Trigger-based transmission method and related apparatus

Abstract

Various examples relate to efficient trigger-based (TB) multi-user (MU) uplink (UL) transmissions in wireless local area networks (WLANs). A station (STA) receives a trigger frame from an access point (AP) that allocates one or more resource units (RUs) corresponding to one or more of a plurality of sub-channels. The STA then performs a transmission using the allocated one or more RUs in response to receiving the trigger frame. In a case where at least one of the plurality of sub-channels is detected to be busy, the one or more sub-channels comprise a subset (e.g., some but not all) of the plurality of sub-channels.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to efficient trigger-based (TB) multi-user (MU) uplink (UL) transmission in a wireless local area network (WLAN). Background Art

[0002] Regarding TB MU UL transmission, the triggered station (STA) can only transmit using the exact resource unit (RU) or the aggregate of multiple RUs (MRUs) allocated in the trigger frame. In next-generation wireless communications, such as those implemented in WLANs based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ac / ax standards, the access point (AP) sending the trigger frame is unaware of the clear channel assessment (CCA) status of the triggered target STA. Therefore, if the CCA of one or more 20MHz subchannels within its allocated RU / MRU is not clear, the STA allocated with the RU / MRU in the trigger frame cannot transmit any signal. For example, when a STA is triggered to perform UL orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission using an allocated 996-tone RU (RU996), if the CCA indicates that the secondary 20 MHz subchannel is busy, the STA will not participate in the UL OFDMA transmission. That is, in IEEE802.11ax, when the AP is configured with the required channel sensing (CS) (for example, by setting "CSRequired = 1"), the triggered STA needs to perform CCA for each 20 MHz subchannel before responding to the trigger frame. If any part of the allocated frequency resources is detected to be busy during the CCA, the STA will not transmit any TB physical-layer protocol data unit (PPDU). It can be seen that under this protocol, the spectrum utilization efficiency will be reduced. Therefore, a solution for efficient TB MU UL transmission in WLAN is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following overview is provided to introduce the concepts, key points, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious technologies described herein. Selected embodiments are further described in the detailed description below. Therefore, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0004] The present invention is directed to providing schemes, concepts, designs, techniques, methods, and apparatuses for efficient TB MU UL transmission in WLANs. Various proposed schemes according to the present invention can address the problems described herein. For example, when a STA is triggered to utilize a 996-tone RU for UL OFDMA transmission and one of the multiple 20 MHz subcarriers is busy, spectral efficiency can be improved if the STA is able to transmit on a 242-tone RU or a 484-tone RU, or a combination of a 242-tone RU and a 484-tone RU (MRU (242+484)).

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a trigger-based transmission method, comprising: receiving a trigger frame from an access point (AP), wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units (RUs) corresponding to one or more subchannels from a plurality of subchannels; and, in response to receiving the trigger frame, performing a transmission using the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, if at least one of the plurality of subchannels is detected as busy, the one or more subchannels comprise a subset of the plurality of subchannels. For example, in a first example, before sending the trigger frame, the access point (AP) receives a CCA status from a station indicating the CCA status of each subchannel. Based on the CCA status reported by the station, the access point (AP) does not allocate resource units (RUs) for the busy subchannels, thereby making the one or more subchannels a subset of the plurality of subchannels, and the station performs the transmission using all data units of the allocated one or more subchannels. For another example, in a second example, the one or more subchannels comprise all of the plurality of subchannels, and the station determines, based on the CCA status of each subchannel, to perform the transmission using resource units (RUs) corresponding to the one or more subchannels whose CCA status is not busy. In an embodiment of the present invention, one or more RUs used by a station to perform transmission (such as uplink transmission) are a subset or all of one or more subchannels included in one or more RUs allocated to it by the access point AP. For example, in the first example, the subchannels corresponding to one or more RUs used by the station to perform transmission (such as uplink transmission) are all of one or more subchannels included in one or more RUs allocated to it by the access point AP. In the second example, the subchannels corresponding to one or more RUs used by the station to perform transmission (such as uplink transmission) are a subset of one or more subchannels included in one or more RUs allocated to it by the access point AP (for example, all subchannels in the entire bandwidth are allocated, and the station performs transmission on a subchannel whose CCA status is idle, and a subchannel whose CCA status is busy is punctured).

[0006] In some embodiments, before receiving the trigger frame from the AP, the method further includes: performing a clear channel assessment CCA on the multiple sub-channels; receiving a poll from the AP; and, in response to receiving the poll, sending a report to the AP, wherein the report indicates the status of the multiple sub-channels according to the CCA.

[0007] In some embodiments, the one or more RUs are allocated based on the status of the multiple subchannels indicated by the report according to the CCA, and in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy according to the CCA, no RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is allocated.

[0008] In some embodiments, the trigger frame indicates whether RU downsizing is enabled, and the trigger frame further indicates a target received signal strength indication RSSI as power control information for the allocated one or more RUs.

[0009] In some embodiments, performing transmission using the allocated one or more RUs includes: performing transmission using the reduced size RU by transmitting a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on a triggered TB to the AP on the reduced size RU, wherein the at least one subchannel is punctured; and, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the size of the reduced size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

[0010] In some embodiments, the TB PPDU includes a trigger-based signal TB-SIG field that carries information about the RU size reduction.

[0011] In some embodiments, the trigger frame triggers an uplink UL orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission based on a trigger TB, wherein the allocated one or more RUs include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in a primary 20 MHz subchannel of the multiple subchannels; and performing the transmission includes: sending a status report including a clear channel assessment (CCA) status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU.

[0012] In some embodiments, performing the transmitting further comprises: replicating the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel across the entire bandwidth including the plurality of subchannels but excluding the at least one subchannel if the at least one subchannel is detected to be busy.

[0013] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a trigger-based transmission method, comprising: sending a trigger frame to a station STA, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more subchannels among a plurality of subchannels; and, in response to sending the trigger frame, receiving a transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, when at least one subchannel among the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels include a subset of the plurality of subchannels.

[0014] In some embodiments, before sending the trigger frame to the STA, the method further includes: sending a poll to the STA; and, in response to sending the poll, receiving a report from the STA, wherein the report indicates the status of the multiple sub-channels based on a clear channel assessment CCA performed by the STA on the multiple sub-channels.

[0015] In some embodiments, the one or more RUs are allocated based on the status of the multiple subchannels indicated by the report according to the CCA, and in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy according to the CCA, no RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is allocated.

[0016] In some embodiments, the trigger frame indicates whether RU downsizing is enabled, and the trigger frame further indicates a target received signal strength indication RSSI as power control information for the allocated one or more RUs.

[0017] In some embodiments, receiving a transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs includes: receiving a triggered TB-based physical layer protocol data unit PPDU transmitted by the STA using the reduced-size RU using the RU reduced in size, wherein the at least one subchannel is punctured; and, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the reduced-size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

[0018] In some embodiments, the TB PPDU includes a trigger-based signal (TB-SIG) field that carries information about the RU reduced size.

[0019] In some embodiments, the trigger frame triggers an uplink UL orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission based on a trigger TB from the STA, wherein the allocated one or more RUs include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in a primary 20 MHz subchannel of the multiple subchannels; and performing the transmission includes: sending a status report including a clear channel assessment (CCA) status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU.

[0020] In some embodiments, in the event that the at least one subchannel is detected to be busy, the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel is replicated across the entire bandwidth including the plurality of subchannels but excluding the at least one subchannel.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method further includes: detecting whether the STA performs the transmission using RU size reduction by performing one or more of the following: decoding one or both of the legacy signal L-SIG field and the universal signal U-SIG field for each of the multiple subchannels to check the repetitive pattern, content and cyclic redundancy check CRC of each of the L-SIG and / or the U-SIG; comparing the received signal strength indication RSSI of the received transmission with the target RSSI of each of the multiple subchannels; and processing the very high throughput short training field EHT-STF and one or more very high throughput long training fields EHT-LTF.

[0022] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a communication device comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein the processor and the transceiver are configured to perform the following operations: receive a trigger frame from an access point AP, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more subchannels among a plurality of subchannels; and, in response to receiving the trigger frame, perform transmission using the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, when at least one subchannel among the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels include a subset of the plurality of subchannels.

[0023] In some embodiments, performing the transmission using the allocated one or more RUs includes: performing the transmission using the reduced size RU by transmitting a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on a triggered TB to the AP on the reduced size RU, wherein the at least one subchannel is punctured; and, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the size of the reduced size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

[0024] In some embodiments, the trigger frame triggers an uplink UL orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission based on a trigger TB, wherein the allocated one or more RUs include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in a primary 20 MHz subchannel of the multiple subchannels; and performing the transmission includes: sending a status report including a clear channel assessment (CCA) status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU.

[0025] In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a communication device comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to perform the following operations: sending a trigger frame to a station STA, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more subchannels among a plurality of subchannels; and, in response to sending the trigger frame, receiving a transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, when at least one subchannel among the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels include a subset of the plurality of subchannels.

[0026] It is worth noting that although the description provided herein is provided in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as WiFi, the concepts, schemes, and any variants / derivatives thereof may be implemented in or through other types of radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as, but not limited to, Bluetooth, ZigBee, 5th Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, Internet of Things (IoT), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Therefore, the scope of the present application is not limited to the examples described herein.

[0027] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate these and other objects of the present invention after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Detailed description will be given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The present invention may be more fully understood by reading the detailed description that follows and by referring to the examples provided in the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of the embodiments of the present invention. The accompanying drawings illustrate implementations of the embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, as some components may be shown not to scale with actual dimensions in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example network environment in which various solutions and technical solutions according to the present invention can be implemented.

[0030] Figure 2is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary design according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary design according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 11 is a block diagram of an example communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 12 is a flow chart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 13 is a flow chart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] In the following detailed description, for illustrative purposes, numerous specific details are set forth so that those skilled in the art can more thoroughly understand the embodiments of the present invention. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details, and that different embodiments or different features disclosed in different embodiments may be combined as needed, and the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The following description is of preferred embodiments of the present invention and is intended only to illustrate the technical features of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Certain terms are used throughout the specification and claims to refer to specific components. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that manufacturers may use different names for the same components. Therefore, this specification and claims do not distinguish components by name, but rather by functional differences. The terms "component," "system," and "device" used in this invention may refer to entities related to a computer, which may be hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The terms "including" and "comprising" used in the following description and claims are open-ended and should be interpreted as meaning "including, but not limited to..." Furthermore, the term "coupled" refers to an indirect or direct electrical connection. Therefore, when a device is described as being coupled to another device, this means that the device may be directly electrically connected to the other device or indirectly electrically connected to the other device through other devices or connections.

[0044] Corresponding numerals and symbols in the various figures of the drawings generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The drawings are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant parts of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0045] As used herein, the terms "substantially" or "approximately" mean that a person skilled in the art is able to solve the desired technical problem and substantially achieve the desired technical effect within an acceptable range. For example, "approximately equal to" means that a certain deviation from "exactly equal to" is acceptable to a person skilled in the art without affecting the accuracy of the result.

[0046] Embodiments according to the present invention relate to various technologies, methods, technical solutions, and / or solutions related to efficient TB MU UL transmission in WLAN. According to the present invention, various feasible solutions can be implemented individually or in combination. That is, although these feasible solutions are described separately below, two or more of these feasible solutions can be implemented in one or more combinations.

[0047] It is worth noting that although the examples described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings show a first RU of size A and a second RU of size B, as in RU A + RU B, various proposed solutions according to the present invention can be implemented with RU A + RU B, and vice versa (e.g., RU B + RU A). In other words, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples presented herein, but also covers variations thereof. For example, for multiple RU groups (996 + 484), the order of the RUs can be swapped in different implementations, such as, in one implementation, a first RU of size 484 plus a second RU of size 996, or alternatively, in another implementation, a first RU of size 996 plus a second RU of size 484. Furthermore, in the present invention, aggregated multiple RUs may be referred to interchangeably as "multi-RU" and "MRU." Therefore, in the above example, the multiple RU group (996+484) is an aggregation of two RUs (ie, the 996-tone RU and the 484-tone RU), and can be called multiple RU (996+484) or MRU (996+484).

[0048] Figure 1 An example network environment 100 is shown in which various solutions and techniques according to the present invention may be implemented. Figures 2 to 13 Examples of implementations of various proposed solutions in a network environment 100 are shown according to the present invention. Figures 1 to 13 , the following descriptions of various proposed schemes are provided.

[0049] refer to Figure 1 , a network environment 100 involves a communication entity 110 and a communication entity 120 that wirelessly communicate (e.g., in a WLAN according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards). For example, the communication entity 110 may be a first station (STA), and the communication entity 120 may be a second STA, wherein each of the first STA and the second STA may be an access point (AP) STA or a non-AP STA. Under various proposed schemes according to the present invention, the communication entity 110 and the communication entity 120 may be configured to perform efficient TB MU UL transmission in the WLAN, as described herein.

[0050] According to the proposed scheme for enhanced TB UL transmission of the present invention, the AP (e.g., communication entity 120) knows the CCA status of its target STA(s) and allocates RU / MRU to each target STA without violating the CCA status of the target STA(s). Currently, in the multi-user request-to-send (MU-RTS) and clear-to-send (CTS) procedures, the AP cannot know from the CTS which STAs have responded to the MU-RTS with CTS. Therefore, regardless of whether the STA responds with CTS, the AP will continue to transmit. Therefore, under the proposed scheme, a medium access control (MAC) layer scheme (which is also a CCA status reporting scheme, for example, using BQR / BSR and BQRP / BSRP to report the CCA status of the STA) is required to avoid no transmission due to busy CCA of the subchannel. Furthermore, the proposed solution requires a physical (PHY) layer solution involving UL subcarrier puncturing or STA downsized RU / MRU. For example, according to the PHY layer solution, the STA (e.g., communication entity 110) reduces the size of the RU / MRU allocated to it for UL TB transmission. The STA can also signal its downsized RU / MRU to the AP in the TB PPDU. Furthermore, the STA can control its transmit power accordingly.

[0051] Figure 2An example scenario 200 of the implementation of the proposed scheme for CCA status reporting and period protection setup is shown. Under the proposed scheme, a CCA status reporting mechanism is needed to avoid allocating a RU / MRU containing (one or more) busy CCA subchannels (i.e., one or more subchannels whose CCA status is busy) to a STA for TB MU UL transmission. The current multi-RTS / CTS only sets a protection period for UL TB transmission. For status reporting, bandwidth query report (BQR) and / or buffer status report (BSR), as well as bandwidth query report poll (BQRP) and / or buffer status report poll (BSRP) can be used to report the CCA status. Reference Figure 2 , initially the AP may send a MU-RTS, and accordingly, the first STA and the second STA (STA1 and STA2) may each respond with a CTS. Then, the AP may send a BQRP / BSRP (Bandwidth Query Report Poll / Buffer Status Report Poll) to STA1, and in response, STA1 may send a BQR / BSR (Bandwidth Query Report / Buffer Status Report) to the AP. Similarly, the AP may send a BQRP / BSRP to STA2, and in response, STA2 may send a BQR / BSR to the AP. Under the proposed scheme, the BQR / BSR (Bandwidth Query Report / Buffer Status Report) from each of STA1 and STA2 may include a report of the respective CCA status, so that the AP can understand the CCA status of each of STA1 and STA2 (e.g., whether the corresponding subchannel is idle or busy).

[0052] Under the proposed scheme, the BQR / BSR and BQRP / BSRP frames can be modified and can be referred to as status reporting (SR) and status reporting poll (SRP), respectively. In addition to the subfields contained in the regular BQR and BSR, the SR (status report) can also be used to report the CCA status of the 20MHz subchannels. According to the scheme proposed by the present invention, if the CCA status is not a subfield in the SR frame, the SR frame itself can be used as an indicator of the CCA status by sending a punctured SR frame. The SR frame can also set the transmission opportunity (TXOP) period for the upcoming TB MU UL transmission.

[0053] Figure 3 An example scenario 300 of the implementation of the proposed solution is shown, which relates to an enhanced trigger procedure for UL TB transmission. According to the proposed solution of the present invention, TB MU UL transmission is located after the status report phase. For example, in the trigger frame sent by the AP, the AP can allocate (one or more) RU / MRU to the STA based on the CCA status report from the STA. Figure 3 Initially, the AP may send a MU-RTS, and accordingly, STA1 and STA2 may each respond with a CTS. Then, the AP may send a BQRP / BSRP (Bandwidth Query Report Poll / Buffer Status Report Poll) to STA1, and in response, STA1 may send a BQR / BSR (Bandwidth Query Report / Buffer Status Report) to the AP. Similarly, the AP may send a BQRP / BSRP (Bandwidth Query Report Poll / Buffer Status Report Poll) to STA2, and in response, STA2 may send a BQR / BSR (Bandwidth Query Report / Buffer Status Report) to the AP. Subsequently, the AP sends a trigger frame to trigger STA1 and STA2 to perform TB MU UL transmission. The trigger frame may allocate one or more RUs / MRUs to each of STA1 and STA2. Therefore, each of STA1 and STA2 may respectively send one or more UL TB PPDUs using the RUs / MRUs allocated to them.

[0054] Figure 4 An example scenario 400 of the implementation of the proposed solution is shown, which relates to an enhanced triggering procedure for UL TB transmission. Figure 4The AP knows the CCA status of the STA. When one of the four 20 MHz subchannels is detected as busy during CCA, the AP can allocate a (242+484)-tone MRU to STA2 in the trigger frame instead of a 996-tone RU. For example, the 996-tone RU corresponds to an 80 MHz bandwidth, while the (242+484)-tone MRU corresponds to a 60 MHz bandwidth. Thus, the AP allocates part of the bandwidth to STA2 for UL transmission based on STA2's CCA status. Furthermore, since no subchannel is busy for STA1, the AP can allocate another 996-tone RU to STA1. Therefore, STA1 can use the allocated 996-tone RU for UL TB transmission, while STA2 can use the allocated (242+484)-tone MRU for UL TB transmission.

[0055] Under the proposed scheme for downsizing STA fractional bandwidth or RU / MRU according to the present invention, one or more predefined feasible downsized RU / MRUs for each RU / MRU are known to the AP and the STA. Under the proposed scheme, the downsizing granularity can be 20MHz, which corresponds to a 20MHz subchannel and a CCA per-20MHz. For example, for a 996-tone RU, the predefined downsized RU / MRUs can be a subset of a 242-tone RU, a 484-tone RU, and a (242+484)-tone MRU. As another example, for a 2x996-tone RU, the predefined downsized RU / MRUs can be a subset of a 996-tone RU, a (484+996)-tone MRU, and a (242+484)+996-tone MRU. For example, when the AP triggers the STA with an allocated 484+3x996 tone MRU, the predefined reduced-size RU / MRU may be a subset of the 3x996 tone RU and the 2x996 tone RU.

[0056] Under another proposed scheme, efficient TB MU UL transmission can still be achieved without explicit signaling to indicate RU / MRU downsizing. Under the proposed scheme, the AP can send a trigger frame to trigger an extremely high-throughput (EHT) TB PPDU. The AP can indicate whether RU / MRU downsizing is allowed or whether UL subchannel puncturing is allowed in the User Information field of the trigger frame. For example, one bit can be used to indicate whether RU / MRU downsizing is enabled (e.g., "1" = enabled, "0" = disabled). The AP can also include a target received signal strength indicator (RSSI) in the trigger frame as power control information for the RU / MRU assigned to the STA(s). Accordingly, the STA can transmit on the downsizing RU / MRU based on 20MHz or 40MHz puncturing. The EHT TB PPDU with the reduced size RU / MRU may use the same format as the EHT TB PPDU without the reduced size RU / MRU. Figure 5 An example design 500 of an EHT TB PPDU format is shown. Figure 5 The EHT TB PPDU format can be used to automatically detect EHT PPDUs with or without reduced RU / MRU sizes. An EHT TB PPDU with a reduced RU / MRU size has one or more 20 MHz channels / subchannels punctured. The EHT TB PPDU preamble does not carry explicit RU / MRU size reduction signaling. The AP can automatically detect the reduced RU / MRU size for each STA using various automatic detection schemes described below.

[0057] Under the proposed scheme for automatically detecting reduced-size RU / MRU, the AP can use the legacy signal (L-SIG) field, the repeated legacy signal (RL-SIG) field, and / or the universal signal (U-SIG) field in the preamble to detect reduced-size RU / MRU. Under the proposed scheme, the AP decodes the L-SIG and / or U-SIG for each 20 MHz channel to check the repetition pattern, content, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of each of the L-SIG and / or U-SIG. If the repetition pattern, content, and / or CRC of the L-SIG, RL-SIG, and / or U-SIG are incorrect, the AP can infer that the corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is punctured. Figure 6 An example scenario 600 for the implementation of the proposed scheme is shown. In scenario 600, the AP triggers two STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2) to perform UL OFDMA transmission. Here, STA1 can be allocated a first 80 MHz (e.g., a first 996-tone RU), and STA2 can be allocated a second 80 MHz (e.g., a second 996-tone RU). STA1 sends an EHT TB PPDU on a reduced-size (242+484)-tone MRU. The AP processes each 20 MHz preamble and checks the content and CRC of the L-SIG, RL-SIG, and / or U-SIG to determine which 20 MHz subchannel is punctured, and then determines the reduced-size RU / MRU according to the predefined reduced-size RU / MRU options. Figure 6 In the example shown, the AP may find L-SIG, RL-SIG, and / or U-SIG errors in the second 20 MHz sub-channel for STA1 (which is punctured).

[0058] Under another proposed scheme for automatic detection of reduced-size RU / MRU, for each 20 MHz subchannel, the AP compares the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) with the target RSSI for each 20 MHz subchannel using a threshold to determine which subchannel is punctured. For example, for a particular subchannel, if the difference between its RSSI and the target RSSI is within the threshold, it indicates that the particular subchannel is not punctured, while if the difference between the RSSI and the target RSSI is outside the threshold, it indicates that the particular subchannel is punctured. Taking scenario 600 as an example, the AP triggers two STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2) to perform ULOFDMA transmission. Here, STA1 can be allocated the first 80 MHz (e.g., the first 996-tone RU), and STA2 can be allocated the second 80 MHz (e.g., the second 996-tone RU). STA1 can send the EHT TB PPDU on the reduced-size (242+484)-tone MRU. The AP may compare the RSSI with the target RSSI for each 20 MHz subchannel and determine that the second 20 MHz subchannel has no signal (eg, the RSSI differs significantly from the target RSSI), thereby inferring that the second 20 MHz subchannel for STA1 is punctured.

[0059] Under another proposed scheme for automatically detecting reduced-size RU / MRU, the AP may use the EHT short training field (EHT-STF) and / or EHT long training fields (EHT-LTFs) in the preamble to detect reduced-size RU / MRU. Under the proposed scheme, when a STA reduces the size of its RU / MRU, the subcarriers in the EHT-STF and / or EHT-LTF corresponding to (one or more) punctured 20 MHz subchannels do not exist. The AP may compare the received power on the subcarriers in each 20 MHz subchannel with the target RSSI to identify the one or more punctured 20 MHz subchannels. For UL multi-user multiple-input-and-multiple-output (MU-MIMO), the AP may compare the received power of the spatial streams allocated to each STA on the subcarriers in each 20 MHz subchannel to identify one or more punctured 20 MHz subchannels for the STA.

[0060] It is worth noting that some or all of the above automatic detection schemes can be used together to enhance the performance of automatic detection. In addition, a transmission (TX) capability element for supporting reduced RU / MRU size can be defined for non-AP STAs. In addition, the AP can send a trigger frame containing an indication of whether RU / MRU size reduction is allowed / enabled for each allocated RU / MRU.

[0061] Under the proposed scheme for STAs to explicitly signal the reduced RU / MRU size, in order to avoid the complexity of AP processing the preamble, the STA can explicitly signal its reduced RU / MRU size in the TB PPDU. For example, a new format of the EHT TB PPDU with a TB signal (TB-SIG) field can be introduced for this purpose. Figure 7 An example design 700 under the proposed scheme is shown. Figure 7 In the TB-SIG field, each STA may be assigned a set of subcarriers to carry its reduced-size RU / MRU information. The set of subcarriers in the TB-SIG and assigned to each STA may also be indicated in the trigger frame. For the 4x parameter set, each STA may be assigned a 26-tone RU in the TB-SIG to carry its reduced-size RU / MRU information. For the 1x parameter set, each STA may be assigned N data tones, for example, N is 4 or 8.

[0062] In the case of a 1x parameter set, the TB-SIG symbol may contain 48 or 52 data tones. In this case, each STA may be allocated N data tones, where N can be 4, 6, 8, 12, and so on. Under the proposed scheme, a STA may transmit the TB-SIG using only its allocated tones and use zero energy on unassigned data tones. The allocated tones in the TB-SIG may be a set of continuous tones or a set of discretely interleaved (e.g., non-contiguous) tones. The bits carried on the allocated set of tones may contain the reduced-size RU / MRU information for that STA.

[0063] It's worth noting that BQR / BSR or BQRP / BSRP frames can only poll STAs one-to-one. Therefore, when there are many STAs to poll, polling STAs to obtain the CCA status of each STA can be very inefficient. To address this issue, two solutions are proposed.

[0064] Under the proposed scheme to improve status polling efficiency, triggered OFDM APPDUs are used for status (CCA status) reporting. Under the proposed scheme, a trigger frame from the AP can trigger each STA to utilize a status report frame of an UL TB PPDU with OFDMA format on the primary 20 MHz subchannel among multiple subchannels. For example, the trigger frame can trigger UL TB OFDMA transmissions from multiple STAs by allocating a corresponding 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU within the primary 20 MHz subchannel to each STA. Each triggered STA can use its allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU to send its status report, which indicates the corresponding status (i.e., CCA status) of multiple subchannels based on the CCA performed by the STA.

[0065] Figure 8 An example scenario 800 of the implementation of the proposed solution is shown. Figure 8 , the AP sends MU-RTS to multiple STAs including STA1, STA2, and STA3 over a wide bandwidth (BW), for example, 80 MHz or greater. In response to receiving the MU-RTS, each of STA1, STA2, and STA3 sends a corresponding CTS to the AP. Then, the AP sends a trigger frame to the multiple STAs, which allocates a corresponding RU / MRU to each STA. In response to receiving the trigger frame, each of STA1, STA2, and STA3 sends a corresponding status report to the AP over its allocated RU / MRU within the 20 MHz subchannel. Then, the AP sends a trigger frame over the wide bandwidth, causing each of STA1, STA2, and STA3 to send one or more corresponding UL TB PPDUs over the wide bandwidth.

[0066] Under another proposed scheme for improving the efficiency of status polling, a new trigger (or polling) frame can be used to trigger OFDMA duplicated / copied (OFDMA DUP) PPDU. This new trigger (or polling) frame can trigger a status report frame using a TB PPDU with an OFDMA duplicated format over a wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or higher). The new trigger frame can trigger UL TB OFDMA transmissions of multiple STAs by allocating a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU within the primary 20 MHz bandwidth to each STA. Each triggered STA responds with a status report (including CCA status) using the 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU allocated within the primary 20 MHz. When the CCA of one or more 20 MHz sub-channels is not idle (i.e., busy), each triggered STA and / or AP can replicate the waveform of the primary 20 MHz over the entire bandwidth of the 20 MHz sub-channels that are not punctured, thereby avoiding temporary occupation of the idle 20 MHz sub-channels and improving communication efficiency. Under the proposed scheme, MU-RTS / CTS is unnecessary because the OFDMA DUP status report frame can set the protection period for UL TB transmission.

[0067] Figure 9 An example scenario 900 of the implementation of the proposed solution is shown. Figure 9 The AP sends a trigger frame in a new format (also referred to as a new trigger frame in this disclosure) to multiple STAs, including STA1, STA2, and STA3, over a wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or greater). In response to receiving the trigger frame, each of STA1, STA2, and STA3 sends a corresponding status report to the AP on its allocated RU / MRU. The protection period for STAs to perform UL TB transmission is set by the OFDMA DUP status report frame. The AP then sends the trigger frame over the wide bandwidth, causing each of STA1, STA2, and STA3 to transmit one or more corresponding UL TB PPDUs over the wide bandwidth.

[0068] Figure 10 An example scenario 1000 of the implementation of the proposed solution is shown. Figure 10 The OFDMA DUP PPDU can be an OFDMA PPDU that replicates the primary 20 MHz subchannel on each 20 MHz subchannel of the wide bandwidth. Each 20 MHz can be used by multiple users (or STAs) using the OFDMA format. For example, each user can be allocated the same 26-tone RU located in each 20 MHz.

[0069] Illustrative Implementation

[0070] Figure 11 According to an embodiment of the present invention, an example system 1100 having at least an example apparatus 1110 and an example apparatus 1120 is shown. Each of apparatus 1110 and apparatus 1120 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein related to efficient TB MU UL transmission in a WLAN, including various schemes of the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, and systems described above and the methods described below. For example, apparatus 1110 can be an example implementation of communication entity 110, and apparatus 1120 can be an example implementation of communication entity 120.

[0071] Each of device 1110 and device 1120 may be part of an electronic device, such as a station (STA) or access point (AP), such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of device 1110 and device 1120 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet, laptop, or notebook. Each of device 1110 and device 1120 may also be part of a machine-type device, such as an IoT device, such as a stationary or fixed device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of device 1110 and device 1120 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network device, device 1110 and / or device 1120 may be implemented in a network node, such as an AP in a WLAN.

[0072] In some implementations, the apparatus 1110 and the apparatus 1120 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction-set-computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors. In each of the above-described schemes, each of the apparatus 1110 and the apparatus 1120 may be implemented in a STA or an AP, or may be implemented as a STA or an AP. Each of the apparatus 1110 and the apparatus 1120 may include Figure 11, such as processor 1112 and processor 1122. Each of apparatus 1110 and apparatus 1120 may further include one or more other components not related to the solution proposed by the present invention (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device and / or a user interface device), and therefore, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, Figure 11 Such component(s) are not shown in the illustrated apparatus 1110 and apparatus 1120 .

[0073] In one aspect, each of processors 1112 and 1122 can be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to processors 1112 and 1122, each of processors 1112 and 1122 may include multiple processors in some implementations and, in other embodiments according to the present invention, may include a single processor. In another aspect, each of processors 1112 and 1122 can be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally, solid-state) having electronic components, such as, but not limited to, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more varactors, which are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes according to embodiments of the present invention. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processors 1112 and 1122 is a dedicated machine specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks related to efficient TB MU UL transmission in a WLAN according to various embodiments of the present invention. For example, each of processor 1112 and processor 1122 may be configured with hardware components or circuits to implement one, some, or all of the examples described and illustrated herein.

[0074] In some implementations, the device 1110 may further include a transceiver 1116 coupled to the processor 1112, capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, the device 1120 may further include a transceiver 1126 coupled to the processor 1122, capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data.

[0075] In some implementations, the device 1110 may further include a memory 1114 coupled to the processor 1112 and capable of being accessed by the processor 1112 and storing data therein. In some implementations, the device 1120 may also include a memory 1124 coupled to the processor 1122 and capable of being accessed by the processor 1122 and storing data therein. Each of the memory 1114 and the memory 1124 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and / or zero-capacitance RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively or additionally, each of the memory 1114 and the memory 1124 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM), such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), and / or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively or additionally, each of memory 1114 and memory 1124 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and / or phase change memory.

[0076] Each of device 1110 and device 1120 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes according to the present invention. For illustrative purposes and not limitation, a description of the capabilities of device 1110 as communication entity 110 and device 1120 as communication entity 120 is provided below. It is worth noting that although the example implementation described below is provided in the context of a WLAN, it can also be implemented in other types of networks.

[0077] According to at least some proposed aspects of the present invention regarding efficient TB MU UL transmission in a WLAN, a processor 1112 of a device 1110 (implemented in or as a non-AP STA) may receive a trigger frame from a device 1120 (acting as an AP STA) via a transceiver 1116, the trigger frame allocating one or more RUs. Furthermore, in response to receiving the trigger frame, the processor 1112 may transmit to the device 1120 via the transceiver 1116 using the allocated one or more RUs corresponding to one or more subchannels of a plurality of subchannels, wherein the one or more subchannels are a subset of the plurality of subchannels if at least one of the plurality of subchannels is detected as busy.

[0078] In some embodiments, before receiving a trigger frame from the AP, the processor 1112 may further perform certain operations. For example, the processor 1112 may perform a CCA on multiple subchannels via the transceiver 1116. In addition, the processor 1112 may receive a poll from the device 1120 via the transceiver 1116. Furthermore, in response to receiving the poll, the processor 1112 may send a report to the device 1120 via the transceiver 1116, wherein the report indicates the status of the multiple subchannels (e.g., CCA status) according to the CCA. In some embodiments, the device 1120 allocates one or more RUs based on the status of the multiple subchannels indicated in the report according to the CCA. In this case, in response to detecting that at least one subchannel is busy according to the CCA, the RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is not allocated. In this embodiment of the present invention, the AP allocates RUs to the STA based on the result of the STA performing the CCA. Thus, if at least one subchannel is detected to be busy according to the CCA, the AP does not allocate the corresponding RU for the at least one subchannel.

[0079] In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate whether RU downsizing is enabled or otherwise permitted. In addition, the trigger frame may also indicate a target RSSI as power control information for the allocated one or more RUs.

[0080] In some embodiments, when performing transmission using one or more allocated RUs, processor 1112 may perform RU-reduced transmission by transmitting a TB PPDU to device 1120 on a reduced-size RU (in which at least one subchannel is punctured). In this case, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the size of the reduced-size RU is smaller than the size of the one or more allocated RUs. In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a TB-SIG field that may carry information regarding the reduced RU size.

[0081] In some implementations, the trigger frame may trigger an UL TB OFDMA transmission. In this case, the allocated one or more RUs may include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in a primary 20 MHz subchannel among a plurality of subchannels. Thus, when performing the transmission, the processor 1112 may use the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU to transmit a status report including a CCA status. In some embodiments, when performing the transmission, the processor 1112 may replicate the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel across the entire bandwidth including the plurality of subchannels but excluding the at least one subchannel if at least one subchannel is detected as busy.

[0082] According to at least some aspects of the present invention regarding efficient TB MU UL transmission in a WLAN, a processor 1122 of a device 1120 implemented in an AP STA or as an AP STA may transmit a trigger frame to a device 1110 as a STA via a transceiver 1126, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more RUs. Furthermore, in response to transmitting the trigger frame, the processor 1122 receives a transmission from the device 1110 via the transceiver 1126 on the allocated one or more RUs corresponding to one or more subchannels of the plurality of subchannels when at least one subchannel of the plurality of subchannels is detected as busy, wherein the one or more subchannels are a subset of the plurality of subchannels.

[0083] In some implementations, before sending the trigger frame to the device 1110, the processor 1122 may perform certain operations. For example, the processor 1122 may send a poll to the device 1110 via the transceiver 1126. In addition, in response to sending the poll, the processor 1122 may receive a report from the device 1110 via the transceiver 1126, wherein the report indicates the status of multiple subchannels, and the status of the multiple subchannels is generated by the device 1110 performing CCA on the multiple subchannels (e.g., CCA results / status, such as idle or busy). In some embodiments, the processor 1122 may allocate one or more RUs based on the status of the multiple subchannels indicated in the report. In this case, in response to detecting that at least one subchannel is busy according to the CCA, the RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is not allocated.

[0084] In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate whether RU downsizing is enabled or otherwise permitted. In this case, the trigger frame may also indicate a target RSSI as power control information for the allocated one or more RUs.

[0085] In some embodiments, upon receiving a transmission from device 1110 on one or more allocated RUs, processor 1122 receives a TB PPDU with a reduced RU size, which was sent by device 1110 using a reduced RU size (at least one subchannel is punctured). In this case, in response to at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the size of the reduced RU is smaller than the size of the one or more allocated RUs. In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a TB-SIG field that carries information regarding the reduced RU size.

[0086] In some embodiments, the trigger frame may trigger an UL TB OFDMA transmission by device 1110. In this case, the allocated one or more RUs may include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located within a primary 20 MHz subchannel of the plurality of subchannels. Thus, upon receiving the transmission, processor 1122 may use the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU to receive a status report including a CCA status. In some embodiments, upon detecting that at least one subchannel is busy, the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel is replicated across the entire bandwidth of the plurality of subchannels, excluding the at least one subchannel.

[0087] In some embodiments, the processor 1122 may perform additional operations. For example, the processor 1122 may detect, via the transceiver 1126, whether the device 1110 is performing a transmission using RU size reduction by performing one or more of the following: (a) decoding either or both of the L-SIG field and the U-SIG on each of a plurality of subchannels to check a repetitive pattern, content, and CRC for each of the L-SIG and / or U-SIG; (b) comparing the RSSI of the received transmission with a target RSSI for each of the plurality of subchannels; and (c) processing either or both of the EHT-STF and one or more of the EHT-LTFs.

[0088] Illustrative Process

[0089] Figure 12 An example process 1200 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 1200 may represent aspects of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More specifically, process 1200 may represent aspects of the concepts and schemes proposed according to the present invention related to efficient TB MU UL transmission in WLAN. Process 1200 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as shown in one or more of steps 1210 and 1220. Although shown as discrete steps, the steps of process 1200 may be divided into additional steps, combined into fewer steps, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the steps / sub-steps of process 1200 may be performed as shown in FIG. Figure 12 The steps of process 1200 may be performed in the order shown, or in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the steps / sub-steps of process 1200 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 1200 may be implemented by or in device 1110 and device 1120, and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 1200 is described below in the context of device 1110 as a communication entity 110 (e.g., a non-AP STA) and device 1120 as a communication entity 120 (e.g., an AP STA) of a wireless network (e.g., a WLAN compliant with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards). Process 1200 may begin at step 1210.

[0090] At step 1210, process 1200 may include processor 1112 of device 1110 (implemented in or as a non-AP STA) receiving a trigger frame from device 1120 as an AP STA via transceiver 1116, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more RUs corresponding to one or more subchannels of the plurality of subchannels. Process 1200 may proceed from 1210 to 1220.

[0091] At step 1220, process 1200 may include: in response to receiving the trigger frame, processor 1112 performs transmission to device 1120 via transceiver 1116 using one or more allocated RUs (corresponding to one or more subchannels of a plurality of subchannels), wherein, when at least one of the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels are a subset of the plurality of subchannels.

[0092] In some implementations, before receiving a trigger frame from the AP, process 1200 may further include: processor 1112 performing certain operations. For example, process 1200 may include: processor 1112 performing CCA on multiple subchannels through transceiver 1116. In addition, process 1200 may include: processor 1112 receiving a poll from device 1120 via transceiver 1116. In addition, process 1200 may include: processor 1112 sending a report to device 1120 via transceiver 1116 in response to receiving the poll, wherein the report indicates the status of the multiple subchannels, and the status of the multiple subchannels is based on the CCA results of the multiple subchannels. In some embodiments, device 1120 allocates one or more RUs based on the status of the multiple subchannels indicated in the report. In this case, in response to detecting that at least one subchannel is busy according to the CCA, the RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is not allocated.

[0093] In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate whether RU downsizing is enabled or otherwise permitted. In addition, the trigger frame may also indicate a target RSSI as power control information for the allocated one or more RUs.

[0094] In some embodiments, when performing transmission using one or more allocated RUs, process 1200 may include processor 1112 performing transmission using the reduced RU size by transmitting a TB PPDU to device 1120 on the reduced RU size, wherein the at least one subchannel is punctured. In this case, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the reduced RU size is smaller than the size of the one or more allocated RUs. In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a TB-SIG field that carries information regarding the reduced RU size.

[0095] In some implementations, the trigger frame may trigger an UL TB OFDMA transmission. In this case, the allocated one or more RUs may include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located within a primary 20 MHz subchannel of the plurality of subchannels. Thus, when performing a transmission, process 1200 may include processor 1112 transmitting a status report including a CCA status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU. In some embodiments, when performing a transmission, process 1200 may also include processor 1112 replicating the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel across the entire bandwidth including the plurality of subchannels but excluding the at least one subchannel when at least one subchannel is detected to be busy.

[0096] Figure 13 An example process 1300 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 1300 may represent aspects of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above. More specifically, process 1300 may represent aspects of the concepts and schemes related to efficient TB MU UL transmission in WLAN according to the present invention. Process 1300 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as shown in one or more of steps 1310 and 1320. Although shown as discrete steps, the steps of process 1300 may be divided into additional steps, combined into fewer steps, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the steps / sub-steps of process 1300 may be performed as shown in FIG. Figure 13 The steps of process 1300 may be performed in the order shown, or in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the steps / sub-steps of process 1300 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 1300 may be implemented by or in device 1110 and device 1120, and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 1300 is described below in the context of device 1110 as a communication entity 110 (e.g., a non-AP STA) and device 1120 as a communication entity 120 (e.g., an AP STA) of a wireless network (e.g., a WLAN compliant with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards). Process 1300 may begin at step 1310.

[0097] At step 1310, process 1300 may include processor 1122 of device 1120 (implemented in or as communication entity 120) sending a trigger frame to device 1110 as a STA via transceiver 1126, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more RUs. Process 1300 may proceed from 1310 to 1320.

[0098] At step 1320, process 1300 may include, in response to sending the trigger frame, processor 1122 receiving, via transceiver 1126, a transmission from device 1110 on the allocated one or more RUs, wherein the one or more RUs correspond to one or more subchannels of the plurality of subchannels, and if at least one of the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels are a subset of the plurality of subchannels.

[0099] In some implementations, before sending the trigger frame to device 1110, process 1300 may include processor 1122 performing certain operations. For example, process 1300 may include processor 1122 transmitting a poll to device 1110 via transceiver 1126. Furthermore, process 1300 may include processor 1122 receiving a report from device 1110 via transceiver 1126 in response to transmitting the poll, wherein the report indicates status of the multiple subchannels based on a CCA performed by device 1110 on the multiple subchannels. In some embodiments, processor 1122 may allocate one or more RUs based on the status of the multiple subchannels indicated in the report. In this case, in response to detecting that at least one subchannel is busy based on the CCA, the RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is not allocated.

[0100] In some embodiments, the trigger frame may indicate whether to enable or otherwise allow RU size reduction. In this case, the trigger frame may also indicate the target RSSI as power control information for the allocated one or more RUs.

[0101] In some embodiments, upon receiving a transmission from device 1110 on one or more allocated RUs, process 1300 may include receiving, using a reduced RU size, a trigger-based (TB) physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted by the STA using the reduced RU size, wherein at least one subchannel is punctured. In this case, in response to at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the reduced RU size is smaller than the size of the one or more allocated RUs. In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a TB-SIG field that carries information regarding the reduced RU size.

[0102] In some embodiments, the trigger frame may trigger an UL TB OFDMA transmission from device 1110. In this case, the allocated one or more RUs may include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located within a primary 20 MHz subchannel of the plurality of subchannels. Thus, upon receiving the transmission, process 1300 may include processor 1122 receiving a status report including a CCA status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU. In some embodiments, upon detecting that at least one subchannel is busy, the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel may be replicated across the entire bandwidth of the plurality of subchannels, including the plurality of subchannels excluding the at least one subchannel.

[0103] In some embodiments, process 1300 may include processor 1122 performing additional operations. For example, process 1300 may include processor 1122 detecting, via transceiver 1126, whether device 1110 is performing transmission with RU size reduction by performing one or more of the following: (a) decoding the L-SIG field and the U-SIG field on each of a plurality of subchannels to check the repetitive pattern, content, and CRC of each of the L-SIG and / or U-SIG; (b) comparing the RSSI of the received transmission with a target RSSI for each of the plurality of subchannels; and (c) processing one or both of an EHT-STF and one or more EHT-LTFs.

[0104] Supplementary Notes

[0105] The subject matter described herein sometimes describes different components contained within other different components, or different components connected to other different components. It should be understood that the described structures are merely examples, and in fact, the same functionality can be achieved by implementing other structures. Conceptually, any component configuration that can achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" to achieve the desired functionality. Therefore, any two components combined herein to achieve a specific functionality can be considered "associated" with each other to achieve the desired functionality, regardless of their structure or intermediate components. Similarly, any two components associated in this manner can also be considered "operationally connected" or "operationally coupled" to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components that can be associated in this manner can also be considered "operationally couplable" to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operational couplable include, but are not limited to, physically pairable and / or physically interactive components and / or wirelessly interactive and / or wirelessly interactive components and / or logically interactive and / or logically interactive components.

[0106] Furthermore, for any plural and / or singular terms used herein, those skilled in the art may convert the plural to the singular and / or vice versa, depending on the context and / or application scenario. For the sake of clarity, various permutations between singular and plural are explicitly provided herein.

[0107] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, generally, the terms used herein, and particularly in the appended claims, such as in the body of the claims, generally have an "open" meaning. For example, the term "comprising" should be understood as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be understood as "having at least," the term "including" should be understood as "including but not limited to," and the term "comprising" should be understood as "including but not limited to," etc. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that if an introductory claim recitation intends to include a specific value, such intent will be explicitly enumerated in the claim; if no such intent is enumerated, such intent is not present. To assist understanding, for example, the appended claims may contain introductory phrases such as "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, such phrases should not cause the claim recitation to be interpreted as limiting any particular claim containing such an introductory claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a." That is, "a" should be interpreted as "at least one" or "one or more." The same applies to the use of definite articles to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if an introductory claim recitation explicitly recites a specific value, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be understood to include at least the recited value, e.g., "two recitations" without any other qualification means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. In addition, if the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, those skilled in the art will generally understand that, for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" will include, but is not limited to, a system having only A, a system having only B, a system having only C, a system having A and B, a system having A and C, a system having B and C, and / or a system having A, B, and C, etc. If the phrase "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, those skilled in the art will generally understand that, for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" will include, but is not limited to, a system having only A, a system having only B, a system having only C, a system having A and B, a system having A and C, a system having B and C, and / or a system having A, B, and C, etc. Those skilled in the art will further understand that almost all separating words and / or phrases connecting two or more alternative words appearing in the specification, claims, or drawings should be understood to include all possibilities, i.e., including one of all words, either of the two words, or both words. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the following possibilities: "A", "B", or "A and B".

[0108] The use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc. in the claims to modify claim elements does not in itself indicate any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, or the temporal order of performing method actions, but serves solely as a marker to distinguish one claim element from another with the same name using ordinal numbers.

[0109] Although the present invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Rather, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar configurations (as will be apparent to those skilled in the art), for example, combinations or substitutions of different features from different embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar configurations.

Claims

1. A trigger-based transmission method, comprising: receiving a trigger frame from an access point AP, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more subchannels among a plurality of subchannels; and In response to receiving the trigger frame, performing transmission using the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, in a case where at least one subchannel of the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels comprise a subset of the plurality of subchannels; The performing of transmission using the allocated one or more RUs includes: performing transmission using the reduced-size RU by transmitting a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on a triggered TB to the AP on the reduced-size RU, wherein, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the size of the reduced-size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Before receiving the trigger frame from the AP, the method further includes: Performing a clear channel assessment CCA on the multiple sub-channels; receiving a poll from the AP; and, In response to receiving the poll, a report is sent to the AP, wherein the report indicates status of the plurality of sub-channels according to the CCA.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The one or more RUs are allocated based on states of the plurality of subchannels indicated by the report according to the CCA, and no RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is allocated in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy according to the CCA.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The trigger frame indicates whether RU downsizing is enabled, and further indicates a target received signal strength indication RSSI as power control information about the allocated one or more RUs.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The at least one sub-channel is punctured.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The TB PPDU includes a trigger-based signal TB-SIG field, which carries information about the reduced size of the RU.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The trigger frame triggers an uplink UL orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDMA transmission based on a trigger TB, wherein the allocated one or more RUs include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in a primary 20MHz subchannel of the multiple subchannels; and performing the transmission includes: sending a status report including a clear channel assessment CCA status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein Performing the transmission further includes replicating the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel across an entire bandwidth including the plurality of subchannels but excluding the at least one subchannel if the at least one subchannel is detected to be busy.

9. A trigger-based transmission method, comprising: Sending a trigger frame to a station STA, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more sub-channels among a plurality of sub-channels; and In response to sending the trigger frame, receiving a transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, in a case where at least one subchannel of the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels comprise a subset of the plurality of subchannels; Wherein, receiving the transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs includes: using the RU to reduce the size to receive the triggered TB-based physical layer protocol data unit PPDU transmitted by the STA using the reduced-size RU, wherein, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the reduced-size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein Before sending the trigger frame to the STA, the method further includes: Send a poll to the STA; and, In response to sending the poll, a report is received from the STA, wherein the report indicates status of the plurality of sub-channels according to a clear channel assessment (CCA) performed by the STA on the plurality of sub-channels.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The one or more RUs are allocated based on states of the plurality of subchannels indicated by the report according to the CCA, and no RU corresponding to the at least one subchannel is allocated in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy according to the CCA.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein The trigger frame indicates whether RU downsizing is enabled, and further indicates a target received signal strength indication RSSI as power control information about the allocated one or more RUs.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein The at least one sub-channel is punctured.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The TB PPDU includes a trigger-based signal (TB-SIG) field that carries information about the RU reduced size.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein The trigger frame triggers an uplink UL orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission based on the trigger TB from the STA, wherein the allocated one or more RUs include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in the main 20MHz subchannel of the multiple subchannels; and performing the transmission includes: sending a status report including a clear channel assessment (CCA) status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein In the event that the at least one subchannel is detected to be busy, the waveform of the primary 20 MHz subchannel is replicated across the entire bandwidth including the plurality of subchannels but excluding the at least one subchannel.

17. The method according to claim 9, wherein The method further includes: Whether the STA performs the transmission using RU size reduction is detected by performing one or more of the following: decoding one or both of a legacy signal L-SIG field and a universal signal U-SIG field for each of the plurality of sub-channels to check a repetitive pattern, content, and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of each of the L-SIG and / or the U-SIG; comparing a received signal strength indicator RSSI of the received transmission to a target RSSI for each of the plurality of subchannels; and Processes an extremely high throughput short training field, EHT-STF, and one or more extremely high throughput long training fields, EHT-LTF.

18. A communication device comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein: The processor and the transceiver are configured to perform the following operations: receiving a trigger frame from an access point AP, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more subchannels among a plurality of subchannels; and In response to receiving the trigger frame, performing transmission using the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, in a case where at least one subchannel of the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels comprise a subset of the plurality of subchannels; The performing of transmission using the allocated one or more RUs includes: performing transmission using the reduced-size RU by transmitting a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on a triggered TB to the AP on the reduced-size RU, wherein, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the size of the reduced-size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

19. The communication device according to claim 18, wherein The at least one sub-channel is punctured.

20. The communication device according to claim 18, wherein The trigger frame triggers an uplink UL orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDMA transmission based on a trigger TB, wherein the allocated one or more RUs include a 26-tone RU or a 52-tone RU located in a primary 20MHz subchannel of the multiple subchannels; and performing the transmission includes: sending a status report including a clear channel assessment CCA status using the allocated 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU.

21. A communication device comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein: The transceiver and the processor are configured to perform the following operations: Sending a trigger frame to a station STA, wherein the trigger frame allocates one or more resource units RU corresponding to one or more sub-channels among a plurality of sub-channels; and In response to sending the trigger frame, receiving a transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs; wherein, in a case where at least one subchannel of the plurality of subchannels is detected to be busy, the one or more subchannels comprise a subset of the plurality of subchannels; Wherein, receiving the transmission from the STA on the allocated one or more RUs includes: using the RU to reduce the size to receive the triggered TB-based physical layer protocol data unit PPDU transmitted by the STA using the reduced-size RU, wherein, in response to the at least one subchannel being detected as busy, the reduced-size RU is smaller than the size of the allocated one or more RUs.

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