WO2018048474A1

WO2018048474A1 - Power save mode with dynamic target wake time (twt) indication

Info

Publication number: WO2018048474A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/024952
Authority: WO
Inventors: Laurent Cariou; Robert J. Stacey; Daniel F. BRAVO
Original assignee: Laurent Cariou; Stacey Robert J; Bravo Daniel F
Priority date: 2016-09-06
Filing date: 2017-03-30
Publication date: 2018-03-15

Abstract

Embodiments of a wireless access point (AP), wireless station (STA), and methods for power management are generally described herein. A STA may contend for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel; encode, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one; encode the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a pre-determined sleep period; and configure the STA to transmit the frame to one or more APs. An AP may decode a frame from a STA modifying a PS-Poll protocol having a PM bit set to one; and determine a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame.

Description

POWER SAVE MODE WITH DYNAMIC TARGET WAKE TIME (TWT)

INDICATION

PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) to United

States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/383,759, filed September 6, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments pertain to wireless networks and wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless local area networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi networks including networks operating in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards. Some embodiments relate to the IEEE 802.1 lax study group (SG). Some embodiments relate to methods, computer readable media, and apparatus for a power save mode with dynamic target wake time (TWT) indication.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Wireless communications have been evolving toward ever increasing data rates (e.g., from IEEE 802.11a/g to IEEE 802.11η to IEEE

802.1 lac and IEEE 802.1 lad). In high-density deployment situations, overall system efficiency may become more important than higher data rates. Efficient use of the resources of a wireless local-area network (WLAN) is important to provide bandwidth and acceptable response times to the users of the WLAN.

However, often there are many devices trying to share the same resources and some devices may be limited by the communication protocol they use or by their hardware bandwidth. Moreover, wireless devices may need to operate with both newer protocols and with legacy device protocols. For example, in high-density hotspot and cellular offloading scenarios, many devices competing for the wireless medium may have low to moderate data rate requirements (with respect to the very high data rates of IEEE 802.1 lac). A recently-formed study group for Wi-Fi evolution referred to as the IEEE 802.11 High Efficiency WLAN (HEW) study group (SG) (i.e., IEEE 802.1 lax) is addressing these high-density deployment scenarios. In addition, IEEE 802. Had, IEEE 802.1 lay and/or other technologies may be used in these and other scenarios, in some cases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a WLAN, in accordance with some

embodiments;

[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates an example machine in accordance with some embodiments;

[0007] FIG. 3 illustrates a station (STA) in accordance with some embodiments and an access point (AP) in accordance with some embodiments;

[0008] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a radio architecture in accordance with some embodiments;

[0009] FIG. 5 illustrates a front-end module circuitry for use in the radio architecture of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates a radio IC circuitry for use in the radio architecture of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0011] FIG. 7 illustrates a baseband processing circuitry for use in the radio architecture of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0012] FIG. 8 is a block diagram that illustrates a method of power management at a wireless station (STA) in accordance with some embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates a method of power management at a wireless access point (AP) in accordance with some embodiments; [0014] FIG. 10 illustrates an aggregated control (A-Control) subfield of the high-efficiency (HE) variant high throughput (HT) control field, in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0015] FIG. 11 illustrates a control subfield format, in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION

[0016] 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.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a WLAN 100 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the WLAN 100 may be a High Efficiency (HE) WLAN network. In some embodiments, the WLAN 100 may be a Wi-Fi network. These embodiments are not limiting, however, as some embodiments of the WLAN 100 may include a combination of such networks. That is, the WLAN 100 may support MU operation (for example HE) devices in some cases, non-MU operation devices in some cases, and a combination of MU operation devices and non-MU operation devices in some cases. Accordingly, it is understood that although techniques described herein may refer to either a non- MU operation device or to an MU operation device, such techniques may be applicable to both non-MU operation devices and MU operation devices in some cases. The WLAN 100 may comprise a basic service set (BSS) that may include a master station 102, which may be an access point (AP), a plurality of high- efficiency (HE) (e.g., IEEE 802.1 lax) stations 104, and a plurality of legacy (e.g., IEEE 802.11n/ac) devices 106. The HE stations 104 and the legacy devices 106 may each be referred to as a user station (STA). The WLAN 100 may include any or all of the components shown, and embodiments are not limited to the number of each component shown in FIG. 1. In various embodiments, the WLAN 100 may include any number (including zero) of the HE stations 104 and the legacy devices 106. The master station 102 may receive and/or detect signals from one or more HE stations 104 and/or legacy devices 106, and may transmit data packets to one or more HE stations 104 and/or legacy devices 106. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to usage of a master station 102. References herein to the master station 102 are not limiting. In some

embodiments, a legacy devices 106, an MU operation device (device capable of MU operation), an HE station 104 and/or other device may be configurable to operate as a master station. Accordingly, in such embodiments, operations that may be performed by the master station 102 as described herein may be performed by a legacy device 106, an MU operation device, an HE station 104 and/or other device that is configurable to operate as the master station.

[0018] The master station 102 may be an AP using one of the IEEE

802.11 protocols to transmit and receive. The master station 102 may be a base station. The master station 102 may use other communications protocols as well as the IEEE 802.11 protocol. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may be IEEE 802.1 lax. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include using orthogonal frequency division multiple-access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and/or code division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include a multiple access technique. For example, the IEEE 802.11 protocol may include space-division multiple access (SDMA) and/or multiple-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MFMO). The master station 102 and/or HE station 104 may use one or both of MU-MFMO and OFDMA. There may be more than one master station 102 that is part of an extended service set (ESS). A controller (not illustrated) may store information that is common to the more than one master station 102. The controller may have access to an external network such as the Internet.

[0019] The legacy devices 106 may operate in accordance with one or more of IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ad/af/ah/aj, or another legacy wireless communication standard. The legacy devices 106 may be STAs or IEEE 802.11 STAs. The HE stations 104 may be wireless transmit and receive devices such as cellular telephone, smart telephone, handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, wireless watch, wireless personal device, tablet, or another device that may be transmitting and receiving using the IEEE 802.11 protocol such as IEEE 802.1 lax or another wireless protocol such as IEEE 802.1 laz. In some embodiments, the HE stations 104, master station 102, and/or legacy devices 106 may be termed wireless devices. In some embodiments the HE station 104 may be a "group owner" (GO) for peer-to-peer modes of operation where the HE station 104 may perform some operations of a master station 102.

[0020] The master station 102 may communicate with legacy devices

106 in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In example embodiments, the master station 102 may also be configured to communicate with HE stations 104 in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques.

[0021] In some embodiments, a HE frame may be configurable to have the same bandwidth as a channel. The bandwidth of a channel may be 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz, 160MHz, 320MHz contiguous bandwidths or an 80+80MHz (160MHz) non-contiguous bandwidth. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of a channel may be 1 MHz, 1.25MHz, 2.03MHz, 2.5MHz, 5MHz and 10MHz, or a combination thereof or another bandwidth that is less than or equal to the available bandwidth may also be used. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels may be based on a number of active subcarriers. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels are multiples of 26 (e.g., 26, 52, 104, etc.) active subcarriers or tones that are spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels are 26, 52, 104, 242, etc. active data subcarriers or tones that are space 20 MHz apart. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is 256 tones spaced by 20 MHz. In some

embodiments a 20 MHz channel may comprise 256 tones for a 256 point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). In some embodiments, a different number of tones is used. In some embodiments, the OFDMA structure consists of a 26-subcarrier resource unit (RU), 52-subcarrier RU, 106-subcarrier RU, 242-subcarrier RU, 484-subcarrier RU and 996-subcarrier RU. Resource allocations for single user (SU) consist of a 242 subcarrier RU, 484-subcarrier RU, 996-subcarrier RU and 2x996-subcarrier RU.

[0022] A HE frame may be configured for transmitting a number of spatial streams, which may be in accordance with MU-MFMO. In some embodiments, a HE frame may be configured for transmitting in accordance with one or both of OFDMA and MU-MFMO. In other embodiments, the master station 102, HE station 104, and/or legacy device 106 may also implement different technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA 2000 IX, CDMA 2000 Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS- 856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE

(GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), BlueTooth®, WiMAX, WiGig, or other technologies.

[0023] Some embodiments relate to HE communications. In accordance with some IEEE 802.1 lax embodiments, a master station 102 may operate as a master station which may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for an HE control period. In some embodiments, the HE control period may be termed a transmission opportunity (TXOP). The master station 102 may transmit a HE master-sync transmission, which may be a trigger frame or HE control and schedule transmission, at the beginning of the HE control period. The master station 102 may transmit a time duration of the TXOP and channel information. During the HE control period, HE stations 104 may communicate with the master station 102 in accordance with a non-contention based multiple access technique such as OFDMA and/or MU-MFMO. This is unlike conventional WLAN communications in which devices communicate in accordance with a contention-based communication technique, rather than a multiple access technique. During the HE control period, the master station 102 may

communicate with HE stations 104 using one or more HE frames. During the HE control period, the HE STAs 104 may operate on a channel smaller than the operating range of the master station 102. During the HE control period, legacy stations may refrain from communicating.

[0024] In accordance with some embodiments, during the master-sync transmission the HE STAs 104 may contend for the wireless medium with the legacy devices 106 being excluded from contending for the wireless medium during the master-sync transmission or TXOP. In some embodiments the trigger frame may indicate an uplink (UL) UL-MU-MFMO and/or UL OFDMA control period. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate a portions of the TXOP that are contention based for some HE station 104 and portions that are not contention based.

[0025] In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HE control period may be a scheduled OFDMA technique, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a time-division multiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a space-division multiple access (SDMA) technique.

[0026] In example embodiments, the HE device 104 and/or the master station 102 are configured to perform the methods and operations herein described in conjunction with FIGS. 1-11.

[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine in accordance with some embodiments. The machine 200 is an example machine upon which any one or more of the techniques and/or methodologies discussed herein may be performed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 200 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 200 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 200 may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The machine 200 may be a master station 102, HE station 104, STA, HE device, HE AP, HE STA, UE, eNB, mobile device, base station, personal computer (PC), tablet PC, set-top box (STB), personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile telephone, smart phone, web appliance, network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. 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), other computer cluster configurations.

[0028] 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 and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0029] Accordingly, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general -purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general -purpose hardware processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time.

[0030] The machine (e.g., computer system) 200 may include a hardware processor 202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 204 and a static memory 206, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 208. The machine 200 may further include a display unit 210, an alphanumeric input device 212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 210, input device 212 and UI navigation device 214 may be a touch screen display. The machine 200 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit) 216, a signal generation device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 220, and one or more sensors 221, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 200 may include an output controller 228, 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 or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

[0031] The storage device 216 may include a machine readable medium

222 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 224 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 224 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 204, within static memory 206, or within the hardware processor 202 during execution thereof by the machine 200. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 202, the main memory 204, the static memory 206, or the storage device 216 may constitute machine readable media. In some embodiments, the machine readable medium may be or may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, the machine readable medium may be or may include a computer-readable storage medium.

[0032] While the machine readable medium 222 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 224. The term "machine readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 200 and that cause the machine 200 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. Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable

Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto- optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may include non-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machine readable media may include machine readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

[0033] The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 226 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication 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 Service (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., 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, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device 220 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 226. In an example, the network interface device 220 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple- output (SFMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MFMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device 220 may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MFMO techniques, OFDMA techniques and combination. 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 200, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates a station (STA) in accordance with some embodiments and an access point (AP) in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, an STA or other mobile device may include some or all of the components shown in either FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 (as in 300) or both. The ST A 300 may be suitable for use as a HE station 104 as depicted in FIG. 1, in some embodiments. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, an AP or other base station may include some or all of the components shown in either FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 (as in 350) or both. The AP 350 may be suitable for use as a master station 102 as depicted in FIG. 1, in some embodiments.

[0035] The ST A 300 may include physical layer circuitry 302 and a transceiver 305, one or both of which may enable transmission and reception of signals to and from components such as the master station 102 (FIG. 1), other ST As or other devices using one or more antennas 301. As an example, the physical layer circuitry 302 may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. As another example, the transceiver 305 may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range.

Accordingly, the physical layer circuitry 302 and the transceiver 305 may be separate components or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some of the described functionality related to transmission and reception of signals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any or all of the physical layer circuitry 302, the transceiver 305, and other components or layers. The STA 300 may also include medium access control (MAC) layer circuitry 304 for controlling access to the wireless medium. The STA 300 may also include processing circuitry 306 and memory 308 arranged to perform the operations described herein.

[0036] The AP 350 may include physical layer circuitry 352 and a transceiver 355, one or both of which may enable transmission and reception of signals to and from components such as the HE station 104 (FIG. 1), other APs or other devices using one or more antennas 351. As an example, the physical layer circuitry 352 may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. As another example, the transceiver 355 may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range. Accordingly, the physical layer circuitry 352 and the transceiver 355 may be separate components or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some of the described

functionality related to transmission and reception of signals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any or all of the physical layer circuitry 352, the transceiver 355, and other components or layers. The AP 350 may also include medium access control (MAC) layer circuitry 354 for controlling access to the wireless medium. The AP 350 may also include processing circuitry 356 and memory 358 arranged to perform the operations described herein.

[0037] The antennas 301, 351, 230 may comprise 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 multiple-input multiple-output (MTMO) embodiments, the antennas 301, 351, 230 may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

[0038] In some embodiments, the STA 300 may be configured as an HE station 104 (FIG. 1), and may communicate using OFDM and/or OFDMA communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel. In some embodiments, the AP 350 may be configured to communicate using OFDM and/or OFDMA communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel. In some embodiments, the HE station 104 may be configured to communicate using OFDM communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel. Accordingly, in some cases, the STA 300, AP 350 and/or HE station 104 may be configured to receive signals in accordance with specific communication standards, such as the IEEE standards including IEEE 802.11-2012, 802.11n-2009 and/or 802.1 lac-2013 and/or 802.1 lad and/or 802.1 lah standards and/or proposed specifications for WLANs including proposed HE standards, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as they may also be suitable to transmit and/or receive

communications in accordance with other techniques and standards. In some other embodiments, the AP 350, HE station 104 and/or the STA 300 configured as an HE station 104 may be configured to receive signals that were transmitted using one or more other modulation techniques such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and/or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time- division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and/or frequency-division

multiplexing (FDM) modulation, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Embodiments disclosed herein provide two preamble formats for High Efficiency (HE) Wireless LAN standards specification that is under development in the IEEE Task Group 1 lax (TGax).

[0039] In some embodiments, the STA 300 and/or AP 350 may be a mobile device and may be 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 wearable device such as a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the STA 300 and/or AP 350 may be configured to operate in accordance with 802.11 standards, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Mobile devices or other devices in some embodiments may be configured to operate according to other protocols or standards, including other IEEE standards, Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standards or other standards. In some embodiments, the STA 300 and/or AP 350 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.

[0040] Although the STA 300 and the AP 350 are each illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one 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 comprise 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 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0041] Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. 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 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. Some embodiments may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

[0042] It should be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus used by the STA 300 may include various components of the STA 300 as shown in FIG. 3 and/or the example machine 200 as shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the STA 300 (or HE station 104) may be applicable to an apparatus for an STA, in some

embodiments. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus used by the AP 350 may include various components of the AP 350 as shown in FIG. 3 and/or the example machine 200 as shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, techniques and operations described herein that refer to the AP 350 (or master station 102) may be applicable to an apparatus for an AP, in some embodiments. In addition, an apparatus for a mobile device and/or base station may include one or more components shown in FIGS. 2-3, in some embodiments. Accordingly, techniques and operations described herein that refer to a mobile device and/or base station may be applicable to an apparatus for a mobile device and/or base station, in some embodiments.

[0043] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a radio architecture 400 in accordance with some embodiments. Radio architecture 400 may include radio front-end module (FEM) circuitry 404, radio IC circuitry 406 and baseband processing circuitry 408. Radio architecture 400 as shown includes both

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) functionality and Bluetooth (BT) functionality although embodiments are not so limited. In this disclosure, "WLAN" and "Wi-Fi" are used interchangeably.

[0044] FEM circuitry 404 may include a WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuitry

404A and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuitry 404B. The WLAN FEM circuitry 404 A may include a receive signal path comprising circuitry configured to operate on WLAN RF signals received from one or more antennas 401, to amplify the received signals and to provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the WLAN radio IC circuitry 406A for further processing. The BT FEM circuitry 404B may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on BT RF signals received from one or more antennas 401, to amplify the received signals and to provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the BT radio IC circuitry 406B for further processing. FEM circuitry 404A may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify WLAN signals provided by the radio IC circuitry 406A for wireless transmission by one or more of the antennas 401. In addition, FEM circuitry 404B may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify BT signals provided by the radio IC circuitry 406B for wireless transmission by the one or more antennas. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, although FEM 404 A and FEM 404B are shown as being distinct from one another, embodiments are not so limited, and include within their scope the use of an FEM (not shown) that includes a transmit path and/or a receive path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more FEM circuitries where at least some of the FEM circuitries share transmit and/or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0045] Radio IC circuitry 406 as shown may include WLAN radio IC circuitry 406 A and BT radio IC circuitry 406B. The WLAN radio IC circuitry 406 A may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down- convert WLAN RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 404A and provide baseband signals to WLAN baseband processing circuitry 408A. BT radio IC circuitry 406B may in turn include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert BT RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 404B and provide baseband signals to BT baseband processing circuitry 408B. WLAN radio IC circuitry 406A may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert WLAN baseband signals provided by the WLAN baseband processing circuitry 408 A and provide WLAN RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 404A for subsequent wireless transmission by the one or more antennas 401. BT radio IC circuitry 406B may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert BT baseband signals provided by the BT baseband processing circuitry 408B and provide BT RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 404B for subsequent wireless transmission by the one or more antennas 401. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, although radio IC circuitries 406A and 406B are shown as being distinct from one another, embodiments are not so limited, and include within their scope the use of a radio IC circuitry (not shown) that includes a transmit signal path and/or a receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more radio IC circuitries where at least some of the radio IC circuitries share transmit and/or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0046] Baseband processing circuity 408 may include a WLAN baseband processing circuitry 408A and a BT baseband processing circuitry 408B. The WLAN baseband processing circuitry 408A may include a memory, such as, for example, a set of RAM arrays in a Fast Fourier Transform or Inverse Fast Fourier Transform block (not shown) of the WLAN baseband processing circuitry 408 A. Each of the WLAN baseband circuitry 408 A and the BT baseband circuitry 408B may further include one or more processors and control logic to process the signals received from the corresponding WLAN or BT receive signal path of the radio IC circuitry 406, and to also generate

corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the radio IC circuitry 406. Each of the baseband processing circuitries 408A and

408B may further include physical layer (PHY) and medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry, and may further interface with application processor 411 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the radio IC circuitry 406.

[0047] Referring still to FIG. 4, according to the shown embodiment,

WLAN-BT coexistence circuitry 413 may include logic providing an interface between the WLAN baseband circuitry 408A and the BT baseband circuitry

408B to enable use cases requiring WLAN and BT coexistence. In addition, a switch 403 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuitry 404A and the BT FEM circuitry 404B to allow switching between the WLAN and BT radios according to application needs. In addition, although the antennas 401 are depicted as being respectively connected to the WLAN FEM circuitry 404A and the BT FEM circuitry 404B, embodiments include within their scope the sharing of one or more antennas as between the WLAN and BT FEMs, or the provision of more than one antenna connected to each of FEM 404 A or 404B.

[0048] In some embodiments, the front-end module circuitry 404, the radio IC circuitry 406, and baseband processing circuitry 408 may be provided on a single radio card, such as wireless radio card 402. In some other embodiments, the one or more antennas 401, the FEM circuitry 404 and the radio IC circuitry 406 may be provided on a single radio card. In some other embodiments, the radio IC circuitry 406 and the baseband processing circuitry 408 may be provided on a single chip or integrated circuit (IC), such as IC 412.

[0049] In some embodiments, the wireless radio card 402 may include a

WLAN radio card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture 400 may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel. The OFDM or OFDMA signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0050] In some of these multicarrier embodiments, radio architecture 400 may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA) such as a wireless access point (AP), a base station or a mobile device including a Wi-Fi device. In some of these embodiments, radio architecture 400 may be configured to transmit and receive signals in accordance with specific communication standards and/or protocols, such as any of the IEEE standards including, IEEE 802.1 ln-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11-2016, IEEE 802.1 lac, and/or IEEE 802.1 lax standards and/or proposed specifications for WLANs, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect. Radio architecture 400 may also be suitable to transmit and/or receive communications in accordance with other techniques and standards. [0051] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 400 may be configured for high-efficiency (HE) Wi-Fi (HEW) communications in accordance with the IEEE 802.1 lax standard. In these embodiments, the radio architecture 400 may be configured to communicate in accordance with an OFDMA technique, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0052] In some other embodiments, the radio architecture 400 may be configured to transmit and receive signals transmitted using one or more other modulation techniques such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and/or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time-division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and/or frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) modulation, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0053] In some embodiments, as further shown in FIG. 4, the BT baseband circuitry 408B may be compliant with a Bluetooth (BT) connectivity standard such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth 5.0, or any other iteration of the Bluetooth Standard. In embodiments that include BT functionality as shown for example in Fig. 4, the radio architecture 400 may be configured to establish a BT synchronous connection oriented (SCO) link and/or a BT low energy (BT LE) link. In some of the embodiments that include functionality, the radio architecture 400 may be configured to establish an extended SCO (eSCO) link for BT communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments that include a BT functionality, the radio architecture may be configured to engage in a BT Asynchronous Connection-Less (ACL) communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the functions of a BT radio card and WLAN radio card may be combined on a single wireless radio card, such as single wireless radio card 402, although embodiments are not so limited, and include within their scope discrete WLAN and BT radio cards.

[0054] In some embodiments, the radio-architecture 400 may include other radio cards, such as a cellular radio card configured for cellular (e.g., 3GPP such as LTE, LTE-Advanced or 5G communications). [0055] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the radio architecture 400 may be configured for communication over various channel bandwidths including bandwidths having center frequencies of about 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and bandwidths of about 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4 MHz, 5MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 16 MHz, 20 MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz (with contiguous

bandwidths) or 80+80MHz (160MHz) (with non-contiguous bandwidths). In some embodiments, a 320 MHz channel bandwidth may be used. The scope of the embodiments is not limited with respect to the above center frequencies however.

[0056] FIG. 5 illustrates FEM circuitry 500 in accordance with some embodiments. The FEM circuitry 500 is one example of circuitry that may be suitable for use as the WLAN and/or BT FEM circuitry 404A/404B (FIG. 4), although other circuitry configurations may also be suitable.

[0057] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 500 may include a TX/RX switch 502 to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 500 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 500 may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 506 to amplify received RF signals 503 and provide the amplified received RF signals 507 as an output (e.g., to the radio IC circuitry 406 (FIG. 4)). The transmit signal path of the circuitry 500 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals 509 (e.g., provided by the radio IC circuitry 406), and one or more filters 512, such as band-pass filters (BPFs), low-pass filters (LPFs) or other types of filters, to generate RF signals 515 for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the antennas 401 (FIG. 4)).

[0058] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the

FEM circuitry 500 may be configured to operate in either the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum or the 5 GHz frequency spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 500 may include a receive signal path duplexer 504 to separate the signals from each spectrum as well as provide a separate

LNA 506 for each spectrum as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 500 may also include a power amplifier 510 and a filter 512, such as a BPF, a LPF or another type of filter for each frequency spectrum and a transmit signal path duplexer 514 to provide the signals of one of the different spectrums onto a single transmit path for subsequent transmission by the one or more of the antennas 401 (FIG. 4). In some embodiments, BT communications may utilize the 2.4 GHZ signal paths and may utilize the same FEM circuitry 500 as the one used for WLAN communications.

[0059] FIG. 6 illustrates radio IC circuitry 600 in accordance with some embodiments. The radio IC circuitry 600 is one example of circuitry that may be suitable for use as the WLAN or BT radio IC circuitry 406A/406B (FIG. 4), although other circuitry configurations may also be suitable.

[0060] In some embodiments, the radio IC circuitry 600 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the radio IC circuitry 600 may include at least mixer circuitry 602, such as, for example, down-conversion mixer circuitry, amplifier circuitry 606 and filter circuitry 608. The transmit signal path of the radio IC circuitry 600 may include at least filter circuitry 612 and mixer circuitry 614, such as, for example, up- conversion mixer circuitry. Radio IC circuitry 600 may also include synthesizer circuitry 604 for synthesizing a frequency 605 for use by the mixer circuitry 602 and the mixer circuitry 614. The mixer circuitry 602 and/or 614 may each, according to some embodiments, be configured to provide direct conversion functionality. The latter type of circuitry presents a much simpler architecture as compared with standard super-heterodyne mixer circuitries, and any flicker noise brought about by the same may be alleviated for example through the use of OFDM modulation. FIG. 6 illustrates only a simplified version of a radio IC circuitry, and may include, although not shown, embodiments where each of the depicted circuitries may include more than one component. For instance, mixer circuitry 620 and/or 614 may each include one or more mixers, and filter circuitries 608 and/or 612 may each include one or more filters, such as one or more BPFs and/or LPFs according to application needs. For example, when mixer circuitries are of the direct-conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers.

[0061] In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 602 may be configured to down-convert RF signals 507 received from the FEM circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) based on the synthesized frequency 605 provided by synthesizer circuitry 604. The amplifier circuitry 606 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 608 may include a LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals 607. Output baseband signals 607 may be provided to the baseband processing circuitry 408 (FIG. 4) for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals 607 may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 602 may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0062] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 614 may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals 611 based on the synthesized frequency 605 provided by the synthesizer circuitry 604 to generate RF output signals 509 for the FEM circuitry 404. The baseband signals 611 may be provided by the baseband processing circuitry 408 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 612. The filter circuitry 612 may include a LPF or a BPF, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0063] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 602 and the mixer circuitry 614 may each include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and/or up-conversion respectively with the help of synthesizer 604. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 602 and the mixer circuitry 614 may each include two or more mixers each configured for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 602 and the mixer circuitry 614 may be arranged for direct down- conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 602 and the mixer circuitry 614 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, although this is not a requirement.

[0064] Mixer circuitry 602 may comprise, according to one embodiment: quadrature passive mixers (e.g., for the in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) paths). In such an embodiment, RF input signal 507 from FIG. 6 may be down- converted to provide I and Q baseband output signals to be sent to the baseband processor.

[0065] Quadrature passive mixers may be driven by zero and ninety- degree time-varying LO switching signals provided by a quadrature circuitry which may be configured to receive a LO frequency (f_Lo) from a local oscillator or a synthesizer, such as LO frequency 605 of synthesizer 604 (FIG. 6). In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the zero and ninety-degree time-varying switching signals may be generated by the synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0066] In some embodiments, the LO signals may differ in duty cycle (the percentage of one period in which the LO signal is high) and/or offset (the difference between start points of the period). In some embodiments, the LO signals may have a 25% duty cycle and a 50% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuitry (e.g., the in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) path) may operate at a 25% duty cycle, which may result in a significant reduction is power consumption.

[0067] The RF input signal 507 (FIG. 5) may comprise a balanced signal, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The I and Q baseband output signals may be provided to low-nose amplifier, such as amplifier circuitry 606 (FIG. 6) or to filter circuitry 608 (FIG. 6).

[0068] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals 607 and the input baseband signals 611 may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate

embodiments, the output baseband signals 607 and the input baseband signals 611 may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the radio IC circuitry may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry.

[0069] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, or for other spectrums not mentioned here, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0070] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 604 may be a fractional -N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 604 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 604 may include digital synthesizer circuitry. An advantage of using a digital synthesizer circuitry is that, although it may still include some analog components, its footprint may be scaled down much more than the footprint of an analog synthesizer circuitry. In some embodiments, frequency input into synthesizer circuity 604 may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. A divider control input may further be provided by either the baseband processing circuitry 408 (FIG. 4) or the application processor 411 (FIG. 4) depending on the desired output frequency 605. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table (e.g., within a Wi-Fi card) based on a channel number and a channel center frequency as determined or indicated by the application processor 411.

[0071] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 604 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency 605, while in other embodiments, the output frequency 605 may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the output frequency 605 may be a LO frequency (f_Lo)- [0072] FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of baseband processing circuitry 700 in accordance with some embodiments. The baseband processing circuitry 700 is one example of circuitry that may be suitable for use as the baseband processing circuitry 408 (FIG. 4), although other circuitry configurations may also be suitable. The baseband processing circuitry 700 may include a receive baseband processor (RX BBP) 702 for processing receive baseband signals 609 provided by the radio IC circuitry 406 (FIG. 4) and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 704 for generating transmit baseband signals 611 for the radio IC circuitry 406. The baseband processing circuitry 700 may also include control logic 706 for coordinating the operations of the baseband processing circuitry 700.

[0073] In some embodiments (e.g., when analog baseband signals are exchanged between the baseband processing circuitry 700 and the radio IC circuitry 406), the baseband processing circuitry 700 may include ADC 710 to convert analog baseband signals received from the radio IC circuitry 406 to digital baseband signals for processing by the RX BBP 702. In these

embodiments, the baseband processing circuitry 700 may also include DAC 712 to convert digital baseband signals from the TX BBP 704 to analog baseband signals.

[0074] In some embodiments that communicate OFDM signals or

OFDMA signals, such as through baseband processor 408A, the transmit baseband processor 704 may be configured to generate OFDM or OFDMA signals as appropriate for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). The receive baseband processor 702 may be configured to process received OFDM signals or OFDMA signals by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, the receive baseband processor 702 may be configured to detect the presence of an OFDM signal or OFDMA signal by performing an autocorrelation, to detect a preamble, such as a short preamble, and by performing a cross-correlation, to detect a long preamble. The preambles may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communication.

[0075] Referring back to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the antennas 401

(FIG. 4) may each comprise 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 multiple-input multiple-output (MFMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

Antennas 401 may each include a set of phased-array antennas, although embodiments are not so limited.

[0076] Although the radio-architecture 400 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one 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 comprise 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 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0077] In some embodiments, 802.1 lax intends to define MU operations and also improve power save mechanisms for STAs. In some embodiments, individual target wake time (TWT) seems to be an efficient solution for traffic with regular and predictable duty cycles of packet arrivals. It allows in such cases to negotiate with the AP a target wake time period where the STA is expected to be awake, and where the AP will trigger the STA for upload (UL) access, or send traffic to the STA in download (DL).

[0078] In some embodiments, individual TWT solution is efficient for some traffic, but not all. In many situations, HE STAs will still operate with regular power save mechanisms (power save poll (PS-Poll) protocol, unscheduled - automatic power save delivery (U-ASPD)). In some

embodiments, these STAs may use these power save mechanisms:

[0079] 1) to save power when the STA is not active (no data to Tx/Rx);

[0080] 2) to leave the channel and perform scanning measurements upon user requests, or to prepare base station (BS) transitions;

[0081] 3) other reasons, like in-device coexistence with Bluetooth (BT).

[0082] For these 2 last points, the STA may be active and have traffic to receive (Rx) or transmit (Tx) and still use the power save mechanisms.

[0083] In some embodiments, if a STA has traffic to send in UL, and is scheduled by the AP in UL multiple-user (MU), following the rules with MU enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters, the STA may now use

MU EDCA parameters (instead of single user (SU) EDCA parameters), which may have lower probability to access the channel using EDCA, in order to reduce collisions and improve performance. In some embodiments, if the STA enters power save mode for a short period of time (e.g., lower than the timeout to switch back from MU EDCA parameters to SU EDCA parameters), the STA may use MU EDCA parameters to access the channel when it wakes up. As these MU EDCA parameters are less aggressive than SU EDCA parameters, the

STA may have a long latency before waking up. [0084] In some embodiments, when switching to power save mode, while the STA is scheduled by the AP, the AP may flush the UL MU context for that STA, and as it may not know when the STA will wake up, it may not trigger the STA to send its PS-Poll or the U-ASPD trigger. The STA may therefore use EDCA access to send the PS-Poll or the quality of service (QoS) nul or QoS data frame with power management (PM) but set to one (1).

[0085] In some embodiments, if a STA is scheduled by the AP in UL

MU and therefore switched to using MU EDCA parameters for EDCA channel access, and if that STA enters power save mode (with PS-Poll protocol or U- APSD, or other power save (ps) mechanism), the STA may automatically switch back to using SU/legacy EDCA parameters, notably in order to send the PS-Poll or a QoS null or QoS data with Power management (PM) bit set to zero (0).

[0086] In some embodiments, a STA may enter power save mode by sending a frame with PM bit set to one (1), and by indicating the duration of the sleep period or a pre-negotiated sleep period duration. The pre-negotiated sleep period duration may be indicated by a bit that refers to the pre-negotiated sleep period duration. After the conclusion of the sleep duration, the STA may be expected to be awake again, for example, by the AP. If the STA is scheduled in UL MU by the AP and is operating with MU EDCA parameters, the situation is the same after the sleep period as it is before the sleep period, meaning that the AP has kept the context information for the STA and is expected to trigger the STA in UL MU.

[0087] In some embodiments, a HE non-AP UL MU capable STA that receives a Basic variant Trigger frame that contains a Per User Info field with the association ID (AID) of the STA, and that receives an immediate response from the AP for the transmitted Trigger-based physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), shall:

[0088] - update its contention window (CW)min access categories [AC],

CWmax[AC], arbitration inter-frame spacing number (AIFSN)[AC], state variables to the values contained in the most recently received MU EDCA

Parameter Set element sent by the AP to which the STA is associated, for all the ACs from which QoS Data frames were transmitted in the trigger-based PPDU; and [0089] - update its HEMUEDCATimer state variable to the values contained in the most recently received MU EDCA Parameter Set element sent by the AP to which the STA is associated.

[0090] In some embodiments, the HEMUEDCATimer shall uniformly count down to zero (0) when its value is nonzero.

[0091] In some embodiments, a non-AP STA that sends a frame to the

AP with an operating mode indication (OMI) A-Control field containing a value of one (1) in the UL MU Disable field does not participate in UL MU operation, and as such it is exempt from updating its EDCA access parameters to the values contained in the MU EDCA Parameter Set element.

[0092] In some embodiments, an HE non-AP UL MU capable STA may update its CWmin[AC], CWmax[AC], and AIFSN[AC] for all ACs to the values contained in the most recently received EDCA Parameter Set element sent by the AP to which the STA is associated or to the default dotl lEDCATable when an EDCA Parameter Set element has not been received:

[0093] a) when the HEMUEDCATimer reaches zero (0);

[0094] b) when the STA enters power-save mode by sending a frame to the AP with the Power Management bit set to one (1); or

[0095] c) when the STA receives a frame from the AP, with the end of service period (EOSP) field set to one (1) to indicate that the U-APSD service period is terminated and the STA can go back to power-save mode.

[0096] In some embodiments, the PS-Poll protocol can be modified so that a STA can go to power save mode by sending feedback including a frame with power management (PM) bit set to one (1), and by indicating the duration of the sleep period or a pre-negotiated sleep period duration. The pre-negotiated sleep period duration may be indicated by a bit that refers to the pre-negotiated sleep period duration.

[0097] Two solutions are described below as solutions for this feedback.

[0098] For the first solution, in some embodiments, the STA may include the duration of the sleep period, for instance in time units (TUs in ms) or in an exponent form (duration equals 2^AX, with X being the duration field included in the media access control (MAC) header) in the frame which set the PM bit to one (1). It could also be defined in an offset to the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) or in other ways.

[0099] In some embodiments, this duration may also be seen as a target wake time and can be referred to as a dynamic TWT field. In some

embodiments, this field may be included in reserved bits in the MAC header. In some embodiments, this field may be included in a Management frame. In some embodiments, this field may be included in a subfield of the HE variant HT Control field (in the MAC header), e.g., the Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield. In some embodiments, the A-Control subfield may be included in a Management frame. The A-Control subfield 1000 is shown in FIG. 10.

[00100] In some embodiments, the A-Control subfield contains a sequence of one or more Control subfields. The format of each Control subfield may be defined in the control subfield format 1100 shown in FIG. 11.

[00101] In some embodiments, a new type of information carried in the control information field can be defined by using reserved control ID values. This control ID could be linked to a Dynamic TWT indication. The Dynamic TWT indication may be a field where the sleep duration is indicated, or the target wake time of the STA is indicated.

[00102] For the second solution, in some embodiments, the feedback can be limited to a single bit, which can be included using a reserved bit in the MAC header, a Management frame, or adding a bit to an existing information type in the A-control field of the HE variant of HT control field, for example, the transmitter operating mode indication (TOMI) information.

[00103] In some embodiments, the duration of the sleep period is:

[00104] a) pre-negotiated between the STA and the AP during association or through management frame exchanges in a long-time manner; or

[00105] b) decided either by the AP or the STA and advertised in an information element, or capabilities elements.

[00106] In some embodiments, by setting this new bit to one (1) in addition to the PM bit, the AP may be informed that the STA will go into sleep mode for the duration that was pre-negotiated and that after that duration, the STA will be awake and the state before and after the sleep period will be maintained. [00107] In some embodiments, by setting this new bit to zero (0) in addition to the PM bit, the STA indicates to the AP that it goes to sleep for an indefinite period of time, e.g., doesn't know when it will wake up, or at least that it cannot be sure to be awake after the expected sleep period.

[00108] Behavior when waking up:

[00109] In some embodiments, after that sleep duration, the STA may be implicitly expected to be awake again, and the STA may not need to send a PS- Poll or a frame with the PM bit set to zero (0) to inform the AP that it is awake. If the STA was scheduled in UL MU by the AP and was operating with MU EDCA parameters, the situation may be the same after the sleep period as it was before the sleep period, meaning that the AP has kept the context information for the STA and is expected to trigger the STA in UL MU. The STA may therefore wait for a trigger from the AP if the AP was aware that the STA still has something in its queues.

[00110] Possible response from the AP to the STA:

[00111] In some embodiments, it is also possible to define a mechanism for the AP to respond to the frame with the PM bit set to one (1) and which includes the duration for the sleep period. The AP may respond to this frame by an acknowledgement signal (ACK) or block acknowledgement (BA) frame and may include a feedback saying that it confirms that:

[00112] The dynamic TWT is accepted:

[00113] In some embodiments, the dynamic TWT is accepted by the AP, but the duration is extended by an additional duration, in which case the AP feedback will also include this additional duration. Thus, the AP may schedule the STA when the STA will be awake, and may send a trigger if the STA was already scheduled by the AP before entering power save mode.

[00114] In some embodiments, this can be done by either using reserved bits in the BA control field, or by including in the BA an A-control field with a dynamic TWT response element.

[00115] FIG. 8 is a block diagram that illustrates a method of power management at a STA in accordance with some embodiments. The STA may be an embodiment of the HE station 104. The STA may be wirelessly coupled with one or more master stations 102, HE stations 104, and/or legacy devices 106 in a WLAN 100 as discussed with reference to FIG. 1.

[00116] In an operation 810, the STA may contend for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel, e.g., a channel of the WLAN 100.

[00117] In an operation 820, the STA may encode a frame to modify a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one (1). The frame may be encoded for transmission during the TXOP. In various embodiments, the frame may be a Management frame. In various embodiments, the frame may be a member of an HE variant HT Control field. In various embodiments, the frame may be a member of an Aggregated Control (A- Control) subfield.

[00118] In an optional operation 830, a pre-determined sleep period may be pre-negotiated between the STA and one or more APs in the WLAN 100. The STA and the one or more APs may negotiate how long the STA may sleep in a future sleep period before waking. By pre-negotiating the sleep duration, when the STA goes into sleep mode in the future, the STA may only need to tell the one or more APs with which the sleep period was pre-negotiated that the STA is entering the sleep period, and the one or more APs would know when the STA would be exiting the sleep period and become available again based on the pre- negotiated sleep duration. In an embodiment, the sleep period may be pre- negotiated to be of an indefinite duration, so that the APs would not know in advance how long the STA may be in sleep mode.

[00119] In an optional operation 840, the STA may pre-determine a sleep period or duration, and advertise the pre-determined sleep period or duration to one or more components of the WLAN 100 in an information element or a capabilities element. When the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined and advertised by an AP or another STA, the STA may receive and store that pre-determined sleep period associated with the AP or other STA for future access in association with an indication in a frame from the AP or other STA that the duration of the sleep period is pre-determined. In an embodiment, the sleep period may be pre-determined to be of an indefinite duration, so that the components of the WLAN 100 would not know in advance how long the STA may be in sleep mode.

[00120] In an operation 850, the frame may be encoded to indicate a duration of the sleep period or the pre-determined sleep period. When the duration of the sleep period is not pre-determined, the STA may encode the frame to specify what the duration of the sleep period is, or when the STA may exit sleep mode. When the duration of the sleep period is pre-determined, the frame may be encoded simply to indicate that the STA has entered the sleep mode characterized by the sleep period having the pre-determined duration.

[00121] In an operation 860, the STA may be configured to transmit the frame to one or more APs in the WLAN 100. The STA may be configured to transmit the frame according to a standard communication protocol, e.g., an IEEE 802.1 lax standard or an IEEE 802.11 standard.

[00122] FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates a method of power management at an AP in accordance with some embodiments. The AP may be an embodiment of the master station 102. The AP may be wirelessly coupled with one or more master stations 102, HE stations 104, and/or legacy devices 106 in a WLAN 100 as discussed with reference to FIG. 1.

[00123] In an optional operation 910, a pre-determined sleep period may be pre-negotiated between the AP and a STA in the WLAN 100. The AP and the STA may negotiate how long the STA may sleep in a future sleep period before waking. By pre-negotiating the sleep duration, when the STA goes into sleep mode in the future, the AP may be able to determine the sleep duration based on an indication from the STA in a frame sent by the STA before entering the sleep mode that the sleep period duration was pre-negotiated and the AP may access the pre-negotiated sleep duration information stored in the AP. The AP may then know when the STA would be exiting the sleep period and become available again based on the pre-negotiated sleep duration. In an embodiment, the sleep period may be pre-negotiated to be of an indefinite duration, so that the AP would not know in advance how long the STA may be in sleep mode.

[00124] In an optional operation 920, the sleep duration of a STA may be pre-determined, and the pre-determined duration of the sleep period may be advertised to one or more components of the WLAN 100 in an information element or a capabilities element. When the pre-determined sleep period is predetermined and advertised by a STA, the AP may receive and store that predetermined sleep period associated with the STA for future access in association with an indication in a frame from the STA that the duration of the sleep period is pre-determined. In an embodiment, the sleep period may be pre-determined to be of an indefinite duration, so that the components of the WLAN 100 would not know in advance how long the STA may be in sleep mode.

[00125] In an operation 930, the AP may receive a frame from a STA in the WLAN 100. The frame may be received according to a standard

communication protocol, e.g., an IEEE 802.11ax standard or an IEEE 802.11 standard.

[00126] In an operation 940, the AP may decode the frame as a frame that modifies a PS-Poll protocol by including a PM bit set to one (1). In various embodiments, the frame may be a Management frame. In various embodiments, the frame may be a member of an HE variant HT Control field. In various embodiments, the frame may be a member of an Aggregated Control (A- Control) subfield.

[00127] In an operation 950, the duration of the sleep period of the STA may be determined based on information in the frame. The information may be determined by decoding the frame. The information may indicate that the duration of the sleep period is pre-determined. When the duration of the sleep period is not pre-determined, the information may specify the duration of the sleep period, or when the STA may exit sleep mode. When the duration of the sleep period is pre-determined, the information may simply indicate that the STA has entered the sleep mode characterized by the sleep period having the pre-determined duration.

[00128] It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to the operations, phases, frames, signals and/or other elements shown in the FIGS. 1- 11. Some embodiments may not necessarily include all operations, phases, frames, signals and/or other elements shown. Some embodiments may include one or more additional operations, phases, frames, signals and/or other elements. One or more operations may be optional, in some embodiments. [00129] Example 1 is an apparatus of a wireless station (STA), the apparatus comprising memory; and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuity configured to: contend for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel; encode, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one; encode the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a pre-determined sleep period; and configure the STA to transmit the frame to one or more access points (APs).

[00130] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00131] In Example 3, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples

1-2 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00132] In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 3 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00133] In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples

1-4 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-negotiated between the STA and the one or more APs.

[00134] In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples

1-5 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is decided by the STA or the one or more APs and advertised in an information element or capabilities element.

[00135] In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is read from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00136] In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples

1-7 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is predetermined to be indefinite.

[00137] In Example 9, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples

1-8 optionally include wherein the STA and the one or more APs each comprise one from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 ax access point, an IEEE 802.11 ax station, an IEEE 802.11 station, and an IEEE 802.11 access point.

[00138] In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 1-9 optionally include transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry.

[00139] In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 10 optionally includes one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

[00140] Example 12 is a method of power management at a wireless station (STA), the method comprising: contending for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel; encoding, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one; encoding the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a pre-determined sleep period; and configuring the STA to transmit the frame to one or more access points (APs).

[00141] In Example 13, the subject matter of Example 12 optionally includes wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00142] In Example 14, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 12-13 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00143] In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00144] In Example 16, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 12-15 optionally include pre-negotiating the pre-determined sleep period between the STA and the one or more APs.

[00145] In Example 17, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 12-16 optionally include deciding the pre-determined sleep period; and advertising the pre-determined sleep period in an information element or capabilities element.

[00146] In Example 18, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 12-17 optionally include reading the pre-determined sleep period from a received information element or capabilities element. [00147] In Example 19, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 12-18 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00148] In Example 20, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 12-19 optionally include wherein the STA transmits the frame to the one or more APs according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.11 standard.

[00149] Example 21 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for communication by a wireless station (STA), the operations to configure the one or more processors to perform the following operations: contending for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel; encoding, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one; encoding the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a predetermined sleep period; and configuring the STA to transmit the frame to one or more access points (APs).

[00150] In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 optionally includes wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00151] In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-22 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00152] In Example 24, the subject matter of Example 23 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00153] In Example 25, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-24 optionally include the operations further comprising pre- negotiating the pre-determined sleep period between the STA and the one or more APs.

[00154] In Example 26, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-25 optionally include the operations further comprising: deciding the pre-determined sleep period; and advertising the pre-determined sleep period in an information element or capabilities element.

[00155] In Example 27, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-26 optionally include the operations further comprising reading the pre-determined sleep period from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00156] In Example 28, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-27 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00157] In Example 29, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 21-28 optionally include wherein the STA transmits the frame to the one or more APs according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.11 standard.

[00158] Example 30 is an apparatus of a wireless station (STA), the apparatus comprising: memory means; processing means coupled to the memory means; means for contending for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel; means for encoding, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one; means for encoding the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a pre-determined sleep period; and means for configuring the STA to transmit the frame to one or more access points (APs).

[00159] In Example 31, the subject matter of Example 30 optionally includes wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00160] In Example 32, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 30-31 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00161] In Example 33, the subject matter of Example 32 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00162] In Example 34, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 30-33 optionally include means for pre-negotiating the predetermined sleep period between the STA and the one or more APs. [00163] In Example 35, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 30-34 optionally include means for deciding the pre-determined sleep period; and means for advertising the pre-determined sleep period in an information element or capabilities element.

[00164] In Example 36, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 30-35 optionally include means for reading the pre-determined sleep period from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00165] In Example 37, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 30-36 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00166] In Example 38, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 30-37 optionally include wherein the STA transmits the frame to the one or more APs according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.11 standard.

[00167] Example 39 is an apparatus of an access point (AP), the apparatus comprising memory; and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuity configured to: decode a frame from a wireless station (STA) modifying a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol having a power management (PM) bit set to one; and determine a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame.

[00168] In Example 40, the subject matter of Example 39 optionally includes wherein determining the duration of the sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame is further based on a pre-determined sleep period.

[00169] In Example 41, the subject matter of Example 40 optionally includes wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-negotiated between the STA and the AP.

[00170] In Example 42, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 40-41 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is decided by the STA or the AP and advertised in an information element or capabilities element. [00171] In Example 43, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 40-42 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is read from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00172] In Example 44, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 40-43 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00173] In Example 45, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 39-44 optionally include wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00174] In Example 46, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 39-45 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00175] In Example 47, the subject matter of Example 46 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00176] In Example 48, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 39-47 optionally include wherein the AP and the STA each comprise one from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 ax access point, an IEEE 802.11 ax station, an IEEE 802.11 station, and an IEEE 802.11 access point.

[00177] In Example 49, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 39-48 optionally include transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry.

[00178] In Example 50, the subject matter of Example 49 optionally includes one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

[00179] Example 51 is a method of power management at a wireless access point (AP), the method comprising: decoding a frame from a wireless station (STA) modifying a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol having a power management (PM) bit set to one; and determining a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame.

[00180] In Example 52, the subject matter of Example 51 optionally includes wherein determining the duration of the sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame is further based on a pre-determined sleep period. [00181] In Example 53, the subject matter of Example 52 optionally includes pre-negotiating the pre-determined sleep period between the STA and the AP.

[00182] In Example 54, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 52-53 optionally include deciding the pre-determined sleep period; and advertising the pre-determined sleep period in an information element or capabilities element.

[00183] In Example 55, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 52-54 optionally include reading the pre-determined sleep period from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00184] In Example 56, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 52-55 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00185] In Example 57, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 51-56 optionally include wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00186] In Example 58, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 51-57 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00187] In Example 59, the subject matter of Example 58 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00188] In Example 60, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 51-59 optionally include receiving the frame from the STA according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.1 lax standard.

[00189] Example 61 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for communication by a wireless access point (AP), the operations to configure the one or more processors to perform the following operations: decoding a frame from a wireless station (STA) modifying a power- save poll (PS-Poll) protocol having a power management (PM) bit set to one; and determining a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame. [00190] In Example 62, the subject matter of Example 61 optionally includes wherein determining the duration of the sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame is further based on a pre-determined sleep period.

[00191] In Example 63, the subject matter of Example 62 optionally includes the operations further comprising pre-negotiating the pre-determined sleep period between the STA and the AP.

[00192] In Example 64, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 62-63 optionally include the operations further comprising: deciding the pre-determined sleep period; and advertising the pre-determined sleep period in an information element or capabilities element.

[00193] In Example 65, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 62-64 optionally include the operations further comprising: reading the pre-determined sleep period from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00194] In Example 66, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 62-65 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00195] In Example 67, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 61-66 optionally include wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00196] In Example 68, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 61-67 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00197] In Example 69, the subject matter of Example 68 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00198] In Example 70, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 61-69 optionally include receiving the frame from the STA according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.1 lax standard.

[00199] Example 71 is an apparatus of an access point (AP), the apparatus comprising: memory means; processing means coupled to the memory means; means for decoding a frame from a wireless station (STA) modifying a power- save poll (PS-Poll) protocol having a power management (PM) bit set to one; and means for determining a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame.

[00200] In Example 72, the subject matter of Example 71 optionally includes wherein the means for determining the duration of the sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame further determines the duration based on a pre-determined sleep period.

[00201] In Example 73, the subject matter of Example 72 optionally includes means for pre-negotiating the pre-determined sleep period between the STA and the AP.

[00202] In Example 74, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 72-73 optionally include means for deciding the pre-determined sleep period; and means for advertising the pre-determined sleep period in an information element or capabilities element.

[00203] In Example 75, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 72-74 optionally include reading the pre-determined sleep period from a received information element or capabilities element.

[00204] In Example 76, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 72-75 optionally include wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

[00205] In Example 77, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 71-76 optionally include wherein the frame is a Management frame.

[00206] In Example 78, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 71-77 optionally include wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

[00207] In Example 79, the subject matter of Example 78 optionally includes wherein the frame is a member of an Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

[00208] In Example 80, the subject matter of any one or more of

Examples 71-79 optionally include receiving the frame from the STA according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and

Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.1 lax standard.

[00209] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be

implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software.

[00210] 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; flash memory, etc.

[00211] The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of a wireless station (STA), the apparatus comprising memory; and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuity configured to:

contend for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel;

encode, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power- save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one;

encode the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a predetermined sleep period; and

configure the STA to transmit the frame to one or more access points (APs).

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame is a Management frame.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame is a member of an HE variant HT Control field.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the frame is a member of an

Aggregated Control (A-Control) subfield.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre- negotiated between the STA and the one or more APs.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is decided by the STA or the one or more APs and advertised in an information element or capabilities element.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is read from a received information element or capabilities element.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is predetermined to be indefinite.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the STA and the one or more APs each comprise one from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax access point, an IEEE 802.1 lax station, an IEEE 802.11 station, and an IEEE 802.11 access point.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

12. A method of power management at a wireless station (STA), the method comprising:

contending for a transmission opportunity (TXOP) to obtain access to a channel;

encoding, for transmission during the TXOP, a frame to modify a power- save poll (PS-Poll) protocol by including a power management (PM) bit set to one;

encoding the frame to indicate a duration of a sleep period or a predetermined sleep period; and

configuring the STA to transmit the frame to one or more access points

(APs).

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the frame is a Management frame.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for communication by a wireless station (STA), the operations to configure the one or more processors to perform the operations of any of methods 12-13.

15. An apparatus of a wireless station (STA), the apparatus comprising means to perform the operations of any of methods 12-13.

16. An apparatus of an access point (AP), the apparatus comprising memory; and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuity configured to:

decode a frame from a wireless station (STA) modifying a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol having a power management (PM) bit set to one; and determine a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein determining the duration of the sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame is further based on a pre- determined sleep period.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-negotiated between the STA and the AP.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is decided by the STA or the AP and advertised in an information element or capabilities element.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is read from a received information element or capabilities element.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pre-determined sleep period is pre-determined to be indefinite.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the frame is a Management frame.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the AP and the STA each comprise one from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 ax access point, an IEEE 802.11 ax station, an IEEE 802.11 station, and an IEEE 802.11 access point.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

26. A method of power management at a wireless access point (AP), the method comprising:

decoding a frame from a wireless station (STA) modifying a power-save poll (PS-Poll) protocol having a power management (PM) bit set to one; and determining a duration of a sleep period of the STA based on information in the frame.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the frame is a Management frame.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising receiving the frame from the STA according to a standard selected from the following group: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax standard, and an IEEE 802.1 lax standard.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for communication by a wireless access point (AP), the operations to configure the one or more processors to perform the operations of any of methods 26-28.

30. An apparatus of an access point (AP), the apparatus comprising means to perform the operations of any of methods 26-28.