US-20260129680-A1 - EFFICIENT TRANSMISSION FOR IN-DEVICE-COEXISTENCE

Abstract

An access point (AP) device for facilitating communication in a wireless network. The AP device has a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The AP device transmits, to a station (STA) device, a request frame requesting information associated with an unavailability period, wherein the STA device is not available for transmitting or receiving frames during the unavailability period. The AP device receives, from the STA device, a response frame including information associated with the unavailability period. The AP device transmits, to the STA device, a first data frame based on the information associated with the unavailability period, wherein transmission of the first data frame is completed before a start of the unavailability period.

Inventors

• Sung Jin Park
• Daehong Kim

Assignees

• SENSCOMM SEMICONDUCTOR CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20250925

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An access point (AP) device for facilitating communication in a wireless network, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to cause: transmitting, to a station (STA) device, a request frame requesting information associated with an unavailability period, wherein the STA device is not available for transmitting or receiving frames during the unavailability period; receiving, from the STA device, a response frame including information associated with the unavailability period; and transmitting, to the STA device, a first data frame based on the information associated with the unavailability period, wherein transmission of the first data frame is completed before a start of the unavailability period.
2. 2 . The AP device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause: transmitting, to the STA device, a second data frame after the unavailability period, wherein the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data.
3. 3 . The AP device of claim 1 , wherein: the request frame includes a request that the STA device increases the STA device's reception capability; the response frame includes an indication of the STA device's increased reception capability; and the first data frame is transmitted based on the STA device's increased reception capability.
4. 4 . The AP device of claim 3 , wherein the first data frame is transmitted based on a modulation and coding scheme associated with the STA device's increased reception capability or a number of spatial streams associated with the STA device's increased reception capability.
5. 5 . The AP device of claim 1 , wherein: the request frame includes a request for information on an alternative channel which is available during the unavailability period; the response frame includes information on an alternative channel which is available during the unavailability period; and the processor is further configured to cause: transmitting, to the STA device, a second data frame on the alternative channel during the unavailability period, wherein the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data.
6. 6 . The AP device of claim 5 , wherein the first data frame is transmitted on a primary channel, and the alternative channel is a secondary channel.
7. 7 . The AP device of claim 5 , wherein the response frame includes information on a plurality of alternative channels which are available during the unavailability period, and the processor is further configured to cause: selecting the alternative channel from the plurality of alternative channels.
8. 8 . The AP device of claim 5 , wherein the alternative channel is determined to be available if signal strength of interference on the alternative channel is below a predetermined threshold during the unavailability period.
9. 9 . The AP device of claim 1 , wherein: the AP device is an AP multi-link device (MLD) comprising a plurality of APs; the STA device is an STA MLD comprising a plurality of STAs; the first data frame is transmitted on a first link established between the AP device and the STA device; and the processor is further configured to cause: transmitting, to the STA device, a second data frame on a second link established between the AP device and the STA device during the unavailability period, wherein the second link is available during the unavailability period, and the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data.
10. 10 . The AP device of claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the unavailability period comprises a start time, a duration, a frequency band, an identifier of links affected by the unavailability period, or an indication that the unavailability period is associated with device coexistence interference.
11. 11 . A station (STA) device for facilitating communication in a wireless network, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to cause: receiving, from an access point (AP) device, a request frame requesting information associated with an unavailability period, wherein the STA device is not available for transmitting or receiving frames during the unavailability period; transmitting, to the AP device, a response frame including information associated with the unavailability period; and receiving, from the AP device, a first data frame, wherein transmission of the first data frame is completed before a start of the unavailability period.
12. 12 . The STA device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause: receiving, from the AP device, a second data frame after the unavailability period, wherein the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data.
13. 13 . The STA device of claim 11 , wherein: the request frame includes a request that the STA device increases the STA device's reception capability; the response frame includes an indication of the STA device's increased reception capability; and the first data frame is transmitted based on the STA device's increased reception capability.
14. 14 . The STA device of claim 13 , wherein the first data frame is transmitted based on a modulation and coding scheme associated with the STA device's increased reception capability or a number of spatial streams associated with the STA device's increased reception capability.
15. 15 . The STA device of claim 11 , wherein: the request frame includes a request for information on an alternative channel which is available during the unavailability period; the response frame includes information on an alternative channel which is available during the unavailability period; and the processor is further configured to cause: receiving, from the AP device, a second data frame on the alternative channel during the unavailability period, wherein the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data.
16. 16 . The STA device of claim 15 , wherein the first data frame is transmitted on a primary channel, and the alternative channel is a secondary channel.
17. 17 . The STA device of claim 15 , wherein the alternative channel is determined to be available if signal strength of interference on the alternative channel is below a predetermined threshold during the unavailability period.
18. 18 . The STA device of claim 11 , wherein: the STA device is an STA multi-link device (MLD) comprising a plurality of STAs; the AP device is an AP MLD comprising a plurality of APs; the first data frame is transmitted on a first link established between the AP device and the STA device; and the processor is further configured to cause: receiving, from the AP device, a second data frame on a second link established between the AP device and the STA device during the unavailability period, wherein the second link is available during the unavailability period, and the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data.
19. 19 . The STA device of claim 11 , wherein the information associated with the unavailability period comprises a start time, a duration, a frequency band, an identifier of links affected by the unavailability period, or an indication that the unavailability period is a result of device coexistence interference.
20. 20 . A method performed by an access point (AP) device for facilitating communication in a wireless network, the method comprising: transmitting, to a station (STA) device, a request frame requesting information associated with an unavailability period, wherein the STA device is not available for transmitting or receiving frames during the unavailability period; receiving, from the STA device, a response frame including information associated with the unavailability period; and transmitting, to the STA device, a first data frame based on the information associated with the unavailability period, wherein transmission of the first data frame is completed before a start of the unavailability period.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/715,460, entitled “EFFICIENT TRANSMISSION FOR IN-DEVICE-COEXISTENCE,” filed on Nov. 1, 2024, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to a wireless communication system, and more particularly to, for example, but not limited to, efficient transmission in wireless networks. BACKGROUND Wireless local area network (WLAN) devices are widely deployed in diverse environments to provide various communication services such as video, cloud access, broadcasting and offloading. Some of these environments have a lot of access point (AP) stations and non-AP stations in geographically limited areas. The WLAN technology has evolved toward increasing data rates and continues its growth in various markets such as home, enterprise and hotspots over the years since the late 1990s. Recently released standard (IEEE 802.11ax-2021) provides improved network performance in the high-density scenario by adopting OFDMA and MU-MIMO technologies. These improvements can be used to support environments such as outdoor hotspots, dense residential/office area, and stadiums. The Wi-Fi system has a transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing framework. The TXOP sharing may allow an access point (AP) station (STA) to allocate time within an obtained TXOP to an associated non-AP STA. The non-AP STA to which time is allocated by the AP may transmit uplink (UL) data without receiving a trigger frame from the AP and may communicate peer-to-peer with other non-AP STAs within the same basic service set (BSS). However, since the existing TXOP sharing enables the AP to allocate time resources to only one STA, it can limit traffic throughput. Moreover, it is inefficient in terms of channel utilization as it only allocates time without considering the available frequency resources. The description set forth in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely because it is set forth in the background section. The background section may describe aspects or embodiments of the present disclosure. SUMMARY This disclosure may be directed to improvements to a wireless communications system, more particularly to provide an efficient transmission to minimize the impact of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference. An aspect of the disclosure provides an access point (AP) device for facilitating communication in a wireless network. The AP comprises a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to cause transmitting, to a station (STA) device, a request frame requesting information associated with an unavailability period, wherein the STA device is not available for transmitting or receiving frames during the unavailability period. The processor is further configured to cause receiving, from the STA device, a response frame including information associated with the unavailability period. The processor is further configured to cause transmitting, to the STA device, a first data frame based on the information associated with the unavailability period, wherein transmission of the first data frame is completed before a start of the unavailability period. In an embodiment, the processor is further configured to cause transmitting, to the STA device, a second data frame after the unavailability period, wherein the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data. In an embodiment, the request frame includes a request that the STA device increases the STA device's reception capability. The response frame includes an indication of the STA device's increased reception capability. The first data frame is transmitted based on the STA device's increased reception capability. In an embodiment, the first data frame is transmitted based on a modulation and coding scheme associated with the STA device's increased reception capability or a number of spatial streams associated with the STA device's increased reception capability. In an embodiment, the request frame includes a request for information on an alternative channel which is available during the unavailability period. The response frame includes information on an alternative channel which is available during the unavailability period. The processor is further configured to cause transmitting, to the STA device, a second data frame on the alternative channel during the unavailability period, wherein the first data frame includes a portion of data that the AP device intends to transmit, and the second data frame includes a remaining portion of the data. In an embodiment, the first data frame is transmitted on a primary channel, and the alternative channel is a secondary channel. In an embodiment, the response frame includes information on a plurality of alternative channels which are available duri