WO-2026096171-A1 - COORDINATED SPATIAL REUSE IN WI-FI

WO2026096171A1WO 2026096171 A1WO2026096171 A1WO 2026096171A1WO-2026096171-A1

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, components, devices and systems for coordinated spatial reuse in Wi-Fi, such as a coordinated beamforming (COBF) transmission mode or a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) transmission mode. Some aspects more specifically relate to a sharing access point (AP) and shared AP exchanging communications that facilitate the utilization of a transmission mode. In some implementations, a first AP may transmit, to a second AP, a message that includes first information associated with coordinated transmissions in which the first AP and the second AP concurrently transmit to one or more associated stations (STAs). The first information may include one or more of transmit power information for the coordinated transmissions, alignment information for the coordinated transmissions, or a transmission mode. The first AP and the second AP may proceed with coordinated communications within a shared transmission opportunity using the COBF transmission mode or the C-SR transmission mode.

Inventors

VERMANI, SAMEER
CHEN, JIALING LI
TIAN, BIN
CHERIAN, GEORGE
PATIL, Abhishek Pramod
Helwa, Sherief

Assignees

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251008
Priority Date: 20241028

Claims (20)

1. A first access point, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first access point to: receive, from one or more first stations, channel parameters associated with at least a second access point, the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas; transmit, to the second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, the first information associated with communications between the one or more first stations and the first access point during the transmission opportunity; and transmit, to the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information, one or more messages using a transmission mode from a set of transmission modes comprising a coordinated spatial reuse transmission mode and a coordinated beamforming transmission mode.
2. The first access point of claim 1, wherein: the first information comprises one or more first identifiers associated with communications between the one or more first stations and the first access point during the transmission opportunity, and one or more second identifiers are different than one or more first identifiers, the one or more second identifiers associated with communications between one or more second stations and the second access point during the transmission opportunity, and the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to receive, from the second access point, second information associated with the coordination of the resources that indicates whether the second access point can communicate with the one or more second stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information. Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966) Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 70
3. The first access point of claim 1, wherein the channel parameters comprise one or more channel condition reports that include a cross-BSS channel measurement based on a bandwidth resolution associated with transmissions of the second access point received from the one or more first stations.
4. The first access point of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to: transmit a first message of a coordinated sounding procedure; receive sounding feedback for a cross-BSS channel link from the second access point to one or more first stations responsive to the first message; and select, in accordance with the sounding feedback, a multi-access point coordination scheme for use by the first access point and the second access point during the transmission opportunity, the multi-access point coordination scheme selected from a coordinated beamforming (COBF) scheme, a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) scheme, or a joint transmission (JT) scheme.
5. The first access point of claim 4, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to transmit one or more subsequent messages for one or more subsequent coordinated sounding procedures that provide updated cross-BSS channel link feedback associated with the second access point.
6. A first access point, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first access point to: transmit, to a second access point, first information associated with coordinated spatial reuse of resources of a transmission opportunity that provides for communications between the first access point and one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity and communications between the second access point and one or more second stations during the transmission opportunity, the first information comprising one or more of a channel quality threshold for communications with the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity, an absolute transmit power of the second access point Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966) Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 71 or both an absolute transmit power of the first access point and an absolute transmit power of the second access point normalized to a unit of bandwidth associated with the transmission opportunity, a relative transmit power normalized to a unit of bandwidth of the second access point relative to a reference frame transmitted by the second access point or both a relative transmit power of normalized to a unit of bandwidth the first access point and a relative transmit power normalized to a unit of bandwidth of the second access point relative to a reference frame transmitted by a corresponding access point, or an identifier of the reference frame; and communicate with one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information.
7. The first access point of claim 6, wherein the channel quality threshold comprises one or more of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), an error vector magnitude (EVM), or an interference threshold for communications with the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity.
8. The first access point of claim 6, wherein the absolute transmit power is a quantity associated with a bandwidth that is a portion of a total bandwidth associated with the transmission opportunity.
9. The first access point of claim 6, wherein the relative transmit power indicates a power backoff from a power spectral density level at which a prior packet or physical layer protocol data unit is transmitted by the first access point.
10. The first access point of claim 6, wherein the identifier of the reference frame is a token or an identification value associated with the reference frame.
11. The first access point of claim 6, wherein the first information indicates that the reference frame is associated with a previous ready -to-send (RTS) and clear-to- send (CTS) exchange between the first access point and the one or more first stations. Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966) Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 72
12. The first access point of claim 11, wherein the first information includes an indication of a first quantity associated with an interference level at the first access point.
13. A first access point, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first access point to: transmit, to a second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, the first information comprising one or more alignment parameters for concurrent transmissions of at least a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the first access point and a second PPDU from the second access point during the transmission opportunity, and the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas; and communicate with one or more stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information.
14. The first access point of claim 13, wherein the first information is transmitted in a transmission opportunity duration announcement associated with a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) invite frame or a C-SR trigger frame.
15. The first access point of claim 13, wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to receive, from the second access point, second information that indicates one or more parameters for the concurrent transmissions of PPDUs, and wherein communications with the one or more stations are in accordance with the first information and the second information.
16. The first access point of claim 13, wherein the first PPDU and the second PPDU each share a common preamble up to one or more of a legacy signal (L-SIG) field, an ultra-high reliability signal (UHR-SIG) field, or an ultra-high reliability long training field (UHR-LTF), the common preamble transmitted from each of the first access point and the second access point during the transmission opportunity, and Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966) Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 73 wherein the first information further indicates a value of a LENGTH subfield of the L- SIG field.
17. The first access point of claim 13, wherein the first PPDU and the second PPDU each indicate a same basic service set (BSS) color in a universal signal (U-SIG) field.
18. The first access point of claim 17, wherein the universal signal (U-SIG) field of the first PPDU and the second PPDU includes one or more of an indication that the first PPDU and the second PPDU are transmitted in accordance with coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) procedures, and an indication of a basic service set (BSS) color of one or more of the first access point, the second access point, or a group BSS color associated with the first access point and the second access point.
19. The first access point of claim 13, wherein the first access point and the second access point use a same compression mode for communications during the transmission opportunity.
20. The first access point of claim 13, wherein: the first information comprises an indication that the concurrent transmissions of the first PPDU and the second PPDU are in accordance with a coordinated spatial reuse procedure or a coordinated beamforming procedure, and wherein the indication is jointly provided by two or more subfields in the first information, or a universal signal (U-SIG) field of the first PPDU and the second PPDU includes a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) indication that the first PPDU and the second PPDU are transmitted in accordance with C-SR procedures, and wherein the C- SR indication is provided in separate subfields of the U-SIG field, or is provided in a single multi-bit subfield of the U-SIG field. Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966)

Description

Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 1 COORDINATED SPATIAL REUSE IN WI-FI CROSS REFERENCE [0001] The present Application for Patent claims priority to U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 18/929,364 by VERMANI et al., entitled “COORDINATED SPATIAL REUSE IN WI-FI,” filed October 28, 2024, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and, more specifically, to coordinated spatial reuse in Wi-Fi. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY [0003] 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-Fibased 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). Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966) Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 2 SUMMARY [0004] 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. [0005] 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. The method may include receiving, from one or more first stations, channel parameters associated with at least a second access point, the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas, transmitting, to the second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, the first information associated with communications between one or more first stations and the first access point during the transmission opportunity, and transmitting, to the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information, one or more messages using a transmission mode from a set of transmission modes including a coordinated spatial reuse transmission mode and a coordinated beamforming transmission mode. [0006] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first access point for wireless communications is described. The first access point 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 access point to receive, from one or more first stations, channel parameters associated with at least a second access point, the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas, transmit, to the second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, the first information associated with communications between one or more first stations and the first access point during the transmission opportunity, and transmit, to the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information, one or more messages using a transmission mode from a set of transmission modes including a coordinated spatial reuse transmission mode and a coordinated beamforming transmission mode. Attorney Docket No. PW816.WO (83043.2966) Qualcomm Docket No. 2408355WO 3 [0007] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a first access point for wireless communications. The first access point may include means for receiving, from one or more first stations, channel parameters associated with at least a second access point, the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas, means for transmitting, to the second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, the first information associated with communications bet