CN118042644A - System and method for multilink wireless connection - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for multi-link wireless connections. A device may include a first radio configured to transmit via a first link and a second link of a first wireless band. The first radio may be configured to detect OBSS communications on the first link of the first wireless band. The first radio may be configured to transmit via the second link of the first radio frequency band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the first link of the first radio frequency band. The device may be configured to operate as an access point, AP, for one or more stations of a wireless network.

Description

System and method for multilink wireless connection

Cross reference to related applications

The present application claims priority from the indian provisional patent application No. 2022-21064891 filed on 11/12 of 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for communication between a Station (STA) and an Access Point (AP) or other communication device.

Background

Over the past decades, the wireless communication device market has grown orders of magnitude through the use of portable devices and the push for increased connectivity and data transfer between a wide variety of devices. Digital switching technology has prompted the massive development of economically viable, easy-to-use wireless communication networks. Further, improvements in digital and Radio Frequency (RF) circuit fabrication, as well as advances in circuit integration and other aspects, have made wireless devices smaller, cheaper, and more reliable. Wireless communications may operate in accordance with various standards, such as IEEE 802.11x, bluetooth, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). With the development of higher data throughput, network density, and other changing factors, newer standards are continually being developed for adoption, such as the evolution from IEEE 802.11n to IEEE 802.11ac, ax, or be. The network device may operate as a client Station (STA), an Access Point (AP), or a mobile AP. The network device may have a different number of antennas depending on its complexity and functionality. However, additional antennas may increase system complexity, e.g., based on interference therebetween.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an apparatus, comprising: a first radio configured to transmit via a first link and a second link of a first wireless band, the first radio configured to detect Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) communications on the first link of the first wireless band; and the first radio is configured to transmit via the second link of the first wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the first link of the first wireless band; wherein the device is configured to operate as an Access Point (AP) for one or more stations of a wireless network.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to an apparatus, comprising: a plurality of radios, each radio configured to monitor and transmit via a plurality of links of a respective wireless frequency band; each of the plurality of radios is configured to detect unavailability of a primary link of the respective wireless band; each of the plurality of radios is configured to monitor a secondary link of the respective wireless band in response to the detected unavailability of the primary link; and wherein the device is configured to operate as an Access Point (AP) for one or more stations of a wireless network.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method comprising: monitoring, by a first radio of the device, a first link of a first radio frequency band; detecting, by the first radio, OBSS communications on the first link of the first wireless band; monitoring, by the first radio, a second link of the first radio frequency band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication; transmitting by the first radio via the second link of the first radio band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication.

Drawings

Various objects, aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent and better understood by referring to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters identify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.

Fig. 1A is a block diagram depicting a network environment including one or more access points in communication with one or more devices or stations, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 1B and 1C are block diagrams depicting computing devices suitable for use in connection with the methods and systems described herein, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 2 illustrates a spectrum coverage map of a wireless network, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a network diagram of a Basic Service Set (BSS) interfacing with various Overlapping Basic Service Sets (OBSSs) according to some embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram of communication between an Access Point (AP) and a non-AP in the presence of OBSS communication detectable by the AP and not detectable by the non-AP, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram of communications between an AP and a non-AP in the presence of OBSS communications that are detectable by the non-AP and not detectable by the AP, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram of communications between an AP and a non-AP in the presence of OBSS communications detectable by the AP and different OBSS detectable by the non-AP, according to some embodiments.

The details of various embodiments of methods and systems are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.

Detailed Description

The following IEEE standards (including any draft versions of such standards) are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes and are part of this disclosure: the WiFi alliance standards and IEEE 802.11 standards, including but not limited to the IEEE 802.11a ^TM、IEEE 802.11b^TM、IEEE 802.11g^TM、IEEE P802.11n^TM and IEEE P802.11ac ^TM standards. Although the present disclosure may refer to various aspects of these standards, the present disclosure is in no way limited by these standards.

For purposes of reading the following description of the various embodiments, the following description of the various sections of the specification and their respective content may be helpful:

Section a describes a network environment and computing environment that may be used to practice the embodiments described herein; and

Section B describes embodiments of access protocols and methods and apparatus for using access protocols.

Various client devices may operate as Station (STA) devices employing multi-link single radio (MLSR). For example, a client device may employ an MLSR radio for each of various frequency bands (e.g., 2.4GHz band, 5GHz band, or 6GHz band). The client device may operate as a mobile AP. During mobile AP operation, a client device may employ an MLSR radio to connect to one or more STAs. For example, a client device may be configured to operate in STA and mobile AP modes of operation. Two such client devices may communicate over one or more channels via non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) links. For example, two clients may operate between 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz links. Various devices may coordinate link selection between primary and non-primary links according to implicit or explicit methods. For example, a single radio may be associated with one or more links such that the single radio may communicate via the selected link and avoid interfering with unselected links.

The network may include arbitration or other methods to determine transmit opportunities (TXOPs) within the sub-network, such as a Basic Service Set (BSS) of devices including client devices (e.g., STAs) that may communicate via an access point (e.g., AP or mobile AP). However, some networks may include Overlapping BSSs (OBSS). In some embodiments, an OBSS communication may refer to a communication transmitted or received by a device of a first basic service set being detected by a device of a second basic service set. For example, OBSS communications may be detected in response to clear channel assessment to determine whether a wireless channel is available for transmission. For example, some networks may include overlapping BSSs of the same extended service set (e.g., shared SSID) or different service sets. Some network devices of the BSS may cause interference with one or more OBSSs. The wireless device may perform Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) prior to transmission to avoid interfering with other devices. For example, the wireless device may employ Preamble Detection (PD) to detect messages of OBSS (OBSS-PD). Each radio may include a primary link, and at least one non-primary link (e.g., secondary link). The primary link may carry beacon/probe response frames, data frames, and other communications. In response to the OBSS-PD or the OBSS-PD exceeding a threshold, the wireless device may communicate via a non-primary link.

According to some embodiments, an AP (e.g., a mobile AP) or STA may explicitly arbitrate an operational link via a control channel. For example, each of the APs or STAs may detect OBSS communications on the primary link and communicate information regarding the OBSS communications via a control channel. For example, an AP or STA may communicate time, size, duration, sending unit, receiving unit, energy, and so forth. Each of the APs or STAs may aggregate its own detected OBSS communications with the detected OBSS communications of the corresponding device. Each of the AP or STA may thereafter transmit according to a logical and of the link with respect to the availability of both the AP and STA. For example, if a primary link is available to the transmitter-receiver pair, the AP communicates with the STA via a primary channel. If a primary channel is not available and a non-primary channel is available to the transmitter-receiver pair, the AP and STA may communicate via the non-primary channel. If the primary channel and any non-primary channels are not available to the transmitter-receiver pair, the AP or STA may delay transmitting, transmit via a different frequency band, adjust the channel, etc. The control channel may comprise a wired or wireless connection. For example, the control channel may include a 2.4GHz link or a 900MHz link.

According to some embodiments, an AP (e.g., a mobile AP) or STA may implicitly arbitrate for an operational link. An AP (e.g., mobile AP) or STA may detect the same or different OBSS communications. For example, a location, position, OBSS-PD threshold, etc. may cause one wireless device to determine that a primary link is unavailable and the wireless device may transition to a secondary link. Upon mutually detecting the same OBSS transmission, the corresponding wireless device may communicate via a non-primary link. Failure to mutually detect OBSS transmissions may cause a link selection difference between the sending and receiving devices. For example, one of the transmitter-receiver pairs may detect OBSS communication and the other of the transmitter-receiver pairs may not detect OBSS communication, or each of the transmitter-receiver pairs may detect a different OBSS communication. An AP or STA may prioritize transmission by using a CCA or a Ready To Send (RTS) Clear To Send (CTS) exchange. For example, the transmitting unit may communicate an RTS message indicating that a frame is ready to be sent. Upon receiving the RTS, the receiving unit may communicate a CTS message. When the CTS is not received within a predetermined amount of time, the transmitter may determine that the receiver or channel is not available and schedule retransmission, another link, another frequency band, etc. at a later time.

Some embodiments relate to an apparatus. The device may include a first radio configured to transmit via a first link and a second link of a first wireless band. The first radio may detect OBSS communications on the first link of the first radio frequency band. The first radio may transmit via the second link of the first radio frequency band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the first link of the first radio frequency band. The apparatus may operate as an Access Point (AP) for one or more stations of a wireless network.

In some embodiments, the device includes a second radio configured to transmit via a first link and a second link of a second wireless band. The second radio may detect OBSS communications on the first link of the second wireless band. The second radio may transmit via the second link of the second wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the first link of the second wireless band. In some embodiments, the first radio and the second radio comprise software defined radios. The first radio may transmit via the second wireless frequency band. The second radio may transmit via the first radio frequency band. In some embodiments, the device may subdivide the first link into a third link and a fourth link. The first radio may transmit via one of the third link and the fourth link. The first radio may detect OBSS communications on the third link of the first radio frequency band. The first radio may transmit via the fourth link of the first radio frequency band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the third link of the first radio frequency band.

In some embodiments, each link of the first wireless frequency band is a wireless link equal to or greater than 20MHz in the 5GHz range. Each link of the second wireless band may be equal to or greater than 20MHz in the 6GHz range. In some embodiments, the device includes a third radio separate from the first and second radios to monitor at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. In some embodiments, the third radio may monitor each of the first wireless frequency band and the second wireless frequency band simultaneously. In some embodiments, the device includes a side band link to communicate availability of one of the first link or the second link. In some embodiments, the device may determine a duration of a first OBSS communication based on content of the detected OBSS communication. The device may determine a duration of a second OBSS communication based on a Ready To Send (RTS) message received from one of the one or more stations of the wireless network. The device may compare the duration of the first OBSS communication with the duration of the second OBSS communication. The device may transmit a Clear To Send (CTS) indication to the one of the one or more stations of the wireless network indicating a same duration as the RTS message in response to determining that the duration of the first OBSS communication is equal to or greater than the duration of the second OBSS communication. The device may transmit a CTS indication including the first duration to the one of the one or more stations of the wireless network in response to determining that the duration of the first OBSS communication is less than the duration of the second OBSS communication, indicating the first duration.

Some embodiments relate to an apparatus. The device may include multiple radios. Each radio may monitor multiple links of a respective wireless band. Each radio may transmit via the plurality of links of the respective wireless band. Each radio may detect an unavailability of a primary link of the respective radio band. Each of the plurality of radios may monitor a secondary link of the respective wireless band in response to the detected unavailability of the primary link. The apparatus may operate as an Access Point (AP) for one or more stations of a wireless network.

In some embodiments, the multilink single radio is a software defined radio. In some embodiments, at least one of the devices may monitor two or more links of the respective wireless bands simultaneously. In some embodiments, the device includes another radio configured to simultaneously monitor two or more links of at least one of the respective wireless bands. In some embodiments, the device includes another radio that can communicate the availability of one of the plurality of primary links or one of the plurality of secondary links.

Some embodiments relate to a method. The method may include monitoring, by a first radio of a device, a first link of a first wireless band. The method may include detecting, by the first radio, OBSS communication on the first link of the first wireless band. The method may include monitoring, by the first radio, a second link of the first wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication. The method may include transmitting, by the first radio, via the second link of the first wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication.

In some embodiments, the method may include monitoring, by a second radio of the device, a first link of a second wireless band. The method may include detecting, by the second radio, a second OBSS communication on the first link of the second wireless band. The method may include monitoring, by the second radio, a second link of the second wireless band in response to the detection of the second OBSS communication. The method may include transmitting, by the second radio, via the second link of the second wireless band in response to the detection of the second OBSS communication. In some embodiments, the method may include subdividing, by the device, the first link into a third link and a fourth link. The method may include monitoring, by the first radio, the third link. The method may include detecting, by the first radio, OBSS communication on the third link. The method may include monitoring, by the first radio, the fourth link in response to the OBSS communication on the third link.

In some embodiments, each link of the first wireless frequency band is a wireless link equal to or greater than 20MHz in the 5GHz range, and each link of the second wireless frequency band is equal to or greater than 20MHz in the 6GHz range. In some embodiments, the method includes simultaneously monitoring each of the first wireless frequency band and the second wireless frequency band by a third radio separate from the first and second radios. In some embodiments, the method includes communicating availability of one of the first or the second links via a side-band link.

A. Computing and network environment

Before discussing particular embodiments of the present solution, it may be helpful to describe aspects of the operating environment and related associated components (e.g., hardware elements) in connection with the methods and systems described herein. Referring to fig. 1A, an embodiment of a network environment is depicted. Briefly, a network environment includes a wireless communication system including one or more Access Points (APs) or network devices 106, one or more stations or wireless communication devices 102, and network hardware components or network hardware 192. For example, the wireless communication device 102 may include a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal computer, and/or a cellular telephone device. Details of embodiments of each station or wireless communication device 102 and AP or network device 106 are described in more detail with reference to fig. 1B and 1C. In one embodiment, the network environment may be a temporary network environment, an infrastructure wireless network environment, a subnet environment, or the like. The network device 106 or AP may be operably coupled to the network hardware 192 via a local area network connection. In some embodiments, the network device 106 is a 5G base station. Network hardware 192, which may include routers, gateways, switches, bridges, modems, system controllers, appliances, and the like, may provide local area network connectivity for the communication system. Each of the network devices 106 or APs may have an associated antenna or antenna array to communicate with wireless communication devices in its area. The wireless communication device 102 may register with a particular network device 106 or AP to receive services from the communication system (e.g., via SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO configuration). For direct connections (e.g., point-to-point communications), some wireless communication devices may communicate directly via an allocated channel and communication protocol. Some of the wireless communication devices 102 may be mobile or relatively stationary with respect to the network device 106 or the AP.

In some embodiments, the network device 106 or AP includes a device or module (including a combination of hardware and software) that allows the wireless communication device 102 to connect to a wired network using wireless fidelity (WiFi) or other standards. The network device 106 or AP may sometimes be referred to as a Wireless Access Point (WAP). The network device 106 or AP may be implemented (e.g., configured, designed, and/or constructed) for operation in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In some embodiments, the network device 106 or the AP may connect to the router as a standalone device (e.g., via a wired network). In other embodiments, the network device 106 or AP may be a component of a router. The network device 106 or AP may provide multiple devices with access to the network. For example, the network device 106 or AP may connect to a wired ethernet connection and provide wireless connectivity for other devices 102 using a radio frequency link to utilize the wired connection. The network device 106 or AP may be implemented to support standards for sending and receiving data using one or more radio frequencies. Those standards and frequencies used by them may be defined by IEEE (e.g., IEEE 802.11 standards). The network device 106 or AP may be configured and/or used to support public internet hotspots and/or extend the Wi-Fi signal range of the network over the network.

In some embodiments, the access point or network device 106 may be used for a wireless network (e.g., IEEE 802.11, bluetooth, zigBee, any other type of radio frequency based network protocol, and/or variations thereof), such as in a home, in a vehicle, or in a building. Each of the wireless communication devices 102 may include a built-in radio and/or be coupled to a radio. Such wireless communication devices 102 and/or access points or network devices 106 may operate in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure presented herein to enhance performance, reduce cost and/or size, and/or enhance broadband applications. Each wireless communication device 102 may have the capability to function as a client node seeking access to resources (e.g., data and connections to network nodes such as servers) via one or more access points or network devices 106.

The network connection may include any type and/or form of network and may include any of the following: point-to-point networks, broadcast networks, telecommunications networks, data communication networks, computer networks. The topology of the network may be a bus, star or ring network topology. The network may have any such network topology known to those of ordinary skill in the art that is capable of supporting the operations described herein. In some embodiments, different types of data may be transmitted via different protocols. In other embodiments, the same type of data may be transmitted via different protocols.

The communication device 102 and access point or network device 106 may be deployed and/or executed on any type and form of computing device, such as a computer, network device, or appliance capable of communicating over any type and form of network and performing the operations described herein. Fig. 1B and 1C depict block diagrams of a computing device 100 for practicing an embodiment of a wireless communication device 102 or a network device 106. As shown in fig. 1B and 1C, each computing device 100 includes a processor 121 (e.g., a central processing unit) and a main memory unit 122. As shown in fig. 1B, computing device 100 may include storage 128, mounting device 116, network interface 118, I/O controller 123, display devices 124 a-124 n, keyboard 126, and pointing device 127 (e.g., a mouse). The storage 128 may include an operating system and/or software. As shown in fig. 1C, each computing device 100 may also include additional optional elements, such as a memory port 103, a bridge 170, one or more input/output devices 130 a-130 n, and a cache memory 140 in communication with the central processing unit or processor 121.

Central processing unit or processor 121 is any logic circuitry that is responsive to main memory unit 122 and processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit. In many embodiments, the central processing unit or processor 121 is provided by a microprocessor unit, such as: a microprocessor unit manufactured by intel corporation (Intel Corporation of SANTA CLARA, california) of santa clara, california; a microprocessor unit manufactured by International Business machines corporation of white Prain, N.Y. (International Business Machines of WHITE PLAINS, new York); or a microprocessor unit manufactured by advanced micro-device company (Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, california) of senyverer, california. The computing device 100 may be based on any of these processors, or any other processor capable of operating as described herein.

Main memory unit 122 may be one or more memory chips capable of storing data and allowing microprocessor or processor 121 to directly access any storage location, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), NAND flash, NOR flash, and Solid State Drive (SSD), of any type or variation. The main memory unit 122 may be based on any of the memory chips described above, or any other available memory chip capable of operating as described herein. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, processor 121 communicates with a main memory unit 122 via a system bus 150 (described in more detail below). FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment of a computing device 100 in which the processor communicates directly with a main memory unit 122 via a memory port 103. For example, in FIG. 1C, the main memory unit 122 may be a DRDRAM.

FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment in which the primary processor 121 communicates directly with the cache memory 140 via a secondary bus (sometimes referred to as a backside bus). In other embodiments, the main processor 121 communicates with the cache memory 140 using the system bus 150. The cache 140 typically has a faster response time than the main memory unit 122 and is provided by, for example, SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, the processor 121 communicates with various I/O devices 130 via a local system bus 150. Various buses may be used to connect the central processing unit or processor 121 to any of the I/O devices 130, such as a VESA VL bus, an ISA bus, an EISA bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, a PCI-X bus, a PCI-Express bus, or a NuBus. For embodiments in which the I/O device is a video display 124, the processor 121 may use an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) to communicate with the display 124. FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment of a computer or computer system 100 in which a host processor 121 may communicate directly with I/O device 130b, e.g., via HYPERTRANSPORT, RAPIDIO or INFINIBAND communication techniques. Fig. 1C also depicts an embodiment in which a local bus is mixed with direct communication: the processor 121 communicates with I/O device 130a using a local interconnect bus while communicating directly with I/O device 130 b.

A wide variety of I/O devices 130 a-130 n may be present in computing device 100. The input device includes a keyboard, a mouse, a track pad, a track ball, a microphone, a dial, a touch pad, a touch screen, and a drawing pad. The output device includes a video display, a speaker, an inkjet printer, a laser printer, a projector, and a dye sublimation printer. The I/O devices may be controlled by an I/O controller 123, as shown in FIG. 1B. The I/O controller may control one or more I/O devices such as a keyboard 126 and a pointing device 127, such as a mouse or optical pen. In addition, the I/O devices may also provide storage and/or installation media for the computing device 100. In other embodiments, computing device 100 may provide a USB connection (not shown) to receive a handheld USB storage device, such as the USB flash drive family of devices manufactured by Gemini technology industries, inc. (Twintech Industry, inc. of Los Alamitos, california).

Referring again to FIG. 1B, the computing device 100 may support any suitable mounting device 116, such as a disk drive, CD-ROM drive, CD-R/RW drive, DVD-ROM drive, flash memory drive, tape drives of various formats, USB devices, hard drives, network interfaces, or any other device suitable for installing software and programs. The computing device 100 may further include a storage device (e.g., one or more hard drives or redundant arrays of independent disks) for storing an operating system and other related software and for storing application software programs, such as any program or software 120 for implementing (e.g., configured and/or designed for) the systems and methods described herein. Optionally, any of the mounting devices 116 may also be used as a storage device. Additionally, the operating system and software may run from a bootable medium.

Furthermore, computing device 100 may include a network interface 118 to interface to a network through various connections including, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56kb, X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN, frame Relay, ATM, gigabit Ethernet, ethernet over SONET), wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of the above connections. The connection may be established using various communication protocols, such as TCP/IP, IPX, SPX, netBIOS, ethernet, ARCNET, SONET, SDH, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI)、RS232、IEEE 802.11、IEEE 802.11a、IEEE 802.11b、IEEE 802.11g、IEEE 802.11n、IEEE 802.11ac、IEEE 802.11ad、CDMA、GSM、WiMax, and direct asynchronous connection. In one embodiment, the computing device 100 communicates with other computing devices 100' via any type and/or form of gateway or tunneling protocol, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). The network interface 118 may comprise a built-in network adapter, network interface card, PCMCIA network card, card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter, modem, or any other device suitable for interfacing the computing device 100 to any type of network capable of communication and performing the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may include or be connected to one or more display devices 124 a-124 n. As such, any of the I/O devices 130 a-130 n and/or the I/O controller 123 may include any type and/or form of suitable hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software to support, enable, or provide for the connection and use of the display devices 124 a-124 n by the computing device 100. For example, computing device 100 may include any type and/or form of video adapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface, communicate, connect, or otherwise use display devices 124 a-124 n. In one embodiment, the video adapter may include a plurality of connectors to interface to the display devices 124 a-124 n. In other embodiments, computing device 100 may include multiple video adapters, with each video adapter connected to display devices 124 a-124 n. In some embodiments, any portion of the operating system of computing device 100 may be configured to use multiple display devices 124 a-124 n. In other embodiments, the I/O device 130 may be a bridge between the system bus 150 and an external communication bus, such as a USB bus, a apple desktop bus, an RS-232 serial connection, a SCSI bus, a FireWire 800 bus, an Ethernet bus, an AppleTalk bus, a gigabit Ethernet bus, an asynchronous transfer mode bus, a fibre channel bus, a fiber optic bus, a serial attached Small computer System interface bus, a USB connection, or an HDMI bus.

The computing device 100 of the kind depicted in fig. 1B and 1C may operate under the control of an operating system that controls the scheduling of tasks and access to system resources. The computing device 100 may run any operating system, such as any of the versions of the microsoft WINDOWS operating system, different releases of the Unix and Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS for a Macintosh computer, any embedded operating system, any real-time operating system, any open source operating system, any proprietary operating system, any operating system for a mobile computing device, or any other operating system capable of running on a computing device and performing the operations described herein. Typical operating systems include, but are not limited to: android manufactured by Google inc (Google inc.); WINDOWS 7, 8, and 10 manufactured by microsoft corporation (Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, washington) of redmond, washington; MAC OS manufactured by apple computer of cupertino, california (Apple Computer of Cupertino); webOS manufactured by dynamic research corporation (RESEARCH IN Motion) (RIM); OS/2 manufactured by International Business machines corporation of Armonk, N.Y.; and freely available operating system Linux issued by the company of karde, salt lake city, utah (Caldera corp. Of SALT LAKE CITY, utah), or any type and/or form of Unix operating system, etc.

The computer system or computing device 100 may be any workstation, telephone, desktop, laptop or notebook computer, server, handheld computer, mobile telephone or other portable telecommunications device, media playback device, gaming system, mobile computing device, or any other type and/or form of computing, telecommunications or media device capable of communicating. In some embodiments, computing device 100 may have different processors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with the device. For example, in one embodiment, computing device 100 is a smart phone, mobile device, tablet computer, or personal digital assistant. Moreover, computing device 100 may be any workstation, desktop, laptop or notebook computer, server, handheld computer, mobile telephone, any other computer, or other form of computing or telecommunications device capable of communicating and having sufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform the operations described herein.

Aspects of the operating environments and components described above will become apparent in the context of the systems and methods disclosed herein.

B. station and AP communication

Systems and methods of enhanced multi-link single radio operation are disclosed herein. For example, an AP (e.g., a mobile AP) may employ a radio that transmits or receives frames of two or more links. The multi-link radio may alternate between one or more links to improve performance relative to single-link operation. For example, the same radio may be associated with primary and secondary links such that the radio may alternate between communicating via the links in response to network or device availability. This device can limit crosstalk between radios relative to a device that transmits/receives simultaneously. According to some embodiments, a radio may send or receive control channel communications to coordinate active ones of the primary or secondary links. According to some embodiments, the radio may implicitly determine the primary or secondary link based on detected messages or other network node behavior.

An "STA" may refer to any device for communicating in a communication system, and in some embodiments includes, but is not limited to, a fixed, portable, or mobile laptop computer, a desktop personal computer, a personal digital assistant, an access point, a workstation, a wearable device, a smart phone, or a Wi-Fi phone. In some embodiments, an "Access Point (AP)" may refer to a device for communicatively coupling one or more "non-AP" devices (e.g., client devices) to a network. More specifically, the AP may enable non-AP devices to connect and communicate with the network. In some embodiments, the AP may be a "wireless access point" (WAP) configured to enable wireless communication between non-AP devices. APs include, but are not limited to, mobile, portable, or fixed hotspots, routers, bridges, or other communication devices.

In some embodiments, radio may refer to a device that communicates data wirelessly. In some embodiments, a frequency band may refer to a predefined portion of the wireless spectrum. For example, the wireless band may include a contiguous frequency spectrum according to standards such as 5030-5990MHz, 5945-7195 MHz, 2401-2495MHz, and so on. "link" may refer to a subdivision of a frequency band used for wireless communication between radios or another communication channel, such as a wired communication link (e.g., ethernet). Links may include frequency subdivisions, time subdivisions, combinations thereof, and the like. A multilink single radio (MLSR) may refer to a radio configured to selectively operate via at least two links, e.g., two links of at least one frequency band. For example, the MLSR radio may operate by alternating transmission or reception between links via links in response to wireless spectrum congestion or in order to increase throughput. For example, the MLSR may operate via a primary link, a secondary link, and so on. In some embodiments, the primary link may refer to a default, initial, or first link that may be used for a device (e.g., a device including an MLSR radio). In some embodiments, the secondary link may refer to a non-default, alternative, or second link that may be used for a device (e.g., a device including an MLSR radio). In some embodiments, overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) communications may refer to communications transmitted or received by a device of a first basic service set being detected by a device of a second basic service set. In some embodiments, simultaneous monitoring (of frequency bands or links, for example) may refer to radio monitoring of multiple frequency bands or links such that the presence or content of wireless messages on any of the frequency bands or links may be detected. In some embodiments, the content of a message may refer to information in the body of the message, the header of the message, and so forth.

Referring to fig. 2, a spectrum coverage map 200 of a wireless network is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments. The first frequency band 205 (e.g., 5GHz band) of the wireless network may include a first link 215. The first link 215 may be a primary link for the first frequency band 205 of the wireless network. The first link 215 may be a 160MHz channel centered at 5250MHz (e.g., channel 50). The first frequency band 205 may include a second link 220. The second link 220 may be a secondary link for the first frequency band 205 of the wireless network. The second link 220 may be a 160MHz channel centered at 5570MHz (e.g., channel 114). The second frequency band 210 (e.g., 6GHz band) of the wireless network may include a third link 225. The third link 225 may be a primary link for the second frequency band 210 of the wireless network. For example, the third link 225 may be a 160MHz channel centered at 6025 MHz. The second frequency band 210 may include a fourth link 230. The fourth link 230 may be a secondary link for the second frequency band 210 of the wireless network. For example, the fourth link 230 may be a 160MHz channel centered at 6345 MHz. The illustrated examples are not intended to be limiting. According to various embodiments, some bands, links, or radios may be added, omitted, or replaced. For example, a radio for the 2.4GHz band may be added, a radio for the 6GHz band may be omitted, or one or more links may be configured with different center frequencies or bandwidths. Three-level links, four-level links, etc. may be defined for each band. Such non-primary links may also be commonly referred to as "secondary" links. Radios may be added to monitor or communicate via one or more frequency bands. For example, the MLSR radio may alternate between more than two frequency bands, or may include more than one radio per frequency band.

The first radio 235 may be configured to monitor the link, transmit frames on the link, or receive frames from the link. For example, the first radio 235 may monitor a primary link of the first frequency band 205. The first radio 235 may be a radio of a STA or an AP (e.g., a mobile AP). The first radio 235 may communicate with various devices of a wireless network. The first radio 235 may detect OBSS-PD or other communications on the first link 215. In response to detection of the OBSS-PD or other communication, the first radio 235 may monitor the second link 220. The first radio 235 may communicate an indication of the transition to the second link 220. For example, the first radio 235 may communicate the indication via a control channel (not depicted). In a similar manner as the first radio 235 alternates between the first link 215 and the second link 220, the second radio 240 may alternate between the third link 225 and the fourth link 230. In some embodiments, the first link 215, the second link 220, the third link 225, or the fourth link 230 may be subdivided into constituent links, or additional links may be defined for each frequency band. Various radios may monitor one or more links. For example, the first radio 235 may monitor the composition or additional links, or the additional radio may monitor the additional links.

The third radio 245 or the fourth radio 250 may monitor links not monitored by the first radio 235 or the second radio 240. For example, the third radio 245 may detect transmissions addressed to an address associated with the first radio 235 and communicate an indication to the first radio 235 to monitor an unmonitored link. For example, a device in network communication with the first radio 235 may detect OBSS communication in a primary link (e.g., the first link 215), transition to a secondary link (e.g., the second link 220), and transmit to the first radio 235 via the secondary link. The first radio 235 may fail to detect OBSS communications and continue to monitor the primary link. The third radio 245 may detect a transmission (e.g., an RTS message) for the first radio 235 and communicate an indication to the first radio 235 to monitor the secondary link, or transmit a response to the transmission (e.g., a CTS message) for the first radio 235. The various radios may transmit frames having a duration equal to or less than the detected duration of the OBSS communication. Various radios may detect the duration of OBSS communication based on a PHY header, a MAC header, a packet type, or another identifier of the packet (e.g., inter-packet duration information).

Each of the first radio 235, the second radio 240, the third radio 245, or the fourth radio 250 may include or interface with an antenna, an amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, or other portion of a chain of Radio Frequency (RF) conversion circuitry. One or more radios may share one or more components of the RF chain. In some embodiments, the third radio 245 and the fourth radio 250 may share a different RF chain than the RF chains of the first radio 235 and the second radio 240 to monitor the first frequency band 205 and the second frequency band 210 simultaneously. In some embodiments, the first radio 235 and the third radio 245 may share the RF chain separately from the second radio 240 and the fourth radio 250. In some embodiments, the second radio 240 and the fourth radio 250 may share the RF chain separately from the first radio 235 and the third radio 245. In some embodiments, the third radio 245 and the fourth radio 250 may be omitted. For example, in the event that no OBSS communication is detected on the primary link, the secondary link may remain unmonitored. The various radios may be connected to one or more processors or other logic devices. Communication between respective radios of a device may refer to communicating information associated with respective links at one or more processors.

Fig. 3 is a network diagram 300 of a BSS 305 interfacing with various Overlapping Basic Service Sets (OBSSs) according to some embodiments. BSS 305 may include an AP 310 (e.g., mobile AP 310) and one or more STAs (e.g., non-APs). For example, BSS 305 may include a first STA 315 or a second STA 320. Various devices of BSS 305 may detect their OBSS communications based on the location, gain, or other characteristics of one or more OBSS. For example, the AP 310 may detect OBSS communications from the first OBSS 330, or the first STA 315 may detect OBSS communications from the second OBSS 335. One or more side band links 325 may interconnect various devices of BSS 305. For example, side-band link 325 may be a different wireless link on the same or a different wireless band (e.g., 2.4GHz band) of the same wireless network.

The first OBSS 330 or the second OBSS 335 may include various AP or STA devices. OBSS communications may include uplink transmissions, downlink transmissions, broadcast messages, temporary messages, and so forth. BSS 305 may include primary and secondary links for the frequency bands of the wireless network. Hereinafter, at fig. 4-8, the various elements of fig. 3 are referred to as examples of a wireless network of sequence diagrams. Such references are merely provided to example embodiments and are not limiting. For example, various networks may include additional, fewer, or different devices, side-band links 325 (e.g., wired or wireless links), and so forth. For example, some embodiments may employ side band communications between BSS 305 and various OBSSs. Further, some OBSSs may be detected by both the AP 310 and the STA with which it communicates. For example, the AP 310 and STA may transition to a secondary link and continue to communicate.

Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram 400 of communications between an AP 310 (e.g., a mobile AP) and a STA (e.g., a non-AP) in the presence of OBSS communications that are detectable by the AP and not detectable by the STA, according to some embodiments. Such a sequence may be demonstrated with respect to, for example, AP 310, first OBSS 330, and second STA 320 of fig. 3.

At operation 405, the AP 310 detects a communication from the first OBSS 330. For example, communication on the primary link of AP 310 may be detected. In response to the detection, the AP 310 may transition to a non-primary link (e.g., secondary link). Thereafter, at operation 410, the AP 310 may initiate a frame exchange with the second STA 320 via the secondary link. The frame exchange may initially involve CCA operations, e.g., as part of an 802.11EDCA function, followed by RTS. At operation 415, the second STA 320 may respond to the RTS with a CTS. Upon receiving the CTS, the AP 310 may determine that the secondary link is available and the second STA 320 is a multi-link TA and continue communication via the secondary link at operation 420.

During communication between the AP 310 and the second STA 320, a non-AP device (e.g., the first STA 315) may attempt to initiate a frame exchange with the AP 310 via the primary link. For example, at operation 425, the first STA 315 may transmit to the AP 310. In response to CCA being performed as part of the 802.11EDCA function, the transmission may be an RTS or a data frame that does not detect the first OBSS 330.AP 310 may fail to receive either an RTS or a data frame, or fail to respond to an RTS or a data frame (e.g., may not acknowledge a frame or may not reply with a CTS). In either case, the first STA 315 may determine that the primary link or AP 310 is not available and defer transmission to a later time at operation 430.

Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram 500 of communications between an AP 310 (e.g., a mobile AP) and an STA (e.g., a non-AP) in the presence of OBSS communications that are detectable by the STA and not detectable by the AP, according to some embodiments. Such a sequence may be demonstrated with respect to, for example, AP 310, second OBSS 335, and first STA 315 of fig. 3.

At operation 505, a non-AP (e.g., first STA 315) detects a communication from a second OBSS 335. For example, the first STA 315 may detect communication on the primary link. In response to the detection, the first STA 315 may transition to a non-primary link (e.g., secondary link). Thereafter, at operation 510, the first STA 315 may send an RTS via the secondary link. Based on using the secondary link in the absence of OBSS communications detected by AP 310 on the primary link, AP 310 may fail to receive or ignore the RTS. Conversely, at operation 515, based on using the primary link in the presence of OBSS communications detected by the first station 315 on the primary link, the RTS sent by the AP 310 to the first STA 315 may not be received by or ignored by the first STA 315. Upon failing to receive the CTS, either device may defer, e.g., based on the 802.11EDCA protocol, and then attempt retransmission (not depicted) permitted by the protocol.

Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram 600 of communications between an AP 310 (e.g., a mobile AP) and an STA (e.g., a non-AP) in the presence of OBSS communications detectable by the AP and different OBSS detectable by the STA, according to some embodiments. This sequence may be demonstrated with respect to AP 310, first STA 315, first OBSS 330, or second OBSS 335.

At operation 605, each of the AP 310 and the non-AP (e.g., the first STA 315) may detect a different OBSS on the primary link. OBSS detected by the AP 310 and the first STA 315 may have different durations associated therewith. For example, the AP 310 may detect a first OBSS 330 having a first duration and the first STA 315 may detect a second OBSS 335 having a second duration. In response to the detection, both the AP 310 and the non-AP may transition to the non-primary link. Thereafter, the sequence may proceed to operation 610 or operation 615, at operation 610, the AP 310 may initiate a frame exchange with the first STA 315, at operation 615, the first STA 315 may initiate a frame exchange with the AP 310. At operation 620, in response to receiving the RTS of operation 610, if the OBSS duration detected by the first STA 315 is equal to or greater than the duration that the first STA 315 receives via the RTS, the first STA 315 may send a CTS indicating the same duration as the RTS. At operation 625, in response to receiving the RTS of operation 615, if the OBSS duration detected by the AP 310 is equal to or greater than the duration that the AP 310 received via the RTS, the AP 310 may send a CTS indicating the same duration as the RTS. With further reference to operation 625, in response to receiving the RTS of operation 615, in response to determining that the OBSS detected by the first AP 310 is less than the duration received via the RTS, the AP 310 may transmit a CTS indicating a first duration (e.g., a duration shorter than the RTS). Thereafter, the first STA 315 may employ the shorter first duration for frame exchange with the AP 310.

References to "or" may be construed as inclusive such that any term described using "or" may indicate any of the single, more than one, and all of the terms described. Reference to at least one of the conjunctive tables may be construed as an inclusive or to indicate any one of the singular, the plural, and all described terms. For example, references to "at least one of a 'and B' may include only 'a', only 'B', and both 'a' and 'B'. Such references used in conjunction with "comprising" or other open terms may include additional items.

It should be noted that particular paragraphs of this disclosure may refer to terms (e.g., "first" and "second") in connection with transmitting a subset of spatial streams, sounding frames, responses, and devices for the purpose of identifying or distinguishing from one another or from others. These terms are not intended to be related to an entity (e.g., a first device and a second device) only in time or in order, although in some cases, such entities may include such a relationship. Nor do these terms limit the number of possible entities (e.g., STAs, APs, beamformers, and/or beamformed receivers (beamformee)) that may operate within a system or environment. It should be understood that the system described above may provide multiple components in any or each of those components and that these components may be provided on separate machines or, in some embodiments, on multiple machines in a distributed system. Further, the bit field positions may be changed and multi-bit words may be used. Additionally, the systems and methods described above may be provided as one or more computer readable programs or executable instructions embodied on or in one or more articles of manufacture (e.g., a floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, flash memory card, PROM, RAM, ROM, or magnetic tape). The program may be implemented in any programming language (e.g., LISP, PERL, C, C ++, c#) or in any byte code language (e.g., JAVA). The software programs or executable instructions may be stored as object code on or in one or more articles of manufacture.

While the foregoing written description of the methods and systems enables one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the same, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that there are variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiments, methods, and examples herein. Thus, the present methods and systems should not be limited by the embodiments, methods, and examples described above, but rather by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims (20)

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a first radio configured to transmit via a first link and a second link of a first wireless band,

The first radio is configured to detect overlapping basic service set, OBSS, communications on the first link of the first wireless band; and is also provided with

The first radio is configured to transmit via the second link of the first wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the first link of the first wireless band;

Wherein the device is configured to operate as an access point, AP, for one or more stations of a wireless network.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second radio configured to transmit via the first link and the second link of a second wireless band;

the second radio is configured to detect OBSS communications on the first link of the second wireless band; and is also provided with

The second radio is configured to transmit via the second link of the second wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the first link of the second wireless band.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

The first radio and the second radio comprise software defined radios, the first radio is capable of transmitting via the second wireless frequency band, and the second radio is capable of transmitting via the first wireless frequency band.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein:

The device is configured to subdivide the first link into a third link and a fourth link;

the first radio is configured to transmit via one of the third link and the fourth link;

the first radio is configured to detect OBSS communications on the third link of the first wireless band; and is also provided with

The first radio is configured to transmit via the fourth link of the first wireless band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication on the third link of the first wireless band.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein each link of the first wireless frequency band is a wireless link equal to or greater than 20MHz in a 5GHz range, and each link of the second wireless frequency band is equal to or greater than 20MHz in a 6GHz range.

6. The device of claim 2, further comprising a third radio separate from the first and second radios to monitor at least one of the first wireless frequency band or the second wireless frequency band.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the third radio is configured to monitor each of the first wireless frequency band and the second wireless frequency band simultaneously.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a side band link to communicate availability of one of the first link or the second link.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the device is further configured to:

Determining a duration of a first OBSS communication based on content of the detected OBSS communication;

determining a duration of a second OBSS communication based on an RTS message received from one of the one or more stations of the wireless network;

Comparing the duration of the first OBSS communication with the duration of the second OBSS communication;

In response to determining that the duration of the first OBSS communication is equal to or greater than the duration of the second OBSS communication, transmitting a clear to send, CTS, indication to the one of the one or more stations of the wireless network indicating the same duration as the RTS message; and

In response to determining that the duration of the first OBSS communication is less than the duration of the second OBSS communication, a CTS indication is transmitted to the one of the one or more stations of the wireless network that includes the duration of the first OBSS communication indicating the duration of the first OBSS communication.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of radios, each radio configured to monitor and transmit via a plurality of links of a respective wireless frequency band;

Each of the plurality of radios is configured to detect unavailability of a primary link of the respective wireless band;

Each of the plurality of radios is configured to monitor a secondary link of the respective wireless band in response to the detected unavailability of the primary link; and is also provided with

Wherein the device is configured to operate as an access point, AP, for one or more stations of a wireless network.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of radios is a software defined radio.

12. The device of claim 10, further comprising:

At least one of the plurality of radios is configured to concurrently monitor two or more links of the respective wireless frequency bands.

13. The device of claim 10, further comprising:

Another radio, separate from the plurality of radios, configured to simultaneously monitor two or more links of at least one of the respective wireless bands.

14. The device of claim 10, further comprising:

Another radio, separate from the plurality of radios, configured to communicate availability of one of the plurality of primary links or one of the plurality of secondary links.

15. A method, comprising:

monitoring, by a first radio of the device, a first link of a first radio frequency band;

detecting, by the first radio, OBSS communications on the first link of the first wireless band;

Monitoring, by the first radio, a second link of the first radio frequency band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication;

Transmitting by the first radio via the second link of the first radio band in response to the detection of the OBSS communication.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

monitoring, by a second radio of the device, the first link of a second wireless band;

Detecting, by the second radio, a second OBSS communication on the first link of the second wireless band;

Monitoring, by the second radio, the second link of the second wireless band in response to the detection of the second OBSS communication;

transmitting by the second radio via the second link of the second wireless band in response to the detection of the second OBSS communication.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

Subdividing, by the device, the first link into a third link and a fourth link;

Monitoring, by the first radio, the third link;

Detecting, by the first radio, OBSS communications on the third link; and

The fourth link is monitored by the first radio in response to the OBSS communication on the third link.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein each link of the first wireless frequency band is a wireless link equal to or greater than 20MHz in a 5GHz range, and each link of the second wireless frequency band is equal to or greater than 20MHz in a 6GHz range.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising simultaneously monitoring each of the first wireless frequency band and the second wireless frequency band via a third radio separate from the first and second radios.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising communicating availability of one of the first link or the second link via a side-band link.