# US 12,225,494 B2 · Systems, methods and apparatuses for multiple access point (multi-AP) coordination in wireless local area networks (WLANs)

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- Number: US 12,225,494 B2
- Document ID: US12225494B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/211,509
- Filed: 2023-06-19
- Published: 2024-02-01
- Granted: 2025-02-11
- Earliest claimed: 2018-11-08
- Assignees: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc.
- Applicants: Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc.
- Inventors: Oghenekome Oteri; Alphan Sahin; Xiaofei Wang; Hanqing Lou; Li-Hsiang Sun; Rui Yang; Frank La Sita
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12225494B2

## CPC

- H04W 60/04: using triggered events
- H04W 76/15: Setup of multiple wireless link connections
- H04B 7/024: Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
- H04W 8/005: {Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals}
- H04W 8/22: Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
- H04W 48/16: Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
- H04W 48/20: Selecting an access point
- H04W 84/12: WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
- H04W 92/20: between access points
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- H04B: TRANSMISSION

## Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are described herein for multiple AP coordination in wireless local area networks (WLANs). For example, a station (STA) may receive, from a first access points (APs), a probe response frame that includes one or more indicators indicating multiple AP operation capabilities of the first AP and a second AP. The STA may transmit, to at least one of the first AP or the second AP, a multiple AP association request frame that enables the first AP to be associated with the second AP for a multiple AP operation. The STA may receive, from the first AP, a first multiple AP association response frame indicating acceptance or rejection of the multiple AP operation with the first AP. The STA may receive, from the second AP, a second multiple AP association response frame indicating acceptance or rejection of the multiple AP operation with the second AP.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method, comprising:
establishing, by a station (STA), a multi-access point (AP) communication session with a first AP and a second AP;
measuring, by the STA, parameters of a first communication received from the first AP and a second communication received from the second AP;
identifying, by the STA, membership of the STA in a communication group of a plurality of communication groups based on the measured parameters; and
providing, by the STA, an identification of the membership of the STA in the communication group to each of the first AP and second AP.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication or the second communication comprises a null data packet (NDP) frame.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication and the second communication are received at the same time.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication and the second communication are received orthogonally or semi-orthogonally in time or frequency.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the parameters of the first communication and the second communication further comprises measuring a received signal strength of each of the first communication and the second communication.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, further comprising determining whether a ratio of or a difference between the received signal strength from the first AP and the received signal strength from the second AP exceeds a threshold.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein identifying membership of the STA in the communication group further comprises identifying that the STA is associated with a group allowed to use a plurality of resource units associated with the first AP, responsive to the determined ratio or difference exceeding the threshold.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein identifying membership of the STA in the communication group further comprises identifying that the STA is not associated with a group allowed to use a plurality of resource units associated with the second AP, responsive to the determined ratio or difference exceeding the threshold.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein identifying membership of the STA in the communication group further comprises identifying that the STA is a cell center STA for the first AP, responsive to the determined ratio or difference exceeding the threshold.

### Claim 10

A station (STA) comprising:
one or more transceivers configured to establish a multi-access point (AP) communication session with a first AP and a second AP; and
one or more processors configured to:
measure parameters of a first communication received from the first AP and a second communication received from the second AP, and
identify membership of the STA in a communication group of a plurality of communication groups based on the measured parameters; and
wherein the one or more transceivers are further configured to provide an identification of the membership of the STA in the communication group to each of the first AP and second AP.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The STA of claim 10, wherein the first communication or the second communication comprises a null data packet (NDP) frame.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The STA of claim 10, wherein the first communication and the second communication are received at the same time.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The STA of claim 10, wherein the first communication and the second communication are received orthogonally or semi-orthogonally in time or frequency.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The STA of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to measure a received signal strength of each of the first communication and the second communication.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The STA of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine whether a ratio of or a difference between the received signal strength from the first AP and the received signal strength from the second AP exceeds a threshold.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The STA of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify that the STA is associated with a group allowed to use a plurality of resource units associated with the first AP, responsive to the determined ratio or difference exceeding the threshold.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The STA of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify that the STA is not associated with a group allowed to use a plurality of resource units associated with the second AP, responsive to the determined ratio or difference exceeding the threshold.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The STA of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify that the STA is a cell center station for the first AP, responsive to the determined ratio or difference exceeding the threshold.

### Claim 19

A method for coordinated orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission, the method comprising:
transmitting, by a first access point (AP) to a plurality of stations (STAs) engaged in a multi-AP communication session with the first AP and a second AP, a cell center/cell edge discovery communication;
receiving, by the first AP from each of the plurality of STAs, an identification of the respective STA as associated with a cell center or cell edge for the first AP; and
responsive to receipt of the identifications:
communicating, by the first AP, with one or more STAs associated with the cell center using a first group of resource units, and
communicating, by the first AP, with one or more STAs associated with the cell edge using a second group of resource units;
wherein a number of resource units of the first group exceeds a number of resource units of the second group.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein transmitting the cell center/cell edge discovery communication further comprises transmitting, by the first AP, the cell center/cell edge discovery communication orthogonally or semi-orthogonally in time or frequency with a cell center/cell edge discovery communication transmitted by the second AP.