Frequency planning for wireless communications

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods, devices, and systems that support communication using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) according to a frequency modulation plan that supports 20 MHz subchannel perforation within a wireless channel. In some aspects, a non-legacy frequency modulation plan can define a set of frequencies for a resource unit (RU) such that the RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of a wireless channel. The location of the frequency modulation set in the non-legacy frequency modulation plan can be shifted relative to the corresponding frequency modulation associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency modulation plan. One or more frequency modulation plans in the disclosed frequency modulation plan can achieve perforation of subchannels while utilizing some RUs that originally partially overlapped with the perforated subchannels in the legacy frequency modulation plan.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 190,216, filed on March 2, 2021, entitled “TONE PLAN FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION”, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 984,776, filed on March 3, 2020, entitled “TONE PLANS FOR PUNCTURED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS”, and is assigned to the assignee of this application. The disclosures of these prior applications are considered part of this patent application and are incorporated into this patent application by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to tone planning that can be used for perforated wireless communications.

[0004] Related technical description

[0005] A wireless local area network (WLAN) may be formed by one or more access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by several client devices, also referred to as stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a basic service set (BSS) managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID) announced by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the wireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0006] The wireless communication medium may be referred to as a wireless channel. A wireless channel with a larger bandwidth may span a frequency range previously defined by multiple sub-channels of smaller bandwidth. Some WLAN devices may share wireless channels using sub-channel-based partitioning. More recent technologies for sharing wireless channels may be based on a combination of frequency-based and time-based allocations. For example, different users (or user groups) may be assigned to different resource units (RUs), which represent subcarriers within the frequency modulation plan of the wireless channel. RUs may be assigned to users for single-user (SU) transmissions or for multi-user (MU) transmissions. The available spectrum of a wireless channel may be divided into multiple RUs, which may be assigned to different STAs or STA groups.

[0007] Overview

[0008] The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0009] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communications by a wireless access point. In some implementations, the method may include allocating at least a first resource unit (RU) associated with a wireless channel to include data for a first wireless station. The method may include transmitting data for the first wireless station via a first set of frequencies associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan. The position of the first set of frequencies in the non-legacy frequency tone plan may be shifted relative to corresponding frequencies associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy frequency tone plan, such that the first set of frequencies for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of the wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a wireless station. In some implementations, the method may include receiving an indication of an allocation of at least a first RU of a wireless channel that is allocated for the wireless station to transmit data from a wireless access point. The method may include transmitting data to the wireless access point via a first set of tones associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan. The position of the first set of tones in the non-legacy tone plan may be shifted relative to a corresponding tone associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan such that the first set of tones for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of the wireless channel associated with the first RU. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in the present disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. It should be noted that the relative sizes of the following drawings may not be drawn to scale.

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0014] Figure 2 An example wide bandwidth channel is shown.

[0015] Figure 3 A conceptual diagram illustrating resource assignment within a wireless channel is shown.

[0016] Figure 4 A conceptual diagram illustrating punctured transmission in a 320 MHz bandwidth channel is shown.

[0017] Figure 5An example legacy tone plan is shown where some resource units (RUs) overlap sub-channel boundaries in an 80 MHz wireless channel.

[0018] Fig. 6A Shown from Figure 5 Example of an 80MHz frequency plan with 242 frequency RUs.

[0019] Figure 6B An example of tone shifting for a 242 tone RU according to some implementations is shown.

[0020] Figure 6C An example of pilot tone replacement for a 242-tone RU is shown according to some implementations.

[0021] Figure 7 An example new tone plan is shown where RUs are defined to avoid sub-channel boundaries in an 80 MHz radio channel.

[0022] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0023] Fig.9A A block diagram of an example AP is shown.

[0024] Fig. 9B A block diagram of an example STA is shown.

[0025] Fig.10 A flow diagram is shown illustrating an example process for communicating according to a tone plan that supports punctured transmissions according to some implementations.

[0026] Fig.11 A flow diagram is shown illustrating an example process for communicating according to a tone plan that supports punctured transmissions according to some implementations.

[0027] Fig.12 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device capable of communicating according to a tone plan supporting punctured transmissions in accordance with some implementations is shown.

[0028] Fig.13 Example RU definitions expressed in tone indices according to some implementations are shown.

[0029] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

[0030] Detailed Description

[0031] The following description is directed to certain implementations in order to describe the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented in a manner that can be implemented in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) standard, or the like. The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the LTE, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards, etc. The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single user (SU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO), and multi-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations may also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), or an Internet of Things (IOT) network.

[0032] Various aspects generally relate to frequency planning for wireless communications. Some aspects more specifically relate to frequency planning that defines the location of data frequencies for each resource unit (RU) within a wireless channel based on 20MHz subchannel boundaries within the wireless channel. The frequency planning indicates a set of frequencies (also called subcarriers or frequencies) that are grouped together to form RUs of various bandwidth sizes. In some aspects, the frequency planning described is designed so that no RU overlaps with any 20MHz subchannel boundary located at a fixed frequency within the wireless channel. Some aspects of the disclosed frequency planning can achieve perforation of 20MHz subchannels while utilizing some RUs that would originally partially overlap with the perforated subchannels. In various examples, the frequency planning can be designed for wireless channels with a total bandwidth of 80MHz, 160MHz, 240MHz, or 320MHz. Some examples of the described frequency planning can be based on one or more modifications or adjustments to an old frequency planning that includes some RUs that partially overlap with 20MHz subchannel bandwidth boundaries. According to some aspects, particular RUs in the disclosed frequency plan are adjusted or shifted relative to corresponding RUs in the legacy frequency plan so that the RUs in the new frequency plan do not overlap with 20 MHz subchannel boundaries while maintaining the same number of data frequencies as in the legacy frequency plan. In some examples, a technical specification may define the described frequency plan, or may define modifications or adjustments that can be dynamically made to the legacy frequency plan to support 20 MHz subchannel puncturing.

[0033] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. Some implementations achieve improved efficiency, increased throughput, or reduced latency by implementing allocation of RUs that would otherwise interfere with signals of existing systems utilizing frequencies within perforated subchannels, or RUs that would not be allocated at all because they overlap with perforated subchannels. Therefore, the frequency modulation plans described herein can improve the performance of wireless channels. In addition, because at least some of the frequency modulation plans described herein provide an equivalent number of frequencies as compared to corresponding RUs in legacy frequency modulation plans, the disclosed frequency modulation plans can be implemented without reducing the amount of data that can be carried by the RUs.

[0034] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendments thereof, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. The WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices such as an access point (AP) 102 and a plurality of stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 may also include a plurality of APs 102.

[0035] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile handset, a wireless handset, an access terminal (AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriber unit, among other possibilities. STA 104 may represent a variety of devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices (“remote controls”), printers, kitchen or other home appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0036] A single AP 102 and the associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the respective AP 102 . Figure 1Additionally shown is an example coverage area 108 of the AP 102, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. The BSS may be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID) and may also be identified to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be a media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 periodically broadcasts a beacon frame (“beacon”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate” or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 106 (hereinafter also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link”) with the AP 102 or maintain a communication link 106 with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include an identification of a primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 may provide various STAs 104 in the WLAN with access to external networks via respective communication links 106 .

[0037] To establish a Wi-Fi link 106 with the AP 102, each STA 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, the STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals, referred to as target beacon transmission times (TBTTs), measured in time units (TUs), where one TU is equal to 1024 microseconds (μs). To perform an active scan, the STA 104 generates probe requests and transmits them sequentially on each channel to be scanned, and listens for probe responses from the AP 102. Each STA 104 may be configured to identify or select an AP 102 to associate with based on the scan information obtained through passive or active scanning, and to perform authentication and association operations to establish a Wi-Fi link 106 with the selected AP 102. The AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 at the end of the association operation, and the AP 102 uses the AID to track the STA 104.

[0038] As wireless networks become more and more common, STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within the range of the STA or select among multiple APs 102 that together form an extended service set (ESS) (including multiple connected BSSs). The extended network station associated with WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to be connected in such an ESS. In this way, STA 104 can be covered by more than one AP 102 and can be associated with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after associating with AP 102, STA 104 may also be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 to associate with. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with a more suitable network characteristic (such as a larger received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load).

[0039] In some cases, STA 104 may form a network without AP 102 or other equipment other than STA 104 itself. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network may alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection. In some cases, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network (such as WLAN 100). In such an implementation, although STA 104 may be able to communicate with each other through AP 102 using communication link 106, STA 104 may also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless link 110. In addition, two STAs 104 may communicate via direct communication link 110, regardless of whether the two STAs 104 are associated with the same AP 102 and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more STAs 104 may assume the role played by AP 102 in the BSS. Such STA 104 may be referred to as a group owner (GO) and may coordinate transmission within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless link 110 include a Wi-Fi Direct connection, a connection established by using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0040] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may function and communicate in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its revisions, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be (which may also be referred to as Extreme High Throughput (EHT)) (via respective Wi-Fi links 106). These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and media access control (MAC) layers. The AP 102 and the STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications") to and from each other in the form of physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs). The AP 102 and STA 104 in the WLAN 100 may transmit PPDUs on an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of a spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Some implementations of the AP 102 and STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 6 GHz band, that may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The AP 102 and STA 104 may also be configured to communicate on other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping frequency bands.

[0041] Some APs and STAs support beamforming. Beamforming refers to focusing the energy of a transmission in the direction of a target receiver. Beamforming can be used both in a single-user environment (e.g., to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) and in a multi-user (MU) environment (e.g., to implement MU multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission). In order to perform beamforming, the transmitter (referred to as the beamforming initiator) transmits signals from multiple antenna elements of an antenna array. The beamforming initiator configures the phase shift between the signals transmitted from different antenna elements so that the signals add constructively in a specific direction toward the intended receiver (referred to as the beamforming receiver). The way in which the beamforming initiator configures the phase shift depends on the channel state information associated with the wireless channel on which the beamforming initiator intends to communicate with the beamforming receiver. In order to obtain the channel state information, the beamforming initiator may perform a channel sounding procedure with the beamforming receiver. For example, the beamforming initiator may transmit one or more sounding packets to the beamforming receiver. The beamformer receivers may then perform measurements of the channel based on the sounding packets and then provide feedback based on the measurements to the beamformer initiator in the form of, for example, a feedback matrix. The beamformer initiator may then generate a steering matrix for each beamformer receiver based on the feedback and use the steering matrix to configure phase shifts for subsequent transmissions to the beamformer receivers.

[0042] Each frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or frequency channels. For example, PPDUs that comply with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax standard revisions may be transmitted on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, where each frequency band is divided into multiple 20 MHz bandwidth channels. Therefore, these PPDUs are transmitted on physical channels with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz. But larger channels can be formed by channel bonding. For example, PPDUs that comply with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax standard revisions may be transmitted on physical channels with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz by bonding two or more 20 MHz bandwidth channels together. Newer technologies may support the use of wide bandwidth channels (e.g., physical channels with a bandwidth of 240 MHz, 320 MHz, or greater).

[0043] Each PPDU is a composite structure including a PHY preamble and a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) service data unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. The legacy part of the preamble may include a legacy short training field (STF) (L-STF), a legacy long training field (LTF) (L-LTF), and a legacy signaling field (L-SIG). The legacy preamble can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control and channel estimation, and other purposes. The legacy preamble can also be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. In an instance where the PPDU is transmitted over a bonded channel, the L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG fields may be replicated and transmitted in each of a plurality of component channels. For example, in IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, or 802.11ax implementations, the L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG fields may be replicated and transmitted in each of the component 20MHz bandwidth channels. The format, encoding, and information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are based on specific IEEE 802.11 protocols.

[0044] In some implementations, the AP 102 and the STA 104 may support multi-user (MU) transmissions; that is, concurrent transmissions from one device to each of multiple devices (e.g., multiple simultaneous downlink (DL) communications from the AP 102 to the corresponding STAs 104), or concurrent transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (e.g., multiple simultaneous uplink (UP) transmissions from the corresponding STAs 104 to the AP 102). To support MU transmissions, the AP 102 and the STA 104 may utilize multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MU-OFDMA) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) technologies. OFDMA is a communication technology that uses RUs to allocate different resources within the entire channel bandwidth to one or more users (or user groups). OFDMA can be used for MU communication or single user (SU) communication.

[0045] Using OFDMA, the available spectrum of a wireless channel can be divided into multiple RUs. Each RU may include several different frequency subcarriers ("tones"). The tone planning may specify a set of tones associated with each potential RU in the wireless channel. Different RUs may be allocated or assigned to different STAs 104 by AP 102 at a specific time. The size and distribution of the RUs allocated to each STA 104 may be referred to as RU allocation. In addition to specifying the tones associated with the corresponding RUs, the tone planning may also define unused subcarriers (such as guard bands, DC subcarriers, or empty subcarriers) that may separate some RUs. For example, empty subcarriers may separate some RUs to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, to reduce receiver DC offsets, or to avoid transmission center frequency leakage. The tone planning may also define how many RUs may be accommodated within the total channel bandwidth. For example, four 242 tone RUs (which may also be referred to as RU242) may be defined within the tone planning for an 80MHz channel bandwidth.

[0046] RUs defined within a legacy frequency plan may overlap with subchannel boundaries within a wireless channel. Using this example of an 80 MHz channel bandwidth, there may be four adjacent 20 MHz bandwidth subchannels. As previously described, a legacy frequency plan for an 80 MHz channel bandwidth may define some RUs that overlap with 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel boundaries. In instances where it is desired to puncture one or more of the 20 MHz subchannels, the use of those overlapping RUs may cause interference. Some legacy systems may limit the use of such overlapping RUs or may constrain the size of such RUs. As a result, systems using legacy frequency plans may be inefficient or inappropriate for 20 MHz subchannel punctures.

[0047] Figure 2 An example wide bandwidth channel is shown. A frequency band (such as the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz band) may define multiple channels and sub-channels (also referred to herein simply as "channels"). Each sub-channel may have a uniform bandwidth (such as 20 MHz). As described above, some WLAN devices are able to transmit with greater bandwidth by using multiple sub-channels concurrently (referred to as "channel bonding"). Figure 2 In the example of FIG. 2 , the wide bandwidth channel 200 has a total bandwidth of 320 MHz resulting from bonding or aggregation of sixteen smaller 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channels, including a first sub-channel 215 , a second sub-channel 225 , a third sub-channel 235 , and a fourth sub-channel 245 .

[0048] The 320MHz wide bandwidth channel 200 may be segmented to define primary and secondary channels. For example, the first subchannel 215 may be a primary 20MHz bandwidth channel, and the second subchannel 225 may be a secondary 20MHz bandwidth channel. The first subchannel 215 and the second subchannel 225 may together form a primary 40MHz bandwidth channel. The third subchannel 235 and the fourth subchannel 245 may be 20MHz bandwidth channels. The third subchannel 235 and the fourth subchannel 245 may together form a secondary 40MHz bandwidth channel. The secondary 40MHz bandwidth channel is "secondary" relative to the primary 40MHz bandwidth channel formed by the first subchannel 215 and the second subchannel 225. In a similar manner, a first set of four subchannels consisting of all four subchannels in the first subchannel 215, the second subchannel 225, the third subchannel 235, and the fourth subchannel 245 may form a primary 80MHz bandwidth channel, and a second set of four different subchannels may form a secondary 80MHz bandwidth channel. In some implementations, a three-level 80 MHz bandwidth channel may be defined based on a third set of four different sub-channels, and a four-level 80 MHz bandwidth channel may be defined based on a fourth set of four different sub-channels. It is contemplated that wide bandwidth channels of 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 240 MHz, or 320 MHz total bandwidth may be based on different numbers of 80 MHz portions. Within each 80 MHz portion, different 20 MHz sub-channels may be punctured.

[0049] Figure 3 A conceptual diagram illustrating resource assignment within a wireless channel is shown. Resource assignment may also be referred to as RU allocation. A frequency tone plan may define possible RU sizes and locations for a wireless channel. Each RU may be formed by a set of frequencies. Figure 3 The tones are conceptually depicted as subcarriers (such as the first subcarrier 310). RUs can be allocated at intervals of 2 MHz, and thus, the smallest RU includes 26 tones, which are composed of 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Thus, in a 20 MHz bandwidth channel, up to 9 RUs (such as 2 MHz, 26 tone RUs) can be allocated (because some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a 160 MHz bandwidth channel, up to 74 RUs can be allocated to each STA. Larger 52 tone, 106 tone, 242 tone, 484 tone, and 996 tone RUs can also be allocated. As described above, adjacent RUs can be separated by one or more empty subcarriers (not shown), for example, to reduce interference between adjacent RUs, reduce receiver DC offset, and avoid transmit center frequency leakage.

[0050] For multi-user OFDMA transmission, the AP can allocate multiple RUs to the corresponding STAs. The RUs can be allocated for downlink traffic (from the AP to each STA) or for uplink traffic (from each STA to the AP). Figure 3 As shown, different shading indicates different RUs of the PPDU that can be transmitted to different STAs (or allocated for use by different STAs). For example, PPDU 330 may include different RUs allocated for a first STA, a second STA, a third STA, and a fourth STA. In one aspect, PPDU 330 may be a downlink PPDU, and PPDU 330 may include one RU 340 allocated for a STA to receive data, while other RUs are allocated for other STAs to receive other data. In another aspect, PPDU 330 may be an uplink PPDU. The AP may send a scheduling PPDU (not shown) before PPDU330 and indicate which RUs are allocated to each STA to transmit its corresponding uplink data.

[0051] Figure 4 A conceptual diagram illustrating a punctured transmission 400 in a 320 MHz bandwidth channel is shown. Puncturing can be used to enable a WLAN to utilize a larger bandwidth wireless channel by avoiding communicating (or transmitting energy) on a frequency tone having one or more sub-channels on which an existing system is operating. For example, within an 80 MHz channel bandwidth, one or more of the 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channels can be punctured to prevent communication on these sub-channels. The 320 MHz bandwidth channel can include a primary 80 MHz channel, a secondary 80 MHz channel, a third 80 MHz channel, and a fourth 80 MHz channel, as shown in reference Figure 2 Described. Figure 4 , the main 80 MHz portion with its corresponding 20 MHz subchannels (first subchannel 415, second subchannel 425, third subchannel 435, and fourth subchannel 445) is illustrated. Figure 4 The secondary 80MHz channels, tertiary 80MHz channels, and quaternary 80MHz channels are explained in a smaller scale.

[0052] exist Figure 4In the example scenario depicted in FIG. 4 , there may be existing system transmissions that occupy all or part of the 20 MHz bandwidth associated with the fourth subchannel 445. Therefore, a wireless communication device (such as an AP or STA) in the WLAN may puncture the PPDU on the wireless channel to exclude the fourth subchannel 445 from the transmission. The PPDU may include transmit energy on the tones of the first subchannel 415, the second subchannel 425, and the third subchannel 435, as well as other non-punctured subchannels of the secondary 80 MHz channel, the tertiary 80 MHz channel, and the quaternary 80 MHz channel, while no data is transmitted on the tones within the punctured fourth subchannel 445.

[0053] The transmission 400 may include a preamble portion 405, followed by RUs 410 assigned to the corresponding STAs. In the illustrated example, the transmission 400 is a downlink OFDMA transmission, which includes data for multiple receiver STAs in the corresponding allocated RUs of the multiple receiver STAs. In another example, the uplink OFDMA transmission may include uplink data from each STA in the corresponding RUs allocated by the AP. In some implementations, each 80MHz portion of the wireless channel may have a different perforation configuration. The signaling in the preamble portion 405 may indicate which subchannels are perforated (such as, the fourth 20MHz subchannel 445) and the RU allocations 410 assigned to different STAs. The AP may allocate individual RUs 450 that are completely within the third 20MHz subchannel 435. However, some RUs planned according to the old frequency modulation may include frequency modulations located in both the third 20MHz subchannel 435 and the fourth 20MHz subchannel 445. Thus, when restricted by the legacy frequency tone plan, the AP may refrain from allocating any RUs having frequencies within the 20 MHz bandwidth associated with the perforated fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445 , because use of those RUs may cause interference to other systems using the perforated fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445 .

[0054] Figure 5 An example legacy tone plan 500 is shown in which some RUs overlap subchannel boundaries in an 80 MHz wireless channel. The example legacy tone plan 500 is defined for an 80 MHz channel bandwidth including four 20 MHz subchannels. As described above, some tone plans (such as the legacy tone plan 500) may define RUs that overlap with boundaries of 20 MHz bandwidth subchannels. The example legacy tone plan 500 may define edge tones (not shown) and DC tones. Figure 5 Each potential RU in an 80 MHz channel is shown, along with some null tones (shown with dashed lines) between potential RUs.

[0055] As described above, the legacy frequency modulation plan 500 may define RUs of various sizes. Figure 5 As shown in , when the entire 80 MHz bandwidth (BW) is allocated as a single RU, a total of 996 available frequency tones are available. Figure 5 Also shown are example 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, 242-tone, and 484-tone RUs that may be used for allocation to different users.

[0056] Figure 5 Also shown are physical 20 MHz subchannels and boundaries that overlap on the example legacy tone plan 500 to illustrate some examples of potential RU allocations that overlap or cross 20 MHz subchannel boundaries. For example, according to the legacy tone plan 500, the 2nd 242 tone RU 571 includes some tones 581 located on the other side of the boundary 580 between the first 20 MHz subchannel 415 and the second 20 MHz subchannel 425. Similarly, the 3rd 242 tone RU 572 includes some tones 591 located on the other side of the boundary 590 between the third 20 MHz subchannel 435 and the fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445. The 2nd 242 tone RU 571 and the 3rd 242 tone RU 572 are just two examples of RUs that the legacy tone plan 500 defines that cross 20 MHz subchannel boundaries. RUs that overlap 20 MHz subchannel boundaries are highlighted using gray shading for reference. Other RUs that overlap subchannel boundaries include: the 10th 26-tone RU, the 5th 52-tone RU, and the 3rd 106-tone RU for the first 20 MHz subchannel 415; and the 28th 26-tone RU, the 12th 52-tone RU, and the 6th 106-tone RU for the fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445. Each of these RUs may have a different number of tones that cross the corresponding 20 MHz boundary.

[0057] Fig. 6A Shown from Figure 5 42-tone RU 571 in the legacy tone plan. Two data tones 581 of the second 242-tone RU 571 exist across a subchannel boundary 580. Therefore, when the first 20 MHz subchannel 415 is punctured, current options from the perspective of the legacy tone plan would include: not allocating the second 242-tone RU 571 to the user to prevent interference within the first 20 MHz subchannel 415, or allocating the second 242-tone RU 571 and potentially creating interference within the first 20 MHz subchannel 415. None of the current options are desirable. Similar to the second 242-tone RU 571, the third 242-tone RU 572 in the legacy tone plan includes three data tones 591 that exist across a subchannel boundary 590. Therefore, when the fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445 is punctured, a similar problem is faced.

[0058] In order to realize the possibility of perforating any 20MHz subchannel in each 20MHz subchannel, the present disclosure proposes various aspects associated with a new frequency modulation plan, which defines RUs and their associated frequency modulation positions so that the frequency modulation of any RU in each RU will not exist in the perforated subchannel. In some aspects, the old frequency modulation plan can be modified or adjusted to generate a new frequency modulation plan so that the RU does not overlap with the 20MHz subchannel boundary. In some examples, the new frequency modulation plan will be defined in a technical specification (such as a revision to the IEEE 802.11 specification) so that the new frequency modulation plan can be used to implement any and all transmissions of the technical specification. In some other examples, the old frequency modulation plan can be dynamically modified or adjusted when necessary based on perforation. The present disclosure provides various techniques for performing the following operations: modifying the old frequency modulation plan so that the RU does not overlap with the 20MHz subchannel boundary, while maintaining an equal number of data frequencies for the RUs present in the old frequency modulation plan.

[0059] Figure 6B An example of tone shifting 601 for a 242 tone RU is shown according to some implementations. The second 242 tone RU is shifted 650 to avoid the subchannel boundary 580. For example, all the tones of the second 242 tone RU can be shifted to the right, leaving empty tones where the second 242 tone RU previously crossed the subchannel boundary 580. The middle RU 26 (at Figure 5 The third 242 tone RU is shifted 660 to the left, leaving an empty tone where the second 242 tone RU previously crossed the subchannel boundary 590. The number of shifted tones (e.g., 5 tones) is sufficient to avoid the corresponding subchannel boundaries when those RUs are assigned to users. In some implementations, the tone shift 601 may result in a new tone plan that is used regardless of whether adjacent subchannels (such as the first 20 MHz subchannel 415 or the fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445) are punctured and regardless of whether RUs are assigned (such as the second 242 tone RU or the third 242 tone RU).

[0060] Figure 6CAn example of a pilot tone replacement 602 for a 242 tone RU according to some implementations is shown. The edge tone 581 of a second 242 tone RU that previously crossed the subchannel boundary 580 can be omitted from the second 242 tone RU. Each 242 tone RU typically includes 234 data tones and 8 pilot tones (some of which are shown as pilot tones 614). The pilot tones are used for phase information, alignment, or signaling, among other examples. In some implementations, a certain number of pilot tones 614 located within the second 242 tone RU can be changed from pilot tones to data tones so that the second 242 tone RU can include the same amount of data previously associated with the second 242 tone RU according to the legacy tone plan. The number of pilot tones 614 that are changed to become replacement data tones is sufficient to replace the omitted edge tones 581. For example, 4 edge tones 581 can be omitted, and 4 pilot tones 614 can be redefined as data tones. This will leave 4 remaining pilot tones (out of the original 8 pilot tones). In some implementations, refer to Figure 6C The described pilot tone replacement technique can be used without eliminating the middle 26 tone RU (in Figure 5 , Fig. 6A and Figure 6C In the example shown in Figure 1, two 13-tone sections are used.

[0061] Reference Figure 6B and Figure 6C The examples shown and described are illustrative in nature and illustrate only some of the many examples that may be supported by various aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the concepts described with reference to the 242 frequency-tuned RU may also be applied to RUs of other sizes, such as with reference to Figure 5 The grey shaded RUs are shown and described.

[0062] Figure 7 An example new frequency plan 700 is shown, in which RUs are defined to avoid subchannel boundaries in an 80 MHz radio channel. Figure 5 The gray shaded RUs depicted in the old frequency modulation plan 500 are shifted 750 to avoid subchannel boundaries. Some RUs are shifted to the right to avoid the subchannel boundary 580 of the first 20 MHz subchannel 415. Some other RUs are shifted to the left to avoid the subchannel boundary 590 of the fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445. The shifted RUs are Figure 7 It is shown with a thick line.

[0063] The middle 26 frequency modulation RU (in Figure 5 ) to allow room for the shifted RUs. Figure 7, the shifted RU is shifted by 5 tones, leaving empty tone 721 and empty tone 731 (shown in dotted lines) at the subchannel boundaries.

[0064] In some implementations, such as Figure 7 As shown in , a 484-tone RU can be split such that half of the 484-tone RU is shifted, leaving empty tones at or near the 20 MHz subchannel boundary. The half of the first 484-tone RU that overlaps the second 20 MHz subchannel 425 is shifted to the right, and 5 empty tones are placed at the subchannel boundary. Similarly, half of the second 484-tone RU in the third 20 MHz subchannel 435 is shifted to the left, and 5 empty tones are placed at the boundary between the third 20 MHz subchannel 435 and the fourth 20 MHz subchannel 445. These two 484-tone RUs have the same number of tones as the corresponding RUs in the legacy tone plan. The 484-tone RU can be split as shown in Figure 7 One reason for the split shown is so that the 484-tone RU matches the location of the tones for the 242-tone RU.

[0065] Although the new frequency plan 700 describes an 80 MHz wireless channel bandwidth, the same techniques can be used to determine a new frequency plan for a wireless channel with a larger bandwidth. For example, a new frequency plan for a 160 MHz, 240 MHz, or 320 MHz channel can be a copy or extension of the new frequency plan 700. The new frequency plan 700 can also be referred to as a non-legacy frequency plan to distinguish it from the legacy frequency plan. The non-legacy frequency plan can be specified in IEEE 802.11be (which can also be referred to as extremely high throughput (EHT)) and those systems that implement EHT communications. The legacy frequency plan can refer to a frequency plan specified in IEEE802.11ax (or an earlier generation of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards).

[0066] The RU allocation table may include different values ​​associated with RUs that the AP may allocate. In some implementations, a first set of values ​​in the RU allocation table may indicate RUs defined according to a new frequency tuning plan. A second set of values ​​in the RU allocation table may indicate RUs defined according to a legacy frequency tuning plan. The first value may indicate a 242 frequency tuning RU according to a legacy frequency tuning plan (such as reference 242). Figure 7 The second value may indicate a 242 frequency modulation RU according to a non-legacy frequency modulation plan (such as reference Figure 7 described).

[0067] Figure 8 800. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 800 may be a wireless communication device for a STA (such as the one described above with reference to FIG. Figure 1In some implementations, the wireless communication device 800 may be an example of a device in an AP (such as one of the STAs 104 described above). Figure 1 The wireless communication device 800 is an example of a device in the described AP 102. The wireless communication device 800 is capable of transmitting (or outputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (e.g., in the form of wireless packets). For example, the wireless communication device can be configured to: transmit and receive packets in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) and media access control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) that comply with IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards (such as standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its revisions, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0068] The wireless communication device 800 may be or may include a chip, system on chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device including one or more modems 802 (e.g., Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modems). In some implementations, one or more modems 802 (collectively, "modems 802") additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 800 also includes one or more radios 804 (collectively, "radios 804"). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 800 further includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements 806 (collectively, "processors 806") and one or more memory blocks or elements 808 (collectively, "memory 808").

[0069] The modem 802 may include an intelligent hardware block or device (for example, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)). The modem 802 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer. For example, the modem 802 is configured to modulate packets and output the modulated packets to the radio 804 for transmission on the wireless medium. Similarly, the modem 802 is configured to obtain the modulated packets received by the radio 804 and demodulate the packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to the modulator and demodulator, the modem 802 may further include a digital signal processing (DSP) circuit system, an automatic gain control (AGC), a decoder, a decoder, a multiplexer, and a demultiplexer. For example, when in the transmission mode, the data obtained from the processor 806 is provided to the decoder, which encodes the data to provide coded bits. The coded bits are then mapped to points in the modulation constellation (using the selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. Subsequently, the modulated symbols can be mapped to a number NSS of spatial streams or a number NSTS of space-time streams. The modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial streams or space-time streams may then be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and then provided to the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signal may then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal may then be provided to an upconverter and ultimately to the radio 804. In an implementation involving beamforming, the modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial streams may be precoded via a steering matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0070] When in receive mode, a digital signal received from the radio 804 is provided to a DSP circuit system that is configured to acquire the received signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating the initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuit system is further configured to digitally condition the digital signal, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering, analog impairment conditioning (such as correcting I / Q imbalance), and applying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. Subsequently, the output of the DSP circuit system may be fed to an AGC that is configured to use information extracted from the digital signal (e.g., in one or more received training fields) to determine an appropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuit system is also coupled to a demodulator that is configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and, for example, calculate a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator is coupled to a decoder that may be configured to process the LLRs to provide decoded bits. Subsequently, the decoded bits from all spatial streams are fed to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits may then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 806) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0071] The radio 804 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or "transmitter chain") and at least one RF receiver (or "receiver chain"), which can be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and receiver may include various DSP circuit systems, including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low noise amplifier (LNA), respectively. The RF transmitter and receiver may in turn be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, the wireless communication device 800 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each having a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each having a corresponding receive chain). The codewords output from the modem 802 are provided to the radio 804, which then transmits the codewords via the coupled antenna. Similarly, the codewords received via the antenna are obtained by the radio 804, which then provides the codewords to the modem 802.

[0072] The processor 806 may include an intelligent hardware block or device designed to perform the functions described herein, such as, for example, a processing core, a processing block, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The processor 806 processes information received through the radio 804 and the modem 802, and processes information to be output by the modem 802 and the radio 804 for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, the processor 806 may implement a control plane and a MAC layer, which is configured to perform various operations related to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames, or packets. The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate the coding and decoding of frames, spatial multiplexing, space-time block coding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, and other operations or techniques. In some implementations, the processor 806 may generally control the modem 802 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0073] The memory 808 may include a tangible storage medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM) or a combination thereof. The memory 808 may also store non-transient processor or computer executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by the processor 806, cause the processor to perform various operations for wireless communication described herein, including generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the various components disclosed herein or the various blocks or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0074] Fig.9AA block diagram of an example AP 902 is shown. For example, the AP 902 may be a reference Figure 1 An example implementation of the AP 102 is described. The AP 902 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 910 (although the AP 902 itself may also be generally referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, the wireless communication device 910 may be a wireless communication device (WCD) 910. Figure 8 An example implementation of the wireless communication device 800 described. The AP 902 also includes a plurality of antennas 920 coupled to the wireless communication device 910 to transmit and receive wireless communications. In some implementations, the AP 902 additionally includes an application processor 930 coupled to the wireless communication device 910, and a memory 940 coupled to the application processor 930. The AP 902 further includes at least one external network interface 950, which enables the AP 902 to communicate with a core network or a backhaul network to obtain access to an external network including the Internet. For example, the external network interface 950 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Components in the aforementioned components may communicate directly or indirectly with other components in these components on at least one bus. The AP 902 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 910, the application processor 930, the memory 940, and encloses at least a portion of the antenna 920 and the external network interface 950.

[0075] Fig. 9B 904. For example, STA 904 may be a reference Figure 1 104. The STA 904 includes a wireless communication device 915 (although the STA 904 itself may also be generally referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, the wireless communication device 915 may be a wireless communication device. Figure 8An example implementation of the wireless communication device 800 described. The STA 904 also includes one or more antennas 925 coupled to the wireless communication device 915 to transmit and receive wireless communications. The STA 904 additionally includes an application processor 935 coupled to the wireless communication device 915, and a memory 945 coupled to the application processor 935. In some implementations, the STA 904 further includes a user interface (UI) 955 (such as a touch screen or keyboard) and a display 965, which can be integrated with the UI 955 to form a touch screen display. In some implementations, the STA 904 may further include one or more sensors 975 (for example, such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors). Components in the aforementioned components can communicate directly or indirectly with other components in these components on at least one bus. The STA 904 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 915, the application processor 935, the memory 945, and at least portions of the antenna 925, the UI 955, and the display 965.

[0076] Fig.10 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example process 1000 for communicating using RU allocation according to some implementations. The process 1000 may be performed by a wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 8 In some implementations, process 1000 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 800 described above). Figure 1 and Fig.9A In some implementations, process 1000 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA (such as one of APs 102 and 902 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 9B The method is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within the STA 104 and 904 described above.

[0077] In some implementations, process 1000 begins at block 1002 by allocating at least a first resource unit (RU) associated with a wireless channel to include data for a first wireless station.

[0078] At block 1004, process 1000 proceeds to transmitting data for a first wireless station via a first set of tones associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan. The location of the first set of tones in the non-legacy tone plan may be shifted relative to corresponding tones associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan such that the first set of tones for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of a wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0079] Fig.111 is a flow chart illustrating an example process 1100 for communicating using a frequency tone plan according to some implementations. The process 1100 may be performed by a wireless communication device (such as the one described above with reference to Figure 8 In some implementations, process 1100 may be performed by an AP (such as the wireless communication device 800 described above). Figure 1 and Fig.9A In some implementations, process 1100 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as a STA (such as one of APs 102 and 902 described above). Figure 1 and Fig. 9B The method is performed by a wireless communication device operating with or within the STA 104 and 904 described above.

[0080] In some implementations, process 1100 begins at block 1102 by receiving, from a wireless access point, an indication of an allocation of at least a first resource unit (RU) of a wireless channel allocated for a wireless station to transmit data.

[0081] At block 1104, process 1100 proceeds to transmitting data to a wireless access point via a first set of tones associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan. The location of the first set of tones in the non-legacy tone plan can be shifted relative to corresponding tones associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan such that the first set of tones for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of a wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0082] Fig.12 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1200 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1200 is configured to perform one or more of the processes described above. The wireless communication device 1200 may be the one described above with reference to Figure 8 The wireless communication device 1200 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device including at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1200 may be a processor, a SoC, a chipset, a package, or a device for use in an AP (such as the above referenced respectively). Figure 1 and 9A In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1200 may be a device used in a STA (such as one of the APs 102 and 902 described above). Figure 1 and 9BIn some other implementations, the wireless communication device 1200 may be an AP or STA including such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device and at least one transmitter, at least one receiver and at least one antenna.

[0083] The wireless communication device 1200 includes a RU allocation module 1202, a frequency modulation planning module 1204, a signaling module 1206, and a communication module 1208. Portions of one or more of the modules 1202, 1204, 1206, and 1208 may be implemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. For example, the RU allocation module 1202, the frequency modulation planning module 1204, the signaling module 1206, and the communication module 1208 may be implemented at least in part by a modem (such as modem 802). In some implementations, portions of some of the modules 1202, 1204, 1206, or 1208 are at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory (such as memory 808). For example, portions of one or more of the modules 1202, 1204, 1206, or 1208 may be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "codes") that can be executed by a processor (such as processor 806) to perform the functions or operations of the corresponding modules.

[0084] The RU allocation module 1202 is configured to allocate RUs associated with wireless channels.

[0085] The frequency planning module 1204 is configured to implement a new frequency planning (such as reference Figure 7 The new frequency plan 700 described above. The frequency planning module 1204 can define data frequencies for sending or receiving data based on the RU allocation.

[0086] The signaling module 1206 is configured to interpret the signal field to determine the RU allocation, the punctured channel information, or both. For example, the signaling module 1206 can interpret the preamble portion of the OFDMA PPDU to determine the RU allocated to the wireless communication device 1200.

[0087] The communication module 1208 is configured to communicate data via a set of tones associated with a RU assigned to the wireless communication device 1200 .

[0088] Fig.13 An example RU definition 1300 represented by a tone index according to some implementations is shown. The example RU definition 1300 is based on the reference Figure 7A new tone plan 700 for an 80 MHz EHT PPDU is described. The notation [x:y] indicates that the RU includes tones x through y. The notation [x1:yl, x2:y2] indicates that the RU includes tones x1 through y1 and tones x2 through y2. A 242 tone RU (shown at 1310, referred to as RU 2) may include 242 tones from tone-253 to tone-12. Fig.13 RU 2 in can correspond to Figure 6B and Figure 7 The 20 MHz subchannel boundary between the first 20 MHz subchannel and the second 20 MHz subchannel is between tone-257 and tone-256. Tone-257 is the last tone in the first 20 MHz subchannel, and tone-256 is the first tone in the second 20 MHz subchannel. Figure 5 RU 2 has been shifted by 5 tones compared to the depicted legacy tone plan 500, but still includes a set of 242 tones equal in number to the corresponding RU in the legacy tone plan 500. For reference, RUs that have been modified (compared to the legacy tone plan) are indicated with grey shaded blocks.

[0089] Figure 1-13 The operations described herein are examples intended to aid in understanding example implementations and should not be used to limit potential implementations or to limit the scope of the claims. Some implementations may perform additional operations, perform fewer operations, perform operations in parallel or in a different order, and perform some operations differently.

[0090] The foregoing disclosure provides explanation and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the various aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in view of the above disclosure or may be obtained by practicing various aspects. Although various aspects of the present disclosure have been described in the form of various examples, any combination of various aspects from any one of these examples is also within the scope of the present disclosure. The examples in the present disclosure are provided for teaching purposes. As an alternative or supplement to other examples described herein, the examples include any combination of the following implementation options (identified as clauses for reference purposes).

[0091] Terms

[0092] Clause 1. A method for wireless communication by a wireless access point, comprising: allocating at least a first resource unit (RU) associated with a wireless channel to include data for a first wireless station; and transmitting the data for the first wireless station via a first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to a corresponding frequency tone associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy frequency tone plan, so that the first frequency tone set for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of the wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0093] Clause 2. The method of clause 1 further comprises: allocating one or more additional RUs to include other data for one or more corresponding other wireless stations; and transmitting the other data for one or more corresponding other wireless stations in corresponding frequency sets corresponding to the one or more additional RUs.

[0094] Clause 3. The method of clause 1, wherein a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan has the same number of tones as a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan.

[0095] Clause 4. The method of clause 1, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones corresponding to the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap with a 20 MHz sub-channel boundary within the wireless channel.

[0096] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein at least one RU of the plurality of RUs planned according to a non-legacy tone plan is based on pilot tone replacement in which one or more pilot tones are designated as data tones.

[0097] Clause 6. A method as in Clause 1, wherein the wireless channel comprises at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprises a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and wherein the non-legacy frequency modulation plan differs from the legacy frequency modulation plan in that: the frequency modulation is shifted for all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel so that those RUs do not overlap with these 20 MHz subchannel boundaries.

[0098] Clause 7. The method of Clause 6, further comprising: allocating all RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel regardless of puncturing of the first 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel, the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel, or both.

[0099] Clause 8. The method of clause 1, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel.

[0100] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, further comprising: puncturing a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel, the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel being adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel.

[0101] Clause 10. A method for wireless communication by a wireless station, comprising: receiving an indication of an allocation of at least a first resource unit (RU) of a wireless channel allocated for the wireless station to transmit data from a wireless access point; and transmitting data to the wireless access point via a first frequency tone set associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to a corresponding frequency tone associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy frequency tone plan, so that the first frequency tone set for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of the wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0102] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan has the same number of tones as a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan.

[0103] Clause 12. The method of clause 10, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones corresponding to the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap with a 20 MHz sub-channel boundary within the wireless channel.

[0104] Clause 13. A method as in clause 10, wherein the wireless channel comprises at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprises a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and wherein the non-legacy frequency modulation plan differs from the legacy frequency modulation plan in that: the frequency modulations of all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel are shifted so that those RUs do not overlap with the boundaries of these 20 MHz subchannels.

[0105] Clause 14. A method as in clause 10, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel, and wherein a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel is punctured.

[0106] Clause 15. A wireless access point comprising: at least one processor configured to allocate at least a first resource unit (RU) of a wireless channel to include data for a first wireless station; and at least one modem configured to output data for transmission to the first wireless station in a first frequency tone set associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to a corresponding frequency tone associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy frequency tone plan such that the first frequency tone set for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of the wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0107] Clause 16. The wireless access point of clause 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allocate one or more additional RUs to include other data for one or more corresponding other wireless stations; and wherein the at least one modem is further configured to output the other data for transmission to the one or more corresponding other wireless stations in corresponding sets of tones corresponding to the one or more additional RUs. wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines sets of tones corresponding to the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap a 20 MHz subchannel boundary within a wireless channel.

[0108] Clause 17. The wireless access point of clause 15, wherein a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan has the same number of tones as a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan.

[0109] Clause 18. The wireless access point of clause 15, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones corresponding to the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap a 20 MHz sub-channel boundary within the wireless channel.

[0110] Clause 19. The wireless access point of clause 18, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones corresponding to the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap with a 20 MHz sub-channel boundary within the wireless channel.

[0111] Clause 20. A wireless access point as in Clause 15, wherein the wireless channel comprises at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprises a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and wherein the non-legacy frequency modulation plan differs from the legacy frequency modulation plan in that: frequency modulation is shifted for all RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel to prevent those RUs from overlapping with the 20 MHz subchannel boundaries.

[0112] Clause 21. The wireless access point of clause 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allocate all RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel regardless of puncturing of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, or both.

[0113] Clause 22. The wireless access point of clause 15, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of a 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel.

[0114] Clause 23. The wireless access point of Clause 22, wherein the at least one modem is further configured to puncture a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel, the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel being adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel.

[0115] Clause 24. The wireless access point of clause 15, further comprising: at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem; at least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and wirelessly receive signals to be input into the at least one transceiver; and a housing enclosing the at least one modem, the at least one processor, the at least one transceiver and at least a portion of the at least one antenna.

[0116] Clause 25. A wireless station comprising: at least one processor; and at least one modem, the at least one modem being communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to: obtain from a wireless access point an indication of an allocation of at least a first resource unit (RU) of a wireless channel allocated for the wireless station to transmit data; and output data to the wireless access point via a first frequency tone set associated with a first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to a corresponding frequency tone associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy frequency tone plan such that the first frequency tone set for the first RU does not overlap with a 20 MHz subchannel boundary of the wireless channel associated with the first RU.

[0117] Clause 26. The wireless station of clause 25, wherein a first RU according to a non-legacy tone plan has the same number of tones as a corresponding RU according to a legacy tone plan.

[0118] Clause 27. The wireless station of clause 25, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones corresponding to the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap a 20 MHz sub-channel boundary within the wireless channel.

[0119] Clause 28. A wireless station as in Clause 25, wherein the wireless channel comprises at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprises a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and wherein the non-legacy frequency modulation plan differs from the legacy frequency modulation plan in that: the frequency modulation shifts for all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel so that those RUs do not overlap with these 20 MHz subchannel boundaries.

[0120] Clause 29. A wireless station as in clause 25, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel, and wherein a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel is punctured.

[0121] Clause 30. The wireless station of clause 25, further comprising: at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem; at least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and wirelessly receive signals to be input into the at least one transceiver; and a housing that at least surrounds at least a portion of the at least one processor, the at least one modem, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one antenna.

[0122] Clause 31. A method for wireless communication by a wireless communication device, comprising: receiving a resource unit (RU) allocation for the wireless communication device to communicate via a wireless channel including at least one perforated subchannel and at least one non-perforated subchannel; determining a data frequency tone of the RU for the at least one non-perforated subchannel based on the RU allocation, so that none of the data frequency tones of the RU are within the at least one perforated subchannel; and communicating via the determined data frequency tone.

[0123] Clause 32. A method as in clause 31, wherein determining the data frequency comprises determining the data frequency based on a first frequency plan defining frequency for at least RU allocations, and wherein the first frequency plan is different from a legacy frequency plan defining frequency for legacy RU allocations having frequency tones located within the at least one perforated subchannel.

[0124] Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein the first tone plan defines data tones for the RUs based on shifting corresponding data tones of the RUs in the legacy tone plan away from subchannel boundaries of the at least one perforated subchannel.

[0125] Clause 34. A method as in any of clauses 32-33, further comprising: determining data frequencies for RUs in the first frequency modulation plan based on puncturing a subset of legacy data frequencies from the legacy frequency modulation plan so that none of the data frequencies for the RUs are located within the at least one punctured subchannel.

[0126] Clause 35. The method of clause 34, wherein determining the data tone comprises: identifying one or more pilot tones defined in a legacy tone plan for the at least one non-punctured subchannel; and reallocating the one or more pilot tones as data tones.

[0127] Clause 36. A method as in any of clauses 32-35, wherein the wireless channel comprises at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprises four 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channels, and wherein for at least two middle 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channels, the first frequency modulation plan is different from the legacy frequency modulation plan.

[0128] Clause 37. The method of clause 36, further comprising: determining data frequency modulation using the first frequency modulation plan instead of the legacy frequency modulation plan when at least one 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel in the outer 20 MHz bandwidth subchannels within the 80 MHz bandwidth portion of the wireless channel is punctured.

[0129] Clause 38. A method as described in any of clauses 32-37, wherein determining the data frequency includes: determining that the RU allocation is for a legacy RU in a legacy frequency plan and the legacy RU is adjacent to the at least one perforated subchannel of the wireless channel; and based on the determination that the at least one perforated subchannel of the wireless channel is perforated, determining the data frequency allocation for the RU using the first frequency plan instead of the legacy frequency plan.

[0130] Clause 39. The method of clause 38 further comprises: determining a RU allocation adjacent to the at least one perforated subchannel based on a first RU allocation value in a signaling field of a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the first RU allocation value is used for RU allocation when the adjacent subchannel is perforated, and wherein the first RU allocation value is different from a second RU allocation value used for the same RU allocation when the adjacent subchannel is not perforated.

[0131] Clause 40. The method of clause 38, further comprising: determining that the at least one perforated sub-channel is perforated based on perforated channel information in a signaling field of a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) that also includes an RU allocation.

[0132] Clause 41. The method of clause 40, wherein the punctured channel information and the RU allocation are included in a signaling field of a preamble in a first 80 MHz bandwidth portion of the wireless channel.

[0133] Clause 42. The method of clause 41, wherein the signaling field of the PPDU indicates an RU allocation for at least a first 80 MHz bandwidth portion of the wireless channel, and wherein the subchannel puncturing information indicates a subchannel puncturing pattern for a total bandwidth of the wireless channel.

[0134] Clause 43. The method of any of clauses 31-42, wherein the total bandwidth of the wireless channel is 320 MHz bandwidth, and the bandwidth associated with the RU allocation is between 20 MHz and 60 MHz.

[0135] Clause 44. The method of any of clauses 31-43, wherein the RU allocation is for 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RUs, and wherein legacy tone planning for RUs of that size includes data tones within perforated subchannels.

[0136] Clause 45. The method of any of clauses 31-43, wherein the RU allocation is for 484-tone RUs, the 484-tone RUs being suitable for long training field (LTF) signal transmission or channel estimation.

[0137] Clause 46. A method for wireless communication, comprising: determining a frequency planning that defines resource units (RUs) within a wireless channel so that different RUs among the RUs can be allocated to different wireless communication devices for transmission; determining data frequency tones for the RUs so that data frequency tones for 242 frequency tones RUs and smaller RUs are not located within more than one 20 MHz subchannel of the wireless channel; and allocating at least one RU allocation to a wireless communication device for the wireless communication device to communicate via the transmission.

[0138] Clause 47. The method of clause 46, wherein tone planning is used for transmission regardless of subchannel puncturing.

[0139] Clause 48. The method of clause 46, wherein the tone planning is used for transmission when at least one 20 MHz subchannel of the wireless channel is punctured.

[0140] Clause 49. The method of clause 46, wherein the tone plan is used for transmission when at least one of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel within the 80 MHz bandwidth portion of the wireless channel is punctured.

[0141] Clause 50. A method for wireless communication by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: generating a packet including an RU allocation described in any of clauses 31-49; modulating the packet; and transmitting the modulated packet for transmission to at least one wireless communication device.

[0142] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in the disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device having at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the wireless communication device to implement any of the reference methods described above.

[0143] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" or "one or more of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover the following possibilities: only a, only b, only c, a combination of a and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination of a, b, and c.

[0144] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of their functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0145] The hardware and data processing apparatus for implementing the various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed with a general purpose single-chip or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). In some implementations, specific processes, operations, and methods may be performed by circuit systems dedicated to a given function.

[0146] As described above, in some aspects, the realization of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as software.For example, each function of each component disclosed herein or each frame or step of the method, operation, process or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.Such computer programs may include non-transient processors or computer executable instructions encoded on one or more tangible processors or computer-readable storage media, which are used to perform or control the operation of the data processing device by the data processing device including the components of the device described herein.As an example and not a limitation, this storage medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store program codes in the form of instructions or data structures.The above combination should also be included in the scope of storage media.

[0147] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0148] In addition, various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Thus, while features may be described above as functioning in a particular combination and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be removed from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination, or a variation of a subcombination.

[0149] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all the illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In addition, the accompanying drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart or a flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted may be incorporated into the example processes schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously or between any illustrated operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the implementation described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a wireless access point, comprising: allocating at least a first resource unit (RU) of a plurality of resource units (RUs) associated with a wireless channel to include data for the first wireless station, the wireless channel including at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion including a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel; and The data for the first wireless station is transmitted via a first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to the corresponding frequency tone associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan, so that the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU does not overlap with a first subchannel boundary between the first 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel within the wireless channel, and each RU in the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel of the multiple RUs does not overlap with a second subchannel boundary between the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the fourth 20MHz bandwidth subchannel, wherein the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to the non-legacy frequency tone plan has the same number of frequency tones as the corresponding frequency tones associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: allocating one or more additional RUs of the plurality of RUs to include additional data for one or more respective other wireless stations; as well as The other data for the one or more respective other wireless stations is transmitted via respective sets of frequencies tones associated with the one or more additional RUs of the plurality of RUs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-legacy frequency modulation plan defines a frequency modulation set corresponding to the multiple RUs such that the multiple RUs do not overlap with a sub-channel boundary within the wireless channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the plurality of RUs planned in accordance with the non-legacy frequency modulation is based at least in part on replacement of pilot frequencies in which one or more pilot frequencies are designated as data frequencies.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: The difference between the non-legacy frequency modulation planning and the legacy frequency modulation planning lies in that: the frequency modulation shifting for all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel makes all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel not overlap with the subchannel boundary within the wireless channel.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: All RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel are allocated regardless of puncturing of the first 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel, the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel, or both.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: The second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel of the wireless channel is punctured, and the second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel is adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel.

9. A method for wireless communication by a wireless station, comprising: receiving, from a wireless access point, an indication of allocation of at least a first resource unit (RU) of a plurality of resource units (RUs) associated with a wireless channel allocated for the wireless station to transmit data, the wireless channel comprising at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprising a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel; and The data is transmitted to the wireless access point via a first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to the corresponding frequency tone associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan, so that the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU does not overlap with a first subchannel boundary between the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel within the wireless channel, and each RU of the multiple RUs within the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel does not overlap with a second subchannel boundary between the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, wherein the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to the non-legacy frequency tone plan has the same number of frequency tones as the corresponding frequency tones associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the non-legacy frequency tone plan defines a set of frequencies associated with the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap with sub-channel boundaries within the wireless channel.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of RUs planned in accordance with the non-legacy frequency modulation is based at least in part on replacement of pilot frequencies in which one or more pilot frequencies are designated as data frequencies.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein: The difference between the non-legacy frequency modulation planning and the legacy frequency modulation planning lies in that: the frequency modulation shifting for all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel makes all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel not overlap with the subchannel boundary within the wireless channel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication of the allocation includes an indication of all RUs allocated in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, regardless of puncturing of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, or both.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel, and wherein the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel is perforated.

15. A wireless access point, comprising: at least one processor configured to allocate at least a first resource unit (RU) of a plurality of resource units (RUs) associated with a wireless channel to include data for a first wireless station, the wireless channel including at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion including a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel; and At least one modem configured to output the data for transmission to the first wireless station in a first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to the corresponding frequency tones associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan, such that the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU does not overlap with a first subchannel boundary between the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel within the wireless channel, and each RU of the plurality of RUs within the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel does not overlap with a second subchannel boundary between the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, wherein the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to the non-legacy frequency tone plan has the same number of frequency tones as the corresponding frequency tones associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan.

16. The wireless access point of claim 15, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to allocate one or more additional RUs of the plurality of RUs to include other data for one or more respective other wireless stations; and The at least one modem is further configured to output the other data for transmission to the one or more respective other wireless stations via respective sets of tones associated with the one or more additional RUs of the plurality of RUs.

17. The wireless access point of claim 15, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones associated with the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap with sub-channel boundaries within the wireless channel.

18. The wireless access point of claim 17, wherein at least one of the plurality of RUs planned in accordance with the non-legacy frequency modulation is based at least in part on replacement of pilot frequencies in which one or more pilot frequencies are designated as data frequencies.

19. The wireless access point of claim 15, wherein: The difference between the non-legacy frequency modulation planning and the legacy frequency modulation planning lies in that: the frequency modulation shifting for all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel makes all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel not overlap with the subchannel boundary within the wireless channel.

20. The wireless access point of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allocate all RUs in the second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel regardless of puncturing of the first 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel, the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel, or both.

21. The wireless access point of claim 15, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone RU at an edge of a 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel of the wireless channel.

22. The wireless access point of claim 21, wherein the at least one modem is further configured to puncture the second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel of the wireless channel, the second 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel being adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth sub-channel.

23. The wireless access point of claim 15, further comprising: at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem; at least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and to wirelessly receive signals for input into the at least one transceiver; as well as A housing encloses at least a portion of the at least one processor, the at least one modem, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one antenna.

24. A wireless station comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one modem communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to: obtaining, from a wireless access point, an indication of an allocation of at least a first resource unit (RU) of a plurality of resource units (RUs) associated with a wireless channel allocated for the wireless station to transmit data, the wireless channel comprising at least one 80 MHz bandwidth portion, the 80 MHz bandwidth portion comprising a first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, a third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, and a fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel; and The data is output to the wireless access point via a first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to the corresponding frequency tone associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan, such that the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU does not overlap with a first subchannel boundary between the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel within the wireless channel, and each RU of the multiple RUs within the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel does not overlap with a second subchannel boundary between the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, wherein the first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to the non-legacy frequency tone plan has the same number of frequency tones as the corresponding frequency tones associated with the corresponding RU according to the legacy frequency tone plan.

25. The wireless station of claim 24, wherein the non-legacy tone plan defines a set of tones associated with the plurality of RUs such that the plurality of RUs do not overlap with sub-channel boundaries within the wireless channel.

26. The wireless station of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of RUs planned in accordance with the non-legacy frequency modulation is based at least in part on replacement of pilot frequencies in which one or more pilot frequencies are designated as data frequencies.

27. The wireless station of claim 24, wherein: The difference between the non-legacy frequency modulation planning and the legacy frequency modulation planning lies in that: the frequency modulation shifting for all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel makes all 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone and 242-tone RUs in the second 20MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20MHz bandwidth subchannel not overlap with the subchannel boundary within the wireless channel.

28. A wireless station as described in claim 27, wherein the indication of the allocation includes an indication of all RUs allocated in the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel and the third 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, regardless of the perforation of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel, or both.

29. A wireless station as described in claim 24, wherein the first RU is a 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone or 242-tone RU at the edge of the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel, and wherein the second 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel of the wireless channel adjacent to the first 20 MHz bandwidth subchannel is perforated.

30. The wireless station of claim 24, further comprising: at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one modem; at least one antenna coupled to the at least one transceiver to wirelessly transmit signals output from the at least one transceiver and to wirelessly receive signals for input into the at least one transceiver; as well as A housing encloses at least a portion of the at least one processor, the at least one modem, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one antenna.

31. A wireless station comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one modem communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to: obtaining, from a wireless access point, an indication of an allocation of at least a first resource unit (RU) of a plurality of resource units (RUs) associated with a wireless channel allocated for the wireless station to transmit data, the wireless channel comprising at least one bandwidth portion including a plurality of subchannels having a common bandwidth size; and The data is output to the wireless access point via a first frequency tone set associated with the first RU according to a non-legacy frequency tone plan, wherein the position of the first frequency tone set in the non-legacy frequency tone plan is shifted relative to a corresponding frequency tone associated with a corresponding RU according to a legacy frequency tone plan, and the non-legacy frequency tone plan defines a frequency tone set including the first frequency tone set associated with the multiple RUs so that the multiple RUs do not overlap with a subchannel boundary of the wireless channel.

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