US-20260129677-A1 - NON-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS CONDITIONS FOR JOINT OPERATION WITH COORDINATED ACCESS POINT PROCEDURES

US20260129677A1US 20260129677 A1US20260129677 A1US 20260129677A1US-20260129677-A1

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, components, devices and systems for non-primary channel access (NPCA) conditions for joint operation with coordinated access point (AP) procedures. Some aspects more specifically relate to preventing an NPCA-enabled station from switching to the secondary primary channel during a coordinated transmission messaging sequence. In some examples, a first AP may transmit, to the NPCA-enabled station, a first frame that indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel. Based on receiving the indication of the one or more parameters, the NPCA-enabled station may determine not to switch to the secondary primary channel, and may complete the coordinated transmission messaging sequence.

Inventors

Sherief HELWA
Sai Yiu Duncan Ho
Gaurang NAIK
Abhishek Pramod PATIL
George Cherian
Youhan Kim
Srinivas Katar
Alfred Asterjadhi
Sanket Sanjay Kalamkar
Giovanni Chisci

Assignees

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251104

Claims (20)

1 . A first access point (AP), comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first AP to: transmit, to one or more stations (STAs) via a first primary channel, a first frame associated with a coordinated transmission messaging sequence by the first AP and a second AP, wherein the first frame indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel, and wherein the secondary primary channel is used for contending for channel access when the first primary channel is occupied; and communicate one or more subsequent frames associated with the coordinated transmission messaging sequence on the first primary channel in accordance with the one or more parameters.
2 . The first AP of claim 1 , wherein: a first parameter of the one or more parameters indicates a first duration for providing network allocation vector protection, and the first duration is less than a channel switching threshold duration corresponding to transition between the first primary channel and the secondary primary channel.
3 . The first AP of claim 2 , wherein, to communicate the one or more subsequent frames, the processing system is further configured to cause the first AP to: receive a second frame on the first primary channel based at least in part on the first frame, wherein the second frame indicates a second duration for providing network allocation vector protection, wherein the first duration for providing network allocation vector protection is equal to a second duration of the first frame, a third duration of the second frame, and a fourth duration of two short interframe spacings, a first short interframe spacing of the two short interframe spacings subsequent to the first frame and a second short interframe spacing of the two short interframe spacings subsequent to the second frame, and wherein the second duration for providing network allocation vector protection is equal to the third duration of the second frame and a fifth duration of the second short interframe spacing.
4 . The first AP of claim 3 , wherein the first frame is an initial control frame and the second frame is an initial control response.
5 . The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first AP to: transmit, to the one or more STAs via the first primary channel, a multi-user block acknowledgment request corresponding to a downlink data transmission of the coordinated transmission messaging sequence, the multi-user block acknowledgment request indicating a first duration of network allocation vector protection; and monitor the first primary channel for a block acknowledgement responsive to the multi-user block acknowledgment request.
6 . The first AP of claim 1 , wherein a first parameter of the one or more parameters includes an indication that a non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled during the coordinated transmission messaging sequence by the first AP and the second AP, the non-primary channel access operation associated with transition between the first primary channel and the secondary primary channel.
7 . The first AP of claim 6 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first AP to: transmit, to the one or more STAs via the first primary channel, a second frame including an indication that the non-primary channel access operation is allowed or enabled based at least in part on completion of the coordinated transmission messaging sequence.
8 . The first AP of claim 7 , wherein: the first frame is a first beacon frame and the second frame is a next beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame, and the indication that the non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled is based at least in part on at least a portion of the coordinated transmission messaging sequence occurring in an interval between the first frame and the second frame.
9 . The first AP of claim 7 , wherein: the first frame is a first management frame and the second frame is a second management frame, and the indication that the non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled is based at least in part on at least a portion of the coordinated transmission messaging sequence occurring in an interval between the first frame and the second frame.
10 . The first AP of claim 6 , wherein: the first frame further indicates a service period beginning at a first time and ending at a second time, and the indication that the non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled is based at least in part on the coordinated transmission messaging sequence occurring within the service period.
11 . The first AP of claim 6 , wherein the non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled during the coordinated transmission messaging sequence based at least in part on a set of one or more conditions being satisfied, wherein the coordinated transmission messaging sequence that is enabled is a coordinated beamforming channel sounding sequence, a coordinated beamforming data transmission sequence, a coordinated spatial reuse sequence, a coordinated beamforming time division multiple access sequence, or any combination thereof.
12 . The first AP of claim 6 , wherein the non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled for the one or more STAs based at least in part on an indication that the non-primary channel access operation is enabled at the one or more STAs.
13 . The first AP of claim 6 , wherein the non-primary channel access operation is disallowed or disabled for the first AP and the second AP of a first overlapping BSS (OBSS) and allowed or enabled for at least a third AP of a second OBSS.
14 . The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the coordinated transmission messaging sequence is a coordinated beamforming channel sounding sequence or a coordinated beamforming data transmission sequence, and wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first AP to: transmit, to the second AP, an invitation to perform the coordinated beamforming channel sounding sequence or the coordinated beamforming data transmission sequence; and monitor for a response indicating an acceptance or a rejection of the invitation.
15 . The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the coordinated transmission messaging sequence is a coordinated beamforming channel sounding sequence, a coordinated beamforming data transmission sequence, a coordinated spatial reuse sequence, or any combination thereof.
16 . The first AP of claim 1 , wherein the transition from the first primary channel to the secondary primary channel is delayed until after reception of an initial control frame, an initial control response frame, and a third frame.
17 . A method for wireless communications at a first access point (AP), comprising: transmitting, to one or more stations (STAs) via a first primary channel, a first frame associated with a coordinated transmission messaging sequence by the first AP and a second AP, wherein the first frame indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel, and wherein the secondary primary channel is used for contending for channel access when the first primary channel is occupied; and communicating one or more subsequent frames associated with the coordinated transmission messaging sequence on the first primary channel in accordance with the one or more parameters.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein: a first parameter of the one or more parameters indicates a first duration for providing network allocation vector protection, and the first duration is less than a channel switching threshold duration corresponding to transition between the first primary channel and the secondary primary channel.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein communicating the one or more subsequent frames further comprises: receiving a second frame on the first primary channel based at least in part on the first frame, wherein the second frame indicates a second duration for providing network allocation vector protection, wherein the first duration for providing network allocation vector protection is equal to a second duration of the first frame, a third duration of the second frame and a fourth duration of two short interframe spacings, a first short interframe spacing of the two short interframe spacings subsequent to the first frame and a second short interframe spacing of the two short interframe spacings subsequent to the second frame, and wherein the second duration for providing network allocation vector protection is equal to the third duration of the second frame and a fifth duration of the second short interframe spacing.
20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to: transmit, to one or more stations (STAs) via a first primary channel, a first frame associated with a coordinated transmission messaging sequence by a first access point (AP) and a second AP, wherein the first frame indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel, and wherein the secondary primary channel is used for contending for channel access when the first primary channel is occupied; and communicate one or more subsequent frames associated with the coordinated transmission messaging sequence on the first primary channel in accordance with the one or more parameters.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES The present Application for Patent claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/716,836 by HELWA et al., entitled “NON-PRIMARY CHANNEL ACCESS CONDITIONS FOR JOINT OPERATION WITH COORDINATED ACCESS POINT PROCEDURES,” filed Nov. 6, 2024, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated herein. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and, more specifically, to non-primary channel access conditions for joint operation with coordinated access point procedures. 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). 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 method for wireless communications by a first access point (AP). The method may include transmitting, to one or more stations (STAs) via a first primary channel, a first frame associated with a coordinated transmission messaging sequence by the first AP and a second AP, where the first frame indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel, and where the secondary primary channel is used for contending for channel access when the first primary channel is occupied and communicating one or more subsequent frames associated with the coordinated transmission messaging sequence on the first primary channel in accordance with the one or more parameters. Another innovative aspect of the subject matter in this disclosure can be implemented in a first AP for wireless communications. The first AP 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 AP to transmit, to one or more STAs via a first primary channel, a first frame associated with a coordinated transmission messaging sequence by the first AP and a second AP, where the first frame indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel, and where the secondary primary channel is used for contending for channel access when the first primary channel is occupied and communicate one or more subsequent frames associated with the coordinated transmission messaging sequence on the first primary channel in accordance with the one or more parameters. An innovative aspect of the subject matter in this disclosure can be implemented in another first AP for wireless communications. The first AP may include means for transmitting, to one or more STAs via a first primary channel, a first frame associated with a coordinated transmission messaging sequence by the first AP and a second AP, where the first frame indicates one or more parameters associated with a determination of whether to transition from the first primary channel to a secondary primary channel, and where the secondary primary channel is used for contending for channel access when the first primary channel is occupied and means for communicating one or more subsequent frames associated with the coordinated transmission messaging sequence on the first primary channel in accordance with the one or more parameters. Another innovative aspect of the subject matter in this disclosure can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processo