Dynamic Resource Unit Allocation for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for dynamic resource unit allocation for a wireless local area network (WLAN) include: an apparatus of an access point (AP), including processing circuitry configured to determine a set of stations (STAs) and a first resource unit (RU) for uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission. The processing circuitry is further configured to: transmit a trigger frame (TF), the TF including an indication of the determined first RU for the set of STAs to transmit trigger-based (TB) physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) (TB PPDUs) in response to the TF. The processing circuitry may further be configured to: determine a STA as inactive in response to the STA not responding to the TF; and reallocate the RUs of the inactive STAs to active STAs; and transmit a second TF to the active STAs in the set of STAs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments pertain to wireless networks and wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless local area networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi networks, including networks operating according to the IEEE 802.11 standard family. Some embodiments relate to dynamic resource unit (RU) allocation for wireless local area networks (WLANs). Background Art

[0002] Efficient use of resources in a wireless local area network (WLAN) is important for providing bandwidth and acceptable response times to users of the WLAN. However, there are often many devices attempting to share the same resources, and some devices may be limited by the communication protocols they use or their hardware bandwidth. In addition, wireless devices may need to operate in both newer protocols and legacy device protocols. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003] The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like elements and in which:

[0004] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a radio architecture according to some embodiments;

[0005] Figure 2 illustrates a FEM circuit according to some embodiments;

[0006] Figure 3 illustrates a radio integrated circuit (IC) circuit according to some embodiments;

[0007] Figure 4 illustrates a functional block diagram of a baseband processing circuit according to some embodiments;

[0008] Figure 5 illustrates a WLAN according to some embodiments;

[0009] Figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein may be performed;

[0010] Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless device on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods or operations) discussed herein may be performed;

[0011] Figure 8 illustrates trigger-based (TB) multi-user (MU) uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission according to some embodiments;

[0012] Figure 9 illustrates the error vector magnitude (EVM) for a TB PPDU according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 10 Illustrates TB MU UL OFDMA transmission according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 11 Illustrates a trigger frame (TF) according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 12 Illustrates a method for dynamic allocation of RUs according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 13 Illustrates a table showing an example of method 1200 according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 14 Illustrates a method for dynamic RU reallocation according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 15 Illustrates a method for dynamic RU reallocation according to some embodiments;

[0019] Figures 16 - 20 Illustrates an example of dynamic RU allocation according to some embodiments;

[0020] Figure 21 and Figure 22 Illustrates simulation results for dynamic RU reallocation according to some embodiments; and

[0021] Figure 23 Illustrates a method for dynamic allocation of RUs according to some embodiments. Detailed Description

[0022] The following description and drawings fully disclose specific embodiments such that those skilled in the art can practice them. Other embodiments may include structural, logical, electrical, processing, and other changes. Portions or features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for portions and features of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims cover all available equivalents of those claims.

[0023] Some embodiments relate to methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for sorting or scheduling position measurement reports, traffic indication maps (TIMs), and other information during SP. Some embodiments relate to methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for extending TIMs. Some embodiments relate to methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for defining SP during a beacon interval (BI) (which may be based on TWT).

[0024] Figure 1is a block diagram of a radio architecture 100 according to some embodiments. The radio architecture 100 may include a radio front-end module (FEM) circuit 104, a radio IC circuit 106, and a baseband processing circuit 108. The illustrated radio architecture 100 includes both wireless local area network (WLAN) functionality and Bluetooth (BT) functionality, but embodiments are not limited thereto. In the present disclosure, “WLAN” and “Wi-Fi” may be used interchangeably.

[0025] The FEM circuit 104 may include a WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuit 104A and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuit 104B. The WLAN FEM circuit 104A may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry configured to operate on a WLAN RF signal received from one or more antennas 101, amplify the received signal, and provide an amplified version of the received signal to the WLAN radio IC circuit 106A for further processing. The BT FEM circuit 104B may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on a BT RF signal received from one or more antennas 101, amplify the received signal, and provide an amplified version of the received signal to the BT radio IC circuit 106B for further processing. The FEM circuit 104A may further include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify a WLAN signal provided by the radio IC circuit 106A for wireless transmission by one or more of the antennas 101. Additionally, the FEM circuit 104B may further include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify a BT signal provided by the radio IC circuit 106B for wireless transmission by one or more antennas. In Figure 1 embodiments, although the FEM 104A and the FEM 104B are shown as being distinct from each other, embodiments are not limited thereto and include within their scope the use of an FEM (not shown) that includes transmit paths and / or receive paths for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more FEM circuits where at least some of the FEM circuits share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0026] The illustrated radio IC circuit 106 may include a WLAN radio IC circuit 106A and a BT radio IC circuit 106B. The WLAN radio IC circuit 106A may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting a WLAN RF signal received from the FEM circuit 104A and providing a baseband signal to the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A. The BT radio IC circuit 106B may further include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting a BT RF signal received from the FEM circuit 104B and providing a baseband signal to the BT baseband processing circuit 108B. The WLAN radio IC circuit 106A may further include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting a WLAN baseband signal provided by the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A and providing a WLAN RF output signal to the FEM circuit 104A for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. The BT radio IC circuit 106B may further include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting a BT baseband signal provided by the BT baseband processing circuit 108B and providing a BT RF output signal to the FEM circuit 104B for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 101. In Figure 1 an embodiment, although the radio IC circuits 106A and 106B are shown as being different from each other, the embodiment is not limited thereto and includes within its scope a radio IC circuit (not shown) that uses transmit signal paths and / or receive signal paths that include circuitry for both WLAN and BT signals, or one or more radio IC circuits where at least some of the radio IC circuits share transmit and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals.

[0027] The baseband processing circuit 108 may include a WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A and a BT baseband processing circuit 108B. The WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A may include a memory, such as a set of RAM arrays included in a fast Fourier transform or inverse fast Fourier transform block (not shown) of the WLAN baseband processing circuit 108A. Each of the WLAN baseband circuit 108A and the BT baseband circuit 108B may further include one or more processors and control logic for: processing signals received from the corresponding WLAN or BT receive signal path of the radio IC circuit 106, and also generating corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the radio IC circuit 106. Each of the baseband processing circuits 108A and 108B may further include a physical layer (PHY) and a media access control layer (MAC) circuit, and may further interface with the application processor 111 for generating and processing baseband signals and controlling the operation of the radio IC circuit 106.

[0028] Still referring toFigure 1 , according to the illustrated embodiment, the WLAN-BT coexistence circuit 113 may include logic providing an interface between the WLAN baseband circuit 108A and the BT baseband circuit 108B for implementing use cases that require WLAN and BT coexistence. Additionally, a switch 103 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuit 104A and the BT FEM circuit 104B to allow switching between the WLAN radio and the BT radio according to application requirements. Additionally, while the antenna 101 is depicted as being connected to the WLAN FEM circuit 104A and the BT FEM circuit 104B respectively, embodiments within its scope include sharing one or more antennas between the WLAN FEM and the BT FEM, or providing more than one antenna connected to each of the FEMs 104A or 104B.

[0029] In some embodiments, the front-end module circuit 104, the radio IC circuit 106, and the baseband processing circuit 108 may be provided on a single radio card (e.g., the wireless radio card 102). In some other embodiments, one or more antennas 101, the FEM circuit 104, and the radio IC circuit 106 may be provided on a single radio card. In some other embodiments, the radio IC circuit 106 and the baseband processing circuit 108 may be provided on a single chip or IC (e.g., the IC 112).

[0030] In some embodiments, the wireless radio card 102 may include a WLAN radio card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communication, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel. The OFDM or OFDMA signals may include a plurality of orthogonal sub-carriers.

[0031] In some of these multi-carrier embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA) (e.g., a wireless access point (AP), a base station, or a mobile device including a Wi-Fi device). In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to: transmit and receive signals according to a specific communication standard and / or protocol (e.g., any Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard, including the IEEE 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE802.11-2016, IEEE 802.11ac, and / or IEEE 802.11ax standards and / or proposed specifications regarding WLAN), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. The radio architecture 100 may also be suitable for transmitting and / or receiving communications according to other technologies and standards.

[0032] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured for High Efficiency (HE) Wi-Fi (HEW) communication according to the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In these embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to communicate according to OFDMA technology, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0033] In some other embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to: transmit signals using one or more other modulation techniques (e.g., spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA)) and / or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA), time division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) modulation) and receive signals transmitted using these techniques, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0034] In some embodiments, as Figure 1 further shown, the BT baseband circuit 108B may comply with the Bluetooth (BT) connection standard (e.g., Bluetooth, Bluetooth 4.0, or Bluetooth 5.0, or any other version of the Bluetooth standard). In embodiments including, for example, Figure 1 the BT functionality shown, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to establish a BT connection-oriented synchronous (SCO) link and / or a low power BT (BT LE) link. In some embodiments of the embodiments including the BT functionality, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to establish an extended SCO (eSCO) link for BT communication, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some embodiments of these embodiments including the BT functionality, the radio architecture may be configured to participate in BT asynchronous connectionless (ACL) communication, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, as Figure 1 shown, the functions of a BT radio card and a WLAN radio card may be combined on a single wireless radio card (e.g., a single wireless radio card 102), but the embodiments are not limited thereto and include discrete WLAN and BT radio cards within their scope.

[0035] In some embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may include other radio cards (e.g., a cellular radio card configured for cellular (e.g., 3GPP (e.g., LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 5G communication))).

[0036] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the radio architecture 100 may be configured to communicate over various channel bandwidths, including bandwidths centered at approximately 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and bandwidths of approximately 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 16 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz (continuous bandwidth), or 80 + 80 MHz (160 MHz) (discontinuous bandwidth). In some embodiments, a 320 MHz channel bandwidth may be used. However, the scope of the embodiments is not limited to the above center frequencies.

[0037] Figure 2 FIG. 200 shows a FEM circuit according to some embodiments. The FEM circuit 200 is an example of a circuit that may be suitable for use as a WLAN and / or BT FEM circuit 104A / 104B ( Figure 1 ), but other circuit configurations may also be suitable.

[0038] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 200 may include a TX / RX switch 202 for switching between transmit mode and receive mode operations. The FEM circuit 200 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 200 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) 206 for amplifying the received RF signal 203 and providing an amplified received RF signal 207 as an output (e.g., provided to the radio IC circuit 106 ( Figure 1 )). The transmit signal path of the circuit 200 may include: a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal 209 (e.g., provided by the radio IC circuit 106); and one or more filters 212 (e.g., a bandpass filter (BPF), a low pass filter (LPF), or other type of filter) for generating an RF signal 215 for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the antennas 101 ( Figure 1 )).

[0039] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the FEM circuit 200 may be configured to operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum or the 5 GHz spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuit 200 may include a receive signal path duplexer 204 for separating signals from each spectrum and providing a separate LNA 206 for each spectrum, as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 200 may further include: a power amplifier 210 and a filter 212 (e.g., a BPF, an LPF, or another type of filter) for each spectrum; and a transmit signal path duplexer 214 for providing a signal from one of the different spectrums onto a single transmit path for transmission by the antenna 101 (Figure 1 ) for subsequent transmission. In some embodiments, BT communication may utilize a 2.4 GHz signal path and may utilize the same FEM circuit 200 as that used for WLAN communication.

[0040] Figure 3 FIG. 300 shows a radio integrated circuit (IC) circuit 300 according to some embodiments. The radio IC circuit 300 is an example of a circuit that may be suitable for use as a WLAN and / or BT radio IC circuit 106A / 106B ( Figure 1 ), but other circuit configurations may also be suitable.

[0041] In some embodiments, the radio IC circuit 300 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the radio IC circuit 300 may at least include a mixer circuit 302 (e.g., a down-conversion mixer circuit), an amplifier circuit 306, and a filter circuit 308. The transmit signal path of the radio IC circuit 300 may at least include a filter circuit 312 and a mixer circuit 314 (e.g., an up-conversion mixer circuit). The radio IC circuit 300 may further include a synthesizer circuit 304 for synthesizing a frequency 305 for use by the mixer circuit 302 and the mixer circuit 314. According to some embodiments, the mixer circuits 302 and / or 314 may both be configured to provide a direct conversion function. This latter type of circuit presents a much simpler architecture compared to a standard superheterodyne mixer circuit, and any flicker noise introduced thereby can be mitigated, for example, by using OFDM modulation. Figure 3 Only a simplified version of the radio IC circuit is shown, and although not shown, embodiments may include that each of the depicted circuits may include more than one component. For example, depending on the application requirements, the mixer circuits 320 and / or 314 may each include one or more mixers, and the filter circuits 308 and / or 312 may each include one or more filters (e.g., one or more BPFs and / or LPFs). For example, when the mixer circuits are of the direct conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers.

[0042] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 302 may be configured to: down-convert the RF signal 207 received from the FEM circuit 104 Figure 1 ) based on the synthesized frequency 305 provided by the synthesizer circuit 304. The amplifier circuit 306 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 308 may include an LPF, which is configured to: remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal 307. The output baseband signal 307 may be provided to the baseband processing circuit 108 Figure 1)for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 307 may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 302 may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0043] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 314 may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal 311 based on the synthesized frequency 305 provided by the synthesizer circuit 304 to generate an RF output signal 209 for the FEM circuit 104. The baseband signal 311 may be provided by the baseband processing circuit 108 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 312. The filter circuit 312 may include an LPF or a BPF, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0044] In some embodiments, both the mixer circuit 302 and the mixer circuit 314 may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and / or up-conversion with the help of the synthesizer 304. In some embodiments, both the mixer circuit 302 and the mixer circuit 314 may include two or more mixers that are each configured for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 302 and the mixer circuit 314 may be arranged for direct down-conversion and / or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 302 and the mixer circuit 314 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, but this is not required.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the mixer circuit 302 may include a quadrature passive mixer (e.g., for in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) paths). In this embodiment, the Figure 2 RF input signal 207 may be down-converted to provide I and Q baseband output signals to be sent to the baseband processor.

[0046] The quadrature passive mixer may be driven by zero and ninety-degree time-varying LO switching signals provided by a quadrature circuit that may be configured to receive the LO frequency (f LO )(e.g., the LO frequency 305 of the synthesizer 304( Figure 3 )) from a local oscillator or a synthesizer. In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half carrier frequency, one-third carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the zero and ninety-degree time-varying switching signals may be generated by a synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0047] In some embodiments, the LO signal can vary in terms of duty cycle (the percentage of the LO signal that is high in one period) and / or offset (the difference between the starting points of the periods). In some embodiments, the LO signal can have a 25% duty cycle and a 50% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuit (e.g., the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) paths) can operate with a 25% duty cycle, which can result in a significant reduction in power consumption.

[0048] The RF input signal 207( Figure 2 ) can include a balanced signal, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. The I and Q baseband output signals can be provided to a low-noise amplifier (e.g., the amplifier circuit 306( Figure 3 )) or the filter circuit 308( Figure 3 ).

[0049] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 307 and the input baseband signal 311 can be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal 307 and the input baseband signal 311 can be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the radio IC circuit can include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit.

[0050] In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuit can be provided for processing signals for each spectrum or for other spectrums not mentioned herein, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0051] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 304 can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto as other types of frequency synthesizers can be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 304 can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 304 can include a digital synthesizer circuit. The advantage of using a digital synthesizer circuit is that although it may still include some analog components, its footprint can be much reduced compared to that of an analog synthesizer circuit. In some embodiments, the frequency input to the synthesizer circuit 304 can be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. Depending on the desired output frequency 305, the baseband processing circuit 108( Figure 1 ) or the application processor 111( Figure 1 ) can also provide a frequency divider control input. In some embodiments, the frequency divider control input (e.g., N) can be determined from a look-up table (e.g., within a Wi-Fi card) based on the channel number and channel center frequency determined or indicated by the application processor 111.

[0052] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 304 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as output frequency 305, while in other embodiments, output frequency 305 may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half carrier frequency, one-third carrier frequency). In some embodiments, output frequency 305 may be the LO frequency (f LO ).

[0053] Figure 4 FIG. shows a functional block diagram of baseband processing circuit 400 according to some embodiments. Baseband processing circuit 400 is an example of a circuit that may be suitable for use as baseband processing circuit 108 ( Figure 1 ), but other circuit configurations may also be suitable. Baseband processing circuit 400 may include: a receive baseband processor (RX BBP) 402 for processing receive baseband signal 309 provided by radio IC circuit 106 ( Figure 1 ); and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 404 for generating a transmit baseband signal 311 for radio IC circuit 106. Baseband processing circuit 400 may also include control logic 406 for coordinating the operation of baseband processing circuit 400.

[0054] In some embodiments (e.g., when exchanging analog baseband signals between baseband processing circuit 400 and radio IC circuit 106), baseband processing circuit 400 may include an ADC 410 for converting an analog baseband signal received from radio IC circuit 106 into a digital baseband signal for processing by RX BBP 402. In these embodiments, baseband processing circuit 400 may also include a DAC 412 for converting a digital baseband signal from TX BBP 404 into an analog baseband signal.

[0055] In some embodiments, such as when transmitting OFDM signals or OFDMA signals via baseband processor 108A, transmit baseband processor 404 may be configured to: generate an OFDM or OFDMA signal suitable for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Receive baseband processor 402 may be configured to: process a received OFDM signal or OFDMA signal by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, receive baseband processor 402 may be configured to: detect the presence of an OFDM signal or OFDMA signal by performing autocorrelation to detect a preamble (e.g., a short preamble), and by performing cross-correlation to detect a long preamble. The preamble may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communication.

[0056] Referring to Figure 1 , in some embodiments, antenna 101 ( Figure 1) may each include one or more directional antennas or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated to utilize spatial diversity and the resulting different channel characteristics. Antenna 101 may each include a phased array antenna, but the embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0057] Although the radio architecture 100 is shown as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software-configured elements (e.g., 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 circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0058] Figure 5 A WLAN 500 according to some embodiments is shown. The WLAN 500 may include a basic service set (BSS) that includes an EHT access point (AP) 502 (which may be referred to as an AP), multiple EHT (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax / be) stations (STAs) 504, and multiple legacy (e.g., IEEE 802.11g / n / ac) devices 506. In some embodiments, the EHT STA 504 and / or the HE AP 502 are configured to operate according to IEEE 802.11 very high throughput. In some embodiments, the EHT station 504 and / or the EHT AP 502 are configured to operate according to IEEE 802.11az. In some embodiments, IEEE 802.11 EHT may be referred to as next-generation 802.11. In some embodiments, the EHT AP 502 may be configured to operate in an HE BSS, an ER BSS, and / or a BSS. Legacy devices may not be able to operate in an HE BSS, and beacon frames in an HE BSS may be sent using an HE PPDU. An ER BSS may use an ER PPDU to send beacon frames, and legacy devices 506 may not be able to decode the beacon frames and thus may not be able to operate in an ER BSS. BSSs (e.g., BSS, ER BSS, and HE BSS) may use different BSSIDs.

[0059] The EHT AP 502 can be an AP that uses IEEE 802.11 for transmission and reception. The EHT AP 502 can be a base station. The EHT AP 502 can use other communication protocols as well as the IEEE 802.11 protocol. The IEEE 802.11 protocol can be IEEE 802.11ax. The IEEE 802.11 protocol can be the IEEE 802.11 next generation. According to some embodiments, the EHT protocol can be called by a different name. The IEEE 802.11 protocol can include the use of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and / or code division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol can include multiple access technologies. For example, the IEEE 802.11 protocol can include space division multiple access (SDMA) and / or multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO). There can be more than one EHT AP 502 that is part of an extended service set (ESS). A controller (not shown) can store information common to more than one EHT AP 502 and can control more than one BSS (e.g., assign a primary channel, color, etc.). The EHT AP 502 can be connected to the Internet. The EHT AP 502 and / or the EHT STA 504 can be configured for one or more of the following: 320 MHz bandwidth, 16 spatial streams, (e.g., as disclosed in conjunction with Figure 8 ), multi-band or multi-stream operation, and 4096QAM.

[0060] The legacy device 506 can operate according to one or more of IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ad / af / ah / aj / ay or another legacy wireless communication standard. The legacy device 506 can be a STA or an IEEE STA. In some embodiments, when the EHT AP 502 and the EHT STA 504 are configured to operate according to IEEE 802.11 EHT, the legacy device 506 can include a device configured to operate according to IEEE 802.11ax. The EHT STA 504 can be a wireless transmission and reception device (e.g., a cellular phone, a portable electronic wireless communication device, a smart phone, a handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, a wireless watch, a wireless personal device, a tablet, or other devices that can transmit and receive using the IEEE 802.11 protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.11 EHT) or another wireless protocol). In some embodiments, the EHT STA 504 can be called an extremely high throughput (EHT) station.

[0061] The EHT AP 502 can communicate with legacy device 506 according to legacy IEEE 802.11 communication technology. In an example embodiment, the EHT AP 502 can also be configured to communicate with the EHT STA 504 according to legacy IEEE 802.11 communication technology.

[0062] In some embodiments, HE or EHT frames can be configurable to have the same bandwidth as the channel. HE or EHT frames can be Physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs). In some embodiments, there can be different types of PPDUs, which can have different fields and different physical layers and / or different Medium Access Control (MAC) layers. For example, Single User (SU) PPDU, Multi-User (MU) PPDU, Extended Range (ER) SU PPDU, and / or Trigger-Based (TB) PPDU. In some embodiments, EHT can be the same as or similar to HE PPDU.

[0063] The bandwidth of the channel can be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 160 + 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 320 + 320 MHz, 640 MHz bandwidth. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of a channel less than 20 MHz can be 1 MHz, 1.25 MHz, 2.03 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4.06 MHz, 5 MHz, and 10 MHz or a combination thereof, or another bandwidth less than or equal to the available bandwidth can also be used. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel can be based on the number of active data subcarriers. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel is based on 26, 52, 106, 242, 484, 996, or 2 x 996 active data subcarriers or tones, which are spaced 20 MHz apart. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the channel is 256 tones spaced 20 MHz apart. In some embodiments, the channel is a multiple of 26 tones or a multiple of 20 MHz. In some embodiments, a 20 MHz channel can include 242 active data subcarriers or tones, which can determine the size of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). According to some embodiments, the allocation of bandwidth or a plurality of tones or subcarriers can be referred to as Resource Unit (RU) allocation.

[0064] In some embodiments, 26-subcarrier RUs and 52-subcarrier RUs are used in 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 106-subcarrier RUs are used in 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 242-subcarrier RUs are used in 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 484-subcarrier RUs are used in 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, 996-subcarrier RUs are used in 160MHz and 80+80MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats.

[0065] HE or EHT frames can be configured to transmit multiple spatial streams, and this operation can be based on MU-MIMO and can be based on OFDMA. In other embodiments, the EHT AP 502, EHT STA 504, and / or legacy device 506 can also implement different technologies (e.g., Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA 2000 1X, CDMA 2000 Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), low power consumption or other technologies).

[0066] According to some IEEE 802.11 embodiments (e.g., IEEE 802.11 EHT / ax embodiments), the EHT AP 502 may operate as a master station, and the master station may be arranged to: compete for the wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for a transmission opportunity (TXOP). The EHT AP 502 may send an EHT / HE trigger frame transmission, which may include a schedule for simultaneous UL transmissions from the EHT STA 504. The EHT AP 502 may send the duration of the TXOP and subchannel information. During the TXOP, the EHT STA 504 may communicate with the EHT AP 502 according to a contention-free multiple access technology (e.g., OFDMA or MU-MIMO). This is different from traditional WLAN communication where devices communicate according to contention-based communication technologies rather than multiple access technologies. During the HE or EHT control period, the EHT AP 502 may communicate with the EHT station 504 using one or more HE or EHT frames. During the TXOP, the EHT STA 504 may operate on subchannels that are smaller than the operating range of the EHT AP 502. During the TXOP, legacy stations are inhibited from communicating. Legacy stations may need to receive communication from the EHT AP 502 to defer communication.

[0067] According to some embodiments, during the TXOP, the EHT STA 504 may compete for the wireless medium with a legacy device 506 that is excluded from competing for the wireless medium during master-sync transmission. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate UL-MU-MIMO and / or UL OFDMA TXOP. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may include DL UL-MU-MIMO and / or DL OFDMA, with a schedule indicated in the preamble portion of the trigger frame.

[0068] In some embodiments, the multiple access technology used during the HE or EHT TXOP may be a scheduled OFDMA technology, but this is not required. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a time division multiple access (TDMA) technology or a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technology. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a space division multiple access (SDMA) technology. In some embodiments, the multiple access technology may be a code division multiple access (CDMA).

[0069] The EHT AP 502 may also communicate with the legacy station 506 and / or the EHT station 504 according to legacy IEEE 802.11 communication technologies. In some embodiments, the EHT AP 502 may also be configurable to: communicate with the EHT station 504 outside of the HE TXOP according to legacy IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.11 EHT / ax communication technologies, but this is not required.

[0070] In some embodiments, the EHT station 504 can be a "group owner (GO)" for the peer-to-peer operation mode. The wireless device can be a HE station 502 or an EHT AP 502. In some embodiments, the EHT STA 504 and / or the EHT AP 502 can be configured to operate according to IEEE 802.11mc. In an example embodiment, Figure 1 The radio architecture of is configured to implement the EHT STA 504 and / or the EHT AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 2 The front-end module circuit of is configured to implement the EHT STA 504 and / or the EHT AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit of is configured to implement the EHT STA 504 and / or the EHT AP 502. In an example embodiment, Figure 4 The baseband processing circuit of is configured to implement the EHT STA 504 and / or the EHT AP 502.

[0071] In an example embodiment, the EHT station 504, the EHT AP 502, the apparatus of the EHT station 504, and / or the apparatus of the EHT AP 502 can include one or more of the following: Figure 1 The radio architecture of, Figure 2 The front-end module circuit of, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit of, and / or Figure 4 The baseband processing circuit of.

[0072] In an example embodiment, Figure 1 The radio architecture of, Figure 2 The front-end module circuit of, Figure 3 The radio IC circuit of, and / or Figure 4 The baseband processing circuit of can be configured to perform the methods and operations / functions described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 23 .

[0073] In an example embodiment, the EHT station 504 and / or the EHT AP 502 are configured to perform the methods and operations / functions described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 23 . In an example embodiment, the apparatus of the EHT station 504 and / or the apparatus of the EHT AP 502 are configured to perform the methods and functions described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 23 . The term Wi-Fi can refer to one or more IEEE 802.11 communication standards. AP and STA can refer to the EHT / HE access point 502 and / or the EHT / HE station 504, as well as legacy devices 506.

[0074] In some embodiments, a HE AP STA may refer to the EHT AP 502 and / or the EHT STA 504 that is operating as a HE AP 502. In some embodiments, when the EHT STA 504 is not operating as a HE AP, it may be referred to as a HE non-AP STA or a HE non-AP. In some embodiments, the EHT STA 504 may be referred to as a HE AP STA or a HE non-AP. EHT may refer to the next-generation IEEE 802.11 communication protocol, which may be IEEE 802.11be or may be assigned another name.

[0075] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example machine 600 is shown on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein may be performed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 600 may operate as a stand-alone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a network deployment, the machine 600 may operate in the role of a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In an example, the machine 600 may act as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The machine 600 may be an EHT AP 502, an EHT station 504, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable communication device, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, a switch, or a bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequentially or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, although only a single machine is shown, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

[0076] The machine (e.g., computer system) 600 may include a hardware processor 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 604, and a static memory 606, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnection link (e.g., a bus) 608.

[0077] Specific examples of the main memory 604 include random access memory (RAM) and semiconductor memory devices, which in some embodiments may include storage locations in a semiconductor (e.g., registers). Specific examples of the static memory 606 include: non-volatile memory (e.g., semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices)); magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disks and removable disks); magneto-optical disks; RAM; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0078] The machine 600 may also include a display device 610, an input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface UI navigation device 614 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device 610, the input device 612, and the UI navigation device 614 may be a touch screen display. The machine 600 may additionally include a mass storage (e.g., a drive unit) 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 620, and one or more sensors 621 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors). The machine 600 may include an output controller 628 (e.g., a serial connection (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB)), a parallel connection, or other wired or wireless connections (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.)) to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.). In some embodiments, the processor 602 and / or the instructions 624 may include processing circuitry and / or transceiver circuitry.

[0079] The storage device 616 may include a machine-readable medium 622 on which is stored a set or sets of data structures or instructions 624 (e.g., software) that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 624 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 604, within the static memory 606, or within the hardware processor 602 during execution by the machine 600. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 602, the main memory 604, the static memory 606, or the storage device 616 may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0080] Specific examples of the machine-readable medium may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices), magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disks and removable disks), magneto-optical disks, RAM, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0081] Although the machine-readable medium 622 is shown as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 624.

[0082] The apparatus of machine 600 can be one or more of the following: a hardware processor 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, a sensor 621, a network interface device 620, an antenna 660, a display device 610, an input device 612, a UI navigation device 614, a mass storage 616, instructions 624, a signal generation device 618, and an output controller 628. The apparatus can be configured to perform one or more methods and / or operations disclosed herein. The apparatus can be intended as a component of machine 600 that performs one or more methods and / or operations disclosed herein, and / or as part of performing one or more methods and / or operations disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus can include pins or other components for receiving power. In some embodiments, the apparatus can include power conditioning hardware.

[0083] The term "machine-readable medium" can include any medium that can store, encode, or carry instructions that are executed by machine 600 and cause machine 600 to perform one or more techniques of the present disclosure, or any medium that can store, encode, or carry data structures used by or associated with these instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media can include solid-state memories as well as optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media can include: non-volatile memories (e.g., semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), and flash memory devices)); magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disks and removable disks); magneto-optical disks; random access memories (RAMs); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the machine-readable medium can include a non-transitory machine-readable medium. In some examples, the machine-readable medium can include a machine-readable medium that is not an instantaneous propagated signal.

[0084] Any one of a variety of transmission protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.) can be used to further send or receive the instruction 624 via the network interface device 620 over a communication network 626 using a transmission medium. Example communication networks can include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone service (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard family, known as the IEEE 802.11 standard family, known as the IEEE 802.16 standard family), the IEEE 802.15.4 standard family, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard family, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard family, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, etc.

[0085] In an example, the network interface device 620 can include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet jacks, coaxial jacks, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 626. In an example, the network interface device 620 can include one or more antennas 660 to perform wireless communication using at least one of single input multiple output (SIMO), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), or multiple input single output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device 620 can perform wireless communication using multi-user MIMO techniques. The term "transmission medium" should be considered to include any non-transitory medium that can store, encode, or carry instructions executed by the machine 600, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other non-transitory media that facilitate the communication of such software.

[0086] Examples described herein can include logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms, or can operate thereon. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) capable of performing the specified operations and can be configured or arranged in a particular manner. In an example, a circuit can be arranged (e.g., internally or relative to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a stand-alone, client, or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors can be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) to operate as a module that performs the specified operations. In an example, the software can reside on a machine-readable medium. In an example, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, the software causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0087] Accordingly, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hard-wired), or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate or perform some or all of any of the operations described herein in a specified manner. Consider an example where a module is temporarily configured; it is not necessary to instantiate every module at any given moment. For example, in the case where a module includes a general-purpose hardware processor configured with software, the general-purpose hardware processor can be configured as various different modules at different times. The software can accordingly configure the hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one time instance and different modules at different time instances.

[0088] Some embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and / or firmware. The software and / or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. These instructions can then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions can be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, etc. The computer-readable medium can include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in one or more computer-readable forms, such as but not limited to: read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc.

[0089] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example wireless device 700 on which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods or operations) discussed herein can be performed is shown. The wireless device 700 can be a HE device or a HE wireless device. The wireless device 700 can be an EHT STA 504, an EHT AP 502, and / or a HE STA or HE AP. The EHT STA 504, the EHT AP 502, and / or the HE AP or HE STA can include Figures 1 - 7 some or all of the components shown. The wireless device 700 can be combined with Figure 6 the example machine 600 disclosed.

[0090] Wireless device 700 may include processing circuitry 708. Processing circuitry 708 may include transceiver 702, physical layer circuitry (PHY circuitry) 704, and MAC layer circuitry (MAC circuitry) 706, one or more of which may be implemented to transmit signals to and receive signals from other wireless devices 700 (e.g., EHT AP 502, EHT STA 504, and / or legacy device 506) using one or more antennas 712. As an example, PHY circuitry 704 may perform various encoding and decoding functions, which may include: forming a baseband signal for transmission and decoding a received signal. As another example, transceiver 702 may perform various transmission and reception functions (e.g., frequency conversion of signals between the baseband range and the radio frequency (RF) range).

[0091] Accordingly, PHY circuitry 704 and transceiver 702 may be separate components, or may be part of a combined component (e.g., processing circuitry 708). Additionally, some of the described functions related to signal transmission and reception may be performed by a combination that may include one, any, or all of PHY circuitry 704, transceiver 702, MAC circuitry 706, memory 710, and other components or layers. MAC circuitry 706 may control access to the wireless medium. Wireless device 700 may further include memory 710, which is arranged to perform the operations described herein. For example, some of the operations described herein may be performed by instructions stored in memory 710.

[0092] Antenna 712 (some embodiments may include only one antenna) may include one or more directional antennas or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas 712 may be effectively separated to utilize spatial diversity and the resulting different channel characteristics.

[0093] One or more of memory 710, transceiver 702, PHY circuitry 704, MAC circuitry 706, antenna 712, and / or processing circuitry 708 may be coupled to each other. Additionally, although memory 710, transceiver 702, PHY circuitry 704, MAC circuitry 706, antenna 712 are shown as separate components, one or more of memory 710, transceiver 702, PHY circuitry 704, MAC circuitry 706, antenna 712 may be integrated in an electronic package or chip.

[0094] In some embodiments, wireless device 700 may be a mobile device as described in Figure 6 In some embodiments, wireless device 700 may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more wireless communication standards described herein (e.g., in connection withFigures 1 - 6 as described, operating in accordance with IEEE 802.11). In some embodiments, the wireless device 700 may include one or more of the components described in connection with Figure 6 (e.g., display device 610, input device 612, etc.). Although the wireless device 700 is shown as having several discrete functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software-configured elements (e.g., processing elements including a digital signal processor (DSP)) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include a combination of one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0095] In some embodiments, the apparatus of or used by the wireless device 700 may include Figure 7 the various components of the wireless device 700 shown and / or from Figures 1 - 6 . Thus, in some embodiments, the techniques and operations described herein that refer to the wireless device 700 may be applicable to the apparatus of the wireless device 700 (e.g., EHT AP 502 and / or EHT STA 504). In some embodiments, the wireless device 700 is configured to decode and / or encode the signals, packets, and / or frames (e.g., PPDUs) described herein.

[0096] In some embodiments, the MAC circuit 706 may be arranged to compete for the wireless medium during a contention period to receive control of the medium for a HE TXOP and encode or decode a HE PPDU. In some embodiments, the MAC circuit 706 may be arranged to compete for the wireless medium based on a channel contention setting, a transmit power level, and an idle channel assessment level (e.g., an energy detection level).

[0097] The PHY circuit 704 may be arranged to transmit signals according to one or more communication standards described herein. For example, the PHY circuit 704 may be configured to transmit a HE PPDU. The PHY circuit 704 may include circuitry for modulation / demodulation, upconversion / downconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 708 may include one or more processors. The processing circuit 708 may be configured to perform functions based on instructions stored in RAM or ROM or based on dedicated circuitry. The processing circuit 708 may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor). The processing circuit 708 may implement one or more functions associated with the antenna 712, transceiver 702, PHY circuit 704, MAC circuit 706, and / or memory 710. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 708 may be configured to perform one or more functions / operations and / or methods described herein.

[0098] In mmWave technology, communication between a station (e.g., Figure 5 the EHT station 504 or the wireless device 700) and an access point (e.g., Figure 5 the EHT AP 502 or the wireless device 700) may use a highly directional-dependent associated effective radio channel. To accommodate directionality, beamforming techniques may be utilized to radiate energy in a specific direction with a specific beamwidth for communication between two devices. Directed propagation focuses the transmitted energy towards the target device to compensate for the significant energy loss of the channel between the two communicating devices. Using directed transmission can extend the range of millimeter-wave communication compared to using the same transmitted energy in omnidirectional propagation.

[0099] Figure 8 Illustrates a trigger-based (TB) multi-user (MU) uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission 800 according to some embodiments. Figure 8Shown are STA A 804.1, STA B 804.2, STA C 804.3, STA D 804.4, STA E 804.5, PPDU 802 to PPDU 802.5, and AP 806. STA 804 is the same as or similar to EHT STA 504 (e.g., EHT STA or HE STA). AP 806 is the same as or similar to EHT AP 502 (e.g., EHT AP or HE AP). The physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) 802 can be a TB PPDU. According to some embodiments, PPDU 802 is encoded on a subchannel according to a trigger frame (e.g., sent before PPDU 802). The TB MU UL OFDMA transmission 800 can be according to IEEE 802.11 (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax or IEEE 802.11be). PPDU 802 can be sent on multiple spatial streams, e.g., as indicated in NSS 1214.

[0100] Figure 9 Shows an error vector magnitude (EVM) 900 for a TB PPDU according to some embodiments. Figure 8 and Figure 9 are disclosed in combination with each other. Figure 9 Shown are frequency 906 along the horizontal axis, received power (dBm) 904 along the vertical axis, in-band EVM 904, STA A 902.1, STA B 902.2, STA C 902.3, STA D 902.4, STA E 902.5, and out-of-band EVM 908. The EVM 900 for the TB PPDU can be from Figure 8 the PPDU 802 shown, where STA 902 indicates the received power 904 at AP 806, the in-band EVM 904 at AP 806, and the out-of-band EVM 908 at AP 806. The frequency 906 intervals indicate RUs 1202, and the RUs 1202 assigned to each STA 902 according to the trigger frame 1100, on which the PPDU 802 is sent to AP 806 simultaneously.

[0101] Receiving is improved when AP 806 distributes RUs among STAs 902 in a way that minimizes or reduces the amount of potential MU interference (MUI) between STAs, for example.

[0102] Figure 10 Shows a TB MU UL OFDMA transmission 1000 according to some embodiments. Figure 10Shown are the downlink (DL) AP→STA 1002, uplink (UL) STA→AP 1004, TXOP 1006, time 1008, channel acquisition 1010, TF 1012, block acknowledgment (BA) 1014, STA A→AP 1014, STA B→AP 1016, STA C→AP 1018, STA D→AP 1020, STA E→AP 1022, no transmission (TRANS) 1024, and frequency 1026. Time 1008 indicates the progress of time along the horizontal axis. Frequency 1026 indicates the frequency along the vertical axis. DL 1002 indicates that the transmission is from the AP to the STA. The AP can be the same as or similar to AP 806. STAs 1014, 1016, 1018, 1020, 1022 are TB PPDUs. STAs A, B, C, D, and E can be the same as or similar to STA 804. The trigger frame (TF) 1012 can be the same as or similar to TF 1100. TF 1012 indicates the OFDMA RU (a portion of the frequency) for the STA to send the TB PPDU to the AP. No transmission 1024 indicates that STA B did not send a TB PPDU in response to TF 1012.3 and TF 1012.4.

[0103] BA 1014 acknowledges the receipt of the TB PPDU (e.g., the AP sends BA 1014.1 to acknowledge that the AP has received STA A→AP 1014.1, STA B→AP 1016.1, STA C→AP 1018.1, STA D→AP 1020.1, and STA E→AP 1022.1). The EVM 900 for the TB PPDU can indicate the characteristics of the TB PPDU received by the AP in response to TF 1012.1 and / or TF 1012.2. Figure 10 It can be shown that the STA sends the TB PPDU on the OFDMA RU in response to TF 1012. The transmission opportunity (TXOP) 1006 indicates that the AP performs channel acquisition 1010 and acquires the channel (e.g., occupies the channel of frequency 1026 for UL transmissions (respectively, STAs A, B, C, D, E→AP 1014, 1016, 1018, 1020, 1022) and DL transmissions (e.g., TF 1012 and BA 1014)). The duration of TXOP 1006 is indicated by the length and / or duration fields of TF 1012, BA 1014, and the TB PPDU.

[0104] The AP schedules STAs A, B, C, D, and E, encodes TFs 1012.3 and 1012.4, and sends TFs 1012.3 and 1012.4 to the STAs, but STA B does not respond, as indicated by the absence of transmissions 1024.1 and 104.2. In some embodiments, STA B may have indicated, for example, via an operation mode indication (which may be part of an element), that it no longer supports TB HE / EHT PPDU transmissions. The AP needs to dynamically reallocate the RUs (frequency 1026 range) assigned to STA B to another UL group member to reduce or minimize the waste of spectral resources of the UL group (e.g., the UL group is STA A, STA B, STA C, STA D, and STA E in this case) and increase or maximize the overall throughput and packet error rate (PER) performance. Since STA B does not respond or has indicated that it no longer supports UL TB PPDUs, the AP needs to reallocate the RUs assigned to STA B to another member of the group (e.g., STA A, STA C, STA D, or STA E). The TB PPDU sent according to OFDMA can also be sent on one or more spatial streams (e.g., indicated by NSS 1214) according to MU - multiple input multiple output (MU - MIMO).

[0105] Although only STA B does not respond in Figure 10 , in some embodiments, other STAs may also not respond, such that there may be more than one RU to reallocate. In some embodiments, the AP performs methods 1200, 2300, 2400, and / or the methods disclosed herein to dynamically reallocate RUs from non - responding STAs to other STAs in the group. Some embodiments minimize or reduce the amount of multi - user interference (MUI) in TB HE / EHT PPDU reception and maximize or increase throughput performance.

[0106] To avoid spectral waste, the AP can schedule UL reports from the STAs (e.g., buffer status reports, bandwidth query reports, null data packet feedback report polls, etc.). However, there is overhead when the AP schedules UL reports from the STAs in response to one or more STAs not responding to TFs.

[0107] In some embodiments, the IEEE 802.11ax / EHT AP dynamically reallocates unoccupied RUs (e.g., RUs not used by STA B) to other STAs (e.g., STA A, C, D, or E) within the requested UL group (STA A, B, C, D, E) in order to increase or maximize throughput performance and reduce or minimize potential waste of the wireless spectrum (e.g., RU resources). The AP's dynamic RU allocation policy has an impact on the multi-user interference (MUI) experienced at the AP when receiving a TB UL PPDU (e.g., as Figure 9 shown). In some embodiments, the AP performs a method of dynamic RU reallocation that reduces or minimizes the amount of MUI in the TB HE PPDU transmission and increases or maximizes throughput performance.

[0108] Figure 11 Illustrates a trigger frame (TF) 1100 according to some embodiments. Figure 11 Shown is the TF 1100. The TF 1100 includes one or more of the following subfields: RU 1202, association identifier (AID) 1204, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) 1206, target received signal strength indicator (RSSI) 1208, trigger type 1210, trigger transmit power 1212, number of spatial streams 1214, and UL bandwidth (BW) 1216. The RU 1202 is a group of subcarriers (e.g., 26, 52, 106, 242, 484, 996, or 2x996) that serves as an allocation unit. The AID 1204 is an identifier of the STA and / or the AP. The AID can be an identifier different from the association identifier (e.g., a value indicating that the RU is for an associated STA or a non-associated STA for random access). The MCS 1206 indicates the MCS for the data portion of the response to the EHT / HE TBPPDU. The target RSSI 1208 indicates the target received signal strength for the STA (e.g., received power 904). As an example, the STA can use the trigger TP 1212 and the target RSSI 1208 to estimate the transmit power for sending a response to the EHT / HE TB PPDU. The trigger type 1210 indicates the type of the TF 1100 (e.g., basic, buffer status report poll, bandwidth query report poll, NDP feedback report poll, etc.).

[0109] The trigger TP 1212 indicates the transmit power used by the AP to send the TF 1100. The NSS 1214 indicates the number and location of the spatial streams for the STA indicated by the AID 1204. The UL BW 1216 indicates the UL BW for transmission. Some subfields (e.g., RU 1202, NSS 1214, etc.) are repeated for each AID 1204.

[0110] Figure 12 Method 1200 for dynamic allocation of RUs according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 12 Shown are row 1202 and code 1204. When the STA does not respond to TF 1100, or indicates that it no longer supports EHT / EH TB PPDUs, then the AP can execute Method 1200 to dynamically allocate the RUs no longer used by the STA to another member of a group of STAs. According to some embodiments, the following are some data structures used by the AP.

[0111] According to some embodiments, the formula (1) M = N / 2 (if N is even); and (N + 1) / 2 (if N is odd), where the meanings of the following identifying letters are as follows. In some embodiments, the entire channel bandwidth (e.g., UL bandwidth 1216) is divided into N equally sized RUs with indices from 1 to N. The AP triggers the STA to identify (ID) (e.g., AID 1204) N STAs of a UL group from 1 to N. In some embodiments, RU_n indicates the nth RU, and STA_n indicates the STA with ID n, where n is 1, 2,..., N. M can indicate the middle RU index.

[0112] In some embodiments, the AP maintains a list of (alive) parties (which can be represented as aliveStaInfoList) that respond and do not indicate that they are disabled for TB HE / EHT PPDU transmission, where "alive" indicates that the STA supports TB HE PPDU transmission. Each element of aliveStaInfoList includes the following information of the alive STA: sta_ID, ru_index_start, and ru_index_end, where sta_ID is the ID of the STA; and ru_index_start and ru_index_end are the start index and end index of the RUs assigned to the STA (by the AP). For example, if the STA indicates via OMI that it does not support TB HE / EHT PPDUs, the AP is configured to delete its relevant information from aliveStaInfoList.

[0113] According to some embodiments, the AP maintains a bitmap for the RU allocation for each STA. The nth element (denoted as ru_used_flag[n]) indicates whether RU_n is allocated to the STA. If RU_n is used / occupied by the STA, ru_used_flag[n] is set to 1. If RU_n is not occupied / used, ru_used_flag[n] is set to 0. When the STA has exactly stopped responding, the RUs currently allocated to the STA will become available. The AP is configured to update the corresponding ru_used_flag to 0.

[0114] Initially, the AP assumes that all STAs can respond to the trigger frame sent by the AP, and RU_n is assigned to STA_n. Thus, the aliveStaInfoList contains N elements with the following content: Equation (2): aliveStaInfoList[i].sta_ID = i; Equation (3): aliveStaInfoList[i].ru_index_start = i; and Equation (4): aliveStaInfoList[i].ru_index_end = i, where aliveStaInfoList[i] is the i-th element of aliveStaInfoList, and i ranges from 1 to N. Additionally, for n from 1 to N, ru_used_flag[n] = 1.

[0115] Returning to method 1200, according to some embodiments, the AP executes method 1200 when detecting the existence of non-responsive STAs or when an STA no longer supports EHT / HE TB PPDU.

[0116] In lines 1 and 2, the AP deletes the information of the non-responsive STA from the aliveStaInfoList and updates the ru_used_flag of the RUs already assigned to the non-responsive STA to 0.

[0117] According to some embodiments, in the do-while-loop from line 3 to line 30, the AP reassigns all unoccupied RUs to the still-responsive STAs. In some embodiments, not all unoccupied RUs are reassigned.

[0118] In line 4, the AP copies the current aliveStaInfoList to a temporary list. Thus, the aliveStaInfoList remains unchanged during the subsequent for-loop (line 5) and is updated to be the same as the temporary list at the end of the current iteration of the do-while-loop.

[0119] The for-loop from line 5 to line 28 checks whether an RU is unoccupied. If RU_n is unoccupied, then from line 7 to line 26, the AP attempts to reassign it to the STA that occupies the RU on either side of RU_n. The tempList and ru_used_flag can be updated during the for-loop.

[0120] In line 7, depending on whether n is less than or equal to M, t is the index of the RU on the right or left of RU_n. For example, if RU_n is on the left (right) side of the entire bandwidth, the AP will attempt to reassign it to the STA that occupies the RU on the right (left) hand side of RU_n.

[0121] In line 8, the AP looks for the STA occupying RU_t in the aliveStaInfoList. If there is an element satisfying the condition ru_index_start <= t <= ru_index_end, the status is set to FOUND, and i is set to the index of that element. If not, the status is set to NOT_FOUND, and i is invalid.

[0122] In line 9, cnt (trial counter) is initialized to 1. The while condition in line 10 ensures that t is within the value range and the AP has not tried to reallocate the RU more than 2 times.

[0123] If the AP has found a live STA occupying RU_t (line 11), the AP reallocates RU_n to the STA whose information is in aliveStaInfoList[i]. Lines 13 - 16 update the ru_index_start / end fields. Line 17 updates the flag of the used RU_n to 1. Then, the AP exits the while-loop as indicated in line 18.

[0124] If the AP does not find a live STA occupying RU_t (for example, the STA occupying RU_t has just stopped responding to the AP and its information has been deleted from the aliveStaInfoList), the AP tries to reallocate RU_n to a STA on the other side. Line 22 updates t to the RU index on the other side. Again, the AP tries to find the STA occupying RU_t in the aliveStaInfoList (line 23). And the trial timer is incremented in line 24. Then, the AP returns to line 10 to check if t and cnt satisfy the conditions. If the status is FOUND this time, the AP has successfully reallocated RU_n. Otherwise, RU_n is not reallocated in this iteration of the do-while-loop and will be reallocated in subsequent iterations.

[0125] After exiting the while-loop in line 26, the AP continues to reallocate other unoccupied RUs. After completing the for-loop, the AP updates aliveStaInfoList to tempList, and then counts the number of 1s in ru_used_flag. If the number is less than N, which means there are still some unoccupied RUs, the AP will try to allocate them by entering the for-loop again as shown in line 30.

[0126] When all unoccupied RUs have been reallocated, based on the updated aliveStaInfoList, the AP assigns the maximum supported RU size to each alive STA in line 31. Method 1200 may be performed by the apparatus of the AP, the AP, the apparatus of the STA, and / or the STA. In some embodiments, one or more of lines 1202 may be performed in a different order. In some embodiments, method 1200 does not include one or more of lines 1202. In some embodiments, method 1200 includes one or more additional lines 1202.

[0127] Figure 13 Table 1300 showing an example of method 1200 according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 13 Shown is Table 1300. Table 1300 includes two columns: unoccupied RU location 1302 and RU reallocation policy 1304. Table 1300 shows an example of dynamic RU reallocation for a UL group, where a UL group has 4 STAs and the RU size is 20 MHz. In the example, only one RU becomes unoccupied at a time.

[0128] Figure 14 Method 1400 for dynamic RU reallocation according to some embodiments is shown. Method 1400 begins at operation 1402: Start. For example, the AP may have sent TF 1100, for example, as Figure 10 shown, TF 1012. The AP may have formed a UL group consisting of a set of STAs (e.g., STA A, STA B, STA C, STA D, and STA E).

[0129] Method 1400 continues at operation 1404: Has the AP received UL TB PPDUs from all requested STAs 1404?. For example, the AP may determine whether all members of the UL group have sent UL TB PPDUs. For example, in Figure 10 , the AP may determine whether all members of the requested UL group have responded to TF 1012. After TF 1012.1, all STAs responded with UL TB PPDUs, i.e., STA A→AP 1014.1, STA B→AP 1016.1, STA C→AP 1018.1, STA D→AP1020.1, and STA E→AP 1022.1. In this case, the answer is "Yes" 1414, and method 1400 continues at operation 1412: End.

[0130] After TF 1012.3, not all STAs responded with UL TB PPDUs, i.e., STA A→AP 1014.3, no transmission 1024.1, STA C→AP 1018.3, STA D→AP 1020.3, and STA E→AP 1022.3. STA B did not respond. In this case, the answer is "no" 1416, and method 1400 continues with operation 1406: More UL TB PPDUs?. For example, the AP determines whether there are more UL TB PPDUs to request from the UL group and whether to send another TF to the UL group. As disclosed herein, the AP may have information about the UL requirements of the STAs based on previous queries.

[0131] When the answer is "no" 1418, method 1400 continues with operation 1412: End. When the answer is "yes" 1420, then the AP dynamically reallocates the unoccupied RUs to other UL STAs within the group. For example, the AP may execute method 1200. In another example, Table 1300 shows an example at row 1 when the RU with index 1 is unoccupied because the STA did not send a UL TB PPDU. In this case, the AP reallocates the RU with index 1 to the STA in the RU with index 2. Method 1400 may continue with operation 1412. According to some embodiments, after reallocating the unoccupied RUs to other UL STAs within the group, the AP encodes and sends another TF.

[0132] Method 1400 may be performed by an EHT / HE AP (e.g., EHT AP 502) and / or an apparatus of the EHT / HE AP. According to some embodiments, the operations of method 1400 may be performed in a different order. According to some embodiments, method 1400 may include one or more additional operations. According to some embodiments, one or more operations of method 1400 may be optional.

[0133] Figure 15 Method 1500 for dynamic RU reallocation according to some embodiments is shown. Method 1500 begins with operation 1502: Start. For example, the AP may have sent TF 1100, e.g., as Figure 10 shown, TF 1012. The AP may have formed a UL group consisting of a set of STAs (e.g., STA A, STA B, STA C, STA D, and STA E). Before performing method 1500, the AP may determine to send another TF.

[0134] Method 1500 continues with operation 1504: Does the received OMI indicate to disable TB PPDU transmission?. For example, as disclosed herein, a STA in the UL group can indicate, for example, in an element that TB PPDU transmission is disabled. If the STA has not disabled TB PPDU transmission, then method 1500 continues with operation 1510: End. For example, the AP can encode another TF with the STAs of the current UL group. If the STA has disabled TB PPDU transmission ("Yes" 1514), then method 1500 continues with operation 1508: Dynamically reallocate the unoccupied RU to other STAs within the UL group. For example, the AP can perform method 1200. In another example, Table 1300 shows an example at row 1 when the RU with index 1 is unoccupied because the STA did not send a UL TB PPDU. In this case, the AP reallocates the RU with index 1 to the STA in the RU with index 2. Method 1500 continues with operation 1510: End. The AP will encode the TF based on the reallocation.

[0135] Method 1500 can be performed by an EHT / HE AP (e.g., EHT AP 502) and / or a device of the EHT / HE AP. According to some embodiments, the operations of method 1500 can be performed in a different order. According to some embodiments, method 1500 can include one or more additional operations. According to some embodiments, one or more operations of method 1500 can be optional.

[0136] Figures 16 - 20 Shows an example of dynamic RU allocation according to some embodiments. Figures 16 - 20 Shows an example of a method for an AP or a device of the AP to perform dynamic RU allocation. In some embodiments, Figures 16 - 20 Shows that method 1200 is performed by a device of the AP or the AP. The UL group of STAs consists of eight (8) STAs, and each STA initially occupies a 10 MHz RU. The RU sizes are 10 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, and 80 MHz, but different RU sizes can be used.

[0137] Figures 16 - 20 Shown are aliveStaInfoList 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000 and ru_used_flag 1650, 1750, 1850, 1950, 2050. Figure 16Shows the initial state of aliveStaInfoList and ru_used_flag. The RU of ru_used_flag represents the physical placement of the RU in the spectrum. For example, RU 3 is in the frequency range between RU 2 and RU 4. In the initial state, it is assumed that all STAs have responded to the TF and are available (e.g., not indicating that they no longer support UL TB PPDU). Figures 16 - 20 Shown are respectively the following columns: aliveStaInfoList 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, list index 1602, 1702, 1802, 1902, 2002, STA ID 1604, 1704, 1804, 1904, 2004, RU index start 1606, 1706, 1806, 1906, 2006, and RU index end 1608, 1708, 1808, 1908, 2008. Figures 16 - 20 Shown are respectively the following rows: ru_used_flag 1650, 1750, 1850, 1950, 2050, STA ID 1652, 1752, 1852, 1952, 2052, and RU ID 1654, 1754, 1854, 1954, 2054. Figure 16 The initial state shown can be at the start, e.g., before sending TF 1012.1, or after sending TF 1012.2 and all STAs have responded. Additionally, the assignment of STAs to RUs can already be after the AP has exchanged PPDUs or packets with the STAs to determine interference, and the AP may have selected the RUs to reduce or minimize interference between STAs.

[0138] Figure 17 Shows the state after the TF has been sent and STAs 3, 4, and 5 have stopped responding (or indicated to the AP that they do not support HE / EHT TB PPDU). aliveStaInfoL 1700 and ru_used_flag 1750 are updated. At 1710, the information for STAs 3, 4, 5 (3, 4, 5 of list index 1702) has been updated to invalid or the STAs do not respond. Additionally, at 1756, the information for STA 3, STA 4, and STA 5 has been indicated as invalid or the STAs do not respond (e.g., indicated as 0, as unoccupied).

[0139] Figure 18Shows the state after the first iteration of the do-while-loop (lines 3 to 30) of method 1200. In the first iteration of the do-while-loop, the AP did not assign RU_3 to STA 4 because STA 4 was no longer responding, so the AP finally re-assigned RU 3 to STA 2 at 1856. Additionally, in the first iteration of the do-while-loop, the AP did not assign RU_5 to STA 4 because STA 4 was no longer responding, so the AP finally re-assigned RU 5 to STA 6 at 1860. However, when the AP was attempting to re-assign RU_4, the AP found that neither of the STAs on both sides (both STA 3 and STA 5) were responding. As a result, at the end of this iteration of the do-while-loop, the AP left RU_4 unoccupied at 1858. The aliveStaInfoList 1800 was updated based on the above, where the starting RU index of STA 6 at 1806 changed to 5 at 1812, and the ending RU index of STA 2 at 1808 changed to 3 at 1810.

[0140] Figure 19 Shows aliveStaInfoList 1900 and ru_used_flag 1950 after the first iteration of the do-while-loop ( Figure 12 lines 3 - 30). RU 4 is still unoccupied at 1958. STA 2 now occupies RU 3 at 1956, and STA 6 now occupies RU 5 at 1960. The starting RU index of STA 6 at 1906 changed to 5 at 1912, and the ending RU index of STA 2 at 1908 changed to 3 at 1910.

[0141] Since RU 4 is still unoccupied at 1958, the AP enters the second iteration of the do-while-loop to try and re-assign RU 4 again. Since the aliveStaInfoList 1900 was updated at the end of the first iteration of the do-while-loop, this time at 2060 ( Figure 20 ), the AP finds that RU 5 indicates that STA 6 occupies RU 5 and is alive. So, at the end of the second iteration of the do-while-loop, RU 4 is re-assigned to STA 6, as Figure 20As shown. So far, all RUs are occupied. According to some embodiments, method 1200 may end. Note that according to some embodiments, STA 6 is assigned 3 RUs and the bandwidth is 30 MHz, which may not be supported. Thus, in some embodiments, the maximum available 20 MHz will be utilized in practice. In some embodiments, the update is performed only to expand the RUs that can be assigned to the STA by the TF for the STA.

[0142] Figure 21 and Figure 22 show simulation results 2100, 2200 for dynamic RU reallocation according to some embodiments. Figure 21 Shown are the maximum number of spatial streams 2102, throughput (MBPS) 2104, baseline 2106, case 1-1 2108, case 1-2 2110, and case 1-3 2112. Figure 22 Shown are the maximum number of spatial streams 2202, packet error rate (percentage %) 2204, baseline 2206, case 1-1 2108, case 1-2 2110, and case 1-3 2112.

[0143] The simulation results 2100, 2220 are for an AP that triggers a UL group of 4 UL STAs, and each UL STA is assigned a single 20 MHz RU. One of the UL STAs may not respond to the trigger frame. The simulation results test the situation where one of the requested UL STAs in the middle (e.g., 20 - 60 MHz RU within an 80 MHz channel bandwidth) does not respond to the trigger frame.

[0144] The baseline cases 2106, 2206 are (20 - 20 - 20 - 20 MHz channels): all requested UL STAs respond to the AP's trigger frame. Case 1-1 2108, 2208 (20 - 20 - 0 - 20) is: the AP does not reallocate the unoccupied RU resources. Case 1-2 2110, 2210 (20 - 20 - 40) is: the AP reallocates the unoccupied RUs to the STAs at the edges of the 80 MHz bandwidth. Case 1-3 2112, 2212 (20 - 40 - 20) is: the AP reallocates the unoccupied RUs to the STAs in the middle of the 80 MHz bandwidth.

[0145] The simulation results 2100, 2200 show that better results are obtained by reallocating the unoccupied RUs to other UL STAs in the UL group rather than not allocating resources. For example, in all the tested scenarios, case 1-2 2110, 2210 and 1-3 2112, 2212 achieve higher throughput performance than case 1-1 2108, 2208, as Figure 21 and Figure 22 shown.

[0146] The simulation results show that when the AP reallocates the unoccupied RUs to the adjacent STAs whose RUs are allocated in the middle of the channel bandwidth (i.e., cases 1-3 2112, 2212), rather than allocating the RUs to the adjacent STAs at the edges of the channel bandwidth (i.e., cases 1-2 2110, 2210), the throughput performance can be improved or maximized. By allocating a wider RU (i.e., 40 MHz) in the middle of the channel bandwidth, the AP can separate other STAs with narrower RUs (i.e., STAs with RU positions at 0-20 MHz and 60-80 MHz), and thus reduce or minimize the amount of MUI between the STAs.

[0147] Cases 1-3 2112, 2212 also achieve a lower (or similar) PER 2204 performance than cases 1-2 2110, 2210. Based on the simulation results 2100, 2200, the AP can increase the throughput performance by dynamically reallocating the unoccupied RUs to other UL STAs within the group. By allocating these unoccupied RUs to the STAs that allocate RUs in the middle of the channel bandwidth, the throughput performance can be further improved or optimized, especially when the RU size is relatively large compared to the entire channel bandwidth.

[0148] Figure 23 A method 2300 for dynamic allocation of RUs according to some embodiments is shown. Method 2300 begins at operation 2302: determining a set of STAs for UL MU OFDMA transmission. For example, the AP 806 can determine the set of STAs A-STA E 804.1-804.5. In another example, the AP can determine the four STAs of Table 1300. In another example, the AP can determine Figures 16 - 20 the eight STAs of the example.

[0149] Method 2300 can continue at operation 2304: determining a first RU for the set of STAs. For example, the AP 806 can determine Figure 10 the set of RUs. In another example, the AP can determine the four RUs of Table 1300. In another example, the AP can determine Figures 16 - 20 the eight RUs of the example.

[0150] Method 2300 continues at operation 2306: indicating that all STAs in the set are active. For example, referring to method 1200, Figures 16 - 20 in the example, the AP can set the aliveStaInfoList to indicate that all STAs are alive or active.

[0151] Method 2300 continues with operation 2308: encoding the TF for transmission, where the TF includes an indication of the UL bandwidth and an indication of the first RU determined for the group of STAs to transmit TB PPDUs in response to the TF. For example, AP 806 may encode TF1012.1, 2. The AP may encode the TF before performing method 1200 and before performing Figures 16 - 20 an example of

[0152] Method 2300 continues with operation 2310: configuring the AP to transmit the TF. For example, a device of the AP (e.g., AP 806 or EHT AP502) may configure the AP to transmit the TF.

[0153] Method 2300 continues with operation 2312: decoding the TB PPDUs from the group of STAs according to the determined first RU. For example, the AP performing method 1200 may decode the TB PPDUs before performing method 1200. In another example, AP 1002 may decode TB PPDUs STA A→AP 1014, STA B→AP 1016, STA C→AP 1018, STA D→AP1020, and STA E→AP 1022.

[0154] Method 2300 may continue with operation 2314: determining that a STA is inactive in response to the STA not responding to the TF. For example, the AP performing method 1200 may determine which STAs are not alive or are inactive, as described in connection with Figure 17 as described.

[0155] Method 2300 may continue with operation 2316: determining a second RU for the active STAs in the group of STAs, where the active STAs in the group of STAs keep their RUs from the determined first RU, and where the RUs of the inactive STAs are reallocated to the active STAs, where the RUs of the inactive STAs are allocated to the active STAs closer to the center of the UL bandwidth before being allocated to the active STAs closer to the edge of the UL bandwidth. For example, a device of the AP or the AP performing method 1200 may reallocate the RUs used by the inactive STAs in the group of STAs to the active STAs in the group of STAs, e.g., as disclosed in connection with Figures 18 - 20 as disclosed.

[0156] Method 2300 continues with operation 2318: encoding a second TF for transmission, where the second TF includes an indication of the UL bandwidth and an indication of the second RU determined for the active STAs in the group of STAs to transmit TB PPDUs in response to the second TF. For example, a device of the AP or the AP may, byFigure 20 The RU allocation encodes the second TF, as disclosed in conjunction with Figure 20 as disclosed.

[0157] According to some embodiments, method 2300 may be performed by a device of a HE AP, an EHT AP, a device of a HE AP, and / or a device of an EHT AP. The operations of method 2300 may be performed in a different order. One or more operations of method 2300 may be optional. Method 2300 may include one or more additional operations.

[0158] The abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b), which requires an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The appended claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, where each claim stands on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for an access point AP, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and a processing circuit coupled to the memory, the processing circuit being configured to: determine a set of stations STAs for uplink UL multi-user MU orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDMA transmission; determine a first resource unit RU for the set of STAs; indicate that all STAs in the set of STAs are active; encode a trigger frame TF for transmission, the TF including an indication of the uplink UL bandwidth and an indication of the determined first RU for the set of STAs to send a trigger-based TB physical layer PHY protocol data unit PPDU, i.e., a TB PPDU, in response to the TF; configure the AP to send the TF; decode the TB PPDU from the set of STAs according to the determined first RU; in response to a STA not responding to the TF, determine that the STA is inactive; determine a second RU for the active STAs in the set of STAs, wherein the active STAs in the set of STAs maintain their RUs as the determined first RU, and wherein the RUs of the inactive STAs are reallocated to the active STAs, and wherein the RUs of the inactive STAs are allocated to the active STAs closer to the center of the UL bandwidth before being allocated to the active STAs closer to the edge of the UL bandwidth; and encode a second TF for transmission, the second TF including an indication of the UL bandwidth and an indication of the determined second RU for the active STAs in the set of STAs to send a TB PPDU in response to the second TF.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the processing circuit is further configured to: in response to a STA responding to the TF with an indication that the STA no longer supports the TB PPDU, determine that the STA is inactive.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the processing circuit is further configured to: determine the first RU for the set of STAs based on reducing interference between the STAs in the set of STAs.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the second TF suppresses STAs that are not part of the set of STAs.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the UL bandwidth is one of the following groups: 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 80+80 MHz, 80 MHz+160 MHz, 320 MHz, 160+160 MHz, and wherein the RU in the RUs is one of the following groups: 26 tones, 52 tones, 106 tones, 242 tones, 484 tones, 996 tones, and 2x996 tones.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the processing circuit is further configured to: in response to the RUs of the inactive STAs being reallocated to the active STAs, determine the new RU for the active STAs as the combination of the RUs of the inactive STAs plus the RUs of the active STAs.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The processing circuit is further configured to: exchange frames with the STAs, where the STAs include the group of STAs and additional STAs; determine interference characteristics of the STAs based on the exchanged frames; and determine the group of STAs based on the interference characteristics, where the group of STAs is selected in a manner that reduces interference among the group of STAs.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: configure the AP to send the second TF; decode the TB PPDU from the active STAs in the group of STAs according to the determined second RU; and in response to a STA not responding to the TF, determine that the STA is inactive.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein when the combination of the corresponding RUs of the inactive STAs and the corresponding RUs of the active STAs cannot be combined to form a new RU, the RUs of the inactive STAs are not reallocated to the active STAs.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the frequency range after combining the corresponding RU of the inactive STA and the corresponding RU of the active STA is not an optional RU for the UL bandwidth, the corresponding RU of the inactive STA and the corresponding RU of the active STA cannot be combined to form the new RU.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the TF and the second TF further include: an identification ID subfield, a modulation and coding scheme MCS subfield, a received signal strength indication RSSI subfield, a trigger type subfield, a transmit power TP subfield, and a spatial stream subfield.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the AP and the STAs are configured to operate according to one or more of the following: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE 802.11HE, IEEE 802.11EHT, and IEEE 802.

11.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, further comprising: a mixer circuit for downconverting an RF signal to a baseband signal; and a synthesizer circuit, the synthesizer circuit including one of a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, the synthesizer circuit being configured to generate an output frequency used by the mixer circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to decode the baseband signal, and the baseband signal includes the TBPPDU.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, further comprising: a mixer circuit for downconverting an RF signal to a baseband signal; and a synthesizer circuit, the synthesizer circuit including a delta-sigma synthesizer, the synthesizer circuit being configured to generate an output frequency used by the mixer circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to decode the baseband signal, and the baseband signal includes the TBPPDU.

15. A method performed by an apparatus of an access point AP, the method comprises: determining a group of stations STAs for uplink UL multi-user MU orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDMA transmission; Determine a first resource unit (RU) for the group of STAs; Indicate that all STAs in the group of STAs are active; Encode a trigger frame (TF) for transmission, the TF including an indication of an uplink (UL) bandwidth and an indication of the determined first RU for the group of STAs to transmit a trigger-based TB physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU), i.e., a TB PPDU, in response to the TF; Configure the AP to transmit the TF; Decode the TB PPDU from the group of STAs according to the determined first RU; In response to a STA not responding to the TF, determine that the STA is inactive; Determine a second RU for the active STAs in the group of STAs, wherein the active STAs in the group of STAs maintain their RUs as the determined first RU, and wherein the RUs of the inactive STAs are reallocated to the active STAs, and wherein the RUs of the inactive STAs are allocated to the active STAs closer to the center of the UL bandwidth before being allocated to the active STAs closer to the edge of the UL bandwidth; and Encode a second TF for transmission, the second TF including an indication of the UL bandwidth and an indication of the determined second RU for the active STAs in the group of STAs to transmit a TB PPDU in response to the second TF.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: In response to a STA responding to the TF with an indication that the STA no longer supports a TB PPDU, determine that the STA is inactive.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors of an apparatus of an access point (AP), the instructions configuring the one or more processors to: Determine a group of stations (STAs) for uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission; Determine a first resource unit (RU) for the group of STAs; Indicate that all STAs in the group of STAs are active; Encode a trigger frame (TF) for transmission, the TF including an indication of an uplink (UL) bandwidth and an indication of the determined first RU for the group of STAs to transmit a trigger-based TB physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU), i.e., a TB PPDU, in response to the TF; Configure the AP to transmit the TF; Decode the TB PPDU from the group of STAs according to the determined first RU; In response to a STA not responding to the TF, determine that the STA is inactive; Determine a second RU for the active STAs in the group of STAs, wherein the active STAs in the group of STAs maintain their RUs as the determined first RU, and wherein the RUs of the inactive STAs are reallocated to the active STAs, and wherein the RUs of the inactive STAs are allocated to the active STAs closer to the center of the UL bandwidth before being allocated to the active STAs closer to the edge of the UL bandwidth; and Encode a second TF for transmission, the second TF including an indication of the UL bandwidth and an indication of a second RU determined for active STAs in the STA to send a TB PPDU in response to the second TF.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 17, wherein, the instructions further configure the one or more processors to: In response to an STA responding to the TF with an indication that the STA no longer supports TB PPDUs, determine that the STA is inactive.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 17 or 18, wherein, the instructions further configure the one or more processors to: Determine a first RU for the group of STAs based on reducing interference between STAs in the group of STAs.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 17 or 18, wherein, the second TF suppresses STAs that are not part of the group of STAs.

21. An apparatus for an access point AP, the apparatus comprises: A module for determining a group of stations STA for uplink UL multi-user MU orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDMA transmission; A module for determining a first resource unit RU for the group of STAs; A module for indicating that all STAs in the group of STAs are active; A module for encoding a trigger frame TF for transmission, the TF including an indication of the uplink UL bandwidth and an indication of a first RU determined for the group of STAs to send a trigger-based TB physical layer PHY protocol data unit PPDU, i.e., TBPPDU, in response to the TF; A module for configuring the AP to send the TF; A module for decoding a TB PPDU from the group of STAs according to the determined first RU; A module for determining that an STA is inactive in response to an STA not responding to the TF; A module for determining a second RU for active STAs in the group of STAs, wherein the active STAs in the group of STAs maintain their RUs as the determined first RU, and wherein the RUs of inactive STAs are reallocated to active STAs, and wherein the RUs of inactive STAs are allocated to active STAs closer to the center of the UL bandwidth before being allocated to active STAs closer to the edge of the UL bandwidth; and A module for encoding a second TF for transmission, the second TF including an indication of the UL bandwidth and an indication of a second RU determined for active STAs in the group of STAs to send a TB PPDU in response to the second TF.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, the apparatus further comprises: A module for determining that an STA is inactive in response to an STA responding to the TF with an indication that the STA no longer supports TB PPDUs.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein, the apparatus further comprises: A module for determining a first RU for a group of STAs based on reducing interference between STAs in the group of STAs.

24. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein, the second TF suppression includes STAs that are not part of the group of STAs.

25. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein, the UL bandwidth is one of the following groups: 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz, 80 MHz + 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 160 + 160 MHz, and wherein the RU in the RU is one of the following groups: 26 tones, 52 tones, 106 tones, 242 tones, 484 tones, 996 tones, and 2 x 996 tones.

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