Systems and methods for reuse of wireless communication resources in neighboring communication networks

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for managing reuse of a wireless medium are provided. One method of managing reuse of a wireless medium includes determining, at an access point, whether to allow reuse of the wireless medium by one or more stations in a basic service set (BSS). The method further includes transmitting, upon determining to allow reuse, an indication that reuse of the wireless medium can be permitted for stations meeting a criteria. The method further includes determining one or more reuse parameters. The method further includes transmitting the one or more reuse parameters.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of managing reuse of a wireless medium, comprising:
 determining, at an access point, whether to allow reuse of the wireless medium by one or more stations in a basic service set (BSS);   transmitting, upon determining to allow reuse, an indication that reuse of the wireless medium is permitted for stations meeting a criteria;   determining one or more reuse parameters; and   transmitting the one or more reuse parameters.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more reuse parameters comprise a plurality of reuse parameters that are different for different stations. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 selecting a reuse mode comprising one or more of the following conditions either alone or in combination:
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when detecting an overlapping BSS (OBSS) transmission from a transmitting device that has a received signal strength indication (RSSI) less than a first threshold; 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when a destination device of the OBSS transmission has an RSSI less than a second threshold; and 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when the transmitting device and/or intended receiving device has an RSSI less than a dynamic threshold that is a function of one or more preamble parameters; and 
   transmitting an indication of the selected reuse mode.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are the same. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the dynamic threshold is a function of a transmit power of the transmitting device and/or of an intended receiver. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more reuse parameters comprise one or more of: a transmit power, an energy detection (ED) level, a transmitter received signal strength indication (RSSI) threshold, an intended receiver RSSI threshold, an RSSI threshold function based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters including:
 transmit power or other parameters included in a preamble of received packets, and   an indication of an amount of interference tolerated at nodes as a function of one or more parameters.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether to allow reuse of the wireless medium is based on a BSS distance of an access point and/or a BSS distance of the one or more stations. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining to allow reuse of the wireless medium and using enhanced request-to-send and/or enhanced clear-to-send transmissions. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the criteria defines that
 all stations in the BSS are allowed to reuse the wireless medium, or   a subset of stations in the BSS are allowed to reuse the wireless medium, wherein the subset of stations are based on the BSS distance of each of the one or more stations.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the access point has multiple BSS identifiers, the method further comprising
 signaling one or more BSS identifiers to which the one or more stations should defer, or   choosing all the BSS identifiers to share the same color.   
     
     
         11 . An apparatus configured to manage reuse of a wireless medium, comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 determine whether to allow reuse of the wireless medium by one or more stations in a basic service set (BSS); 
 determine one or more reuse parameters; 
 transmit, via a transmitter and upon the determination to allow reuse, an indication that reuse of the wireless medium is permitted for stations meeting a criteria; and 
 transmit, via the transmitter, the one or more reuse parameters. 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the processor is further configured to
 select a reuse mode comprising one or more of the following conditions either alone or in combination:
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when detecting an overlapping BSS (OBSS) transmission from a transmitting device that has a received signal strength indication (RSSI) less than a first threshold; 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when a destination device of the OBSS transmission has an RSSI less than a second threshold; and 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when the transmitting device and/or intended receiving device has an RSSI less than a dynamic threshold that is a function of one or more preamble parameters; and 
 
 transmit, via the transmitter, an indication of the selected reuse mode. 
   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are the same, and wherein the dynamic threshold is a function of a transmit power of the transmitting device and/or of an intended receiver. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more reuse parameters comprise one or more of: a transmit power, an energy detection (ED) level, a transmitter received signal strength indication (RSSI) threshold, an intended receiver RSSI threshold, an RSSI threshold function based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters including:
 transmit power, or other parameters included in a preamble of received packets, and   an indication of an amount of interference tolerated at nodes as a function of one or more parameters.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether to allow reuse of the wireless medium based on a BSS distance of an access point and/or a BSS distance of the one or more stations. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine to allow reuse of the wireless medium and to use enhanced request-to-send and/or enhanced clear-to-send transmissions. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the criteria defines that
 all stations in the BSS are allowed to reuse the wireless medium, or   a subset of stations in the BSS are allowed to reuse the wireless medium, wherein the subset of stations are based on the BSS distance of each station of the one or more stations.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the apparatus comprises an access point having multiple BSS identifiers, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
 signal one or more BSS identifiers to which the one or more stations should defer, or   choose all the BSS identifiers to share the same color.   
     
     
         19 . A method of reusing a wireless medium, comprising:
 detecting, at a station, an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) transmission;   determining whether to reuse the wireless medium;   determining one or more reuse parameters; and   selectively transmitting a message based on said determining whether to reuse the wireless medium and the one or more reuse parameters.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 selecting a reuse mode comprising one or more of the following conditions either alone or in combination:
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when detecting the OBSS transmission from a transmitting device that has a received signal strength indication (RSSI) less than a first threshold; 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when a destination device of the OBSS transmission has an RSSI less than a second threshold; and 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when the transmitting device has an RSSI less than a dynamic threshold that is a function of one or more preamble parameters; and 
   applying the selected reuse mode.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more reuse parameters comprise one or more of: a transmit power, an energy detection (ED) level, a transmitter received signal strength indication (RSSI) threshold, a receiver RSSI threshold, a RSSI threshold function based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters including:
 transmit power, or other parameters included in a preamble of received packets, and   an indication of an amount of interference tolerated at nodes as a function of one or more parameters.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein determining whether to reuse the wireless medium is based on
 a BSS distance of an access point and/or a BSS distance of the station.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising determining to reuse the wireless medium and using enhanced request-to-send and/or enhanced clear-to-send transmissions. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising receiving an indication that reuse of the wireless medium is permitted for stations meeting a criteria, wherein:
 the criteria defines that all stations in a basic service set (BSS) are allowed to reuse the wireless medium,   a subset of stations are based on a BSS distance of an access point and/or a BSS distance of each station, and   the one or more parameters are defined in the OBSS transmission.   
     
     
         25 . An apparatus configured to reuse a wireless medium, comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 detect an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) transmission; 
 determine whether to reuse the wireless medium; 
 determine one or more reuse parameters; and 
 selectively transmit, via a transmitter, a message based on said determining whether to reuse the wireless medium and the one or more reuse parameters. 
   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 select a reuse mode comprising one or more of the following conditions either alone or in combination:
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when detecting the OBSS transmission from a transmitting device that has a received signal strength indication (RSSI) less than a first threshold; 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when a destination device of the OBSS transmission has an RSSI less than a second threshold; and 
 stations are permitted to reuse the wireless medium when the transmitting device has an RSSI less than a dynamic threshold that is a function of one or more preamble parameters; and 
   apply the selected reuse mode.   
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the one or more reuse parameters comprise one or more of: a transmit power, an energy detection (ED) level, a transmitter received signal strength indication (RSSI) threshold, a receiver RSSI threshold, a RSSI threshold function based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters including:
 transmit power or other parameters included in a preamble of received packets,   and an indication of an amount of interference tolerated at nodes as a function of one or more parameters.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether to reuse the wireless medium based on a BSS distance of an access point and/or a BSS distance of each station. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine to reuse the wireless medium and to use enhanced request-to-send and/or enhanced clear-to-send transmissions. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive, via a receiver, an indication that reuse of the wireless medium is permitted for stations meeting a criteria, wherein,
 the criteria defines that all stations in a basic service set (BSS) are allowed to reuse the wireless medium,   a subset of stations are based on a BSS distance of an access point and/or a BSS distance of each station, and   the one or more parameters are defined in the OBSS transmission.