Enhanced trigger frame

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods, apparatus, and systems for generating enhanced trigger frames. Some implementations more specifically relate to trigger frame designs that support data throughput gains achievable according to the IEEE 802.11be revision and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, the enhanced trigger frame can be used to request non-legacy trigger-based (TB) Physical Layer Protocol Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PDUs) from one or more radio stations (STAs). In some implementations, the enhanced trigger frame can be configured to support multiple versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, the enhanced trigger frame can be configured according to either a legacy trigger frame format or a non-legacy trigger frame format. Thus, when configured according to a legacy trigger frame format, the enhanced trigger frame can also be used to request legacy TB PPDUs from one or more STAs.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the application filed on July 23, 2021, with application number 202180060329.5 (international application number PCT / US2021 / 042905) entitled "Enhanced Trigger Frame".

[0002] Cross-references to related applications

[0003] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 055,599, filed July 23, 2020, entitled "ENHANCED TRIGGER FRAME," and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 382,585, filed July 22, 2021, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application. All disclosures of the earlier 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 particularly to enhanced trigger frames for 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] Existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard support trigger-based uplink communication. Specifically, the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to 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 spatial stream count. Due to the enhanced features implemented by these new WLAN communication protocols, a new trigger frame format is needed to support the new features in the TB PPDU. 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), wherein the trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field, wherein the common information field and the special user information field together include a plurality of subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and wherein the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame; and transmitting the PPDU based on the configuration information in response to the trigger frame.

[0009] In some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying first bandwidth information associated with the PPDU and may further include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, wherein the first and second bandwidth information jointly indicate the bandwidth associated with the PPDU. In some implementations, the bandwidth associated with the PPDU may be greater than 160 MHz. In some other aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a plurality of spatial reuse subfields in a special user information field, wherein the plurality of spatial reuse subfields indicate a plurality of spatial reuse thresholds associated with the PPDU. Furthermore, in some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a bandwidth puncturing subfield in a special user information field, wherein the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicates whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

[0010] In some aspects, a special user information field may be the first user information field in the user information list immediately following the common information field. In some implementations, the special user information field may include an association identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station (STA) associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device. In some implementations, the user information list may further include one or more user information fields carrying additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, wherein the format of each of the one or more user information fields is indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in the respective user information field, wherein the format of each user information field is either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

[0011] In some implementations, the format of the PPDU may be indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in each of the one or more user information fields, wherein the PPDU format is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format. In some implementations, each user information field formatted according to a non-legacy user information field format may include a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to the user associated with the user information field, and may further include a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, wherein the starting space stream index is one of sixteen space stream indices. In some implementations, the starting space stream index may be indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield, and the number of space streams may be indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield.

[0012] 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, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field, wherein the common information field and the special user information field together include a plurality of subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and wherein the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame; and transmitting the PPDU based on the configuration information in response to the trigger frame.

[0013] 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 transmitting a trigger frame for requesting a PPDU, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field, wherein the common information field and the special user information field together include a plurality of subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and wherein the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame; and receiving the PPDU in response to the trigger frame.

[0014] In some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying first bandwidth information associated with the PPDU and may further include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, wherein the first and second bandwidth information jointly indicate the bandwidth associated with the PPDU. In some implementations, the bandwidth associated with the PPDU may be greater than 160 MHz. In some other aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a plurality of spatial reuse subfields in a special user information field, wherein the plurality of spatial reuse subfields indicate a plurality of spatial reuse thresholds associated with the PPDU. Furthermore, in some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a bandwidth puncturing subfield in a special user information field, wherein the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicates whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

[0015] In some aspects, a special user information field may be the first user information field in the user information list immediately following the common information field. In some implementations, the special user information field may include the AID value of any STA not assigned to the same BSS associated with the wireless communication device. In some implementations, the user information list may further include one or more user information fields carrying additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, wherein the format of each of the one or more user information fields is indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in the respective user information field, wherein the format of each user information field is either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

[0016] In some implementations, the format of the PPDU may be indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in each of the one or more user information fields, wherein the PPDU format is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format. In some implementations, each user information field formatted according to a non-legacy user information field format may include a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to the user associated with the user information field, and may further include a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, wherein the starting space stream index is one of sixteen space stream indices. In some implementations, the starting space stream index may be indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield, and the number of space streams may be indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield.

[0017] 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: transmitting a trigger frame for requesting a PPDU, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field, wherein the common information field and the special user information field together include a plurality of subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and wherein the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame; and receiving the PPDU in response to the trigger frame. Attached Figure Description

[0018] 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.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0020] 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).

[0021] Figure 2B It shows Figure 2A Example fields in the PDU.

[0022] 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.

[0023] Figure 4 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device is shown.

[0024] Figure 5A A block diagram of an example AP is shown.

[0025] Figure 5B A block diagram of an example STA is shown.

[0026] Figure 6An example PPDU, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0027] Figure 7A An example frame structure for trigger-based (TB) PPDUs is shown according to some implementations.

[0028] Figure 7B An example frame structure for a single-user (SU) PPDU is shown according to some implementations.

[0029] Figure 7C An example frame structure for a multi-user (MU) PPDU is shown according to some implementations.

[0030] 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.

[0031] Figure 9 An example trigger frame, based on some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs.

[0032] Figure 10A The common information fields used for formatting trigger frames according to the legacy trigger frame format are shown.

[0033] Figure 10B The user information field used to format the trigger frame according to the legacy trigger frame format is shown.

[0034] Figure 11 Example special user information fields are shown based on some implementations.

[0035] Figure 12A An example mapping of space reuse values ​​between trigger frames and non-legacy TB PPDUs is shown, based on some implementations.

[0036] Figure 12B An example mapping of space reuse values ​​between trigger frames and non-legacy TB PPDUs is shown, based on some other implementations.

[0037] Figure 13 Example enhanced user information fields are shown based on some implementations.

[0038] Figure 14 This shows an example of an enhanced user information field based on some other implementations.

[0039] Figure 15 The flowchart illustrates an example process for supporting wireless communication with enhanced trigger frames, based on some implementations.

[0040] Figure 16The flowchart illustrates an example process for supporting wireless communication with enhanced trigger frames, based on some implementations.

[0041] Figure 17 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0042] Figure 18 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device based on some implementations is shown.

[0043] Similar reference numerals and naming conventions in the various figures indicate similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0044] 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.

[0045] These aspects generally involve trigger-based communication supporting new wireless communication protocols, particularly trigger frame designs that support enhanced wireless communication features associated with the IEEE 802.11be amendments to the IEEE 802.11 standard and future generations. In some aspects, enhanced trigger frames can be used to request non-legacy trigger-based (TB) Physical Layer Protocol Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) from one or more STAs. As used herein, the term "non-legacy" can refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11be amendments 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 amendments or earlier generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard, but not conforming to all mandatory features of the IEEE 802.11be amendments or future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, enhanced trigger frames can be configured to support multiple versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, the enhanced trigger frame can be configured according to either the legacy trigger frame format or a non-legacy trigger frame format. Therefore, when configured according to the legacy trigger frame format, the enhanced trigger frame can also be used to request legacy TB PPDUs from one or more STAs.

[0046] Specific implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. By requesting the transmission of non-legacy TB PPDUs, the enhanced trigger frame can support the data throughput gains achievable under the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard. In other examples, the enhanced trigger frame of this implementation can enable the transmission of non-legacy TB PPDUs over a bandwidth of up to 320 MHz on up to 16 spatial streams. By designing the enhanced trigger frame to support multiple versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard, aspects of this disclosure ensure backward compatibility of the enhanced trigger frame format with existing STAs. As a result, a single trigger frame can be used to concurrently request uplink transmissions from STAs operating under the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard (also referred to herein as "legacy STAs") and STAs operating under the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard (also referred to herein as "non-legacy STAs"). More specifically, aspects of this disclosure provide a single trigger frame design that can be used to request legacy and non-legacy PPDUs.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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, enabling any STA 102 within the wireless range of AP 104 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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, wireless communication devices 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) to determine if the appropriate wireless channel is 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 valid frames, 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 a wireless communication device, regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the detected total energy is higher than 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 it may take for the medium to 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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).

[0054] 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).

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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, preceded by a subframe header 328, and in some cases followed by padding bits 332.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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).

[0059] 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").

[0060] 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 may be mapped to several ( N SS One) spatial flow or several ( N STS (Number) space-time streams. Subsequently, the modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial or space-time streams can be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and then 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 upconverter and ultimately to radio 404. In implementations involving beamforming, the modulated symbols in the corresponding spatial streams are pre-coded via a guiding matrix before being provided to the IFFT block.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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 4An 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.

[0066] 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 4 An 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.

[0067] As mentioned above, new WLAN communication protocols are being developed to achieve enhanced WLAN communication features. In other examples, such enhanced features include increased bandwidth (up to 320 MHz), increased spatial stream number (up to 16 spatial streams), and support for multiple resource unit (M-RU) allocation. Because 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.

[0068] 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 can be used for SU, MU-OFDMA, or MU-MIMO transmissions. 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 including a data field 626) following the preamble.

[0069] Part 602 includes L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, and L-SIG 612. Part 604 of the preamble and data field 626 can be formatted as non-legacy or Very High Throughput (EHT) WLAN preambles and frames according to the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standard, or they can be formatted as preambles and frames according to any later (HE-after) version conforming to a new wireless communication protocol (conforming to future IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol amendments or other standards). In some implementations, PPDU 600 can also be additionally logically divided into an EHT preamble 650 (including PPDU fields 608-618) and an EHT portion 660 (including PPDU fields 622-626).

[0070] The second part 604 of the preamble includes a repeating legacy signal field (RL-SIG) 614 and multiple wireless communication protocol version-related signal fields following RL-SIG 614. For example, the second part 604 may include a universal signal field (U-SIG) 616, an EHT signal field (EHT-SIG) 618, an EHT short training field (EHT-STF) 622, and several EHT long training fields (EHT-LTF) 624.

[0071] In some implementations, U-SIG 616 may include one or more general fields 632 and one or more version-related fields 634. Information in the general fields 632 may include, for example, a version identifier (starting from IEEE 802.11be revision and later) and channel occupancy and coexistence information (such as a perforated channel indication). Version-related fields 634 may include format information fields for interpreting other fields of U-SIG 616 and EHT-SIG 618. In some implementations, version-related fields 634 may include a PPDU format field. The PPDU format field may indicate the general PPDU format used for PPDU 600 (such as trigger-based (TB) PPDU format, SU PPDU format, or MU PPDU format).

[0072] In some implementations, EHT-SIG 618 may include a common field 642 and a user-specific field 644. The common field 642 may include one or more bits or fields overflowing from U-SIG 616 and RU allocation information for the intended recipient of PPDU 600. The user-specific field 644 may include one or more user fields carrying per-user information for one or more intended recipients of PPDU 600. In some implementations, the RU allocation information and the user-specific field 644 may not be present in the SU PPDU format. Furthermore, in some implementations, EHT-SIG 618 may not be present in the TBPPDU format.

[0073] As previously described, in IEEE 802.11be and future generations, new fields can be used to carry signaling information. For example, at least some of the new fields and signaling information can be included in U-SIG 616. Additionally, new fields and signaling information can be included in EHT-SIG 618 (or can overflow from U-SIG 616 into EHT-SIG 618). In some implementations, U-SIG 616 may include signaling regarding the type or format of additional signaling fields following U-SIG 616, such as EHT-SIG 618. The AP can use EHT-SIG 618 to identify that the AP has scheduled UL or DL ​​resources and to notify one or more STAs 104. EHT-SIG 618 can be decoded by each compatible STA 104 served by AP 102. EHT-SIG 618 can generally be used by the receiving device to interpret the bits in data field 626. In the context of DL MU-OFDMA, this information enables the corresponding STA 104 to identify and decode the corresponding RU in the associated data field 626.

[0074] 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 7A Only the EHT front portion of the TB PPDU 700 (corresponding to portion 650 of the PPDU 600) is shown. The TB PPDU 700 includes L-STF 701, L-LTF 702, L-SIG 703, RL-SIG 704, and U-SIG 705, which correspond to L-STF 608, L-LTF 610, L-SIG 612, RL-SIG 614, and U-SIG 616 of the PPDU 600, respectively. In the example TB PPDU format, the TB PPDU 700 may not include EHT-SIG. See, for example... Figure 6 TB PPDU 700 may not include any U-SIG overflow, RU allocation information, or other user-specific information (such as that provided in user-specific field 644).

[0075] 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 7BOnly 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. See, for example... Figure 6 SU PPDU 710 may not include any RU allocation information or other user-specific information (such as that provided in user-specific field 644).

[0076] 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 7C Only 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 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 MU PPDU format, EHT-SIG 726 may include a common field 727 and a user-specific field 728. For example, refer to... Figure 6 The common field 642 may further include U-SIG overflow or RU allocation information. The user-specific field 728 may include per-user information for one or more intended recipients of the MU PPDU 720.

[0077] 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 non-legacy PPDU 800 can be... Figure 6 An example of a PPDU 600. Figure 8In the examples, the non-legacy PPDU 800 is shown as including L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG signaled or transmitted over multiple 20 MHz sub-channels (or 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).

[0078] exist Figure 8 In 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] As mentioned above, existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard support trigger-based uplink communication. Specifically, the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to 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. More specifically, a new trigger frame design is needed to configure and request the transmission of TB PPDUs according to the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard, as illustrated in, for example, Figures 6-8.

[0081] These aspects generally involve trigger-based communication supporting new wireless communication protocols, particularly trigger frame designs that support enhanced wireless communication features associated with the IEEE 802.11be amendments to the IEEE 802.11 standard and future generations. In some aspects, enhanced trigger frames can be used to request non-legacy TB PPDUs from one or more STAs. As used herein, the term "non-legacy" can refer to PPDU formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11be amendments 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 amendments or earlier generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard, but not conforming to all mandatory features of the IEEE 802.11be amendments or future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, enhanced trigger frames can be configured to support multiple versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, the enhanced trigger frame can be configured according to either the legacy trigger frame format or a non-legacy trigger frame format. Therefore, when configured according to the legacy trigger frame format, the enhanced trigger frame can also be used to request legacy TB PPDUs from one or more STAs.

[0082] 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 enhanced trigger frame can support the data throughput gains achievable under the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard. In other examples, the enhanced trigger frame of this implementation can enable the transmission of non-legacy TB PPDUs over bandwidths up to 320 MHz on up to 16 spatial streams. By designing the enhanced trigger frame to support multiple versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard, aspects of this disclosure ensure backward compatibility of the enhanced trigger frame format with existing STAs. As a result, a single trigger frame can be used to concurrently request uplink transmissions from STAs operating under the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard (also referred to herein as "legacy STAs") and STAs operating under the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard (also referred to herein as "non-legacy STAs"). More specifically, aspects of this disclosure provide a single trigger frame design that can be used to request legacy and non-legacy PPDUs.

[0083] Figure 9An example trigger frame 900, according to some implementations, is shown that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs. In some implementations, trigger frame 900 (also referred to herein as an "enhanced trigger frame") can be used to request the transmission of a non-legacy PPDU from one or more non-legacy STAs. In some aspects, the requested PPDU may include a non-legacy TB PPDU, such as Figure 7A The TBPPDU 700. In some other respects, the requested PPDU may include non-traditional SU PPDUs, such as Figure 7B The SU PPDU 710. In some other implementations, the trigger frame 900 can also be used to request the transmission of a legacy TB PPDU from one or more legacy STAs. In other words, the enhanced trigger frame format of this implementation provides backward compatibility with legacy trigger frame formats, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0084] 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. In some implementations, the MAC header 910 may be equivalent to the MAC header associated with the legacy trigger frame format. The common information field 920 and the user information list 930 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure an uplink (UL) PPDU to be transmitted in response to the trigger frame 900. In other examples, this configuration information may include UL bandwidth, RU allocation, number of spatial streams, number of LTF symbols, and spatial reuse threshold.

[0085] In some implementations, the common information field 920 may include a PHY version subfield 922 and an uplink (UL) bandwidth (BW) extension subfield 924. The PHY version subfield 922 may carry information indicating the format of the trigger frame 900. In some aspects, the PHY version subfield 922 may include one or more bits indicating whether the trigger frame 900 is configured according to an older trigger frame format or a non-older trigger frame format. When the information in the PHY version subfield 922 indicates an older trigger frame format, the fields and subfields of the trigger frame 900 may be equivalent to the fields and subfields of the trigger frame format as defined by the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard. Figure 10AA common information field 1000 for trigger frames formatted according to an older trigger frame format is shown. When the information in the PHY version subfield 922 indicates a non-older trigger frame format, the trigger frame 900 may include one or more new (or modified) fields or subfields supporting enhanced WLAN communication features, such as those provided by the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, the PHY version subfield 922 may include multiple (e.g., 3) bits, some of which may be reserved to support future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0086] In some implementations, a non-legacy STA may identify the UL BW extension subfield 924 in the common information field 920 in response to information in the PHY version subfield 922 indicating a non-legacy trigger frame format. The UL BW extension subfield 924 serves as an extension to the UL BW subfield of the common information field 920. See, for example... Figure 10A The shared information field 1000 includes a UL BW subfield spanning bit positions B18 and B19. The UL BW subfield carries 2 bits of information indicating the bandwidth associated with the PPDU requested by the trigger frame 900. More specifically, the UL BW subfield may have values ​​of 0, 1, 2, or 3 to indicate bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz (or 80+80 MHz), respectively. It is understood that because the UL BW subfield is limited to 2 bits, it may not be suitable for conveying higher-order bandwidths supported by non-legacy PPDUs. In some implementations, the UL BW extended subfield 924 may carry 1 bit of information, which can be combined with the 2 bits carried in the UL BW subfield to extend the uplink bandwidth beyond 160 MHz. More specifically, the UL BW extended subfield extends the number of values ​​associated with the UL BW subfield to eight, allowing four additional bandwidths to be indicated by the trigger frame 900. In some respects, the additional bandwidth may include at least 320 MHz. In other respects, the additional bandwidth may include 240 MHz.

[0087] In some implementations, the common information field 920 may further include a PPDU type subfield 926. The PPDU type subfield 926 may carry an indication of the type of PPDU to be transmitted by a non-legacy STA in response to trigger frame 900. In some aspects, the PPDU type subfield 926 may include a single bit indicating whether the requested PPDU will be a SU PPDU or a TB PPDU. Various aspects of this disclosure recognize that, in some instances, allowing an AP to control or manage peer-to-peer (P2P) communication between two or more STAs in a BSS can be advantageous. Advantages of AP-managed P2P communication include more efficient use of spectrum and lower communication latency, etc. In some aspects, a non-legacy STA may identify the PPDU type subfield 926 in response to determining that the information in the PHY version subfield 922 indicates a non-legacy trigger frame format. If the non-legacy STA determines that the information in the PPDU type subfield 926 indicates a TB PPDU type, the non-legacy STA may proceed to configure a non-legacy TB PPDU for transmission to the AP that has transmitted trigger frame 900. On the other hand, if a non-legacy STA determines that the information in the PPDU type subfield 926 indicates the SU PPDU type, the non-legacy STA can continue to configure the non-legacy SU PPDU for transmission to the peer STA. In some implementations, a trigger frame 900 can be sent to a single non-legacy STA when configured to request a SU PPDU.

[0088] All aspects of this disclosure recognize that subfields 922-926 are configured to carry new information not previously present in any field or subfield of the legacy trigger frame format. In some implementations, to ensure backward compatibility with the legacy trigger frame format, one or more of subfields 922-926 may be implemented using one or more reserved bits associated with the legacy trigger frame format. See, for example… Figure 10A The common information field 1000 in the legacy trigger frame format includes 10 reserved bits at bit positions B54–B56, B63, and B39. In some implementations, the PHY version subfield 922 may replace or override the reserved bits of the common information field 1000. In some other implementations, the UL BW extension subfield 924 may replace or override another reserved bit of the common information field 1000. Furthermore, in some implementations, the PPDU type subfield 926 may replace or override yet another reserved bit of the common information field 1000.

[0089] In some implementations, the wireless channel can be punctured to exclude one or more sub-channels from PPDU transmissions, for example, to avoid interference (such as from existing system transmissions) on the punctured sub-channels. More specifically, channel puncturing can be specified in 20 MHz granularity relative to the corresponding 80 MHz band of the total bandwidth. See, for example... Figure 8The first set of puncturing channel information can indicate which sub-channel (if any) of the first, second, third, or fourth 20 MHz sub-channels is punctured in the first 80 MHz band; the second set of puncturing channel information can indicate which sub-channel (if any) of the fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth 20 MHz sub-channels is punctured in the second 80 MHz band; the third set of puncturing channel information can indicate which sub-channel (if any) of the ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth 20 MHz sub-channels is punctured in the third 80 MHz band; and the fourth set of puncturing channel information can indicate which sub-channel (if any) of the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, or sixteenth 20 MHz sub-channels is punctured in the fourth 80 MHz band.

[0090] To distinguish between punctured subchannels in the 80 MHz band and punctured subchannels in another 80 MHz band, each set of punctured channel information can be represented by a corresponding 4-bit set. In other words, 16 bits are needed to provide punctured channel indication for bandwidths up to 320 MHz. Therefore, to support such punctured channel indication, adding a 16-bit subfield to the common information field 920 may be necessary. However, as Figure 10A As shown, only 10 reserved bits are available in the common information field 1000 of the legacy trigger frame format (and even fewer reserved bits are available after implementing one or more of subfields 922, 924, or 926). Therefore, punctured channel information cannot be adequately conveyed using only the reserved bits of the common information field 1000. In some implementations, punctured channel information can be added to the trigger frame 900 by "spoofing" one or more user information fields in the user information list 930. For example, in some aspects, the user information list 930 may include one or more special user information fields 932 that can be used as an extension of the common information field 920.

[0091] According to the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard, the user information list is defined as including zero or more user information fields. Figure 10B The user information field 1010 for a trigger frame formatted according to the legacy trigger frame format is shown. See, for example... Figure 10BEach user information field is associated with a unique Association Identifier (AID) value. The AID value can be a 12-bit value carried in the AID12 subfield (bit positions B0–B11) of the user information field. In some instances, the AID value can uniquely identify a specific STA in the BSS. For example, each STA can be assigned a unique AID value upon association with the BSS. Various aspects of this disclosure recognize that several values ​​associated with the AID12 subfield are reserved (such as 2008–2044 and 2047–4094). Therefore, in some implementations, the special user information field 932 can be assigned one of the reserved values ​​associated with the AID12 subfield. By using a reserved value for its AID12 subfield, the special user information field 932 can be ignored by legacy STAs and identified by non-legacy STAs in response to information in the PHY version subfield 922 indicating a non-legacy trigger frame format.

[0092] In some implementations, the special user information field 932 may be the first user information field in a series of information fields included in the user information list 930. In other words, the special user information field 932 may immediately follow the common information field 920 in the trigger frame 900. In some implementations, each trigger frame 900 configured according to a non-legacy format may include at least one special user information field 932. In some other implementations, the special user information field 932 may be included in the trigger frame 900 only when necessary. For example, in some instances, there may not be any punctured subchannels associated with the UL bandwidth. In this case, including any channel puncturing information in the special user information field 932 may be unnecessary. Therefore, the special user information field 932 may be omitted from the trigger frame 900, for example, to reduce overhead.

[0093] Figure 11 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 the special user information field 932. Therefore, the special user information field 1100 can be used as an extension of the common information field of the enhanced trigger frame. More specifically, the special user information field 1100 includes an AID12 subfield 1110 and one or more common information extension bits 1120. (Refer to the above...) Figure 9 and 10BAs described, AID12 subfield 1110 can be an example of the AID12 subfield (in bit positions B0–B11) of the user information field 1010 in the legacy trigger frame format. In some implementations, AID12 subfield 1110 may be assigned a “special” AID value that is not assigned to any STA belonging to the BSS associated with the underlying trigger frame. For example, in some aspects, the special AID value may represent a reserved AID value (such as 2008–2044 and 2047–4094) associated with the legacy trigger frame format.

[0094] The shared information extension bits 1120 may include any of the remaining bits associated with the user information field. In other words, the length of the special user information field 1100 may be equal to that of any other user information field in the user information list (such as...). Figure 10B The length of the user information field (1010). See, for example... Figure 10B The shared information extension bits 1220 may include bits B12-B39 of the user information field 1010. Therefore, the special user information field 1100 may be allocated an additional 28 bits that can be used as an extension to the shared information field. In some implementations, at least some of the shared information extension bits 1220 may be associated with the per 80 MHz puncture subfield 1122 (also referred to as the "puncture per 80 MHz" subfield). The per 80 MHz puncture subfield 1122 may carry information indicating which (if any) 20 MHz subchannels of the UL bandwidth are punctured. In some aspects, the per 80 MHz puncture subfield 1122 may include an indication of whether any 20 MHz subchannel within each 80 MHz band of the 320 MHz channel is punctured (as referenced above). Figure 9 and 8 (Description) 16 bits.

[0095] In some implementations, the shared information extension bit 1120 may further include a spatial reuse extension subfield 1124. The spatial reuse extension subfield 1124 can be used as an extension of the UL spatial reuse subfield of the shared information field. See, for example... Figure 10AThe shared information field 1000 includes a UL spatial reuse subfield spanning bit positions B37 to B52. The UL spatial reuse subfield carries 16 bits of information associated with four spatial reuse values. Each spatial reuse value is a 4-bit value representing a corresponding parameterized spatial reuse (PSR) threshold. When a trigger frame is transmitted to a legacy STA, the legacy STA directly copies the spatial reuse values ​​from the UL spatial reuse subfield into the HE-SIG-A field of the legacy TB PPDU. However, each spatial reuse value in the UL spatial reuse subfield is associated with a corresponding 40 MHz subchannel. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that because the UL spatial reuse subfield is limited to four spatial reuse values, it may not be well-suited for conveying spatial reuse information for higher-order bandwidths supported by non-legacy TB PPDUs. In some implementations, additional spatial reuse information may be carried in the spatial reuse extension subfield 1124 of the special user information field 1100. Non-legacy STAs can combine the space reuse value in the UL space reuse subfield with additional space reuse information in the space reuse extension subfield 1124 to determine the space reuse value to be included in the U-SIG field of the non-legacy TBPPDU.

[0096] Figure 12A An example mapping 1200 is shown between a trigger frame 1202 and a non-legacy TB PPDU 1204, based on some implementation. Figure 12A In the example, trigger frame 1202 includes a UL spatial reuse subfield carrying four spatial reuse values ​​(spatial reuse 1, spatial reuse 2, spatial reuse 3, and spatial reuse 4) and a spatial reuse extended subfield carrying two non-legacy spatial reuse values ​​(EHT SR3 and EHT SR4). The non-legacy TB PPDU 1204 includes a U-SIG field carrying four spatial reuse values ​​(spatial reuse 1, spatial reuse 2, spatial reuse 3, and spatial reuse 4). To support spatial reuse of 320 MHz channels, each spatial reuse value in the U-SIG must be associated with a corresponding 80 MHz sub-channel. However, as referenced above… Figure 11 As described, each space reuse value in the UL space reuse subfield is associated with a corresponding 40 MHz channel.

[0097] In some implementations, non-legacy STAs can compensate for the difference between the space reuse value in the UL space reuse subfield of trigger frame 202 and the space reuse value in the U-SIG field of non-legacy TB PPDU 1204 by combining pairs of space reuse values ​​in the UL space reuse subfield to form a corresponding non-legacy space reuse value. For example, the first and second space reuse values ​​(space reuse 1 and space reuse 2) can each be set as a first PSR threshold. Thus, the first PSR threshold can represent a first non-legacy space reuse value (EHT SR1) associated with a first 80 MHz subchannel spanning the 40 MHz subchannel associated with the first and second space reuse values. Similarly, the third and fourth space reuse values ​​(space reuse 3 and space reuse 4) can each be set as a second PSR threshold. Thus, the second PSR threshold can represent a second non-legacy space reuse value (EHT SR2) associated with a second 80 MHz subchannel spanning the 40 MHz subchannel associated with the third and fourth space reuse values. In some respects, EHTSR1 and EHTSR2 can represent the corresponding PSR thresholds for the primary 160 MHz channel.

[0098] In some implementations, the PSR threshold for the sub-160 MHz channel can be provided by a non-legacy space reuse value in the space reuse extended subfield. More specifically, EHT SR3 and EHT SR4 can represent the PSR threshold for the corresponding 80 MHz sub-channel of the sub-160 MHz channel. Thus, in some aspects, the space reuse value in the U-SIG can inherently contain non-legacy space reuse values ​​(EHT SR1 and EHT SR2) from the UL space reuse subfield and two other non-legacy space reuse thresholds (EHT SR3 and EHT SR4) from the space reuse extended subfield. For example, as Figure 12A As shown, a non-legacy STA can copy one of the first or second space reuse values ​​from the UL space reuse subfield to the first space reuse value of the U-SIG (because space reuse 1 and space reuse 2 represent the same PSR threshold), and can copy one of the third or fourth space reuse values ​​from the UL space reuse subfield to the second space reuse value of the U-SIG (because space reuse 3 and space reuse 4 represent the same PSR threshold). Furthermore, a non-legacy STA can copy EHT SR3 from the space reuse extension subfield to the third space reuse value of the U-SIG, and can copy EHT SR4 from the space reuse extension subfield to the fourth space reuse value of the U-SIG.

[0099] As referenced above Figure 11As described, the space reuse extension subfield can be included within the special user information field. In some implementations, EHT SR3 and EHT SR4 can each represent a 4-bit value. Thus, the space reuse extension subfield only adds 8 bits of overhead to the special user information field. (See above reference...) Figure 11 The Special User Information field 1100, as described, includes 28 shared information extension bits 1120 that can be allocated to either the 80 MHz punch subfield 1122 or the spatial reuse extension subfield 1124. In some implementations, because the 80 MHz punch subfield 1122 occupies only 16 bits, the spatial reuse extension subfield 1124 can be combined with the 80 MHz punch subfield 1122 in a single Special User Information field 1100 (leaving 4 unused shared information extension bits 1120). In some other implementations, the 80 MHz punch subfield 1122 and the spatial reuse extension subfield 1124 can be carried in a separate Special User Information field 1100.

[0100] Figure 12B An example mapping 1210 is shown between the space reuse values ​​of trigger frame 1212 and non-legacy TB PPDU 1214, according to some implementation. Figure 12B In the example, trigger frame 1212 includes a UL space reuse subfield carrying four space reuse values ​​(space reuse 1, space reuse 2, space reuse 3, and space reuse 4). However, unlike... Figure 12A Trigger frame 1210, trigger frame 1212 does not include the spatial reuse extension subfield. The non-legacy TB PPDU 1214 includes a U-SIG field carrying four spatial reuse values ​​(spatial reuse 1, spatial reuse 2, spatial reuse 3, and spatial reuse 4). To support spatial reuse of a 320 MHz channel, each spatial reuse value in the U-SIG must be associated with a corresponding 80 MHz sub-channel. However, as referenced above... Figure 11 As described, each space reuse value in the UL space reuse subfield is associated with a corresponding 40 MHz channel.

[0101] In some implementations, non-legacy STAs can compensate for the difference between the space reuse value in the UL space reuse subfield of trigger frame 212 and the space reuse value in the U-SIG field of non-legacy TB PPDU 1214 by combining pairs of space reuse values ​​in the UL space reuse subfield to form a corresponding non-legacy space reuse value. For example, the first and second space reuse values ​​(space reuse 1 and space reuse 2) can each be set as a first PSR threshold. Thus, the first PSR threshold can represent a first non-legacy space reuse value (EHT SR1) associated with a first 80 MHz subchannel spanning the 40 MHz subchannel associated with the first and second space reuse values. Similarly, the third and fourth space reuse values ​​(space reuse 3 and space reuse 4) can each be set as a second PSR threshold. Thus, the second PSR threshold can represent a second non-legacy space reuse value (EHT SR2) associated with a second 80 MHz subchannel spanning the 40 MHz subchannel associated with the third and fourth space reuse values. In some respects, EHTSR1 and EHTSR2 can represent the corresponding PSR thresholds for the primary 160 MHz channel.

[0102] In some implementations, the PSR threshold of the primary 160 MHz channel can be replicated on the secondary 160 MHz channel. Therefore, in some aspects, the spatial reuse value in the U-SIG can inherently contain all four non-legacy spatial reuse values ​​(EHT SR1 and EHT SR2) from the UL spatial reuse subfield. For example, as... Figure 12B As shown, a non-legacy STA can copy one of the first or second space reuse values ​​from the UL space reuse subfield to the first space reuse value of the U-SIG (because space reuse 1 and space reuse 2 represent the same PSR threshold), and can copy one of the third or fourth space reuse values ​​from the UL space reuse subfield to the second space reuse value of the U-SIG (because space reuse 3 and space reuse 4 represent the same PSR threshold). Furthermore, a non-legacy STA can copy one of the first or second space reuse values ​​from the UL space reuse subfield to the third space reuse value of the U-SIG, and can copy one of the third or fourth space reuse values ​​from the UL space reuse subfield to the fourth space reuse value of the U-SIG.

[0103] In some implementations, non-legacy PPDUs can be transmitted over multiple spatial streams. More specifically, the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard expands the number of supported spatial streams to 16. (See above for reference.) Figure 6The described non-legacy PPDU may include one or more EHT-LTFs that enable the receiving device to perform fine timing and frequency estimation and also obtain an estimate of the radio channel. For accurate channel estimation, the number of EHT-LTF symbols must be equal to or greater than the number of spatial streams of the non-legacy PPDU transmitted on it. However, the legacy trigger frame format is only configured to support a maximum of 8 EHT-LTF symbols. See, for example... Figure 10A The common information field 1000 includes the number of HE-LTF symbols spanning bit positions B23 to B25 and a center code periodicity subfield. Table 1 shows a list of values ​​associated with the number of HE-LTF symbols and the center code periodicity subfield as defined by the IEEE 802.11ax revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0104] Table 1

[0105] As shown in Table 1, the HE-LTF symbol number and center code periodicity subfield values ​​0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 are used to indicate 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 HE-LTF symbols, respectively. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that because the HE-LTF symbol number and center code periodicity subfields carry 3 bits of information, there are sufficient bits in the existing subfields to support up to 16 HE-LTF symbols. For example, Table 1 contains several reserved values ​​for the HE-LTF symbol number and center code periodicity subfields. In some implementations, the 3-bit HE-LTF symbol number and center code periodicity subfields can be reused to indicate up to 16 HE-LTF symbols, as shown in Table 2, for example.

[0106] Table 2

[0107] As shown in Table 2, the HE-LTF symbol count and center code periodicity subfield values ​​5 and 6 can be used to indicate, respectively, that the requested non-legacy PPDU will include 12 and 16 EHT-LTF symbols. The same subfield values ​​were reserved in the legacy trigger frame format. Therefore, an additional number of EHT-LTF symbols can replace one or more reserved values ​​associated with the HE-LTF symbol count and center code periodicity subfield in the legacy trigger frame format. (See, for example...) Figure 9 Non-legacy STAs can interpret the HE-LTF symbol count and center code periodicity subfield values ​​5 and 6 as indicating 12 and 16 EHT-LTF symbols, respectively, in response to the information in the PHY version subfield 922 indicating a non-legacy trigger frame format.

[0108] In addition to indicating the number of EHT-LTF symbols required to support up to 16 spatial streams, the enhanced trigger frame must also indicate how the spatial streams are allocated. Because the trigger frame can request non-legacy PPDUs from multiple STAs, the spatial stream allocation information can vary from user to user. Therefore, the spatial stream allocation information can be carried in one or more user information fields. See, for example… Figure 10B Spatial stream allocation information can be carried in the Spatial Stream (SS) Allocation and Random Access Resource Unit (RA-RU) Information subfield spanning bits B26 and B31 of the User Information field 1010 in the legacy trigger frame format. For example... Figure 10B As shown, the SS allocation and RA-RU information subfield carries 6 bits of information, of which 3 bits are used to indicate the starting space stream and the remaining 3 bits are used to indicate the number of space streams. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that because only 3 bits of the SS allocation and RA-RU information subfield can be used to indicate the number of space streams (up to 8 space streams), this subfield may not be suitable for conveying the larger number of space streams supported by non-legacy PPDUs.

[0109] To provide support for up to 16 spatial streams, at least 4 bits are needed to indicate the number of spatial streams, and another 4 bits may be needed to indicate the indices of all 16 possible starting streams. Therefore, the SS allocation and RA-RU information subfields will need to be extended by 2 bits. However, as... Figure 10B As shown, the user information field 1010 only includes one reserved bit (at bit position B39). Therefore, further modifications are needed to support up to 16 spatial streams while maintaining backward compatibility with older trigger frame formats. See, for example... Figure 9 In some implementations, the enhanced trigger frame 900 may include one or more enhanced user information fields 934 from the user information list 930. Similar to the trigger frame 900 itself, the enhanced user information field 934 may be configured according to multiple formats, including, for example, single-user (SU) and multi-user (MU) formats. In some aspects, the enhanced user information field 934 may be configured to support the transmission of non-legacy PPDUs on up to 16 spatial streams. However, the subfields within the enhanced user information field 934 may vary depending on whether the enhanced user information field 934 is configured according to the SU or MU format.

[0110] Various aspects of this disclosure recognize that although the user information field 1010 includes an RU allocation subfield (spanning bit positions B12 to B19), the information in this RU allocation subfield does not indicate whether the RU is allocated for a single user or multiple users. Various aspects of this disclosure further recognize that the maximum number of space streams that can be allocated per non-legacy PPDU can vary depending on whether the RU allocation is intended for one or multiple users. For example, when the RU allocation is for a single user, the requested non-legacy PPDU can be transmitted on up to 16 space streams without requiring an initial space stream index. However, when the RU allocation is for multiple users, each requested non-legacy PPDU can be transmitted on up to 4 space streams. In some implementations, when the RU allocation information is associated with a single user, the space stream allocation information can be carried in an enhanced user information field 934 configured according to the SU format. In some other implementations, when the RU allocation information is associated with multiple users, the space stream allocation information can be carried in an enhanced user information field 934 configured according to the MU format. As a result, the overhead of each enhanced user information field 934 can be reduced, while providing full support for up to 16 spatial streams.

[0111] Figure 13 An example of an enhanced user information field 1300 based on some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the enhanced user information field 1300 can be... Figure 9 An example of the enhanced user information field 934. Therefore, the enhanced user information field 1300 can be configured according to either SU or MU format. Figure 13 In the example, the enhanced user information field 1300 is shown as configured according to the SU format.

[0112] The enhanced user information field 1300 includes the AID12 subfield 1302, RU allocation subfield 1304, UL FEC decoding type subfield 1306, MCS subfield 1308, SU / MU subfield 1310, spatial stream number subfield 1312, lower / upper 160 subfield 1314, reserved bits 1316, UL target RSSI subfield 1318, and enhanced format subfield 1320. Figure 13 In the example, the spatial stream number subfield 132, the up / down 160 subfield 134, and the reserved bit 1316 represent SU-specific subfields missing from the MU format of the enhanced user information field. See, for example... Figure 10BThe SU / MU subfield 1310 can replace the UL dual-carrier modulation (DCM) subfield in bit position B25 of the user information field 1010; the SU-specific subfields 1312-1316 can replace the SS allocation and RA-RU information subfields in bit positions B26 to B31 of the user information field 1010; and the enhanced format subfield 1320 can replace the reserved bit B39 of the user information field 1010. The remaining subfields 1302–1308 and 1318 can be substantially similar to, if not identical to, the similarly named subfields of the user information field 1010.

[0113] The RU allocation subfield 1304 can carry 8 bits of information indicating one or more RUs to be allocated for the transmission of the requested PPDU. In some implementations, the information in the RU allocation subfield 1304 can also be used to indicate whether the requested PPDU is a non-legacy TB PPDU or a non-legacy SU PPDU. (See above for reference.) Figure 9 As described, in some aspects, the AP can control or manage P2P communication between two or more STAs in the BSS. If a non-legacy STA determines that the information in the RU allocation subfield 1304 indicates a TB PPDU type, the non-legacy STA can proceed to configure a non-legacy TB PPDU for transmission to the AP. On the other hand, if a non-legacy STA determines that the information in the RU allocation subfield 1304 indicates a SU PPDU type, the non-legacy STA can proceed to configure a non-legacy SU PPDU for transmission to its peer STA.

[0114] In some implementations, the SU / MU subfield 1310 may carry a single bit of information indicating whether the enhanced user information field 1300 is configured according to the SU format or the MU format. More specifically, the information in the SU / MU subfield 1310 may indicate whether the RU allocation indicated in the RU allocation subfield 1304 is intended for a single user or for multiple users. Figure 13 In the example, the SU / MU subfield 1310 can be configured to indicate the SU format. In some aspects, the SU / MU subfield 1310 trust dictates how other subfields of the enhanced user information field 1300 will be interpreted. For example, a non-legacy STA can identify SU-specific subfields 1312–1316 in the enhanced user information field 1300 in response to determining that the SU / MU subfield 1310 indicates the SU format.

[0115] As described above, the SU / MU subfield 1310 can replace the ULDCM subfield of the user information field 1010 in the legacy trigger frame format. In some implementations, the DCM information (indicating whether the DCM will be used for the transmission of the requested PPDU) originally carried in the UL DCM subfield is instead incorporated into the MCS subfield 1308. For example, the DCM can be used only in conjunction with the lowest supported data rate (such as MCS0). Furthermore, aspects of this disclosure recognize that one or more values ​​of the MCS subfield are reserved in the user information field 1010 of the legacy trigger frame format. Thus, in some aspects, the DCM information can replace one of the reserved MCS values ​​associated with the legacy trigger frame format.

[0116] In some implementations, the Space Stream Number subfield 1312 may carry 4 bits of information indicating the number of space streams on which the requested PPDU will be transmitted. More specifically, with the 4 bits of information, the Space Stream Number subfield 1312 can be configured to support up to 16 space streams. Because the RU allocation indicated in the RU Allocation subfield 1304 is intended for a single user, an index of the starting space stream is not required. Therefore, this information can be omitted from the Enhanced User Information field 1300 to reduce overhead.

[0117] In some implementations, the lower / upper 160 subfield 1314 may carry a single bit of information indicating whether the RU allocation indicated by the RU allocation subfield 1304 is associated with the lower 160 MHz band or the upper 160 MHz band of the 320 MHz channel. For example, because the legacy trigger frame format only supports RU allocation for the 160 MHz channel, the RU allocation indicated as in the allocation subfield 1304 may be constrained to the 160 MHz band of the 320 MHz channel. Therefore, the lower / upper 160 subfield 1314 can be used to distinguish between the lower 160 MHz band and the upper 160 MHz band. In some implementations, the RU allocation information may allocate multiple RUs, for example, as a multi-RU (M-RU) to a single user. In some instances, the M-RU may span both the lower 160 MHz band and the upper 160 MHz band. For example, one or more RUs in an M-RU may be located in the lower 160 MHz band, and one or more RUs in an M-RU may be located in the upper 160 MHz band. In such instances, the M-RU may conventionally be indicated as being associated with either the lower 160 MHz band or the upper 160 MHz band.

[0118] As described above, the spatial stream number subfield 1312 and the down / up 160 subfield 1314 can represent a combined 5-bit information. See, for example... Figure 10BThe SS allocation and RA-RU information subfields of user information field 1010 carry 6 bits of information. Because the SU-specific subfields 1312-1316 replace the SS allocation and RA-RU information subfields, this leaves a reserved bit 1316 in the enhanced user information field 1300.

[0119] In some implementations, the Enhanced Format subfield 1320 (also referred to as the "HE / EHT" subfield) can carry a single bit of information indicating whether the requested PPDU will be a legacy TB PPDU or a non-legacy TB PPDU. In other words, a non-legacy STA may need to transmit a legacy TB PPDU in response to receiving an Enhanced Trigger Frame, even if the trigger frame is configured according to the non-legacy trigger frame format. This provides even finer-grained control over the type of PPDU that can be requested and the type of STA that can request the PPDU from it.

[0120] Figure 14 Another example of an enhanced user information field 1400 based on some other implementations is shown. In some implementations, the enhanced user information field 1400 can be... Figure 9 An example of the enhanced user information field 934. Therefore, the enhanced user information field 1400 can be configured according to either SU or MU format. Figure 14 In the example, the enhanced user information field 1400 is shown as configured according to the MU format.

[0121] The enhanced user information field 1400 includes the AID12 subfield 1402, RU allocation subfield 1404, UL FEC decoding type subfield 1406, MCS subfield 1408, SU / MU subfield 1410, spatial stream allocation subfield 1412, UL target RSSI subfield 1418, and enhanced format subfield 1420. Figure 14 In the example, spatial flow allocation subfield 1412 represents a MU-specific subfield missing from the SU format of the enhanced user information field. See, for example... Figure 10B The SU / MU subfield 1410 can replace the UL DCM subfield in bit position B25 of the user information field 1010; the spatial stream allocation subfield 1412 can replace the SS allocation and RA-RU information subfields in bit positions B26 to B31 of the user information field 1010; and the enhanced format subfield 1420 can replace the reserved bit B39 of the user information field 1010. The remaining subfields 1402-1408 and 1418 can be substantially similar to the similarly named subfields of the user information field 1010, if not identical.

[0122] The RU allocation subfield 1404 may carry 8 bits of information indicating one or more RUs to be allocated for the transmission of the requested PPDU. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that RU allocation for multiple users often involves larger RUs, resulting in fewer possible RU combinations. Therefore, the 8 bits of information in the RU allocation subfield 1404 are sufficient to support RU allocation for the entire 320 MHz channel. In some implementations, only 7 bits are needed to support all possible RU allocations for multiple users. In such implementations, the 8-bit RU allocation subfield 1404 can be replaced by a 7-bit RU allocation subfield 1422 plus a reserved bit 1424, for example in... Figure 14 This is further illustrated in the text.

[0123] In some implementations, the SU / MU subfield 1410 may carry a single bit of information indicating whether the enhanced user information field 1400 is configured according to the SU format or the MU format. More specifically, the information in the SU / MU subfield 1410 may indicate whether the RU allocation indicated in the RU allocation subfield 1404 is intended for a single user or for multiple users. Figure 14 In the example, SU / MU subfield 1410 can be configured to indicate the MU format. In some aspects, SU / MU subfield 1410 trusts instructions on how other subfields of the enhanced user information field 1400 will be interpreted. For example, a non-legacy STA can identify MU-specific subfield 1412 in the enhanced user information field 1400 in response to determining that SU / MU subfield 1410 indicates the MU format.

[0124] As described above, the SU / MU subfield 1410 can replace the ULDCM subfield of the user information field 1010 in the legacy trigger frame format. In some implementations, the DCM information (indicating whether the DCM will be used for the transmission of the requested PPDU) originally carried in the UL DCM subfield is instead incorporated into the MCS subfield 1408. For example, the DCM can be used only in conjunction with the lowest supported data rate (such as MCS0). Furthermore, aspects of this disclosure recognize that one or more values ​​of the MCS subfield are reserved in the user information field 1010 of the legacy trigger frame format. Thus, in some aspects, the DCM information can replace one of the reserved MCS values ​​associated with the legacy trigger frame format.

[0125] In some implementations, the space stream allocation subfield 1412 may carry 6 bits of information indicating the starting space stream 1414 and the number 1416 of space streams on which requested PPDUs will be transmitted. More specifically, 4 bits may be used to indicate the starting space stream 1414 and the remaining 2 bits may be used to indicate the number of space streams 1416. All aspects of this disclosure recognize that a maximum of 4 space streams can be allocated per STA in MU-MIMO communication. Because the RU allocation indicated in the RU allocation subfield 1404 is intended for multiple users, the number of space streams 1416 allocated to each user can be adequately represented by 2 bits. The remaining 4 bits can thus be used to indicate the starting space stream indexed among 16 possible space streams.

[0126] In some implementations, the Enhanced Format subfield 1420 (also referred to as the "HE / EHT" subfield) may carry a single bit of information indicating whether the requested PPDU will be a legacy TB PPDU or a non-legacy TB PPDU. In other words, a non-legacy STA may need to transmit a legacy TB PPDU in response to receiving an Enhanced Trigger Frame, even if the trigger frame is configured according to the non-legacy trigger frame format. This provides even finer-grained control over the type of PPDU that can be requested and the type of STA that can request the PPDU from it.

[0127] Figure 15 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1500 for supporting enhanced trigger frames in wireless communication, according to some implementations, is shown. In some implementations, process 1500 may be performed by STAs (such as...) Figure 1 and 5B The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the STA (either STA 104 or 504) performs the operation.

[0128] In some implementations, process 1500 begins at block 1502, where a trigger frame requesting a PPDU is received. This trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field. The common information field and the special user information field together include multiple subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU. The common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame. In block 1504, process 1500 continues in response to the trigger frame by transmitting the PPDU based on the configuration information.

[0129] In some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying first bandwidth information associated with the PPDU and may further include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, wherein the first and second bandwidth information jointly indicate the bandwidth associated with the PPDU. In some implementations, the bandwidth associated with the PPDU may be greater than 160 MHz. In some other aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a plurality of spatial reuse subfields in a special user information field, wherein the plurality of spatial reuse subfields indicate a plurality of spatial reuse thresholds associated with the PPDU. Furthermore, in some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a bandwidth puncturing subfield in a special user information field, wherein the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicates whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

[0130] In some aspects, a special user information field may be the first user information field in the user information list immediately following the common information field. In some implementations, the special user information field may include the AID value of any STA not assigned to the same BSS associated with the wireless communication device. In some implementations, the user information list may further include one or more user information fields carrying additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, wherein the format of each of the one or more user information fields is indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in the respective user information field, wherein the format of each user information field is either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

[0131] In some implementations, the format of the PPDU may be indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in each of the one or more user information fields, wherein the PPDU format is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format. In some implementations, each user information field formatted according to a non-legacy user information field format may include a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to the user associated with the user information field, and may further include a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, wherein the starting space stream index is one of sixteen space stream indices. In some implementations, the starting space stream index may be indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield, and the number of space streams may be indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield.

[0132] Figure 16 A flowchart illustrating an example process 1600 for supporting enhanced trigger frames in wireless communication, according to some implementations, is shown. In some implementations, process 1600 can be performed by an AP (such as...). Figure 1and 5A The wireless communication device that operates or operates within the AP (either AP 102 or 502) performs the operation.

[0133] In some implementations, process 1600 begins at block 1602, in which a trigger frame requesting a PPDU is transmitted. This trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field. The common information field and the special user information field together include multiple subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame. In block 1604, process 1600 continues in response to the trigger frame by receiving the PPDU.

[0134] In some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying first bandwidth information associated with the PPDU and may further include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, wherein the first and second bandwidth information jointly indicate the bandwidth associated with the PPDU. In some implementations, the bandwidth associated with the PPDU may be greater than 160 MHz. In some other aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a plurality of spatial reuse subfields in a special user information field, wherein the plurality of spatial reuse subfields indicate a plurality of spatial reuse thresholds associated with the PPDU. Furthermore, in some aspects, the plurality of subfields may include a bandwidth puncturing subfield in a special user information field, wherein the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicates whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

[0135] In some aspects, a special user information field may be the first user information field in the user information list immediately following the common information field. In some implementations, the special user information field may include the AID value of any STA not assigned to the same BSS associated with the wireless communication device. In some implementations, the user information list may further include one or more user information fields carrying additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, wherein the format of each of the one or more user information fields is indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in the respective user information field, wherein the format of each user information field is either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

[0136] In some implementations, the format of the PPDU may be indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in each of the one or more user information fields, wherein the PPDU format is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format. In some implementations, each user information field formatted according to a non-legacy user information field format may include a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to the user associated with the user information field, and may further include a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, wherein the starting space stream index is one of sixteen space stream indices. In some implementations, the starting space stream index may be indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield, and the number of space streams may be indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the space stream allocation subfield.

[0137] Figure 17 A block diagram of an example wireless communication device 1700 according to some implementations is shown. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1700 is configured to perform the above-mentioned references. Figure 15 The process described is 1500. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1700 may be the same as described above. Figure 4 An example implementation of the described wireless communication device 400. For example, the wireless communication device 1700 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).

[0138] Wireless communication device 1700 includes a receiving component 1710, a communication manager 1720, and a transmitting component 1730. The communication manager 1720 may further include a trigger frame response component 1722. Parts of the trigger frame response component 1722 may be implemented, at least partially, in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, the trigger frame response component 1722 is implemented, at least partially, as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, parts of the trigger frame response component 1722 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 corresponding component.

[0139] Receiving component 1710 is configured to receive RX signals from one or more other wireless communication devices, and transmitting component 1730 is configured to transmit TX signals to one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, receiving component 1710 may receive a trigger frame requesting a PPDU, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field, wherein the common information field and the special user information field together include a plurality of subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and wherein the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame. Communication manager 1720 is configured to manage communication between wireless communication device 1700 and one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, trigger frame response component 1722 may transmit the PPDU based on the configuration information in response to the trigger frame.

[0140] 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. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 1800 may be the same as described 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).

[0141] Wireless communication device 1800 includes a receiving component 1810, a communication manager 1820, and a transmitting component 1830. The communication manager 1820 may further include a TB PPDU request component 1822. Parts of the TB PPDU request component 1822 may be implemented, at least partially, in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, the TB PPDU request component 1822 is implemented, at least partially, as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, parts of the TB PPDU request component 1822 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 corresponding component.

[0142] Receiving component 1810 is configured to receive RX signals from one or more other wireless communication devices, and transmitting component 1830 is configured to transmit TX signals to one or more other wireless communication devices. Communication manager 1820 is configured to manage communication between wireless communication device 1800 and one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, TB PPDU request component 1822 may transmit a trigger frame for requesting a PPDU, wherein the trigger frame includes a MAC header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field, wherein the common information field and the special user information field together include a plurality of subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU, and wherein the common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame. In some implementations, receiving component 1810 may receive the PPDU in response to the trigger frame.

[0143] Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0144] 1. A method for wireless communication by a wireless communication device, comprising: A trigger frame is received requesting a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). The trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field. The common information field and the special user information field together include multiple subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU. The common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame. The PPDU is transmitted based on the configuration information in response to the trigger frame.

[0145] 2. The method as described in Clause 1, wherein the plurality of subfields includes an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying first bandwidth information associated with the PPDU and further includes an uplink bandwidth extension subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, the first bandwidth information and the second bandwidth information jointly indicating the bandwidth associated with the PPDU.

[0146] 3. The method as described in Clause 1 or 2, wherein the bandwidth associated with the PPDU is greater than 160 MHz.

[0147] 4. The method as described in any of Clauses 1-3, wherein the plurality of subfields includes a plurality of space reuse subfields in the special user information field, the plurality of space reuse subfields indicating a plurality of space reuse thresholds associated with the PPDU.

[0148] 5. The method as described in any of Clauses 1-4, wherein the plurality of subfields includes a bandwidth puncturing subfield in the special user information field, the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicating whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

[0149] 6. The method as described in any of Clauses 1-5, wherein the special user information field is the first user information field in the user information list that immediately follows the common information field.

[0150] 7. The method as described in any of Clauses 1-6, wherein the special user information field includes an association identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station (STA) associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device.

[0151] 8. The method of any of the provisions 1-7, wherein the user information list further includes one or more user information fields carrying additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, the format of each of the one or more user information fields being indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in the corresponding user information field, and the format of each user information field being either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

[0152] 9. The method of any of the provisions 1-8, wherein the format of the PPDU is indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in each of the one or more user information fields, and the format of the PPDU is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format.

[0153] 10. The method of any of 1-9, wherein each user information field formatted according to the non-legacy user information field format includes a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to the user associated with the user information field, and may further include a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, the starting space stream index being one of sixteen space stream indices.

[0154] 11. The method of any of the provisions 1-10, wherein the starting spatial stream index is indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the spatial stream allocation subfield, and the number of spatial streams is indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the spatial stream allocation subfield.

[0155] 12. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being 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, which, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to perform the methods described in any one or more of the terms 1-11.

[0156] 13. A method for wireless communication by a wireless communication device, comprising: A trigger frame is transmitted requesting a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). The trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field immediately following the MAC header, and a special user information field associated with the common information field. The common information field and the special user information field together include multiple subfields carrying configuration information indicating the configuration for the requested PPDU. The common information field includes one or more bits signaling the presence of the special user information field in the trigger frame. The PPDU is received in response to the trigger frame.

[0157] 14. The method of Clause 13, wherein the plurality of subfields includes an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying first bandwidth information associated with the PPDU and further includes an uplink bandwidth extension subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, the first bandwidth information and the second bandwidth information jointly indicating the bandwidth associated with the PPDU.

[0158] 15. The method as described in Clause 13 or 14, wherein the bandwidth associated with the PPDU is greater than 160 MHz.

[0159] 16. The method of any of the provisions 13-15, wherein the plurality of subfields includes a plurality of space reuse subfields in the special user information field, the plurality of space reuse subfields indicating a plurality of space reuse thresholds associated with the PPDU.

[0160] 17. The method as described in any of Clauses 13-16, wherein the plurality of subfields includes a bandwidth puncturing subfield in the special user information field, the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicating whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

[0161] 18. The method as described in any of Clauses 13-17, wherein the special user information field is the first user information field in the user information list that immediately follows the common information field.

[0162] 19. The method as described in any of Clauses 13-18, wherein the special user information field includes an association identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station (STA) associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device.

[0163] 20. The method of any of the provisions 13-19, wherein the user information list further includes one or more user information fields carrying additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, the format of each of the one or more user information fields being indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in the corresponding user information field, and the format of each user information field being either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

[0164] 21. The method of any of the provisions 13-20, wherein the format of the PPDU is indicated by one or more bits in the common information field and one or more bits in each of the one or more user information fields, and the format of the PPDU is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format.

[0165] 22. The method of any of 13-21, wherein each user information field formatted according to the non-legacy user information field format includes a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to the user associated with the user information field, and further includes a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, the starting space stream index being one of sixteen space stream indices.

[0166] 23. The method of any of the provisions 13-22, wherein the starting spatial stream index is indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the spatial stream allocation subfield, and the number of spatial streams is indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the spatial stream allocation subfield.

[0167] 24. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; and At least one memory communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, which, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to perform the methods described in any one or more of Items 13-23.

[0168] 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.

[0169] 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.

[0170] 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.

[0171] 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.

[0172] 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 wireless station, comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as At least one memory, communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: A trigger frame is received requesting a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). The trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field, and a user information list including a special user information field and one or more user information fields. The special user information field includes an Association Identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station and one or more common information extension bits. The one or more common information extension bits include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield indicating bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, and the one or more common information extension bits are associated with an extension of the common information field. The PPDU is transmitted based at least in part on the bandwidth information.

2. The wireless station of claim 1, wherein the common information field includes an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, the bandwidth information and the second bandwidth information jointly indicating the bandwidth associated with the PPDU.

3. The wireless station of claim 2, wherein the bandwidth associated with the PPDU is greater than 160 MHz.

4. The wireless station of claim 1, wherein the special user information field includes a bandwidth puncturing subfield, the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicating whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

5. The wireless station of claim 1, wherein the common information field includes a PPDU type subfield indicating whether the PPDU is a single-user PPDU or a trigger-based PPDU.

6. The wireless station of claim 1, wherein the common information field includes one or more bits of the signaling notification that the trigger frame includes the special user information field.

7. The wireless station of claim 1, wherein the common information field includes a PHY version subfield indicating whether the trigger frame is in the legacy trigger frame format or a non-legacy trigger frame format.

8. A wireless station, comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as At least one memory, communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: A trigger frame is received requesting a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), the trigger frame including a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field, and a user information list including a special user information field and one or more user information fields, wherein the special user information field includes an Association Identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station and one or more common information extension bits, the one or more common information extension bits including an uplink bandwidth extension subfield indicating bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, the one or more common information extension bits being associated with an extension of the common information field, wherein a first length of the special user information field and a second length of the one or more user information fields are the same length, and wherein the common information field includes a first plurality of spatial reuse subfields indicating a first set of spatial reuse values, and the special user information field includes a second plurality of spatial reuse subfields indicating a second set of spatial reuse values; and The PPDU is transmitted at least in part based on the bandwidth information, wherein the PPDU includes one or more space reuse values ​​from the second set of space reuse values ​​based on the bandwidth associated with the PPDU.

9. The wireless station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the special user information field immediately follows the common information field.

10. A wireless station, comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as At least one memory, communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: A trigger frame requesting a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) is received. The trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field, and a user information list including a special user information field and one or more user information fields. The special user information field includes an Association Identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station and an uplink bandwidth extension subfield indicating bandwidth information associated with the PPDU. The first length of the special user information field and the second length of the one or more user information fields are the same. The PPDU is transmitted based at least in part on the bandwidth information.

11. The wireless station of claim 10, wherein the one or more user information fields carry additional configuration for configuring the PPDU, the format of each of the one or more user information fields is indicated by one or more first bits in the common information field and one or more second bits in the corresponding user information field, and the format of each user information field is either a legacy user information field format or a non-legacy user information field format.

12. The wireless station of claim 11, wherein the format of the PPDU is indicated by one or more first bits in the common information field and one or more second bits in each of the one or more user information fields, and the format of the PPDU is either a legacy PPDU format or a non-legacy PPDU format.

13. The wireless station of claim 11, wherein each user information field formatted according to the non-legacy user information field format includes a space stream allocation subfield indicating the number of space streams allocated to a user associated with the user information field, and may further include a starting space stream index associated with the number of space streams, the starting space stream index being one of sixteen space stream indices.

14. The wireless station of claim 13, wherein the starting spatial stream index is indicated by a 4-bit subfield of the spatial stream allocation subfield, and the number of spatial streams is indicated by a 2-bit subfield of the spatial stream allocation subfield.

15. A method performed by a wireless station, comprising: A trigger frame is received requesting a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). The trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field, and a user information list including a special user information field and one or more user information fields. The special user information field includes an Association Identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station and one or more common information extension bits. The one or more common information extension bits include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield indicating bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, and the one or more common information extension bits are associated with an extension of the common information field. The PPDU is transmitted based at least in part on the bandwidth information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the common information field includes an uplink bandwidth subfield carrying second bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, the bandwidth information and the second bandwidth information jointly indicating the bandwidth associated with the PPDU.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the bandwidth associated with the PPDU is greater than 160 MHz.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the special user information field includes a bandwidth puncturing subfield, the bandwidth puncturing subfield indicating whether one or more subbands spanning the bandwidth associated with the PPDU are punctured.

19. A wireless station, comprising: At least one modem; At least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the at least one modem; as well as At least one memory, communicatively coupled to and storing processor-readable code, the processor-readable code being configured, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, to: A trigger frame for transmitting a request for a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) is provided. The trigger frame includes a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a common information field, and a user information list including a special user information field and one or more user information fields. The special user information field includes an Association Identifier (AID) value not assigned to any radio station and one or more common information extension bits. The one or more common information extension bits include an uplink bandwidth extension subfield indicating bandwidth information associated with the PPDU, and the one or more common information extension bits are associated with an extension of the common information field. The PPDU is received at least in part based on the bandwidth information.

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