Interpreting the reserved state in radio packets

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, apparatus, and systems for interpreting reserved bits and values ​​associated with different versions of a wireless communication protocol. In some implementations, a wireless communication device may determine whether to terminate or continue receiving Physical Layer Protocol Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) upon detecting a reserved bit in a physical layer preamble set to an unsupported value (such as a value different from that defined by the version or version of the wireless communication protocol supported by the wireless communication device). In other aspects, a wireless communication device may determine whether to terminate or continue receiving PPDUs upon detecting a field in a physical layer preamble set to a reserved value (such as a value defined by the version or version of the wireless communication protocol supported by the wireless communication device).

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 108,250, filed October 30, 2020, entitled "INTERPRETATION OF RESERVED STATES IN WIRELESS PACKETS," and to U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 513,849, filed October 28, 2021, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application. All disclosures of the prior applications are considered part of this patent application and are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to interpreting reserved states in wireless packets.

[0004] Related technical descriptions

[0005] A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more Access Points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by several client devices (also known as stations (STAs)). The basic building block of a WLAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards is the Basic Service Set (BSS) managed by the AP. Each BSS is identified by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the AP's wireless range to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0006] Current versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard define various Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Data Unit (PPDU) formats for wireless packets transmitted between APs and STAs. Each PPDU format generally includes a physical layer preamble followed by a data portion (if applicable). The preamble includes several fields carrying information necessary for interpreting or receiving the packet. The information carried in each field is defined by the associated version of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Some PPDU formats may include unused bits (or unused values ​​for one or more fields) reserved for later versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard in the physical layer preamble. Wireless communication devices (such as APs or STAs) configured to operate according to a specific version of the IEEE 802.11 standard may not be able to set the values ​​of reserved bits (or fields) to values ​​not supported by that version of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0007] Newer versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard can be implemented through multiple releases. For example, an initial release (R1) may implement enhanced WLAN communication features not supported by previous versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard, while a subsequent release (R2) may provide additional WLAN communication features not supported by R1. Some enhancements in R2 may be implemented by reusing one or more reserved bits or values ​​associated with the PPDU format of R1. As a result, wireless communication devices configured to operate according to R1 may be unable to interpret certain bits or fields of a PPDU formatted according to R2. Therefore, new processes or technologies are needed to support the transmission of PDDUs between wireless communication devices configured to operate according to different releases of the same version of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0008] Overview

[0009] The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein each have several innovative aspects, and no single aspect is solely responsible for the desired properties disclosed herein.

[0010] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. This method can be performed by a wireless communication device and may include: receiving a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) on a wireless channel, which includes a Physical Layer (PHY) preamble followed by a data portion; and selectively terminating reception of the PPDU based on a reserved bit in the PHY preamble having a value different from a known value associated with that reserved bit. In some implementations, the PHY preamble may include an old-style short training field (L-STF), an old-style long training field (L-LTF), an old-style signal field (L-SIG), a repetition of L-SIG immediately following L-SIG (RL-SIG), and a universal signal field (U-SIG) immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0011] In some aspects, selectively terminating PPDU reception may include terminating PPDU reception based on the position of reserved bits in the PHY preamble. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located immediately after the Punctured Channel Indication subfield following the U-SIG, wherein the Punctured Channel Indication subfield carries information indicating whether puncturing has been performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located immediately after the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield following the U-SIG, wherein the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield carries information indicating the format of the PPDU. In some implementations, the U-SIG may include multiple version-independent fields followed by multiple version-dependent fields, wherein the reserved bits are located after the multiple version-independent fields and before the multiple version-dependent fields. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located in the user field of the non-legacy signaling field in the PHY preamble following the U-SIG, wherein the user field includes an Association Identifier (AID) subfield. In such implementations, PPDU reception may be terminated based on the AID subfield being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0012] In some other aspects, selectively terminating PPDU reception may include continuing PPDU reception based on the position of reserved bits in the PHY preamble. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located in a common field included in the non-legacy signaling field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, where the common field includes one or more version-related fields. In such implementations, the reserved bits may be located immediately following one of these one or more version-related fields. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located in a user field of the non-legacy signaling field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, where the user field includes an AID subfield. In such implementations, PPDU reception may continue based on the AID subfield being set to an AID value not assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0013] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may include at least one processor and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code. In some implementations, execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the wireless communication device to perform operations including: receiving a PPDU comprising a PHY preamble followed by a data portion on a wireless channel; and selectively terminating the reception of the PPDU based on a reserved bit in the PHY preamble having a value different from a known value associated with the reserved bit.

[0014] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. This method can be performed by a wireless communication device and may include: receiving a PPDU comprising a PHY preamble followed by a data portion on a wireless channel; and selectively terminating reception of the PPDU based on subfields of the PHY preamble being set to reserved values. In some implementations, the PHY preamble includes L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG immediately following L-SIG, and U-SIG immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0015] In some aspects, selectively terminating PPDU reception may include terminating PPDU reception based on the type of information carried in a subfield. In some implementations, the subfield may be a PPDU bandwidth subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel. In some implementations, the subfield may be a punctured channel indication subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel. In some implementations, the subfield may be a PPDU type and compression mode subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU. In some implementations, the subfield may be included in the user field of a non-legacy signaling field after the U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein PPDU reception is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device. In such implementations, the subfield may be a space configuration subfield carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for users associated with the user field.

[0016] In some implementations, the subfield may be a non-architectural LTF symbol count subfield of a common field included in the non-architectural signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein the non-architectural LTF symbol count subfield carries information indicating the number of non-architectural LTF symbols in the PPDU following the non-architectural signal field. In some implementations, the subfield may be a RU allocation subfield of a common field included in the non-architectural signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein the RU allocation subfield carries information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a user-specific field.

[0017] In some other aspects, selectively terminating PPDU reception may include continuing PPDU reception based on the type of information carried in the subfield. In some implementations, the subfield may be an RU allocation subfield of a common field included in a non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein the RU allocation subfield carries information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a user-specific field. In such implementations, the bit pattern in the RU allocation subfield may indicate the number of user fields associated with the RU allocation subfield in a user-specific field. In some implementations, the subfield may be included in a user field of a non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein PPDU reception is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device. In such implementations, the subfield may be a space configuration subfield of the user field carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for users associated with the user field.

[0018] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may include at least one processor and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code. In some implementations, execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the wireless communication device to perform operations including: receiving a PPDU comprising a PHY preamble followed by a data portion on a wireless channel; and selectively terminating reception of the PPDU based on a subfield of the PHY preamble being set to a reserved value. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0020] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from this description, the drawings, and the claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions in the following drawings may not be drawn to scale.

[0021] Figure 1A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0022] Figure 2A An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is shown that can be used for communication between an access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations (STAs).

[0023] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example fields in the PDU.

[0024] Figure 3 An example Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) that can be used for communication between an AP and one or more STAs is shown.

[0025] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0026] Figure 5A A block diagram of an example AP is shown.

[0027] Figure 5B A block diagram of an example STA is shown.

[0028] Figure 6 An example PPDU, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0029] Figure 7 An example content channel structure based on a non-legacy signal field of a PPDU implementation is shown.

[0030] Figure 8 An example non-legacy signal field is shown based on some implementations of the PPDU.

[0031] Figure 9 An example PPDU, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0032] Figure 10 An example PPDU, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0033] Figure 11 An example format for allocating subfields based on a resource unit (RU) according to some implementation of a non-legacy signal field is shown.

[0034] Figure 12 Another example format of the RU allocation subfield is shown based on some implementation of the non-legacy signal field.

[0035] Figure 13 The flowchart illustrates an example process for interpreting the reserved state in a wireless communication according to some implementation.

[0036] Figure 14 The flowchart illustrates an example process for interpreting the reserved state in a wireless communication according to some implementation.

[0037] Figure 15 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0038] Figure 16 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0039] Similar reference numerals and naming conventions in the various figures indicate similar elements.

[0040] Detailed description

[0041] The following description is directed to certain implementations in order to describe aspects of the innovation of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, and as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The described implementation can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the following standards, or those published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP): Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)). The described implementation can 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 FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and Multi User (MU) MIMO. The described implementation can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), or Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

[0042] These aspects generally involve packet formats supporting new wireless communication protocols, and more specifically, techniques for interpreting reserved bits and values ​​associated with different versions of the wireless communication protocol (such, for example, the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard or future generations). In some aspects, the receiving device can determine whether to terminate (or continue) the reception of Physical Layer Protocol Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) upon detecting a reserved bit in the physical layer preamble set to an unsupported value (such as a value different from that defined by the version or version of the wireless communication protocol supported by the wireless communication device). In some implementations, reserved bits may be classified as "acknowledgment bits" or "ignore bits" based on their position in the PPDU. In such implementations, the receiving device may terminate PPDU reception if the acknowledgement bit is set to an unsupported value, but may continue receiving PPDUs if the ignore bit is set to an unsupported value. In some other aspects, the receiving device can determine whether to terminate (or continue) receiving PPDUs if it detects that a field in the physical layer preamble is set to a reserved value (such as a value defined by the version or release of the wireless communication protocol supported by the wireless communication device). In some implementations, the reserved value may represent a "confirmed state" or an "ignore state" based on the type of information to be conveyed by the corresponding field. In such implementations, the receiving device may terminate PPDU reception if a field is set to a reserved value indicating a confirmed state, but may continue receiving PPDUs if a field is set to a reserved value indicating an ignore state.

[0043] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. Implementations of this disclosure enable wireless communication devices configured to operate according to an earlier version of the IEEE 802.11be revision (or future generations) of the IEEE 802.11 standard to manage the reception of PPDUs formatted according to a later version of the IEEE 802.11be revision. For example, aspects of this disclosure recognize that some fields in the physical layer preamble carry signaling or information necessary for receiving the PPDU, while information carried in some other fields of the preamble may be unnecessary for receiving the PPDU. Aspects of this disclosure also recognize that some reserved bits may be used in later versions to extend the range of values ​​that can be represented by existing fields in earlier versions, while some other reserved bits may be used to convey information unrelated to any information conveyed in earlier versions. By classifying some reserved bits and values ​​of the PPDU as “confirmed” or “ignored,” aspects of this disclosure enable receiving devices to determine whether they can continue receiving the remainder of the PPDU based on reserved bits or values. Therefore, the receiving device can terminate the reception of any PPDU that it cannot receive correctly.

[0044] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. Depending on 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 WLAN 100 below). For example, WLAN 100 may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard families (such as standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be). WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, such as access points (APs) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, WLAN network 100 may also include multiple APs 102.

[0045] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile handheld device, wireless handheld device, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit, and other possibilities. STA 104 may represent a variety of devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, laptops, tablets, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices (“remote controllers”), printers, kitchen or other household appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0046] A single AP 102 and its associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102. Figure 1Example coverage area 106 of AP 102 is also shown, which may represent the Basic Service Area (BSA) of WLAN 100. The BSA can be identified to users by a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and to other devices by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), which may be the Media Access Control (MAC) address of AP 102. AP 102 periodically broadcasts a beacon frame (“beacon”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of AP 102 to “associate” or reassociate with AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 108 with AP 102 (also referred to hereinafter as a “Wi-Fi link”). For example, the beacon may include an identifier of the home channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with AP 102. AP 102 can provide access to external networks to each STA 104 in the WLAN via the corresponding communication link 108.

[0047] AP 102 and STA 104 function and communicate (via the corresponding communication link 108) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol family of standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. These standards define the WLAN radio and baseband protocols used for the PHY and Media Access Control (MAC) layers. AP 102 and STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications (also referred to below as "Wi-Fi communication") to and from each other in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs). AP 102 and STA 104 in WLAN 100 can transmit PPDUs on unlicensed spectrum, which can be a portion of a spectrum that includes bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technologies, such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 60 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, and 700 MHz band. Some implementations of AP 102 and STA 104 described herein can also communicate in other bands, such as the 6 GHz band, that can support both licensed and unlicensed communication. AP 102 and STA 104 can also be configured to communicate on other bands, such as shared licensed bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping bands.

[0048] Access to a shared wireless medium is typically managed by a Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). With DCF, there is generally no centralized master device allocating time and frequency resources for the shared wireless medium. Instead, a wireless communication device (such as AP102 or STA 104) must wait for a specific time and then contend for access to the wireless medium before being permitted to transmit data. In some implementations, the wireless communication device can be configured to implement DCF using Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) technology and timing intervals. Before transmitting data, the wireless communication device can perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) and determine the appropriate wireless channel to be idle. CCA includes physical (PHY-level) carrier sensing and virtual (MAC-level) carrier sensing. Physical carrier sensing is performed by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame, which is then compared to a threshold to determine if the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of the detected preamble is higher than a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier sensing also includes energy detection. Energy detection involves measuring the total energy received by the wireless communication device regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the total detected energy exceeds a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Virtual carrier sensing is accomplished using a network allocation vector (NAV), which is an indicator of the time when the medium may next become idle. The NAV is reset each time a valid frame not addressed to the wireless communication device is received. The NAV effectively serves as the elapsed time before the wireless communication device can contend for access, even if no symbols are detected or even if the detected energy is below the relevant threshold.

[0049] Some APs and STAs can be configured to implement spatial reuse techniques. For example, APs and STAs configured to communicate using IEEE 802.11ax or 802.11be can be configured with BSS colors. APs associated with different BSSs can be associated with different BSS colors. If an AP or STA detects a radio packet from another wireless communication device during access contention, the AP or STA can apply different contention parameters based on whether the radio packet was transmitted or received by another wireless communication device within its BSS, or from a wireless communication device in an overlapping BSS (OBSS) (as determined by the BSS color indication in the preamble of the radio packet). For example, if the BSS color associated with the radio packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP or STA, the AP or STA can use a first Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the radio packet is different from the BSS color of the AP or STA, the AP or STA can use a second RSSI detection threshold instead of the first RSSI detection threshold when performing CCA on the radio channel. The second RSSI detection threshold is greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the requirement to win contention is relaxed when interference transmissions are associated with the OBSS.

[0050] Figure 2A An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) 200 for wireless communication between AP 102 and one or more STAs 104 is shown. For example, PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the preamble 202 may include a legacy portion, which itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 consisting of two BPSK symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 consisting of two BPSK symbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210 consisting of two BPSK symbols. The legacy portion of the preamble 202 can be configured according to the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. Prefix 202 may also include a non-legacy portion, which includes one or more non-legacy fields 212, for example, conforming to IEEE wireless communication protocols (such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be or later wireless communication protocols).

[0051] L-STF 206 generally enables the receiver equipment to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF 208 generally enables the receiver equipment to perform fine timing and frequency estimation, and also enables it to perform initial estimation of the wireless channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables the receiver equipment to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmission over the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208, and L-SIG 210 can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. Payload 204 may include a PSDU containing a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry higher-level data in the form of, for example, a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0052] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example L-SIG 210 in PDU 200. L-SIG 210 includes a data rate field 222, reserved bits 224, a length field 226, parity bits 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field 212 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in the payload 204). The length field 226 indicates the packet length, for example, in symbols or bytes. The parity bits 228 can be used to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits, which can be used by the receiving device to terminate the operation of the decoder (e.g., the Viterbi decoder). The receiving device can use the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field 222 and the length field 226 to determine the packet duration, for example, in microseconds (μs) or other time units.

[0053] Figure 3An example PPDU 300 is shown that can be used for communication between AP 102 and one or more STAs 104. As described above, each PPDU 300 includes a PHY preamble 302 and a PSDU 304. Each PSDU 304 may represent (or "carry") one or more MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) 316. For example, each PSDU 304 may carry an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 306, which includes an aggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 308. Each A-MPDU subframe 306 may include an MPDU frame 310 that includes a MAC delimiter 312 and a MAC header 314 preceding the accompanying MPDU 316, which includes the data portion ("payload" or "frame body") of the MPDU frame 310. Each MPDU frame 310 may also include a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field 318 for error detection (e.g., the FCS field may include Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)) and padding bits 320. MPDU 316 may carry one or more MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs) 316. For example, MPDU 316 may carry an aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 322, which includes multiple A-MSDU subframes 324. Each A-MSDU subframe 324 contains a corresponding MSDU 330, which is preceded by a subframe header 328 and, in some cases, by padding bits 332.

[0054] Returning to reference MPDU frame 310, MAC delimiter 312 can be used as a marker to indicate the start of the associated MPDU 316 and the length of that associated MPDU 316. MAC header 314 may include multiple fields containing information defining or indicating the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within frame body 316. MAC header 314 includes a duration field indicating the duration from the end of the PPDU to at least the end of the acknowledgment (ACK) or block ACK (BA) of that PPDU to be transmitted by the receiving wireless communication device. The use of the duration field is to preserve the indicated duration of the wireless medium and to enable the receiving device to establish its Network Allocation Vector (NAV). MAC header 314 also includes one or more fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated within frame body 316. For example, MAC header 314 may include a combination of source address, transmitter address, receiver address, or destination address. MAC header 314 may further include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field may specify the frame type, such as a data frame, control frame, or management frame.

[0055] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 400 is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be for STA (such as reference) Figure 1Examples of devices in one of the described STAs 104. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be for an AP (such as reference 104). Figure 1 Example of a device in the described AP 102. Wireless communication device 400 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 may 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) conforming to IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards (such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0056] Wireless communication device 400 may be or may include a chip, system-on-a-chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device that includes one or more modems 402 (e.g., a Wi-Fi (compliant with IEEE 802.11) modem). In some implementations, one or more modems 402 (collectively, "modem 402") additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, wireless communication device 400 also includes one or more radios 404 (collectively, "radio 404"). In some implementations, wireless communication device 406 further includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements 406 (collectively, "processor 406") and one or more memory blocks or elements 408 (collectively, "memory 408").

[0057] Modem 402 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)). Modem 402 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer. For example, modem 402 is configured to modulate packets and output modulated packets to radio 404 for transmission over a wireless medium. Similarly, modem 402 is configured to acquire modulated packets received by radio 404 and demodulate these packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to modulators and demodulators, modem 402 may further include digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry, automatic gain control (AGC), encoders, decoders, multiplexers, and demultiplexers. For example, when in transmission mode, data acquired from processor 406 is provided to a decoder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. The encoded bits are then mapped to points in a modulation constellation (using a selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. Subsequently, the modulated symbols may be mapped to several (N) SS One) spatial flow or several (N) STS (1) space-time stream. The modulated symbols in the corresponding space stream or space-time stream can then be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently provided to the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signal can then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal can then be provided to an up-converter and ultimately to radio 404. In beamforming implementations, the modulated symbols in the corresponding space stream are pre-coded via a guiding matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0058] In receive mode, the digital signal received from radio 404 is provided to a DSP circuitry system 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 circuitry 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. The output of the DSP circuitry system can then be fed to an AGC, 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 circuitry system is also coupled to a demodulator configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and, for example, calculate the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator is coupled to a decoder configured to process the LLR to provide decoded bits. The decoded bits from all spatial streams are then fed to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits can then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 406) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0059] Radio 404 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or “transmitter chain”) and at least one RF receiver (or “receiver chain”), which may be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and receiver may include various DSP circuitry systems, each including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low-noise amplifier (LNA). The RF transmitter and receiver may further be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, wireless communication device 400 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain). Symbols output from modem 402 are provided to radio 404, which then transmits these symbols via the coupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received via the antennas are acquired by radio 404, which then provides these symbols to modem 402.

[0060] Processor 406 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices designed to perform the functions described herein, such as, for example, processing cores, processing blocks, central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. Processor 406 processes information received via radio 404 and modem 402, and processes information to be output via modem 402 and radio 404 for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, processor 406 may implement a control plane and a MAC layer 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 frame decoding and decoding, spatial multiplexing, space-time block decoding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, and other operations or techniques. In some implementations, processor 406 may generally control modem 402 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0061] Memory 404 may include tangible storage media, such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. Memory 404 may also store non-transient processor or computer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by processor 406, cause the processor to perform various operations described herein for wireless communication, including the generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the 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.

[0062] Figure 5A A block diagram of an example AP 502 is shown. For example, AP 502 could be a reference... Figure 1 The described example implementation of AP 102. AP 502 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 510 (but AP 502 itself may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 510 may be a reference... Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400 is described. AP 502 also includes a plurality of antennas 520 coupled to the wireless communication device 510 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. In some implementations, AP 502 additionally includes an application processor 530 coupled to the wireless communication device 510, and a memory 540 coupled to the application processor 530. AP 502 further includes at least one external network interface 550, which enables AP 502 to communicate with a core network or backhaul network to obtain access to external networks, including the Internet. For example, external network interface 550 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Components of the foregoing can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. AP 502 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 510, the application processor 530, the memory 540, and at least a portion of the antennas 520 and the external network interface 550.

[0063] Figure 5B A block diagram of example STA 504 is shown. For example, STA 504 could be a reference... Figure 1 The example implementation of STA 104 described herein. STA 504 includes wireless communication device 515 (but STA 504 itself may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 515 may be a reference... Figure 4An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. STA 504 also includes one or more antennas 525 coupled to the wireless communication device 515 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. STA 504 additionally includes an application processor 535 coupled to the wireless communication device 515, and a memory 545 coupled to the application processor 535. In some implementations, STA 504 further includes a user interface (UI) 555 (such as a touchscreen or keyboard) and a display 565, which can be integrated with the UI 555 to form a touchscreen display. In some implementations, STA 504 may further include one or more sensors 575 (for example, such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors). Components of the foregoing components can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. STA 504 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 515, the application processor 535, the memory 545, and at least portions of the antenna 525, the UI 555, and the display 565.

[0064] As mentioned above, some PPDU formats may include unused bits (or unused values ​​for one or more fields) reserved for later versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard in the physical layer preamble. IEEE 802.11be revisions or future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard can be implemented through multiple "releases." For example, the initial release (R1) may implement enhanced WLAN communication features not supported by previous versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard, while subsequent releases (R2) may provide additional WLAN communication features not supported by R1. Some enhancements in R2 may be implemented by reusing one or more reserved bits or values ​​associated with the PPDU format of R1. As a result, wireless communication devices configured to operate according to R1 may not be able to interpret certain bits or fields of a PPDU formatted according to R2.

[0065] These aspects generally involve packet formats supporting new wireless communication protocols, and more specifically, techniques for interpreting reserved bits and values ​​associated with different versions of the wireless communication protocol (such as, for example, the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard or future generations). In some aspects, the receiving device can determine whether to terminate (or continue) receiving a PPDU if it detects a reserved bit in the physical layer preamble set to an unsupported value (such as a value different from the value defined by the version or release of the wireless communication protocol supported by the wireless communication device). In some implementations, reserved bits may be classified as "acknowledgment bits" or "ignore bits" based on their position in the PPDU. In such implementations, the receiving device may terminate PPDU reception if the acknowledgement bit is set to an unsupported value, but may continue receiving PPDUs if the ignore bit is set to an unsupported value. In some other aspects, the receiving device can determine whether to terminate (or continue) receiving PPDUs if it detects a field in the physical layer preamble that is set to a reserved value (such as a value defined by the version or release of the wireless communication protocol supported by the wireless communication device). In some implementations, the reserved value may represent a "confirmed state" or an "ignore state" based on the type of information to be conveyed by the corresponding field. In such implementations, the receiving device may terminate PPDU reception if the field is set to a reserved value indicating a confirmed state, but may continue receiving PPDUs if the field is set to a reserved value indicating an ignored state.

[0066] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. Implementations of this disclosure enable wireless communication devices configured to operate according to an earlier version of the IEEE 802.11be revision (or future generations) of the IEEE 802.11 standard to manage the reception of PPDUs formatted according to a later version of the IEEE 802.11be revision. For example, aspects of this disclosure recognize that some fields in the physical layer preamble carry signaling or information necessary for receiving the PPDU, while information carried in some other fields of the preamble may be unnecessary for receiving the PPDU. Aspects of this disclosure also recognize that some reserved bits may be used in later versions to extend the range of values ​​that can be represented by existing fields in earlier versions, while some other reserved bits may be used to convey information unrelated to any information conveyed in earlier versions. By classifying some reserved bits and values ​​of the PPDU as “confirmed” or “ignored,” aspects of this disclosure enable receiving devices to determine whether they can continue receiving the remainder of the PPDU based on reserved bits or values. Therefore, the receiving device can terminate the reception of any PPDU that it cannot receive correctly.

[0067] Figure 6 An example PPDU 600 for wireless communication between an AP and several STAs, according to some implementations, is shown. The PPDU 600 includes a PHY preamble comprising a first part 602 and a second part 604. The PPDU 600 may further include a PHY payload 606 (e.g., in the form of a PSDU carrying a data field 626) after the preamble. In some implementations, the PPDU 600 may be formatted as a non-legacy or extremely high throughput (EHT) PPDU. As used herein, the term "non-legacy" may refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11be revision and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0068] The first part 602 of the PHY preamble includes L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, and L-SIG 612. The second part 604 of the PHY preamble includes a repeated legacy signaling field (RL-SIG) 614, a universal signaling field (U-SIG) 616, a non-legacy short training field (EHT-STF) 622, and multiple non-legacy long training fields (EHT-LTF) 624. In some implementations (such as for single-user (SU) or multi-user (MU) PPDU formats), the second part 604 may also include a non-legacy signaling field (EHT-SIG) 618 immediately following U-SIG 616. In future generations of the IEEE 802.11be revision and the IEEE 802.11 standard, new fields may be used to carry signaling information. For example, at least some of the new fields and signaling information may be included in U-SIG 616. Additionally, new fields and signaling information can be included in EHT-SIG 618 (or can overflow from U-SIG 616 into EHT-SIG 618).

[0069] In some implementations, U-SIG 616 may include signaling regarding the type or format of additional signaling fields following U-SIG 616 (such as EHT-SIG 618). Such signaling may be carried in one or more version-independent fields 632 and one or more version-dependent fields 634. Version-independent fields 632 may include, for example, a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating the version of the wireless communication protocol (starting from IEEE 802.11be revision and later), and a PPDU bandwidth (BW) subfield carrying information indicating the bandwidth associated with the PPDU 600 (such as from 20MHz to 320MHz). Version-dependent fields 634 may include format information fields for interpreting other fields of U-SIG 616 or EHT-SIG 618. Example version related field 634 includes a punctured channel indication subfield 640 carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel associated with PPDU 600, and a PPDU type and compression mode subfield 642 carrying information indicating the format of PPDU 600.

[0070] In some implementations, EHT-SIG 618 may include a common field 636 and a user-specific field 638. In some implementations, the common field 636 may include a U-SIG overflow 644 representing one or more bits or fields overflowing from U-SIG 616, and an RU allocation subfield 646 carrying information indicating the allocation of RUs to the intended recipient of PPDU 600. The user-specific field 638 may include a number (N) user fields 648 carrying per-user information for the intended recipient of PPDU 600. In some other implementations, the RU allocation subfield 646 and the user-specific field 638 may be missing from PPDU 600 (such as in the SU PPDU format). Furthermore, in some other implementations, EHT-SIG 618 may be missing from PPDU 600 (such as in the TB PPDU format).

[0071] In some implementations, PPDU 600 may include several reserved bits in the PHY preamble (such as in U-SIG 616 and EHT-SIG 618). As mentioned above, reserved bits represent unused bits reserved for future implementations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, reserved bits in an earlier release (R1) of a given version or revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard may be reused (to carry information) in a later release (R2). As a result, a wireless communication device configured to operate according to R1 (also referred to herein as an "R1 device") may not be able to interpret or receive some PPDUs formatted according to R2. Because R1 and R2 correspond to the same version of the IEEE 802.11 standard, the receiving device may not be able to distinguish between PPDUs formatted according to R1 and PPDUs formatted according to R2 based on the version identifier information carried in U-SIG 616.

[0072] Some reserved bits in the PHY preamble may be reused in later releases to expand the range of values ​​that can be represented by existing fields in earlier releases. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that the information carried on such reserved bits may be necessary for interpreting other fields of the PHY preamble or for otherwise receiving the PPDU. These reserved bits may be classified as “acknowledgment” bits. In some implementations, upon receiving the PPDU, the receiving device may compare the value of one or more confirmation bits with known values ​​of reserved bits as defined by a supported release or version of the IEEE 802.11 standard. If the value of the confirmation bit does not match a known value (indicating that the confirmation bit has been reused to carry information necessary for receiving the PPDU), the receiving device may terminate the reception of the PPDU. For example, this may prevent the receiving device from incorrectly receiving or processing the information in the PPDU, which could lead to unintended behavior.

[0073] Some other reserved bits in the PHY preamble may be reused in later releases to convey information unrelated to any information conveyed in earlier releases (or left unused in later releases). All aspects of this disclosure recognize that the information carried on such reserved bits may be unnecessary for interpreting other fields of the PHY preamble or for receiving the PPDU. These reserved bits may be classified as “ignore” bits. In some implementations, when receiving a PPDU, the receiving device may ignore the values ​​of these ignore bits when determining whether to terminate or continue receiving the PPDU. In other words, the receiving device may continue receiving the PPDU even if the value of the ignore bit does not match the known value of the reserved bit. For example, this may allow the receiving device to ignore information carried in the PHY preamble that is unnecessary for receiving or processing other information in the PPDU that may be irrelevant to the receiving device.

[0074] Whether reserved bits are classified as confirmation bits or ignored bits can depend on their bit positioning within the PHY preamble. For example, some reserved bits in the PHY preamble that are adjacent to a particular field or subfield (such as immediately following it) are more likely to be repurposed to extend the length (or range of values) of the adjacent field or subfield in later releases or versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Accordingly, these reserved bits may be classified as confirmation bits. Other determining factors when classifying reserved bits may include whether the reserved bit is associated with information intended for that receiving device. For example, a PPDU may carry data or information for multiple receiving devices (such as information carried in different user fields 648). In such instances, some reserved bits may be associated with information intended for other receiving devices and may not affect the receiving device's ability to process the information it receives from the PPDU. Accordingly, these reserved bits may be classified as ignored bits.

[0075] exist Figure 6 In the example, PPDU 600 is shown as including several reserved bits 633 immediately following the version-independent field 632 (and immediately preceding the version-dependent field 634), reserved bits 641 immediately following the punctured channel indication subfield 640, and another reserved bit 643 immediately following the PPDU type and compression mode subfield 642. In an implementation of PPDU 600 including EHT-SIG 618, the U-SIG overflow 644 of the common field 636 may include several reserved bits 645, and one or more user fields 648 of the user-specific field 638 may also include reserved bits 649. In some implementations, Figure 6 The format of PPDU 600 depicted herein can be an example of the PPDU format defined by the initial release (R1) of the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In other words, a wireless communication device configured to operate according to R1 of the IEEE 802.11be revision can interpret bits 633, 641, 643, 645, and 649 as reserved bits. Table 1 below shows a more detailed representation of the fields and subfields of PPDU 600 and the location of the reserved bits.

[0076] Table 1

[0077]

[0078]

[0079] In some implementations, one or more of the reserved bits 633 between the version-independent field 632 and the version-dependent field 634 can be classified as confirmation bits, and one or more of the reserved bits 633 can be classified as ignore bits. For example, assuming there are 6 reserved bits 633 between the version-independent field 632 and the version-dependent field 634, three of these reserved bits 633 can be classified as confirmation bits, and the remaining three reserved bits 633 can be classified as ignore bits. Similarly, in some implementations, one or more of the reserved bits 645 in the shared field 636 (between U-SIG overflow 644) can be classified as confirmation bits, and one or more of the reserved bits 645 can be classified as ignore bits. For example, assuming there are 4 reserved bits 645 in the shared field 636, 2 of the reserved bits 645 can be classified as confirmation bits, and the remaining 2 reserved bits 645 can be classified as ignore bits.

[0080] In some implementations, reserved bits 641 and 643, immediately following the Punctured Channel Indication subfield 640 and the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield 642, respectively, can be classified as confirmation (V) bits. For example, reserved bit 641 may be repurposed in a later release to extend the Punctured Channel Indication subfield 640. Similarly, reserved bit 643 may be repurposed in a later release to extend the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield 642. Furthermore, in some implementations, the classification of reserved bits 649 in each user field 648 may depend on whether the user field 648 carries information for the receiving device. For example, each user field 648 may further include an Association Identifier (AID) subfield (not shown for simplicity). The value of the AID subfield is configured to match a unique AID value assigned to a particular receiving device. In some aspects, reserved bit 649 in user field 648 may be classified as a confirmation bit if the value of the AID subfield matches an AID value assigned to that receiving device. In some other respects, reserved bit 649 in user field 648 can be classified as an ignored bit if the value of the AID subfield does not match the AID value assigned to the receiving device.

[0081] Some fields or subfields of the PHY preamble can also be defined to have one or more reserved values. Similar to reserved bits, reserved values ​​represent unused values ​​(such as integer values) for a given field or subfield that are reserved for later releases or versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, a 3-bit field can be used to convey one of eight different bit patterns (representing eight different integer values ​​from 0 to 7). However, an initial release of a given version of the IEEE 802.11 standard may utilize only seven of the eight available values ​​(corresponding to integer values ​​0 to 6) to convey relevant information. The remaining unused value (integer value 7) represents the reserved value. Later releases of the same version of the IEEE 802.11 standard may reuse the reserved value to convey new information associated with the underlying field or subfield.

[0082] Various aspects of this disclosure recognize that information represented by certain reserved values ​​may be necessary for interpreting other fields of the PHY preamble or for otherwise receiving the PPDU. These reserved values ​​can be classified as "confirmed" states. In some implementations, upon receiving the PPDU, the receiving device may terminate the reception of the PPDU if it determines that one or more fields or subfields in the PHY preamble are set to the confirmed state. Various aspects of this disclosure also recognize that information represented by certain other reserved values ​​may be unnecessary for interpreting other fields of the PHY preamble or for receiving the PPDU. These reserved values ​​can be classified as "ignore" states. In some implementations, upon receiving the PPDU, the receiving device may ignore one or more fields or subfields in the PHY preamble that are set to the ignore state.

[0083] Whether a reserved value is classified as confirmed or ignored depends on the type of information intended to be conveyed by the underlying field or subfield. For example, some fields may be configured to carry information necessary for interpreting other fields or subfields of the PPDU. If a reserved value is detected in any of these fields, the receiving device may classify the reserved value as confirmed. Other determining factors when classifying reserved values ​​may include whether the reserved value is associated with information intended for that receiving device. As mentioned above, a PPDU may carry data or information for multiple receiving devices (such as information carried in different user fields 648). In such instances, some reserved values ​​may represent information intended for other receiving devices and may not affect that receiving device's ability to process the information it receives from the PPDU. Accordingly, these reserved values ​​may be classified as ignored.

[0084] Referring, for example, to Table 1, the PPDU Bandwidth (BW) subfield carries information indicating the bandwidth of the PPDU 600 (or the radio channel on which the PPDU 600 is transmitted), the Punctured Channel Indication subfield carries information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel, the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield carries information indicating the format of the PPDU 600, and the EHT-LTF Symbol Count subfield carries information indicating how many EHT-LTF symbols 624 precede the data portion 626. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that each of these subfields carries information necessary for receiving the PPDU 600. Therefore, in some implementations, reserved values ​​in the PPDU BW subfield, the Punctured Channel Indication subfield, the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield, or the EHT-LTF Symbol Count subfield may be classified as confirmed states.

[0085] The spatial reuse subfield (in EHT-SIG 618) carries information indicating whether spatial reuse is permitted in one or more subchannels of the radio channel. Spatial reuse is a technique that can be used to resolve collisions when contending for access to a shared radio medium. More specifically, spatial reuse techniques can relax the requirements for winning contention when interfering transmissions are associated with overlapping BSSs (OBSSs). Therefore, all aspects of this disclosure recognize that spatial reuse parameters are unnecessary for receiving the PPDU 600 or interpreting any fields or subfields included therein. Consequently, in some implementations, reserved values ​​in the spatial reuse subfield may be classified as confirmed states.

[0086] In some aspects, user field 648 may include a spatial configuration subfield (not shown for simplicity) carrying information indicating the number of spatial streams allocated to the user associated with user field 648. In other aspects, user field 648 may include a number of space-time streams (NSTS) subfield carrying information indicating the number of space-time streams allocated to the user associated with user field 648. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that the information carried in the spatial configuration and NSTS subfields is necessary for receiving PPDU 600. However, as stated above, the information carried in a particular user field 648 is intended only for the receiving device (with a matching AID value) associated with user field 648. Thus, in some implementations, a reserved value in the spatial configuration or NSTS subfield of user field 648 may be classified as confirmed if the value of the AID subfield matches the AID value assigned to that receiving device. In some other implementations, a reserved value in the spatial configuration or NSTS subfield of user field 648 may be classified as ignored if the value of the AID subfield does not match the AID value assigned to that receiving device.

[0087] As described above, the RU allocation subfield 646 carries information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with the user-specific field 638. Various aspects of this disclosure recognize that RU allocation information may be necessary for receiving the PPDU 600. Therefore, in some implementations, reserved values ​​in the RU allocation subfield 646 may be classified as confirmed states. However, various aspects of this disclosure also recognize that imposing such restrictions on the RU allocation subfield 646 may prevent the multiplexing of RUs defined by an earlier release (referred to herein as R1 RUs) with RUs defined by a later release (referred to herein as R2 RUs) within the same PPDU 600. For example, later releases of the IEEE 802.11be revision may support the allocation of multiple RUs to a single user (referred to as multi-RUs or M-RUs). However, if the R1 device is configured to terminate PPDU reception upon determining that the RU allocation subfield 646 is set to a confirmed state, an M-RU may not be multiplexed with a RU for the R1 device within the same PPDU.

[0088] In some implementations, the transmitting device can multiplex R1 RU and R2 RU within the same PPDU 600 by transmitting R1 RU and R2 RU on different content channels. Content channels define the grouping of subchannels. For example, a first content channel may carry signaling information for all odd-numbered subchannels (such as the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, and 15th 20MHz subchannels of a 320MHz channel), while a second content channel may carry signaling information for all even-numbered subchannels (such as the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, and 16th 20MHz subchannels of a 320MHz channel). In some implementations, EHT-SIG 618 may be copied or repeated for each content channel. For example, (odd-numbered) subchannels associated with the first content channel may share the same EHT-SIG field and value. Sub-channels (even-numbered) associated with the second content channel may share the same EHT-SIG field and value, which may differ from the EHT-SIG field or value of the first content channel.

[0089] Figure 7 An example content channel structure for a non-legacy signal field 700 according to some implementations of a PPDU is shown. In some implementations, the non-legacy signal field 700 can be... Figure 6 An example of EHT-SIG 618. The non-legacy signal field 700 includes a common field 710 and a user-specific field 720. Figure 7In the example, the shared field 710 and the user-specific field 720 are distributed across two content channels (Content Channel 1 and Content Channel 2). More specifically, the shared field 710 includes one or more RU allocation subfields 712 transmitted on Content Channel 1 (CC1) and one or more RU allocation subfields 714 transmitted on Content Channel 2 (CC2). In some implementations, the shared field 710 may also include one or more fields overflowing from U-SIG (not shown for simplicity). The user-specific field 720 includes one or more user fields 722 transmitted on CC1 and one or more user fields 724 transmitted on CC2. In this configuration, the RU allocation subfield 712 on CC1 carries RU allocation information associated with the user field 722 on CC1, and the RU allocation subfield 714 on CC2 carries RU allocation information associated with the user field 724 on CC2.

[0090] In some implementations, each of the RU allocation subfields 712 on CC1 may be set to a value supported by an earlier release (referred to herein as the R1 value). In other words, only the R1 RU can signal on CC1. However, each of the RU allocation subfields 714 on CC2 may be set to a value supported by a later release (referred to herein as the R2 value). Accordingly, the R2 RU can signal on CC2. In some implementations, the R1 receiving device may classify the R2 value of the RU allocation subfield 714 as an acknowledged state and terminate PPDU reception on CC2 (or its associated subchannel). Alternatively, the receiving device may interpret the R1 value of the RU allocation subfield 712 and thereby continue PPDU reception on CC1 (or its associated subchannel). In some implementations, the RU allocation subfield 712 on CC1 may carry RU allocation information for both the R1 and R2 devices (such as any wireless communication device configured to operate according to R2), provided that the RU allocation information represents the R1 value.

[0091] The value of the RU allocation subfield indicates the RU allocation for each user associated with the user-specific fields and the number of user fields in the user-specific fields. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that a receiving device may be unable to continue processing or receiving a PPDU if it is unaware of the number of user fields in the user-specific fields. More specifically, the receiving device may need to know how many user fields to "skip" to reach the next field or subfield carrying relevant information (such as a specific user field designed for that receiving device). In some implementations, the last RU allocation subfield in a shared field can be set to an R2 value. This ensures that the user fields associated with such RU allocation subfields are located at the end of the user-specific fields. As a result, the R1 device does not need to interpret the information carried in the last RU allocation subfield to determine the number of user fields to skip.

[0092] Figure 8 An example of a non-legacy signal field 800 according to some implementations of the PPDU is shown. In some implementations, the non-legacy signal field 800 can be... Figure 6 An example of EHT-SIG 618. The non-legacy signal field 800 includes a common field 810 and a user-specific field 820. The common field 810 includes a first RU allocation subfield 812 and a second RU allocation subfield 814. In some implementations, the common field 810 may also include one or more fields overflowing from U-SIG (not shown for simplicity). The user-specific field 820 includes a first user field set 822 and a second user field set 824. The first RU allocation subfield 812 carries RU allocation information for the first user field set 822, and the second RU allocation subfield 814 carries RU allocation information for the second user field set 824. Figure 8 In the example, RU allocation subfields 812 and 814, as well as user fields 822 and 824, are transmitted on the same content channel. Specifically, in Figure 8 The example depicts only one content channel. However, in actual implementations, the non-legacy signal field 800 can be transmitted on multiple content channels.

[0093] In some implementations, the first RU allocation subfield 812 may be set to only the R1 value. However, the second RU allocation subfield 814 may be set to the R2 value. As a result, only R1 RUs can be allocated to users associated with the first user field set 822, while R2 RUs can be allocated to users associated with the second user field set 824. The receiving device can interpret the R1 value of the first RU allocation subfield 812 and continue receiving the second RU allocation subfield 814. In some implementations, the receiving device may classify the R2 value of the second RU allocation subfield 814 as ignored because the user field 824 associated with the second RU allocation subfield 814 is located at the end of the user-specific field 820 and therefore does not prevent the receiving device from jumping to the relevant user field. In other words, the receiving device can identify its user field in the first user field set 822 based on the information in the first RU allocation field 812. The receiving device can then jump to the next field or subfield in the PPDU (after the user-specific field 820).

[0094] All parties involved in this disclosure recognize that, regarding Figure 7 and 8 The described implementations impose constraints on the design of the PPDU. In some other implementations, the PHY preamble of the PPDU can be configured to carry additional signaling indicating the number of user fields associated with the RU allocation subfield set to the R2 value. This relaxes the constraints on the PPDU design at the transmitting device. In some aspects, the signaling can be explicit. For example, the PPDU can be configured to include a new field or subfield (such as a reference field) carrying information indicating the number of user fields associated with the R2 value. Figure 9 and 10 (Described). In some other respects, signaling can be implicit. For example, the bit pattern representing the R2 value can be configured to indicate the number of user fields associated with it (such as references). Figure 11 and 12 (Described).

[0095] Figure 9 An example PPDU 900, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs. In some implementations, the PPDU 900 can be... Figure 6 An example of a PPDU 600. The PPDU 900 includes L-STF 908, L-LTF 910, L-SIG 912, RL-SIG 914, U-SIG 916, EHT-SIG 918, EHT-STF 922, EHT-LTF 924, and a data section 926, which can be respectively... Figure 6Examples of L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, L-SIG 612, RL-SIG 614, U-SIG 616, EHT-SIG 618, EHT-STF 622, EHT-LTF 624, and data section 626 are provided. EHT-SIG 918 further includes a common field 936 and user-specific fields 938. The common field 936 includes a U-SIG overflow 944 and one or more RU allocation subfields 946. The user-specific fields 938 include a number (N) of user fields 948.

[0096] In some implementations, the user-specific field 938 may further include a special user field 949. The special user field 949 may be identified by a special AID value that cannot be assigned to any user associated with the user-specific field 938. In some implementations, the special user field 949 may carry information indicating the number of user fields 948 associated with the RU allocation subfield 946. In some aspects, the information in the special user field 949 may indicate only the number of user fields 948 associated with one or more RU allocation subfields 946 set to the R2 value. In some other aspects, the information in the special user field 949 may indicate the number of user fields 948 associated with each RU allocation subfield 946 in the common field 936 (including RU allocation subfields 946 set to the R1 value and RU allocation subfields 946 set to the R2 value).

[0097] In some implementations, at least one of the RU allocation subfields 946 of the shared field 936 can be set to the R2 value. Furthermore, the PPDU 900 can be transmitted to the R1 receiving device. In some implementations, the receiving device can classify the R2 value of the RU allocation subfield 946 as ignored because the user-specific field 938 includes a special user field 949. In other words, the receiving device does not need to interpret the R2 value to determine the number of user fields 948 associated with the corresponding RU allocation subfield 946. In some implementations, the receiving device can identify the special user field 949 by determining that the value of the AID subfield of the special user field 949 matches a special AID value. When identifying the special user field 949, the receiving device can further interpret the information carried in the special user field 949 to indicate the number of user fields 948 associated with the R2 value. The receiving device can therefore continue receiving the PPDU 900, for example, by skipping several user fields 948 associated with the R2 value.

[0098] Figure 10 An example PPDU 1000 is shown, which can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs according to some implementations. In some implementations, the PPDU 1000 can be... Figure 6An example of a PPDU 600. The PPDU 1000 includes L-STF 1008, L-LTF 1010, L-SIG 1012, RL-SIG 1014, U-SIG 1016, EHT-SIG 1018, EHT-STF 1022, EHT-LTF 1024, and a data section 1026, which can be respectively... Figure 6 Examples of L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, L-SIG 612, RL-SIG 614, U-SIG 616, EHT-SIG 618, EHT-STF 622, EHT-LTF 624, and data section 626 are provided. EHT-SIG 1018 further includes a common field 1036 and user-specific fields 1038. The common field 1036 includes a U-SIG overflow 1044 and one or more RU allocation subfields 1046. The user-specific fields 1038 include a number (N) of user fields 1048.

[0099] In some implementations, EHT-SIG 1018 may include an additional shared (shared 2) field 1039. The shared 2 field 1039 may carry information indicating the number of user fields 1048 associated with the RU allocation subfield 1046. In some implementations, the information in the shared 2 field 1039 may indicate the number of user fields 1048 associated with one or more RU allocation subfields 1046 set to the R2 value. Therefore, if the PPDU 1000 does not include any RU allocation subfields 1046 set to the R2 value, the shared 2 field 1039 may be omitted. In some aspects, the size of the shared 2 field 1039 may be fixed. For example, the shared 2 field 1039 may carry 3 bits per RU allocation subfield 1046 for a total of 8 RU allocation subfields 1046 (e.g., for a 320MHz bandwidth). In some other aspects, the size of the shared 2 field 1039 may be variable. For example, the size of the shared 2 field 1039 may depend on the number of RU allocation subfields 1046 set to the R2 value.

[0100] In some implementations, at least one of the RU allocation subfields 1046 of the shared field 1036 may be set to the R2 value. Furthermore, the PPDU 1000 may be transmitted to the R1 receiving device. In some implementations, the receiving device may classify the R2 value of the RU allocation subfield 1046 as ignored because the PPDU 1000 includes the shared 2 field 1039. In other words, the receiving device does not need to interpret the R2 value to determine the number of user fields 1048 associated with the corresponding RU allocation subfield 1046. In some implementations, the receiving device may detect the availability of the shared 2 field 1039 based on determining that at least one of the RU allocation subfields 1046 is set to a reserved value. When identifying the shared 2 field 1039, the receiving device may further interpret the information carried in the shared 2 field 1039 to indicate the number of user fields 1048 associated with the R2 value. The receiving device can therefore continue receiving the PPDU 1000, for example, by skipping several user fields 1048 associated with the R2 value.

[0101] Figure 11 An example format of the RU allocation subfield 1100 according to some implementations of non-legacy signal fields is shown. In some implementations, the RU allocation subfield 1100 can be... Figure 6 An example of the RU allocation subfield 646. The RU allocation subfield 1100 carries 9 bits of information (bits B0-B8). As mentioned above, the combination of bits B0-B8 can be a binary representation of an integer value that maps to a unique RU (or M-RU) allocation and the number of user fields associated with each RU (or M-RU). Some values ​​of the RU allocation subfield 1100 (such as the R2 value) may be reserved in R1, but can be mapped to a unique RU or M-RU allocation in R2. In some implementations, the R2 value may be designed such that the value of the last three bits B0-B2 (corresponding to the 3 least significant bits (LSB) of the RU allocation subfield 1100) is configured to carry signaling information 1101 indicating the number of users associated with the R2 value. The value of the last three bits B0-B2 (for the R2 value) to the number of users (N) 用户 Example mappings are depicted in Table 2 below.

[0102] Table 2

[0103]

[0104] In some implementations, when receiving a PPDU including an RU allocation subfield 1100 set to the value R2, the receiving device can classify the R2 value as ignored because the number of users can be determined from the last three bits B0-B2 of the RU allocation subfield 1100. More specifically, although the receiving device may not be able to interpret the R2 value, it can determine the number of users associated with the R2 value (and thus the number of user fields to skip user-specific fields) based on the value of the last three bits B0-B2. For example, the receiving device can determine the number of users N based on the mapping in Table 2. 用户 The receiving device can determine this as equivalent to calculating the following formula:

[0105] N 用户 =R2_value%8+1

[0106] The R2 value is an integer value of the RU allocation subfield 1100. The receiving device can therefore continue receiving PPDUs, for example, by skipping several user fields associated with the R2 value.

[0107] Figure 12 Another example format of the RU allocation subfield 1200 according to some implementations of non-legacy signal fields is shown. Figure 6 An example of the RU allocation subfield 646. The RU allocation subfield 1200 carries 9 bits of information (bits B0-B8). As mentioned above, the combination of bits B0-B8 can be a binary representation of an integer value that maps to a unique RU (or M-RU) allocation and the number of user fields associated with each RU (or M-RU). Some values ​​of the RU allocation subfield 1200 (such as the R2 value) may be reserved in R1, but can be mapped to a unique RU or M-RU allocation in R2. In some implementations, the R2 value may be designed such that the first three bits B6-B8 (corresponding to the 3 most significant bits (MSB) of the RU allocation subfield 1200) are configured to carry signaling information 1201 indicating the number of users associated with the R2 value. Such implementations also require that the mapping of the R1 value conforms to the same design considerations. For example, the R1 value may not occupy all RU allocation subfield values ​​starting with "000". Table 3 below shows the number of users (N) 用户 A sample list of the number of entries (or unique values ​​of RU assignment subfields) in R1 associated with the number of users.

[0108] Table 3

[0109] <![CDATA[N 用户 ]]> Number of entries 0 4 1 30 2 32 3 35 4 40 5 40 6 40 7 38 8 34 9 1

[0110] In Table 3, the four entries associated with user 0 include perforated RU 242, empty RU 242, empty RU 484, and empty RU 996. The values ​​of the first three bits B6-B8 (for R1 and R2 values) are then assigned to the number of users (N). 用户 Example mappings are depicted in Table 4 below.

[0111] Table 4

[0112]

[0113] In some implementations, when receiving a PPDU including an RU allocation subfield 1200 set to the value R2, the receiving device can classify the R2 value as ignored because the number of users can be determined based on the first three bits B6-B8 of the RU allocation subfield 1200. More specifically, although the receiving device may not be able to interpret the R2 value, it can determine the number of users associated with the R2 value (and thus the number of user fields to skip user-specific fields) based on the value of the first three bits B6-B8. For example, the receiving device can determine the number of users N based on the mapping in Table 4. 用户 The receiving device can therefore continue receiving PPDUs, for example, by skipping several user fields associated with the R2 value.

[0114] Figure 13 The diagram illustrates an example process 1300 for supporting the interpretation of reserved states in radio packets, according to some implementations. In some implementations, process 1300 may be performed by STAs (such as...) Figure 1 and 5B The process 1300 is performed by a wireless communication device that operates as either STA 104 or 504 (or within a STA). In some other implementations, the process 1300 can be performed by a wireless communication device that acts as an AP (such as...). Figure 1 and 5A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either AP 102 or 502) performs the operation.

[0115] In some implementations, process 1300 begins in block 1302 with receiving a PPDU (Pre-Delivery Processing Unit) on a radio channel, comprising a PHY preamble followed by a data portion. In some implementations, the PHY preamble includes L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG immediately following L-SIG, and U-SIG immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble. In block 1304, process 1300 then selectively terminates the reception of the PPDU based on the fact that a reserved bit in the PHY preamble has a value different from a known value associated with that reserved bit.

[0116] In some aspects, PPDU reception may be terminated based on the position of the reserved bit in the PHY preamble. In some implementations, the reserved bit may be located immediately after the Punctured Channel Indication subfield following the U-SIG, where the Punctured Channel Indication subfield carries information indicating whether puncturing has been performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel. In some implementations, the reserved bit may be located immediately after the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield following the U-SIG, where the PPDU Type and Compression Mode subfield carries information indicating the format of the PPDU. In some implementations, the U-SIG may include multiple version-independent fields followed by multiple version-dependent fields, where the reserved bit is located after the multiple version-independent fields and before the multiple version-dependent fields. In some implementations, the reserved bit may be located in the user field of the non-legacy signaling field in the PHY preamble after the U-SIG, where the user field includes an AID subfield. In such implementations, PPDU reception may be terminated based on the AID subfield being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0117] In some other aspects, PPDU reception can proceed based on the position of reserved bits in the PHY preamble. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located in a common field included in the non-legacy signaling field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, where the common field includes one or more version-related fields. In such implementations, the reserved bits may be located immediately following one of the one or more version-related fields. In some implementations, the reserved bits may be located in the user field of the non-legacy signaling field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, where the user field includes an AID subfield. In such implementations, PPDU reception can proceed based on the AID subfield being set to an AID value not assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0118] Figure 14 The diagram illustrates an example process 1400 for supporting the interpretation of reserved states in wireless packets, according to some implementations. In some implementations, process 1400 may be performed by STAs (such as...) Figure 1 and 5B The process 1400 is performed by a wireless communication device that operates as either STA 104 or 504 (or within a STA). In some other implementations, the process 1400 can be performed by a wireless communication device that acts as an AP (such as...). Figure 1 and 5A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either AP 102 or 502) performs the operation.

[0119] In some implementations, process 1400 begins in block 1402 with the reception of a PPDU (Pre-Delivery Processing Unit) on the radio channel, including a PHY preamble followed by a data portion. In some implementations, the PHY preamble includes L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG immediately following L-SIG, and U-SIG immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble. In block 1404, process 1400 continues until the reception of the PPDU is selectively terminated based on subfields of the PHY preamble being set to reserved values.

[0120] In some aspects, PPDU reception may be terminated based on the type of information carried in the subfield. In some implementations, the subfield may be a PPDU bandwidth subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel. In some implementations, the subfield may be a punctured channel indication subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel. In some implementations, the subfield may be a PPDU type and compression mode subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU. In some implementations, the subfield may be included in the user field of the non-legacy signaling field after the U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein PPDU reception is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device. In such implementations, the subfield may be a space configuration subfield carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for users associated with the user field.

[0121] In some implementations, the subfield may be a non-architectural LTF symbol count subfield of a common field included in the non-architectural signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein the non-architectural LTF symbol count subfield carries information indicating the number of non-architectural LTF symbols in the PPDU following the non-architectural signal field. In some implementations, the subfield may be a RU allocation subfield of a common field included in the non-architectural signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein the RU allocation subfield carries information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a user-specific field.

[0122] In some other aspects, PPDU reception may continue based on the type of information carried in a subfield. In some implementations, the subfield may be an RU allocation subfield of a common field included in a non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein the RU allocation subfield carries information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a user-specific field. In such implementations, the bit pattern in the RU allocation subfield may indicate the number of user fields associated with that RU allocation subfield in a user-specific field. In some implementations, the subfield may be included in a user field of a non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, wherein PPDU reception is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device. In such implementations, the subfield may be a space configuration subfield of a user field carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for users associated with that user field.

[0123] Figure 15 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1500 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1500 is configured to perform the above-mentioned references. Figure 13 The process described is 1300. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1500 may be the same as described above. Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. For example, the wireless communication device 1500 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0124] Wireless communication device 1500 includes a receiving component 1510, a communication manager 1520, and a transmitting component 1530. The communication manager 1520 may further include a reserved bit decoding component 1522. Parts of the reserved bit decoding component 1522 may be implemented, at least partially, in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, the reserved bit decoding component 1522 is implemented, at least partially, as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, parts of the reserved bit decoding component 1522 may be implemented as non-transient instructions or code executable by a processor (such as processor 406) to perform the function or operation of the corresponding component.

[0125] Receiving component 1510 is configured to receive an RX signal from another wireless communication device. In some implementations, the RX signal may represent a PPDU including a physical layer preamble followed by a data portion. Communication manager 1520 is configured to manage wireless communication with other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, reserved bit interpretation component 1522 selectively terminates the reception of the PPDU based on the reserved bit in the PHY preamble having a value different from a known value associated with that reserved bit. Transmitting component 1530 is configured to transmit a TX signal to other wireless communication devices.

[0126] Figure 16 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1600 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1600 is configured to perform the above-mentioned references. Figure 14 The process described is 1400. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1600 may be as described above. Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. For example, the wireless communication device 1600 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0127] Wireless communication device 1600 includes a receiving component 1610, a communication manager 1620, and a transmitting component 1630. The communication manager 1620 may further include a reserved value interpretation component 1622. Parts of the reserved value interpretation component 1622 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, the reserved value interpretation component 1622 is implemented at least partially as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, parts of the reserved value interpretation component 1622 may be implemented as non-transient instructions or code executable by a processor (such as processor 406) to perform the function or operation of the corresponding component.

[0128] The receiving component 1610 is configured to receive an RX signal from another wireless communication device. In some implementations, the RX signal may represent a PPDU including a physical layer preamble followed by a data portion. The communication manager 1620 is configured to manage wireless communication with other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the reserved value interpretation component 1622 selectively terminates the reception of the PPDU by setting a reserved value based on a subfield of the PHY preamble. The transmitting component 1630 is configured to transmit a TX signal to other wireless communication devices.

[0129] Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0130] 1. A method for wireless communication by a wireless communication device, comprising:

[0131] Receive Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) on a wireless channel, which include a Physical Layer (PHY) preamble followed by a data portion; and

[0132] The reception of the PPDU can be selectively terminated based on the reserved bit in the PHY preamble having a value different from the known value associated with that reserved bit.

[0133] 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein the PHY preamble includes an old-style short training field (L-STF), an old-style long training field (L-LTF), an old-style signal field (L-SIG), a repeat of L-SIG immediately following L-SIG (RL-SIG), and a general signal field (U-SIG) immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0134] 3. The method as described in either Clause 1 or 2, wherein selective termination of PPDU reception includes:

[0135] The reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the position of the reserved bits in the PHY preamble.

[0136] 4. The method of any of Clauses 1-3, wherein the reserved bit is located immediately following the punctured channel indication subfield of the U-SIG, the punctured channel indication subfield carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel.

[0137] 5. The method of any of Clauses 1-3, wherein the reserved bit is located immediately following the PPDU type and compression mode subfield of the U-SIG, the PPDU type and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0138] 6. The method of any of Clauses 1-3, wherein the U-SIG comprises a plurality of version-independent fields followed by a plurality of version-dependent fields, with reserved bits located after the plurality of version-independent fields and before the plurality of version-dependent fields.

[0139] 7. The method of any of Clauses 1-3, wherein the reserved bit is located in the user field of the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, and the user field includes the associated identifier (AID) subfield.

[0140] 8. The method of any of Clauses 1-3 or 7, wherein the reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the AID subfield being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0141] 9. The method as described in either Clause 1 or 2, wherein selective termination of PPDU reception includes:

[0142] PPDU reception continues based on the position of the reserved bits in the PHY preamble.

[0143] 10. The method of any of Clauses 1, 2 or 9, wherein the reserved bit is located in a common field included in the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, the common field including one or more version-related fields.

[0144] 11. The method of any of Clauses 1, 2, 9 or 10, wherein the reserved bit is located immediately following one of the version-related fields.

[0145] 12. The method of any of Clauses 1, 2 or 9, wherein the reserved bit is located in the user field of the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, the user field including the AID subfield.

[0146] 13. The method of any of Clauses 1, 2, 9 or 12, wherein reception of the PPDU continues based on the AID subfield being set to an AID value not assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0147] 14. A wireless communication device, comprising:

[0148] At least one processor; and

[0149] At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, is configured to perform a method as described in any one or more of Clauses 1-13.

[0150] 15. A method for wireless communication by a wireless communication device, comprising:

[0151] Receive Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) on a wireless channel, which include a Physical Layer (PHY) preamble followed by a data portion; and

[0152] The subfield based on the PHY preamble is set to a reserved value to selectively terminate the reception of the PPDU.

[0153] 16. The method of Clause 15, wherein the PHY preamble includes an old-style short training field (L-STF), an old-style long training field (L-LTF), an old-style signal field (L-SIG), a repeat of L-SIG immediately following L-SIG (RL-SIG), and a general signal field (U-SIG) immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0154] 17. The method of any of Clauses 15 or 16, wherein selective termination of PPDU reception includes:

[0155] The reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the information type carried in this subfield.

[0156] 18. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 17, wherein the subfield is a PPDU bandwidth subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel.

[0157] 19. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 17, wherein the subfield is a punctured channel indication subfield in the U-SIG carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel.

[0158] 20. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 17, wherein the subfield is a PPDU type and compression mode subfield in U-SIG carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0159] 21. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 17, wherein the subfield is included in the user field of the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, and the reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0160] 22. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16, 17 or 21, wherein the subfield is a space configuration subfield carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for a user associated with the user field.

[0161] 23. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 17, wherein the subfield is a non-architectural long training field (LTF) symbol number subfield of the common field included in the non-architectural signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, the non-architectural LTF symbol number subfield carrying information indicating the number of non-architectural LTF symbols in the PPDU after the non-architectural signal field.

[0162] 24. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 17, wherein the subfield is a resource unit (RU) allocation subfield of a common field included in the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, the RU allocation subfield carrying information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a field that varies by user.

[0163] 25. The method of any of Clauses 15 or 16, wherein selective termination of PPDU reception includes:

[0164] The PPDU reception continues based on the information type carried in the subfield.

[0165] 26. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 25, wherein the subfield is a RU allocation subfield of a common field included in the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, the RU allocation subfield carrying information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a field that varies by user.

[0166] 27. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16, 25 or 26, wherein the bit pattern in the RU allocation subfield indicates the number of user fields associated with the RU allocation subfield in a field that varies from user to user.

[0167] 28. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16 or 25, wherein the subfield is included in the user field of the non-legacy signal field after U-SIG in the PHY preamble, the reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

[0168] 29. The method of any of Clauses 15, 16, 25 or 28, wherein the subfield is a space configuration subfield in a user field carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for a user associated with that user field.

[0169] 30. A wireless communication device, comprising:

[0170] At least one processor; and

[0171] At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, is configured to perform methods as described in any one or more of Clauses 15-29.

[0172] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” or “one or more of” referring to a list of items means any combination of these items, including a single member. 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.

[0173] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein can 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 its 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.

[0174] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but are to be granted the broadest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0175] Furthermore, the various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple implementations. Thus, although features may be described above as operating in a particular combination and even initially claimed in this way, one or more features from the claimed combination may be removed from that combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be for sub-combinations or variations thereof.

[0176] Similarly, although the operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or requiring the execution of all explained operations to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other operations not depicted may be incorporated into the schematically explained example processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any explained operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of the various system components in the implementation described above should not be construed 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 communication device, comprising: Physical Layer Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) are received via a wireless channel, comprising a Physical Layer (PHY) preamble followed by a data portion. The PHY preamble includes an Old-Short Training Field (L-STF), an Old-Long Training Field (L-LTF), an Old-Signal Field (L-SIG), a repeat of the L-SIG immediately following the L-SIG (RL-SIG), and a Universal Signal Field (U-SIG) immediately following the RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields. The PHY preamble includes multiple reserved bits or fields, including: One or more confirmation bits or fields; and One or more ignored bits or fields; and The reception of the PPDU is selectively terminated based on the plurality of reserved bits or fields, wherein the selective termination includes: The reception of the PPDU is terminated if at least one of the one or more confirmation bits or fields is not set to the specified value of the corresponding confirmation bit or field; or The reception of the PPDU continues or terminates independently of at least one of the one or more ignore bits or fields not being set to the specified value of the corresponding ignore bit or field.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the position of each of the plurality of reserved bits indicates whether the corresponding bit is a confirmation bit or an ignored bit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved bits is located immediately following a punctured channel indication subfield of U-SIG, the punctured channel indication subfield carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the wireless channel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved bits is located immediately following the PPDU type and compression mode subfield of the U-SIG, the PPDU type and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the U-SIG comprises a plurality of version-independent fields followed by a plurality of version-dependent fields, and at least one of the plurality of reserved bits is an acknowledgment bit located after the plurality of version-independent fields and before the plurality of version-dependent fields.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signaling field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved bits is located in a user field of the non-legacy signaling field, the user field including an association identifier (AID) subfield.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the AID subfield being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signaling field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one ignored bit of the plurality of reserved bits is located in a common field included in the non-legacy signaling field, the common field including one or more version-related fields.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one ignored bit is immediately following one of the one or more version-related fields.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signaling field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved bits is located in a user field of the non-legacy signaling field, the user field including an AID subfield.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the reception of the PPDU continues based on the AID subfield being set to an AID value not assigned to the wireless communication device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the information type carried in each of the plurality of reserved fields indicates whether the corresponding field is a confirmed field or an ignored field.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is a confirmation field of a PPDU bandwidth subfield in the U-SIG that carries information indicating the bandwidth of the wireless channel.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is a punctured channel indication subfield in U-SIG carrying information indicating whether puncturing is performed on one or more subchannels of the wireless channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is a PPDU type and compression mode subfield in U-SIG that carries information indicating the format of the PPDU.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signaling field after U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is included in the user field of the non-legacy signaling field, and reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the AID subfield of the user field being set to the AID value assigned to the wireless communication device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one verification field is a space configuration subfield carrying information indicating the number of space streams allocated for a user associated with the user field.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signal field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is a non-legacy long training field (LTF) symbol number subfield of a common field included in the non-legacy signal field, the non-legacy LTF symbol number subfield carrying an indication of the number of non-legacy LTF symbols in the PPDU following the non-legacy signal field.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signaling field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is a resource unit (RU) allocation subfield of a common field included in the non-legacy signaling field, the RU allocation subfield carrying information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a user-specific field.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signaling field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is an RU allocation subfield of a common field included in the non-legacy signaling field, the RU allocation subfield carrying information indicating RU allocation for one or more users associated with a user-specific field.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the bit pattern in the RU allocation subfield indicates the number of user fields associated with the RU allocation subfield in the user-specific fields.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble further includes a non-legacy signal field following U-SIG, and wherein at least one of the plurality of reserved fields is included in the user field of the non-legacy signal field.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one ignored field is a space configuration subfield in the user field that carries information indicating the number of space streams allocated for users associated with the user field.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more confirmation bits or fields include information of another field to be used by another type of wireless communication device to interpret the PHY preamble.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more ignored bits or fields include information unnecessary for another field of the PHY preamble to be interpreted by another type of wireless communication device.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein terminating the reception of the PPDU based on at least one of the one or more confirmation bits or fields not being set to a specified value of the corresponding confirmation bit or field comprises: The reception of the PPDU is terminated based on the fact that at least one of the authentication fields is set to an authentication value that is not one of the multiple specified values ​​for the authentication field.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the confirmed value is a reserved value.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein continuing or terminating the reception of the PPDU independently of at least one of the one or more ignore bits or fields not being set to a specified value of the corresponding ignore bit or field comprises: Ignore at least one ignore field, wherein the at least one ignore field is set to an ignore value that is not one of a plurality of specified values ​​for the ignore field.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the ignored value is a reserved value.

30. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, which is configured to: Physical Layer Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) are received via a wireless channel, comprising a Physical Layer (PHY) preamble followed by a data portion. The PHY preamble includes an Old-Short Training Field (L-STF), an Old-Long Training Field (L-LTF), an Old-Signal Field (L-SIG), a repeat of the L-SIG immediately following the L-SIG (RL-SIG), and a Universal Signal Field (U-SIG) immediately following the RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields. The PHY preamble includes multiple reserved bits or fields, including: One or more confirmation bits or fields; and One or more ignored bits or fields; and The reception of the PPDU is selectively terminated based on the plurality of reserved bits or fields, wherein the selective termination includes: The reception of the PPDU is terminated if at least one of the one or more confirmation bits or fields is not set to the specified value of the corresponding confirmation bit or field; or The The reception of the PPDU continues or terminates independently of at least one of the one or more ignore bits or fields not being set to the specified value of the corresponding ignore bit or field.

31. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, is configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 2-29.

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