CN-122003919-A - Non-primary channel switching scheme in wireless communications

Abstract

Techniques for non-primary channel switching schemes in wireless communications are described. An Access Point (AP) determines whether non-primary channel access (non-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS; NPCA) is allowed for each overlapping basic service set (overlapping basic SERVICE SET; OBSS). The AP then transmits a frame carrying an indication of the determination result. A Station (STA) receives a frame carrying an indication of whether NPCA corresponding to each OBSS is allowed. The STA also determines whether to switch to the NPCA primary channel based at least in part on the indication. The STA then switches from the primary channel to the NPCA primary channel in response to determining to switch to the NPCA primary channel.

Inventors

• LV KAIYING
• LIU JIANHAN
• YI ZHIXI
• XU JIANFANG
• FANG YONGGANG
• SUN LIXIANG
• Gabe Begico

Assignees

• 联发科技股份有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20240925

Priority Date

20230925

Claims (20)

1. 1. A method, comprising: Determining, by the processor of the access point, whether non-primary channel access corresponding to each overlapping basic service set is allowed, and A frame carrying an indication of the determination is sent by the processor.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the frame carrying the indication comprises transmitting the frame advertising a list of one or more overlapping basic service sets for which the non-primary channel is allowed access.
3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the frame comprises transmitting a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or other broadcast or individually addressed frame.
4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determining whether the non-primary channel access corresponding to each overlapping basic service set is allowed based on a measurement of one or more beacon frames transmitted by each overlapping basic service set.
5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determining to disable the non-primary channel access corresponding to an overlapping basic service set in response to one or more of a plurality of conditions being satisfied, and wherein the plurality of conditions comprises: a received signal strength indication or link margin of a beacon frame from the overlapping basic service set is below a threshold; the overlapping basic service set having disabled the non-primary channel access corresponding to the basic service set to which the access point belongs, and The overlapping basic service set is identified as a basic service set established by the mobile access point.
6. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication specifies a generic non-primary channel access primary channel for the non-primary channel access.
7. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining non-primary channels corresponding to overlapping basic service sets).
8. 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: Receiving, by the processor, a neighbor report from an associated work station; determining, by the processor, a non-primary channel threshold based on the neighbor report, and Signaling the non-primary channel threshold to the work site or a group of work sites by the processor, Wherein the non-primary channel threshold is used by the operating site or the group of operating sites to determine whether to switch to a non-primary channel access primary channel for an overlapping basic service set corresponding to the non-primary channel threshold, an Wherein the non-primary channel access primary channel is a 20MHz channel in a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz basic service set for transmitting 20MHz physical layer protocol data units in response to the primary 20MHz channel of the basic service set being busy.
9. 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: Measuring, by the processor, a received signal strength indication or link margin for one or more beacon frames from the overlapping basic service set; Determining, by the processor, a non-primary channel threshold based on the measurement, and Signaling the non-primary channel threshold to the work site or a group of work sites by the processor, Wherein the non-primary channel threshold is used by the operating site or the group of operating sites to determine whether to switch to a non-primary channel access primary channel for an overlapping basic service set corresponding to the non-primary channel threshold, an Wherein the non-primary channel access primary channel is a 20MHz channel in a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz basic service set for transmitting 20MHz physical layer protocol data units in response to the primary 20MHz channel of the basic service set being busy.
10. 10. A method, comprising: Receiving, by a processor of the work site, a frame carrying an indication of whether non-primary channel access corresponding to each overlapping basic service set is allowed; determining, by the processor, whether to switch to a non-primary channel to access the primary channel based at least in part on the indication, and Switching from the primary channel to the non-primary channel access primary channel is performed by the processor in response to determining to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel.
11. 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication comprises a list of one or more overlapping basic service sets for which the non-primary channel access is allowed.
12. 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving the frame comprises receiving a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or other broadcast or individually addressed frame.
13. 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel comprises determining a non-primary channel switch threshold corresponding to an overlapping basic service set.
14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel comprises: evaluating, by the processor, a link margin between the worker site and an access point associated with the worker site; Receiving, by the processor, an increment value from the access point, and Determining, by the processor, whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel based on the evaluation and the delta value.
15. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the evaluating the link margin comprises measuring a received signal strength indication or link margin for one or more beacon frames from an overlapping basic service set, and wherein the determining whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel based on the evaluating and the delta value comprises determining to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel in response to: Upon determining that the operating station is closer to the overlapping basic service set than the access point, signal energy of an ongoing transmission from the overlapping basic service set is above a preamble detection or energy detection threshold plus the delta value corresponding to the overlapping basic service set; When it is determined that the operating station is farther from the overlapping basic service set than the access point, the signal energy of the ongoing transmission from the overlapping basic service set is above the preamble detection or energy detection threshold minus the delta value corresponding to the overlapping basic service set, and When the worker station cannot hear a beacon frame from the overlapping basic service set, the worker station can hear a transmission of another worker station associated with the overlapping basic service set.
16. 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel comprises: Receiving, by the processor, an announcement of an access point determination threshold from an access point associated with the work station; Determining, by the processor, a path loss between the operating station and the access point, and A determination is made by the processor as to whether to switch to the non-primary channel to access the primary channel based on the access point determination threshold and the path loss.
17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel is based on the access point determination threshold and the path loss comprises determining to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel in response to one of: when the operating station is determined to be closer to the overlapping basic service set than the access point, the signal energy of the ongoing transmission from the overlapping basic service set is above the access point determination threshold plus the path loss, and When the operating station is determined to be farther from the overlapping basic service set than the access point, the signal energy of the ongoing transmission from the overlapping basic service set is above the access point determination threshold minus the path loss.
18. 18. An apparatus implementable in a work site, comprising: Transceiver, and A processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations by the transceiver, comprising: receiving, by the transceiver, a frame carrying an indication of whether non-primary channel access corresponding to each overlapping basic service set is allowed; determining whether to switch to a non-primary channel to access the primary channel based at least in part on the indication, and Switching from the primary channel to the non-primary channel access primary channel is performed in response to determining to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel by the transceiver.
19. 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the indication comprises a list of one or more overlapping basic service sets for which the non-primary channel access is allowed, and wherein the receiving the frame comprises receiving a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or other broadcast or individually addressed frame.
20. 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the determining whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel comprises: Evaluating, by the transceiver, a link margin between the worker site and an access point associated with the worker site; receiving an increment value from the access point via the transceiver, and A determination is made as to whether to switch to the non-primary channel access primary channel based on the evaluation and the delta value.

Description

Non-primary channel switching scheme in wireless communications Cross reference The present disclosure is part of a non-provisional patent application claiming priority benefit from U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/584,923 (filing date 2023, 9, 25 days), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a non-primary channel switching scheme in wireless communications. Background Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the following claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. In wireless communications, such as Wi-Fi (or WiFi) under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ELECTRICAL AND Electronics Engineers standard and wireless local area networks (wireless local area networks; WLANs), next generation WLAN systems support operation over wider bandwidths, such as 80MHz, 160MHz, and 320MHz, because non-primary channels are allowed to be used for channel access when overlapping basic service set (overlapping basic SERVICE SET; OBSS) transmissions on the primary channels are detected. However, when a device (e.g., an Access Point (AP) or a non-AP Station (STA)) detects that a channel is in a busy state due to an ongoing OBSS transmission, its peer device (e.g., an associated AP or STA) may not have the same channel state. For example, when an AP detects an OBSS physical layer protocol data unit (physical-layer protocol data unit; PPDU) on its primary channel using preamble detection (signal level is about-82 dBm), a STA associated with the AP may not detect the same OBSS PPDU due to uneven coverage. When the device switches to performing non-primary channel access due to the detection of an ongoing OBSS transmission on the primary channel, its peer device may not be able to monitor the potential transmission of the device on the non-primary channel. Such a mismatch in channel conditions may lead to inefficient spectrum utilization. Thus, there is a need for a solution for a non-primary channel switching scheme in wireless communications. Disclosure of Invention The following summary is provided for illustration only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is intended to introduce a selection of concepts, emphasis, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Some embodiments will be further elucidated in the following detailed description. The following summary is not, therefore, intended to identify essential features of the claims, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claims. An object of the present disclosure is to provide schemes, concepts, designs, techniques, methods and apparatuses related to non-primary channel switching schemes in wireless communications. It is believed that implementing one or more of the solutions presented herein may solve or alleviate the above-described problems. In one aspect, a method may involve determining, by an Access Point (AP), whether a corresponding non-primary channel access (non-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS; NPCA) is allowed for each overlapping basic service set (overlapping basic SERVICE SET; OBSS). The method may also involve the AP transmitting a frame carrying an indication of the determination. In another aspect, a method may involve receiving, by a Station (STA), a frame carrying an indication of whether NPCA corresponding to each OBSS is allowed. The method may also involve the STA determining whether to switch to the NPCA primary channel based at least in part on the indication. The method may also involve the STA switching from the primary channel to the NPCA primary channel in response to determining to switch to the NPCA primary channel. In yet another aspect, an apparatus that may be implemented in an AP may include a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate and a processor coupled with the transceiver. The processor may determine whether the NPCA corresponding to each OBSS is allowed. The processor may also send a frame carrying an indication of the determination. In another aspect, an apparatus, which may be implemented in a STA, may include a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate and a processor coupled with the transceiver. The processor may receive a frame carrying an indication of whether NPCA corresponding to each OBSS is allowed. The processor may also determine whether to switch to the NPCA primary channel based at least in part on the indication. The processor may also switch from the primary channel to the NPCA primary channel in response to determining to switch to the NPCA primary channel. Notably, although the description herein may be described in the context of certain Radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies (e.g., wi-Fi/WiFi), the concepts, schemes, an