WO2025228359A1

WO2025228359A1 - Wireless communication methods

Info

Publication number: WO2025228359A1
Application number: PCT/CN2025/091927
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kai Ying LU; Yi-Hsiang Lai; Cheng-Yi Chang; You-wei CHEN; James Chih-Shi Yee; Li-Hsiang Sun
Original assignee: MediaTek Inc
Current assignee: MediaTek Inc
Priority date: 2024-05-03
Filing date: 2025-04-29
Publication date: 2025-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-03

Abstract

Techniques pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications are described. An apparatus, as a station (STA), receives an initial control frame (ICF) from an access point (AP). The ICF triggers dynamic subchannel/subband operation (DSO) STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands. In response to receiving the ICF, the apparatus transmits an initial control response (ICR) frame to the AP and switches to a DSO subband of the STA.

Description

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHODS

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

The present disclosure is part of a non-provisional patent application claiming the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 63/641,981, 63/643,963 and 63/716,768, filed 03 May 2024, 08 May 2024 and 06 November 2024, respectively, the contents of which herein is incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to wireless communications and, more particularly, to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.

In wireless communications such as Wi-Fi (or WiFi) and wireless local area networks (WLANs) under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, with more unlicensed spectrum being approved by regulatory agencies, access points (APs) may support up to 320MHz channel bandwidth. On the other hand, client devices such as non-AP stations (STAs) may support 20MHz, 40MHz or 80MHz due to cost consideration. Very few high-end clients may support 160MHz or 320MHz bandwidth.

The current Wi-Fi technology requires that all clients associated with an AP need to monitor the primary 20MHz channel of the operating bandwidth to detect the preamble of a packet over the medium. It is also required that all transmissions are to at least include the primary 20MHz channel. For a wideband AP (e.g., 160MHz or 320MHz) , when multi-user transmission is intended to non-AP STAs of mixed types (e.g., High-Efficiency (HE) , Extreme-High-Throughput (EHT) and Ultra-High-Reliability (UHR) devices) and/or different bandwidth capabilities, if at least one client supports wide bandwidth such as 160MHz or 320MHz, the AP may utilize multi-user (MU) orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA) to schedule resource units (RUs) to the wideband STA with an operating bandwidth of 160MHz in a secondary 80MHz subband of the 160MHz operating bandwidth or to the wideband STA with an operating bandwidth of 320MHz in a secondary 160MHz subband of the 320MHz operating bandwidth. However, if no such wideband client exists, large portions of the operating bandwidth would be underutilized due to the requirement that any transmissions must include the primary 20MHz channel, and this would lead to poor spectral efficiency.

The next generation of wireless technology is aiming to address this issue of underutilization of spectrum resources by allowing narrowband clients to use different portions of the operating bandwidth which may not include the primary 20MHz channel within a transmission opportunity (TXOP) , e.g., in an AP-obtained TXOP with a bandwidth of 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz. The non-AP STAs associated with the AP do not need to support wide bandwidth but may support dynamic subchannel/subband switching (DSS) indicated by the AP. As such, it would be beneficial to have a solution that supports DSS with non-AP STAs of different capabilities. Therefore, there is a need for dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications.

SUMMARY

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Select implementations are further described below in the detailed description. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide schemes, concepts, designs, techniques, methods, and apparatuses pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications. It is believed that implementation of one or more schemes proposed herein may address or otherwise alleviate the aforementioned issue (s) .

In one aspect, a method may involve a STA receiving an initial control frame (ICF) from an AP. The ICF may trigger dynamic subchannel/subband operation (DSO) STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands. In response to receiving the ICF, the method may involve the STA transmitting an initial control response (ICR) frame to the AP and switching to a DSO subband of the STA.

In another aspect, a method may involve an AP transmitting an ICF to trigger one or more DSO STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands. The method may also involve the AP receiving an ICR frame from a DSO STA of the one or more DSO STAs responsive to transmitting the ICF. The method may further involve the AP transmitting data to the DSO STA on a DSO subband of the DSO STA.

It is noteworthy that, although the description provided herein may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as Wi-Fi/WiFi, the proposed concepts, schemes and any variation (s) /derivative (s) thereof may be implemented in, for and by other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as, for example and without limitation, Bluetooth, ZigBee, 5th Generation (5G) /New Radio (NR) , Long-Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, Internet-of-Things (IoT) , Industrial IoT (IIoT) and narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) . Thus, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate implementations of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is appreciable that the drawings are not necessarily in scale as some components may be shown to be out of proportion than the size in actual implementation to clearly illustrate the concept of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example network environment in which various solutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example scenario under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example scenario under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example scenario under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example scenario under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example scenario under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example scenario under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example communication system under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example process under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a second example process under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed implementations and embodiments of the claimed subject matters are disclosed herein. However, it shall be understood that the disclosed implementations and embodiments are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matters which may be embodied in various forms. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary implementations and embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary implementations and embodiments are provided so that the description of the present disclosure is thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the description below, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented implementations and embodiments.
Overview

Implementations in accordance with the present disclosure relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications. According to the present disclosure, a number of possible solutions may be implemented separately or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions may be described below separately, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another. The various solutions and schemes implement the proposed schemes between APs and non-AP STAs. Accordingly, the various solutions and schemes proposed herein may address or otherwise alleviate the issues described above.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 in which various solutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may be implemented. FIG. 2 -FIG. 10 illustrate examples of implementation of various proposed schemes in network environment 100 in accordance with the present disclosure. The following description of various proposed schemes is provided with reference to FIG. 1 -FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 1, network environment 100 may involve at least a first STA (STA 110) communicating wirelessly with a second STA (STA 120) . Either of STA 110 and STA 120 may function as an AP STA or, alternatively, a non-AP STA. In some cases, STA 110 and STA 120 may be associated with a basic service set (BSS) in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11bn and future-developed standards) . Each of STA 110 and STA 120 may be configured to communicate with each other by utilizing the wide bandwidth transmission schemes with dynamic subchannel/subband operations in accordance with various proposed schemes described below. It is noteworthy that, while the various proposed schemes may be individually or separately described below, in actual implementations some or all of the proposed schemes may be utilized or otherwise implemented jointly. Of course, each of the proposed schemes may be utilized or otherwise implemented individually or separately. In the following context and the accompanying claims, unless otherwise specified, a STA refers to a non-AP STA, and an AP refers to an AP STA.

Under various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to delayed dynamic subchannel/subband operation (DSO) frame exchange, an AP (e.g., STA 110 functioning as an AP) may delay a DSO data frame exchange within a TXOP. This may be beneficial for DSO STAs that have a long DSO switching delay requirement as well as DSO STAs that are scheduled to switch to a DSO subband later within the TXOP.

Under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange, the AP may assign a DSO subband outside a DSO STA’s operating bandwidth and indicate the assigned DSO subband for the DSO STA in an initial control frame (ICF) . For example, the AP may assign an RU allocation for the DSO STA to respond with an initial control response (ICR) frame within the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth, and the AP may indicate the allocated RU in the ICF.

Under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange, the AP may designate an anchor channel for each 80MHz subband. When a DSO STA is assigned an 80MHz DSO subband, the corresponding anchor channel of that 80MHz DSO subband may not be punctured.

Under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange, the AP may trigger the DSO STA to send an acknowledgement (ACK) frame within the assigned DSO subband in a subsequent physical-layer protocol data unit (PPDU) after successfully receiving ICR frames. For instance, the AP may use a triggered response scheduling (TRS) control subfield in the A-Control field of a Quality of Service (QoS) null frame in the subsequent downlink (DL) PPDU for the DSO STA to send an ACK, where sufficient padding bits may be applied after the QoS null frame to meet a switching delay requirement. Some padding bits, fields and/or frames may be padded so as to provide sufficient switching delay.

Under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange, a DSO STA (e.g., STA 120 functioning as a non-AP STA) , after receiving DSO subband assignment information for itself in the ICF, may determine whether it needs to start DSO switching at a later starting point. For instance, in case that the RU allocation for ICR is within the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth and that the assigned DSO subband is outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth, then the DSO STA may start DSO switching at a later point. On the other hand, in case that the RU allocation for ICR is overlapped with the assigned DSO subband which is outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth, then the DSO STA may start DSO switching after/upon receiving the ICF. Under the proposed scheme, in case the AP indicates the DSO STA to start DSO switching at a later starting point, the DSO STA may respond with an ICR on the allocated RU within its operating bandwidth without checking the channel availability of the assigned DSO subband.

Under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange, in case the AP indicates the DSO STA to start DSO switching at a later starting point, then the DSO STA may start performing the DSO switching after responding to the AP with an ICR. Alternatively, the DSO STA may start performing the DSO switching: (a) if the DSO STA detected the start of the subsequent PPDU after responding to the AP with an ICR; or (b) if the DSO STA received a PHY-RXEARLYSIG. indication or PHYRXSTART. indication primitive from the physical layer (PHY) during a network allocation vector timeout (NAVTimeout) period starting when the medium access control layer (MAC) receives a PHY-RXEND. indication primitive corresponding to the detection of a request-to-send (RTS) frame or multi-user request-to-send (MU-RTS) trigger frame. In such a case, the NAVTimeout period may be equal to (2 x aSIFSTime) + (CTS_Time) + aRxPHYStartDelay + (2 x aSlotTime) .

Alternatively, the DSO STA may start performing the DSO switching after decoding the PHY header of the subsequent PPDU after responding to the AP with the ICR to check whether there is an RU allocation for it. In case there is RU allocation for it, the DSO STA may continue to decode the trigger response scheduling information and then switch to the assigned DSO subband. In case there is no RU allocation for it, the DSO STA may start switching to the assigned DSO subband after decoding the PHY header.

Under the proposed scheme, in case the DSO STA received the trigger response scheduling information in the subsequent PPDU, the DSO STA may respond to the AP with an ACK frame on the allocated RU indicated in the trigger response scheduling information after the DSO STA has switched to the assigned DSO subband. The DSO STA may also monitor the designated anchor channel specific to the assigned DSO subband to receive the subsequent PPDU.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example scenario 200 under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange in accordance with the present disclosure. In scenario 200, STA1 may be a DSO STA with a long switching delay requirement, while STA3 may be a DSO STA with a short switching delay requirement. Referring to FIG. 2, an AP may send an ICF to trigger its associated non-AP STAs that support DSO operation to switch to a specific DSO subband. The ICF (e.g., MU-RTS) may indicate different DSO subbands to STA1 and STA3, respectively. The ICF may also allocate an RU outside a primary 80MHz (P80) subband (e.g., the DSO subband of the STA3) for STA3 to send its ICR. Accordingly, STA3 may perform DSO subband switching and respond ICR on the DSO subband of the STA3. The ICF may also allocate an RU within a primary 80MHz (P80) subband for STA1 to send its ICR. Accordingly, STA1 may start switching to the DSO subband (e.g., the lower 80MHz of the second 160MHz, labeled as “S160_L80” in FIG. 2) after sending the ICR (e.g., a clear-to-send (CTS) frame) to the AP.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example scenario 300 under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange in accordance with the present disclosure. In scenario 300, STA1 may be a DSO STA with a long switching delay requirement, while STA3 may be a DSO STA with a short switching delay requirement. Referring to FIG. 3, an AP may send an ICF to trigger its associated non-AP STAs that support DSO operation to switch to a specific DSO subband. The ICF (e.g., MU-RTS) may indicate different DSO subbands to STA1 and STA3, respectively. The ICF may also allocate an RU outside a primary 80MHz (P80) subband (e.g., the DSO subband of the STA3) for STA3 to send its ICR. Accordingly, STA3 may perform DSO subband switching and respond ICR on the DSO subband of the STA3. The ICF may also allocate an RU within a primary 80MHz (P80) subband for STA1 to send its ICR. Accordingly, STA1 may start switching to the DSO subband (e.g., the lower 80MHz of the second 160MHz, labeled as “S160_L80” in FIG. 3) after decoding trigger response scheduling (TRS) in a subsequent PPDU, and STA1 may send an acknowledgement (ACK) to the AP within the assigned DSO subband. In some implementations, the TRS may be a control frame, and the acknowledgement may be a control response frame.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example scenario 400 under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange in accordance with the present disclosure. In scenario 400, STA1 and STA3 may be DSO STAs with a short switching delay requirement. Different than the above-described scenarios 200 and 300, in scenario 400, the AP may decide to transmit the first data to STA1 on the primary subband and then request STA1 to switch to its assigned DSO subband. The ICF (e.g., MU-RTS) may indicate different DSO subbands to STA1 and STA3, respectively. The ICF may also allocate an RU outside a primary 80MHz (P80) subband (e.g., the DSO subband of the STA3) for STA3 to send its ICR. Accordingly, STA3 may perform DSO subband switching and respond ICR on the DSO subband of the STA3. The ICF may also allocate an RU within a primary 80MHz (P80) subband for STA1 to send its ICR. Accordingly, STA1 may start switching to the DSO subband (e.g., the lower 80MHz of the second 160MHz, labeled as “S160_L80” in FIG. 4) after decoding TRS aggregated with data frame in the subsequent PPDU, and STA1 may send an ACK (which may be a multi-station block acknowledgement (M-BA) to include a block acknowledgement (BA) for data and control information TRS) to the AP within the assigned DSO subband. In some implementations, some padding may be necessary to provide sufficient switching time.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example scenario 500 under a proposed scheme with respect to delayed DSO frame exchange in accordance with the present disclosure. In scenario 500, STA3 may be a DSO STA with a short switching delay requirement. Different than the above-described scenarios 200, 300 and 400, in scenario 500, the AP may decide to transmit the first data to STA3 on its assigned DSO subband and then request STA3 to switch back to the primary subband. The ICF (e.g., MU-RTS) may indicate DSO subbands to STA3, and the ICF may allocate an RU within the DSO subband for STA3 to send its ICR to the AP. Accordingly, STA3 may perform DSO subband switching and response ICR to the AP on the DSO subband (e.g., the lower 80MHz of the second 160MHz, labeled as “S160_L80” in FIG. 5) . In this example, STA3 may receive the first data on its assigned DSO subband and decode the TRS which triggers STA3 to switch back to the primary subband where STA3 sends a BA to the AP.

It is noteworthy that, with respect to DSO efficiency, the overhead concerns of DSO operation need to be considered. In multi-user transmissions, the required padding may be the largest delay (e.g., up to 256μs) among all the DSO STAs served. With the maximum video access category (VI-AC) TXOP of duration of 4 milliseconds (ms) , the padding in two such control frames (e.g., ICF and ICR) may consume up 13%of transmit time. Since no subband switch is needed on the primary channel, using padding on the primary channel may be a waste of resources. Moreover, some devices may have even longer DSO switching delay (> 256μs) requirement. It is important to address the concerns above and provide efficient and flexible DSO scheduling and operation to achieve certain goals: (1) to meet long DSO switching delay requirements of some DSO STAs; and (2) to reduce padding overhead by flexibly schedule DSO STA’s switching point.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to DSO subband configuration, the minimum DSO subband bandwidth may be 80MHz.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to DSO subband configuration, DSO subband configurations may be defined as follows: (a) secondary/second 80MHz (S80) is the DSO subband for TXOP with 160MHz bandwidth; and (b) S80, the lower 80MHz of the second/secondary 160MHz (S160_L80) , the upper 80MHz of the second /secondary 160MHz (S160_H80) , and the second/secondary 160MHz (S160) are DSO subbands for TXOPs with a 320MHz bandwidth. Moreover, the default DSO subband for a DSO STA may be defined based on the operating bandwidth of the STA as follows: (a) S80 for an operating bandwidth of 80MHz; and (b) S160 for an operating bandwidth of 160MHz.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to DSO subband configuration, a DSO STAS with an 80MHz operating bandwidth may indicate its non-default candidate DSO subband (s) when associated with an AP in a 320MHz BSS operating bandwidth.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to DSO subband configuration, an AP may indicate preamble detection (PD) and/or anchor channel (s) for 80MHz/160MHz DSO subband (s) .

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to DSO initial control frames, a User Info field for a DSO STA in a DSO initial control frame may be a DSO variant User Info field. For instance, there may be two options (Option 1 and Option 2) for indication of a DSO operation for an intended DSO STA. In Option 1, all DSO STAs may start switching after ICF and respond with ICR on the DSO subband. The PS160 and RU Allocation (B0) subfields in the User Info field may indicate subblocks/subband (s) outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth. The DSO STAs may perform DSO subband switching after receiving the ICF and respond with ICR on the assigned DSO subband.

In Option 2, some but not all DSO STAs may be allowed to start switching after ICR with the ICR transmitted on the primary subband. For instance, a DSO bitmap or index in the User Info field may indicate to which DSO subband to switch. The PS160 and RU Allocation subfields in the User Info field may indicate subblocks/subband (s) within the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth. The DSO STAs may perform DSO subband switching after responding with ICR on the primary subband. The DSO STAs may monitor the PD/anchor channel after switching to the DSO subband.

Under the proposed scheme, a DSO initial control frame (which is the ICF in above described examples) may be a MU-RTS and/or a buffer status report poll (BSRP) trigger frame. For a MU-RTS/CTS initial frame exchange, RU allocation for CTS on DSO subband may be allowed to be non-overlapped among DSO STAs. For a BSRP/buffer status report (BSR) initial frame exchange, RU allocations for different DSO STAs’ responses may not be overlapped as a baseline.

Under the proposed scheme, as for ICR response rules, the basic network allocation vector (NAV) is zero and 20MHz channel (s) corresponding to RU allocation for ICRs is (are) detected idle during the SIFS interval.

Under the proposed scheme, regarding channel availability feedback, when using MU-RTS as ICF, channel availability may be based on ICR response. On the other hand, when using BSRP as ICF, a bandwidth query report (BQR) request may be allowed to be indicated in a DSO variant User Info field of BSRP so that overhead may be reduced. For instance, in case that BQR is requested, per-20 channel availability information within the DSO subband may be requested. The ICR response frame may carry a BSR in a QoS Control field and BQR in a BQR Control subfield in the A-Control field of MAC header in a QoS Null frame to indicate 20MHz channel availability.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example scenario 600 of a DSO operation under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure. In scenario 600, the ICF may indicate DSO subbands to DSO STA1, DSO STA3 and DSO STA4, respectively. The ICF may allocate RUs within the P80 subband for STA1 and non-DSO STA2 to send their ICRs. Additionally, the ICF may allocate RUs within DSO subbands for STA3 and STA4 to send their ICRs. Accordingly, each of DSO STA3 and STA4 may start switching to its DSO subband (e.g., S80 and S160, respectively) after receiving the ICF. Moreover, DSO STA1 may start switching to its DSO subband (e.g., S160_L80) after responding to the AP with its ICR (e.g., CTS) on the P80 subband and monitor the PD/anchor channel of the S160_L80 subband.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example scenario 700 under a proposed scheme with respect to deferred/delayed DSO switching in accordance with the present disclosure. Under the proposed scheme, with the aid of additional ICF/ICR frame exchange, devices with relatively large switching delay may participate in DSO transmission within a TXOP. Referring to FIG. 7, a DSO ICF1 (herein interchangeably referred to as “ICF1” ) at the beginning of the TXOP may indicate DSO switch to potential DSO STAs. This may be achieved, for example, by using an explicit switching indication in the User Info fields of the potential DSO STAs. Under the proposed scheme, the ICF1 may defer some potential DSO STAs to switch after the transmission of an ICR. For instance, RU allocation of the ICR for the deferred potential DSO STA (s) may be within the primary subband. On the other hand, RU allocation of the ICR for non-deferred DSO STA (s) may be within the DSO subband. Moreover, under the proposed scheme, an additional DSO ICF2 (herein interchangeably referred to as “ICF2” ) , may be transmitted to the deferred DSO STAs after the deferred DSO STA (s) switched to the DSO subband indicated in ICF1, meanwhile the DSO STA (s) may respond with an ICR in response to receiving the DSO ICF2. In the example shown in FIG. 7, STA1 is a non-DSO STA and may remain on the primary subband. STA2 is a DSO STA with a large switching delay requirement, and STA2 performs deferred (or delayed) DSO subband switching after responding to ICR on the primary subband. STA3 and STA4 are DSO STAs with a shorter switching delay requirement, and STA3/STA4 perform DSO subband switching after receiving ICF1 and respond to ICR on the DSO subband.

Under the proposed scheme, a deferred (or delayed) DSO switching procedure implemented in scenario 700 and shown in FIG. 7 may involve certain operations. Initially, a DSO ICF1 (or ICF1) may indicate the RU allocation for STA2 (e.g., with bandwidth 160MHz) located in the primary 80MHz subband to respond to the ICR. For instance, bit B0 (set to “1” ) in the RU Allocation subfield and PS160 (set to “0” ) may indicate the primary 80MHz. Moreover, bits B1 ～ B7 in the RU Allocation subfield may indicate specific RU (s) within the primary 80MHz. The DSO ICF1 may set a Subband Switch Indication to “1” (which is an example of the explicit switching indication mentioned above) to inform STA2 to switch to DSO 160 subband after sending an ICR. STA2 may respond to ICF1 with the ICR on the RU allocated within the primary 80MHz and then switch to the DSO 160 subband. The DSO ICF2/ICR may indicate the RU allocation for STA2 located in the lower 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz to respond with the ICR. For instance, bit B0 (set to “1” ) in the RU Allocation subfield and PS160 (set to “1” ) may indicate the lower 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz. Furthermore, bits B1 ～ B7 in the RU Allocation subfield may indicate specific RU (s) within the lower 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz. STA2 may respond to ICF2 with the ICR on the RU allocated within the DSO 160 subband.
Illustrative Implementations

FIG. 8 illustrates an example system 800 having at least an example apparatus 810 and an example apparatus 820 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may perform various functions to implement schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications, including the various schemes described above with respect to various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above as well as processes described below. For instance, apparatus 810 may be implemented in an AP (e.g., STA 110) and apparatus 820 may be implemented in an associated non-AP STA (e.g., STA 120 as STA1, STA2, STA3 or STA4 in any of the above examples) , or vice versa.

Each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may be a part of an electronic apparatus, such as a portable or mobile apparatus, a wearable apparatus, a wireless communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. When implemented in a STA, each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing equipment such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer or a notebook computer. Each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may also be a part of a machine type apparatus, which may be an IoT apparatus such as an immobile or a stationary apparatus, a home apparatus, a wire communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart fridge, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network apparatus, apparatus 810 and/or apparatus 820 may be implemented in a network node, such as an AP in a WLAN or a mesh device.

In some implementations, each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips such as, for example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors. In the various schemes described above, each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may be implemented in or as a STA or an AP. Each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may include at least some of those components shown in FIG. 8 such as a processor 812 and a processor 822, respectively, for example. Each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may further include one or more other components not pertinent to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device and/or user interface device) , and, thus, such component (s) of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 are neither shown in FIG. 8 nor described below in the interest of simplicity and brevity.

In one aspect, each of processor 812 and processor 822 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors or one or more CISC processors. That is, even though a singular term “aprocessor” is used herein to refer to processor 812 and processor 822, each of processor 812 and processor 822 may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in other implementations in accordance with the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of processor 812 and processor 822 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware) with electronic components including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors and/or one or more varactors that are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes in accordance with the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processor 812 and processor 822 is a special-purpose machine specifically designed, arranged and configured to perform specific tasks including those pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications in accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, apparatus 810 may also include a transceiver 816 coupled to processor 812. Transceiver 816 may include a transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting and a receiver capable of wirelessly receiving data. In some implementations, apparatus 820 may also include a transceiver 826 coupled to processor 822. Transceiver 826 may include a transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting and a receiver capable of wirelessly receiving data. It is noteworthy that, although transceiver 816 and transceiver 826 are illustrated as being external to and separate from processor 812 and processor 822, respectively, in some implementations, transceiver 816 may be an integral part of processor 812 as a system on chip (SoC) and/or transceiver 826 may be an integral part of processor 822 as a SoC.

In some implementations, apparatus 810 may further include a memory 814 coupled to processor 812 and capable of being accessed by processor 812 and storing data therein. In some implementations, apparatus 820 may further include a memory 824 coupled to processor 822 and capable of being accessed by processor 822 and storing data therein. Each of memory 814 and memory 824 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM) . Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 814 and memory 824 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM) such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM) , erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and/or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) . Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 814 and memory 824 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and/or phase-change memory.

Each of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, a description of the capabilities of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820, functioning as an AP and an associated non-AP STA, respectively, is provided below in the context of example processes 900 and 1000. It is noteworthy that, although a detailed description of capabilities, functionalities and/or technical features of either of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 is provided below, the same may be applied to the other of apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 although a detailed description thereof is not provided solely in the interest of brevity. It is also noteworthy that, although the example implementations described below are provided in the context of WLAN, the same may be implemented in other types of networks.
Illustrative Processes

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process 900 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 900 may represent an aspect of implementing various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More specifically, process 900 may represent an aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications. Process 900 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 910 and 920 as well as subblocks 922 and 924. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 900 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks/sub-blocks of process 900 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 9 or, alternatively, in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process 900 may be executed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 900 may be implemented by or in apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 as well as any variations thereof. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process 900 is described below in the context of apparatus 810 implemented in or as a non-AP STA and apparatus 820 implemented in or as an AP of a wireless network such as a WLAN in network environment 100 in accordance with one or more of IEEE . 802.11 standards. Besides, for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process 900 is described below as being executed by the processors and/or transceivers of the apparatuses 810 and 820, and the process 900 may be executed by other hardware or software module of the apparatuses 810 and 820. Process 900 may begin at block 910.

At 910, process 900 may involve processor 812 of apparatus 810, as a STA, receiving, via transceiver 816, an ICF from an AP (e.g., apparatus 820) . The ICF may trigger DSO STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands. Process 900 may proceed from 910 to 920.

At 920, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing certain operations in response to receiving the ICF which may be represented by 922 and 924.

At 922, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting, via transceiver 816, an ICR frame to the AP.

At 924, process 900 may involve processor 812 switching, via transceiver 816, to a DSO subband of the STA.

In some implementations, the DSO subband of the STA may be outside the STA’s operating bandwidth, and the ICF may indicate the DSO subband to the STA. The ICF may further indicate a RU allocation for the STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth. In some implementations, a User Info field in the ICF may contain a DSO subband bitmap or index that indicates the DSO subband to the STA.

In some implementations, in transmitting and switching, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting the ICR frame on the allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth and switching to the DSO subband of the STA after transmitting the ICR frame.

Alternatively, in transmitting and switching, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing other operations. For instance, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting the ICR frame on the allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth. Moreover, process 900 may involve processor 812 receiving data from the AP on the operating bandwidth after transmitting the ICR frame. Furthermore, process 900 may involve processor 812 switching to the DSO subband of the STA after receiving the data. In some implementations, after switching to the DSO subband of the STA, process 900 may further involve processor 812 transmitting, by the processor, an acknowledgement to the AP responsive to receiving the data. In such cases, the data may carry TRS information.

In some implementations, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing additional operations. For instance, process 900 may involve processor 812 receiving, via transceiver 816, data from the AP on the DSO subband of the STA. Moreover, process 900 may involve processor 812 switching, via transceiver 816, to a primary subband after receiving the data.

In some implementations, the DSO subband of the STA may be outside the STA’s operating bandwidth, and the ICF may carry a switching indication (e.g., the explicit switching indication mentioned above) to indicate the STA to switch to the DSO subband. In some implementations, in transmitting and switching, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing certain operations. For instance, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth. Additionally, process 900 may involve processor 812 switching to the DSO subband of the STA after transmitting the ICR frame when the switching indication indicates the STA to switch to the DSO subband (for example, when the Sub-band Switch Indication is set to “1” ) .

Alternatively, in transmitting and switching, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing other operations. For instance, process 900 may involve processor 812 switching to the DSO subband of the STA after receiving the ICF when the switching indication indicates the STA to switch to the DSO subband. Moreover, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting the ICR frame within the DSO subband of the STA after switching to the DSO subband.

In some implementations, the DSO subband of the STA may be outside the STA’s operating bandwidth, and the ICF may indicate the DSO subband of the STA and a RU allocation for the STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the DSO subband. In some implementations, in transmitting and switching, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing certain operations. For instance, process 900 may involve processor 812 switching to the DSO subband of the STA after receiving the ICF. Furthermore, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting the ICR frame to the AP on the allocated RU within the DSO subband of the STA. In some implementations, the ICF may use PS160 and RU allocation subfields in a User Info field corresponding to the STA to indicate the DSO subband of the STA and the RU allocation.

In some implementations, in transmitting, process 900 may involve processor 812 transmitting the ICR frame to the AP when a basic NAV value maintained by the STA is zero and the 20MHz channels that contains an allocated RU for the STA to transmit the ICR frame is detected idle during an SIFS interval.

In some implementations, in an event that the ICF is a first ICF and the ICR is a first ICR, process 900 may involve processor 812 performing additional operations. For instance, process 900 may involve processor 812 receiving, via transceiver 816, a second ICF from the AP after switching to the DSO subband of the STA. Moreover, process 900 may involve processor 812, transmitting, via transceiver 816, a second ICR frame to the AP responsive to receiving the second ICF.

In some implementations, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 160MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the STA comprise a secondary 80MHz in the 160MHz operating bandwidth, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 320MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the STA comprise a secondary 80MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, a lower 80MHz in a secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, an upper 80MHz in the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, or the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth.

In some implementations, the ICF may include a BSRP, and a BQR request may be indicated in a User Info field of the BSRP.

In some implementations, the ICR frame may include a QoS null frame, and the QoS null frame may carry a BQR in a BQR control subfield in an A-Control field of a MAC header to indicate channel availability information of the DSO subband.

In some implementations, process 900 may further involve processor 812 indicating, via transceiver 816, to the AP one or more candidate DSO subbands responsive to: (a) the STA having an 80MHz operating bandwidth; and (b) the AP having a 320MHz operating bandwidth.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example process 1000 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 1000 may represent an aspect of implementing various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More specifically, process 1000 may represent an aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes pertaining to dynamic subband configuration and operations in wireless communications. Process 1000 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 1010, 1020 and 1030. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 1000 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks/sub-blocks of process 1000 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 10 or, alternatively, in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process 1000 may be executed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 1000 may be implemented by or in apparatus 810 and apparatus 820 as well as any variations thereof. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process 1000 is described below in the context of apparatus 810 implemented in or as a non-AP STA and apparatus 820 implemented in or as an AP of a wireless network such as a WLAN in network environment 100 in accordance with one or more of IEEE 802.11 standards. Besides, for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process 1000 is described below as being executed by the processors and/or transceivers of the apparatuses 810 and 820, and the process 1000 may be executed by other hardware or software module of the apparatuses 810 and 820. Process 1000 may begin at block 1010.

At 1010, process 1000 may involve processor 822 of apparatus 820, as an AP, transmitting, via transceiver 826, an ICF to trigger one or more DSO STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands. Process 1000 may proceed from 1010 to 1020.

At 1020, process 1000 may involve processor 822 receiving, via transceiver 826, an ICR frame from a DSO STA (e.g., apparatus 810) of the one or more DSO STAs responsive to transmitting the ICF. Process 1000 may proceed from 1020 to 1030.

At 1030, process 1000 may involve processor 822 transmitting, via transceiver 826, data to the DSO STA on a DSO subband of the DSO STA.

In some implementations, the DSO subband of the DSO STA may be outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth, and the ICF may indicate the DSO subband to the DSO STA. Moreover, the ICF may indicate a RU allocation for the DSO STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth. In some implementations, a User Info field in the ICF may contain a DSO subband bitmap or index that indicates the DSO subband to the DSO STA.

In some implementations, in an event that the data is a first data, process 1000 may further involve processor 822 transmitting, via transceiver 826, a second data on the operating bandwidth after receiving the ICR frame. In such cases, the DSO STA may switch to the DSO subband of the DSO STA after receiving the second data.

In some implementations, process 1000 may further involve processor 822 receiving, via transceiver 826, an acknowledgement from the DSO STA responsive to transmitting the second data. In some implementations, the second data may carry TRS information.

In some implementations, in an evet that the data is a first data, process 1000 may further involve processor 822 transmitting, via transceiver 826, a second data to the DSO STA on the DSO subband of the DSO STA. In such cases, the DSO STA may switch to a primary subband after receiving the second data.

In some implementations, the DSO subband of the DSO STA may be outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth, and the ICF may carry a switching indication (e.g., the explicit switching indication mentioned above) to indicate the STA to switch to the DSO subband.

In some implementations, the DSO subband of the DSO STA may be outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth, and the ICF may indicate the DSO subband of the DSO STA and a RU allocation for the DSO STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the DSO subband. In some implementations, the ICF may use PS160 and RU allocation subfields in a User Info field corresponding to the DSO STA to indicate the DSO subband of the DSO STA and the RU allocation.

In some implementations, in an event that the ICF is a first ICF and the ICR is a first ICR, process 1000 may further involve processor 822 performing certain operations. For instance, process 1000 may involve processor 822 transmitting, via transceiver 826, a second ICF to the DSO STA after the DSO STA switching to the DSO subband of the DSO STA. Additionally, process 1000 may involve processor 822 receiving, via transceiver 826, a second ICR frame from the DSO STA.

In some implementations, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 160MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the DSO STA comprises a secondary 80MHz in the 160MHz operating bandwidth, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 320MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the DSO STA comprises a secondary 80MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, a lower 80MHz in a secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, an upper 80MHz in the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, or the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth.
Additional Notes

The herein-described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected" , or "operably coupled" , to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable" , to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

Further, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims, e.g., bodies of the appended claims, are generally intended as “open” terms, e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to, ” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least, ” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to, ” etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to implementations containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an, " e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more; ” the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number, e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations, " without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc. ” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc. In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc. ” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B. ”

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various implementations of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various implementations disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

A wireless communication method, comprising:

receiving, by a station (STA) , an initial control frame (ICF) from an access point (AP) , wherein the ICF is configured for triggering dynamic subchannel/subband operation (DSO) STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands; and

responsive to receiving the ICF, performing, by the STA, operations comprising:

transmitting an initial control response (ICR) frame to the AP; and

switching to a DSO subband of the STA.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the DSO subband of the STA is outside the STA’s operating bandwidth and the ICF indicates the DSO subband to the STA, the ICF further indicates a resource unit (RU) allocation for the STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth.
The method of Claim 2, wherein a User Info field in the ICF contains a DSO subband bitmap or index that indicates the DSO subband to the STA.
The method of Claim 2, wherein the performed operations responsive to receiving the ICF further comprises:

transmitting the ICR frame on the allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth, and

switching to the DSO subband of the STA after transmitting the ICR frame.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the DSO subband of the STA is outside the STA’s operating bandwidth and the ICF carries a switching indication to indicate the STA to switch to the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 5, wherein the performed operations responsive to receiving the ICF further comprises:

transmitting the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the STA’s operating bandwidth; and

switching to the DSO subband of the STA after transmitting the ICR frame when the switching indication indicates the STA to switch to the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 5, wherein the performed operations responsive to receiving the ICF further comprises:

switching to the DSO subband of the STA after receiving the ICF when the switching indication indicates the STA to switch to the DSO subband; and

transmitting the ICR frame within the DSO subband of the STA after switching to the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the DSO subband of the STA is outside the STA’s operating bandwidth and the ICF indicates the DSO subband of the STA and a resource unit (RU) allocation for the STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 8, wherein the performed operations responsive to receiving the ICF further comprises:

switching to the DSO subband of the STA after receiving the ICF; and

transmitting the ICR frame to the AP on the allocated RU within the DSO subband of the STA.
The method of Claim 8, wherein the ICF uses PS160 and RU allocation subfields in a User Info field corresponding to the STA to indicate the DSO subband of the STA and the RU allocation.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the transmitting step comprises:

transmitting the ICR frame to the AP when a basic network allocation vector (NAV) value maintained by the STA is zero and the 20MHz channels that contains an allocated resource unit (RU) for the STA to transmit the ICR frame is detected idle during short interframe spacing (SIFS) interval.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the ICF is a first ICF and the ICR is a first ICR, and the method further comprises:

receiving, by the STA, a second ICF from the AP after switching to the DSO subband of the STA; and

responsive to receiving the second ICF, transmitting, by the STA, a second ICR frame to the AP.
The method of Claim 1, wherein responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 160MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the STA comprise a secondary 80MHz in the 160MHz operating bandwidth, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 320MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the STA comprise a secondary 80MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, a lower 80MHz in a secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, an upper 80MHz in the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, or the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the ICF comprises a buffer status report poll (BSRP) , and wherein a bandwidth query report (BQR) request is indicated in a User Info field of the BSRP.
The method of Claim 14, wherein the ICR frame comprises a quality of service (QoS) null frame, and wherein the QoS null frame carries a BQR in a BQR control subfield in an A-Control field of a medium access control (MAC) header to indicate channel availability information of the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 1, further comprising:

indicating, by the STA, to the AP one or more candidate DSO subbands responsive to:

the STA having an 80MHz operating bandwidth; and

the AP having a 320MHz operating bandwidth.
A wireless communication method, comprising:

transmitting, by an access point (AP) , an initial control frame (ICF) to trigger one or more dynamic subchannel/subband operation (DSO) STAs to switch to specific DSO subbands;

receiving, by the AP, an initial control response (ICR) frame from a DSO STA of the one or more DSO STAs responsive to transmitting the ICF; and

transmitting, by the AP, data to the DSO STA on a DSO subband of the DSO STA.
The method of Claim 17, wherein the DSO subband of the DSO STA is outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth and the ICF indicates the DSO subband to the DSO STA, the ICF further indicates a resource unit (RU) allocation for the DSO STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth.
The method of Claim 18, wherein a User Info field in the ICF contains a DSO subband bitmap or index that indicates the DSO subband to the DSO STA.
The method of Claim 17, wherein the DSO subband of the DSO STA is outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth and the ICF carries a switching indication to indicate the DSO STA to switch to the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 17, wherein the DSO subband of the DSO STA is outside the DSO STA’s operating bandwidth and the ICF indicates the DSO subband of the DSO STA and a resource unit (RU) allocation for the DSO STA to transmit the ICR frame on an allocated RU within the DSO subband.
The method of Claim 21, wherein the ICF uses PS160 and RU allocation subfields in a User Info field corresponding to the DSO STA to indicate the DSO subband of the DSO STA and the RU allocation.
The method of Claim 17, wherein the ICF is a first ICF and the ICR is a first ICR, the method further comprising:

transmitting, by the AP, a second ICF to the DSO STA after the DSO STA switching to the DSO subband of the DSO STA; and

receiving, by the AP, a second ICR frame from the DSO STA.
The method of Claim 17, wherein, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 160MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the DSO STA comprise a secondary 80MHz in the 160MHz operating bandwidth, responsive to an operating bandwidth of the AP being a 320MHz operating bandwidth, the DSO subband of the DSO STA comprise a secondary 80MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, a lower 80MHz in a secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, an upper 80MHz in the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth, or the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz operating bandwidth.