IP Library › Granted Patent US 12672169

Granted Patent B2

US 12672169 · App. 18/174,591 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

Resource allocation techniques to support multiple peer-to-peer (P2P) sessions

Inventors: Abdel Karim Ajami (Lakeside, CA); Abhishek Pramod Patil (San Diego, CA); Alfred Asterjadhi (San Diego, CA); Gaurang Naik (San Diego, CA); George Cherian (San Diego, CA); Sai Yiu Duncan Ho (San Diego, CA); Yanjun Sun (San Diego, CA)

Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated

H04W74/0816 H04W24/10

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12672169
App. No.: 18/174,591
Granted: Jun 30, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, components, devices and systems for transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing and resource allocation mechanisms in systems involving multiple peer-to-peer (P2P) sessions. Some aspects more specifically relate to how such mechanisms can facilitate multi-station (STA) TXOP sharing or STA offloading in accordance with relative resource availabilities across a set of access points (APs), or any combination thereof. In some implementations, an AP can allocate respective portions of a resource unit (RU) allocation (during a shared TXOP of the AP) to respective P2P sessions at multiple respective STAs. Additionally, or alternatively, an AP can use transmit power control to facilitate simultaneous TXOP sharing across multiple STAs. Additionally, or alternatively, first AP can offload a STA to a second AP in accordance with relative resource availabilities at the first AP and the second AP. As such, devices may achieve greater scalability for high-density P2P session deployments.

Claims (87)

1 . A first wireless station (STA), comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

transmit, to a wireless access point (AP), a request for communication resources associated with a peer-to-peer (P2P) session between the first wireless STA and at least one peer device;

receive, in accordance with the request, a first frame allocating a duration of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the wireless AP to the first wireless STA;

transmit a second frame to the at least one peer device within the duration in accordance with sharing the TXOP of the wireless AP with the at least one peer device; and

receive, in accordance with the second frame, data associated with the P2P session from the at least one peer device of the first wireless STA within the duration of the TXOP.

2 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, via the first frame, an indication of a resource unit allocation associated with the TXOP of the wireless AP; and

transmit, to the wireless AP via a portion of the resource unit allocation, a clear-to-send (CTS) frame associated with the first frame, wherein sharing the TXOP of the wireless AP is associated with transmitting the CTS frame via the portion of the resource unit allocation.

3 . The first wireless STA of claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

transmit, via the CTS frame, an indication of a bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the P2P session, wherein sharing the TXOP of the wireless AP is associated with transmitting the indication of the bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the P2P session.

4 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, via the first frame, an indication of a resource unit allocation associated with the TXOP of the wireless AP, wherein the resource unit allocation indicates a non-primary channel of the wireless AP; and

transmit, to the wireless AP via the non-primary channel, a clear-to-send (CTS) frame associated with the first frame, wherein sharing the TXOP of the wireless AP is associated with the resource unit allocation indicating the non-primary channel.

5 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

transmit, to the wireless AP, an indication of a capability of the first wireless STA to communicate via non-primary channels, wherein the capability is associated with a device capability or an operational mode of the first wireless STA, and wherein the first frame indicates a non-primary channel in accordance with the capability of the first wireless STA.

6 . The first wireless STA of claim 5 , wherein, to transmit the indication of the capability of the first wireless STA, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

transmit an indication of a specific non-primary sub-channel via which the first wireless STA is available for the P2P session in accordance with a set of channel conditions, wherein the non-primary channel indicated by the first frame includes the specific non-primary sub-channel indicated by the capability of the first wireless STA.

7 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, from the wireless AP, a third frame including an indication of the first wireless STA as a standby STA for the TXOP of the wireless AP, wherein the third frame is received prior to the first frame; and

tune a radio of the first wireless STA from a primary channel to a non-primary channel in accordance with the indication of the first wireless STA as the standby STA for the TXOP, wherein the first frame is received via the non-primary channel, and wherein sharing the TXOP of the wireless AP is associated with tuning the radio of the first wireless STA to the non-primary channel.

8 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, from the wireless AP, a third frame prior to the first frame; and

transmit, to the wireless AP, a clear-to-send (CTS) frame associated with the third frame, wherein a bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the P2P session is derived from the CTS frame, and wherein the first frame is associated with the bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the P2P session.

9 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, from the wireless AP, an indication of a transmit power for the P2P session at the first wireless STA during the TXOP of the wireless AP, wherein sharing the TXOP of the wireless AP is associated with use of the transmit power for the P2P session.

10 . The first wireless STA of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, from the wireless AP, a measurement request, the measurement request indicating a channel metric associated with transmissions by a second wireless STA to be measured and reported by the first wireless STA; and

transmit, to the wireless AP, a measurement report associated with the measurement request, the measurement report indicating the channel metric.

11 . The first wireless STA of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

transmit, to the wireless AP, an indication of a capability of the first wireless STA to measure and report the channel metric associated with the transmissions by the second wireless STA, wherein receiving the measurement request is in accordance with the capability of the first wireless STA.

12 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, via the first frame, an indication of a resource allocation for the P2P session in accordance with a set of observed parameters associated with the P2P session, the resource allocation including at least the duration of the TXOP of the wireless AP allocated to the P2P session at first wireless STA.

13 . The first wireless STA of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless STA to:

receive, via the first frame, an indication of a first resource unit allocation associated with uplink communication from the first wireless STA to the AP and an indication of a second resource unit allocation associated with the P2P session at the first wireless STA, wherein the first resource unit allocation is associated with a first set of sub-channels and the second resource unit allocation is associated with a second set of sub-channels.

14 . A wireless station (STA), comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the wireless STA to:

receive, from a first wireless access point (AP) associated with a first basic service set (BSS), information indicative of an offloading of the wireless STA from the first wireless AP to a second wireless AP in accordance with a resource availability at the second wireless AP, the second wireless AP being associated with a second BSS; and

receive, from the second wireless AP, a resource allocation for a peer-to-peer (P2P) session at the wireless STA in accordance with the offloading of the wireless STA from the first wireless AP to the second wireless AP.

15 . The wireless STA of claim 14 , wherein, to receive the information indicative of the offloading of the wireless STA from the first wireless AP to the second wireless AP, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless STA to:

receive, from the first wireless AP, an indication of an association identifier (AID) value that the second wireless AP is to use to address the wireless STA, wherein receiving the resource allocation from the second wireless AP is associated with receiving the indication of the AID value.

16 . The wireless STA of claim 14 , wherein, to receive the information indicative of the offloading of the wireless STA from the first wireless AP to the second wireless AP, the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless STA to:

receive, from the first wireless AP, channel and BSS identifier (BSSID) information associated with the second wireless AP or target wake time (TWT) allocation information associated with the second wireless AP, or both, wherein receiving the resource allocation from the second wireless AP is associated with receiving the channel and BSSID information or the TWT allocation information.

17 . The wireless STA of claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless STA to:

transmit, to the first wireless AP, a request for communication resources associated with the P2P session at the wireless STA, wherein receiving the resource allocation from the second wireless AP is in accordance with the request for the communication resources associated with the P2P session.

18 . The wireless STA of claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless STA to:

transmit, to the first wireless AP, information associated with data traffic constraints of the wireless STA, wherein the request for the communication resources associated with the P2P session at the wireless STA is associated with the data traffic constraints of the wireless STA, and wherein the offloading of the wireless STA from the first wireless AP to the second wireless AP is associated with the data traffic constraints of the wireless STA.

19 . A wireless access point (AP), comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the wireless AP to:

receive a first request, from a first wireless station (STA), for communication resources associated with a first peer-to-peer (P2P) session between the first wireless STA and a first peer device and a second request, from a second wireless STA, for communication resources associated with a second P2P session between the second wireless STA and a second peer device; and

transmit, in accordance with the first request and the second request, a first frame allocating a first duration of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the wireless AP to the first wireless STA and a second frame allocating a second duration of the TXOP of the wireless AP to the second wireless STA, the first duration and the second duration at least partially overlapping.

20 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit, via the first frame, an indication of a resource unit allocation associated with the TXOP of the wireless AP;

receive, from the first wireless STA via a first portion of the resource unit allocation, a first clear-to-send (CTS) frame associated with the first frame;

transmit, via the second frame, an indication of a second portion of the resource unit allocation associated with the TXOP of the wireless AP in accordance with receiving the first CTS frame via the first portion of the resource unit allocation; and

receive, from the second wireless STA via the second portion of the resource unit allocation, a second CTS frame associated with the second frame.

21 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit a CTS-to-self frame via an entirety of a bandwidth that the wireless AP is to share with the first wireless STA and the second wireless STA, wherein the first frame and the second frame are associated with transmitting the CTS-to-self frame via the entirety of the bandwidth.

22 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

receive, from the second wireless STA, an indication of a capability of the second wireless STA to communicate via non-primary channels, wherein the capability is associated with a device capability or an operational mode of the second wireless STA, and wherein the second frame indicates a non-primary channel in accordance with the capability of the second wireless STA.

23 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit, to the first wireless STA, a third frame prior to the first frame; and

receive, from the first wireless STA, a clear-to-send (CTS) frame associated with the third frame, wherein a bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the first P2P session is derived from the CTS frame, and wherein the first frame and the second frame are associated with the bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the first P2P session.

24 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

monitor a resource unit allocation during the TXOP of the wireless AP for P2P data frames associated with the first P2P session, wherein a bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the first P2P session is derived from the P2P data frames, and wherein the first frame and the second frame are associated with the bandwidth that the first wireless STA uses for the first P2P session.

25 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit, to the first wireless STA, an indication of a first transmit power for the first P2P session at the first wireless STA during the TXOP of the wireless AP; and

transmit, to the second wireless STA, an indication of a second transmit power for the second P2P session at the second wireless STA during the TXOP of the wireless AP, wherein an allocation of the first duration of the TXOP and the second duration of the TXOP to the first P2P session and the second P2P session is associated with indicating the first transmit power for the first P2P session and indicating the second transmit power for the second P2P session.

26 . The wireless AP of claim 25 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit a first measurement request and a second measurement request to the first wireless STA and the second wireless STA, respectively, the first measurement request indicating a first channel metric associated with transmissions by the second wireless STA to be measured and reported by the first wireless STA, and the second measurement request indicating a second channel metric associated with transmissions by the first wireless STA to be measured and reported by the second wireless STA; and

receive a first measurement report and a second measurement report from the first wireless STA and the second wireless STA, respectively, the first measurement report indicating the first channel metric and the second measurement report indicating the second channel metric.

27 . The wireless AP of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit, via the first frame, an indication of a first resource allocation for the first P2P session in accordance with a first set of observed parameters associated with the first P2P session, the first resource allocation including at least the first duration of the TXOP of the wireless AP; and

transmit, via the second frame, an indication of a second resource allocation for the second P2P session in accordance with a second set of observed parameters associated with the second P2P session, the second resource allocation including at least the second duration of the TXOP of the wireless AP.

28 . A first wireless access point (AP) associated with a first basic service set (BSS), comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the wireless AP to:

transmit, to a second wireless AP associated with a second BSS, a resource availability inquiry; and

transmit, to a wireless station (STA) associated with the first BSS of the first wireless AP, information indicative of an offloading of the wireless STA from the first wireless AP to the second wireless AP in accordance with a resource availability at the second wireless AP.

29 . The first wireless AP of claim 28 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless AP to:

receive, from the wireless station STA, a request for communication resources associated with a peer-to-peer (P2P) session at the wireless STA, wherein transmitting the resource availability inquiry is in accordance with the request for the communication resources associated with the P2P session; and

transmit, to the second wireless AP as part of a resource sharing between the first wireless AP and the second wireless AP, information associated with data traffic constraints of the wireless STA, wherein the request for the communication resources associated with the P2P session at the wireless STA is associated with the data traffic constraints of the wireless STA.

30 . The first wireless AP of claim 28 , wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the first wireless AP to:

receive, from the second wireless AP, an indication of the resource availability at the second wireless AP in accordance with transmitting the resource availability inquiry, wherein the indication of the resource availability indicates that the second wireless AP has a greater amount of communication resources available for peer-to-peer (P2P) sessions than the first wireless AP.