Obtaining distributed tone resource unit (DRU) tone feedback information

Abstract

One embodiment is a method performed by an access point (AP) for obtaining distributed tone resource unit (dRU) tone feedback information from one or more stations (STAs). The method includes transmitting a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame, wherein the NDPA frame includes, for each of the one or more STAs, information about a dRU region allocated to the STA and dRU tones allocated to the STA within the dRU region allocated to the STA, transmitting a null data packet (NDP) frame after transmitting the NDPA frame, transmitting a trigger frame to request dRU tone feedback information from the one or more STAs, and receiving dRU tone feedback information for the dRU tones allocated to each of the one or more STAs from the each of the one or more STAs.

Description

Cross-references to related applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 620,109, filed January 11, 2024, entitled “Coexistence of Distributed Tone RU (dRU) and Conventional RU (rRU) after IEEE 802.11be”, which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to obtaining feedback information from a distributed tone resource unit (dRU). Background Technology

[0003] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard is a collection of standards for enabling wireless local area network (WLAN) communication in various frequency bands, including but not limited to 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, and 60 GHz. These standards define protocols that enable Wi-Fi devices to communicate with each other. The IEEE 802.11 family of standards has evolved over time to accommodate higher data rates, improved security, and better performance in different environments. Some of the most widely used standards include 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax (also known as “Wi-Fi 6”). These standards specify modulation techniques, channel bandwidth, and other technical aspects that facilitate interoperability between devices from different manufacturers. IEEE 802.11 has played a significant role in the widespread adoption of wireless networks in homes, offices, and public places, enabling users to connect their devices to the internet and to each other without wired connections.

[0004] IEEE 802.11be, also known as "Wi-Fi 7," is the next-generation standard in the IEEE 802.11 family of standards for wireless local area networks. Currently under development, 802.11be aims to significantly improve upon its predecessor, 802.11ax / Wi-Fi 6, by providing higher data rates, lower latency, and increased reliability. The standard is expected to utilize advanced technologies such as Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which allows devices to use multiple frequency bands and channels simultaneously to improve performance and reliability. Furthermore, 802.11be will introduce 4096-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), achieving higher data rates by encoding more bits per symbol. The standard will also feature improved Media Access Control (MAC) efficiency, enhanced energy efficiency, and better support for high-density environments. With these advancements, 802.11be is expected to offer a theoretical maximum data rate of up to 46 gigabits per second (Gbps), making it suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications such as virtual and augmented reality, 8K video streaming, and high-performance gaming. The IEEE 802.11be standard is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, paving the way for next-generation Wi-Fi devices and networks.

[0005] A distributed tone resource unit (dRU) is a resource unit consisting of tones distributed across the entire spectrum (discontinuous tones) (while a conventional resource unit (rRU) consists of continuous tones). Using dRUs can improve spectral efficiency by enabling wireless devices to transmit at higher transmit power. Wireless networks can use both dRUs and rRUs simultaneously (dRUs and rRUs can coexist) to improve spectral efficiency. Wireless networks need to know the channel quality (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) of the dRU tones in order to allocate dRUs and rRUs to wireless devices in a spectrally efficient manner. Attached Figure Description

[0006] This disclosure will be more fully understood through the detailed description provided below and the accompanying drawings depicting various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, these drawings should not be construed as limiting the disclosure to the specific embodiments shown; they are for illustrative and understanding purposes only.

[0007] Figure 1 An example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) with a basic service set (BSS) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated, the BSS including multiple wireless devices.

[0008] Figure 2 This is a schematic block diagram of a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 3A The illustration shows components of a wireless device configured to transmit data according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3B The illustration shows components of a wireless device configured to receive data according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates frame interval (IFS) relationships according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 The illustration shows a frame transmission process based on Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 The illustration shows the maximum physical layer (PHY) rate for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 7 Detailed descriptions of fields in Ultra High Throughput (EHT) Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) frames, including their uses and characteristics, are provided according to some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 8 Examples of multi-user (MU) transmission in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0016] Figure 9 The illustration shows an example of an access point according to some embodiments of the present disclosure sending trigger frames to multiple associated sites and responsively receiving uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access trigger-based physical protocol data units (UL OFDMA TB PPDUs).

[0017] Figure 10 This is a diagram of communication sequences for requesting uplink (UL) transmissions based on conventional resource units (rRUs) and UL transmissions based on distributed tone resource units (dRUs), according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 11 This is a diagram illustrating a scenario where an access point (AP) requests a UL transmission based on an rRU, according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating the scenario when an AP requests a UL transmission based on a dRU, according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 13 This is a diagram showing the grouping of sites (STAs) according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 14 This is a diagram of a dRU tone scheme in an 80MHz bandwidth according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 15 This is a diagram showing the dRU tone allocation when two STAs are operating in an 80MHz dRU region, according to some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 16 This is a diagram showing the format of a variant of the Null Packet Advertisement (NDPA) frame according to some embodiments.

[0024] Figure 17 This is a diagram showing the format of a modified probe dialogue token field that can be included in a variant NDPA frame according to some embodiments.

[0025] Figure 18 This is a table diagram illustrating the encoding of modified NDP notification variant fields according to some embodiments.

[0026] Figure 19 This is a diagram showing the format of a modified STA information field according to some embodiments.

[0027] Figure 20 This is a table diagram illustrating another encoding of the NDP notification variant field for modification, according to some embodiments.

[0028] Figure 21 This is a table diagram illustrating the encoding used for NDP notification variant fields according to some embodiments.

[0029] Figure 22 This is a diagram of another format of STA information modified according to some embodiments.

[0030] Figure 23 It is a diagram showing the format of a conventional portion of the BW information field and the format of a modified portion of the BW information field according to some embodiments.

[0031] Figure 24 This is a diagram of a communication sequence for obtaining dRU tone feedback information using variant NDPA frames according to some embodiments.

[0032] Figure 25 This is a flowchart of a method for obtaining dRU tone feedback information from one or more STAs, according to some embodiments.

[0033] Figure 26 This is a diagram of various NDPA frame encodings according to some embodiments, used to indicate that an NDPA frame is a variant of the rRU and dRU that is requesting dRU tone feedback information.

[0034] Figure 27 This is a flowchart of a method for providing dRU tone feedback information to an AP according to some embodiments.

[0035] Figure 28This is a diagram illustrating various methods, according to some embodiments, for determining whether an NDPA frame is a variant of the rRU and dRU-supporting NDPA frame and for requesting dRU tone feedback information. Detailed Implementation

[0036] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to acquiring feedback information from distributed tone resource units (dRUs).

[0037] When dRUs and regular resource units (rRUs) are allowed to coexist in the operating bandwidth, access points (APs) may need to know the channel quality (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) of the dRU tones in order to allocate dRUs and rRUs to stations (STAs) efficiently. This paper describes a technique that allows STAs to provide dRU tone feedback information to the AP. The dRU tone feedback information can include information about the channel quality of the dRU tones. The AP can use the dRU tone feedback information when determining how to allocate dRUs and rRUs to STAs.

[0038] Existing channel probing procedures (e.g., the channel probing procedure specified in the IEEE 802.11 standard) involve the AP transmitting a Null Packet Advertisement (NDPA) frame followed by a Null Packet (NDP) frame to the STA. The STA can generate channel feedback information based on the NDP frame and transmit this feedback information to the AP. Existing channel probing procedures are designed to provide channel feedback information for rRUs and do not allow STAs to provide dRU tone feedback information. This paper introduces a variant NDPA frame that supports both dRUs (and rRUs). The variant NDPA frame can support dRUs because it can indicate which dRU tones are assigned to which STAs for channel probing purposes. The AP can transmit the variant NDPA frame to request dRU tone feedback information from the STAs. The variant NDPA frame can indicate the dRU tone assigned to each STA. Each STA can determine its assigned dRU tone based on the variant NDPA frame, generate dRU tone feedback information for its assigned dRU tone, and transmit the dRU tone feedback information to the AP. Variant NDPA frames can be designed by modifying / reusing fields included in regular NDPA frames (such as EHT NDPA frames). Using the techniques described in this paper, the AP can obtain dRU tone feedback information from the STA, which allows the AP to allocate rRUs and dRUs to the STA in a spectrally efficient manner.

[0039] According to some embodiments, the AP transmits an NDPA frame, wherein, for each of one or more STAs, the NDPA frame includes information about the dRU area allocated to that STA and the dRU tone allocated to that STA within the allocated dRU area. The AP may then transmit an NDP frame. Each of the one or more STAs that receives the NDPA frame and the NDP frame may generate dRU tone feedback information for the dRU tone allocated to that STA based on the NDP frame. The AP may then transmit a trigger frame to request the dRU tone feedback information from one or more STAs. In response to receiving the trigger frame, each of the one or more STAs may transmit dRU tone feedback information to the AP for the dRU tone allocated to that STA.

[0040] In one embodiment, the NDPA frame includes a probe dialogue token field, wherein the probe dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant field, which carries a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU. In another embodiment, the NDPA frame also includes a STA information field for the STA, wherein the STA information field for the STA includes a dRU indication field, which carries a value indicating that dRU tone feedback information is being requested. When the STA receives the NDPA frame, the STA can identify that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU based on the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field, and can identify that dRU tone feedback information is being requested based on the value carried in the dRU indication field.

[0041] In one embodiment, the NDPA frame includes a probe dialogue token field, wherein the probe dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant field, which carries a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU and is requesting dRU tone feedback information. When the STA receives the NDPA frame, the STA can identify, based on the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field, that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU and is requesting dRU tone feedback information.

[0042] In an embodiment, the NDPA frame includes a STA information field (also referred to as the "STA info" field) for the STA. This STA information field includes a format field carrying a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant of the NDPA frame that supports both rRU and dRU. The STA information field may also include a dRU indication field carrying a value indicating that dRU tone feedback information is being requested. When the STA receives an NDPA frame, it can identify that the NDPA frame is a variant of the NDPA frame that supports both rRU and dRU based on the value carried in the format field, and it can identify that dRU tone feedback information is being requested based on the value carried in the dRU indication field.

[0043] For illustrative purposes, this document describes various embodiments in the context of wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and using its terminology and concepts. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments disclosed herein can be modified / adapted for other types of wireless networks.

[0044] In the following detailed description, certain embodiments of the invention are shown and described by way of illustration only. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the drawings and description should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. Throughout the description, the same reference numerals denote the same elements.

[0045] Figure 1 A wireless local area network (WLAN) 100 with a basic service set (BSS) 102 is illustrated, which includes a plurality of wireless devices 104 (sometimes referred to as WLAN devices 104). Each of the wireless devices 104 may include a Media Access Control (MAC) layer and a Physical (PHY) layer according to IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) standard 802.11 (including one or more amendments (e.g., 802.11a / b / g / n / p / ac / ax / bd / be)). In one embodiment, the MAC layer of wireless device 104 may initiate the transmission of a frame to another wireless device 104 by passing a PHY-TXSTART.request (TXVECTOR) to the PHY layer. The TXVECTOR provides parameters for generating and / or transmitting the corresponding frame. Similarly, the PHY layer of a receiving wireless device may generate an RXVECTOR, which includes the parameters of the received frame and is passed to the MAC layer for processing.

[0046] Multiple wireless devices 104 may include wireless device 104A, which acts as an access point (sometimes referred to as an AP site or AP STA), and other wireless devices 104B1-104B4, which are non-AP sites (sometimes referred to as non-AP STAs). Alternatively, in a peer-to-peer networking environment, all of the multiple wireless devices 104 may be non-AP STAs. Typically, AP STAs (such as wireless device 104A) and non-AP STAs (such as wireless devices 104B1-104B4) may be collectively referred to as STAs. However, for ease of description, unless the context otherwise indicates, only non-AP STAs may be referred to as STAs. Although four non-AP STAs (such as wireless devices 104B1-104B4) are shown, WLAN 100 may include any number of non-AP STAs (such as one or more wireless devices 104B).

[0047] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of a wireless device 104 according to an embodiment is illustrated. The wireless device 104 may be... Figure 1 The wireless device 104A (i.e., the AP of WLAN 100) or any wireless device 104B1-104B4 is included. Wireless device 104 includes a baseband processor 210, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 240, an antenna unit 250, a storage device (e.g., a memory device) 232, one or more input interfaces 234, and one or more output interfaces 236. The baseband processor 210, storage device 232, input interface 234, output interface 236, and RF transceiver 240 can communicate with each other via bus 260.

[0048] The baseband processor 210 performs baseband signal processing and includes a MAC processor 212 and a PHY processor 222. The baseband processor 210 may utilize a memory 232, which may include a non-transitory computer / machine-readable medium on which software (e.g., computer / machine programming instructions) and data are stored.

[0049] In this embodiment, the MAC processor 212 includes a MAC software processing unit 214 and a MAC hardware processing unit 216. The MAC software processing unit 214 can implement a first plurality of functions of the MAC layer by executing MAC software, which may be included in software stored in the storage device 232. The MAC hardware processing unit 216 can implement a second plurality of functions of the MAC layer in dedicated hardware. However, the MAC processor 212 is not limited thereto. For example, the MAC processor 212 may be configured to perform the first and second plurality of functions entirely in software or entirely in hardware, depending on the implementation.

[0050] PHY processor 222 includes a transmit (TX) signal processing unit (SPU) 224 and a receive (RX) SPU 226. PHY processor 222 implements multiple functions of the PHY layer. These functions may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof, depending on the implementation method.

[0051] The functions performed by the transmitting SPU 224 may include one or more of the following: forward error correction (FEC) coding, parsing a stream into one or more spatial streams, diversity coding of a spatial stream into multiple space-time streams, spatial mapping of space-time streams to the transmitting chain, inverse Fourier transform (iFT) computation, cyclic prefix (CP) insertion to create a guard interval (GI), etc. The functions performed by the receiving SPU 226 may include the inverse operations of the functions performed by the transmitting SPU 224, such as GI removal, Fourier transform computation, etc.

[0052] RF transceiver 240 includes an RF transmitter 242 and an RF receiver 244. RF transceiver 240 is configured to transmit first information received from baseband processor 210 to WLAN 100 (e.g., to another WLAN device 104 of WLAN 100) and to provide second information received from WLAN 100 (e.g., from another WLAN device 104 of WLAN 100) to baseband processor 210.

[0053] Antenna element 250 includes one or more antennas. When using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) or multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), antenna element 250 may include multiple antennas. In an embodiment, the antennas in antenna element 250 may operate as a beamforming antenna array. In an embodiment, the antennas in antenna element 250 may be directional antennas, which may be fixed or maneuverable.

[0054] Input interface 234 receives information from the user, and output interface 236 outputs information to the user. Input interface 234 may include one or more of a keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchscreen, microphone, etc. Output interface 236 may include one or more of a display device, touchscreen, speaker, etc.

[0055] As described herein, many functions of the WLAN device 104 can be implemented in hardware or software. Which functions are implemented in software and which are implemented in hardware will vary depending on design constraints. Constraints may include one or more of the following: design cost, manufacturing cost, time to market, power consumption, available semiconductor technology, etc.

[0056] As described herein, the functions of the components of WLAN device 104 can be implemented using various electronic devices, circuits, firmware, software, and combinations thereof. Furthermore, WLAN device 104 may include other components such as application processors, storage interfaces, clock generator circuits, power supply circuits, etc., which have been omitted for brevity.

[0057] Figure 3A The illustration shows components of a WLAN device 104 configured to transmit data according to an embodiment, including a transmit (Tx) SPU (TxSP) 324, an RF transmitter 342, and an antenna 352. In the embodiment, the TxSP 324, RF transmitter 342, and antenna 352 respectively correspond to... Figure 2 The antenna of the transmitting SPU 224, RF transmitter 242 and antenna unit 250.

[0058] The TxSP 324 includes an encoder 300, an interleaver 302, a mapper 304, an inverse Fourier transform (IFT) 306, and a guard interval (GI) inserter 308.

[0059] Encoder 300 receives and encodes input data. In one embodiment, encoder 300 includes a forward error correction (FEC) encoder. The FEC encoder may include a binary convolutional code (BCC) encoder followed by a punch device. The FEC encoder may include a low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder.

[0060] The TxSP 324 may also include a scrambler to scramble the input data before the encoder 300 performs encoding, reducing the probability of long sequences of 0s or 1s. When the encoder 300 performs BCC encoding, the TxSP 324 may also include an encoder parser to demultiplex the scrambled bits across multiple BCC encoders. If LDPC encoding is used in the encoder, the TxSP 324 may not need an encoder parser.

[0061] Interleaver 302 interleaves the bits of each stream output from encoder 300 to change the bit order therein. Interleaver 302 can apply interleaving only when encoder 300 performs BCC encoding; otherwise, it can output the streams from encoder 300 without changing the bit order therein.

[0062] Mapper 304 maps the bit sequence output from interleaver 302 to constellation points. If encoder 300 performs LDPC encoding, mapper 304 can also perform LDPC tone mapping in addition to constellation mapping.

[0063] When the TxSP 324 performs MIMO or MU-MIMO transmissions, the TxSP 324 may include multiple interleavers 302 and multiple mappers 304 according to the number of spatial streams (NSS) being transmitted. The TxSP 324 may also include a stream resolver for dividing the output of the encoder 300 into blocks and sending the blocks to different interleavers 302 or mappers 304 respectively. The TxSP 324 may also include a space-time block code (STBC) encoder for expanding constellation points from the spatial streams to multiple space-time streams (NSTS), and a spatial mapper for mapping the space-time streams to the transmit chain. The spatial mapper may use direct mapping, spatial spreading, or beamforming.

[0064] IFT 306 transforms the constellation point blocks output from mapper 304 (or, when performing MIMO or MU-MIMO, the spatial mapper) into temporal blocks (i.e., symbols) using either the Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) or the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT). If an STBC encoder and a spatial mapper are used, IFT 306 can be provided for each transmit chain.

[0065] When the TxSP 324 performs MIMO or MU-MIMO transmissions, it can insert cyclic shift diversity (CSD) to prevent unintended beamforming. The TxSP 324 can insert CSD before or after IFT 306. CSD can be specified per transmit chain or per spacetime stream. Alternatively, CSD can be applied as part of a spatial mapper.

[0066] When the TxSP 324 performs MIMO or MU-MIMO transmissions, some blocks before the space mapper can be provided to each user.

[0067] The GI inserter 308 adds a GI to each symbol produced by the IFT 306. Each GI may include a cyclic prefix (CP), which corresponds to the repeating portion at the end of the symbol preceding the GI. The TxSP 324 may optionally perform windowing after inserting the GI to smooth the edges of each symbol.

[0068] RF transmitter 342 converts symbols into RF signals and transmits the RF signals via antenna 352. When TxSP 324 performs MIMO or MU-MIMO transmission, a GI inserter 308 and an RF transmitter 342 can be provided for each transmit chain.

[0069] Figure 3BThe illustration shows components of a WLAN device 104 configured to receive data according to an embodiment, including a receiver (Rx) SPU (RxSP) 326, an RF receiver 344, and an antenna 354. In the embodiment, the RxSP 326, RF receiver 344, and antenna 354 may correspond to... Figure 2 The antenna of the receiving SPU 226, RF receiver 244 and antenna unit 250.

[0070] The RxSP 326 includes a GI remover 318, a Fourier transform (FT) 316, a demapper 314, a deinterleaver 312, and a decoder 310.

[0071] RF receiver 344 receives RF signals via antenna 354 and converts the RF signals into symbols. GI remover 318 removes GI from each symbol. When the received transmission is a MIMO or MU-MIMO transmission, RF receiver 344 and GI remover 318 can be provided for each receive chain.

[0072] FT 316 transforms each symbol (i.e., each time-domain block) into a frequency-domain block of constellation points using either the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) or the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). FT 316 can be provided for each receiver chain.

[0073] When the received transmission is a MIMO or MU-MIMO transmission, the RxSP 326 may include a spatial demapper for converting the corresponding output of the FT 316 of the receive chain into constellation points of multiple space-time streams, and an STBC decoder for despreading the constellation points from the space-time streams into one or more spatial streams.

[0074] Demapper 314 demaps the constellation points output from the FT 316 or STBC decoder into a bitstream. If the received transmission is encoded using LDPC encoding, demapper 314 may further perform LDPC tone modulation mapping before performing constellation demapping.

[0075] Deinterleaving unit 312 deinterleaves bits of each stream output from demapping unit 314. Deinterleaving unit 312 may perform deinterleaving only if the received transmission is encoded using BCC encoding; otherwise, it may output the stream from demapping unit 314 without performing deinterleaving.

[0076] When the received transmission is a MIMO or MU-MIMO transmission, the RxSP 326 can use multiple demappers 314 and multiple deinterleavers 312 corresponding to the number of spatial streams in the transmission. In this case, the RxSP 326 may also include a stream deparser for combining the streams output from the deinterleavers 312.

[0077] Decoder 310 decodes the stream output from deinterleaver 312 or stream deparser. In an embodiment, decoder 310 includes an FEC decoder. The FEC decoder may include a BCC decoder or an LDPC decoder.

[0078] RxSP 326 may also include a descrambler for descrambling the decoded data. When decoder 310 performs BCC decoding, RxSP 326 may also include an encoder de-decoder for multiplexing data decoded by multiple BCC decoders. When decoder 310 performs LDPC decoding, RxSP 326 may not use an encoder de-decoder.

[0079] Before transmission, wireless devices such as wireless device 104 will use idle channel assessment (CCA) to evaluate the availability of the wireless medium. If the medium is occupied, CCA can determine that it is busy, and if the medium is available, CCA can determine that it is idle.

[0080] The IEEE 802.11 PHY entities are based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). In the OFDM or OFDMA physical (PHY) layer, a STA (e.g., wireless device 104) can transmit and receive Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) conforming to the mandatory PHY specification (also known as PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Process) Protocol Data Units). The PHY specification defines a set of modulation and coding schemes (MCS) and the maximum number of spatial streams. Some PHY entities define downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmissions with a maximum number of space-time streams (STS) per user, employing a maximum predetermined total number of STSs. PHY entities can provide support for continuous channel widths of 10 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 240 MHz, and 320 MHz, as well as non-contiguous channel widths of 80+80, 80+160 MHz, and 160+160 MHz. Each channel comprises multiple subcarriers, which may also be referred to as tones. The PHY entity can define signaling fields within the PPDU as Legacy Signal (L-SIG), Signal A (SIG-A), and Signal B (SIG-B), etc., conveying necessary information about the attributes of the PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU). For completeness and brevity, the following description refers to OFDM-based 802.11 technology. Unless otherwise indicated, the site refers to a non-AP STA.

[0081] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates the inter-frame spacing (IFS) relationship. Specifically, Figure 4The diagram illustrates the Short IFS (SIFS), Point Coordination Function (PCF) IFS (PIFS), Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) IFS (DIFS), and Arbitration IFS (AIFS[i]) corresponding to Access Class (AC) 'i'. Figure 4 The diagram also illustrates the time slot duration and how data frames are used to transmit data forwarded to higher layers. As shown, WLAN device 104 performs a backoff and transmits data frames after the DIFS has passed (during which the medium is idle).

[0082] Management frames are used to exchange management information, which is not forwarded to higher layers. Subtypes of management frames include beacon frames, association request / response frames, probe request / response frames, and authentication request / response frames.

[0083] Control frames can be used to control access to the medium. Subtypes of control frames include Request to Send (RTS) frames, Allow to Send (CTS) frames, and Acknowledge (ACK) frames.

[0084] When the control frame is not a response frame to another frame, the WLAN device 104 performs backoff and transmits the control frame after the DIFS has passed (during which time the medium is free). When the control frame is a response frame to another frame, the WLAN device 104 transmits the control frame after the SIFS has passed without performing backoff or checking whether the medium is free.

[0085] The WLAN device 104 (i.e., QoS STA) that supports Quality of Service (QoS) functionality can perform a backoff transmission frame after the AIFS (i.e., AIFS[AC]) for the associated Access Class (AC) has passed. When interrupted by the QoS STA, any data frame, management frame, or control frame that is not a response frame can use the AIFS[AC] of the transmitted frame's AC.

[0086] When a WLAN device 104, ready to transmit a frame, detects that the medium is busy, the WLAN device 104 may perform a backoff procedure. The backoff procedure includes determining a random backoff time consisting of N backoff slots, where each backoff slot has a duration equal to the slot time, and N is an integer greater than or equal to zero. The backoff time can be determined based on the length of the contention window (CW). In an embodiment, the backoff time can be determined based on the frame's AC (Acceptance Time). All backoff slots occur after a DIFS or Extended IFS (EIFS) period, during the duration of which the medium is determined to be idle.

[0087] When WLAN device 104 does not detect media activity for the duration of a specific backoff slot, the backoff process should decrement the slot duration by the backoff time. When WLAN device 104 determines that the media is busy during the backoff slot, the backoff process is paused until the media is again determined to be idle for the duration of a DIFS or EIFS period. When the backoff timer reaches zero, WLAN device 104 can perform frame transmission or retransmission.

[0088] The backoff process operation allows each WLAN device 104 to select a backoff time using a random function when multiple WLAN devices 104 are delaying and performing the backoff process, and the WLAN device 104 that selects the shortest backoff time may win the competition, thereby reducing the probability of a collision.

[0089] Figure 5 The illustration shows a frame transmission process based on Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) according to an embodiment, used to avoid collisions between frames in the channel. Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a first station STA1 transmitting data, a second station STA2 receiving data, and a third station STA3 located in an area capable of receiving frames transmitted from STA1, frames transmitted from STA2, or both simultaneously. Stations STA1, STA2, and STA3 can be... Figure 1 WLAN device 104.

[0090] Station STA1 can determine whether the channel is busy through carrier sensing. Station STA1 can determine channel occupancy / state based on the energy level in the channel or the autocorrelation of the signal in the channel, or it can determine channel occupancy by using a network allocation vector (NAV) timer.

[0091] After determining that the channel is not used by other devices during DIFS (i.e., the channel is idle) (and if backoff is required), station STA1 may transmit a Request to Send (RTS) frame to station STA2. Upon receiving the RTS frame, after SIFS, station STA2 may transmit a Allow to Send (CTS) frame in response to the RTS frame. If dual CTS is enabled and station STA2 is an AP, the AP may send two CTS frames in response to the RTS frame (e.g., a first CTS frame in a non-high throughput format and a second CTS frame in HT format).

[0092] When station STA3 receives an RTS frame, it can use the duration information included in the RTS frame to set its NAV timer for the transmission duration of subsequent frames (e.g., the duration of SIFS + CTS frame duration + SIFS + data frame duration + SIFS + ACK frame duration). When station STA3 receives a CTS frame, it can use the duration information included in the CTS frame to set its NAV timer for the transmission duration of subsequent frames. If a new frame is received before the NAV timer expires, station STA3 can update its NAV timer by using the duration information included in the new frame. Station STA3 does not attempt to access the channel before the NAV timer expires.

[0093] When station STA1 receives a CTS frame from station STA2, it can transmit a data frame to station STA2 after an SIFS period has elapsed since the CTS frame was fully received. After successfully receiving the data frame, station STA2 can transmit an ACK frame as a response to the data frame after an SIFS period has elapsed.

[0094] When the NAV timer expires, the third site STA3 can use carrier sensing to determine if the channel is busy. After determining that the channel has not been used by other devices during the DIFS period after the NAV timer expires, site STA3 can attempt to access the channel after the contention window has passed, according to the backoff procedure.

[0095] When dual CTS is enabled, a station that has acquired a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) but has no data to transmit can transmit a CF-End frame to shorten the TXOP. An AP that receives a CF-End frame with its BSSID as the destination address can respond by sending more than two CF-End frames: a first CF-End frame using Space-Time Block Coding (STBC) and a second CF-End frame using non-STBC. The station receiving the CF-End frame resets its NAV timer to 0 at the end of the PPDU containing the CF-End frame. Figure 5 The image shows that station STA2 sends an ACK frame to confirm that the receiver has successfully received the frame.

[0096] The IEEE 802.11bn (Ultra-High Reliability, UHR) working group has been formed to meet the growing demand for higher peak throughput and reliability in Wi-Fi. Figure 6As shown, the peak PHY rate increases significantly from IEEE 802.11b to IEEE 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), with the latter focusing on further improving peak throughput. The UHR research group aims to enhance latency distribution and jitter tails to support applications requiring low latency, such as video over-WLAN, gaming, AR, and VR. It is worth noting that various characteristics of UHR, such as maximum PHY rate, PHY rate enhancement, bandwidth / spatial stream count, and operating frequency band, remain to be determined.

[0097] The IEEE 802.11be standard focuses primarily on indoor and outdoor WLAN operation at fixed and pedestrian speeds in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. In addition to peak PHY rates, various candidate features are under discussion. These candidate features include (1) 320 MHz bandwidth and more efficient use of discontinuous spectrum, (2) multi-band / multi-channel aggregation and operation, (3) 16 spatial streams and enhanced multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) protocols, (4) multi-access point (AP) coordination (e.g., coordinated and joint transmission), (5) enhanced link adaptation and retransmission protocols (e.g., Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)), and (6) adaptation to regulatory rules specific to the 6 GHz spectrum.

[0098] The focus of IEEE 802.11bn (UHR) is still under discussion, with candidate features including MLO enhancements (e.g., in terms of increasing throughput / reliability and reducing latency), latency and reliability improvements (e.g., supporting multi-AP coordination for low-latency traffic), bandwidth expansion (e.g., expansion to 240, 480, 640 MHz), aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU), enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) extensions to APs, roaming improvements, and power-saving schemes for extending battery life.

[0099] Some features, such as increasing bandwidth and the number of spatial streams, are solutions that have proven effective in previous projects focused on increasing link throughput, and their feasibility demonstrations are achievable.

[0100] Regarding the operating frequency bands of IEEE 802.11be (e.g., 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz), since the 6 GHz band (5.925-7.125 GHz) is being considered for unlicensed use, there may be additional unlicensed spectrum available exceeding 1 GHz. This would allow APs and STAs to become tri-band devices. Data transmissions greater than 160 MHz (e.g., 320 MHz or 640 MHz) could be considered to increase the maximum PHY rate. For example, 320 MHz or 160+160 MHz of data could be transmitted in the 6 GHz band. For example, 160+160 MHz of data could be transmitted across the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.

[0101] During wireless communication, the transmitting station (STA) creates a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) frame and sends it to the receiving STA. The receiving STA then receives, detects, and processes the PPDU.

[0102] An Ultra High Throughput (EHT) PPDU frame contains several components. It includes a legacy section containing fields such as the Legacy Short Training Field (L-STF), Legacy Long Training Field (L-LTF), Legacy Signal Field (L-SIG), and Repeated Legacy Signal Field (RL-SIG). These fields are used to maintain compatibility with older Wi-Fi standards.

[0103] In addition to the traditional components, EHT PPDU frames also include a Universal Signaling Field (U-SIG), an EHT Signaling Field (EHT-SIG), an EHT Short Training Field (EHT-STF), and an EHT Long Training Field (EHT-LTF). These fields are specific to the EHT standard and are used for various purposes, such as signaling, synchronization, and channel estimation.

[0104] Figure 7 A more detailed description of each field in the EHT PPDU frame is provided, including their purpose and characteristics.

[0105] Regarding the Ultra-High Reliability (UHR) PPDU, its frame structure is currently undefined and will be determined through further discussions within the relevant working groups or research groups. This indicates that the specific details of the UHR PPDU are still under development and will be finalized based on the results of future deliberations.

[0106] The distributed nature of channel access networks, such as IEEE 802.11 WLANs, makes carrier sense mechanisms useful for ensuring collision-free operation. Each station (STA) uses its physical carrier sense to detect transmissions from other STAs. However, in some cases, an STA may fail to detect every transmission. For example, when an STA is far from another STA, it may assume the medium is idle and begin transmitting frames, leading to a collision. To mitigate this hidden node problem, Network Allocation Vector (NAV) is introduced.

[0107] As the IEEE 802.11 standard has evolved, it now includes scenarios where multiple users can simultaneously send or receive data within a Basic Service Set (BSS), such as cascaded uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) multi-user (MU) transmissions. In these cases, existing carrier sense and NAV mechanisms may be insufficient, and modified or newly defined mechanisms may be needed to facilitate efficient and collision-free operation.

[0108] For the purposes of this disclosure, MU transmission refers to a situation where multiple frames are simultaneously transmitted to or from multiple STAs using different resources. Examples of such resources include different frequency resources in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) transmissions and different spatial streams in Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) transmissions. Therefore, downlink OFDMA (DL-OFDMA), downlink MU-MIMO (DL-MU-MIMO), uplink OFDMA (UL-OFDMA), uplink MU-MIMO (UL-MU-MIMO), and combinations of OFDMA and MU-MIMO are all considered examples of MU transmissions.

[0109] Figure 8 Examples of multi-user (MU) transmission in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0110] In the IEEE 802.11ax and 802.11be specifications, trigger frames play a useful role in facilitating uplink multi-user (MU) transmissions. The purpose of a trigger frame is to allocate resources and request the transmission of one or more trigger-based (TB) physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) from an associated site (STA).

[0111] The trigger frame contains information required in response to the STA sending its uplink TB PPDU. This information includes the trigger type, which specifies the type of the expected TB PPDU, and the uplink length (UL Length), which indicates the duration of the uplink transmission.

[0112] Figure 9 The illustration depicts an example scenario where an access point (AP) operating in an 80MHz bandwidth environment sends trigger frames to multiple associated STAs. Upon receiving the trigger frames, the STAs respond by transmitting their respective uplink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (UL OFDMA) TB PPDUs within the specified 80MHz bandwidth, utilizing the allocated resources.

[0113] After successfully receiving the UL OFDMA TB PPDU, the AP acknowledges the STA by sending an acknowledgment frame. This acknowledgment can be an 80MHz wide multi-STA block acknowledgment (Block Ack) or a block acknowledgment using the Direct Feedback (DF) OFDMA method. The multi-STA Block Ack allows the AP to acknowledge multiple STAs simultaneously, while the Block Ack using DF OFDMA enables the AP to provide feedback to the STAs using the same OFDMA technology employed in uplink transmissions.

[0114] Trigger frames are a useful component for achieving efficient uplink MU transmission in IEEE 802.11ax and 802.11be networks by allocating resources within the same bandwidth and coordinating uplink transmissions from multiple STAs.

[0115] Wireless network systems can rely on retransmission of Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) when the transmitter (TX) fails to receive an acknowledgment from the receiver (RX) or the MPDU is not successfully decoded by the receiver. Using the Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) method, the receiver discards the last failed MPDU before receiving a new retransmitted MPDU. With increasing demands for enhanced reliability and reduced latency, wireless network systems can evolve towards Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) methods.

[0116] There are two HARQ processing methods. In the first type of HARQ scheme, also known as Tracking-Combining (CC) HARQ (CC-HARQ), the signal to be retransmitted is the same as the previously failed signal because all retransmitted sub-packets use the same puncturing pattern. Punching is used to remove some parity bits after encoding with error-correcting codes. The reason for using the same puncturing pattern is to generate a coded data sequence with forward error correction (FEC) and to allow the receiver to use maximum ratio combining (MRC) to combine the received retransmitted bits with the same bits from the previous transmission. For example, the information sequence is transmitted in fixed-length packets. At the receiver, error correction and detection are performed on the entire packet. However, in the presence of burst errors, the ARQ scheme can be inefficient. To address this problem more efficiently, sub-packets are used. In sub-packet transmission, only those sub-packets containing errors need to be retransmitted.

[0117] Because the receiver uses both currently and previously received sub-packets to decode data, the probability of errors during decoding decreases as the number of sub-packets used increases. The decoding process is performed using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) and terminates when the entire packet is error-free or the maximum number of sub-packets is reached. Specifically, the scheme operates on a stop-and-wait protocol, such that if the receiver can decode the packet, it sends an acknowledgment (ACK) to the transmitter. When the transmitter successfully receives the ACK, it terminates the HARQ transmission for that packet. If the receiver cannot decode the packet, it sends a negative acknowledgment (NAK) to the transmitter, and the transmitter performs a retransmission.

[0118] In the second type of HARQ scheme, also known as Incremental Redundancy (IR) HARQ (IR-HARQ), each sub-packet uses a different puncturing pattern, such that the signal of each retransmitted sub-packet changes compared to the original transmitted sub-packet. IR-HARQ alternates between using the two puncturing patterns for odd-numbered and even-numbered transmissions, respectively. The redundancy scheme of IR-HARQ improves the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) of the parity bits to merge information sent across different transmissions due to requests, and reduces the code rate with the use of additional sub-packets. This results in a lower error rate for sub-packets compared to CC-HARQ. The puncturing pattern used in IR-HARQ is indicated by a sub-packet identifier (SPID). The SPID of the first sub-packet can always be set to 0, and all system bits and punctured parity bits are transmitted in the first sub-packet. Self-decoding is possible when the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environment is good (i.e., high SNR). In some embodiments, the sub-packets to be transmitted, each with a corresponding SPID, are arranged in ascending order of the SPID, but may be swapped / switched except for the first SPID.

[0119] AP coordination has been identified as a potential technique for improving WLAN system throughput in the IEEE 802.11be standard and is still discussed in the IEEE 802.11bn (UHR) standard. To support various AP coordination schemes, such as coordinated beamforming, OFDMA, TDMA, spatial reuse, and joint transmission, predefined mechanisms for APs are required.

[0120] In the context of Coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA), the AP that obtains a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) is called the sharing AP. This AP initiates an AP coordination scheme by sending frames (such as beacon frames or probe response frames) to determine a candidate set of APs. These frames include information about the AP coordination scheme's capabilities. APs that participate in the AP coordination scheme after receiving frames from the sharing AP are called the shared APs. The sharing AP is also called the master AP or coordinating AP, and the shared APs are called slave APs or coordinating APs.

[0121] The operation of various AP coordination schemes has been discussed in the IEEE 802.11be and UHR standards:

[0122] Coordinated Beamforming (C-BF): Multiple APs transmit on the same frequency resources by coordinating and forming spatial nulls, allowing multiple APs to transmit simultaneously.

[0123] Coordinated OFDMA (C-OFDMA): The AP achieves more efficient spectrum utilization by coordinating and allocating spectrum for transmission on orthogonal frequency resources.

[0124] Joint Transmission (JTX): Multiple access points (APs) simultaneously transmit data to a given user by sharing data among themselves.

[0125] Coordinated Space Reuse (C-SR): Multiple APs or STAs adjust their transmit power to reduce interference between APs.

[0126] By implementing these AP coordination schemes, WLAN systems can improve their overall throughput and efficiency by leveraging cooperation among multiple APs.

[0127] Distributed tone resource units (dRUs) are physical (PHY) layer features being considered for use in future wireless networks to improve spectral efficiency. Using dRUs can help overcome power spectral density (PSD) limitations. Various power modes are defined in the 6 GHz band, such as standard power (SP) mode, very low power (VLP) mode, and low power indoor (LPI) mode. PSD limitations are particularly stringent in VLP and LPI modes in the 6 GHz band, especially for non-AP STAs. For example, the PSD limit for non-AP STAs in LPI mode is -1 dBM / MHz. Therefore, using many RU tones in a limited bandwidth will reduce transmit power due to the strict PSD limitations. To support the coexistence of dRUs and rRUs, dRU tone schemes similar to conventional rRU tone schemes can be designed. dRU tone schemes can be defined in bandwidths of 20 / 40 / 80 MHz, etc.

[0128] Figure 10 This is a diagram of communication sequences for requesting rRU-based uplink (UL) transmissions and dRU-based UL transmissions, according to some embodiments.

[0129] As shown in the figure, the access point (AP1) can operate a Basic Service Set (BSS), which includes a first STA (STA11) and a second STA (STA12). AP1 can transmit a request PPDU 1010 to request a dRU-based UL transmission from STA11 and an rRU-based UL transmission from STA12. The request PPDU 1010 can be designed as a trigger frame (TF), a multi-user request transmission (MU-RTS) frame, a beamforming report polling (BFRP) frame, an NDPA frame, or a similar frame. In response to receiving the request PPDU 1010 from AP1, STA11 can transmit a dRU-based UL PPDU 1015 to AP1, and STA12 can transmit an rRU-based UL PPDU 1020 to AP1. The dRU-based UL PPDU 1015 can be transmitted in the dRU, and the rRU-based UL PPDU 1020 can be transmitted in the rRU. Transmissions of UL PPDU 1015 based on dRU by STA11 and transmissions of UL PPDU 1020 based on rRU by STA21 can occur simultaneously. In response to receiving UL PPDUs from STA11 and STA12, AP1 can transmit an acknowledgment (ACK) 1025 to STA11 and STA12 to confirm successful reception of the uplink transmission.

[0130] It is anticipated that dRUs and rRUs will be able to coexist in next-generation / future wireless networks (e.g., IEEE 802.11bn (i.e., UHR) wireless networks). For example, if a device can operate in an 80MHz operating bandwidth (OPBW), it can transmit in 40MHz dRUs and 40MHz rRUs respectively. When dRUs and rRUs coexist in the operating bandwidth, it is necessary to allocate dRUs and rRUs in the operating bandwidth in a spectrum-efficient manner. Furthermore, it is necessary to indicate which dRUs and rRUs are assigned to which STAs. For example, in Figure 10 In the example shown, AP1 needs to instruct STA11 that STA11 is assigned a specific dRU, and instruct STA21 that STA21 is assigned a specific rRU, similar to OFDMA operation.

[0131] Figure 11 This is a diagram illustrating the scenario where an AP requests a UL transmission based on an rRU, according to some embodiments.

[0132] As shown in the figure, AP1 can request rRU-based UL transmissions from STA1, STA2, and STA3. In this example, AP1 assigns a 52-tone rRU to each STA. Specifically, STA1 is assigned rRU1 (consisting of solid-line tones as shown in the figure), STA2 is assigned rRU2 (consisting of dashed-line tones as shown in the figure), and STA3 is assigned rRU3 (consisting of dotted-dash-line tones as shown in the figure). In response to AP1's request, STA1, STA2, and STA3 can transmit UL PPDUs to AP1 in their assigned rRUs using OFDMA. When STAs transmit their rRU-based UL PPDUs using OFDMA, unpredictable interference may occur. For example, as shown in the figure, interference may occur near STA1's 52-tone rRU. This interference may occur due to Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) signals. Due to interference, AP1 may be unable to decode STA1's rRU-based UL PPDUs, which could lead to performance degradation.

[0133] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating the scenario when an AP requests a UL transmission based on a dRU, according to some embodiments.

[0134] As shown in the figure, AP1 can request dRU-based UL transmissions from STA1, STA2, and STA3. In this example, AP1 allocates a 52-tone dRU to each STA for power enhancement (higher transmit power). Specifically, STA1 is allocated dRU1 (consisting of the solid-line tones shown in the figure), STA2 is allocated dRU2 (consisting of the dashed-line tones shown in the figure), and STA3 is allocated dRU3 (consisting of the dotted-dash-line tones shown in the figure). In response to AP1's request, STA1, STA2, and STA3 can transmit UL PPDUs to AP1 in their allocated dRUs using OFDMA. When STAs transmit their dRU-based UL PPDUs using OFDMA, unpredictable interference may occur. For example, as shown in the figure, interference may affect a portion of each STA's 52-tone dRU (different from...). Figure 11 As shown in the example, only one of the STAs is affected by interference. This interference may occur due to the OBSS signal. Because of the interference, AP1 may be unable to decode any dRU-based UL PPDUs, which could lead to performance degradation.

[0135] This paper introduces a variant NDPA frame that supports dRUs. The variant NDPA frame supports dRUs because it indicates which dRU tones are assigned to which STAs for channel sensing purposes. The AP can transmit the variant NDPA frame to request dRU tone feedback information from STAs. The variant NDPA frame can indicate the dRU tones assigned to each STA. Each STA can determine its own assigned dRU tone based on the NDPA frame, generate dRU tone feedback information for its assigned dRU tone, and transmit the dRU tone feedback information to the AP. The dRU tone feedback information for the dRU tones can include channel quality information (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio) for the dRU tone. The AP can use the dRU tone feedback information it receives from STAs to allocate rRUs and dRUs to STAs in a spectrum-efficient manner. For example, the AP can use the dRU tone feedback information to allocate rRUs and dRUs in a way that avoids interference-affected spectrum portions.

[0136] Figure 13 This is a diagram of STA grouping according to some embodiments.

[0137] As shown in the figure, AP1 can operate a BSS comprising eight STAs (STA1-STA8). AP1's operating bandwidth can be 320MHz, and the operating bandwidth of each STA can be 80MHz. Before transmitting the NDPA and NDP variant frames, AP1 can group the STAs, with each group assigned to a specific dRU area. In this embodiment, AP1 groups the STAs based on the following criteria.

[0138] Condition 1: Each dRU region can have a size of 20 / 40 / 80 MHz, defined according to the dRU tone plan. For example, if dRU tone plans can be designed for 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, and up to 320 MHz, then each dRU region can also have a size of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, and up to 320 MHz. In the example shown in the figure, an 80 MHz dRU region is assumed.

[0139] Condition 2: Channel information and / or the amount of data that the STA must transmit / process, which can be previously obtained through CSI, BSRP, BQRP, etc. For example, if STA1 and STA2 have poor channel conditions in a specific frequency band (Y), the AP can avoid assigning these STAs to the group allocated to dRUs in that specific frequency band (Y). As another example, if STA1 and STA2 have a large amount of data to process compared to other non-AP STAs, the AP can assign these STAs to the group allocated to a wider bandwidth.

[0140] In the example shown in the diagram, the AP divides the STAs into four groups. Group 1 includes STA1 and STA2. Group 2 includes STA3 and STA4. Group 3 includes STA5 and STA6. Group 4 includes STA7 and STA8. Group 1 is allocated to the dRU area occupying the first 80MHz portion of the 320MHz operating bandwidth, Group 2 to the second 80MHz portion, Group 3 to the third 80MHz portion, and Group 4 to the fourth 80MHz portion. STAs belonging to a specific group can operate within the specific 80MHz allocated to that group. AP1 can indicate the maximum allowed dRU tone to each group / STA in a variant NDPA frame according to the 80MHz dRU tone plan. This prevents multiple STAs from joining after receiving a variant NDPA frame (e.g., the indication could implicitly notify non-AP STAs supporting 160MHz dRU not to participate, and implicitly notify non-AP STAs supporting 80MHz dRU to participate). In this example, each group is assigned an 80MHz dRU area, and each group includes two STAs. Therefore, each STA can be assigned a 484-tone dRU (e.g., Figure 14 The 484-tone dRU shown.

[0141] Figure 14 This is a diagram of a dRU tone scheme in an 80 MHz bandwidth according to some embodiments.

[0142] As shown in the figure, the dRU tone scheme in an 80MHz bandwidth can define two (2) 484-tone dRUs, four (4) 242-tone dRUs, eight (8) 106-tone dRUs, or sixteen (16) 52-tone dRUs. When two STAs are operating in an 80MHz bandwidth, each STA can use a 484-tone dRU when transmitting a dRU-based UL PPDU.

[0143] Table I below shows an example of a dRU tone scheme in an 80MHz bandwidth.

[0144]

[0145] Figure 15 This is a diagram showing the dRU tone allocation when two STAs are operating in an 80MHz dRU region, according to some embodiments.

[0146] As shown in the figure, when STA1 and STA2 (Group 1 STA) are assigned to the 80MHz dRU region, STA1 can be assigned to the first 484-tone dRU (composed of the solid tone shown in the figure), and STA2 can be assigned to the second -484-tone dRU (composed of the dashed tone shown in the figure).

[0147] Variant NDPA frames that support rRU and dRU can have the same or similar format as regular NDPA frames (e.g., HE (High Efficiency) NDPA frames), or they can have entirely new formats. In this description, it is assumed that variant NDPA frames have a similar format to regular NDPA frames. As will be described in further detail below, variant NDPA frames can be designed by modifying / reusing fields included in regular NDPA frames.

[0148] Figure 16 This is a diagram of the format of a variant NDPA frame according to some embodiments.

[0149] As shown in the figure, the variant NDPA frame includes a frame control field 1605 (2 octets), a duration field 1610 (2 octets), an RA (Receiver Address) field 1615 (6 octets), a TA (Transmitter Address) field 1620 (6 octets), a probe session token field 1625 (1 octet), STA information 1 fields 1630-1 to STA information n fields 1630-n (each STA information field 1630 is 4 octets), and a frame check sequence (FCS) field 1640 (4 octets).

[0150] When the STA receives an NDPA frame from the AP, it should be able to identify whether the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame that supports both rRU and dRU. Furthermore, if the frame is a variant NDPA frame, the STA should be able to identify whether the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information. Various encodings / methods for indicating / identifying whether an NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame and whether a variant NDPA is used to request dRU tone feedback information are now described. Three encodings / methods (hereinafter referred to as encoding / method 1, encoding / method 2, and encoding / method 3) are described below with examples. It should be understood that other encodings / methods can be used to achieve the same result without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

[0151] Encoding / Method 1

[0152] Figure 16The variant NDPA frame shown includes a probe dialogue token field 1625. As will be described in further detail below, the probe dialogue token field 1625 can be a modified version of the regular probe dialogue token field. The modified probe dialogue token field 1625 can be used to indicate whether an NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame.

[0153] Figure 17 This is a diagram showing the format of a modified probe dialogue token field that can be included in a variant NDPA frame according to some embodiments.

[0154] As shown in the figure, the modified probe dialogue token fields can include an NDP announcement variant field 1710 and a probe dialogue token number field 1720, similar to the regular probe dialogue token fields. However, the size of the NDP announcement variant field 1710 can be changed from 2 bits to 3 bits, and the size of the probe dialogue token number field 1720 can be changed from 6 bits to 5 bits. The NDP announcement variant field 1710 can be used to... Figure 18 The encoding shown indicates that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame.

[0155] Figure 18 This is a table diagram illustrating the encoding of modified NDP notification variant fields according to some embodiments.

[0156] The first column of this table indicates the value carried in the NDP Advertisement Variant field, and the second column indicates the corresponding NDPA frame variant. The table indicates that a value of 0 in the NDP Advertisement Variant field indicates that the NDPA frame is a VHT NDPA frame, a value of 1 indicates that the NDPA frame is a ranging NDPA frame, a value of 2 indicates that the NDPA frame is an HE NDPA frame, a value of 3 indicates that the NDPA frame is an EHT NDPA frame, and a value of 4 indicates that the NDPA frame is a UHR NDPA frame (which can be a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU). Values ​​5-7 in the NDP Advertisement Variant field can be reserved (e.g., for future use).

[0157] If the STA receives a variant NDPA frame, the STA should be able to identify whether the variant NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information. Figure 16 The variant NDPA frame shown includes STA information field 1630. As will be described in further detail below, STA information field 1630 can be a modified version of the regular STA information field. The modified STA information field can be used to indicate whether the variant NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information.

[0158] Figure 19 This is a diagram showing the format of a modified STA information field according to some embodiments.

[0159] As shown in the figure, the modified STA information fields include the AID11 field 1905 (11 bits), the partial BW information field 1910 (9 bits), the dRU indicator field 1915 (1 bit), the Nc index field 1920 (4 bits), the feedback type and Ng field 1925 (2 bits), the declassification field 1930 (1 bit), the codebook size field 1935 (1 bit), and the reserved field 1940 (3 bits). It is noteworthy that the modified STA information fields include the dRU indicator field 1915, which is not present in the regular STA information fields. The dRU indicator field 1915 can occupy one of the currently reserved / unused bits in the STA information field. Although the figure shows that the dRU indicator field 1915 occupies bit B20, in other embodiments, the dRU indicator field 1915 can occupy different bits.

[0160] In an embodiment, if the dRU indication field 1915 carries a value of 0, the indication variant NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information, and if the dRU indication field 1915 carries a value of 1, the indication variant NDPA frame is used to request rRU tone feedback information.

[0161] The STA that receives the NDPA frame can identify that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame based on the value carried in the NDP Advertisement Variant Field 1710 (e.g., if the value carried in the NDP Advertisement Variant Field 1710 is 4 (or binary '100')), and can identify that it is requesting dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the dRU Indication Field 1915 (e.g., if the value carried in the dRU Indication Field 1915 is 0).

[0162] Encoding / Method 2

[0163] In an embodiment, Figure 17 The modified probe dialogue token field shown is related to Figure 20 The encoding shown is used together to indicate that the NDPA frame is a variant of the NDPA frame that supports rRU and dRU and is used to request dRU tone feedback information.

[0164] Figure 20 This is a table diagram illustrating another encoding of the NDP notification variant field for modification, according to some embodiments.

[0165] The first column of this table indicates the value carried in the NDP Advertisement Variant field, and the second column indicates the corresponding NDPA frame variant. The table indicates that a value of 0 in the NDP Advertisement Variant field indicates that the NDPA frame is a VHT NDPA frame; a value of 1 indicates that the NDPA frame is a ranging NDPA frame; a value of 2 indicates that the NDPA frame is an HE NDPA frame; a value of 3 indicates that the NDPA frame is an EHT NDPA frame; a value of 4 indicates that the NDPA frame is a UHR NDPA frame (which can be a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU), which is not used to request dRU tone feedback information; and a value of 5 indicates that the NDPA frame is a UHR NDPA frame, which is used to request dRU tone feedback information. Values ​​6-7 in the NDP Advertisement Variant field can be reserved (e.g., for future use).

[0166] The STA receiving the NDPA frame can identify it as a variant NDPA frame used to request dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field (e.g., if the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field is 5 (or binary '101')). This encoding / method allows the STA to identify the NDPA frame as a variant frame used to request dRU tone feedback information without decoding the STA information field (e.g., as required by encoding / method 1 above).

[0167] Encoding / Method 3

[0168] In this embodiment, a standard probe dialogue token field format (e.g., an EHT probe dialogue token field) is used with... Figure 21 The encoding is shown. In this case, the STA receiving the NDPA frame can identify it as a variant NDPA frame after decoding the user information field.

[0169] Figure 21 This is a table diagram illustrating the encoding used for NDP notification variant fields according to some embodiments.

[0170] The first column of this table indicates the value carried in the NDP Advertisement Variant field, and the second column indicates the corresponding NDPA frame variant. The table indicates that a value of 0 in the NDP Advertisement Variant field indicates that the NDPA frame is a VHT NDPA frame, a value of 1 indicates that the NDPA frame is a ranging NDPA frame, a value of 2 indicates that the NDPA frame is an HE NDPA frame, and a value of 3 indicates that the NDPA frame is an EHT NDPA frame or a next-generation / future-generation NDPA frame (e.g., a UHR NDPA frame) (next-generation / future-generation NDPA frames can be variant NDPA frames that support both rRU and dRU).

[0171] The STA receiving the NDPA frame should be able to identify whether the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame and whether the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information. In an embodiment, such as Figure 22 As shown, the STA user information field includes a format field 2240 for indicating the NDPA frame format and a dRU indication field 2215 for indicating whether dRU tone feedback information is being requested. The STA receiving the NDPA frame can identify that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame based on the value carried in the format field, and can identify that dRU tone feedback information is being requested based on the value carried in the dRU indication field.

[0172] Figure 22 This is a diagram of another format of STA information modified according to some embodiments.

[0173] As shown in the figure, the modified STA information fields include the AID11 field 2205 (11 bits), the partial BW information field 2210 (9 bits), the dRU indicator field 2215 (1 bit), the Nc index field 2220 (4 bits), the feedback type and Ng field 2225 (2 bits), the decryption field 2230 (1 bit), the codebook size field 2235 (1 bit), and the format field 2240 (3 bits). It is worth noting that the modified STA information fields include the dRU indicator field 2215 and the format field 2240, which are not present in the regular STA information fields. The dRU indicator field 2215 and / or the format field 2240 can occupy currently reserved / unused bits in the regular STA information fields. Although the figure shows that the dRU indicator field 2215 occupies bit B20 and the format field 2240 occupies bits B29-B31, in other embodiments, the dRU indicator field 2215 and / or the format field 2240 can occupy different bits.

[0174] In an embodiment, if format field 2240 carries a binary value of '000', it indicates that the variant NDPA frame is a UHRNDPA frame. Other values ​​(binary '001'-'111') may indicate future variants / versions of the wireless network standard.

[0175] In an embodiment, if the dRU indication field 2215 carries a value of 0, the indication variant NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information, and if the dRU indication field 2215 carries a value of '1', the indication variant NDPA frame is used to request rRU tone feedback information.

[0176] The STA that receives the NDPA frame can identify that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame based on the value carried in the format field 2240 (e.g., if the value carried in the format field 2240 is binary '000'), and can identify that it is requesting dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the dRU indication field 2215 (e.g., if the value carried in the dRU indication field 2215 is 0).

[0177] After identifying the NDPA frame as a variant supporting both rRU and dRU and requesting dRU tone feedback information, the STA needs to be able to determine the dRU tone allocated to that STA for channel sensing purposes. As previously mentioned, the operating bandwidth can be divided into dRU regions. It is assumed that each dRU region has a size of 80 MHz, and the AP can manage / allocate dRUs within an 80 MHz dRU region. However, it should be understood that dRU regions of different sizes can be used. The AP can indicate information about the dRU regions allocated to the STA and the dRU tones allocated to the STA within those regions via variant NDPA frames. In one embodiment, as will be described in further detail below, a portion of the BW information field included in the user information field is modified / reused to indicate such information.

[0178] Figure 23 It is a diagram showing the format of a conventional portion of the BW information field and the format of a modified portion of the BW information field according to some embodiments.

[0179] As shown in the figure, the BW information fields in the regular part include a resolution field 2310 (1 bit) and a feedback bitmap field 2320 (8 bits).

[0180] In contrast, as shown in the figure, the modified BW information fields include dRU area indication field 2330 and dRU tone signaling field 2340.

[0181] The dRU region indication field 2330 can be used to indicate the dRU region allocated to the STA. If we assume the dRU region has a size of 80 MHz and a maximum operating bandwidth of 640 MHz, then three (3) bits can be used to indicate the dRU region. For example, the dRU region can be indicated as follows:

[0182] '000': Minimum 80MHz

[0183] '001': Minimum 80MHz + 1

[0184] '010': Minimum 80MHz + 2 ...

[0186] '110': up to 80MHz - 1

[0187] '111': up to 80MHz

[0188] The dRU tone signaling field 2340 can be used to indicate a specific dRU tone assigned to the STA within the allocated dRU area. If we assume the use of... Figure 14In the dRU tone scheme shown in the 80MHz diagram, the dRU tone signaling field 2340 may include six bits for indicating the dRU tone.

[0189] A STA that receives an NDPA frame including a modified portion of the BW information field can determine its assigned dRU tone based on the values ​​carried in the dRU area indication field 2330 and the dRU tone signaling field 2340. The STA can then generate dRU tone feedback information (e.g., channel quality information, such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) based on the dRU tone it receives after the NDPA frame.

[0190] Figure 24 This is a diagram of a communication sequence for obtaining dRU tone feedback information using variant NDPA frames according to some embodiments.

[0191] As shown in the figure, AP1 can transmit variant NDPA frame 2405 and NDP frame 2410 in sequence. Variant NDPA frame 2405 may have a format / encoding that allows STAs to identify it as a variant NDPA frame used to request dRU tone feedback information, as described above (e.g., using one of the encoding / methods described above). Furthermore, variant NDPA frame 2405 may indicate the dRU tones assigned to STA11, STA12, and STA13 respectively, as described above (e.g., using a modified partial BW information field). AP1 can then send trigger frame 2415 to request dRU tone feedback information from STA11, STA12, and STA13. In response to receiving trigger frame 2415, STA11, STA12, and STA13 can transmit feedback frames 2420, 2425, and 2430 respectively, which include dRU tone feedback information (e.g., SNR) for the dRU tones assigned to the respective STAs. The AP can use the dRU tone feedback information it receives from the STA to allocate rRU and / or dRU to the STA in a spectrum-efficient manner (e.g., in the case of coexistence of rRU and dRU, where there are older devices that do not support dRU and newer devices that do support dRU).

[0192] Therefore, the techniques described herein allow the STA to provide dRU tone feedback information (e.g., CQI) to the AP, enabling the AP to allocate rRU and / or dRU to the STA in a spectrally efficient manner.

[0193] Turn now Figure 25 A method 2500 for obtaining dRU tone feedback information from one or more STAs will be described according to an example embodiment. Method 2500 can be performed by an AP. The AP can be implemented by a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 104).

[0194] Furthermore, although shown in a specific order, in some embodiments, the operations of method 2500 (and other methods shown in the figures) may be performed in a different order. For example, although the operations of method 2500 are shown sequentially, some operations may be performed in partially or completely overlapping time periods.

[0195] At operation 2505, the AP transmits an NDPA frame, wherein for each of one or more STAs, the NDPA frame includes information about the dRU area allocated to that STA and the dRU tone allocated to that STA within the allocated dRU area. In an embodiment, block 2510 applies to each of one or more STAs. As shown in block 2510, the NDPA frame includes a STA information field for the STA, wherein the STA information field for the STA includes a partial bandwidth information field, wherein the partial bandwidth information field includes a dRU area indication field and a dRU tone signaling field, wherein the dRU area indication field carries a value indicating the dRU area allocated to the STA, and the dRU tone signaling field carries a value indicating the dRU tone allocated to the STA within the allocated dRU area. In an embodiment, the dRU area allocated to the STA is an 80MHz dRU area within a 640MHz operating bandwidth. In an embodiment, the dRU area indication field includes three bits, and the dRU tone signaling field includes six bits.

[0196] At operation 2515, the AP transmits an NDP frame after transmitting an NDPA frame.

[0197] At operation 2520, the AP transmits a trigger frame to request dRU tone feedback information from one or more STAs.

[0198] At operation 2525, the AP receives dRU tone feedback information from each of one or more STAs for the dRU tone assigned to that STA.

[0199] In an embodiment, at operation 2530, the AP determines the rRU to be assigned to the first STA and the dRU tone to be assigned to the second STA based on the received dRU tone feedback information.

[0200] In an embodiment, at operation 2535, the AP transmits a second trigger frame, which includes information about the rRU tone assigned to the first STA and the dRU tone assigned to the second STA (so that the first STA and the second STA transmit frames to the AP simultaneously in the rRU and dRU tones, respectively).

[0201] Figure 26This is a diagram of various NDPA frame encodings according to some embodiments, used to indicate that an NDPA frame is a variant of the rRU and dRU that is requesting dRU tone feedback information.

[0202] As shown in the figure, the first encoding (“Encoding 1”) may relate to blocks 2610 and 2615. At block 2615, the NDPA frame includes a probe dialogue token field, wherein the probe dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant field, which carries a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU. In an embodiment, the NDP announcement variant field includes three bits. In an embodiment, the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field is set to binary '100' to indicate that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame. At block 2615, the NDPA frame also includes a STA information field for STA, wherein the STA information field for STA includes a dRU indication field, which carries a value indicating that dRU tone feedback information is being requested. In an embodiment, the value carried in the dRU indication field is a single bit, which is set to binary '0' to indicate that dRU tone feedback information is being requested.

[0203] As shown in the figure, the second encoding (“Encoding 2”) may relate to block 2620. At block 2620, the NDPA frame includes a probe dialogue token field, wherein the probe dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant field, which carries a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU and is requesting dRU tone feedback information. In an embodiment, the NDP announcement variant field includes three bits, and the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field is set to binary '101' to indicate that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame and is requesting dRU tone feedback information.

[0204] As shown in the figure, the third encoding (“Encoding 3”) may relate to block 2625. At block 2625, the NDPA frame includes a STA information field for STA, wherein the STA information field for STA includes a format field carrying a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting rRU and dRU, wherein the STA information field for STA also includes a dRU indication field carrying a value indicating that dRU tone feedback information is being requested. In an embodiment, the format field includes three bits. In an embodiment, the value carried in the format field is set to binary '000' to indicate that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame. In an embodiment, the value carried in the dRU indication field is binary '0' to indicate that dRU tone feedback information is being requested.

[0205] Turn now Figure 27A method 2700 for providing dRU tone feedback information to an AP will be described according to an example embodiment. Method 2700 can be performed by a STA. The STA can be implemented by a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 104).

[0206] At operation 2705, the STA receives an NDPA frame from the AP, wherein the NDPA frame includes information about the dRU area allocated to the STA and the dRU tone allocated to the STA within the allocated dRU area. In an embodiment, as shown in block 2710, the NDPA frame includes a STA information field for the STA, wherein the STA information field for the STA includes a partial bandwidth information field, wherein the partial bandwidth information field includes a dRU area indication field and a dRU tone signaling field, wherein the dRU area indication field carries a value indicating the dRU area allocated to the STA, and the dRU tone signaling field carries a value indicating the dRU tone allocated to the STA within the allocated dRU area. In an embodiment, the dRU area indication field includes three bits, and the dRU tone signaling field includes six bits. In an embodiment, the dRU area allocated to the STA is an 80MHz dRU area within a 640MHz operating bandwidth.

[0207] In an embodiment, at operation 2715, the STA determines that the NDPA frame is a variant of the NDPA frame that supports both rRU and dRU, and that the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information.

[0208] At operation 2720, the STA receives an NDP frame from the AP after receiving an NDPA frame.

[0209] At operation 2725, the STA generates dRU tone feedback information based on the NDP frame for the dRU tone assigned to the STA.

[0210] At operation 2730, the STA receives a trigger frame from the AP requesting dRU tone feedback information from the STA.

[0211] At operation 2735, in response to receiving a trigger frame, the STA transmits dRU tone feedback information (generated at operation 2725) to the AP for the dRU tone assigned to the STA.

[0212] In one embodiment, the STA receives a second trigger frame from the AP, determines the dRU tone assigned to the STA based on the information included in the second trigger frame, and transmits a frame to the AP in the dRU tone assigned to the STA, wherein the frame is transmitted simultaneously with other frames sent to the AP by other STAs in the rRU.

[0213] Figure 28This is a diagram illustrating various methods, according to some embodiments, for determining whether an NDPA frame is a variant of the rRU and dRU-supporting NDPA frame and for requesting dRU tone feedback information. Specifically, the diagram shows various ways of performing operation 2715.

[0214] In an embodiment, when the NDPA frame is encoded using a first encoding (“Encoding 1”), operation 2715 may involve operations 2805 and 2810. At operation 2805, the STA determines that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU based on a value carried in the NDP Advertisement Variant field included in the probe dialogue token field of the NDPA frame. In an embodiment, the NDP Advertisement Variant field includes three bits. In an embodiment, the NDPA frame is determined to be a variant NDPA frame based on a value determined to be binary '100' in the NDP Advertisement Variant field. At operation 2810, the STA determines that the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information based on a value carried in the dRU Indicator field included in the STA Information field for STA of the NDPA frame. In an embodiment, the dRU Indicator field includes a single bit, wherein the NDPA frame is determined to be used to request dRU tone feedback information based on a value determined to be binary '0' in the dRU Indicator field.

[0215] In an embodiment, when the NDPA frame is encoded using a second encoding (“Encoding 2”), operation 2715 may relate to operation 2815. At operation 2815, the STA determines that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame for requesting dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field included in the probe dialogue token field of the NDPA frame. In one embodiment, the NDP announcement variant field includes three bits. In an embodiment, the NDPA frame is determined to be a variant NDPA frame for requesting dRU tone feedback information based on the determination that the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field is binary '101'.

[0216] In an embodiment, when the NDPA frame is encoded using a third encoding (“Encoding 3”), operation 2715 may relate to operations 2820 and 2825. At operation 2820, the STA determines that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both rRU and dRU based on the value carried in the format field included in the STA information field for the STA in the NDPA frame. In an embodiment, the format field includes three bits. In an embodiment, the NDPA frame is determined to be a variant NDPA frame based on the value carried in the format field being binary '000'. At operation 2825, the STA determines that the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the dRU indication field included in the STA information field for the STA. In an embodiment, the dRU indication field includes a single bit. In an embodiment, the NDPA frame is determined to be used to request dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the dRU indication field being binary '0'.

[0217] While many of the solutions and techniques provided herein have been described with reference to WLAN systems, it should be understood that these solutions and techniques are also applicable to other network environments, such as cellular telecommunications networks, wired networks, etc. In some embodiments, the solutions and techniques provided herein may be, or can be embodied in, an article of manufacture in which instructions are stored on a non-transitory machine-readable medium, such as microelectronic memory, to program one or more data processing components (collectively referred to herein as “processors” or “processing units”) to perform the operations described herein. In other embodiments, some of these operations may be performed by specific hardware components containing hard-wired logic, such as dedicated digital filter blocks and state machines. These operations may alternatively be performed by any combination of programmed data processing components and fixed hard-wired circuit components.

[0218] In some cases, an embodiment may be an apparatus (e.g., an AP STA, a non-AP STA, or another network or computing device) that includes one or more hardware and software logical structures for performing one or more operations described herein. For example, as described herein, the apparatus may include a storage unit that stores instructions executable by a hardware processor mounted in the apparatus. The apparatus may also include one or more other hardware or software elements, including network interfaces, display devices, etc.

[0219] Some of the parts described in detail above have been presented in the form of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits in computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the most efficient way for those skilled in the field of data processing to communicate the essence of their work to others skilled in the field. Algorithms are, and generally are, conceived as self-consistent sequences of operations that lead to desired results. These operations are those that require the physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, though not always, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Sometimes, for reasons of general use, it has proven convenient to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, etc.

[0220] However, it should be remembered that all these and similar terms are associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to those quantities. This disclosure may refer to the actions and processes of a computer system or similar electronic computing device that manipulate and convert data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within computer system registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities in computer system memory or registers or other such information storage systems.

[0221] This disclosure also relates to means for performing the operations described herein. Such means may be specifically constructed for the intended purpose, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in a computer. For example, a computer system or other data processing system may perform the computer-implemented methods described herein in response to its processor executing a computer program (e.g., a sequence of instructions) contained in memory or other non-transitory machine-readable storage medium. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk, including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs and magneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards or optical cards, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

[0222] The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other device. Various general-purpose systems can be used with the programs taught herein, or it may be demonstrated that it is convenient to construct more specialized devices to perform the methods. The structures of various such systems will appear as illustrated in the description below. Furthermore, this disclosure is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be understood that the teachings of this disclosure as described herein can be implemented using various programming languages.

[0223] This disclosure may be provided as a computer program product or software, which may include a machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that can be used to program a computer system (or other electronic device) to perform processes according to this disclosure. Machine-readable media include any mechanism for storing information in a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) form. In some embodiments, machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) media include machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) storage media, such as read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory components, etc.

[0224] In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. It will be apparent that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. Therefore, the specification and drawings should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims

1. A method performed by an access point (AP) to obtain distributed tone resource unit (dRU) tone feedback information from one or more stations (STAs), the method comprising: Transmit a Null Packet Advertisement (NDPA) frame, wherein, for each of the one or more STAs, the NDPA frame includes: information about the dRU area allocated to the STA and the dRU tone allocated to the STA within the dRU area allocated to the STA; After transmitting the NDPA frame, transmit an empty data packet (NDP) frame; Transmit a trigger frame to request dRU tone feedback information from one or more STAs; and Receive dRU tone feedback information from each of the one or more STAs for the dRU tone assigned to the STA.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The NDPA frame includes a probe dialogue token field, wherein the probe dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant field, the NDP announcement variant field carrying a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame that supports regular resource units (rRU) and dRU.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The NDP notification variant field consists of three bits.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The value carried in the NDP notification variant field is set to binary '100' to indicate that the NDPA frame is the variant NDPA frame.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The NDPA frame also includes a STA information field for the STA, wherein the STA information field for the STA includes a dRU indication field, the dRU indication field carrying a value indicating that dRU tone feedback information is being requested.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The value carried in the dRU indication field is set to binary '0' to indicate that dRU tone feedback information is being requested.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The NDPA frame includes a probe dialogue token field, wherein the probe dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant field, the NDP announcement variant field carrying a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame that supports regular resource units (rRU) and dRU and is requesting dRU tone feedback information.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The NDP notification variant field includes three bits, and the value carried in the NDP notification variant field is set to binary '101' to indicate that the NDPA frame is the variant NDPA frame and is requesting dRU tone feedback information.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The NDPA frame includes a STA information field for the STA, wherein the STA information field for the STA includes a format field that carries a value indicating that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame that supports regular resource units (rRUs) and dRUs, wherein the STA information field for the STA also includes a dRU indication field that carries a value indicating that dRU tone feedback information is being requested.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The format field consists of three bits.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The value carried in the format field is set to binary '000' to indicate that the NDPA frame is the variant NDPA frame.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The NDPA frame includes a STA information field for the STA, wherein the STA information field for the STA includes a partial bandwidth information field, wherein the partial bandwidth information field includes a dRU area indication field and a dRU tone signaling field, wherein the dRU area indication field carries a value indicating the dRU area assigned to the STA, and the dRU tone signaling field carries a value indicating the dRU tone assigned to the STA within the dRU area assigned to the STA.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The dRU region indication field comprises three bits, and the dRU tone signaling field comprises six bits.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The dRU area allocated to the STA is an 80MHz dRU area within a 640MHz operating bandwidth.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the received dRU tone feedback information, determine the regular resource unit (rRU) to be allocated to the first STA and the dRU tone to be allocated to the second STA; Transmit a second trigger frame, the second trigger frame including information about the rRU assigned to the first STA and the dRU assigned to the second STA; and In response to the second trigger frame, the first frame is received from the first STA in the rRU allocated to the first STA, and the second frame is received from the second STA in the dRU tone allocated to the second STA.

16. A method for providing distributed tone resource unit (dRU) tone feedback information to an access point (AP) by a site (STA), the method comprising: Receives a Null Packet Advertisement (NDPA) frame from the AP, wherein the NDPA frame includes information about the dRU area allocated to the STA and the dRU tone allocated to the STA within the dRU area allocated to the STA; After receiving the NDPA frame, receive the empty data packet (NDP) frame from the AP; Based on the NDP frame, dRU tone feedback information is generated for the dRU tone allocated to the STA; Receive a trigger frame from the AP requesting dRU tone feedback information from the STA; and In response to receiving the trigger frame, the AP transmits dRU tone feedback information for the dRU tone assigned to the STA.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: Based on the value carried in the NDP announcement variant field included in the probe dialogue token field of the NDPA frame, it is determined that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame that supports regular resource units (rRU) and dRU.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The NDP notification variant field consists of three bits.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, Based on the determination that the value carried in the NDP notification variant field is binary '100', the NDPA frame is determined to be the variant NDPA frame.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: Based on the value carried in the dRU indication field included in the STA information field for the STA in the NDPA frame, it is determined that the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the dRU indicator field comprises a single bit, wherein the NDPA frame is determined to be for requesting dRU tone feedback information based on determining that the value carried in the dRU indicator field is binary '0'.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising: Based on the value carried in the NDP Notification Variant field included in the Probe Dialogue Token field of the NDPA frame, it is determined that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame for requesting dRU tone feedback information.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, The NDP notification variant field includes three bits, wherein the NDPA frame is determined to be the variant NDPA frame used to request dRU tone feedback information based on the value carried in the NDP notification variant field being binary '101'.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising: Based on the values ​​carried in the format fields included in the STA information field for the STA in the NDPA frame, it is determined that the NDPA frame is a variant NDPA frame supporting both regular resource units (rRUs) and dRUs; and Based on the value carried in the dRU indication field included in the STA information field for the STA, it is determined that the NDPA frame is used to request dRU tone feedback information.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein, The format field includes three bits, wherein the NDPA frame is determined to be the variant NDPA frame based on the value carried in the format field being binary '000'.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein, The dRU indication field includes a single bit, wherein the NDPA frame is determined to be for requesting dRU tone feedback information based on the determination that the value carried in the dRU indication field is binary '0'.

27. The method according to claim 16, wherein, Information about the dRU area allocated to the STA is included in the dRU area indication field, which is part of the bandwidth information field included in the STA information field for the STA in the NDPA frame, wherein information about the dRU tone allocated to the STA within the dRU area allocated to the STA is included in the dRU tone signaling field included in the bandwidth information field.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein, The dRU region indication field comprises three bits, and the dRU tone signaling field comprises six bits.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein, The dRU area allocated to the STA is an 80MHz dRU area within a 640MHz operating bandwidth.

30. The method of claim 16, further comprising: Receive a second trigger frame from the AP; The dRU tone assigned to the STA is determined based on the information included in the second trigger frame; and A frame is transmitted to the AP in the dRU tone assigned to the STA, wherein the frame is transmitted simultaneously with other frames transmitted to the AP by other STAs in the regular resource unit (rRU).

31. A wireless device for implementing an access point (AP), the wireless device comprising: Radio frequency transceiver; Storage devices for storing instruction sets; and A processor coupled to the storage device, wherein the instruction set, when executed by the processor, causes the AP to perform the method of any one of claims 1-15.

32. A wireless device for implementing a Station (STA), the wireless device comprising: Radio frequency transceiver; Storage devices for storing instruction sets; and A processor coupled to the storage device, wherein the instruction set, when executed by the processor, causes the STA to perform the method of any one of claims 16-30.

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