Access point, station and wireless communication method

Abstract

This application is a divisional application of 202180078714.2. An access point, a station and a wireless communication method are disclosed. The wireless communication method includes: the access point transmits a multi-user ready-to-send trigger frame to multiple stations, wherein the multi-user ready-to-send trigger frame indicates whether a clear-to-send frame response will be transmitted by each of the multiple stations on a primary 20MHz channel, a primary 40MHz channel, a primary 80MHz channel, a primary 160MHz channel or a 320MHz channel, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured in the primary 80MHz channel, the primary 160MHz channel or the 320MHz channel. It can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity protection, and provide a multi-user ready-to-send trigger / clear-to-send frame exchange process to protect transmission opportunities in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application date of November 30, 2021, application number 202180078714.2, and invention name “Access point, station and wireless communication method”. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more specifically, to an access point (AP), a station (STAtion, STA) and a wireless communication method, which can provide good communication performance and / or provide high reliability. Background Art

[0003] Communication systems such as wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These communication systems can be multiple access systems that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Wireless networks, such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11) networks, can include access points that can communicate with one or more stations or mobile devices. WLAN enables users to use portable terminals such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, portable multimedia players (PMPs), smart phones, etc. at home, in the office, or in a specific service area to wirelessly access the Internet based on radio frequency technology. APs can be coupled to a network, such as the Internet, and can enable mobile devices to communicate via the network (or communicate with other devices coupled to the AP). Wireless devices can communicate bidirectionally with network devices. For example, in a WLAN, a STA can communicate with an associated AP via a downlink and an uplink. The downlink may refer to a communication link from an AP to a STA, and the uplink may refer to a communication link from a STA to an AP.

[0004] Recently, more APs have been deployed to support the increasing number of WLAN-enabled devices, such as smartphones. Although the use of WLAN devices supporting the IEEE 802.11ax High Efficiency (HE) WLAN standard has increased, providing high performance relative to WLAN devices supporting the traditional IEEE 802.11g / n / ac standards, WLAN systems that support higher performance are needed as WLAN users are increasingly using large-capacity content, such as ultra-high-definition video. Although traditional WLAN systems are designed to increase bandwidth and improve peak transmission rates, actual users cannot feel this dramatic increase in performance.

[0005] IEEE 802.11ax HE WLAN supports bandwidth (BandWidth, BW) up to 160MHz and supports preamble puncturing for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) transmission. In order to achieve significant throughput improvement on IEEE 802.11ax HE WLAN, IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT) WLAN extends the maximum BW support from 160MHz to 320MHz and extends the preamble puncturing support from OFDMA transmission only to both OFDMA transmission and non-OFDMA transmission. In addition, it is expected that HE STA and EHT STA will exist in the same EHT Basic Service Set (BSS).

[0006] In IEEE 802.11ax HE WLAN, the Multi-User Ready-To-Send (MU-RTS) trigger / Clear-To-Send (CTS) frame exchange process allows the AP to initiate a Transmission OPportunity (TXOP) and protect the TXOP frame exchange. However, it is unclear how to utilize the MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process for TXOP protection in an efficient manner in IEEE802.11be EHT WLAN.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for an access point (AP), a station (STA), and a wireless communication method that can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection, provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process for protecting TXOP in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability. Summary of the invention

[0008] The purpose of the present disclosure is to propose an access point (AP), a station (STA) and a wireless communication method, which can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection, provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process for protecting TXOP in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability.

[0009] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method includes: an access point (AP) transmits a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame to multiple stations (STA), wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by each of the multiple STAs on a primary 20 MHz channel (Primary 20, P20), a primary 40 MHz channel (Primary 40, P40), a primary 80 MHz channel (Primary 80, P80), a primary 160 MHz channel (Primary 160, P160) or a 320 MHz channel, and at least one 20 MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160 or 320 MHz channel.

[0010] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method includes: a station among multiple stations (STA) receives a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame from an access point (AP), wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by a STA among the multiple STAs on a primary 20MHz channel (P20), a primary 40MHz channel (P40), a primary 80MHz channel (P80), a primary 160MHz channel (P160) or a 320MHz channel, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160 or 320MHz channel.

[0011] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, an access point (AP) includes: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to control the transceiver to transmit a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame to a plurality of stations (STAs), wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by each of the plurality of STAs on a primary 20 MHz channel (P20), a primary 40 MHz channel (P40), a primary 80 MHz channel (P80), a primary 160 MHz channel (P160), or a 320 MHz channel, and at least one 20 MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160, or 320 MHz channel.

[0012] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a station (STA) includes: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to control the transceiver to receive a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame from an access point (AP), wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by the transceiver on a primary 20 MHz channel (P20), a primary 40 MHz channel (P40), a primary 80 MHz channel (P80), a primary 160 MHz channel (P160), or a 320 MHz channel, and at least one 20 MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160, or 320 MHz channel.

[0013] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the above method.

[0014] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a chip includes: a processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0015] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the computer-readable storage medium enables a computer to execute the above method.

[0016] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprises a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the above method.

[0017] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program enables a computer to execute the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings to be described in the embodiments. It is obvious that the drawings are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and ordinary technicians in this field can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without making assumptions.

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 4is a block diagram of one or more stations and access points communicating in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by an AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by a STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing an example of multi-user ready to send / clear to send / downlink (DownLink, DL) extremely high throughput multi-user (Multi-User, MU) physical layer (PHYsical layer, PHY) protocol data unit (Physical layer Protocol Data Unit, PPDU) / confirmation response according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig. 8A is a schematic diagram showing a trigger frame format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 8B is a schematic diagram showing the common information field format of the MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 8C is a schematic diagram showing the format of the user information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the setting of a resource unit (RU) allocation subfield and a lower / upper 160 MHz segmentation subfield in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Fig.10 is a diagram showing an example of a MU-RTS trigger frame soliciting a CTS frame response on P80 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Fig.11 is a diagram showing four allowed 484+242 tone MRUs in a non-OFDMA 80 MHz EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Fig.12 is a diagram showing four allowed 996+484-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 160 MHz EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Fig.13 is a diagram showing eight allowed 996+484+242-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 160 MHz EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Fig.14 is a diagram illustrating twelve allowed 2x996+484-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig.15 is a diagram illustrating four allowed 3x996-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Fig.16 is a diagram illustrating eight allowed 3x996+484-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Fig.17 It is a schematic diagram showing the settings of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield for indicating a 484+242-pass Multi Resource Unit (MRU) in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Fig.18 is a schematic diagram showing the settings of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield for indicating a 996+484-pass MRU in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Fig.19 is a schematic diagram showing the settings of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield for indicating a 996+484+242-channel MRU in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the settings of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield for indicating a 2x996+484-pass MRU in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Fig.21 is a schematic diagram showing the settings of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield for indicating a 3x996-pass MRU in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Fig. 22is a schematic diagram showing the settings of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield for indicating a 3x996+484-pass MRU in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Fig.23 is a diagram showing another example of a MU-RTS trigger frame requesting a CTS frame response on P80 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Fig.24 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] Fig.25A is a schematic diagram showing a frame of an EHT operation element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Fig.25B is a diagram showing the format of the EHT Operation Information field of the EHT Operation element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Fig.26 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a MU-RTS trigger frame requesting a CTS frame response on P80 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The technical content, structural features, objectives and effects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Specifically, the terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to illustrate the purpose of specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 1An example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) 100 (also referred to as a Wi-Fi network) configured according to various aspects of the present disclosure (such as a next generation, next big thing (NBT), ultra high throughput (UHT) or EHT Wi-Fi network). As described herein, the terms next generation, NBT, UHT and EHT may be considered synonymous and may all correspond to a Wi-Fi network that supports a large number of space-time streams. The WLAN 100 may include an AP 10 and a plurality of associated STAs 20, which may represent devices such as mobile stations, personal digital assistants, other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., televisions, computer monitors, etc.), printers, and the like. The AP 10 and the associated stations 20 may represent a basic service set or an extended service set (ESS). Various STAs 20 in the network may communicate with each other through the AP 10. Also shown is a coverage area 110 of the AP 10, which may represent a Basic Service Area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. An extended network station (not shown) associated with the WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that may allow multiple APs 10 to be connected in an ESS.

[0050] In some embodiments, a STA 20 may be located at the intersection of more than one coverage area 110 and may be associated with more than one AP 10. A single AP 10 and an associated group of STAs 20 may be referred to as a BSS. An ESS is a group of connected BSSs. A distribution system (not shown) may be used to connect the APs 10 in an ESS. In some cases, the coverage area 110 of an AP 10 may be divided into a plurality of sectors (also not shown). The WLAN 100 may include different types of APs 10 (e.g., metropolitan area networks, home networks, etc.) with varying and overlapping coverage areas 110. Two STAs 20 may also communicate directly via a direct wireless link 125, regardless of whether the two STAs 20 are in the same coverage area 110. Examples of a direct wireless link 120 may include a Wi-Fi direct connection, a Wi-Fi tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) link, and other group connections. The STA 20 and the AP 10 may communicate according to the WLAN wireless and baseband protocols of the physical layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of IEEE 802.11, and its versions include but are not limited to 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ah, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, etc. In some other embodiments, a peer-to-peer connection or an ad hoc network may be implemented within the WLAN 100.

[0051] Figure 2 2 shows an example of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 200 may be an example of a next generation or EHT Wi-Fi system and may include an AP 10-a and STAs 20-a and 20-b, and a coverage area 110-a, which may be about Figure 1 An example of components described. The AP 10 - a may transmit a trigger frame 210 including a resource unit (RU) allocation table indication 215 to the STA 20 on the downlink 205 .

[0052] In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 200 may be a next generation Wi-Fi system (e.g., an EHT system). In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 200 may also support multiple communication systems. For example, the wireless communication system 200 may support EHT communication and HE communication. In some embodiments, STA 20-a and STA 20-b may be different types of STAs. For example, STA 20-a may be an example of an EHT STA, and STA 20-b may be an example of an HE STA. STA 20-b may be referred to as a legacy STA.

[0053] In some cases, EHT communication can support a larger bandwidth than traditional communication. For example, EHT communication can occur on an available bandwidth of 320MHz, while traditional communication can occur on an available bandwidth of 160MHz. In addition, EHT communication can support higher modulation than traditional communication. For example, EHT communication can support 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QuadratureAmplitude Modulation, QAM), while traditional communication can support 1024QAM. EHT communication can support more spatial streams (e.g., space-time-stream) than traditional systems. In a non-limiting illustrative example, EHT communication can support 16 spatial streams, while traditional communication can support 8 spatial streams. In some cases, EHT communication can occur in a 2.4GHz channel, a 5GHz channel, or a 6GHz channel in an unlicensed spectrum.

[0054] In some embodiments, the AP 10-a may transmit a trigger frame 210 to one or more STAs 20 (e.g., STA 20-a and STA 20-b). In some embodiments, the trigger frame may request an uplink transmission from the STA 20. However, the trigger frame 210 may be received by the EHT STA 20-a and the HE STA 20-b. The trigger frame 210 may be configured to request an uplink transmission only from the HE STA 20-b. In some embodiments, the trigger frame 210 may be configured to request an uplink transmission from the EHT STA 20-a. In some other embodiments, the trigger frame 210 may be configured to request an uplink transmission from one or more EHT STAs 20-a and one or more HE STAs 20-b.

[0055] Figure 3 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 300 may be an example of a post-EHT Wi-Fi system and may include an AP 10-b. The AP 10-b may be an example of a post-EHT AP 10. The wireless communication system 300 may include a HE STA 20-c, an EHT STA 20-d, and a post-EHT STA 20-e, and a coverage area 110-b, which may be about Figure 5 and Figure 6 An example of components described. The AP 10-b may transmit a trigger frame 310 including an RU allocation table indication 315 to the STA 20 on the downlink 305. In some implementations, the STA 20 may be referred to as a client.

[0056] In some embodiments, the EHT AP 10 may serve both the HE STA 20 and the EHT STA 20. The EHT AP 10 may send a trigger frame that may trigger a response from only the HE STA 20, only the EHT STA 20, or both the HE STA 20 and the EHT STA 20. The STA 20 scheduled in the trigger frame may respond with a trigger-based PPDU. In some embodiments, the EHT AP 10 may trigger the HE STA 20 (instead of the EHT STA 20) by sending a HE trigger frame format. In some embodiments, the EHT AP 10 may trigger the EHT STA 20 (instead of the EHT STA 20) by sending a HE trigger frame format or a HE trigger frame format including some fields or bit allocation adjustments. In some embodiments, the EHT AP 10 may trigger the EHT STA 20 and the HESTA 20 by sending a HE trigger frame format including some fields or bit allocation adjustments.

[0057] The trigger frame 310 may request a response from one or more EHT STAs 20, or from one or more HE STAs 20, or from both. In some embodiments, the STAs 20 may transmit unsolicited uplink transmissions without responding to the trigger frame 310. In some embodiments, the trigger frame 310 may request an uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission or OFDMA with multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission.

[0058] Figure 4 One or more stations (STA) 20 and an access point (AP) 10 communicating in a wireless communication system 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Figure 4 As shown, the wireless communication system 700 includes an access point (AP) 10 and one or more stations (STA) 20. The AP 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11 coupled to the memory 12 and the transceiver 13. One or more STAs 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21 coupled to the memory 22 and the transceiver 23. The processor 11 or 21 may be configured to implement the suggested functions, processes, and / or methods described in this specification. The wireless interface protocol layer may be implemented in the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 may be operably coupled to the processor 11 or 21 and store various information to operate the processor 11 or 21. The transceiver 13 or 23 may be operably coupled to the processor 11 or 21, and the transceiver 13 or 23 transmits and / or receives wireless signals.

[0059] The processor 11 or 21 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits and / or data processing devices. The memory 12 or 22 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium and / or other storage devices. The transceiver 13 or 23 may include a baseband circuit for processing radio frequency signals. When the embodiment is implemented in software, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. The modules may be stored in the memory 12 or 22 and executed by the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 may be implemented within the processor 11 or 21, or implemented outside the processor 11 or 21, in which case they may be communicatively coupled to the processor 11 or 21 in various ways known in the art.

[0060] In some embodiments, the processor 11 is configured to control the transceiver 13 to transmit a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame to a plurality of stations (STAs) 20, wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by each of the plurality of STAs on a primary 20 MHz channel (P20), a primary 40 MHz channel (P40), a primary 80 MHz channel (P80), a primary 160 MHz channel (P160), or a 320 MHz channel, and at least one 20 MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160, or 320 MHz channel. This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection, provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process for performing TXOP protection in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability.

[0061] In some embodiments, the processor 21 is configured to control the transceiver 23 to receive a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame from the access point (AP) 10, wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by the transceiver 23 on a primary 20 MHz channel (P20), a primary 40 MHz channel (P40), a primary 80 MHz channel (P80), a primary 160 MHz channel (P160), or a 320 MHz channel, and at least one 20 MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160, or 320 MHz channel. This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection, provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process for performing TXOP protection in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability.

[0062] Figure 5 A wireless communication method 800 performed by an AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, the method 800 includes: block 802, an access point (AP) transmits a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame to a plurality of stations (STAs), wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by each of the plurality of STAs on a primary 20 MHz channel (P20), a primary 40 MHz channel (P40), a primary 80 MHz channel (P80), a primary 160 MHz channel (P160), or a 320 MHz channel, and at least one 20 MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160, or 320 MHz channel. This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection, provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process for performing TXOP protection in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability.

[0063] Figure 6A wireless communication method 900 performed by a STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, the method 900 includes: block 902, a station among multiple stations (STA) receives a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) trigger frame from an access point (AP), wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear to send (CTS) frame response will be transmitted by the STA among the multiple STAs on a primary 20MHz channel (P20), a primary 40MHz channel (P40), a primary 80MHz channel (P80), a primary 160MHz channel (P160), or a 320MHz channel, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured in the P80, P160, or 320MHz channel. This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection, provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process to protect TXOP in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability.

[0064] In some embodiments, the P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which the at least one 20MHz channel is punched includes a 484+242-channel multi-resource unit (MRU), a 996+484-channel MRU, a 996+484+242-channel MRU, a 2x996+484-channel MRU, a 3x996-channel MRU or a 3x996+484-channel MRU. In some embodiments, the one 484+242-channel MRU is generated from P80 punching any non-primary 20MHz channel, the one 996+484-channel MRU is generated from P160 punching any non-primary 40MHz channel, the one 996+484+242-channel MRU is generated from P160 punching any non-primary 20MHz channel, the one 2x996+484-channel MRU is generated from any continuous 240MHz portion of a 320MHz channel punching any non-primary 40MHz channel, the one 3x996-channel MRU is generated from a 320MHz channel punching any non-primary 80MHz channel, or the one 3x996+484-channel MRU is generated from a 320MHz channel punching any non-primary 40MHz channel. In some embodiments, each user information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a subfield and an RU allocation subfield, and the subfields and the RU allocation subfields of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame indicate RU allocation information. In some embodiments, the subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield.

[0065] In some embodiments, if the P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which the at least one 20MHz channel is punctured includes the one 484+242-channel MRU, the one 996+484-channel MRU or the one 996+484+242-channel MRU, the subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to the first value. In some embodiments, if the P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which the at least one 20MHz channel is punctured includes the one 2x996+484-channel MRU, the one 3x996-channel MRU or the one 3x996+484-channel RU, and the lowest frequency 160MHz channel of the 320MHz channel is punctured with at least one 20MHz channel, the subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to the first value. In some embodiments, if the P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which the at least one 20MHz channel is punctured includes the one 2x996+484-channel MRU, the one 3x996-channel MRU or the one 3x996+484-channel RU, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 160MHz channel of the 320MHz channel, then the subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to a second value.

[0066] In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to indicate the one 484+242-channel MRU according to at least one of the following: if a non-primary 20MHz channel is punched from P80, and the P80 is only an 80MHz channel or the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of P160, the first bit is set to 0; if a non-primary 20MHz channel is punched from P80, and the P80 is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of P160, the first bit is set to 1; if the punched non-primary 20MHz channel is the lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, the remaining bits are set to 90; if the punched non-primary 20MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, the remaining bits are set to 91; if the punched non-primary 20MHz channel is the third lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, the remaining bits are set to 92; if the punched non-primary 20MHz channel is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, the remaining bits are set to 93.

[0067] In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to indicate the one 996+484-channel MRU according to at least one of the following: if a non-primary 40MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, the first bit is set to 0; if a non-primary 40MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, the first bit is set to 1; if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, the remaining bits are set to 94; if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 40MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, the remaining bits are set to 95. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to indicate the one 996+484+242-channel MRU according to at least one of the following: if a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, the first bit is set to 0; if a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, the first bit is set to 1; if the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the lowest frequency 20MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, the remaining bits are set to 96; if the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 20MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, the remaining bits are set to 97; if the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the third lowest frequency 20MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, the remaining bits are set to 98; if the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, the remaining bits are set to 99.

[0068] In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to indicate the one 2x996+484-channel MRU according to at least one of the following: if the perforated non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, the first bit is set to 0; if the perforated non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, the first bit is set to 1; if the perforated non-primary 40MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40MHz channel of any 80MHz channel in the lower continuous 240MHz portion of the 320MHz channel, the first bit is set to 1. If the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is a z channel, the remaining bits are set to 100; if the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is the next lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of any 80 MHz channel in the lower contiguous 240 MHz portion of the 320 MHz channel, the remaining bits are set to 101; if the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of any 80 MHz channel in the upper contiguous 240 MHz portion of the 320 MHz channel, the remaining bits are set to 102; if the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is the next lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of any 80 MHz channel in the upper contiguous 240 MHz portion of the 320 MHz channel, the remaining bits are set to 103. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to indicate the one 3x996-pass MRU according to at least one of the following: if the perforated non-primary 80MHz channel is the lowest frequency 80MHz channel among any 160MHz channels, the first bit is set to 0; if the perforated non-primary 80MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel among any 160MHz channels, the first bit is set to 1; and the remaining bits are set to 104.

[0069] In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield of each user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame is set to indicate the one 3x996+484-channel MRU according to at least one of the following: if the perforated non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, the first bit is set to 0; if the perforated non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, the first bit is set to 1; if the perforated non-primary 40MH channel is the lowest frequency 40MHz channel among any 80MHz channel, the remaining bits are set to 105; if the perforated non-primary 40MH channel is the second lowest frequency 40MHz channel among any 80MHz channel, the remaining bits are set to 106.

[0070] In some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame and / or the CTS frame response operates in an extremely high throughput (EHT) wireless local area network (WLAN) or a post-EHT WLAN.

[0071] Abbreviations and acronyms for some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in Table 1.

[0072] Table 1

[0073] IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers WLAN Wireless LAN BSS Basic service set AP Access Point STA Site PHY Physical Layer MAC Media Access Control PPDU PHY protocol data unit HT High throughput HE High efficiency EHT Very high throughput MU Multi-user OFDMA OFDMA BW bandwidth MRU Multiple resource units BA Block Confirmation RTS Ready to send CTS Clear to Send TXOP Transfer Opportunities NAV Network Allocation Vector

[0074] Figure 7 An example of a multi-user ready to send (MU-RTS) / clear to send (CTS) / downlink (DL) extremely high throughput (EHT) MU physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) / acknowledgement response according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 7 It is shown that, in some embodiments, in an IEEE 802.11be EHT WLAN, the MU-RTS triggering / CTS frame exchange process allows an AP to initiate a TXOP and protect the TXOP frame exchange. Figure 7 An example of exchanging MU-RTS trigger frames and synchronous CTS frame responses in an IEEE 802.11be EHT WLAN to protect EHT MU PPDU and acknowledgment responses is shown.

[0075] Fig. 8A A trigger frame format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig. 8A As shown, in some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame is used to request synchronous CTS frame transmission from multiple HE STAs and / or EHT STAs. The MU-RTS trigger frame is one of various types of trigger frames. The trigger frame format is as follows: Fig. 8A As shown, it includes a common information field and a user information list field including one or more user information fields. The formats of the common information field and the user information field depend on the type of the trigger frame.

[0076] Figure 8B The format of the common information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 8BIt is shown that, in some embodiments, the enhanced trigger frame flag subfield is set to a first value (e.g., 0) to indicate a trigger frame that complies with the IEEE 802.11ax specification, and the enhanced trigger frame flag subfield is set to a second value (e.g., 1) to indicate an enhanced trigger frame that complies with the IEEE 802.11be specification. If the enhanced trigger frame flag subfield is set to the first value (e.g., 0), the UL BW extension subfield is reserved, and the UL BW subfield indicates the bandwidth of the PPDU carrying the MU-RTS trigger frame, which is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 / 80+80 MHz. If the enhanced trigger frame flag subfield is set to the second value (e.g., 1), the UL BW subfield and the UL BW extension subfield together indicate the bandwidth of the PPDU carrying the MU-RTS trigger frame, which is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz.

[0077] Figure 8C The format of the user information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 8C It is shown that in some embodiments, the HE / EHT format subfield is set to a first value (e.g., 0) to indicate the HE format, and the HE / EHT format subfield is set to a second value (e.g., 1) to indicate the EHT format. The value of the HE / EHT format subfield of the user information field determines how the remaining subfields of the user information field are interpreted. If the HE / EHT format subfield of the user information field is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is reserved, and the RU allocation subfield indicates whether the CTS frame response is sent by the STA indicated by the AID12 subfield on the primary 20MHz channel (P20), the primary 40MHz channel (P40), the primary 80MHz channel (P80), or the 160 / 80+80MHz channel. If the HE / EHT format subfield of the user information field is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the RU allocation subfield together with the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield indicates how the CTS frame response is sent by the STA indicated by the AID12 subfield.

[0078] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the CTS frame sent in response to the MU-RTS trigger frame shall be carried in a non-HT or non-HT repeated PPDU, which is transmitted on a 20MHz channel indicated in the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield of the user information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in each 20MHz channel occupied by the PPDU containing the MU-RTS trigger frame, the transmitter of the MU-RTS trigger frame shall request at least one STA to send a CTS frame response occupying the 20MHz channel. The transmitter of the MU-RTS trigger frame shall not request a non-AP STA to send a CTS frame response on a 20MHz channel not occupied by the PPDU containing the MU-RTS trigger frame. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when a MU-RTS trigger frame is received from an AP or a CTS frame is received from a STA, a third-party STA may update its own NAV according to the value of the duration field of the MU-RTS trigger frame or the CTS frame, and avoid accessing the channel when its own NAV indicates that the channel is busy.

[0079] Example:

[0080] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing the configuration of a resource unit (RU) allocation subfield and a lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield in a MU-RTS trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 It is shown that, in some embodiments, if the HE / EHT Format subfield of the User Information field is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the RU Allocation subfield together with the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield indicates whether the STA indicated by the AID12 subfield is to send a CTS frame response on a primary 20MHz channel (P20), a primary 40MHz channel (P40), a primary 80MHz channel (P80), a primary 160MHz channel (P160), or a 320MHz channel. The settings of the RU Allocation subfield and the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield are as follows Fig. 9As shown. The Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield is set to a first value (e.g., 0) to indicate P20, P40, P80, or P160; and the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield is set to a second value (e.g., 1) to indicate a 320MHz channel. The RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate P20 as follows: if P20 is the only 20MHz channel, part of the only 40MHz channel, or part of P80 that is the only 80MHz channel or the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of P160, the first bit B0 is set to 0; if P20 is part of P80, which is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of P160, B0 is set to 1. If P20 is the only 20MHz channel or the only 40MHz channel or the lowest frequency 20MHz channel of P80, the remaining bits B7-B1 (B7, B6, B5, B4, B3, B2, and B1) are set to 61. If P20 is the only 40MHz channel or the second lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80, B7-B1 are set to 62. If P20 is the third lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80, B7-B1 are set to 63. If P20 is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80, B7-B1 are set to 64. The RU Allocation subfield has 8 bits. The first bit refers to B0 and is the least significant bit (Least Significant Bit, LSB). The remaining bits refer to B1 to B7 (B7 to B1).

[0081] The RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate P40 as follows: B0 is set to 0 if P40 is the only 40 MHz channel or is part of P80 which is the only 80 MHz channel or the lowest frequency 80 MHz channel of P160; B0 is set to 1 if P40 is part of P80 which is the next lowest frequency 80 MHz channel of P160. B7-B1 are set to 65 if P40 is the only 40 MHz channel or the lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of P80. B7-B1 are set to 66 if P40 is the next lowest frequency 40 MHz channel in P80.

[0082] The RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate P80 as follows: B0 is set to 0 if P80 is the only 80 MHz channel or the lowest frequency 80 MHz channel in P160, and B0 is set to 1 if P80 is the second lowest frequency 80 MHz channel in P160. B7-B1 are set to 67. In addition, B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 1 and B7-B1 of the RU Allocation subfield are set to 68 to indicate P160. B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 1 and B7-B1 of the RU Allocation subfield are set to 69 to indicate a 320 MHz channel. The STA ignores B0 and the Lower / Upper 160 MHz Segmentation subfield of the RU Allocation subfield for 320 MHz indication.

[0083] According to the above embodiment, the setting of the RU allocation subfield for indicating P20, P40, P80 and P160 is backward compatible with the setting of the RU allocation subfield for indicating P20, P40, P80 and 160 / 80+80MHz channels in the IEEE 802.11ax specification, which can minimize the implementation complexity.

[0084] Fig.10 An example of exchanging MU-RTS trigger frames and synchronous CTS frame responses on P80 in a TXOP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In this example, the MU-RTS trigger frame is transmitted in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on P80. Further, in the user information field addressed to STA1, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 0 and 64, respectively; while in the user information field addressed to STA2, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; B0 and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 0 and 67, respectively. In other words, the MU-RTS trigger frame requests STA1 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT PPDU on P20, which is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80, and the MU-RTS trigger frame requests STA2 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on P80. In this example, even if the transmission after the MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange in the TXOP occupies part of the BW of P80 (e.g., a 484+242-pass MRU), the MU-RTS trigger frame must request at least one of STA1 and STA2 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on P80, which may result in TXOP over-protection.

[0085] Example:

[0086] According to another embodiment, if the HE / EHT Format subfield of the User Information field is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the RU Allocation subfield together with the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield further indicates whether the CTS is sent by the STA indicated by the AID12 subfield on a P80, P160, or 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured. A P80, P160 or 320MHz channel with at least one 20MHz channel punctured is a 484+242-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel from a P80, a 996+484-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from a P160, a 996+484+242-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel from a P160, a 2x996+484-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from any continuous 240MHz portion of a 320MHz channel, a 3x996-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 80MHz channel from a 320MHz channel, or a 3x996+484-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from a 320MHz channel.

[0087] In some embodiments, the large-size MRUs defined for non-OFDMA format downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions are as follows: 484+242-channel MRU, 996+484-channel MRU, 996+484+242-channel MRU, 2x996+484-channel MRU, 3x996-channel MRU, and 3x996+484-channel MRU. Fig.11 Four allowed 484+242-pass MRUs in a non-OFDMA 80 MHz EHT PPDU are shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.11 It is shown that, in some embodiments, a 484+242-channel MRU is allowed in a non-OFDMA 80 MHz EHT PPDU. The 484+242-channel MRU is obtained by puncturing any one of the four 242-channel RUs in the 80 MHz EHT PPDU. Fig.12 Four allowed 996+484-pass MRUs in a non-OFDMA 160 MHz EHT PPDU are shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.12 It is shown that, in some embodiments, a 996+484-channel MRU is allowed in a non-OFDMA 160 MHz EHT PPDU. The 996+484-channel MRU is obtained by puncturing any one of the four 484-channel RUs in the 160 MHz EHT PPDU. Fig.13Eight allowed 996+484+242-pass MRUs in a non-OFDMA 160 MHz EHT PPDU are shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.13 It is shown that, in some embodiments, a 996+484+242-channel MRU is allowed in a non-OFDMA 160 MHz EHT PPDU. The 996+484+242-channel MRU is obtained by puncturing any one of the eight 242-channel RUs in the 160 MHz EHT PPDU. Fig.14 Twelve allowed 2x996+484-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU are shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.14 It is shown that, in some embodiments, a 2x996+484-channel MRU is allowed in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU. The 2x996+484-channel MRU is obtained by puncturing any one of the six 484-channel RUs in a 240 MHz transmission of a 320 MHz EHT PPDU defined as one in which 80 MHz is punctured. Fig.15 Four allowed 3x996-pass MRUs in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU are shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.15 It is shown that, in some embodiments, 3x996-channel MRU is allowed in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU. The 3x996-channel MRU is obtained by puncturing any one of the four 996-channel RUs in the 320 MHz EHT PPDU. Fig.16 Eight allowed 3x996+484-channel MRUs in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU are shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.16 It is shown that, in some embodiments, 3x996+484-channel MRU is allowed in a non-OFDMA 320 MHz EHT PPDU. The 3x996+484-channel MRU is obtained by puncturing any one of the eight 484-channel RUs in the 320 MHz EHT PPDU.

[0088] In some embodiments, the P80 in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured includes a 484+242-channel multi-resource unit (MRU). In some embodiments, the P80 in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 484+242-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel from the P80. In some embodiments, the P160 in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured includes a 996+484-channel MRU or a 996+484+242-channel MRU. In some embodiments, the P160 in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 996+484-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from the P160, or a 996+484+242-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel from the P160. In some embodiments, the 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured includes a 2x996+484 MRU, a 3x996 MRU, or a 3x996+484 MRU. In some embodiments, the 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 2x996+484 MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from any continuous 240MHz portion of the 320MHz channel, a 3x996 MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 80MHz channel from the 320MHz channel, or a 3x996+484 MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from the 320MHz channel.

[0089] According to an embodiment, if the P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 484+242-pass MRU, a 996+484-pass MRU or a 996+484+242-pass MRU, the lower / higher 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to a first value (e.g., 0). In some examples, if the P80 in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 484+242-pass MRU, the lower / higher 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to a first value (e.g., 0). If the P160 in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 996+484-pass MRU, or a 996+484+242-pass MRU, the lower / higher 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to a first value (e.g., 0). According to an embodiment, if a P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 2x996+484-channel MRU, a 3x996-channel MRU, or a 3x996+484-channel RU, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 160MHz channel of the 320MHz channel, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; if a P80, P160 or 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 2x996+484-channel MRU, a 3x996-channel MRU, or a 3x996+484-channel RU, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 160MHz channel of the 320MHz channel, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 1. In some examples, if the 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 2x996+484-channel MRU, a 3x996-channel MRU, or a 3x996+484-channel RU, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 160MHz channel of the 320MHz channel, the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield is set to 0; if the 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured is a 2x996+484-channel MRU, a 3x996-channel MRU, or a 3x996+484-channel RU, and at least one 20MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 160MHz channel of the 320MHz channel, the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segmentation subfield is set to 1. In some embodiments, the first value and the second value have different values. In some embodiments, the first value is one of 0 and 1, and the second value is the other of 0 and 1.

[0090] Fig.17The setting of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segmentation subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame for indicating a 484+242-pass multi-resource unit (MRU) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig.17 It is shown that in some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate 484+242 through MRU as follows: If a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from P80, which is the only 80MHz channel or the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, the first bit B0 is set to 0. If a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from P80, which is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 1. If the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, the remaining bits B7-B1 are set to 90. If the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, B7-B1 are set to 91. If the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the third lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, B7-B1 are set to 92. If the punctured non-primary 20MHz channel is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel of the P80, B7-B1 are set to 93. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate a 484+242-way MRU as follows: If a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from P80, the P80 is the only 80MHz channel or the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, the first bit B0 is set to 1. If a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from P80, the P80 is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, then B0 is set to 0. The values ​​of the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B1 to B7 are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first bit B0 may be 0 or 1. In some embodiments, the remaining bits B1 to B7 (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7) have values ​​different from the above example values, and the values ​​of B1 to B7 are equal to or greater than 90 and equal to or less than 255. The RU allocation subfield has 8 bits. The first bit refers to B0 and is the least significant bit (LSB). The remaining bits refer to B1 to B7 (B7 to B1).

[0091] Fig.18 The configuration of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segmentation subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame for indicating a 996+484-pass MRU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig.18It is shown that in some embodiments, the RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate 996+484 through MRU as follows: If the non-primary 40MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 0. If the non-primary 40MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 1. If the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, B7-B1 are set to 94. If the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 40MHz channel among any 80MHz channels of the P160, B7-B1 are set to 95. In some embodiments, the RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate 996+484 through MRU as follows: If the non-primary 40MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 1. If the non-primary 40MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 0. The values ​​of the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B1 to B7 are only examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first bit B0 may be 0 or 1. In some embodiments, B1 to B7 (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7) have values ​​different from the above example values, and the values ​​of B1 to B7 are equal to or greater than 90 and equal to or less than 255.

[0092] Fig.19 The configuration of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame for indicating a 996+484+242-pass MRU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig.19It is shown that, in some embodiments, the RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate 996+484+242 through MRUs as follows: If the non-primary 20 MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 80 MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 0. If the non-primary 20 MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 80 MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 1. If the punctured non-primary 20 MHz channel is the lowest frequency 20 MHz channel among any 80 MHz channels of the P160, B7-B1 are set to 96. If the punctured non-primary 20 MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 20 MHz channel among any 80 MHz channels of the P160, B7-B1 are set to 97. If the punctured non-primary 20 MHz channel is the third lowest frequency 20 MHz channel among any 80 MHz channels of the P160, B7-B1 are set to 98. If the punctured non-primary 20 MHz channel is the fourth lowest frequency 20 MHz channel among any 80 MHz channels of the P160, B7-B1 are set to 99. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate 996+484+242 through MRU as follows: If a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 1. If a non-primary 20MHz channel is punctured from the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of the P160, B0 is set to 0. The values ​​of the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B1 to B7 are only examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to this. In some embodiments, the first bit B0 can be 0 or 1. In some embodiments, B1 to B7 (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6 and B7) have values ​​different from the above example values, and the values ​​of B1 to B7 are equal to or greater than 90 and equal to or less than 255.

[0093] Fig. 20 The configuration of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame for indicating a 2x996+484-pass MRU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig. 20It is shown that in some embodiments, the RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate a 2x996+484-way MRU as follows: If the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is part of the lowest frequency 80 MHz channel of any 160 MHz channel, then B0 is set to 0; if the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is part of the second lowest frequency 80 MHz channel of any 160 MHz channel, then B0 is set to 1. If the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of any 80 MHz channel in the lower contiguous 240 MHz portion of the 320 MHz channel, then B7-B1 are set to 100. If the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of any 80 MHz channel in the lower contiguous 240 MHz portion of the 320 MHz channel, then B7-B1 are set to 101. If the punctured non-primary 40 MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40 MHz channel of any 80 MHz channel in the upper contiguous 240 MHz portion of the 320 MHz channel, then B7-B1 are set to 102. If the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 40MHz channel of any 80MHz channel in the higher continuous 240MHz portion of the 320MHz channel, B7-B1 are set to 103. In some examples, the 2x 996+484-pass MRU is obtained by puncturing any of the five non-primary 40MHz channels in the 240MHz transmission of the 320MHz EHT PPDU defined as one in which 80MHz is punctured. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate the 2x996+484-pass MRU as follows: if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, B0 is set to 1; if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, B0 is set to 0. The values ​​of the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B1 to B7 are examples only, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first bit B0 can be 0 or 1. In some embodiments, B1 to B7 ( B1 , B2 , B3 , B4 , B5 , B6 , and B7 ) have values ​​different from the above example values, and the values ​​of B1 to B7 are equal to or greater than 90 and equal to or less than 255.

[0094] Fig.21 The configuration of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame for indicating a 3x996-pass MRU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig.21It is shown that in some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate 3x996 through MRU as follows: if the punched non-primary 80MHz channel is the lowest frequency 80MHz channel in any 160MHz channel, B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 0; if the punched non-primary 80MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel in any 160MHz channel, B0 is set to 1. B7-B1 are set to 104. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate 3x996 through MRU as follows: if the punched non-primary 80MHz channel is the lowest frequency 80MHz channel in any 160MHz channel, B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 1; if the punched non-primary 80MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel in any 160MHz channel, B0 is set to 0. The values ​​of the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B1 to B7 are only examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first bit B0 can be 0 or 1. In some embodiments, B1 to B7 ( B1 , B2 , B3 , B4 , B5 , B6 , and B7 ) have values ​​different from the above example values, and the values ​​of B1 to B7 are equal to or greater than 90 and equal to or less than 255.

[0095] Fig. 22 The configuration of the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame for indicating a 3x996+484-pass MRU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Fig. 22It is shown that in some embodiments, the RU Allocation subfield is set to indicate a 3x996+484-way MRU as follows: If the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, then B0 is set to 0; if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, then B0 is set to 1. If the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the lowest frequency 40MHz channel of any 80MHz channel in the 320MHz channel, then B7-B1 are set to 105. If the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is the second lowest frequency 40MHz channel of any 80MHz channel in the 320MHz channel, then B7-B1 are set to 106. In some embodiments, the RU allocation subfield is set to indicate a 3x996+484-pass MRU as follows: if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, B0 is set to 1; if the punctured non-primary 40MHz channel is part of the second lowest frequency 80MHz channel of any 160MHz channel, B0 is set to 0. The values ​​of the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B1 to B7 are only examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to this. In some embodiments, the first bit B0 can be 0 or 1. In some embodiments, B1 to B7 (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7) have values ​​different from the above example values, and the values ​​of B1 to B7 are equal to or greater than 90 and equal to or less than 255.

[0096] Fig.23 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a MU-RTS trigger frame requesting a CTS frame response on P80 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.23It is shown that, in some embodiments, the MU-RTS trigger frame is transmitted in a non-HT repetition PPDU on a 484+242-channel MRU including P20 and a secondary 40MHz channel (Secondary 40, S40), where P20 is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80. Further, in the user information field addressed to STA1, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; B0 and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 0 and 64, respectively. In the user information field addressed to STA2, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; B0 and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 0 and 92, respectively. In other words, the MU-RTS trigger frame requests STA1 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT PPDU on P20, and requests STA2 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT repetition on a 484+242-channel MRU including P20 and S40. Therefore, when the transmission after the MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange occupies the 484+242-channel MRU including P20 and S40, TXOP over-protection can be avoided.

[0097] Example

[0098] According to yet another embodiment, the RU Allocation subfield and the Lower / Upper 160 MHz Segmentation subfield in the MU-RTS trigger frame are set to Fig. 9 . In other words, the RU allocation subfield and the lower / upper 160 MHz segmentation subfield of the user information field of the STA indicate whether the STA sends a CTS frame response on a P20, P40, P80, P160 or 320 MHz channel. However, how the STA sends its CTS frame response depends not only on the RU allocation information and the lower / upper 160 MHz segmentation subfield indicated in the RU allocation subfield of the corresponding user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame, but also on the channel puncturing mode indicated in the information element most recently received by the STA. The information element indicating the channel puncturing mode may be an EHT operation element, which may be included in a management frame such as a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a reassociation response frame.

[0099] Fig.25A The format of the EHT Operation element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The EHT Operation element may include an EHT Operation Information field. Fig.25BThe format of the EHT operation information field of the EHT operation element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The EHT operation information field may include a channel width subfield, a channel center frequency segment 0 (Channel Center Frequency Segment 0, CCFS0) subfield, a channel center frequency segment 1 (CCFS1) subfield, and a perforated channel indication subfield. The channel width subfield indicates the EHT BSS (Basic Service Set) bandwidth, which is 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 320MHz. For a 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz BSS bandwidth, the CCFS0 subfield indicates the channel center frequency index of the 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz channel on which the EHT BSS operates. For a 160MHz BSS bandwidth, the CCFS0 subfield indicates the channel center frequency index of the 80MHz channel segment containing the primary channel; the CCFS1 subfield indicates the channel center frequency index of the 160MHz channel on which the EHT BSS operates. For a 320 MHz BSS bandwidth, the CCFS0 subfield indicates the channel center frequency index of the 160 MHz channel segment containing the primary channel; the CCFS1 subfield represents the channel center frequency index of the 320 MHz channel on which the EHT BSS operates.

[0100] The Puncture Channel Indication subfield indicates the channel puncturing mode, and the size of the Puncture Channel Indication subfield depends on the setting of the Channel Width subfield. If the Channel Width subfield is set to indicate a 20MHz or 40MHz EHT BSS bandwidth, the Puncture Channel Indication subfield is not present in the EHT Operation Information field. If the Channel Width subfield is set to indicate an 80MHz or 160MHz EHT BSS bandwidth, the Puncture Channel Indication subfield includes an 8-bit bitmap. The 8-bit bitmap indicates which 20MHz channel is punctured in the 80MHz or 160MHz BSS operating channel, where B0 applies to the lowest frequency 20MHz channel and B7 applies to the highest frequency 20MHz channel. For each bit in B0-B7, a value of 0 indicates that the corresponding 20MHz channel is punctured, otherwise a value of 1 is used. For an 80MHz EHT BSS bandwidth, each bit in B4-B7 is reserved or set to 0. If the Channel Width subfield is set to indicate a 320MHz EHT BSS bandwidth, the Puncture Channel Indication subfield includes a 16-bit bitmap. The 16-bit bitmap indicates which 20MHz channels are punctured in the 320MHz EHT BSS operating channel, where B0 applies to the lowest frequency 20MHz channel and B15 applies to the highest frequency 20MHz channel. For each bit in B0-B15, a value of 0 indicates that the corresponding 20MHz channel is punctured, otherwise a value of 1 is used.

[0101] Fig.26 An example of exchanging MU-RTS trigger frames and synchronous CTS frame responses on P80 in TXOP according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In this example, the MU-RTS trigger frame is transmitted in a non-HT repeated PPDU on a 484+242-pass MRU including P20 and S40, where P20 is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80. Further, in the user information field addressed to STA1, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; the first bit B0 and the remaining bits B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 0 and 64, respectively; and in the user information field addressed to STA2, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield is set to 0; B0 and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 0 and 67, respectively. In other words, the MU-RTS trigger frame requests STA1 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT PPDU on P20 (which is the fourth lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80), and requests STA2 to transmit a CTS frame response in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on P80. On the other hand, the EHT operation element recently received by STA2 indicates that the third lowest frequency 20MHz channel in P80 is punctured. After considering the RU allocation information in the MU-RTS trigger frame and the channel puncturing pattern in the EHT operation element, STA2 transmits a CTS frame response in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on the 484+242-channel MRU including P20 and S40. Therefore, when the transmission after the MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange occupies the 484+242-channel MRU including P20 and S40, TXOP over-protection can be avoided.

[0102] Further, the post-EHT WLAN may be a next generation WLAN following the EHT WLAN. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, HE STA, EHT STA, and post-EHT STA may coexist in a post-EHT BSS. The MU-RTS triggering / CTS frame exchange process may be used for TXOP protection in the post-EHT WLAN in a manner similar to that of the IEEE 802.11be EHT WLAN.

[0103] In summary, the above embodiments propose an access point (AP), a station (STA) and a wireless communication method, which can solve the problems in the prior art, improve the protection of transmission opportunities (TXOPs), and provide a MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process to protect TXOPs in an effective manner, achieve extremely high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide high reliability. The MU-RTS trigger / CTS frame exchange process can be effectively used for TXOP protection in IEEE 802.11be EHT WLAN. In the above embodiments, the AP transmits a MU-RTS trigger frame to multiple STAs, which indicates whether the CTS frame response is sent by each of the multiple STAs on a primary 80MHz channel (P80), a primary 160MHz channel (P160) or a 320MHz channel, wherein at least one 20MHz channel is punctured.

[0104] The commercial benefits of some embodiments are as follows: 1. Solve the problems in the prior art. 2. Improve transmission opportunity (TXOP) protection. 3. Provide MU-RTS triggering / CTS frame exchange process to protect TXOP in an effective manner. 4. Achieve extremely high throughput (EHT). 5. Provide good communication performance. 6. Provide high reliability. 7. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are used by chipset suppliers, communication system development suppliers, automobile manufacturers including cars, trains, trucks, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, helmets, etc., drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), smartphone manufacturers, communication equipment for public safety purposes, and augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) equipment manufacturers for games, conferences / seminars, and educational purposes. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of "techniques / processes" that can be adopted in communication specifications and / or communication standards such as IEEE specifications and / or standards for creating terminal products. Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose technical mechanisms.

[0105] Fig.24 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and / or software. Fig.24The system 700 is shown to include a radio frequency (RF) circuit 710, a baseband circuit 720, an application circuit 730, a memory / storage 740, a display 750, a camera 760, a sensor 770, and an input / output (I / O) interface 780, which are coupled to each other at least as shown. The application circuit 730 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of a general-purpose processor and a special-purpose processor, such as a graphics processor, an application processor. The processor may be coupled to the memory / storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on the system.

[0106] The baseband circuit 720 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include a baseband processor. The baseband circuit may handle various wireless control functions that can communicate with one or more wireless networks through RF circuits. The wireless control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, wireless frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the baseband circuit may provide one or more wireless technologies for communication compatibility. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and / or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). An embodiment in which the baseband circuit is configured to support wireless communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuit.

[0107] In various embodiments, the baseband circuit 720 may include circuits that operate with signals that are not strictly considered to be in the baseband frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit may include circuits that operate with signals having an intermediate frequency, which is between the baseband frequency and the radio frequency. The RF circuit 710 may communicate with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 710 may include circuits that operate with signals that are not strictly considered to be in the radio frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuit may include circuits that operate with signals having an intermediate frequency, which is between the baseband frequency and the radio frequency.

[0108] In various embodiments, the transmitter circuit, control circuit, or receiver circuit discussed above regarding the AP or STA may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of the RF circuit, baseband circuit, and / or application circuit. As used herein, "circuit" may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinatorial logic circuit, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the functions, is a part of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinatorial logic circuit, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the functions, or includes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinatorial logic circuit, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the functions. In some embodiments, the electronic device circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functions associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit, application circuit and / or memory / storage may be implemented together in a system on chip (System On Chip, SOC). Memory / storage 740 may be used to load and store data and / or instructions, for example, for a system. Memory / storage for one embodiment may include any suitable combination of volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)) and / or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory).

[0109] In various embodiments, the I / O interface 780 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the system and / or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the system. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an audio jack, and a power interface. In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and / or location information associated with the system. In some embodiments, the sensor may include, but is not limited to, a gyroscope sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may also be part of or interact with a baseband circuit and / or an RF circuit to communicate with components of a positioning network (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) satellite).

[0110] In various embodiments, display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, system 700 may be a mobile computing device, such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a smart phone, AR / VR glasses, etc. In various embodiments, the system may have more or fewer components, and / or different architectures. Where appropriate, the methods described herein may be implemented as a computer program. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium, such as a non-transitory storage medium.

[0111] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various units, algorithms, and steps described and disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented by using electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the function is run in hardware or in software depends on the application conditions and the design requirements of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different ways to implement the functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not exceed the scope of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that they can refer to the working process of the systems, devices, and units in the above-mentioned embodiments, because the working process of the above-mentioned systems, devices, and units is basically the same. For ease of description and simplification, these working processes will not be described in detail.

[0112] It is understood that the systems, devices and methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in other ways. The above embodiments are exemplary only. The division of each unit is based only on logical functions, and there are other divisions in the implementation. It is possible that multiple units or components are combined or integrated in another system. It is also possible that some features are omitted or skipped. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communication coupling shown or discussed is operated through some ports, devices or units that communicate indirectly or in the form of electrical, mechanical or other types. The units used as separated components for explanation are physically separated or not separated. The units used for display are or are not physical units, that is, located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. According to the purpose of the embodiment, some or all of the units are used. In addition, the various functional units in the various embodiments can be integrated in a processing unit, or can be physically independent, or integrated in a processing unit by two or more units.

[0113] If the software functional unit is implemented and used and sold as a product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium in a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical solution proposed in the present disclosure can be implemented basically or partially in the form of a software product. Alternatively, a part of the technical solution that is beneficial to the prior art can be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium, including multiple commands for a computing device (such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to run all or part of the steps disclosed in this embodiment. The storage medium includes a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other media capable of storing program code.

[0114] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements that can be made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: An access point AP transmits a multi-user ready-to-send MU-RTS trigger frame to multiple stations STA, wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear-to-send CTS frame response will be transmitted by each of the multiple STAs on a main 20MHz channel P20, a main 40MHz channel P40, a main 80MHz channel P80, a main 160MHz channel P160 or a 320MHz channel, at least one 20MHz channel is punctured in the P80, the P160 or the 320MHz channel, each user information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a subfield and a resource unit RU allocation subfield, and the subfield and the RU allocation subfield indicate RU allocation information, and the subfield includes a lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield is set to a first value, it indicates the P20, the P40, the P80 or the P160; when the lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield is set to a second value, it indicates the 320MHz channel.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 1, and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 69, to indicate the 320 MHz channel.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the High Efficiency HE / Extremely High Throughput EHT Format subfield of the User Information field is set to a second value, the RU Allocation subfield and the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segment subfield further indicate whether the CTS frame response is sent by the STA indicated by the AID12 subfield on the P80, the P160, or the 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 4, characterized in that: When at least one 20MHz channel is punctured, at least one 20MHz channel among the P80, the P160 or the 320MHz channel includes a 484+242-channel multi-resource unit MRU, the 484+242-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel in the P80, a 996+484-channel MRU, the 996+484-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel in the P160, a 996+484+242-channel MRU, the 996+484+242-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel in the P160 A 2x996+484-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel in the P160, the 2x996+484-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from any continuous 240MHz portion, a 3x996-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 80MHz channel in the 320MHz channel, or a 3x996+484-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel in the 320MHz channel.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The CTS frame response is received by the access point AP, and the CTS frame response depends on the RU allocation information indicated in the RU allocation subfield, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield of the corresponding user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame, and the channel puncturing mode indicated in the information element most recently received by the STA.

7. The wireless communication method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The information element indicating the channel puncturing mode is an EHT operation element, and the EHT operation element includes an EHT operation information field.

8. The wireless communication method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The EHT operation information field includes a channel width subfield, a channel center frequency segment 0 (CCFS0) subfield, a channel center frequency segment 1 (CCFS1) subfield, and a puncturing channel indication subfield.

9. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the User Information field of STA2, the Lower / Upper 160 MHz Segment subfield is set to 0, B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 0, and B7-B1 of the RU Allocation subfield are set to 67.

10. The wireless communication method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The EHT operation element received by the STA2 indicates that the 20 MHz channel of the third lowest frequency in the P80 is punctured; The method further comprises: The access point AP receives the CTS frame response from the STA2, where the CTS frame response is carried in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on a 484+242-way MRU, where the 484+242-way MRU includes the P20 and S40.

11. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The MU-RTS trigger frame includes a HE / EHT format subfield of a user information field, and the HE / EHT format subfield is used to indicate a HE / EHT subfield.

12. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: When the HE / EHT Format subfield of one User Information field is set to the second value, the RU Allocation subfield and the Lower / Upper 160 MHz Segment subfield are used together to instruct the STA how to send the CTS frame response.

13. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: A station among multiple stations STA receives a multi-user ready-to-send MU-RTS trigger frame from an access point AP, wherein the MU-RTS trigger frame indicates whether a clear-to-send CTS frame response will be transmitted by each of the multiple STAs on a main 20MHz channel P20, a main 40MHz channel P40, a main 80MHz channel P80, a main 160MHz channel P160 or a 320MHz channel, at least one 20MHz channel is punctured in the P80, the P160 or the 320MHz channel, each user information field of the MU-RTS trigger frame includes a subfield and a resource unit RU allocation subfield, and the subfield and the RU allocation subfield indicate RU allocation information, and the subfield includes a lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield.

14. The wireless communication method according to claim 13, characterized in that: When the lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield is set to a first value, it indicates the P20, the P40, the P80 or the P160; when the lower / upper 160MHz segment subfield is set to a second value, it indicates the 320MHz channel.

15. The wireless communication method according to claim 13, characterized in that: B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 1, and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 69, to indicate the 320 MHz channel.

16. The wireless communication method according to claim 13, characterized in that: When the High Efficiency HE / Extremely High Throughput EHT Format subfield of the User Information field is set to a second value, the RU Allocation subfield and the Lower / Upper 160MHz Segment subfield further indicate whether the CTS frame response is sent by the STA indicated by the AID12 subfield on the P80, the P160, or the 320MHz channel in which at least one 20MHz channel is punctured.

17. The wireless communication method according to claim 16, characterized in that: When at least one 20MHz channel is punctured, at least one 20MHz channel among the P80, the P160 or the 320MHz channel includes a 484+242-channel multi-resource unit MRU, the 484+242-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel in the P80, a 996+484-channel MRU, the 996+484-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel in the P160, a 996+484+242-channel MRU, the 996+484+242-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel in the P160 A 2x996+484-channel MRU generated by puncturing any non-primary 20MHz channel in the P160, the 2x996+484-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel from any continuous 240MHz portion, a 3x996-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 80MHz channel in the 320MHz channel, or a 3x996+484-channel MRU is generated by puncturing any non-primary 40MHz channel in the 320MHz channel.

18. The wireless communication method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The CTS frame response is received by the access point AP, and the CTS frame response depends on the RU allocation information indicated in the RU allocation subfield, the lower / upper 160MHz segmentation subfield of the corresponding user information field in the MU-RTS trigger frame, and the channel puncturing mode indicated in the information element most recently received by the STA.

19. The wireless communication method according to claim 18, characterized in that: The information element indicating the channel puncturing mode is an EHT operation element, and the EHT operation element includes an EHT operation information field.

20. The wireless communication method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The EHT operation information field includes a channel width subfield, a channel center frequency segment 0 (CCFS0) subfield, a channel center frequency segment 1 (CCFS1) subfield, and a puncturing channel indication subfield.

21. The wireless communication method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The lower / upper 160 MHz segment subfield in the user information field of the station is set to 0, B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 0, and B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield are set to 67.

22. The wireless communication method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The EHT operation element received by the station indicates that the third lowest frequency 20 MHz channel in the P80 is punctured; The method further comprises: The station sends the CTS frame response to the access point AP, where the CTS frame response is carried in a non-HT duplicate PPDU on a 484+242-pass MRU, where the 484+242-pass MRU includes the P20 and S40.

23. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 22, characterized in that: The MU-RTS trigger frame includes a HE / EHT format subfield of a user information field, and the HE / EHT format subfield is used to indicate a HE / EHT subfield.

24. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 22, characterized in that: When the HE / EHT Format subfield of one User Information field is set to the second value, the RU Allocation subfield and the Lower / Upper 160 MHz Segment subfield are used together to instruct the STA how to send the CTS frame response.

25. An access point AP, characterized in that: include: Memory; Transceiver; as well as a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; The processor is configured to execute the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A station STA, characterized in that: include: Memory; Transceiver; as well as a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; The processor is configured to execute the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 24.

27. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, characterized in that Instructions are stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

28. A chip, characterized in that: include: The processor is configured to call and run a computer program stored in the memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

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