Resource Unit Assignment for Selective Fading

Abstract

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to resource unit (RU) assignment for combating frequency-selective fading. The method includes: determining, at an access point (AP), channel qualities of a plurality of resource units (RUs) for a client. The plurality of RUs are configured to be available for communication with a plurality of clients including the client. The method further includes: determining, at least in part based on the plurality of channel qualities, a target RU for the client from the plurality of RUs. The target RU is to be used by the client for subsequent transmissions to the AP. The target RU with good channel quality will be assigned to the client, thereby enhancing transmissions and overall system performance.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Wireless communication networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs) can provide various communication services such as voice, video, and messaging to multiple clients. In a wireless communication network, an access point (AP) can provide network connections to multiple clients through multiple resource units (RUs). A client can use multiple RUs to communicate with the AP. As the number of served clients increases and different clients located at different positions may perceive different RU channel qualities, it becomes more complex to assign multiple RUs to different clients. It is desirable to assign an RU with good channel quality to each client. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the example implementations disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, several example implementations disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example and not limitation, where

[0003] Figure 1 a block diagram illustrates an example communication environment in which example implementations of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0004] Figure 2 a signaling flow diagram illustrates a signaling flow for assigning an RU to a client according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0005] Figure 3 an example graph illustrates the channel quality of a client on different subcarriers;

[0006] Figure 4 an example graph illustrates the assignment of an RU to a client over a period of time;

[0007] Figure 5 a flowchart illustrates a method for assigning multiple RUs to multiple clients according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0008] Figure 6 an example RU assignment for multiple clients illustrates an example RU assignment for multiple clients according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0009] Figure 7 a flowchart illustrates a method according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0010] Figure 8 another flowchart illustrates another method according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 9 a block diagram illustrates a communication device according to some example implementations of the present disclosure; and

[0012] Figure 10 Another block diagram of a communication device according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. Detailed implementation

[0013] In a wireless communication network, an AP can provide network connection to multiple clients by performing transmission by specifying or allocating multiple RUs to the multiple clients. Example implementations of the present disclosure relate to assigning (multiple) RUs of an AP to (multiple) clients to perform communication with the AP.

[0014] Figure 1 An example environment 100 in which example implementations of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. The example environment 100 can be implemented as part of a wireless communication network such as a WLAN. The example environment 100 includes an AP 110 and multiple clients, the multiple clients including client 130-1, client 130-2,......, client 130-N. Clients 130-1, 130-2,......, 130-N can be collectively referred to as "clients 130" or individually referred to as "client 130". The multiple clients 130 can transmit to or receive from the AP 110 simultaneously by sharing the available bandwidth.

[0015] Client 130 can also be referred to as a user equipment or a station (STA). Client 130 is any type of mobile device, fixed device or portable device, including a mobile handset, a station, a unit, a device, a multimedia computer, a multimedia tablet, an Internet node, a communicator, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a tablet, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a personal navigation device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an audio / video player, a digital camera / video camera, a positioning device, a television receiver, a radio broadcast receiver, an e-book device, a gaming device or any combination thereof.

[0016] AP 110 can be any suitable device that allows one or more clients 130 to connect to the wireless communication network in the example environment 100. As used herein, AP 110 can include, be implemented as or be referred to as a wireless router, a radio transceiver, a switch, a Wi-Fi hotspot device, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a radio base station (RBS) or some other term.

[0017] Communication in the example environment 100 can operate according to wireless communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, Wi-Fi Alliance specifications, or any other wireless communication standard. The IEEE 802.11 standards can include the IEEE 802.11ax standard (also known as Wi-Fi 6) or any other wireless communication standard.

[0018] In the example environment 100, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) is used to divide subcarriers into multiple RUs. For illustrative purposes, in Figure 1 , the subcarriers used to communicate with the AP 110 can be divided into RU 120-1, RU 120-2, RU 120-3,......, RU 120-M. These RUs can be collectively referred to as "RU 120" or individually as RU 120. The term "RU" as used hereinafter refers to a resource unit used for communication in a wireless communication network, and an RU can represent a group of subcarriers with a certain bandwidth.

[0019] As a specific example, in some OFDMA-based communication networks (such as IEEE 802.11.ax), the subcarrier spacing is 78.125 kHz or 312.5 kHz or other suitable frequency bandwidths. When subdividing a communication channel with a full bandwidth such as 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or any other suitable bandwidth, the AP 110 may be able to specify the number of subcarriers used for communication in an RU, for example, 26, 52, 106, or 242 subcarriers in an RU. For ease of illustration, taking a full bandwidth of 20 MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 78.125 kHz as an example, when grouping several 26, 52, 106, or 242 subcarriers into one RU, the frequency bandwidth of the RU is approximately equal to 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, or 20 MHz, respectively. The RUs including several 26, 52, 106, or 242 subcarriers are respectively called RU 26, RU 52, RU 106, or RU 242. The number of subcarriers in each RU can be called the "RU size" of the RU. For a certain channel with a certain full bandwidth, the RU size of the RU is associated with the frequency bandwidth of the RU.

[0020] The AP 110 can specify the number of RUs with different RU sizes within each channel, for example, 9 RUs of RU 26, 5 RUs of RU52, 4 RUs of RU 26, and 2 RUs of RU 52, or any other number of RUs with different RU sizes. The AP can also specify the number of subcarriers in each RU or specify the RU size of each RU. In a wireless communication network, multiple RUs 120 can have the same RU size (that is, each RU has the same number of subcarriers) or have different RU sizes (that is, each RU has a different number of subcarriers).

[0021] It should be understood that the values of the full bandwidth, the subcarrier spacing, the number of subcarriers in each RU, and the number of RUs are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. The communication channel can be a wider or narrower full bandwidth, the subcarrier spacing can be wider or narrower, the number of subcarriers in each RU can be different, and the number of RUs can also vary.

[0022] It should be understood that Figure 1 the number of APs, RUs, and clients illustrated in is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent any limitation. The example environment 100 can include any suitable number of APs, RUs, and clients configured to implement the implementations of the present disclosure.

[0023] A wireless communication environment is typically a multipath environment that includes many obstacles, buildings, and other objects in the environment. Time dispersion caused by multipath (such as diffraction, reflection, and scattering) may result in frequency-selective fading, thereby degrading the performance of the channel. As a result, for different clients located at different positions, some subcarrier signals are enhanced while some subcarrier signals may be attenuated. Therefore, the transmission rate of a client is often limited by the weakest subcarrier signal strength in the RU used by the client. Low subcarrier signal strength can even cause transmission errors.

[0024] Typically, an AP assigns (multiple) RUs to (multiple) clients without considering the weakest subcarrier signal strength in the (multiple) RUs assigned to the (multiple) clients. Instead, the AP only considers the average subcarrier signal strength in the RU. Therefore, when a client is located at a position where the client perceives the weakest subcarrier signal strength in the RU, the transmission performance of the client will degrade due to frequency-selective fading. Therefore, it is desirable to enhance the transmission performance of the client by assigning an RU with good subcarrier signal strength for the client to transmit.

[0025] Various example implementations of the present disclosure propose a more efficient way to assign (multiple) good RUs to (multiple) clients based on the channel quality of the (multiple) RUs for the (multiple) clients. Specifically, different clients in a wireless communication network may perceive different channel qualities from the RUs. For example, a client may perceive good channel quality from one RU but poor channel quality from another RU. Similarly, an RU with good channel quality for one client may not be good for another client. According to an example implementation of the present disclosure, an AP can determine a target RU for a specific client based on the multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs for the client. Then, the AP assigns the target RU to the client for subsequent transmission with the AP.

[0026] By allocating a target RU with good channel quality to the client, the transmission performance and reliability between the client and the AP can be improved, and transmission errors can be reduced. Additionally, by assigning multiple RUs to multiple clients considering the respective channel qualities of each RU, the overall system performance can be further improved and a competitive advantage can be brought.

[0027] Some example implementations of the present disclosure are discussed in detail below with reference to other drawings.

[0028] Figure 2 A signaling flow 200 for RU assignment to a client according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 Describe the signaling flow 200 to discuss an example implementation of RU assignment between the AP 110 and the client 130. It should be understood that although Figure 2 One client is shown, but when multiple RUs are assigned to more than one client, it can use a process similar to the process described with respect to the signaling flow 200 to determine the target RUs for more than one client.

[0029] As briefly discussed above, the AP 110 determines the target RU for the client 130 based on the multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs 120 of the client 130. The multiple RUs 120 are configured to be available for communication with multiple clients 130 including the client 130. As mentioned above, each RU 120 includes a subcarrier group. The channel quality of the RU 120 can be determined as the channel quality of the weakest subcarrier included in the subcarrier group of the RU,

[0030] There are various ways to determine the multiple channel qualities. In some implementations, transmissions such as non-beamforming transmissions 205 / 210 can be performed between the AP 110 and the client 130 before RU assignment. Those transmissions before RU assignment can be referred to as historical transmissions performed by the client 130 using the multiple RUs 120. The client 130 can determine 215 the multiple channel qualities based on those historical transmissions, such as the received signal strength indication (RSSI) or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the multiple RUs 120.

[0031] Thereafter, the client 130 can transmit 220 information indicating the multiple channel qualities to the AP 110. For example, the information can be transmitted to the AP 110 via the physical layer (PHY). In response to receiving 225 information such as a receiver PHY descriptor / register from the client 130, the AP 110 then determines 250 the multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs 120 for the client 130. This channel quality determination passively collects the RSSI bitmap of the uplink non-beamforming frames.

[0032] Alternatively, in some implementations, the AP 110 may actively probe the client 130. Specifically, in the signaling flow 200, the AP 110 may transmit 230 trigger frames to the client 130 using multiple RUs 120. In response to receiving the 235 trigger frames from the AP 110, the client 130 may transmit 240 response frames to the AP 110 using multiple RUs. For example, the response frame may be a single-user (SU) frame using the full bandwidth rate (such as 20 MHz).

[0033] After receiving the 245 response frames, the AP 110 determines 250 multiple channel qualities based on the response frames. For example, the AP 110 may determine the energy distribution over multiple RUs during the reception of the 245 response frames. Then, the AP 110 determines 250 multiple channel qualities based on the energy distribution.

[0034] Specifically, the AP 110 may collect fast Fourier transform (FFT) data of response frames such as SU frames using the full bandwidth rate. The FFT data (frequency domain) may indicate the energy distribution between each subcarrier. The RSSI of each subcarrier may be calculated as the square root of I and Q (i.e., sqrt(I,Q)). I and Q refer to the real and imaginary parts of the FFT data respectively. For each RU 120, the AP 110 may determine 250 the RSSI of the weakest subcarriers as the channel quality of the RU 120.

[0035] Multiple ways of determining 250 multiple channel qualities have been described above. In some implementations, the AP 110 may periodically determine 250 multiple channel qualities. By doing so, the AP 110 may update the multiple channel qualities for the mobile client 130.

[0036] After determining 250 multiple channel qualities, the AP 110 determines 265 the target RU for the client 130 at least partially based on the multiple channel qualities. In some implementations, the AP 110 may determine 285 the target RU for the client 130 from the multiple RUs 120 based on a comparison between the multiple RUs and a threshold quality set for the client 130. For example, the threshold quality set for the client 130 may be determined based on the average channel quality of the multiple channel qualities.

[0037] Figure 3FIG. 300 is an example diagram showing the channel quality of client 130 on different subcarriers. An average channel quality 310, such as an average SNR, can be calculated. In some examples, the threshold quality can be set to the average channel quality 310. Alternatively, in some examples, the threshold quality can be approximately set to the average channel quality, for example, by subtracting a predefined offset value from the average channel quality 310, as shown by channel quality 320. It should be appreciated that the threshold quality can be set according to the application, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0038] Subcarriers in groups 330 and 340 with a channel quality lower than channel quality 320 (i.e., the threshold quality) can be referred to as bad subcarriers of client 130. An RU including one or more bad subcarriers can be referred to as a bad RU of client 130. AP 110 will not determine the bad RUs of client 130 based on a comparison between multiple RUs and the threshold quality set for client 130. Instead, AP 110 can determine good RUs whose subcarrier channel quality exceeds the threshold quality as the target RUs for client 130.

[0039] In some implementations, AP 110 determines 265 a target RU for client 130 whose channel quality exceeds the threshold quality and whose frequency bandwidth is equal to the threshold frequency bandwidth. Alternatively, AP 110 determines 265 a target RU for client 130 whose channel quality exceeds the threshold quality and whose frequency bandwidth is equal to or exceeds the threshold frequency bandwidth. The term "frequency bandwidth" can also be referred to as "frequency width", "bandwidth", or "width". In some implementations, the threshold frequency bandwidth can be predefined or preconfigured by AP 110.

[0040] Alternatively, in some implementations, client 130 can transmit 255 information related to the RU size requirement to AP 110, for example, via the PHY. The RU size requirement indicates the threshold frequency bandwidth required by client 130. For example, the RU size requirement can be RU 52 indicating a threshold frequency bandwidth of 4 MHz. Another example is that the RU size requirement can be RU 26 indicating a threshold frequency width of 2 MHz. It should be appreciated that the threshold frequency bandwidth can be set according to the application, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0041] In some implementations, based on determining that the channel quality of a single RU among multiple RUs 120 exceeds the threshold quality, AP 110 can determine 265 the single RU as the target RU for client 130. In the case where there is no RU with a channel quality exceeding the threshold quality, AP 110 can optionally select an RU with a channel quality approximately equal to (or slightly lower than) the threshold quality as the target RU for client 130.

[0042] Additionally or alternatively, based on determining that the channel quality of more than one client RU among the plurality of RUs 120 exceeds a threshold quality, the AP 110 may determine a set of candidate RUs for the client 130 from the more than one RU. The set of candidate RUs includes at least one RU. Then, the AP 110 may select a candidate RU from the set of candidate RUs as the target RU for the client 130.

[0043] In some implementations, when determining the set of candidate RUs, the AP 110 may select at least one RU among the more than one RUs whose frequency bandwidth is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth to form the set of candidate RUs. As discussed above, the frequency bandwidth may be predefined or preconfigured by the AP 110, or may be indicated by the client 130.

[0044] After determining the set of candidate RUs, the AP 110 may determine the number of candidate clients for each RU in the set of candidate RUs. The corresponding channel quality of the RU for the candidate clients exceeds the threshold quality set for the candidate clients. In some implementations, the threshold quality set for each candidate client may be commonly set as the average channel quality for all candidate clients. Otherwise, the threshold quality set for each candidate client may be individually set as the average channel quality for the candidate client. The AP 110 may select a particular RU with the least number of candidate clients in the set of candidate RUs as the target RU for the client 130. That is, the number of candidate clients for the particular RU is less than or equal to the number of candidate clients for other RUs in the set of candidate RUs.

[0045] After determining the target RU for the client 130, the AP 110 may use the target RU to transmit subsequent transmissions to the client 130. Information about the RU assignment for the client 130 may be included in the physical header of the OFDMA frame. The client 130 may receive transmissions from the AP using the target RU.

[0046] Additionally or alternatively, the AP 110 may transmit indication information indicating the target RU to the client 130. For example, the AP 110 may transmit a trigger frame including the indication information to the client 130. After receiving the indication, the client 130 may use the target RU to transmit subsequent transmissions to the AP 110. Then, the AP 110 may receive the transmission from the client 130. It should be understood that one or more subsequent transmissions may be performed between the AP 110 and the client 130 using the target RU.

[0047] As previously mentioned, the AP 110 can periodically determine the channel quality of multiple clients 130. Similarly, the AP 110 can also periodically determine the target RU for the client 130.

[0048] Figure 4 The figure illustrates an example diagram of the RU assignment 400 of the client 130 during a time period. As Figure 4 shown, the AP 110 groups the subcarriers in a channel with full bandwidth into multiple RUs 120 (e.g., RU 120-1, 120-2, 120-3,......, 120-M). For example, the subcarrier group with the highest frequency can be grouped into RU 120-1, the subcarrier group with the second highest frequency can be grouped into RU 120-2, the subcarrier group with the third highest frequency can be grouped into RU 120-3, and so on. Then, the subcarrier group with the lowest frequency can be grouped into RU 120-M. The AP 110 can periodically assign the multiple RUs 120 to the client 130. The period of the RU assignment can be predefined by the AP 110 or can be dynamically adjusted during communication with the client 130. The client 130 can perform transmissions with the AP 110 using the periodically assigned RUs.

[0049] As Figure 4 shown, in different time periods, the AP 110 can assign different RUs 120 to the client 130. Taking the client 130-1 as an example, during the first time period and the second time period (i.e., at T1 and T2, as Figure 2 shown), RU 120-2 is assigned to the client 130-1 for transmission with the AP 110. Similarly, in other time periods, different RUs such as RU 120-1 (at T6), RU 120-3 (at T5), RU 120-M (at T4), and another RU (at T3) are assigned to the client 130-1 for transmission with the AP 110. It should be understood that Figure 4 this is for illustration only and does not represent any limitation.

[0050] By doing so, for a moving client, the AP can periodically assign a target RU with good channel quality to the client. Even if the client is constantly moving, the reliability and performance of the transmission between the AP and the client can be guaranteed.

[0051] By determining a target RU with good channel quality for a client, the client can avoid transmitting using a poor RU. When determining the target RU, the AP may prefer a flat RU over an RU with a higher variance (which may have a lower weakest subcarrier). Thus, the current RU assignment can also be referred to as a flat RU assignment for selective fading. With the flat RU assignment for selective fading, the impact of selective fading will be mitigated, improving the reliability and performance of transmissions such as OFDMA transmissions between the AP and the client. It can also improve radio frequency (RF) differentiation among different clients and also bring a competitive advantage.

[0052] Several example implementations regarding Figures 2 to 4 the assignment of target RUs to clients have been discussed above. Additional example implementations regarding the assignment of multiple RUs to multiple clients based on channel quality will be described below regarding Figures 5 to 6 below.

[0053] Figure 5 FIG. illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 for assigning multiple RUs 120 to multiple clients 130 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, method 500 will be described with reference to Figure 1 to discuss an example implementation of RU assignment between multiple RUs 120 and multiple clients 130 connected to an AP 110. Method 500 may be performed by the AP 110 according to the implementations described herein.

[0054] Although only some blocks are shown in method 500, method 500 may include other operations described herein. Although method 500 is shown and described as a series of actions performed in sequence, it should be understood and appreciated that the method is not limited by the order of sequence. For example, some actions may occur in a different order than described herein. Additionally, one action may occur simultaneously with another action. Further, in some implementations, not all actions may be required to implement the method described herein.

[0055] Some implementations regarding Figure 2 the assignment of target RUs to clients have been described above. In contrast, method 500 uses a more complex process to assign multiple RUs to multiple clients. Method 500 takes into account the channel quality of each client using each RU and thus can ensure that an RU with good channel quality can be assigned to each client.

[0056] At 505, the AP 110 determines, for each client among the multiple clients 130, the multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs 120 of that client. The AP 110 may use regarding Figure 2The described process or other suitable processes to determine the multiple channel qualities for each client. For example, the channel quality for an RU of a client can be determined as the RSSI of the weakest subcarrier in the subcarrier group included in the RU.

[0057] At 510, the AP 110 can classify the multiple RUs into good RUs, bad RUs, and optional normal RUs for each client based on the multiple channel qualities. If the channel quality of a specific RU is higher than a threshold quality (such as the average RSSI), or in other words, the RSSI of all subcarriers of the specific RU is higher than the average RSSI, then the specific RU is a good RU. Similarly, if the channel quality of a specific RU is lower than the threshold quality (such as the average RSSI), or in other words, the RSSI of some subcarriers of the specific RU is lower than the average RSSI, then the specific RU is a bad RU. Optionally, if the channel quality of a specific RU is approximately the threshold quality (such as the average RSSI) or slightly lower than the threshold quality, or in other words, the RSSI of the subcarriers of the specific RU is approximately the average RSSI or slightly lower than the average RSSI, then the specific RU is a normal RU. It should be understood that the threshold quality can be determined based on a similar process as described above regarding Figure 2 the described process to determine

[0058] In some implementations, after grouping the multiple RUs 120 into different RUs for each client 130, the AP 110 can randomly select a target RU from the good RUs for each client 130. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, the AP 110 can perform other operations to determine the target RU for each client 130. The other operations can include Figure 5 the following operations shown in

[0059] At 515, the AP 110 can calculate an RU score for each client 130 for each RU among the multiple RUs 120 available for communicating with the multiple clients 130 based on the channel quality of the client 130's RU and the frequency bandwidth of the RU. For example, a higher channel quality will correspond to a higher RU score. Similarly, a wider frequency bandwidth will correspond to a higher RU score. The RU score can be determined simply using a multiplication operation of the channel quality and the frequency bandwidth or using any other suitable operation. Table 1 below illustrates an example table of the RU scores for each client and each RU.

[0060] Table 1 RU Score Table

[0061] RU Size RU 0 RU 1 RU 2 Average Value Client 1 1 10 8 8 8.7 Client 2 1 7 3 6 5.3 Client 3 1 4 3 6 4.3 Sum 21 14 20

[0062] Table 1 shows the RU scores of clients for a given RU. For example, the RU score of client 1 for RU 1 is 8. Table 1 also shows the RU sizes requested by the clients or predefined by the AP. The RU size can represent a threshold frequency bandwidth. The AP can assign an RU to a client partially based on the threshold frequency bandwidth. For example, the AP can assign an RU to a client with a frequency bandwidth equal to or optionally exceeding the threshold frequency bandwidth. For example, an RU size of 1 represents an RU 26 with a 2 MHz frequency bandwidth, and an RU size of 2 (not shown) represents an RU 52 with a 4 MHz frequency bandwidth, and so on. The "average" column in Table 1 also shows the average channel quality score (such as the average RSSI score) over all subcarriers, which can be used as the threshold quality for the client. A lower average score indicates a farther client.

[0063] AP 110 can determine whether an RU is a good RU for a client based on the difference between the RU score and the average score. For example, since the difference between the RU score of 7 and the average score of 5.3 (equal to 1.7) is greater than 0, RU 0 is a good RU for client 2. As another example, since the difference between the RU score of 3 and the average score of 5.3 (equal to -2.3) is less than 0, RU 1 is a bad RU for client 2. As yet another example, since the difference between the RU score of 4 and the average score of 4.3 (equal to -0.3) is approximately 0, RU 0 is a normal RU for client 3.

[0064] After that, at 520, AP 110 can determine a list of candidate clients for each RU. A candidate client (also referred to as a good candidate client) has an RU score for the RU that is higher than the average score for the client. For example, in the example of Table 1, for RU 0, the list of candidate clients can include client 1 and client 2. Similarly, for RU 1, the list of candidate clients can include client 1; and for RU 2, the list of candidate clients can include client 1 and client 3. Additionally or alternatively, a client with an RU score for the RU near the average score for the client can be considered a normal candidate client. Then, the list of candidate clients for each RU can be extended. For example, RU 0 also has a normal candidate client, namely, client 3, and RU 2 also has a normal candidate client, namely, client 2.

[0065] At block 525, AP 110 can sort the multiple RUs in descending order based on the number of candidate clients in the list of candidate clients for the multiple RUs. For example, in the example of Table 1, the number of candidate clients for the multiple RUs can be shown in Table 2 below.

[0066] Table 2 Number of candidate clients for RUs

[0067]

[0068] As shown in Table 2, RU 0 has 2 good candidate clients and 1 normal candidate client; RU 1 has only 1 good candidate client, while RU 2 has 2 good candidate clients and 1 normal candidate client. Then, AP 110 can sort the multiple RUs as {RU 1; RU 0; RU 2} or {RU 1; RU 2; RU 0}.

[0069] At block 530, AP 110 can select the first RU from the sorted list of RUs. In the example of Table 2, the first RU is RU 1. After that, at block 535, AP 110 can assign the first RU to a specific candidate client of the first RU. For the specific candidate client, the first RU has the highest RU score. That is, AP 110 can assign RU 1 to the specific candidate client of RU 1. As shown in Table 2, RU 1 has only one good candidate client, which is Client 1. At this time, AP 110 can assign RU1 to Client 1.

[0070] Then, at block 540, AP 110 can remove the specific candidate client from the candidate client lists of the other RUs. Also in the examples of Table 1 and Table 2, the updated candidate client list of RU 0 includes one good candidate client (Client 2) and one normal candidate client (Client 3); while the updated candidate client list of RU2 includes one good candidate client (Client 3) and one normal candidate client (Client 2).

[0071] At block 545, AP 110 can determine whether the sorted list of RUs has a next RU. According to the determination that there is a next RU, method 500 can proceed to block 550. At block 550, AP 110 can assign the next RU to the candidate client of the next RU. The next RU has the highest RU score among the candidate clients. Since RU 0 and RU 2 have the same number of candidate clients, AP 110 can randomly select the next RU, for example, RU 0. For RU 0, it has a good candidate client (i.e., Client 2) with an RU score of 7 and a normal candidate client (i.e., Client 3) with an RU score of 4. Then, because RU 0 has the highest RU score for Client 2, AP 110 can assign RU 0 to Client 2.

[0072] At block 555, the AP can remove a candidate client from the candidate client lists of other RUs. For example, AP 110 can remove client 2 from the candidate client list of RU 2. After that, the candidate client list of RU 2 includes one good candidate client, namely client 3. After block 555, method 500 returns back to block 545.

[0073] Similarly, AP 110 can repeat blocks 545, 550, and 555 for RU 2. That is, AP 110 can determine that the next RU is RU 2, assign RU2 to client 3, and remove client 3 from the candidate client lists of other RUs. In some examples, if RU2 has no good candidate clients, for example, but only (a) normal candidate client(s), then AP 110 can assign RU 2 to the normal candidate client with the highest RU score.

[0074] Based on determining that there is no next RU at block 545, method 500 proceeds to block 560. At block 560, method 500 ends. That is, AP 110 has completed assigning RUs to multiple clients 130. Finally, in the examples of Table 1 and Table 2, RU 1 is assigned to client 1, RU 0 is assigned to client 2, and RU 2 is assigned to client 3. In this example, all clients have obtained good RUs.

[0075] It should be understood that method 500 can be executed periodically. By executing method 500 periodically, it can ensure that mobile clients can also be assigned good RUs or normal RUs.

[0076] In some example implementations, if AP 110 cannot assign a good RU or a normal RU to each client by executing the above process 530 to 555 once, then AP 110 can start the next round of process 530 to 555. In the next round, AP110 may not always select the best candidate for the RU, but consider the second or third best candidate for the RU. For example, in the first round, the AP may select candidate clients {1 st ,1 st ,1 st ,x} for {RU0,RU1,RU2,RU3}, and finally cannot find a good candidate client or a normal candidate client for RU3. AP 110 can execute a second round, in which AP 110 can select candidate clients {1 st ,1 st ,2 nd, x}. If a good candidate client or a normal candidate client for RU 3 still cannot be found, the AP 110 can perform another round. Finally, in the Nth round, the AP 110 can successfully assign candidate clients {1 st , 1 st , 3 rd , 2 nd} to {RU0, RU1, RU2, RU3}. In the Nth round, each RU is assigned to a good candidate or a normal candidate, and then the process ends.

[0077] By sorting multiple RUs in descending order of the number of candidate clients and then assigning the RUs to the clients one by one, the computational complexity can be reduced and computational resources can be saved. Without performing sorting and processing one by one, RU assignment requires a large amount of computation. In contrast, using the above process, even in the worst case, the amount of computation is where n represents the total number of RUs, and NC i represents the number of candidate clients of the ith RU among a total of n RUs.

[0078] It should be understood that Table 1 and Table 2 are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent any limitation. The AP 110 can assign any number of RUs to any number of clients. In some implementations, the AP 110 can determine the partial channel quality of the clients and the RUs. The AP 110 can use the partial channel quality in the channel quality to avoid assigning bad RUs to the clients. The more information about the channel quality the AP 110 has, the better the RU assignment it can achieve. In some extreme cases, if the AP 110 may not be able to guarantee good RUs / normal RUs to all clients, the AP 110 may evict the client with the lowest score (i.e., narrow frequency bandwidth and low RSSI). Then, the AP 110 may try to assign good RUs to the clients during the next time period.

[0079] For simplicity, in the example of Table 1, each client is assigned RU 26. In some example implementations, each client may require a different RU size or frequency bandwidth. For example, if client 1 and client 2 are assigned RU52, and client 3 is assigned RU 26, the assignment process is similar but slightly more complex. Specifically, AP 110 can determine two tables, one based on RU 26 (similar to Table 1), and the other based on RU 52 (similar to Table 1, but the RU size can be represented by the value 2). Then, AP 110 can start assigning RUs to the clients that request the largest RU size. In this example, AP 110 can start assigning RUs to client 1 and client 2 using a process similar to the process described above. After client 1 and client 2 have both been assigned a good RU or a normal RU, AP 110 can assign an RU to the client that requests a smaller RU size. In this example, AP 110 can assign an RU to client 3 that requests RU 26.

[0080] Figure 6 Illustrated is an example RU assignment 600 for multiple clients 130 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, reference Figure 1 is made to the example RU assignment 800. After performing RU assignment such as using method 500 for multiple clients 130, AP 110 can determine RU 120-1 as the target RU for client 130-1, RU120-M as the target RU for client 130-2, ..., and RU 120-2 as the target RU for client 130-N. Then, AP 110 can use the corresponding target RU 120 to transmit subsequent transmissions to client 130. Additionally, AP 110 can transmit indication information 610-1, 610-2, …, and 610-N to client 130-1, 130-2, ..., and 130-N, respectively. The indication information 610-1, 610-2, …, and 610-N can be collectively referred to as "indication information 610" or individually as "indication information 610". The indication information 810 can indicate the target RU for each client 130. After receiving the indication information 610, client 130 can use the target RU indicated by the indication information 610 to transmit subsequent transmissions to AP 110. One or more subsequent transmissions can be performed between AP110 and client 130 using the corresponding target RU 120.

[0081] By performing with respect to Figures 5 to 6For the described RU assignment, the AP can map the RUs to appropriate subcarriers from the perspective and frequency preference of each client. Through the overall assignment, it can be ensured that RUs with good or normal channel quality are assigned to each client. That is to say, the assignment of poor RUs to clients can be avoided, thereby avoiding potential transmission errors. This scientific and reasonable assignment can ensure higher resource utilization efficiency.

[0082] In addition, by assigning multiple RUs to multiple clients, the transmission of the content of the RUs by the clients can be avoided. In the case where each client has multiple options, this process can fully consider the channel quality of each client and find a final assignment option that can ensure the transmission performance of each client. Through this win-win assignment, the system performance and reliability will be improved.

[0083] Figure 7 FIG. illustrates a flowchart of a method 700 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be performed by the AP 110 according to the implementations described herein. Although only some blocks are shown in the method 700, the method 700 may include other operations described herein.

[0084] At 710, the AP 110 determines the channel qualities of multiple RUs of a client. The multiple RUs are configured to be available for communication with multiple clients including the client. In some example implementations, when determining the multiple channel qualities, the AP 110 may receive information indicating the multiple channel qualities from the client, where the channel quality information is determined based on historical transmissions performed by the client using the multiple RUs. In some example implementations, when determining the multiple channel qualities, the AP 110 may transmit a trigger frame to the client using the multiple RUs; detect the energy distribution over the multiple RUs during reception of a response frame to the trigger frame transmitted by the client using the multiple RUs, and determine the multiple channel qualities based on the energy distribution over the multiple RUs.

[0085] At 720, the AP 110 determines a target RU for the client from the multiple RUs at least in part based on the multiple channel qualities. In some example implementations, when determining the target RU for the client, the AP 110 may determine the target RU for the client from the multiple RUs based on a comparison between the multiple channel qualities and a threshold quality set for the client. The AP will use the target RU to perform transmissions with the AP 110. In some example implementations, the threshold quality is determined based on the average channel quality of the multiple channel qualities.

[0086] In some example implementations, the AP 110 may transmit indication information indicating the target RU to the client, and the target RU is to be used by the client to perform subsequent transmissions to the AP 110.

[0087] In some example implementations, when determining the target RU of a client based on a comparison, according to determining that the channel quality of a single RU among multiple RUs exceeds a threshold quality, AP 110 may determine the single RU as the target RU of the client. In some example implementations, when determining the target RU of a client based on a comparison, according to determining that the channel quality of more than one RU among multiple RUs exceeds a threshold quality, AP 110 may determine a set of candidate RUs whose channel quality exceeds the threshold quality for the client from the more than one RU. The set of candidate RUs includes at least one RU, and a candidate RU is selected from the set of candidate RUs as the target RU of the client.

[0088] In some example implementations, when determining the set of candidate RUs, AP 110 may select at least one RU among more than one RU whose frequency bandwidth is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth to form the set of candidate RUs. In some example implementations, AP 110 may also receive information related to the RU size requirement from the client, and the RU size requirement indicates the threshold frequency bandwidth. In some example implementations, when selecting a target RU from the set of candidate RUs, AP 110 may determine the number of candidate clients for each RU in the set of candidate RUs, and the corresponding channel quality of the RUs of the candidate clients exceeds the threshold quality set for the candidate clients; and according to determining that the number of candidate clients for a specific RU in the set of RUs is less than or equal to the number of candidate clients for other RUs in the set of candidate RUs, AP 110 may select the specific RU as the target RU of the client.

[0089] Figure 8 FIG. illustrates a flowchart of a method 800 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The method 800 may be performed by the client 130 according to the implementations described herein. Although only some blocks are shown in the method 800, the method 800 may include other operations described herein.

[0090] At 810, the client 130 performs a transmission with the AP using multiple RUs. The multiple RUs are configured to be available for communication with multiple clients including the client 130. In some example implementations, when performing the transmission, in response to receiving a trigger frame from the AP using multiple RUs, the client 130 may transmit a response frame to the trigger frame to the AP using multiple RUs.

[0091] At 820, the client 130 receives indication information from the AP indicating the target RU of the multiple RUs from the client 130. In some example implementations, the channel quality of the target RU exceeds a threshold quality. The threshold quality is determined based on the average of the multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs of the client. In some example implementations, the frequency bandwidth of the target RU is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth.

[0092] At block 830, the client performs a subsequent transmission with the AP using the target RU.

[0093] In some example implementations, the client 130 may also transmit information related to the RU size requirement to the AP. The RU size requirement indicates a threshold frequency bandwidth.

[0094] In some example implementations, the client 130 may also determine multiple channel qualities of multiple RUs based on transmissions performed by the client using multiple RUs; and transmit information indicating the multiple channel qualities to the AP.

[0095] Figure 9 FIG. illustrates a block diagram of an example device 900 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The device 900 includes at least one processor 910 and a memory 920 coupled to the at least one processor 910. The memory 920 stores instructions to cause the at least one processor 910 to perform actions of a method.

[0096] As Figure 9 shown, the memory 920 stores instructions 922 for determining multiple channel qualities of multiple RUs of a client. The multiple RUs are configured to be available for communication with multiple clients including the client.

[0097] In some example implementations, the instructions 922 for determining multiple channel qualities of multiple RUs of a client include instructions for receiving information indicating the multiple channel qualities from the client. The channel quality information is determined based on historical transmissions performed by the client using multiple RUs.

[0098] In some example implementations, the instructions 922 for determining multiple channel qualities of multiple RUs of a client include instructions for: transmitting a trigger frame to the client using multiple RUs when determining the multiple channel qualities; detecting an energy distribution over the multiple RUs during reception of a response frame to the trigger frame transmitted by the client using multiple RUs; and determining the multiple channel qualities based on the energy distribution over the multiple RUs.

[0099] The memory 920 also stores instructions 924 for determining a target RU of the client from the multiple RUs based at least in part on the multiple channel qualities. In some example implementations, the instructions 924 for determining the target RU include instructions for determining the target RU of the client from the multiple RUs based on a comparison between the multiple channel qualities and a threshold quality set for the client. The target RU is to be used by the client for subsequent transmissions with the device 900.

[0100] In some example implementations, the memory 920 also stores instructions for transmitting, to the client, indication information indicating a target RU that is to be used by the client for subsequent transmissions to the device 900.

[0101] In some example implementations, the threshold quality is determined based on an average channel quality of multiple channel qualities.

[0102] In some example implementations, the instructions for determining a target RU based on a comparison include instructions for determining a single RU among multiple RUs as the target RU for the client according to determining that the channel quality of the single RU exceeds the threshold quality. In some example implementations, the instructions for determining a target RU based on a comparison include instructions for: according to determining that the channel quality of more than one RU among multiple RUs exceeds the threshold quality, determining a set of candidate RUs for the client from the more than one RU whose channel quality exceeds the threshold quality, the set of candidate RUs including at least one RU; and selecting a candidate RU from the set of candidate RUs as the target RU for the client.

[0103] In some example implementations, the instructions for determining a set of candidate RUs include instructions for selecting at least one RU from more than one RU whose frequency bandwidth is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth to form the set of candidate RUs. In some example implementations, the memory 920 also stores instructions for receiving, from the client, information related to an RU size requirement that indicates the threshold frequency bandwidth. In some example implementations, the instructions for selecting a target RU from the set of candidate RUs include instructions for: determining the number of candidate clients for each RU in the set of candidate RUs, the corresponding channel quality of the RU of the candidate clients exceeding a threshold quality set for the candidate clients; and according to determining that the number of candidate clients for a particular RU in the set of RUs is less than or equal to the number of candidate clients for other RUs in the set of candidate RUs, selecting the particular RU as the target RU for the client.

[0104] Figure 10 A block diagram of an example device 1000 in accordance with some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. The device 1000 includes at least one processor 1010 and a memory 1020 coupled to the at least one processor 1010. The memory 1020 stores instructions to cause the at least one processor 1010 to perform operations of a method.

[0105] As Figure 10As shown, the memory 1020 stores instructions 1022 for performing transmissions with an AP using multiple RUs. The multiple RUs are configured to be available for communication with multiple clients including the device 1000. In some example implementations, the instructions 1022 for performing the transmissions include using the multiple RUs to transmit a response frame to a trigger frame to the AP in response to receiving the trigger frame from the AP using the multiple RUs.

[0106] The memory 1020 also stores instructions 1024 for receiving from the AP indication information indicating a target RU among the multiple RUs from the device 1000. In some example implementations, the channel quality of the target RU exceeds a threshold quality. The threshold quality is determined based on an average of multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs of the client. In some example implementations, the frequency bandwidth of the target RU is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth.

[0107] The memory 1020 also stores instructions 1026 to perform a subsequent transmission with the AP using the target RU.

[0108] In some example implementations, the memory 1020 also stores instructions for transmitting to the AP information related to the RU size requirement. The RU size requirement indicates the threshold frequency bandwidth.

[0109] In some example implementations, the memory 1020 also stores instructions for: determining multiple channel qualities of the multiple RUs based on transmissions performed by the device 1000 using the multiple RUs; and transmitting to the AP information indicating the multiple channel qualities.

[0110] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes program code or instructions that can be executed to perform the methods as described above with reference to Figure 7 and / or the methods as described above with reference to Figure 8 described.

[0111] Although the above discussion uses the Wi-Fi communication standard as an illustrative example, in other implementations, a wide variety of communication standards can be used, and more generally, wireless communication technologies can be used. Further, although some of the operations in the foregoing implementations are implemented in hardware or software, generally the operations in the foregoing implementations can be implemented in a wide variety of configurations and architectures. Thus, some or all of the operations in the above implementations can be performed in hardware, software, or both.

[0112] It should be noted that the specific terms disclosed in the present disclosure are presented for the convenience of description and better understanding of the example implementations of the present disclosure, and the use of these specific terms can be changed to other formats within the technical scope or spirit of the present disclosure.

[0113] The program code or instructions for performing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code or instructions can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, so that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code or instructions can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0114] In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0115] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Certain features described 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 separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple implementations.

[0116] In the foregoing detailed description of the present disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part thereof, and in the drawings, examples are shown of how the present disclosure can be practiced. These examples have been described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the examples of the present disclosure, and it should be understood that other examples can be used and that process changes, electrical changes, and / or structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for a communication device, comprising: determining, at an access point AP, multiple channel qualities of multiple resource units RUs for a client, the multiple RUs being configured to be available for communication with multiple clients including the client; determining a target RU for the client from the multiple RUs by performing the following operations based on a comparison between the multiple channel qualities and a threshold quality set for the client: determining, according to determining that the channel qualities of more than one of the multiple RUs exceed the threshold quality, a set of candidate RUs for the client from the more than one of the RUs whose channel qualities exceed the threshold quality, the set of candidate RUs including at least one RU, and selecting, from the set of candidate RUs, a candidate RU as the target RU for the client by determining the number of candidate clients for each RU in the set of candidate RUs, the corresponding channel quality of the RU for the candidate client exceeding the threshold quality set for the candidate client; and selecting the specific RU as the target RU for the client according to determining that the number of candidate clients for the specific RU in the set of candidate RUs is less than or equal to the number of candidate clients for other RUs in the set of candidate RUs; wherein the target RU is to be used by the client for subsequent transmission with the AP.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the threshold quality is determined based on an average channel quality of the multiple channel qualities.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the target RU for the client based on the comparison comprises: determining that the single RU is the target RU for the client according to determining that the channel quality of the single RU among the multiple RUs exceeds the threshold quality.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the set of candidate RUs comprises: selecting at least one RU among the more than one of the RUs whose frequency bandwidth is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth to form the set of candidate RUs.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprises: receiving, from the client, information related to an RU size requirement, the RU size requirement indicating the threshold frequency bandwidth.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the multiple channel qualities comprises: receiving, from the client, information indicating the multiple channel qualities, wherein the channel quality information is determined based on historical transmissions performed by the client using the multiple RUs.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the multiple channel qualities comprises: transmitting a trigger frame to the client using the multiple RUs; detecting an energy distribution over the multiple RUs during receiving a response frame to the trigger frame transmitted by the client using the multiple RUs, and determining the multiple channel qualities based on the energy distribution over the multiple RUs.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprises: Transmit indication information to the client, the indication information indicating the target RU to be used by the client for subsequent transmissions to the AP.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of RUs includes a set of subcarriers.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the AP periodically determines at least one of the plurality of channel qualities and the target RU.

11. A method for a communication device, comprising: Performing a transmission with an access point AP at a client using a plurality of resource units RUs, the plurality of RUs being configured to be available for communication with a plurality of clients including the client; Receiving, from the AP, indication information indicating a target RU from the plurality of RUs for the client based on a comparison between a plurality of channel qualities of the plurality of RUs and a threshold quality set for the client; Wherein, according to determining that the channel qualities of more than one of the plurality of RUs exceed the threshold quality, a set of candidate RUs for the client is determined from the more than one RU whose channel quality exceeds the threshold quality, the set of candidate RUs including at least one RU; Wherein the target RU for the client is selected from the set of candidate RUs by determining the number of candidate clients for each RU in the set of candidate RUs, the corresponding channel quality of the RU for the candidate client exceeding the threshold quality set for the candidate client; and Wherein, according to determining that the number of candidate clients for a specific RU in the set of candidate RUs is less than or equal to the number of candidate clients for other RUs in the set of candidate RUs, the specific RU is selected as the target RU for the client; and Performing a subsequent transmission with the AP using the target RU.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the channel quality of the target RU exceeds a threshold quality, and wherein the threshold quality is determined based on an average of the plurality of channel qualities of the plurality of RUs for the client.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the frequency bandwidth of the target RU is equal to or exceeds a threshold frequency bandwidth.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: Transmitting information related to the RU size requirement to the AP, the RU size requirement indicating the threshold frequency bandwidth, wherein the frequency bandwidth of the target RU is equal to or exceeds the frequency bandwidth.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: Determining the plurality of channel qualities of the plurality of RUs based on the transmission performed by the client using the plurality of RUs; and Transmitting information indicating the plurality of channel qualities to the AP.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein performing the transmission comprises: In response to receiving a trigger frame from the AP using the plurality of RUs, transmitting a response frame to the trigger frame using the plurality of RUs.

17. A communication device, comprising: At least one processor; and A memory, coupled to the at least one processor, stores instructions that cause the at least one processor to implement operations including the following: Determine channel qualities of a plurality of resource units (RUs) for a client, the plurality of RUs being configured to be available for communication with the client and at least one other client; And Based on a comparison between the plurality of channel qualities and a threshold quality set for the client and the at least one other client, determine a target RU for the client from the plurality of RUs by: If it is determined that the channel qualities of more than one of the plurality of RUs exceed the threshold quality, determine a set of candidate RUs for the client and the at least one other client from the more than one of the plurality of RUs whose channel qualities exceed the threshold quality, the set of candidate RUs including at least one RU, and Select a candidate RU from the set of candidate RUs as the target RU for the client and the at least one other client by determining the number of candidate clients for each RU in the set of candidate RUs, the corresponding channel quality of the RU for the candidate client exceeding the threshold quality set for the candidate client; And If it is determined that the number of candidate clients for a particular RU in the set of candidate RUs is less than or equal to the number of candidate clients for other RUs in the set of candidate RUs, select the particular RU as the target RU for the client and the at least one other client, the channel quality of the target RU being higher than the threshold quality set for the client and the at least one other client; Wherein the target RU is to be used by the client and the at least one other client for subsequent transmissions with the communication device.

18. The communication device according to claim 17, wherein the threshold quality is determined based on an average channel quality of the plurality of channel qualities.

19. The communication device according to claim 17, wherein the operations further include: Receive information related to an RU size requirement from the client, the RU size requirement indicating the threshold frequency bandwidth.

20. The communication device according to claim 17, wherein determining the plurality of channel qualities includes: Transmit a trigger frame to the client using the plurality of RUs; During reception of a response frame to the trigger frame transmitted by the client using the plurality of RUs, detect an energy distribution over the plurality of RUs, and Determine the plurality of channel qualities based on the energy distribution over the plurality of RUs.

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