WIFI multiband communication

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to WIFI multi-band communication. A method for wireless local area network (WLAN) communication by a first WLAN communication device is described. A first media access control (MAC) data unit is generated at a first WLAN communication device. A first MAC data unit is transmitted from a first WLAN communication device to a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth. A second MAC data unit is received at the first WLAN communication device from the second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap the first RF bandwidth. The second MAC data unit corresponds to an acknowledgement of the first MAC data unit from the second WLAN communication device.

Description

[0001] Description of the case

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent application with an application date of April 30, 2019, a Chinese national phase application number of 201980093978.8, and an invention name of “WIFI multi-band communication”.

[0003] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0004] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 791,519, filed on January 11, 2019, entitled “Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) Over Channel Aggregation,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0005] This application is related to U.S. patent application No. 16 / 162,113, filed on October 16, 2018, entitled “WiFi Channel Aggregation,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0006] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to data transmission and reception over multiple communication channels. Background Art

[0007] Wireless local area networks (WLANs) have developed rapidly over the past two decades, and the development of WLAN standards such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard family has increased single-user peak data throughput. For example, the IEEE 802.11b standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 11 megabits per second (Mbps), the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g standards specify a single-user peak throughput of 54 Mbps, the IEEE 802.11n standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 600 Mbps, and the IEEE 802.11ac standard specifies a single-user peak throughput in the gigabits per second (Gbps) range. The IEEE 802.11ax standard under development significantly improves throughput compared to the IEEE 802.11ac standard. Summary of the invention

[0008] In one embodiment, a method for wireless local area network (WLAN) communication by a first WLAN communication device includes generating a first media access control (MAC) data unit at the first WLAN communication device. The method also includes sending the first MAC data unit from the first WLAN communication device to a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth. The method also includes receiving a second MAC data unit from the second WLAN communication device at the first WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth, wherein the second MAC data unit corresponds to an acknowledgment of the first MAC data unit from the second WLAN communication device.

[0009] In another embodiment, a method for WLAN communication by a first WLAN communication device includes receiving, at the first WLAN communication device, a first media access control (MAC) data unit from a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth. The method also includes generating, at the first WLAN communication device, a second MAC data unit configured to acknowledge the first MAC data unit. The method also includes sending, by the first WLAN communication device, a second MAC data unit to the second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example wireless local area network (WLAN) according to one embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2A is a block diagram of an example physical layer (PHY) data unit according to one embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2B is a block diagram of an example preamble of a PHY data unit according to one embodiment.

[0013] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example system architecture configured for multi-channel communications according to one embodiment.

[0014] Figure 4A is a diagram of an example system architecture corresponding to a communication device configured for multi-channel operation according to one embodiment.

[0015] Figure 4B is a diagram of another example system architecture corresponding to a communication device configured for multi-channel operation according to another embodiment.

[0016] Figure 5is a diagram of an example signal transmission sequence over an aggregate communication channel according to one embodiment.

[0017] Figure 6 is a diagram of an example signal transmission sequence over an aggregated communication channel using frequency division duplexing, according to one embodiment.

[0018] Figure 7 is a diagram of another example signal transmission over an aggregated communication channel using frequency division duplexing according to another embodiment.

[0019] Fig. 8A is a diagram of an example channelization scheme corresponding to multiple channels according to one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 8B is a diagram of another example channelization scheme corresponding to multiple channels according to another embodiment.

[0021] Fig. 9 is a diagram of another example system architecture corresponding to a communication device configured for multi-channel operation according to another embodiment.

[0022] Fig.10 is a flow chart of an example method for wireless local area network (WLAN) communications according to one embodiment.

[0023] Fig.11 is a flow chart of another example method for WLAN communications according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now allows wireless local area networks (WLANs) to operate in multiple radio frequency (RF) bands, such as the 2.4 GHz band (approximately 2.4 to 2.5 GHz) and the 5 GHz band (approximately 5.170 to 5.835 GHz). Recently, the FCC proposed that WLANs may also operate in the 6 GHz band (5.925 to 7.125 GHz). The current IEEE 802.11 standard protocol only allows WLANs to operate in one RF band at a time. For example, the IEEE 802.11n standard protocol is only defined for operation in the 2.4 GHz band, while the IEEE 802.11ac standard protocol is only defined for operation in the 5 GHz band. The IEEE 802.11ax standard protocol, which is under development, will allow WLANs to operate in either the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band, but not in both the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band at the same time.

[0025] Future WLAN protocols currently under development may allow multi-band operation, where the WLAN may use spectrum in multiple RF bands simultaneously. For example, future WLAN protocols may allow the spectrum in a first RF band to be aggregated with the spectrum in a second RF band to form a composite communication channel, which may be used to send packets across the composite communication channel. As another example, future WLAN protocols may employ frequency division duplex (FDD) technology, in which a first communication channel in a first RF band is used for one type of communication (e.g., downlink data transmission or data communication) and a second communication channel in a second RF band is used for another type of communication (e.g., uplink data transmission or confirmation of data communication). In some cases, FDD technology provides duplex gain by simultaneously allowing traffic in two directions (e.g., downlink and uplink traffic, or forward and reverse traffic).

[0026] For illustration purposes only, the multi-channel communication techniques described below are discussed in the context of a wireless local area network (WLAN) that uses the same or similar protocols as defined by the 802.11 standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). However, in other embodiments, the multi-channel communication techniques are used in other types of wireless communication systems, such as a personal area network (PAN), a mobile communication network (such as a cellular network, a metropolitan area network (MAN), a satellite communication network, etc.

[0027] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of an example wireless local area network (WLAN) 110 according to one embodiment. WLAN 110 includes an access point (AP) 114, which includes a host processor 118 coupled to a network interface device 122. Network interface device 122 includes one or more media access control (MAC) processors 126 (sometimes referred to herein as "MAC processors 126" for simplicity) and one or more physical layer (PHY) processors 130 (sometimes referred to herein as "PHY processors 130" for simplicity). PHY processor 130 includes multiple transceivers 134, and transceivers 134 are coupled to multiple antennas 138. Although Figure 1 1 and 2. Three transceivers 134 and three antennas 138 are shown in FIG. 1 , but in other embodiments, AP 114 includes other suitable numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, etc.) of transceivers 134 and antennas 138. In some embodiments, AP 114 includes a greater number of antennas 138 than transceivers 134, and antenna switching techniques are utilized.

[0028] In one embodiment, the network interface device 122 includes multiple PHY processors 130 to facilitate multi-band communications, wherein respective PHY processors 130 correspond to respective RF bands. In another embodiment, the network interface device 122 includes a single PHY processor 130, wherein each transceiver 134 includes a respective RF radio corresponding to a respective RF band to facilitate multi-band communications.

[0029] The network interface device 122 is implemented using one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to operate as discussed below. For example, the MAC processor 126 may be implemented at least in part on a first IC, and the PHY processor 130 may be implemented at least in part on a second IC. As another example, at least a portion of the MAC processor 126 and at least a portion of the PHY processor 130 may be implemented on a single IC. For example, the network interface device 122 may be implemented using a system on a chip (SoC), wherein the SoC includes at least a portion of the MAC processor 126 and at least a portion of the PHY processor 130.

[0030] In one embodiment, host processor 118 includes a processor configured to execute machine-readable instructions stored in a memory device (not shown) such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc. In one embodiment, host processor 118 may be implemented at least in part on a first IC, and network device 122 may be implemented at least in part on a second IC. As another example, host processor 118, and at least a portion of network interface device 122 may be implemented on a single IC.

[0031] In various embodiments, the MAC processor 126 and / or the PHY processor 130 of the AP 114 are configured to generate data units and process received data units that conform to a WLAN communication protocol, such as a communication protocol conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard or other suitable wireless communication protocols. For example, the MAC processor 126 can be configured to implement MAC layer functions, including MAC layer functions of the WLAN communication protocol, and the PHY processor 130 can be configured to implement PHY functions, including PHY functions of the WLAN communication protocol. For example, the MAC processor 126 can be configured to generate MAC layer data units such as MAC service data units (MSDUs), MAC protocol data units (MPDUs), etc., and provide the MAC layer data units to the PHY processor 130. The PHY processor 130 can be configured to receive the MAC layer data units from the MAC processor 126 and encapsulate the MAC layer data units to generate PHY data units such as PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) for transmission via the antenna 138. Similarly, the PHY processor 130 may be configured to receive a PHY data unit received via the antenna 138 and extract a MAC layer data unit encapsulated within the PHY data unit. The PHY processor 130 may provide the extracted MAC layer data unit to the MAC processor 126, which processes the MAC layer data unit.

[0032] PHY data units are sometimes referred to herein as "packets," and MAC layer data units are sometimes referred to herein as "frames."

[0033] According to one embodiment, with respect to generating one or more radio frequency (RF) signals for transmission, the PHY processor 130 is configured to process (which may include modulation, filtering, etc.) data corresponding to the PPDU to generate one or more digital baseband signals, and convert the (multiple) digital baseband signals to one or more analog baseband signals. In addition, the PHY processor 130 is configured to up-convert the one or more analog baseband signals to one or more RF signals for transmission via one or more antennas 138.

[0034] With respect to receiving one or more RF signals, the PHY processor 130 is configured to down-convert the one or more RF signals into one or more analog baseband signals, and convert the one or more analog baseband signals into one or more digital baseband signals. The PHY processor 130 is also configured to process (which may include demodulation, filtering, etc.) the one or more digital baseband signals to generate a PPDU.

[0035] The PHY processor 130 includes an amplifier (e.g., a low noise amplifier (LNA), a power amplifier, etc.), a radio frequency (RF) down-converter, an RF up-converter, multiple filters, one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), one or more digital-to-analog converters (DACs), one or more discrete Fourier transform (DFT) calculators (e.g., a fast Fourier transform (FFT) calculator), one or more inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) calculators (e.g., an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) calculator), one or more modulators, one or more demodulators, etc.

[0036] The PHY processor 130 is configured to generate one or more RF signals that are provided to the one or more antennas 138. The PHY processor 130 is also configured to receive one or more RF signals from the one or more antennas 138.

[0037] According to some embodiments, MAC processor 126 is configured to control PHY processor 130 to generate one or more RF signals by, for example, providing one or more MAC layer data units (e.g., MPDUs) to PHY processor 130 and optionally providing one or more control signals to PHY processor 130. In one embodiment, MAC processor 126 includes a processor configured to execute machine-readable instructions stored in a memory device (not shown) such as RAM, read-only ROM, flash memory, etc. In another embodiment, MAC processor 126 includes a hardware state machine.

[0038] WLAN 110 includes a plurality of client stations 154. Figure 1 1 , three client stations 154 are shown, but in various embodiments, WLAN 110 includes other suitable numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, etc.) of client stations 154. Client station 154-1 includes a host processor 158 coupled to a network interface device 162. Network interface device 162 includes one or more MAC processors 166 (sometimes referred to herein as "MAC processor 166" for brevity) and one or more PHY processors 170 (sometimes referred to herein as "PHY processor 170" for brevity). PHY processor 170 includes multiple transceivers 174, and transceivers 174 are coupled to multiple antennas 178. Although Figure 1 1 and 2, three transceivers 174 and three antennas 178 are shown, but in other embodiments, the client station 154-1 includes other suitable numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, etc.) of transceivers 174 and antennas 178. In some embodiments, the client station 154-1 includes a greater number of antennas 178 than transceivers 174, and antenna switching techniques are utilized.

[0039] The network interface device 162 is implemented using one or more ICs configured to operate as discussed below. For example, the MAC processor 166 may be implemented on at least a first IC, and the PHY processor 170 may be implemented on at least a second IC. As another example, at least a portion of the MAC processor 166 and at least a portion of the PHY processor 170 may be implemented on a single IC. For example, the network interface device 162 may be implemented using a SoC, wherein the SoC includes at least a portion of the MAC processor 166 and at least a portion of the PHY processor 170.

[0040] In one embodiment, host processor 158 comprises a processor configured to execute machine-readable instructions stored in a memory device (not shown) such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, etc. In one embodiment, host processor 158 may be implemented at least in part on a first IC, and network device 162 may be implemented at least in part on a second IC. As another example, at least portions of host processor 158 and network interface device 162 may be implemented on a single IC.

[0041] In various embodiments, the MAC processor 166 and the PHY processor 170 of the client device 154-1 are configured to generate data units and process received data units that conform to a WLAN communication protocol or other suitable communication protocol. For example, the MAC processor 166 may be configured to implement MAC layer functions, including MAC layer functions of a WLAN communication protocol, and the PHY processor 170 may be configured to implement PHY functions, including PHY functions of a WLAN communication protocol. The MAC processor 166 may be configured to generate MAC layer data units such as MSDUs, MPDUs, etc., and provide the MAC layer data units to the PHY processor 170. The PHY processor 170 may be configured to receive MAC layer data units from the MAC processor 166 and encapsulate the MAC layer data units to generate PHY data units such as PPDUs for transmission via the antenna 178. Similarly, the PHY processor 170 may be configured to receive PHY data units received via the antenna 178 and extract the MAC layer data units encapsulated within the PHY data units. The PHY processor 170 may provide the extracted MAC layer data unit to the MAC processor 166, and the MAC processor 166 processes the MAC layer data unit.

[0042] According to one embodiment, the PHY processor 170 is configured to down-convert one or more RF signals received via one or more antennas 178 into one or more baseband analog signals, and convert (multiple) analog baseband signals into one or more digital baseband signals. The PHY processor 170 is also configured to process one or more digital baseband signals to demodulate one or more digital baseband signals and generate a PPDU. The PHY processor 170 includes an amplifier (e.g., LNA, power amplifier, etc.), an RF down-converter, an RF up-converter, multiple filters, one or more ADCs, one or more DACs, one or more DFT calculators (e.g., FFT calculators), one or more IDFT calculators (e.g., IFFT calculators), one or more modulators, one or more demodulators, etc.

[0043] The PHY processor 170 is configured to generate one or more RF signals that are provided to the one or more antennas 178. The PHY processor 170 is also configured to receive one or more RF signals from the one or more antennas 178.

[0044] According to some embodiments, MAC processor 166 is configured to control PHY processor 170 to generate one or more RF signals by, for example, providing one or more MAC layer data units (e.g., MPDUs) to PHY processor 170 and optionally providing one or more control signals to PHY processor 170. In one embodiment, MAC processor 166 comprises a processor configured to execute machine-readable instructions stored in a memory device (not shown) such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, etc. In one embodiment, MAC processor 166 comprises a hardware state machine.

[0045] In one embodiment, each of client stations 154-2 and 154-3 has the same or similar structure as client station 154-1. Each of client stations 154-2 and 154-3 has the same or different number of transceivers and antennas. For example, according to one embodiment, client station 154-2 and / or client station 154-3 each has only two transceivers and two antennas (not shown).

[0046] In various embodiments, AP 114 is configured to generate MPDU 180 and transmit the MPDU 180 to the AP 114 over a first WLAN communication channel (eg, Figure 6 608) to the client station 154-1, and is also configured to transmit the MPDU 180 to the client station 154-1 in a second WLAN communication channel (e.g., Figure 6181) from client station 154-1 in a channel 616 of the first WLAN communication channel. In one embodiment, the first WLAN communication channel has a first RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel has a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth. In other embodiments, the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated by a frequency gap and are non-contiguous. In at least some scenarios, communication in WLAN 110 is improved by receiving the acknowledgment 181 in different communication channels, which provides improved timing efficiency ("duplex gain"). For example, using the second communication channel frees up the first communication channel for subsequent transmission thereon without requiring a waiting period (e.g., a short interframe space) between the end of the MPDU 180 and the beginning of the acknowledgment 181.

[0047] Figure 2A is a diagram of an example PPDU 200 according to one embodiment, the network interface device 122 ( Figure 1 ) is configured to generate and send the PPDU 200 to one or more client stations 154 (eg, client station 154-1). The network interface device 162 ( Figure 1 ) may also be configured to send data units that are the same or similar to PPDU 200 to AP 114. In one embodiment, PPDU occupies 20 MHz bandwidth or other suitable bandwidth. For example, in other embodiments, data units similar to PPDU 200 occupy other suitable bandwidths, such as 40 MHz, 60 MHz, 80 MHz, 100 MHz, 120 MHz, 140 MHz, 160 MHz, 180 MHz, 200 MHz, etc.

[0048] PPDU 200 includes PHY preamble 204 and PHY data portion 208. In at least some embodiments, PHY preamble 204 includes at least one of legacy portion 212 and non-legacy portion 216. In one embodiment, legacy portion 212 is configured to be processed by legacy communication devices (i.e., communication devices operating according to a legacy communication protocol) in WLAN 110, so that the legacy communication devices can detect PPDU 200 and obtain PHY information corresponding to PPDU 200, such as the duration of PPDU 200.

[0049] Figure 2B2 is a diagram of an example PHY preamble 220. In one embodiment, the PHY preamble 220 corresponds to the PHY preamble 204. In one embodiment, the PHY preamble 220 is included in the legacy portion 212. In another embodiment, the PHY preamble 220 is included in the non-legacy portion 216. The PHY preamble 220 includes one or more short training fields (STFs) 224, one or more long training fields (LTFs) 228, and one or more signal fields (SIGs) 232. In one embodiment, the STFs 224 and the LTFs 228 are used for packet detection, automatic gain control (AGC), frequency offset estimation, channel estimation, etc. In one embodiment, the number of LTFs in the LTFs 228 corresponds to the number of spatial / space-time streams used for transmission of the PPDU 200. In one embodiment, the SIG 232 is used to mark PHY communication parameters corresponding to the PPDU 200 (e.g., modulation and coding scheme (MCS), number of spatial streams, frequency bandwidth, etc.).

[0050] In some embodiments, the PHY preamble 220 omits one or more of the fields 224-232. In some embodiments, the PHY preamble 220 includes Figure 2B One or more additional fields not shown in the example. In some embodiments, the order of fields 224-232 is similar to Figure 2B In one embodiment, the PPDU 200 is generated and transmitted as a sequence of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. In one embodiment, each of the STF 224, LTF 228, SIG 232, and data portion 208 includes one or more OFDM symbols.

[0051] In one embodiment, the PPDU 200 is a multi-user (MU) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit in which independent data streams are transmitted to multiple client stations 154 using a set of corresponding OFDM tones assigned to the client stations 154. For example, in one embodiment, available OFDM tones (e.g., OFDM tones not used as DC tones and / or guard tones) are partitioned into multiple resource units (RUs), and each of the multiple RUs is assigned data to one or more client stations 154. In one embodiment, the independent data streams in the corresponding assigned RUs are further transmitted using corresponding spatial streams assigned to the client stations 154 using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. In one embodiment, the PPDU 200 is a MU-MIMO PHY data unit in which independent data streams are transmitted to multiple client stations 154 using corresponding spatial streams assigned to the client stations 154.

[0052] In one embodiment, the operating frequency band of the communication devices in WLAN 110 is divided into multiple smaller component channels. In one embodiment, the operating frequency band is divided into component channels, each component channel corresponds to a width of 20 MHz, or other suitable frequency bandwidth. Multiple component channels can be cascaded to form a wider channel. For example, a 40 MHz channel can be formed by combining two 20 MHz component channels, an 80 MHz channel can be formed by combining two 40 MHz channels, and a 160 MHz channel can be formed by combining two 80 MHz channels. In one embodiment, the operating frequency band is divided into component channels with a width different from 20 MHz.

[0053] In one embodiment, the PPDU 200 has a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz and is transmitted in a 20 MHz channel. In other embodiments, the PPDU 200 may have a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 100 MHz, 120 MHz, etc., and may be transmitted in channels of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 100 MHz, 120 MHz, etc., respectively. In some such embodiments, in one embodiment, at least a portion of the PPDU 200 (e.g., at least a legacy portion of the PHY preamble 204, or the entirety of the PHY preamble 204) is generated by generating a field corresponding to a 20 MHz component channel bandwidth and repeating the field on a number of 20 MHz component channels corresponding to a transmission channel. For example, in an embodiment where the PPDU 200 occupies an 80 MHz channel, at least the legacy portion 212 corresponding to the 20 MHz component channel bandwidth is replicated in each of the four 20 MHz component channels that comprise the 80 MHz channel.

[0054] In one embodiment, one or more communication devices (e.g., AP 114, client station 154, etc.) in WLAN 110 are configured for various multi-channel operations. In one embodiment, multi-channel operation includes multi-band communication, that is, operating according to a communication protocol that allows concurrent operation of a single wireless network across multiple RF bands and includes hardware configured to provide concurrent communication on multiple RF bands. Such communication devices are referred to herein as "multi-band communication devices" or frequency division duplex (FDD) communication devices. In one embodiment, at least one client station 154 (e.g., client station 154-3) may include hardware, or may operate according to a communication protocol (e.g., a traditional communication protocol) that is not configured for multi-band communication (i.e., the protocol only allows the wireless network to operate in a single RF band at a given time), and can only operate in one RF band (at a given time) of the multiple RF bands used by the multi-band device. Such communication devices are referred to herein as "single-band communication devices".

[0055] In one embodiment, one or more communication devices (e.g., AP 114, client station 154, etc.) in WLAN 110 are configured for various multi-channel operations. In one embodiment, the multi-channel operation corresponds to asynchronous dual-band concurrent (DBC) operation on two or more communication channels. For example, in one embodiment, AP 114 is configured to send a first signal in a first communication channel and simultaneously send a second signal on a second communication channel. In one embodiment, AP 114 is configured to send a first signal in a first communication channel and simultaneously receive a second signal on a second communication channel. In one embodiment, AP 114 is configured to receive a first signal in a first communication channel and simultaneously receive a second signal on a second communication channel. In any of the above situations corresponding to the DBC operation, the transmission / reception of the first signal and the second signal may be asynchronous. For example, in one embodiment, one or both of the corresponding start time and end time of the first signal and the second signal may be different.

[0056] In various embodiments, multiple different frequency bands within the RF spectrum are used for signal transmission within the WLAN 110. In one embodiment, different communication devices (i.e., the AP 114 and the client station 154) may be configured for operation in different frequency bands (e.g., radio frequency bandwidths). In one embodiment, at least some of the communication devices (e.g., the AP 114 and the client station 154) in the WLAN 110 may be configured for operation on multiple different frequency bands. In one embodiment, the first communication channel is separated from the second communication channel in frequency, i.e., there is a frequency gap between the first communication channel and the second communication channel (in other words, the first communication channel is not continuous with the second communication channel). In one embodiment, the first communication channel and the second communication channel do not overlap with each other.

[0057] Exemplary frequency bands include a first frequency band corresponding to a frequency range of approximately 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz ("2 GHz band"), and a second frequency band corresponding to a frequency range of approximately 5 GHz-5.9 GHz of the RF spectrum ("5 GHz band"). In one embodiment, one or more communication devices within the WLAN may also be configured for operation in a third frequency band within the range of 6 GHz-7 GHz ("6 GHz band"). As described above, each of the frequency bands includes a plurality of component channels that may be combined within the respective frequency bands to generate a channel of wider bandwidth. In embodiments corresponding to multi-channel operation on a first communication channel and a second communication channel, the first communication channel and the second communication channel may be in separate frequency bands, or in the same frequency band.

[0058] In one embodiment, the first communication channel and the second communication channel have different frequency bandwidths (eg, 80 MHz and 20 MHz, 80 MHz and 40 MHz, 160 MHz and 20 MHz or other suitable bandwidths). In one embodiment, the first communication channel and the second communication channel are composed of correspondingly different numbers of component channels.

[0059] Figure 3 1 is a diagram of a system architecture corresponding to a communication device 300 (e.g., a multi-band communication device) configured for DBC operation. In one embodiment, the communication device 300 corresponds to the AP 114. In another embodiment, the communication device 300 corresponds to the client station 154-1. In one embodiment, the communication device 300 is configured for operation on two or more RF bands. For example, in one embodiment, the communication device 300 is configured to communicate via a first WLAN communication channel having a first RF bandwidth and via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth. In some embodiments, the communication device 300 includes a packet forwarding processor 304 configured to forward packets among two RF bands and another network connection (e.g., a wired connection or a wide area network connection, not shown). The communication device 300 also includes a first MAC processor 308 (MAC-1), a second MAC processor 312 (MAC-2), a first PHY processor 316, and a second PHY processor 320. The first MAC processor 308 is coupled to the first PHY processor 316, and the second MAC processor 312 is coupled to the second PHY processor 320. The first MAC processor 308 exchanges frames with the first PHY processor 316 , and the second MAC processor 312 exchanges frames with the second PHY processor 320 .

[0060] In one embodiment, the first MAC processor 308 and the second MAC processor 312 correspond to Figure 1 In another embodiment, the first MAC processor 308 and the second MAC processor 312 correspond to Figure 1 In one embodiment, the first PHY processor 316 and the second PHY processor 320 correspond to Figure 1 In another embodiment, the first PHY processor 316 and the second PHY processor 320 correspond to Figure 1 PHY processor 170.

[0061] The first PHY processor 316 includes a first baseband signal processor 324 (Baseband-1) coupled to a first RF radio 328 (Radio-1). The second PHY processor 320 includes a second baseband signal processor 332 (Baseband-2) coupled to a second RF radio 336 (Radio-2). In one embodiment, the RF radio 328 and the RF radio 336 correspond to Figure 1 In another embodiment, RF radio 328 and RF radio 336 correspond to Figure 1 transceiver 174. In some embodiments, RF radio 328 is configured to operate on a first RF band, and RF radio 336 is configured to operate on a second RF band. In one embodiment, the first RF band is different from the second RF band, for example, the first RF band does not overlap with the second RF band. In other embodiments, the first RF band is separated from the second RF band by a frequency gap of, for example, 10 MHz, 20 MHz, 500 MHz, or other suitable frequency gaps. In one embodiment, the frequency gap includes one or more communication channels that are not used by the communication device 300 but are used by other communication devices (e.g., other WLAN access points, WLAN client stations, or other wireless communication devices (not shown)). In another embodiment, both RF radio 328 and RF radio 336 are configured to operate on the same RF band.

[0062] MAC-1 308 is configured to generate a frame and provide the frame to Baseband-1 324. Baseband-1 324 is configured to receive the frame from MAC-1 308, generate a baseband signal corresponding to the PPDU. Radio-1 328 up-converts the baseband signal and generates an RF signal corresponding to the PPDU for transmission on a first communication channel via one or more antennas (not shown). Similarly, Radio-1 328 is configured to receive an RF signal corresponding to the PPDU received on the first communication channel via one or more antennas, and generate a baseband signal corresponding to the received PPDU. Baseband-1 324 decodes and decapsulates the PPDU to generate a frame and provides the frame to MAC-1 308. MAC-1 308 processes the frame.

[0063] The operations of MAC-2 312, Baseband-2 332, and Radio-2 336 correspond to the operations of MAC-1 308, Baseband-1 324, and Radio-1 328 as described above, except that MAC-2 312, Baseband-2 332, and Radio-2 336 operate in the second communication channel. For example, MAC-2 312, Baseband-2 332, and Radio-2 336 generate / transmit PPDUs, and receive / process PPDUs transmitted / received on the second communication channel.

[0064] In an embodiment corresponding to DBC operation, MAC-1 308, Baseband-1 324, MAC-2 312, and Baseband-2 332 are configured for asynchronous operation in the first communication channel and the second communication channel. For example, according to one embodiment, transmission reception in the first communication channel is not synchronized or coordinated with transmission / reception in the second communication channel. For example, according to one embodiment, MAC-1 308 and MAC-2 312 do not coordinate media access control functions, and Baseband-1 324 and Baseband-2 332 do not coordinate transmission timing.

[0065] In one embodiment, forwarding processor 304 is omitted and MAC-1 308 and MAC-2 312 are coupled to another suitable processor (e.g., host processor 118 ( Figure 1 )). For example, in one embodiment, the processor performs one or more operations corresponding to Layer 3 and above, as characterized in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.

[0066] although Figure 3 Only two MAC processors and two PHY processors are shown in the figure, but in various embodiments, the communication device 300 has three, four or more MAC processors and PHY processors configured to communicate on three, four or more corresponding communication channels. In one embodiment, for example, the communication device 300 includes: i) a MAC processor 308 and a PHY processor 316 configured to operate in a 2.4 GHz band, ii) a MAC processor 312 and a PHY processor 320 configured to operate in a 5 GHz band, and iii) a MAC processor (not shown) and a PHY processor (not shown) configured to operate in a 6 GHz band (or other suitable bands).

[0067] Figure 4A4 is a diagram of an example system architecture corresponding to a communication device 400 (e.g., a multi-band communication device) configured for multi-channel operation according to one embodiment. For example, in one embodiment, the communication device 400 is configured for synchronous or asynchronous transmission / reception on an aggregate communication channel. In one embodiment, the communication device 400 corresponds to the AP 114. In another embodiment, the communication device 400 corresponds to the client station 154-1.

[0068] In one embodiment, the communication device 400 is configured for operation on two or more communication channels and includes a forwarding processor 404. The communication device 400 also includes a single MAC processor 408, a first PHY processor 416, and a second PHY processor 420. The single MAC processor 408 is coupled to the first PHY processor 416 and the second PHY processor 420. The single MAC processor 408 exchanges frames with the first PHY processor 416 and the second PHY processor 420.

[0069] In one embodiment, a single MAC processor 408 corresponds to Figure 1 MAC processor 126. In another embodiment, a single MAC processor 408 corresponds to Figure 1 In one embodiment, the first PHY processor 416 and the second PHY processor 420 correspond to Figure 1 In another embodiment, the first PHY processor 416 and the second PHY processor 420 correspond to Figure 1 PHY processor 170.

[0070] The first PHY processor 416 includes a first baseband signal processor 424 (Baseband-1) coupled to a first RF radio 428 (Radio-1). The second PHY processor 420 includes a second baseband signal processor 432 (Baseband-2) coupled to a second RF radio 436 (Radio-2). In one embodiment, the RF radios 428 and 436 correspond to Figure 1 The transceiver 134. In one embodiment, the RF radio 428 is configured to operate on a first RF band, and the RF radio 436 is configured to operate on a second RF band. In another embodiment, both the RF radio 428 and the RF radio 436 are configured to operate on the same RF band.

[0071] Despite Figure 4AIn the embodiment of the present invention, only two PHY processors 416 and 420 are shown, but in another embodiment, the communication device 400 includes one or more additional PHY processors (not shown), for example, a third PHY processor (not shown) configured to operate at another RF band different from the first RF band and the second RF band. In one embodiment, for example, the first PHY processor, the second PHY processor, and the third PHY processor are configured to operate at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, respectively. In other embodiments, other suitable frequency bands are used (e.g., 60 GHz, "sub-band 1 GHz" or 900 MHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, etc.).

[0072] In one embodiment, the MAC processor 408 generates data corresponding to a MAC layer data unit (e.g., a frame) and parses it into a plurality of data streams corresponding to corresponding communication channels. The MAC processor 408 provides the parsed data streams to Baseband-1 424 and Baseband-2 432. Baseband-1 424 and Baseband-2 432 are configured to receive the corresponding data streams from the MAC processor 408, and encapsulate and encode the corresponding data streams to generate corresponding baseband signals corresponding to the PPDU. In one embodiment, the corresponding baseband signals have different bandwidths. Baseband-1 424 and Baseband-2 432 provide corresponding baseband signals to Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436. Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436 up-convert the corresponding baseband signals to generate corresponding RF signals for transmission via a first communication channel and a second communication channel, respectively. Radio-1 428 sends a first RF signal via the first communication channel, and Radio-2 436 sends a second RF signal via the second communication channel.

[0073] In some embodiments, the communication device 400 further includes a synchronization control circuit device 440. The synchronization control circuit device 440 is configured to ensure that the corresponding transmission signals on the first communication channel and the second communication channel are synchronized. The synchronization control circuit device 440 is coupled to the Baseband-1 424 and the Baseband-2 432 to ensure that the corresponding baseband signals are synchronized in time. In some embodiments, the synchronization control circuit device 440 ensures that some transmission signals are synchronized while other transmission signals are not synchronized.

[0074] Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436 are also configured to receive respective RF signals via the first communication channel and the second communication channel, respectively. Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436 generate respective baseband signals corresponding to the respective received signals. In one embodiment, the generated respective baseband signals have different bandwidths. The generated respective baseband signals are provided to respective baseband signal processors Baseband-1 424 and Baseband-2 432. Baseband-1 424 and Baseband-2 432 generate respective data streams provided to MAC processor 408. MAC processor 408 processes the respective data streams. In one embodiment, MAC processor 408 de-parses the data streams received from Baseband-1 424 and Baseband-2 432 into a single information bit stream.

[0075] In one embodiment, forwarding processor 404 is omitted and MAC processor 408 is coupled to another suitable processor (e.g., host processor 118 ( Figure 1 )). For example, in one embodiment, another processor performs one or more operations corresponding to layers 3 and above as characterized above in the OSI model.

[0076] Figure 4B 4 is a diagram of an example system architecture corresponding to a communication device 450 (e.g., a multi-band communication device) configured for multi-channel operation according to another embodiment. For example, in one embodiment, the communication device 450 is configured for synchronous or asynchronous transmission / reception on an aggregate communication channel. In one embodiment, the communication device 450 corresponds to the AP 114. In another embodiment, the communication device 450 corresponds to the client station 154-1. The communication device 450 is similar to Figure 4A The communication device 400 is shown in the figure, and like numbered elements are not discussed in detail for the sake of brevity.

[0077] The communication device 450 includes a single MAC processor 458 coupled to a PHY processor 466. The single MAC processor 408 exchanges frames with the PHY processor 466. In one embodiment, the single MAC processor 458 corresponds to Figure 1 MAC processor 126. In another embodiment, a single MAC processor 458 corresponds to Figure 1 MAC processor 166. In one embodiment, PHY processor 466 corresponds to Figure 1 In another embodiment, the PHY processor 466 corresponds to Figure 1The PHY processor 466 includes a single baseband signal processor 474. The single baseband signal processor 474 is coupled to Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436.

[0078] In one embodiment, the MAC processor 458 generates data corresponding to a MAC layer data unit (e.g., a frame) and provides the frame to a baseband signal processor 474. The baseband signal processor 474 is configured to receive a frame from the MAC processor 458 and parse the data corresponding to the frame into a plurality of bit streams. The baseband signal processor 474 is also configured to encapsulate and encode the corresponding bit stream to generate a corresponding baseband signal corresponding to the PPDU. In one embodiment, the corresponding baseband signals have different bandwidths. The baseband signal processor 474 provides the corresponding baseband signal to Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436. Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436 up-convert the corresponding baseband signal to generate a corresponding RF signal for transmission via a first communication channel and a second communication channel, respectively. Radio-1 428 sends a first RF signal via the first communication channel, and Radio-2 436 sends a second RF signal via the second communication channel.

[0079] In some embodiments, the baseband signal processor 474 is configured to ensure that the corresponding transmission signals on the first communication channel and the second communication channel are synchronized. For example, the baseband signal processor 474 is configured to generate the corresponding baseband signals so that the corresponding baseband signals are synchronized in time.

[0080] Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436 are also configured to receive corresponding RF signals via the first communication channel and the second communication channel, respectively. Radio-1 428 and Radio-2 436 generate corresponding baseband signals corresponding to the corresponding received signals. In one embodiment, the generated corresponding baseband signals have different bandwidths. The generated corresponding baseband signals are provided to the baseband signal processor 474. The baseband signal processor 474 generates a corresponding bit stream and reversely parses the bit stream into a data stream corresponding to the frame. The baseband signal processor 474 provides the frame to the MAC processor 458. The MAC processor 458 processes the frame.

[0081] Despite Figure 4BIn the embodiment of the present invention, only two RF radios 428 and 436 are shown, but in another embodiment, the communication device 400 includes one or more additional RF radios (not shown), for example, a third RF radio (not shown) configured to operate at another RF band different from the first RF band and the second RF band. In one embodiment, for example, the first RF radio, the second RF radio, and the third RF radio are configured to operate at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, respectively. In other embodiments, other suitable frequency bands are used (e.g., 60 GHz, "sub-band 1 GHz" or 900 MHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, etc.).

[0082] Figure 5 is a diagram of an example synchronous transmission sequence 500 on an aggregate communication channel according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the transmission sequence 500 is performed by the network interface device 122 ( Figure 1 ) is generated and sent to one or more client stations 154 (e.g., client station 154-1). In one embodiment, the network interface device 122 that generates the transmission sequence 500 has a communication device 400 ( Figure 4A In another embodiment, the network interface device 122 generating the transmission sequence 500 has a communication device 450 ( Figure 4B In another embodiment, the transmission sequence 500 is composed of the network interface device 162 ( Figure 1 ) is generated and sent to AP 114. In one embodiment, the network interface device 162 that generates the transmission sequence 500 has a communication device 400 ( Figure 4A In another embodiment, the network interface device 162 generating the transmission sequence 500 has a communication device 450 ( Figure 4B ) structure.

[0083] In one embodiment, the transmission sequence 500 corresponds to a single user (SU) transmission generated and sent to a single communication device. In one embodiment, the transmission sequence 500 corresponds to a multi-user (MU) transmission including data for multiple communication devices (e.g., client stations 154). For example, in one embodiment, the MU transmission sequence 500 is an OFDMA transmission. In another embodiment, the MU transmission sequence 500 is a MU-MIMO transmission.

[0084] exist Figure 5In the illustrated embodiment, the transmission sequence 500 includes a downlink transmission 502 and an uplink transmission 503. In another embodiment, the directions of transmissions 502 and 503 are opposite, so that transmission 502 is an uplink transmission and transmission 503 is a downlink transmission. Downlink transmission 502 includes a first RF signal 504 in a first communication channel 508 and a second RF signal 512 in a second communication channel 516. The first RF signal 504 includes a PHY preamble 420 and a PHY data portion 424. The second RF signal 512 includes a PHY preamble 528, a data portion 532, and optional padding 536. Uplink transmission 503 includes a third RF signal 506 in the first communication channel 508 and a fourth RF signal 514 in the second communication channel 516. The third RF signal 506 includes a PHY preamble 540 and a PHY data portion 544. The second RF signal 512 includes a PHY preamble 548 and a data portion 552. In one embodiment, the first RF signal 504 and the second RF signal 512 include corresponding downlink MPDUs transmitted to the client station 154, while the third RF signal 506 and the fourth RF signal 514 correspond to acknowledgments (e.g., the corresponding PHY data portions include ACK frames, block ACK frames, or other suitable acknowledgments) of the downlink MPDUs transmitted by the client station 154. In one embodiment, the client station 154 transmits the third RF signal 506 and the fourth RF signal 514 after a short interframe space (SIFS), e.g., to allow appropriate time for the client station 154 to process and generate the third RF signal 506 and the fourth RF signal 514.

[0085] In one embodiment, the transmission of the first RF signal 504 and the second RF signal 512 are synchronized so that they are transmitted at the same time t l Start and at the same time t 3 In one embodiment, transmission sequence 500 is further synchronized such that PHY preamble 520 and PHY preamble 528 have the same duration. In embodiments where PHY data portion 532 has a shorter duration than PHY data portion 524, PHY data portion 532 is appended with padding 536 such that transmission of signal 512 is performed at t 3 Finish.

[0086] In one embodiment, PHY preamble 520 and PHY preamble 528 are formatted in a manner similar to PHY preamble 204 of FIG. 2. In one embodiment, at least a portion of PHY preamble 520 and at least a portion of PHY preamble 528 have the same structure and / or include the same information. In one embodiment, at least a portion of PHY preamble 520 and at least a portion of PHY preamble 528 are identical.

[0087] In various embodiments, the first communication channel 508 and the second communication channel 516 are in different RF bands or are juxtaposed in the same RF band. In one embodiment, the (multiple) RF bands correspond to the 2 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band or other suitable bands, as described above. The first communication channel 508 and the second communication channel 516 can each be composed of one or more component channels in the component channels. In one embodiment, the frequency bandwidth of the first communication channel 508 (i.e., the frequency bandwidth of the first RF signal 504 and the third RF signal 506) is different from the frequency bandwidth of the second communication channel 516 (i.e., the frequency bandwidth of the second RF signal 512 and the fourth RF signal 514). In various embodiments, for example, the corresponding RF bandwidths of the first communication channel 508 and the second communication channel 516 are 80 MHz and 20 MHz, 160 MHz and 20 MHz, 320 MHz and 40 MHz, or other suitable bandwidths. In another embodiment, the RF bandwidth of the first communication channel 508 is the same as the RF bandwidth of the second communication channel 516.

[0088] In one embodiment, the first communication channel 508 and the second communication channel 516 do not overlap. In another embodiment, the first communication channel 508 and the second communication channel 516 are separated in frequency, for example, the channels are non-contiguous. For example, there is a frequency gap Δf between the first communication channel 508 and the second communication channel 516. In various embodiments, the gap Δf is at least 500 kHz, at least 1 MHz, at least 5 MHz, at least 20 MHz, etc. In some embodiments, the gap Δf is 320 MHz, 500 MHz, 1 GHz, or more, for example, where the first communication channel 508 is in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and the second communication channel 516 is in the 5 GHz frequency band.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first RF signal 504 is transmitted via a first number of spatial or space-time streams (hereinafter referred to as "spatial streams" for brevity), and the second RF signal 512 is transmitted via a second number of spatial streams different from the first number of spatial streams. In one such embodiment, even when the first RF signal 504 is transmitted via the first number of spatial streams and the second RF signal 512 is transmitted via the second number of spatial streams different from the first number of spatial streams, the PHY preamble 520 and the PHY preamble 528 include the same number of LTFs. In one embodiment, the same number of LTFs corresponds to the one of the first signal 404 and the second signal 412 having a greater number of spatial streams. In other embodiments, the first RF signal 504 and the second RF signal 512 are transmitted via the same number of spatial streams.

[0090] In one embodiment, at least PHY data portion 524 and at least PHY data portion 532 use different coding schemes and / or modulation schemes. As an example, in one embodiment, PHY data portion 524 is generated using a first MCS, while PHY data portion 532 is generated using a different second MCS. In other embodiments, PHY data portion 524 and PHY data portion 532 are generated using the same MCS.

[0091] In one embodiment, transmission sequence 500 corresponds to a single PPDU, wherein a first frequency portion of the single PPDU is transmitted via a first channel 508 and a second frequency portion of the single PPDU is transmitted via a second channel 516. In another embodiment, first RF signal 504 corresponds to a first PPDU and second RF signal 512 corresponds to a second PPDU. In one embodiment, each of PHY preambles 520 and 528, and PHY data portions 524 and 532 consist of one or more OFDM symbols.

[0092] In various embodiments, the communication device 400 ( Figure 4A ) is configured to generate at least a portion of the transmission sequence 500 and to receive at least a portion of the transmission sequence 500. In one embodiment, for example, the communication device 400 synchronously transmits the RF signals 504 and 512 and receives the RF signals 506 and 514. In another embodiment, the communication device 400 receives the RF signals 504 and 512 and synchronously transmits the RF signals 506 and 514.

[0093] In another embodiment, the communication device 450 ( Figure 4B ) is configured to generate at least a portion of the transmission sequence 500 and to receive at least a portion of the transmission sequence 500. In one embodiment, for example, the communication device 450 synchronously transmits the RF signals 504 and 512 and receives the RF signals 506 and 514. In another embodiment, the communication device 450 receives the RF signals 504 and 512 and synchronously transmits the RF signals 506 and 514.

[0094] Figure 6 is a diagram of an example signal transmission sequence 600 over an aggregated communication channel using frequency division duplexing, according to one embodiment. Figure 6In the illustrated embodiment, transmission sequence 600 includes transmissions 602, 603, and 604, where transmissions 602 and 604 are downlink transmissions in a first communication channel 608 (e.g., from AP 114 to one or more client stations 154) and transmission 603 is an uplink transmission in a second communication channel 616 (e.g., from client station 154 to AP 114). In other words, first communication channel 608 of the aggregated communication channels is designated for downlink traffic and second communication channel 616 of the aggregated communication channels is designated for uplink traffic. Communication channels 608 and 616 are similar to those described above with respect to Figure 5 Thus, in various embodiments, communication channels 608 and 616 are in different RF frequency bands (eg, 2 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, etc.).

[0095] In another embodiment, transmissions 602 and 604 are uplink transmissions and transmission 603 is a downlink transmission. In other words, first communication channel 608 is designated for uplink traffic and second communication channel 616 is designated for downlink traffic. In yet another embodiment, first communication channel 608 is designated for forward traffic and second communication channel 616 is designated for reverse traffic (e.g., acknowledgments for forward traffic). In other words, management frames and data frames are sent on first communication channel 608 regardless of whether they are sent by AP 114 or by client station 154, and acknowledgment frames are similarly sent on second communication channel 616. For example, AP 114 sends a trigger frame (e.g., Figure 7 A trigger frame 742) is used to trigger an uplink transmission (eg, uplink transmission 603).

[0096] exist Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, downlink transmission 602 includes a first RF signal 620 having a PHY preamble 622 and a PHY data portion 624, downlink transmission 604 includes a second RF signal 660 having a PHY preamble 662 and a PHY data portion 664, and uplink transmission 603 includes a third RF signal 640 having a PHY preamble 642 and a PHY data portion 644. PHY preambles 622 and 662 are similar to PHY preamble 520, and PHY data portions 624 and 664 are similar to PHY data portion 524.

[0097] PHY preamble 642 is similar to PHY preamble 540 and PHY data portion 644 is similar to PHY data portion 544. However, in Figure 6In the illustrated embodiment, the client station transmits the third RF signal 660 (i.e., an acknowledgement of the first RF signal 620) in the second communication channel 616 instead of the first communication channel 608. In some scenarios, when the first communication channel 608 has a larger RF bandwidth (e.g., a higher data transmission capacity) than the second communication channel 616, the AP 114 and the client station 154 designate the first communication channel 608 for forward traffic or downlink traffic and designate the second communication channel 616 for uplink traffic or reverse traffic. In some such scenarios, the overall throughput of the WLAN 110 is improved because the higher capacity channel (the first communication channel 608) is not monopolized by the second RF signal 640 and the SIFS period preceding the second RF signal 640 before the third RF signal 660 can be transmitted. In some scenarios, by utilizing frequency division duplexing of a first communication channel 608 and a second communication channel 616 having separate RF radios (i.e., RF radios 428 and 436) in non-overlapping RF bandwidths, the AP 114 and the client station 154 have improved MAC protocol efficiency because traffic in both directions (uplink and downlink, forward and reverse, etc.), such as RF signals 640 and 660, can be sent and received simultaneously.

[0098] In various embodiments, the communication device 400 ( Figure 4A ) is configured to generate at least a portion of the transmission sequence 600 and receive at least a portion of the transmission sequence 600. In one embodiment, for example, the communication device 400 transmits the RF signals 620 and 660 and receives the RF signal 640. In another embodiment, the communication device 400 receives the RF signals 620 and 660 and transmits the RF signal 640.

[0099] In some embodiments, the communication device 450 ( Figure 4B ) is configured to generate at least a portion of the transmission sequence 600 and receive at least a portion of the transmission sequence 600. In one embodiment, for example, the communication device 450 transmits the RF signals 620 and 660 and receives the RF signal 640. In another embodiment, the communication device 450 receives the RF signals 620 and 660 and transmits the RF signal 640.

[0100] In one embodiment, the communication device 400 or the communication device 450 is configured to select the frequency bands of the first communication channel 608 and the second communication channel 616, thereby reducing interference between the communication channels. In one embodiment, for example, when the 2.4 GHz frequency band, the 5 GHz frequency band, and the 6 GHz frequency band are available, the communication device 400 selects the 6 MHz frequency band and the 2.4 GHz frequency band for the first communication channel 608 and the second communication channel 616, respectively, thereby reducing interference between the communication channels.

[0101] In one embodiment, the communication device 400 or 450 is configured to select RF bandwidths for the first communication channel 608 and the second communication channel 616 so as to reduce interference between the communication channels (e.g., interference caused by the simultaneous reception of the third RF signal 603). For example, in one embodiment, the communication device 400 selects a 320 MHz bandwidth for the first communication channel 608 in a higher frequency range of the 6 GHz frequency band (e.g., 6530-6850 MHz), and selects a 40 MHz bandwidth for the second communication channel 616 in a lower frequency range of the 5 GHz frequency band (e.g., 5150 MHz to 5190 MHz). In another embodiment, for example, the communication device 400 selects an 80 MHz bandwidth for the first communication channel 608 in a higher frequency range of the 5 GHz frequency band (e.g., 5735-5815 MHz), and selects a 20 MHz bandwidth for the second communication channel 616 in a lower frequency range of the 5 GHz frequency band (e.g., 5190 MHz to 5210 MHz).

[0102] Figure 7 is a diagram of an example MU transmission sequence 700 over an aggregated communication channel using frequency division duplexing, according to one embodiment. Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, transmission sequence 700 includes transmissions 702, 703, and 704, where transmissions 702 and 704 are downlink transmissions (e.g., from AP 114 to one or more client stations 154 referred to as STA1, STA2, and STA3), and transmission 703 is an uplink transmission (e.g., from client station 154 to AP 114). In this embodiment, a first communication channel 708 of the aggregated communication channel is designated for downlink traffic and a second communication channel 716 of the aggregated communication channel is designated for uplink traffic and is optionally triggered for uplink traffic. Communication channels 708 and 716 are similar to those described above with respect to Figure 5 Thus, in various embodiments, communication channels 708 and 716 are in different RF frequency bands (eg, 2 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, etc.).

[0103] In one embodiment, the transmission sequence 700 is performed by the network interface device 122 ( Figure 1 ) is generated and sent to a plurality of client stations 154. In another embodiment, the transmission sequence 700 is generated by the network interface device 162 ( Figure 1 ) is generated and sent to multiple other client stations 154 and optionally to the AP 114.

[0104] exist Figure 7In the illustrated embodiment, downlink transmission 702 includes a first RF signal 720 having a PHY preamble 722 and a PHY data portion 724 in a first communication channel 708, downlink transmission 704 includes a second RF signal 740 having a PHY preamble 742 and a PHY data portion 744 in a second communication channel 716, and uplink transmission 703 includes a third RF signal 760 having a PHY preamble 762 and a PHY data portion 764 in the second communication channel 716. In one embodiment, PHY data portion 724 corresponds to a downlink MPDU and PHY data portion 764 corresponds to an acknowledgment of the downlink MPDU, while PHY data portion 744 corresponds to a trigger frame that triggers the acknowledgment.

[0105] In various embodiments, the first communication channel 708 and the second communication channel 716 are similar to the first communication channels 508 and 608 and the second communication channels 516 and 616, respectively, as described above with reference to Figure 5 and Figure 6 In one embodiment, for example, the first communication channel 708 is designated for downlink traffic and the second communication channel 716 is designated for uplink traffic. In another embodiment, the first communication channel 708 is designated for forward traffic and the second communication channel 716 is designated for reverse traffic.

[0106] The PHY preambles 722, 742, and 762 are similar to the PHY preamble 520. In embodiments where the first communication channel 708 includes multiple component channels, at least a portion (e.g., a legacy portion) of the PHY preamble 722 is generated by generating a field corresponding to one component channel and replicating the field on one or more other component channels corresponding to the first communication channel 708. In embodiments where the second communication channel 716 includes multiple component channels, at least a portion (e.g., a legacy portion) of the PHY preamble 742 or 762 is generated by generating a field corresponding to one component channel and replicating the field on one or more other component channels corresponding to the second communication channel 716.

[0107] In various embodiments, the first communication channel 708 and the second communication channel 716 are in different RF bands or are juxtaposed in the same RF band. In one embodiment, the (multiple) RF bands correspond to the 2 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, as described above. The first communication channel 708 and the second communication channel 716 can each be composed of one or more component channels. In one embodiment, the frequency bandwidth of the first communication channel 708 (i.e., the frequency bandwidth of the first RF signal 720) is different from the frequency bandwidth of the second communication channel 716 (i.e., the frequency bandwidth of the second RF signal 740 and the third RF signal 760). In another embodiment, the frequency bandwidth of the first communication channel 708 is the same as the frequency bandwidth of the second communication channel 716.

[0108] In one embodiment, the first communication channel 708 and the second communication channel 716 are separated in frequency. For example, there is a frequency gap Δf between the first communication channel 708 and the second communication channel 716. In various embodiments, the gap Δf is at least 500 kHz, at least 1 MHz, at least 5 MHz, at least 20 MHz, etc.

[0109] In some embodiments, the transmission sequence 700 uses MU-MIMO, for example, the first RF signal 720 is transmitted via a first number of spatial streams, and the second RF signal 740 and the third RF signal 760 are transmitted via a second number of spatial streams different from the first number of spatial streams. In one such embodiment, the PHY preamble 722 and the PHY preambles 742 and 762 include the same number of LTFs, even if the first RF signal 720 is transmitted via the first number of spatial streams and the second RF signals 740 and 760 are transmitted via the second number of spatial streams different from the first number of spatial streams. In one embodiment, the same number of LTFs corresponds to the first RF signal 720 and one of the second RF signal 740 and the third RF signal 760 having a greater number of spatial streams. In other embodiments, the first RF signal 720 and the second RF signal 740 and the third RF signal 760 are transmitted via the same number of spatial streams. In one embodiment, at least the PHY payload portion 724 and at least the PHY data payload 764 use different coding schemes and / or modulation schemes.

[0110] In some embodiments, the transmission sequence 700 utilizes OFDMA, for example, the PHY payload portion 724 includes corresponding frequency multiplexed data for the corresponding client station 154. The individual data within the data portion 724 is sent to the corresponding client station 154 in the corresponding allocated RUs 724-1, 724-2, and 724-3. The individual data within the data portion 764 is sent from the corresponding client station 154 in the corresponding allocated RUs 764-1, 764-2, and 764-3. In various embodiments, some or all of the RUs 724 / 764 use different coding schemes and / or modulation schemes. For example, RU 764-1 and RU 724-2 are generated using different MCSs and / or different numbers of spatial / space-time streams, etc.

[0111] In various embodiments, the communication device 400 ( Figure 4A ) is configured to generate at least a portion of the transmission sequence 700 and to receive at least a portion of the transmission sequence 700. For example, in one embodiment, the communication device 400 transmits the RF signals 720 and 740 and receives the RF signal 760. In another embodiment, the communication device 400 receives the RF signals 720 and 740 and transmits the RF signal 760.

[0112] In some embodiments, the communication device 450 ( Figure 4A ) is configured to generate at least a portion of the transmission sequence 700 and to receive at least a portion of the transmission sequence 700. In one embodiment, for example, the communication device 450 transmits the RF signals 720 and 740 and receives the RF signal 760. In another embodiment, the communication device 450 receives the RF signals 720 and 740 and transmits the RF signal 760.

[0113] For ease of explanation, multiple communication channels corresponding to multiple radios are sometimes referred to herein as "radio channels". In some embodiments, one of the component channels across multiple radio channels is designated as a primary channel. One radio channel including the designated primary channel is sometimes referred to herein as a "primary radio channel". Other component channels across multiple radio channels that are not primary channels are sometimes referred to herein as "secondary channels".

[0114] Fig. 8A is a diagram of an example channelization scheme 800 corresponding to multi-channel operation according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the channelization scheme 800 is used in a system such as that described above with reference to Figure 5-7 The signal transmission, and / or other transmission across multiple radio channels.

[0115] The channelization scheme 800 shows a first communication channel 804 (also referred to herein as “first radio channel 804”) aggregated with a second communication channel 808 (also referred to herein as “second radio channel 808”). In various embodiments, radio channels 804 and 808 correspond to communication channels 508 and 516, communication channels 608 and 616, or communication channels 708 and 716, as described above with reference to Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 In other embodiments, radio channels 804 and 808 correspond to other suitable radio channels.

[0116] The first radio channel 804 includes one or more component channels, and the second radio channel 808 includes one or more component channels. In the channelization scheme 800, a single component channel 812 in the radio channel 804 is designated as a primary channel (e.g., for management frames and control frames). The remaining one or more component channels 816 (if any) in the first radio channel 804 are designated as secondary channels 816. Similarly, one or more component channels 820 in the second radio channel 808 are designated as secondary channels. In one embodiment, as described above, the first radio channel 804 and the second radio channel 808 are separated in frequency.

[0117] In embodiments where the first radio channel 804 and the second radio channel 808 correspond to different RF bands and the one or more client stations 154 are only capable of operating in only one of the RF bands, the AP 114 designates the primary channel as being in the one radio channel 804 / 808 that corresponds to the one RF band in which the one or more client stations 154 are only capable of operating. In embodiments where the first radio channel 804 is in the 5 GHz band and the second radio channel 808 is in the 6 GHz band, in the case of a legacy WLAN communication device (i.e., a single band station, such as an 802.11ac client station or other device that does not support the 6 GHz band), the AP 144 designates the primary channel as being in the 5 GHz band. In embodiments where radio channel 804 and radio channel 808 correspond to different RF bands and one or more client stations 154 are only capable of operating in only one of the RF bands, AP 114 is not permitted to designate a primary channel as being in a radio channel 804 / 808 that does not correspond to one of the RF bands in which one or more client stations 154 are only capable of operating.

[0118] In some embodiments, the WLAN 110 includes: i) an AP 114 that is a multi-band communication device and communicates on a first radio channel 804 and a second radio channel 808, ii) a first client station 154 that is a multi-band communication device and communicates on the first radio channel 804 and the second radio channel 808, and iii) a second client station 154 that is a single-band communication device (i.e., a traditional WLAN communication device) and communicates only on the first radio channel 804. In one embodiment, the AP 114 designates: i) the first radio channel 804 as a downlink channel for the first multi-band communication device and the second radio channel 808 as an uplink channel for the first multi-band communication device, and ii) the first radio channel 804 as a downlink and uplink channel for the single-band communication device. In another embodiment, the AP 114 designates: i) the first radio channel 804 as a forward channel for the first multi-band communication device and the second radio channel 808 as a reverse channel for the first multi-band communication device, and ii) the first radio channel 804 as a forward and reverse channel for the single-band communication device.

[0119] Figure 8B is a diagram of another example channelization scheme 850 corresponding to multi-channel operation according to another embodiment. In one embodiment, the channelization scheme 850 is used as described above with reference to Figure 5-7 The channelization scheme 850 includes a first communication channel 854 (also referred to herein as “first radio channel 854”) aggregated with a second communication channel 858 (also referred to herein as “second radio channel 858”). In various embodiments, radio channels 854 and 858 correspond to communication channels 508 and 516, communication channels 608 and 616, or communication channels 708 and 716, as respectively described above with reference to Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 In other embodiments, radio channels 854 and 858 correspond to other suitable radio channels.

[0120] The first radio channel 854 includes one or more component channels, and the second radio channel 858 includes one or more component channels. For the channelization scheme 850, the AP 114 designates corresponding primary channels for both radio channels 854 and 858. For example, channel 862 in the first radio channel 854 is designated as a primary channel corresponding to the first radio channel 854 (sometimes referred to herein as "first primary channel 862"), and component channel 866 in the second radio channel 858 is designated as a primary channel corresponding to the second radio channel 858 (sometimes referred to herein as "second primary channel 866"). The remaining one or more component channels 870 (if any) in the first radio channel 854 are designated as secondary channels. Similarly, one or more component channels 874 in the second radio channel 858 are designated as secondary channels. In one embodiment, as described above, the first radio channel 854 and the second radio channel 858 are separated in frequency.

[0121] In one embodiment, AP 114 operating according to channelization scheme 850 transmits beacon frames in both primary channels 862 and 866. In one embodiment, the beacon frames transmitted in both primary channels 862 and 866 are the same beacon frames.

[0122] In some embodiments, at least some of the communication devices (e.g., client stations 154) may operate according to a legacy communication protocol that does not define more than one primary channel for transmission on the aggregated channel. In at least some such embodiments, the legacy communication devices may be allocated for operation in only a single communication channel (e.g., one of communication channels 854 and 858). Alternatively, the legacy communication devices may be configured for independent and asynchronous operation in both communication channels 854 and 858, such as the DBC operation described above.

[0123] In some embodiments, the WLAN 110 includes: i) an AP 114 that is a multi-band communication device and communicates on a first radio channel 854 and a second radio channel 858, ii) a first client station 154 that is a multi-band communication device and communicates on the first radio channel 854 and the second radio channel 858, iii) a second client station 154 that is a single-band communication device (i.e., a traditional WLAN communication device) and communicates only on the first radio channel 854, and iv) a third client station 154 that is a single-band communication device and communicates only on the second radio channel 858. In one embodiment, the AP 114 designates: i) the first radio channel 854 as a downlink channel for the first multi-band client station and the second radio channel 858 as an uplink channel for the first multi-band client station, and ii) the first radio channel 854 as a downlink and uplink channel for the second single-band communication device, and iii) the second radio channel 858 as a downlink and uplink channel for the third single-band communication device. In another embodiment, the AP 114 designates: i) the first radio channel 854 as a forward channel for a first multi-band communication device and the second radio channel 858 as a reverse channel for the first multi-band communication device, ii) the first radio channel 854 as both a forward and reverse channel for a second single-band communication device, and iii) the second radio channel 858 as both a forward and reverse channel for a third single-band communication device.

[0124] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example system architecture corresponding to a communication device 900 configured for a different mode of multi-channel operation. In other words, the communication device 900 provides a network interface device configured to implement the following: i) as described above with respect to Figure 3 The DBC mode described above, ii) as described above Figure 4A The synchronous multi-channel mode described above, and / or iii) as described above with respect to Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Fig. 8A and Figure 8B In one embodiment, the communication device 900 is used in the AP 114 or the client station 154. In one embodiment, the communication device 900 is configured to selectively send and / or receive the above referenced Figures 5 to 7 In one embodiment, the communication device 900 is further configured to: Figure 3 The selective DBC operation described.

[0125] The communication device 900 is similar to the one described above with respect to Figure 4AThe communication device 400 is described, and for the sake of brevity, the elements with the same number are not described in detail. The communication device 900 includes a packet forwarding processor 904 configured to forward packets between two communication channels and a WAN connection (not shown). The communication device 900 also includes a main MAC processor 908 (MAC-M), a second MAC processor 912 (MAC-2), a first PHY processor 916, and a second PHY processor 920. The main MAC processor 908 is coupled to both the first PHY processor 916 and the second PHY processor 920. The second MAC processor 912 is coupled to the second PHY processor 920. The main MAC processor 908 exchanges frame data with the first PHY processor 916, and the second MAC processor 912 exchanges frame data with the second PHY processor 920. In multi-channel mode, the main MAC processor 908 also exchanges frame data with the first PHY processor 916 while the second MAC processor 912 is idle.

[0126] In one embodiment, the main MAC processor 908 and the second MAC processor 912 correspond to Figure 1 In another embodiment, the main MAC processor 908 and the second MAC processor 912 correspond to Figure 1 In one embodiment, the first PHY processor 916 and the second PHY processor 920 correspond to Figure 1 In another embodiment, the first PHY processor 916 and the second PHY processor 920 correspond to Figure 1 PHY processor 170.

[0127] The communication device 900 further includes a synchronization control circuit device 932 .

[0128] In the multi-channel mode, the forwarding processor 904 exchanges data only with the main MAC processor 908; and the main MAC processor 908, the first PHY processor 916, the second PHY processor 920 and the synchronization control circuit device 932 are similar to Figure 4A Likewise, in the multi-channel mode, when the second MAC processor 912 is idle, the second PHY processor 920 exchanges frame data with the main MAC processor 908.

[0129] On the other hand, in the DBC mode, the forwarding processor 904 exchanges data with both the main MAC processor 908 and the second MAC processor 912; and the main MAC processor 908, the second MAC processor 912, the first PHY processor 916 and the second PHY processor 920 operate in a manner similar to Figure 3Likewise, in the DBC mode, the synchronization control circuit device 932 is in idle state.

[0130] The communication device 900 is configured to selectively switch between a multi-channel mode and a DBC mode. In one embodiment, the selection of a particular operating mode is determined based on the traffic volume and / or the number of client stations 154 served by the AP 114. In one embodiment, if there are a large number of client stations 154 in the WLAN 110 that can operate on both the first communication channel and the second communication channel, DBC operation is preferred. In one embodiment, if there are a large number of client stations 154 on a single communication channel, multi-channel operation is preferred. In one embodiment, when the AP 114 serves a small number of client stations 154 at a high throughput, the AP 114 may prefer multi-channel operation.

[0131] Fig.10 is a flow chart of an example method 1000 for wireless local area network (WLAN) communications by a first WLAN communications device according to one embodiment. In some embodiments, Figure 1 The AP 114 is configured to implement the method 1000 (in other words, the AP 114 is a first WLAN communication device). In one embodiment, the method 1000 is performed by the AP 114 by utilizing the above reference Figure 4A -B and 9 described above. However, the method 1000 is described in the context of AP 114 for illustrative purposes only, and in other embodiments, the method 1000 is implemented by another suitable device such as client station 154. In various embodiments, the method 1000 is used to generate the above referenced Figure 5-7 In various embodiments, method 1000 is similar to the method described above. Fig. 8A - Used together with the channelization described in B.

[0132] At block 1004, the AP 114 generates a first media access control (MAC) data unit. In one embodiment, the MAC data unit is an MPDU, an A-MPDU, an MMPDU, or other suitable MAC data unit. In one embodiment, the first MAC data unit corresponds to the PHY data portion 624 ( Figure 6 ) and includes, for example, an MPDU intended for the client station 154. In another embodiment, the first MAC data unit corresponds to the PHY data portion 724-1, 724-2, or 724-3 ( Figure 7 ).

[0133] At block 1008, the AP 114 sends the first MAC data unit to a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth. In one embodiment, the second WLAN communication is a client station 154 to which the first MAC data unit is sent. In one embodiment, the first WLAN communication channel corresponds to the communication channel 608. In another embodiment, the communication channel corresponds to the communication channel 708. In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth is a bandwidth within a 5 GHz band, a 6 GHz band, or other suitable band.

[0134] At block 1012, the AP 114 receives a second MAC data unit from a second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth, wherein the second MAC data unit corresponds to an acknowledgement of the first MAC data unit from the second WLAN communication device. In one embodiment, for example, the AP 114 receives the second MAC data unit via the second communication channel 616 ( Figure 6 ) receives confirmation 644. In another embodiment, AP114 receives confirmation 764-1, 764-2 or 764-3 via the second communication channel 716.

[0135] In one embodiment, generating the first MAC data unit includes providing the first MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors of the first WLAN communication device by a single MAC layer processor implemented on one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices of the first WLAN communication device, wherein the one or more baseband signal processors are implemented on the one or more IC devices and a first baseband signal corresponding to the first MAC data unit is generated at the one or more baseband signal processors. In one embodiment, for example, the single MAC layer processor corresponds to MAC processor 408 ( Figure 4A ), MAC processor 458 ( Figure 4B ) or MAC processor 908 ( Fig. 9 ), and the first baseband signal processor corresponds to the baseband processor 424 or 432 ( Figure 4A )、Baseband processor 474( Figure 4B ) or baseband processor 924 or 928 ( Fig. 9 ).

[0136] In one embodiment, sending the first MAC data unit includes sending, by a first RF radio of a plurality of RF radios of the first WLAN communication device, a first RF signal corresponding to the first baseband signal and occupying a first RF bandwidth to the second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel. In one embodiment, for example, the RF radio 428 sends the first RF signal 620 ( Figure 6 ) or the first RF signal 720 ( Figure 7 ).

[0137] In some embodiments, receiving the second MAC data unit includes receiving, at a second RF radio of the plurality of RF radios, a second RF signal corresponding to the second MAC data unit and occupying a second RF bandwidth from a second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel. In some such embodiments, method 1000 also includes generating, by one or more baseband signal processors, a second baseband signal corresponding to the second MAC data unit, and generating, by the one or more baseband signal processors, a second MAC data unit using the second baseband signal. In one embodiment, for example, AP 114 receives RF signal 640 at RF radio 436.

[0138] In one embodiment, the method 1000 further includes: providing a third MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors by a single MAC layer processor; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; and transmitting a third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal to the second WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel by the first RF radio. In one embodiment, the first RF radio transmits at least a portion of the third RF signal simultaneously with the second RF radio receiving at least a portion of the second RF signal. In one embodiment, the third MAC data unit corresponds to the PHY data portion 664 and the third RF signal corresponds to the RF signal 660.

[0139] In one embodiment, the first WLAN communication channel includes a primary channel, and the method 1000 further includes: providing a third MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors by a single MAC layer processor; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending a third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal to a legacy WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel by the first RF radio; receiving a fourth RF signal corresponding to an acknowledgement of the third MAC data unit from the legacy WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel at the first RF radio; generating a fourth baseband signal corresponding to an acknowledgement of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors; and generating a fourth MAC data unit corresponding to an acknowledgement of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors. In one embodiment, for example, the primary channel corresponds to the primary channel 812, and the AP 114 generates the MAC data unit and sends the MAC data unit to the legacy WLAN communication device, as described above with respect to Fig. 8A described.

[0140] In some embodiments, the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including forward traffic, and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including reverse traffic confirming the forward traffic. In one embodiment, the forward traffic includes multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) forward traffic sent to multiple WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device, and the reverse traffic is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel. In one embodiment, the forward traffic includes orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) forward traffic to multiple WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device, and the reverse traffic is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including downlink traffic sent from a first WLAN communication device, wherein the first WLAN communication device is a WLAN access point, and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including uplink traffic sent to the WLAN access point. In one such embodiment, the downlink traffic includes MU-MIMO traffic to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device, and the uplink traffic is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel. In another such embodiment, the downlink traffic includes OFDMA data units sent to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device, and the uplink traffic includes OFDMA data units sent by the plurality of WLAN communication devices and triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0142] In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth have different corresponding bandwidths, and one of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth is greater than the other of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth. In one embodiment, for example, the corresponding first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are 80 MHz and 20 MHz, 160 MHz and 20 MHz, 320 MHz and 40 MHz, or other suitable bandwidths, as described above with respect to Figure 5 and Figure 6 described.

[0143] In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated by at least 160 MHz.

[0144] Fig.11is a flow chart of an example method 1100 for wireless local area network (WLAN) communications by a first WLAN communications device according to one embodiment. In some embodiments, Figure 1 The client station 154 is configured to implement the method 1100. In one embodiment, the method 1100 is performed by the client station 154 by utilizing the method described above with reference to Figure 4A -B and 9 described in the communication device 400, communication device 450 or communication device 900. However, describing the method 1100 in the context of the client station 154 is only for illustrative purposes, and in other embodiments, the method 1100 is implemented by another suitable device such as the AP 114. The method 1100 is used to receive and process the above reference Figure 5-7 In various embodiments, method 1100 is similar to the method described above. Fig. 8A - Used together with the channelization described in B.

[0145] At block 1104, the client station 154 (as a first WLAN communication device) receives a first MAC data unit from a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth. In one embodiment, the MAC data unit is an MPDU, an A-MPDU, an MMPDU, or other suitable MAC data unit. In one embodiment, the first MAC data unit corresponds to the PHY data portion 624 ( Figure 6 ) and includes, for example, an MPDU intended for the client station 154. In another embodiment, the first MAC data unit corresponds to the PHY data portion 724-1, 724-2, or 724-3 ( Figure 7 ).

[0146] At block 1108, the client station 154 generates a second MAC data unit configured to acknowledge the first MAC data unit. In one embodiment, for example, the client station generates the acknowledgement 644. In another embodiment, the client station 154 generates the acknowledgement 764-1, 764-2, or 764-3.

[0147] At block 1112 , the client station 154 transmits a second MAC data unit to a second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap the first RF bandwidth. In one embodiment, for example, the client station 154 transmits the acknowledgement 644 as the RF signal 640 .

[0148] In one embodiment, receiving the first MAC data unit includes receiving a first RF signal corresponding to the first MAC data unit and occupying a first RF bandwidth from a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel at a first RF radio among a plurality of RF radios of the first WLAN communication device, generating the first baseband signal corresponding to the first MAC data unit by one or more baseband signal processors implemented on one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices of the first WLAN communication device, and generating the first MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors using the first baseband signal. In one embodiment, the first RF radio corresponds to the RF radio 428 and receives the RF signal 620 from the AP 114.

[0149] In one embodiment, generating the second MAC data unit includes providing the second MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors by a single MAC layer processor implemented on one or more IC devices, and generating a second baseband signal corresponding to the second MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors. In one embodiment, for example, the MAC layer processor is MAC processor 408 or 474 and the baseband signal processor is baseband processor 424 or 432 ( Figure 4A or 4B).

[0150] In one embodiment, sending the second MAC data unit includes sending, by a second RF radio of the plurality of RF radios, a second RF signal corresponding to the second baseband signal and occupying a second RF bandwidth to the second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel. In one embodiment, the second RF radio is the RF radio 436 that sends the RF signal 640.

[0151] In one embodiment, the method 1100 further includes providing, by a single MAC layer processor, a third MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors; generating, at the one or more baseband signal processors, a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit; transmitting, by a second RF radio, a third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal to a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel; wherein simultaneously with the first RF radio receiving at least a portion of the first RF signal, the second RF radio transmits at least a portion of the third RF signal. In one embodiment, for example, the client station 154 receives the RF signal 660 and transmits the RF signal 640 simultaneously.

[0152] In one embodiment, the first WLAN communication channel includes a main channel, and the method 1100 also includes: providing a third MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors by a single MAC layer processor; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending a third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal to a traditional WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel by the first RF radio; receiving a fourth RF signal corresponding to an acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit from the traditional WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel at the first RF radio; generating a fourth baseband signal corresponding to an acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors; generating a fourth MAC data unit corresponding to an acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors.

[0153] In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including forward traffic, and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including reverse traffic acknowledging the forward traffic.

[0154] In one embodiment, the forward traffic includes multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) forward traffic sent to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device, and the reverse traffic is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0155] In one embodiment, the forward traffic includes orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) forward traffic to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device, and the reverse traffic is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0156] In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including downlink traffic sent to a first WLAN communication device, wherein the first WLAN communication device is a WLAN client station. In one embodiment, the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including uplink traffic sent from the WLAN client station.

[0157] In one embodiment, the downlink traffic includes MU-MIMO traffic to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the first WLAN communication device, and the uplink traffic is triggered by a triggering MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0158] In one embodiment, the downlink traffic includes OFDMA data units sent to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the first WLAN communication device, and the uplink traffic includes OFDMA data units sent by the plurality of WLAN communication devices and triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0159] In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth have different corresponding bandwidths, and one of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth is greater than the other of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth.

[0160] In one embodiment, the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated by at least 160 MHz.

[0161] Embodiment 1. A method for performing wireless local area network (WLAN) communication by a first WLAN communication device, the method comprising: generating a first media access control (MAC) data unit at the first WLAN communication device; sending the first MAC data unit from the first WLAN communication device to a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth; and receiving a second MAC data unit at the first WLAN communication device from the second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth, wherein the second MAC data unit corresponds to an acknowledgment of the first MAC data unit from the second WLAN communication device.

[0162] Embodiment 2. The method according to embodiment 1, wherein: generating the first MAC data unit includes: providing the first MAC data unit to one or more baseband signal processors of the first WLAN communication device by a single MAC layer processor implemented on one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices of the first WLAN communication device, wherein the one or more baseband signal processors are implemented on the one or more IC devices, and generating a first baseband signal corresponding to the first MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending the first MAC data unit includes sending a first RF signal to the second WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel by a first RF radio among a plurality of RF radios of the first WLAN communication device, the first RF signal corresponding to the first baseband signal and occupying the first RF bandwidth; receiving the second MAC data unit includes: receiving a second RF signal from the second WLAN communication device via the second WLAN communication channel at a second RF radio among the plurality of RF radios, the second RF signal corresponding to the second MAC data unit and occupying the second RF bandwidth, generating a second baseband signal corresponding to the second MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors, and generating the second MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors using the second baseband signal.

[0163] Embodiment 3. The method according to embodiment 2 further includes: providing a third MAC data unit by the single MAC layer processor to the one or more baseband signal processors; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending a third RF signal by the first RF radio and to the second WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel, the third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal; wherein the first RF radio sends at least a portion of the third RF signal simultaneously with the reception of at least a portion of the second RF signal by the second RF radio.

[0164] Embodiment 4. A method according to embodiment 2, wherein the first WLAN communication channel includes a main channel, and the method further includes: providing a third MAC data unit to the one or more baseband signal processors by the single MAC layer processor; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending a third RF signal to a traditional WLAN communication device by the first RF radio and via the first WLAN communication channel, the third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal; receiving a fourth RF signal from the traditional WLAN communication device at the first RF radio and via the first WLAN communication channel, the fourth RF signal corresponding to an acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit; generating a fourth baseband signal corresponding to the acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors; generating a fourth MAC data unit corresponding to the acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors.

[0165] Embodiment 5. A method according to embodiment 1, wherein: the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including forward services; and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including reverse services confirming the forward services.

[0166] Embodiment 6. A method according to embodiment 5, wherein: the forward service includes multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) forward service sent to multiple WLAN communication devices, the multiple WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device; and the reverse service is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit, which is sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0167] Embodiment 7. A method according to embodiment 5, wherein: the forward service includes orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) forward service to multiple WLAN communication devices, the multiple WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device; and the reverse service is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit, which is sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0168] Embodiment 8. A method according to embodiment 1, wherein: the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including downlink services sent from the first WLAN communication device, wherein the first WLAN communication device is a WLAN access point; and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including uplink services sent to the WLAN access point.

[0169] Embodiment 9. A method according to embodiment 8, wherein: the downlink service includes MU-MIMO service to multiple WLAN communication devices, the multiple WLAN communication devices include the second WLAN communication device; and the uplink service is triggered by a triggering MAC data unit, which is sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0170] Embodiment 10. A method according to embodiment 8, wherein: the downlink service includes OFDMA data units sent to multiple WLAN communication devices, the multiple WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device; and the uplink service includes OFDMA data units sent by the multiple WLAN communication devices and triggered by a trigger MAC data unit, the trigger MAC data unit being sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0171] Embodiment 11. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth have different corresponding bandwidths, and one of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth is greater than the other of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth.

[0172] Embodiment 12. The method of Embodiment 1, wherein the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated by at least 160 MHz.

[0173] Embodiment 13. A method for performing wireless local area network (WLAN) communication by a first WLAN communication device, the method comprising: receiving, at the first WLAN communication device, a first media access control (MAC) data unit from a second WLAN communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth; generating, at the first WLAN communication device, a second MAC data unit, the second MAC data unit being configured to confirm the first MAC data unit; and sending, by the first WLAN communication device, the second MAC data unit to the second WLAN communication device via a second WLAN communication channel, the second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth that does not overlap with the first RF bandwidth.

[0174] Embodiment 14. The method of embodiment 13, wherein: receiving the first MAC data unit comprises: receiving a first RF signal from the second WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel at a first RF radio among a plurality of RF radios of the first WLAN communication device, the first RF signal corresponding to the first MAC data unit and occupying the first RF bandwidth, generating a first baseband signal by one or more baseband signal processors implemented on one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices of the first WLAN communication device, the first baseband signal corresponding to the first MAC data unit, and generating the first MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors using the first baseband signal; generating the second MAC data unit comprises: providing the second MAC data unit to the one or more baseband signal processors by a single MAC layer processor implemented on the one or more IC devices, and generating a second baseband signal corresponding to the second MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending the second MAC data unit comprises sending a second RF signal corresponding to the second baseband signal and occupying the second RF bandwidth to the second WLAN communication device by a second RF radio among the plurality of RF radios via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0175] Embodiment 15. The method according to embodiment 14 further includes: providing a third MAC data unit by the single MAC layer processor to the one or more baseband signal processors; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending a third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal to the second WLAN communication device via the first WLAN communication channel by the second RF radio; wherein the second RF radio sends at least a portion of the third RF signal simultaneously with the reception of at least a portion of the first RF signal by the first RF radio.

[0176] Embodiment 16. A method according to embodiment 14, wherein the first WLAN communication channel includes a main channel, and the method further includes: providing a third MAC data unit to the one or more baseband signal processors by the single MAC layer processor; generating a third baseband signal corresponding to the third MAC data unit at the one or more baseband signal processors; sending a third RF signal corresponding to the third baseband signal to a traditional WLAN communication device by the first RF radio and via the first WLAN communication channel; receiving a fourth RF signal corresponding to an acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit from the traditional WLAN communication device at the first RF radio and via the first WLAN communication channel; generating a fourth baseband signal corresponding to the acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors; generating a fourth MAC data unit corresponding to the acknowledgment of the third MAC data unit by the one or more baseband signal processors.

[0177] Embodiment 17. A method according to embodiment 13, wherein: the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including forward services; and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including reverse services confirming the forward services.

[0178] Embodiment 18. A method according to embodiment 17, wherein: the forward service includes multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) forward service sent to multiple WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device; and the reverse service is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0179] Embodiment 19. The method of embodiment 17, wherein: the forward traffic comprises orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) forward traffic to a plurality of WLAN communication devices including the second WLAN communication device; and

[0180] The reverse traffic is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the plurality of WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0181] Embodiment 20. A method according to embodiment 14, wherein: the first RF bandwidth and the first WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including downlink services sent to the first WLAN communication device, wherein the first WLAN communication device is a WLAN client station; and the second RF bandwidth and the second WLAN communication channel are designated for MAC data units including uplink services sent from the WLAN client station.

[0182] Embodiment 21. A method according to embodiment 20, wherein: the downlink service includes MU-MIMO service to multiple WLAN communication devices including the first WLAN communication device; and the uplink service is triggered by a trigger MAC data unit sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0183] Embodiment 22. A method according to embodiment 20, wherein: the downlink service includes OFDMA data units sent to multiple WLAN communication devices including the first WLAN communication device; and the uplink service includes OFDMA data units sent by the multiple WLAN communication devices and triggered by trigger MAC data units sent to the multiple WLAN communication devices via the second WLAN communication channel.

[0184] Embodiment 23. A method according to Embodiment 13, wherein the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth have different corresponding bandwidths, and one of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth is greater than the other of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth.

[0185] Embodiment 24. The method of Embodiment 13, wherein the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated by at least 160 MHz.

[0186] At least some of the various blocks, operations, and techniques described above may be implemented using hardware, a processor executing firmware instructions, a processor executing software instructions, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a processor executing software or firmware instructions, the software or firmware instructions may be stored in any computer-readable memory, such as a disk, optical disk, or other storage medium, RAM or ROM or flash memory, a processor, a hard drive, an optical drive, a tape drive, etc. The software or firmware instructions may include machine-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform various actions.

[0187] When implemented in hardware, the hardware may include one or more of discrete components, integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), and the like.

[0188] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, these embodiments are intended to illustrate and not limit the present invention. Changes, additions and / or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for duplex communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising: include: At a first communication device, generating a first packet; Sending the first packet by the first communication device via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth; At the first communication device, generating a second packet; After sending the first packet, sending the second packet by the first communication device via the first WLAN communication channel; as well as At the first communication device, a transmission is received from one or more second communication devices, the transmission overlapping in time with the transmission of the second packet, the transmission from the one or more second communication devices being received via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth.

2. The method according to claim 1, in: Sending the first packet includes: sending the first packet using a first radio of the first communication device, the first radio configured to send and receive via the first WLAN communication channel; Transmitting the second packet comprises: transmitting the second packet using the first radio of the first communication device; and Receiving the transmission from the one or more second communications devices includes receiving the transmission from the one or more second communications devices using a second radio configured to transmit and receive via the second WLAN communications channel.

3. The method according to claim 1, in: Sending the first packet includes: sending the first packet via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; Sending the second packet includes: sending the second packet via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; and Receiving the transmission from the one or more second communications devices includes receiving the transmission from the one or more second communications devices via at least a second primary channel of the second WLAN communications channel. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth has a first frequency bandwidth that is greater than a second frequency bandwidth of the other of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated in frequency by a gap.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in: The first packet includes corresponding data for the one or more second communication devices; as well as Receiving the transmission includes receiving one or more corresponding acknowledgments within the transmission from the one or more second communications devices, the one or more corresponding acknowledgments acknowledging the corresponding data in the first packet.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in: Sending the first packet includes: sending a first multi-user multiple-input multiple-output MU-MIMO transmission to a plurality of second communication devices; and Receiving the transmission includes receiving a second MU-MIMO transmission from the plurality of second communications devices.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in: Transmitting the first packet includes: transmitting a first Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) transmission to a plurality of second communication devices; and Receiving the transmission includes receiving second OFDMA transmissions from the plurality of second communications devices.

9. A first communication device configured to operate in a wireless local area network (WLAN), wherein the first communication device include: A wireless network interface device, comprising: one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices, a first radio frequency (RF) radio implemented at least in part on the one or more IC devices, and a second RF radio implemented at least in part on the one or more IC devices; wherein the one or more IC devices are configured to: Generate the first group, controlling the first RF radio to transmit the first packet via a first WLAN communication channel having a first radio frequency (RF) bandwidth, Generate the second group, After transmitting the first packet, controlling the first RF radio to transmit the second packet via the first WLAN communication channel, and Transmissions are received via the second RF radio from one or more second communication devices, the transmissions overlapping in time with the transmission of the second packet, the transmissions from the one or more second communication devices being received via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth.

10. The first communication device according to claim 9, in: The first packet includes corresponding data for the one or more second communication devices; and The one or more IC devices are configured to receive one or more corresponding acknowledgments from the one or more second communications devices as part of the transmission from the one or more second communications devices, the one or more corresponding acknowledgments acknowledging the corresponding data in the first packet.

11. The first communication device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the one or more IC devices are further configured to: controlling the first RF radio to transmit the first packet via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; controlling the first RF radio to transmit the second packet via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; and Wherein the transmission from the one or more second communication devices is received via at least a second primary channel of the second WLAN communication channel.

12. A method for performing duplex communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising: include: At a first communication device, receiving a first packet via a first WLAN communication channel having a first RF bandwidth; After receiving the first packet, receiving, at the first communication device, a second packet via the first WLAN communication channel; At the first communication device, generating a third packet; as well as The third packet is sent by the first communication device via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth, wherein transmission of the third packet overlaps in time with reception of the second packet.

13. The method according to claim 12, in: Receiving the first packet includes: receiving the first packet using a first radio of the first communication device, the first radio configured to transmit and receive via the first WLAN communication channel; Receiving the second packet includes: receiving the second packet using a first radio of the first communication device, the first radio; Transmitting the third packet includes transmitting the third packet using a second radio configured to transmit and receive via the second WLAN communication channel.

14. The method according to claim 12, in: Receiving the first packet includes: receiving the first packet via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; Receiving the second packet includes: receiving the second packet via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; and Transmitting the third packet includes transmitting the third packet via at least a second primary channel of the second WLAN communication channel. 15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein one of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth has a first frequency bandwidth that is greater than a second frequency bandwidth of the other of the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first RF bandwidth and the second RF bandwidth are separated in frequency by a gap.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, in: The first packet includes data for the first communication device; as well as Generating the third packet includes generating the third packet to include an acknowledgement of the data of the first communication device in the first packet.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, in: Receiving the first packet includes: receiving the first packet as part of a first multi-user multiple-input multiple-output MU-MIMO transmission; and Sending the third packet includes sending the third packet as part of a second MU-MIMO transmission.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, in: Receiving the first packet includes: receiving the first packet as part of a first Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) transmission; and Sending the third packet includes sending the third packet as part of a second OFDMA transmission.

20. A first communication device, the first communication device being configured to operate in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the first communication device include: A wireless network interface device, comprising: one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices, a first radio frequency (RF) radio implemented at least in part on the one or more IC devices, and a second RF radio implemented at least in part on the one or more IC devices; wherein the one or more IC devices are configured to: receiving, via the first RF radio, a first packet via a first WLAN communication channel having a first RF bandwidth, receiving, after receiving the first packet, a second packet via the first RF radio via the first WLAN communication channel, generating a third group, and The second RF radio is controlled to transmit the third packet via a second WLAN communication channel having a second RF bandwidth, wherein transmission of the third packet overlaps in time with reception of the second packet.

21. The first communication device according to claim 20, in: The first packet includes data for the first communications device; and The one or more IC devices are configured to generate the third packet to include in the first packet an acknowledgement of the data of the first communication device.

22. The first communication device according to claim 20 or 21, in: The first packet is received via at least a first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; the second packet being received via at least the first primary channel of the first WLAN communication channel; as well as The one or more IC devices are configured to control the second RF radio to transmit the third packet via at least a second primary channel of the second WLAN communication channel.

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