Back-to-back transmission via multi-hop relay paths using flow-specific resource reservations

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, components, devices, and systems for back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations. Some embodiments relate, in more detail, to flow-specific transmit opportunity (TXOP) sharing and / or orthogonal channel reservations in combination with a flow-specific sequence of time slots. In implementations in which flow-specific TXOP sharing is employed in combination with a flow-specific sequence of time slots, one or more wireless communication devices may determine whether a shared TXOP replaces a flow-specific sequence of time slots, depending on whether the shared TXOP is associated with the same flow as the sequence of time slots. In implementations in which orthogonal channel reservations are employed in combination with a flow-specific sequence of time slots, each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path may receive or be configured with an indication of a frequency channel to transmit through.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] (Cross-reference)

[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 344,011, filed on June 29, 2023, by KATAR et al., titled "BACK-TO-BACK TRANSMISSIONS VIA A MULTI-HOP RELAY PATH USING FLOW-SPECIFIC RESOURCE RESERVATION", which has been assigned to the assignee of this application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002]

[0002] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to back-to-back transmissions via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation.

Background Art

[0003]

[0003] A wireless local area network (WLAN) may be formed by one or more wireless access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by a plurality of client devices, also referred to as wireless stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN compliant with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a basic service set (BSS) managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID) advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the wireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0004] Each of the systems, methods, and devices of this disclosure has several inventive aspects, and no single aspect thereof alone represents any of the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0005]

[0005] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled to one or more memories. The one or more processors may, individually or collectively, cause the first wireless communication device to receive information associated with a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, transmit data associated with traffic flows during a transmit opportunity of the first wireless communication device, indicate a shared transmit opportunity with a second wireless communication device on a multi-hop relay path, and transmit frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows, according to a transmit opportunity that at least partially overlaps with the sequence of time slots.

[0006]

[0006] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device. The method may include receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path; transmitting data associated with traffic flows during a transmit opportunity of the first wireless communication device; and transmitting frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows, according to transmit opportunities that indicate sharing of transmit opportunities with a second wireless communication device on a multi-hop relay path and at least partially overlap with the sequence of time slots.

[0007]

[0007] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path; means for transmitting data associated with traffic flows during a transmit opportunity of the first wireless communication device; and means for transmitting frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows, which indicate sharing of transmit opportunities with a second wireless communication device on a multi-hop relay path, according to transmit opportunities that at least partially overlap with the sequence of time slots.

[0008]

[0008] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication in a first wireless communication device. The code may include instructions that are individually or collectively executable by one or more processors for a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, for receiving information associated with the sequence of time slots, for transmitting data associated with the traffic flows during a transmit opportunity of the first wireless communication device, for indicating a shared transmit opportunity with a second wireless communication device on the multi-hop relay path, and for transmitting frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows according to transmit opportunities that at least partially overlap with the sequence of time slots.

[0009]

[0009] The methods, first wireless communication devices, and some implementations of non-temporary computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for receiving channel access priority mappings associated with a sequence of time slots, the channel access priority mappings indicating that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path may have a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and sharing of transmission opportunities supersedes the channel access priority mappings according to frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows.

[0010]

[0010] The methods, first wireless communication devices, and some implementations of non-temporary computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for transmitting frames to a second wireless communication device according to a multi-hop relay path, wherein the first wireless communication device may be scheduled in a first time slot of a sequence of time slots according to a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, and the second wireless communication device may be scheduled in a second time slot of a sequence of time slots immediately following the first time slot.

[0011]

[0011] The methods, first wireless communication devices, and some implementations of non-transient computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for transmitting a frame to a second wireless communication device to indicate that data associated with a traffic flow may be relayed along a multi-hop relay path during a transmission opportunity.

[0012]

[0012] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled to one or more memories. The one or more processors may, individually or collectively, cause the first wireless communication device to receive information associated with a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to a traffic flow associated with a multi-hop relay path, to receive frames indicating a shared transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device, which indicate an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow, and to communicate data associated with the traffic flow in accordance with the frames indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow during the transmission opportunity.

[0013]

[0013] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device. The method may include receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path; receiving a frame indicating a shared transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device and showing an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow; and communicating, during the transmission opportunity, data associated with the traffic flow in accordance with the frame showing the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0014]

[0014] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path; means for receiving frames indicating a shared transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device and indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow; and means for communicating data associated with the traffic flow during the transmission opportunity, in accordance with the frames indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0015]

[0015] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication in a first wireless communication device. The code may include instructions that can be executed individually or collectively by one or more processors for a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, receiving information associated with the sequence of time slots, indicating the sharing of a transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device, receiving a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow, and communicating data associated with the traffic flow in accordance with the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow during the transmission opportunity.

[0016]

[0016] The methods, first wireless communication devices, and some implementations of non-temporary computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for receiving channel access priority mappings associated with a sequence of time slots, the channel access priority mappings indicating that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path may have a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and sharing of transmission opportunities supersedes the channel access priority mappings according to frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows.

[0017]

[0017] The methods, first wireless communication devices, and some implementations of non-temporary computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for receiving frames from a second wireless communication device according to a multi-hop relay path, the first wireless communication device may be scheduled in a first time slot of a sequence of time slots according to a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, and the second wireless communication device may be scheduled in a second time slot of a sequence of time slots immediately preceding the first time slot.

[0018]

[0018] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled to one or more memories. When the one or more processors execute the code, they may individually or collectively cause the first wireless communication device to receive information relating to a sequence of time slots, corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, the frequency channel mapping relating to a multi-hop relay path, the frequency channel mapping indicating that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of a set of multiple frequency channels, and transmit data associated with the traffic flows through the first frequency channels during a first time slot of the sequence of time slots according to the frequency channel mapping.

[0019]

[0019] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a first wireless communication device. The method may include receiving information relating to the sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, which indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of a set of multiple frequency channels, and transmitting data associated with the traffic flows via the first frequency channel during a first time slot of the sequence of time slots in accordance with the frequency channel mapping.

[0020]

[0020] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include means for receiving information relating to a sequence of time slots, corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, which indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of a set of multiple frequency channels; and means for transmitting data associated with traffic flows via a first frequency channel during a first time slot of the sequence of time slots, in accordance with the frequency channel mapping.

[0021]

[0021] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein can be implemented in a non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication in a first wireless communication device. The code may include instructions that can be executed individually or collectively by one or more processors for receiving information, and for transmitting data associated with the traffic flow via the first frequency channel during a first time slot of the sequence of time slots, in accordance with the frequency channel mapping, which indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of a set of multiple frequency channels.

[0022]

[0022] The methods, first wireless communication devices, and some implementations of non-temporary computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means or instructions for receiving channel access priority mappings associated with a sequence of time slots, the channel access priority mappings indicating that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path may have a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots.

[0023] In some implementations of the methods, first wireless communication devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a channel access priority mapping indicates a relatively highest channel access priority for a first wireless communication device for a first time slot, and a relatively highest channel access priority for a second wireless communication device for a second time slot in a sequence of time slots, and a frequency channel mapping indicates a first frequency channel for the first wireless communication device and a second frequency channel for the second wireless communication device.

[0024] Details of one or more implementations 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 be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to exact scale.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] [Figure 1]

[0025] Shows a diagram of an exemplary wireless communication network. [Figure 2]

[0026] Shows an exemplary signaling diagram supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation, according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3]

[0027] Shows an example of a communication timeline supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation, according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] Shows an example of a communication timeline supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation, according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5]An example of a communication timeline supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 6]

[0028] An exemplary channel reservation scheme supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 7]

[0029] A block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 8]

[0030] A flowchart showing an exemplary process supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 9] A flowchart showing an exemplary process supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. [Figure 10] A flowchart showing an exemplary process supporting back-to-back transmission via a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservation according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026]

[0031] Like reference numerals and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027]

[0032] The following description applies to several specific examples for the purpose of illustrating innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein may be applied in numerous different ways. Some or all of the examples described may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with, among many others, the IEEE 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth® Special Interest Group (SIG) standard, or one or more of the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio, NR) standards issued by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The examples described can be implemented in any device, 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), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), spatial division multiple access (SDMA), rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA), multi-user shared access (MUSA), single-user (SU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), and multi-user (MU)-MIMO.The examples described can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of the following networks: wireless personal area network (WPAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), or Internet of Things (IoT) network.

[0028]

[0033] Various embodiments generally relate to back-to-back transmission over multi-hop relay paths using flow-specific resource reservations. Some embodiments, more specifically, relate to orthogonal channel reservations combined with flow-specific sequences of time slots, which are understood as equivalent to, or sometimes referred to as, flow-specific TDMA series. In implementations in which one or more wireless communication devices employ flow-specific TXOP sharing combined with flow-specific sequences of time slots, the first wireless communication device may include an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow within a TXOP sharing (TXS) frame. Thus, a second wireless communication device receiving a TXS frame may determine whether to communicate via the shared TXOP (instead of, or in addition to, communicating via the flow-specific sequences of time slots) depending on whether the traffic flow indicated by the TXS frame is the same as or different from the traffic flow corresponding to the sequence of time slots. If a shared TXOP and a sequence of time slots are associated with the delivery of the same traffic flow, a second wireless communication device may access the channel and transmit data during the shared TXOP (since the shared TXOP can override any channel access rules associated with the sequence of time slots). In implementations where one or more wireless communication devices employ orthogonal channel reservations in combination with a flow-specific sequence of time slots, each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path may receive an indication of the frequency channel to transmit through, along with the sequence of time slots, or may consist of that frequency channel. In some implementations, wireless communication devices that are (at least) two hops apart from each other may use different frequency channels. Thus, if any two wireless communication devices in a multi-hop relay path are hidden nodes from each other, the two wireless communication devices may avoid causing interference with each other by using different frequency channels.

[0029]

[0034] Certain aspects of the subject matter described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential benefits. In some implementations, by applying flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with flow-specific sequences of time slots, various wireless communication devices along a multi-hop transit path can adapt to low-latency traffic flows that are somewhat less deterministic than configured sequences of time slots, which can increase the reliability of low-latency traffic and improve the end-user experience. For example, by applying flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with flow-specific sequences of time slots, various wireless communication devices along a multi-hop transit path can handle dynamic, aperiodic, and / or bursty traffic flows more efficiently. Furthermore, by applying orthogonal channel reservation in combination with flow-specific sequences of time slots and reducing potential interference between wireless communication devices on the same multi-hop transit path, wireless communication devices on a multi-hop transit path can transmit and receive data more reliably, which can increase overall system reliability while also allowing for tighter packing of transmissions within the same duration. As a result of such higher reliability, less interference, and tighter transmission packing, the techniques described can be implemented to further achieve higher spectral efficiency, higher data rates, greater system capacity, and greater power savings (at least by reducing the amount of potential retransmissions), among other benefits.

[0030]

[0035] Figure 1 shows a diagram of an exemplary wireless communication network 100. In some embodiments, the wireless communication network 100 can be an embodiment of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to hereafter as WLAN 100). For example, WLAN 100 can be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards (such as those specified in the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or its revisions, including but not limited to 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11bd, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and 802.11bn). WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, such as a wireless AP 102 and multiple wireless STA1s. Although one AP 102 is shown in Figure 1, the WLAN network 100 can also include multiple AP 102s. The AP102 shown in Figure 1 can represent a wide variety of AP types, including, but not limited to, enterprise-level APs, single-frequency APs, dual-band APs, standalone APs, software-enabled APs, and multi-link APs. The coverage area and capacity of cellular networks (LTE, 5G NR, etc.) can be further improved by small cells supported by AP102, which acts as miniature base stations. Furthermore, private cellular networks can also be built through wireless area networks using small cells.

[0031]

[0036] Each of the STA104 may also be referred to, in other examples, as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile handset, wireless handset, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit. The STA104 may also represent a variety of devices, in other examples, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, Chromebooks, extended reality (XR) headsets, wearable devices, display devices (among many, such as TVs (including smart TVs), computer monitors, and navigation systems), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices ("remote"), printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators) or other household appliances, key fobs (such as for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and vehicles. Various STA104 units in the network can communicate with each other via AP102.

[0032]

[0037] A single AP102 and associated set of STA104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS) managed by each AP102. Figure 1 further shows an exemplary coverage area 108 of AP102, which may represent the basic service area (BSA) of WLAN100. The BSS may be identified or indicated to users by a service set identifier (SSID) and to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be the medium access control (MAC) address of AP102. AP102 may periodically broadcast beacon frames ("beacons") containing the BSSID so that any STA104 within AP102's wireless range can "associate" or reassociate with AP102 in order to establish or maintain a communication link 106 (hereinafter also referred to as a "Wi-Fi link") with AP102. For example, a beacon may include identification information or indication of the primary channel used by each AP102, as well as a timing synchronization function to establish or maintain timing synchronization with the AP102. The AP102 may provide access to the external network to various STA104 in the WLAN via their respective communication links 106.

[0033]

[0038] To establish a communication link 106 with AP102, each STA104 is configured to perform either a passive scan operation or an active scan operation ("scan") on a frequency channel within one or more frequency bands (such as the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, or 60GHz band). To perform a passive scan, the STA104 listens for beacons, which are transmitted by each AP102 at periodic time intervals called target beacon transmission time (TBTT) (measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform an active scan, the STA104 generates probe requests and transmits them continuously on each channel to be scanned, listening for probe responses from AP102. Each STA104 may perform authentication and association operations to identify, determine, confirm, or select an AP102 to associate with, according to scan information obtained through passive or active scanning, and to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP102. Upon completion of the association operation, the AP102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA104, which the AP102 uses to track the STA104.

[0034]

[0039] As a result of the increased ubiquity of wireless networks, STA104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within STA104's range, or to select from multiple AP102s that together form an extended service set (ESS) containing multiple connected BSSs. An extended network station associated with WLAN100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distributed system that allows multiple AP102s to be connected within such an ESS. Therefore, STA104 may be covered by two or more AP102s and may be associated with different AP102s at different times for different transmissions. In addition, after association with an AP102, STA104 may also periodically scan its vicinity to find a more suitable AP102 to associate with. For example, STA104 moving towards an associated AP102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP102 with more desirable network characteristics, such as a higher received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reduced traffic load.

[0035]

[0040] In some implementations, STA104 can form a network without AP102 or other equipment other than the STA104 themselves. One example of such a network is an ad-hoc network (or wireless ad-hoc network). An ad-hoc network may be alternatively referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some implementations, an ad-hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network such as a WLAN100. In such an example, STA104 may be able to communicate with each other via AP102 using communication link 106, but STA104 can also communicate with each other directly via direct wireless communication link 110. Additionally, two STA104 may communicate via direct communication link 110 regardless of whether both STA104 are associated with and serviced by the same AP102. In such an ad-hoc system, one or more of the STA104 may assume the role performed by AP102 in a BSS. Such an STA104 may be referred to as a group owner (GO) and can coordinate transmissions within an ad-hoc network. Examples of direct wireless communication links 110 include Wi-Fi Direct connections, connections established using Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) links, and other P2P group connections.

[0036]

[0041] AP102 and STA104 can communicate (via their respective communication links 106) in accordance with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. These standards define WLAN radio protocols and baseband protocols for the PHY and MAC layers. AP102 and STA104 transmit and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications" or "wireless packets") to and from each other in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs). AP102 and STA104 within WLAN 100 can transmit PPDUs over unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of the spectrum including frequency bands conventionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 60GHz, 3.6GHz, and 900MHz bands. Some examples of AP102 and STA104 described herein can also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 5.9GHz and 6GHz bands, which may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. AP102 and STA104 can also communicate over other frequency bands, such as shared authorization frequency bands, where multiple operators may have authorization to operate within one or more frequency bands that are the same or overlapping.

[0037]

[0042] Each frequency band may contain multiple subbands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs compliant with the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and revised 802.11be standards may be transmitted over the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz band, each divided into multiple 20MHz channels. Therefore, these PPDUs are transmitted over physical channels with a minimum bandwidth of 20MHz, but larger channels can also be formed through channel bonding. For example, by bonding multiple 20MHz channels together, a PPDU may be transmitted over a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 320MHz.

[0038]

[0043] Each PPDU is a composite structure containing a PHY preamble and payload in the form of a PHY service data unit (PSDU). Information provided within the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data within the PSDU. In examples where a PPDU is transmitted over bonded channels, the preamble field may be duplicated and transmitted on each of 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 generally be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format, coding, and information provided within the non-legacy portion of the preamble are associated with the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol that will be used to transmit the payload.

[0039]

[0044] In some wireless communication environments, extremely high-throughput (EHT) systems, or other systems compliant with the next generation of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, may offer additional capabilities over other older systems (such as high-efficiency (HE) systems or other legacy systems). EHT and newer wireless communication protocols may support flexible operating bandwidth expansion in AP102 and STA104, such as wider operating bandwidth compared to legacy operating bandwidth or finer-grained operation compared to legacy operation. For example, an EHT system may enable communication over operating bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 240 MHz, and 320 MHz. An EHT system may support multiple bandwidth modes, such as a continuous 240 MHz bandwidth mode, a continuous 320 MHz bandwidth mode, a discontinuous 160+160 MHz bandwidth mode, or a discontinuous 80+80+80+80 (or "4×80") MHz bandwidth mode.

[0040]

[0045] In some examples, wireless communication devices operate in a continuous 320 MHz bandwidth mode or a 160 + 160 MHz bandwidth mode. The signal for transmission may be generated by two different transmit chains of a device, each having a 160 MHz bandwidth (and each connected to or coupled to a different power amplifier). In some other examples, the signal for transmission may be generated by four or more different transmit chains of a device, each having an 80 MHz bandwidth.

[0041]

[0046] In some other examples, wireless communication devices may operate in a continuous 240 MHz bandwidth mode or a discontinuous 160 + 80 MHz bandwidth mode. In some examples, the signal for transmission may be generated by three different transmit chains of the device, each having an 80 MHz bandwidth. In some other examples, the 240 MHz / 160 + 80 MHz bandwidth mode may also be formed by puncturing a 320 / 160 + 160 MHz bandwidth mode using one or more 80 MHz subchannels. For example, the signal for transmission may be generated by two different transmit chains of the device, each having a 160 MHz bandwidth, with one of the transmit chains outputting a signal that has an 80 MHz subchannel punctured within it.

[0042]

[0047] The operating bandwidth can also be adapted to simultaneous operation on portions of the spectrum that include other unlicensed frequency bands (such as the 6GHz band) and frequency bands conventionally used by Wi-Fi technology. In discontinuous examples, the operating bandwidth may span one or more heterogeneous sets of subchannels. For example, a 320MHz bandwidth may be continuous and located within the same 6GHz band, or it may be discontinuous and located in different bands (e.g., partially within the 5GHz band and partially within the 6GHz band).

[0043]

[0048] In some implementations, operational enhancements associated with newer generations of the IEEE 802.11 family of EHT and wireless communication protocols, particularly operation in increased bandwidth, may include improvements to carrier detection and signal reporting mechanisms. Such techniques may include modifications to existing rules, structures, or signaling implemented for legacy systems.

[0044]

[0049] Access to a shared wireless medium is generally managed by a distributed coordination function (DCF). With a DCF, there is generally no centralized master device allocating the time and frequency resources of the shared wireless medium. Conversely, wireless communication devices such as AP102 or STA104 may wait for a certain period of time before being permitted to transmit data, and then compete for access to the wireless medium. The DCF is implemented through the use of time intervals (including slot time (or "slot interval")) and inter-frame space (IFS). IFS provides preferential access to control frames used for proper network operation. Transmission can be initiated at slot boundaries. Different types of IFS exist, including short IFS (SIFS), distributed IFS (DIFS), extended IFS (EIFS), and arbitration IFS (AIFS). The slot time and IFS values ​​may be provided by a suitable standard specification, such as one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards.

[0045]

[0050] In some implementations, wireless communication devices can implement DCF by using carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) / collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) techniques. According to such techniques, before transmitting data, the wireless communication device can perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine (identify, detect, confirm, calculate, or compute) whether the relevant wireless channel is idle. CCA includes both physical (PHY level) carrier detection and virtual (MAC level) carrier detection. Physical carrier detection is achieved by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame, which is then compared to a threshold to determine (identify, detect, confirm, calculate, or compute) whether the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of the detected preamble exceeds the threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier detection 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 exceeds the threshold, the medium is considered busy.

[0046]

[0051] Virtual carrier detection is achieved through the use of a Network Allocation Vector (NAV), which effectively acts as a duration that elapses before a wireless communication device can compete for access, even if no symbols are detected or if the detected energy falls 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 becomes 0, the wireless communication device performs physical carrier detection. If the channel remains idle for the appropriate IFS, the wireless communication device initiates a backoff timer, which represents the duration for which the device detects 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 the Transmit Opportunity (TXOP) and may initiate transmission. The TXOP is the duration for which the wireless communication device can transmit frames over the channel after it has "won" a competition for wireless medium. The TXOP duration may be indicated within the U-SIG field of the PPDU. On the other hand, if one or more carrier detection mechanisms indicate that the channel is busy, the MAC controller in the wireless communication device will not allow transmission.

[0047]

[0052] 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 the number of durations that can be randomly selected for the backoff timer is called the contention window (CW). There are different CW and TXOP durations for each of the four access categories (ACs): voice (AC_VO), video (AC_VI), background (AC_BK), and best-effort (AC_BE). This allows for prioritizing certain types of traffic within the network.

[0048]

[0053] Some AP102s and STA104s may implement techniques for spatial reuse involving cooperation in communication schemes. According to such techniques, AP102s may compete for access to the wireless medium to gain control of the medium for the TXOP. The winning AP102 (hereinafter also referred to as the "shared AP") may select one or more other AP102s (hereinafter also referred to as "shared APs") to share the TXOP's resources. The shared AP102s and shared AP102s may be located close to each other such that at least some of their wireless coverage areas overlap at least partially. Some examples specifically involve cooperative AP TDMA or OFDMA techniques for sharing the TXOP's time or frequency resources. To share these time or frequency resources, the shared AP102 may divide the TXOP into multiple time or frequency segments, each containing a time or frequency resource representing a portion of the TXOP. The shared AP102 may allocate the time or frequency segments to itself or to one or more of the shared AP102s. For example, each shared AP102 may utilize a partial TXOP allocated by the shared AP102 for its uplink or downlink communication with its associated STA104.

[0049]

[0054] In some examples of such TDMA techniques, each part of the TXOP contains a set of time resources that do not overlap with any time resources of any other part of the TXOP. In such examples, scheduling information may include indications of time resources among the TXOP's time resources, associated with each part of the TXOP. For example, scheduling information may include indications of time segments of the TXOP, such as indications of one or more slots or sets of symbolic periods associated with each part of the TXOP for multi-user TDMA.

[0050]

[0055] In some other examples of OFDMA techniques, each part of the TXOP contains a set of frequency resources that do not overlap with any other frequency resources of any other part of the TXOP. In such implementations, scheduling information may include indications of frequency resources among the TXOP's frequency resources, associated with each part of the TXOP. For example, scheduling information may include indications of bandwidth portions of wireless channels, such as indications of one or more subchannels or resource units (RUs) associated with each part of the TXOP for multi-user OFDMA.

[0051]

[0056] In this way, the acquisition of a TXOP by a shared AP enables communication between one or more additional unshared APs 102 and their respective BSSs, subject to appropriate power control and link adaptation. For example, a shared AP 102 may limit the transmit power of a selected unshared AP 102 so that interference from the selected AP 102 does not prevent the STA 104 associated with the TXOP owner from successfully decoding packets transmitted by the shared AP 102. Such techniques can be used to reduce latency, as other APs 102 may not need to wait to win the competition for the TXOP so that they can transmit and receive data according to normal CSMA / CA or EDCA techniques. Additionally, such techniques can increase throughput across the BSSs associated with the participating APs 102 and achieve improved throughput fairness by enabling a group of APs 102 associated with different BSSs to participate in a cooperative AP transmit session, during which the group of APs 102s may share at least a portion of a single TXOP acquired by any one of the participating APs 102s. Furthermore, by appropriately selecting the shared AP102s and scheduling their respective time or frequency resources, media utilization can be maximized or increased, and packet loss resulting from OBSS interference can be minimized or reduced. Various implementations can achieve these and other advantages without requiring the shared AP102 or shared AP102s to be aware of STA104s associated with other BSSs, without requiring pre-allocated or dedicated master AP102s or groups of pre-allocated AP102s, and without requiring backhaul coordination between AP102s involved in TXOP.

[0052]

[0057] In some cases, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP102 is relatively low (e.g., below a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP102 is relatively low (e.g., below a threshold), the start times of communication between different BSSs may be synchronized. Conversely, when the signal strength or interference level associated with the selected AP102 is relatively high (e.g., greater than a given value), or when the decoding error rate of the selected AP102 is relatively high (e.g., greater than a threshold), the start times may be offset from each other by the period associated with decoding the preamble of the wireless packet and determining from the decoded preamble whether the wireless packet is an in-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. For example, the period between the transmission of an in-BSS packet and the transmission of an OBSS packet may allow each AP102 (or its associated STA104) to decode the preamble of the wireless packet and obtain the BSS color value carried within the wireless packet in order to determine whether the wireless packet is an in-BSS packet or an OBSS packet. In this way, each of the AP102s involved and their associated STA104s may be able to receive and decode BSS packets in the presence of OBSS interference.

[0053]

[0058] In some examples, a shared AP102 may poll a set of unmanaged or unco-managed AP102s that support coordinated reuse to identify candidates for future space reuse opportunities. For example, a shared AP102 may send one or more space reuse pole frames as part of determining one or more space reuse criteria and selecting one or more other AP102s to be shared AP102. Following the polling, the shared AP102 may receive responses from one or more of the polled AP102s. In some specific examples, a shared AP102 may send coordinated AP TXOP indication (CTI) frames to other AP102s indicating the time and frequency of TXOP resources that can be shared. The shared AP102 may select one or more candidate AP102s upon receiving coordinated AP TXOP request (CTR) frames from each candidate AP102 indicating requests from each AP102 involved in the TXOP. Polling responses or CTR frames may include power indications, such as RX power or RSSI measured by each AP102. In some other examples, a shared AP102 may directly measure potential interference of services supported by one or more AP102s (such as UL transmissions) and select a shared AP102 based on the measured potential interference. A shared AP102 generally selects an AP102 to participate in cooperative space reuse so as to still protect its own transmissions (sometimes referred to as primary transmissions) with STA104s within its BSS. The selected AP102 may then be allocated resources during TXOP as described above.

[0054]

[0059] In some systems, delivering bursts of latency-sensitive traffic in an end-to-end multi-hop mesh can be associated with the expectation that each "hop" (such as each wireless communication device along the multi-hop path) will compete for a channel and independently acquire a TXOP, which can lead to uncontrolled latency (as there may be no limit to how long a wireless communication device can attempt to acquire a TXOP, which can be a relatively long duration in a congested network). A multi-hop mesh, sometimes called a multi-hop (relay) path, can be an exemplary deployment scenario in which STA104 communicates indirectly with a root AP (R-AP) 102 via one or more intermediate or relay devices, sometimes called satellite APs (S-APs) 102. An R-AP 102 can be understood as an AP 102 directly connected to the internet, and an S-AP 102 can be understood as an AP 102 accessing the internet via an R-AP 102. In some scenarios, STA104 can function as an S-AP 102. In the case of STA104, functioning as an S-AP102 may be associated with (for example, accompanied by) functioning as a soft AP. An S-AP102 may be an example of any wireless communication device capable of transferring, relaying, and / or repeating information and transmissions from one wireless communication device to another.

[0055]

[0060] In some implementations, various wireless communication devices (such as one or more R-AP102s, one or more S-AP102s, or any combination of one or more STA104s) may support one or more mechanisms in which at least one wireless communication device can use flow-specific TXOP sharing and / or orthogonal channel reservations in combination with flow-specific TDMA series. In implementations where TXOPs are shared for flows where overlapping TDMA series are also set up, the channel access rules associated with the TDMA series may be superseded during the duration that the shared TXOP overlaps with the TDMA series (e.g., ignored by the device sharing the TXOP, but other devices may still respect the channel access rules). As an addition or alternative, in implementations where orthogonal channel reservations are used in combination with flow-specific TDMA series, wireless communication devices that are at least two hops apart from each other may use different frequency channels when transmitting and / or receiving data associated with the corresponding flow. Thus, various wireless communication devices may enable back-to-back transmission for one or more specific flows over multiple hops.

[0056]

[0061] Figure 2 shows an exemplary signaling diagram 200 that supports back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to several embodiments of this disclosure. Signaling diagram 200 can or may be implemented to implement an embodiment of WLAN 100. For example, signaling diagram 200 shows communication between R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c, and STA104 over a multi-hop relay path, each of which may be an example of the corresponding device described herein. Furthermore, each of R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c, and STA104 may be an example of a wireless communication device, or may be referred to as a wireless communication device. In some implementations, one or more of the wireless communication devices in Figure 2 may support one or more signaling or configuration-based mechanisms to enable back-to-back transmission for a particular flow over multiple hops of a multi-hop relay path.

[0057]

[0062] As shown in the example in signaling diagram 200, R-AP102-a may communicate with S-AP102-b via communication link 202-a, S-AP102-b may communicate with S-AP102-c via communication link 202-b, and S-AP102-c may communicate with STA104 via communication link 202-c. Furthermore, although referred to herein as “satellite” AP102, S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c may be examples of any wireless communication devices capable of transferring, relaying, and / or repeating information and transmissions from one wireless communication device to another. Thus, although referred to herein as S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c, S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c may be called equivalent to, or understood as, wireless repeaters.

[0058]

[0063] In some embodiments, one or more of the wireless communication devices in signaling figure 200 may combine two or more communication mechanisms to enable such back-to-back transmission for a particular flow through multiple hops. For example, one or more of the wireless communication devices may combine two or more of the following: flow-specific TDMA slot reservation (separated by random backoff (RBO)), flow-specific TXOP sharing on flow-specific TDMA slots, and orthogonal channel reservation for hidden terminal hops on flow-specific TDMA slots.

[0059]

[0064] Using or in accordance with flow-specific TDMA slot reservations, wireless communication devices may communicate via flow-specific TDMA series, which may be referred to as, or understood as, a sequence of (TDMA) time slots or a TDMA slot series. Architecturally, a wireless communication device may constitute (or be configured with) a periodic TDMA series, where each TDMA slot in the TDMA series may be used to deliver the payload of one or more specified flows over a particular hop. In other words, a wireless communication device may receive, acquire, identify, or determine information relating to a sequence of time slots associated with (and used exclusively for) one or more flows, and a wireless communication device may transmit data frames associated with one or more flows during a time slot in the sequence of time slots corresponding to the wireless communication device (since different time slots in the sequence of time slots may correspond, for example, to be used by different wireless communication devices on a multi-hop relay path). In some deployment scenarios, a flow-specific TDMA series may eliminate or mitigate delays caused by contention, according to each TDMA slot in the TDMA series corresponding to a particular hop. For example, each TDMA slot may, by configuration (through design and / or signaling, etc.), correspond to a specific wireless communication device (such as a specific hop), so that wireless communication devices can avoid competing for media access in a TDMA slot that corresponds to another wireless communication device (or they can compete for media access using lower-priority or relatively low-priority channel access parameters).

[0060]

[0065] In some embodiments, each TDMA slot in a TDMA series may have its own fixed duration. Thus, each TDMA slot in a TDMA series may have the same duration, or several TDMA slots in a TDMA series may have different durations. In some embodiments, TDMA slots in a periodic TDMA series may have a common (shared or universal, for example) periodic interval. In such embodiments, each TDMA slot in a periodic TDMA series may occur or repeat according to the same periodicity. As described herein, a set of repeating TDMA slots can be understood as a recurring time-domain resource during which a particular wireless communication device may transmit. For example, if a periodic TDMA series consists of a first periodicity associated with a first period, S-AP102-b may transmit during a set of repeating TDMA slots that include a first time slot and a second time slot following a first period of the first time slot.

[0061]

[0066] One or more wireless communication devices may set up (establish or configure, etc.) a TDMA series according to one or more protocols. In some embodiments, one or more wireless communication devices may set up a TDMA series using a mesh-based protocol, such as an EasyMesh-based protocol. In some examples of setting up a TDMA series according to a mesh-based protocol, intent may be communicated by an STA104 (client device) by sending a stream classification service (SCS) request to an S-AP102-c (serving AP). In such examples, the S-AP102-c (serving AP) may forward the SCS request from the STA104 to a controller (such as a WLAN controller). The S-AP102-c may send the SCS request from the STA104 to the controller via a management plane, such as an EasyMesh management plane. In some other examples of setting up a TDMA series according to a mesh-based protocol, the TDMA series may be configured directly on an R-AP102-a or controller (by the operator).

[0062]

[0067] The controller may configure (set up, establish, or determine, etc.) a periodic TDMA series (according to SCS requests forwarded to the controller or the controller's direct configuration). In some implementations, a periodic TDMA series may include a first TDMA schedule for R-AP102-a, a second TDMA schedule for S-AP102-b, and a third TDMA schedule for S-AP102-c. Each TDMA schedule may include, or be associated with (defined by, etc.) traffic classification (TCLAS), start time, duration, and period. In accordance with configuring a periodic TDMA series, the controller may transmit information indicating the TDMA schedule for an AP102 to that AP102 as a reserved TDMA schedule. For example, the controller may transmit first information to R-AP102-a indicating the first TDMA schedule as a reserved TDMA schedule for R-AP102-a. Similarly, the controller may transmit second information to S-AP102-b indicating a second TDMA schedule as a reserved TDMA schedule for S-AP102-b, and third information to S-AP102-c indicating a third TDMA schedule as a reserved TDMA schedule for S-AP102-c.

[0063]

[0068] Furthermore, in some examples, the controller may transmit information indicating the TDMA schedule for AP102 as a restricted TDMA schedule to a set of other network AP102s (such as all). For example, the controller may transmit information to R-AP102-a indicating the second and third TDMA schedules as restricted TDMA schedules. Similarly, the controller may transmit information to S-AP102-b indicating the first and third TDMA schedules as restricted TDMA schedules. Similarly, the controller may transmit information to S-AP102-c indicating the first and second TDMA schedules as restricted TDMA schedules. In some implementations, the controller may transmit information indicating the TDMA schedule (as either reserved or restricted TDMA schedules) to AP102 via a management plane such as the EasyMesh management plane. In some embodiments, AP102 of a TDMA schedule may create a protected communication schedule, such as a coordinated restricted target wake time (CR-TWT) schedule, for its reserved TDMA schedule for one or more neighboring AP102s (to suppress channel access contention from one or more neighboring AP102s).

[0064]

[0069] As an addition or alternative, one or more wireless communication devices may set up (establish or configure, etc.) a TDMA series in accordance with (e.g., using) one or more per-hop SCS requests. In such an example where one or more wireless communication devices set up a TDMA series using one or more per-hop SCS requests, STA104 (client device) may signal its intention by sending an SCS request to S-AP102-c (serving AP102 for STA104). A backhaul STA (backhaul STA, bSTA) associated with (e.g., collated with) S-AP102-c may create an SCS request for the same flow and send it to S-AP102-b (upstream AP102 of S-AP102-c). S-AP102-b may further send an SCS request to R-AP102-a (in accordance with using per-hop SCS requests). In some embodiments, the start time, duration, and periodicity of the SCS request sent by S-AP102-c to S-AP102-b may be such that the TDMA slot is positioned adjacent to the TDMA slot of the downstream hop. One or more protocol elements may be included in the (802.11be) SCS request to indicate (e.g., specify) the TDMA interval. Furthermore, one or more protocol elements may be included in the (802.11be) SCS request sent by S-AP102-b to R-AP102-a to avoid overlap with the TDMA interval between S-AP102-c and STA104.

[0065]

[0070] In accordance with per-hop SCS requests, AP102 of a TDMA schedule may create a protected communication schedule, such as a CR-TWT schedule, for its reserved TDMA schedule for one or more neighboring AP102s (to suppress channel access contention from one or more neighboring AP102s). In some embodiments, AP102 creating a protected communication schedule may signal (propagate, etc.) indication of AP102's protected communication schedule to one or more AP102s located two hops away from AP102 (e.g., two hops away from the CR-TWT owner). In some embodiments, AP102 may signal indication of AP102's protected communication schedule to one or more AP102s located at least two hops away from AP102.

[0066]

[0071] As described herein, a flow-specific TDMA series may be associated with a channel access priority mapping for each wireless communication device along the multi-hop relay path to which the TDMA series corresponds. For example, according to the channel access priority mapping, a first wireless communication device may have a relatively higher channel access priority than a second wireless communication device during a first time slot, and a second wireless communication device may have a relatively higher channel access priority than a first wireless communication device during a second time slot. Such relative channel access priorities may be controlled by or associated with an R-TWT schedule, differentiated EDCA parameters, or any other schedule, parameter, or configuration that may give one wireless communication device a relatively higher chance of channel access than another wireless communication device.

[0067]

[0072] In some implementations, regardless of how the wireless communication devices in signaling diagram 200 establish flow-specific TDMA series (such as flow-specific sequences of slots), the wireless communication devices may further employ one or more mechanisms that allow at least one wireless communication device to use flow-specific TXOP sharing and / or orthogonal channel reservations in combination with flow-specific TDMA series. In implementations where TXOPs are shared for flows that also have overlapping TDMA series set up, the channel access rules associated with the TDMA series may be superseded (e.g., ignored) for the duration that the shared TXOP overlaps with the TDMA series. Thus, wireless communication devices may leverage TXOP sharing to adapt to dynamic, aperiodic, or bursty data traffic associated with flows that also have TDMA series set up (e.g., providing timely resources for such traffic). In some embodiments, flow-specific TXOP sharing combined with flow-specific TDMA series may be understood as, or give rise to, a correlation between the flow context and trigger frames of a TDMA slot allocation having a TXOP sharing allocation request.

[0068]

[0073] For example, R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c, and STA104 can communicate along a multi-hop relay path between R-AP102-a and STA104, and can leverage flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with flow-specific TDMA series. Traffic flows along the multi-hop relay path may include downlink traffic, uplink traffic, or both. As shown in the exemplary downlink communication sequence in signaling diagram 200, R-AP102-a may send data frame 204-a to S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c may send data frame 204-b (which may be a relayed version of data frame 204-a) to S-AP102-c, and S-AP102-c may send data frame 204-c (which may be a relayed version of data frame 204-b) to STA104. R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c, and STA104, though not all of them, can each be associated with their own TDMA schedule, which allows each device to access the medium to transmit data frames (e.g., configured using it). However, if R-AP102-a acquires TXOP208 for a particular flow and shares it with at least S-AP102-b, S-AP102-b can transmit data frame 204-b during the shared TXOP208, regardless of the slot TDMA schedule-related slot boundary. Thus, according to flow-specific TXOP sharing, S-AP102-b can transmit data frame 204-b before a time slot (for example, before a time slot in the TDMA schedule for S-AP102-b), which may be a time slot during which S-AP102-b is scheduled to transmit data frame 204-b.

[0069]

[0074] In the exemplary uplink communication sequence shown in signaling diagram 200, STA104 may transmit data frame 206-a to S-AP102-c, S-AP102-c may transmit data frame 206-b (which may be a relayed version of data frame 206-a) to S-AP102-b, and S-AP102-b may transmit data frame 206-c (which may be a relayed version of data frame 206-b) to R-AP102-a. Similar to the downlink communication sequence, each of STA104, S-AP102-c, S-AP102-b, and R-AP102-a may be associated with their respective TDMA schedules. However, if STA104 acquires TXOP210 for a particular flow and shares it with at least S-AP102-c, S-AP102-c may send dataframe 206-b before the time slot (for example, before the time slot for the TDMA schedule for S-AP102-c), during which S-AP102-c may be scheduled to send dataframe 206-b.

[0070]

[0075] Furthermore, in implementations where orthogonal channel reservation is used in combination with flow-specific TDMA series, wireless communication devices that are at least two hops apart from each other may use different frequency channels when transmitting and / or receiving data associated with the corresponding flow. Thus, wireless communication devices along the relay path may be more tightly packed in transmissions within the configured TDMA series, and therefore may achieve greater throughput, in addition to a lower possibility of interference between different devices along the multi-hop relay path. For example, in the exemplary downlink communication sequence in signaling diagram 200, R-AP102-a may transmit data frame 204-a using a first frequency channel, and S-AP102-c may transmit data frame 204-c using a second frequency channel different from (e.g., orthogonal to) the first frequency channel. Similarly, in the exemplary uplink communication sequence in signaling diagram 200, STA104 may transmit data frame 206-a using a first frequency channel, and S-AP102-b may transmit data frame 206-c using a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel (e.g., orthogonal).

[0071]

[0076] Figure 3 shows an exemplary communication timeline 300 that supports back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to several aspects of the present disclosure. The communication timeline 300 shows communication between R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c, and STA104, which may be examples of corresponding devices as shown and described with reference to Figure 2, each of which may be an example of a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication devices of the communication timeline 300 may employ flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with flow-specific sequences of time slots (such as flow-specific TDMA series).

[0072]

[0077] For example, each of at least R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, and S-AP102-c may be associated with a schedule for each time slot (such as a TDMA schedule), and collectively, data traffic may be relayed between R-AP102-a and STA104 according to a flow-specific sequence of time slots associated with time epochs 302-a, 302-b, 302-c, and 302-d. In some embodiments, time epoch 302-a may define or indicate the start of a first time slot corresponding to R-AP102-a, time epoch 302-b may define or indicate the start of a second time slot corresponding to S-AP102-b, and time epoch 302-c may define or indicate the start of a third time slot corresponding to S-AP102-c. A time slot's flow-specific sequence may be associated with one or more channel access rules (such as rules for allowing conflicts, using preferred EDCA parameters, and / or TXOP termination), and in some examples, such channel access rules may be applied in each of the time epochs associated with the time slot's flow-specific sequence. Such channel access rules may be called equivalent to, or understood as, one or more rules associated with a channel access priority mapping.

[0073]

[0078] By employing flow-specific TXOP sharing on a time slot flow-specific sequence, such channel access rules may not apply (to the devices sharing the TXOP) for the duration of the shared TXOP (as long as the shared TXOP is for the same flow as the time slot sequence). For example, if R-AP102-a shares a TXOP with S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c, S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c may access the medium and perform transmissions before time epochs 302-b and 302-c, respectively. In other words, a TXOP shared by AP102 to service a given flow (such as overlapping TDMA series in the same given flow) may not have CR-TWT boundaries and / or TDMA owner rules. More generally, an AP102 in an earlier delivery order position (per time slot flow-specific sequence) of a classified flow may share its TXOP with the nearest subsequent AP102 in the delivery order (per time slot flow-specific sequence) using a trigger or other TXOP sharing frame. Such TXOP sharing across potentially multiple hops, without TDMA slot boundaries, can reduce latency for relatively less deterministic traffic (such as dynamic, aperiodic, or bursty traffic).

[0074]

[0079] In some implementations, the controller may configure the delivery sequence of back-to-back TDMA slots for a flow (so that R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, and S-AP102-c may have back-to-back transmission opportunities), and flow identifiers may be created (generated, calculated, selected, identified, indicated, configured, or determined, etc.) for flow-specific back-to-back TDMA slots. In other words, flow identifiers may be created for flow-specific sequences of time slots. A TXOP owner may signal (include, etc.) flow identifiers in allocation request frames and / or trigger frames associated with TXOP shared sequences used within flow-specific back-to-back TDMA slots. Such flow identifiers may be contained within a dedicated information element of the allocation request frame and / or trigger frame, or within another information element, such as a vendor-specific information element within the allocation request frame. Furthermore, flow identifiers may correspond to a single flow or to a particular group of flows.

[0075]

[0080] In accordance with an exemplary TXOP sharing sequence, R-AP102-a may transmit an announcement frame 304 to indicate to one or more other wireless communication devices information associated with the intention to distribute data and / or share the TXOP. R-AP102-a may receive a BA frame 306 in response to the announcement frame 304. In some implementations, R-AP102-a may receive a BA frame 306 from S-AP102-b. S-AP102-b may transmit an announcement frame 308 and receive a BA frame 310 in response to the announcement frame 308. In some implementations, S-AP102-b may receive a BA frame 310 from S-AP102-c. In some implementations, S-AP102-b may transmit an announcement frame 308 (and receive any response signaling) during the TXOP shared by R-AP102-a via the announcement frame 304. In such an example, R-AP102-a may receive a return frame 312. R-AP102-a may receive a return frame 312 from S-AP102-b, and the return frame 312 may indicate to R-AP102-a that S-AP102-b has finished using the shared TXOP and is returning the shared TXOP to R-AP102-a.

[0076]

[0081] In accordance with the frame exchange associated with notification frames 304 and 308, R-AP102-a may transmit one or more data frames 314. In some implementations, R-AP102-a may transmit data via one or more data frames 314 associated with a specific flow, such as a specific flow between R-AP102-a and STA104. To facilitate the timely relay of data to STA104, R-AP102-a may transmit an RTS frame 316 associated with sharing R-AP102-a's TXOP with S-AP102-b, for example. As illustrated in the example of RTS frame 316, R-AP102-a may use any other frame transmission to share R-AP102-a's TXOP with S-AP102-b, either additionally or alternatively. R-AP102-a may receive a CTS frame 318 in response to the RTS frame 316. In some implementations, S-AP102-b may send a CTS frame 318 to acknowledge the RTS frame 316 and confirm that S-AP102-b is using a shared TXOP. As shown in the example of the communication timeline 300, the shared TXOP may include a duration of 342.

[0077]

[0082] In some implementations, RTS frame 316 (or any other frame that R-AP102-a uses to share a TXOP with S-AP102-b) may contain an identifier corresponding to a specific flow between R-AP102-a and STA104. Therefore, S-AP102-b can determine whether to use the shared TXOP over a flow-specific sequence in an overlapping time slot. In some implementations, S-AP102-b may decide to use the shared TXOP over a flow-specific sequence in an overlapping time slot if both the shared TXOP and the time slot sequence are for the delivery of data associated with the same flow. Otherwise, S-AP102-b may refrain from using the shared TXOP (or may prioritize one of the shared TXOP or the time slot sequence).

[0078]

[0083] As S-AP102-b obtains channel access during a shared TXOP, it may transmit one or more data frames 320. In some implementations, one or more data frames 320 may be examples of relayed versions of one or more data frames 314. One or more data frames 320 may contain data associated with a particular flow between R-AP102-a and STA104. In implementations where S-AP102-b uses flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with a flow-specific sequence in a time slot, S-AP102-b may transmit one or more data frames 320, ignoring the channel access rules associated with the flow-specific sequence in the time slot. For example, S-AP102-b may transmit one or more data frames 320 before time epoch 302-b. As shown in the example of communication timeline 300, S-AP102-b may ignore the channel access rules associated with the flow-specific sequence in the time slot for a duration 344.

[0079]

[0084] In accordance with transmitting one or more data frames 320, S-AP102-b may transmit an RTS frame 322 (or any other frame that can indicate TXOP sharing) to further share the TXOP with S-AP102-c. S-AP102-b may receive a CTS frame 324 in response to the RTS frame 322. For example, S-AP102-c may transmit a CTS frame 324 to acknowledge the RTS frame 322 and confirm that S-AP102-c is using the shared TXOP.

[0080]

[0085] In some implementations, RTS frame 322 (or any other frame that S-AP102-b uses to share a TXOP with S-AP102-c) may contain an identifier corresponding to a specific flow between R-AP102-a and STA104. Therefore, S-AP102-c can determine whether to use the shared TXOP over a flow-specific sequence in an overlapping time slot. In some implementations, S-AP102-c may decide to use the shared TXOP over a flow-specific sequence in an overlapping time slot if both the shared TXOP and the time slot sequence are for the delivery of data associated with the same flow. Otherwise, S-AP102-c may refrain from using the shared TXOP (or may prioritize one of the shared TXOP or the time slot sequence).

[0081]

[0086] As S-AP102-c obtains channel access during a shared TXOP, it may transmit one or more data frames 326. In some implementations, one or more data frames 326 may be examples of relayed versions of one or more data frames 320. One or more data frames 326 may contain data associated with a particular flow between R-AP102-a and STA104. In implementations where S-AP102-c uses flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with a flow-specific sequence in a time slot, S-AP102-c may transmit one or more data frames 326, ignoring the channel access rules associated with the flow-specific sequence in the time slot. For example, S-AP102-c may transmit one or more data frames 326 before time epoch 302-c. As shown in the example of communication timeline 300, S-AP102-c may ignore the channel access rules associated with the flow-specific sequence in the time slot for a duration of 346.

[0082]

[0087] Having transmitted one or more data frames 326, S-AP102-c may transmit a return frame 328 to indicate to S-AP102-b that S-AP102-c has completed its use of the shared TXOP (e.g., has completed the delivery of one or more data frames 326 to STA104). S-AP102-b may transmit an RTS frame 330 and receive a CTS frame 332 (from S-AP102-c, etc.) in response to the RTS frame 330.

[0083]

[0088] In some embodiments, S-AP102-c may transmit one or more data frames 334 and perform RTS / CTS frame exchange with STA104. For example, S-AP102-c may transmit an RTS frame 336 and receive a CTS frame 338 (from STA104, etc.) in response to the RTS frame 336. In some implementations, RTS / CTS frame exchange with STA104 may involve sharing a TXOP (such as the TXOP of S-AP102-c or the initially shared TXOP of R-AP102-a) with STA104.

[0084]

[0089] STA104 may send one or more data frames 340 to S-AP102-c (serving AP102 for STA104), and in some implementations, each of STA104, S-AP102-c, and S-AP102-b may sequentially send one or more return frames to return the shared TXOP upstream. For example, upon receiving one or more data frames 340 (and thereafter, for example), S-AP102-c may receive a return frame from STA104. Upon receiving the return frame, S-AP102-c may send the return frame to S-AP102-b, and S-AP102-b may then send the return frame to R-AP102-a. Thus, downstream wireless communication devices may return the shared TXOP to R-AP102-a to complete the flow-specific TXOP sharing sequence.

[0085]

[0090] Figure 4 shows an exemplary communication timeline 400 supporting back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to several aspects of the present disclosure. The communication timeline 400 shows communication between R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, and S-AP102-c, which may be examples of corresponding devices as shown and described with reference to Figure 2, each of which may be an example of a wireless communication device. S-AP102-b may be associated with bSTA function 402 (or bSTA1 function) and AP function 404 (or AP1 function) (having components associated with them, etc.), and S-AP102-c may be associated with bSTA function 406 (or bSTA2 function) and AP function 408 (or AP2 function) (having components associated with them, etc.). In some implementations, wireless communication devices on communication timeline 400 may employ flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with flow-specific sequences of time slots (such as flow-specific TDMA series) and apply coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA) transmission sequences via the downlink signaling path.

[0086]

[0091] In accordance with exemplary implementations of this disclosure, one or more wireless communication devices may perform or participate in a signaling mechanism associated with shared TXOP initiation, thereby allowing TXOP sharing (such as flow-specific TXOP sharing on a flow-specific sequence of time slots) to be initiated by any AP102 on a relay path (such as a mesh end-to-end path). Such TXOP sharing AP102 may be R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, or S-AP102-c (any AP102) by using C-TDMA (for example, instead of peer-to-peer).

[0087]

[0092] In accordance with the downlink C-TDMA transmission sequence shown by the communication timeline 400, R-AP102-a may transmit an RTS frame 410 and receive a CTS frame 412 from the bSTA function 402 of S-AP102-b. Upon receiving the CTS frame 412, R-AP102-a may transmit one or more data frames 414 containing downlink data associated with a particular flow, such as the flow between R-AP102-a and STA104. The bSTA function 402 of S-AP102-b may transmit a BA frame 416, which may provide feedback associated with the reception of one or more data frames 414 in S-AP102-b. R-AP102-a may transmit a TXS+ frame 418, which may point to any frame through which R-AP102-a (or any other wireless communication device) can indicate a TXOP share to an upstream or downstream wireless communication device.

[0088]

[0093] In some implementations, R-AP102-a may send a TXS+ frame 418 upon completing its downlink data transmission sequence, such as within duration 428. In other words, and more generally, an upstream AP102 may perform its downlink data transmission sequence and trigger the (current or next) TDMA slot to share the remaining TXOP duration with a downstream AP102 of the same flow specified.

[0089]

[0094] The AP function 404 of S-AP102-b may send a CTS frame 420 in response to a TXS+ frame 418 (for example, to acknowledge it). As it obtains channel access during the shared TXOP, S-AP102-b may send one or more data frames 422 containing downlink data associated with a particular flow via the AP function 404 of S-AP102-b. One or more data frames 422 may be relayed versions of one or more data frames 414. S-AP102-c may receive one or more data frames 422 via the bSTA function 406 of S-AP102-c and send a BA frame 424 associated with one or more data frames 422. As it receives the BA frame 424, S-AP102-b (such as the AP function 404 of S-AP102-b) may send a return frame 426 to return the shared TXOP to R-AP102-a. Therefore, as shown by the communication timeline 400, S-AP102-b may complete (end, for example) its downlink data transmission sequence within duration 430, and then return any remaining TXOP duration to R-AP102-a (the TXOP owner in the exemplary downlink C-TDMA sequence of the communication timeline 400).

[0090]

[0095] Figure 5 shows an exemplary communication timeline 500 supporting back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to several aspects of the present disclosure. The communication timeline 500 shows communication between R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, and S-AP102-c, which may be examples of corresponding devices as shown and described with reference to Figure 2, each of which may be an example of a wireless communication device. S-AP102-b may be associated with bSTA function 402 (or bSTA1 function) and AP function 404 (or AP1 function) (having components associated with them, etc.), and S-AP102-c may be associated with bSTA function 406 (or bSTA2 function) and AP function 408 (or AP2 function) (having components associated with them, etc.). In some implementations, wireless communication devices on communication timeline 500 may employ flow-specific TXOP sharing in combination with flow-specific sequences of time slots (such as flow-specific TDMA series) and apply C-TDMA transmission sequences via the uplink signaling path.

[0091]

[0096] In accordance with the uplink C-TDMA transmission sequence shown by the communication timeline 500, the AP function 404 of S-AP102-b may transmit an RTS frame 502, and the bSTA function 406 of S-AP102-c may respond by transmitting a CTS frame 504 to the AP function 404 of S-AP102-b. In accordance with such RTS / CTS frame exchange between S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c, the AP function 404 of S-AP102-b may transmit a trigger frame 506 to request uplink data from S-AP102-c (e.g., from the bSTA function 406 of S-AP102-c). The bSTA function 406 of S-AP102-c may transmit one or more data frames 508 containing the requested uplink data. Such one or more data frames 508 may contain one or more uplink trigger-based (TB) PPDUs.

[0092]

[0097] The AP function 404 of S-AP102-b may transmit a BA frame 510 associated with one or more data frames 508 (e.g., providing feedback about them), and in some implementations, it may transmit a TXS+ frame 512 to share S-AP102-b's TXOP with R-AP102-a. In other words, and more generally, a downstream AP102 may complete its uplink TB PPDU transmission sequence, and a downstream AP102 may trigger the (current or next) TDMA slot to share the remaining TXOP duration with the upstream AP102 of the specified flow. As shown in the example communication timeline 500, S-AP102-b may complete its TB uplink sequence with S-AP102-c within duration 526.

[0093]

[0098] R-AP102-a may send a CTS frame 514 to acknowledge and confirm a TXS+ frame 512, and may send a trigger frame 516 to request uplink data from S-AP102-b. Upon receiving the trigger frame 516, S-AP102-b may send one or more data frames 518 containing the requested uplink data (e.g., via S-AP102-b's bSTA function 402). In some embodiments, one or more data frames 518 may be relayed versions of one or more data frames 508 and may contain data associated with a particular flow.

[0094]

[0099] R-AP102-a may receive one or more data frames 518 and transmit BA frames 522 associated with one or more data frames 518 (such as providing feedback about them). R-AP102-a may transmit a return frame 524 indicating that it has received the requested uplink data via one or more data frames 518 and is returning the shared TXOP to S-AP102-b (the original TXOP owner). For example, R-AP102-a may transmit a return frame 524 after completing an uplink data transmission sequence with S-AP102-b, and R-AP102-a and S-AP102-b may complete this within a duration 528.

[0095]

[0100] Figure 6 shows an exemplary channel reservation scheme 600 that supports back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to several aspects of the present disclosure. The channel reservation scheme 600 can be combined with a flow-specific sequence of TDMA slots to facilitate orthogonal channel reservations for hidden terminal hops. For example, the channel reservation scheme 600 shows channel usage for communication between R-AP102-a, S-AP102-b, S-AP102-c, and STA104, which may be examples of corresponding devices as shown and described with reference to Figures 2-5, each of which may be an example of a wireless communication device.

[0096]

[0101] In some deployment scenarios, AP102s that are hidden terminals of each other may not be aware of TDMA slot allocations from, for example, CR-TWT advertisements. Therefore, two or more AP102s that are hidden terminals of each other may access channels during each other's TDMA slots without knowing that such channel access may cause interference. Furthermore, in some systems, an AP102 that does not own a TDMA slot and is aware of power interference to a hidden terminal node may access a channel using mitigated EDCA, which can still cause data transmission failures.

[0097]

[0102] Therefore, in some implementations, one or more wireless communication devices may support a mechanism in which frequency channels are assigned accordingly to TDMA slots for AP102 allocated to specific flows (or multiple specific flows) on specific hops of a relay path (such as an end-to-end mesh path) to prevent hidden terminal transmissions from corrupting the reception of certain flows (which may be low-latency or latency-sensitive flows). In other words, each hop of a multi-hop relay path may be associated with a specific frequency channel along with its TDMA schedule, so that the AP102 corresponding to that hop uses (or communicates through) that specific frequency channel when transmitting both during and outside of its TDMA schedule. In some embodiments, such operation may be called, or understood as, multi-primary channel operation combined with flow-specific TDMA series. In some implementations, different multi-primary channels may be allocated (by the system controller or according to inter-AP coordination) for different hops of an end-to-end mesh path for specific flows (or multiple specific flows) for reserved TDMA slots. In some implementations, transmissions that are (at least) two hops apart may use different channels.

[0098]

[0103] For example, as shown in the example in Figure 6, the channel reservation scheme 600 may be applied to a sequence of time slots 602 including a first time slot 602-a, a second time slot 602-b, and a third time slot 602-c, where R-AP102-a and S-AP102-c (devices two hops apart from each other) may use different channels. For example, during the first time slot 602-a, R-AP102-a may perform transmission 604 using a first frequency channel, while S-AP102-c may perform transmission 606 using a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel (e.g., orthogonal). In other words, S-AP102-c may use a different channel than R-AP102-a in the first time slot 602-c to prevent the influence of any hidden terminals on R-AP102-a.

[0099]

[0104] S-AP102-b may perform transmit 608 during time slot 602-b. In some embodiments, transmit 608 may be a relayed version of transmit 606 following the (flow-specific) sequence 602 of the time slot. In some embodiments, S-AP102-b may use the same channel as S-AP102-c, allowing the Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) protocol to resolve channel access conflicts between S-AP102-b and S-AP102-c. During time slot 602-c, R-AP102-a may perform transmit 610 using a first frequency channel, and S-AP102-c may perform transmit 612 using a second frequency channel. In other words, S-AP102-c may use a different channel than R-AP102-a within time slot 602-c to prevent the influence of any hidden terminals from R-AP102-a.

[0100]

[0105] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communications device 700 that supports back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations. In various examples, the wireless communications device 700 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem, or a cellular modem such as a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compliant modem), one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements (collectively, “at least one processor”), one or more radios (collectively, “at least one radio”), and one or more memories or memory blocks (collectively, “at least one memory”). In some implementations, at least one processor may include multiple processors, and at least one memory may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may be individually or collectively configured to perform the various functions described herein (as part of a processing system).

[0101]

[0106] In some implementations, the wireless communication device 700 may be a device for use in an AP or STA, such as an AP or STA as described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In some other implementations, the wireless communication device 700 may be an AP or STA including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device, as well as multiple antennas. The wireless communication device 700 is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communications, for example, in the form of wireless packets. For example, the wireless communication device may be configured or operable to transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer PPDU and MPDU compliant with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 700 may also include, or be coupled with, at least one application processor which may be further coupled to at least one memory. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 700 may further include at least one external network interface that enables communication with a core network or backhaul network to obtain access to an external network, including the Internet.

[0102]

[0107] The wireless communication device 700 includes a TDMA series component 702, a data communication component 704, and a TXOP shared component 706. One or more of the TDMA series component 702, the data communication component 704, and the TXOP shared component 706 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. For example, one or more of the TDMA series component 702, the data communication component 704, and the TXOP shared component 706 may be implemented at least partially by at least one modem. In some implementations, at least some of the TDMA series component 702, the data communication component 704, and the TXOP shared component 706 may be implemented at least partially as software stored in at least one memory and by at least one processor. For example, one or more of the TDMA series component 702, the data communication component 704, and the TXOP shared component 706 may be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by at least one processor to perform the function or operation of their respective modules.

[0103]

[0108] In some implementations, at least one processor may be a component of the processing system. The processing system may generally refer to a system or machine or series of components that receive inputs, process those inputs, and generate a set of outputs (which may be passed to other systems or components of the wireless communication device 700, for example). For example, the processing system of the wireless communication device 700 may refer to a system that includes various other components or sub-components of the wireless communication device 700, such as at least one processor, or at least one transceiver, or at least one communications manager, or other components or combinations of components of the wireless communication device 700. The processing system of the wireless communication device 700 may interface with other components of the wireless communication device 700 and process information (such as inputs or signals) received from or output information to other components. For example, the chip or modem of the wireless communication device 700 may include a processing system, a first interface for outputting information, and a second interface for acquiring information. In some implementations, the first interface may refer to an interface between the processing system of the chip or modem and a transmitter, such that the wireless communication device 700 can transmit information output from the chip or modem. In some implementations, the second interface may refer to an interface between the chip or modem's processing system and the receiver, such that the wireless communication device 700 can acquire information or signal inputs and pass the information to the processing system. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the first interface can also acquire information or signal inputs, and the second interface can also output information or signal outputs.

[0104]

[0109] The wireless communication device 700 may support wireless communication in the first wireless communication device according to the examples disclosed herein. The TDMA series component 702 is capable of supporting, configured to support, or operable to support, means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, which is a sequence of time slots. The data communication component 704 is capable of supporting, configured to support, or operable to support, means for transmitting data associated with traffic flows during a transmit opportunity of the first wireless communication device. The TXOP sharing component 706 indicates the sharing of a transmit opportunity with a second wireless communication device on a multi-hop relay path and is capable of supporting, configured to support, or operable to support, means for transmitting frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows according to a transmit opportunity that at least partially overlaps with a sequence of time slots.

[0105]

[0110] In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support means for receiving channel access priority mappings associated with a sequence of time slots, where the channel access priority mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot in the sequence of time slots, and sharing of transmit opportunities supersedes the channel access priority mapping according to frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows.

[0106]

[0111] In some implementations, the TXOP shared component 706 is capable of, configured to support, or operable to support means of transmitting frames to a second wireless communication device according to a multi-hop relay path, such that the first wireless communication device is scheduled in the first time slot of the time slot sequence, and the second wireless communication device is scheduled in the second time slot of the time slot sequence immediately following the first time slot.

[0107]

[0112] In some implementations, the TXOP shared component 706 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means of sending frames to a second wireless communication device to indicate that data associated with a traffic flow will be relayed along a multi-hop relay path during the transmission opportunity.

[0108]

[0113] In some implementations, the data communication component 704 is capable, configured, or operable to support means of receiving a trigger frame from a second wireless communication device during a transmission opportunity, requesting data associated with a traffic flow, and transmitting data is related to receiving the trigger frame.

[0109]

[0114] In some implementations, the data communication component 704 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means of sending a second trigger frame requesting data associated with a traffic flow to a third wireless communication device. In some implementations, the data communication component 704 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means of receiving data associated with a traffic flow from a third wireless communication device in connection with having sent a second trigger frame, and sending a frame indicating the sharing of a transmission opportunity with the second wireless communication device is associated with receiving data from the third wireless communication device.

[0110]

[0115] In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots from a controller of a multi-hop relay path.

[0111]

[0116] In some implementations, one or more channel access rules associated with a sequence of time slots are not applicable during a transmission opportunity shared by a first wireless communication device, according to a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow and a sequence of time slots also corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0112]

[0117] In some implementations, the information associated with the time slot sequence indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with a multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses a specific frequency channel from a set of multiple frequency channels.

[0113]

[0118] In some implementations, the frame is either an allocation request frame or a trigger frame.

[0114]

[0119] In some implementations, frames indicate identifiers corresponding to traffic flows through information elements.

[0115]

[0120] In some implementations, a sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time-domain multiple access slot reservations.

[0116]

[0121] In addition or alternatively, the wireless communication device 700 may support wireless communication in the first wireless communication device in accordance with the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path. In some implementations, the TXOP sharing component 706 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for receiving frames indicating a sharing of a transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device and indicating an identifier corresponding to a traffic flow. In some implementations, the data communication component 704 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for communicating data associated with a traffic flow in accordance with a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to a traffic flow during a transmission opportunity.

[0117]

[0122] In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support means for receiving channel access priority mappings associated with a sequence of time slots, where the channel access priority mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot in the sequence of time slots, and sharing of transmit opportunities supersedes the channel access priority mapping according to frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows.

[0118]

[0123] In some implementations, the TXOP shared component 706 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support means of receiving frames from a second wireless communication device according to a multi-hop relay path, such that the first wireless communication device is scheduled in the first time slot of the time slot sequence, and the second wireless communication device is scheduled in the second time slot of the time slot sequence immediately preceding the first time slot.

[0119]

[0124] In some implementations, the data communication component 704 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support means for receiving data associated with traffic flow from a second wireless communication device. In some implementations, the data communication component 704 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support means for transmitting data during a transmission opportunity in connection with relaying data from a second wireless communication device to a third wireless communication device.

[0120]

[0125] In some implementations, the data communication component 704 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for sending a trigger frame requesting data associated with a traffic flow in connection with receiving a frame indicating a shared transmission opportunity. In some implementations, the data communication component 704 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for receiving data in connection with sending a trigger frame.

[0121]

[0126] In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots from a controller of a multi-hop relay path.

[0122]

[0127] In some implementations, one or more channel access rules associated with a sequence of time slots are not applicable during a transmission opportunity, according to the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow and the sequence of time slots also corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0123]

[0128] In some implementations, the information associated with the time slot sequence indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with a multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses a specific frequency channel from a set of multiple frequency channels.

[0124]

[0129] In some implementations, the frame is either an allocation request frame or a trigger frame.

[0125]

[0130] In some implementations, frames indicate identifiers corresponding to traffic flows through information elements.

[0126]

[0131] In some implementations, a sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time-domain multiple access slot reservations.

[0127]

[0132] In addition or alternatively, the wireless communication device 700 may support wireless communication in the first wireless communication device according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 may support, is configured to support, or is operable to support, a means for receiving information relating to a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, and which indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of a set of multiple frequency channels. In some implementations, the data communication component 704 may support, is configured to support, or is operable to support, a means for transmitting data associated with traffic flows over a first frequency channel during a first time slot of the sequence of time slots, according to the frequency channel mapping.

[0128]

[0133] In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support means for receiving channel access priority mappings associated with a sequence of time slots, where the channel access priority mappings indicate that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots.

[0129]

[0134] In some implementations, the channel access priority mapping indicates the relatively highest channel access priority for the first wireless communication device for the first time slot, the relatively highest channel access priority for the second wireless communication device for the second time slot in the sequence of time slots, and the frequency channel mapping indicates the first frequency channel for the first wireless communication device and the second frequency channel for the second wireless communication device.

[0130]

[0135] In some implementations, the first frequency channel and the second frequency channel are on different channels, such that the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device are at least two hops apart from each other according to a multi-hop relay path.

[0131]

[0136] In some implementations, the TDMA series component 702 can, is configured to, or can operate to support means for receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots from a controller of a multi-hop relay path.

[0132]

[0137] In some implementations, frequency channel mapping is associated with multi-primary channel operation along multi-hop relay paths.

[0133]

[0138] In some implementations, frequency channel mapping indicates different multi-primary channels for different hops in a multi-hop relay path.

[0134]

[0139] In some implementations, a sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time-domain multiple access slot reservations.

[0135]

[0140] Figure 8 shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 800 that supports back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operation of process 800 may be implemented by an AP or STA or its components, as described herein. For example, the operation of process 800 may be performed by a wireless communication device 700, as described with reference to Figure 7. In some implementations, the first wireless communication device may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the first wireless communication device in order to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless communication device may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware.

[0136]

[0141] In some implementations, in block 802, the first wireless communication device may receive information associated with a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to a traffic flow associated with a multi-hop relay path. The operation of block 802 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the operation of block 802 may be performed by a TDMA series component 702, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0137]

[0142] In some implementations, in block 804, the first wireless communication device may transmit data associated with the traffic flow during the first wireless communication device's transmission opportunity. The operation of block 804 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the mode of operation of block 804 may be performed by the data communication component 704, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0138]

[0143] In some implementations, in block 806, the first wireless communication device may indicate the sharing of transmission opportunities with a second wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path, and may transmit frames indicating identifiers corresponding to traffic flows according to a sequence of time slots and transmission opportunities that at least partially overlap. The operation of block 806 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the mode of operation of block 806 may be performed by the TXOP shared component 706, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0139]

[0144] Figure 9 shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 900 supporting back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operation of process 900 may be implemented by an AP or STA or its components, as described herein. For example, the operation of process 900 may be performed by a wireless communication device 700, as described with reference to Figure 7. In some implementations, the first wireless communication device may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the first wireless communication device in order to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless communication device may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware.

[0140]

[0145] In some implementations, in block 902, the first wireless communication device may receive information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path. The operation of block 902 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the operation of block 902 may be performed by a TDMA series component 702, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0141]

[0146] In some implementations, in block 904, the first wireless communication device may receive a frame indicating the sharing of a transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device and an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow. The operation of block 904 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the operation of block 904 may be performed by the TXOP shared component 706, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0142]

[0147] In some implementations, in block 906, the first wireless communication device may communicate data associated with a traffic flow in accordance with a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow during a transmission opportunity. The operation of block 906 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the mode of operation of block 906 may be performed by the data communication component 704, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0143]

[0148] Figure 10 shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1000 that supports back-to-back transmission over a multi-hop relay path using flow-specific resource reservations, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operation of process 1000 may be implemented by an AP or STA or its components, as described herein. For example, the operation of process 1000 may be performed by a wireless communication device 700, as described with reference to Figure 7. In some implementations, the first wireless communication device may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the first wireless communication device in order to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the first wireless communication device may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware.

[0144]

[0149] In some implementations, in block 1002, the first wireless communication device may receive information associated with the sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to the traffic flow associated with the multi-hop relay path, and which indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of the set of multiple frequency channels. The operation of block 1002 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the mode of operation of block 1002 may be performed by the TDMA series component 702, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0145]

[0150] In some implementations, in block 1004, the first wireless communication device may transmit data associated with the traffic flow over the first frequency channel during the first time slot of the sequence of time slots, according to frequency channel mapping. The operation of block 1004 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some implementations, the mode of operation of block 1004 may be performed by the data communication component 704, as described with reference to Figure 7.

[0146]

[0151] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0147]

[0152] Clause 1: A method of wireless communication by a first wireless communication device, comprising: receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to a traffic flow associated with a multi-hop relay path; transmitting data associated with the traffic flow during a transmit opportunity of the first wireless communication device; and transmitting a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow, which indicates a sharing of a transmit opportunity with a second wireless communication device on a multi-hop relay path, and which corresponds to a transmit opportunity that at least partially overlaps with the sequence of time slots.

[0148]

[0153] The method according to Clause 1, further comprising receiving a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, wherein each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the sharing of transmission opportunities supersedes the channel access priority mapping according to a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0149]

[0154] Clause 3: The method according to Clause 2, further comprising transmitting a frame to a second wireless communication device according to a multi-hop relay path, wherein, according to a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, the first wireless communication device is scheduled in the first time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the second wireless communication device is scheduled in the second time slot of the sequence of time slots immediately following the first time slot.

[0150]

[0155] Clause 4: The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 3, further comprising sending a frame to a second wireless communication device to indicate that data associated with a traffic flow is being relayed according to a multi-hop relay path during the transmission opportunity.

[0151]

[0156] Clause 5: The method of any of Clauses 1 to 4, further comprising receiving a trigger frame from a second wireless communication device during a transmission opportunity, requesting data associated with a traffic flow, and transmitting data relating to receiving the trigger frame.

[0152]

[0157] The method of Clause 6: the method of Clause 5, further comprising sending a second trigger frame to a third wireless communication device requesting data associated with a traffic flow, and receiving data associated with a traffic flow from the third wireless communication device in connection with having sent the second trigger frame, wherein sending a frame indicating the sharing of a transmission opportunity with the second wireless communication device is related to receiving data from the third wireless communication device.

[0153]

[0158] Clause 7: The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 6, further comprising receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots from a controller of a multi-hop relay path.

[0154]

[0159] Clause 8: The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein one or more channel access rules associated with a sequence of time slots are not applicable during a transmission opportunity shared by a first wireless communication device, according to a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to a traffic flow and a sequence of time slots also corresponding to a traffic flow.

[0155]

[0160] Clause 9: The information associated with the sequence of time slots indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with a multi-hop relay path, and the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of the multiple frequency channels, as described in any of Clauses 1 to 8.

[0156]

[0161] Clause 10: A frame is an allocation request frame or a trigger frame, as described in any of Clauses 1 through 9.

[0157]

[0162] Clause 11: A frame is defined in any of the manner described in Clauses 1 through 10, which indicates an identifier corresponding to a traffic flow through an information element.

[0158]

[0163] Clause 12: The sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time domain multiple access slot reservations, as described in any of Clauses 1 through 11.

[0159]

[0164] Clause 13: A method of wireless communication by a first wireless communication device, comprising: receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which is a sequence of time slots corresponding to a traffic flow associated with a multi-hop relay path; receiving a frame indicating a shared transmission opportunity with the first wireless communication device and indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow; and communicating, during the transmission opportunity, data associated with the traffic flow in accordance with the frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0160]

[0165] The method of Clause 14: The method of Clause 13, further comprising receiving a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, wherein each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the sharing of transmission opportunities supersedes the channel access priority mapping according to a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

[0161]

[0166] Clause 15: The method according to Clause 14, further comprising receiving a frame from a second wireless communication device in accordance with a multi-hop relay path, wherein, in accordance with a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, the first wireless communication device is scheduled in the first time slot of a sequence of time slots, and the second wireless communication device is scheduled in the second time slot of a sequence of time slots immediately preceding the first time slot.

[0162]

[0167] Clause 16: The method of any one of Clauses 13 to 15, further comprising receiving data associated with a traffic flow from a second wireless communication device and transmitting data during a transmission opportunity in connection with relaying data from the second wireless communication device to a third wireless communication device.

[0163]

[0168] Clause 17: The method of any one of Clauses 13 to 16, further comprising sending a trigger frame requesting data associated with a traffic flow in connection with receiving a frame indicating a shared transmission opportunity, and receiving data in connection with sending the trigger frame.

[0164]

[0169] Clause 18: The method of any one of Clauses 13 to 17, further comprising receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots from a controller of a multi-hop relay path.

[0165]

[0170] Clause 19: One or more channel access rules associated with a sequence of time slots are not applicable during a transmission opportunity, according to a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to a traffic flow and a sequence of time slots also corresponding to a traffic flow, as described in any of Clauses 13 to 18.

[0166]

[0171] Clause 20: The information associated with the sequence of time slots indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with a multi-hop relay path, the frequency channel mapping indicating that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of the multiple frequency channels, as described in any of Clauses 13 to 19.

[0167]

[0172] Clause 21: A frame is an allocation request frame or a trigger frame, as described in any of Clauses 13 to 20.

[0168]

[0173] Clause 22: A frame is defined in any of the manner described in Clauses 13 to 21, which indicates an identifier corresponding to a traffic flow through an information element.

[0169]

[0174] Clause 23: The sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time domain multiple access slot reservations, as described in any of Clauses 13 to 22.

[0170]

[0175] Clause 24: A method of wireless communication by a first wireless communication device, comprising: receiving information relating to a sequence of time slots, corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, indicating a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, the frequency channel mapping indicating that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of a plurality of frequency channels; and transmitting data associated with traffic flows via a first frequency channel during a first time slot of the sequence of time slots, in accordance with the frequency channel mapping.

[0171]

[0176] The method of Clause 25: The method of Clause 24, further comprising receiving a channel access priority mapping associated with a sequence of time slots, wherein the channel access priority mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in a multi-hop relay path has channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots.

[0172]

[0177] Clause 26: The method according to Clause 25, wherein the channel access priority mapping indicates the relatively highest channel access priority for the first wireless communication device for a first time slot, and indicates the relatively highest channel access priority for the second wireless communication device for a second time slot in the sequence of time slots, and the frequency channel mapping indicates the first frequency channel for the first wireless communication device and the second frequency channel for the second wireless communication device.

[0173]

[0178] Clause 27: The method according to Clause 26, wherein the first frequency channel and the second frequency channel are on different channels, such that the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device are at least two hops apart from each other according to a multi-hop relay path.

[0174]

[0179] Clause 28: The method of any one of Clauses 24 to 27, further comprising receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots from a controller of a multi-hop relay path.

[0175]

[0180] Clause 29: Frequency channel mapping is associated with multi-primary channel operation along a multi-hop relay path, as described in any of Clauses 24 to 28.

[0176]

[0181] Clause 30: Frequency channel mapping according to any of Clauses 24 to 29, which indicates different multi-primary channels for different hops in a multi-hop relay path.

[0177]

[0182] Clause 31: The sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time domain multiple access slot reservations, as described in any of Clauses 24 to 30.

[0178]

[0183] Clause 32: A first wireless communication device for wireless communication, comprising one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled to one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 12 when executing the code.

[0179]

[0184] Clause 33: A first wireless communication device for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 12.

[0180]

[0185] Clause 34: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communications, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed individually or collectively by one or more processors for performing the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 12.

[0181]

[0186] Clause 35: A first wireless communication device for wireless communication, comprising one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled to one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the method described in any of Clauses 13 to 23 when executing the code.

[0182]

[0187] Clause 36: A first wireless communication device for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method described in any of Clauses 13 to 23.

[0183]

[0188] Clause 37: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communications, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed individually or collectively by one or more processors for performing the method described in any of Clauses 13 to 23.

[0184]

[0189] Clause 38: A first wireless communication device for wireless communication, comprising one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled to one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the first wireless communication device to perform the method described in any of Clauses 24 to 31 when executing the code.

[0185]

[0190] Clause 39: A first wireless communications device for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing the method described in any of Clauses 24 to 31.

[0186]

[0191] Clause 40: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communications, wherein the code includes instructions that can be executed individually or collectively by one or more processors for performing the method described in any of Clauses 24 to 31.

[0187]

[0192] As used herein, the terms “determine” or “determining” encompass a wide range of actions, and therefore “determining” can include calculating, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (such as searching within tables, databases, or other data structures), reasoning, confirming, measuring, etc. “Determining” can also include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data stored in memory), transmitting (such as transmitting information), etc. Furthermore, “determining” can also include resolving, selecting, obtaining, choosing, establishing, and other similar actions.

[0188]

[0193] Where used herein, the phrase "at least one of" the list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to include a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc. Where used herein, "or" is intended to be interpreted in an inclusive sense unless otherwise expressly indicated. For example, "a or b" may include a only, b only, or a combination of a and b.

[0189]

[0194] As used herein, “based on” is intended to be interpreted in a comprehensive sense unless otherwise explicitly indicated. For example, “based on” may be used interchangeably with “at least partially based on,” “associated with,” or “according to,” unless otherwise explicitly indicated. Specifically, unless the phrase “based on ‘a’ alone” or refers to a contextual equivalent, “based on ‘a’” or “at least partially based on ‘a’” may be based on “a” alone, or on “a” in combination with one or more other factors, conditions, or pieces of information.

[0190]

[0195] When used herein, including in the claims, the article “a” preceding a noun is open-ended and understood to refer to “at least one” of those nouns or “one or more” of those nouns. Thus, the terms “one,” “at least one,” “one or more,” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. For example, if a claim describes “components” that perform one or more functions, each of the individual functions may be performed by a single component or by any combination of multiple components. Thus, “components” having a characteristic or performing a function may refer to “at least one of one or more components” that has a particular characteristic or performs a particular function. Subsequent references to components introduced with the article “a” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of one or more components. For example, a component introduced with the article "a" may be understood to mean "one or more components," and subsequently, referring to "component" in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to "at least one of the one or more components." Similarly, a subsequent reference to a component introduced as "one or more components" using the terms "the" or "said" may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, subsequently, referring to "one or more components" in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to "at least one of the one or more components."

[0191]

[0196] The various exemplary components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed herein and their structural equivalents. The compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software is described conceptually in terms of functionality and illustrated in the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0192]

[0197] Various modifications to the embodiments described herein may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims should not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but should be given the broadest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and any novel features.

[0193]

[0198] In addition, various features described herein in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented separately or in any preferred partial combination in multiple embodiments. Therefore, features may be described above as acting in a particular combination, and may even be initially claimed as such, but one or more features from a claimed combination may, in some cases, be removed from that combination, and the claimed combination may cover partial combinations or variations of partial combinations.

[0194]

[0199] Similarly, while operations are shown in a specific order in the drawings, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in a specific or sequential order shown, or that all exemplified operations be performed, in order to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, drawings may schematically represent one or more exemplary processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other operations not illustrated may be incorporated into those schematically illustrated exemplary processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the exemplary operations. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the program components and systems described can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged within multiple software products.

Claims

1. A first wireless communication device, One or more memory locations that store processor executable code, The system comprises one or more processors coupled to one or more of the aforementioned memories, and when the one or more processors execute the code, the first wireless communication device, A sequence of time slots, which corresponds to the traffic flow associated with a multi-hop relay path, and which receives information associated with the sequence of time slots. During the transmission opportunity of the first wireless communication device, the data associated with the traffic flow is transmitted. A first wireless communication device, individually or collectively configured to indicate the sharing of the transmission opportunity with a second wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path, and to cause the first wireless communication device to transmit a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow according to the transmission opportunity which at least partially overlaps with the sequence of time slots.

2. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, which is configured individually or collectively to receive channel access priority mappings associated with the sequence of time slots, wherein each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the sharing of the transmission opportunity supersedes the channel access priority mappings according to the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

3. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, which is configured individually or collectively to cause the second wireless communication device to transmit the frames according to the multi-hop relay path, wherein the first wireless communication device is scheduled in the first time slot of the sequence of time slots according to the channel access priority mapping associated with the sequence of time slots, and the second wireless communication device is scheduled in the second time slot of the sequence of time slots immediately following the first time slot.

4. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, configured individually or collectively to cause the second wireless communication device to transmit the frame to indicate that the data associated with the traffic flow is relayed according to the multi-hop relay path during the transmission opportunity.

5. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, which is configured individually or collectively to cause the second wireless communication device to receive a trigger frame requesting the data associated with the traffic flow during the transmission opportunity, wherein transmitting the data is related to receiving the trigger frame.

6. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The third wireless communication device is prompted to send a second trigger frame requesting the data associated with the traffic flow. The first wireless communication device according to claim 5, which is configured individually or collectively to cause the third wireless communication device to receive the data associated with the traffic flow in connection with transmitting the second trigger frame, and transmitting the frame indicating the sharing of the transmission opportunity with the second wireless communication device is associated with receiving the data from the third wireless communication device.

7. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, configured individually or collectively to cause the controller of the multi-hop relay path to receive the information associated with the sequence of time slots.

8. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein one or more channel access rules associated with the sequence of time slots are not applicable during the transmission opportunity shared by the first wireless communication device, according to the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow and the sequence of time slots corresponding to the traffic flow.

9. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the information associated with the sequence of time slots indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, and the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of the multiple frequency channels.

10. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the frame is an allocation request frame or a trigger frame.

11. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the frame indicates the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow via an information element.

12. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the sequence of time slots is associated with a sequence of flow-specific back-to-back time-domain multiple access slot reservations.

13. A first wireless communication device, One or more memory locations that store processor executable code, The system comprises one or more processors coupled to one or more of the aforementioned memories, and when the one or more processors execute the code, the first wireless communication device, A sequence of time slots, which corresponds to the traffic flow associated with a multi-hop relay path, and which receives information associated with the sequence of time slots. The first wireless communication device is shown to be sharing a transmission opportunity, and a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow is received. A first wireless communication device, individually or collectively configured to transmit data associated with the traffic flow in accordance with the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow during the transmission opportunity.

14. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, which is configured individually or collectively to receive a channel access priority mapping associated with the sequence of time slots, wherein each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the sharing of the transmission opportunity supersedes the channel access priority mapping according to the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

15. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 14, which is configured individually or collectively to cause a second wireless communication device to receive the frame according to the multi-hop relay path, and which is scheduled in the first time slot of the sequence of time slots according to the channel access priority mapping associated with the sequence of time slots, and which is scheduled in the second time slot of the sequence of time slots immediately preceding the first time slot.

16. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The second wireless communication device receives the data associated with the traffic flow. The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, configured individually or collectively to transmit the data during the transmission opportunity, in connection with relaying the data from the second wireless communication device to the third wireless communication device.

17. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: In connection with receiving the frame indicating the sharing of the aforementioned transmission opportunity, a trigger frame is sent requesting the data associated with the traffic flow. The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, configured individually or collectively to receive the data in connection with the transmission of the trigger frame.

18. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, configured individually or collectively to cause the controller of the multi-hop relay path to receive the information associated with the sequence of time slots.

19. The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, wherein one or more channel access rules associated with the sequence of time slots are not applicable during the transmission opportunity, according to the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow and the sequence of time slots corresponding to the traffic flow.

20. The first wireless communication device according to claim 13, wherein the information associated with the sequence of time slots indicates a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, and the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of the multiple frequency channels.

21. A first wireless communication device, One or more memory locations that store processor executable code, The system comprises one or more processors coupled to one or more of the aforementioned memories, and when the one or more processors execute the code, the first wireless communication device, Information associated with a sequence of time slots, corresponding to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, showing a frequency channel mapping associated with the multi-hop relay path, where the frequency channel mapping indicates that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path uses each of the multiple frequency channels, and receiving this information. A first wireless communication device, individually or collectively configured to transmit data associated with the traffic flow via a first frequency channel during a first time slot in a sequence of time slots, according to the frequency channel mapping.

22. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 21, which is configured individually or collectively to receive channel access priority mappings associated with the sequence of time slots, wherein the channel access priority mappings indicate that each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots.

23. The first wireless communication device according to claim 22, wherein the channel access priority mapping indicates the relatively highest channel access priority for the first wireless communication device for the first time slot, and indicates the relatively highest channel access priority for the second wireless communication device for the second time slot in the sequence of time slots, and the frequency channel mapping indicates the first frequency channel for the first wireless communication device and the second frequency channel for the second wireless communication device.

24. The first wireless communication device according to claim 23, wherein the first frequency channel and the second frequency channel are different channels, such that the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device are at least two hops apart from each other according to the multi-hop relay path.

25. When the one or more processors execute the code, they communicate to the first wireless communication device: The first wireless communication device according to claim 21, which is configured individually or collectively to cause the controller of the multi-hop relay path to receive the information associated with the sequence of time slots.

26. The first wireless communication device according to claim 21, wherein the frequency channel mapping is associated with multi-primary channel operation along the multi-hop relay path.

27. The first wireless communication device according to claim 21, wherein the frequency channel mapping indicates different multiprimary channels for different hops in the multihop relay path.

28. A method of wireless communication using a first wireless communication device, Receiving information associated with a sequence of time slots, which corresponds to traffic flows associated with a multi-hop relay path, During the transmission opportunity of the first wireless communication device, the data associated with the traffic flow is transmitted, This indicates the sharing of the transmission opportunity with a second wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path, and transmits a frame indicating an identifier corresponding to the traffic flow according to the transmission opportunity which at least partially overlaps with the sequence of time slots, Methods that include...

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising receiving a channel access priority mapping associated with the sequence of time slots, wherein each wireless communication device in the multi-hop relay path has a channel access priority during each time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the sharing of the transmission opportunity supersedes the channel access priority mapping according to the frame indicating the identifier corresponding to the traffic flow.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising transmitting the frame to the second wireless communication device according to the multi-hop relay path, wherein the first wireless communication device is scheduled in the first time slot of the sequence of time slots, and the second wireless communication device is scheduled in the second time slot of the sequence of time slots immediately following the first time slot, according to the channel access priority mapping associated with the sequence of time slots.

Images