Apparatus and method for reliable sounding in wireless networks

Abstract

An access point (AP) (110) is disclosed for communicating with one or more non-AP stations (120a-c) associated with the AP in a WLAN network (100). The AP is configured to transmit one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames to the one or more non-AP stations, wherein each UL precoder configuration frame contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports for each of the one or more non-AP stations. After receiving a response message from each of the one or more non-AP stations, the AP is further configured to transmit a trigger frame to the one or more non-AP stations to initiate a beamformed data frame transmission based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received by the non-AP station, which the one or more non-AP stations have indicated to the AP that the corresponding one or more UL precoder configuration frames have been successfully received by the one or more non-AP stations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to wireless communication. More specifically, this invention relates to devices (especially access points (APs) and non-AP sites) and methods for reliable detection in wireless communication networks (especially Wireless Local Area Networks, WLANs). Background Technology

[0002] The detection mechanism is one of the key technologies in WLAN. It enables the transmitter to acquire channel information and calculate a beamforming precoder that can optimize upcoming multi-user data transmission. A proposed uplink (UL) trigger-based (TB) beamformed (BF) data transmission method prioritizes a corresponding UL detection process prior to this data transmission. Figure 2 As shown. For example Figure 2 The illustrated UL-triggered BF data transmission involves an Access Point (AP) 11 that triggers corresponding Probe NDPs 23a-b by sending a "Trigger NDP" frame 21 to one or more associated sites 12a-b. AP 11 uses the Probe NDPs 23a-b received from each of the sites 12a-b to estimate the state of each channel and then calculates precoder parameters associated with the next multi-user uplink transmission for each of the sites 12a-b, which will be used for the TB PPDU. During the UL probing process (i.e.... Figure 2 Following the first phase shown, AP 11 transmits a trigger frame (TF) 25 in the second phase. This TF includes the precoder parameters for each of the triggered stations 12a-b to trigger the transmission of their data in beamformed TB PPDUs 27a-b. The precoders for stations 12a-b are included in the same PPDU as TF 25. Therefore, each of the triggered stations 12a-b transmits its data in beamformed TB PPDUs 27a-b using the indicated precoder, and the initiating AP 11 responds to this with a block acknowledgment frame 29. It should be understood that... Figure 2 The process shown can be viewed as a two-stage process. Summary of the Invention

[0003] One object of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus (especially access points and non-AP sites) and methods for reliable UL-triggered beamforming data transmission in wireless communication networks (especially wireless local area networks, WLANs).

[0004] The foregoing and other objectives are achieved through the subject matter claimed in the independent claims. Other implementations will be apparent from the dependent claims, the specification, and the drawings. In the following text, some or more of the following abbreviations and acronyms will be used: ACK confirmation AID associated identifier A-MPDU (Aggregated MPDU) AP access point BACK block confirmation BF Beamforming MLO Multilink Operation MPDUMAC Protocol Data Unit M-STA Multi-STA NDP empty data PPDU PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit) STA site TB based on triggers TF trigger frame TID Business Identifier UHR Ultra-High Reliability UL Uplink UPRSUL pre-encoder report status WLAN wireless local area network According to a first aspect, an access point (AP) is provided for communicating with one or more non-AP sites associated with the AP in a WLAN network. The AP is configured to send one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames to the one or more non-AP sites, wherein each UL precoder configuration frame contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from each of the one or more non-AP sites. Furthermore, after receiving a corresponding response frame from each of the one or more non-AP sites, the AP is also configured to send a trigger frame to the one or more non-AP sites to initiate beamforming uplink data frame transmission based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received by the non-AP sites, which have indicated to the requesting AP that they have successfully received the corresponding one or more UL precoder configuration frames.

[0005] In another possible implementation, the AP is used to generate one or more UL precoder configuration frames for each of the one or more non-AP sites based on the UL probe NDP received from each of the one or more non-AP sites.

[0006] In another possible implementation, the AP is used to send an NDP Request (NDPR) trigger frame to the one or more non-AP sites to request each of the one or more non-AP sites to send the UL probe NDP to the AP.

[0007] In another possible implementation, in response to receiving the beamformed uplink data frame transmission from each of the one or more non-AP sites, the AP is configured to send an acknowledgment frame to the one or more non-AP sites.

[0008] In another possible implementation, each of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames is a management frame of the "Action No ACK" subtype.

[0009] In another possible implementation, the AP is configured to transmit an Uplink Precoder Report Status (UPRS) polling trigger frame to the one or more non-AP sites after transmitting the one or more UL precoder configuration frames, in order to request the one or more non-AP sites to send an UPRS frame to the AP to indicate (i.e., acknowledge) the reception status of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames.

[0010] In another possible implementation, each UPRS response frame includes a UPRS set element, wherein the UPRS set element includes one or more UPRS information fields, wherein each UPRS information field corresponds to a UL precoder report having one or more UL precoder segments (i.e., UL precoder configuration frames), and wherein each UPRS information field indicates the precoder index to which the UL precoder report belongs and which of the one or more UL precoder segments (i.e., UL precoder configuration frames) needs to be retransmitted.

[0011] In another possible implementation, each UPRS information field includes a precoder index subfield for indicating the precoder and / or a status bitmap subfield containing a status bitmap, wherein the status bitmap indicates the reception status of the one or more UL precoder segments.

[0012] In another possible implementation, each UPRS frame is a management frame of the "no acknowledgement action" subtype.

[0013] In another possible implementation, each UPRS frame is assigned an action category "UHR Protected Action".

[0014] In another possible implementation, each UPRS frame includes a UPRS control field, wherein the UPRS control field includes a no-retransmission subfield, the no-retransmission subfield corresponding to all of the one or more UL precoder reports of the corresponding non-AP site.

[0015] In another possible implementation, if the no-retransmission subfield contains the value 1, then the uplink precoder report status set element does not exist, i.e., it is excluded from the UPRS response frame.

[0016] In another possible implementation, the UPRS control field includes a single precoder subfield, wherein if the single precoder subfield contains a value of 1, the precoder index subfield is excluded from each UPRS information field in the information element of the uplink precoder report status set.

[0017] In another possible implementation, the UPRS polling trigger frame includes a user information list field, wherein the user information list field includes an indication of at least a subset of one or more non-AP sites included in previous transmissions of one or more UL precoder reports to the AP.

[0018] In another possible implementation, the UPRS polling trigger frame includes a trigger-related user information portion, wherein the trigger-related user information portion includes a list of UPRS information fields indicating which UL precoder configuration frame is requested to retransmit the status.

[0019] In another possible implementation, the AP is configured to operate in a multi-link operation (MLO) mode, wherein in the MLO mode, the UPRS polling trigger frame is configured to: poll the reception or retransmission status of one or more UL precoder configuration frames transmitted on the same link as the UPRS polling trigger frame, and poll the reception or retransmission status of one or more other UL precoder configuration frames transmitted on one or more other links.

[0020] In another possible implementation, in response to sending the one or more UL precoder configuration frames to the one or more non-AP sites, the AP is configured to receive a block acknowledgement (BA) frame from each of the one or more non-AP sites, wherein the BA frame indicates whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames have been successfully received by the non-AP site.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the AP is configured to send the trigger frame to the one or more non-AP sites after receiving the block acknowledgement (BA) frame from each of the one or more non-AP sites to initiate beamforming uplink data frame transmission to the AP based on a report in one or more UL precoder configuration frames received by the non-AP sites, the one or more non-AP sites having indicated to the requesting AP that the one or more non-AP sites have successfully received the one or more corresponding UL precoder configuration frames.

[0022] In another possible implementation, each of the one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames is a management frame of the "Action" subtype.

[0023] In another possible implementation, the one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames can be transmitted in an A-MPDU and can include one or more UHR action frames.

[0024] In another possible implementation, the AP is used to aggregate the UHR action frame as the UHR action frame is assigned a subsequent sequence number (SN) value.

[0025] In another possible implementation, the BA frame includes a bitmap indicating whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames have been successfully received by the non-AP site.

[0026] In another possible implementation, the BA frame includes an AID TID information subfield, wherein the AID TID information subfield indicates the presence of a bitmap in the BA frame corresponding to a receive action management frame.

[0027] In another possible implementation, the indication for the bitmap corresponding to receiving the action management frame includes setting the acknowledgment type subfield to 0 and the TID subfield to 13 or 15.

[0028] In another possible implementation, the BA frame indicates the presence of a bitmap corresponding to the receiving action management frame by setting the TID_INFO subfield to 13 or 15.

[0029] In another possible implementation, the bitmap is 32 bits in size.

[0030] According to a second aspect, a method is provided for operating an access point (AP) for communicating with one or more non-AP sites associated with the AP in a WLAN network. The method according to the second aspect includes: Send one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames to the one or more non-AP sites, wherein each UL precoder configuration frame contains at least a portion of the UL precoder report of each of the one or more non-AP sites; After receiving a response frame from each of the one or more non-AP sites, a trigger frame is sent to the one or more non-AP sites to initiate beamforming uplink data frame transmission based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received by the non-AP sites, which have indicated to the requesting AP that they have successfully received the corresponding one or more UL precoder configuration frames.

[0031] The method according to the second aspect can be executed by the AP according to the first aspect. Therefore, other features of the method according to the second aspect directly derive from the functionality of the AP described in the first aspect and its various implementations described above and below.

[0032] According to a third aspect, a non-access point (non-AP) station is provided for communicating with an associated access point (AP) in a WLAN network. The non-AP station is configured to receive one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames from the AP, wherein each UL precoder configuration frame contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from the non-AP station. Furthermore, after transmitting a response frame to the AP indicating successful reception of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames, the non-AP station is also configured to receive a trigger frame from the AP to initiate uplink beamforming uplink data frame transmission based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received from the AP.

[0033] In another possible implementation, the non-AP site is used to send a UL probe NDP to the AP in response to receiving an NDP Request (NDPR) trigger frame from the AP.

[0034] In another possible implementation, each of the one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames is a management frame of the "no acknowledgment action" subtype.

[0035] In another possible implementation, the non-AP site is configured to send an UPRS frame to the AP in response to receiving an Uplink Precoder Report Status (UPRS) polling trigger frame from the AP, indicating (i.e. acknowledging) the reception status of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames.

[0036] In another possible implementation, the UPRS frame includes a UPRS set element, wherein the UPRS set element includes one or more UPRS information fields, wherein each UPRS information field corresponds to a UL precoder report having one or more UL precoder segments (i.e., UL precoder configuration frames), and wherein each UPRS information field includes a precoder index subfield for indicating which precoder the UL precoder report belongs to and a state bitmap subfield containing a state bitmap, wherein the state bitmap indicates which UL precoder report segment (i.e., UL precoder configuration frame) among the one or more UL precoder segments needs to be retransmitted.

[0037] In another possible implementation, each UPRS information field includes a precoder index subfield for indicating the precoder and / or a status bitmap subfield containing a status bitmap, wherein the status bitmap indicates the reception status of the one or more UL precoder segments.

[0038] In another possible implementation, the UPRS frame is a management frame of the "no acknowledgment action" subtype.

[0039] In another possible implementation, the UPRS frame is assigned the action category "UHR Protected Action".

[0040] In another possible implementation, the UPRS frame includes a UPRS control field, wherein the UPRS control field includes a no-retransmission subfield, the no-retransmission subfield corresponding to all of one or more UL precoder reports from the non-AP site.

[0041] In another possible implementation, if the no-retransmission subfield contains the value 1, then the uplink precoder report state set element does not exist, i.e., it is excluded from the UPRS frame.

[0042] In another possible implementation, the UPRS control field includes a single precoder subfield, wherein if the single precoder subfield contains a value of 1, the precoder index subfield is excluded from each UPRS information field in the information element of the uplink precoder report status set.

[0043] In another possible implementation, the UPRS polling trigger frame includes a user information list field, wherein the user information list field includes indications of non-AP sites included in previous transmissions of one or more UL precoder reports to the AP.

[0044] In another possible implementation, the UPRS polling trigger frame includes a trigger-related user information portion, wherein the trigger-related user information portion includes a list of UPRS information fields indicating which UL precoder configuration frame is requested to retransmit the status.

[0045] In another possible implementation, in response to receiving the one or more UL precoder configuration frames from the AP, the non-AP station sends a block acknowledgement (BA) frame to the AP, wherein the BA frame indicates whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames have been successfully received by the non-AP station.

[0046] In another possible implementation, each of the one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames is a management frame of the "action" subtype.

[0047] In another possible implementation, the BA frame includes a bitmap indicating whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames have been successfully received by the non-AP site.

[0048] In another possible implementation, the BA frame includes an AID TID information subfield, wherein the AID TID information subfield indicates the presence of a bitmap of an action management frame in the BA frame.

[0049] In another possible implementation, the instruction for the bitmap of the action management frame includes setting the confirmation type subfield to 0 and the TID subfield to 13 or 15.

[0050] In another possible implementation, the BA frame indicates the presence of the bitmap of the action management frame by setting the TID_INFO subfield to 13 or 15.

[0051] In another possible implementation, the bitmap is 32 bits in size.

[0052] According to a fourth aspect, a method is provided for operating a non-access point (non-AP) site for communicating with an associated AP in a WLAN network. The method according to the fourth aspect includes: Receive one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames from the AP, wherein each UL precoder configuration frame contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from the non-AP site; After transmitting a response frame to the AP indicating successful receipt of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames, a trigger frame is received from the AP to initiate beamforming uplink data frame transmission based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received from the AP.

[0053] The method described according to the fourth aspect can be performed by a non-AP site according to the third aspect. Therefore, other features of the method described according to the fourth aspect directly derive from the functionality of the non-AP site described according to the third aspect and its various implementations described above and below.

[0054] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product including program code, which, when executed by a computer or processor, causes the computer or processor to perform the method according to the second aspect or the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0055] Details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the specification, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0056] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a WLAN implementing uplink beamforming data transmission is shown, the WLAN including an AP according to one embodiment, the AP communicating with a plurality of non-AP sites according to one embodiment; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a two-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process implemented by an AP and two non-AP sites is shown. Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrates a three-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process implemented by an AP according to one embodiment and two exemplary non-AP sites according to one embodiment. Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrates a four-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process implemented by an AP according to one embodiment and two exemplary non-AP sites according to one embodiment. Figure 5aA schematic diagram is shown of the format of the Uplink Precoder Report Status (UPRS) set information element used in frames exchanged between AP and non-AP sites according to one embodiment; Figure 5b A schematic diagram is shown of the UPRS set information element format used in frames exchanged between AP and non-AP sites according to another embodiment; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the UPRS frame format exchanged between AP and non-AP sites according to one embodiment is shown; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of trigger frames exchanged between AP and non-AP sites according to one embodiment is shown; Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an M-STA block acknowledgment frame exchanged between an AP and a non-AP site according to one embodiment is shown; Figure 9 A schematic diagram of compressed block acknowledgment frames exchanged between AP and non-AP sites according to one embodiment is shown; Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating the steps of a method for operating an AP according to one embodiment is shown; Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating the steps of a method for operating a non-AP site according to one embodiment is shown.

[0057] In the following text, the same reference numerals refer to the same or at least functionally equivalent features. Detailed Implementation

[0058] In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention, illustrating specific aspects of embodiments of the invention or aspects in which embodiments of the invention may be used. It should be understood that embodiments of the invention can be used in other aspects and include structural or logical variations not described in the drawings. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be construed in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0059] For example, it should be understood that the disclosure relating to the described method also applies to the corresponding device or system used to perform the method, and vice versa. For example, if one or more specific method steps are described, the corresponding device may include one or more units (e.g., functional units) to perform the described one or more method steps (e.g., one unit performs one or more steps, or multiple units each perform one or more of a plurality of steps), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or shown in the drawings. On the other hand, for example, if a specific apparatus is described based on one or more units (e.g., functional units), the corresponding method may include a step to perform the function of one or more units (e.g., one step performs the function of one or more units, or multiple steps each perform the function of one or more of a plurality of units), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or shown in the drawings. Furthermore, it should be understood that, unless otherwise stated, features of the various exemplary embodiments and / or aspects described herein may be combined with each other.

[0060] Figure 1 A wireless communication network 100, specifically a wireless local area network (WLAN) 100 (also known as a Wi-Fi network 100), is illustrated according to the IEEE 802.11 standard framework. The WLAN 100 includes access points (APs) 110 (which can be implemented in the form of multi-antenna APs 110) and multiple non-AP sites 120a-c. Figure 1 As shown, as an example, a non-AP site 120a-c may include a smartphone, laptop, tablet, desktop computer or other type of wireless device 120a-c.

[0061] like Figure 1As further shown, AP 110 includes processing circuitry 111 and a communication interface 113, specifically a wireless communication interface 113 that enables communication according to the IEEE 802.11 standard framework via channel 130. The processing circuitry 111 can be implemented in hardware and / or software and can include digital circuitry, or both analog and digital circuitry. The digital circuitry can include components such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or general-purpose processors. AP 110 may also include a memory 115 for storing executable program code that, when executed by the processing circuitry 111, causes AP 110 to perform the functions and methods described herein.

[0062] Similarly, such as Figure 1 As shown in the exemplary non-AP station 120a, non-AP stations 120a-c include processing circuitry 121 and a communication interface 123, particularly a wireless communication interface 123 that enables communication according to the IEEE 802.11 standard framework via channel 130. The processing circuitry 121 can be implemented in hardware and / or software and can include digital circuitry, or both analog and digital circuitry. The digital circuitry can include components such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or general-purpose processors. Each of the non-AP stations 120a-c may also include a memory 125 for storing executable program code that, when executed by the processing circuitry 121, causes the non-AP station 120a-c to perform the functions and methods described herein.

[0063] The following text is in Figure 3 and Figure 4 In more detail within the context, AP 110 is used to send one or more uplink (UL) pre-encoder configuration frames to non-AP sites 120a-c (in... Figure 3 In this embodiment, it is referred to as the Tx-ing Precoder frame 305, in Figure 4In one embodiment, this is referred to as UL pre-encoder report frame 405, wherein each of UL pre-encoder configuration frames 305, 405 contains at least a portion of one or more UL pre-encoder reports from each of one or more non-AP sites 120a-c. Similarly, each of the non-AP sites 120a-c is used to receive one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames 305, 405 from AP 110. As described in further detail below, Figure 3 The diagram illustrates a three-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process implemented by an AP 110 according to one embodiment and exemplary non-AP sites 120a-b according to one embodiment. Figure 4 A four-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process is illustrated, implemented by an AP 110 according to another embodiment and exemplary non-AP sites 120a-b according to another embodiment.

[0064] In addition, AP 110 is used to receive response frames from each of the non-AP sites 120a-c (in Figure 3 In the embodiments, this is referred to as block acknowledgment (BACK) frames 307a-b, in Figure 4 In the embodiment referred to as UPRS frames 407a-b), trigger frames 309 and 409 are sent to those non-AP sites 120a-c to initiate uplink beamforming data frame transmissions 311a-b and 411a-b based on one of one or more UL precoder reports received by the respective non-AP sites 120a-c, which have indicated to AP 110 that they have successfully received one or more corresponding UL precoder configuration frames 305 and 405.

[0065] As mentioned above, Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a three-stage uplink beamforming trigger-based PPDU process implemented by an AP 110 according to one embodiment and non-AP sites 120a-b according to one embodiment is shown. Figure 3 The three-stage uplink beamforming trigger-based PPDU process shown includes: the first stage, i.e., triggering the corresponding UL probe NDP 303a-b (similar to) by transmitting NDP request frame 301. Figure 2 The conventional process is shown in the first stage); the second stage, namely, the confirmed transmission of pre-encoder parameters (also referred to herein as UL pre-encoder reports) to non-AP sites 120a-b; and the third stage, namely, triggering the transmission of beamformed UL data frames 311a-b from non-AP sites 120a-b (which have successfully received the pre-encoder parameters).

[0066] More specifically, as mentioned above, in Figure 3In the second phase, AP 110 sends one or more UL precoder configuration frames to non-AP sites 120a-b in the form of a precoder transmission frame 305, wherein each UL precoder configuration frame 305 contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports (containing precoder parameters) for each non-AP site 120a-b. In response, each of the non-AP sites 120a-b sends a corresponding block acknowledgment frame 307a-b to AP 110. In one embodiment, the one or more UL precoder configuration frames in the form of a precoder transmission frame 305 may be sent to the non-AP sites 120a-b as an A-MPDU 305, which is acknowledged using block acknowledgment frames 307a-b. It may be advantageous to transmit precoder reports (i.e., parameters) for each of the non-AP sites 120a-b within the A-MPDU 305, since the size of a single precoder parameter report may be larger than the MPDU size. In other words, in one embodiment, a single uplink precoder report may span multiple MPDU segments. In another embodiment, AP 110 may transmit multiple UL precoder reports for each of the non-AP sites 120a-b, such that several precoder parameter reports can be transmitted in a single PPDU for use by the respective non-AP site 120a-b according to predefined instructions from AP 110 (in subsequent uplink beamforming transmission).

[0067] It should be understood that Figure 3 The three-stage uplink beamforming-based PPDU process (implemented according to one embodiment by AP110 and non-AP sites 120a-b) can be viewed as Figure 2 An extension of the two-stage process, enabling the extension to distinguish... Figure 3 The precoder parameter transmission to non-AP sites 120a-b in the second phase and Figure 3 The third phase involves the transmission of the triggered beamformed UL MU data. In this way, AP 110 can verify the receipt of the UL pre-encoder report before triggering beamformed UL MU data from the relevant non-AP sites 120a-b (otherwise, AP 110 should not trigger beamformed UL data frames from such non-AP sites 120a-b for which the UL pre-encoder report has not yet been acknowledged). As described above, Figure 3The three-stage process may be particularly beneficial when the pre-encoder parameter report (due to its large size) is segmented into several MPDUs. In this case, it is crucial to ensure that all segments of the pre-encoder parameter have been successfully received by the corresponding non-AP site 120a-b before triggering the beamformed UL MU data from that non-AP site 120a-b. Even when the pre-encoder parameter report is small (and therefore not segmented), it is still beneficial to ensure that the pre-encoder parameter has been successfully received by the corresponding non-AP site 120a-b before triggering the beamformed UL MU data from that non-AP site 120a-b (otherwise, the non-AP site 120a-b may not be equipped with the pre-encoder parameter when triggered).

[0068] It should be understood that, due to the current A-MPDU context rules defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard framework, the use of block acknowledgment frames 307a-b as the acknowledgment mechanism for A-MPDU 305 may be limited, as this A-MPDU includes multiple management frames requesting an immediate response. According to the A-MPDU context rules defining the frame content that can be aggregated in an A-MPDU, only a single management frame requesting an immediate ACK response is allowed to be aggregated in an A-MPDU unless the subtype of the management frame is "no acknowledgment action". Furthermore, the minimum buffer size typically supported in block acknowledgment protocols is a 32-bit bitmap, which may be inefficient for segmented precoder parameter reports (up to 8 segments) or multiple precoder parameter reports (up to 4 different reports for each of the non-AP site 120a-b).

[0069] Figure 4 The illustrated embodiment addresses at least some of these problems. The figure shows a four-stage uplink beamforming-based PPDU process. This will be described in more detail below. Figure 4 The embodiments provide a reliable mechanism (according to the current A-MPDU context rules) for receiving the reception status of a PPDU405 containing an aggregated management frame carrying a UL pre-encoder report. More specifically, in Figure 4 In the first stage of the four-stage uplink beamforming-based PPDU process, AP 110 sends an NDP request trigger frame 401 to non-AP sites 120a-b to trigger the non-AP sites 120a-b to send corresponding UL probe NDPs 403a-b. Figure 4 In the second stage of the four-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process, AP110 sends a PPDU containing pre-encoder parameters to non-AP sites 120a-b in the form of a UL pre-encoder report frame 405. For example... Figure 4 As shown, in one embodiment, one or more UL pre-encoder report frames 405 may be frames of the "no acknowledgement action" type. Subsequently, in Figure 4 In the third stage of the four-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process, AP 110 sends a UPRS polling trigger frame 406 to non-AP sites 120a-b to trigger a response from each of the non-AP sites 120a-b using corresponding UPRS frames 407a-b, requesting the transmission of a UL precoder report status frame from each of the non-AP sites 120a-b. As described in more detail below, in one embodiment, each of the UPRS frames 407a-b is defined as indicating a retransmission status or reception status for each of the non-AP sites 120a-b that has not received a UL precoder configuration frame. Finally, Figure 4 The fourth stage of the four-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process (similar to the fourth stage of the four-stage uplink beamforming data frame transmission process) Figure 3 In the third phase of the process, AP 110 sends a trigger frame 409 to non-AP sites 120a-b (which have indicated to AP 110 via UPRS frames 407a-b that they have successfully received one or more corresponding UL precoder configuration frames 405) to initiate uplink beamforming data frame transmission 411a-b of the corresponding non-AP site 120a-b based on one of one or more UL precoder reports, which contain precoder parameters received from AP 110 as part of one or more precoder configuration frames 405.

[0070] It should be understood that, with Figure 3 Compared to the previous embodiment, Figure 4 The illustrated embodiment provides a further distinction between the transmission and acknowledgment of precoder parameter report transmission and report reception. As described above, in one embodiment, the UL Precoder Report (UPR) may be part of a management frame 405 of the "no acknowledgment action" subtype, allowing it to be transmitted within an A-MPDU. In one embodiment, the A-MPDU 405 may also contain a combination of data and control frames. It should be further understood that... Figure 4 The illustrated embodiment conforms to the current A-MPDU context rules.

[0071] Figure 5a and Figure 5b Schematic diagrams are shown of different embodiments of the Uplink Precoder Report Status (UPRS) set information element format used in UPRS frames 407a-b exchanged between non-AP sites 120a-b and AP 110. Figure 6 An example of the complete UPRS frames 407a-b is shown.

[0072] Figure 5a and Figure 5bThe illustrated UPRS set information element represents a set of UPRS information fields 540. Each UPRS information field corresponds to a single uplink precoder report. Each UPRS information field indicates which uplink precoder report segments need to be retransmitted. For this purpose, UPRS information field 540 may include a precoder index subfield 541 (such as a 3-bit field for up to 8 precoders included in a single element). In one embodiment, the precoder index subfield 541 is included only if two or more precoder parameters are included in the UPRS information field 540. Furthermore, UPRS information field 540 may include a precoder report segment retransmission subfield 542a. In one embodiment, precoder report segment retransmission subfield 542a may include an 8-bit bitmap, where each bit set to (e.g.) 1 indicates a segment of precoder parameters that was not successfully received and therefore needs to be retransmitted by AP 110. Figure 5b In a variant, the precoder report segment receive subfield 542b may include an 8-bit bitmap where each bit set to (e.g.) 1 indicates a segment that has been successfully received by the precoder parameters and therefore does not need to be retransmitted by AP110. Figure 5a and Figure 5b As shown, one or more UPRS information fields 540 may be part of UPRS set element 500. In addition to one or more UPRS information fields 540, UPRS set element 500 may include element ID 510, element ID extension 520, and length 530.

[0073] As mentioned above, Figure 6 An embodiment of UPRS frames 407a-b transmitted from non-AP sites 120a-b to AP 110 is illustrated. In one embodiment, UPRS frames 407a-b are management frames having a frame header 610, a frame body 620, and an FCS element 630. The frame subtype of UPRS frames 407a-b can be "unacknowledged action" and the action category can be "UHR protected action" (as defined in fields 621 and 623 of the frame body 620). Furthermore, the frame body 620 of UPRS frames 407a-b may include... Figure 5a and Figure 5bThe diagram shows UPRS set information element 500 and UPRS control field 625. In one embodiment, UPRS control field 625 may include a no-retransmission subfield 625a corresponding to all UL precoder reports for the respective non-AP sites 120a-b. In one embodiment, if no-retransmission subfield 625a is set to 1, UPRS set element 500 may not exist. Furthermore, UPRS control field 625 may include a single precoder subfield 625b. In one embodiment, if single precoder subfield 625b is set to 1, precoder index subfield 541 may be excluded from each UPRS information field in UPRS set element 500. Additionally, UPRS control field 625 may include one or more reserved bits 625c.

[0074] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a UPRS polling trigger frame 406 exchanged between AP 110 and non-AP sites 120a-b according to one embodiment. This UPRS polling trigger frame is used to receive information from non-AP sites 120a-b regarding the reception status of UL pre-encoder reports. The UPRS polling trigger frame 406 includes a user information list field 760 that includes a subset of all non-AP sites 120a-c included in previous transmissions of one or more UL pre-encoder reports 405 made by AP 110. In one embodiment, the trigger-related user information portion 761a may include a list of UPRS information fields requiring retransmission (e.g., by setting 1 in the corresponding segment index). Figure 7 As shown, in one embodiment, the UPRS polling trigger frame 406 may further include one or more of the following elements / fields: frame control 710; duration 720; receiver address (RA) 730; transmitter address (TA) 740; public information 750 with the subfield "trigger-related public information" 751; padding 770; and / or FCS 780.

[0075] In another embodiment, the UPRS polling trigger frame 406 is defined for requesting feedback in a multi-link operation (MLO). In the case of MLO, the UPRS polling TF 406 may poll the following states of the UL precoder report 405: the state of the UL precoder report 405 transmitted on the same link (on which the UPRS polling TF 406 is transmitted); and / or the state of the UL precoder report 405 transmitted on other links for non-AP sites attached to the same non-AP MLD (i.e., the MLD to which the receiving non-AP site is attached). For example, the UPRS polling TF 406 is transmitted by AP 110 on a 6 GHz link, and it includes a request for the most recent state of the UL precoder report 405 transmitted on both the 6 GHz and 5 GHz links (from a non-AP site attached to the same non-AP MLD).

[0076] The following will describe Figure 3 Some other variations of the embodiments, wherein block acknowledgment frames 307a-b are used as an immediate response mechanism. In one embodiment, a predefined buffer size can be defined for aggregate management frames requiring immediate acknowledgment, the buffer size being independent of the buffer size for data frame acknowledgment negotiation. In other words, as described below... Figure 3 Other variations of the illustrated embodiment are based on extensions of the current A-MPDU context rules of the aggregated action management frame. For these variations, a UL Precoder Report (UPR) 305 can be carried in the management frame of the "Action" subtype.

[0077] Therefore, in one embodiment, the A-MPDU context rules can be extended to include UHR action frames. For example, a new context, "UHR Ack-Enabled Multi-TID Immediate Response," can be added. If UHR action frames are assigned subsequent sequence numbers (SNs), they can be aggregated in the A-MPDU. For example, "UL Precoder Report Frame" 305 can be designated as a UHR action frame. Each of the non-AP sites 120a-c can support up to 32 consecutive MPDUs of UHR action frames. Therefore, for example, a single buffer size of 32 bits can be supported.

[0078] Figure 8 A schematic diagram is shown of multi-STA (M-STA) block acknowledgment frames 307a-b exchanged between non-AP sites 120a-b and AP 110 according to one embodiment. It should be understood that... Figure 8The block acknowledgment frames 307a-b shown are modified M-STA block acknowledgment frames. To support acknowledgment of UHR action frames within the A-MPDU, the following modifications can be made compared to the traditional M-STA block acknowledgment frame format. For example, by setting the acknowledgment type field to value 0 and the TID field to value 13 or 15, an indication of the corresponding bitmap is added to the AID TID information subfield 862. A single block acknowledgment bitmap size can be supported, for example, a bitmap with 32 bits (i.e., 4 octets). Figure 8 As shown, Multi-STA (M-STA) block acknowledgment frames 307a-b may include one or more of the following elements / fields: Frame Control 810; Duration 820; Receiver Address (RA) 830; Transmitter Address (TA) 840; BA Control 850; BA Information 860; and / or FCS 870. BA Information 860 may include an information field 861 for each AID, TID tuple, which includes an AID TID information subfield 862, Block Acknowledgment Initiation Sequence Control 863, and Block Acknowledgment Bitmap 864. The AID TID information subfield 862 may include AID 11 862a, Acknowledgment Type 862b, and TID 862c.

[0079] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a modified compressed block acknowledgment frame format 307a-b exchanged between non-AP sites 120a-b and AP 110 according to one embodiment is shown. To support acknowledgment of UHR action frames within the A-MPDU, the following modifications can be made compared to the conventional compressed block acknowledgment frame format: An indication of the corresponding bitmap can be added to the BA control field 950 (e.g., by setting the BA type field to the value "compressed" and setting the TID_INFO field 957 to the value 13 or 15). A reduced block acknowledgment bitmap size 962 can be supported, for example, a bitmap with 32 bits (i.e., 4 octets). Figure 9 As shown, compressed block acknowledgment frames 307a-b may include one or more of the following elements / fields: frame control 910; duration 920; receiver address (RA) 930; transmitter address (TA) 940; BA control 950; BA information 960; and / or FCS 970. BA control 950 may include one or more reserved bits 951, BA type 952, multiple reserved bits 953, no reserved memory 954, memory configuration tag 955, management acknowledgment 956, and the TID_INFO field 957 mentioned above. BA information 960 may include block acknowledgment initiation sequence control 961 and block acknowledgment bitmap 962.

[0080] Figure 10A flowchart illustrating the steps of a method 1000 for operating an AP 110 according to one embodiment is shown. Method 1000 includes step 1001: sending one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames 305, 405 to non-AP sites 120a-b, wherein, as described above, each of the UL pre-encoder configuration frames 305, 405 contains at least a portion of a UL pre-encoder report from each of the non-AP sites 120a-b. Furthermore, after receiving a corresponding response frame 307a-b, 407a-b from each of the non-AP sites 120a-b, method 1000 further includes step 1003: sending trigger frames 309, 409 to the non-AP sites 120a-b to initiate beamforming uplink data frame transmissions 311a-b, 411a-b based on one of the one or more UL pre-encoder reports received by the respective non-AP sites 120a-b, which have indicated to AP 110 that they have successfully received the corresponding one or more UL pre-encoder configuration frames 305, 405.

[0081] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating the steps of a method 1100 for operating corresponding non-AP sites 120a-b according to one embodiment is shown. Method 1100 includes step 1101: receiving one or more UL precoder configuration frames 305, 405 from AP 110, wherein, as described above, each of the UL precoder configuration frames 305, 405 contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from non-AP sites 120a-b. Furthermore, after transmitting response messages 307a-b, 407a-b indicating successful reception of one or more UL precoder configuration frames 305, 405 to AP 110, method 1100 further includes step 1103: receiving trigger frames 309, 409 from AP 110 to initiate beamforming data frame transmissions 311a-b, 411a-b based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received from AP 110.

[0082] It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are able to distinguish between the transmission of precoder parameter reports and the acknowledgment of report reception. UL Precoder Reports (UPRs) can be carried in management frames of the "No Acknowledgment Action" subtype. For several embodiments disclosed herein, it is not necessary to change the current A-MPDU context rules. A new trigger frame is disclosed for requesting UL Precoder Report (UPR) status from one or more non-AP sites 120a-b. The embodiments disclosed herein define a new format for a single UL Precoder Report (UPR). The embodiments disclosed herein provide additional options for extending the A-MPDU context rules for aggregate action management frames. A modified format for block acknowledgment frame variants is disclosed so that these frames can be used as an immediate response mechanism.

[0083] Those skilled in the art should understand that “blocks” (“units”) in the various drawings (methods and apparatuses) represent or describe the functionality of embodiments of the present invention (and are not necessarily independent “units” in hardware or software), thereby equally describing the functionality or features (unit = step) of apparatus embodiments and method embodiments.

[0084] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the described apparatus embodiments are merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is only a logical functional division, and other division methods may be used in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be implemented by using some interfaces. Indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units can be implemented electronically, mechanically, or otherwise.

[0085] The units described as individual components may or may not be physically separate; the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, and may be located in the same location or distributed among multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment according to actual needs.

[0086] Furthermore, the functional units in the embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

Claims

1. An access point (AP) (110) for communicating in a WLAN network (100) with one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) associated with the AP (110), characterized in that, The AP (110) is used for: Send one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames (305, 405) to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), wherein each UL precoder configuration frame (305, 405) contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c); After receiving a response frame (307a-b, 407a-b) from each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), a trigger frame (309, 409) is sent to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) to initiate beamforming uplink data frame transmission (311a-b, 411a-b) based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received by the non-AP sites (120a-c), which have indicated to the AP (110) that they have successfully received the corresponding one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305, 405).

2. The AP (110) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The AP (110) is used to generate one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305, 405) for each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) based on the UL probe NDP (303a-b, 403a-b) received from each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c).

3. The AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, In response to receiving the beamformed data frame transmission (311a-b, 411a-b) from each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), the AP (110) is configured to send an acknowledgment frame (313, 413) to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c).

4. The AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, Each of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (405) is a management frame of the "no acknowledgment action" subtype.

5. The AP (110) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The AP (110) is configured to transmit an Uplink Precoder Report Status (UPRS) polling trigger frame (406) to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) after transmitting the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (405), in order to request the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) to send the response frame (407a-b) to the AP (110) in the form of an UPRS frame (407a-b) to indicate the reception status of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (405).

6. The AP (110) according to claim 5, characterized in that, Each UPRS frame (407a-b) includes a UPRS set element (500), wherein the UPRS set element (500) includes one or more UPRS information fields (540), wherein each UPRS information field (540) corresponds to a UL precoder report having one or more UL precoder segments, and wherein each UPRS information field (540) indicates the precoder index to which the UL precoder report belongs and which of the one or more UL precoder segments needs to be retransmitted.

7. The AP (110) according to claim 6, characterized in that, Each UPRS information field (540) includes a precoder index subfield (541) for indicating the precoder and / or a status bitmap subfield (542a-b) containing a status bitmap, wherein the status bitmap indicates the reception status of the one or more UL precoder segments.

8. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that, Each UPRS frame (407a-b) is a management frame of the "No Acknowledgment Action" subtype.

9. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that, Each UPRS frame (407a-b) is assigned the action category "UHR Protected Action".

10. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that, Each UPRS frame (407a-b) includes a UPRS control field (625), wherein the UPRS control field (625) includes a no-retransmission subfield (625a), wherein the no-retransmission subfield (625a) corresponds to all of one or more UL precoder reports of the corresponding non-AP site (120a-c).

11. The AP (110) according to claim 10, characterized in that, If the no-retransmission subfield (625a) contains the value 1, then the uplink precoder report state set element (500) does not exist.

12. The AP (110) according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The UPRS control field (625) includes a single precoder subfield (625b), wherein if the single precoder subfield (625b) contains a value of 1, the precoder index subfield (625a) is excluded from each UPRS information field (540) in the information element of the uplink precoder report status set (500).

13. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 5 to 12, characterized in that, The UPRS polling trigger frame (406) includes a user information list field (760), wherein the user information list field (760) includes an indication of at least a subset of one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) included in previous transmissions of one or more UL precoder reports (405) made to the AP (110).

14. The AP (110) according to claim 13, characterized in that, The UPRS polling trigger frame (406) includes a trigger-related user information section (761a), wherein the trigger-related user information section (761a) includes a list of UPRS information fields indicating which UL precoder configuration frame request retransmission status is being requested.

15. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 5 to 14, characterized in that, The AP (110) is used to operate in a multi-link operation (MLO) mode, wherein in the MLO mode, the UPRS polling trigger frame (406) is used to: poll the reception status or retransmission status of one or more UL precoder configuration frames (405) transmitted on the same link as the UPRS polling trigger frame (406), and poll the reception status or retransmission status of one or more other UL precoder configuration frames transmitted on one or more other links.

16. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, In response to sending the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), the AP (110) is configured to receive each block acknowledgement (BA) frame (307a-b) from the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), wherein each BA frame (307a-b) indicates whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) have been successfully received by the non-AP site (120a-c).

17. The AP (110) according to claim 16, characterized in that, Each of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) is a management frame of the "Action" subtype.

18. The AP (110) according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The UL pre-encoder configuration frame is transmitted in the A-MPDU and includes one or more UHR action frames.

19. The AP (110) according to claim 18, characterized in that, The AP (110) is used to aggregate the UHR action frame when the UHR action frame is assigned a subsequent SN value.

20. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that, The BA frames (307a-b) include bitmaps (864, 962) indicating whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) have been successfully received by the non-AP site (120a-c).

21. The AP (110) according to claim 20, characterized in that, The BA frame (307a-b) includes an AID TID information subfield (862), wherein the AID TID information subfield (862) indicates a bitmap in the BA frame (307a-b) corresponding to a receive action management frame.

22. The AP (110) according to claim 21, characterized in that, Instructions for the bitmap corresponding to the received action management frame include setting the acknowledgment type subfield to 0 and the TID subfield to 13 or 15.

23. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that, The BA frames (307a-b) indicate the presence of a bitmap corresponding to the receive action management frame by setting the TID_INFO subfield to 13 or 15.

24. The AP (110) according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that, The bitmap is 32 bits in size.

25. A method (1000) for operating an access point (AP) (110) for communicating in a WLAN network (100) with one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) associated with said AP (110), characterized in that, The method (1000) includes: Send (1001) one or more uplink (UL) pre-encoder configuration frames (305, 405) to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), wherein each UL pre-encoder configuration frame (305, 405) contains at least a portion of the UL pre-encoder report of each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c); After receiving a response frame (307a-b, 407a-b) from each of the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c), a trigger frame (309, 409) (1003) is sent to the one or more non-AP sites (120a-c) to initiate beamforming data frame transmission (311a-b, 411a-b) based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received by the non-AP sites (120a-c), which have indicated to the AP (110) that they have successfully received the corresponding one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305, 405).

26. A non-access point (non-AP) station (120a-c) for communicating with an associated AP (110) in a WLAN network (100), characterized in that, The non-AP site (120a-c) is used for: Receive one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames (305, 405) from the AP (110), wherein each UL precoder configuration frame (305, 405) contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from the non-AP site (120a-c); After transmitting a response frame (307a-b, 407a-b) to the AP (110) indicating successful receipt of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305, 405), a trigger frame (309, 409) is received from the AP (110) to initiate uplink beamforming data frame transmission (311a-b, 411a-b) based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received from the AP (110).

27. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 26, characterized in that, Each of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305, 405) is a management frame of the "no acknowledgement action" subtype.

28. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that, The non-AP site (120a-c) is used to send an UPRS frame (407a-b) to the AP (110) in response to receiving an Uplink Precoder Report Status (UPRS) polling trigger frame (406) from the AP (110) to indicate the reception status of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (405).

29. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 28, characterized in that, The UPRS frame (407a-b) includes a UPRS set element, wherein the UPRS set element includes one or more UPRS information fields (540), wherein each UPRS information field corresponds to a UL precoder report having one or more UL precoder segments, and wherein each UPRS information field includes a precoder index subfield (541) for indicating which precoder the UL precoder report belongs to and a status bitmap subfield containing a status bitmap (542a), wherein the status bitmap indicates which UL precoder report segment among the one or more UL precoder segments needs to be retransmitted.

30. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 29, characterized in that, Each UPRS information field includes a precoder index subfield (541) for indicating the precoder and / or a status bitmap subfield containing a status bitmap (542b), wherein the status bitmap indicates the reception status of the one or more UL precoder segments.

31. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that, The UPRS frames (407a-b) are management frames of the "no acknowledgment action" subtype.

32. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that, The UPRS frames (407a-b) are assigned the action category "UHR Protected Action".

33. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to any one of claims 28 to 32, characterized in that, The UPRS frame (407a-b) includes a UPRS control field, wherein the UPRS control field includes a no-retransmission subfield, which corresponds to all of one or more UL precoder reports from the non-AP site (120a-c).

34. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 33, characterized in that, If the no-retransmission subfield contains the value 1, then the uplink precoder report state set element does not exist.

35. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that, The UPRS control field includes a single precoder subfield, wherein if the single precoder subfield contains a value of 1, the precoder index subfield is excluded from each UPRS information field in the information element of the uplink precoder report status set.

36. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to any one of claims 28 to 35, characterized in that, The UPRS polling trigger frame (406) includes a user information list field, wherein the user information list field includes an indication of the non-AP site (120a-c).

37. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 36, characterized in that, The UPRS polling trigger frame (406) includes a trigger-related user information portion, wherein the trigger-related user information portion includes a list of UPRS information fields indicating which UL precoder configuration frame (405) requests the retransmission status.

38. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 26, characterized in that, In response to receiving one or more UL precoder configuration frames (405) from the AP (110), the non-AP station (120a-c) sends a block acknowledgement (BA) frame (307a-b) to the AP (110), wherein the BA frame (307a-b) indicates whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) have been successfully received by the non-AP station (120a-c).

39. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 38, characterized in that, Each of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) is a management frame of the "Action" subtype.

40. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 38 or 39, characterized in that, The BA frames (307a-b) include bitmaps indicating whether the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305) have been successfully received by the non-AP sites (120a-c).

41. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 40, characterized in that, The BA frame (307a-b) includes an AID TID information subfield, wherein the AID TID information subfield indicates a bitmap of the action management frame in the BA frame (307a-b).

42. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to claim 41, characterized in that, The instructions for the bitmap of the action management frame include setting the confirmation type subfield to 0 and the TID subfield to 13 or 15.

43. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to any one of claims 38 to 42, characterized in that, The BA frames (307a-b) indicate the presence of a bitmap for the action management frame by setting the TID_INFO subfield to 13 or 15.

44. The non-AP site (120a-c) according to any one of claims 38 to 43, characterized in that, The bitmap size is 32 bits.

45. A method (1100) for operating a non-access point (non-AP) site (120a-c) for communicating with an associated AP (110) in a WLAN network (100), characterized in that, The method (1100) includes: Receive (1101) one or more uplink (UL) precoder configuration frames (305, 405) from the AP (110), wherein each UL precoder configuration frame (305, 405) contains at least a portion of one or more UL precoder reports from the non-AP site (120a-c); After transmitting a response frame (307a-b, 407a-b) to the AP (110) indicating successful receipt of the one or more UL precoder configuration frames (305, 405), a trigger frame (309, 409) is received from the AP (110) to initiate beamforming data frame transmission (311a-b, 411a-b) based on one of the one or more UL precoder reports received from the AP (110).

46. ​​A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer-readable storage medium for storing program code, which, when executed by a computer or processor, causes the computer or processor to perform the method (1000) according to claim 25 or the method (1100) according to claim 45.

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