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Title:
SPATIAL REUSE USING DIRECTIONAL CCA IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2018/044353
Kind Code:
A2
Abstract:
This disclosure describes spatial reuse using directional clear channel assessment (CCA). A first device may establish a directional wireless communications link with a second device, and determine a potentially interfering signal from a third device. The first device may then determine whether the potentially interfering signal is strong enough to actually interfere with signals received over the directional wireless communication link. The first device may also determine whether its own transmissions over the directional wireless communications link will be strong enough to interfere with other communications by the third device.

Inventors:
YANG OU (US)
AMADJIKPE ARNAUD (US)
CORDEIRO CARLOS (US)
Application Number:
PCT/US2017/023944
Publication Date:
March 08, 2018
Filing Date:
March 24, 2017
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
INTEL IP CORP (US)
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
TRAVIS, John (US)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

. A first device comprising:

at least one memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and

at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:

establish a communication link with a second device over a first directional

path;

communicate a first signal with the second device over the first directional path;

identify a second signal received from a third device over a second directional path;

determine one or more communication characteristics of the first device;

determine interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicate with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival.

3. The first device of claim 2, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path.

4. The first device of claim 3, wherein said determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold is to be determined by:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min where

Pt2 ::= transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) = receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gtl(a) - Grl (a)]min = a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device.

5. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first, second and third devices are enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) devices.

6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device further comprises at least one antenna.

7. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device further comprises a display.

8. A method of wireiessly communicating by a first device, the method comprising:

establishing a communication link with a second device over a first directional path;

communicating a first signal with the second device over the first directional path;

identifying a second signal received from a third device over a second directional path;

determining one or more communication characteristics of the first device; determining interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicating with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path,

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold is determined by:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 = transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt:2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) = receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 ::= received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min ::= a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device,

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising:

establishing a communication link with a second device over a first directional path;

communicating a first signal with the second device over the first directional path;

identifying a second signal received from a third device over a second

directional path;

determining one or more communication characteristics of the first device;

determining interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and communicating with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold.

13. The medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival.

14. The medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of; a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path .

15. The medium of claim 14, wherein said determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold is determined by:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 =:: transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) = receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min := a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device.

16. A first device comprising means to:

establish a communication link with a second device over a first directional path; communicate a first signal with the second device over the first directional path; identify a second signal received from a third device over a second directional path;

determine one or more communication characteristics of the first device; determine interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicate with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold,

5

17. The first device of claim 16, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of i0 arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival.

18, The first device of claim 17, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the

15 second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path.

20 19. The first device of claim 18, wherein the first device includes means to determine that the interference is below a predetermined threshold by determining:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(h) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 = transmit signal power at the first device,

25 Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) =;: receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min := a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min = a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain 30 at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device.

20. The first device of claim 16, wherein the first, second and third devices are to be enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) devices.

1. The first device of claim 16, wherein the first device is to comprise means for displaying.

The first device of claim 16, wherein the first device is to comprise an antenna means.

Description:
[0000] This application is derived from, and incorporates by reference, U.S.

provisional application serial no. 62/380,673, filed August 29, 2016, and claims priority to that date for all applicable subject matter.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, to avoiding interference in networks that employ spatial reuse.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless devices are becoming widely prevalent and are increasingly requesting access to wireless channels. The growing density of wireless deployments require increased network and spectrum availability. Wireless devices may communicate with each other using directional transmission techniques, including but not limited to beamforming techniques. Directional antenna arrays allow radiation patterns of wireless transmitters to be shaped to form directed beams. Beamforming represents techniques that can be used for enhancing throughput and range in wireless networks by enabling directional links, which can avoid interference between different communication links that are transmitting at the same time on the same frequency. However, even directional links can interfere with each other under certain circumstances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Some embodiments of the invention may be better understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings that are used to illustrate embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts a network diagram illustrating an example network environment, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram of channel access mechanism for spatial reuse, in accordance with one or more example embodiments. FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative process for spatial reuse, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a functional diagram of an example communication station that may be suitable for use as a user device, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example machine upon which any of one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed, in accordance with one or more example embodiments,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0004] As used in the claims, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common element, merely indicate that different instances of like elements are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the elements so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0005] The term "wireless" may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that communicate data by using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. A wireless device may comprise at least one antenna, at least one radio, at least one memory, and at least one processor, where the radio(s) transmits signals that represent data through the antenna and receives signals that represent data through the antenna, while the processors) may process the data to be transmitted and the data that has been received. The processor(s) may also process other data which is neither transmitted nor received.

[0006] As used within this document, the term "Access Point" (AP) is intended to cover devices that schedule and control, at least partially, wireless communications by other devices in a network. An AP may also be known as a base station (BS), network controller (NC), central point (CP), PBSS Control Point (PCP) or any other term that may arise to describe the functionality of an AP,

[0007] As used within this document, the term STA is intended to cover those devices whose wireless communications are at least partially scheduled and controlled by the AP. A STA may also be known as a mobile station (MS), mobile device (MD), subscriber station (SS), user equipment (UE), or any other term that may arise to describe the functionality of a STA. Some STAs may move during such communications, but movement is not required.

[0008] As used within this document, the term "communicate", and its derivatives, is intended to include transmitting and/or receiving. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data that is being transmitted by one device and received by another, but only the functionality of either one of those devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive during the exchange) may be described as 'communicating', even if only the functionality of one of those devices is being claimed.

[0009] As used within this document, the term "directional path" may be used to describe a communications path for directional communications that was derived using antenna training. It may also be used to describe an interference path containing signals received from, or transmitted to, another device when those signals were transmitted or received by the side lobes produced by directional antenna training.

[0010] Example embodiments described herein may provide for spatial reuse using directional CCA. The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate staictural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims, [0011] Spatial reuse for 60GHz wireless communication may be important, and there may be various ways to improve spatial reuse. One of the reasons spatial reuse may be important for 60GHz wireless communication is that it can increase capacity. For example, the IEEE 802. 1 l ad standard allows overlapping service periods when transmissions in those sendee periods do not cause interference with each other. Networks to be deployed under the IEEE 802. Hay standard may have an even greater potential to enable more simultaneous links due to the directivity of the millimeter wave communication. The millimeter-wave region of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponds to radio band frequencies of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and is sometimes called the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) range.

[0012] Devices may communicate over a next generation 60 GHz (NG60) network, an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) network, and/or any other network. Devices operating in EDMG may be referred to herein as EDMG devices. This may include user devices, and/or APs or other devices capable of communicating in accordance to a communication standard.

[0013] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to systems, methods, and devices for directional spatial reuse using directional CCA to enable simultaneous transmissions by avoiding interference between devices. [0014] In some demonstrative embodiments, one or more devices may be configured to communicate a multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) frame, for example, over a 60 GHz frequency band. The one or more devices may be configured to communicate in a mixed environment such that one or more legacy devices are able to communicate with one or more non-legacy devices. That is, devices following different IEEE 802.1 1 specifications may communicate with each other.

[0015] A directional multi-gigabyte (DMG) communication may involve one or more directional links to communicate at a rate of multiple gigabits per second, for example, at least 1 gigabit per second, 7 gigabits per second, or any other rate. An amendment to a DMG operation in a 60 GHz band, e.g., according to an IEEE 802.1 lad standard (such as but not limited to IEEE 802.1 lad-2012 published 28 December 2012), may be defined, for example, by an IEEE 802.1 lay project (such as but not limited to IEEE 802.1 lay framework published 8 November 2016),

[0016] In some demonstrative embodiments, one or more devices may be configured to communicate over a next generation 60 GHz (NG60) network and/or an extended DMG (EDMG) network, among others.

[0017] In one embodiment, a spatial reuse using directional CCA system may facilitate a mechanism to check if a given receive (RX) antenna weight vector (AWV) is interfered with by a first device or it is causing interference to that first device.

[0018] In one embodiment, the spatial reuse using directional CCA system may analyze the received signal power at both the first device and a second device by decoupling the received signal power into transmit (TX) power at the transmitting device, TX antenna gain at the transmitting device, path loss, and RX antenna gain at the receiving device.

[0019] In one embodiment, the spatial reuse using directional CCA system may compare the received signal power to a predetermined threshold in order to determine if a device is interfered with. The analysis may show that devices may need to exchange information regarding their TX power and antenna gain statistics in order to determine if a device is potentially interfered with or is interfering.

[0020] In one embodiment, the spatial reuse using directional CCA system may estimate the angle of arrival for interfering signals at each device receiving such signals, where the angle is the angle between the incoming interference and the desired direction of communication over a directional channel. Various techniques may be used for this estimation, which are not described here, as the particular method of estimation may not be relevant to the various embodiments of the invention. [0021] A benefit of analyzing the received signal at both the transmitting device and the receiving device may minimize interferences by taking into consideration, at least in part, the TX power at the transmitting device, and the RX power at the receiving device. The spatial reuse using directional CCA system may consider both transmitting device and receiving device in order to make sure they are not interfering with each other. A single device may make the relevant determinations by considering information it has about itself and information it obtains about the potentially interfering device.

[0022] The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment for spatial reuse using directional CCA, according to some example embodiments of the disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user device(s) 120 and one or more access point(s) (AP) 102, which may communicate in accordance with IEEE 802.11 communication standards, such as the IEEE 802. Had and/or IEEE 802.1 lay specifications. The one or more user device(s) 120 and the AP(s) 102 may be DMG or EDMG devices. The user device(s) 120 may be referred to as stations (STAs). The user device(s) 120 may or may not be mobile devices. Any of the devices shown in Fig. 1 may have multiple antennas, and in fact these multiple antennas may facilitate directional transmission and/or reception.

[0024] In some embodiments, the user device(s) 120 and the AP 102 may include one or more computer systems similar to that of the functional diagram of FIG. 5. One or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may be operable by one or more user(s) 1 10. In some embodiments, one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may operate as a personal basic service set (PBSS) control point/access point (PCP/AP). The user device(s) 120 (e.g., 122, 124, 226, or 228) and/or AP 102 may include any suitable processor-driven device including, but not limited to, a mobile device or a non-mobile, e.g., a static, device.

[0025] Communication devices 120 and/or 102 may be incorporated into various devices, such as but not limited to: a personal computer (PC), a wearable wireless device (e.g., bracelet, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, an internet of things (loT) device, a sensor device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phone functionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a "cany small live large" (CSLL) device, an ultra mobile device (UMD), an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an "origami" device or computing device, a device that supports dynamically composable computing (DCC), a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, an A/V device, a set-top-box (STB), a blu-ray disc (BD) player, a BD recorder, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a high definition ( 1 ID) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder, a personal video recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a flat panel display, a personal media player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio amplifier, a gaming device, a data source, a data sink, a digital still camera (DSC), a media player, a smartphone, a television, a music player, or other devices not included in this list.

[0026] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, 228), and AP

102 may be configured to communicate with each other via one or more wireless communications networks 130 and/or 135. Any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include, but are not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, broadcasting networks, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, any of the communications networks 130 and/ or 135 may have any suitable wireless communication range associated.

[0027] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, 228), and AP

102 may include one or more communications antennas. The one or more communications antennas may be any suitable type of antennas corresponding to the communications protocols used by the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226 and 228), and AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communications antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 1 family of standards compatible antennas, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (ΜΓΜΟ) antennas, or the like. The one or more communications antennas may be communicatively coupled to a radio component to transmit and/or receive signals, such as communications signals to and/or from the user devices 120 and/or AP 102.

[0028] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, 228) and AP

102 may include an array of multiple antennas that collectively form a directional antenna. Any reference to "an" antenna in this disclosure may include an antenna array that may be used for directional communications. The directional antenna array may be steered to a plurality of beam directions. For example, a user device 120 (or an AP 102) may transmit a directional transmission to another user device 120 (or another AP 102), and may also receive signals directionally.

[0029] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, 228), and AP

102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and/or directional reception in conjunction with wirelessly communicating in a wireless network. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, 228), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional transmission towards one or more defined transmit sectors. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, 228), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0030] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network may be accomplished using RF beamforming and/or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, in performing a given MEMO transmission, user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to use all or a subset of its one or more communications antennas to perform MIMO beamforming. Various methods of beamforming are available, but take place before the described embodiments of the invention and those methods are therefore not described herein.

[0031] Some demonstrative embodiments may be used in conjunction with a wireless communication network communicating over a frequency band of 60 GHz. However, other embodiments may be implemented utilizing any other suitable wireless communication frequency bands, for example, an extremely high frequency (EHF) band (the millimeter wave (mm Wave) frequency band), a frequency band within the frequency band of between 20 GHz and 300 GHz, a WLAN frequency band, a WPAN frequency band, a frequency band according to the WGA specification, and the like.

[0032] The phrases "directional multi-gigabit (DMG)" and "directional band

(DBand)", as used herein, may relate to a frequency band wherein the channel starting frequency is above 45 GHz. In one example, DMG communications may involve one or more directional links to communicate at a rate of multiple gigabits per second, for example, at least 1 gigabit per second, 7 gigabits per second, or any other rate. [0033] In some demonstrative embodiments, the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more specifications, including one or more IEEE 802.11 specifications, (e.g., an IEEE 802.1 1 ad specification, an IEEE 802.1 lay specification, and/or any other specification and/or protocol). For example, an amendment to a DMG operation in the 60 GHz band, according to an IEEE 802, 1 l ad standard, may be defined, for example, by an IEEE 802.1 lay project.

[0034] Some communications over a wireless communication band (e.g., a DMG band) may be performed over a single channel bandwidth (BW).

[0035] In some demonstrative embodiments, devices 102 and/or 120 may be configured to implement one or more mechanisms to extend a single-channel BW to create channels with a greater bandwidth, for higher data rates and/or increased capabilities,

[0036] Some specifications may be configured to support a single user (SU) system, in which a station (STA) cannot transmit frames to more than a single STA at a time. Such specifications may not be able to support a STA transmitting to multiple ST As simultaneously, using a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) scheme (e.g., a downlink (DL) MU- MIMO), or any other MU scheme.

[0037] In some demonstrative embodiments, the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 may be configured to implement one or more multi-user (MU) mechanisms. For example, the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 may be configured to implement one or more MU mechanisms, which may be configured to enable MU communication of downlink (DL) frames using a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) scheme between a device (e.g., AP 102) and a plurality of user devices, including user device(s) 120 and/or one or more other devices.

[0038] In some demonstrative embodiments, the user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to communicate over a next generation 60 GHz (NG60) network, an extended DMG (EDMG) network, and/or any other network. For example, the user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to communicate MIMO transmissions (e.g., DL MU-MIMO) and/or use channel bonding for communicating over the NG60 and/or EDMG networks.

[0039] In some demonstrative embodiments, the user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to support one or more mechanisms and/or features (e.g., channel bonding, single user (SU) MIMO, and/or multi user (MU) MEMO) in accordance with an EDMG standard, an IEEE 802.1 lay standard and/or any other standard and/or protocol.

[0040] When an AP (e.g., AP 102) establishes communication with one or more user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 122, 124, 226, and/or 228), the AP 102 may communicate in a downlink direction, and the user device(s) 120 may communicate with the AP 102 in an uplink direction. The frames may include one or more headers. These headers may be used to allow a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102) to detect the incoming frame and determine how to decode it.

[0041] In one embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 1 , a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102) may be configured to communicate in accordance with MU-MIMO with one or more other users (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102), for example, over a 60 GHz frequency band.

[0042] FIG. 2 is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment for spatial reuse using directional CCA, according to some example embodiments of the disclosure. Fig. 2 is a simplified version of Fig.1 , with some items removed, but with relevant items retained or added.

[0043] In this example, while SI and Dl are communicating with each other, S2 can receive signals from SI (due to interference) and hence S2 should not communicate with D2 during that time. Similarly, S2 may transmit signals that could be received by SI as interference. Using antenna training, the likelihood of such interference may be reduced, but conventional methods of dealing with this problem have disadvantages.

[0044] In the following examples, the first device S2 may wish to communicate with second device D2, using a first signal over a directional link that was established using antenna training. Similarly, third device SI may wish to communicate with fourth device Dl using a third signal over a directional link that was also established using antenna training. In ideal circumstances, these two directional links would not interfere with each other. However, even directional antenna training creates side lobes that can transmit and receive in directions other than the intended direction. The strongest transmission, and most sensitive reception, should be in the intended direction, but weaker transmissions and weaker receptions may occur in directions on either side of the main lobe, which are indicated in Fig. ,

[0045] In the indicated situation, first device S2 wishes to communicate with second device D2 using the first signal. However, because of the side lobes, first device S2 may transmit an unintended second signal to third device SI, which SI receives as interference in its communication with Dl . Similarly, third device S i 's transmission to Dl may transmit an unintended second signal to S2, which S2 receives as interference in its communication with D2. One purpose in the following descriptions is to determine whether the interference is strong enough to prevent the intended communication from occurring reliably. For this example, it is assumed that fourth device Dl does not contribute to, and is not affected by, interference with S2 and may be ignored,

[0046] In one embodiment, a spatial reuse using directional CCA system may analyze the receive (RX) power at both SI and S2 by decoupling the received signal power into transmit (TX) power at the transmitter, TX antenna gain at the transmitter, path loss, and RX antenna gain at the receiver. Directional CCA may be used to determine received power in the intended direction and received power in the interfering direction. The spatial reuse using directional CCA system may compare the received signal power with a predetermined threshold in order to determine if a device is interfered with. The analysis may show that devices need to exchange information regarding their TX power, and antenna gain statistics, in order to determine if a signal is interfered with, is interfering, or neither. Devices may also need to estimate the angle of arrival for the potentially interfering signals.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 2, one or more assumptions may be used. One assumption may be that antenna reciprocity may be imperfect. Ideally, the TX antenna pattern may be identical with the RX antenna pattern. In reality, however, it may be difficult to achieve identical TX and RX antenna patterns even though they are using the same AWV since TX and RX do not share the same circuit. In fact, in some directions the difference of the TX antenna gain and the RX antenna gain using the same AWV can be 20dB or more. Therefore, it is helpful to consider imperfect antenna reciprocity in spatial reuse, and the techniques described herein consider that. Another assumption may be that the respective devices may estimate the angle of arrival for interfering signals using any of various methods for such estimations. The method of estimation is not described herein,

[0048] The following are the notations used in FIG. 2.

Prl and Pr2 are the received signal power at S 1 and S2, respectively.

Ptl and Pt2 are the transmit signal power at SI and S2, respectively,

a is the angle of arrival of the interference from S2 at S 1.

b is the angle of arrival of the interference from SI at S2.

Gtl(a) and Gt2(b) are the TX antenna gain at S I and S2, respectively, as measured at the angle of arrival.

Grl(a) and Gr2(b) are the RX antenna gain at SI and S2, respectively, as measured at the angle of arri val ,

PL is path loss. The path loss from SI to S2 and the path loss from S2 to SI are assumed to be the same. [0049] In one embodiment, Pr2 is the sum of Ptl, Gtl(a), PL, and Gr2(b), while Prl is the sum of Pt2, Gt2(b), PL, and Grl(a). This may be shown in the following formulas:

Pr2 = Ptl + Gtl (a) + PL + Gr2(b) (1)

Prl = Pi 2 + G†2(b) + PL + Grl (a) (2)

[0050J In one embodiment, a threshold for directional CCA energy detection may be introduced. If the received signal power (e.g., as determined by CCA) is below the threshold, the channel may be considered clear. If the received signal power is above the threshold, the channel may be considered busy. Therefore, SI and S2 may be considered not interfering with each other if the received signal power for both is below the threshold. In other words, the following two equations need to be met:

Pr2 < threshold (3)

Prl < threshold (4)

[0051] Whether Pr2 < threshold, may be directly determined by S2 using directional

CCA with energy detection. Whether Prl < threshold, may be determined by S2 using the following. Step by step operations for deriving each inequality from the one above it are shown in italicized parentheses:

Prl < threshold = Pr2 + delta, (where delta = threshold - Prl > 0)

Pt2 + Gt2(b) + PL + Grl (a) < Ptl + Gtl (a) + PL + Gr2(b) + delta (substitute values from equations (1) and (2) for Prl and Prl)

Pi 2 + Gt2(b) + Grl (a) < Ptl + Gtl (a) + Gr2(b) + delta (subtract PL from both sides)

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) - delta < Ptl + Gil (a) - Grl (a) (subtract Grl(b), Grl (a), and delta from both sides to isolate SI parameters and SI parameters on each side of i nequali ty) (5)

[0052] In one embodiment, Pt2, b, Gt2(b), Gr2(b), and delta are known to S2.

Specifically, Pt2 may usually be obtained by S2 using internal testing circuits. In addition, b may be obtained by receiving request-to-send (RTS) from SI and estimating the angle of arrival for the RTS. The information of TX and RX antenna gain at different angles may be obtained by design or by measurements, and may be preloaded to S2, and hence S2 may determine Gt2(b) and Gr2(b). Delta may also be known to S2 by comparing Pr2 with the threshold. Ptl, a, Gtl (a), and Grl (a), may be known to S I but be initially unknown to S2. Therefore, if SI can provide the information to S2, S2 can determine if Prl < threshold. To avoid overly large information exchanges, each device may announce the relevant information in its EDMG capabilities, and hence all the devices in the network may obtain

I I information about other devices, for example, through information response messages from an AP. For example, a device may determine its minimum TX power (which may be determined by the design of the hardware), and/or the minimum value of (TX antenna gain minus RX antenna gain) over the entire steering range. It may then provide that information to the AP, where the information can be provided upon request to other devices.

[0053] Therefore, the following may be used:

Pt.2 + Gt.2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Pi S im in + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min (6)

[0054] Therefore, with the knowledge of (Ptl)min and [Gtl(a)-Grl(a)]min, S2 may check if equation (6) holds. If equation (6) holds, then current RX AWV may be used to transmit data without causing interference to SI .

[0055] For a given RX AWV, S2 may follow two steps to determine if the RX AWV can be used for spatial reuse.

[0056] In one embodiment, S2 may check Pr2 by performing directional CCA using energy detection. If Pr2 is lower than the threshold, S2 may sense channel clear, indicating S2 is not interfered by SI . In another embodiment, S2 may check if Prl is lower than the threshold as follows:

1) If S2 has a fixed TX power, check if equation (6) holds. If equation (6) holds, then current RX AWV can be used to transmit and receive data simultaneously with SI .

2) If S2 has adjustable TX power, check if it can adjust Pt2 in order to meet equation (6). If equation (6) holds after this adjustment, then the adjusted RX AWV can be used to transmit and receive data simultaneously with SI .

3) If equation (6) cannot be met, then current RX AWV cannot be used for spatial reuse along with SI and Dl .

[0057] In one embodiment, when a device is trying to perform spatial reuse along with multiple on-going transmissions, the device may need to check equation (6) for each interfering device. If current RX AWV meets equation (3) and equation (6) for ail the interfering devices, then current RX AWV may be used for spatial reuse.

[0058] In one embodiment, when a device wants to perform spatial reuse, the device may perform the following:

1) Perform quasi -omni CCA every time slot when the device is idle. Decrease or suspend backoff timer according to quasi-omni CCA result and NAV condition. Access channel when backoff timer reaches 0.

2) If RTS or DMG clear~to-send (CTS) with receive training (TRN-R) sequences is received, perform directional CCA using various RX AWVs during TRN-R. If an RX AWV can be used for spatial reuse along with the on-going transmission, decrease backoff timer if network allocation vector (NAV) is clear, and keep using the RX AWV to perform CCA in the following time slots until the end of the transmit opportunity (TXOP) indicated in the RTS or DMG CTS, Otherwise, suspend the backoff timer.

Access channel when backoff timer reaches 0. Maximum duration of the spatial reuse TXOP may not exceed the TXOP indicated in the RTS or DMG CTS. After spatial reuse TXOP, switch back to quasi-omni CCA. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0059J FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for spatial reuse in wireless communications using a directional CCA system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. In flow diagram 300:

[0060] At block 302, a first device (e.g., S2 of Fig. 2) may establish a communication channel with a second device (e.g., D2 of Fig. 2).

[0061] At block 304, the first device may send or receive a first signal to/from the second device to initiate a communications exchange).

[0062] At block 306, the first device may identify a second signal received from a third device (e.g., S2 may receive a side lobe of the transmission of a third signal from third device S to fourth device Dl in Fig. 2), If sufficiently strong, this second signal may interfere with communications between the first and second devices.

[0063] At block 308, the first device may determine one or more characteristics of the second signal (e.g., first device S2 may determine some characteristics itself based on the received second signal, and may have previously received other characteristics about the side lobe of the transmitted third signal, either directly from the third device or indirectly through the shared AP).

[0064] At block 310, the first device may determine interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0065] FIG. 4 shows a functional diagram of a communication station 400 in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, FIG. 4 illustrates a functional block diagram of a communication station that may be suitable for use as an AP 102 (FIG. 1 ) or user device 120 (FIG. 1) in accordance with some embodiments. The communication station 400 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, a mobile device, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a wearable computer device, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[0066] The communication station 400 may include communications circuitry 402 and a transceiver 410 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 401. The communications circuitry 402 may include circuitry that can operate the physical layer (PHY) communications and/or media access control (MAC) communications for controlling access to the wireless medium, and/or any other communications layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication station 400 may also include processing circuitry 406 and memory 408 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communications circuitry 402 and the processing circuitry 406 may be configured to perform operations describe herein.

[0067] In accordance with some embodiments, the communications circuitry 402 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wireless medium. The communications circuitry 402 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. The communications circuitry 402 may also include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, fi ltering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 406 of the communication station 400 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 401 may be coupled to the communications circuitry 402 arranged for sending and receiving signals. The memory 408 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 406 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 408 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 408 may include a computer-readable storage device, read-only memory (ROM), random- access memor (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media,

[0068] In some embodiments, the communication station 400 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. [0069] In some embodiments, the communication station 400 may include one or more antennas 401. The antennas 401 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipoie antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of the antennas and the antennas of a transmitting station.

[0070] In some embodiments, the communication station 400 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[0071] Although the communication station 400 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio- frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication station 400 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0072] Certain embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, the communication station 400 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device memory such as, but not limited to, memory 408 of FIG. 4.

[0073] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a machine 500 or system upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may be performed. In other embodiments, the machine 500 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 500 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 500 may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environments. The machine 500 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a wearable computer device, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine, such as a base station. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine ' " shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0074] Examples, as described herein, may include or may operate on logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations when operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium containing instructions where the instructions configure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when in operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[0075] The machine (e.g., computer system) 500 may include a hardware processor

502 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 504 and a static memory 506, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 508. The machine 500 may further include a power management device 532, a graphics display device 510, an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 514 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the graphics display device 510, alphanumeric input device 512, and UI navigation device 514 may be a touch screen display. The machine 500 may additionally include a storage device (i.e. , drive unit) 516, a signal generation device 518 (e.g., a speaker), a spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519, a network interface device/transceiver 620 coupled to antenna(s) 530, and one or more sensors 528, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 500 may include an output controller 534, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc. )).

[0076] The storage device 516 may include a machine readable medium 522 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 524 (e.g., software), which when executed, may perform the functions and/or methods described herein. The instructions 524 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 504, within the static memory 506, or within the hardware processor 502 during execution thereof by the machine 500. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 502, the main memory 504, the static memory 506, or the storage device 516 may constitute machine-readable media.

[0077] The spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519 may carry out or perform any of the operations and processes (e.g., process 300) described and shown above. For example, the spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519 may be configured to check if a given receive (RX) antenna weight vector (AWV) is interfered by a first device or it is interfering with that first device.

[0078] The spatial reuse using directional CCA device 5 19 may analyze the received signal power at both the first device and a second device by decoupling the received signal power into transmit (TX) power at the transmitting device, TX antenna gain at the transmitting device, path loss, and RX antenna gain at the receiving device.

[0079] The spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519 may compare the received signal power to a threshold in order to determine potential interference. The analysis may show that devices may need to exchange information regarding their TX power, and antenna gain statistics in order to determine if a device is interfered or interfering,

[0080] The spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519 may estimate the angle of arrival for interfering signals at each device receiving signals.

[0081] A benefit of analyzing the received signal at both the transmitting device and the receiving device may minimize interferences by taking into consideration, at least in part, the TX power at the transmitting device and the RX power at the receiving device. The spatial reuse using directional CCA system may consider both transmitting device and receiving device in order to make sure they are not interfering with each other.

[0082] It is understood that the above are only a subset of what the spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519 may be configured to perform and that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by the spatial reuse using directional CCA device 519.

[0083] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, for example, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non- vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non- portable device, a wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless access point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audio device, an audio-video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a wireless video area network WVA ), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

[0084] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFD3 element or chip, a multiple input multiple output (MDVIO) transceiver or device, a single input multiple output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a multiple input single output (MISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, digital video broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi -standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, a wireless application protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

[0085] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems following one or more wireless communication protocols, for example, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency- division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), general packet radio service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code-division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDM A (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi-tone (DMT), Bluetooth©, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, 3 GPP, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks.

[0086] Certain aspects of the disclosure are described above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses, and/or computer program products according to various implementations. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and the flow diagrams, respectively, may be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, according to some implementations.

[0087] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

[0088] EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to particular embodiments. [0089] Example 1 includes a first device comprising:

at least one memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and

at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: establish a communication link with a second device over a first directional path; communicate a first signal with the second device over the first directional path; identify a second signal received from a third device over a second directional path;

determine one or more communication characteristics of the first device; determine interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicate with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold,

[0090] Example 2 includes the first device of example 1, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival.

[0091] Example 3 includes the first device of example 2, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path.

[0092] Example 4 includes the first device of example 3, wherein said determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold is to be determined by:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 = :: transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr:2(b) = receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and [Gtl(a) - Grl (a)]min = a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device,

[0093 j Example 5 includes the first device of example 1, wherein the first, second and third devices are enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) devices.

[0094] Example 6 includes the first device of example 1 , wherein the first device further comprises at least one antenna.

[0095] Example 7 includes the first device of example I, wherein the first device further comprises a display.

[0096] Example 8 includes a method of wirelessly communicating by a first device, the method comprising: establish a communication link with a second device over a first directional path;

communicating a first signal with the second device over the first directional path;

identifying a second signal received from a third device over a second

directional path,

determining one or more communication characteristics of the first device; determining interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicating with the second device upon determining that the

interference is below a predetermined threshold.

[0097] Example 9 includes the method of example 8, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival ,

[0098] Example 10 includes the method of example 9, wherein the one or more communication characteri stics are to include a second set of characteri stics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path . [0099] Example 1 includes the method of example 10, wherein said determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold is determined by:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 = ;: transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) :=: receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl )min = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gil (a) - Grl(a)]min = a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device.

jOIOOj Example 12 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising:

establishing a communication link with a second device over a first directional path;

communicating a first signal with the second device over the first directional path; identifying a second signal received from a third device over a second directional path;

determining one or more communication characteristics of the first device; determining interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicating with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold.

jOIOl j Example 13 includes the medium of example 12, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival .

[0102] Example 14 includes the medium of example 13, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path,

|0103| Example 15 includes the medium of example 14, wherein said determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold is determined by:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(h) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 = transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) = ;: receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min = a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device.

[0104] Example 16 includes a first device comprising means to: establish a communication link with a second device over a first directional

path;

communicate a first signal with the second device over the first directional path;

identify a second signal received from a third device over a second directional path;

determine one or more communication characteristics of the first device,

determine interference between the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on the one or more characteristics and a threshold; and

communicate with the second device upon determining that the interference is below a predetermined threshold.

[0105] Example 17 includes the first device of example 16, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a first set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: an angle of arrival between the first and second directional paths, a transmit (TX) power at the first device, a TX antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival, a path loss for the second signal, and a receive (RX) antenna gain at the first device for the angle of arrival.

[0106] Example 18 includes the first device of example 17, wherein the one or more communication characteristics are to include a second set of characteristics previously received from the third device, the second set of characteristics including one or more items selected from a list of items consisting of: a transmit power at the third device, a TX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path, and a RX antenna gain at the third device for the second directional path.

[0107] Example 19 includes the first device of example 18, wherein the first device includes means to determine that the interference is below a predetermined threshold by determining:

Pt2 + Gt2(b) - Gr2(b) + Pr2 - threshold < (Ptl)min + [Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min

where

Pt2 = ;: transmit signal power at the first device,

Gt2(b) = transmit antenna gain at the first device,

Gr2(b) :=: receive antenna gain at the first device,

Pr2 = received signal power at the first device,

(Ptl)min : = a predetermined minimum transmit signal power at the third device, and

[Gtl(a) - Grl(a)]min = a minimum value for a difference between transmit antenna gain at the third device and receive antenna gain at the third device.

[0108] Example 20 includes the first device of example 16, wherein the first, second and third devices are to be enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) devices.

[0109] Example 21 includes the first device of example 16, wherein the first device is further to comprise means for displaying.

[0110] Example 22 includes the first device of example 16, wherein the first device further comprises antenna means.

[0111 J The foregoing description is intended to be illustrative and not limiting.

Variations will occur to those of skill in the art. Those variations are intended to be included in the various embodiments, which are limited only by the scope of the following claims.