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US-20260128936-A1 - DYNAMIC SUBBAND OPERATION WITH EXPANDED DEVICE BANDWIDTH SUPPORT

US20260128936A1US 20260128936 A1US20260128936 A1US 20260128936A1US-20260128936-A1

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses of dynamic subband operation (DSO) are provided. A station (STA) device receives a subband switch control frame from an access point (AP). The subband switch control frame indicates a transition, by the STA device, to a secondary channel. In response to receiving the subband switch control frame, the STA device transitions from a primary channel to the secondary channel. The subband switch control frame indicates one or more channels in the secondary channel, and the one or more channels are a subset of total available channels in the secondary channel.

Inventors

  • Rakesh Taori
  • Kiran Uln

Assignees

  • CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250714

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method of dynamic subband operation (DSO), comprising: receiving, by a station (STA) device, a subband switch control frame that indicates a transition, by the STA device, to a secondary channel; and transitioning, by the STA device, from a primary channel to the secondary channel in response to receiving the subband switch control frame, wherein the subband switch control frame indicates one or more channels in the secondary channel, and wherein the one or more channels are a subset of total available channels in the secondary channel.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subband switch control frame comprises a number of the one or more channels that is smaller than a number of the total available channels in the secondary channel.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more channels are distributed in the secondary channel according to a basic service set (BSS) associated with the STA device.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the one or more channels are distributed in the secondary channel according to a maximum bandwidth of the STA device supported by the BSS.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more channels are distributed in the secondary channel according to a maximum bandwidth of an access point (AP) and a fixed number.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, from an access point (AP), a first message indicating a number of the total available channels for the DSO.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the first message comprises at least one of: a beacon prior to a network attach procedure, or a capability message during the network attach procedure.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising receiving a second message indicating a dynamic update of the number of the total available channels for the DSO.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting, to an access point (AP), a third message indicating at least one of: a capability of the STA device to support the DSO, or a restriction on transitioning from the primary channel to the secondary channel.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting, to an access point (AP), a fourth message indicating a switching time to transition from the primary channel to the secondary channel.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the STA device supports a maximum bandwidth of 20 mega-Hertz (MHz) or 40 MHz.
  12. 12 . A method of dynamic subband operation (DSO), comprising: determining, by an access point (AP), one or more channels in a secondary channel; and transmitting, to a station (STA) device, a subband switch control frame that causes the STA device to transition from a primary channel to the one or more channels in the secondary channel, wherein the one or more channels are a subset of total available channels in the secondary channel.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the subband switch control frame comprises a number of the one or more channels that is less than a number of the total available channels in the secondary channel.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more channels are distributed in the secondary channel according to a basic service set (BSS) associated with the STA device.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more channels are distributed in the secondary channel according to a maximum bandwidth of the AP and a fixed number.
  16. 16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: transmitting, to the STA device, a first message indicating a number of the total available channels for the DSO.
  17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: transmitting, to the STA device, a second message indicating a dynamic update of the number of the total available channels for the DSO.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: receiving, from the STA device, a third message indicating at least one of: a capability of the STA device to support the DSO, or a restriction on transitioning from the primary channel to the secondary channel.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: receiving, from the STA device, a fourth message indicating a switching time to transition from the primary channel to the secondary channel; and determining, based on the fourth message, a padding of the subband switch control frame.
  20. 20 . An apparatus comprising: a memory; and a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, to: receive a subband switch control frame that indicates a transition to a secondary channel; and transition from a primary channel to the secondary channel in response to receiving the subband switch control frame, wherein the subband switch control frame indicates one or more channels in the secondary channel, and wherein the one or more channels are a subset of total available channels in the secondary channel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/716,858, filed Nov. 6, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/803,197, filed May 9, 2025, the disclosures of which is incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications, and more particularly, to dynamic subband operations (DSOs) with expanded device bandwidth support. BACKGROUND In some wireless systems, such as those relating to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, an access point (AP) provides a wireless network for other devices, such as non-AP station (STA) devices, to receive and transmit data via wireless communications in certain frequency bands. An AP or an STA device usually has a maximum bandwidth that the AP or the STA device can support. For example, the IEEE 802.11 standards provide that an AP may support a bandwidth of up to 320 Mega Hertz (MHz), although in reality some APs and some STA devices can only support lower bandwidths. For example, some APs support up to 160 MHz and some STA devices support up to 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements. FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates example DSO operations involving an AP, an STA device that supports DSO (DSO STA), and another STA device that does not support DSO (Non-DSO STA). FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates total channels available for DSO in a secondary channel, according to some implementations. FIG. 3A is a diagram that illustrates a subset of total channels available for DSO in a secondary channel, according to some implementations. FIGS. 3B-3D illustrate example DSO subband distributions that a DSO AP may configure for a DSO STA, according to some implementations. FIG. 4 is a flowchart that illustrates a method of DSO, according to some implementations. FIG. 5 is a signal diagram that illustrates communications between an AP and an STA device in DSO, according to some implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description sets forth numerous specific details such as examples of specific systems, components, methods, and so forth, in order to provide a good understanding of various implementations of the techniques described herein for DSOs with expanded bandwidth supported. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that at least some implementations may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components, elements, or methods are not described in detail or are presented in a simple block diagram format in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the techniques described herein. Thus, the specific details set forth hereinafter are merely exemplary. Particular implementations may vary from these exemplary details and still be contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. As described above, an AP and an STA device may support different maximum bandwidths. When the AP and the STA device communicate, the mismatch in bandwidth often leads to underutilization of the AP's available frequency resources. In view of this, DSO has been proposed to reduce bandwidth wastage by allowing an AP to dynamically indicate transmission opportunities to an STA device such that the STA device may transition to a frequency channel outside the STA device's operating channel. DSO is a mechanism where a DSO STA (e.g., a non-AP STA that implements DSO) that has an operating bandwidth narrower than the DSO AP (e.g., an AP that implements DSO) can dynamically be allocated frequency resources outside of the DSO STA's current operating bandwidth, but within the DSO AP's basic service set (BSS) bandwidth, on a per transmission opportunity (TXOP) basis. For a DSO STA, the channel having a bandwidth equal to the STA's operating bandwidth and including the BSS primary channel (e.g., a 20-MHz channel for exchanging control messages with the DSO AP) is referred to as the primary subband or primary channel for the STA, while the channel(s) in the remaining BSS bandwidth is/are referred to as secondary channels/subbands. Also for the DSO STA, a channel having a bandwidth equal to the STA's operating bandwidth and lying outside of the STA's primary subband but within the BSS bandwidth is referred to as a DSO subband for that STA if the channel can be allocated resources by the DSO AP during a DSO frame exchange. For example, in a 160 MHz BSS, the secondary 80 MHz subband can be a DSO subband for an 80 MHz DSO STA. Likewise, in a 320 MHz BSS, one of the secondary 80 MHz subbands (which can be up to three) can be a DSO subband for an 80 MHz DSO non-AP STA. Due to some constraints that are described later in this disclosure, existing DSO techniques app