WO2019125396A1

WO2019125396A1 - Enhanced time sensitive networking for wireless communications

Info

Publication number: WO2019125396A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/067134
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dave Cavalcanti; Mohammad Mamunur Rashid; Laurent Cariou; Carlos Cordeiro; Javier Perez-Ramirez; Shahrnaz Azizi; Alexander Min; Vallabhajosyula Somayazulu; Dibakar Das
Original assignee: Intel Corporation
Priority date: 2017-12-18
Filing date: 2017-12-18
Publication date: 2019-06-27
Also published as: DE112017008281T5

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus related to wireless time sensitive networking (WTSN). A device may establish a control channel. The device may send a first control frame. The device may to send a first data frame to a time sensitive device during a time sensitive time slot.

Description

ENHANCED TIME SENSITIVE NETWORKING FOR WIRELESS

COMMUNICATIONS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to systems, methods, and devices for wireless communications and, more particularly, enhanced time sensitive networking for wireless communications.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless communications may involve different types of devices. Some devices may require higher priority transmissions than other devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] FIG. 1A depicts a diagram illustrating an example network, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0004] FIG. 1B depicts an illustrative enhanced wireless time sensitive networking (WTSN) medium access control/physical layer (MAC/PHY) configuration for a WTSN device, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative timing diagram of an enhanced WTSN time synchronization, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative control channel access sequence, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 3B depicts an illustrative combined channel access sequence, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 3C depicts an illustrative on-demand channel access sequence, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative on-demand channel access sequence, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 4B depicts an illustrative synchronous channel access timing sequence, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 4C depicts an illustrative synchronized transmission opportunity initialization (STI) interval, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 4D depicts an illustrative portion of a synchronization and configuration frame (SCF), in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [0013] FIG. 4E depicts an illustrative portion of a synchronization and configuration frame (SCF), in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 A depicts an illustrative portion of a feedback and resource request (FRR) frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5B depicts an illustrative portion of an interval specific configuration (ISC) frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 6 A depicts an illustrative downlink transmission when an acknowledgement frame is not configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 6B depicts an illustrative downlink transmission when an acknowledgement frame is configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 6C depicts an illustrative portion of a downlink frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 6D depicts an illustrative uplink transmission when an acknowledgement frame is not configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 6E depicts an illustrative uplink transmission when an acknowledgement frame is configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 6F depicts an illustrative portion of an uplink frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 7 A illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 7B illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 7C illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 7D illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 8 illustrates a functional diagram of an example communication station that may be suitable for use as a user device, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [0027] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine upon which any of one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Example embodiments described herein provide certain systems, methods, and devices for enhanced time sensitive network coordination for wireless communications. The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0029] Reliable and deterministic communications between devices may be required in some circumstances. One example may be time sensitive networking (TSN). TSN applications may require very low and bounded transmission latency and high availability, and may include a mix of traffic patterns and requirements from synchronous data flows (e.g., from sensors to a controller in a closed loop control system), to asynchronous events (e.g., a sensor detecting an anomaly in a monitored process and sending a report right away), to video streaming for remote asset monitoring and background IT/office traffic. Many TSN applications also may require communication between devices with ultra-low latency (e.g., on the order of tens of microseconds).

[0030] Autonomous systems, smart factories, professional audio/video, and mobile virtual reality are examples of time sensitive applications that may require low and deterministic latency with high reliability. Deterministic latency/reliability performance may not be possible within existing Wi-Fi standards (e.g., the IEEE 802.11 family of standards), which may focus on improving peak user throughput (e.g., the IEEE 802.1 lac standard) and efficiency (e.g., the IEEE 802.1 lax standard). Extending the application of Wi-Fi beyond consumer-grade applications to provide wireless TSN (WTSN) performance presents an opportunity to apply Wi-Fi to Internet of things (IOT), and new consumer markets (e.g., wireless virtual reality). The non-deterministic nature of the IEEE 802.11 medium access control (MAC) layer in an unlicensed spectrum may impose challenges to expanding the application of Wi-Fi in this manner, especially when trying to guarantee reliability in comparison to Ethernet TSN applications. [0031] It may be desirable to enable time-synchronized and scheduled MAC layer communications to facilitate time sensitive transmissions over Wi-Fi. The MAC may benefit from a more flexible control/management mechanism to adapt scheduling and/or transmission parameters (e.g., adapt a modulation and coding scheme and increase power) to control latency and to increase reliability. For example, changes in a wireless channel, such as interference or fading, may trigger retransmissions, which may impact the latency for time sensitive data due to increased channel throughput. An access point (AP) may update station (STA) transmission parameters to increase reliability (e.g., increase transmission power), which may require a transmission schedule update. An AP may also reduce a number of ST As that share a given service period to provide more capacity for retransmissions within a maximum required latency. Another example may include high-priority data (e.g., random alarms/events in an industrial control system), which may need to be reported with minimal latency, but cannot be scheduled a priori. Although regular beacons may be used to communicate scheduling and other control/management updates, it may be desirable to have a more deterministic and flexible control mechanism in future Wi-Fi networks that may enable faster management/scheduling of a wireless channel to facilitate time sensitive applications with high reliability.

[0032] It may also be desirable to ensure that devices in a network or extended service set (ESS) receive schedule updates and maintain a synchronized schedule. Once a time sensitive transmission schedule is updated, all devise may need to receive the updated schedule before the schedule may become applicable, otherwise the updated schedule may not be reliable (e.g., not all devices may properly follow the schedule). To meet the requirements of time sensitive traffic, it may be desirable to ensure that all relevant devices comply with schedule updates regardless of active and sleep states of the devices.

[0033] To enable synchronization and scheduling, control/management frames may be used. Control/management frames may share a channel with data frames. It may be desirable, however, to have a dedicated channel for control/management frames that may be separate from a data channel. In addition, it may be desirable to have mechanisms to enable dynamic control/management actions using controlled latency and high reliability. Something other than beacon transmissions by themselves may be beneficial to enable dynamic and fast updates to operations required to maintain a quality of service for time sensitive applications.

[0034] To support such WTSN operations, it may be beneficial to redesign the MAC layer and physical layer (PHY) to improve efficiency and performance without needing to consider legacy behaviors or support backward compatibility. A greenfield mode may refer to a device that assumes that there are no legacy (e.g., operating under previous protocol rules) stations (STAs) using the same channel. Thus, a device operating with a greenfield mode may operate under an assumption that all other STAs follow the same (e.g., newest) protocols, and that no legacy STAs are competing for the same channel access. In some examples, an STA operating with a greenfield mode may at least assume that any legacy STAs that may exist may be managed to operate in a separate channel and/or time. However, operations with multiple access points (APs) may experience interference, latency, and/or other performance issues. For example, APs may not all be aware of what other APs and STAs may be doing. Therefore, it may be desirable to define a greenfield Wi-Fi operation in a 6-7 GHz band or another frequency band, and thereby enable a time synchronized scheduled access mode for multiple APs in the 6-7 GHz band or other existing frequency bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) of future Wi-Fi generations.

[0035] The design of a greenfield air interface may be governed by significant reliability and latency constraints imposed by WTSN operations. It may therefore be desirable to efficiently design MAC and PHY communications to support WTSN applications. Legacy MAC/PHY operations may be asynchronous and may apply contention-based channel access, and may require significant overhead for backward compatibility that may be important for devices to coexist in unlicensed frequency bands. Such legacy MAC/PHY operations may be too inefficient to support time sensitive applications, especially as such traffic increases, but they may still be used for non-time sensitive data or control traffic (e.g. in a legacy control channel).

[0036] While contention-free channel access mechanisms exist (e.g., point coordination function, hybrid coordination function controlled channel access), such mechanisms may lack the predictability required to support WTSN operations, as the mechanisms may be stacked on a distributed coordination function and may use polling operations with significant overhead and other inefficient steps.

[0037] Device synchronization may use transmissions with significant overhead. For example, PHY headers may be included in some or all transmissions between devices. For example, data frames and acknowledgement (ACK) frames may use legacy preambles that make the frames longer, reducing the number of transmissions that may be accomplished during a transmission opportunity (TXOP). Synchronization that occurs up front (e.g., at the start of a TXOP) may allow for reduced overhead in subsequent transmissions, and therefore may reduce the resources required for some transmissions and may allow for more throughput and lower latency in a channel. [0038] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems, methods, and devices for enhanced time sensitive networking for wireless communications.

[0039] The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0040] In one or more embodiments, time sensitive control and data channel operations may be enabled for IEEE 802.11 standards, including for future generations of IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., beyond IEEE 802.1 lax, including 6-7 GHz communication bands, and/or in deployments in which it may be feasible to enable channel/band steering of an STA with time sensitive requirements, such as in managed private networks.

[0041] In one or more embodiments, control information may be updated (e.g., using scheduling) without interfering with time sensitive data, ensuring latency and reliability guarantees. For example, a time sensitive data transmission may be needed, and control information such as transmission schedules may also need to be updated to facilitate subsequent transmission. The control information updates may be sent and implemented without interfering with the time sensitive data transmissions.

[0042] In one or more embodiments, a time sensitive control channel (TSCCH) may be defined by combining two approaches: a periodic approach and an on-demand approach. The period approach may include predefined control slots. In the on-demand approach, an AP may define control slots as needed. A TSCCH access mechanism may use contention-based or time synchronized scheduled access procedures. Also, a wake-up signal may be used to allow delivery of time sensitive control/management information to STAs across a network, reducing latency and allowing power save modes for the STAs.

[0043] In one or more embodiments, a TSCCH may be in a different physical/logical channel from a data transmission. For example, a data transmission may use a data channel (e.g., in a 6-7 GHz band) while TSCCH may use separate control channel in another band (e.g., 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz).

[0044] In one or more embodiments, use of a TSCCH operation and access mechanism may allow improved flexibility and more deterministic opportunities for an AP to provide timely updates (e.g., schedules and control parameters) needed to manage latency and reliability, which may be beneficial in supporting time sensitive applications. [0045] In one or more embodiments, a greenfield operation deployed in existing or new frequency bands (e.g., 6-7 GHz) and other managed networks may facilitate improved management of Wi-Fi networks operating in scheduled modes with time sensitive operations.

[0046] In one or more embodiments, it may be assumed that a Wi-Fi network may be managed and that there are no unmanaged nearby Wi-Fi STAs or networks. This assumption may be reasonable for time sensitive applications.

[0047] In one or more embodiments, it may be assumed that APs and STAs may synchronize their clocks to a master reference time. For example, STAs may synchronize to beacons and/or may use time synchronization protocols (e.g., as defined by the IEEE 802.1 AS standard or other synchronization capabilities defined in the 802.11 standard).

[0048] In one or embodiments, it may be assumed that an AP may define a time- synchronized scheduled mode.

[0049] In one or more embodiments, a greenfield mode may apply to a 6-7 GHz frequency band, and the greenfield mode may apply to other bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) where support for legacy devices may not be required (e.g., in some private networks). A greenfield mode may be applied according to the following principles.

[0050] In one or more embodiments, a fully synchronized and scheduled operation may be defined for a self-contained/synchronized transmission opportunity (S-TXOP) that may include a series of both uplink and downlink transmissions. During an S-TXOP, an AP may maintain control of a medium and may schedule access across predefined deterministic time boundaries. The use of an S-TXOP may maximize an amount of TSN traffic served while providing latency and reliability guarantees that support time sensitive operations;

[0051 ] In one or more embodiments, communication overheads related to synchronization, channel measurement and feedback, scheduling, and resource allocation may be intelligently packed at the beginning of an S-TXOP and may allow subsequent data transmissions to be extremely lightweight with minimal overhead. For example, up-front synchronization may allow for devices to be configured so that the devices do not need as much information as is currently provided in legacy headers. Instead, headers may be shorter because an S-TXOP has been coordinated among devices. The reduced overhead may allow for more TSN traffic to be served while providing sufficient latency and reliability of transmissions;

[0052] In one or more embodiments, there may be flexibility to define deterministic communication boundaries within an S-TXOP to accommodate applications requiring latency bounds in a sub-millisecond range, or other tight time ranges, for example. [0053] In one or more embodiments, a multi-band framework may be leveraged to allow backward compatibility and coexistence with legacy Wi-Fi applications. A new greenfield mode as defined herein may be used for data communications, and minimal control may be required to sustain target latency, reliability, and throughput performance. Legacy modes and bands may be used to perform basic/long-term control and management tasks (e.g., non -time sensitive tasks) as well as time sensitive tasks.

[0054] In one or more embodiments, enhanced time sensitive networking may improve performance over some existing wireless communications. For example, efficiency and latency may be improved, and the enhanced time sensitive networking may support a larger number of STAs for a given wireless resource while meeting latency bounds for TSN applications (e.g., augmented virtual reality, industrial control, and autonomous systems). Enhanced time sensitive networking may allow coexistence with legacy Wi-Fi operations by leveraging multi-band devices. Coexistence across networks operating in a greenfield mode as defined herein may be allowed by having better management and coordination across basic service sets (BSSs), which may be facilitated by higher layer management/coordination protocols.

[0055] In one or more embodiments, a number of assumptions may be used for the greenfield mode of enhanced time sensitive networking.

[0056] In one or more embodiments, WTSN STAs may be multi-band devices in which the MAC/PHY may operate in a different band (e.g., 6-7 GHz) than the band of a legacy STA, which may operate in 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands.

[0057] In one or more embodiments, a fully managed Wi-Fi deployment scenario in which other radio technology (e.g., legacy Wi-Fi or 3^rd Generation radio) may not be expected to operate in a same band where a WTSN STA may be operating.

[0058] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced time sensitive networking may be used in an indoor operating environment with relatively low mobility.

[0059] In one or more embodiments, a packet belonging to a TSN-grade application when queued at a WTSN STA may be dropped at a transmitter side if the packet does not get into air within a certain latency bound time.

[0060] The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures. [0061] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example network environment, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user devices 120 and one or more access point(s) (APs) 102, which may communicate in accordance with and compliant with various communication standards and protocols, such as, Wi-Fi, TSN, Wireless USB, P2P, Bluetooth, NFC, or any other communication standard. The user device(s) 120 may be mobile devices that are non stationary (e.g., not having fixed locations) or may be stationary devices.

[0062] In some embodiments, the user devices 120 and AP 102 may include one or more computer systems similar to that of the functional diagram of FIG. 8 and/or the example machine/system of FIG. 9.

[0063] One or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may be operable by one or more user(s) 108. It should be noted that any addressable unit may be a station (STA). An STA may take on multiple distinct characteristics, each of which shape its function. For example, a single addressable unit might simultaneously be a portable STA, a quality-of- service (QoS) STA, a dependent STA, and a hidden STA. The one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and the AP(s) 102 may be STAs. The one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may operate as a personal basic service set (PBSS) control point/access point (PCP/AP). The user device(s) 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and/or AP 102 may include any suitable processor-driven device including, but not limited to, a mobile device or a non-mobile, e.g., a static, device. For example, user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may include, a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), an access point (AP), a software enabled AP (SoftAP), a personal computer (PC), a wearable wireless device (e.g., bracelet, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an ultrabook^tm computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, an internet of things (IoT) device, a sensor device, a robotic device, an actuator, a robotic arm, an industrial robotic device, a programmable logic controller (PLC), a safety controller and monitoring device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phone functionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a“carry small live large” (CSLL) device, an ultra mobile device (UMD), an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an“origami” device or computing device, a device that supports dynamically composable computing (DCC), a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, an A/V device, a set-top-box (STB), a blu-ray disc (BD) player, a BD recorder, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a high definition (HD) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder, a personal video recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a flat panel display, a personal media player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio amplifier, a gaming device, a data source, a data sink, a digital still camera (DSC), a media player, a smartphone, a television, a music player, or the like. Other devices, including smart devices such as lamps, climate control, car components, household components, appliances, etc. may also be included in this list.

[0064] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102 may be configured to communicate with each other via one or more communications networks 135 and/or 140 wirelessly or wired. The user device(s) 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with each other with or without the AP 102. Any of the communications networks 135 and/or 140 may include, but not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, broadcasting networks, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, any of the communications networks 135 and/or 140 may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, any of the communications networks 135 and/or 140 may include any type of medium over which network traffic may be carried including, but not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, optical fiber, a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceivers, radio frequency communication mediums, white space communication mediums, ultra-high frequency communication mediums, satellite communication mediums, or any combination thereof.

[0065] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132) and AP 102 may include one or more communications antennas. The one or more communications antennas may be any suitable type of antennas corresponding to the communications protocols used by the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communications antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards compatible antennas, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, omnidirectional antennas, quasi-omnidirectional antennas, or the like. The one or more communications antennas may be communicatively coupled to a radio component to transmit and/or receive signals, such as communications signals to and/or from the user devices 120 and/or AP 102.

[0066] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and/or directional reception in conjunction with wirelessly communicating in a wireless network. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102 may be configured to perform such directional transmission and/or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., DMG antenna arrays or the like). Each of the multiple antenna arrays may be used for transmission and/or reception in a particular respective direction or range of directions. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional transmission towards one or more defined transmit sectors. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0067] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network may be accomplished using RF beamforming and/or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, in performing a given MIMO transmission, user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to use all or a subset of its one or more communications antennas to perform MIMO beamforming.

[0068] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132), and AP 102 may include any suitable radio and/or transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in the bandwidth and/or channels corresponding to the communications protocols utilized by any of the user device(s) 120 and AP 102 to communicate with each other. The radio components may include hardware and/or software to modulate and/or demodulate communications signals according to pre-established transmission protocols. The radio components may further have hardware and/or software instructions to communicate via one or more communication standards and protocols, such as, Wi-Fi, TSN, Wireless USB, Wi-Fi P2P, Bluetooth, NFC, or any other communication standard. In certain example embodiments, the radio component, in cooperation with the communications antennas, may be configured to communicate via 2.4 GHz channels (e.g. 802.1 lb, 802. l lg, 802.11h, 802.1 lax), 5 GHz channels (e.g. 802.11h, 802.1 lac, 802.1 lax), or 60 GHZ channels (e.g. 802.1 lad). In some embodiments, non-Wi-Fi protocols may be used for communications between devices, such as Bluetooth, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) (e.g. IEEE 802.l laf, IEEE 802.22), white band frequency (e.g., white spaces), or other packetized radio communications. The radio component may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communicating via the communications protocols. The radio component may further include a low noise amplifier (LNA), additional signal amplifiers, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, one or more buffers, and digital baseband.

[0069] When an AP (e.g., AP 102) establishes communication with one or more user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130 and/or 132), the AP 102 may communicate in a downlink direction and the user devices 120 may communicate with the AP 102 in an uplink direction by sending frames in either direction. The user devices 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with each other with or without the AP 102. The data frames may be preceded by one or more preambles that may be part of one or more headers. These preambles may be used to allow a device (e.g., AP 102 and/or user devices 120) to detect a new incoming data frame from another device. A preamble may be a signal used in network communications to synchronize transmission timing between two or more devices (e.g., between the APs and user devices).

[0070] In one or more embodiments, and with reference to FIG. 1A, an AP 102 may communicate with user devices 120. The user devices 120 may include one or more wireless devices (e.g., user devices 124, 132) and one or more wireless TSN devices (e.g., user devices 126 128, 130). The user devices may access a channel in accordance with medium access control (MAC) protocol rules or any other access rules (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, etc.). It should be noted that reserving a dedicated TSN channel and controlling access to it may also be applicable to cellular systems/3GPP networks, such as LTE, 5G, or any other wireless networks. The wireless TSN devices may also access a channel according to the same or modified protocol rules. However, the AP 102 may dedicate certain channels or sub-channels for TSN applications that may be needed by the one or more wireless TSN devices (e.g., user devices 126, 128, and 130), and may allocate other channels or sub-channels for the non-TSN devices (e.g., user devices 124 and 132).

[0071] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 may also define one or more access rules associated with the dedicated channels. A channel may be dedicated for TSN transmissions, TSN applications, and TSN devices. For example, user device 126 may access a dedicated TSN channel for TSN transmissions. TSN transmissions may include transmissions that have very low transmission latency and high availability requirements. Further, the TSN transmissions may include synchronous TSN data flows between sensors, actuators, controllers, robots, in a closed loop control system. The TSN transmissions require reliable and deterministic communications. A channel may be accessed by the user device 126 for a number of TSN message flows and is not limited to only one TSN message flow. The TSN message flows may depend on the type of application messages that are being transmitted between the AP 102 and the user device 126.

[0072] In one or more embodiments, while frequency planning and channel management may be used to allow AP 102 to collaborate with neighboring APs (not shown) to operate in different channels, the efficiency and feasibility of reserving multiple non-overlapping data channels for time sensitive applications may be improved. It may be desirable to limit the amount of resources reserved for time sensitive data through efficient channel reuse. If multiple devices (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, 132) share a dedicated channel for time sensitive data transmissions, interference among multiple transmissions may be reduced with enhanced coordination between the devices and one or more APs (e.g., AP 102). For example, overlap and interference of control transmissions (e.g., a beacon), downlink data transmissions, and uplink data transmissions may be reduced with enhanced coordination. Such enhanced coordination for multiple APs may enable more efficient channel usage while also meeting latency and reliability requirements of time sensitive applications. For example, if control transmissions are not received and interpreted properly, time sensitive operations may not be scheduled properly, and/or may interfere with other transmissions, possibly causing operational errors.

[0073] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 may include WTSN controller functionality (e.g., a wireless TSN controller capability), which may facilitate enhanced coordination among multiple devices (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, 132). AP 102 may be responsible for configuring and scheduling time sensitive control and data operations across the devices. A wireless TSN (WTSN) management protocol may be used to facilitate enhanced coordination between the devices, which may be referred to as WTSN management clients in such context. AP 102 may enable device admission control (e.g., control over admitting devices to a WTSN), joint scheduling, network measurements, and other operations.

[0074] In one or more embodiments, AP 102’ s use of WTSN controller functionality may facilitate AP synchronization and alignment for control and data transmissions to ensure latency with high reliability for time sensitive applications on a shared time sensitive data channel, while enabling coexistence with non-time sensitive traffic in the same network. [0075] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 and its WTSN coordination may be adopted in future Wi-Fi standards for new bands (e.g., 6-7 GHz), in which additional requirements of time synchronization and scheduled operations may be used. Such application of the WTSN controller functionality may be used in managed Wi-Fi deployments (e.g., enterprise, industrial, managed home networks, etc.) in which time sensitive traffic may be steered to a dedicated channel in existing bands as well as new bands.

[0076] In one or more embodiments, it may be assumed that a Wi-Fi network may be managed, and that there are no unmanaged Wi-Fi STAs/networks nearby.

[0077] In one or more embodiments, it may be assumed that APs and STAs may synchronize their clocks to a master reference times (e.g., STAs may synchronize to beacons and/or may use time synchronization protocols as defined in the IEEE 802.1 AS standard).

[0078] In one or more embodiments, it may be assumed that APs and STAs may operate according to a time synchronized scheduled mode that may also apply to new frequency bands (e.g., 6-7 GHz), for which new access protocols and requirements also may be proposed.

[0079] In one or more embodiments, a WTSN domain may be defined as a set of APs (e.g., AP 102) and STAs (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132) that may share dedicated wireless resources, and therefore may need to operate in close coordination, at a level of control and time sensitive data scheduling, to ensure latency and reliability guarantees. Different APs in the same network may form different WTSN domains.

[0080] In one or more embodiments, the WTSN management protocol may be executed over a wired (e.g., Ethernet) TSN infrastructure that may provide TSN grade time synchronization accuracy and latency guarantees. The WTSN management protocol may also be executed using wireless links (e.g., a wireless backhaul, which may include Wi-Fi or WiGig links through one or multiple hops). An Ethernet TSN interface may be replaced by a wireless interface (e.g., and 802.11 MAC and/or physical layer PHY). An operation of a second wireless interface may also be managed by AP 102 to avoid interference with an interface used for communication with time sensitive user STAs (e.g., user devices 126, 128, and 130).

[0081] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 may perform admission control and scheduling tasks. To complete an association procedure for an STA with time sensitive data streams (e.g., user device 130), the STA may request admission from AP 102. AP 102 may define which APs may be in a WTSN domain, and may determine the admission of new time sensitive data streams based on, for example, available resources and user requirements. AP 102 may create and/or update a transmission schedule that may include time sensitive operations and/or non-time sensitive operations, and the schedule may be provided to admitted user devices. AP 102 may be responsible for executing the schedule according to time sensitive protocols defined, for example, at 802.11 MAC/PHY layers.

[0082] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 may perform transmission schedule updates. AP 102 may update a transmission schedule for time sensitive data, and may send transmission schedule updates to STAs and/or other APs during network operation. A transmission schedule update may be triggered by changes in wireless channel conditions at different APs and/or STAs within a common WTSN domain. The condition changes may include increased interference, new user traffic requests, and other network and/or operational changes that may affect a WTSN domain.

[0083] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 may collect measurement data from other devices in a WTSN domain. The measurement data may be collected from time sensitive and/or non-time sensitive devices. AP 102 may maintain detailed network statistics, for example, related to latency, packet error rates, retransmissions, channel access delay, etc. The network statistics may be collected via measurement reports sent from STAs. AP 102 may use network statistics to proactively manage wireless channel usage to allow for a target latency requirement to be satisfied. For example, measurements may be used to determine potential channel congestion and to trigger a change from a joint transmission schedule mode to a mode in which APs may allocate a same slot to multiple non-interfering STAs that may be leveraging spatial reuse capabilities.

[0084] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0085] FIG. 1B depicts an illustrative enhanced WTSN MAC/PHY configuration for a WTSN device 150, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0086] In one or more embodiments, the WTSN device 150 may include a multiband operation framework 152, legacy channel access functions 154, legacy PHY 156, management, long-term control, and non-time sensitive traffic 158, coordinated synchronous access function (CSAF) 160, WTSN greenfield/PHY 162, and TSN traffic, short-term control signaling 164.

[0087] In one or more embodiments, the multiband operation framework 152 may allow WTSN device 150 to perform multiband operations. For example, some operations may be performed in one frequency band, while other operations may be performed in another frequency band. One frequency band may include a control channel, and another frequency band may include separate data channels. [0088] In one or more embodiments, to provide for both WTSN and non-TSN operations, the WTSN device 150 may include a link for management, long-term control, and non-time sensitive traffic 158, and a link for TSN traffic and short-term control signaling 164. To support the management, long-term control, and non-time sensitive traffic 158, WTSN device 150 may include legacy channel access functions 154. Legacy channel access functions 154 may include a distributed coordination function (DCF), hybrid coordination function controlled channel access (HCF), and other channel access functions. The management, long-term control, and non-time sensitive traffic 158 may also be supported by a legacy PHY 156 (e.g., on a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequency). Long-term control may include beacon transmissions, network association, security procedures, and other control traffic. Short-term control may include radio synchronization (e.g., time-frequency synchronization), scheduling, channel feedback, and other control traffic.

[0089] In one or more embodiments, to support the TSN traffic, short-term control signaling 164, WTSN device 150 include the CSAF 160 and the WTSN greenfield/PHY 162. The CSAF 160 may use a central coordinator at WTSN device 150 (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1A) to maintain a MAC/PHY level synchronization between the WTSN device 150 and non-AP STAs (e.g., user devices 120 of FIG. 1) during an S-TXOP. The WTSN device 150 may control access to wireless media in a scheduled fashion in time, frequency, and spatial dimensions. With an infrastructure for a basic service set (BSS) for WTSN, during an S-TXOP, all WTSN STAs may need to adhere to the MAC/PHY synchronization at all times.

[0090] In one or more embodiments, when WTSN STAs (e.g., user device 126, user device 128, user device 130 of FIG. 1A) are not standalone devices, WTSN-capable devices may associate with a network using a legacy link (e.g., legacy channel access functions 154, legacy PHY 156, and management, long-term control, non-time sensitive traffic 158 of FIG. 1B). During association, a WTSN STA may indicate its capability and interest to join a WTSN operation mode. Through the legacy link, a multiband AP (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1A) may instruct the WTSN-capable STA to configure the WTSN STA’s MAC/PHY on designated band. The WTSN MAC in the WTSN STA may achieve MAC/PHY synchronization and successfully read initial control and synchronization information in a synchronization and configuration frame (SCF, as described further below) received from the AP in a WTSN band. Through the legacy link, the AP and STA may complete the association process by exchanging management frames. This process may be referred to as associating or establishing a channel/connection with a device. [0091] In one or more embodiments, some long-term parameters and control signals related to a WTSN MAC/PHY operation may be conveyed from a WTSN AP to WTSN non-AP STAs through the legacy link.

[0092] In one or more embodiments, the legacy link may also be used for admission control and/or inter-BSS coordination, and the multiband operation framework 152 may be used to direct TSN traffic (e.g., TSN traffic, short-term control signaling 164) to the WTSN MAC/PHY (e.g., WTSN Greenfield/PHY 162). The WTSN MAC/PHY may provide functionality to support ultra-low and near-deterministic packet latency (e.g., one millisecond or less) with virtually no jitter in a controlled environment. Latency may be measured from a time when a logical link control (LLC) MAC service data unit (MDSU) enters a MAC sublayer at a transmitter to a time when the MDSU is successfully delivered from the MAC sublayer to an LLC sublayer on a receiver.

[0093] In one or more embodiments, WTSN operations may be facilitated by a synchronous and coordinated MAC/PHY operation during an S-TXOP between a WTSN AP and one or more non-AP WTSN STAs in a BSS infrastructure.

[0094] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0095] FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative timing diagram 200 of an enhanced WTSN time synchronization, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0096] Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown uplink and downlink data frame flows between AP 202 and a TSN device 204. For example, TSN device 204 may receive downlink data frames from AP 202, and may send uplink data frames to AP 202. In one embodiment, the WTSN time synchronization may be utilized for persistent scheduling for synchronous transmission from TSN device 204 to AP 202.

[0097] In one or more embodiments, during a beacon period 206 (e.g., 100 x cycle_time), AP 202 may transmit or receive during one or more service periods 208 that comprise the beacon period 206. For example, service periods 208 may span 1 millisecond or some other time during which one or more transmissions may be made. A cycle time is a parameter that may be configured based on a service and/or latency requirements of one or more applications. For example, an STA application may generate packets in a synchronous/periodic pattern (e.g., of 1 millisecond cycles), and packets generated at the beginning of a cycle may need to be delivered within the cycle. [0098] AP 202 may send a beacon 210 during a service period 208 at the beginning of beacon period 206. During TXOP 212, TXOP 214, TXOP 216, TXOP 218, TXOP 220, TXOP 220, TXOP 222, and TXOP 224, AP 202 may send or receive frames to/from TSN device 204. At the conclusion of beacon period 206, a new beacon period may begin with AP 202 sending beacon 226.

[0099] Any of TXOP 212, TXOP 214, TXOP 216, TXOP 218, TXOP 220, TXOP 220, TXOP 222, and TXOP 224 may include restricted or unrestricted service periods, time sensitive service periods, or non-time sensitive service periods. TXOP 212, TXOP 214, TXOP 216, TXOP 218, TXOP 220, TXOP 220, TXOP 222, and TXOP 224 may comprise one or more service periods 208.

[00100] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00101] FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative control channel access sequence 300, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00102] In one or more embodiments, AP 302 may be a WTSN device (e.g., WTSN device 150 of FIG. 1B) in communication with STA 304, which may be another WTSN device. AP 302 and STA 304 may use a TSCCH 306 and a TSDCH 308 to transmit both control/management frames and data frames.

[00103] In one or more embodiments, a beacon period 310 (e.g., 100 x cycle time) may begin with AP 302 sending beacon 312. Later in beacon period 310, AP 302 may send short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318, or any number of short beacons supported by the beacon period 310. At the end of beacon period 310, another beacon 320 may be sent by AP 302. Beacon 312, short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318, and/or beacon 320 may provide control/management frames to STA 304 in TSCCH 306.

[00104] TSCCH 306 and TSDCH 308 may be divided into cycles 324 which may span a cycle time 326 (e.g., 1 millisecond). Beacon 312, short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318, and/or beacon 320 may not require an entire cycle 324.

[00105] TSCCH 306 and TSDCH 308 may be logical channels defined within an existing or new physical channel/frequency band. TSCCH 306 may be defined within a primary channel, while TSDCH 308 may be defined in a secondary or dedicated TS channel, possibly in another frequency band. TSCCH 306 may be used for time sensitive access under control of AP 302. TSDCH 308 may be defined in an existing or new band (e.g., 6-7 GHz).

[00106] Configurations for TSCCH 306 and/or TSDCH 308 may be transmitted as information elements in beacon 312, short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318, and/or beacon 320. The configurations may provide information identifying the corresponding physical channels used for TSCCH 306 and TSDCH 308.

[00107] TSCCH 306 may be defined as periodic resources (e.g., time-frequency slots) for exchanging control frames. Defining a periodic interval for control frames may be important to enable time sensitive STAs (e.g., STA 304) to schedule time sensitive data and control actions without conflicts (e.g., conflicts with other devices).

[00108] TSCCH 306 may be used to transmit regular beacons (e.g., beacon 312, beacon 320) and short beacons (e.g., short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318), which may include a subset of information transmitted of regular beacons (e.g., an updated transmission schedule or bitmap of restricted time sensitive service periods). Short beacon transmissions may be scheduled in predefined intervals (e.g., fractions of beacon period 310). Other management frames may also be transmitted in TSCCH 306, such as association request/response frames, timing measurements, and channel feedback measurement frames.

[00109] In one or more embodiments, access to TSCCH 306 may use contention-based TSN sequence for control channel access sequence 300. The contention-based TSN sequence may follow a legacy carrier-sense multiple access (CSMA)-based IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol. For example, when TSCCH 306 is defined as the operating/primary channel, AP 302 may contend for TSCCH 306 using enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) to transmit beacon (e.g., beacon 312, beacon 320) and short beacons (e.g., short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318) at predefined intervals. TSCCH control frames (e.g., beacon 312, short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318, and/or beacon 320) may include information to support a time synchronized scheduled access in TSDCH 308. Such operation may enable time sensitive operations for legacy Wi-Fi systems in which TSCCH 306 may provide an anchor for TSDCH 308 (e.g., time synchronized and schedule) in one or more restricted channels and/or frequency bands.

[00110] In one or more embodiments, access to TSCCH 306 may use a time-synchronized access method. TSCCH 306 may be defined as periodic scheduled resources (e.g., time slots) for regular beacons (e.g., beacon 312, beacon 320) and short beacons (e.g., short beacon 314, short beacon 316, short beacon 318) using time-synchronized access. Access to time slots (e.g., cycles 324) may still be based on contention (e.g., CSMA) or may be scheduled. For example, slots may be reserved for beacons and short beacons, which may be transmitted periodically (e.g., every fifth slot). TSCCH 306 may also be aligned with TSDCH 308 timing. TSCCH time slots reserved for beacons and/or short beacons may be announced in regular beacons so that newly admitted STAs (e.g., STA 304) may discover TSCCH 306 parameters. All STAs may be required to adhere to time synchronization across channels and ensure TXOPs do not overlap with scheduled TSCCH slots. In addition, all STAs may be required to listen to TSCCH 306 during scheduled beacon/short beacon slots to make sure the STAs receive those beacons/short beacons. Such operation may provide a more deterministic operation as timing of each TSCCH 306 may be controlled and collisions may be avoided through efficient scheduling.

[00111] Remaining time of TSCCH slots (e.g., cycles 324) occupied by a beacon/short beacon may be used to exchange other control/management frames.

[00112] AP 302 may transmit unicast control/management frames to STA 304 using TSDCH 308 provided that the control/management frames do not interfere with time sensitive data.

[00113] It is understood that the aforementioned examples are for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00114] FIG. 3B depicts an illustrative combined channel access sequence 340, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00115] In one or more embodiments, AP 342 may be a WTSN device (e.g., WTSN device 150 of FIG. 1B) in communication with STA 344, which may be another WTSN device. AP 342 and STA 344 may use channel 346 to transmit both control/management frames and data frames.

[00116] In one or more embodiments, a beacon period 348 (e.g., 100 x cycle time) having one or more cycles 350 may begin with AP 342 sending beacon 352. Later in beacon period 348, AP 342 and/or STA 344 may send one or more data frames 354. AP 342 may send short beacon 356. AP 342 and/or STA 344 may send one or more data frames 358. AP 342 may send short beacon 360. AP 342 and/or STA 344 may send one or more data frames 362. AP 342 may send short beacon 364. AP 342 and/or STA 344 may send one or more data frames 366. After beacon period 348 has concluded, AP 342 may send another beacon 368 to begin another beacon period. The beacons (e.g., beacon 352, short beacon 356, short beacon 360, short beacon 364, and beacon 368) may be sent in channel 346. The one or more data frames (e.g., one or more data frames 354, one or more data frames 358, one or more data frames 362, and one or more data frames 366) may be sent in the channel 346.

[00117] Channel 346 may be divided into cycles 350 which may span a cycle time 369 (e.g., 1 millisecond). Beacon 352, short beacon 356, short beacon 360, short beacon 364, and beacon 368 may not require an entire cycle 350. The one or more data frames (e.g., one or more data frames 354, one or more data frames 358, one or more data frames 362, and one or more data frames 366) may use one or more cycles 350, and may use partial cycles 350.

[00118] In one or more embodiments, channel 346 may be a physical channel that includes a TSCCH and TSDCH. Using cycles 350, control/management frames (e.g., beacon 352, short beacon 356, short beacon 360, short beacon 364, and beacon 368) and data frames (e.g., one or more data frames 354, one or more data frames 358, one or more data frames 362, and one or more data frames 366) may be scheduled to avoid overlapping/conflicting transmissions. Such enhanced coordination may facilitate WTSN communications which meet the latency and reliability requirements of WTSN operations.

[00119] It is understood that the aforementioned examples are for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00120] FIG. 3C depicts an illustrative on-demand channel access sequence 370, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00121] In one or more embodiments, AP 372 may be a WTSN device (e.g., WTSN device 150 of FIG. 1B) in communication with STA 374, which may be another WTSN device. AP 372 and STA 374 may use channel 376 to transmit both control/management frames and data frames.

[00122] In one or more embodiments, a beacon period 378 (e.g., 100 x cycle time) having one or more cycles 380 may begin with AP 372 sending beacon 382. Later in beacon period 378, AP 372 and/or STA 374 may send one or more data frames 384. AP 372 may send short beacon 386. AP 372 and/or STA 374 may send one or more data frames 388. AP 372 may send short beacon 390. AP 372 and/or STA 374 may send one or more data frames 392. After beacon period 378 has concluded, AP 372 may send another beacon 394 to begin another beacon period. The beacons (e.g., beacon 382, short beacon 386, short beacon 390, and beacon 394) may be sent in channel 376. The one or more data frames (e.g., one or more data frames 384, one or more data frames 388, and one or more data frames 392) may be sent in the channel 376.

[00123] In one or more embodiments, AP 372 may send control/management frames (e.g., beacon 382, short beacon 386, short beacon 390, and beacon 394) on demand using resources such as time slots (e.g., cycles 380) that may not be reserved for time sensitive data.

[00124] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00125] FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative on-demand channel access sequence 400, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [00126] In one or more embodiments, AP 402 may be a WTSN device (e.g., WTSN device 150 of FIG. 1B), an STA 404 also may be a WTSN device. Within TSCCH slot 406, a TSCCH 408 may be established by transmission of a wake-up signal 410 from AP 402 to STA 404.

[00127] In one or more embodiments, the wake-up signal 410 may indicate to STA 404 to activate a main/high-power radio (e.g., wake up) at a particular time to receive other frames. The wake-up signal 410 may also indicate that STA 404 should listen to TSCCH 408 after STA 404 wakes up. Wake-up signal 410 may be implemented, for example, using a signal defined by the IEEE 802.1 lba standard, or by any other type of wake-up sequence.

[00128] After STA 404 has woken up and is listening to TSCCH 408, AP 402 may send a beacon 412, and STA 404 may receive beacon 412. After receiving the beacon 412, STA 404 may receive one or more other frames 414 from AP 402. The wake-up signal 410 may be sent after a transmission offset 416 so that the wake-up signal 410 is not necessarily provided at the very beginning of TSCCH slot 406. Beacon 412 may be sent after a wake-up time 418 to allow STA 404 to wake up and configure itself to receive frames like beacon 412.

[00129] In one or more embodiments, wake-up signal 410 may be transmitted in a different physical channel than TSCCH 408 (different channel not shown). For example, the wake-up signal 410 may be sent in a 2.4 GHz channel while TSCCH 408 may be configured as a 5 GHz channel.

[00130] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00131] Referring to FIGs. 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 4A, an AP (e.g., AP 302 of FIG. 3A, AP 342 of FIG. 3B, AP 372 of FIG. 3C, and AP 402 of FIG. 4A) may update a transmission schedule, including updates to time sensitive service periods (e.g., cycles 324 of FIG. 3A, cycles 350 of FIG. 3B, cycles 380 of FIG. 3C, and TSCCH slot 406) within a beacon interval (e.g., beacon period 310 of FIG. 3 A, beacon period 348 of FIG. 3B, beacon period 378 of FIG. 3C) by transmitting updated schedules/schedule information (e.g., a time sensitive service period bitmap and/or time sensitive service period schedule allocations for specific STAs) within a control channel.

[00132] In one or more embodiments, while STAs are updating to adjust to the new schedules, an AP may define a period before the new schedule becomes valid so that the STAs have time to configure themselves according to the new schedules. The grace period may be a multiple of the TSCCH beacon period or cycle_times (or time slots). New schedule information may also include a future time slot when the new schedule becomes valid, and STAs may follow the new schedule accordingly. An AP may define a configuration parameter (e.g., maxTSCCHSlotsSkipped) to indicate a maximum number of TSCCH slots an STA is allowed to skip. For example, an STA (e.g., STA 404 of FIG. 4A) may enter a power save mode or may perform other actions during TSCCH skipped slots. An AP may retransmit an update in a number of consecutive TSCCH slots (e.g., maxTSCCHSlotsSkipped + 1), and may adjust a time for the new schedule to become valid. STAs may adjust a frequency at which they listen to a TSCCH so that the STAs may capture at least one schedule update before an updated schedule becomes valid.

[00133] In one or more embodiments, when updating a transmission schedule, an AP may not reuse slots/resources that were previously assigned for a grace period. This may help avoid conflicts in cases when an STA does not receive a schedule update correctly.

[00134] In one or more embodiments, an AP may include information in other frames (e.g., an ACK or data frame) to request an STA to listen to the next TSCCH slot.

[00135] In one or more embodiments, an AP may include schedule information in other frames (e.g., ACK or data frames).

[00136] In one or more embodiments, a TSCCH may be used to transmit time sensitive control information associated with multiple TSDCHs (e.g., TSDCH 308 of FIG. 3A may comprise multiple TSDCHs). A target TSDCH identifier may be included in all frames exchanged within a TSCCH to identify which TSDCH is being used/scheduled. If no TSDCH identifier is included in a TSCCH frame, a default value may be assumed to identify a TSDCH.

[00137] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00138] FIG. 4B depicts an illustrative synchronous channel access timing sequence 420, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00139] In one or more embodiments, a coordinated synchronous access function (CSAF) access method (e.g., synchronous channel access timing sequence 420) may use central coordinator functionality (e.g., as described with regard to WTSN device 150 of FIG. 1B) of a WTSN AP (e.g., AP 422) to maintain a tight MAC/PHY-level synchronization between AP 422 and a non-AP WTSN STA (e.g., STA 424) during an S-TXOP 426. AP 422 may use the central coordinator functionality to control access to a wireless media in a scheduled fashion in time, frequency, and spatial dimensions. In a BSS infrastructure for WTSN operations, during S-TXOP 426, all WTSN STAs (e.g., STA 424) may have to maintain the tight MAC/PHY-level synchronization.

[00140] In one or more embodiments, S-TXOP 426 may include a service period for a TSDCH. S-TXOP 426 and other TXOPs may be used in different service periods associated with a TSDCH. S-TXOP 426 may be used for STAs (e.g., STA 424) which may support a new WTSN Greenfield/PHY (e.g., WTSN Greenfield/PHY 162 of FIG. 1B).

[00141] In one or more embodiments, a CSAF access method may be performed during S- TXOP 426, which may have a preconfigured duration (e.g., 5 milliseconds), and may be initiated by the central coordinator functionality of AP 422. S-TXOP 426 may be divided into communication intervals 428 of a fixed duration and with predefined boundaries. S-TXOP 426 may be owned/controlled by AP 422. One or more transmissions may occur in an interval 428.

[00142] In one or more embodiments, parameters such as a length of S-TXOP 426, along with a number of communication intervals 428 and their duration, may be signaled to STA 424 with management frames exchanged during an association process using the legacy link (e.g., as described with regard to FIG. 1B). Such parameters may be based on expected traffic characteristics and latency requirements, channel characteristics (e.g., coherence time) and expected mobility, and hardware capabilities of STA 424.

[00143] In one or more embodiments, the synchronous channel access timing sequence 420 may be leveraged to provide sub-millisecond bounded latency. S-TXOP 426 may be five milliseconds long, and may be divided into twenty equal-sized intervals 428, each of which may be, for example, 0.25 milliseconds long. Considering a low-mobility deployment that may be typical for indoor Wi-Fi deployment (e.g., enterprise) and a normal maximum TXOP size in existing Wi-Fi networks, five milliseconds for the duration of S-TXOP 426 may be a default number, but other durations may be used. Intervals 428 may also be configured, and each interval may have a different duration. The duration of intervals 428 may be included as part of S-TXOP signaling (e.g., signaling in STI 430).

[00144] In one or more embodiments, a first interval (e.g., interval 428) of S-TXOP 426 may occur at the beginning of S-TXOP 426 and may be an S-TXOP initialization (STI) interval 430. The remaining intervals of S-TXOP 426 may be downlink and/or uplink intervals (e.g., DL/UL 432, DL/UL 434, DL/UL 436, and DL/UL 438) configured by the CSAF at AP 422 and communicated to STA 424 and other STAs (not shown) during STI interval 430.

[00145] In one or more embodiments, determination of downlink/uplink designation may depend on several factors, and may be included in the scheduler/admission controller/multi- AP coordination functionality of AP 422. For example, traffic arrival and direction pattern, and/or latency requirements of admitted traffic flows may be factors in downlink/uplink designation. Projected scheduling of transmissions may be considered in determining a downlink/uplink designation. Interference avoidance/alignment with neighboring AP (not shown) coordination may also be a factor in determining a downlink/uplink designation. [00146] In one or more embodiments, STI interval 430 may start S-TXOP 426 and may enable one or more functions. During STI interval 430, MAC/PHY synchronization may occur between STA 424 and a WTSN BSS. During STI interval 430, remaining intervals of S-TXOP 426 as downlink or uplink transmission intervals may be configured. During STI interval 430, downlink channel measurements and uplink resource allocation requests may be facilitated. During STI interval 430, scheduling information may be determined for upcoming intervals of S-TXOP 426. During STI interval 430, parameters such as an S-TXOP identifier and acknowledgment signaling configurations may be determined.

[00147] In one or more embodiments, S-TXOP 426 may operate in any combination of a TSCCH and/or TSDCH.

[00148] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00149] FIG. 4C depicts an illustrative STI interval 440, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00150] In one or more embodiments, during STI interval 440, which may be a first interval of an S-TXOP (e.g., S-TXOP 426 of FIG. 4B), AP 442 may be a WTSN device with controller functionality, and may be in communication with STA 444, which may also be a WTSN device. The STI interval 440 may have a duration 446 (e.g., interval) of 0.25 milliseconds, or any other value.

[00151] During STI interval 440, AP 442 and/or STA 444 may send one or more synchronization and configuration frames (SCF) 448 in a TSCCH or in any operating channel. AP 442 and/or STA 444 may send one or more feedback and resource request (FRR) frames 450 in the TSCCH or in any operating channel. AP 442 and/or STA 444 may send one or more interval specific configuration (ISC) frames 452 in the TSCCH or in any operating channel. SCF 448 may be sent after a guard interval 454, and may have an SCF interval 456. After SCF interval 456, a guard time 458 may occur before an FRR frame 450 is sent during an FRR interval 460. After FRR interval 460, a guard time 462 may occur before an ISC frame 452 is sent during an ISC interval 464.

[00152] In one or more embodiments, SCF 448 may be a special frame with a different structure than other PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) exchanged during an S-TXOP (as described further below in connection with FIGs. 4D and 4E).

[00153] In one or more embodiments, an FRR frame 450 may be sent in response to STA 444 being requested by AP 442 to provide channel feedback, power headroom, and/or other resources. Not all STAs in a WTSN may be asked to send channel feedback, power headroom, and/or other resources during the FRR interval 460. For example, AP 442 may request specific STAs to send feedback without requesting all STAs to do so during one S-TXOP. Instead, AP 442 may designate different S-TXOPs for other STAs to send feedback. In some TSN applications, a traffic pattern may be periodic, and AP 442 may have prior information regarding which STAs may need to be scheduled for a particular S-TXOP.

[00154] In one or more embodiments, FRR interval 460 may be divided into multiple smaller intervals, and multiple STAs may be multiplexed into frequency, time, and spatial dimensions to send respective FRR frames 450. FRR frames are discussed further below in connection with FIG. 5A.

[00155] In one or more embodiments, during ISC interval 464, AP 442 may send one or more ISC frames 452, which may include information facilitating the configuration of remaining intervals within an S-TXOP, along with schedule/resource allocation for those intervals. ISC frames 452 may allow devices to be configured for multiple intervals during an S-TXOP. ISC frames 452 are discussed further below in connection with FIG. 5B.

[00156] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00157] FIGs. 4D and 4E depicts portions of an SCF PPDU, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4D depicts an illustrative portion 470 of an SCF frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4E depicts an illustrative portion 480 of an SCF frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00158] In one or more embodiments, an SCF (e.g., SCF 448 of FIG. 4C) may be carried in a special type of PPDU that may be different from other PPDUs exchanged during an S-TXOP. For example, an SCF may include a portion 470 that has an SCF preamble 472, an SCF-SIG field 474, and an SCF payload 476.

[00159] SCF preamble 472 may carry a synchronization sequence designed to provide tight PHY synchronization between a WTSN AP (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C) and WTSN STAs (e.g., STA 444 of FIG. 4C) throughout an S-TXOP. Each WTSN STA may need to synchronize before being capable of being served by a WTSN AP. Other downlink PPDUs in an S-TXOP may not carry a dedicated field intended to synchronize devices other than, for example, strategically placed pilots (e.g., pilot tones) inside PPDUs for time, frequency, and/or offset/phase tracking. A PHY/MAC operation in an S-TXOP may be synchronized so that individual PPDUs do not need dedicated synchronization signals, and so that WTSN STAs may not be needed to perform PPDU-by-PPDU synchronization, except for an SCF PPDU. Upon reception of SCF preamble 472, a PHY of a non-AP WTSN STA (e.g., STA 444 of FIG. 4C) may lock onto the signal including the SCF preamble 472 and may use the SCF preamble 472 to identify a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol boundary for an entire S-TXOP, and may perform frequency offset estimation/correction. A PHY may send an appropriate primitive to a MAC layer to indicate successful PHY synchronization. The MAC may use the primitive from the PHY to apply the timing synchronization and to identify a boundary of the S-TXOP.

[00160] SCF preamble 472 may include a training field/sequence for downlink channel measurement and feedback (e.g., feedback carried in an FRR frame as discussed further below with regard to FIG. 5A), which may be used by a WTSN AP (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C) for scheduling decisions. Assuming very low mobility, channel coherence time may be expected to be larger than an S-TXOP duration of, for example, 5 milliseconds. Therefore, a WTSN AP may use feedback received based on the training field/sequence for an entire S-TXOP. The training field/sequence may include channel measurement signals for single and/or multi antenna operation during an S-TXOP.

[00161] SCF preamble 472 may have design characteristics enabling coexistence with other systems and/or safeguarding a WTSN operation in a frequency band (e.g., 6-7 GHz). Coexistence may be achieved with specific radio technologies (e.g., LTE, 5G new radio) in a frequency band (e.g., 6-7 GHz) while maintaining a strict latency bound. Every STI (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C) may start after a minimum guard interval (e.g., guard interval 454 of FIG. 4C) after an end of a previous S-TXOP. The guard interval in combination with design characteristics of SCF preamble 472 may allow a WTSN AP to control a medium for a deterministic operation (e.g., an AP may control a TXOP for a time period for deterministic operations).

[00162] SCF preamble 472 may allow WTSN non-AP STAs (e.g., STA 444 of FIG. 4C) to calculate downlink automatic gain control (AGC), which may be used by STAs for all downlink PPDUs transmitted in different downlink intervals in an S-TXOP. As channel coherence time is expected to be larger than an S-TXOP, other downlink PPDUs may not need to include dedicated signals for AGC.

[00163] In one or more embodiments, SCF-SIG 474 may include necessary signal information to decode in the SCF payload 476.

[00164] In one or more embodiments, SCF payload 476 may include portion 480 of an SCF frame. The portion 480 of an SCF frame may include MAC header 482, S-TXOP ID 484 (e.g., an S-TXOP identifier) field, S-TXOP configuration 486 field, FRR RA 488 (e.g., FRR resource allocation) field, and frame check sequence (FCS) 490 field.

[00165] MAC header 482 may be a MAC layer header identifying a version/protocol being used. For example, MAC header 482 may indicate a type of frame such as a management frame, control frame, or data frame. MAC header 482 may also identify a frame subtype such as an association request, probe request, beacon, disassociation, or another subtype.

[00166] In one or more embodiments, S-TXOP ID 484 may be a number from 0 - (2¹⁶ - 1). A count may then wrap around (e.g., after 2¹⁶ - 1, the count restarts at 0). STAs may need to keep track of the S-TXOP ID 484 because some device configurations may depend on the S- TXOP number. For example, an STA may be supposed to perform a channel measurement or another operation during a particular S-TXOP.

[00167] In one or more embodiments, S-TXOP configuration 486 may include information that configures an S-TXOP. Information may include whether an ACK is used during the downlink/uplink intervals (e.g., DL/UL 432, DL/UL 434, DL/UL 436, DL/UL 438 of FIG. 4B). ACK signaling may be enabled or disabled based on traffic being served, and the requirements of the traffic. Other information in S-TXOP configuration 486 may include a duration of data and ACK intervals in terms of OFDM symbols, length of different guard times applicable for the S-TXOP, and/or additional configurations available for the S-TXOP.

[00168] In one or more embodiments, FRR RA 488 may include resource allocation information for an FRR duration (e.g., FRR interval 460 of FIG. 4C) following an SCF (e.g., SCF 448 of FIG. 4C). FRR RA 488 may also indicate what information is requested from an STA. Information requested from an STA may include channel feedback, power headroom, resource request, and/or other combinations of information. Subfields of FRR RA 488 may identify STAs requested to send feedback and/or resource requests in an FRR (e.g., FRR frames 450 in FIG. 4C), and needed resource allocation information to send such data.

[00169] In one or more embodiments, FCS 490 may include an error detection code. FCS 490 may be represented by a number that, when received by a device (e.g., STA 444 of FIG. 4C), is recalculated and compared with FCS 490 that was included in a frame. If the two numbers match, the FCS check is satisfied. If the numbers do not match, the FCS check fails.

[00170] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00171] FIG. 5A depicts an illustrative portion 500 of an FRR frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [00172] In one or more embodiments, FRR frame 502 may be sent by a device (e.g., STA 444 of FIG. 4C) during an STI interval (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C) after the device has received an SCF (e.g., SCF 448 of FIG. 4C).

[00173] In one or more embodiments, FRR frame 502 may include a MAC header 504 element, a channel feedback 506 element, a resource request 508 element, and an FCS 510 element. The MAC header 504 may provide MAC information used to synchronize the STA and AP (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C). The channel feedback 506 may provide channel information used to determine scheduling. The resource request 508 may include a buffer status report or an indication that an STA sending FRR 502 requests uplink resources with which to send a buffer status report during an uplink interval of the S-TXOP.

[00174] Non-AP STAs (e.g., STA 444 of FIG. 4C) requested by a preceding SCF to send channel feedback, power headroom, and/or a resource request may respond with FRR frame 502 during an FRR duration (e.g., FRR interval 460 of FIG. 4C). Not all STAs in a network may be asked to send channel feedback, power headroom, and/or a resource request during a particular FRR of an S-TXOP. For example, an AP (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C) may designate one or more STAs requested to send feedback during different S-TXOPs. Because some TSN applications may use a periodic traffic pattern, a WTSN AP may have existing information about which STAs may need to be scheduled for a given S-TXOP. A WTSN AP may choose only those STAs to provide feedback.

[00175] In one or more embodiments, FRR frame 502 may not be sought in every S-TXOP from STAs whose traffic patterns are periodic or predictable.

[00176] In one or more embodiments, FRRs from different non-AP STAs may be send using uplink multiplexed PPDUs. Upon reception of such control frames from non-AP STAs, a scheduler/controller functionality at a MAC of a WTSN AP (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C) may have enough information to begin scheduling for an S-TXOP.

[00177] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00178] FIG. 5B depicts an illustrative portion 550 of an ISC frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00179] In one or more embodiments, ISC frame 552 may be sent by a device (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C) during an STI interval (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C) after the device has received an FRR frame (e.g., one or more FRR frames 450 of FIG. 4C).

[00180] In one or more embodiments, ISC frame 552 may include a MAC header 554 element, one or more interval specific information elements (ISCI) (e.g., ISCI 556, ISCI 558), and an FCS 560. The MAC header 554 may provide MAC information used to synchronize the STA and an AP (e.g., AP 442 of FIG. 4C).

[00181] In one or more embodiments, the ISC frame 552 may be broadcast by an AP and may include information to configure remaining intervals of an S-TXOP (e.g., DL/UL 432, DL/UL 434, DL/UL 436, DL/UL 438 of FIG. 4B), and scheduling/resource allocation for said intervals.

[00182] In one or more embodiments, ISCI 556 and/or ISCI 558 may include interval specific information corresponding to upcoming intervals of the S-TXOP. Each ISCI may provide configuration and scheduling information for a respective interval.

[00183] ISCI 556 and/or ISCI 558 may include a DL/UL status of an interval, which may be indicated by a bit. Scheduling/resource allocation information may also be included for respective intervals. Resource allocation information may include all necessary information for a target STA to find and decode data in a given DL/UL interval. Scheduling may only be performed for traffic having predictable arrival times and for which a WTSN AP may determine ahead of time required resource placement and timing. Some TSN applications may have periodic traffic arrivals, known packet sizes, and latency bounds, thereby facilitating scheduling in such a manner. Some scheduling information may be marked as semi-static and may not be repeated in applicable subsequent ISCIs.

[00184] ISC frame 552 may be transmitted by a downlink (DL) MU PPDU having similar design to a DL MU PPDU transmitted during DL intervals, but with a duration ti_SC.

[00185] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00186] FIG. 6A depicts an illustrative DL transmission 600 when an acknowledgement frame is not configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00187] In one or more embodiments, AP 602 may send data frames to non-AP STAs (e.g., STA 604) during an interval 606. A data frame may be a DL MU PPDU (e.g., DL MU PPDU 608). If the next interval after interval 606 is an uplink interval, guard time 610 may be included in the DL transmission 600 after DL MU PPDU 608. Interval 606 may be an appropriate time (e.g., 0.25 milliseconds).

[00188] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting. [00189] FIG. 6B depicts an illustrative DL transmission 620 when an acknowledgement frame is configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00190] In one or more embodiments, AP 622 may send data frames to non-AP STAs (e.g., STA 624) during an interval 626. A data frame may be a DL MU PPDU (e.g., DL MU PPDU 628). A guard time 630 may follow the DL MU PPDU 628 and may be sent by AP 622. STA 624 may respond by sending an ACK frame 632 to AP 622. If the next interval after interval 626 is a downlink interval, guard time 634 may be included in the DL transmission 620 after DL MU PPDU 628. Interval 626 may be an appropriate time (e.g., 0.25 milliseconds).

[00191] In one or more embodiments, ACK 632 may be a block ACK frame in an uplink (UL) PPDU multiplexed from multiple STAs over frequency/spatial resources, and may be similar in design to the UL PPDU described further below with regard to FIGs. 6D and 6E.

[00192] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00193] FIG. 6C depicts an illustrative portion 640 of a DL PPDU, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00194] In one or more embodiments, portion 640 of a DL PPDU (e.g., DL MU PPDU 628 of FIG. 6B) may include a DL preamble 642 element, a DL-SIG 644 element, and a data 646 element.

[00195] In one or more embodiments, DL MU PPDUs with an enhanced greenfield mode may not need legacy preamble fields or any dedicated synchronization sequence because synchronization may have already occurred in an STI (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C). Without legacy preamble fields, DL MU PPDUs may be shortened, resulting in reduced overhead.

[00196] DL PPDUs may use pilot symbols for carrier offset/phase tracking. Because PHY synchronization may have already been achieved in an STI interval (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C) and may be maintained throughout an S-TXOP, a DL PPDU preamble may only require minimal signaling to facilitate channel estimation for decoding DL-SIG 644 and data 646.

[00197] DL-SIG 644 may be a signal field (SIG) for a DL MU PPDU, and may inherit designs from SIG- A and/or SIG-B fields defined in the IEEE 802.1 lax PPDUs, and may include enhancements. For example, DL-SIG 644 may only include resource allocation information that has not been included in scheduling information of an ISC frame sent during an STI interval (e.g., ISC frame 452 of FIG. 4C). Non-AP STAs scheduled through STI scheduling may not expect allocation information in DL-SIG 644, and may instead use allocation information provided during an STI interval (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C) to decode a DL transmission. DL-SIG 644 may also include resource allocation information (e.g., not included in scheduling performed in STI) for an upcoming UL interval. The upcoming allocation information may be indicated by an appropriate designation of resource allocation information (e.g., DL vs. UL), and/or by indicating an offset for an upcoming UL interval to which the allocation information applies. Such scheduling may also apply to UL retransmission scheduling.

[00198] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00199] FIG. 6D depicts an illustrative UL transmission 650 when an acknowledgement frame is not configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00200] In one or more embodiments, STA 652 may send data frames to AP 654 during an interval 656 (e.g., a UL interval). A data frame may be an UL PPDU 658 (e.g., UL Multi-user PPDU). If the next interval after interval 656 is a downlink interval, guard time 660 may be included in the UL transmission 650 after UL PPDU 658. Interval 656 may be an appropriate time (e.g., 0.25 milliseconds).

[00201] In one or more embodiments, because scheduling/resource allocation information for UL intervals may have been communicated to WTSN STAs (e.g., STA 652) with an ISC frame during an STI interval (e.g., ISC 452 of FIG. 4C) or through a preceding DL interval (e.g., using DL-SIG 644 of FIG. 6C), there may be no need for a separate trigger frame (e.g., as may be used in IEEE 802.1 lax) at the start of interval 656 to trigger the UL PPDU 658. Thus, the number of transmissions may be reduced in UL intervals. WTSN STAs already scheduled for transmission in a UL interval may begin transmission at the start of the interval 656 rather than having to wait, and may send UL PPDUs (e.g., UL PPDU 658) that may be multiplexed according to their respective frequency/spatial resources.

[00202] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00203] FIG. 6E depicts an illustrative UL transmission 670 when an acknowledgement frame is configured, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00204] In one or more embodiments, STA 672 may send data frames to AP 674 during an interval 676. A data frame may be an UL PPDU 678. A guard time 680 may follow the UL PPDU 678 and may be sent by STA 672. AP 674 may respond by sending an ACK frame 682 to STA 672. If the next interval after interval 676 is a downlink interval, guard time 684 may be included in the UL transmission 670 after UL PPDU 678. Interval 676 may be an appropriate time (e.g., 0.25 milliseconds).

[00205] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00206] FIG. 6F depicts an illustrative portion 690 of a UL PPDU, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00207] In one or more embodiments, UL PPDUs (e.g., UL PPDU 678 of FIG. 6E) may not need a legacy preamble or dedicated synchronization fields because, for example, the synchronization may have already occurred during an STI interval (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C). WTSN STAs (e.g., STA 672 of FIG. 6E) may be expected to maintain synchronization achieved from an SCF preamble (e.g., SCF preamble 472 of FIG. 4D) and/or by using pilots from DL data or ACK transmissions. WTSN STAs may be expected to send their respective UL transmissions at the beginning of UL intervals (e.g., interval 676 of FIG. 6E).

[00208] The portion 690 of a UL PPDU may include a UL-preamble 692 element, a UL- SIG 694 element, and a data 696 element. UL-preamble 692 may include a minimal amount of signaling needed for channel estimation, UL AGC calculation, and/or subsequent decoding of data 696. UL-SIG 694 may be the signal field (e.g., SIG) of a UL PPDU and may inherit designs from SIG- A and SIG-B fields of UL PPDUs defined in IEEE 802.11 ax, for example.

[00209] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00210] FIG. 7A illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 700 for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00211] At block 702, one or more processors of a device (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1A) may establish a control channel in a first frequency band. The device may have controller functionality which may allow the device to manage transmissions to/from multiple other devices. Establishing a control channel may include associating with time sensitive device (e.g., user device 126 of FIG. 1 A) in a channel of a frequency band for the communication of control/management frames.

[00212] At block 704, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a first control frame in the control channel. The control frame may include a transmission schedule which indicates transmission time slots for a data channel. The data channel may be in the same frequency band as the control channel, or may be in a different frequency band. The transmission time slots of the schedule may include time slots for time sensitive and/or non-time sensitive devices/operations. The transmission schedule may govern the transmissions of multiple devices in an ESS, including the device.

[00213] At block 706, one or more processors of the device may cause to send a first data frame in the data channel. The data frame may be sent to a time sensitive device during a time slot corresponding to the transmission schedule. The device may also receive frames from the time sensitive device and/or other devices.

[00214] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00215] FIG. 7B illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 720 for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00216] At block 722, one or more processors of a device (e.g., user device(s) 120 of FIG. 1A) may identify a first control frame. The control frame may be received in a control channel from an AP (e.g. AP 102 of FIG. 1A), and may include a transmission schedule. The transmission schedule may indicate transmission time slots in a data channel, which may be in a same frequency band as the control channel, or may be in a different frequency band from the control channel. The time slots may be allocated for time sensitive and/or non -time sensitive devices/operations.

[00217] At block 724, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a second control frame. The second control frame may be sent in the control channel to the AP, and may indicate that the device is time sensitive or not time sensitive.

[00218] At block 726, one or more processors of the device may identify a frame received from the access point. The frame may be a control frame received over the control channel, or may be a data frame received over the data channel. If the frame is a control frame, it may be a beacon or short beacon frame. For example, a beacon frame may include a transmission schedule. A short beacon may include updates to a transmission schedule so that the short beacon is a smaller frame than the beacon.

[00219] At block 728, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a data frame during a time slot according to the transmission time slots of the transmission schedule. The data frame may be sent in the data channel to the access point as an uplink transmission.

[00220] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting. [00221] FIG. 7C illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 740 for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00222] At block 742, one or more processors of a device (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1A) may cause the device to transmit a synchronization frame in an operating channel. The synchronization frame may be sent during a first interval (e.g., STI interval 440 of FIG. 4C) of an S-TXOP owned by the device. The S-TXOP may include other intervals (e.g., DL/UL 432, DL/UL 434, DL/UL 436, DL/UL 438 of FIG. 4B), and the other intervals may occur subsequent to the first interval during which the synchronization frame may be sent. The synchronization frame may be sent to one or more other devices (e.g., user device(s) 120 of FIG. 1A), and may enable synchronization with said other device(s) during the S-TXOP. Because of the synchronization, for example, subsequent transmissions may not require legacy headers and additional synchronization information.

[00223] At block 744, one or more processors of the device may identify a feedback frame. The feedback frame (e.g., FRR frame 405 of FIG. 4C) may be received during the first interval of the S-TXOP from a station device that received the synchronization frame. The feedback frame may include channel feedback and/or power headroom information.

[00224] At block 746, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a configuration frame. The configuration frame (e.g., ISC frame 452 of FIG. 4C) may be sent in the control channel during the first interval of the S-TXOP, and may include a schedule indicating the one or more other intervals of the S-TXOP. For example, the configuration frame may include interval specific information corresponding to upcoming intervals of the S- TXOP, and may include a DL/UL status of an interval.

[00225] At block 748, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a first data frame to the one or more other devices. The data frame may be sent over the data channel during a data transmission interval that proceeds the first interval of the S-TXOP and may be indicated by the configuration frame.

[00226] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00227] FIG. 7D illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 760 for enhanced WTSN, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00228] At block 762, one or more processors of a device (e.g., user device(s) 120 of FIG. 1A) may identify a synchronization frame in a control channel. The synchronization frame (e.g., ISC 452 of FIG. 4C) may be received from an AP (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1 A) during a first interval (e.g., STI interval 430 of FIG. 4B) of one or more intervals (e.g., DL/UL 432, DL/UL 434, DL/UL 436, DL/UL 438 of FIG. 4B). The synchronization frame may enable synchronization with the AP during the S-TXOP. Because of the synchronization, for example, subsequent transmissions may not require legacy headers and additional synchronization information.

[00229] At block 764, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a feedback frame. The feedback frame may be sent in the operating channel to the AP, and may include at least one of channel feedback or power headroom. The feedback frame may and/or other frames sent during an S-TXOP may be examples of short-term signaling (e.g., TSN traffic, short-term control signaling 164 of FIG. 1B) which may use a data channel. The operating channel may be any combination of a TSCCH and/or TSDCH.

[00230] At block 766, one or more processors of the device may identify a configuration frame that may include a schedule indicating the one or more intervals subsequent to the first interval of the S-TXOP.

[00231] At block 768, one or more processors of the device may identify one or more data frames over a data channel. The data frames may be received from the AP according to the one or more intervals.

[00232] It is understood that the aforementioned example is for purposes of illustration and not meant to be limiting.

[00233] FIG. 8 shows a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 800 in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, FIG. 8 illustrates a functional block diagram of a communication station that may be suitable for use as an AP 102 (FIG. 1A) or a user device 120 (FIG. 1A) in accordance with some embodiments. The communication station 800 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, a mobile device, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a wearable computer device, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[00234] The communication station 800 may include communications circuitry 802 and a transceiver 810 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 801. The communications circuitry 802 may include circuitry that can operate the physical layer (PHY) communications and/or medium access control (MAC) communications for controlling access to the wireless medium, and/or any other communications layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication station 800 may also include processing circuitry 806 and memory 808 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communications circuitry 802 and the processing circuitry 806 may be configured to perform operations detailed in FIGs. 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 5 A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D.

[00235] In accordance with some embodiments, the communications circuitry 802 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wireless medium. The communications circuitry 802 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals (it should be understood that the signals may be transmitted and received simultaneously in some embodiments). The communications circuitry 802 may also include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 806 of the communication station 800 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 801 may be coupled to the communications circuitry 802 arranged for sending and receiving signals. The memory 808 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 806 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 808 may include any type of memory, including non- transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 808 may include a computer-readable storage device, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media.

[00236] In some embodiments, the communication station 800 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly.

[00237] In some embodiments, the communication station 800 may include one or more antennas 801. The antennas 801 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of the antennas and the antennas of a transmitting station. [00238] In some embodiments, the communication station 800 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[00239] Although the communication station 800 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio- frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication station 800 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[00240] Certain embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, the communication station 800 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device memory.

[00241] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a machine 900 or system upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may be performed. In other embodiments, the machine 900 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 900 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 900 may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environments. The machine 900 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a wearable computer device, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine, such as a base station. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[00242] Examples, as described herein, may include or may operate on logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations when operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium containing instructions where the instructions configure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when in operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[00243] The machine (e.g., computer system) 900 may include a hardware processor 902 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 904 and a static memory 906, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 908. The machine 900 may further include a power management device 932, a graphics display device 910, an alphanumeric input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 914 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the graphics display device 910, alphanumeric input device 912, and UI navigation device 914 may be a touch screen display. The machine 900 may additionally include a storage device (i.e., drive unit) 916, a signal generation device 918 (e.g., a speaker), an enhanced TSN device 919, a network interface device/transceiver 920 coupled to antenna(s) 930, and one or more sensors 928, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 900 may include an output controller 934, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.)). [00244] The storage device 916 may include a machine readable medium 922 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 924 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 924 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 904, within the static memory 906, or within the hardware processor 902 during execution thereof by the machine 900. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 902, the main memory 904, the static memory 906, or the storage device 916 may constitute machine-readable media.

[00245] The enhanced TSN device 919 may carry out or perform any of the operations and processes (e.g., processes 700 of FIG. 7A, 720 of FIG. 7B, 740 of FIG. 7C, and 760 of FIG. 7D) described and shown above.

[00246] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to establish a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device.

[00247] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot, the schedule governing transmissions of multiple devices in an extended service set, the multiple devices comprising the time sensitive device.

[00248] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send, in the data channel, a first data frame to the time sensitive device during the time sensitive time slot.

[00249] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to identify a second data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device.

[00250] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to identify a second control frame received in the control channel from the time sensitive device.

[00251] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send a short beacon comprising an updated schedule.

[00252] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to identify, at a device in a control channel in a first frequency band, a first control frame received from an access point, the first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in at least a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot.

[00253] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send, in the control channel, to the access point, a second control frame indicating that the device is time sensitive.

[00254] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to identify a frame received from the access point.

[00255] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send, in the data channel, to the access point, a data frame during a time slot of the transmission time slots.

[00256] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to identify a wake-up signal received over the control channel from the access point, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which the device is to be in a receive mode.

[00257] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to transmit a synchronization frame in a control channel during a first interval of a plurality of intervals of a transmission opportunity owned by the device, the synchronization frame comprising a synchronization sequence enabling synchronization with one or more station devices, and the plurality of intervals comprising a data transmission interval.

[00258] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to identify a feedback frame received in the control channel from a station device during the first interval, the feedback frame comprising at least one of channel feedback or power headroom.

[00259] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send a configuration frame in the control channel during the first interval, the configuration frame comprising a schedule indicating at least the data transmission interval of the transmission opportunity.

[00260] In one or more embodiments, enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to cause to send a first data frame, over a data channel to the station device during the data transmission interval, using a greenfield mode.

[00261] It is understood that the above are only a subset of what the enhanced TSN device 919 may be configured to perform and that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by the enhanced TSN device 919. [00262] While the machine -readable medium 922 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 924.

[00263] Various embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; a flash memory, etc.

[00264] The term“machine-readable medium” may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 900 and that cause the machine 900 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non- limiting machine-readable medium examples may include solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. In an example, a massed machine-readable medium includes a machine -readable medium with a plurality of particles having resting mass. Specific examples of massed machine -readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD- ROM disks.

[00265] The instructions 924 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 926 using a transmission medium via the network interface device/transceiver 920 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 920 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network 926. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 920 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple- input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 900 and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software. The operations and processes (e.g., processes 700 of FIG. 7A, 720 of FIG. 7B, 740 of FIG. 7C, and 760 of FIG. 7D) described and shown above may be carried out or performed in any suitable order as desired in various implementations. Additionally, in certain implementations, at least a portion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore, in certain implementations, less than or more than the operations described may be performed.

[00266] The word“exemplary” is used herein to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The terms“computing device,” “user device,” “communication station,” “station,” “handheld device,” “mobile device,”“wireless device” and“user equipment” (UE) as used herein refers to a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, a printer, a point of sale device, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device. The device may be either mobile or stationary.

[00267] As used within this document, the term“communicate” is intended to include transmitting, or receiving, or both transmitting and receiving. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data that is being transmitted by one device and received by another, but only the functionality of one of those devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive during the exchange) may be described as“communicating,” when only the functionality of one of those devices is being claimed. The term“communicating” as used herein with respect to a wireless communication signal includes transmitting the wireless communication signal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example, a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating a wireless communication signal, may include a wireless transmitter to transmit the wireless communication signal to at least one other wireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver to receive the wireless communication signal from at least one other wireless communication unit.

[00268] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives“first,” “second,”“third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicates that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[00269] The term“access point” (AP) as used herein may be a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, a base station, or some other similar terminology known in the art. An access terminal may also be called a mobile station, user equipment (UE), a wireless communication device, or some other similar terminology known in the art. Embodiments disclosed herein generally pertain to wireless networks. Some embodiments may relate to wireless networks that operate in accordance with one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.

[00270] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, for example, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an on board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non- vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless access point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audio device, an audio- video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a wireless video area network (WVAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

[00271] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFID element or chip, a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transceiver or device, a single input multiple output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a multiple input single output (MISO) transceiver or device, a single input single output (SISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, digital video broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi- standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, a wireless application protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

[00272] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems following one or more wireless communication protocols, for example, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), general packet radio service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code-division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi- tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, ultra- wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, 3 GPP, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks.

[00273] Example 1, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: establish a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device; cause to send, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot, the schedule governing transmissions of multiple devices in an extended service set, the multiple devices comprising the time sensitive device; and cause to send, in the data channel, a first data frame to the time sensitive device during the time sensitive time slot.

[00274] Example 2 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00275] Example 3 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00276] Example 4 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and the processing circuitry are further configured to identify a second data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device. [00277] Example 5 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and the processing circuitry are further configured to identify a second control frame received in the control channel from the time sensitive device.

[00278] Example 6 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein to establish the control channel comprises to perform a contention-based access method, and wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00279] Example 7 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00280] Example 8 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame is a beacon, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a short beacon comprising an updated schedule.

[00281] Example 9 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a wake- up signal in the control channel, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which one or more devices in the control channel are to be in a receive mode.

[00282] Example 10 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00283] Example 11 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the time sensitive device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00284] Example 12 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals [00285] Example 13 may include the device of example 12 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[00286] Example 14 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: identifying, at a device in a control channel in a first frequency band, a first control frame received from an access point, the first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in at least a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot; causing to send, in the control channel, to the access point, a second control frame indicating that the device is time sensitive; identifying a first data frame received from the access point during a first time slot of the transmission time slots; and causing to send, in the data channel, to the access point, a second data frame during a second time slot of the transmission time slots.

[00287] Example 15 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00288] Example 16 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00289] Example 17 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00290] Example 18 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00291] Example 19 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise identifying a wake-up signal received over the control channel from the access point, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which the device is to be in a receive mode.

[00292] Example 20 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00293] Example 21 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 14 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00294] Example 22 may include a method comprising: establishing, by one or more processors of a first device, a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device; causing to send, by the one or more processors, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot; and causing to send, by the one or more processors, a frame to the time sensitive device during a time slot of the transmission time slots.

[00295] Example 23 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise first transmission time slots in the control channel, and second transmission time slots in the data channel.

[00296] Example 24 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, the method further comprising identifying a data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device.

[00297] Example 25 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00298] Example 26 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00299] Example 27, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: cause to send a synchronization frame during a first interval of a plurality of intervals of a transmission opportunity owned by the device, the synchronization frame comprising a synchronization sequence enabling synchronization with one or more station devices, and the plurality of intervals comprising a data transmission interval; identify a feedback frame received from a station device during the first interval, the feedback frame comprising at least one of channel feedback or power headroom; cause to send a configuration frame during the first interval, the configuration frame comprising a schedule indicating at least the data transmission interval of the transmission opportunity; and cause to send a first data frame to the station device during the data transmission interval, using a greenfield mode. [00300] Example 28 may include the device of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to send a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are separate channels.

[00301] Example 29 may include the device of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to send a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are in a same physical channel.

[00302] Example 30 may include the device of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first interval is a synchronized transmission opportunity initialization interval comprising a first synchronization and configuration frame interval, a second feedback and resource request interval, and a third interval specific configuration frame interval, wherein the synchronization frame is sent during the first synchronization and configuration frame interval, wherein the feedback frame is sent during the second feedback and resource request interval, and wherein the configuration frame is sent during the third interval specific configuration frame interval.

[00303] Example 31 may include the device of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first data frame is a multi-user data frame comprising a shortened preamble based on the synchronization sequence.

[00304] Example 32 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a second control frame received in the control channel from the time sensitive device.

[00305] Example 33 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00306] Example 34 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame is a beacon, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a short beacon comprising an updated schedule.

[00307] Example 35 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, further comprising causing to send a wake-up signal in the control channel, the wake- up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which one or more devices in the control channel are to be in a receive mode. [00308] Example 36 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00309] Example 37 may include the method of example 22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the time sensitive device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00310] Example 38 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 22-26 or 32-37.

[00311] Example 39 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 22-26 or 32-37.

[00312] Example 40 may include a machine-readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 22-26 or 32-37.

[00313] Example 41 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: establishing a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device; causing to send, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot, the schedule governing transmissions of multiple devices in an extended service set, the multiple devices comprising the time sensitive device; and causing to send, in the data channel, a first data frame to the time sensitive device during the time sensitive time slot.

[00314] Example 42 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00315] Example 43 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00316] Example 44 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise identifying a second data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device. [00317] Example 45 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise identifying a second control frame received in the control channel from the time sensitive device.

[00318] Example 46 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein to establish the control channel comprises to perform a contention-based access method, and wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00319] Example 47 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00320] Example 48 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame is a beacon, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a short beacon comprising an updated schedule.

[00321] Example 49 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise causing to send a wake-up signal in the control channel, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which one or more devices in the control channel are to be in a receive mode.

[00322] Example 50 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00323] Example 51 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the time sensitive device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00324] Example 52 may include an apparatus comprising: means for establishing a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device; means for causing to send, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot, the schedule governing transmissions of multiple devices in an extended service set, the multiple devices comprising the time sensitive device; and means for causing to send, in the data channel, a first data frame to the time sensitive device during the time sensitive time slot.

[00325] Example 53 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00326] Example 54 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00327] Example 55 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a second data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device.

[00328] Example 56 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a second control frame received in the control channel from the time sensitive device.

[00329] Example 57 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein to establish the control channel comprises to perform a contention-based access method, and wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00330] Example 58 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00331] Example 59 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame is a beacon, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a short beacon comprising an updated schedule.

[00332] Example 60 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, further comprising means for causing to send a wake-up signal in the control channel, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which one or more devices in the control channel are to be in a receive mode. [00333] Example 61 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00334] Example 62 may include the apparatus of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the time sensitive device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00335] Example 63, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: identify, at a device in a control channel in a first frequency band, a first control frame received from an access point, the first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in at least a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot; cause to send, in the control channel, to the access point, a second control frame indicating that the device is time sensitive; identifying a first data frame received from the access point during a first time slot of the transmission time slots; and cause to send, in the data channel, to the access point, a second data frame during a second time slot of the transmission time slots.

[00336] Example 64 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00337] Example 65 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00338] Example 66 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00339] Example 67 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00340] Example 68 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to identify a wake- up signal received over the control channel from the access point, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which the device is to be in a receive mode.

[00341] Example 69 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00342] Example 70 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00343] Example 71 may include the device of example 63 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

[00344] Example 72 may include the device of example 71 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[00345] Example 73 may include a method comprising: identifying, at a device in a control channel in a first frequency band, a first control frame received from an access point, the first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in at least a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non time sensitive time slot; causing to send, in the control channel, to the access point, a second control frame indicating that the device is time sensitive; identifying a first data frame received from the access point during a first time slot of the transmission time slots; and causing to send, in the data channel, to the access point, a second data frame during a second time slot of the transmission time slots.

[00346] Example 74 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

[00347] Example 75 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00348] Example 76 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00349] Example 77 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00350] Example 78 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, further comprising identifying a wake-up signal received over the control channel from the access point, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which the device is to be in a receive mode.

[00351] Example 79 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00352] Example 80 may include the method of example 73 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00353] Example 81 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 72-79.

[00354] Example 82 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 72-79.

[00355] Example 83 may include a machine-readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 72-79.

[00356] Example 84 may include an apparatus comprising means for: means for identifying, at a device in a control channel in a first frequency band, a first control frame received from an access point, the first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in at least a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot; means for causing to send, in the control channel, to the access point, a second control frame indicating that the device is time sensitive; means for identifying a first data frame received from the access point during a first time slot of the transmission time slots; and means for causing to send, in the data channel, to the access point, a second data frame during a second time slot of the transmission time slots.

[00357] Example 85 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band. [00358] Example 86 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

[00359] Example 87 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

[00360] Example 88 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

[00361] Example 89 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, further comprising means for identifying a wake-up signal received over the control channel from the access point, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake- up signal indicating a time during which the device is to be in a receive mode.

[00362] Example 90 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

[00363] Example 91 may include the apparatus of example 84 and/or some other example herein, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

[00364] Example 92 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: causing to send a synchronization frame during a first interval of a plurality of intervals of a transmission opportunity owned by the device, the synchronization frame comprising a synchronization sequence enabling synchronization with one or more station devices, and the plurality of intervals comprising a data transmission interval; identifying a feedback frame received from a station device during the first interval, the feedback frame comprising at least one of channel feedback or power headroom; causing to send a configuration frame during the first interval, the configuration frame comprising a schedule indicating at least the data transmission interval of the transmission opportunity; and causing to send a first data frame to the station device during the data transmission interval, using a greenfield mode.

[00365] Example 93 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 92 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise sending a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are separate channels.

[00366] Example 94 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 92 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise sending a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are in a same physical channel.

[00367] Example 95 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 92 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first interval is a synchronized transmission opportunity initialization interval comprising a first synchronization and configuration frame interval, a second feedback and resource request interval, and a third interval specific configuration frame interval, wherein the synchronization frame is sent during the first synchronization and configuration frame interval, wherein the feedback frame is sent during the second feedback and resource request interval, and wherein the configuration frame is sent during the third interval specific configuration frame interval.

[00368] Example 96 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 92 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first data frame is a multi-user data frame comprising a shortened preamble based on the synchronization sequence.

[00369] Example 97 may include a method comprising: causing to send a synchronization frame during a first interval of a plurality of intervals of a transmission opportunity owned by the device, the synchronization frame comprising a synchronization sequence enabling synchronization with one or more station devices, and the plurality of intervals comprising a data transmission interval; identifying a feedback frame received from a station device during the first interval, the feedback frame comprising at least one of channel feedback or power headroom; causing to send a configuration frame during the first interval, the configuration frame comprising a schedule indicating at least the data transmission interval of the transmission opportunity; and causing to send a first data frame to the station device during the data transmission interval, using a greenfield mode.

[00370] Example 98 may include the method of example 97 and/or some other example herein, further comprising sending a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are separate channels.

[00371] Example 99 may include the method of example 97 and/or some other example herein, further comprising sending a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are in a same physical channel.

[00372] Example 100 may include the method of example 97 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first interval is a synchronized transmission opportunity initialization interval comprising a first synchronization and configuration frame interval, a second feedback and resource request interval, and a third interval specific configuration frame interval, wherein the synchronization frame is sent during the first synchronization and configuration frame interval, wherein the feedback frame is sent during the second feedback and resource request interval, and wherein the configuration frame is sent during the third interval specific configuration frame interval.

[00373] Example 101 may include the method of example 97 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first data frame is a multi-user data frame comprising a shortened preamble based on the synchronization sequence.

[00374] Example 102 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 97-101.

[00375] Example 103 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 97-101.

[00376] Example 104 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 97-101.

[00377] Example 105 may include an apparatus comprising means for: means for causing to send a synchronization frame during a first interval of a plurality of intervals of a transmission opportunity owned by the device, the synchronization frame comprising a synchronization sequence enabling synchronization with one or more station devices, and the plurality of intervals comprising a data transmission interval; means for identifying a feedback frame received from a station device during the first interval, the feedback frame comprising at least one of channel feedback or power headroom; means for causing to send a configuration frame during the first interval, the configuration frame comprising a schedule indicating at least the data transmission interval of the transmission opportunity; and means for causing to send a first data frame to the station device during the data transmission interval, using a greenfield mode.

[00378] Example 106 may include the apparatus of example 105 and/or some other example herein, further comprising means for sending a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are separate channels.

[00379] Example 107 may include the apparatus of example 105 and/or some other example herein, further comprising means for sending a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are in a same physical channel.

[00380] Example 108 may include the apparatus of example 105 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first interval is a synchronized transmission opportunity initialization interval comprising a first synchronization and configuration frame interval, a second feedback and resource request interval, and a third interval specific configuration frame interval, wherein the synchronization frame is sent during the first synchronization and configuration frame interval, wherein the feedback frame is sent during the second feedback and resource request interval, and wherein the configuration frame is sent during the third interval specific configuration frame interval.

[00381] Example 109 may include the apparatus of example 105 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first data frame is a multi-user data frame comprising a shortened preamble based on the synchronization sequence.

[00382] Example 110 may include the device of example 27 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals [00383] Example 111 may include the device of example 110 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver

[00384] Example 112 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any of the preceding examples.

[00385] Example 113 may include machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed, to implement a method as claimed in any preceding example.

[00386] Example 114 may include machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed, to implement a method or realize an apparatus as claimed in any preceding example.

[00387] Example 115 may include one or more non- transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-114, or any other method or process described herein. [00388] Example 116 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-114, or any other method or process described herein.

[00389] Example 117 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-114, or portions or parts thereof.

[00390] Example 118 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-114, or portions thereof.

[00391] Example 119 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[00392] Example 120 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[00393] Example 121 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[00394] Embodiments according to the disclosure are in particular disclosed in the attached examples directed to a method, a storage medium, a device and a computer program product, wherein any feature mentioned in one claim category, e.g., method, can be claimed in another example category, e.g., system, as well. The dependencies or references back in the attached examples are chosen for formal reasons only. However, any subject matter resulting from a deliberate reference back to any previous claims (in particular multiple dependencies) can be claimed as well, so that any combination of claims and the features thereof are disclosed and can be claimed regardless of the dependencies chosen in the attached examples. The subject- matter which can be claimed comprises not only the combinations of features as set out in the attached examples but also any other combination of features in the claims, wherein each feature mentioned in the examples can be combined with any other feature or combination of other features in the examples. Furthermore, any of the embodiments and features described or depicted herein can be claimed in a separate examples and/or in any combination with any embodiment or feature described or depicted herein or with any of the features of the attached examples.

[00395] The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments. [00396] Certain aspects of the disclosure are described above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses, and/or computer program products according to various implementations. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and the flow diagrams, respectively, may be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, according to some implementations.

[00397] These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto a special- purpose computer or other particular machine, a processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage media or memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage media produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. As an example, certain implementations may provide for a computer program product, comprising a computer- readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code or program instructions implemented therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

[00398] Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, may be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, or combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions. [00399] Conditional language, such as, among others,“can,”“could,”“might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain implementations could include, while other implementations do not include, certain features, elements, and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or operations are in any way required for one or more implementations or that one or more implementations necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or operations are included or are to be performed in any particular implementation.

[00400] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A device, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: establish a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device; cause to send, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot, the schedule governing transmissions of multiple devices in an extended service set, the multiple devices comprising the time sensitive device; and

cause to send, in the data channel, a first data frame to the time sensitive device during the time sensitive time slot.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the memory and the processing circuitry are further configured to identify a second data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the memory and the processing circuitry are further configured to identify a second control frame received in the control channel from the time sensitive device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein to establish the control channel comprises to perform a contention-based access method, and wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first control frame is a beacon, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a short beacon comprising an updated schedule.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to send a wake-up signal in the control channel, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which one or more devices in the control channel are to be in a receive mode.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the time sensitive device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

12. The device of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

13. The device of claim 12, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

14. A non- transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: identifying, at a device in a control channel in a first frequency band, a first control frame received from an access point, the first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in at least a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot;

causing to send, in the control channel, to the access point, a second control frame indicating that the device is time sensitive;

identifying a first data frame received from the access point during a first time slot of the transmission time slots; and

causing to send, in the data channel, to the access point, a second data frame during a second time slot of the transmission time slots.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first control frame comprises one of a beacon frame or a short beacon frame.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the transmission time slots comprise a control channel time slot and a data transmission time slot, wherein the control channel time slot is associated with the control channel, and wherein the data transmission time slot is associated with the data channel.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise identifying a wake-up signal received over the control channel from the access point, the wake-up signal comprising a group identifier, and the wake-up signal indicating a time during which the device is to be in a receive mode.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the schedule further indicates a change to a previous schedule, and wherein the first control frame further comprises a time when the schedule becomes applicable.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the schedule further indicates a maximum number of the transmission time slots during which the device is allowed to ignore transmissions.

22. A method, comprising:

establishing, by one or more processors of a first device, a control channel in a first frequency band having a time sensitive device;

causing to send, by the one or more processors, in the control channel, a first control frame comprising a schedule, the schedule indicating transmission time slots in a data channel of one or more channels comprising the control channel, the data channel in a second frequency band, the transmission time slots comprising a time sensitive time slot and a non-time sensitive time slot, the time sensitive time slot having a higher priority than the non-time sensitive time slot; and

causing to send, by the one or more processors, a frame to the time sensitive device during a time slot of the transmission time slots.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the transmission time slots comprise first transmission time slots in the control channel, and second transmission time slots in the data channel.

24. The method of claim 22, the method further comprising identifying a data frame received in the data channel from the time sensitive device.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first frequency band is a different frequency band than the second frequency band.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the first frequency band is a same frequency band as the second frequency band.

27. A device, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: cause to send a synchronization frame during a first interval of a plurality of intervals of a transmission opportunity owned by the device, the synchronization frame comprising a synchronization sequence enabling synchronization with one or more station devices, and the plurality of intervals comprising a data transmission interval;

identify a feedback frame received from a station device during the first interval, the feedback frame comprising at least one of channel feedback or power headroom; cause to send a configuration frame during the first interval, the configuration frame comprising a schedule indicating at least the data transmission interval of the transmission opportunity; and

cause to send a first data frame to the station device during the data transmission interval, using a greenfield mode.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to send a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are separate channels.

29. The device of claim 27, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to send a control frame in a control channel, wherein the data frame is sent in a data channel, and wherein the control channel and the data channel are in a same physical channel.

30. The device of claim 27, wherein the first interval is a synchronized transmission opportunity initialization interval comprising a first synchronization and configuration frame interval, a second feedback and resource request interval, and a third interval specific configuration frame interval, wherein the synchronization frame is sent during the first synchronization and configuration frame interval, wherein the feedback frame is sent during the second feedback and resource request interval, and wherein the configuration frame is sent during the third interval specific configuration frame interval.