Method and apparatus for transmitting or receiving based on distributed resource unit tone plan in wireless LAN system

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for transmitting or receiving on the basis of a distributed resource unit tone plan in a wireless LAN system. A method performed by a first station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise the steps of: generating a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) including one or more fields, where the one or more fields are mapped onto one or more distributed resource units (DRUs); and transmitting the PPDU to the one or more second STAs over a bandwidth including the 40 MHz channel. On the basis that the one or more DRUs include a 26-tone DRU, the 26-tone DRU may be one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and the nth (n = 1, 2,..., 18) 26-tone DRU may be defined as per 18th subcarrier, the nth 26-tone DRU including the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers within the 20 MHz channel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting or receiving based on a distributed resource unit tone scheme in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system. Background Technology

[0002] New technologies have been introduced for Wireless LANs (WLANs) to improve transmission rates, increase bandwidth, enhance reliability, reduce errors, and decrease latency. Within WLAN technology, the IEEE 802.11 series of standards can be referred to as Wi-Fi. For example, recent technologies introduced into WLAN include the Ultra High Throughput (VHT) enhancement of the 802.11 ac standard and the High Efficiency (HE) enhancement of the IEEE 802.11 ax standard.

[0003] To provide a more advanced wireless communication environment, improved techniques for Extremely High Throughput (EHT) are being discussed. For example, techniques for MIMO and multiple access point (AP) coordination that support increased bandwidth, efficient use of multiple frequency bands, and increased spatial flow are being investigated. Specifically, various techniques are being explored to support low-latency or real-time services. Furthermore, new technologies to support Ultra-High Reliability (UHR), including improvements or extensions to EHT techniques, are being discussed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Technical issues

[0005] The technical problem of this disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for transmitting or receiving based on a distributed resource unit tone plan in a WLAN system.

[0006] The technical objectives to be achieved by this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other technical objectives not described herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art through the following description.

[0007] Technical solution

[0008] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method performed by a first station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system may include: generating a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) including at least one field, wherein the at least one field is mapped onto at least one distributed resource unit (DRU); and transmitting the PPDU to at least one second STA over a bandwidth including a 40 MHz channel. The at least one DRU includes a 26-tone DRU, which may be one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and the nth (n=1, 2, …, 18) 26-tone DRU may be defined as every 18th subcarrier, the nth 26-tone DRU including the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers within the 20 MHz channel.

[0009] According to an additional aspect of this disclosure, a method performed by a second station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system may include: receiving a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) including at least one field from a first STA over a bandwidth including a 40 MHz channel; and decoding at least one field mapped onto at least one distributed resource unit (DRU). The at least one DRU includes a 26-tone DRU, which may be one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and the nth (n=1, 2, …, 18) 26-tone DRU may be defined as every 18th subcarrier, the nth 26-tone DRU including the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers within the 20 MHz channel.

[0010] Technical effect

[0011] According to this disclosure, a method and apparatus for transmitting or receiving based on a distributed resource unit tone scheme in a WLAN system can be provided.

[0012] The effects achievable by this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand other effects not described herein through the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are included as part of the detailed description of this disclosure, provide embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the detailed description, describe the technical features of the disclosure.

[0014] Figure 1 A configuration block diagram of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary structure of a WLAN system to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a diagram used to illustrate the link establishment process that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a diagram used to illustrate the backoff processing that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operation that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure that can be used in a WLAN system to which this disclosure may be applied.

[0020] Figure 7This is a diagram illustrating an example of a PPDU as defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard of this disclosure.

[0021] Figures 8 to 10 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a resource unit that can be used in a WLAN system according to this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 11 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRU that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary format of the trigger frame to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0024] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a PPDU receiving method based on a DRU tone scheme for a first STA according to this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a PPDU transmission method based on a DRU tone scheme for a second STA according to this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0026] In the following, embodiments according to this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description disclosed with reference to the drawings is intended to describe exemplary embodiments of this disclosure and not to represent the only embodiments in which this disclosure can be implemented. The following detailed description includes specific details to provide a complete understanding of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that this disclosure can be implemented without these specific details.

[0027] In some cases, known structures and devices may be omitted, or they may be shown in block diagram form based on the core function of each structure and device in order to prevent ambiguity in the concepts of this disclosure.

[0028] In this disclosure, when an element is referred to as “connected,” “combined,” or “linked” to another element, it can include both indirect and direct connections between the two elements. Furthermore, in this disclosure, the terms “comprising” or “having” specify the presence of the mentioned features, steps, operations, components, and / or elements, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, stages, operations, components, elements, and / or groups thereof.

[0029] In this disclosure, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one element from another and are not used to limit the elements. Unless otherwise stated, they do not limit the order or importance of the elements. Therefore, within the scope of this disclosure, a first element in one embodiment may be referred to as a second element in another embodiment, and similarly, a second element in one embodiment may be referred to as a first element in another embodiment.

[0030] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and not for limiting the claims. As used in the description of embodiments and the appended claims, the singular form is intended to include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “and / or” as used in this disclosure may refer to one of the associated enumerations, or is intended to refer to and include any and all possible combinations of two or more of them. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the “ / ” between words in this disclosure has the same meaning as “and / or”.

[0031] The examples disclosed herein can be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, the examples disclosed herein can be applied to wireless LAN systems. For example, the examples disclosed herein can be applied to wireless LANs based on the IEEE 802.11a / g / n / ac / ax standards. Furthermore, the examples disclosed herein can be applied to wireless LANs based on the newly proposed IEEE 802.11be (or EHT) standard. The examples disclosed herein can be applied to wireless LANs based on the IEEE 802.11be version 2 standard, corresponding to the additional enhancements of the IEEE 802.11be version 1 standard. Additionally, the examples disclosed herein can be applied to wireless LANs based on next-generation standards following IEEE 802.11be. Furthermore, the examples disclosed herein can be applied to cellular wireless communication systems. For example, it can be applied to cellular wireless communication systems based on 3GPP standards using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and 5G New Radio (NR) technology.

[0032] The technical features that can be applied to examples of this disclosure will be described below.

[0033] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0034] Figure 1 The first device 100 and the second device 200 illustrated herein can be replaced by various terms such as terminal, wireless device, wireless transceiver unit (WTRU), user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), user terminal (UT), mobile subscriber station (MSS), mobile subscriber unit (MSU), subscriber station (SS), advanced mobile station (AMS), wireless terminal (WT), or simply user. Furthermore, the first device 100 and the second device 200 include access point (AP), base station (BS), fixed station, node B, base transceiver system (BTS), and network. It can be replaced by various terms such as artificial intelligence (AI) system, roadside unit (RSU), repeater, router, relay, and gateway.

[0035] Figure 1The devices 100 and 200 illustrated herein may be referred to as stations (STAs). For example, Figure 1 The devices 100 and 200 illustrated herein may be referred to by various terms such as transmitting device, receiving device, transmitting STA, and receiving STA. For example, STA 110 and 200 may perform an access point (AP) role or a non-AP role. That is, in this disclosure, STA 110 and 200 may perform AP and / or non-AP functions. When STA 110 and 200 perform AP functions, they may simply be referred to as APs, and when STA 110 and 200 perform non-AP functions, they may simply be referred to as STAs. Alternatively, in this disclosure, AP may also be referred to as AP STA.

[0036] Reference Figure 1 The first device 100 and the second device 200 can transmit and receive radio signals via various wireless LAN technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). The first device 100 and the second device 200 may include interfaces for the Media Access Control (MAC) layer and Physical Layer (PHY) conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0037] In addition to wireless LAN technology, the first device 100 and the second device 200 can also support various communication standards (e.g., 3GPP LTE series, 5G NR series standards, etc.). Furthermore, the devices disclosed herein can be implemented in various devices such as mobile phones, vehicles, personal computers, augmented reality (AR) devices, and virtual reality (VR) devices. Additionally, the STA of this specification can support various communication services such as voice calls, video calls, data communication, autonomous driving, machine-type communication (MTC), machine-to-machine (M2M), device-to-device (D2D), and IoT (Internet of Things).

[0038] The first device 100 may include one or more processors 102 and one or more memories 104, and may additionally include one or more transceivers 106 and / or one or more antennas 108. The processors 102 may control the memories 104 and / or the transceivers 106, and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure. For example, the processor 102 may transmit a wireless signal including the first information / signal via the transceivers 106 after generating first information / signal by processing information in the memories 104. Additionally, the processor 102 may receive a wireless signal including second information / signal via the transceivers 106, and then store information obtained through signal processing of the second information / signal in the memories 104. The memories 104 may be connected to the processor 102 and may store various information related to the operation of the processor 102. For example, the memories 104 may store software code including instructions for performing all or part of the processing controlled by the processor 102 or for performing the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure. Here, processor 102 and memory 104 may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement wireless LAN technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). Transceiver 106 may be connected to processor 102 and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas 108. Transceiver 106 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. Transceiver 106 may be used with an RF (radio frequency) unit. In this disclosure, wireless device may refer to a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0039] The second device 200 may include one or more processors 202 and one or more memories 204, and may additionally include one or more transceivers 206 and / or one or more antennas 208. The processors 202 may control the memories 204 and / or the transceivers 206, and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure. For example, the processors 202 may generate third information / signals by processing information in the memories 204, and then transmit a wireless signal including the third information / signals via the transceivers 206. Additionally, the processors 202 may receive wireless signals including fourth information / signals via the transceivers 206, and then store information obtained through signal processing of the fourth information / signals in the memories 204. The memories 204 may be connected to the processors 202 and may store various information related to the operation of the processors 202. For example, the memories 204 may store software code including instructions for performing all or part of the processing controlled by the processors 202 or for performing the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure. Here, processor 202 and memory 204 may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement wireless LAN technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). Transceiver 206 may be connected to processor 202 and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas 208. Transceiver 206 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. Transceiver 206 may be used with an RF unit. In this disclosure, apparatus may refer to a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0040] The hardware elements of devices 100 and 200 will be described in more detail below. Not limited thereto, one or more protocol layers may be implemented by one or more processors 102 and 202. For example, one or more processors 102 and 202 may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as PHY and MAC). One or more processors 102 and 202 may generate one or more PDUs (Protocol Data Units) and / or one or more SDUs (Service Data Units) according to the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure. One or more processors 102 and 202 may generate messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure. One or more processors 102 and 202 may generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the functions, processes, suggestions, and / or methods disclosed in this disclosure to provide them to one or more transceivers 106 and 206. One or more processors 102, 202 may receive signals (e.g., baseband signals) from one or more transceivers 106, 206 and obtain PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information, in accordance with the description, functions, processes, suggestions, methods and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure.

[0041] One or more processors 102, 202 may be referred to as controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or microcomputers. One or more processors 102, 202 may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), one or more DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), one or more DSPDs (Digital Signal Processing Devices), one or more PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), or one or more FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) may be included in one or more processors 102, 202. The descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software, and the firmware or software may be implemented to include modules, processes, functions, etc. Firmware or software configured to execute the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure may be included in one or more processors 102, 202, or may be stored in one or more memories 104, 204 and driven by one or more processors 102, 202. The descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software in the form of code, instructions and / or instruction sets.

[0042] One or more memories 104, 204 may be connected to one or more processors 102, 202 and may store data, signals, messages, information, programs, code, instructions, and / or commands in various forms. One or more memories 104, 204 may be configured with ROM, RAM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk drive, registers, cache memory, computer-readable storage media, and / or combinations thereof. One or more memories 104, 204 may be located internally and / or externally to one or more processors 102, 202. Furthermore, one or more memories 104, 204 may be connected to one or more processors 102, 202 via various technologies such as wired or wireless connections.

[0043] One or more transceivers 106, 206 can transmit user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., mentioned in the methods and / or operation flowcharts of this disclosure to one or more other devices. One or more transceivers 106, 206 can receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., mentioned in the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure from one or more other devices. For example, one or more transceivers 106, 206 can be connected to one or more processors 102, 202 and can transmit and receive wireless signals. For example, one or more processors 102, 202 can control one or more transceivers 106, 206 to transmit user data, control information, or wireless signals to one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more processors 102, 202 can control one or more transceivers 106, 206 to receive user data, control information, or wireless signals from one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more transceivers 106, 206 may be connected to one or more antennas 108, 208, and one or more transceivers 106, 206 may be configured to transmit and receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., mentioned in the descriptions, functions, processes, suggestions, methods, and / or operation flowcharts included in this disclosure, via one or more antennas 108, 208. In this disclosure, one or more antennas may be multiple physical antennas or multiple logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). One or more transceivers 106, 206 may convert received wireless signals / channels, etc., from RF band signals into baseband signals for processing using one or more processors 102, 202. One or more transceivers 106, 206 may convert user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., processed using one or more processors 102, 202, from baseband signals into RF band signals. Therefore, one or more transceivers 106, 206 may include (analog) oscillators and / or filters.

[0044] For example, one of STAs 100 and 200 can perform the expected operation of an AP, and the other of STAs 100 and 200 can perform the expected operation of a non-AP STA. For example, Figure 1 Transceivers 106 and 206 can perform transmission and reception operations of signals (e.g., packet or physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) conforming to IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax / be / bn). Additionally, in this disclosure, the various STAs can generate transmit / receive signals or perform data processing or calculations on the transmit / receive signals in advance by [the relevant entity / component]. Figure 1Processors 102 and 202 perform the following operations: For example, examples of generating transmit / receive signals or performing data processing or computations on transmit / receive signals in advance may include: 1) determining / acquiring / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding bit information of fields (signals (SIG), short training field (STF), long training field (LTF), data, etc.) included in the PPDU; 2) determining / configuring / acquiring time or frequency resources (e.g., subcarrier resources) for the fields (SIG, STF, LTF, data, etc.) included in the PPDU; 3) determining / configuring / acquiring specific sequences (e.g., pilot sequences, STF / LTF sequences, additional sequences applied to SIG) for the fields (SIG, STF, LTF, data, etc.) included in the PPDU action; 4) power control operations and / or power saving operations applied to the STA; 5) operations related to determining / acquiring / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding the ACK signal. Additionally, in the example below, various information used by different STAs to determine / acquire / configure / calculate / decode / encode transmitted and received signals (e.g., information related to fields / subfields / control fields / parameters / power, etc.) can be stored. Figure 1 In memory 104 and 204.

[0045] In the following text, downlink (DL) can refer to a link used for communication from an AP STA to a non-AP STA, and DL PPDU / packets / signals can be sent and received via DL. In DL communication, the transmitter can be part of an AP STA, and the receiver can be part of a non-AP STA. Uplink (UL) can refer to a link used for communication from a non-AP STA to an AP STA, and UL PPDU / packets / signals can be sent and received via UL. In UL communication, the transmitter can be part of a non-AP STA, and the receiver can be part of an AP STA.

[0046] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary structure of a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0047] A wireless LAN system can be structured by multiple components. These components interact to provide STA mobility support that is transparent to upper layers. The Basic Service Set (BSS) corresponds to the basic building blocks of a wireless LAN. Figure 2 An example is shown where there are two BSSs (BSS1 and BSS2), and two STAs included as members of each BSS (STA1 and STA2 are included in BSS1, and STA3 and STA4 are included in BSS2). Figure 2The ellipse representing the BSS can also be interpreted as representing the coverage area within the corresponding BSS where STAs maintain communication. This area can be called the Basic Service Area (BSA). When a STA moves outside the BSA, it cannot communicate directly with other STAs within the BSA.

[0048] If we do not consider Figure 2 The DS shown in the diagram represents the most basic BSS type in a wireless LAN: the Independent BSS (IBSS). For example, an IBSS can have a minimal form containing only two STAs. For instance, assuming other components are omitted, BSS1 containing only STA1 and STA2, or BSS2 containing only STA3 and STA4, can respectively correspond to representative examples of IBSS. This configuration is possible when STAs can communicate directly without an AP. Furthermore, in this type of wireless LAN, it is not pre-configured but can be configured as needed, and this can be called an ad-hoc network. Since an IBSS does not include an AP, there is no centralized management entity. That is, in an IBSS, STAs are managed in a distributed manner. In an IBSS, all STAs can consist of mobile STAs and are not allowed to access the Distributed System (DS), thus forming a self-contained network.

[0049] Membership of an STA in a BSS can be dynamically changed by opening or closing an STA, or by entering or leaving a BSS zone. To become a member of a BSS, an STA can join the BSS using a synchronization process. To access all services of the BSS infrastructure, an STA must be associated with the BSS. This association can be dynamically established and may include the use of Distributed System Services (DSS).

[0050] Direct STA-to-STA distance in a wireless LAN may be limited by PHY performance. In some cases, this distance limitation may be sufficient, but in others, longer distances between STAs may be required for communication. Distributed systems (DS) can be configured to support extended coverage.

[0051] DS refers to the structure of BSS interconnection. Specifically, such as... Figure 2As shown, a BSS can exist as an extension of a network composed of multiple BSSs. A DS is a logical concept and can be specified through the characteristics of the Distributed System Medium (DSM). At this point, the Wireless Medium (WM) and the DSM can be logically separated. Each logical medium is used for a different purpose and by different components. These media are not limited to being the same, nor are they limited to being different. In this way, the flexibility of a wireless LAN architecture (DS architecture or other network architectures) can be interpreted as multiple media being logically different. That is, a wireless LAN architecture can be implemented in various ways, and the corresponding wireless LAN architecture can be independently specified by the physical characteristics of each implementation.

[0052] The DS can support mobile devices by providing seamless integration of multiple BSSs and offering the logical services necessary for addressing to the destination. Additionally, the DS may include a component called a portal, which acts as a bridge between the wireless LAN and other networks, such as IEEE 802.X.

[0053] AP enables access to DS via WM for associated non-AP STAs, and refers to entities that also have STA functionality. Data movement between BSS and DS can be performed through AP. For example, Figure 2 STA2 and STA3, shown in the diagram, have the functionality of STAs and provide the ability for associated non-AP STAs (STA1 and STA4) to access the DS. Furthermore, since all APs essentially correspond to STAs, all APs are addressable entities. The address used by an AP for communication on the WM is not necessarily the same as the address used by the AP for communication on the DSM. A BSS consisting of APs and one or more STAs can be referred to as an infrastructure BSS.

[0054] Data sent from one of the STAs associated with the AP to the corresponding STA address of the AP can always be received on an uncontrolled port and can be processed by the IEEE 802.1X port access entity. Alternatively, when the controlled port is authenticated, the transmitted data (or frames) can be delivered to the DS.

[0055] In addition to the DS structure described above, Extended Service Sets (ESS) can also be configured to provide wide coverage.

[0056] An ESS (Service Set Identity) refers to a network of arbitrary size and complexity consisting of DS (Service Controller) and BSS (Service Set Service). An ESS can correspond to a set of BSSs connected to a DS. However, an ESS does not include the DS. An ESS network is characterized as an IBSS (Integrated Service Set Service) within the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. STAs included in an ESS can communicate with each other, and a moving STA can transparently move from one BSS to another (within the same ESS) to the LLC. APs included in an ESS can have the same Service Set Identity (SSID). The SSID is distinguished from the BSSID, which serves as the identifier for the BSS.

[0057] Wireless LAN systems make no assumptions about the relative physical locations of BSSs, and all of the following forms are possible. BSSs can partially overlap, a form commonly used to provide continuous coverage. Additionally, BSSs may not be physically connected, and logically, there is no limit to the distance between BSSs. Furthermore, BSSs can be physically located in the same location, which can be used to provide redundancy. Additionally, one (or more) IBSS or ESS networks can physically exist in the same space as one (or more) ESS networks. This can correspond to the form of ESS networks when an ad hoc network operates in a location where an ESS network exists, when physically overlapping wireless networks are configured by different organizations, or when two or more different access and security policies are required in the same location, etc.

[0058] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the link establishment process that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0059] In order for a STA to establish a link with the network and send / receive data, it first discovers the network, performs authentication, establishes an association, and performs authentication processing for security. The link establishment process can also be called session initiation processing or session establishment processing. Furthermore, the discovery, authentication, association, and security establishment processes of the link establishment process can be collectively referred to as association processing.

[0060] In step S310, the STA can perform a network discovery operation. The network discovery operation may include a scanning operation by the STA. That is, in order for the STA to access a network, it needs to find networks it can participate in. The STA should identify compatible networks before participating in a wireless network, and the process of identifying networks existing in a specific area is called scanning.

[0061] Scanning schemes include active scanning and passive scanning. Figure 3An exemplary network discovery operation including active scanning processing is illustrated. In active scanning, the STA performing the scan sends a probe request frame to discover which APs are present around it as the channel moves and awaits a response. The responder sends a probe response frame as a response to the probe request frame to the STA that sent the probe request frame. Here, the responder may be the STA that last sent a beacon frame in the BSS of the channel being scanned. In the BSS, the AP becomes the responder because it sends a beacon frame, and in the IBSS, the STAs in the IBSS rotate to send beacon frames, so the responder is not constant. For example, an STA that sends a probe request frame on channel 1 and receives a probe response frame on channel 1 may store the BSS-related information included in the received probe response frame and may move to the next channel (e.g., channel 2) and perform a scan in the same manner (i.e., sending and receiving probe requests / responses on channel 2).

[0062] Although not in Figure 3 As shown, scanning can be performed passively. In passive scanning, the STA performing the scan waits for beacon frames while moving through the channel. Beacon frames are one of the management frames defined in IEEE 802.11 and are sent periodically to notify of the existence of a wireless network and allow the STA performing the scan to find and participate in the wireless network. In the BSS, the AP periodically sends beacon frames, and in the IBSS, the STA within the IBSS rotates to send beacon frames. When the STA performing the scan receives a beacon frame, it stores the BSS information included in the beacon frame and records the beacon frame information for each channel while moving to another channel. The STA receiving the beacon frame can store the BSS-related information included in the received beacon frame, move to the next channel, and perform scanning in the next channel in the same manner. Comparing active and passive scanning, active scanning has the advantages of less latency and less power consumption.

[0063] After the STA discovers the network, an authentication process can be performed in step S320. To clearly distinguish it from the security establishment operation in step S340, which will be described later, this authentication process can be referred to as the first authentication process.

[0064] The authentication process includes the following steps: the STA sends an authentication request frame to the AP, and in response, the AP sends an authentication response frame to the STA. The authentication frame used for the authentication request / response corresponds to the management frame.

[0065] An authentication frame includes the authentication algorithm number, authentication transaction sequence number, status code, challenge text, robust security network (RSN), and finite circular group. These correspond to some examples of information that can be included in the authentication request / response frame and can be replaced with other information, or additional information may be included.

[0066] A STA can send an authentication request frame to an AP. The AP can determine whether to allow the corresponding STA's authentication based on the information included in the received authentication request frame. The AP can then provide the STA with the authentication processing result via an authentication response frame.

[0067] After the STA is successfully authenticated, the association process can be performed in step S330. The association process includes the following steps: the STA sends an association request frame to the AP, and in response, the AP sends an association response frame to the STA.

[0068] For example, an association request frame may include information related to various capabilities, beacon listening intervals, service set identifiers (SSIDs), supported rates, supported channels, RSNs, mobile domains, supported operation classes, service indication mapping broadcast requests (TIM broadcast requests), interoperability capabilities, etc. Similarly, an association response frame may include information related to various capabilities, status codes, association IDs (AIDs), supported rates, enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter sets, received channel power indicators (RCPIs), received signal-to-noise ratio indicators (RSNIs), mobile domains, timeout intervals (e.g., association recovery time), overlapping BSS scan parameters, TIM broadcast responses, quality of service (QoS) mappings, etc. These correspond to some examples of information that can be included in association request / response frames and may be replaced with other information, or additional information may be included.

[0069] After the STA successfully associates with the network, a security establishment process can be performed in step S340. The security establishment process in step S340 can be referred to as the authentication process via a Robust Secure Network Association (RSNA) request / response, the authentication process in step S320 is referred to as the first authentication process, and the security establishment process in step S340 can also be simply referred to as the authentication process.

[0070] The secure establishment process in step S340 may include, for example, the process of establishing a private key using a four-way handshake via Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAPOL) frames over the LAN. Alternatively, the secure establishment process may be performed according to a security scheme not defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0071] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating the fallback process that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0072] In wireless LAN systems, the basic access mechanism for Media Access Control (MAC) is Carrier Sensing Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA). Also known as the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) of IEEE 802.11 MAC, CSMA / CA essentially employs a "listen-before-talk" access mechanism. Under this type of access mechanism, before commencing transmission, the AP and / or STA can perform explicit channel assessment (CCA) of the sensing radio channel or medium during a predetermined time interval (e.g., the DCF inter-frame interval (DIFS)). As a result of the sensing, if it is determined that the medium is idle, frame transmission begins via the corresponding medium. Conversely, if the medium is detected to be occupied or busy, the corresponding AP and / or STA does not begin its own transmission and can set a delay period for medium access (e.g., a random backoff period) and attempt frame transmission after waiting. By applying a random backoff period, collisions can be minimized because multiple STAs are expected to attempt frame transmission after waiting for different time periods.

[0073] In addition, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol provides a Hybrid Coordination Function (HCF). HCF is based on DCF and Point Coordination Function (PCF). PCF is a polling-based synchronous access method, meaning that all receiving APs and / or STAs periodically poll to receive data frames. Furthermore, HCF includes Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) and HCF Control Channel Access (HCCA). EDCA is a contention-based access method that provides data frames to multiple users, while HCCA uses a non-contention-based channel access method that utilizes a polling mechanism. Additionally, HCF includes a media access mechanism for improving the QoS (Quality of Service) of wireless LANs and can transmit QoS data during contention periods (CP) and contention-free periods (CFP).

[0074] Reference Figure 4 This section describes the operation based on a random backoff period. When an occupied / busy medium becomes idle, multiple STAs can attempt to transmit data (or frames). As a method to minimize collisions, each STA can individually select a random backoff count and attempt to transmit after waiting for the corresponding time slot. The random backoff count has a pseudo-random integer value and can be determined as one of the values ​​ranging from 0 to CW. Here, CW is the contention window parameter value. The CW parameter is assigned an initial value of CWmin, but can take a value twice as large as in the event of transmission failure (e.g., when no ACK is received for the transmitted frame). When the CW parameter value reaches CWmax, data transmission can be attempted while maintaining the CWmax value until successful data transmission, and when successful, the CWmin value is reset. The values ​​of CW, CWmin, and CWmax are preferably set to... (n=0, 1, 2, ...).

[0075] When random backoff processing begins, the STA continuously monitors the medium during the backoff time slot countdown based on the determined backoff count value. When monitoring the medium for occupancy, it stops the countdown and waits, and restarts the remainder of the countdown when the medium becomes idle.

[0076] exist Figure 4 In the example, when the packet to be sent arrives at STA 3's MAC, STA 3 can send the frame immediately after confirming that the medium has been idle for up to DIFS. The remaining STAs monitor and wait for the medium to be occupied / busy. Meanwhile, the data to be sent can also occur in each of STA 1, STA 2, and STA 5, and when the medium is detected as idle, each STA waits for up to DIFS, and then performs a countdown for the backoff slot based on a random backoff count value chosen by each STA. Assume STA 2 chooses the minimum backoff count value, and STA 1 chooses the maximum backoff count value. That is, the example illustrates the case where STA 5's remaining backoff time is shorter than STA 1's remaining backoff time when STA 2 completes its backoff count and begins frame transmission. STA 1 and STA 5 temporarily stop the countdown and wait while STA 2 occupies the medium. When STA 2's occupancy ends and the medium becomes idle again, STA 1 and STA 5 wait for DIFS and restart the stopped backoff count. In other words, frame transmission can begin after a countdown for the remaining backoff slot based on the remaining backoff time. Since STA5 has a shorter remaining backoff time than STA1, STA5 begins frame transmission. Data to be transmitted can also occur in STA4 while STA2 is occupying the medium. From STA4's perspective, when the medium becomes idle, STA4 can wait for DIFS, then execute a countdown based on a random backoff count value selected by STA4, and begin transmitting frames. Figure 4 The example illustrates a scenario where the remaining backoff time of STA5 accidentally conflicts with the random backoff count value of STA4. In this case, a collision may occur between STA4 and STA5. When a collision occurs, neither STA4 nor STA5 receives an ACK, so data transmission fails. In this situation, STA4 and STA5 can double the CW value, select a random backoff count value, and begin a countdown. While the medium is occupied due to the transmissions of STA4 and STA5, STA1 waits; when the medium becomes idle, STA1 waits for DIFS, and then begins frame transmission after the remaining backoff time has elapsed.

[0077] As in Figure 4In the example, data frames are frames used to send data forwarded to higher layers and can be sent after a backoff performed after DIFS, starting from when the medium becomes idle. Additionally, management frames are frames used to exchange management information that has not been forwarded to higher layers and are sent after a backoff performed after an IFS such as DIFS or Point Coordination Function IFS (PIFS). Subtypes of management frames include beacons, association requests / responses, reassociation requests / responses, probe requests / responses, authentication requests / responses, etc. Control frames are frames used to control access to the medium. Subtypes of control frames include request to send (RTS), clear send (CTS), acknowledge (ACK), power-saving polling (PS-Poll), block ACK (BlockAck), block ACK request (BlockACKReq), empty data packet announcement (NDP announcement), and triggers, etc. If a control frame is not a response frame to the previous frame, it is sent after a backoff performed after DIFS; if it is a response frame to the previous frame, it is sent without a backoff performed after short IFS (SIFS). The type and subtype of a frame can be identified by the type field and subtype field in the Frame Control (FC) field.

[0078] The Quality of Service (QoS) ST can perform a backoff following the Arbitration IFS (AIFS) for the Access Class (AC) to which the frame belongs (i.e., AIFS where i is a value determined by the AC) before the frame can be transmitted. Here, the frame that can use AIFS can be a data frame, management frame, or control frame, rather than a response frame.

[0079] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operation that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0080] As mentioned above, in addition to physical carrier sensing of the medium directly sensed by the STA, the CSMA / CA mechanism also includes virtual carrier sensing. Virtual carrier sensing aims to compensate for problems such as hidden node issues that may occur during medium access. For virtual carrier sensing, the STA's MAC can use the Network Allocation Vector (NAV). The NAV is a value that indicates to other STAs the remaining time until the medium is available for current use or for STAs authorized to use the medium. Therefore, a value set to NAV corresponds to the period during which the STA sending the frame plans to use the medium, and during the corresponding period, STAs receiving the NAV value are prohibited from accessing the medium. For example, the NAV can be configured based on the value of the "Duration" field in the frame's MAC header.

[0081] exist Figure 5 In the example, it is assumed that STA1 intends to send data to STA2, and STA3 is in a position that can eavesdrop on some or all of the frames sent and received between STA1 and STA2.

[0082] To reduce the likelihood of transmission conflicts among multiple STAs in CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operations, a mechanism using RTS / CTS frames can be applied. Figure 5 In the example, when STA1 is transmitting, as a result of carrier sensing by STA3, it can be determined that the medium is in an idle state. That is, STA1 can correspond to a hidden node with respect to STA3. Alternatively, in Figure 5 In the example, it can be determined that while STA2 is transmitting, the carrier sensing result medium of STA3 is in an idle state. That is, STA2 can correspond to a hidden node with respect to STA3. By exchanging RTS / CTS frames before performing data transmission and reception between STA1 and STA2, STAs outside the transmission range of either STA1 or STA2, or STAs outside the carrier sensing range of transmissions from STA1 or STA3, can avoid attempting to occupy the channel during data transmission and reception between STA1 and STA2.

[0083] Specifically, STA1 can determine whether a channel is in use through carrier sensing. Regarding physical carrier sensing, STA1 can determine the channel occupancy / idle status based on the energy level or signal correlation detected in the channel. Alternatively, regarding virtual carrier sensing, STA1 can use a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) timer to determine the channel occupancy status.

[0084] When the channel is idle during DIFS, STA1 can send an RTS frame to STA2 after performing backoff. When STA2 receives the RTS frame, STA2 can send a CTS frame to STA1 after SIFS as a response to the RTS frame.

[0085] If STA3 cannot eavesdrop on CTS frames from STA2 but can eavesdrop on RTS frames from STA1, STA3 can use the duration information included in the RTS frame to set the NAV timer for the subsequent consecutive frame transmission period (e.g., SIFS+CTS frame+SIFS+data frame+SIFS+ACK frame). Alternatively, if STA3 can eavesdrop on CTS frames from STA2, STA3 can also use the duration information included in the CTS frame to set the NAV timer for the subsequent consecutive frame transmission period (e.g., SIFS+data frame+SIFS+ACK frame) even though STA3 cannot eavesdrop on RTS frames from STA1. In other words, if STA3 can eavesdrop on one or more RTS or CTS frames from either STA1 or STA2, STA3 can set the NAV accordingly. When STA3 receives a new frame before the NAV timer expires, STA3 can update the NAV timer using the duration information included in the new frame. STA3 does not attempt channel access until the NAV timer expires.

[0086] When STA1 receives a CTS frame from STA2, STA1 can send a data frame to STA2 after SIFS, starting from the time point when the CTS frame reception is complete. When STA2 successfully receives the data frame, STA2 can send an ACK frame to STA1 after SIFS as a response to the data frame. When the NAV timer expires, STA3 can determine whether the channel is in use through carrier sensing. If STA3 determines that the channel is not in use by other terminals during DIFS after the NAV timer expires, STA3 can attempt channel access after the contention window (CW) for random backoff has passed.

[0087] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure that can be used in a WLAN system to which this disclosure may be applied.

[0088] Using instructions or primitives (meaning a set of instructions or parameters) from the MAC layer, the PHY layer can prepare the MAC PDU (MPDU) to be transmitted. For example, when the PHY layer receives a command from the MAC layer requesting the start of transmission, it switches to transmit mode, configures the information (e.g., data) provided by the MAC layer in the form of a frame, and transmits it. Additionally, when the PHY layer detects a valid preamble in a received frame, it monitors the preamble header and sends a command to the MAC layer notifying the PHY layer of the start of reception.

[0089] In this way, information transmission / reception in a wireless LAN system is performed in the form of frames, and for this purpose, the PHY layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) format is defined.

[0090] A basic PPDU can include a Short Training Field (STF), a Long Training Field (LTF), a Signal (SIG) field, and a Data field. The most basic PPDU format (e.g., Figure 7 The non-HT (High Throughput) fields shown can consist solely of a Traditional-STF (L-STF), Traditional-LTF (L-LTF), Traditional-SIG (L-SIG) field, and a data field. Additionally, depending on the PPDU format type (e.g., HT mixed format PPDU, HT green format PPDU, VHT (Very High Throughput) PPDU, etc.), additional (or different types) RL-SIG, U-SIG, non-traditional SIG fields, non-traditional STF, non-traditional LTF (i.e., xx-SIG, xx-STF, xx-LTF (e.g., xx is HT, VHT, HE, EHT, etc.)) can be included between the L-SIG field and the data field.

[0091] STF is a signal used for signal detection, automatic gain control (AGC), diversity selection, precise time synchronization, etc., while LTF is a signal used for channel estimation and frequency error estimation. STF and LTF can be referred to as signals used for synchronization and channel estimation in the OFDM physical layer.

[0092] The SIG field can include various information related to PPDU transmission and reception. For example, the L-SIG field consists of 24 bits and can include a 4-bit rate field, a 1-bit reserved bit, a 12-bit length field, a 1-bit parity field, and a 6-bit tail field. The RATE field can include information about the modulation and coding rate of the data. For example, the 12-bit length field can include information about the length or duration of the PPDU. For example, the value of the 12-bit length field can be determined based on the type of PPDU. For example, for non-HT, HT, VHT, or EHT PPDUs, the value of the length field can be determined to be a multiple of 3. For example, for HE PPDUs, the value of the length field can be determined to be a multiple of 3+1 or 3+2.

[0093] The data field may include a service field, a physical layer service data unit (PSDU), and PPDU tail bits, and may also include padding bits if necessary. Some bits of the service field can be used for synchronization of the descrambler at the receiver. The PSDU corresponds to the MAC PDU defined in the MAC layer and may include data generated / used in the upper layer. The PPDU tail bits can be used to return the encoder to a 0 state. Padding bits can be used to adjust the length of the data field by predetermined units.

[0094] MAC PDUs are defined according to various MAC frame formats, and a basic MAC frame consists of a MAC header, a frame body, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS). MAC frames can be composed of MAC PDUs and transmitted / received via PSDUs in the data portion of the PPDU format.

[0095] The MAC header includes a frame control field, a duration / ID field, and an address field. The frame control field can include control information required for frame transmission / reception. The duration / ID field can be set to the time used to transmit the corresponding frame, etc. For details on the sequence control, QoS control, and HT control subfields of the MAC header, refer to the IEEE 802.11 standard document.

[0096] The Narrow Data PPDU (NDP) format refers to a PPDU format that does not include the data field. In other words, NDP is a frame format that includes the PPDU preamble of the general PPDU format (i.e., the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG fields and other non-traditional SIG, non-traditional STF, and non-traditional LTF (if present)) and does not include the remaining part (i.e., the data field).

[0097] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a PPDU as defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard of this disclosure.

[0098] Various types of PPDUs have been used in standards such as IEEE 802.11a / g / n / ac / ax. The basic PPDU format (IEEE 802.11a / g) includes L-LTF, L-STF, L-SIG, and a data field. The basic PPDU format can also be referred to as a non-HT PPDU format (such as...). Figure 7 (as shown in (a)).

[0099] Compared to the basic PPDU format, the HT PPDU format (IEEE 802.11n) additionally includes the HT-SIG, HT-STF, and HT-LFT fields. Figure 7 The HT PPDU format shown in (b) can be referred to as the HT hybrid format. Furthermore, an HT green format PPDU can be defined, and this corresponds to a format consisting of HT-GF-STF, HT-LTF1, HT-SIG, one or more HT-LTFs and data fields, excluding L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG (not shown).

[0100] Compared to the basic PPDU format, examples of the VHT PPDU format (IEEE 802.11ac) additionally include VHTSIG-A, VHT-STF, VHT-LTF, and VHT-SIG-B fields (such as...). Figure 7 (as shown in (c)).

[0101] Compared to the basic PPDU format, examples of the HE PPDU format (IEEE 802.11ax) additionally include repeated L-SIG (RL-SIG), HE-SIG-A, HE-SIG-B, HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Packet Extension (PE) fields (such as...). Figure 7 (as shown in (d)). Some fields can be excluded, or their lengths can vary depending on the detailed examples of the HE PPDU format. For example, the HE-SIG-B field is included in the HE PPDU format for multi-user (MU), but not in the HE PPDU format for single-user (SU). Furthermore, the HE-Trigger-Based (TB) PPDU format does not include HE-SIG-B, and the length of the HE-STF field can vary up to 8 μs. The Extended Range (HE ER) SU PPDU format does not include the HE-SIG-B field, and the length of the HE-SIG-A field can vary up to 16 μs. For example, RL-SIG can be configured to be the same as L-SIG. Based on the presence of RL-SIG, the receiving STA can determine whether the received PPDU is an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU, which will be described later.

[0102] EHT PPDU format can include Figure 7 EHT MU (Multi-user) in (e) and Figure 7 The EHT TB (trigger-based) PPDU in (f). The EHT PPDU format is similar to the HE PPDU format in that it includes RL-SIG following L-SIG, but it can include U (generic)-SIG, EHT-SIG, EHT-STF and EHT-LTF following RL-SIG.

[0103] Figure 7 In (e), the EHT MU PPDU corresponds to a PPDU carrying one or more data (or PSDU) for one or more users. That is, the EHT MU PPDU can be used for both SU and MU transmissions. For example, the EHT MU PPDU can correspond to a PPDU for one or more receiving STAs.

[0104] Compared to EHT MU PPDU, Figure 7 In (f), the EHT-SIG is omitted from the EHT TB PPDU. The STA that receives the trigger for UL MU transmission (e.g., trigger frame or trigger response schedule (TRS)) can perform UL transmission based on the EHT TB PPDU format.

[0105] The L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG (general signal), and EHT-SIG fields can be encoded and modulated so that even conventional STAs can attempt demodulation and decoding, and can be mapped based on a determined subcarrier frequency interval (e.g., 312.5 kHz). These can be referred to as pre-EHT modulated fields. Next, the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, data, and PE fields can be encoded and modulated to be demodulated and decoded by an STA that has successfully decoded a non-conventional SIG (e.g., U-SIG and / or EHT-SIG) and obtained the information contained in that field, and can be mapped based on a determined subcarrier frequency interval (e.g., 78.125 kHz). These can be referred to as EHT modulated fields.

[0106] Similarly, in the HE PPDU format, the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, HE-SIG-A, and HE-SIG-B fields can be referred to as pre-HE modulation fields, and the HE-STF, HE-LTF, data, and PE fields can be referred to as HE modulation fields. Additionally, in the VHT PPDU format, the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, and VHT-SIG-A fields can be referred to as non-VHT modulation fields, and the VHT STF, VHT-LTF, VHT-SIG-B, and data fields can be referred to as VHT modulation fields.

[0107] Included Figure 7 In the EHT PPDU format, U-SIG can be configured based on, for example, two symbols (e.g., two consecutive OFDM symbols). Each symbol used for U-SIG (e.g., an OFDM symbol) can have a duration of 4 μs, and U-SIG can have a total duration of 8 μs. Each symbol of U-SIG can be used to transmit 26 bits of information. For example, each symbol of U-SIG can be transmitted and received based on 52 data tones and 4 pilot tones.

[0108] U-SIGs can be constructed in 20MHz units. For example, if an 80MHz PPDU is constructed, U-SIGs can be replicated. That is, the same four U-SIGs can be included in an 80MHz PPDU. PPDUs with bandwidths exceeding 80MHz can include different U-SIGs.

[0109] For example, A uncoded bits can be sent via U-SIG. The first symbol of U-SIG (e.g., U-SIG-1 symbol) can send the first X bits of the total A-bit information, and the second symbol of U-SIG (e.g., U-SIG-2 symbol) can send the remaining Y bits of the total A-bit information. The A-bit information (e.g., 52 uncoded bits) may include a CRC field (e.g., a 4-bit field) and a tail field (e.g., a 6-bit field). For example, the tail field can be used to terminate the lattice structure of the convolutional decoder and can be set to 0.

[0110] Bit information sent via U-SIG can be divided into version-independent bits and version-dependent bits. For example, U-SIG can be included in... Figure 7 The new PPDU format (e.g., UHR PPDU format) not shown in the figure, and may be included in the format of the U-SIG field included in the EHT PPDU format and the format of the U-SIG field included in the UHR PPDU format, the version-independent bits may be the same, and some or all of the version-related bits may be different.

[0111] For example, the size of the version-independent bits in U-SIG can be fixed or variable. Version-independent bits can be assigned only to the U-SIG-1 symbol, or to both the U-SIG-1 and U-SIG-2 symbols. Version-independent bits and version-dependent bits can be referred to by various names, such as first control bits and second control bits.

[0112] For example, the version-independent bits of U-SIG may include a 3-bit Physical Layer Version Identifier (PHY Version Identifier), which can indicate the PHY version (e.g., EHT, UHR, etc.) of the transmitted / received PPDU. The version-independent bits of U-SIG may include a 1-bit UL / DL Flag field. The first value of the 1-bit UL / DL Flag field is related to UL communication, and the second value is related to DL communication. The version-independent bits of U-SIG may include information about the length of the Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) and information about the BSS color ID.

[0113] For example, the version-related bits of U-SIG may include information that directly or indirectly indicates the type of PPDU (e.g., SUPPDU, MU PPDU, TB PPDU, etc.).

[0114] Information required for PPDU transmission and reception can be included in the U-SIG. For example, the U-SIG may also include information about bandwidth, information about the MCS technique applied to non-traditional SIGs (e.g., EHT-SIG or UHR-SIG), information indicating whether DCM (dual-carrier modulation) techniques (e.g., techniques used to achieve effects similar to frequency diversity by reusing the same signal on two subcarriers) are applied to non-traditional SIGs, information about the number of symbols used for non-traditional SIGs, and information about whether non-traditional SIGs are generated across the entire frequency band.

[0115] Some of the information required for PPDU transmission and reception may be included in U-SIG and / or non-traditional SIG (e.g., EHT-SIG or UHR-SIG). For example, information about the type of non-traditional LTF / STF (e.g., EHT-LTF / EHT-STF or UHR-LTF / UHR-STF), the length of the non-traditional LTF and the CP (cyclic prefix) length, the GI (guard interval) applicable to the non-traditional LTF, the preamble punching information applicable to the PPDU, and the resource unit (RU) allocation may be included only in U-SIG, only in non-traditional SIG, or may be indicated by a combination of information included in U-SIG and information included in non-traditional SIG.

[0116] Preamble puncturing can represent the transmission of a PPDU where no signal is present in one or more frequency units within the bandwidth of the PPDU. For example, the size of the frequency unit (or the resolution of the preamble puncturing) can be defined as 20MHz, 40MHz, etc. For example, preamble puncturing can be applied to PPDU bandwidths of a predetermined size or larger.

[0117] exist Figure 7 In the examples, non-traditional SIGs such as HE-SIG-B and EHT-SIG can include control information for receiving STAs. Non-traditional SIGs can be transmitted on at least one symbol, and a symbol can have a length of 4 μs. Information regarding the number of symbols used for EHT-SIGs can be included in previous SIGs (e.g., HE-SIG-A, U-SIG, etc.).

[0118] Non-traditional SIGs such as HE-SIG-B and EHT-SIG can include both public and user-specific fields. These public and user-specific fields can be encoded separately.

[0119] In some cases, the common field can be omitted. For example, in compressed mode using non-OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), the common field can be omitted, and multiple STAs can receive PPDUs (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) through the same frequency band. In uncompressed mode using OFDMA, multiple users can receive PPDUs (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) through different frequency bands.

[0120] The number of user-specific fields can be determined based on the number of users. A user block field can include up to two user fields. Each user field can be associated with either a MU-MIMO allocation or a non-MU-MIMO allocation.

[0121] The common fields may include CRC bits and tail bits, where the length of the CRC bits can be determined to be 4 bits, and the length of the tail bits can be determined to be 6 bits and set to 000000. The common fields may include RU allocation information. RU allocation information may include information about the locations of RUs assigned to multiple users (i.e., multiple receiving STAs).

[0122] An RU can include multiple subcarriers (or tones). RUs can be used when transmitting signals to multiple STAs based on OFDMA technology. Additionally, RUs can be defined even when transmitting signals to a single STA. Resources can be allocated in units of RUs for non-traditional STFs, non-traditional LTFs, and data fields.

[0123] The appropriate RU size can be defined based on the PPDU bandwidth. RUs can be defined the same or different for the applied PPDU format (e.g., HEPPDU, EHT PPDU, UHR PPDU, etc.). For example, in the case of an 80MHz PPDU, the RU layout for HEPPDU and EHT PPDU can be different. The appropriate RU size, number and location of RUs, DC (direct current) subcarrier locations and numbers, empty subcarrier locations and numbers, guard subcarrier locations and numbers, etc., for each PPDU bandwidth can be referred to as the tone scheme. For example, a tone scheme for high bandwidth can be defined as multiple iterations of a low-bandwidth tone scheme.

[0124] RUs of various sizes can be defined as 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs, 484-tone RUs, 996-tone RUs, 2×996-tone RUs, 3×996-tone RUs, etc. MRUs (Multiple RUs) differ from multiple individual RUs and correspond to a group of subcarriers composed of multiple RUs. For example, an MRU can be defined as 52+26-tone, 106+26-tone, 484+242-tone, 996+484-tone, 996+484+242-tone, 2×996+484-tone, 3×996-tone, or 3×996+484-tone. Furthermore, the multiple RUs constituting an MRU can be consecutive or non-consecutive in the frequency domain.

[0125] The specific size of the RU can be reduced or expanded. Therefore, the specific size of each RU in this disclosure (i.e., the number of corresponding tones) is not limiting but illustrative. In addition, in this disclosure, the number of RUs can vary depending on the RU size within a predetermined bandwidth (e.g., 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 320MHz...).

[0126] Figure 7 The names of each field in the PPDU format are exemplary, and the scope of this disclosure is not limited to these names. Furthermore, the examples in this disclosure can be applied to... Figure 7 The PPDU format shown and based on Figure 7 A new PPDU format that excludes some fields and / or adds some fields, based on the PPDU format.

[0127] Resource Unit

[0128] Figures 8 to 10 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a resource unit that can be used in a WLAN system according to this disclosure.

[0129] Reference Figures 8 to 10 This section describes the Resource Unit (RU) defined in a wireless LAN system. An RU can include multiple subcarriers (or tones). RUs can be used when transmitting signals to multiple STAs based on an OFDMA scheme. Additionally, RUs can be defined even when a signal is being transmitted to a single STA. RUs can be used for the data field, STF, LTF, etc., of a PPDU.

[0130] like Figures 8 to 10As shown, RUs corresponding to different numbers of tones (i.e., subcarriers) are used to construct some fields of 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz X-PPDUs (where X is HE, EHT, etc.). For example, resources can be allocated using RU cells shown for X-STF, X-LTF, and data fields.

[0131] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary allocation of resource units (RUs) used in a 20MHz frequency band.

[0132] like Figure 8 As shown at the top, 26 units (i.e., units corresponding to 26 tones) can be allocated. Six tones can be used as guard bands in the leftmost band of the 20MHz band, and five tones can be used as guard bands in the rightmost band of the 20MHz band. Additionally, seven DC tones are inserted into the center band (i.e., the DC band), and 26 units corresponding to each of the 13 tones can exist to the left and right of the DC band. Furthermore, 26-units, 52-units, and 106-units can be allocated to other bands. Each unit can be allocated to either a STA or a user.

[0133] Figure 8 The RU allocation is used not only in multi-user (MU) scenarios but also in single-user (SU) scenarios, and in this case, a 242-unit can be used, such as... Figure 8 As shown at the bottom. In this case, three DC tones can be inserted.

[0134] exist Figure 8 The examples illustrate various sizes of RUs, namely 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, etc., but the specific size of these RUs can be reduced or increased. Therefore, in this disclosure, the specific size of each RU (i.e., the number of corresponding tones) is exemplary and not limiting. Furthermore, within a predetermined bandwidth (e.g., 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 320MHz, ...) in this disclosure, the number of RUs can vary depending on the size of the RUs. This will be described below. Figure 9 and / or Figure 10 In the example, the fact that the size and / or number of RUs can vary is consistent with... Figure 8 The examples are the same.

[0135] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary allocation of resource units (RUs) used in a 40MHz frequency band.

[0136] As in Figure 8 Just like the examples that use RUs of various sizes, it is also possible to... Figure 9 Examples use 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, 484-RU, etc. Additionally, 5 DC tones can be inserted at the center frequency, 12 tones can be used as guard bands in the leftmost band of the 40MHz band, and 11 tones can be used as guard bands in the rightmost band of the 40MHz band.

[0137] Additionally, as shown, a 484-RU can be used when for single-user applications.

[0138] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary allocation of resource units (RUs) used in the 80MHz band.

[0139] As in Figure 8 and Figure 9 Just like the examples that use RUs of various sizes, it is also possible to... Figure 10 Examples use 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, 484-RU, 996-RU, etc. Additionally, in the case of an 80MHz PPDU, the RU allocation for the HE PPDU and EHT PPDU can be different, and... Figure 10 The example shows an example of RU allocation for an 80MHz EHT PPDU. Figure 10 The example uses 12 tones as guard bands in the leftmost band of the 80MHz band and 11 tones as guard bands in the rightmost band of the 80MHz band, the same scheme as in the HE PPDU and EHT PPDU. Unlike the HE PPDU, where 7 DC tones are inserted into the DC band and there is a 26-RU corresponding to each of the 13 tones on the left and right sides of the DC band, in the EHT PPDU, 23 DC tones are inserted into the DC band, and there is a 26-RU on the left and right sides of the DC band. Unlike the HE PPDU, where one empty subcarrier exists between 242 RUs instead of in the center band, there are five empty subcarriers in the EHT PPDU. In the HE PPDU, a 484-RU does not include an empty subcarrier, but in the EHT PPDU, a 484-RU includes 5 empty subcarriers.

[0140] Additionally, as shown, when used for a single user, the 996-RU can be used, and in this case, like the HEPPDU and EHT PPDU, five DC tones are inserted.

[0141] exist Figure 10 In this configuration, an EHT PPDU on 160MHz can be configured with multiple 80MHz sub-blocks. The RU allocation for each 80MHz sub-block can be... Figure 10The RU allocation is the same for the 80MHz EHT PPDU. If the 80MHz sub-block of the 160MHz or 320MHz EHT PPDU is not punctured, and the entire 80MHz sub-block is used as an RU or part of multiple RUs (MRUs), then the 80MHz sub-block can be used. Figure 10 996-RU.

[0142] Here, an MRU corresponds to a set of subcarriers (or tones) composed of multiple RUs, and the multiple RUs constituting an MRU can be RUs of the same size or RUs of different sizes. For example, a single MRU can be defined as 52+26 tones, 106+26 tones, 484+242 tones, 996+484 tones, 996+484+242 tones, 2×996+484 tones, 3×996 tones, or 3×996+484 tones. The multiple RUs constituting an MRU can correspond to small-sized (e.g., 26, 52, or 106) RUs or large-sized (e.g., 242, 484, or 996) RUs. That is, an MRU including both small-sized and large-sized RUs can be configured / defined without further configuration. Furthermore, the multiple RUs constituting an MRU can be consecutive in the frequency domain or not.

[0143] When the 80MHz subblock includes RUs with a pitch less than 996 or a portion of the 80MHz subblock is punched, the 80MHz subblock can use RUs other than the 996-tone RUs for allocation.

[0144] The RU disclosed herein can be used for uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) communication. For example, when performing trigger-based UL-MU communication, the STA that sends the trigger (e.g., AP) can assign a first RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) and a second RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a second STA via trigger information (e.g., trigger frame or trigger response schedule (TRS)). Subsequently, the first STA can send a first trigger-based (TB) PPDU based on the first RU, and the second STA can send a second TB PPDU based on the second RU. The first and second TB PPDUs can be sent to the AP within the same time period.

[0145] For example, when configuring a DL MU PPDU, the STA (e.g., AP) transmitting the DL MU PPDU can assign a first RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a first STA and assign a second RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a second STA. In other words, the transmitting STA (e.g., AP) can transmit the X-STF (e.g., X is HE, EHT, etc.), X-LTF, and data fields for the first STA through the first RU within a MU PPDU, and can transmit the X-STF, X-LTF, and data fields for the second STA through the second RU. Information about the RU arrangement can be signaled through the X-SIG field (e.g., X is HE, EHT, U) in the X-PPDU format.

[0146] Distributed resource unit

[0147] Due to regulations in each region, power spectral density (PSD) limits can be applied in frequency bands below 7 GHz (e.g., 6 GHz). For non-AP STAs in the low-power indoor (LPI) band, the PSD limit can be -1 dBm / MHz. For example, for an existing 52-tone RU, the maximum transmit (Tx) power can be approximately 6 dBm.

[0148] Additionally, different limits can be applied in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. For example, in the EU / China / Japan / South Korea, a PSD limit of 10 dBm / MHz can be applied in the 2.4 GHz band. For existing 52-tone RUs, the maximum Tx power can be approximately 17 dBm. If the PSD limit can be avoided in the 5 GHz band, the transmit power can be increased. For example, the maximum transmit power for existing 52-tone RUs is 24 dBm, which is still 6 dBm lower than the maximum permissible effective isotropic radiated power of 30 dBm.

[0149] When the PSD limitation is overcome, the transmit power can be increased, thereby improving spectral efficiency or extending the range.

[0150] Considering the PSD limit defined per MHz for each STA, when the tones of a small RU are distributed over a wide bandwidth, the tones for each STA are discontinuous, so each tone can be transmitted with high power. RUs that include tones distributed in this way are called distributed RUs (DRUs), and to distinguish them, RUs that include continuous tones as defined in existing WLAN systems (e.g., systems according to IEEE 802.11ax, 11be, etc.) can be called conventional RUs (RRUs).

[0151] A STA transmitting DRUs can use higher power compared to a STA transmitting existing RRUs. For example, a 52-tone DRU spanning 80MHz has only one tone per MHz, while a 52-tone RRU has approximately 13 tones per MHz. Assuming a PSD limit of -1dBm / MHz in the 6GHz LPI band, the transmit power can be increased by approximately 11dB for a 52-tone RU when using a DRU. Increasing transmit power in this way allows for a higher MCS and supports a longer range.

[0152] Figure 11 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRU that can be applied to this disclosure.

[0153] Figure 11 The example illustratively illustrates that STA1 performs transmission on DRU1, STA2 performs transmission on DRU2, and STA3 performs transmission on DRU3. Each STA can apply a transmission power boost by using a DRU. By applying higher transmission power to all tones in the DRU compared to using an RRU of the same size, spectral efficiency can be significantly improved. In this way, DRUs can be usefully applied, particularly in UL OFDMA.

[0154] In the case of the AP, DRUs can also be utilized. In some cases, the AP can perform DL-OFDMA transmission to the STA by using only some of DRU1, DRU2, and DRU3, and in this case, the transmission power boost due to the use of DRUs can be applied.

[0155] To maximize power gains, tones within a DRU can be distributed as widely as possible. For example, a DRU comprising one tone per MHz is considered a preferred example. The size of a DRU (or the number of available tones included in a DRU, i.e., the number of remaining tones excluding unavailable tones such as empty tones, guard tones, and DC tones) can be defined to be the same as the size of an RRU (or the number of available tones included in an RRU). Therefore, the impact on various techniques previously defined based on RRUs can be minimized. Examples of achievable power gains (in dB) for various DRUs distributed across different bandwidths are shown below. The examples in the table assume a 6 GHz LPI band, and power gains can also be achieved in other regions in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. For example, in an 80 MHz UL-OFDMA transmission with 8 users, the overall performance can be improved by approximately 8.13 dB when each user uses a 106-tone DRU compared to when each user uses a 106-tone RRU. In this way, DRU can be used to overcome PSD limitations and obtain significant benefits.

[0156] [Table 1]

[0157]

[0158] Trigger Frame

[0159] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating an example format of the trigger frame that can be applied according to this disclosure.

[0160] A trigger frame can allocate resources for sending at least one TB PPDU and request the TB PPDU to be sent. The trigger frame may also include other information required by the STA that sends the TB PPDU in response. The trigger frame may include common info and user info list fields in the frame body.

[0161] The public information field may include information that is publicly applied to at least one TB PPDU sent by the trigger frame request, such as trigger type, UL length, whether there are subsequent trigger frames (e.g., more TFs), whether channel sensing (CS) is required, UL bandwidth (BW), etc. Figure 12 The EHT variant public information field format is illustrated as an example.

[0162] The 4-bit trigger type subfield can have values ​​from 0 to 15. Among them, the values ​​0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the trigger type subfield are defined to correspond to Basic, BFRP (Beamforming Report Polling), MU-BAR (Multi-User Block Acknowledgment Request), MU-RTS (Multi-User Request Sending), BSRP (Buffer Status Report Polling), GCR (Multicast with Retry) MU-BAR, BQRP (Bandwidth Query Report Polling), and NFRP (NDP Feedback Report Polling), and values ​​8-15 are defined as reserved.

[0163] In public information, the trigger-related public information subfields can include information selectively included based on the trigger type.

[0164] Special user information fields can be included in the trigger frame. These fields do not include user-specific information, but do include extended public information not provided in the public information fields.

[0165] The user information list includes at least 0 user information fields. Figure 12 The EHT variant user information field format is illustrated as an example.

[0166] The AID12 subfield essentially indicates that it is a user information field for an STA with a corresponding AID. Additionally, when an AID12 field has a predetermined specific value, it can be used for other purposes, such as allocating Random Access (RA)-RU or configuring it as a special user information field. A special user information field is a user information field that does not include user-specific information but includes extended public information not provided in the public information field. For example, a special user information field can be identified by the AID12 value 2007, and the special user information field flag subfield in the public information field can indicate whether a special user information field is included.

[0167] The RU allocation subfield can indicate the size and location of the RU / MRU. For this purpose, the RU allocation subfield can be interpreted together with the PS160 (primary / secondary 160MHz) subfield of the user information field, the UL BW subfield of the public information field, etc.

[0168] For example, as shown in Table 2 below, the mapping of B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield can be defined together with the settings of the B0 and PS160 subfields of the RU allocation subfield. Table 2 shows an example of the encoding of the PS160 subfield and RU allocation subfield of the EHT variant user information field.

[0169] [Table 2]

[0170]

[0171]

[0172]

[0173] When B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 0, it indicates that the RU / MRU allocation is applied to the primary 80MHz channel; when the value is set to 1, it indicates that the RU allocation is applied to the secondary 80MHz channel of the primary 160MHz channel. Similarly, when B0 of the RU allocation subfield is set to 0, it indicates that the RU / MRU allocation is applied to the lower 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz channel; and when the value is set to 1, it indicates that the RU allocation is applied to the upper 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz channel.

[0174] In the trigger frame RU allocation table in Table 2, it can be based on the formula To calculate parameter N, for bandwidths less than or equal to 80MHz, the values ​​of PS160, B0, X0, and X1 can be set to 0. For 160MHz and 320MHz bandwidths, the values ​​of PS160, B0, X0, and X1 can be set as shown in Table 3. This configuration represents the absolute frequency order for the primary and secondary 80MHz and 160MHz channels. The order from left to right represents the order from low frequency to high frequency. The primary 80MHz channel is indicated as P80, the secondary 80MHz channel as S80, and the secondary 160MHz channel as S160.

[0175] [Table 3]

[0176]

[0177] DRU tone scheme-based transmission and reception

[0178] As mentioned above, in order to overcome the PSD limitation and improve power gain, a DRU using distributed tone / subcarriers can be applied instead of an RRU using continuous tone / subcarriers.

[0179] In this disclosure, definitions of DRU tone schemes of various sizes and transmission / reception methods based thereon are described for DRU-based transmission / reception via PPDUs in a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel.

[0180] Tone schemes for a 40MHz bandwidth may include support for existing RRUs of various sizes according to this disclosure (e.g., Figure 9 Examples of DRUs of various sizes are provided. In tone schemes for DRU applications, the number of tones / subcarriers included in each DRU (i.e., the DRU size) is the same as the number of tones / subcarriers included in the corresponding RRU (i.e., the RRU size), but the position of each tone / subcarrier in the frequency domain can be defined differently. For example, tone schemes supporting 26-tone DRUs, 52-tone DRUs, 106-tone DRUs, and 242-tone schemes for a 40MHz bandwidth can be defined, but a 484-tone DRU may not support tone / subcarrier distribution and is therefore not included in the examples of this disclosure.

[0181] In the examples disclosed herein, it is assumed that the number and position of DC subcarriers, empty subcarriers, and guard subcarriers in a DRU tone plan for a 40MHz bandwidth are the same as those in an RRU tone plan for a 40MHz bandwidth. In other words, among the 512 subcarriers within a 40MHz bandwidth, the DC subcarriers may correspond to the middle 5 subcarriers of the 40MHz bandwidth, and the guard subcarriers may correspond to the leftmost 12 subcarriers and the rightmost 11 subcarriers of the 40MHz bandwidth. Empty subcarriers correspond to 16 (subcarrier indices -244, -191, -190, -137, -110, -57, -56, -3, 3, 56, 57, 110, 137, 190, 191, 244) for 26-tone DRUs and 52-tone DRUs, and 8 (subcarrier indices -244, -137, -110, -3, 3, 110, 137, 244) for 106-tone DRUs (i.e., 8 empty subcarrier positions out of the 16 empty subcarriers considered in 26-tone DRUs and 52-tone DRUs are used as available subcarriers in 106-tone DRUs), and are not applied to 242-tone DRUs (i.e., 8 empty subcarrier positions considered in 106-tone DRUs are used as available subcarriers in 242-tone DRUs). In the following description, the remaining subcarriers within the bandwidth, excluding DC subcarriers, empty subcarriers, and guard subcarriers, may be referred to as available subcarriers.

[0182] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a PPDU receiving method based on a DRU tone scheme for a first STA according to this disclosure.

[0183] In S1310, the first STA can generate a PPDU that includes at least one field mapped on at least one DRU.

[0184] For example, at least one field may include a data field. In other words, the data field of a PPDU can be generated by being mapped onto at least one DRU of various sizes.

[0185] When at least one DRU includes any 26-tone DRU, the corresponding 26-tone DRU can be one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs. Here, the nth (n=1, 2, ..., 18) 26-tone DRU can include the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers in the 40MHz channel. Furthermore, the nth (n=1, 2, ..., 18) 26-tone DRU can include every 18th subcarrier, and one of these subcarriers can correspond to the aforementioned nth lowest subcarrier.

[0186] For example, the first 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -243, -225, -207, -187, -169, -151, -132, -114, -95, -77, -59, -39, -21, 4, 22, 40, 60, 78, 96, 115, 133, 152, 170, 188, 208, 226. The second 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -242, -224, -206, -186, -168, -150, -131, -113, -94, -76, -58, -38, -20, 5, 23, 41, 61, 79, 97, 116, 134, 153, 171, 189, 209, 227. The third 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -241, -223, -205, -185, -167, -149, -130, -112, -93, -75, -55, -37, -19, 6, 24, 42, 62, 80, 98, 117, 135, 154, 172, 192, 210, 228. The fourth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -240, -222, -204, -184, -166, -148, -129, -111, -92, -74, -54, -36, -18, 7, 25, 43, 63, 81, 99, 118, 136, 155, 173, 193, 211, 229. The fifth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -239, -221, -203, -183, -165, -147, -128, -109, -91, -73, -53, -35, -17, 8, 26, 44, 64, 82, 100, 119, 138, 156, 174, 194, 212, 230. The sixth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -238, -220, -202, -182, -164, -146, -127, -108, -90, -72, -52, -34, -16, 9, 26, 45, 65, 83, 101, 120, 139, 157, 175, 195, 213, 231. The seventh 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -237, -219, -201, -181, -163, -145, -126, -107, -89, -71, -51, -33, -15, 10, 26, 46, 66, 84, 102, 121, 140, 158, 176, 196, 214, 232.The eighth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -236, -218, -200, -180, -162, -144, -125, -106, -88, -70, -50, -32, -14, 11, 26, 47, 67, 85, 103, 122, 141, 159, 177, 197, 215, 233. The ninth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -235, -217, -199, -179, -161, -143, -124, -105, -87, -69, -49, -31, -13, 12, 26, 48, 68, 86, 104, 123, 142, 160, 178, 198, 216, 234. The tenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -234, -216, -198, -178, -160, -142, -123, -104, -86, -68, -48, -30, -12, 13, 31, 49, 69, 87, 105, 124, 143, 161, 179, 199, 217, 235. The eleventh 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -233, -215, -197, -177, -159, -141, -122, -103, -85, -67, -47, -29, -11, 14, 26, 50, 70, 88, 106, 125, 144, 162, 180, 200, 218, 236. The twelfth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -232, -214, -196, -176, -158, -140, -121, -102, -84, -66, -46, -28, -10, 15, 26, 51, 71, 89, 107, 126, 145, 163, 181, 201, 219, 237. The thirteenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -231, -213, -195, -175, -157, -139, -120, -101, -83, -65, -45, -27, -9, 16, 26, 52, 72, 90, 108, 127, 146, 164, 182, 202, 220, 238. The fourteenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -230, -212, -194, -174, -156, -138, -119, -100, -82, -64, -44, -26, -8, 17, 26, 53, 73, 91, 109, 128, 147, 165, 183, 203, 221, 239.The fifteenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -229, -211, -193, -173, -155, -136, -118, -99, -81, -63, -43, -25, -7, 18, 26, 54, 74, 92, 111, 129, 148, 166, 184, 204, 222, 240. The sixteenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -228, -210, -192, -172, -154, -135, -117, -98, -80, -62, -42, -24, -6, 19, 26, 55, 75, 93, 112, 130, 149, 167, 185, 205, 223, 241. The seventeenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -227, -209, -189, -171, -153, -134, -116, -97, -79, -61, -41, -23, -5, 20, 26, 58, 76, 94, 113, 131, 150, 168, 186, 206, 224, 242. The eighteenth 26-tone DRU may include subcarrier indices -226, -208, -188, -170, -152, -133, -115, -96, -78, -60, -40, -22, -4, 21, 26, 59, 77, 95, 114, 132, 151, 169, 187, 207, 225, 243.

[0187] Based on at least one DRU including any 52-tone DRU, the corresponding 52-tone DRU can be one of eight predefined 52-tone DRUs.

[0188] For example, the first 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the first and tenth 26-tone DRUs. The second 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the second and eleventh 26-tone DRUs. The third 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the third and twelfth 26-tone DRUs. The fourth 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the fourth and thirteenth 26-tone DRUs. The fifth 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the sixth and fifteenth 26-tone DRUs. The sixth 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the seventh and sixteenth 26-tone DRUs. The seventh 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the eighth and seventeenth 26-tone DRUs. The eighth 52-tone DRU may include subcarriers included in the ninth and eighteenth 26-tone DRUs.

[0189] Based on at least one DRU including any 106-tone DRU, the corresponding 106-tone DRU can be one of four predefined 106-tone DRUs.

[0190] For example, the first 106-tone DRU may include a first group corresponding to two empty subcarriers out of 16 empty subcarriers, as well as subcarriers included in the first and third 52-tone DRUs. The second 106-tone DRU may include a second group corresponding to two additional empty subcarriers out of 16 empty subcarriers, as well as subcarriers included in the second and fourth 52-tone DRUs. The third 106-tone DRU may include a third group corresponding to two additional empty subcarriers out of 16 empty subcarriers, as well as subcarriers included in the third and seventh 52-tone DRUs. The fourth 106-tone DRU may include a fourth group corresponding to two additional empty subcarriers out of 16 empty subcarriers, as well as subcarriers included in the fourth and eighth 52-tone DRUs.

[0191] Here, when the indices of the 16 empty subcarriers are -244, -191, -190, -137, -110, -57, -56, -3, 3, 56, 57, 110, 137, 190, 191, and 244, one of the first group of empty subcarriers, the second group of empty subcarriers, the third group of empty subcarriers, and the fourth group of empty subcarriers may include subcarrier indices -191 and 56, another may include subcarrier indices -190 and 57, another may include subcarrier indices -57 and 190, and the remaining one may include subcarrier indices -56 and 191.

[0192] Based on at least one DRU including any 242-tone DRU, the corresponding 242-tone DRU can be one of two predefined 242-tone DRUs.

[0193] For example, the first 242-tone DRU may include a fifth group corresponding to four of the eight empty subcarriers, as well as subcarriers included in the first 106-tone DRU, the third 106-tone DRU, and the fifth 26-tone DRU. The second 242-tone DRU may include a sixth group corresponding to an additional four of the sixteen empty subcarriers, as well as subcarriers included in the second 106-tone DRU, the fourth 106-tone DRU, and the fourteenth 26-tone DRU.

[0194] Here, when the indices of the eight empty subcarriers are -244, -137, -110, -3, 3, 110, 137, and 244, one group of empty subcarriers in the fifth group and the sixth group of empty subcarriers may include subcarrier indices -137, -3, 110, and 244, and the other group of empty subcarriers may include subcarrier indices -244, -110, 3, and 137.

[0195] The above DRU tone scheme is exemplary, and the tone / subcarrier included in the 26-tone DRU, 52-tone DRU, 106-tone DRU and 242-tone DRU can be defined according to various other examples described below.

[0196] When the aforementioned 40MHz channel corresponds to a portion of a bandwidth greater than 40MHz, the subcarrier indexes included in each of at least one DRUs for the corresponding 40MHz channel can be shifted according to their position within the bandwidth greater than 40MHz. For reference in the following description, the set of subcarrier indexes included in each of at least one DRUs for an x ​​MHz channel in a y MHz bandwidth can be indicated as S_x_y.

[0197] For example, the DRU subcarrier index (first S_40_80) for the leftmost 40MHz channel among two 40MHz channels in an 80MHz bandwidth can correspondingly correspond to the value obtained by subtracting 256 from the DRU subcarrier index (S_40_40) for the 40MHz channel in the 40MHz bandwidth. Similarly, the DRU subcarrier index (second S_40_80) for the rightmost 40MHz channel in the 80MHz bandwidth can correspondingly correspond to the value obtained by adding 256 to the DRU subcarrier index (S_40_40) for the 40MHz channel in the 40MHz bandwidth.

[0198] For example, the DRU subcarrier indices (the first S_40_160 and the second S_40_160) for the left two 40MHz channels out of four 40MHz channels in a 160MHz bandwidth can correspond to the values ​​obtained by subtracting 512 from the DRU subcarrier indices (the first S_40_80 and the second S_40_80) for the two 40MHz channels out of an 80MHz bandwidth. Similarly, the DRU subcarrier indices (the third S_40_160 and the fourth S_40_160) for the right two 40MHz channels in a 160MHz bandwidth can correspond to the values ​​obtained by adding 512 to the DRU subcarrier indices (the first S_40_80 and the second S_40_80) for the two 40MHz channels out of an 80MHz bandwidth.

[0199] For example, the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_240 and second S_40_240) for the left two 40MHz channels out of six 40MHz channels in a 240MHz bandwidth can correspond to the values ​​obtained by subtracting 1024 from the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_80 and second S_40_80) for the two 40MHz channels in an 80MHz bandwidth. The DRU subcarrier indices (third S_40_240 and fourth S_40_240) for the two middle 40MHz channels in a 240MHz bandwidth can correspond to the same values ​​as the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_80 and second S_40_80) for the two 40MHz channels in an 80MHz bandwidth. The DRU subcarrier indices (the fifth S_40_240 and the sixth S40_240) for the two rightmost 40MHz channels in the 240MHz bandwidth can be respectively corresponding to the values ​​obtained by adding the DRU subcarrier indices (the first S_40_80 and the second S_40_80) for the two 40MHz channels in the 80MHz bandwidth to 1024.

[0200] For example, the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_320 to fourth S_40_320) for the leftmost four 40MHz channels out of eight 40MHz channels in a 320MHz bandwidth can each correspond to the values ​​obtained by subtracting 1024 from the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) for the four 40MHz channels in a 160MHz bandwidth. Similarly, the DRU subcarrier indices (fifth S_40_320 to eighth S_40_320) for the rightmost four 40MHz channels in a 320MHz bandwidth can each correspond to the values ​​obtained by adding 1024 to the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) for the four 40MHz channels in a 160MHz bandwidth.

[0201] For example, the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_480 to fourth S_40_480) for the leftmost four 40MHz channels out of twelve 40MHz channels in a 480MHz bandwidth can each correspond to the values ​​obtained by subtracting 2048 from the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) for the four 40MHz channels in a 160MHz bandwidth. The DRU subcarrier indices (fifth S_40_480 to eighth S_40_480) for the middle four 40MHz channels in a 480MHz bandwidth can each correspond to the same values ​​as the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) for the four 40MHz channels in a 160MHz bandwidth. The DRU subcarrier indices (the ninth S_40_480 to the twelfth S_40_480) for the four 40MHz channels on the right side of the 480MHz bandwidth can be respectively corresponding to the values ​​obtained by adding the DRU subcarrier indices (the first S_40_160 to the fourth S_40_160) for the four 40MHz channels in the 160MHz bandwidth to 2048.

[0202] For example, the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_640 to eighth S_40_640) for the leftmost eight 40MHz channels out of the 16 40MHz channels in a 640MHz bandwidth can each correspond to the values ​​obtained by subtracting 2048 from the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_320 to eighth S_40_320) for the eight 40MHz channels in a 320MHz bandwidth. Similarly, the DRU subcarrier indices (ninth S_40_640 to sixteenth S_40_640) for the rightmost eight 40MHz channels in a 640MHz bandwidth can each correspond to the values ​​obtained by adding 2048 to the DRU subcarrier indices (first S_40_320 to eighth S_40_320) for the eight 40MHz channels in a 320MHz bandwidth.

[0203] In S1320, the first STA can send PPDU to at least one second STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel.

[0204] The at least one DRU can be indicated based on the RU allocation information included in the corresponding PPDU. For example, the corresponding PPDU could be a downlink PPDU (or a DL-OFDMA PPDU).

[0205] Alternatively, at least one DRU can be indicated based on the RU allocation information included in the trigger frame that triggers the transmission of the corresponding PPDU. For example, the corresponding PPDU could be a TB PPDU (or an uplink UL-OFDMA PPDU).

[0206] Figure 13 The methods described in the examples can be derived from... Figure 1 The first device 100 in the process is executed. For example, Figure 1 At least one processor 102 of the first device 100 may be configured to generate a PPDU including at least one field mapped on at least one DRU, and to transmit the PPDU to at least one second STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel. Furthermore, at least one memory 104 of the first device 100 may store data for execution by the at least one processor 102. Figure 13 The instructions for the methods described in the examples or examples described below.

[0207] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a PPDU transmission method based on a DRU tone scheme for a second STA according to this disclosure.

[0208] In S1410, the second STA can receive a PPDU including at least one field from the first STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel.

[0209] In S1420, the second STA can decode at least one field mapped on at least one DRU.

[0210] For example, the second STA can determine the number and location of tone / subcarriers to which at least one field (e.g., a data field) in the PPDU transmitted by the first STA is mapped, based on RU allocation information included in the corresponding PPDU or on RU allocation information included in the trigger frame that triggers the transmission of the corresponding PPDU. Based on this, the second STA can decode at least one field mapped to the at least one DRU.

[0211] At least one DRU of various sizes (or tones / number of subcarriers) and locations with Figure 13 The examples described are the same, so overlapping descriptions have been omitted.

[0212] exist Figure 14 The methods described in the examples can be derived from... Figure 1 The second device 200 in the process is executed. For example, Figure 1 At least one processor 202 of the second device 200 can be configured to receive a PPDU including at least one field from the first STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel, and to decode at least one field mapped onto at least one DRU. Furthermore, at least one memory 204 of the second device 200 can store data for execution by the at least one processor 202. Figure 14 The instructions for the methods described in the examples or examples described below.

[0213] Figure 13 and Figure 14 Examples may correspond to some of the various examples in this disclosure. In the following, examples including... will be described in more detail. Figure 13 and Figure 14 Various examples, including those in this disclosure.

[0214] In the embodiments described below, the DRU index (i.e., DRU-n) or the nth DRU may correspond to a position in the frequency domain, or may be assigned without regard to the position in the frequency domain. In the embodiments described below, for clarity of description, it is described by assuming that a relatively low DRU index includes a relatively low tone / subcarrier, but the scope of this disclosure is not limited thereto, and DRU indices may be assigned in various ways to distinguish different DRUs.

[0215] Furthermore, in the following description, the subcarrier index assumes that the index of the DC subcarrier is 0 and corresponds to a position in the frequency domain, and the term subcarrier can be replaced by tone.

[0216] Furthermore, in the following description, the expression a:b:c for subcarrier indices refers to subcarrier indices from a to c to every b subcarrier indices. Additionally, in the following description, +-{a:b:c} refers to {-a:b:-c, a:b:c}. Furthermore, in the following description, +-{a,b,c} refers to {-a,-b,-c,a,b,c}.

[0217] Implementation Method 1

[0218] In this implementation, various examples of configuring a subcarrier index for a 26-tone DRU are described.

[0219] Implementation Method 1-1

[0220] This implementation relates to a method for allocating a subcarrier to each of 18 26-tone DRUs in order from the least available subcarrier to the most available subcarrier. For example, each of the 18 26-tone DRUs may include the following subcarriers.

[0221] 26-Pitch DRU-1: -243, -225, -207, -187, -169, -151, -132, -114, -95, -77, -59, -39, -21, 4, 22, 40, 60, 78, 96, 115, 133, 152, 170, 188, 208, 226

[0222] 26-Pitch DRU-2: -242, -224, -206, -186, -168, -150, -131, -113, -94, -76, -58, -38, -20, 5, 23, 41, 61, 79, 97, 116, 134, 153, 171, 189, 209, 227

[0223] 26-Pitch DRU-3: -241, -223, -205, -185, -167, -149, -130, -112, -93, -75, -55, -37, -19, 6, 24, 42, 62, 80, 98, 117, 135, 154, 172, 192, 210, 228

[0224] 26-Pitch DRU-4: -240, -222, -204, -184, -166, -148, -129, -111, -92, -74, -54, -36, -18, 7, 25, 43, 63, 81, 99, 118, 136, 155, 173, 193, 211, 229

[0225] 26-Pitch DRU-5: -239, -221, -203, -183, -165, -147, -128, -109, -91, -73, -53, -35, -17, 8, 26, 44, 64, 82, 100, 119, 138, 156, 174, 194, 212, 230

[0226] 26-Pitch DRU-6: -238, -220, -202, -182, -164, -146, -127, -108, -90, -72, -52, -34, -16, 9, 27, 45, 65, 83, 101, 120, 139, 157, 175, 195, 213, 231

[0227] 26-Pitch DRU-7: -237, -219, -201, -181, -163, -145, -126, -107, -89, -71, -51, -33, -15, 10, 28, 46, 66, 84, 102, 121, 140, 158, 176, 196, 214, 232

[0228] 26-Pitch DRU-8: -236, -218, -200, -180, -162, -144, -125, -106, -88, -70, -50, -32, -14, 11, 29, 47, 67, 85, 103, 122, 141, 159, 177, 197, 215, 233

[0229] 26-Pitch DRU-9: -235, -217, -199, -179, -161, -143, -124, -105, -87, -69, -49, -31, -13, 12, 30, 48, 68, 86, 104, 123, 142, 160, 178, 198, 216, 234

[0230] 26-Pitch DRU-10: -234, -216, -198, -178, -160, -142, -123, -104, -86, -68, -48, -30, -12, 13, 31, 49, 69, 87, 105, 124, 143, 161, 179, 199, 217, 235

[0231] 26-Pitch DRU-11: -233, -215, -197, -177, -159, -141, -122, -103, -85, -67, -47, -29, -11, 14, 32, 50, 70, 88, 106, 125, 144, 162, 180, 200, 218, 236

[0232] 26-Pitch DRU-12: -232, -214, -196, -176, -158, -140, -121, -102, -84, -66, -46, -28, -10, 15, 33, 51, 71, 89, 107, 126, 145, 163, 181, 201, 219, 237

[0233] 26-Pitch DRU-13: -231, -213, -195, -175, -157, -139, -120, -101, -83, -65, -45, -27, -9, 16, 34, 52, 72, 90, 108, 127, 146, 164, 182, 202, 220, 238

[0234] 26-Pitch DRU-14: -230, -212, -194, -174, -156, -138, -119, -100, -82, -64, -44, -26, -8, 17, 35, 53, 73, 91, 109, 128, 147, 165, 183, 203, 221, 239

[0235] 26-Pitch DRU-15: -229, -211, -193, -173, -155, -136, -118, -99, -81, -63, -43, -25, -7, 18, 36, 54, 74, 92, 111, 129, 148, 166, 184, 204, 222, 240

[0236] 26-Pitch DRU-16: -228, -210, -192, -172, -154, -135, -117, -98, -80, -62, -42, -24, -6, 19, 37, 55, 75, 93, 112, 130, 149, 167, 185, 205, 223, 241

[0237] 26-Pitch DRU-17: -227, -209, -189, -171, -153, -134, -116, -97, -79, -61, -41, -23, -5, 20, 38, 58, 76, 94, 113, 131, 150, 168, 186, 206, 224, 242

[0238] 26-Pitch DRU-18: -226, -208, -188, -170, -152, -133, -115, -96, -78, -60, -40, -22, -4, 21, 39, 59, 77, 95, 114, 132, 151, 169, 187, 207, 225, 243

[0239] Implementation Methods 1-2

[0240] This implementation involves a method in which one of the most available subcarriers (i.e., the negatively indexed subcarrier) from the lowest available subcarrier down to the DC subcarrier is sequentially assigned to 18 26-tone DRUs, and a mirror-symmetric subcarrier (i.e., the positively indexed subcarrier) is assigned to the 26-tone DRUs including the assigned subcarriers based on the assigned subcarriers and the DC subcarrier. For example, the 18 26-tone DRUs may each include the following subcarriers.

[0241] 26-Pitch DRU-1: +-{21, 39, 59, 77, 95, 114, 132, 151, 169, 187, 207,225, 243}

[0242] 26-Pitch DRU-2: +-{20, 38, 58, 76, 94, 113, 131, 150, 168, 186, 206,224, 242}

[0243] 26-Pitch DRU-3: +-{19, 37, 55, 75, 93, 112, 130, 149, 167, 185, 205,223, 241}

[0244] 26-Pitch DRU-4: +-{18, 36, 54, 74, 92, 111, 129, 148, 166, 184, 204,222, 240}

[0245] 26-Pitch DRU-5: +-{17, 35, 53, 73, 91, 109, 128, 147, 165, 183, 203,221, 239}

[0246] 26-Pitch DRU-6: +-{16, 34, 52, 72, 90, 108, 127, 146, 164, 182, 202,220, 238}

[0247] 26-Pitch DRU-7: +-{15, 33, 51, 71, 89, 107, 126, 145, 163, 181, 201,219, 237}

[0248] 26-Pitch DRU-8: +-{14, 32, 50, 70, 88, 106, 125, 144, 162, 180, 200,218, 236}

[0249] 26-Pitch DRU-9: +-{13, 31, 49, 69, 87, 105, 124, 143, 161, 179, 199, 217, 235}

[0250] 26-Pitch DRU-10: +-{12, 30, 48, 68, 86, 104, 123, 142, 160, 178, 198, 216, 234}

[0251] 26-Pitch DRU-11: +-{11, 29, 47, 67, 85, 103, 122, 141, 159, 177, 197, 215, 233}

[0252] 26-Pitch DRU-12: +-{10, 28, 46, 66, 84, 102, 121, 140, 158, 176, 196, 214, 232}

[0253] 26-Pitch DRU-13: +-{9, 27, 45, 65, 83, 101, 120, 139, 157, 175, 195, 213, 231}

[0254] 26-Pitch DRU-14: +-{8, 26, 44, 64, 82, 100, 119, 138, 156, 174, 194, 212, 230}

[0255] 26-Pitch DRU-15: +-{7, 25, 43, 63, 81, 99, 118, 136, 155, 173, 193, 211, 229}

[0256] 26-Pitch DRU-16: +-{6, 24, 42, 62, 80, 98, 117, 135, 154, 172, 192, 210, 228}

[0257] 26-Pitch DRU-17: +-{5, 23, 41, 61, 79, 97, 116, 134, 153, 171, 189, 209, 227}

[0258] 26-Pitch DRU-18: +-{4, 22, 40, 60, 78, 96, 115, 133, 152, 170, 188, 208, 226}

[0259] In the above examples, Implementation 1-1 can be advantageous in terms of channel estimation performance because, compared to Implementation 1-2, the spacing between subcarriers within each DRU is continuously maintained, and interpolation techniques are easily applied. Furthermore, compared to Implementation 1-1, Implementation 1-2 can provide better performance depending on application requirements because the subcarrier spacing is symmetrical based on the DC.

[0260] Besides the subcarrier index being included in the 26-tone DRU as in the examples of embodiments 1-1 and 1-2 above, the subcarrier index can be assigned to the 26-tone DRU in different ways. For example, although the above examples assume that the available subcarriers do not include guard subcarriers, empty subcarriers, and DC subcarriers, it is also possible to assume that the available subcarriers include at least one of guard subcarriers, empty subcarriers, or DC subcarriers, and to define the subcarrier index included in each 26-tone DRU.

[0261] Additionally or alternatively, the 26-tone DRU including subcarrier index according to the examples of embodiments 1-1 and 1-2 described above can be applied to a first bandwidth and / or a first BSS color, and the 26-tone DRU including subcarrier index can be applied to a second bandwidth and / or a second BSS color in a different manner.

[0262] Implementation Method 2

[0263] In this implementation, various examples of configuring a subcarrier index for a 52-tone DRU are described.

[0264] For example, eight 52-tone DRUs can be defined within a 40MHz bandwidth, and one 52-tone DRU can correspond to a combination of two 26-tone DRUs. For example, two 26-tone DRUs can correspond to two of the 18 26-tone DRUs defined in Implementation 1 above. If 26-tone DRU-5 and 26-tone DRU-14 are not used as the basis for a 52-tone DRU, then a combination of two 26-tone DRUs out of 16 26-tone DRUs can correspond to one 52-tone DRU.

[0265] Two 26-tone DRUs corresponding to one 52-tone DRU can correspond to those DRUs that are spaced as far apart as possible in the frequency domain and distribute the subcarriers evenly across the 52-tone DRUs. Eight 52-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0266] 52-Pitch DRU-1: 26-Pitch DRU-1 and 26-Pitch DRU-10

[0267] 52-Pitch DRU-2: 26-Pitch DRU-2 and 26-Pitch DRU-11

[0268] 52-Tone DRU-3: 26-Tone DRU-3 and 26-Tone DRU-12

[0269] 52-Pitch DRU-4: 26-Pitch DRU-4 and 26-Pitch DRU-13

[0270] 52-Pitch DRU-5: 26-Pitch DRU-6 and 26-Pitch DRU-15

[0271] 52-Pitch DRU-6: 26-Pitch DRU-7 and 26-Pitch DRU-16

[0272] 52-Pitch DRU-7: 26-Pitch DRU-8 and 26-Pitch DRU-17

[0273] 52-Pitch DRU-8: 26-Pitch DRU-9 and 26-Pitch DRU-18

[0274] Here, each 52-tone DRU can be defined as a set of subcarrier indexes corresponding to the 26-tone DRU indexes defined in implementation 1-1 or 1-2.

[0275] Implementation Method 3

[0276] In this implementation, various examples of configuring a subcarrier index for a 106-tone DRU are described.

[0277] For example, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined within a 40MHz bandwidth. The subcarrier index included in one 106-tone DRU can correspond to a set of subcarrier indices and two additional subcarrier indices included in two 52-tone DRUs. Furthermore, the subcarriers included in each 106-tone DRU can be defined to be as distributed as possible.

[0278] Implementation Method 3-1

[0279] The two additional subcarriers included in the 106-tone DRU can be two of the 16 unused subcarriers (e.g., +-{3, 56, 57, 110, 137, 190, 191, 244}) in the 26-tone and 52-tone DRUs. In other words, some of the unused subcarriers in the 26-tone and 52-tone DRUs can be included in the available subcarriers for the 106-tone DRU. Furthermore, the indices of the two additional subcarriers included in different 106-tone DRUs can be non-overlapping.

[0280] For example, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to implementation method 1-1, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0281] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-191, 56}

[0282] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6 and subcarrier index {-190, 57}

[0283] 106-Tone DRU-3: 52-Tone DRU-3, 52-Tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-57, 190}

[0284] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-56, 191}

[0285] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to embodiment 1-1, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0286] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-56, 191}

[0287] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6 and subcarrier index {-191, 56}

[0288] 106-Tone DRU-3: 52-Tone DRU-3, 52-Tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-190, 57}

[0289] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-57, 190}

[0290] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to embodiment 1-1, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0291] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-57, 190}

[0292] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6 and subcarrier index {-56, 191}

[0293] 106-tone DRU-3: 52-tone DRU-3, 52-tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-191, 56}

[0294] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-190, 57}

[0295] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to embodiment 1-1, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0296] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-190, 57}

[0297] 106-Tone DRU-2: 52-Tone DRU-2, 52-Tone DRU-6 and subcarrier index {-57, 190}

[0298] 106-Tone DRU-3: 52-Tone DRU-3, 52-Tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-56, 191}

[0299] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-191, 56}

[0300] Implementation Method 3-2

[0301] Similar to implementation 3-1, the two additional subcarriers included in the 106-tone DRU can be two of the 16 empty subcarriers (e.g., +-{3, 56, 57, 110, 137, 190, 191, 244}) that are not used in the 26-tone DRU and 52-tone DRU.

[0302] For example, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to implementation method 1-2, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0303] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-191, 191}

[0304] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6, and subcarrier index {-190, 190}

[0305] 106-tone DRU-3: 52-tone DRU-3, 52-tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-57, 57}

[0306] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-56, 56}

[0307] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to embodiments 1-2, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0308] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5, and subcarrier index {-56, 56}

[0309] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6 and subcarrier index {-191, 191}

[0310] 106-Tone DRU-3: 52-Tone DRU-3, 52-Tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-190, 190}

[0311] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-57, 57}

[0312] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to embodiments 1-2, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0313] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5, and subcarrier index {-57, 57}

[0314] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6, and subcarrier index {-56, 56}

[0315] 106-tone DRU-3: 52-tone DRU-3, 52-tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-191, 191}

[0316] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-190, 190}

[0317] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 52-tone DRU according to embodiments 1-2, four 106-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0318] 106-tone DRU-1: 52-tone DRU-1, 52-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-190, 190}

[0319] 106-tone DRU-2: 52-tone DRU-2, 52-tone DRU-6 and subcarrier index {-57, 57}

[0320] 106-tone DRU-3: 52-tone DRU-3, 52-tone DRU-7 and subcarrier index {-56, 56}

[0321] 106-tone DRU-4: 52-tone DRU-4, 52-tone DRU-8, and subcarrier index {-191, 191}

[0322] Additionally or alternatively, two different combinations of the 16 empty subcarriers can be selected to not overlap in different 106-tone DRUs. For example, among the 16 empty subcarriers (e.g., +-{56, 57, 190, 191}), the combination of the first and fifth subcarriers, the combination of the second and sixth subcarriers, the combination of the third and seventh subcarriers, and the combination of the fourth and eighth subcarriers can be defined as being included in different 106-tone DRUs.

[0323] Additionally or alternatively, if it is assumed that the mapping between the existing RRU index and the newly defined DRU index is predefined, then when the 106-tone RRU index includes an additional subcarrier index (i.e., an empty subcarrier in a 26-tone RRU / DRU or a 52-tone RRU / DRU), the same additional subcarrier index can be defined as being included in the 106-tone DRU index mapped to the corresponding 106-tone RRU index.

[0324] According to the DRU tone schemes defined in the various examples of this disclosure above, DRUs of the same / different sizes can be assigned to different STAs.

[0325] For example, when a specific RU index is indicated by the RU allocation field included in the SIG (e.g., U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG) field in a DL OFDMA transmission, the STA receiving the PPDU can interpret that the data field within the corresponding PPDU is mapped onto the subcarrier included in the DRU corresponding to the indicated RU index, and can decode the data field accordingly. Alternatively, when a specific RU index is indicated by the RU allocation subfield in a trigger frame, the STA receiving the trigger frame can transmit the TB PPDU to which the data field is mapped on the subcarrier included in the DRU corresponding to the indicated RU index. Here, the DRU corresponding to the indicated RU index can be determined based on the mapping rules between RRUs and DRUs.

[0326] Implementation Method 4

[0327] This implementation describes various examples of configuring subcarrier indexes for a 242-tone DRU.

[0328] For example, two 242-tone DRUs can be defined within a 40MHz bandwidth. The subcarrier index included in a 242-tone DRU can correspond to the subcarrier index set included in two 106-tone DRUs, the subcarrier index included in a 26-tone DRU, and four additional subcarrier indices. A 26-tone DRU included in a 242-tone DRU can correspond to one of two 26-tone DRUs (i.e., 26-tone DRU-5 and 26-tone DRU-14), which is not used in combinations of different higher-sized DRUs among the 18 26-tone DRUs. Furthermore, it can be defined such that the subcarriers included in each 242-tone DRU are distributed as widely as possible.

[0329] Implementation Method 4-1

[0330] The four additional subcarriers included in the 242-tone DRU can be four empty subcarriers from eight uncommon subcarriers (e.g., +-{3, 110, 137, 244}) that are not commonly used in the 26-tone, 52-tone, and 106-tone DRUs. In other words, some empty subcarriers in the 26-tone and 52-tone DRUs, or some empty subcarriers in the 106-tone DRU, can be included in the available subcarriers for the 242-tone DRU. Furthermore, the indices of the four additional subcarriers included in different 242-tone DRUs can be non-overlapping.

[0331] For example, when defining a 26-tone DRU (or a 52-tone DRU corresponding to a 106-tone DRU) according to implementation method 1-1, two 242-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0332] 242-tone DRU-1: 106-tone DRU-1, 106-tone DRU-3, 26-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-137, -3, 110, 244}

[0333] 242-tone DRU-2: 106-tone DRU-2, 106-tone DRU-4, 26-tone DRU-14 and subcarrier index {-244, -110, 3, 137}

[0334] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU (or a 52-tone DRU corresponding to a 106-tone DRU) according to embodiment 1-1, two 242-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0335] 242-tone DRU-1: 106-tone DRU-1, 106-tone DRU-3, 26-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-244, -110, 3, 137}

[0336] 242-tone DRU-2: 106-tone DRU-2, 106-tone DRU-4, 26-tone DRU-14 and subcarrier indices {-137, -3, 110, 244}

[0337] Implementation Method 4-2

[0338] Similar to implementation 4-1, the four additional subcarriers included in the 242-tone DRU can be four empty subcarriers from eight unused subcarriers (e.g., +-{3, 110, 137, 244}) in the 26-tone DRU, 52-tone DRU, and 106-tone DRU.

[0339] For example, when defining a 26-tone DRU corresponding to a 106-tone DRU (or a 52-tone DRU corresponding to a 106-tone DRU) according to embodiments 1-2, two 242-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0340] 242-tone DRU-1: 106-tone DRU-1, 106-tone DRU-3, 26-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-137, -3, 3, 137}

[0341] 242-tone DRU-2: 106-tone DRU-2, 106-tone DRU-4, 26-tone DRU-14 and subcarrier index {-244, -110, 110, 244}

[0342] Alternatively, when defining a 26-tone DRU (or a 52-tone DRU corresponding to a 106-tone DRU) according to embodiments 1-2, two 242-tone DRUs can be defined as follows.

[0343] 242-tone DRU-1: 106-tone DRU-1, 106-tone DRU-3, 26-tone DRU-5 and subcarrier index {-244, -110, 110, 244}

[0344] 242-tone DRU-2: 106-tone DRU-2, 106-tone DRU-4, 26-tone DRU-14 and subcarrier index {-137, -3, 3, 137}

[0345] Alternatively or additionally, two different combinations of the eight empty subcarriers can be selected to not overlap in different 242-tone DRUs. For example, a combination of odd-numbered subcarriers and a combination of even-numbered subcarriers among the eight empty subcarriers (e.g., ±{3, 110, 137, 244}) can be defined as being included in different 242-tone DRUs. Alternatively or additionally, a combination of odd-numbered subcarriers and a combination of even-numbered subcarriers among another eight empty subcarriers (e.g., ±{191, 190, 57, 56}) can be defined as being included in different 242-tone DRUs.

[0346] Additionally or alternatively, if it is assumed that the mapping between the existing RRU index and the newly defined DRU index is predefined, then when a particular 242-tone RRU index includes an additional subcarrier index (i.e., an empty subcarrier in a 26-tone RRU / DRU or 52-tone RRU / DRU), the same additional subcarrier index can be defined as being included in the 242-tone DRU index mapped to the corresponding 242-tone RRU index.

[0347] Implementation Method 5

[0348] Instead of pre-defining the 52-tone DRU in Embodiment 2 as comprising a fixed combination of subcarriers of two 26-tone DRUs, a method can be applied to dynamically execute signaling to include any combination of subcarriers of two 26-tone DRUs. Here, the 26-tone DRU may be the DRU defined in Embodiment 1, or it may be a DRU defined in another manner.

[0349] Alternatively or additionally, instead of pre-defining the 106-tone DRU in Embodiment 3 as comprising a fixed combination of two 52-tone DRUs (or a fixed combination of four 26-tone DRUs) subcarriers, a method can be applied to dynamically execute signaling to include any combination of two 52-tone DRUs (or any combination of four 26-tone DRUs) subcarriers. Here, the 26-tone DRU / 52-tone DRU can be the DRU defined in Embodiments 1 / 2, or it can be a DRU defined in another manner. Furthermore, combinations of two additional subcarriers included in the 106-tone DRU can be defined as described in Embodiment 3.

[0350] Alternatively or additionally, instead of pre-defining the 242-tone DRU in Embodiment 4 as comprising a fixed combination of two 106-tone DRUs and one 26-tone DRU (or a fixed combination of four 52-tone DRUs and one 26-tone DRU, or a fixed combination of nine 26-tone DRUs), a method can be applied to dynamically execute signaling to include any combination of two 106-tone DRUs and one 26-tone DRU (or any combination of four 52-tone DRUs and one 26-tone DRU). Here, the 26-tone DRU / 52-tone DRU / 106-tone DRU can be the DRUs defined in Embodiments 1 / 2 / 3, or can be DRUs defined in another manner. Furthermore, combinations of four additional subcarriers included in the 242-tone DRU can be defined as described in Embodiment 4.

[0351] When applying per-symbol shifted DRUs to obtain diversity gain (e.g., when the subcarrier index in a particular DRU index included in a first symbol is different from the subcarrier index in the same particular DRU index included in a second symbol), methods for dynamically signaling subcarriers included in 52-tone DRUs, 106-tone DRUs, and / or 242-tone DRUs in this manner can be usefully applied.

[0352] When signaling the DRU index assigned to a STA using existing RU allocation information (e.g., for a DL OFDMA PPDU, SIG fields such as U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG), predefined mapping rules between 26-tone RRU and 26-tone DRU indices can be applied. For example, the mapping rule might map DRU index-1, which includes the lowest subcarrier, to RRU-1, which also includes the lowest subcarrier, and then map DRUs including the next lowest subcarrier in ascending order of the RRU indices. When RRC-to-DRU mapping rules are defined in this way, multiple 26-tone RRU indices can be indicated to the STA for allocating 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone DRUs, and thus the STA can determine which subcarriers are included in the 26-tone DRUs included in the 52-tone, 106-tone, or 242-tone DRUs assigned to it.

[0353] For example, the RU allocation information can indicate to a STA the two / four / nine 26-tone RRU indices corresponding to two / four / nine 26-tone DRUs corresponding to a 52-tone DRU / 106-tone DRU / 242-tone DRU, and the STA ID value included in the user information corresponding to such two / four / nine 26-tone RRUs (e.g., the user field of the U-SIG / UHR-SIG field of the DL OFDMA PPDU (e.g., MUPPDU) or the UHR variant user information field of the trigger frame) can be set to the same value as the ID of the corresponding STA. Furthermore, information indicating the DRU allocation and / or indicating whether it is the last index among the multiple 26-tone RRU indices corresponding to the DRU allocated to the corresponding STA can be defined within the user information (e.g., the user field of the U-SIG / UHR-SIG field of the DL OFDMA PPDU (e.g., MUPPDU) or the UHR variant user information field of the trigger frame).

[0354] Implementation Method 6

[0355] As in Embodiment 2 above, the predefined 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers of two 26-tone DRUs in a fixed combination; as in Embodiment 3 above, the predefined 106-tone DRU includes subcarriers of two 52-tone DRUs (or four 26-tone DRUs in a fixed combination); and as in Embodiment 4 above, the predefined 242-tone DRU includes subcarriers of two 106-tone DRUs and one additional 26-tone DRU (or four 52-tone DRUs and one additional 26-tone DRU, or nine 26-tone DRUs in a fixed combination). However, the DRU index can be generalized and mapped to each RRU index, thereby flexibly configuring 26-tone DRUs / 52-tone DRUs / 242-tone DRUs corresponding to a specific 52-tone DRU / 106-tone DRU / 242-tone DRU.

[0356] For example, 26-tone DRU-a / b / c / d / e / f / g / h / i / j / k / l / m / n / o / p / q / r can be defined to correspond in any way to 26-tone DRU-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 (e.g., indices a to r correspond one-to-one with indices 1 to 18, but the numerical indices corresponding to each letter index are determined in ascending order or any other order). Here, the location of the subcarriers included in the 26-tone DRU can be determined using the example of Implementation 1 or another method. Based on this, 52-tone DRU-a / b / c / d / e / f / g / h, 106-tone DRU-a / b / c / d, and 242-tone DRU-a / b can be defined to correspond to combinations of lower-sized DRU indices, as in the example below.

[0357] 52-Pitch DRU-a: 26-Pitch DRU-a and 26-Pitch DRU-j

[0358] 52-Pitch DRU-b: 26-Pitch DRU-b and 26-Pitch DRU-k

[0359] 52-Pitch DRU-c: 26-Pitch DRU-c and 26-Pitch DRU-l

[0360] 52-pitch DRU-d = 26-pitch DRU-d and 26-pitch DRU-m

[0361] 52-tone DRU-e: 26-tone DRU-f and 26-tone DRU-o

[0362] 52-Pitch DRU-f: 26-Pitch DRU-g and 26-Pitch DRU-p

[0363] 52-tone DRU-g: 26-tone DRU-h and 26-tone DRU-q

[0364] 52-tone DRU-h = 26-tone DRU-i and 26-tone DRU-r

[0365] 106-tone DRU-a: 52-tone DRU-a, 52-tone DRU-e and two additional subcarriers

[0366] 106-tone DRU-b: 52-tone DRU-b, 52-tone DRU-f and two additional subcarriers

[0367] 106-tone DRU-c: 52-tone DRU-c, 52-tone DRU-g, and two additional subcarriers

[0368] 106-tone DRU-d: 52-tone DRU-d, 52-tone DRU-h and two additional subcarriers

[0369] 242-tone DRU-a: 106-tone DRU-a, 106-tone DRU-c, 26-tone DRU-e and four additional subcarriers

[0370] 242-tone DRU-b: 106-tone DRU-b, 106-tone DRU-d, 26-tone DRU-n and four additional subcarriers

[0371] Here, two additional subcarriers for the 106-tone DRU can be defined as described in Embodiment 3, and four additional subcarriers for the 242-tone DRU can be defined as described in Embodiment 4.

[0372] Alternatively, gaps can be used between multiple lower-sized DRU indices corresponding to a higher-sized DRU index. The value of this gap can be explicitly signaled to the STA, or implicitly signaled based on other information (e.g., bandwidth information, BSS color information, etc.) without separate signaling. For example, 52-tone DRUs and 106-tone DRUs can include subcarriers of lower-sized DRUs as follows.

[0373] 52-Pitch DRU-a: 26-Pitch DRU-a and 26-Pitch DRU-(a+gap)

[0374] 52-Pitch DRU-b: 26-Pitch DRU-b and 26-Pitch DRU-(b+gap)

[0375] 52-Pitch DRU-c: 26-Pitch DRU-c and 26-Pitch DRU-(c + gap)

[0376] 52-Pitch DRU-d = 26-Pitch DRU-d and 26-Pitch DRU-(d + gap)

[0377] 52-Pitch DRU-e: 26-Pitch DRU-f and 26-Pitch DRU-(f + gap)

[0378] 52-Pitch DRU-f: 26-Pitch DRU-g and 26-Pitch DRU-(g + gap)

[0379] 52-Pitch DRU-g: 26-Pitch DRU-h and 26-Pitch DRU-(h+gap)

[0380] 52-Pitch DRU-h = 26-Pitch DRU-i and 26-Pitch DRU-(i + gap)

[0381] 106-tone DRU-a: 52-tone DRU-a, 52-tone DRU-(a+gap) and two additional subcarriers

[0382] 106-tone DRU-b: 52-tone DRU-b, 52-tone DRU-(b+gap) and two additional subcarriers

[0383] 106-tone DRU-c: 52-tone DRU-c, 52-tone DRU-(c+gap) and two additional subcarriers

[0384] 106-tone DRU-d: 52-tone DRU-d, 52-tone DRU-(d+gap) and two additional subcarriers

[0385] 242-tone DRU-a: 106-tone DRU-a, 106-tone DRU-(a+gap), 26-tone DRU-e and four additional subcarriers

[0386] 242-tone DRU-b: 106-tone DRU-b, 106-tone DRU-(b+gap), 26-tone DRU-n and four additional subcarriers

[0387] Here, two additional subcarriers for the 106-tone DRU can be defined as described in Embodiment 3, and four additional subcarriers for the 242-tone DRU can be defined as described in Embodiment 4.

[0388] In the example above, the order of the alphabetical indices of the DRUs and their order of position in the frequency domain can be irrelevant. Furthermore, even if DRUs of different sizes have the same alphabetical index, it does not mean that the order within the indices of DRUs of the same size is the same.

[0389] In the example above, the gap value can be the same or different for each DRU size. For example, the gap value can be independent for each DRU size, or it can be associated with a value.

[0390] Implementation Method 7

[0391] This implementation relates to the subcarrier index of each DRU when a DRU is applied within each 40MHz of a bandwidth greater than 40MHz (e.g., a bandwidth greater than or equal to 80MHz).

[0392] In the example below, the set of subcarrier indices included in each DRU of at least one DRU for an x ​​MHz channel in a y MHz bandwidth can be indicated as S_x_y. For example, it can be assumed that S_40_40 corresponds to the subcarrier indices included in DRUs of various sizes for a 40 MHz channel in a 40 MHz bandwidth in the examples described in embodiments 1 to 6 above.

[0393] Implementation Method 7-1

[0394] The subcarrier index (S_40_80) in a specific 40MHz band of 80MHz bandwidth can be defined as follows.

[0395] The first 40MHz subcarrier index (first S_40_80): The DRU subcarrier index (S_40_40) defined in the above 40MHz is 256.

[0396] The second 40MHz subcarrier index (second S_40_80): the DRU subcarrier index (S_40_40) defined in the above 40MHz + 256

[0397] For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0398] The first S_40_80 = S_40_40 - 256; and

[0399] The second S_40_80 = S_40_40 + 256.

[0400] Implementation Method 7-2

[0401] The subcarrier index (S_40_160) in a specific 40MHz band of 160MHz bandwidth can be defined as follows.

[0402] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the first 80MHz (first S_40_160 and second S_40_160): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 80MHz defined in Implementation 7-1 (first S_40_80 and second S_40_80) - 512

[0403] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the second 80MHz (third S_40_160 and fourth S_40_160): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 80MHz defined in Implementation 7-1 (first S_40_80 and second S_40_80) + 512

[0404] For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0405] The first S_40_160 = the first S_40_80 - ​​512;

[0406] The second S_40_160 = the second S_40_80 - ​​512;

[0407] The third S_40_160 = the first S_40_80 + 512; and

[0408] The fourth S_40_160 = the second S_40_80 + 512.

[0409] Implementation method 7-3

[0410] The subcarrier index (S_40_240) in a specific 40MHz band of 240MHz bandwidth can be defined as follows.

[0411] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the first 80MHz (first S_40_240 and second S_40_240): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 80MHz defined in Implementation 7-1 (first S_40_80 and second S_40_80) - 1024

[0412] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the second 80MHz (third S_40_240 and fourth S_40_240): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 80MHz defined in Implementation 7-1 (first S_40_80 and second S_40_80).

[0413] The subcarrier index for each 40MHz within the third 80MHz (the fifth S_40_240 and the sixth S_40_240): the DRU subcarrier index for each 40MHz defined in the 80MHz in Implementation 7-5 (the first S_40_80 and the second S_40_80) + 1024

[0414] For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0415] The first S_40_240 = the first S_40_80 - ​​1024;

[0416] The second S_40_240 = the second S_40_80 - ​​1024;

[0417] The third S_40_240 = the first S_40_80;

[0418] The fourth S_40_240 = the second S_40_80;

[0419] The fifth S_40_240 = the first S_40_80 + 1024; and

[0420] The sixth S_40_240 = the second S_40_80 + 1024.

[0421] Implementation Method 7-4

[0422] The subcarrier index (S_40_320) in a specific 40MHz band of 320MHz bandwidth can be defined as follows.

[0423] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the first 160MHz (first S_40_320 to fourth S_40_320): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 160MHz defined in Implementation 7-2 (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) - 1024

[0424] The subcarrier index for each 40MHz within the second 160MHz (the fifth S_40_320 to the eighth S_40_320): The DRU subcarrier index for each 40MHz within the 160MHz defined in Implementation 7-2 (the first S_40_160 to the fourth S_40_160) + 1024

[0425] For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0426] The first S_40_320 = the first S_40_160 - 1024;

[0427] The second S_40_320 = the second S_40_160 - 1024;

[0428] The third S_40_320 = the third S_40_160 - 1024;

[0429] The fourth S_40_320 = the fourth S_40_160 - 1024;

[0430] The fifth S_40_320 = the first S_40_160 + 1024;

[0431] The sixth S_40_320 = the second S_40_160 + 1024;

[0432] The seventh S_40_320 = the third S_40_160 + 1024; and

[0433] The eighth S_40_320 = the fourth S_40_160 + 1024.

[0434] Implementation Method 7-5

[0435] The subcarrier index (S_40_480) in a specific 40MHz band of 480MHz bandwidth can be defined as follows.

[0436] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the first 160MHz (first S_40_480 to fourth S_40_480): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 160MHz defined in Implementation 7-2 (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) - 2048

[0437] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the second 160MHz (fifth S_40_480 to eighth S_40_480): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 160MHz defined in Implementation 7-2 (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160).

[0438] The subcarrier index for each 40MHz within the third 160MHz (ninth S_40_480 to twelfth S_40_480): DRU subcarrier index for each 40MHz within the 160MHz defined in Implementation 7-2 (first S_40_160 to fourth S_40_160) + 2048

[0439] For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0440] The first S_40_480 = the first S_40_160 - 2048;

[0441] The second S_40_480 = the second S_40_160 - 2048;

[0442] The third S_40_480 = the third S_40_160 - 2048;

[0443] The fourth S_40_480 = the fourth S_40_160 - 2048;

[0444] The fifth S_40_480 = the first S_40_160;

[0445] The sixth S_40_480 = the second S_40_160;

[0446] The seventh S_40_480 = the third S_40_160;

[0447] The eighth S_40_480 = the fourth S_40_160;

[0448] The ninth S_40_480 = the first S_40_160 + 2048;

[0449] The tenth S_40_480 = the second S_40_160 + 2048;

[0450] The eleventh S_40_480 = the third S_40_160 + 2048; and

[0451] The twelfth S_40_480 = the fourth S_40_160 + 2048.

[0452] Implementation Method 7-6

[0453] The subcarrier index (S_40_640) in a specific 40MHz band of 640MHz bandwidth can be defined as follows.

[0454] Subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the first 320MHz (first S_40_640 to eighth S_40_640): DRU subcarrier indices for each 40MHz within the 320MHz defined in Implementation 7-4 (first S_40_320 to eighth S_40_320) - 2048

[0455] The subcarrier index for each 40MHz within the second 320MHz (ninth S_40_640 to sixteenth S_40_640): DRU subcarrier index for each 40MHz defined in the 320MHz in Implementation 7-4 (first S_40_320 to eighth S_40_320) + 2048

[0456] For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0457] The first S_40_640 = the first S_40_320 - 2048;

[0458] The second S_40_640 = the second S_40_320 - 2048;

[0459] The third S_40_640 = the third S_40_320 - 2048;

[0460] The fourth S_40_640 = the fourth S_40_320 - 2048;

[0461] The fifth S_40_640 = the fifth S_40_320 - 2048;

[0462] The sixth S_40_640 = the sixth S_40_320 - 2048;

[0463] The seventh S_40_640 = the seventh S_40_320 - 2048;

[0464] The eighth S_40_640 = the eighth S_40_320 - 2048;

[0465] The ninth S_40_640 = the first S_40_320 + 2048;

[0466] The tenth S_40_640 = the second S_40_320 + 2048;

[0467] The eleventh S_40_640 = the third S_40_320 + 2048;

[0468] The twelfth S_40_640 = the fourth S_40_320 + 2048;

[0469] The thirteenth S_40_640 = the fifth S_40_320 + 2048;

[0470] The fourteenth S_40_640 = the sixth S_40_320 + 2048;

[0471] The fifteenth S_40_640 = the seventh S_40_320 + 2048; and

[0472] The sixteenth S_40_640 = the eighth S_40_320 + 2048.

[0473] Unlike existing WLAN systems that only use RRUs, according to this disclosure, when DRU-supported applications are used, resource utilization efficiency can be improved by sending / receiving at least one field of the PPDU based on a DRU tone schedule of various sizes applicable to PPDUs with a bandwidth of 40MHz.

[0474] The above embodiments combine the elements and features of this disclosure in a predetermined form. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each element or feature should be considered optional. Each element or feature may be implemented without being combined with other elements or features. Furthermore, embodiments of this disclosure may include combinations of some elements and / or features. The order of operations described in embodiments of this disclosure may be changed. Some elements or features of one embodiment may be included in other embodiments, or may be replaced by corresponding elements or features of other embodiments. Obviously, embodiments may include claims that are not explicitly referenced in the claims, or may be included as new claims after the application has been amended.

[0475] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this disclosure may be implemented in other specific forms without departing from its essential characteristics. Therefore, the above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in every respect, but rather as illustrative. The scope of this disclosure should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all variations within the equivalent scope of this disclosure are included within its scope.

[0476] The scope of this disclosure includes software or machine-executable commands (e.g., operating systems, applications, firmware, programs, etc.) that operate in a device or computer according to methods of various embodiments, as well as non-transitory computer-readable media that cause software or commands to be stored and executable in a device or computer. Commands that can be used to program a processing system to perform the features described in this disclosure can be stored in a storage medium or a computer-readable storage medium, and the features described in this disclosure can be implemented by using a computer program product including such a storage medium. The storage medium may include, but is not limited to, high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid-state storage devices, and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. The memory may optionally include one or more storage devices located remotely from the processor. The memory, or alternatively, the non-volatile memory devices in the memory include non-transitory computer-readable storage media. The features described in this disclosure can be stored in any machine-readable medium to control the hardware of a processing system and can be integrated into software and / or firmware that allows the processing system to interact with other mechanisms using the results of embodiments of this disclosure. Such software or firmware may include, but is not limited to, application code, device drivers, operating systems, and execution environments / containers.

[0477] Industrial applicability

[0478] The method presented in this disclosure is primarily described based on examples applied to IEEE 802.11-based systems (5G systems), but can be applied to various WLAN or wireless communication systems other than IEEE 802.11-based systems.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising the following steps: Generate a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) including at least one field, wherein the at least one field is mapped to at least one Distributed Resource Unit (DRU); and The PPDU is transmitted to at least one second STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel. Wherein, the at least one DRU includes a 26-tone DRU, which is one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and The nth 26-tone DRU is defined as every 18th subcarrier, and the nth 26-tone DRU includes the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers in the 20MHz channel, n=1, 2, …, 18.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The available subcarriers are the subcarriers excluding 5 DC subcarriers, 16 empty subcarriers, and 23 guard subcarriers from the 512 subcarriers in the 40MHz channel.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The first 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -243, -225, -207, -187, -169, -151, -132, -114, -95, -77, -59, -39, -21, 4, 22, 40, 60, 78, 96, 115, 133, 152, 170, 188, 208, and 226. The second 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -242, -224, -206, -186, -168, -150, -131, -113, -94, -76, -58, -38, -20, 5, 23, 41, 61, 79, 97, 116, 134, 153, 171, 189, 209, and 227. The third 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -241, -223, -205, -185, -167, -149, -130, -112, -93, -75, -55, -37, -19, 6, 24, 42, 62, 80, 98, 117, 135, 154, 172, 192, 210, and 228. The fourth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -240, -222, -204, -184, -166, -148, -129, -111, -92, -74, -54, -36, -18, 7, 25, 43, 63, 81, 99, 118, 136, 155, 173, 193, 211, and 229. The fifth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -239, -221, -203, -183, -165, -147, -128, -109, -91, -73, -53, -35, -17, 8, 26, 44, 64, 82, 100, 119, 138, 156, 174, 194, 212, and 230. The sixth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -238, -220, -202, -182, -164, -146, -127, -108, -90, -72, -52, -34, -16, 9, 27, 45, 65, 83, 101, 120, 139, 157, 175, 195, 213, and 231. The seventh 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -237, -219, -201, -181, -163, -145, -126, -107, -89, -71, -51, -33, -15, 10, 28, 46, 66, 84, 102, 121, 140, 158, 176, 196, 214, and 232. The eighth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -236, -218, -200, -180, -162, -144, -125, -106, -88, -70, -50, -32, -14, 11, 29, 47, 67, 85, 103, 122, 141, 159, 177, 197, 215, and 233. The ninth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -235, -217, -199, -179, -161, -143, -124, -105, -87, -69, -49, -31, -13, 12, 30, 48, 68, 86, 104, 123, 142, 160, 178, 198, 216, and 234. The tenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -234, -216, -198, -178, -160, -142, -123, -104, -86, -68, -48, -30, -12, 13, 31, 49, 69, 87, 105, 124, 143, 161, 179, 199, 217, and 235. The eleventh 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -233, -215, -197, -177, -159, -141, -122, -103, -85, -67, -47, -29, -11, 14, 32, 50, 70, 88, 106, 125, 144, 162, 180, 200, 218, and 236. The twelfth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -232, -214, -196, -176, -158, -140, -121, -102, -84, -66, -46, -28, -10, 15, 33, 51, 71, 89, 107, 126, 145, 163, 181, 201, 219, and 237. The thirteenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -231, -213, -195, -175, -157, -139, -120, -101, -83, -65, -45, -27, -9, 16, 34, 52, 72, 90, 108, 127, 146, 164, 182, 202, 220, and 238. The fourteenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -230, -212, -194, -174, -156, -138, -119, -100, -82, -64, -44, -26, -8, 17, 35, 53, 73, 91, 109, 128, 147, 165, 183, 203, 221, and 239. The fifteenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -229, -211, -193, -173, -155, -136, -118, -99, -81, -63, -43, -25, -7, 18, 36, 54, 74, 92, 111, 129, 148, 166, 184, 204, 222, and 240. The sixteenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -228, -210, -192, -172, -154, -135, -117, -98, -80, -62, -42, -24, -6, 19, 37, 55, 75, 93, 112, 130, 149, 167, 185, 205, 223, and 241. The seventeenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -227, -209, -189, -171, -153, -134, -116, -97, -79, -61, -41, -23, -5, 20, 38, 58, 76, 94, 113, 131, 150, 168, 186, 206, 224, and 242, and The eighteenth 26-tone DRU includes subcarrier indices -226, -208, -188, -170, -152, -133, -115, -96, -78, -60, -40, -22, -4, 21, 39, 59, 77, 95, 114, 132, 151, 169, 187, 207, 225, and 243.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The at least one DRU includes a 52-tone DRU, which is one of eight predefined 52-tone DRUs. The first 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the first 26-tone DRU and the tenth 26-tone DRU. The second 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the second 26-tone DRU and the eleventh 26-tone DRU. The third 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the third 26-tone DRU and the twelfth 26-tone DRU. The fourth 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the fourth 26-tone DRU and the thirteenth 26-tone DRU. The fifth 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the sixth and fifteenth 26-tone DRUs. The sixth 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the seventh and sixteenth 26-tone DRUs. The seventh 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the eighth and seventeenth 26-tone DRUs, and The eighth 52-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the ninth and eighteenth 26-tone DRUs.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The at least one DRU includes a 106-tone DRU, which is one of four predefined 106-tone DRUs. The first 106-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the first 52-tone DRU and the fifth 52-tone DRU, and a first group corresponding to two empty subcarriers among the 16 empty subcarriers. The second 106-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the second 52-tone DRU and the sixth 52-tone DRU, and a second group corresponding to two additional empty subcarriers among the 16 empty subcarriers. The third 106-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the third and seventh 52-tone DRUs, and a third group corresponding to two additional empty subcarriers among the 16 empty subcarriers. The fourth 106-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the fourth 52-tone DRU and the eighth 52-tone DRU, as well as a fourth group corresponding to two additional empty subcarriers among the 16 empty subcarriers.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, Based on the indices of the 16 empty subcarriers being -244, -191, -190, -137, -110, -57, -56, -3, 3, 56, 57, 110, 137, 190, 191, and 244, in the first group, the second group, the third group, and the fourth group: One includes subcarrier indices -191 and 56. The other includes subcarrier indices -190 and 57. The other includes subcarrier indices -57 and 190, and The remaining one includes subcarrier indices -56 and 191.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, The at least one DRU includes a 242-tone DRU, which is one of two predefined 242-tone DRUs. The first 242-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the first 106-tone DRU, the third 106-tone DRU, and the fifth 26-tone DRU, and a fifth group corresponding to four of the eight empty subcarriers. The second 242-tone DRU includes subcarriers included in the second 106-tone DRU, the fourth 106-tone DRU, and the fourteenth 26-tone DRU, as well as a sixth group corresponding to the other four empty subcarriers among the eight empty subcarriers.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, Based on the indices of the eight empty subcarriers being -244, -137, -110, -3, 3, 110, 137, and 244, in the fifth and sixth groups: One includes subcarrier indices -137, -3, 110, and 244, and The other includes subcarrier indices -244, -110, 3, and 137.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The subcarrier index set included in each of the at least one DRU for an x ​​MHz channel in a y MHz bandwidth is indicated as S_x_y: The first S_40_80 = S_40_40 - 256, and The second S_40_80 = S_40_40 + 256.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The first S_40_160 = the first S_40_80 - ​​512. The second S_40_160 = the second S_40_80 - ​​512. The third S_40_160 = the first S_40_80 + 512, and The fourth S_40_160 = the second S_40_80 + 512.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The first S_40_240 = the first S_40_80 - ​​1024. The second S_40_240 = the second S_40_80 - ​​1024. The third S_40_240 = the first S_40_80. The fourth S_40_240 = the second S_40_80. The fifth S_40_240 = the first S_40_80 + 1024, and The sixth S_40_240 = the second S_40_80 + 1024.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The first S_40_320 = the first S_40_160 - 1024. The second S_40_320 = the second S_40_160 - 1024. The third S_40_320 = the third S_40_160 - 1024. The fourth S_40_320 = the fourth S_40_160 - 1024. The fifth S_40_320 = the first S_40_160 + 1024. The sixth S_40_320 = the second S_40_160 + 1024. The seventh S_40_320 = the third S_40_160 + 1024, and The eighth S_40_320 = the fourth S_40_160 + 1024.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The first S_40_480 = the first S_40_160 - 2048. The second S_40_480 = the second S_40_160 - 2048. The third S_40_480 = the third S_40_160 - 2048. The fourth S_40_480 = the fourth S_40_160 - 2048. The fifth S_40_480 = the first S_40_160. The sixth S_40_480 = the second S_40_160. The seventh S_40_480 = the third S_40_160. The eighth S_40_480 = the fourth S_40_160. The ninth S_40_480 = the first S_40_160 + 2048. The tenth S_40_480 = the second S_40_160 + 2048. The eleventh S_40_480 = the third S_40_160 + 2048, and The twelfth S_40_480 = the fourth S_40_160 + 2048.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The first S_40_640 = the first S_40_320 - 2048. The second S_40_640 = the second S_40_320 - 2048. The third S_40_640 = the third S_40_320 - 2048. The fourth S_40_640 = the fourth S_40_320 - 2048. The fifth S_40_640 = the fifth S_40_320 - 2048. The sixth S_40_640 = the sixth S_40_320 - 2048. The seventh S_40_640 = the seventh S_40_320 - 2048. The eighth S_40_640 = the eighth S_40_320 - 2048. The ninth S_40_640 = the first S_40_320 + 2048. The tenth S_40_640 = the second S_40_320 + 2048. The eleventh S_40_640 = the third S_40_320 + 2048. The twelfth S_40_640 = the fourth S_40_320 + 2048. The thirteenth S_40_640 = the fifth S_40_320 + 2048. The fourteenth S_40_640 = the sixth S_40_320 + 2048. The fifteenth S_40_640 = the seventh S_40_320 + 2048, and The sixteenth S_40_640 = the eighth S_40_320 + 2048.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one DRU is indicated based on the resource unit (RU) allocation information included in the PPDU, or The at least one DRU is indicated based on the RU allocation information included in the trigger frame that triggers the transmission of the PPDU.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The PPDU is a downlink PPDU or an uplink trigger-based (TB) PPDU.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one field includes a data field.

18. A first station (STA) device in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the device comprising: At least one transceiver; as well as At least one processor, said at least one processor being connected to said at least one transceiver, Wherein, the at least one processor is configured to: Generate a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) including at least one field, wherein the at least one field is mapped to at least one Distributed Resource Unit (DRU); and The PPDU is transmitted to at least one second STA via the at least one transceiver over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel. Wherein, the at least one DRU includes a 26-tone DRU, which is one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and The nth 26-tone DRU is defined as every 18th subcarrier, and the nth 26-tone DRU includes the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers in the 20MHz channel, n=1, 2, …, 18.

19. A method performed by a second station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising the following steps: Receive a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) including at least one field from the first STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel; as well as Decode the at least one field that is mapped onto at least one Distributed Resource Unit (DRU). Wherein, the at least one DRU includes a 26-tone DRU, which is one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and The nth 26-tone DRU is defined as every 18th subcarrier, and the nth 26-tone DRU includes the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers in the 20MHz channel, n=1, 2, …, 18.

20. A second station (STA) device in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the device comprising: At least one transceiver; as well as At least one processor, said at least one processor being connected to said at least one transceiver, Wherein, the at least one processor is configured to: The at least one transceiver receives a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) including at least one field from the first STA over a bandwidth including a 40MHz channel; and Decode the at least one field that is mapped onto at least one Distributed Resource Unit (DRU). Wherein, the at least one DRU includes a 26-tone DRU, which is one of 18 predefined 26-tone DRUs, and The nth 26-tone DRU is defined as every 18th subcarrier, and the nth 26-tone DRU includes the nth lowest subcarrier among the available subcarriers in the 20MHz channel, n=1, 2, …, 18.

21. A processing apparatus configured as a control station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the processing apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one computer memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor, and storing instructions for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 based on execution by the at least one processor.

22. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, said at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing at least one instruction, wherein, The at least one instruction, executed by at least one processor, controls the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system.

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