Shared distributed resource units

Abstract

The first station (STA) receives a trigger frame from overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) access points (APs) that allocates a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth. The first STA transmits the data portion of the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) through a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is indicated in the user information field of the trigger frame.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross - Reference to Related Applications) This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 455,596, filed Mar. 30, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0002] (Brief Description of the Drawings) Examples of some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary implementation of a station (STA) and an access point (AP). [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary network including a cooperative AP set. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows an example including buffer status reports by STAs, scheduling by an access point (AP) for uplink multi - user (MU) transmission, and transmission of scheduled uplink transmissions by STAs. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary trigger frame. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows an example of parameterized spatial reuse (PSR) - based spatial reuse (SR) operation. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary allocation of non - distributed resource units. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows an exemplary allocation of distributed resource units. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 shows an example of an operation using distributed resource units. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an exemplary Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) that may be used by ultra-high reliability (UHR) devices according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows another example of operation using distributed resource units. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows an example of operation using a distributed resource unit according to one embodiment. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows another example of operation using a distributed resource unit according to one embodiment. [Figure 14] Figure 14 shows an example of a trigger frame that may be used in the embodiment. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows an exemplary process according to one embodiment. [Figure 16] Figure 16 shows another exemplary process according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0004] This disclosure presents various embodiments as examples of how the disclosed technology may be implemented and / or practiced in various environments and scenarios. Those skilled in the art will see that various modifications of form and detail can be made without departing from the scope. After reading the specification, methods for implementing alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art. These embodiments are not limited to any of the exemplary embodiments described. The embodiments of this disclosure are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Limitations, features, and / or elements from the disclosed exemplary embodiments can be combined to create further embodiments within the scope of this disclosure. Figures highlighting features and benefits are shown for illustrative purposes only. The disclosed architecture is sufficiently flexible and configurable to be used in ways other than those shown. For example, any action listed in any flowchart can be rearranged in some embodiments or used only at will.

[0005] The embodiments may be configured to operate as needed. The disclosed mechanisms may be implemented, for example, in stations, access points, wireless environments, networks, or combinations thereof, when certain criteria are met. Illustrative criteria may be based, at least in part, on wireless device or network node configuration, traffic load, initial system setup, packet size, traffic characteristics, or combinations thereof. Various exemplary embodiments may be applied when one or more criteria are met. Therefore, it may be possible to implement exemplary embodiments that selectively implement the disclosed protocols.

[0006] In this disclosure, “a” and “an,” and similar phrases, are interpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” Similarly, any term ending in the suffix “(s)” should be interpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” In this disclosure, the term “may” should be interpreted as “for example, may be.” In other words, the term “may” indicates that the phrase following the term “may” is an embodiment of several preferred possibilities, which may or may not be used by one or more of the various embodiments. As used herein, the terms “comprises” and “consists of” enumerate one or more components of the element described. The term “comprises” is interchangeable with “includes” and does not exclude unlisted components included in the element described. In contrast, “consists of” provides a complete enumeration of one or more components of the element described. As used herein, the term “based on” may be interpreted as “at least partially based” rather than, for example, “based only on.” As used herein, the term "and / or" represents any possible combination of the enumerated elements. For example, "A, B, and / or C" could mean A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B, and C.

[0007] A is called a subset of B if A and B are a set and all elements of A are also elements of B. In this specification, only non-empty sets and subsets are considered. For example, possible subsets of B = {STA1, STA2} are {STA1}, {STA2}, and {STA1, STA2}. The phrase “based on” (or equivalently “at least based on”) indicates an embodiment of many preferred possibilities in which the phrase following the term “based on” may or may not be used in one or more of the various embodiments. The phrase “in response to” (or equivalently “at least in response to”) indicates an embodiment of many preferred possibilities in which the phrase following the phrase “in response to” may or may not be used in one or more of the various embodiments. The phrase “according to” (or equivalently “at least in response to”) indicates an embodiment of many preferred possibilities in which the phrase following the phrase “according to” may or may not be used in one or more of the various embodiments. The phrase “adopt / use” (or equivalently “at least adopt / use”) indicates that the phrase following “adopt / use” is one example of a number of preferred possibilities in which one or more of the various embodiments may or may not be used.

[0008] The term "configured" can relate to the capacity of a device, regardless of whether the device is operational or non-operational. "Configured" can refer to specific settings of a device that affect its operational characteristics, regardless of whether the device is operational or non-operational. In other words, hardware, software, firmware, registers, memory values, etc., can be "configured" within a device, regardless of whether the device is operational or non-operational, in order for the device to provide certain characteristics. Terms such as "control messages generated in a device" can mean that control messages, regardless of whether the device is operational or non-operational, have parameters that can be used to configure certain characteristics in the device or to implement certain actions in the device.

[0009] In this disclosure, a parameter (or equivalently referred to as a field, or information element: IE) may contain one or more information objects, and an information object may contain one or more other objects. For example, if parameter (IE) N contains parameter (IE) M, parameter (IE) M contains parameter (IE) K, and parameter (IE) K contains parameter (information element) J, then for example, N contains K and N contains J. In exemplary embodiments, when one or more messages / frames contain multiple parameters, it means that one of the multiple parameters is contained in at least one of the one or more messages / frames, but not in each of the one or more messages / frames.

[0010] Many of the features presented are described as optional through the use of "may" or parentheses. For brevity and readability, this disclosure does not expressly describe all possible combinations that can be obtained by selecting from a set of optional features. This disclosure should be construed as expressly disclosing all such modifications. For example, a system described as having three optional features can be embodied in seven ways: by just one of the three possible features, by any two of the three possible features, or by three of the three possible features.

[0011] Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments can be implemented as modules, where a module is defined as an element that performs a defined function and has a defined interface to other elements. Modules described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software combined with hardware, firmware, wetware (e.g., hardware with biological elements), or a combination thereof, and they may be behaviorally equivalent. For example, a module may be implemented in a hardware machine (such as C, C++, Fortran, Java®, Basic, Matlab®) or in software routines written in a computer language configured to run in a modeling / simulation program such as Simulink, Stateflow, GNU Octave, or LabVIEWMathScript. It may also be possible to implement modules using physical hardware that incorporates discrete or programmable analog, digital, and / or quantum hardware. Examples of programmable hardware include computers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and complex-programmable logic devices (CPLDs). Computers, microcontrollers, and microprocessors are programmed using languages ​​such as assembly, C, and C++. FPGAs, ASICs, and CPLDs are often programmed using hardware description languages ​​(HDLs) such as VHSIC (VHDL) or Verilog, which constitute connections between internal hardware modules with limited functionality in the programmable device. These techniques are often used in combination to achieve the results of the functional modules.

[0012] Figure 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary wireless communication network may include an infrastructure network 102 of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WLAN). The WLAN infrastructure network 102 may include one or more basic service sets (BSSs) 110 and 120, as well as a distribution system (DS) 130.

[0014] BSSs 110-1 and 110-2 each include a set of an access point (AP or AP STA) and at least one station (STA or non-AP STA). For example, BSS 110-1 includes AP 104-1 and STA 106-1, and BSS 110-2 includes AP 104-2 and STAs 106-2 and 106-3. The AP and at least one STA within a BSS perform an association procedure for communicating with each other.

[0015] DS 130 may be configured to connect BSS 110-1 and BSS 110-2. Thus, DS 130 may enable an extended service set (ESS) 150. Within ESS 150, APs 104-1 and 104-2 may be connected via DS 130 and may have the same service set identifier (SSID).

[0016] The WLAN infrastructure network 102 may be coupled to one or more external networks. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the WLAN infrastructure network 102 may be connected to another network 108 (e.g., 802.X) via a portal 140. The portal 140 may function as a bridge that connects the DS 130 of the WLAN infrastructure network 102 to the other network 108.

[0017] The exemplary wireless communication network shown in FIG. 1 may further include one or more ad hoc networks or independent basic service sets (IBSSs). An ad hoc network or IBSS is a network that includes a plurality of STAs within each other's communication range. The plurality of STAs are configured to communicate with each other using direct peer-to-peer communication (i.e., not via an AP).

[0018] For example, in FIG. 1, STAs 106-4, 106-5, and 106-6 may be configured to form a first IBSS 112-1. Similarly, STAs 106-7 and 106-8 may be configured to form a second IBSS 112-2. Since an IBSS does not include an AP, it does not include a centralized management entity. Rather, the STAs within an IBSS are managed in a decentralized manner. The STAs forming an IBSS may be fixed or mobile.

[0019] An STA as a given functional medium may include a medium access control (MAC) layer compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard. A physical layer interface for the wireless medium may be used between an AP and a non-AP station (STA). An STA may also be referred to using various other terms, including a mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile subscriber unit, or a user. For example, the term "user" may be used to indicate an STA involved in uplink multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU MIMO), and / or uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

[0020] A Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) can be a composite structure containing a payload in the form of a PHY preamble and a PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU). For example, a PSDU may contain a PHY preamble and a header and / or one or more MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs). The information provided in the PHY preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode the subsequent data in the PSDU. When a PPDU is transmitted over bonded channels (channels formed via channel bonding), the preamble fields may be duplicated and transmitted in each of the multiple component channels. A PHY preamble may contain both a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). The legacy preamble may be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, among other applications. The legacy preamble may also be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format, coding, and information provided for the non-legacy portion of the preamble are based on the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol used to transmit the payload.

[0021] A frequency band may include one or more subbands or frequency channels. For example, a PPDU conforming to modifications of the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and / or 802.11be standards may be transmitted across the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and / or 6 GHz bands, each of which may be divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. A PPDU may be transmitted over a physical channel with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz. Larger channels may be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be transmitted over a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0022] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing exemplary implementations of STA 210 and AP 260. As shown in Figure 2, STA 210 may include at least one processor 220, memory 230, and at least one transceiver 240. AP 260 may include at least one processor 270, memory 280, and at least one transceiver 290. Processors 220 / 270 may be operably connected to memory 230 / 280 and / or transceivers 240 / 290.

[0023] The processor 220 / 270 may implement the functions of the PHY layer, MAC layer, and / or logic link control (LLC) layer of the corresponding device (STA 210 or AP 260). The processor 220 / 270 may include one or more processors and / or one or more controllers. The one or more processors and / or one or more controllers may include, for example, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a logic circuit, or a chipset.

[0024] Memory 230 / 280 may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and / or other storage units. Memory 230 / 280 may include one or more non-temporary computer-readable media. Memory 230 / 280 may store computer program instructions or code that can be executed by the processor 220 / 270 to perform one or more of the operations / embodiments considered in this application. Memory 230 / 280 may be implemented (or positioned) within or outside the processor 220 / 270. Memory 230 / 280 may be operably connected to the processor 220 / 270 by various means known in the art.

[0025] The transceivers 240 / 290 may be configured to transmit / receive radio signals. In one embodiment, the transceivers 240 / 290 may implement the PHY layer of the corresponding device (STA 210 or AP 260). In one embodiment, the STA 210 and / or AP 260 may be multilink devices (MLDs), i.e., devices that can operate on multiple links as defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard. Thus, the STA 210 and / or AP 260 may each implement multiple PHY layers. Multiple PHY layers may be implemented using one or more of the transceivers 240 / 290.

[0026] Figure 3 shows an exemplary network 300 including a cooperative AP set. As shown in Figure 3, the cooperative AP set may include two APs, namely AP302-1 and AP302-2. At least one STA may be associated with each of AP302-1 and AP302-2. For example, STA304-1 may be associated with AP302-1, and STA304-2 may be associated with AP302-2.

[0027] AP302-1 and 302-2 may belong to the same ESS as those shown in Figure 1 above. In such cases, AP302-1 and 302-2 may be connected by a DS to support ESS features. Furthermore, as part of a coordinated AP set, AP302-1 and 302-2 may be connected by backhaul. Backhaul is used to quickly share information between APs to support coordinated transmission. Shared information may be channel status information or data to be sent to the relevant STA. Backhaul can be wired backhaul or wireless backhaul. Wired backhaul is preferred for high-capacity information transfer without burdening the AP's primary radio. However, wired backhaul may require higher deployment costs and impose greater constraints on AP placement. Wireless backhaul is preferred due to its lower deployment costs and flexibility regarding AP placement. However, because wireless backhaul relies on the AP's primary radio to transfer information, APs cannot transmit or receive any data while wireless backhaul is in use.

[0028] Typically, one of AP302-1 and 302-2 may act as the master AP, and the other as the slave AP. The master AP is the AP that owns the TXOP. The master AP shares frequency resources with the slave APs during the TXOP. If there are more than two APs in the coordinating set, the master AP may share its TXOP with only a subset of the coordinating AP set. The role of the master AP may change over time. For example, the master AP role may be assigned to a particular AP over a period of time. Similarly, the slave AP role may be dynamically selected by the master AP or pre-assigned over a period of time.

[0029] Spatial reuse (SR) with AP coordination across multiple BSSs (known as Coordinated Spatial Reuse (CSR)) can be more stable than non-AP-coordinated spatial reuse schemes such as overlapping basic service set (OBSS) packet detection (PD)-based SR and parameterized spatial reuse (PSR)-based SR. For example, in Example 300, APs 302-1 and 302-2 may perform a joint sounding operation to measure path loss (PL) on the path in network 300. For example, the joint sounding operation may result in measurements of PL 308 for the path between APs 302-1 and 302-2, path loss 310 for the path between APs 302-1 and STA 304-2, and path loss 312 for the path between APs 302-2 and STA 304-1. Next, the measured path loss information may be shared between AP302-1 and 302-2 (e.g., using backhaul) to enable simultaneous transmissions by AP302-1 and 302-2 to their respective associated STA304-1 and 304-2. Specifically, one of AP302-1 and 302-2 acquires a TXOP to become the master AP. The master AP may then transmit a CSR announcement frame to the other AP(s). In one embodiment, before transmitting the CSR announcement frame, the master AP may perform a polling operation to poll the slave APs regarding the availability of packets for transmission. If at least one slave AP responds indicating packet availability, the master AP may proceed to transmit the CSR announcement frame. In the CSR announcement, the master AP may limit the transmit power of the slave APs to protect their own transmissions to their target STAs. The slave APs may similarly protect their own transmissions to their target STAs by selecting a modulation scheme that allows for a sufficiently high signal interference ratio (SIR) margin to support interference from the master AP's transmissions to their target STAs.

[0030] Figure 4 shows an example including buffer status reporting by the STA, scheduling of uplink multi-user (MU) transmissions by the AP, and transmission of scheduled uplink transmissions by the STA.

[0031] As shown, an AP may request one or more associated STAs (STA 1 and STA 2) for a buffer status by sending a Buffer Status Report Polling (BSRP) trigger frame. Upon receiving a BSRP trigger frame, STA 1 and / or STA 2 may each generate a trigger-based (TB)PPDU if the BSRP trigger frame contains the 12 LSBs of the STA's AID in the User Information field.

[0032] STA 1 and / or STA 2 may each contain one or more QoS null frames within the TB PPDU. One or more QoS null frames may contain one or more QoS control fields or one or more BSR control subfields.

[0033] As mentioned above, the QoS control field may include a queue size subfield for a traffic identifier (TID) that has a queue size for the STA to report to the AP. For example, as shown in Figure 4, STA 1 may respond to a BSRP trigger frame from the AP by sending an A-MPDU containing multiple QoS null frames. Each QoS null frame indicates the queue size for its respective TID, e.g., TID 0 and TID 2, in its respective QoS control field. Similarly, STA 2 may respond to a BSRP trigger frame by sending an MPDU containing a QoS null frame indicating the queue size for TID 2 in its QoS control field.

[0034] The BSR control subfield may include a queue size full subfield indicating the queue size of the AC as shown by the ACI bitmap subfield, so that the STA has the queue size to report to the AP when the AP indicates support for receiving the BSR control subfield. The STA sets the delta TID, scaling factor, ACI high, and queue size high subfields of the BSR control subfield.

[0035] Upon receiving BSRs from STA 1 and STA 2, the AP may send a basic trigger frame to allocate UL resources to STA 1 and STA 2. The trigger frame may have a format as described later with reference to Figure 5. In MU-OFDMA, the UL resources allocated to STA1 and STA2 include different (non-overlapping) sets of frequency subcarriers (or tones). In response, STA 1 may send a TB PPDU containing QoS data frames with TID 0 and TID 2, and STA 2 may send a TB PPDU containing one or more QoS data frames with TID 2. The AP may acknowledge the TB PPDUs sent from STA 1 and STA 2 by sending a multi-STA block Ack frame.

[0036] Figure 5 shows an exemplary trigger frame 500. Trigger frame 500 may correspond to a basic trigger frame as defined in the existing IEEE 802.11ax standard modifications. Trigger frame 500 may be used by an AP to allocate resources to one or more STAs and to request one or more TB PPDU transmissions from one or more STAs. Trigger frame 500 may also carry other information requested by the responding STA to send a TB PPDU to the AP.

[0037] As shown in Figure 5, the trigger frame 500 includes a frame control field, a duration field, a receiver address (RA) field, a transmitter address (TA) field, a common information field, a user information field, a padding field, and an FCS field.

[0038] The frame control field includes subfields for protocol version, type, subtype, To DS, From DS, additional fragments, retry, power management, additional data, protected frame, and +HTC.

[0039] The duration field contains various values ​​depending on the frame type and subtype, as well as the QoS capabilities of the transmitting STA. For example, in a control frame of the Power-Saving Polling (PS-Poll) subtype, the duration field carries the association identifier (AID) of the STA that transmitted the frame in 14 least significant bits (LSBs), and both most significant bits (MSBs) are set to 1. In other frames transmitted by an STA, the duration field contains a duration value (in microseconds) used by the receiver to update the Network Allocation Vector (NAV).

[0040] The RA field is the address of the STA intended to receive incoming transmissions from the transmitting station. The TA field is the address of the STA-transmitted trigger frame 500 if the trigger frame 500 is addressed to an STA belonging to a single BSS. The TA field is the transmitted BSSID if the trigger frame 500 is addressed to an STA from at least two different BSSs of a set of multiple BSSIDs.

[0041] The common information field specifies the trigger frame type of trigger frame 500, the transmit power of trigger frame 500 in dBm, and several key parameters of the TB PPDU sent by the STA in response to trigger frame 500. The trigger frame type of the trigger frame used by the AP to receive QoS data using UL MU operation is called the basic trigger frame.

[0042] The user information field includes a user information field per STA addressed in trigger frame 500. The STA per-user information field includes, among other things, the AID subfield, the RU allocation subfield, the spatial stream (SS) allocation subfield, the MCS subfield used by the STA in the TB PPDU sent in response to trigger frame 500, and the trigger-dependent user information subfield. The trigger-dependent user information subfield i can be used by the AP to specify a preferred access category (AC) for each STA. The preferred AC sets the lowest priority AC traffic that can be sent by participating STAs. The AP determines a list of participating STAs, along with their BW, MCS, RU allocation, SS allocation, Tx power, preferred AC, and maximum duration of the TB PPDU per participating STA.

[0043] A padding field is optionally present within the trigger frame 500 to extend the frame length and give the recipient STA enough time to prepare a response for sending one SIFS after the frame is received. If a padding field is present, it is at least two octets long and set to 1 second.

[0044] The FCS field is used by the STA to validate the received frame and interpret specific fields from the frame's MAC header.

[0045] PSR-based SR is a spatial reuse mode that allows an STA to transmit within the duration of a trigger-based (TB) PPDU sent from the OBSS network. A TB PPDU is a PPDU transmitted by the STA in response to a trigger frame. The trigger frame can be a trigger frame (TF) variant control frame or any frame that has a trigger response scheduling (TRS) control subfield in its MAC header. Opportunities for PSR-based SR are identified by the reception of an inter-BSS PPDU containing a trigger frame.

[0046] Transmits using PSR-based SR are controlled in terms of transmit power and / or duration by the STA that transmits the trigger frame. The STA can dynamically specify an acceptable level of interference for each TB PPDU required by the trigger frame.

[0047] In the case of an STA, a PSR-based SR opportunity is identified if the following two conditions are met: Condition 1) The STA receives a Parameterized Space Reuse Receive (PSRR) PPDU (identified as a BSS-to-BSS PPDU, including TF), and Condition 2) The STA has a PPDU queued to transmit, and the intended transmit power of the PPDU (hereinafter referred to as the PSR transmit PPDU (PSRT PPDU)) at dBm, minus log10(PPDU_BW / 20MHz)dB is below the power threshold PSRT_TXP, where PPDU_BW represents the MHz value of the bandwidth of the PSRR PPDU.

[0048] The power threshold PSRT_TXP can be obtained by subtracting either 1) the UL spatial reuse field of the TF contained in the PSRR PPDU (e.g., shown in the EHT spatial reuse 1 or 2 subfield of the TF as shown in Figure 4), or 2) the parameter PSR shown in the preamble of the TB PPDU following the PSRR PPDU (e.g., from parameter RPL). Parameter RPL may be equal to the combined transmit power at the receiving antenna connector across the PSRR PPDU bandwidth, in the non-HE or non-EHT portion of the PSRR PPDU preamble, averaged across all antennas used to receive the PSRR PPDU.

[0049] An STA that identifies a PSR-based SR opportunity may issue a reset to its PHY circuit to ignore (e.g., terminate its reception of) any TB PPDU triggered by a TF contained in a PSRR PPDU, provided that the BSS color of the TB PPDU matches the BSS color of the PSRR PPDU. An STA that identifies a PSR-based SR opportunity may not be permitted to transmit a PSRT PPDU that terminates beyond the duration of the TB PPDU triggered by a TF contained in a PSRR PPDU.

[0050] In the case of an STA, transmitting a PSRT PPDU may require the detection of the PHY header of the TB PPDU according to the identified PSRR PPDU. Therefore, the transmission of the PSRT PPDU can only be initiated after the TB PPDU has been transmitted by the STA in response to the TF contained in the PSRR PPDU. The transmission of the PSRT PPDU, and any corresponding acknowledgments, must also be terminated at the end of the transmission of the TB PPDU, or before the end of the transmission.

[0051] Figure 6 shows an example 600 of PSR-based SR operation. Example 600 includes AP S1, STA D1, STA / AP S2, and AP / STA D2. S1 and D1 may belong to different BSS (OBSS) than S2 and D2.

[0052] In Example 600, S1 transmits a PPDU 610 containing a trigger frame (TF) to D1 at time t1. In response, D1 may transmit a TB PPDU 620 at time t2. D1 may decode the spatial reuse subfield of the TF contained in the PPDU 610 and copy the value of the spatial reuse subfield in the universal signal field (U-SIG) of the TB PPDU 620.

[0053] S2 can hear the transmission of TB PPDU620 and identify a PSR opportunity based on TB PPDU620. Specifically, S2 can determine that PPDU610 is an inter-BSS PPDU (based on the BSS color information in the preamble of TB PPDU620), that PPDU610 contains a TF (i.e., PPDU610 is a parameterized space reuse receive (PSRR) PPDU for S2), and that the PSRT_TXP calculated based on PPDU610 is sufficient for S2 to transmit a PSRT PPDU. Thus, after S2's backoff count has decremented to 0, S2 can transmit PPDU630 to D2. PPDU630 is considered a PSRT PPDU. S2 sets the duration of PPDU630 short enough so that the expected BlockAck frame 640 from D2 can still be transmitted within the duration indicated in the common information field of the TF contained in PPDU610.

[0054] As described above, an AP can allocate UL resources to an STA(s) to send a TB PPDU(s) to the AP. UL resources can be allocated using the trigger frame described above. A trigger frame may indicate the duration and UL bandwidth of the requested TB PPDU(s), as well as the resource unit (RU) allocation to one or more STAs allocated by the trigger frame. An RU allocation to a given STA may contain one or more RUs. This may depend on the UL bandwidth of the requested TB PPDU, and / or whether the UL bandwidth is shared by multiple STAs (e.g., MU OFDMA). The size of an RU is defined by the number of tones (subcarriers) within the RU. The IEEE 802.11 standard defines different RU types ranging in size from 26 tones (26-tone RU) to 996 tones (996-tone RU). Table 27-6 of the IEEE 802.11 standard (IEEE P802.11-REVme / D2.1, January 2023) provides the maximum number of RUs that a PPDU (e.g., TB PPDU or SU / MU PPDU) can have as a function of the PPDU's bandwidth and the RU types used in the PPDU. Note that MU PPDUs used in MU OFDMA may carry a mixture of RU types.

[0055] Tables 27-7, 27-8, and 27-9 of the IEEE 802.11 standard provide RU indices and subcarrier ranges for different RU type and PPDU bandwidth combinations. For example, for a 52-tone RU and a 20 MHz PPDU bandwidth, the PPDU may have four indexed RUs: RU1, RU2, RU3, and RU4. RU1 corresponds to the subcarrier range [-121:-70], RU2 to the subcarrier range [-68:-17], RU3 to the subcarrier range [17:68], and RU4 to the subcarrier range [70:121]. For example, an assignment including RU1, RU2, RU3, and RU4 may be shown in Figure 7. As shown, RU1, RU2, RU3, and RU4 each contain a continuous set of tones across their respective portions of the PPDU bandwidth. Each portion of the PPDU bandwidth covered by different RUs does not overlap and can be separated from one or more null tones. If a PPDU contains a single RU, the set of tones from the RU will cover the entire PPDU bandwidth.

[0056] The existing IEEE 802.11 standard defines only RUs that contain a set of consecutive tones (for example, as shown in Figure 7). These RUs are hereafter referred to as non-distributed RUs. U.S. Patent No. 11,044,057 proposes RUs called distributed RUs, which contain a set of discontinuous tones that spread across the PPDU bandwidth. An exemplary assignment of distributed RUs is shown in Figure 8. As shown, rather than an RU consisting of a set of consecutive tones that cover only each portion of the PPDU bandwidth, a distributed RU contains a set of discontinuous tones that can spread across the entire PPDU bandwidth.

[0057] Spreading RUs across the entire PPDU bandwidth significantly reduces the power spectral density (PSD) of the PPDU. This can allow the device transmitting the PPDU (e.g., AP or STA) to operate in spectral portions with stricter PSD requirements. For example, extended unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band enables operation over an additional 1.2 GHz bandwidth (operating bands U-NII-5 (5.925–6.425 GHz), U-NII-6 (6.425–6.525 GHz), U-NII-7 (6.525–6.875 GHz), and U-NII-8 (6.875–7.125 GHz)) under low-power indoor (LPI) PSD requirements (5 dBm / MHz for APs and -1 dBm / MHz for STAs). Alternatively, or additionally, a device may increase the transmit power of its PPDU by taking advantage of the lower PSD resulting from the use of distributed RUs. This can be particularly useful in UL MU OFDMA, as it allows each transmission STA to boost its transmit power, resulting in higher receive power for all tones and significantly enhanced overall spectral efficiency.

[0058] Figure 9 shows an example 900 of operation using distributed RUs. As shown in Figure 9, Example 900 includes AP902 and 908, as well as STA904, 906, and 918. AP902 may belong to a first BSS. STA904 and 906 may be associated with AP902 and therefore may belong to a first BSS. AP908 may belong to a second BSS different from the first BSS. STA918 may be associated with AP908 and therefore may belong to a second BSS. The first and second BSSs may operate on the same channel(s) and may have overlapping coverage areas. In Example 900, it is assumed that AP902 and STA904 and 906 belong to an overlapping BSS (OBSS) with respect to AP908. Therefore, in Example 900, AP902, STA904, and STA906 are referred to as OBSS AP902, OBSS STA904, and OBSS STA906, respectively.

[0059] Embodiment 900 may begin with an OBSS AP902 sending a trigger frame 910. Trigger frame 910 may be similar to trigger frame 500. In Embodiment 900, trigger frame 910 may request uplink MU transmission from OBSS STA 904 and 906, as described above in Figure 4. Uplink MU transmission may include simultaneous transmission of TB PPDU 912 and 914 by OBSS STA 904 and 906. Uplink MU transmission may be associated with the frequency channel bandwidth on which TB PPDU 912 and 914 are transmitted. Thus, trigger frame 910 may include RU allocation to OBSS STA 904 and 906 for transmission of TB PPDU 912 and 914 to OBSS AP902. RU allocation may assign one or more distributed RUs to each of OBSS STA 904 and 906. In Example 900, the RU allocation may be such that the first distributed RU (dRU1) is assigned to OBSS STA904 and the second distributed RU (dRU2) is assigned to OBSS STA906. dRU1 and dRU2 may be as illustrated in Figure 8 above. Specifically, each of dRU1 and dRU2 may include a discontinuous set of tones that can extend across the entire frequency channel bandwidth associated with the uplink MU transmission.

[0060] In response to the trigger frame 910, OBSS STAs 904 and 906 may transmit TB PPDUs 912 and 914, respectively. In one example, as shown in Figure 9, TB PPDUs 912 and 914 may each include a non-distributed resource portion (non-dRU portion) and a distributed resource portion (dRU portion). The non-dRU portion of TB PPDU 912 (or TB PPDU 914) may include the preamble portion of TB PPDU 912 (or TB PPDU 914). The dRU portion of TB PPDU 912 (or TB PPDU 914) may include the data portion (including data fields) of TB PPDU 912 (or TB PPDU 914). In one embodiment, TB PPDUs 912 and 914 may be ultra-high reliability (UHR) TB PPDUs used by UHR devices in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. In one embodiment, TB PPDU 912 and 914 may have the form shown by TB PPDU 1004, which will be further described with respect to Figure 10. The non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU 912 (or TB PPDU 914) may correspond, for example, to the non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU 1004, respectively.

[0061] In one example, the dRU portions of TB PPDU912 and 914 may be transmitted via dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, as indicated by trigger frame 910. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU912 (and / or TB PPDU914) may be transmitted via one or more undistributed RUs. One or more undistributed RUs may each correspond to one or more consecutive sets of resources, each covering one or more portions of the frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission. For example, one or more undistributed RUs may be as illustrated in Figure 7 above. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU912 and 914 may be transmitted via the same or frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In another embodiment, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU912 and 914 may be transmitted via different or non-frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In one example, trigger frame 910 may indicate one or more undistributed RUs for the transmission of the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU912 and 914. In another embodiment, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU912 and 914 may be transmitted across the entire frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission.

[0062] In one embodiment, since OBSS AP902 and OBSS STA904 and 906 belong to the OBSS for AP908, AP908 may hear one or more of the trigger frame 910 and TB PPDU912 and 914. In embodiment 900, AP908 may hear the trigger frame 910. Since the trigger frame 910 is assigned to the OBSS STA904 and 906 distributed RUs spread across the entire frequency channel bandwidth, AP908 cannot find any unused portion of the frequency channel bandwidth, according to existing AP behavior defined by the current IEEE 802.11 standard (as this can be done when the trigger frame 910 assigns only undistributed RUs to OBSS STA904 and 906). Thus, AP908 may choose not to access the radio medium simultaneously with uplink MU transmission (including TB PPDU912 and 914). Alternatively, AP908 may update its NAV based on trigger frame 910 and wait until the transmission of TB PPDUs 912 and 914 is complete before accessing the radio medium and attempting to send PPDU 916 to STA918. If PPDU 916 contains low-latency traffic, the transmission of the low-latency traffic may be delayed. Furthermore, the frequency channel bandwidth may not be fully utilized when only a few distributed RUs are allocated by trigger frame 910. Note that OBSS AP902 may avoid allocating multiple distributed RUs to the same STA, as such allocation would require the STA to reduce its transmit power by disabling one of the purposes for which it uses distributed RUs.

[0063] Figure 10 shows exemplary PPDUs 1002 and 1004 that can be used by UHR devices in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. Two UHR PPDUs, namely a UHR PPDU exemplified by UHR PPDU 1002 and a UHR trigger-based (TB) PPDU exemplified by UHR TB PPDU 1004, are illustrated in Figure 10.

[0064] A UHR PPDU1002 can be used to send to one or more users. When used to send to a single user, a UHR PPDU1002 is called a UHR Single User (SU) PPDU. When used to send to multiple users, a UHR PPDU1002 is called a UHR Multi-User (MU) PPDU. As shown in Figure 10, a UHR PPDU1002 includes a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), a legacy signaling field (L-SIG), a repeating legacy signaling field (RL-SIG), a universal signaling field (U-SIG), a UHR signaling field (UHR-SIG), a UHR short training field (UHR-STF), one or more UHR long training fields (UHR-LTF), a data field, and a packet extension (PE) field.

[0065] The L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and UHR-SIG fields may be referred to as pre-UHR modulated fields. The UHR-STF, one or more UHR-LTF, data, and PE fields may be referred to as UHR modulated fields. In one example, the pre-UHR modulated fields may be modulated / encoded / transmitted over non-distributed RUs and may be referred to as the non-dRU portion of the UHR PPDU1002. In one example, the UHR modulated fields may be modulated / encoded / transmitted over distributed RUs and may be referred to as the dRU portion of the UHR PPDU1002.

[0066] The UHR TB PPDU1004 can be used by the STA for transmission in response to a trigger frame from the AP. The trigger frame may be a trigger frame (TF) control frame, or any frame carrying the trigger response scheduling control subfield.

[0067] As shown in Figure 10, the UHR TB PPDU1004 includes L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, UHR-STF, one or more UHR-LTF, a data field, and a PE field. Note that, unlike the UHR PPDU1002, the UHR TB PPDU1004 does not have a UHR-SIG field. Furthermore, the duration of the UHR-STF in the UHR TB PPDU1004 is twice that of the UHR-STF in the UHR PPDU1002.

[0068] The L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, and U-SIG fields may be referred to as pre-UHR modulated fields. The UHR-STF, one or more UHR-LTF, data, and PE fields may be referred to as UHR modulated fields. In one example, the pre-UHR modulated fields may be modulated / encoded / transmitted over non-distributed RUs and may be referred to as the non-dRU portion of the UHR PPDU F1004. In one example, the UHR modulated fields may be modulated / encoded / transmitted over distributed RUs and may be referred to as the dRU portion of the UHR PPDU 1004.

[0069] Figure 11 shows another embodiment 1100 of operation using distributed RUs. As shown in Figure 11, embodiment 1100 includes AP1102 and 1108, as well as STA1104, 1106, and 1118. AP1102 may belong to a first BSS. STA1104 and 1106 may be associated with AP1102 and therefore may belong to a first BSS. AP1108 may belong to a second BSS different from the first BSS. STA1118 may be associated with AP1108 and therefore may belong to a second BSS. The first and second BSSs may operate on the same channel(s) and may have overlapping coverage areas. In embodiment 1100, it is assumed that AP1102 and STA1104 and 1106 belong to an overlapping BSS (OBSS) with respect to AP1108. Therefore, in Example 1100, AP1102, STA1104, and STA1106 are referred to as OBSS AP1102, OBSS STA1104, and OBSS STA1106, respectively.

[0070] Example 1100 may be initiated by OBSS AP 1102 sending trigger frame 1110. Trigger frame 1110 may be similar to trigger frame 500. In Example 1100, trigger frame 1110 may request uplink MU transmission from OBSS STA 1104 and 1106, as described above in Figure 4. Uplink MU transmission may include simultaneous transmission of TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 by OBSS STA 1104 and 1106. Uplink MU transmission may be associated with the frequency channel bandwidth on which TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 are transmitted. Thus, trigger frame 1110 may include RU allocation to OBSS STA 1104 and 1106 for transmission of TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 to OBSS AP 1102. RU allocation may assign one or more distributed RUs to each of OBSS STA 1104 and 1106. In Example 1100, the RU allocation can be such that the first distributed RU (dRU1) is assigned to OBSS STA1104 and the second distributed RU (dRU2) is assigned to OBSS STA1106. dRU1 and dRU2 can be as shown in Figure 8 above. Specifically, each of dRU1 and dRU2 may include a discontinuous set of tones that can span the entire frequency channel bandwidth associated with the uplink MU transmission.

[0071] In response to trigger frame 1110, OBSS STA 1104 and 1106 may transmit TB PPDU 1112 and 1114, respectively. In one example, as shown in Figure 11, TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 may each include a non-distributed resource portion (non-dRU portion) and a distributed resource portion (dRU portion). The non-dRU portion of TB PPDU 1112 (or TB PPDU 1114) may include the preamble portion of TB PPDU 1112 (or TB PPDU 1114). The dRU portion of TB PPDU 1112 (or TB PPDU 1114) may include the data portion (including data fields) of TB PPDU 1112 (or TB PPDU 1114). In one embodiment, TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 may be UHR TB PPDUs used by a UHR device in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. In one embodiment, TB PPDU1112 and 1114 may have the format exemplified by TB PPDU1004 described above in relation to Figure 10. The non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU1112 (or TB PPDU1114) may correspond, for example, to the non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU1004, respectively.

[0072] In one example, the dRU portions of TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 may be transmitted via dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, as indicated by trigger frame 1110. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1112 (and / or TB PPDU 1114) may be transmitted via one or more undistributed RUs. One or more undistributed RUs may each correspond to one or more consecutive sets of resources, each covering one or more portions of the frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission. For example, one or more undistributed RUs may be as illustrated in Figure 7 above. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 may be transmitted via the same or frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In another example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1112 and 1114 may be transmitted via different or non-frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In one example, trigger frame 1110 may indicate one or more undistributed RUs for the transmission of the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1112 and 1114.

[0073] In one embodiment, since OBSS AP1102 and OBSS STA1104 and 1106 belong to the OBSS relative to AP1108, AP1108 may hear one or more of the trigger frame 1110 and TB PPDU1112 and 1114. In embodiment 1100, AP1108 may hear the trigger frame 1110. As described above with respect to embodiment 900, if the trigger frame 1110 is assigned to the OBSS STA1104 and 1106 distributed RU that spans the entire frequency channel bandwidth, AP1108 cannot find any unused portion of the frequency channel bandwidth, according to existing AP behavior as defined by the current IEEE 802.11 standard. In embodiment 1100, AP1108 may choose to access the radio medium simultaneously with uplink MU transmissions (including TB PPDU1112 and 1114) by using a space reuse scheme. For example, AP1108 may transmit PSRT PPDU1116 to STA1118 using PSR-based SR as described above with respect to Figure 6. As described above in Figure 6, AP1108 may transmit PSRT PPDU1116 if two conditions are met, namely that the trigger frame 1110 is an interBSS PPDU containing the trigger frame and the transmit power of PSRT PPDU1116 is below the power threshold PSRT_TXP.

[0074] In Example 1100, it is assumed that two conditions are met and AP1108 transmits PSRT PPDU1116 to STA1118. According to the existing IEEE 802.11 standard, transmission of PSRT PPDU1116 may be performed over a non-distributed RU. A non-distributed RU may correspond to part or all of the frequency channel bandwidth. That is, as shown in Figure 11, PSRT PPDU1116 may not include a non-dRU portion transmitted over a non-distributed RU and a dRU portion transmitted over a distributed RU. Instead, the entire PSRT PPDU1116 (both the preamble and data portions of PSRT PPDU1116) is transmitted over a non-distributed RU.

[0075] The use of spatial reuse by AP1108 may enable early transmission of PSRT PPDU1116 and increase the efficiency of frequency channel bandwidth utilization. However, due to the transmission of TB PPDU1112 and 1114 on distributed RUs (dRU1 and dRU2), STA1118 may experience higher power density and a lower signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) on the tones associated with dRU1 and dRU2. Therefore, reception of PSRT PPDU1116 by STA1118 may fail.

[0076] Embodiments of this disclosure address the aforementioned problems of the existing technology, as will be further described below. In one embodiment, the embodiment allows a first AP (e.g., an OBSS AP) to share a second AP distributed RU that is not utilized / allocated by the first AP. The unused / unallocated distributed RU may be part of the frequency channel bandwidth of an uplink transmission requested by the first AP from one or more associated first STAs. The AP may transmit simultaneously with one or more first STAs, increasing the utilization efficiency of the frequency channel bandwidth. Transmission by the AP over the unused / unallocated distributed RU ensures an acceptable SINR at the receiving STA for all tones used by the transmission. Furthermore, the AP may benefit from using the distributed RU by reducing the PSD and / or increasing the transmit power of the transmission.

[0077] Figure 12 shows an example 1200 of operation using a distributed resource unit according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 12, Example 1200 includes AP1202 and 1208 and STA1204, 1206, and 1218. AP1202 may belong to a first BSS. STA1204 and 1206 may be associated with AP1202 and therefore may belong to a first BSS. AP1208 may belong to a second BSS different from the first BSS. STA1218 may be associated with AP1208 and therefore may belong to a second BSS. The first and second BSSs may operate on the same channel(s) and may have overlapping coverage areas. In Example 1200, it is assumed that AP1202 and STA1204 and 1206 belong to an overlapping BSS (OBSS) with respect to AP1208. Therefore, in Example 1200, AP1202, STA1204, and STA1206 are referred to as OBSS AP1202, OBSS STA1204, and OBSS STA1206, respectively. In one embodiment, AP1202 and 1208 are part of a cooperative AP set described in relation to Figure 3. For example, AP1202 may be the master AP of the cooperative AP set, and AP1208 may be the slave AP of the cooperative AP set.

[0078] Example 1200 may begin with OBSS AP1202 sending trigger frame 1210. Trigger frame 1210 may be similar to trigger frame 1400 described in relation to Figure 14 below. In Example 1200, trigger frame 1210 may request uplink MU transmissions from OBSS STA1204 and 1206, as described above in Figure 4. Uplink MU transmissions may include simultaneous transmissions of TB PPDU1212 and 1214 by OBSS STA1204 and 1206. Uplink MU transmissions may be associated with the frequency channel bandwidth on which TB PPDU1212 and 1214 are transmitted. Thus, trigger frame 1210 may include RU allocations to OBSS STA1204 and 1206 for transmission of TB PPDU1212 and 1214 to OBSS AP1202. RU allocations may assign one or more distributed RUs to each of OBSS STA1204 and 1206. In Example 1200, the RU allocation may be such that the first distributed RU (dRU1) is assigned to OBSS STA1204 and the second distributed RU (dRU2) is assigned to OBSS STA1206. dRU1 and dRU2 may be as illustrated in Figure 8 above. Specifically, each of dRU1 and dRU2 may include a discontinuous set of tones that may extend across the entire frequency channel bandwidth associated with the uplink MU transmission.

[0079] In one embodiment, in addition to assigning distributed RUs to OBSS STA1204 and 1206, the trigger frame 1210 may include an indication of whether distributed RU bandwidth sharing (e.g., by an OBSS AP) is enabled via the uplink MU transmission requested by the trigger frame 1210. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, the trigger frame 1210 may include a dRU bandwidth sharing field indicating whether distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, the dRU bandwidth sharing field may be provided in the common information field of the trigger frame 1210. For example, the dRU bandwidth sharing field may be provided in bit 53 (B53) of the common information field.

[0080] In one embodiment, when distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled in trigger frame 1210, trigger frame 1210 may explicitly indicate one or more distributed RUs available for sharing. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, trigger frame 1210 may explicitly indicate one or more distributed RUs available for sharing in each user information field of trigger frame 1210. For example, in addition to including the respective user information fields of OBSS STA 1204 and 1206 indicating dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, trigger frame 1210 may include one or more additional user information fields indicating one or more unassigned distributed RUs available for sharing. For example, the additional user information fields may indicate unassigned distributed RUs in the RU allocation fields (B12-B19) and indicate whether an unassigned distributed RU is available for sharing in the dRU bandwidth sharing field (e.g., B25). The AID12 field of the additional user information field may be set to a predetermined association identifier to indicate that the additional user information field is not assigned to a particular STA.

[0081] In another embodiment, trigger frame 1210 cannot explicitly indicate any distributed RUs available for sharing. Instead, when distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled in trigger frame 1210, it is assumed that any distributed RUs within the frequency channel bandwidth not allocated to trigger frame 1210 are available for sharing. In one embodiment, the available distributed RUs within the frequency channel bandwidth are associated with their respective indices. Thus, an STA or AP receiving trigger frame 1210 can determine which indices are the distributed RUs available for sharing that are not indicated in trigger frame 1210.

[0082] In Example 1200, it is assumed that distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled in trigger frame 1210. It is further assumed that trigger frame 1210 explicitly indicates an unallocated distributed RU, dRU3, available for sharing.

[0083] In response to trigger frame 1210, OBSS STA 1204 and 1206 may transmit TB PPDU 1212 and 1214, respectively. In one example, as shown in Figure 12, TB PPDU 1212 and 1214 may each include a non-distributed resource portion (non-dRU portion) and a distributed resource portion (dRU portion). The non-dRU portion of TB PPDU 1212 (or TB PPDU 1214) may include the preamble portion of TB PPDU 1212 (or TB PPDU 1214). The dRU portion of TB PPDU 1212 (or TB PPDU 1214) may include the data portion (including data fields) of TB PPDU 1212 (or TB PPDU 1214). In one embodiment, TB PPDU 1212 and 1214 may be UHR TB PPDUs used by a UHR device in accordance with the IEEE 802.12 standard. In one embodiment, TB PPDU1212 and 1214 may have the format exemplified by TB PPDU1004 described above in relation to Figure 10. The non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU1212 (or TB PPDU1214) may correspond, for example, to the non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU1004, respectively.

[0084] In one example, the dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 and 1214 may be transmitted via dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, as indicated by trigger frame 1210. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 (and / or TB PPDU1214) may be transmitted via one or more undistributed RUs. One or more undistributed RUs may each correspond to one or more consecutive sets of resources, each covering one or more portions of the frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission. For example, one or more undistributed RUs may be as illustrated in Figure 7 above. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 and 1214 may be transmitted via the same or frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In another embodiment, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 and 1214 may be transmitted via different or non-frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In one example, trigger frame 1210 may indicate one or more undistributed RUs for the transmission of the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 and 1214.

[0085] Upon receiving the trigger frame 1210, the AP1208 may determine whether distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled via the uplink MU transmission requested by the trigger frame 1210. In one embodiment, if distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled by the trigger frame 1210, the AP1208 may not update its NAV based on the trigger frame 1210. This allows the AP1208 to access the radio medium via the uplink MU transmission requested by the trigger frame 1210. In one embodiment, if distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled, the AP1208 may determine whether the trigger frame 1210 explicitly indicates one or more distributed RUs available for RU sharing.

[0086] In Example 1200, trigger frame 1210 indicates a third distributed RU (dRU3) available for sharing. AP1208 may choose to access the wireless medium simultaneously with uplink MU transmissions (including TB PPDUs 1212 and 1214) to transmit PPDU 1216 to STA1218 via dRU3. In one example, as shown in Figure 12, PPDU 1216 may include a non-distributed resource portion (non-dRU portion) and a distributed resource portion (dRU portion). The non-dRU portion of PPDU 1216 may include the preamble portion of PPDU 1216. The dRU portion of PPDU 1216 may include the data portion (including data fields) of PPDU 1216. In one embodiment, PPDU 1216 may be a UHR PPDU used by a UHR device in accordance with the IEEE 802.12 standard. In one embodiment, PPDU 1216 may have the format exemplified by PPDU 1002 described above in relation to Figure 10. The non-dRU portion and dRU portion of PPDU1216 may correspond, for example, to the non-dRU portion and dRU portion of PPDU1002, respectively.

[0087] In one example, the dRU portion of PPDU1216 may be transmitted via dRU3, as indicated by trigger frame 1210. In one example, the non-dRU portion of PPDU1216 may be transmitted via one or more undistributed RUs. One or more undistributed RUs may each correspond to one or more consecutive sets of resources, each covering one or more portions of the frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission. For example, one or more undistributed RUs may be as illustrated in Figure 7 above. In one example, the non-dRU portion of PPDU1216 may be transmitted via the same or frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs as the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 and / or TB PPDU1214. In such embodiments, OBSS AP1202 may control the transmit power used by OBSS STA1204 and / or OBSS STA1206 to transmit the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1212 and / or TB PPDU1214, respectively. In another embodiment, the non-dRU portion of PPDU1216 may be transmitted as the non-dRU portion of TB PPDU1212 and / or the non-dRU portion of TB PPDU1214 via different or non-frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In one example, trigger frame 1210 may indicate one or more undistributed RUs for transmission of the non-dRU portion of PPDU1216.

[0088] In one embodiment, AP1208 may transmit the dRU portion (including the data portion) of PPDU1216 using a first transmit power. In one embodiment, AP1208 may transmit the non-dRU portion (including the non-data portion) of PPDU1216 using a second transmit power. In one embodiment, the first transmit power is higher than the second transmit power. In one embodiment, AP1208 determines the second transmit power based on parameters shown in the trigger frame 1210.

[0089] The use of dRU3 by AP1208 enables early transmission of PPDU1216 and increases the efficiency of frequency channel bandwidth utilization. Furthermore, because dRU3 is orthogonal to both dRU1 and dRU2, the higher power per subcarrier used on dRU1 and dRU2 by OBSS STA1204 and 1206 does not affect the SINR of PPDU1216 in STA1218. Therefore, PPDU1216 can be successfully received by STA1218.

[0090] Figure 13 shows another embodiment 1300 of operation using a distributed resource unit according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 13, embodiment 1300 includes AP1302, 1308, and 1318 and STA1304 and 1306. AP1302 may belong to a first BSS. STA1304 and 1306 may be associated with AP1302 and therefore may belong to a first BSS. AP1308 and 1318 may belong to a second BSS and a third BSS, respectively, distinct from the first BSS. The first BSS, the second BSS, and the third BSS may operate on the same channel(s) and may have overlapping coverage areas. In embodiment 1300, it is assumed that AP1302 and STA1304 and 1306 belong to an overlapping BSS (OBSS) with respect to AP1308 or AP1318. Therefore, in Example 1300, AP1302, STA1304, and STA1306 are referred to as OBSS AP1302, OBSS STA1304, and OBSS STA1306, respectively. In one embodiment, AP1302, 1308, and 1318s are part of a cooperative AP set described in relation to Figure 3. For example, AP1302 may be the master AP of the cooperative AP set, and AP1308 and 1318 may be slave APs of the cooperative AP set.

[0091] Example 1300 may be initiated by OBSS AP1302 sending trigger frame 1310. Trigger frame 1310 may be similar to trigger frame 1400 described in relation to Figure 14 below. In Example 1300, trigger frame 1310 may request uplink MU transmissions from OBSS STA1304 and 1306, as described above in relation to Figure 4. Uplink MU transmissions may include simultaneous transmissions of TB PPDU1312 and 1314 by OBSS STA1304 and 1306. Uplink MU transmissions may be associated with the frequency channel bandwidth on which TB PPDU1312 and 1314 are transmitted. Thus, trigger frame 1310 may include RU allocations to OBSS STA1304 and 1306 for transmission of TB PPDU1312 and 1314 to OBSS AP1302. RU allocations may assign one or more distributed RUs to each of OBSS STA1304 and 1306. In Example 1300, the RU allocation may be such that the first distributed RU (dRU1) is assigned to OBSS STA1304 and the second distributed RU (dRU2) is assigned to OBSS STA1306. dRU1 and dRU2 may be as illustrated in Figure 8 above. Specifically, each of dRU1 and dRU2 may include a discontinuous set of tones that can extend across the entire frequency channel bandwidth associated with the uplink MU transmission.

[0092] In one embodiment, in addition to assigning distributed RUs to OBSS STA1304 and 1306, the trigger frame 1310 may include an indication of whether distributed RU bandwidth sharing (e.g., by an OBSS AP) is enabled via the uplink MU transmission requested by the trigger frame 1310. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, the trigger frame 1310 may include a dRU bandwidth sharing field indicating whether distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, the dRU bandwidth sharing field may be provided in the common information field of the trigger frame 1310. For example, the dRU bandwidth sharing field may be provided in bit 53 (B53) of the common information field.

[0093] In one embodiment, when distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled within trigger frame 1310, trigger frame 1310 may explicitly indicate one or more distributed RUs available for sharing. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, trigger frame 1310 may explicitly indicate one or more distributed RUs available for sharing in each user information field of trigger frame 1310. For example, in addition to including the respective user information fields of OBSS STA 1304 and 1306 indicating dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, trigger frame 1310 may include one or more additional user information fields indicating one or more unassigned distributed RUs available for sharing. For example, the additional user information fields may indicate unassigned distributed RUs in the RU assignment fields (B13-B19) and indicate whether an unassigned distributed RU is available for sharing in the dRU bandwidth sharing field (e.g., B25). The AID12 field of the additional user information field may be set to a predetermined association identifier to indicate that the additional user information field is not assigned to a particular STA. For example, an AID12 value of 2046 is used in the IEEE 802.11 standard to indicate unallocated RUs. Furthermore, values ​​in the range of 2008 to 2044 may be used to indicate unallocated RUs for the purpose of dRU bandwidth sharing.

[0094] In another embodiment, the trigger frame 1310 cannot explicitly indicate any distributed RUs available for sharing. Instead, when distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled in the trigger frame 1310, it is assumed that any distributed RUs within the frequency channel bandwidth not allocated to the trigger frame 1310 are available for sharing. In one embodiment, the available distributed RUs within the frequency channel bandwidth are associated with their respective indices. Thus, an STA or AP receiving the trigger frame 1310 can determine which indices are the distributed RUs not indicated in the trigger frame 1310 that are available for sharing.

[0095] In Example 1300, it is assumed that distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled in trigger frame 1310. It is further assumed that trigger frame 1310 explicitly indicates multiple unallocated distributed RUs (dRU3-9) available for sharing.

[0096] In response to trigger frame 1310, OBSS STA 1304 and 1306 may transmit TB PPDU 1312 and 1314, respectively. In one example, as shown in Figure 13, TB PPDU 1312 and 1314 may each include a non-distributed resource portion (non-dRU portion) and a distributed resource portion (dRU portion). The non-dRU portion of TB PPDU 1312 (or TB PPDU 1314) may include the preamble portion of TB PPDU 1312 (or TB PPDU 1314). The dRU portion of TB PPDU 1312 (or TB PPDU 1314) may include the data portion (including data fields) of TB PPDU 1312 (or TB PPDU 1314). In one embodiment, TB PPDU 1312 and 1314 may be UHR TB PPDUs used by a UHR device in accordance with the IEEE 802.13 standard. In one embodiment, TB PPDU 1312 and 1314 may have the format exemplified by TB PPDU 1004 described above in relation to Figure 10. The non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU 1312 (or TB PPDU 1314) may correspond, for example, to the non-dRU portion and dRU portion of TB PPDU 1004, respectively.

[0097] In one example, the dRU portions of TB PPDU 1312 and 1314 may be transmitted via dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, as indicated by trigger frame 1310. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1312 (and / or TB PPDU 1314) may be transmitted via one or more undistributed RUs. One or more undistributed RUs may each correspond to one or more consecutive sets of resources, each covering one or more portions of the frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission. For example, one or more undistributed RUs may be as illustrated in Figure 7 above. In one example, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1312 and 1314 may be transmitted via the same or frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In another embodiment, the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1312 and 1314 may be transmitted via different or non-frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In one example, trigger frame 1310 may indicate one or more undistributed RUs for the transmission of the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU 1312 and 1314.

[0098] Upon receiving the trigger frame 1310, AP1308 and / or AP1318 may determine whether distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled via the uplink MU transmission requested by the trigger frame 1310. In one embodiment, if distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled by the trigger frame 1310, AP1308 and / or AP1318 may not update their NAV based on the trigger frame 1310. This allows AP1308 and / or AP1318 to access the radio medium via the uplink MU transmission requested by the trigger frame 1310. In one embodiment, if distributed RU bandwidth sharing is enabled, AP1308 and / or AP1318 may determine whether the trigger frame 1310 explicitly indicates one or more distributed RUs available for RU sharing.

[0099] In Example 1300, trigger frame 1310 explicitly indicates multiple unassigned distributed RUs (dRU3-9) available for sharing. In one embodiment, AP1308 and / or AP1318 may access the radio medium simultaneously with uplink MU transmissions (including TB PPDUs 1312 and 1314) and choose to transmit each PPDU over one of the indicated multiple unassigned distributed RUs. In one embodiment, AP1308 and / or AP1318 may randomly select one of the indicated multiple unassigned distributed RUs for the transmission of each of their PPDUs. In Example 1300, AP1308 may randomly select dRU8 to transmit PPDU 1316, and AP1318 may randomly select dRU5 to transmit PPDU 1320.

[0100] In one example, as shown in Figure 13, PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320 may include a non-distributed resource portion (non-dRU portion) and a distributed resource portion (dRU portion). The non-dRU portion of PPDU1316 or PPDU1320 may include the preamble portion of PPDU1316 or PPDU1320. The dRU portion of PPDU1316 or PPDU1320 may include the data portion (including data fields) of PPDU1316 or PPDU1320. In one embodiment, PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320 may be UHR PPDUs used by a UHR device in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. In one embodiment, PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320 may have the format exemplified by PPDU1002 described above in relation to Figure 10. The non-dRU portion and dRU portion of PPDU1312 (or PPDU1314) may correspond, for example, to the non-dRU portion and dRU portion of PPDU1002, respectively.

[0101] For example, the dRU portion of PPDU1316 may be transmitted via dRU8, and the dRU portion of PPDU1320 may be transmitted via dRU5. For example, the non-dRU portions of PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320 may be transmitted via one or more undistributed RUs. One or more undistributed RUs may each correspond to one or more consecutive sets of resources, each covering one or more portions of the frequency channel bandwidth of the uplink MU transmission. For example, one or more undistributed RUs may be as illustrated in Figure 7 above. For example, the non-dRU portions of PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320 may be transmitted via the same or frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs as the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1312 and / or TB PPDU1314. In these embodiments, OBSS AP1302 can control the transmit power used by OBSS STA1304 and / or OBSS STA1306 to transmit the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1312 and / or TB PPDU1314, respectively. In another embodiment, the non-dRU portions of PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320 may be transmitted as the non-dRU portions of TB PPDU1312 and / or TB PPDU1314 via different or non-frequency-overlapping undistributed RUs. In one example, trigger frame 1310 may indicate one or more undistributed RUs for the transmission of the non-dRU portions of PPDU1316 and / or PPDU1320.

[0102] In one embodiment, AP1308 (or AP1318) may transmit the dRU portion (including the data portion) of PPDU1316 (or PPDU1320) using a first transmit power. In one embodiment, AP1308 (or AP1318) may transmit the non-dRU portion (including the non-data portion) of PPDU1316 (or PPDU1320) using a second transmit power. In one embodiment, the first transmit power is higher than the second transmit power. In one embodiment, AP1308 (or AP1318) determines the second transmit power based on parameters shown in the trigger frame 1310.

[0103] The use of dRU5 by AP1308 and dRU8 by AP1318 enables early transmission of PPDU1316 and 1320, increasing the efficiency of frequency channel bandwidth utilization. Furthermore, since dRU5 and dRU8 are orthogonal to both dRU1 and dRU2, respectively, the higher power per subcarrier used across dRU1 and dRU2 by OBSS STA1304 and 1306 does not affect the SINR of PPDU1316 and 1320 at their respective receiving STAs. Thus, PPDU1316 and 1320 can be successfully received by receiving their respective STAs.

[0104] Figure 15 shows an exemplary process 1500 according to one embodiment. The exemplary process 1500 may be carried out in a first STA (AP STA or non-AP STA). The first STA may belong to a first BSS. The first BSS may overlap in coverage areas within a second BSS. The second BSS may be considered an OBSS with respect to the first STA. As shown in Figure 15, the exemplary process 1500 may include steps 1502 and 1504.

[0105] Step 1502 includes the first STA receiving a trigger frame from the OBSS AP that allocates a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth. The OBSS AP may be the AP of a second BSS. The trigger frame may be similar to the trigger frame 1400 described in relation to Figure 14 above. The trigger frame may request an uplink transmission from one or more OBSS STAs. The uplink transmission may include one or more TB PPDUs transmitted by one or more OBSS STAs. The frequency channel bandwidth may correspond to the frequency channel bandwidth associated with the uplink transmission of one or more TB PPDUs transmitted by one or more OBSS STAs. The trigger frame may allocate the first distributed resource unit to a second STA associated with the OBSS AP. The first distributed resource unit may include a set of discontinuous tones spread across the frequency channel bandwidth.

[0106] In one embodiment, the trigger frame indicates whether distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame.

[0107] In one embodiment, process 1500 may further include determining by a first STA whether distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame. In one embodiment, if distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame, process 1500 may further include determining a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame.

[0108] In one embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is indicated in the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is provided in the user information field of the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the user information field is associated with a predetermined association identifier. The predetermined association identifier does not correspond to the association identifier of the STA associated with the OBSS AP.

[0109] In one embodiment, the trigger frame explicitly indicates one or more unallocated distributed resource units available for distributed resource unit band sharing. In one embodiment, process 1500 may further include selecting one of the indicated one or more distributed resource units as a second distributed resource unit. In one embodiment, determining the second distributed resource unit includes randomly selecting one of a plurality of indicated distributed resource units as the second distributed resource unit.

[0110] In another embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is not shown in the trigger frame. In one embodiment, determining the second distributed resource unit may include determining the unassigned distributed resource unit based on the distributed resource units assigned to the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the available distributed resource units within the frequency channel bandwidth are associated with their respective indices, and determining the second distributed resource unit may include determining which indices are the distributed resource units that are not shown in the trigger frame.

[0111] In one embodiment, if distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by a trigger frame, process 1500 may further include resetting (or not updating) the NAV set based on the trigger frame by a first STA. Resetting the NAV by the first STA may include resetting the NAV set to zero based on the trigger frame.

[0112] In one embodiment, if distributed resource unit band sharing is not enabled by a trigger frame, process 1500 may further include setting up a NAV based on the trigger frame by a first STA.

[0113] Step 1504 includes the first STA transmitting the data portion (including the data fields) of the first PPDU via a second distributed resource unit not allocated by the trigger frame.

[0114] In one embodiment, process 1500 may further include transmitting the non-data portion (e.g., including a preamble but not data) of the first PPDU through a non-distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth. The non-distributed resource unit may include one or more 20 MHz subchannels within the frequency channel bandwidth.

[0115] In one embodiment, transmitting the data portion of the first PPDU via a second distributed resource unit includes transmitting the data portion of the first PPDU using a first transmit power. In one embodiment, transmitting the non-data portion of the first PPDU via a non-distributed resource unit includes transmitting the non-data portion of the first PPDU via a second transmit power. In one embodiment, the first transmit power is higher than the second transmit power. In one embodiment, the second transmit power is determined based on parameters indicated by the trigger frame.

[0116] In one embodiment, the non-data portion of the first PPDU overlaps with the non-data portion (e.g., preamble) of the second PPDU transmitted by the second STA.

[0117] In one embodiment, the data portion of the first PPDU is transmitted simultaneously with the data portion of the second PPDU transmitted by the second STA via the first distributed resource unit.

[0118] Figure 16 shows another exemplary process 1600 according to one embodiment. The exemplary process 1600 may be carried out in a first STA (e.g., a non-AP STA). The first STA may belong to a first BSS. The first BSS may overlap in coverage areas within a second BSS. The second BSS may be considered an OBSS with respect to the first STA. As shown in Figure 16, the exemplary process 1600 may include steps 1602, 1604, and 1606.

[0119] Step 1602 includes the first station (STA) receiving a trigger frame from the first access point (AP) that allocates a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth to the second STA. The first AP may be the AP of the second BSS (OBSS AP). The trigger frame may be similar to the trigger frame 1400 described in relation to Figure 14 above. The trigger frame may request an uplink transmission from one or more OBSS STAs, including the second STA. The uplink transmission may include one or more TB PPDUs transmitted by one or more OBSS STAs. The frequency channel bandwidth may correspond to the frequency channel bandwidth associated with the uplink transmission in which one or more TB PPDUs are transmitted by one or more OBSS STAs. The first distributed resource unit may include a set of discontinuous tones spread across the frequency channel bandwidth.

[0120] In one embodiment, the trigger frame indicates whether distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame. In one embodiment, process 1600 may further include determining by a first STA whether distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame.

[0121] Step 1604 includes the first STA determining, based on the trigger frame, a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame.

[0122] In one embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is indicated in the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is provided in the user information field of the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the user information field is associated with a predetermined association identifier. The predetermined association identifier does not correspond to the association identifier of the STA associated with the OBSS AP.

[0123] In one embodiment, the trigger frame explicitly indicates one or more unallocated distributed resource units available for distributed resource unit band sharing.

[0124] In another embodiment, the second distributed resource unit is not shown in the trigger frame. In one embodiment, determining the second distributed resource unit may include determining the unassigned distributed resource unit based on the distributed resource units assigned to the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the available distributed resource units within the frequency channel bandwidth are associated with their respective indices, and determining the second distributed resource unit may include determining which indices are the distributed resource units that are not shown in the trigger frame.

[0125] In one embodiment, if distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by a trigger frame, process 1600 may further include resetting (or not updating) the NAV set based on the trigger frame by a first STA. Resetting the NAV by the first STA may include resetting the NAV set to zero based on the trigger frame.

[0126] In one embodiment, if distributed resource unit band sharing is not enabled by a trigger frame, process 1600 may further include setting up a NAV based on the trigger frame by a first STA.

[0127] Step 1606 includes the first STA receiving the data portion of a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) from the second AP via a second distributed resource unit. The second AP may be the AP to which the first STA is associated.

[0128] In one embodiment, process 1600 may further include receiving the non-data portion of the PPDU via a non-distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth. The non-distributed resource unit may include one or more 20 MHz subchannels within the frequency channel bandwidth. The non-data portion of the PPDU may overlap with the non-data portion of a second PPDU transmitted by the second STA. The data portion of the second PPDU may be transmitted via the first distributed resource unit assigned to the trigger frame.

[0129] In one embodiment, the first received power of the data portion of the PPDU (received via a second distributed resource unit) is higher than the second received power of the non-data portion of the PPDU (received via a non-distributed resource unit).

Claims

1. The first station (STA) receives a trigger frame from overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) access points (APs) to allocate a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth, The first STA determines, based on the trigger frame, a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame, The first STA transmits a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the physical layer protocol data unit, Non-data portion via non-distributed resource units, and A method comprising: a data portion transmitted via the second distributed resource unit, wherein the transmission power of the data portion is higher than the transmission power of the non-data portion.

2. The first station (STA) receives a trigger frame from overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) access points (APs) to allocate a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth, The first STA transmits the data portion of the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) via a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame, Methods that include...

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second distributed resource unit is shown in the user information field of the trigger frame.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the user information field is associated with a predetermined association identifier.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein transmitting the data portion of the first PPDU via the second distributed resource unit includes transmitting the data portion of the first PPDU using the first transmit power.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising transmitting the non-data portion of the first PPDU via non-distributed resource units within the frequency channel bandwidth using the first STA.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein transmitting the non-data portion of the first PPDU via the non-distributed resource unit includes transmitting the non-data portion of the first PPDU via a second transmit power.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first transmission power is higher than the second transmission power.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the trigger frame assigns the first distributed resource unit to a second STA associated with the OBSS AP.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the data portion of the first PPDU is transmitted simultaneously with the data portion of the second PPDU transmitted by the second STA via the first distributed resource unit.

11. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 10, wherein the trigger frame indicates whether distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame.

12. The distributed resource unit band sharing is activated by the trigger frame, and the method The first STA determines the second distributed resource unit based on the trigger frame, The method according to claim 11, further comprising resetting the network allocation vector (NAV) set based on the trigger frame using the first STA.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the trigger frame indicates a plurality of distributed resource units not assigned by the trigger frame, and determining the second distributed resource unit includes randomly selecting one of the plurality of distributed resource units as the second distributed resource unit.

14. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 13, wherein the first STA includes an AP, and the first AP and the OBSS AP are included in a cooperative AP set.

15. It is a method, The first station (STA) receives a trigger frame from the first access point (AP) that allocates a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth to the second STA, The first STA determines, based on the trigger frame, a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame, A method comprising the first STA receiving the data portion of a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from a second AP via the second distributed resource unit.

16. It is a method, The first station (STA) receives a trigger frame from the first access point (AP) that allocates a first distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth to the second STA, A method comprising: the first STA receiving a data portion of a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) via a second distributed resource unit within the frequency channel bandwidth that is not allocated by the trigger frame.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the second distributed resource unit is indicated in the trigger frame.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the second distributed resource unit is provided in the user information field of the trigger frame.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the user information field is associated with a predetermined association identifier.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the first received power of the data portion of the PPDU is higher than the second received power of the first non-data portion of the PPDU.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the first non-data portion of the PPDU overlaps with the second non-data portion of the second PPDU transmitted by the second STA.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein the second STA is associated with the first AP.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, further comprising receiving the non-data portion of the PPDU via non-distributed resource units within the frequency channel bandwidth using the first STA.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the trigger frame indicates whether distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame.

25. The distributed resource unit band sharing is activated by the trigger frame, and the method The first STA determines the second distributed resource unit based on the trigger frame, The method according to claim 24, further comprising resetting the network assignment vector (NAV) set based on the trigger frame using the first STA.

26. The method according to claim 24, further comprising determining by the first STA whether the distributed resource unit band sharing is enabled by the trigger frame.

27. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 26, wherein the first AP includes overlapping basic service set (OBSS) APs.

28. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 27, wherein the first STA is associated with a second AP, and the first AP and the second AP are included in a cooperative AP set.

29. It is a device, One or more processors, A device comprising: a memory that stores instructions causing the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28 when executed by the one or more processors.

30. A non-temporary computer-readable medium that, when executed by one or more processors, includes instructions causing one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

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