Access point configured for signaling configuration and resource allocation inside a synchronized transmission opportunity (S-TXOP)

1 . An apparatus of an access point (AP) station (STA) configured for operation in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, wherein for communicating with other STAs within a synchronized transmission opportunity (S-TXOP), the processing circuitry is configured to:

encode an S-TXOP trigger for transmission at a beginning of the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger to be followed by a plurality of time-slots within the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger including a synchronization information field and a station information list field, the S-TXOP trigger indicating non-overlapping time resources for the time-slots, each time-slot of the plurality of time-slots separated from one another in time by at least a short inter-frame spacing (SIFS);

decode an uplink (UL) frame received from a first STA of the other STAs within a first one of the time-slots; and

encode a downlink (DL) frame for transmission to a second STA of the other STAs within a second one of the time-slots,

wherein the S-TXOP trigger is configurable to include a schedule information field, and wherein the STA information list field includes an association identity (AID) of each STA that is scheduled to communicate during one or more of the time-slots,

wherein the UL frame received from the first STA is devoid of a legacy preamble for synchronization,

wherein the DL frame is encoded for transmission without a legacy preamble for synchronization, and

wherein to transmit the DL frame and receive the UL frame, the processing circuitry is to use synchronization information in the synchronization information field, and wherein during the S-TXOP, the STAs that are scheduled to communicate remain synchronized with the AP STA.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the S-TXOP trigger includes the schedule information field, the schedule information field is encoded to include resource allocation for each time-slot,

wherein the resource allocation for each time-slot includes a time-slot identifier, and a time-slot type indicator, and

wherein the resource allocation for each time-slot further includes a scheduling information element when semi-static configuration for a corresponding time-slot is not enabled.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the time-slot type indicator indicates whether a time-slot is one of an uplink (UL) time-slot, a downlink (DL) time-slot and a flexible time-slot, and

wherein the scheduling information element, when included in the resource allocation for each time-slot, includes at least one of a downlink schedule for a downlink time-slot, an uplink schedule for an uplink time-slot, and either an uplink or downlink schedule for a flexible time-slot.

4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein when the semi-static configuration is enabled for a time-slot, the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from including the scheduling information element for the time-slot.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to receive the DL frame from the AP, the second station is configured to use the synchronization information in the synchronization information field, and

wherein to transmit the UL frame to the AP, the first station is configured to use the synchronization information in the synchronization information field.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the synchronization information field includes a legacy preamble, and a S-TXOP configuration field, the S-TXOP configuration field to include a number of time-slots and a duration.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the S-TXOP trigger is a control frame or management frame, and wherein prior to the S-TXOP, the processing circuitry is to configure the AP STA to transmit an S-TXOP configuration information element (IE) encoded to include configuration information of the S-TXOP.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a duration of the S-TXOP is configured to align with a restricted target-wake-up-time service period (r-TWT SP) in a triggered mode that is triggered when the S-TXOP starts.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a wireless time-sensitive network (TSN), and wherein the memory is configured to store the S-TXOP trigger.

10 . An apparatus of an access point (AP) station (STA) configured for operation in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, wherein for communicating with other STAs within a synchronized transmission opportunity (S-TXOP), the processing circuitry is configured to:

encode an S-TXOP trigger for transmission at a beginning of the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger to be followed by a plurality of slots within the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger including a synchronization information field and a station information list field,

wherein the S-TXOP trigger is configurable to include a schedule information field, wherein the STA information list field includes an association identity (AID) of each STA that is scheduled to communicate during one or more of the slots, and a configuration indicator to indicate whether semi-static configuration is enabled,

wherein when the S-TXOP trigger includes the schedule information field, the schedule information field is encoded to include resource allocation for each slot,

wherein the resource allocation for each slot includes a slot identifier, and a slot type indicator, and

wherein the resource allocation for each slot further includes a scheduling information element when the semi-static configuration for a corresponding slot is not enabled,

wherein the slot type indicator indicates whether a slot is one of an uplink (UL) slot, a downlink (DL) slot and a flexible slot, and wherein the scheduling information element, when included in the resource allocation for each slot, includes at least one of a downlink schedule for a downlink slot, an uplink schedule for an uplink slot, and either an uplink or downlink schedule for a flexible slot,

wherein when the semi-static configuration is enabled for a slot, the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from including the scheduling information element for the slot, and

wherein for an UL slot, the processing circuitry is configured to decode a short trigger when a resource allocation for the UL slot was signaled apriori, wherein the short trigger comprises a slot ID identifying a slot with a known resource allocation.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein for the UL slot, the processing circuitry is configured to decode a full trigger when the resource allocation for the UL slot was not signaled apriori, the full trigger identifying a resource allocation for the UL slot.

12 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by processing circuitry of an access point (AP) station (STA) configured for operation in a wireless network, wherein for communicating with other STAs within a synchronized transmission opportunity (S-TXOP), the processing circuitry is configured to:

encode an S-TXOP trigger for transmission at a beginning of the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger to be followed by a plurality of slots within the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger including a synchronization information field and a station information list field,

wherein the S-TXOP trigger is configurable to include a schedule information field, and

wherein the STA information list field includes an AID of each STA that is scheduled to communicate during one or more of the slots, and a configuration indicator to indicate whether semi-static configuration is enabled,

wherein when the S-TXOP trigger includes the schedule information field, the schedule information field is encoded to include resource allocation for each slot,

wherein the resource allocation for each slot includes a slot identifier, and a slot type indicator, and

wherein the resource allocation for each slot further includes a scheduling information element when the semi-static configuration for a corresponding slot is not enabled,

wherein the slot type indicator indicates whether a slot is one of an uplink (UL) slot, a downlink (DL) slot and a flexible slot, wherein the scheduling information element, when included in the resource allocation for each slot, includes at least one of a downlink schedule for a downlink slot, an uplink schedule for an uplink slot, and either an uplink or downlink schedule for a flexible slot,

wherein when the semi-static configuration is enabled for a slot, the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from including the scheduling information element for the slot,

wherein for a DL slot, the processing circuitry is configured to encode a DL MU PPDU for transmission that includes a downlink signal (DL-SIG) field, the DL-SIG field to include a preconfigured indicator bit to indicate whether resource allocation was done apriori,

wherein when the preconfigured indicator bit indicates the resource allocation was done apriori, the DL-SIG field is encoded to include a slot ID that identifies a slot with a known resource allocation, and

wherein when the preconfigured indicator bit indicates the resource allocation was not done apriori, the DL-SIG field is encoded to include a DL SIG information field that includes resource allocation for a corresponding DL slot.

13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein for an UL slot, the processing circuitry is configured to decode a short trigger when a resource allocation for the UL slot was signaled apriori, wherein the short trigger comprises a slot ID identifying a slot with a known resource allocation.

14 . An apparatus of a non-access point (AP) station (STA) configured for operation in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, wherein for communicating with an AP within a synchronized transmission opportunity (S-TXOP), the processing circuitry is configured to:

decode an S-TXOP trigger received from the AP at a beginning of the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger followed by a plurality of time-slots within the S-TXOP, the S-TXOP trigger including a synchronization information field and a station information list field, the S-TXOP trigger indicating non-overlapping time resources for the time-slots, each time-slot of the plurality of time-slots separated from one another in time by at least a short inter-frame spacing (SIFS);

encode an uplink (UL) frame for transmission to the AP within a first one of the time-slots; and

decode a downlink (DL) frame received from the AP within a second one of the time-slots, and

remain synchronized with the AP STA during the S-TXOP,

wherein when the S-TXOP trigger includes a schedule information field, the STA information list field includes an AID of each STA that is scheduled to communicate during one or more of the time-slots,

wherein the DL frame received from the AP is devoid of a legacy preamble for synchronization,

wherein the UL frame is encoded for transmission without a legacy preamble for synchronization, and

wherein to transmit the UL frame and receive the DL frame, the processing circuitry is to use synchronization information in the synchronization information field.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein when the S-TXOP trigger includes the schedule information field, the schedule information field is encoded to include resource allocation for each time-slot,

wherein the resource allocation for each time-slot includes a time-slot identifier, and a time-slot type indicator, and

wherein the resource allocation for each time-slot further includes a scheduling information element when semi-static configuration for a corresponding time-slot is not enabled.