US-20260128828-A1 - NON-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS COORDINATION

US20260128828A1US 20260128828 A1US20260128828 A1US 20260128828A1US-20260128828-A1

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, components, devices and systems for non-primary channel access (NPCA) coordination. Some aspects more specifically relate to coordination between one or more wireless communication devices regarding switching between a primary channel and a non-primary channel. After switching to a non-primary channel, a wireless communication device may implement one or more NPCA coordination techniques to improve communications via the non-primary and primary channels. A first wireless communication device may transmit or broadcast, via the non-primary channel, a frame indicating one or more NPCA parameters, which may include a duration parameter, a bandwidth parameter, and other NPCA parameters. A second wireless communication device may ignore the frame, respond using the NPCA parameters, or negotiate allowed NPCA parameters. The first wireless communication device may communicate with one or more other wireless communication devices via the non-primary channel based on the one or more NPCA parameters.

Inventors

Gaurang NAIK
Giovanni Chisci
Sanket Sanjay Kalamkar
Naveen Kumar Kakani
Jinsung Lee
Abhishek Pramod PATIL
George Cherian
Srinivas Katar
Alfred Asterjadhi
Sai Yiu Duncan Ho
Sherief HELWA

Assignees

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251028

Claims (20)

1 . A first wireless communication device, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: switch operation of the first wireless communication device from a first channel to a second channel in response to detection of one or more physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) via the first channel, the first wireless communication device being associated with a first basic service set, the one or more PPDUs being associated with a second basic service set different than the first basic service set; and receive, via the second channel and from a second wireless communication device, a frame indicating one or more requested parameters for communication via the second channel.
2 . The first wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to determine whether the one or more requested parameters are accepted in accordance with a comparison between the one or more requested parameters and one or more parameters associated with the first channel or associated with communication via the second channel, or both.
3 . The first wireless communication device of claim 2 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to transmit, while operating via the second channel, a response frame to the second wireless communication device, wherein the response frame is transmitted in accordance with the one or more requested parameters being accepted by the first wireless communication device.
4 . The first wireless communication device of claim 2 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to refrain from transmitting a response frame to the second wireless communication device in accordance with at least one of the one or more requested parameters failing acceptance by the first wireless communication device.
5 . The first wireless communication device of claim 2 , wherein the one or more requested parameters are accepted in accordance with a first duration parameter of the one or more requested parameters being less than or equal to a second duration parameter of the one or more parameters, or in accordance with a first bandwidth parameter of the one or more requested parameters being less than or equal to a second bandwidth parameter of the one or more parameters, or both.
6 . The first wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more requested parameters comprise at least one of a requested transmission opportunity duration or a bandwidth parameter.
7 . The first wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the frame comprises an initial control frame.
8 . The first wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more requested parameters correspond to requested non-primary channel access (NPCA) parameters.
9 . The first wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the frame comprises a user information field associated with non-primary channel access that includes respective fields for the one or more requested parameters.
10 . A second wireless communication device, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: switch operation of the second wireless communication device from a first channel to a second channel in response to detection of one or more physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) via the first channel, the second wireless communication device being associated with a first basic service set, the one or more PPDUs being associated with a second basic service set different than the first basic service set; and transmit, via the second channel and after the operation of the second wireless communication device is switched from the first channel to the second channel, a frame indicating one or more requested parameters for communication via the second channel.
11 . The second wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: receive, while operating via the second channel, a response frame from a first wireless communication device, wherein the response frame is received in accordance with the one or more requested parameters; and transmit at least one PPDU via the second channel to the first wireless communication device in accordance with the one or more requested parameters.
12 . The second wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more requested parameters comprise at least one of a requested transmission opportunity duration or a bandwidth parameter.
13 . The second wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the frame comprises an initial control frame transmitted via the second channel.
14 . The second wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the frame comprises a user information field associated with non-primary channel access that includes respective fields for the one or more requested parameters.
15 . A first wireless communication device, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: switch operation of the first wireless communication device from a first channel to a second channel in response to detection of one or more physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) via the first channel, the first wireless communication device being associated with a first basic service set, the one or more PPDUs being associated with a second basic service set different than the first basic service set; transmit, via the second channel and to a second wireless communication device is switched from the first channel to the second channel, a frame indicating one or more requested parameters for communication via the second channel; receive, via the second channel and from the second wireless communication device, a response frame indicating one or more allowed parameters for communication via the second channel; and transmit one or more frames to the second wireless communication device in accordance with the one or more allowed parameters.
16 . The first wireless communication device of claim 15 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to modify at least one of a communication bandwidth or a transmission opportunity duration for transmitting the one or more frames in accordance with the one or more allowed parameters.
17 . The first wireless communication device of claim 15 , wherein the one or more allowed parameters comprise at least one of an allowed transmission opportunity duration or an allowed bandwidth parameter.
18 . The first wireless communication device of claim 17 , wherein: the allowed transmission opportunity duration comprises a threshold duration in accordance with a first comparison between a requested transmission opportunity duration of the one or more requested parameters and a duration associated with at least one PPDU detected via the first channel by the second wireless communication device, and the allowed bandwidth parameter comprises a threshold bandwidth in accordance with a second comparison between a requested bandwidth parameter of the one or more requested parameters and an available bandwidth of the second channel for the second wireless communication device.
19 . The first wireless communication device of claim 15 , wherein the frame comprises an initial control frame that includes a user information field associated with non-primary channel access that includes respective fields for the one or more requested parameters.
20 . The first wireless communication device of claim 15 , wherein the response frame comprises a multi-station block acknowledgment frame that includes a bitmap indicating the one or more allowed parameters.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES The present Application for Patent claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/722,992 by NAIK et al., entitled “NON-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS COORDINATION”filed Nov. 20, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/717,223 by NAIK et al., entitled “NON-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS COORDINATION” filed Nov. 6, 2024, each of which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and each of which is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and, more specifically, to non-primary channel access (NPCA) coordination. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY Wireless communication networks may include various types of wireless communication devices including network entities (such as wireless access points (AP) or base stations (BS)), client devices (such as wireless stations (STAs) or user equipment (UEs)), and other wireless nodes. These wireless communication devices may communicate with one another via a variety of technologies and wireless communication protocols, including wireless local area network (WLAN) or Wi-Fi-based protocols or cellular (such as 4G, 5G, or 6G)-based protocols. The wireless communication networks may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (such as time, frequency, and spatial resources). To enable features or provide improved performance, the wireless communication devices may employ technologies such as orthogonal frequency divisional multiple access (OFDMA), multi-user Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO), spatial multiplexing, and beamforming. For greater inter-operability, the wireless communication networks may support backwards compatibility (such as supporting legacy wireless communication devices) as well as forward compatibility (such as supporting communication with wireless communication devices compatible with next-generation wireless communication standards). Some wireless communication networks may include multiple channels for communications between wireless communication devices. For example, a wireless communication system may include a primary channel and one or more non-primary channels. In some examples, if a first wireless communication device detects that the primary channel is busy for a duration, the first wireless communication device may switch to a non-primary channel for the duration, attempt to communication with a second wireless communication device via the non-primary channel, and switch back to the primary channel after the duration. In some examples, however, the detection of whether a primary channel is busy may not be consistent for both the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device. For example, different wireless communication devices may detect different durations in which the primary channel is busy, or one wireless communication device may detect that the primary channel is busy while another wireless communication device may not detect that the primary channel is busy. SUMMARY The systems, methods, and devices of this disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein. One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device may include a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code. The processing system may be configured to cause the first wireless communication device to switch operation of the first wireless communication device from a first channel to a second channel in response to detection of one or more PPDUs via the first channel, the first wireless communication device being associated with a first BSS, the one or more PPDUs being associated with a second BSS different than the first BSS, transmit, via the second channel and after the operation of the first wireless communication device is switched from the first channel to the second channel, an indication that the first wireless communication device will switch from the second channel to the first channel, and switch the operation of the first wireless communication device from the second channel to the first channel in accordance with the indication. In some examples of the method, first wireless communication devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the indication may be included in a non-primary channel access (NPCA) announcement frame. Some examples of the method, first wireless communication devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, while operating via the second channel, one or more frames to a second wireless communication device, where at least one frame of the one or more frames includes the indicat