Method for reducing detection overhead and related device

Abstract

A method for reducing trigger-based implicit feedback sounding overhead by shortening TB-PPDU duration and a related apparatus are provided in which a non-access point working terminal (non-AP STA) device is wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) device, and a number of sounding dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than a maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device. The method may include transmitting a first frame and a trigger frame regarding TB sounding, wherein at least one field of at least one of the first frame and the trigger frame is set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration; and receiving a sounding feedback having the TB-PPDU duration as the trigger-based implicit feedback for generating a beamforming steering matrix for transmit beamforming, where the at least one field is arranged to shorten the time to receive useless portions in the sounding feedback to reduce the sounding overhead.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to communication control, and more particularly, to a method for reducing detection overhead by shortening a trigger-based (TB) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) duration (TB-PPDU duration), and related devices, such as a wireless transceiver device (e.g., an access point (AP) device) in a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] According to the related art, an AP device and a non-AP working terminal (STA) device may be arranged to act as a beamformer and a beamformer receiver respectively. For example, an AP device as a beamformer may use a beamforming steering matrix to transmit a PPDU to a non-AP STA device as a beamformer receiver to enhance the overall performance. When the number of detection dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than or equal to four and the maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device (N SS ) is greater than four, the beamforming capability of the AP device will not be fully utilized. Some suggestions may be made in the related art to try to solve this problem, but some side effects may be introduced. Therefore, a novel method and related architecture are needed to solve the problem without introducing any side effects or in a way that is less likely to introduce side effects. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for reducing the detection overhead by shortening the TB-PPDU duration based on triggered implicit feedback, and related devices, such as a wireless transceiver device (e.g., AP device) in a wireless communication system, to solve the above problems.

[0004] The present invention of at least one embodiment provides a method for reducing sounding overhead by shortening the TB-PPDU duration of trigger-based implicit feedback, wherein a non-AP STA device is wirelessly connected to an AP device in a wireless communication system, and the number of sounding dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than the maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device. For example, the method may include: transmitting a first frame and a trigger frame regarding TB sounding, wherein at least one field of at least one of the first frame and the trigger frame is set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration; and receiving a sounding feedback having the TB-PPDU duration as trigger-based implicit feedback for generating a beamforming steering matrix for transmission beamforming, wherein the at least one field is set to shorten the time of receiving a useless portion of the sounding feedback to reduce the sounding overhead.

[0005] The present invention of at least one embodiment provides an AP device for reducing the detection overhead by shortening the TB-PPDU duration of the implicit feedback based on the trigger, wherein the AP device is one of the multiple devices in the above-mentioned wireless communication system. The AP device may include a processing circuit, which is arranged to control the operation of the AP device. The AP device may also include at least one communication control circuit, which is connected to the processing circuit and arranged to perform communication control, wherein the aforementioned at least one communication control circuit is arranged to perform wireless communication operations with at least one other device in the multiple devices, for the AP device. In addition, a non-AP STA device is wirelessly connected to the AP device, and the number of detection dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than the maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device. For example, the AP device is arranged to transmit a first frame and a trigger frame regarding TB detection, wherein at least one field of at least one of the first frame and the trigger frame is set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration; and the AP device is arranged to receive a detection feedback having the TB-PPDU duration as trigger-based implicit feedback for generating a beamforming steering matrix for transmission beamforming, wherein the at least one field is set to shorten the time of receiving a useless portion of the detection feedback to reduce detection overhead.

[0006] One advantage of the present invention is that, through appropriate design, the method of the present invention and related devices, such as AP devices, can fully utilize the beamforming capabilities of the AP device while minimizing the detection overhead, more specifically, shortening the time of receiving the useless part of the detection feedback, thereby shortening the TB-PPDU duration to improve the overall performance. In addition, the method of the present invention and related devices, such as AP devices, can solve the related technical problems without introducing any side effects, or solve them in a way that is unlikely to introduce side effects.

[0007] These and other objects of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is an icon of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 2 The lower part thereof shows an implicit beamforming control scheme of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which reduces the sounding overhead by shortening the TB-PPDU duration for trigger-based implicit feedback, wherein, for better understanding, the explicit beamforming control scheme may be Figure 2 The upper part of the display.

[0010] Figure 3 A useless portion minimization control scheme of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention is presented.

[0011] Figure 4 An extremely high throughput (EHT) TB detection control scheme according to a method of an embodiment of the present invention is demonstrated.

[0012] Figure 5 The present invention shows an embodiment of the present invention Figure 4 Some EHT TB detection reduction ratios of the EHT TB detection control scheme.

[0013] Figure 6 A high efficiency (HE) TB detection control scheme according to a method of an embodiment of the present invention is presented.

[0014] Figure 7 The present invention shows an embodiment of the present invention Figure 6 Some HE TB detection reduction ratios of HE TB detection control schemes.

[0015] Figure 8 A trigger frame field adjustment control scheme of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention is presented.

[0016] Fig. 9 The workflow of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Certain terms are used in the following description and claims to refer to specific components. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, electronic equipment manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that have different names but the same function. In the following description and claims, the terms "include" and "cover" are used in an open-ended manner and should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to..." In addition, the term "connected" is intended to mean an indirect or direct electrical connection. Therefore, if one device is connected to another device, the connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or an indirect electrical connection through other devices and connections.

[0018] Figure 1is an icon of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. For better understanding, the wireless communication system 100 and any one of the multiple wireless transceivers #1, ..., and #M therein may be compatible or backward compatible with one or more versions of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Among the multiple wireless transceivers #1, ..., and #M in the wireless communication system 100, one wireless transceiver may be implemented as an AP device 110, and another wireless transceiver may be implemented as a non-AP STA device 120, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, two or more of the multiple wireless transceivers #1, ..., and #M may be implemented as multiple AP devices {110}. In another example, two or more of the multiple wireless transceivers #1, ..., and #M may be implemented as multiple non-AP STA devices {120}. In some examples, two or more of the multiple wireless transceiver devices #1, ..., and #M can be implemented as multiple AP devices {110}, and another two or more of the multiple wireless transceiver devices #1, ..., and #M can be implemented as multiple non-AP STA devices {120}.

[0019] like Figure 1 As shown, the AP device 110 may include a processing circuit 112, at least one communication control circuit (e.g., one or more communication control circuits), which may be collectively referred to as a communication control circuit 114, and at least one antenna (e.g., one or more antennas) of the communication control circuit 114, while the non-AP STA device 120 may include a processing circuit 122, at least one communication control circuit (e.g., one or more communication control circuits), which may be collectively referred to as a communication control circuit 124, and at least one antenna (e.g., one or more antennas) of the communication control circuit 124. Figure 1 In the illustrated architecture, the processing circuit 112 may be arranged to control the operation of the AP device 110, and the communication control circuit 114 may be arranged to perform communication control, more specifically, to perform wireless communication operations with a network (or at least one other device within the network, such as the non-AP STA device 120). In addition, the processing circuit 122 may be arranged to control the operation of the non-AP STA device 120, and the communication control circuit 124 may be arranged to perform communication control, more specifically, to perform wireless communication operations with a network (or at least one other device within the network, such as the AP device 110).

[0020] According to some embodiments, the processing circuit 112 may be implemented by at least one processor / microprocessor, at least one random access memory (RAM), at least one bus, etc., and the communication control circuit 114 may be implemented by at least one wireless network control circuit and at least one wired network control circuit, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Examples of the AP device 110 may include, but are not limited to: a Wi-Fi router. In addition, the processing circuit 122 may be implemented by at least one processor / microprocessor, at least one RAM, at least one bus, etc., and the communication control circuit 124 may be implemented by at least one wireless network control circuit, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Examples of the non-AP STA device 120 may include, but are not limited to: a multi-function mobile phone, a laptop computer, an all-in-one machine, and a wearable device.

[0021] Figure 2 The lower part thereof shows an implicit beamforming control scheme according to a method of an embodiment of the present invention, which is used to reduce the detection overhead of the triggered implicit feedback by shortening the TB-PPDU duration, wherein Figure 2 The upper part of FIG. 1 may show an explicit beamforming control scheme for better understanding. For example, the AP device 110 and the non-AP STA device 120 may be arranged as a beamformer (or "Bfer") 210 and a beamforming object (or "Bfee") 220, respectively, and support a maximum number of spatial streams N, respectively. SS = 5 (or “5ss”) and the maximum number of spatial streams N SS =2 (or "2ss") for transmission / reception. It is assumed that one or more functions of the wireless communication system 100 may be temporarily disabled to allow the AP device 110 to function as a beamformer 210 and support the maximum number of spatial streams N. SS =5 and the non-AP STA device 120 as the beamforming target 220 and supports the maximum number of spatial streams N SS =2According to Figure 2 The explicit beamforming control schemes shown in the upper part operate respectively (referred to as "AP explicit Bfer, 5ss" and "STA Bfee, 2ss"), but the present invention is not limited thereto. Based on the explicit beamforming control scheme, when the maximum number of spatial streams N of the AP device 110 such as the beamformer 210 SS(or "Max Nss") is greater than four and the number of sounding dimensions (or "No.of Snd Dim") of the non-AP STA device 120, such as the beamforming object 220, is less than or equal to four, the beamforming object 220 may estimate the channel quality to return a corresponding feedback report (e.g., a 4x2 feedback report or a 4x3 feedback report) to the beamformer 210 to allow the beamformer 210 to transmit a PPDU to the beamforming object 220 using a beamforming steering matrix, and the beamformer 210 applies this beamforming steering matrix, such as a 4x2 explicit beamforming steering matrix corresponding to the explicit beamforming control scheme (referred to as "Tx PPDU w / applying 4x2explicit Bf steering matrix"). As a result, the beamforming capability of the AP device 110 (or the beamformer 210) will not be fully utilized.

[0022] like Figure 2 As shown in the lower half of FIG. 1 , the AP device 110 (or the communication control circuit 114 therein) may operate according to an implicit beamforming control scheme to achieve better overall performance. SS When the number of sounding dimensions (or “Max Nss”) of the non-AP STA device 120, such as the beamforming object 220, is greater than four and the number of sounding dimensions (or “No. of Snd Dim”) of the non-AP STA device 120, such as the beamforming object 220, is less than or equal to four, the beamformer 210 may estimate the channel quality based on the PHY header content (e.g., certain content of the PHY header) in the sounding feedback returned from the beamforming object 220, and more specifically, generate another beamforming steering matrix, such as a 5x2 beamforming steering matrix, based on the channel quality estimation (or its channel quality estimation result), and use the beamforming steering matrix to transmit the PPDU to the beamforming object 220, and the beamformer 210 applies the beamforming steering matrix, such as a 5x2 implicit beamforming steering matrix corresponding to the implicit beamforming control scheme (referred to as “Tx PPDU w / applying 5x2 implicit Bf steering matrix”), allowing the PPDU to be successfully received by the beamforming object 220 at a longer distance, such as Figure 2 As a result, when the AP's Max Nss>4 and the STA's No.ofSnd Dim≤4, the throughput gain of the implicit beamforming control scheme is greater than the throughput gain of the explicit beamforming control scheme, so the overall performance of the wireless communication system 100 can be enhanced.

[0023] Based on the implicit beamforming control scheme, the AP device 110, such as the beamformer 210, can obtain the maximum beamforming gain by applying the maximum number of detection dimensions in the downlink data for its transmission target device (such as STA). More specifically, the wireless communication system 100 (or the AP device 110 as the beamformer 210 and the non-AP STA device 120 as the beamforming object 220) can operate in an efficient manner according to one or more control schemes. For example, the one or more control schemes may include an implicit beamforming control scheme, as well as any one of a plurality of other control schemes shown in some subsequent embodiments.

[0024] Figure 3 A useless portion minimization control scheme according to a method of an embodiment of the present invention is presented. The AP device 110 (referred to as "AP") as a beamformer 210 can use the useful portion in the PHY header of the sounding feedback, such as the HE-LongTraining field (LTF) or the EHT-LTF, to calculate a beamforming steering matrix (also referred to as a sounding steering matrix or a transmission steering matrix), and control the non-AP STA device 120 (referred to as "STA 1") as the beamforming object 220 to minimize the useless portion of the data after the PHY header of the sounding feedback, so as to reduce the sounding overhead by shortening the TB-PPDU duration. For example, the non-AP STA device 120 may be wirelessly connected to the AP device 110 in the wireless communication system 100. More specifically, the number of sounding dimensions of the non-AP STA device 120 is less than the maximum number of spatial streams N of the AP device 110. SS , and related operations may include:

[0025] (1) The AP device 110 may transmit a first frame 301, a second frame 302, and a trigger frame 303 regarding TB detection, wherein at least one field (e.g., one or more fields) of at least one of the first frame 301 and the trigger frame 303 is set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration;

[0026] (2) non-AP STA device 120 may transmit (or return) the aforementioned sounding feedback, such as sounding feedback 304 (abbreviated as “FBK”), to AP device 110, allowing AP device 110 to simultaneously (or substantially simultaneously) calculate a beamforming steering matrix, such as a sounding steering matrix, based on a useful portion of sounding feedback 304;

[0027] (3) AP device 110 may receive sounding feedback 304 with a TB-PPDU duration as a trigger-based implicit feedback (e.g., sounding feedback triggered by trigger frame 303 regarding an implicit beamforming control scheme) for generating a beamforming steering matrix, such as a sounding steering matrix, for transmit beamforming, wherein the at least one field may be set (or adjusted) to shorten the time of receiving a useless portion of the sounding feedback 304 to reduce sounding overhead;

[0028] (4) AP device 110 may transmit a PPDU carrying data, such as user data, to non-AP STA device 120 while using the beamforming steering matrix; and

[0029] (5) The non-AP STA device 120 may transmit (or return) a block acknowledgment (BA) to the AP device 110;

[0030] The number of detection dimensions of the non-AP STA device 120 may be less than or equal to four, and the maximum number of spatial streams N of the AP device 110 SS For example, the number of detection dimensions of the non-AP STA device 120 may be less than or equal to a first predetermined value, and the maximum number of spatial streams N of the AP device 110 may be less than or equal to a first predetermined value. SS may be greater than the first predetermined value, wherein the first predetermined value may be greater than or equal to four.

[0031] like Figure 3 As shown, in the TB detection sequence initiated by the AP device 110 as the beamformer 210, the first frame 301 may be implemented as a null data PPDU (NDP) announcement (NDPA), the second frame 302 may be implemented as an NDP, such as a detection NDP, and the trigger frame 303 may be implemented as a beamforming report request (BFRP), such as a BFRP trigger, so the first frame 301, the second frame 302 and the trigger frame 303 in the TB detection sequence may also be referred to as an NDPA frame 301, a detection NDP frame 302 and a BFRP trigger frame 303, respectively. For example, the aforementioned at least one field may include at least one subfield in at least one STA information (STA Info) field in the NDPA, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In another example, the aforementioned at least one field may include at least one subfield in at least one information (Info) field in the BFRP. In some examples, the aforementioned at least one field may include the aforementioned at least one subfield in the aforementioned at least one STA Info field in the aforementioned NDPA, and / or the aforementioned at least one subfield in the aforementioned at least one Info field in the BFRP.

[0032] For example, the sounding feedback 304 may be implemented according to the HE TB PPDU format 310. In this case, the PHY header of the sounding feedback 304 may include a plurality of fields, such as a non-HT short training field (L-STF), a non-HT long training field (L-LTF), a non-HT signal (L-SIG) field, a repeated non-HT signal (RL-SIG) field, a HE signal A (HE-SIG-A) field, a HE short training field (HE-STF), and HE-LTFs 311, and the AP device 110 may use the useful portion, such as the HE-LTFs 311, to calculate a beamforming steering matrix, such as a transmit steering matrix. The AP device 110 may receive the entire sounding feedback 304 conforming to the HE TB PPDU format 310, including its PHY header, starting from the L-STF and ending with the HE-LTFs 311, as well as the data field 312 and the packet extension (PE) field, to complete the reception of the sounding feedback 304. When calculating the beamforming steering matrix, the AP device 110 may refer to the useful part, such as the HE-LTFs 311, without referring to the useless part, such as the data field 312. In addition, the AP device 110 may control the non-AP STA device 120 through the at least one field to reduce and / or minimize the length of the useless part (e.g., the data field 312), and more specifically, set or adjust the at least one field so that at least one communication behavior with respect to the sounding feedback 304 indicated by the at least one field is minimized, so as to shorten the time of receiving the useless part (e.g., the data field 312) in the sounding feedback 304, so as to reduce the sounding overhead.

[0033] In another example, the sounding feedback 304 may be implemented according to the EHT TB PPDU format 320. In this case, the PHY header of the sounding feedback 304 may include multiple fields, such as L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG field, RL-SIG field, U-SIG field, EHT-STF and EHT-LTFs 321, and the AP device 110 may use the useful part, such as the EHT-LTFs 321, to calculate the beamforming steering matrix, such as the transmission steering matrix. The AP device 110 may receive the entirety of the sounding feedback 304 conforming to the EHT TB PPDU format 320, including its PHY header, starting from the L-STF and ending at the EHT-LTFs 321, as well as the data field 322 and the PE field, to complete the reception of the sounding feedback 304. When calculating the beamforming steering matrix, the AP device 110 may refer to the useful part, such as the EHT-LTFs 321, without referring to the useless part, such as the data field 322. In addition, the AP device 110 may control the non-AP STA device 120 to use the aforementioned at least one field to reduce and / or minimize the length of the useless portion (e.g., the data field 322), and more specifically, set or adjust the aforementioned at least one field so that at least one communication behavior regarding the detection feedback 304 indicated by the aforementioned at least one field is minimized, so as to shorten the time for receiving the useless portion (e.g., the data field 322) in the detection feedback 304, so as to reduce the detection overhead.

[0034] Regardless of whether the sounding feedback 304 is implemented according to any of the various formats, such as the HE TB PPDU format 310, the EHT TB PPDU format 320, etc., the aforementioned at least one field may include a first field, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior may include a first communication behavior indicated by the first field. If the first communication behavior has a positive correlation with the first field, the AP device 110 may minimize and set a first domain value of the first field to shorten the time of receiving the useless portion of the sounding feedback 304. If the first communication behavior has a negative correlation with the first field, the AP device 110 may maximize and set the first domain value of the first field to shorten the time of receiving the useless portion of the sounding feedback 304. In addition, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of any field in the aforementioned at least one field so that the communication behavior indicated by the field (i.e., any of the aforementioned fields) corresponds to a minimized value to shorten the time of receiving the useless portion of the sounding feedback 304.

[0035] Figure 4The EHT TB detection control scheme according to the method of an embodiment of the present invention is described. For example, at least one subfield of the aforementioned at least one STA information field in the NDPA may include one or a combination of a partial bandwidth information (BW information) subfield, a feedback type and subcarrier grouping (Ng) subfield (referred to as feedback type and Ng subfield), a codebook size subfield, and a number of columns (Nc) subfield. Figure 4 As shown, the first frame 301 implemented as NDPA may conform to the NDPA frame format 410, which may include a frame control field, a duration field, a receiver address (RA) field, a transmitter address (TA) field, a detection dialogue token field, the aforementioned at least one STA information field, such as STA information fields 1 to n (for example, "n" may be a positive integer) and a frame check sequence (FCS) field, and any STA information field in the aforementioned at least one STA information field, such as STA information field 1, may conform to the STA information field format 420 in the EHT NDPA frame, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the STA information field format 420 may include an AID11 subfield located at bits B0 to B10, a partial BW information subfield located at bits B11 to B19, a reserved subfield located at bit B20, an Nc subfield located at bits B21 to B24, such as an Nc indexer field, a feedback type and Ng subfield located at bits B25 to B26, an ambiguity elimination subfield located at bit B27, a codebook size subfield located at bit B28, and a reserved subfield located at bits B29 to B31.

[0036] For example, the AP device 110 may operate in at least one of the cases A1, B1, C1, and D1, and the related operations may include:

[0037] (A1) If the aforementioned at least one field includes a partial BW information subfield located at bits B11 to B19, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes a partial bandwidth indicated by the partial BW information subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of the field to minimize the partial bandwidth and / or become a minimum / minimized bandwidth (referred to as "minimum bandwidth") to shorten the time of receiving the useless part of the sounding feedback 304, for example, the partial bandwidth may be equal to a 20 MHz bandwidth (BW20);

[0038] (B1) If the aforementioned at least one field includes the feedback type and Ng subfield located at bits B25 to B26, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes a subcarrier grouping result corresponding to Ng indicated in bit B26, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of the field to maximize and / or become a maximum / maximum value indicated by bit B26 to minimize the subcarrier grouping result negatively correlated with Ng (referred to as "minimum Ng"), so as to shorten the time of receiving the useless part in the sounding feedback 304, for example, Ng=16;

[0039] (C1) If the at least one field includes a codebook size subfield at bit B28, and the at least one communication behavior includes a codebook size indicated by bit B28 in the codebook size subfield, the AP device 110 may set the value of this field to minimize the codebook size (referred to as “Min.Codebook”) so as to shorten the reception time of the useless portion of the sounding feedback 304, for example, the codebook size is represented by a quantization resolution (φ, ψ) = {7, 5}; and

[0040] (D1) If the aforementioned at least one field includes an Nc subfield, such as an Nc indexer field located at bits B21 to B24, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes Nc indicated by an Nc subfield, such as an Nc indexer field, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize Nc and / or to a minimum / minimum value (referred to as "Min.Nc") so as to shorten the reception time of the useless portion in the detection feedback 304, for example, Nc=1.

[0041] Figure 5 The invention is described according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4The comparison base may include a partial bandwidth indicated by the partial BW information subfield equal to 160 MHz bandwidth (BW160), Ng equal to four as indicated by bit B26 in the feedback type and Ng subfield, a codebook size equal to codebook size (φ, ψ) = {9, 7} as indicated by bit B28 in the codebook size subfield, and Nc equal to two as indicated by the Nc subfield, such as the Nc indexer field (referred to as "Base: BW160, Ng = 4, Nc = 2"). For example, the data length of the sounding feedback 304 in cases D1, C1, B1 and A1, for Nc=1, codebook (CB) size (φ, ψ)={7,5} (referred to as “CB75”), Ng=16 and partial bandwidth (PB) equal to BW20 (referred to as “PB=BW20”) may be in bytes as shown in comparison results 510, 520, 530 and 540, respectively, and the data length of the sounding feedback 304 in the comprehensive case {A1, B1, C1, D1} combining all cases A1, B1, C1 and D1 may be in bytes as shown in comparison result 550, wherein the corresponding EHT TB detection reduction ratios of cases D1, C1, B1 and A1 may be approximately equal to 40%, 22%, 74% and 87%, respectively, and the EHT TB detection reduction ratio of the comprehensive case {A1, B1, C1, D1} may be approximately equal to 98.5%, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For better understanding, the data length of the detection feedback 304 can be expressed as follows:

[0042] Data length (bytes) = [(Na×((b psi +b phi ) / 2))+(Nc×4)]×Ns / 8;

[0043] Wherein “Nc” may represent the number of columns in the compressed beamforming feedback matrix, “Na” may represent the number of angles used for the compressed beamforming feedback matrix, “Ns” may represent the number of subcarriers for which the beamformee 220 transmits the compressed beamforming feedback matrix back to the beamformer 210, and “b psi " and "b phi ” may represent the relevant parameters b about beamforming ψ and b φ For the sake of brevity, similar descriptions will not be repeated in detail here.

[0044] Table 1

[0045] B0 B1~B8 Resolution Feedback Bitmap 1st 8-bit

[0046] Table 1 illustrates an example of a partial BW information subfield format, wherein the partial BW information subfield format shown in Table 1 may include a resolution subfield located at bit B0 and a feedback bitmap subfield located at bits B1 to B8. The resolution subfield may indicate a resolution bandwidth for each bit in the feedback bitmap subfield. In addition, the feedback bitmap subfield may indicate a request for each resolution bandwidth from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency, wherein B1 indicates the lowest resolution bandwidth. If feedback for the corresponding resolution bandwidth is requested, each bit in the feedback bitmap subfield may be set to 1. According to certain embodiments, the partial BW information subfield in a subfield in any STA information field of the aforementioned at least one STA information field may conform to the partial BW information subfield format shown in Table 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0047] Table 2

[0048]

[0049]

[0050] Table 2 shows another example of a partial BW information subfield format, where the partial BW information subfield format shown in Table 2 may include a RU start indexer field located at bits B0 to B6 and a RU end indexer field located at bits B7 to B13. The RU start indexer field may indicate the first 26-tone RU for which the AP device 110 is requesting feedback as a beamformer 210 (e.g., a HE beamformer). In addition, the RU end indexer field may indicate the last 26-tone RU for which the AP device 110 is requesting feedback as a beamformer 210 (e.g., a HE beamformer). The value of the RU start indexer field may be less than or equal to the value of the RU end indexer field. In addition, the RU start indexer field and the RU end indexer field may depend on the bandwidth of the NDPA frame 301. For example, when the NDPA frame 301 represents a HE NDPA frame, its bandwidth may be indicated by the TXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH if the frame is transmitted in a HE, very high throughput (VHT), or high throughput (HT) PPDU, and may be indicated by the TXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT if the frame is transmitted in a non-HT repetition PPDU, and may be 20 MHz if the frame is transmitted in a non-HT PPDU. According to some embodiments, the partial BW information subfield in the subfield of any STA information field in the at least one STA information field may conform to the partial BW information subfield format shown in Table 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0051] Figure 6The HE TB detection control scheme of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. For example, the at least one subfield of the at least one STA information field in the NDPA may include one or more combinations of a partial BW information subfield, a feedback type and Ng subfield, a codebook size subfield and an Nc subfield. Figure 6 As shown, the first frame 301 implemented as NDPA may conform to the NDPA frame format 610, which may include a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, a TA field, a sounding dialogue token field, the at least one STA information field (e.g., STA information fields 1 to n (e.g., "n" may be a positive integer)) and an FCS field, and any STA information field in the at least one STA information field, such as STA information field 1, may conform to the STA information field format 620 in the HE NDPA frame if the AID11 subfield is not 2047, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the STA information field format 620 may include an AID11 subfield located at bits B0 to B10, a partial BW information subfield located at bits B11 to B24, a feedback type and Ng subfield located at bits B25 to B26, an ambiguity subfield located at bit B27, a codebook size subfield located at bit B28, and an Nc subfield located at bits B29 to B31.

[0052] For example, the AP device 110 may operate in at least one of the cases A2, B2, C2, and D2, and the related operations may include:

[0053] (A2) If the at least one field includes a partial BW information subfield located at bits B11 to B24, and the at least one communication behavior includes a partial bandwidth indicated by the partial BW information subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the partial bandwidth and / or the minimum / minimized bandwidth (hereinafter referred to as "minimum bandwidth") to shorten the time of receiving the useless part of the sounding feedback 304. For example, the partial bandwidth may be equal to the bandwidth of one resource unit (RU);

[0054] (B2) If the at least one field includes the feedback type and Ng subfield located at bits B25 to B26, and the at least one communication behavior includes a subcarrier grouping result corresponding to Ng indicated in bit B26, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to maximize Ng indicated by bit B26 and / or to be a maximum / maximum value to minimize the subcarrier grouping result negatively correlated with Ng (referred to as "minimum Ng"), so as to shorten the time of receiving the useless part in the sounding feedback 304, for example, Ng=16;

[0055] (C2) If the at least one field includes a codebook size subfield at bit B28, and the at least one communication behavior includes a codebook size indicated by bit B28 in the codebook size subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the codebook size (referred to as "minimum codebook") to shorten the time of receiving the useless portion of the sounding feedback 304, for example, the codebook size is represented by a quantization resolution (φ, ψ) = {7, 5}; and

[0056] (D2) If at least one of the above fields includes an Nc subfield located at bits B29 to B31, and at least one of the above communication behaviors includes Nc indicated by the Nc subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize Nc and / or a minimum / minimum value (referred to as "minimum Nc") so as to shorten the time of receiving useless parts in the detection feedback 304, for example, Nc=1.

[0057] Figure 7 The present invention is shown in an embodiment Figure 6 The comparison benchmark may include the fractional bandwidth indicated by the fractional BW information subfield being equal to BW160, Ng being equal to four as indicated by bit B26 in the feedback type and Ng subfield, the codebook size being equal to codebook size (φ, ψ) = {9, 7} as indicated by bit B28 in the codebook size subfield, and Nc being equal to two as indicated by the Nc subfield (referred to as “benchmark: BW160, Ng = 4, Nc = 2” for brevity). For example, the data length of the detection feedback 304 in cases D2, C2, B2 and A2 for Nc=1, codebook (CB) size (φ, ψ)={7,5} (abbreviated as "CB75" for brevity), Ng=16 and the partial bandwidth (PB) equal to one RU (abbreviated as "PB=1RU" for brevity) can be measured in bytes as shown in comparison results 710, 720, 530 and 740, respectively, while the data length of the detection feedback 304 in the combined case of case {A2, B2, C2, D2}, combined with all cases in cases A2, B2, C2 and D2, can be measured in bytes as shown in comparison result 750, where the corresponding HE TB detection reduction ratios of cases D2, C2, B2 and A2 may be approximately equal to 40%, 22%, 74% and 98%, respectively, and the HE TB detection reduction ratio of the combined case {A2, B2, C2, D2} may be approximately equal to 99.7%, but the present invention is not limited to this. For the sake of brevity, similar descriptions of this embodiment will not be repeated in detail here.

[0058] For better understanding, some implementation details of any field (e.g., the first field) in the at least one field may be further described using cases A0, B0, C0, and D0 as follows:

[0059] (A0) If any of the above fields represents a partial BW information subfield of at least one STA information field in the first frame 301 (e.g., Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, bits B11 to B19 of the partial BW information subfield, or as Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the first frame is implemented with NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents the partial bandwidth indicated by the partial BW information subfield. The AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the partial bandwidth to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the detection feedback 304. For example, the partial bandwidth may be equal to any one of BW20 and a RU bandwidth.

[0060] (B0) If any of the above fields represents the feedback type and Ng subfield of at least one STA information field in the first frame 301 (e.g., Figure 4 and Figure 6 In any embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the feedback type and Ng subfield of bits B25 to B26 of the first frame are implemented with NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents a subcarrier grouping result, corresponding to Ng indicated by the first predetermined bit (e.g., bit B26), the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to maximize Ng indicated by the first predetermined bit (e.g., bit B26) to minimize the subcarrier grouping result negatively correlated with Ng, so as to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the sounding feedback 304, for example, Ng=16;

[0061] (C0) If any of the above fields represents a codebook size subfield of at least one STA information field in the first frame 301 (e.g., Figure 4 and Figure 6 In any embodiment shown in the figure, the first frame is implemented by NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents the codebook size indicated by the second predetermined bit (e.g., bit B28). The AP device 110 can set the domain value of this field to minimize the codebook size to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the sounding feedback 304. For example, the codebook size is represented by a quantization resolution (φ, ψ) = {7, 5};

[0062] (D0) If any of the above fields represents the Nc subfield of at least one STA information field in the first frame 301 (e.g., Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, the Nc indexer field of bits B21 to B24, or as Figure 6In the illustrated embodiment, the Nc subfield of bits B29 to B31), the first frame is implemented with NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents Nc indicated by the Nc subfield. The AP device 110 can set the domain value of this field to minimize Nc to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the detection feedback 304, for example, Nc=1.

[0063] Figure 8 The trigger frame field adjustment control scheme of the method in one embodiment of the present invention is described. For example, the aforementioned at least one information field may include a general information field and at least one user information field. More specifically, at least one subfield of the aforementioned at least one information field in the aforementioned BFRP may include an uplink (UL) length subfield of the general information field, a guard interval (GI) and long training field (LTF) type subfield (referred to as GI and LTF type subfields) of the general information field, a UL modulation and coding scheme (MCS) subfield of any user information field in the aforementioned at least one user information field, and a spatial stream (SS) allocation / random access resource unit (RA-RU) information subfield (referred to as SS allocation subfield) of any user information field. Figure 8 As shown, the trigger frame 303 implemented as BFRP may conform to the BFRP trigger frame format 810, which may include a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, a TA field, a general information field, at least one user information field (for example, one or more user information fields) such as the above-mentioned user information field, a padding field and an FCS field, wherein the general information field may conform to the general information field format 820, and any user information field of the aforementioned at least one user information field may conform to the user information field format 830, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the user information field format 820 may include a trigger type subfield at bits B0 to B3, a UL length subfield at bits B4 to B15, a more TF subfield at bit B16, a CS required subfield at bit B17, a UL BW subfield at bits B18 to B19, a GI and LTF type subfield at bits B20 to B21, and a plurality of subsequent subfields starting from bit B22, while the user information field format 830 may include an AID12 subfield at bits B0 to B11 (e.g., a subfield value equal to the 12 least significant bits of the AID of the non-AP STA 120), a RU allocation subfield at bits B12 to B19, a UL forward error correction (FEC) coding type subfield at bit B20, a UL MCS subfield at bits B21 to B24, a UL The DCM subfield, the SS allocation / RA-RU information subfield located at bits B26 to B31, and a plurality of subsequent subfields starting from bit B32.

[0064] For example, the AP device 110 may operate in at least one of cases A3, B3, C3, and D3, and the related operations may include:

[0065] (A3) If the aforementioned at least one field includes the UL length subfield of bits B4 to B15 in the general information field of the general information field format 820, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes the UL length indicated by the UL length subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the UL length and / or the minimum / minimum length, so as to shorten the time of receiving the useless part of the sounding feedback 304;

[0066] (B3) if the aforementioned at least one field includes the GI and LTF type subfield in bits B20 to B21 of the general information field of the general information field format 820, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes a GI and LTF length corresponding to the GI and LTF length indicated by the GI and LTF type subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the GI and LTF length (e.g., the combined total length of the GI and one or more LTFs) and / or the minimum / minimized length to shorten the time of receiving the useless portion of the sounding feedback 304;

[0067] (C3) if the aforementioned at least one field includes the UL MCS subfield of bits B21 to B24 in the user information field of the user information field format 830, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes an average code size corresponding to the MCS indicated by the UL MCS subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the average code size (e.g., the average size of the coding result using the modulation order and the FEC code rate in the MCS) and / or the minimum / minimized size to shorten the time of receiving the useless part of the sounding feedback 304; and

[0068] (D3) If the aforementioned at least one field includes the SS allocation subfield of bits B26 to B31 in the user information field of the user information field format 830, and the aforementioned at least one communication behavior includes an average transmission time corresponding to the SS range indicated by the SS allocation subfield, the AP device 110 may set the domain value of this field to minimize the average transmission time (e.g., the average time required to transmit using spatial streams within the SS range) and / or the minimum / minimized value, so as to shorten the time of receiving the useless part in the sounding feedback 304; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. For the sake of brevity, similar descriptions of this embodiment will not be repeated in detail here.

[0069] Fig. 9 The wireless transceiver device, such as the AP device 110, may be based on Fig. 9The workflow shown operates, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In step S11, the AP device 110 may transmit a first frame 301 regarding TB detection, and more specifically, further transmit a second frame 302 and a trigger frame 303 immediately following the first frame 301, wherein at least one field in the aforementioned at least one frame is set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration. For example, the first frame 301, the second frame 302, and the trigger frame 303 may be implemented as NDPA, detection NDP, and BFRP trigger, respectively, and thus may also be referred to as NDPA frame 301, detection NDP frame 302, and BFRP trigger frame 303, respectively.

[0070] In step S12, the AP device 110 may receive the sounding feedback 304 with the TB-PPDU duration as a trigger-based implicit feedback for generating a beamforming steering matrix for transmit beamforming, wherein the aforementioned at least one field may be set (or adjusted) to shorten the time of receiving the useless part (e.g., if the sounding feedback 304 is implemented according to the HE TBPPDU format 310, it is the data field 312; if it is implemented according to the EHT TB PPDU format 320, it is the data field 322) in the sounding feedback 304 to reduce the sounding overhead. For the sake of brevity, similar descriptions of this embodiment are not repeated in detail here.

[0071] For a better understanding, the method can be used Fig. 9 The workflow shown is used to illustrate, but the present invention is not limited thereto. According to some embodiments, Fig. 9 One or more steps in the workflow shown may be added, deleted, or changed.

[0072] A skilled artisan will readily observe that numerous modifications and variations of the apparatus and methods can be made while retaining the teachings of the present invention. Therefore, the above disclosure should be interpreted only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for reducing sounding overhead by shortening a trigger-based (TB) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) duration (TB-PPDU duration) for trigger-based implicit feedback, wherein a non-AP STA device is wirelessly connected to an access point (AP) device, and a number of sounding dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than a maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device, the method comprising: Transmitting a first frame and a trigger frame regarding TB detection, wherein at least one field of at least one of the first frame and the trigger frame is set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration; as well as A sounding feedback is received having the TB-PPDU duration as the trigger-based implicit feedback for generating a beamforming steering matrix for transmit beamforming, wherein the at least one field is set to shorten the time of receiving a useless portion of the sounding feedback to reduce the sounding overhead.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of detection dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than or equal to a first predetermined value, and the maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device is greater than the first predetermined value, wherein the first predetermined value is greater than or equal to four.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first frame is implemented as a null data packet announcement (NDPA), and the at least one field includes at least one subfield in at least one working terminal information (STA information) field in the NDPA.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one subfield in the at least one STA information field in the NDPA includes one or more of the following combinations: a combination of a portion of a bandwidth information (BW information) subfield, a feedback type and subcarrier grouping (Ng) subfield, a codebook size subfield, and a number of columns (Nc) subfield. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the trigger frame is implemented as a beamforming report request (BFRP), and the at least one field comprises at least one subfield within at least one information field in the BFRP.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the at least one information field comprises a general information field and at least one user information field; and the at least one subfield in the at least one information field in the BFRP comprises one or more of the following combinations: an uplink (UL) length subfield of the general information field, a guard interval (GI) and long training field (LTF) type subfield of the general information field, a UL modulation and coding scheme (MCS) subfield in any user information field, and a spatial stream (SS) allocation subfield in any user information field.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one field is set so that at least one communication behavior related to the detection feedback indicated by the at least one field is minimized, so as to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the detection feedback.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one field comprises a first field, and the at least one communication behavior comprises a first communication behavior indicated by the first field, wherein: If the first communication behavior is positively correlated with the first field, a first threshold value of the first field is minimized so as to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the detection feedback; as well as If the first communication behavior is negatively correlated with the first field, a first threshold value of the first field is maximized to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the detection feedback.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein a domain value of any one of the at least one field is set so that the communication behavior indicated by any one of the fields corresponds to a minimized value so as to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the detection feedback.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: If any field represents a fractional bandwidth information (BW Info) subfield in at least one STA Information (STA Info) field and is located in a first frame implemented with a Null Data PPDU (NDP) Announcement (NDPA), and the first communication behavior represents a fractional bandwidth indicated by the fractional BW Info subfield, the value of any field is set to minimize the fractional bandwidth to shorten the reception time of the useless portion of the sounding feedback; If any field represents a feedback type and subcarrier grouping (Ng) subfield in at least one STA information field in a first frame, the first frame is implemented with NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents a subcarrier grouping result corresponding to an Ng, the Ng being indicated by a first predetermined bit in the feedback type and the Ng subfield, a domain value of the any field is set to maximize the Ng indicated by the first predetermined bit, thereby minimizing the subcarrier grouping result negatively correlated with the Ng, so as to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the sounding feedback; If the any field represents a codebook size subfield in at least one STA information field in the first frame, the first frame is implemented with NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents a codebook size indicated by a second predetermined bit in the codebook size subfield, the domain value of the any field is set to minimize the codebook size to shorten the reception time of the useless part in the sounding feedback; as well as If any of the fields represents a column number (Nc) subfield in at least one STA information field in the first frame, the first frame is implemented with NDPA, and the first communication behavior represents the Nc indicated by the Nc subfield, the domain value of any of the fields is set to minimize Nc to shorten the reception time of useless portions in the detection feedback.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: If any of the fields represents a partial BW information subfield, the partial bandwidth is equal to any one of a 20 MHz bandwidth (BW20) and a resource unit (RU) bandwidth; If the any field represents the feedback type and Ng subfield, Ng=16; If any of the fields represents the codebook size subfield, the codebook size is represented by a quantization resolution (φ, ψ) = {7, 5}; and If the any field represents the Nc subfield, Nc=1.

12. A device for reducing probing overhead, for reducing probing overhead by shortening a trigger-based (TB) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) duration (TB-PPDU duration), the duration being used for trigger-based implicit feedback, the device for reducing probing overhead comprising: a processing circuit arranged to control the operation of the apparatus for reducing detection overhead; as well as at least one communication control circuit, connected to the processing circuit, arranged to perform communication control, wherein the at least one communication control circuit is arranged to perform wireless communication operation with at least one other device in the wireless communication system, for the device, wherein a non-AP STA device is wirelessly connected to the device, and a number of detection dimensions of the non-AP STA device is less than a maximum number of spatial streams of the AP device; in: The apparatus is arranged to transmit a first frame, regarding TB detection and a trigger frame, at least one field of at least one of the first frame and the trigger frame being set to shorten the TB-PPDU duration; as well as The apparatus is arranged to receive a sounding feedback having a TB-PPDU duration as a trigger-based implicit feedback for generating a beamforming steering matrix for transmit beamforming, wherein the at least one field is set to shorten the time of receiving a useless portion of the sounding feedback to reduce the sounding overhead.

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