Special user information fields for trigger frames

Abstract

The invention relates to a special user information field for a trigger frame. The present disclosure provides methods, devices, and systems for requesting a trigger-based (TB) physical layer protocol convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU). Some implementations more specifically relate to trigger frame design that supports a non-legacy TB PPDU format. In some aspects, a trigger frame may carry information to be included in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of a TB PPDU requested by the trigger frame. For example, the information may indicate a value of one or more subfields of a generic signal field (U-SIG) associated with a non-legacy TB PPDU format. In some aspects, the information may be carried in a special user information field of the trigger frame. For example, a special user information field may be identified by a special association identifier (AID) value. The special AID value may be different from any AID value assigned to a wireless communication device in a basic service set (BSS) associated with the TB PPDU.

Description

[0001] This patent application is a divisional application of Chinese Patent Application No. 202180074288.5 (International Application No. PCT / US2021 / 054572), entitled “Special User Information Field for Trigger Frame”, filed on October 12, 2021.

[0002] Cross-reference to related applications

[0003] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 096,934, filed November 12, 2020, entitled “SPECIAL USER INFORMATIONFIELD FOR TRIGGER FRAME,” which has been assigned to the assignee of this application. All disclosures of the prior applications are considered part of this patent application and are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to a special user information field for trigger frames used in wireless communications. Background Technology

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

[0006] Current versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard support trigger-based uplink communication. Specifically, the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard defines a trigger frame format that can be used to request the transmission of trigger-based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Data Units (PPDUs) from one or more STAs. The trigger frame allocates resources for the transmission of the TB PPDU and indicates how the TB PPDU will be configured for transmission. New WLAN communication protocols are being developed to implement enhanced WLAN communication capabilities, such as, for example, increased bandwidth and the number of spatial streams. Due to the enhanced features implemented by the new WLAN communication protocols, a new trigger frame format is needed to support the new features and formats of TB PPDUs. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein each have several innovative aspects, and no single aspect is solely responsible for the desired properties disclosed herein.

[0008] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. This method can be performed by a wireless communication device and may include receiving a trigger frame requesting a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, wherein the trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field, wherein the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the one or more user information fields; determining, based on an Association Identifier (AID) value associated with a first user information field among the one or more user information fields, information carried in the first user information field to be included in a Physical Layer (PHY) preamble of the PPDU; generating a PHY preamble based on the information carried in the first user information field; and transmitting the PPDU including the PHY preamble on a wireless channel in response to the reception of the trigger frame.

[0009] In some implementations, the AID value is a special AID value and is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same Basic Service Set (BSS) as the wireless communication device. In some implementations, the method further includes determining, based on the AID value associated with a second user information field in the one or more user information fields, additional information to be included in the PHY preamble in the second user information field. In some implementations, the PHY preamble includes a legacy signal field (L-SIG), an L-SIG repeat immediately following the L-SIG (RL-SIG), and a generic signal field (U-SIG) immediately following the RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0010] In some implementations, generating the PHY preamble includes determining the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG based on information carried in the first user information field, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel, a space reuse subfield carrying information indicating whether space reuse is allowed on one or more subchannels of the radio channel, or a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

[0011] In some implementations, generating the PHY preamble involves determining the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG based on information carried in the first user information field, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: an uplink or downlink (UL / DL) subfield carrying information indicating whether the PPDU is transmitted in the uplink or downlink direction; a BSS color subfield carrying information indicating the BSS color associated with the PPDU; a TXOP subfield carrying information indicating the transmission opportunity (TXOP) duration associated with the PPDU; or a PPDU format and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0012] In some implementations, generating the PHY preamble includes determining the number of reserved bits to be included in the U-SIG based on information carried in the first user information field. In some implementations, the method further includes: determining the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU based on the AID value associated with the first user information field; and configuring the version identifier subfield of the U-SIG to carry information indicating the determined version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol.

[0013] In some implementations, the method further includes: determining whether to perform piercing on one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel based on information carried in the first user information field or information carried in the common information field. In some implementations, the method further includes: determining the format of the trigger frame based on information carried in the common information field, wherein the format is an old-style trigger frame format or a non-old-style trigger frame format; and determining, based on the determined format of the trigger frame, that one or more user information fields include the first user information field.

[0014] In some implementations, the method further includes: determining a version of a physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with one or more user information fields based on information carried in at least one of a common information field or a first user information field, wherein the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol is the same for each of the one or more user information fields; and interpreting information carried in the first user information field based on the determined PHY version.

[0015] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may include at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code. In some implementations, execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the wireless communication device to perform operations including: receiving a trigger frame requesting a PPDU transmitted by the wireless communication device, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field, wherein the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the one or more user information fields; determining, based on an AID value associated with a first user information field among the one or more user information fields, information to be included in a PHY preamble of the PPDU carried in the first user information field; generating a PHY preamble based on the information carried in the first user information field; and transmitting the PPDU including the PHY preamble on a wireless channel in response to the reception of the trigger frame.

[0016] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a wireless communication method. This method can be performed by a wireless communication device and may include: determining information to be included in the PHY preamble of a triggered (TB)PPDU; and transmitting a trigger frame requesting the TBPPDU to be transmitted by a receiving device on a wireless channel, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field, wherein the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the one or more user information fields, and wherein the one or more user information fields include a first user information field carrying information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TBPPDU.

[0017] In some implementations, the first user information field is associated with a specific AID value and is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same BSS as the receiving device. In some implementations, the method further includes determining the specific AID value based on the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the TBPPDU. In some implementations, one or more user information fields further include a second user information field carrying additional information to be included in the PHY preamble. In some implementations, the PHY preamble includes L-SIG, RL-SIG immediately following L-SIG, and U-SIG immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0018] In some implementations, the information carried in the first user information field may indicate the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel, a space reuse subfield carrying information indicating whether space reuse is permitted on one or more subchannels of the radio channel, or a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

[0019] In some implementations, the information carried in the first user information field may indicate the value of one or more subfields of U-SIG, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a UL / DL subfield carrying information indicating whether the PPDU is transmitted in the uplink or downlink direction, a BSS color subfield carrying information indicating the BSS color associated with the PPDU, a TXOP subfield carrying information indicating the TXOP duration associated with the PPDU, or a PPDU format and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0020] In some implementations, the information carried in the first user information field indicates the number of reserved bits to be included in the U-SIG. In some implementations, the method further includes: determining whether to perform puncturing on one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel, wherein at least one of the common information field or the first user information field carries channel puncturing information indicating whether to perform puncturing on the one or more sub-channels.

[0021] In some implementations, the common information field may carry information indicating the format of the trigger frame, wherein the format is an old-fashioned trigger frame format or a non-old-fashioned trigger frame format. In some implementations, at least one of the common information field or the first user information field further carries information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with one or more user information fields, wherein the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol is the same for each of the one or more user information fields.

[0022] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may include at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code. In some implementations, execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the wireless communication device to perform operations including: determining information to be included in the PHY preamble of a TB PPDU; and transmitting a trigger frame requesting the TB PPDU to be transmitted by a receiving device on a wireless channel, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field, wherein the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the one or more user information fields, and wherein the one or more user information fields include a first user information field carrying information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from this description, the drawings, and the claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions in the following drawings may not be drawn to scale.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0025] Figure 2A An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is shown that can be used for communication between an access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations (STA).

[0026] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example fields in the PDU.

[0027] Figure 3 An example Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and one or more STAs.

[0028] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0029] Figure 5A A block diagram of an example AP is shown.

[0030] Figure 5B A block diagram of an example STA is shown.

[0031] Figure 6An example PPDU, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0032] Figure 7A An example frame structure for trigger-based (TB)PPDUs is shown according to some implementations.

[0033] Figure 7B An example frame structure for a single-user (SU) PPDU is shown according to some implementations.

[0034] Figure 7C An example frame structure for a multi-user (MU) PPDU is shown according to some implementations.

[0035] Figure 8 An example frame structure of a non-legacy PPDU allocated on multiple sub-channels of a wireless channel, according to some implementations, is shown.

[0036] Figure 9 An example trigger frame, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0037] Figure 10 Example user information fields for trigger frames formatted according to the legacy trigger frame format are shown.

[0038] Figure 11A –11C shows an example of a special user information field based on some implementations.

[0039] Figure 12 The common information fields used for formatting trigger frames according to the legacy trigger frame format are shown.

[0040] Figure 13 Another example trigger frame, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0041] Figure 14 Another example trigger frame, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0042] Figure 15 Another example trigger frame, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0043] Figure 16 The flowchart illustrates an example process for wireless communication that supports a special user information field used to trigger frames, based on some implementations.

[0044] Figure 17 The flowchart illustrates an example process for wireless communication that supports a special user information field used to trigger frames, based on some implementations.

[0045] Figure 18 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0046] Figure 19 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0047] Similar reference numerals and naming conventions in the various figures indicate similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The following description is directed to certain implementations in order to describe the innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the following: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth® standard as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards published by the 3GPP project. The described implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following techniques or skills: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and Multi User (MU) MIMO. The described implementation can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of a wireless personal area network (WPAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless wide area network (WWAN), or Internet of Things (IoT) network.

[0049] The various aspects generally involve trigger-based communication supporting new wireless communication protocols, and more specifically, trigger frame designs supporting non-legacy trigger-based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) formats. As used herein, the term "non-legacy" can refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11be revision and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Conversely, the term "legacy" can be used herein to refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some aspects, the trigger frame may carry information (referred to herein as "prefix information") to be included in the Physical Layer (PHY) preamble of the TB PPDU requested by the trigger frame. For example, the preamble information may indicate the value of one or more subfields of the Universal Signaling Field (U-SIG) associated with the non-legacy TB PPDU format. In some aspects, the preamble information may be carried in a special user information field of the trigger frame. For example, special user information fields can be identified by a special associated identifier (AID) value reserved in older versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. This special AID value can differ from any AID value assigned to a wireless communication device in the Basic Service Set (BSS) associated with the TB PPDU.

[0050] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be achieved to attain one or more of the following potential advantages. By requesting the transmission of non-legacy TB PPDUs, the trigger frame design of this disclosure can support the data throughput gains achievable under the IEEE 802.11be revision and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, aspects of this disclosure recognize that some fields of the PHY preamble (such as U-SIG) are configured per 20 MHz subchannel. In other words, all wireless communication devices concurrently transmitting PPDUs on the same (or overlapping) 20 MHz subchannels must transmit the same information in the U-SIG of their respective PPDUs within that 20 MHz subchannel. By including preamble information in the trigger frame, aspects of this disclosure enable the receiving device to configure the U-SIG of the requested TB PPDU to be consistent with (or identical to) the U-SIG of other PPDUs concurrently transmitted on the same 20 MHz subchannel. By providing preamble information in a special user information field (associated with the reserved AID value in older versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard), the trigger frame design of this disclosure is compatible with both older and non-older versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0051] Figure 1A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. Depending on some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) (such as a Wi-Fi network) (and will be referred to WLAN 100 below). For example, WLAN 100 may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard families (such as standards defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be). WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices, such as access points (APs) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, WLAN network 100 may also include multiple APs 102.

[0052] Each STA 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile handheld device, wireless handheld device, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit, and other possibilities. STA 104 may represent a variety of devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, laptops, tablets, laptops, display devices (e.g., TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices (“remote controllers”), printers, kitchen or other household appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), and other possibilities.

[0053] A single AP 102 and its associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102. Figure 1Additionally, an example coverage area 106 of AP 102 is shown, which may represent the Basic Service Area (BSA) of WLAN 100. The BSA can be identified to users by a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and to other devices by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), which may be the Media Access Control (MAC) address of AP 102. AP 102 periodically broadcasts a beacon frame (“beacon”) including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within the wireless range of AP 102 to “associate” or reassociate with AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 108 with AP 102 (hereinafter also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link”). For example, the beacon may include an identifier of the primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with AP 102. AP102 can provide access to external networks to each STA 104 in the WLAN via the corresponding communication link 108.

[0054] AP 102 and STA 104 function and communicate (via the corresponding communication link 108) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol family of standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be. These standards define the WLAN radio and baseband protocols used for the PHY and Media Access Control (MAC) layers. AP 102 and STA 104 transmit and receive wireless communications (also referred to below as "Wi-Fi communication") to and from each other in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs). AP 102 and STA 104 in WLAN 100 can transmit PPDUs on unlicensed spectrum, which can be a portion of the spectrum including bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technologies, such as the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 60 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, and 700 MHz band. Some implementations of AP 102 and STA 104 described herein can also communicate in other bands, such as the 6 GHz band, that can support both licensed and unlicensed communication. AP 102 and STA 104 can also be configured to communicate on other bands, such as shared licensed bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in one or more of the same or overlapping bands.

[0055] Access to a shared wireless medium is typically managed by a Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). With DCF, there is generally no centralized master device allocating time and frequency resources for the shared wireless medium. Instead, a wireless communication device (such as AP102 or STA 104) must wait for a specific time and then contend for access to the wireless medium before being permitted to transmit data. In some implementations, the wireless communication device can be configured to implement DCF using Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) technology and timing intervals. Before transmitting data, the wireless communication device can perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) and determine the appropriate wireless channel to be idle. CCA includes physical (PHY-level) carrier sensing and virtual (MAC-level) carrier sensing. Physical carrier sensing is performed by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame, which is then compared to a threshold to determine if the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of the detected preamble is higher than a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier sensing also includes energy detection. Energy detection involves measuring the total energy received by the wireless communication device regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the total detected energy exceeds a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Virtual carrier sensing is accomplished using a network allocation vector (NAV), which is an indicator of the time when the medium may next become idle. The NAV is reset each time a valid frame not addressed to the wireless communication device is received. The NAV effectively serves as the elapsed time before the wireless communication device can contend for access, even if no symbols are detected or even if the detected energy is below the relevant threshold.

[0056] Some APs and STAs can be configured to implement spatial reuse techniques. For example, APs and STAs configured to communicate using IEEE 802.11ax or 802.11be can be configured with BSS colors. APs associated with different BSSs can be associated with different BSS colors. If an AP or STA detects a radio packet from another wireless communication device during access contention, the AP or STA can apply different contention parameters based on whether the radio packet was transmitted or received by another wireless communication device within its BSS, or from a wireless communication device in an overlapping BSS (OBSS) (as determined by the BSS color indication in the preamble of the radio packet). For example, if the BSS color associated with the radio packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP or STA, the AP or STA can use a first Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the radio packet is different from the BSS color of the AP or STA, the AP or STA can use a second RSSI detection threshold instead of the first RSSI detection threshold when performing CCA on the radio channel. The second RSSI detection threshold is greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the requirement to win contention is relaxed when interference transmissions are associated with the OBSS.

[0057] Figure 2A An example Protocol Data Unit (PDU) 200 for wireless communication between AP 102 and one or more STAs 104 is shown. For example, PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the preamble 202 may include a legacy portion, which itself includes a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 consisting of two BPSK symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 consisting of two BPSK symbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210 consisting of two BPSK symbols. The legacy portion of the preamble 202 can be configured according to the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. Prefix 202 may also include a non-legacy portion, which includes one or more non-legacy fields 212, for example, that conform to IEEE wireless communication protocols (such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be or later wireless communication protocols).

[0058] L-STF 206 generally enables the receiver equipment to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF 208 generally enables the receiver equipment to perform fine timing and frequency estimation, and also enables it to perform initial estimation of the radio channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables the receiver equipment to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmission over the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208, and L-SIG 210 can be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. Payload 204 may include a PSDU containing a data field (DATA) 214, which in turn may carry higher-level data in the form of, for example, a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0059] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example L-SIG 210 in PDU 200. L-SIG 210 includes a data rate field 222, reserved bits 224, a length field 226, parity bits 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field 212 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in the payload 204). The length field 226 indicates the packet length, for example, in symbols or bytes. The parity bits 228 can be used to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits, which can be used by the receiving device to terminate the operation of the decoder (e.g., the Viterbi decoder). The receiving device can use the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field 222 and the length field 226 to determine the packet duration, for example, in microseconds (µs) or other time units.

[0060] Figure 3An example PPDU 300 is shown that can be used for communication between AP 102 and one or more STAs 104. As described above, each PPDU 300 includes a PHY preamble 302 and a PSDU 304. Each PSDU 304 may represent (or “carry”) one or more MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) 316. For example, each PSDU 304 may carry an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 306, which includes an aggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 308. Each A-MPDU subframe 306 may include an MPDU frame 310 that includes a MAC delimiter 312 and a MAC header 314 preceding the accompanying MPDU 316, which includes the data portion (“payload” or “frame body”) of the MPDU frame 310. Each MPDU frame 310 may also include a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field 318 for error detection (e.g., the FCS field may include Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)) and padding bits 320. MPDU 316 may carry one or more MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs) 316. For example, MPDU 316 may carry an aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 322, which includes multiple A-MSDU subframes 324. Each A-MSDU subframe 324 contains a corresponding MSDU 330, which is preceded by a subframe header 328 and, in some cases, by padding bits 332.

[0061] Returning to reference MPDU frame 310, MAC delimiter 312 can be used as a marker to indicate the start of the associated MPDU 316 and the length of that associated MPDU 316. MAC header 314 may include multiple fields containing information defining or indicating the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within frame body 316. MAC header 314 includes a duration field indicating the duration from the end of the PPDU to at least the end of the acknowledgment (ACK) or block ACK (BA) of that PPDU to be transmitted by the receiving wireless communication device. The use of the duration field preserves the indicated duration of the wireless medium and enables the receiving device to establish its Network Allocation Vector (NAV). MAC header 314 also includes one or more fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated within frame body 316. For example, MAC header 314 may include a combination of source address, transmitter address, receiver address, or destination address. MAC header 314 may further include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field may specify the frame type, such as a data frame, control frame, or management frame.

[0062] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 400 is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be for STAs (such as reference STA). Figure 1Examples of devices in one of the described STAs 104. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be for an AP (such as reference 104). Figure 1 Example of a device in the described AP 102. Wireless communication device 400 is capable of transmitting (or outputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (e.g., in the form of wireless packets). For example, the wireless communication device may be configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) and Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) conforming to IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards (such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including but not limited to 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be).

[0063] Wireless communication device 400 may be or may include a chip, system-on-a-chip (SoC), chipset, package, or device that includes one or more modems 402 (e.g., a Wi-Fi (compliant with IEEE 802.11) modem). In some implementations, one or more modems 402 (collectively, “Modem 402”) additionally include a WWAN modem (e.g., a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compatible modem). In some implementations, wireless communication device 400 also includes one or more radios 404 (collectively, “Radio 404”). In some implementations, wireless communication device 406 further includes one or more processors, processing blocks, or processing elements 406 (collectively, “Processor 406”) and one or more memory blocks or elements 408 (collectively, “Memory 408”).

[0064] Modem 402 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)). Modem 402 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer. For example, modem 402 is configured to modulate packets and output modulated packets to radio 404 for transmission over a wireless medium. Similarly, modem 402 is configured to acquire modulated packets received by radio 404 and demodulate these packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to modulators and demodulators, modem 402 may further include digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry, automatic gain control (AGC), encoders, decoders, multiplexers, and demultiplexers. For example, when in transmission mode, data acquired from processor 406 is provided to a decoder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. The encoded bits are then mapped to points in a modulation constellation (using a selected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. Subsequently, the modulated symbols can be mapped to a number of... A spatial flow or number A space-time stream. The modulated symbols in the corresponding space stream or space-time stream can then be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently provided to the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signal can then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal can then be provided to an up-converter and ultimately to radio 404. In beamforming implementations, the modulated symbols in the corresponding space stream are pre-coded via a guiding matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0065] In receive mode, the digital signal received from radio 404 is provided to a DSP circuitry system configured to acquire the received signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating the initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuitry system is further configured to digitally condition the digital signal, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering, analog impairment conditioning (such as correcting I / Q imbalance), and applying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. The output of the DSP circuitry system can then be fed to an AGC, configured to use information extracted from the digital signal (e.g., in one or more received training fields) to determine an appropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuitry system is also coupled to a demodulator configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and, for example, calculate the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator is coupled to a decoder configured to process the LLR to provide decoded bits. The decoded bits from all spatial streams are then fed to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits can then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 406) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0066] Radio 404 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or “transmitter chain”) and at least one RF receiver (or “receiver chain”), which may be combined into one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and receiver may include various DSP circuitry systems, each including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low-noise amplifier (LNA). The RF transmitter and receiver may further be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, wireless communication device 400 may include or be coupled to multiple transmit antennas (each with a corresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with a corresponding receive chain). Symbols output from modem 402 are provided to radio 404, which then transmits these symbols via the coupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received via the antennas are acquired by radio 404, which then provides these symbols to modem 402.

[0067] Processor 406 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices designed to perform the functions described herein, such as, for example, processing cores, processing blocks, central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. Processor 406 processes information received via radio 404 and modem 402, and processes information to be output via modem 402 and radio 404 for transmission over a wireless medium. For example, processor 406 may implement a control plane and a MAC layer, configured to perform various operations related to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames, or packets. The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate frame decoding and decoding, spatial multiplexing, space-time block decoding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, and other operations or techniques. In some implementations, processor 406 may generally control modem 402 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0068] Memory 404 may include tangible storage media, such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. Memory 404 may also store non-transient processor or computer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by processor 406, cause the processor to perform various operations described herein for wireless communication, including the generation, transmission, reception, and interpretation of MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, the various functions of the components disclosed herein, or the various blocks or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein, may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0069] Figure 5A A block diagram of an example AP 502 is shown. For example, AP 502 could be a reference... Figure 1 The described example implementation of AP 102. AP 502 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 510 (but AP 502 itself may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 510 may be a reference... Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400 is described. AP 502 also includes a plurality of antennas 520 coupled to the wireless communication device 510 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. In some implementations, AP 502 additionally includes an application processor 530 coupled to the wireless communication device 510, and a memory 540 coupled to the application processor 530. AP 502 further includes at least one external network interface 550, which enables AP 502 to communicate with a core network or backhaul network to obtain access to external networks, including the Internet. For example, external network interface 550 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Components of the foregoing can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. AP 502 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 510, application processor 530, memory 540, and at least a portion of the antennas 520 and external network interface 550.

[0070] Figure 5B A block diagram of example STA 504 is shown. For example, STA 504 could be a reference... Figure 1 The example implementation of STA 104 described herein. STA 504 includes wireless communication device 515 (but STA 504 itself may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, as used herein). For example, wireless communication device 515 may be a reference... Figure 4An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. STA 504 also includes one or more antennas 525 coupled to the wireless communication device 515 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. STA 504 additionally includes an application processor 535 coupled to the wireless communication device 515, and a memory 545 coupled to the application processor 535. In some implementations, STA 504 further includes a user interface (UI) 555 (such as a touchscreen or keyboard) and a display 565, which can be integrated with the UI 555 to form a touchscreen display. In some implementations, STA 504 may further include one or more sensors 575 (for example, such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors). Components of the foregoing components can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of these components on at least one bus. STA 504 further includes a housing that encloses the wireless communication device 515, the application processor 535, the memory 545, and at least portions of the antenna 525, the UI 555, and the display 565.

[0071] As mentioned above, new WLAN communication protocols are being developed to achieve enhanced WLAN communication features. These enhancements include increased bandwidth (up to 320 MHz) and the number of spatial streams (up to 16 spatial streams), as well as support for multiple resource units (M-RU) allocation, among others. Because the new wireless communication protocols implement these enhanced features, new preamble designs are required to support signaling related to these features and resource allocation. Signaling refers to control fields or information that can be used by wireless communication devices to interpret another field or portion of a packet. For some wireless communication technologies (such as OFDMA), a wireless channel can utilize multiple subchannels, which can be divided or grouped during transmission to form different resource units (RUs). Signaling can indicate which RUs include data for a specific receiver. Other types of signaling include indicators about which subchannels carry further signaling or which subchannels are punctured. Furthermore, some signaling can indicate the length or availability of one or more fields or subfields in a data packet.

[0072] Figure 6 An example PPDU 600, according to some implementations, is shown that can be used for wireless communication between an AP and several STAs. The PPDU 600 includes a PHY preamble comprising a first part 602 and a second part 604. The PPDU 600 may further include a PHY payload 606 (e.g., in the form of a PSDU carrying a data field 626) after the preamble. In some implementations, the PPDU 600 may be formatted as a non-legacy or Very High Throughput (EHT) PPDU.

[0073] The first part 602 of the PHY preamble includes L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, and L-SIG 612. The second part 604 of the PHY preamble includes a repeating legacy signaling field (RL-SIG) 614, a universal signaling field (U-SIG) 616, a non-legacy short training field (EHT-STF) 622, and several non-legacy long training fields (EHT-LTF) 624. In some implementations, the second part 604 may further include a non-legacy signaling field (EHT-SIG) 618. In future generations of the IEEE 802.11be revision and the IEEE 802.11 standard, new fields may be used to carry signaling information. For example, at least some of the new fields and signaling information may be included in U-SIG 616. Additionally, new fields and signaling information may be included in EHT-SIG 618 (or may overflow from U-SIG 616 into EHT-SIG 618).

[0074] In some implementations, U-SIG 616 may include signaling regarding the type or format of additional signaling fields that may follow U-SIG 616. Such signaling may be carried in one or more version-independent fields 632 and one or more version-dependent fields 634. Version-independent fields 632 may include, for example, a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating the version of the associated wireless communication protocol (starting from IEEE 802.11be revision and later) and a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating the bandwidth associated with PPDU 600 (such as from 20 MHz to 320 MHz). Version-dependent fields 634 may carry information for interpreting other fields of U-SIG 616 or EHT-SIG 618. Example version-dependent fields 634 include PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfields carrying information indicating the format of PPDU 600, and one or more space reuse subfields carrying information indicating whether space reuse is permitted on one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel on which PPDU 600 is transmitted.

[0075] In some implementations, U-SIG 616 may also include several reserved bits. Reserved bits represent unused bits reserved for future implementations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some respects, one or more reserved bits in an earlier version or release of the IEEE 802.11 standard may be reused (to carry information) in a later version or release. For example, in a later version or release of the IEEE 802.11 standard, some reserved bits in U-SIG 616 may be reused to extend the range of values ​​that can be represented by existing fields in an earlier version or release. In a later version or release of the IEEE 802.11 standard, some other reserved bits in U-SIG 616 may be reused to convey information unrelated to any information conveyed in an earlier version or release (or remain unused in the later version or release).

[0076] In some aspects, EHT-SIG 618 may include a common field 636. The common field 636 may include a U-SIG overflow representing one or more bits or fields overflowing from U-SIG 616, or an RU allocation subfield carrying information indicating the allocation of RUs to the intended receiver of PPDU 600. In some other aspects, EHT-SIG 618 may also include a user-specific field 638. The user-specific field 638 may include several user fields carrying per-user information for the intended receiver of PPDU 600. (See reference...) Figures 7A-7C In more detail, the content and availability of EHT-SIG 618 may depend on the format of PPDU 600. For example, in single-user (SU) and multi-user (MU) PPDU formats, the second part 604 of PPDU 600 may include EHT-SIG 618. On the other hand, in the trigger-based (TB) PPDU format, EHT-SIG 618 may be absent or omitted. Table 1 below shows a more detailed representation of the various fields and subfields of PPDU 600 in the TB PPDU format.

[0077]

[0078] Figure 7A Example frame structures for the TBPPDU 700 are shown according to some implementations. In some implementations, the TBPPDU 700 can be... Figure 6 An example of a PPDU 600. For simplicity, Figure 7AOnly the EHT front portion of TB PPDU 700 (corresponding to portion 650 of PPDU 600) is shown. TB PPDU 700 includes L-STF 701, L-LTF 702, L-SIG 703, RL-SIG 704, and U-SIG 705, which can correspond to L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, L-SIG 612, RL-SIG 614, and U-SIG 616 of PPDU 600, respectively. In the example TB PPDU format, TB PPDU 700 may not include EHT-SIG. As a result, TB PPDU 700 may not include any U-SIG overflow, RU allocation information, or (such as in...) Figure 6 Other user-specific information (provided in user-specific field 638).

[0079] Figure 7B Example frame structures for the SUPPDU 710 are shown according to some implementations. In some implementations, the SUPPDU 710 can be... Figure 6 An example of a PPDU 600. For simplicity, Figure 7B Only the EHT front portion of SU PPDU 710 (corresponding to portion 650 of PPDU 600) is shown. SU PPDU 710 includes L-STF 711, L-LTF 712, L-SIG 713, RL-SIG 714, U-SIG 715, and EHT-SIG 716, which can correspond to L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, L-SIG 612, RL-SIG 614, U-SIG 616, and EHT-SIG 616 of PPDU 600, respectively. In the example SU PPDU format, EHT-SIG 716 may only include bits or field 717 overflowing from U-SIG 715. More specifically, SU PPDU 710 may not include any RU allocation information or (such as in...) Figure 6 Other user-specific information (provided in user-specific field 638).

[0080] Figure 7C Example frame structures for the MUPPDU 720 are shown according to some implementations. In some implementations, the MUPPDU 720 can be... Figure 6 An example of a PPDU 600. For simplicity, Figure 7COnly the EHT front portion of MU PPDU 720 (corresponding to portion 650 of PPDU 600) is shown. MU PPDU 720 includes L-STF 721, L-LTF 722, L-SIG 723, RL-SIG 724, U-SIG 725, and EHT-SIG 726, which may correspond to L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, L-SIG 612, RL-SIG 614, U-SIG 616, and EHT-SIG 616 of PPDU 600, respectively. In the example MU PPDU format, EHT-SIG 726 may include a common field 727 and a user-specific field 728. Therefore, MU PPDU 720 may include per-user information (such as in the user-specific field 728) for one or more intended recipients of MU PPDU 720.

[0081] Figure 8 Example frame structures of non-legacy PPDU 800s allocated across multiple sub-channels of a wireless channel, according to some implementations, are shown. In some implementations, the EHT PPDU 800 can be... Figure 6 An example of a PPDU 600. Figure 8 In the example, the EHT PPDU 800 is shown as including L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG signaled or transmitted on multiple 20 MHz sub-channels (or frequency bands) of a 320 MHz wireless channel. In some other implementations, the wireless channel may cover any frequency range, including but not limited to 160 MHz, 240 MHz, 480 MHz, or 640 MHz spectrum. Figure 8 As shown, the 320 MHz spectrum includes 16 20 MHz sub-channels indexed from lowest to highest (e.g., from 1 to 16).

[0082] exist Figure 8In the example, L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, and RL-SIG are replicated or repeated in each 20 MHz sub-channel across the entire 320 MHz spectrum. In some implementations, U-SIG can be replicated or repeated in each 20 MHz sub-channel within the corresponding 80 MHz band of the radio channel. For example, the first four sub-channels (1st to 4th) can share the same U-SIG field and value. The next four sub-channels (5th to 8th) can share the same U-SIG field and value, which may differ from the U-SIG field or value of the first four sub-channels. The next four sub-channels (9th to 12th) can share the same U-SIG field and value, which may further differ from the U-SIG field or value of any of the first eight sub-channels. The next four sub-channels (13th to 16th) can share the same U-SIG field and value, which may further differ from the U-SIG field or value of any of the first twelve sub-channels. In other words, the U-SIG field or value can change every 80 MHz. This allows for greater parallelization of U-SIG information across various sub-channels.

[0083] In some implementations, EHT-SIG can be signaled on several content channels. Each content channel can be defined by a specific subchannel group. For example, a first content channel can carry signaling information for all odd-numbered subchannels (such as the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, and 15th 20 MHz subchannels), while a second content channel can carry signaling information for all even-numbered subchannels (such as the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, and 16th 20 MHz subchannels). In some implementations, EHT-SIG can be copied or repeated for each content channel. For example, (odd-numbered) subchannels associated with the first content channel can share the same EHT-SIG fields and values. (Even-numbered) subchannels associated with the second content channel can share the same EHT-SIG fields and values, which may differ from the EHT-SIG fields or values ​​of the first content channel.

[0084] As mentioned above, existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard support trigger-based uplink communication. Specifically, the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard defines a trigger frame format that can be used to request the transmission of a TB PPDU from one or more STAs. The trigger frame allocates resources for the transmission of the TB PPDU and indicates how the TB PPDU will be configured for transmission. Due to the enhanced features implemented in new WLAN communication protocols, a new trigger frame format is needed to support the new features in the TB PPDU. For example, some fields in the PHY preamble (such as U-SIG) of non-legacy PPDU formats are configured per 20 MHz sub-channel. In some aspects, U-SIG can be further replicated on multiple 20 MHz sub-channels (such as reference). Figure 8 As described. Consequently, all wireless communication devices concurrently transmitting PPDUs on the same (or overlapping) 20 MHz sub-channels must transmit the same information in the U-SIG of their respective PPDUs within such 20 MHz sub-channels. Accordingly, a new trigger frame design is needed to configure and request the transmission of non-legacy TB PPDUs, such as, for example, refer to [reference needed]. Figure 6-8 As described.

[0085] The various aspects generally involve trigger-based communication supporting new wireless communication protocols, and more specifically, trigger frame designs supporting non-legacy TB PPDU formats. As used herein, the term "non-legacy" can refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11be revision and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Conversely, the term "legacy" can be used herein to refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some aspects, the trigger frame may carry information (referred to herein as "prefix information") to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU requested by the trigger frame. For example, the preamble information may indicate the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG associated with the non-legacy TB PPDU format. In some aspects, the preamble information may be carried in a special user information field of the trigger frame. For example, the special user information field may be identified by a special AID value reserved in older versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. A specific AID value may differ from any AID value assigned to a wireless communication device in the BSS associated with the TB PPDU.

[0086] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be achieved to attain one or more of the following potential advantages. By requesting the transmission of non-legacy TB PPDUs, the trigger frame design of this disclosure supports the data throughput gains achievable in IEEE 802.11be revisions and future generations according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. As mentioned above, wireless communication devices transmitting non-legacy TB PPDUs need to ensure that one or more fields of the PHY preamble (such as U-SIG) of the TB PPDU are consistent with the corresponding fields of other PPDUs concurrently transmitted on the same (or overlapping) 20 MHz subchannels. By including preamble information in the trigger frame, aspects of this disclosure enable the receiving device to configure the U-SIG of the requested TB PPDU to be consistent with (or identical to) the U-SIG of other PPDUs concurrently transmitted on the same 20 MHz subchannel. By providing preamble information (associated with a reserved AID value in older versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard) in a special user information field, the trigger frame design of this disclosure is compatible with both older and non-older versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0087] Figure 9 Example trigger frame 900, based on some implementations, is shown for communication between an AP and several STAs. In some implementations, trigger frame 900 can be used to request a TB PPDU (such as legacy and non-legacy TB PPDUs) from one or more non-legacy STAs. For example, a non-legacy TB PPDU can be requested based on... Figure 7A The TB PPDU 700 is formatted. In some other implementations, the trigger frame 900 can be used to request a TB PPDU from one or more legacy STAs. In other words, the trigger frame 900 supports backward compatibility with legacy trigger frame formats, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0088] Trigger frame 900 includes a MAC header 910, a common information field 920, a user information list 930, zero or more padding bits 940, and an FCS 950. The MAC header 910 includes a frame control field, a duration field, a receiver address (RA) field, and a transmitter address (TA) field. The common information field 920 and the user information list 930 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure the TB PPDU to be transmitted in response to the receipt of trigger frame 900. More specifically, user information list 930 may include one or more user information fields, each carrying per-user information for the corresponding user. Conversely, common information field 920 may carry information common to all receivers of trigger frame 900, such as any user associated with a user field in user information list 930.

[0089] In some implementations, the user information list 930 may include a special user information field 932. In some aspects, the special user information field 932 may be the first user information field in a series of user information fields in the user information list 930. The special user information field 932 may carry precode information to be included in the PHY precode of the TB PPDU. More specifically, the receiving device may determine how to generate or configure the PHY precode of the TB PPDU based on the precode information carried in the special user information field 932. In some implementations, the precode information may include U-SIG content 938. For example, the U-SIG content 938 may indicate the value of one or more subfields of U-SIG in the PHY precode of the TB PPDU. In some implementations, the special user information field 932 may be associated with a special AID 12 value 936. The special AID value may be the AID value of any STA not assigned to the BSS associated with the trigger frame 900. More specifically, non-legacy receiver devices can determine the special user information field 932 carrying U-SIG content 938 based on a special AID value 936.

[0090] Figure 10 Example user information field 1000 of a trigger frame formatted according to an older trigger frame format, such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. See, for example... Figure 9 User information field 1000 may be an example of a user information field that can be included in user information list 930. Each user information field is associated with a corresponding AID value. The AID value may be a 12-bit value carried in the AID 12 subfield (at bit positions B0-B11) of the user information field. In some aspects, the AID value may uniquely identify a specific STA (or user) in the BSS. For example, each STA may be assigned a unique AID value when associated with the BSS. However, aspects of this disclosure recognize that certain values ​​associated with the AID 12 subfield are reserved in legacy trigger frame formats (such as 2008-2044 and 2047-4094). Therefore, in some implementations, special user information field 932 may be assigned one or more reserved values ​​associated with the AID 12 subfield. By using the reserved values ​​of its AID 12 subfield, special user information field 932 can be ignored by legacy STAs and interpreted by non-legacy STAs.

[0091] like Figure 10As shown, each user information field is 40 bits long. When the AID 12 subfield is set to a special AID value, the remaining 28 bits of the user information field (in bit positions B12-B39) can be reused to carry preamble information (such as U-SIG content 938). In some implementations, the user information list 930 may include one or more additional special user information fields 934, for example, to carry additional preamble information or other information to be signaled to the receiving device. In some implementations, special user information fields 932 and 934 may be associated with different releases or versions of the physical layer wireless communication protocol. In other words, the format or content of special user information field 932 may differ from the format or content of special user information field 934. Therefore, the trigger frame 900 may carry preamble information for multiple releases or versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, different releases or versions may be associated with different special AID values. In some other implementations, all special user information fields may be associated with the same special AID value. In such implementations, different distributions or versions can be indicated by additional information in special user information fields.

[0092] Figure 11A Example special user information field 1100 is shown according to some implementations. In some implementations, special user information field 1100 can be... Figure 9 An example of a special user information field 932. Correspondingly, special user information field 1100 can be configured to carry preamble information for the TB PPDU. Special user information field 1100 includes an AID 12 subfield 1101 and several U-SIG content subfields 1102-1105. In some implementations, the AID 12 subfield 1101 can be assigned a special AID value (such as...). Figure 10 (One of the reserved AID values). See reference Figure 9 and 10 As described, the special AID value is not assigned to any STA belonging to the BSS associated with the base trigger frame. In some implementations, U-SIG content subfields 1102-1105 may carry preamble information to be included in the U-SIG of the TB PPDU requested by the trigger frame.

[0093] exist Figure 11AIn the example, U-SIG content subfields 1102-1105 include PPDU BW subfield 1102, first spatial reuse (spatial reuse 1) subfield 1103, second spatial reuse (spatial reuse 2) subfield 1104, and reservation information subfield 1105. Referring, for example, to Table 1, PPDU BW subfield 1102, first spatial reuse subfield 1103, and second spatial reuse subfield 1104 may carry information to be included in the PPDU BW subfield, spatial reuse 1 subfield, and spatial reuse 2 subfield of the U-SIG, respectively. For example, PPDU BW subfield 1102 may carry information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel on which the TB PPDU is to be transmitted, and spatial reuse subfields 1103 and 1104 may carry information indicating whether spatial reuse is permitted on one or more subchannels of the radio channel. In some implementations, reservation information subfield 1105 may carry information indicating the number (and location) of reserved bits to be included in the U-SIG.

[0094] In some implementations, the special user information field 1100 may further include a version identifier subfield 1106. For example, referring to Table 1, the version identifier subfield 1106 may carry information to be included in the version identifier subfield of the U-SIG. For example, the version identifier subfield 1106 may carry information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the TB PPDU. In some other implementations, the version information may be associated with the value of the AID 12 subfield 1101. For example, as shown in Table 1... Figure 9 As described, different versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard can be associated with different special AID values. In such implementations, the version identifier subfield 1106 may not exist in the special user information field 1100 or may be omitted from the special user information field 1100. For example, a receiving device may determine version information (which would otherwise be carried in the version identifier subfield 1106) based on the value of the AID 12 subfield 1101.

[0095] In some implementations, when generating the PHY preamble for the TB PPDU, the receiving device can copy information from U-SIG content subfields 1102, 1103, 1104, 1105, or 1106 into the corresponding subfield of U-SIG. In other words, the value of each of subfields 1102-1106 can be the same as the value to be conveyed by the corresponding subfield of U-SIG. For example, referring to Table 1, PPDU BW subfield 1102 can carry 3 bits of information, each of space reuse subfields 1103 and 1104 can carry 4 bits of information, reservation information subfield 1105 can carry up to 12 bits of information, and version identifier subfield 1106 can carry 3 bits of information. In such implementations, a total of 26 bits are needed to convey the information in each of the U-SIG content subfields 1102-1106 (or a total of 23 bits are needed for implementations where version identifier subfield 1106 is omitted), which is less than the 28 available bits in special user information field 1100.

[0096] All aspects of this disclosure recognize that information associated with one or more subfields of U-SIG can be locally derived by the receiving device. For example, referring to Table 1, the values ​​of the UL / DL subfield, BSS color subfield, TXOP subfield, and PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield can be set by the receiving device based on known parameters associated with the TB PPDU. Furthermore, the CRC and tail bits are derived based on the contents of the TB PPDU. Therefore, in some implementations, the trigger frame may not carry preamble information that can be locally derived by the receiving device. More specifically, in some aspects, the values ​​of the UL / DL subfield, BSS color subfield, TXOP subfield, and PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield may be omitted from the trigger frame.

[0097] Various aspects of this disclosure also recognize that the potential for error is greater when preamble information is derived locally compared to directly copying preamble information from the trigger frame. Therefore, in some other implementations, the trigger frame may carry preamble information (including values ​​of subfields that could otherwise be derived locally by the receiving device) to be included in each subfield of the U-SIG. For example, referring to Table 1, a total of 16 bits are required to convey the values ​​of the UL / DL subfield, BSS color subfield, TXOP subfield, and PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfields, exceeding the number of remaining available bits in the special user information field 1100. Therefore, in some aspects, preamble information associated with one or more of these subfields may be carried in an additional special user information field.

[0098] Figure 11BAnother example of a special user information field 1110 is shown according to some implementations. In some implementations, the special user information field 1110 can be... Figure 9 An example of the special user information field 932. Correspondingly, the special user information field 1110 can be configured to carry preamble information for the TB PPDU. The special user information field 1110 includes the AID12 subfield 1111 and several U-SIG content subfields 1112-1115. In some implementations, the AID12 subfield 1111 can be assigned a special AID value (such as...). Figure 10 (One of the reserved AID values). See reference Figure 9 and 10 As described, the special AID value is not assigned to any STA belonging to the BSS associated with the base trigger frame. In some implementations, U-SIG content subfields 1112-1115 may carry preamble information to be included in the U-SIG of the TB PPDU requested by the trigger frame.

[0099] exist Figure 11B In the example, U-SIG content subfields 1112-1115 include UL / DL subfield 1112, BSS color subfield 1113, TXOP subfield 1114, and PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield 1115. Referring to Table 1, for example, UL / DL subfield 1112, BSS color subfield 1113, TXOP subfield 1114, and PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield 1115 can carry information to be included in the UL / DL subfield, BSS color subfield, TXOP subfield, and PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield of U-SIG, respectively. For example, the UL / DL subfield 1112 may carry information indicating whether the TB PPDU is transmitted in the uplink or downlink direction, the BSS color subfield 1113 may carry information indicating the BSS color (which identifies the BSS) associated with the TB PPDU, the TXOP subfield 114 may carry information indicating the TXOP duration associated with the TB PPDU, and the PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield 1115 may carry information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0100] In some implementations, when generating the PHY preamble for the TB PPDU, the receiving device can copy information from the U-SIG content subfields 1112-1115 into the corresponding subfields of the U-SIG. In other words, the value of each of subfields 1112-1115 can be the same as the value to be conveyed by the corresponding subfield of the U-SIG. For example, referring to Table 1, the UL / DL subfield 1112 can carry 1 bit of information, the BSS color subfield 1113 can carry 6 bits of information, the TXOP subfield 114 can carry 7 bits of information, and the PPDU format and EHT-SIG compression subfield 1115 can carry 2 bits of information. In such implementations, a total of 16 bits are needed to convey the information in each of the U-SIG content subfields 1112-1115, which is significantly less than the 28 available bits in the special user information field 1110.

[0101] In some implementations, one or more of the subfields 1112-1115 can be added. Figure 11A The U-SIG content subfield of special user information field 1100. Similarly, one or more of subfields 1102-1106 may be added to the U-SIG content subfield of special user information field 1110. For example, this may free up additional unused bits in one of special user information fields 1100 or 1110. In some implementations, unused bits in one or more of special user information fields 1100 or 1110 may be reused to carry additional information that may be related to the transmission of the TB PPDU or other communications involving the receiving device. In some other implementations, such additional information may be carried in one or more additional special user information fields.

[0102] In some implementations, the wireless channel can be punctured to exclude one or more sub-channels from the transmission of the PPDU, for example, to avoid interference to the punctured sub-channels (such as transmissions from existing systems). More specifically, channel puncturing can be specified in 20 MHz granularity. See, for example, [reference needed]. Figure 8 The channel puncturing information can indicate which of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, or 16th 20 MHz sub-channels of the 320 MHz wireless channel (where applicable) has been punctured. In some implementations, the trigger frame may further carry the channel puncturing information, for example, to support such punctured channel indication. In some aspects, the channel puncturing information may be carried in a special user information field that also includes one or more U-SIG content subfields. In some other aspects, the channel puncturing information may be carried in a separate special user information field that does not carry preamble information.

[0103] Figure 11CAnother example of a special user information field 1120 is shown, based on some implementations. In some implementations, the special user information field 1120 may be... Figure 9 An example of the special user information field 932. However, respectively with Figure 11A and 11B Unlike 1110, the special user information fields 1100 and 1110 are not configured to carry preamble information for the TB PPDU. Special user information field 1120 includes an AID12 subfield 1121 and a channel puncturing subfield 1122. In some implementations, the AID12 subfield 1121 may be assigned a special AID value (such as...). Figure 10 (One of the reserved AID values). See reference Figure 9 and 10 As described, the special AID value was not assigned to any STA belonging to the BSS associated with the base trigger frame.

[0104] The channel puncturing subfield 1122 may carry channel puncturing information associated with the wireless channel on which the TB PPDU (requested by the trigger frame) is to be transmitted. In some implementations, the channel puncturing information may be represented by a 16-bit bitmap. For example, each bit in the 16-bit bitmap may be associated with a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHz wireless channel. More specifically, the value of each bit in the 16-bit bitmap may indicate whether puncturing is performed on the corresponding 20 MHz subchannel. See, for example, [reference needed]. Figure 8 The 16-bit bit mapping can indicate which of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, or 16th 20 MHz sub-channels of the 320 MHz wireless channel (where applicable) is punctured.

[0105] In some implementations, channel piercing information can be simplified or compressed to reduce overhead. In other implementations, channel piercing information can be represented by an 8-bit bitmap plus a resolution bit. For example, the value of each bit in the 8-bit bitmap indicates whether piercing is performed on the corresponding sub-channel of the wireless channel. The value of the resolution bit indicates whether each bit in the 8-bit bitmap is associated with a corresponding 20 MHz sub-channel (such as for an 80 MHz wireless channel or segmentation) or a corresponding 40 MHz sub-channel (such as for a 320 MHz wireless channel).

[0106] Various aspects of this disclosure further recognize that, by reducing the size of the bitmap, channel puncturing information can be carried in other fields of the trigger frame, such as, for example, a common information field. Figure 12Example shared information field 1200 of a trigger frame formatted according to an older trigger frame format, such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. See, for example, reference... Figure 9 The shared field 1200 can be an example of the shared field 920. For example... Figure 12 As shown, the common field 1200 includes a total of 10 reserved bits (in bit positions B54-B63). In some implementations, 9 of these reserved bits can be reused to carry channel piercing information (such as an 8-bit bit map plus resolution bits).

[0107] Figure 13 Another example trigger frame 1300, which can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs according to some implementations, is shown. In some implementations, trigger frame 1300 can be... Figure 9 An example of trigger frame 900. In some respects, trigger frame 1300 can be used to request TB PPDUs (such as legacy and non-legacy TB PPDUs) from one or more non-legacy STAs. In some other respects, trigger frame 1300 can be used to request TB PPDUs from one or more legacy STAs.

[0108] Trigger frame 1300 includes a MAC header 1310, a common information field 1320, a user information list 1330, zero or more padding bits 1340, and an FCS 1350. The MAC header 1310 includes a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, and a TA field. The common information field 1320 and the user information list 1330 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure the TB PPDU to be transmitted in response to the receipt of trigger frame 1300. More specifically, user information list 1330 may include one or more user information fields, each carrying per-user information for the corresponding user. Conversely, common information field 1320 may carry information common to all receivers of trigger frame 1300, such as any user associated with a user field in user information list 1330.

[0109] In some implementations, the common information field 1320 may carry channel puncturing information represented by resolution bits 1322 and bit mapping 1324. Bit mapping 1324 may indicate whether puncturing is performed on one or more sub-channels of the radio channel on which the TB PPDU is to transmit. In some implementations, bit mapping 1324 may be an 8-bit bit mapping. As described above, the value of each of the 8 bits in the bit mapping indicates whether puncturing is performed on the corresponding sub-channel of the radio channel. The value of resolution bits 1322 may indicate whether each bit in the 8-bit bit mapping is associated with a corresponding 20 MHz sub-channel or a corresponding 40 MHz sub-channel. In some implementations, resolution bits 1322 and bit mapping 1324 may represent the nine reserved bits in the common information field associated with the legacy trigger frame format (such as any reserved bits at bit positions B54-B63 of the common information field 1200).

[0110] In some implementations, the user information list 1330 may include one or more special user information fields 1332 or 1334. In some implementations, the special user information fields 1332 and 1334 may be respectively... Figure 9 Examples of special user information fields 932 and 934. For example, at least one of special user information fields 1332 or 1334 can be configured to carry preamble information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU. More specifically, the receiving device can determine how to generate or configure the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU based on the preamble information carried in special user information fields 1332 or 1334. See reference Figure 9 and 10 As described, each of the special user information fields 1332 and 1334 can be associated with a special AID12 value. The special AID value can be the AID value of any STA not assigned to a BSS associated with trigger frame 1300.

[0111] By reusing reserved bits in the shared information field 1320 to carry channel piercing information, aspects of this disclosure can reduce the overhead associated with the trigger frame 1300. For example, refer to Figure 11A-11C The user information list 1330 may include information that was originally intended to be used to carry channel puncturing information (such as...). Figure 11C At least one less special user information field (1120) of the special user information field. In some other implementations, the common information field of the trigger frame may be configured to carry enhanced signaling associated with one or more user information fields of the user information list. In some aspects, the enhanced signaling may indicate the presence or availability of special user information fields in the user information list (such as reference). Figure 14(As described). In some other aspects, enhanced signaling can indicate the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with each user information field in the user information list (such as reference). Figure 15 (as described).

[0112] Figure 14 Another example trigger frame 1400, which can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs according to some implementations, is shown. In some implementations, trigger frame 1400 can be... Figure 9 An example of trigger frame 900. In some respects, trigger frame 1400 can be used to request TB PPDUs (such as legacy and non-legacy TB PPDUs) from one or more non-legacy STAs. In some respects, trigger frame 1400 can be used to request TB PPDUs from one or more legacy STAs.

[0113] Trigger frame 1400 includes a MAC header 1410, a common information field 1420, a user information list 1430, zero or more padding bits 1440, and an FCS 1450. The MAC header 1410 includes a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, and a TA field. The common information field 1420 and the user information list 1430 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure the TB PPDU to be transmitted in response to the receipt of trigger frame 1400. More specifically, user information list 1430 may include one or more user information fields, each carrying per-user information for the corresponding user. Conversely, common information field 1420 may carry information common to all receivers of trigger frame 1400, such as any user associated with a user field in user information list 1430.

[0114] In some implementations, the common information field 1420 may carry trigger format information 1422 indicating the format of the trigger frame 1400. More specifically, the trigger format information 1422 may include one or more bits indicating whether the trigger frame 1400 is configured according to an old-style trigger frame format or a non-old-style trigger frame format. In some implementations, the trigger format information 1422 may replace one or more reserved bits in the common information field associated with an old-style trigger frame format (such as any reserved bits at bit positions B54-B63 of the common information field 1200).

[0115] In some respects, when trigger format information 1422 indicates a legacy trigger frame format, the fields and subfields of trigger frame 1400 may be identical to those of the trigger frame format defined by the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, in such a configuration, user information list 1430 may not include any special user information fields. In some other respects, when trigger format information 1422 indicates a non-legacy trigger frame format, trigger frame 1400 may include one or more new (or modified) fields or subfields that support enhanced WLAN communication features, such as those provided by the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard and future generations. For example, in such a configuration, user information list 1430 may include one or more special user information fields.

[0116] In some implementations, the user information list 1430 may include one or more special user information fields 1432 or 1434. In some implementations, the special user information fields 1432 and 1434 may be respectively... Figure 9 Examples of special user information fields 932 and 934. For example, at least one of special user information fields 1432 or 1434 can be configured to carry preamble information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU. More specifically, the receiving device can determine how to generate or configure the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU based on the preamble information carried in special user information fields 1432 or 1434. See reference Figure 9 and 10 As described, each of the special user information fields 1432 and 1434 can be associated with a special AID12 value. The special AID value can be the AID value of any STA not assigned to a BSS associated with trigger frame 1400.

[0117] In some implementations, the receiving device receiving the trigger frame 1400 can determine whether to search for a special user information field 1432 or 1434 in the user information list 1430 based on the trigger format information 1422. For example, if the trigger format information 1422 indicates a non-legacy trigger frame format, the receiving device can compare the AID value associated with each user information field in the user information list 1430 with one or more special AID values ​​to identify the special user information field. On the other hand, if the trigger format information 1422 indicates a legacy trigger frame format, the receiving device does not need to compare the special AID value with the AID value associated with each user information field in the user information list 1430, which reduces the processing overhead of the receiving device.

[0118] Figure 15Example trigger frame 1500, which can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs according to some implementations, is shown. In some implementations, trigger frame 1500 can be... Figure 9 An example of trigger frame 900. In some respects, trigger frame 1500 can be used to request TB PPDUs (such as legacy and non-legacy TB PPDUs) from one or more non-legacy STAs. In some other respects, trigger frame 1500 can be used to request TB PPDUs from one or more legacy STAs.

[0119] Trigger frame 1500 includes a MAC header 1510, a common information field 1520, a user information list 1530, zero or more padding bits 1540, and an FCS 1550. The MAC header 1510 includes a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, and a TA field. The common information field 1520 and the user information list 1530 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure the TB PPDU to be transmitted in response to the receipt of trigger frame 1500. More specifically, user information list 1530 may include one or more user information fields, each carrying per-user information for the corresponding user. Conversely, the common information field 1520 may carry information common to all receivers of trigger frame 1500, such as any user associated with a user field in user information list 1530.

[0120] In some implementations, the common information field 1520 may include an enhanced (HE / EHT) format indication 1522, which indicates the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the user information list 1530. More specifically, the enhanced format indication 1522 may include one or more bits indicating whether the user information field in the user information list 1530 is associated with a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format. In some implementations, the enhanced format information 1522 may replace one or more reserved bits in the common information field associated with a legacy trigger frame format (such as any reserved bits at bit positions B54-B63 of the common information field 1200).

[0121] In some aspects, when the Enhanced Format Indication 1522 indicates a legacy PPDU format, each user information field in the User Information List 1530 may be associated with a legacy PPDU format. More specifically, in such a configuration, the Trigger Frame 1500 may request a legacy TB PPDU transmitted by each user associated with the corresponding user information field in the User Information List 1530. In some other aspects, when the Enhanced Format Indication 1522 indicates a non-legacy PPDU format, each user information field in the User Information List 1530 may be associated with a non-legacy PPDU format. More specifically, in such a configuration, the Trigger Frame 1500 may request a non-legacy TB PPDU transmitted by each user associated with the corresponding user information field in the User Information List 1530.

[0122] In some implementations, the user information list 1530 may include one or more special user information fields 1532 or 1534. In some implementations, the special user information fields 1532 and 1534 may be respectively... Figure 9 Examples of special user information fields 932 and 934. For instance, at least one of special user information fields 1532 or 1534 can be configured to carry preamble information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU. More specifically, the receiving device can determine how to generate or configure the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU based on the preamble information carried in special user information fields 1532 or 1534. See reference... Figure 9 and 10 As described, each of the special user information fields 1532 and 1534 can be associated with a special AID12 value. The special AID value can be the AID value of any STA not assigned to a BSS associated with trigger frame 1500.

[0123] In some implementations, the receiving device receiving the trigger frame 1500 can determine, based on the enhancement format indication 1522, whether to interpret or process the information carried in the user information field according to an older or younger version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol. For example, if the enhancement format indication 1522 indicates an older PPDU format, the receiving device can interpret the information in its user information field according to the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard and can transmit an older TB PPDU in response to receiving the trigger frame 1500. On the other hand, if the enhancement format indication 1522 indicates a younger PPDU format, the receiving device can interpret the information in its user information field according to the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard or future generations and can transmit a younger TB PPDU in response to receiving the trigger frame 1500.

[0124] In some other implementations, the presence (or absence) of special user information fields in user information list 1530 can signal that each user information field in user information list 1530 is associated with a non-legacy PPDU format (or legacy PPDU format). In some aspects, the receiving device can search for one or more special user information fields in user information list 1530 to determine whether to interpret or process the information carried in these user information fields according to a legacy or non-legacy version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol. For example, if user information list 1530 does not include special user information fields, the receiving device can interpret the information in its user information fields according to the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard and can transmit a legacy TB PPDU in response to receiving trigger frame 1500. On the other hand, if the user information list 1530 includes one or more special user information fields 1532 or 1534, the receiving device can interpret the information in its user information fields according to the IEEE 802.11be revision or future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard, and can transmit a non-legacy TB PPDU in response to receiving the trigger frame 1500.

[0125] Figure 16 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of an example process 1600 for wireless communication supporting a special user information field used to trigger frames, according to some implementations. In some implementations, process 1600 may be performed by network nodes (such as those mentioned above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 5B The wireless communication device that operates or operates within a network node (either of the STA 104 or 504 described) is used to perform this function.

[0126] In some implementations, process 1600 begins at block 1602 with receiving a trigger frame requesting a PPDU to be transmitted by a wireless communication device, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field, wherein the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the one or more user information fields. At block 1604, process 1600 proceeds to determine, based on an AID value associated with a first user information field among the one or more user information fields, that the first user information field carries information to be included in the PHY preamble of the PPDU. At block 1606, process 1600 proceeds to generate a PHY preamble based on the information carried in the first user information field. At block 1608, process 1600 proceeds to transmit the PPDU including the PHY preamble on the wireless channel in response to the reception of the trigger frame.

[0127] In some implementations, the AID value can be a special AID value that is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same BSS as the wireless communication device.

[0128] In some implementations, process 1600 may proceed to determine, after receiving the trigger frame in block 1602 and before generating the PHY preamble in block 1606, that the second user information field carries additional information to be included in the PHY preamble based on the AID value associated with the second user information field in the one or more user information fields.

[0129] In some implementations, the PHY preamble may include L-SIG, RL-SIG immediately following L-SIG, and U-SIG immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0130] In some implementations, in block 1606, the operation for generating the PHY preamble may include determining the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG based on information carried in the first user information field, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel, a space reuse subfield carrying information indicating whether space reuse is permitted on one or more subchannels of the radio channel, or a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

[0131] In some implementations, in block 1606, the operation for generating the PHY preamble may include determining the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG based on information carried in the first user information field, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a UL / DL subfield carrying information indicating whether the PPDU is transmitted in the uplink or downlink direction, a BSS color subfield carrying information indicating the BSS color associated with the PPDU, a TXOP subfield carrying information indicating the TXOP duration associated with the PPDU, or a PPDU format and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0132] In some implementations, the operation in box 1606 for generating the PHY preamble includes determining the number of reserved bits to be included in the U-SIG based on information carried in the first user information field.

[0133] In some implementations, process 1600 may proceed to determining the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU based on the AID value associated with the first user information field after receiving the trigger frame in block 1602 and before transmitting the PPDU in block 1608; and configure the version identifier subfield of the U-SIG to carry information indicating the determined version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol.

[0134] In some implementations, after receiving a trigger frame in block 1602, process 1600 may proceed to determine whether to perform piercing on one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel based on information carried in a first user information field or information carried in a common information field.

[0135] In some implementations, process 1600 may proceed to determine the format of the trigger frame based on the information carried in the common information field, wherein the format is an old-style trigger frame format or a non-old-style trigger frame format, after receiving the trigger frame in block 1602 and before determining in block 1604 that the first user information field carries information to be included in the PHY preamble of the PPDU; and determine, based on the determined format of the trigger frame, that one or more user information fields include the first user information field.

[0136] In some implementations, process 1600 may proceed to determine, after determining in block 1604 that the first user information field carries information to be included in the PHY preamble of the PPDU and before generating the PHY preamble in block 1606, the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with one or more user information fields is determined based on information carried in at least one of the common information field or the first user information field, wherein the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol is the same for each of the one or more user information fields; and interpret the information carried in the first user information field based on the determined PHY version.

[0137] Figure 17 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of an example process 1700 for wireless communication supporting a special user information field used to trigger frames, according to some implementations. In some implementations, process 1600 may be performed by network nodes (such as those mentioned above, referred to separately). Figure 1 and Figure 5B The wireless communication device that operates or operates within a network node (either of the STA 104 or 504 described) is used to perform this function.

[0138] In some implementations, process 1700 begins at block 1702 with determining information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU. At block 1704, process 1700 proceeds to transmit a trigger frame requesting the TB PPDU to be transmitted by the receiving device over a wireless channel. This trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field. The common information field carries information common to each user associated with the one or more user information fields, and the one or more user information fields include a first user information field carrying information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU.

[0139] In some implementations, the first user information field may be associated with a special AID value for any wireless communication device not assigned to the same BSS as the receiving device. In some implementations, process 1700 may proceed to determine the special AID value based on the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the TB PPDU, after determining the information to be included in the PHY preamble in block 1702 and before triggering frame transmission in block 1704.

[0140] In some implementations, one or more user information fields may further include a second user information field carrying additional information to be included in the PHY preamble.

[0141] In some implementations, the PHY preamble may include L-SIG, RL-SIG immediately following L-SIG, and U-SIG immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

[0142] In some implementations, the information carried in the first user information field may indicate the value of one or more subfields of the U-SIG, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating the bandwidth of the radio channel, a space reuse subfield carrying information indicating whether space reuse is permitted on one or more subchannels of the radio channel, or a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

[0143] In some implementations, the information carried in the first user information field may indicate the value of one or more subfields of U-SIG, wherein the one or more subfields include at least one of the following: a UL / DL subfield carrying information indicating whether the PPDU is transmitted in the uplink or downlink direction, a BSS color subfield carrying information indicating the BSS color associated with the PPDU, a TXOP subfield carrying information indicating the TXOP duration associated with the PPDU, or a PPDU format and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating the format of the PPDU.

[0144] In some implementations, the information carried in the first user information field may indicate the number of reserved bits to be included in the U-SIG.

[0145] In some implementations, process 1700 may proceed to determining whether to puncture one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel after determining the information to be included in the PHY preamble in block 1702 and before triggering frame transmission in block 1704, wherein at least one of the common information field or the first user information field carries channel puncturing information indicating whether to puncture the one or more sub-channels.

[0146] In some implementations, the shared information field may carry information indicating the format of the trigger frame, which may be either an old-fashioned trigger frame format or a non-old-fashioned trigger frame format.

[0147] In some implementations, at least one of the shared information field or the first user information field may further carry information indicating the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with one or more user information fields, wherein the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol is the same for each of the one or more user information fields.

[0148] Figure 18 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1800 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1800 is configured to perform the above-mentioned references. Figure 16 The process described is 1600. The wireless communication device 1800 can be referenced above. Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. For example, the wireless communication device 1800 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0149] Wireless communication device 1800 includes a receiving component 1810, a communication manager 1820, and a transmitting component 1830. The communication manager 1820 further includes a special user information field identification component 1822 and a PHY preamble generation component 1824. A portion of one or more of components 1822 and 1824 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, at least some of components 1822 or 1824 are implemented at least partially as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, a portion of one or more of components 1822 and 1824 may be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") executable by a processor (such as processor 406) to perform the function or operation of the respective component.

[0150] Receiving component 1810 is configured to receive an RX signal from one or more other wireless communication devices on a wireless channel. In some implementations, the RX signal may include a trigger frame requesting a PPDU to be transmitted by wireless communication device 1800, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field. The common information field may carry information common to each user associated with one or more user information fields. Transmitting component 1830 is configured to transmit a TX signal to one or more other wireless communication devices on a wireless channel. In some implementations, the TX signal may include a PPDU including a PHY preamble. Communication manager 1120 is configured to control or manage communication with one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, special user information field identification component 1822 may determine, based on an AID value associated with a first user information field among the one or more user information fields, that the first user information field carries information to be included in the preamble of the PPDU; and PHY preamble generation component 1824 may generate a PHY preamble based on the information carried in the first user information field.

[0151] Figure 19 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1900 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1900 is configured to perform the above-mentioned references. Figure 17 The process described in 1700. Wireless communication device 1900 can be referenced above. Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. For example, the wireless communication device 1900 may be a chip, SoC, chipset, package, or device that includes at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0152] Wireless communication device 1900 includes a receiving component 1910, a communication manager 1920, and a transmitting component 1930. The communication manager 1920 further includes a PHY preamble determination component 1922. Parts of the PHY preamble determination component 1922 may be implemented, at least partially, in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, the PHY preamble determination component 1922 is implemented, at least partially, as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, parts of the PHY preamble determination component 1922 may be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") executable by a processor (such as processor 406) to implement the function or operation of the corresponding component.

[0153] Receiving component 1910 is configured to receive RX signals from one or more other wireless communication devices on a wireless channel. Communication manager 1920 is configured to control or manage communication with one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, PHY preamble determination component 1922 may determine information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU. Transmitting component 1930 is configured to transmit TX signals to one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the TX signal may include a trigger frame requesting the TB PPDU to be transmitted by the receiving device, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field following the MAC header, and one or more user information fields following the common information field. The common information field may carry information common to each user associated with one or more user information fields. In some implementations, the one or more user information fields may include a first user information field carrying information to be included in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU.

[0154] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” or “one or more of” referring to a list of items means any combination of these items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover the following possibilities: only a, only b, only c, a combination of a and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination of a, b, and c.

[0155] The various illustrative components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the implementations disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents. This interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software has been generally described in terms of its functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0156] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but are to be granted the broadest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0157] Furthermore, the various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple implementations. Thus, although features may be described above as operating in a particular combination and even initially claimed in this way, one or more features from the claimed combination may be removed from that combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be for sub-combinations or variations thereof.

[0158] Similarly, although the operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or requiring the execution of all explained operations to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other operations not depicted may be incorporated into the schematically explained example processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any explained operations. In some environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of the various system components in the implementation described above should not be construed as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, comprising: receiving a trigger frame soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, the trigger frame including a common information field and one or more user information fields following the common information field, the one or more user information fields including a first user information field that carries information to be included in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the PPDU based on an association identifier (AID) value associated with the first user information field, wherein the AID value is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with a same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device; and transmitting the PPDU including the PHY preamble over a wireless channel in response to the reception of the trigger frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user information field is a special user information field.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first user information field is not associated with any wireless communication device associated with a same BSS as the wireless communication device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user information field is an initial user information field in the series of one or more user information fields.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHY preamble includes a legacy signal field (L-SIG), an L-SIG repetition (RL-SIG) immediately following the L-SIG, and a universal signal field (U-SIG) immediately following the RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining values of one or more subfields of the U-SIG based on the information carried in the first user information field, the one or more subfields including at least one of a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating a bandwidth of the wireless channel, a spatial reuse subfield carrying information indicating whether spatial reuse is permitted on one or more subchannels of the wireless channel, or a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating a version of a physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining values of one or more subfields of the U-SIG based on the information carried in the first user information field, the one or more subfields including at least one of an uplink or downlink (UL / DL) subfield carrying information indicating whether the PPDU is transmitted in an uplink direction or a downlink direction, a BSS color subfield carrying information indicating a BSS color associated with the PPDU, a transmit opportunity (TXOP) subfield carrying information indicating a TXOP duration associated with the PPDU, or a PPDU format and compression mode subfield carrying information indicating a format of the PPDU.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determine a number of reserved bits to be included in the U-SIG based on the information carried in the first user info field.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining a version of a physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU based on the AID value associated with the first user info field; and configuring a version identifier subfield of the U-SIG to carry information indicating the determined version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the first user info field of the one or more user info fields carries the information to be included in the PHY preamble of the PPDU based on the AID value associated with the first user info field; and generating the PHY preamble based on the information carried in the first user info field.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether to perform puncturing of one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel based on the information carried in the first user info field, information carried in a second user info field, or information carried in the common info field, or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a format of the trigger frame based on information carried in the common info field, the format being a legacy trigger frame format or a non-legacy trigger frame format; and determining that the one or more user info fields include the first user info field based on the determined format of the trigger frame.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a version of a physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the one or more user info fields based on information carried in at least one of the common info field or the first user info field, the version of the physical layer wireless communication protocol being the same for each of the one or more user info fields; and interpreting the information carried in the first user info field based on the version.

14. A wireless communication device, comprising: at least one memory; at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the wireless communication device to: receive a trigger frame soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) to be transmitted by the wireless communication device, the trigger frame including a common info field and one or more user info fields following the common info field, the one or more user info fields including a first user info field, the first user info field carrying information to be included in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the PPDU based on an association identifier (AID) value associated with the first user info field, wherein the AID value is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with a same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device; and transmitting the PPDU including the PHY preamble on the wireless channel in response to the reception of the trigger frame.

15. The wireless communication device of claim 14, wherein the first user information field is a special user information field.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein the first user information field is not associated with any wireless communication device associated with a same BSS as the wireless communication device.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 14, wherein the first user information field is an initial user information field in a series of the one or more user information fields.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 14, wherein the PHY preamble includes a legacy signal field, L-SIG, an L-SIG repetition, RL-SIG, immediately following L-SIG, and a universal signal field, U-SIG, immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

19. The wireless communication device of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless communication device to: determine values of one or more subfields of U-SIG based on the information carried in the first user information field, the one or more subfields including at least one of a PPDU bandwidth subfield carrying information indicating a bandwidth of the wireless channel, a spatial reuse subfield carrying information indicating whether spatial reuse is permitted on one or more subchannels of the wireless channel, or a version identifier subfield carrying information indicating a version of a physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to cause the wireless communication device to: determine whether to perform puncturing of one or more subchannels of the wireless channel based on the information carried in the first user information field, information carried in a second user information field, or information carried in the common information field, or any combination thereof.

21. A method of wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, comprising: transmitting a trigger frame soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) to be transmitted by a receiving device on a wireless channel, the trigger frame including a common information field and one or more user information fields following the common information field, the one or more user information fields including a first user information field carrying information to be included in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the PPDU based on an association identifier (AID) value associated with the first user information field, wherein the AID value is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with a same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device; and receiving the PPDU including the PHY preamble on the wireless channel in response to the transmission of the trigger frame.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first user information field is a special user information field.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first user information field is not associated with any wireless communication device associated with the same BSS as the wireless communication device.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the first user information field is an initial user information field in a series of the one or more user information fields.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising: determining the AID value based on a version of a physical layer wireless communication protocol associated with the PPDU.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the PHY preamble includes a legacy signal field, L-SIG, an L-SIG repetition, RL-SIG, immediately following L-SIG, and a universal signal field, U-SIG, immediately following RL-SIG and carrying information for interpreting one or more subsequent fields of the PHY preamble.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising: determining whether to perform puncturing of one or more sub-channels of the wireless channel, at least one of the common information field or the first user information field carrying channel puncturing information indicating whether to perform puncturing of the one or more sub-channels.

28. A wireless communication device, comprising: at least one memory; at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one memory, the at least one processor operable to cause the wireless communication device to: transmit a trigger frame soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) to be transmitted by a receiving device on a wireless channel, the trigger frame including a common information field and one or more user information fields following the common information field, the one or more user information fields including a first user information field carrying information to be included in a physical layer (PHY) preamble of the PPDU based on an association identifier (AID) value associated with the first user information field, wherein the AID value is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device; and receive the PPDU including the PHY preamble on the wireless channel in response to the transmission of the trigger frame.

29. The wireless communication device of claim 28, wherein the first user information field is a special user information field.

30. The wireless communication device of claim 28, wherein the first user information field is an initial user information field in a series of the one or more user information fields.

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