.g., the 6 GHz band). PSD is a measure of transmit power as a function of unit bandwidth (e.g., per 1 MHz). Therefore, the total transmit power is the product of the PSD and the total bandwidth transmitted. Unlike the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established PSD limits for low-power devices operating in the 6 GHz band. The FCC has defined three power levels for operation in the 6 GHz band: standard power, low-power indoor, and ultra-low power. Some AP 102 and STA 104 devices operating in the 6 GHz band may meet the low-power indoor (LPI) power level, which limits the transmit power of AP 102 and STA 104 to 5 dBm / MHz and -1 dBm / MHz, respectively. In other words, the transmit power in the 6GHz band is subject to PSD limitation on a per MHz basis.

[0084] Such PSD limitations unnecessarily reduce transmission range, decrease packet detection capability, and reduce channel estimation capabilities of AP 102 and STA 104. In some examples where transmission is PSD-limited, AP 102 or STA 104 of wireless communication network 100 can transmit over a larger transmission bandwidth to increase total transmission power, thereby improving SNR and expanding the coverage of wireless communication devices. For example, to overcome or relax PSD limitations and improve the SNR of low-power devices operating in PSD-limited bands, 802.11be introduced a duplicate (DUP) mode for transmission, in which data in the payload portion of the PPDU is modulated for transmission on a “basic” frequency subband (such as the first RU for OFDMA transmission) and copied (e.g., repeated) to another frequency subband (such as the second RU for OFDMA transmission). In DUP mode, two copies of the data are transmitted, and dual-carrier modulation (DCM) is used for each of the repeating RUs. This also has the effect of replicating the data, so that each of the repeating RUs carries two copies of the data, resulting in, for example, four copies of the data being transmitted. While the data rate for each copy of user data transmitted using DUP mode can be the same as that transmitted using "normal" mode, the transmit power using DUP mode is essentially doubled according to the number of copies of data being transmitted, at the cost of increased bandwidth. Therefore, using DUP mode may extend range but reduce spectral efficiency.

[0085] In some other examples where transmission is PSD-limited, distributed tone mapping operations can be used to increase the bandwidth that STA 104 transmits to AP 102 via. As used herein, the term “distributed transmission” refers to PPDU transmission on discontinuous tones (or subcarriers) of a radio channel. In contrast, the term “continuous transmission” refers to PPDU transmission on continuous tones. As used herein, a logical RU represents the multiple tones or subcarriers allocated to a given STA 104 for transmitting PPDUs. As used herein, the term “regular RU” (or rRU) refers to any undistributed RU or MRU tone scheme, such as a configuration supported by 802.11be or earlier versions of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. As used herein, the term “distributed RU” (or dRU) refers to tones distributed across a set of discontinuous subcarrier indexes mapped to by a logical RU. The term “distributed tone scheme” refers to the set of discontinuous subcarrier indexes associated with a dRU. The channel or portion of the channel that distributes the distributed tones is called the spread spectrum bandwidth, which can be, for example, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or higher. The use of dRUs may be limited to uplink communication, as the benefits of overcoming PSD limitations may only exist in uplink communication.

[0086] Figure 5 An example of a signaling diagram 500 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. The signaling diagram 500 may implement aspects of the wireless communication network 100, or may be implemented by these aspects. For example, the signaling diagram 500 may include AP 502-a and AP 502-b, which may be as shown in the reference... Figure 1 An example of the described AP 102. Signaling diagram 500 may include STA 504-a and STA504-b, which may be as shown in the reference. Figure 1 Examples of STA 104 described herein. For example, STA 504-a may be within the coverage area 508-a of AP 502-a, and STA 504-b may be within the coverage area 508-b of AP 502-b. AP 502-a and STA 504-a may communicate via wireless communication link 510-a, and AP 502-b and STA 504-b may communicate via wireless communication link 510-b. In some examples, AP 502-a may communicate with AP 502-b via communication link 512. A wireless node may refer to a wireless communication device, such as an AP (e.g., AP 502-a) or STA (e.g., STA 504-a) communicating via wireless communication network 100.

[0087] Some WLANs (such as Figure 5 The WLAN shown can implement Coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA). TDMA allows an AP that owns or controls a TXOP (e.g., TXOP 514) to share a portion of the TXOP with one or more other APs. For example, AP 502-a can own or control TXOP 514. C-TDMA can improve latency and reduce contention and / or collisions. The EHT Transmit State (TXS) framework can be used to facilitate C-TDMA. For example, MU Request Transmit (RTS) (MU-RTS) frames and MU-RTS TXS frames can be used to identify shared TXOPs between APs 502.

[0088] In some examples, frame switching for sharing a portion of a TXOP in C-TDMA may use frames defined by 802.11ax and / or 802.11be. For example, as shown in timing diagram 550, AP 502-a may be a sharing AP, and AP 502-b may be a shared AP. AP 502-a may send a scheduling announcement frame 520 at or near the start of TXOP 514, which is controlled or owned by AP 502-a. The scheduling announcement frame 520 may announce the C-TDMA scheduling to AP 502-b and any other shared AP 102. In some examples, AP 502-b may send a response message 522 to the scheduling announcement frame 520. For example, the response message 522 to the scheduling announcement frame 520 may be a control response (CTR) message.

[0089] Following the scheduling announcement frame, AP 502-a may perform frame exchange 524 with STA 104 served by AP 502-a (e.g., may send or receive frames from STA 504-a and / or other STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 502-a).

[0090] AP 502-a can trigger TXOP sharing with AP 502-b by sending a TXOP allocation frame 526. In some examples, AP 502-b can send a response message 528 to the TXOP allocation frame 526. For example, if the TXOP allocation frame is a MU-RTS TXS frame, the response message 528 to the TXOP allocation frame 526 can be a CTS (Complete Transmission) frame.

[0091] Based on the receipt of a TXOP allocation frame 526 that allocates or assigns a portion of TXOP 514 to AP 502-b, AP 502-b may perform frame exchange 530 with STA 104 served by AP 502-b (e.g., sending or receiving frames from STA 504-b and / or other STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 502-b). AP 502-b may send a TXOP return frame 534, which may return control of TXOP 514 to AP 502-a for any unused sub-part of the allocation or assignment of TXOP 514 to AP 502-b. For example, AP 502-a may use the returned sub-part of TXOP 514 to perform additional frame exchange with STA 104 served by AP 502-a. For example, AP 502-a can allocate or assign the returned sub-part of TXOP 514 to another AP 102 (e.g., an AP other than AP 502-b).

[0092] In some examples, C-TDMA can implement a long NAV. In some examples, C-TDMA can implement a short NAV. In some examples, a shared AP (e.g., AP 502-a) can share a TXOP (such as TXOP 514) with more than one shared AP.

[0093] As described herein, error conditions may occur in C-TDMA scenarios. For example, the shared AP (e.g., AP502-b) may fail to take over the allocation or assignment of TXOPs to a portion of the shared AP. In such examples, the shared AP and / or the sharing AP can identify the error and take appropriate actions to recover from the TXOP sharing error scenario. As another example, the sharing AP (e.g., AP 502-a) may lose control of the channel medium during C-TDMA frame switching. For example, in the event of a scheduling announcement frame failure, AP 502-a may relinquish control of the channel used for TXOP 514 and initiate a backoff process. For example, the scheduling announcement frame could be a MU-RTS, and in a single-AP-shared C-TDMA example, scheduling announcement frame 520 may fail if a CTS response is not received from the target shared AP. In some examples, the shared AP (e.g., AP 502-a) can implement a polling scheme in which multiple receiver APs (e.g., AP 502-b and one or more other APs 102 or STA 104) are each assigned a RU to respond to the scheduling advertisement frame 520. For example, a Buffer Status Report Polling (BSRP) can be used as the trigger frame, and RUs can be assigned to obtain responses from each entity (e.g., STA 104 served by AP 502-a, the target shared AP 102 (e.g., AP 502-b), and the candidate shared AP 102). In such examples, the probability of scheduling advertisement frame failures is reduced because responses can be solicited from multiple entities.

[0094] In some examples, when AP 502-b returns the remainder of TXOP 514 to AP 502-a (e.g., via TXOP return frame 534), AP 502-a may not be able to regain control of the channel. For example, AP 502-a may be busy when the TXOP return indication is made. Alternatively, AP 502-a may require some processing time to regain control of TXOP 514. During AP 502-a's busy or processing time, another AP 102 or STA 104 may take over control of the channel, causing AP 502-a to lose control of the channel. To prevent loss of channel control, after TXOP allocation frame 526, if a TXOP return is expected, AP 502-b may (e.g., in response message 528 or during frame exchange 530) indicate to AP 502-a the estimated time when the TXOP return will occur. Therefore, AP 502-a can be prepared to regain control of the channel at the indicated time. For example, after a CTS response to TXOP allocation frame 526 (e.g., response message 528), AP 502-b may transmit a downlink MU PPDU to indicate the expected TXOP return time to AP 502-a, and AP 502-b may simultaneously communicate with STA 104 served by AP 502-b. For example, such a downlink MU PPDU may have one or more other RUs intended for AP 502-a and STA 104 in the BSS of AP 502-b. In some examples, the RU intended for AP 502-a may be identified by setting its STA ID to the AID assigned to AP 502-a by AP 502-b. As another example, the STA ID in the RU intended for AP 502-a may be a standard-defined AID (e.g., reserved for CAP or C-TDMA).

[0095] In some examples, when AP 502-b returns the remainder of TXOP 514 to AP 502-a (such as returning frame 534 via TXOP), AP 502-a may not intend to perform additional frame switching during the remainder of TXOP. In such examples, TXOP 514 may end after its return. For example, this end of TXOP may be based on conditions such as the remaining TXOP being less than a threshold time amount (such as 1 millisecond), which may be insufficient to perform meaningful frame switching. In some examples, AP 502-b may not return any sub-part of TXOP 514 to AP 502-a. For example, AP 502-b may use the entire allocated portion of TXOP 514. In some such examples where AP 502-b may not return any sub-parts of TXOP 514 to AP 502-a, AP 502-b may cease using TXOP 514 after AP 502-b has shared a portion of TXOP (e.g., via TXOP allocation frame 526).

[0096] Figure 6 An example of a timing diagram 600 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. The timing diagram 600 may implement aspects of the wireless communication network 100 or the signaling diagram 500, or may be implemented by these aspects. For example, the timing diagram 600 may include AP 602-a and AP 602-b, which may be as shown in the reference... Figure 1 The described AP 102 or as referenced Figure 5 An example of the described AP 502.

[0097] AP 602-a may own or control TXOP 614, and AP 602-a may share one or more portions of TXOP 614 (e.g., to implement C-TDMA or coordinated space reuse (CSR)). For example, AP 602-a may send a scheduling announcement frame 620 at the start or near the start of TXOP 614, which is controlled or owned by AP 602-a. The scheduling announcement frame 620 may announce C-TDMA or CSR scheduling to AP 602-b. In some examples, AP 602-b may send a response message 622 to the scheduling announcement frame 620. For example, the response message 622 to the scheduling announcement frame 620 may be a CTR message.

[0098] Following the scheduling announcement frame, AP 602-a may perform frame exchange 624 with STA 104 served by AP 602-a (e.g., may send or receive frames from STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 602-a).

[0099] The scheduling announcement frame 620 may indicate an estimated time 632 for the TXOP allocation frame 626, which allocates or assigns a portion of TXOP 614 to AP 602-b. However, in some examples, AP 602-a may not send the TXOP allocation frame 626 at the time expected by AP 602-b. For example, if AP 602-a cannot fulfill the agreement to share TXOP 614 (e.g., because AP 602-a has more traffic to serve than AP 602-a anticipated when AP 602-a sends the scheduling announcement frame 620), or because the TXOP allocation frame 626 is delayed beyond the estimated time indicated by the scheduling announcement frame 620, then AP 602-a may not send the TXOP allocation frame 626 at the time expected by AP 602-b. For example, retransmissions in AP 602-a's BSS may cause such delays or additional traffic.

[0100] In such examples where AP 602-a may not send the TXOP allocation frame 626 at the time expected by AP 602-b, AP 602-b may exit ongoing C-TDMA or CSR operations. For example, if AP 602-b does not receive the TXOP allocation frame 626 within a timeout period 630 after the estimated time 632 of the TXOP allocation frame 626, AP 602-b may exit ongoing C-TDMA or CSR operations. For example, the estimated time 632 may be indicated by the scheduling advertisement frame 620. In some examples, the duration of the timeout period 630 may be predefined or normalized. In some examples, the duration of the timeout period 630 may be negotiated by AP 602-a and AP 602-b. In some examples, the duration of the timeout period 630 may be a specific implementation for AP 602-b. After the timeout period 630, AP 602-b may perform contention process 634 during TXOP 614 to access the channel, so that AP 602-b can communicate with STA 104 served by AP 602-b (e.g., exchange frames with it).

[0101] Figure 7 An example of a timing diagram 700 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. Timing diagram 700 may implement aspects of wireless communication network 100, signaling diagram 500, or timing diagram 600, or may be implemented by these aspects. For example, timing diagram 700 may include AP 702-a and AP 702-b, which may be as shown in the reference... Figure 1 The described AP 102, as referenced Figure 5 The described AP 502 or as referenced Figure 6 An example of the described AP 602.

[0102] AP 702-a may own or control TXOP 714, and AP 702-a may share one or more portions of TXOP 714 (e.g., to implement C-TDMA or CSR). For example, AP 702-a may send a scheduling announcement frame 720 at the start or near the start of TXOP 714, which is controlled or owned by AP 702-a. The scheduling announcement frame 720 may announce C-TDMA or CSR scheduling to AP 702-b. In some examples, AP 702-b may send a response message 722 to the scheduling announcement frame 720. For example, the response message 722 to the scheduling announcement frame 720 may be a CTR message.

[0103] Following the scheduling announcement frame, AP 702-a may perform frame exchange 724 with STA 104 served by AP 702-a (e.g., may send or receive frames from STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 702-a).

[0104] AP 702-a can trigger TXOP sharing with AP 702-b by sending a TXOP allocation frame 726. In some examples, AP 702-a can expect AP 702-b to send a response message 728 to the TXOP allocation frame 726. For example, the expected response message 728 to the TXOP allocation frame 726 could be a CTS frame. However, in some examples, AP 702-a may not receive the expected response to the TXOP allocation frame 726. For example, if AP 702-b is busy and unable to receive or detect the TXOP allocation frame 726 from AP 702-a, AP 702-b may not send the expected response message 728 (such as a CTS) to the TXOP allocation frame 726. For example, AP 702-b may be busy due to uplink access from a STA associated with AP 702-b that may be hidden from AP 702-a's BSS. For example, AP 702-b might be busy due to access from one or more OBSS STAs 104 that set a NAV at AP 702-b, for instance, if AP 702-a used a short NAV during transmission within the BSS. For example, as... Figure 7As shown, the NAV can be updated multiple times by NAV 742 set by the scheduling announcement and NAV 740 set by communication between AP 702-a and STA 104, which may cause AP 702-b to be busy during TXOP allocation frame 726. For example, if the portion of TXOP 714 allocated or assigned to AP 702-b by TXOP allocation frame 726 is insufficient for AP 702-b, AP 702-b may not send the expected response message to TXOP allocation frame 726. Similarly, if AP 702-b does not correctly receive or decode TXOP allocation frame 726, AP 702-b may not send the expected response to TXOP allocation frame 726.

[0105] If AP 702-a does not receive the expected response message for TXOP allocation frame 726 within the timeout period 730 following TXOP allocation frame 726, AP 702-a may execute recovery procedure 734. In some examples, the timeout period 730 may be equal to or based on the SIFS duration plus the slot duration plus the receive physical layer start delay (RxPHYStartDelay). For example, AP 702-a may wait during the timeout period 730 after sending TXOP allocation frame 726 but before executing recovery procedure 734. Recovery procedure 734 may request control of the channel used for TXOP 714 during the portion of TXOP 714 allocated to AP 702-b by TXOP allocation frame 726. For example, recovery procedure 734 may involve sending frames or messages to maintain or regain control of the channel during the portion of TXOP 714 allocated to AP 702-b by TXOP allocation frame 726, so as to keep the channel busy and not allow other APs to access the channel. In some examples, recovery procedure 734 may be PIFS recovery or SIFS recovery. Based on the execution of the recovery procedure, AP 702-a may perform frame exchange 736 with one or more STAs 104 served by AP 702-a during a portion of TXOP 714 allocated to AP 702-b.

[0106] In some examples, AP 702-a may not receive a response message 722 (such as CTR) to the scheduling advertisement frame 720 as expected. In response to the lack of a response message 722 to the scheduling advertisement frame 720 after the timeout period, AP 702-a may perform a recovery procedure similar to the recovery procedure 734 after the timeout period 730.

[0107] In some examples, if AP 702-a incorrectly locks onto another OBSS packet, or if AP 702-a fails to successfully decode the response message, AP 702-a may not receive response message 722 or response message 728 (such as a CTR in response to scheduling advertisement frame 720 or a CTS in response to TXOP allocation frame 726) as expected from AP 702-b. Similarly, AP 702-b may refuse access to a shared portion of TXOP 714. For example, to refuse access to a shared portion of TXOP 714, AP 702-b may not transmit response message 722 or response message 728 as expected (such as a CTR in response to scheduling advertisement frame 720 or a CTS in response to TXOP allocation frame 726). Again, to refuse access to a shared portion of TXOP 714, AP 702-b may do so via the service field (such as in the reference...). Figure 2 In the described PDU 200, as referenced Figure 3 The signaling described in PPDU 350 indicates rejection. For example, to reject a shared portion of TXOP 714, AP 702-b may send a deliberately corrupted CTS as a response message. In some examples, AP 702-a may wait for the PIFS duration after the expected response message (such as response message 722 or response message 728) has ended, and if AP 702-a does not successfully receive the expected response message, AP 702-a may regain control of the medium (e.g., perform a recovery procedure as described herein). In some examples, if AP 702-a receives the expected response message while AP 702-a is performing a recovery procedure, AP 702-a may abort the recovery procedure.

[0108] Figure 8 An example of a timing diagram 800 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. Timing diagram 800 may implement aspects of wireless communication network 100, signaling diagram 500, timing diagram 600, or timing diagram 700, or may be implemented by these aspects. For example, timing diagram 800 may include AP 802-a, AP 802-b, and AP 802-c, which may be as shown in the reference... Figure 1 The AP102 described, as referenced Figure 5 The described AP 502, as referenced Figure 6 The described AP 602 or as referenced Figure 7 An example of the described AP 702.

[0109] AP 802-a may own or control TXOP 814, and AP 802-a may share one or more portions of TXOP 814 (e.g., C-TDMA or CSR may be implemented). For example, AP 802-a may send a scheduling advertisement frame 820 at the start or near the start of TXOP 814, which is controlled or owned by AP 802-a. The scheduling advertisement frame 820 may advertise C-TDMA or CSR scheduling to AP 802-b and / or AP 802-c. In some examples, AP 802-b may send a response message 822-a to the scheduling advertisement frame 820, and / or AP 802-c may send a response message 822-b to the scheduling advertisement frame 820. For example, AP 802-b may send a CTR and / or AP 802-c may send a CTR.

[0110] Following the scheduling announcement frame, AP 802-a may perform frame exchange 824 with STA 104 served by AP 802-a (e.g., may send or receive frames from STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 802-a).

[0111] AP 802-a can trigger TXOP sharing with AP 802-b and / or AP 802-c by sending a TXOP allocation frame 826. In some examples, AP 802-b can send a response message 828-a to the TXOP allocation frame 826, and / or AP 802-c can send a response message 828-b to the TXOP allocation frame 826. For example, AP 802-b can send a CTS frame, and / or AP 802-c can send a CTS frame.

[0112] In some examples, where multiple devices (such as AP 802-b, AP 802-c, and / or one or more STA 104) receive scheduling advertisement frames 820 and / or TXOP allocation frames 826, AP 802-a may receive multiple identical responses to scheduling advertisement frames 820 and / or TXOP allocation frames 826. In such examples, if there is no response from the target shared AP, AP 802-a may not know whether the target shared AP responded to scheduling advertisement frames 820 and / or TXOP allocation frames 826. For example, AP 802-b may be the target shared AP, and AP 802-c may be a candidate shared AP. Scheduling advertisement frames 820 and / or TXOP allocation frames 826 may be sent via MU-RTS, and response messages 822-a and 822-b and / or response messages 828-a and 828-b may be the same CTS. In such an example, if AP802-b does not send response message 822-a or response message 828-a, then if AP 802-a receives response message 822-b and / or response message 828-b, AP 802-a may not know that AP 802-b did not send response message 822-a or response message 828-a, and therefore will not use the allocated or assigned portion of TXOP 814.

[0113] In some examples, if AP 802-a does not receive the expected response message from AP 802-b within a timeout period 830 (e.g., the target is a shared AP), AP 802-a may execute recovery procedure 834. For example, recovery procedure 834 may be recovery procedure 734 as described herein. For example, timeout period 830 may be equal to or based on SIFS duration plus slot duration plus receive physical layer start delay (RxPHYStartDelay). For example, AP 802-a may wait for response message 828-a within timeout period 830 after sending TXOP allocation frame 826 and before executing recovery procedure 834. As another example, AP 802-a may wait for response message 822-a within timeout period 830 after sending scheduling advertisement frame 820 and before executing recovery procedure 834. As yet another example, timeout period 830 may be PIFS duration after the expected response message (such as response message 822-a or response message 828-a) has ended. For example, if AP 802-a does not receive a transmission from AP 802-b (e.g., the target is a shared AP) within the expected PIFS duration of the response message, AP 802-a may execute recovery procedure 834 to regain control of the channel. If AP 802-a receives a response message from AP 802-b (e.g., the target is a shared AP) within the PIFS duration, AP 802-a may abort or not execute recovery procedure 834.

[0114] In some examples, AP 802-a can implement a polling scheme to identify which device sent each response message. For example, BSRP can be used as the trigger frame. Different RUs can be assigned to devices (such as AP 802-b, AP 802-c, and / or STAs served by AP 802-a) to respond to the scheduling advertisement frame 820 and / or TXOP allocation frame 826. In some examples, the scheduling advertisement frame 820 and / or TXOP allocation frame 826 can be MU-RTS, and the responding CTS frames (such as response message 822 and / or response message 828) can be trigger-based (TB) PPDUs. In such examples, AP 802-a can know which devices responded to the trigger frame. For example, if the target AP (such as AP 802-b) does not respond to the scheduling advertisement frame using the assigned RU, AP 802-a may not send the TXOP allocation frame 826. For example, if the target AP (such as AP 802-b) sends a response message 822-a but does not send a response message 828-a for the TXOP allocation frame 826, then AP 802-a may wait during the timeout period 830 before performing the recovery procedure 834.

[0115] Figure 9An example of a timing diagram 900 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. The timing diagram 900 may implement, or be implemented by, aspects of, the wireless communication network 100, signaling diagram 500, timing diagram 600, timing diagram 700, or timing diagram 800. For example, the timing diagram 900 may include AP 902-a, AP 902-b, and AP 902-c, which may be as shown in the reference... Figure 1 The described AP 102, as referenced Figure 5 The described AP 502, as referenced Figure 6 The described AP 602, as referenced Figure 7 The described AP 702 or as referenced Figure 8 An example of the described AP 802.

[0116] AP 902-a may own or control TXOP 914, and AP 902-a may share one or more portions of TXOP 914 (e.g., to implement C-TDMA or CSR). For example, AP 902-a may send a scheduling announcement frame 920 at the start or near the start of TXOP 914, which is controlled or owned by AP 902-a. The scheduling announcement frame 920 may announce C-TDMA or CSR scheduling to AP 902-b and / or AP 902-c. In some examples, AP 902-b may send a response message 922-a to the scheduling announcement frame 920, and / or AP 902-c may send a response message 922-b to the scheduling announcement frame 920. For example, AP 902-b may send a CTR and / or AP 902-c may send a CTR.

[0117] Following the scheduling announcement frame, AP 902-a may perform frame exchange 924 with STA 104 served by AP 902-a (e.g., may send or receive frames from STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 902-a).

[0118] AP 902-a can trigger TXOP sharing with AP 902-b and / or AP 902-c by sending a TXOP allocation frame 926. In some examples, AP 902-b can send a response message 928-a to the TXOP allocation frame 926, and / or AP 902-c can send a response message 928-b to the TXOP allocation frame 926. For example, AP 902-b can send a CTS frame, and / or AP 902-c can send a CTS frame.

[0119] Response messages 922 and / or 928 may be interleaved. For example, response message 922-a may be interleaved in time relative to response message 922-b, such that AP 902-a can identify that response message 922-a originates from AP 902-b and that response message 922-b originates from AP 902-b. Similarly, response message 928-a may be interleaved in time relative to response message 928-b, such that AP 902-a can identify that response message 928-a originates from AP 902-b and that response message 928-b originates from AP 902-b. Other response messages 922 (e.g., from STA 104 served by AP 902-a) may be interleaved relative to response messages 922-a and 922-b, and / or other response messages 928 may be interleaved relative to response messages 928-a and 928-b. For example, AP 902-a may solicit such interleaved response messages as part of frame exchange between AP 902-a, AP 902-b, AP 902-c and / or STA 104 served by AP 902-a.

[0120] Based on the receipt of a TXOP allocation frame 926 that allocates or assigns a portion of TXOP 914 to AP 902-b, AP 902-b may perform frame exchange 930 with STA 104 served by AP 902-b (e.g., sending or receiving frames from STA 104 located in the same BSS as AP 902-b). AP 902-b may send a TXOP return frame 934, which may return control of TXOP 914 to AP 902-a for any unused sub-part of the allocation or assignment of TXOP 914 to AP 902-a. For example, AP 902-a may use the returned sub-part of TXOP 914 to perform additional frame exchange with STA 104 served by AP 902-a.

[0121] Figure 10 An example of a process flow 1000 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. Process flow 1000 may include AP 1002-a and AP 1002-b, which may be as described in the reference... Figure 1 The described AP 102, as referenced Figure 5 The described AP 502, as referenced Figure 6 The described AP 602, as referenced Figure 7 The AP 702 described, as referenced Figure 8 The AP802 described or as referenced Figure 9An example of AP 902 is described. In the following description of process flow 1000, operations between AP 1002-a and AP 1002-b may be sent in a different order than the example order shown, or operations performed by AP 1002-a and AP 1002-b may be performed in a different order or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 1000, and other operations may be added to process flow 1000.

[0122] At position 1004, AP 1002-a can output a message associated with the assignment of a portion of the TXOP (Transmission Optimization Point) linked to the channel. The TXOP can be controlled by AP 1002-a. For example, AP 1002-a can send the message to AP 1002-b.

[0123] At 1006, AP 1002-a may perform a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP if it does not receive a response message within the timeout period associated with the message (e.g., from AP 1002-b).

[0124] In some examples, AP 1002-a may output an announcement message prior to the output message at 1004, indicating that AP 1002-a intends to share one or more portions of the TXOP, and the message may indicate the assignment of a portion of the TXOP. For example, the announcement message may be a scheduling announcement frame as described herein, and the message may be a TXOP allocation frame as described herein. In some examples, performing a recovery procedure may include outputting or transmitting a second message associated with control of the channel before the duration associated with the loss of control over the TXOP expires. In some examples, the duration may be a PIFS that begins at the expected reception time of a response message. In some examples, AP 1002-a may output or receive (e.g., communicable) data communication based on outputting the second message during a portion of the TXOP. For example, AP 1002-a may perform frame exchange with a STA in the same BSS as AP 1002-a.

[0125] In some examples, at least one of the following conditions exists: a response message is expected to be received at a time after the output message, the response message is a CTR or CTS message, or the timeout duration begins at a time after the output message.

[0126] In some examples, AP 1002-a may obtain (e.g., receive) a second response to the message from a third device (such as another AP 102 or STA 104). In such examples, the message may be output to a set of wireless communication devices including AP 1002-b and the third wireless communication device, and the message may indicate that a portion of the TXOP is assigned to the third wireless communication device. In some examples, for each wireless communication device in the set of wireless communication devices, AP 1002-a may output (e.g., send) an indication of a set of corresponding response periods associated with responding to the message, wherein the response periods in the set of corresponding response periods are time-interleaved, wherein the second response is obtained via a second response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with the third device, and wherein the response message is expected in a first response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with AP 1002-b. In some examples, for each of a set of multiple wireless communication devices including AP 1002-b, AP 1002-a may output (e.g., may send) an indication of a set of corresponding RUs associated with responding to a message, and the message may indicate that AP 1002-a intends to share one or more portions of TXOP with the set of multiple wireless communication devices.

[0127] In some examples, AP 1002-a may provide an instruction for the assignment of a second portion of the TXOP for the channel via a message output at 1004. AP 1002-a may receive (e.g., be able to receive) a second message indicating the time when control of the channel will return to AP 1002-a within the second portion. AP 1002-a may output or receive (e.g., be able to communicate) data communications based on the second message during a portion of the TXOP.

[0128] In some examples, TXOP refers to the C-TDMA time slot assigned to AP 1002-a. In some examples, this portion is a space reuse service time slot (e.g., this portion of the TXOP can be used for CSR). For example, AP 1002-a may share the service time slot within the TXOP with AP 1002-b and / or one or more other APs. AP 1002-a may also communicate with STAs served by AP 1002-a during the shared service time slot.

[0129] Figure 11 An example of a process flow 1100 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. Process flow 1100 may include AP 1102-a and AP 1102-b, which may be as described in the reference... Figure 1 The described AP 102, as referenced Figure 5 The described AP 502, as referenced Figure 6The described AP 602, as referenced Figure 7 The AP 702 described, as referenced Figure 8 The AP802 described or as referenced Figure 9 An example of AP 902 is described. In the following description of process flow 1100, operations between AP 1102-a and AP 1102-b may be sent in a different order than the example order shown, or operations performed by AP 1102-a and AP 1102-b may be performed in a different order or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 1100, and other operations may be added to process flow 1100.

[0130] At 1104, AP 1102-b may receive (e.g., from AP 1102-a) a first message indicating that one or more portions of the TXOP for the channel will be shared with AP 1102-b. For example, AP 1102-a may own or control the TXOP.

[0131] At 1106, AP 1102-b may perform a contention process for the channel during TXOP based on not receiving the second message within the timeout duration associated with the first message, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to AP 1102-b. For example, based on the first message being a scheduling announcement frame as described herein, the second message could be an expected TXOP allocation frame as described herein.

[0132] In some examples, AP 1102-b can output or receive (e.g., communicate) data communications during TXOP and after the contention process. For example, AP 1102-b can communicate with one or more STAs during TXOP.

[0133] In some examples, the timeout duration can be based on the expected time to receive the second message.

[0134] In some examples, AP 1102-b may output (e.g., send) a response message to the first message, and the expected time for obtaining the second message may be based on the response message. In some examples, AP 1102-b may obtain (e.g., receive from AP 1102-a) an indication of a response period for outputting the response message, and the response message may be output according to the response period. In some examples, AP 1102-b may obtain (e.g., receive from AP 1102-a) an indication of a RU for outputting the response message, and the response message may be output using the RU. In some examples, the first message may indicate the expected time for obtaining the second message.

[0135] In some examples, AP 1102-b may obtain (e.g., receive) an indication of the timeout duration from AP 1102-b.

[0136] Figure 12 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1200 supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. In some examples, the wireless communication device 1200 is configured to perform respective references Figure 13 and Figure 14 The processes 1300 and 1400 are described. Wireless communication device 1200 may include one or more chips, SoCs, chipsets, packages, components, or devices that individually or collectively constitute or include a processing system. The processing system may interface with other components of wireless communication device 1200 and typically processes information (such as inputs or signals) received from and outputs information (such as outputs or signals) to such other components. In some aspects, an example chip may include a processing system, a first interface for outputting or transmitting information, and a second interface for receiving or acquiring information. For example, the first interface may refer to an interface between the chip's processing system and a transmitting component, enabling wireless communication device 1200 to transmit information output from the chip. In such an example, the second interface may refer to an interface between the chip's processing system and a receiving component, enabling wireless communication device 1200 to receive information, which is then passed to the processing system. In some such examples, the first interface may also, for example, acquire information from the transmitting component, and the second interface may also, for example, output information to the receiving component.

[0137] Furthermore, various components of the wireless communication device 1200 may provide parts for performing the methods described herein. In some examples, parts for transmitting and / or receiving may include transceivers and / or antennas of the wireless communication device 1200. In some examples, parts for outputting or transmitting (such as parts for outputting for transmission) and parts for acquiring (such as parts for acquiring after receiving information from different devices) may include one or more interfaces of the wireless communication device 1200 to output signals to other parts or acquire signals from other parts of the wireless communication device 1200. For example, a processor (of a processing system) may output (such as providing) signals and / or data for transmission to a radio frequency front end via a bus interface. Similarly, a device may not actually receive signals and / or data, but may have an interface (parts for acquiring) for acquiring signals and / or data received from another device. For example, a processor (of a processing system) may acquire (or receive) signals and / or data from a radio frequency front end via a bus interface for reception. In various aspects, the radio frequency front end may include various components, including transmit and receive processors, transmit and receive MIMO processors, modulators, demodulators, etc. Each of the components used for execution and communication includes the processing system of the wireless communication device 1200, processor circuitry (including one or more processors), memory circuitry, and / or computer-readable medium.

[0138] The processing system of the wireless communication device 1200 includes processor (or “processing”) circuitry in the form of one or more processors, microprocessors, processing units (such as a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), neural processing unit (NPU) (also referred to as a neural network processor or deep learning processor (DLP)) or digital signal processor (DSP)), processing blocks, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), or other discrete gate or transistor logic components or circuits (all of which are generally referred to herein individually as “processors” or collectively as “processors” or “processor circuitry”). One or more of these processors may be individually or collectively configured to perform the various functions or operations described herein. The processing system may also include memory circuitry in the form of one or more memory devices, memory blocks, memory elements, or other discrete gate or transistor logic components or circuitry, each of which may include tangible storage media such as random access memory (RAM) or ROM or combinations thereof (all of which are generally referred to herein individually as “memory” or collectively as “memory” or “memory circuitry”). One or more of these memories may be coupled to one or more processors and may store processor-executable code, individually or collectively, which, when executed by one or more processors, configures one or more processors to perform the various functions or operations described herein. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, one or more processors may be pre-configured to perform the various functions or operations described herein without software configuration. The processing system may also include or be coupled to one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (e.g., IEEE compliant) modem or a cellular (e.g., 3GPP 4G LTE, 5G, or 6G compliant) modem). In some embodiments, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more modems. The processing system may also include or be coupled to multiple radio components (collectively, “radio components”), multiple RF chains, or multiple transceivers, each of which may in turn be coupled to one or more antennas. In some embodiments, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the radio components, RF chains, or transceivers.

[0139] In some examples, the wireless communication device 1200 may be configured to be used for, or be configured to be used for, in an AP (such as a reference). Figure 1The described AP 102 is used. In some other examples, the wireless communication device 1200 may be an AP that includes such a processing system and other components including multiple antennas. The wireless communication device 1200 is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communications, for example, in the form of wireless packets. For example, the wireless communication device 1200 may be configured or configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer PPDUs and MPDUs conforming to one or more wireless communication protocol standards in the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard family. In some other examples, the wireless communication device 1200 may be configured or configured to transmit and receive signals and communications conforming to one or more 3GPP specifications, including specifications for 5G NR or 6G. In some examples, the wireless communication device 1200 also includes one or more application processors or may be coupled to such one or more application processors, which may be further coupled to one or more other memories. In some examples, the wireless communication device 1200 also includes at least one external network interface coupled to the processing system, which enables communication with the core network or backhaul network implementing the wireless communication device 1200 to obtain access to external networks, including the Internet.

[0140] The wireless communication device 1200 includes a TXOP sharing indication manager 1225, a recovery process manager 1230, a TXOP sharing announcement manager 1235, a contention process manager 1240, a response message manager 1245, a response message RU manager 1250, a TXOP sharing assignment manager 1255, a channel control return manager 1260, a data communication manager 1265, a timeout duration manager 1270, and a response message timing manager 1275. A portion of one or more of these components may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. For example, one or more of the following may be implemented, at least in part, by at least one processor or modem: TXOP share instruction manager 1225, recovery process manager 1230, TXOP share announcement manager 1235, contention process manager 1240, response message manager 1245, response message RU manager 1250, TXOP share assignment manager 1255, channel control return manager 1260, data communication manager 1265, timeout duration manager 1270, and response message timing manager 1275. In some examples, portions of one or more of the following can be implemented at least partially by a processor and software in the form of processor-executable code stored in memory: TXOP Shared Indicator Manager 1225, Recovery Process Manager 1230, TXOP Shared Notification Manager 1235, Contention Process Manager 1240, Response Message Manager 1245, Response Message RU Manager 1250, TXOP Shared Assignment Manager 1255, Channel Control Return Manager 1260, Data Communication Manager 1265, Timeout Duration Manager 1270, and Response Message Timing Manager 1275.

[0141] Wireless communication device 1200 may support wireless communication according to examples disclosed herein. TXOP sharing indication manager 1225 can be configured or configured to output a message associated with the assignment of a portion of a TXOP associated with a channel. Recovery process manager 1230 can be configured or configured to perform a recovery process to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP, based on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message.

[0142] In some examples, the TXOP sharing notification manager 1235 can be configured or configured to output a notification message prior to the output message indicating that the device intends to share one or more portions of the TXOP, wherein the message indicates the assignment of a portion of the TXOP.

[0143] In some examples, to support the execution of the recovery process, the recovery process manager 1230 can be configured or configured to output a second message associated with control of the channel before the expiration of the duration associated with the loss of control over the TXOP.

[0144] In some examples, the duration is the distributed coordination function inter-frame interval that begins at the expected time of receiving the response message.

[0145] In some examples, the data communication manager 1265 can be configured or is configured to output or receive data communication during a portion of a TXOP and after the output of a second message.

[0146] In some examples, the timeout duration begins either after the message has been output or while the message is being output.

[0147] In some examples, the data communication manager 1265 can be configured or is configured to output or receive data communication during TXOP and before outputting messages.

[0148] In some examples, a response message is expected at a time following the output message. In some examples, the response message is a CTR or CTS message. In some examples, the timeout duration begins at a time following the output message.

[0149] In some examples, the response message manager 1245 can be configured or configured to receive a second response to a message from a second device, wherein the message is output to a set of devices including the second and third devices, wherein the message indicates that a portion of the TXOP is assigned to the third device.

[0150] In some examples, the response message RU manager 1250 can be configured or configured to output an indication of the set of corresponding RUs associated with responding to a message for each device in the set of devices, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the second response is obtained via a second RU in the set of corresponding RUs associated with a second device, or the response message is expected in a first RU in the set of corresponding RUs associated with a third device.

[0151] In some examples, the response message timing manager 1275 can be configured or configured to output, for each device in the set of devices, an indication of a set of corresponding response periods associated with responding to a message, wherein the response periods in the set of corresponding response periods are staggered in time, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the second response is obtained via a second response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with a second device, or the response message is expected in a first response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with a third device.

[0152] In some examples, to support output messages, the response message RU manager 1250 can be configured or configured to output an indication to the set of corresponding RUs associated with responding to a message for each of a set of multiple devices, wherein the message indicates that the device intends to share one or more portions of the TXOP with the set of multiple devices.

[0153] In some examples, the TXOP shared assignment manager 1255 can be configured or configured to output instructions for the assignment of a second portion of the TXOP to a channel via a message. In some examples, the channel control return manager 1260 can be configured or configured to receive a second message indicating the time when control of the channel will return to the device within the second portion. In some examples, the data communication manager 1265 can be configured or configured to output or receive data communication during a portion of the TXOP and after the second message.

[0154] In some examples, TXOP refers to the coordinated TDMA period assigned to the device.

[0155] In some examples, part of it is space reuse service periods.

[0156] Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device 1200 may support wireless communication according to examples disclosed herein. The TXOP sharing announcement manager 1235 can be configured or configured to receive a first message indicating sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with a channel. The contention process manager 1240 can be configured or configured to perform a contention process for the channel during a TXOP based on the absence of a second message within a timeout period associated with the first message, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to a device.

[0157] In some examples, the data communication manager 1265 can be configured or is configured to output or acquire data communication during TXOP and after the execution of the contention process.

[0158] In some examples, the timeout duration is based on the expected time to receive the second message.

[0159] In some examples, the response message manager 1245 can be configured or configured to output a response message to the first message, wherein the expected time for obtaining the second message is based on the response message.

[0160] In some examples, the response message timing manager 1275 can be configured or configured to receive an indication of the response period for outputting the response message, wherein the response message is output according to the response period.

[0161] In some examples, the response message RU manager 1250 can be configured or configured to receive an indication of the RU used to output the response message, wherein the response message is output using the RU.

[0162] In some examples, the first message indicates the expected time to receive the second message.

[0163] In some examples, the timeout duration manager 1270 can be configured or can be configured to receive an indication of the timeout duration.

[0164] Figure 13 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1300 that can be executed by or at a device supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. Operation of process 1300 can be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, process 1300 can be implemented by a wireless communication device (such as reference 1300) operating as or within a wireless AP. Figure 12 The process 1300 is performed by the described wireless communication device 1200. In some examples, the process 1300 may be performed by a wireless AP (such as reference 1200). Figure 1 The AP described in AP 102 is used to perform this action.

[0165] In some examples, in 1305, the device may output a message associated with an assignment of a portion of a TXOP associated with the channel. Operation of 1305 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some specific implementations, aspects of the operation of 1305 may be as described in references... Figure 12 The TXOP shared instruction manager 1225 is described and executed.

[0166] In some examples, in 1310, the apparatus may perform a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during a portion of the TXOP, based on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message. The operation of 1310 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some specific implementations, aspects of the operation of 1310 may be as described in references... Figure 12 The recovery process described is executed by Manager 1230.

[0167] Figure 14A flowchart illustrating an example process 1400 that can be executed by or at a device supporting error condition management in TDMA is shown. Operation of process 1400 can be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, process 1400 can be implemented by a wireless communication device (such as reference 1400) operating as or within a wireless AP. Figure 12 The process 1400 is performed by the described wireless communication device 1200. In some examples, the process 1400 may be performed by a wireless AP (such as reference 1200). Figure 1 The AP described in AP 102 is used to perform this action.

[0168] In some examples, at 1405, the device may receive a first message indicating the sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with the channel. Operation of 1405 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some specific implementations, aspects of the operation of 1405 may be as described in references... Figure 12 The TXOP shared notification manager 1235 described is used to execute this.

[0169] In some examples, in 1410, the device may perform a contention process for the channel during the TXOP based on the failure to receive a second message within the timeout duration associated with the first message, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to the device. The operation of 1410 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some specific implementations, aspects of the operation of 1410 may be as described in references... Figure 12 The described competition process is executed by the manager 1240.

[0170] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: The following provides an overview of the various aspects of this disclosure: Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a wireless node, the method comprising: outputting a message associated with an assignment of a portion of a TXOP associated with a channel; and performing a recovery procedure to request control of the channel during the portion of the TXOP, based at least in part on the absence of a response message within a timeout period associated with the message.

[0171] Aspect 2: According to the method of aspect 1, the method further includes: outputting an announcement message before outputting the message, the announcement message indicating that the wireless node intends to share one or more portions of the TXOP, wherein the message indicates the assignment of the portion of the TXOP.

[0172] Aspect 3: According to the method of aspect 2, wherein performing the recovery process includes: outputting a second message associated with control of the channel before the expiration of the duration associated with the loss of control over the TXOP.

[0173] Aspect 4: According to the method of aspect 3, the duration is a distributed coordination function inter-frame interval that begins at the expected reception time of the response message.

[0174] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of Aspects 3 to 4, the method further comprising: outputting or obtaining data communication during the portion of the TXOP and after outputting the second message.

[0175] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein the timeout duration begins after the message has been output or when the message has been output.

[0176] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of Aspects 2 to 6, the method further comprising: outputting or obtaining data communication during the TXOP and before outputting the message.

[0177] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the response message is expected to be obtained at a time after the message is output, the response message being a CTR or CTS message, or the timeout duration begins at the time after the message is output.

[0178] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, the method further comprising: obtaining a second response to the message from a second wireless node, wherein the message is output to a set of wireless nodes including the second wireless node and the third wireless node, wherein the message indicates that the portion of the TXOP is assigned to the third wireless node.

[0179] Aspect 10: The method according to aspect 9, the method further comprising: for each of the set of wireless nodes, outputting an indication of a set of corresponding RUs associated with responding to the message, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the second response is obtained via a second RU in the set of corresponding RUs associated with the second wireless node, or the response message is expected in a first RU in the set of corresponding RUs associated with the third wireless node.

[0180] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of Aspects 9 to 10, the method further comprising: for each of the set of wireless nodes, outputting an indication of a set of corresponding response periods associated with responding to the message, wherein the response periods in the set of corresponding response periods are staggered in time, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the second response is obtained via a second response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with the second wireless node, or the response message is expected in a first response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with the third wireless node.

[0181] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 11, wherein outputting the message comprises: for each of a plurality of wireless nodes, outputting an indication of a set of corresponding RUs associated with responding to the message, wherein the message indicates that the wireless node intends to share one or more portions of the TXOP with the plurality of wireless nodes.

[0182] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the message includes an instruction for the assignment of a second portion of the transmission opportunity for the channel, the method further comprising: obtaining a second message indicating a time during the second portion when control of the channel will return to the wireless node; and outputting or obtaining data communication during the portion of the TXOP and after the second message.

[0183] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 13, wherein the TXOP refers to a C-TDMA period assigned to the wireless node.

[0184] Aspect 15: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 13, wherein a portion is a space reuse service period.

[0185] Aspect 16: A method for wireless communication at a wireless node, the method comprising: obtaining a first message indicating sharing of one or more portions of a TXOP associated with a channel; and performing a contention process for the channel during the TXOP, at least in part based on the failure to obtain a second message within a timeout period associated with the first message, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the TXOP to the wireless node.

[0186] Aspect 17: The method according to aspect 16 further includes: outputting or obtaining data communication during the TXOP and after performing the competition process.

[0187] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of Aspects 16 to 17, wherein the timeout duration is at least partially based on the expected time of obtaining the second message.

[0188] Aspect 19: The method according to aspect 18, the method further comprising: outputting a response message to the first message, wherein the expected time for obtaining the second message is at least partially based on the response message.

[0189] Aspect 20: The method according to aspect 19, the method further comprising: obtaining an indication of a response period for outputting the response message, wherein the response message is output according to the response period.

[0190] Aspect 21: The method according to any one of aspects 19 to 20, the method further comprising: obtaining an indication of an RU for outputting the response message, wherein the response message is output using the RU.

[0191] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 21, wherein the first message indicates the expected time for obtaining the second message.

[0192] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of aspects 16 to 22, the method further comprising: obtaining an indication of the duration of the timeout.

[0193] Aspect 24: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories and capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code, so that the apparatus performs a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0194] Aspect 25: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0195] Aspect 26: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0196] Aspect 27: An AP, the AP comprising: at least one transceiver; and a processing system including processor circuitry and memory circuitry storing code, the processing system being configured to cause the AP to perform a method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15, wherein the at least one transceiver is configured to transmit the message associated with an assignment to the portion of the TXOP for sharing.

[0197] Aspect 28: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories and capable of operating individually or jointly to execute the code, so that the apparatus performs a method according to any one of aspects 16 to 23.

[0198] Aspect 29: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 16 to 23.

[0199] Aspect 30: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of aspects 16 to 23.

[0200] Aspect 31: An AP, the AP comprising: at least one transceiver; and a processing system including processor circuitry and memory circuitry storing code, the processing system being configured to cause the AP to perform a method according to any one of aspects 16 to 23, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive a first message indicating sharing of one or more portions of the transmission opportunities of the channel.

[0201] As used herein, the term "determine" encompasses a wide variety of actions, and therefore, "determine" can include calculation, computation, processing, derivation, estimation, investigation, searching (such as by searching in a table, database, or other data structure), reasoning, ascertaining, or measuring, among other possibilities. Furthermore, "determine" can include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data stored in memory), or sending (such as sending information), among other possibilities. Additionally, "determine" can include parsing, selecting, obtaining, choosing, building, and other similar actions.

[0202] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” or “one or more of” refers to any combination of these items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc. As used herein, “or” is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense unless otherwise explicitly indicated. For example, “a or b” may include only a, only b, or a combination of a and b. Furthermore, as used herein, the phrase referring to “one” element means one or more of such elements that act individually or collectively to perform the stated function. Additionally, “set” means one or more items, and “subset” means less than the entire set, but not empty.

[0203] As used herein, unless otherwise explicitly indicated, “based on” is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense. For example, unless otherwise explicitly indicated, “based on” may be used interchangeably with “at least partially based on,” “associated with,” “associated with,” or “according to.” Specifically, unless the phrase in the context means “based on only one” or an equivalent, whether it is “based on one” or “at least partially based on one,” it may be based solely on “one” or based on a combination of “one” and one or more other factors, conditions, or information.

[0204] The various exemplary components, logic units, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the examples disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of its functionality and exemplified in the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether this functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0205] Various modifications to the examples described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the examples shown herein, but are to be granted the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0206] Additionally, the various features described in this specification in the context of individual examples may also be implemented in combination in a single specific embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single specific embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple examples. Thus, although features may be described above as functioning in a particular combination, and even initially claimed in this way, one or more features from the claimed combination may be removed from the combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may involve sub-combinations or variations of sub-combinations.

[0207] Various aspects of this disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any particular structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will understand that the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure herein, whether implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of this disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement an apparatus or practice. Furthermore, the scope of this disclosure is intended to cover such apparatuses or methods practiced using structures, functionalities, or structures and functionalities other than or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0208] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a specific order in the diagrams, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in sequential order, or to perform all illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the accompanying figures may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other operations not depicted may be incorporated into the schematically illustrated example processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the examples described above should not be construed as requiring such separation in all examples, but rather should be understood as meaning that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or encapsulated in multiple software products.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: A processing system, comprising processor circuitry and memory circuitry for storing code, is configured to cause the device to: An output message is associated with the assignment of a portion of the transmission opportunities associated with the channel; as well as At least in part, based on the absence of a response message within the timeout period associated with the message, a recovery process is performed to request control of the channel during the portion of the transmission opportunity.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: Before outputting the message, an announcement message is output, the announcement message indicating that the device intends to share one or more portions of the transmission opportunity, wherein the message indicates the assignment of the portion of the transmission opportunity.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, In order to perform the recovery process, the processing system is configured to cause the device to: Before the expiration of the duration associated with the loss of control over the transmission opportunity, a second message associated with control over the channel is output.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the duration is a distributed coordination function inter-frame interval that begins at the expected reception time of the response message.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: During the portion of the transmission opportunity and after the output of the second message, data communication is output or obtained.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the timeout duration begins after the message has been output or when the message has been output.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: The response message is expected to be received some time after the message was output. The response message is a control response or a permission message for transmission, or The timeout duration begins at the time following the output of the message.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: A second response to the message is obtained from the second device, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the message is output to a set of devices including the second device and the third device, or the message indicates that a portion of the transmission opportunity is assigned to the third device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: For each device in the set of devices, an indication is output to a set of corresponding resource units associated with responding to the message, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the second response is obtained via a second resource unit in the set of corresponding resource units associated with the second device, or the response message is expected in a first resource unit in the set of corresponding resource units associated with the third device.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: For each device in the set of devices, an indication is output of a set of corresponding response periods associated with responding to the message, wherein the response periods in the set of corresponding response periods are staggered in time, wherein at least one of the following conditions exists: the second response is obtained via a second response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with the second device, or the response message is expected in a first response period in the set of corresponding response periods associated with the third device.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, In order to output the message, the processing system is configured to cause the device to: For each of the plurality of devices, an indication is output to a set of corresponding resource units associated with responding to the message, wherein the message indicates that the device intends to share one or more portions of the transmission opportunity with the plurality of devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the message includes an indication of an assignment of a second portion of the transmission opportunity for the channel, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: Receive a second message, the second message indicating the time at which control of the channel will return to the device within the second part; and During the portion of the transmission opportunity and after the second message, data communication is output or obtained.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmission opportunity refers to a coordinated time division multiple access period assigned to the apparatus.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the portion is a space reuse service period.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: A transceiver configured to send the message, wherein the means includes an access point.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: A processing system, comprising processor circuitry and memory circuitry for storing code, is configured to cause the device to: Receive a first message, the first message indicating the sharing of one or more portions of a transmission opportunity associated with the channel; and At least in part, based on the failure to obtain a second message within the timeout period associated with the first message, a contention process for the channel is performed during the transmission opportunity, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the transmission opportunity to the device.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: During the transmission opportunity, output or receive data communication.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the timeout duration is at least partially based on the expected time of obtaining the second message.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: Output a response message to the first message, wherein the expected time for obtaining the second message is based at least in part on the response message.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: Obtain an indication of a response period for outputting the response message, wherein the response message is output according to the response period.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: Obtain an indication of a resource unit for outputting the response message, wherein the response message is output using the resource unit.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first message indicates the expected time for obtaining the second message.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the apparatus to: Obtain an indication of the duration of the timeout.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising: A transceiver configured to receive the first message, wherein the means includes an access point.

25. A method for conducting wireless communication at a wireless node, the method comprising: An output message is associated with the assignment of a portion of the transmission opportunities associated with the channel; as well as At least in part, based on the absence of a response message within the timeout period associated with the message, a recovery process is performed to request control of the channel during the portion of the transmission opportunity.

26. A method for conducting wireless communication at a wireless node, the method comprising: Receive a first message indicating the sharing of one or more portions of a transmission opportunity associated with the channel; as well as At least in part, based on the failure to obtain a second message within the timeout period associated with the first message, a contention process for the channel is performed during the transmission opportunity, the second message being associated with assigning a portion of the transmission opportunity to the wireless node.

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