Communication apparatus and communication method for control signaling

Abstract

To provide a communication apparatus and a communication method for control signaling.SOLUTION: The communication apparatus contains: a receiver that receives a trigger frame containing a user field containing a signaling that indicates an association identifier 12 (AID12) sub field and a multi resource unit; and a circuit that decodes a trigger base physical layer protocol data unit (TB-PPDU) that is received from a station specified by the AID 12 sub field by using the multi resource unit. The trigger frame contains a first type user field and a second type user field. The second type user field does not contain one part of user specific information contained in the first type user field.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication apparatus and a communication method for control signaling, and more particularly to a communication apparatus and a communication method for control signaling in an extremely high throughput wireless local area network (EHT WLAN). [Background technology]

[0002] In standardizing the next generation of wireless local area networks (WLANs), the IEEE 802.11 working group is discussing a new radio access technology that is backward compatible with IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax technologies, which is called extremely high throughput (EHT) WLAN.

[0003] To provide significant peak throughput and capacity increases over IEEE 802.11ax high efficiency (HE) WLANs, EHT WLANs are expected to support multi-band operation, increasing the maximum channel bandwidth from 160 MHz to 320 MHz and the maximum number of spatial streams from 8 to 16. They are also proposed to allow multiple contiguous or non-contiguous resource units (RUs) to be assigned to one communications device to improve spectral efficiency over 11ax HE WLANs.

[0004] However, a communication device and a communication method for control signaling, particularly an efficient signaling support for allocating one or more RUs to one communication device in the context of EHT WLAN, has not been discussed so far.

[0005] Therefore, what is needed is a communication apparatus and method that provides a viable technical solution for control signaling in the context of EHT WLANs.Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the background of this disclosure. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing a communication apparatus and method for control signaling in an EHT WLAN context. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication device comprising: a circuit that generates, in operation, a transmission signal including a plurality of user fields and a data field including a plurality of resource units; and a transmitting unit that transmits, in operation, the generated transmission signal, wherein one transmission scheme is applied to one or more resource units among the plurality of resource units allocated to other communication devices, one or more user fields among the plurality of user fields are addressed to the other communication device, a number of the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication device is equal to a number of the one or more resource units allocated to the other communication device, and the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication device each correspond to the one or more resource units allocated to the other communication device.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a communications device comprising: a receiving unit that, in operation, receives a signal including a plurality of user fields and a data field including a plurality of resource units; and a circuit that, in operation, processes the received signal, wherein a transmission scheme is applied to one or more resource units among the plurality of resource units assigned to the communications device; one or more user fields among the plurality of user fields are addressed to the communications device; a number of the one or more user fields addressed to the communications device is equal to a number of the one or more resource units assigned to the communications device; and each of the one or more user fields addressed to the communications device corresponds to the one or more resource units assigned to the communications device.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication method for generating a transmission signal including a plurality of user fields and a data field including a plurality of resource units, and transmitting the generated transmission signal, wherein one transmission scheme is applied to one or more resource units among the plurality of resource units assigned to other communication devices, one or more user fields among the plurality of user fields are addressed to the other communication device, a number of the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication device is equal to a number of the one or more resource units assigned to the other communication device, and the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication device each correspond to the one or more resource units assigned to the other communication device.

[0010] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0011] Further advantages and benefits of an embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some of the embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be better understood and readily appreciated by those skilled in the art from the following written description, given by way of example only, in conjunction with the drawings in which: [Figure 1A] 1 is a schematic diagram of uplink and downlink single-user (SU) MIMO communication between an access point (AP) and a terminal (STA) in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wireless network. [Figure 1B] 1 is a schematic diagram of downlink Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) communication between an AP and multiple STAs in a MIMO wireless network. [Figure 1C] 1 is a schematic diagram of uplink MU-MIMO communication between an AP and multiple STAs in a MIMO wireless network. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a format of an EHT MU physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used for downlink multi-user (MU) communication between an AP and multiple STAs in an EHT WLAN. [Figure 2B] 1 is a table showing how the number of EHT Signal B (EHT-SIG-B) content channels depends on the bandwidth and the value of L in various embodiments. [Figure 2C] FIG. 13 illustrates the placement of one or two EHT-SIG-B content channels in a 40 MHz EHT MU PPDU. [Figure 2D]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the arrangement of two EHT-SIG-B content channels in an 80 MHz EHT MU PPDU. [Figure 2E] FIG. 13 illustrates the arrangement of two EHT-SIG-B content channels in an 80+80 MHz or 160 MHz EHT MU PPDU. [Figure 2F] FIG. 13 illustrates the placement of two EHT-SIG-B content channels in a 160+160 MHz or 320 MHz EHT MU PPDU. [Figure 2G] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a format of an EHT trigger-based (TB) PPDU used for uplink MU communication between an AP and multiple STAs in an EHT WLAN. [Figure 3A] 1 illustrates a schematic example of a communication device, which may be implemented as an AP or a STA, and may be configured for control signaling according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a communication method according to various embodiments. [Figure 4A] 1 is a flow chart illustrating downlink MU communication between an AP and multiple STAs using an EHT MU PPDU, according to various embodiments. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 illustrates the EHT-SIG-B field of the EHT MU PPDU in more detail. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for a received EHT MU PPDU according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of processing a received EHT MU PPDU according to another embodiment; [Figure 7A] 1 is a flowchart illustrating uplink MU communication between an AP and multiple STAs using an EHT trigger frame according to various embodiments. [Figure 7B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a format of an EHT trigger frame. [Figure 7C]FIG. 2 shows the user information field of the EHT trigger frame in more detail. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of processing a received EHT trigger frame according to one embodiment. [Figure 9A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Type 1 user information field of an EHT trigger frame. [Figure 9B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Type 2 user information field of an EHT trigger frame. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of processing a received EHT trigger frame according to another embodiment. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication device, for example, an AP, according to various embodiments. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a communication device, for example, a STA, according to various embodiments.

[0013] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures, block diagrams or flow charts may be exaggerated relative to other elements in order to facilitate an accurate understanding of the present embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which like reference numbers and letters indicate like or equivalent elements.

[0015] In the following paragraphs, some example embodiments are described, with particular reference to an access point (AP) and a terminal (STA) for uplink or downlink control signaling in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless network.

[0016] In IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology, a terminal, also called a STA, is a communication device that supports the use of the 802.11 protocol. Based on the definition in IEEE 802.11-2016, a STA is any device that includes an IEEE 802.11 compliant medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to a wireless medium (WM).

[0017] For example, an STA may be a laptop, a desktop personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an access point in a wireless local area network (WLAN) environment, or a Wi-Fi phone. An STA may be fixed or mobile. In a WLAN environment, the terms "STA," "wireless client," "user," "user device," and "node" are often used interchangeably.

[0018] Similarly, an AP, also called a wireless access point (WAP) in IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology, is a communication device that allows STAs in a WLAN to connect to a wired network. APs typically connect to a router (through the wired network) as standalone devices, but may also be integrated or subsumed by the router.

[0019] As mentioned above, a STA in a WLAN can act as an AP in some cases, and vice versa. This is because a communication device in IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology may include both STA hardware components and AP hardware components. In this way, the communication device can switch between STA mode and AP mode based on actual WLAN conditions and / or requirements.

[0020] In a MIMO wireless network, "multiple" refers to multiple antennas used simultaneously for transmission and multiple antennas used simultaneously for reception on a wireless channel. In this regard, "multiple-input" refers to multiple transmit antennas that input wireless signals to a channel, and "multiple-output" refers to multiple receive antennas that receive wireless signals from the channel and feed them into a receiver. For example, in an N×M MIMO network system, N is the number of transmit antennas and M is the number of receive antennas, where N and M may or may not be equal. For simplicity, the respective numbers of transmit and receive antennas will not be further described in this disclosure.

[0021] In a MIMO wireless network, single-user (SU) and multi-user (MU) communications may be deployed for communication between communication devices such as APs and STAs. MIMO wireless networks have advantages such as spatial multiplexing and spatial diversity, which achieve higher data rates and robustness by using multiple spatial streams. According to various embodiments, the term "spatial stream" may be used interchangeably with the term "space-time stream (or STS)."

[0022] 1A is a schematic diagram of SU-MIMO communication 100 between an AP 102 and a STA 104 in a MIMO wireless network. As shown, the MIMO wireless network may include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 104, STA 106, etc.). In SU-MIMO communication 100, the AP 102 transmits multiple space-time streams using multiple antennas (e.g., four antennas as shown in FIG. 1A), with all space-time streams directed to one communication device, namely, the STA 104. For simplicity, the multiple space-time streams directed to the STA 104 are shown as a grouped data transmission arrow 108 directed to the STA 104.

[0023] SU-MIMO communication 100 can be configured to allow bidirectional transmission. As shown in FIG. 1A, in SU-MIMO communication 100, STA 104 transmits multiple space-time streams using multiple antennas (e.g., two antennas as shown in FIG. 1A) with all space-time streams directed to AP 102. For simplicity, the multiple space-time streams directed to AP 102 are shown as grouped data transmission arrow 110 directed to AP 102.

[0024] Thus, the SU-MIMO communications 100 shown in FIG. 1A enables both uplink and downlink SU transmissions in a MIMO wireless network.

[0025] 1B is a schematic diagram of downlink MU-MIMO communication 112 between an AP 114 and multiple STAs 116, 118, 120 in a MIMO wireless network. The MIMO wireless network may include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 116, STA 118, STA 120, etc.). In the downlink MU-MIMO communication 112, the AP 114 uses multiple antennas to simultaneously transmit multiple streams to the STAs 116, 118, 120 in the network through spatial mapping or precoding techniques. For example, two space-time streams can be directed to the STA 118, another space-time stream can be directed to the STA 116, and yet another space-time stream can be directed to the STA 120. For simplicity, the two space-time streams directed to STA 118 are shown as grouped data transmission arrow 124, the space-time stream directed to STA 116 is shown as data transmission arrow 122, and the space-time stream directed to STA 120 is shown as data transmission arrow 126.

[0026] 1C is a schematic diagram of uplink MU-MIMO communication 128 between an AP 130 and multiple STAs 132, 134, 136 in a MIMO wireless network. The MIMO wireless network may include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 132, STA 134, STA 136, etc.). In uplink MU-MIMO communication 128, the STAs 132, 134, 136 simultaneously transmit respective streams to an AP 130 in the network using respective antennas through spatial mapping or precoding techniques. For example, two space-time streams may be directed from the STA 134 to the AP 130, another space-time stream may be directed from the STA 132 to the AP 130, and yet another space-time stream may be directed from the STA 136 to the AP 130. For simplicity, the two space-time streams directed from STA 134 to AP 130 are shown as grouped data transmission arrow 140, the space-time stream directed from STA 132 to AP 130 is shown as data transmission arrow 138, and the space-time stream directed from STA 136 to AP 130 is shown as data transmission arrow 142.

[0027] Due to the packet / physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU)-based transmission and distributed MAC scheme in 802.11 WLAN, there is no time scheduling (e.g., periodic time slot allocation like TDMA for data transmission) in 802.11 WLAN. Frequency and spatial resource scheduling is performed on a packet-by-packet basis, i.e., resource allocation information is on a PPDU-by-PPDU basis.

[0028] In 11ax HE WLAN, only one resource unit (RU) can be assigned to a STA. With the increase in maximum channel bandwidth from 160 MHz to 320 MHz, the increase in the maximum number of spatial streams from 8 to 16, and the enhanced support for multi-band operation in EHT WLAN, the objective of the present disclosure is to provide a communication device and a communication method for control signaling that enable multiple contiguous or non-contiguous RUs to be assigned to a STA in order to improve the spectral efficiency of EHT WLAN compared to 11ax HE WLAN, and to fully overcome the existing problems.

[0029] When the MIMO wireless network is very high throughput, such as an EHT WLAN, the PPDU used for downlink MU transmissions (e.g., downlink Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) transmissions including MU-MIMO transmissions in one resource unit (RU) and downlink full-bandwidth MU-MIMO transmissions) may be referred to as the EHT MU PPDU 200 as shown in FIG. 2A, and the PPDU used for uplink MU transmissions (e.g., uplink OFDMA transmissions including MU-MIMO transmissions in one RU and uplink full-bandwidth MU-MIMO transmissions) may be referred to as the EHT TB PPDU 210 as shown in FIG. 2G.

[0030] 2A illustrates an example format of an EHT MU PPDU 200. It should be understood that if the IEEE 802.11 Working Group uses a new name for the next generation of ultra-high throughput WLANs instead of "EHT WLAN," the "EHT" prefix in the above fields will change accordingly. The EHT MU PPDU 200 may include a non-High Throughput Short Training Field (L-SFT), a non-High Throughput Long Training Field (L-LTF), a non-High Throughput SIGNAL (L-SIG) field, a Format Identification field (FIF) 202, an EHT Signal A (EHT-SIG-A) field 204, an EHT Signal B (EHT-SIG-B) field 206, an EHT Short Training Field (EHT-STF), an EHT Long Training Field (EHT-LTF), a data field 170, and a Packet Extension (PE) field. The FIF 202 is primarily used to identify the format of the EHT PPDU. As shown by arrow 204, the EHT-SIG-A field 204 contains information necessary to decode the EHT-SIG-B field 206, such as the EHT-SIG-B modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of EHT-SIG-B symbols. As shown by arrow 208, the EHT-SIG-B field 206 provides resource allocation information for OFDMA and MU-MIMO, allowing STAs to reference the corresponding resources used in the data field 210. The EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, data field, and PE fields may be grouped together as an EHT modulation field.The EHT-SIG-B field 206 includes (or consists of) common fields (if present) followed by user-specific fields, which together are referred to as the EHT-SIG-B content channel.

[0031] According to various embodiments, the EHT-SIG-B field 206 of the EHT MU PPDU 200 is coded separately for each L×20 MHz sub-channel (L=1 or 2). When the bandwidth is greater than 20 MHz, the EHT-SIG-B decoding performance is better for the EHT-SIG-B field with L=1 compared to the EHT-SIG-B field with L=2. This is because the channel estimation used to decode the EHT-SIG-B field is based on the L-LTF transmitted in the 20 MHz bandwidth. To decode the EHT-SIG-B field with L=2, channel estimation with interpolation is required, which may degrade the performance of decoding the EHT-SIG-B field with L=2. On the other hand, the EHT-SIG-B field with L=2 may have less EHT-SIG-B overhead compared to the EHT-SIG-B field with L=1, especially for larger bandwidths. Furthermore, if the STAs targeted by the EHT MU PPDU 200 include at least one STA operating at 20 MHz, then the EHT-SIG-B field with L=2 should not be used since it cannot be decoded by the STAs operating at 20 MHz. Thus, it is advantageous for the AP to determine the value of L at its own discretion and to include signaling in the EHT-SIG-A field of the EHT MU PPDU 200 to indicate whether L takes the value of 1 or 2.

[0032] FIG. 2B is a table showing how the number of EHT-SIG-B content channels depends on the bandwidth and the value of L in various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2B, if the bandwidth is 20 MHz, L can only be 1 since the EHT-SIG-B field is encoded every 20 MHz, resulting in only one EHT-SIG-B content channel. In an embodiment where the bandwidth is 40 MHz, a value of 1 or 2 can be assigned to L by the AP. If L is set to "1", then there will be two EHT-SIG-B content channels. If L is set to "2", then there will be only one EHT-SIG-B content channel. In an embodiment where the bandwidth is 80 MHz, 80+80 MHz, 160 MHz, 160+160 MHz, or 320 MHz, then there will be two EHT-SIG-B content channels, regardless of the value of L. This is described in more detail below.

[0033] FIG. 2C illustrates the placement of one or two EHT-SIG-B content channels in a 40 MHz EHT MU PPDU. The number of EHT-SIG-B content channels depends on the bandwidth and the value of L, as shown in FIG. 2B. The 40 MHz channel contains two 20 MHz subchannels. When L=1, there are two EHT-SIG-B content channels (i.e., EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1 and EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2), transmitted in the first and second 20 MHz subchannels, respectively. When L=2, there is only one EHT-SIG-B content channel.

[0034] FIG. 2D illustrates the placement of two EHT-SIG-B content channels (i.e., EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1 and EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2) in an 80 MHz EHT MU PPDU. For L=1, in an 80 MHz channel containing four 20 MHz subchannels, EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1 is duplicated and transmitted in the first and third 20 MHz subchannels, and EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2 is duplicated and transmitted in the second and fourth 20 MHz subchannels. For L=2, in an 80 MHz channel containing two 40 MHz subchannels, EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1 is transmitted in the first 40 MHz subchannel, and EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2 is transmitted in the second 40 MHz subchannel.

[0035] FIG. 2E illustrates the arrangement of two EHT-SIG-B content channels in an 80+80 MHz or 160 MHz EHT MU PPDU. For L=1, in an 80+80 MHz or 160 MHz channel with eight 20 MHz subchannels, EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 is duplicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth, and seventh 20 MHz subchannels, and EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 is duplicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth 20 MHz subchannels. For L=2, in an 80+80 MHz or 160 MHz channel with four 40 MHz subchannels, EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 is duplicated and transmitted in the first and third 40 MHz subchannels, and EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 is duplicated and transmitted in the second and fourth 40 MHz subchannels.

[0036] 2F shows the arrangement of two EHT-SIG-B content channels in a 160+160 MHz or 320 MHz EHT MU PPDU. For L=1, in a 160+160 MHz or 320 MHz channel containing 16 20 MHz subchannels, EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 is duplicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, and fifteenth 20 MHz subchannels, and EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 is duplicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, fourteenth, and sixteenth 20 MHz subchannels. For L=2, in a 160+160 MHz or 320 MHz channel containing eight 40 MHz subchannels, EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1 is duplicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth and seventh 40 MHz subchannels, and EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2 is duplicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth and eighth 40 MHz subchannels.

[0037] FIG. 2G illustrates an example of the format of an EHT TB PPDU 210. The EHT TB PPDU 210 has a similar structure to the EHT MU PPDU 200, but does not include the EHT-SIG-B field 206. The EHT TB PPDU 210 may include an L-SFT, an L-LTF, an L-SIG field, an FIF, an EHT-SIG-A field 212, an EHT-STF, an EHT-LTF, a data field 214, and a PE field. The EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, a data field 214, and a PE field may be grouped as an EHT modulation field. The EHT TB PPDU 210 is used in an EHT WLAN for uplink MU transmission in response to a frame transmitting trigger information. The frame transmitting trigger information may be an EHT trigger frame. Information required for uplink MU transmission from one or more STAs is transmitted by the frame requesting this transmission. In a typical transmission of the EHT TB PPDU 210 , information regarding the EHT-SIG-A is copied into the EHT-SIG-A field 212 of the EHT TB PPDU 210 from the frame carrying the previous trigger information.

[0038] The maximum number of spatial streams of 16, the maximum CBW of 320 MHz, and multi-band operation in an EHT WLAN can significantly increase the number of assignments and / or users that can be accommodated in an EHT TB PPDU. As a result, frames requesting EHT TB PPDU transmissions can have much higher signaling overhead than frames requesting HE TB PPDU transmissions. Apparatus and methods according to various embodiments can advantageously reduce the signaling overhead, especially when the bandwidth is greater than 20 MHz.

[0039] According to various embodiments, EHT WLANs support control signaling that allows multiple contiguous or non-contiguous resource units (RUs) to be assigned to a communication device.

[0040] 3A is a partially sectioned schematic diagram of a communication device 300 according to various embodiments. The communication device 300 can be implemented as an AP or a STA according to various embodiments.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 3A, the communication device 300 may include a circuit 314, at least one radio transmitter 302, at least one radio receiver 304, and at least one antenna 312 (for simplicity, only one antenna is depicted in Fig. 3A for illustration purposes). The circuit 314 may include at least one controller 306, which is used when performing the tasks it is designed to perform, including controlling communications with one or more other communication devices in a MIMO wireless network, with the aid of software and hardware. The circuit 314 may further include at least one transmit signal generator 308 and at least one receive signal processor 310. At least one control unit 306 may control at least one transmission signal generating unit 308 to generate a PPDU (e.g., an EHT MU PPDU or a PPDU including an EHT trigger frame when the communication device 300 is an AP, or an EHT TB PPDU when the communication device 300 is an STA) to be transmitted to one or more other communication devices via at least one wireless transmitting unit 302, and may also control at least one reception signal processing unit 310 to process a PPDU (e.g., an EHT TB PPDU when the communication device 300 is an AP, or an EHT MU PPDU or a PPDU including an EHT trigger frame when the communication device 300 is an STA) received from one or more other communication devices via at least one wireless receiving unit 304 under the control of at least one control unit 306. At least one transmission signal generating unit 308 and at least one reception signal processing unit 310 may be standalone modules of the communication device 300 that communicate with at least one control unit 306 for the above-mentioned functions, as shown in FIG. 3A. Alternatively, the at least one transmission signal generating unit 308 and the at least one reception signal processing unit 310 may be included in the at least one control unit 306. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the arrangement of these functional modules is flexible and can be changed according to actual needs and / or requirements.Data processing, storage, and other associated control devices may be provided on an appropriate circuit board and / or chipset. In various embodiments, in operation, the at least one wireless transmitter 302, the at least one wireless receiver 304, and the at least one antenna 312 may be controlled by the at least one controller 306.

[0042] In operation, the communication device 300 provides functions necessary for control signaling in downlink MU communication. For example, the communication device 300 may be an AP, and the circuit 314 (e.g., at least one transmission signal generating unit 308 of the circuit 314) in operation may generate a transmission signal (e.g., an EHT MU PPDU) including a plurality of user fields (e.g., a user field of a user-specific field in an EHT-SIG-B field of an EHT MU PPDU) and a data field (e.g., a data field of an EHT MU PPDU) including a plurality of RUs. In operation, the radio transmitter 302 may transmit the generated transmission signal, where one transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs among the multiple RUs that are assigned to other communication devices (e.g., STAs), where one or more user fields among the multiple user fields are addressed to the other communication devices, where the number of the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication devices is equal to the number of one or more RUs assigned to the other communication devices, and where the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication devices each correspond to one or more RUs assigned to the other communication devices. This allows multiple contiguous or non-contiguous RUs to be assigned to the other communication devices, advantageously enabling efficient signaling support and improving the spectral efficiency of EHT WLANs over 11ax HE WLANs.

[0043] The communication device 300 may be a STA, and the wireless receiving unit 304 may receive a transmission signal (e.g., EHT MU PPDU) including a plurality of user fields (e.g., a user field of a user-specific field in an EHT-SIG-B field of an EHT MU PPDU) and a data field (e.g., a data field in an EHT MU PPDU) including a plurality of RUs from another communication device (e.g., an AP). The circuit 314 (e.g., at least one receiving signal processing unit 310 of the circuit 314) may process the received transmission signal, such that one transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs assigned to the communication device (e.g., a STA) among the plurality of RUs, one or more user fields among the plurality of user fields are addressed to the communication device, the number of the one or more user fields addressed to the communication device is equal to the number of one or more RUs assigned to the communication device, and the one or more user fields addressed to the communication device respectively correspond to one or more RUs assigned to the communication device.

[0044] In operation, the communication device 300 provides a function required for control signaling in uplink MU communication. For example, the communication device 300 may be a STA, and the wireless receiver 304 may, in operation, receive a signal (e.g., an EHT trigger frame) including a plurality of user information fields (e.g., a user information field of a user information list field in an EHT trigger frame) from another communication device (e.g., an AP). The circuit 314 (e.g., at least one transmission signal generator 308 of the circuit 314) may, in operation, generate a transmission signal (e.g., an EHT TB PPDU) including a data field (e.g., an EHT TB PPDU) including a plurality of RUs. When in operation, the radio transmitting unit 302 may transmit the generated transmission signal to the other communication device, wherein one transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs among the multiple RUs assigned to the communication device, one or more user information fields among the multiple user information fields of the signal received from the other communication device are addressed to the communication device, and the number of the one or more user information fields addressed to the communication device may be less than the number of one or more RUs assigned to the communication device.

[0045] For example, the communication device 300 may be an AP, and the circuit 314 (e.g., at least one transmission signal generating unit 308 of the circuit 314) may generate a transmission signal (e.g., an EHT trigger frame) including a plurality of user information fields (e.g., a user information field of a user information list field in an EHT trigger frame) in operation. The wireless transmitting unit 302 may transmit the generated transmission signal to the other communication device in operation. The wireless receiving unit 304 may receive a signal (e.g., an EHT TB PPDU) including a data field (e.g., an EHT TB PPDU) including a plurality of RUs from the other communication device (e.g., an STA), in operation, where one transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs assigned to the other communication device among the plurality of RUs, and one or more user information fields among the plurality of user information fields of the transmission signal are addressed to the other communication device, and the number of the one or more user information fields addressed to the other communication device may be less than the number of one or more RUs assigned to the other communication device.

[0046] 3B is a diagram 316 illustrating a flow of a communication method for control signaling according to various embodiments. In step 318, a transmission signal is generated that includes a plurality of user fields and a data field that includes a plurality of RUs. In step 320, the generated transmission signal is transmitted to another communication device, and a transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs of the plurality of RUs that are assigned to the other communication device, and one or more user fields of the plurality of user fields are addressed to the other communication device, a number of the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication device is equal to a number of one or more RUs assigned to the other communication device, and the one or more user fields addressed to the other communication device respectively correspond to one or more RUs assigned to the other communication device.

[0047] In the following paragraphs, several example embodiments of control signaling in downlink MU communication are described with reference to an AP and multiple STAs.

[0048] 4A is a flow chart 400 illustrating downlink MU communication between an AP 402 and multiple STAs 404, 406 using an EHT MU PPDU 410, according to various embodiments. Block 408 illustrates a contention-based channel access procedure, e.g., an Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) procedure, and also illustrates Short Interframe Spacing (SIFS) 411. The AP 402 may generate a transmission signal (e.g., an EHT MU PPDU) including multiple user fields and a data field including multiple RUs. One or more of the multiple user fields are addressed to the STA 404, and a transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs assigned to the STA 404 to transmit an aggregate MAC protocol data unit (A-MPDU) to the STA 404. The A-MPDU may include trigger information requesting an EHT TB PPDU transmission from the STA 404. Similarly, one or more of the user fields are addressed to the STA 406, and a transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs assigned to the STA 406 to transmit other A-MPDUs to the STA 406. The A-MPDU may include trigger information requesting EHT TB PPDU transmission from the STA 406. According to the present disclosure, the number of one or more user fields addressed to each STA 404, 406 is equal to the number of one or more RUs assigned to the STA 404, 406, and the one or more user fields addressed to each STA 404, 406 correspond to one or more RUs assigned to the STA 404, 406, respectively. In another embodiment, the one or more user fields addressed to each STA 404, 406 include the same user-specific assignment information. In another embodiment, each of the multiple user fields is either a type 1 user field or a type 2 user field and includes signaling indicating the type. The one or more user fields addressed to each STA 404, 406 include at least one type 1 user field.According to one embodiment, the Type 1 user field includes user-specific allocation information, and the Type 2 user field does not include user-specific allocation information. In one embodiment, each of the at least one Type 1 user field includes signaling indicating whether one RU is assigned to each STA 404, 406. In another embodiment, if the number of one or more RUs assigned to each STA 404, 406 is greater than one, the one or more user fields addressed to each STA 404, 406 include at least one Type 2 user field, and each of the at least one Type 2 user field includes signaling to indicate whether the one or more RUs assigned to each STA 404, 406 are contiguous. The wireless transmitter of the AP 402 may transmit the generated transmission signal 410 to the STAs 404, 406.

[0049] In IEEE 802.11 networks, a SIFS is the time interval before a STA transmits an acknowledgment. The radio receivers of the STAs 404, 406 may receive each A-MPDU in the transmission 410 based on the user-specific allocation information included in one or more user fields addressed to the STAs 404, 406 and one or more RUs assigned to the STAs 404, 406, and the circuitry of the STAs 404, 406 may process each received A-MPDU. After the last symbol of the transmission 410 is transmitted, the SIFS 411 is enabled, and at 412, the radio transmitters of the STAs 404, 406 may simultaneously transmit respective EHT TB PPDUs 414, 415 to acknowledge successful reception of each A-MPDU based on the trigger information included in the EHT MU PPDU 410.

[0050] FIG. 4B illustrates the EHT-SIG-B field 206 of the EHT MU PPDU 200 in more detail. The EHT-SIG-B field 206 includes (or is composed of) a common field 420 (if present) followed by a user-specific field 422, which together are referred to as the EHT-SIG-B content channel. The common field 420 includes information about the RU allocation, such as the RU allocation used in the EHT modulation field, the RUs allocated for MU-MIMO, and the number of users in the MU-MIMO allocation. The user-specific field 422 includes one or more user block fields, each of which includes one or two user fields for non-MU-MIMO and / or MU-MIMO allocations. For example, the user-specific field 422 includes three user block fields 1-3, as shown in FIG. 4B. User block field 1 includes two user fields, user field 1 and user field 2, user block field 2 includes two user fields, user field 3 and user field 4, and user block field 3 includes one user field 5. One or two user fields in each of user block fields 1-3 are appended with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for error detection and tail bits to make the user block field the user block field size. In one embodiment, the last user block may consist of one or two user fields depending on the total number of user fields allowed in the user specific field 422 indicating odd or even numbers.

[0051] According to the present disclosure, the user fields, such as user fields 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, contain user information indicating user-specific allocation, i.e., user-specific allocation information. For non-MU-MIMO allocation, the user-specific allocation information includes information on coding, such as number of spatial streams (NSTS), transmit beamforming (Tx BF), modulation and coding scheme (MCS), dual carrier modulation (DCM), and error control coding. For MU-MIMO allocation, the user-specific allocation information includes information on coding, such as spatial configuration, MCS, and error control coding. According to an embodiment, Table 1 and Table 2 show details of subfields (STA identifier (ID), NSTS, Tx BF, DCM, MCS, coding, spatial configuration) in the user fields for non-MU-MIMO allocation and MU-MIMO allocation, respectively.

[0052] Table 1 shows the user field format for non-MU-MIMO allocations, where BCC is Binary Convolutional Code and LDPC is Low Density Parity Code. [Table 1]

[0053] Table 2 shows the user field format for MU-MIMO allocation, where BCC is Binary Convolutional Code and LDPC is Low Density Parity Code. [Table 2]

[0054] Conventionally, the user field is composed of a total of 21 bits according to the above format. To accommodate up to 16 spatial streams in EHT WLAN, the number of bits of the NSTS subfield may increase from 3 to 4 bits in non-MU-MIMO allocations, and the number of bits of the spatial configuration subfield may increase from 4 to 6 bits. The user field according to the present disclosure may include a total of 22 bits in both non-MU-MIMO and MU-MIMO allocations, in other words, one more bit compared to the conventional user field.

[0055] According to the present disclosure, one or more RUs may be assigned to a STA in an EHT MU PPDU. One transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs assigned to a STA in an EHT MU PPDU. The transmission scheme is characterized by some parameters, such as MCS and coding, included in the user-specific assignment information. The number of user fields addressed to a STA is the same as the number of RUs assigned to the STA. Thus, the user field addressed to a STA uniquely corresponds to the RU assigned to the STA. In particular, this can be achieved by determining whether the ID of the STA matches the value of the STA ID subfield of the user field, and determining the assigned RU corresponding to the user field based on the positions of the RU assignment information of the common field and the user field of the user-specific field in the same EHT-SIG-B channel in response to the ID of the STA matching the value of the STA ID subfield of the user field. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more user fields corresponding to one or more RUs assigned to a STA contain the same user-specific allocation information, i.e., one or more user fields corresponding to one or more RUs assigned to a STA have the same subfield value for the user-specific allocation information, since one transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs. In one embodiment, two or more consecutive RUs of the same RU size are not assigned to a STA if they fit exactly into one RU of a larger RU size. For example, two consecutive 26-tone RUs that fit exactly into a 52-tone RU, or four consecutive 26-tone RUs that fit exactly into a 106-tone RU. This can advantageously maximize tone utilization and reduce the number of user fields in the EHT MU PPDU.

[0056] FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating a flow of processing a received EHT MU PPDU according to one embodiment. The STA is configured to process the EHT-SIG-B field of the received EHT MU PPDU to search for one or more RUs assigned to it. In step 502, an EHT-SIG-B content channel index i may be initialized to 1 indicating the first EHT-SIG-B content channel in the EHT-SIG-B field, and an assigned RU counter may be initialized to 0. In step 504, a user field index j may be initialized to 1 indicating the first user field in the EHT-SIG-B content channel i. In step 506, it may be determined whether the user field j is valid. If a CRC check of the user block field containing the user field j fails, the user field j may be determined to be invalid. If the user field j is determined to be valid, step 508 is performed. In step 508, it is determined whether the value of the STA ID subfield of the user field j matches the ID of the STA. If it is determined that the value of the STA ID subfield matches the ID of the STA, step 510 is executed. In step 510, the assigned RU corresponding to the user field j is determined from the RU assignment information in the common field and the position of the user field j in the user specific field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i. In step 512, the assigned RU counter may be incremented by one. In step 514, it is determined whether the assigned RU counter is one. If it is determined that the assigned RU counter is one, indicating that the STA has been assigned one RU (the first RU), step 516 is executed to obtain the user specific assignment information, and the process proceeds to step 522. In step 514, if the assigned RU counter is not one, indicating that two or more RUs have been assigned to the STA, step 518 is executed instead. In step 518, it is determined whether the user field j contains the same user specific assignment information as that previously obtained from another user field (e.g., user field j-2).If user field j does not contain the same user-specific allocation information, the received EHT MU PPDU may be identified as containing an error, and the EHT MU PPDU is discarded in step 520. If user field j does contain the same user-specific allocation information in step 518, processing proceeds to step 522.

[0057] Returning to step 506, for example, if the CRC check of the user block field in which user field j is contained fails, then user field j is determined to be invalid. In this case, user field j is not processed further and processing of the received EHT MU PPDU proceeds to step 522. Similarly, in step 508, if the value of the STA ID subfield does not match the ID of the STA, user field j is not processed further and processing proceeds to step 522.

[0058] In step 522, the user field index j may be incremented by one. Then, in step 524, it is determined whether the incremented index value j is greater than the total number of user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i. If the incremented index value j is not greater than the total number of user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i, indicating that at least one user field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i has not been processed, step 506 is performed with the user field having the incremented index j. If the incremented index value j is greater than the total number of user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i, step 526 is performed instead. In step 526, the index i is incremented by one. Then, in step 528, it is determined whether the incremented index value i is greater than the total number of EHT-SIG-B content channels. If the incremented index value i is not greater than the total number of EHT-SIG-B content channels, indicating that at least one EHT-SIG-B content channel has not been processed, step 504 is performed using the user field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel with the incremented index i. If the incremented index value i is greater than the total number of EHT-SIG-B content channels, indicating that all user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channels have been processed, processing of the received EHT MU PPDU may end.

[0059] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more user fields corresponding to one or more RUs assigned to the STA contain the same user-specific allocation information, i.e., one or more user fields corresponding to one or more RUs assigned to the STA have the same subfield value. If it is determined in step 514 that the assigned RU counter is not 1, indicating that the STA is assigned more than one RU, then in step 518, it is determined whether the user field j contains the same user-specific allocation information as that previously obtained from another user field (e.g., user field j-2). If it is determined that the user field j contains the same user-specific allocation information, the user-specific allocation information of the user field j is not obtained, and the index j is incremented by 1 (corresponding to the next user field j+1, if present) in step 522. On the other hand, if it is determined that the user field j does not contain the same user-specific allocation information, the received EHT MU PPDU may be identified as containing an error and discarded in step 520. Such an error may occur when decoding user fields corresponding to multiple RUs assigned to the STA but belonging to different user block fields.

[0060] According to the present disclosure, when one or more RUs are assigned to a STA, the user fields corresponding to the one or more RUs assigned to the STA all contain the same user-specific assignment information. In this case, although each user field addressed to the STA may contain information that helps the STA search and locate its own user field, it is sufficient to obtain the user-specific assignment information from one of the user fields addressed to the STA. This can advantageously increase the power efficiency of the STA.

[0061] The first user field addressed to the STA indicates the EHT-SIG-B content channel with the smallest index i that contains at least one user field addressed to the STA, and the last user field addressed to the STA indicates the EHT-SIG-B content channel with the largest index i that contains at least one user field addressed to the STA. For example, for a bandwidth of 40 MHz, an EHT MU PPDU containing two EHT-SIG-B content channels with RU allocation subfield values ​​of 10 and 15, respectively, indicating an RU allocation pattern defined in IEEE P802.11ax / D5.0, may be received as follows: (i) EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 with RU allocation subfield set to 10, indicating an RU allocation pattern of RU1 with 52 tones, RU2 with 52 tones, RU5 with 26 tones, RU3 with 52 tones, and RU4 with 52 tones. The five RUs correspond to the five user fields (UFs) UF1 to UF5 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1. (ii) EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 with the RU allocation subfield set to 15, indicating an RU allocation pattern of RU5 with 52 tones, RU6 with 52 tones, RU14 with 26 tones, RU7 with 52 tones, and RU8 with 52 tones. The five RUs correspond to the five user fields UF1 to UF5 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2. Assuming that non-contiguous RUs are allocated to a STA, and four RUs are allocated to the STA, such as RU1 with 52 tones and RU3 with 52 tones from EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, and RU14 with 26 tones and RU8 with 52 tones from EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, the first user field addressed to the STA is UF1 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, and the last user field addressed to the STA is UF5 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2.

[0062] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there are two kinds of user fields. The type 1 user field includes user-specific allocation information, and the type 2 user field does not include user-specific allocation information, but includes some RU allocation information that helps other communication devices, e.g., the target STA, to quickly search its remaining user fields. Each user field includes signaling (e.g., the UF type subfield of the user field, etc.) indicating whether the user field is a type 1 user field or a type 2 user field. For example, the UF type subfield indicates a type 1 user field when set to 0, and indicates a type 2 user field when set to 1. In one embodiment, if one RU is assigned to a STA, the type 1 user field corresponds to the assigned RU. In such an embodiment, the STA can determine a single-RU assignment when it identifies a type 1 user field that includes a single-RU assignment flag subfield set to 1. Tables 3 and 4 show details of the subfields of the type 1 user field for non-MU-MIMO and MU-MIMO assignments, respectively.

[0063] Table 3 shows the subfields of the Type 1 Users field for non-MU-MIMO allocations in more detail. [Table 3]

[0064] Table 4 shows the subfields of the Type 1 Users field of the MU-MIMO allocation in more detail. [Table 4]

[0065] In another embodiment, when multiple non-contiguous RUs are assigned to a STA, the last user field addressed to the STA is a type 1 user field, and the remaining user fields addressed to the STA are type 2 user fields, respectively. According to this embodiment, only one user field of the user specific field contains user-specific assignment information for the multi-RUs assigned to the STA. The consecutive RU assignment flag subfield of the type 2 user field may be set to 0, indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs are assigned to the STA. In such an embodiment, the STA can (i) easily determine the position of the next user field addressed to the STA after identifying the type 2 user field addressed to the STA, (ii) determine the total number of assigned RUs after identifying the type 1 user field addressed to the STA, and (iii) obtain the RU assignment information and the user-specific assignment information from all user fields addressed to the STA. Table 5 shows details of each subfield included in the type 2 user field. Table 6 shows details of the assigned RU information subfield when the consecutive RU assignment flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs are assigned to the STA.

[0066] Table 5 shows the subfields of the Type 2 User field in more detail. [Table 5]

[0067] Table 6 shows the Allocated RU Information subfields when the Consecutive RU Allocation Flag subfield is set to 0. [Table 6]

[0068] In an embodiment where multiple consecutive RUs are assigned to a STA, there are two options for configuring the type of user field addressed to the STA. The first option is that the last user field addressed to the STA is a type 1 user field, and each of the remaining user fields addressed to the STA is a type 2 user field. According to this option, only one user field of the user specific fields contains user-specific assignment information for the multiple RUs assigned to the STA. The consecutive RU assignment flag subfield of the type 2 user field may be set to 1, indicating that multiple consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA. In such an embodiment, the STA can easily determine the location of the remaining user fields addressed to the STA after identifying the first user field addressed to the STA. This advantageously minimizes the impact on the specification, since the same rules apply when multiple non-consecutive or consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA. In this embodiment, the second option for configuring the type of user field addressed to the STA when multiple consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA is that type 1 and type 2 user fields are alternately addressed to the STA, and the first user field addressed to the STA is a type 2 user field. Thus, a STA can (i) easily determine the location of the remaining user fields addressed to the STA after identifying the first user field addressed to the STA, and (ii) obtain RU allocation information and user specific allocation information from any two adjacent Type 1 and Type 2 user fields. By utilizing the Type 1 and Type 2 user fields in this way, when multiple consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA, the search of all user fields addressed to the STA can be advantageously expedited. Thus, the power efficiency of the STA can be improved. Table 7 shows the details of the Assigned RU Information subfield when the Continuous RU Assignment Flag subfield is set to 1, indicating that multiple consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA.

[0069] Table 7 shows the Allocated RU Information subfields when the Consecutive RU Allocation Flag subfield is set to 1. [Table 7]

[0070] Table 9 shows an example of an EHT-SIG-B content channel with RU allocations assigned to three STAs (e.g., STA1, STA2, STA3) for a bandwidth of 20 MHz. The EHT-SIG-B content channel may include a common field including a RU allocation subfield and a user specific field including seven user fields (e.g., UF1-UF7). The value of the RU allocation subfield of the common field is 10, indicating an RU allocation of 52-tone RU1, 26-tone RU3, 26-tone RU4, 26-tone RU5, 52-tone RU3, 26-tone RU8, and 26-tone RU9. Each RU allocation corresponds to one of the user fields UF1-UF7. Below is an example of RU allocation to three STAs of seven RUs: STA1 may be assigned three non-contiguous RUs (e.g., 52-tone RU1, 52-tone RU3, and 26-tone RU9, which correspond to UF1, UF5, and UF7, respectively). STA2 may be assigned one RU (e.g., RU8 with 26 tones corresponding to UF6), and STA3 may be assigned three consecutive RUs (e.g., RU3 with 26 tones, RU4 with 26 tones, and RU5 with 26 tones corresponding to UF2 to UF4, respectively).

[0071] For the three non-consecutive RUs assigned to STA1, the last user field addressed to STA1, i.e., UF7, is a type 1 user field (UF type subfield=0), and the remaining user fields addressed to STA1, i.e., UF1 and UF5, are type 2 user fields (UF type subfield=1), respectively. Specifically, in the type 1 user field addressed to STA1 (UF7), the single RU assignment flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-consecutive RUs are assigned to STA1. Meanwhile, in the type 2 user fields addressed to STA1 (UF1, UF5), the consecutive RU assignment flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-consecutive RUs are assigned to STA1, and the assigned RU count subfield is set to 3, indicating that three RUs are assigned to STA1. Thus, the assigned RU information subfields of UF1 and UF5 refer to the next assigned RU subfield, indicating the next RU assigned to STA1. In this case, the next assigned RU subfield of UF1 is shown as 52-tone RU3 corresponding to UF5, and the next assigned RU subfield of UF5 is shown as 26-tone RU9 corresponding to UF7, allowing STA1 to easily determine the location of the next user field addressed to it after identifying UF1 and UF5 (Type 2 user fields) addressed to it.

[0072] For the one RU, 26-tone RU8 assigned to STA2, the user field corresponding to the assigned RU, i.e., UF6, is a type 1 user field (UF type subfield=0). Specifically, in the type 1 user field (UF6) addressed to STA2, the single RU assignment flag subfield is set to 1, indicating that one RU is assigned to STA2. For the three consecutive RUs assigned to STA3, the same rule as for non-consecutive RU assignment can be applied. That is, the last user field addressed to STA3, i.e., UF4, is a type 1 user field (UF type subfield=0), and the remaining user fields addressed to STA3, i.e., UF2 and UF3, are type 2 user fields (UF type subfield=1), respectively. Specifically, in the type 1 user field (UF4) addressed to STA3, the single RU assignment flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that STA3 is assigned multiple RUs. On the other hand, in the type 2 user fields (UF2 and UF3) addressed to STA3, the consecutive RU allocation flag subfield is set to 1 indicating that multiple consecutive RUs are allocated to STA3, and the number of allocated RUs subfield is set to 3 indicating that a total of three RUs are allocated to STA3. Thus, the allocated RU information subfield of UF2 or UF3 refers to the RU position subfield indicating the position of the RU corresponding to the user field among all the RUs allocated to STA3. In this case, the RU position subfield of UF2 is indicated as the first RU indicating that the RU corresponding to UF2 is the first RU of the three RUs (number of allocated RUs subfield = 3) allocated to STA3, and the RU position subfield of UF3 is indicated as the second RU indicating that the RU corresponding to UF3 is the second RU of the three RUs allocated to STA3.

[0073] Tables 10 and 11 show an example of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 and EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, respectively, including RU allocations assigned to four STAs (e.g., STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4) when the bandwidth is 40 MHz. Each EHT-SIG-B content channel may include a common field including a RU allocation subfield and a user-specific field including five user fields (e.g., UF1-UF5). The value of the RU allocation subfield of the common field for EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 is 10, indicating RU allocations of RU1 with 52 tones, RU2 with 52 tones, RU5 with 26 tones, RU3 with 52 tones, and RU4 with 52 tones. Each RU allocation corresponds to one of the user fields UF1-UF5 for EHT-SIG-B content channel 1. The value of the RU Allocation subfield of the common field for EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 is 15, indicating an RU allocation of 52-tone RU5, 52-tone RU6, 26-tone RU14, 52-tone RU7, and 52-tone RU8. Below is an example of an RU allocation for four STAs of 10 RUs. STA1 may be assigned three non-contiguous RUs (e.g., 52-tone RU1 corresponding to UF1 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, and 26-tone RU14 and 52-tone RU8 corresponding to UF3 and UF5 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, respectively). STA2 may be assigned two non-contiguous RUs (e.g., 52-tone RU2 corresponding to UF2 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, and 52-tone RU7 corresponding to UF4 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2). STA3 may be assigned one RU (e.g., 26-tone RU5 corresponding to UF3 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1), and STA4 may be assigned four contiguous RUs (e.g., 52-tone RU3 and 52-tone RU4 corresponding to UF4 and UF5 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, respectively, and 52-tone RU5 and 52-tone RU6 corresponding to UF1 and UF2 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, respectively).

[0074] For the three non-consecutive RUs assigned to STA1, the last user field addressed to STA1, i.e., UF5 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, is a Type 1 user field (UF Type subfield=0), and the remaining user fields addressed to STA1, i.e., UF1 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 and UF3 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, are Type 2 user fields (UF Type subfield=1). Specifically, in the Type 1 user field addressed to STA1 (UF5 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2), the UF Flags of Different Content Channels subfield is set to 1 indicating that at least one user field addressed to STA1 is in a different EHT-SIG-B content channel, and the Single RU Assignment Flags subfield is set to 0 indicating that multiple RUs are assigned to STA1. Meanwhile, in the Type 2 User fields assigned to STA1 (UF1 for EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1, UF3 for EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2), the Contiguous RU Allocation Flag subfield is set to 0 indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs are assigned to STA1, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 3 indicating that three RUs are assigned to STA1. Thus, the Allocated RU Information subfield references the Next Allocated RU subfield, which indicates the next RU assigned to STA1. In this case, the Next Allocated RU subfield in UF1 for EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 1 is indicated as RU14 with 26 tones corresponding to UF3 for EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2, and the Next Allocated RU subfield in UF3 for EHT-SIG-B Content Channel 2 is indicated as RU8 with 52 tones corresponding to UF5. This allows STA1 to easily determine the location of the next user field addressed to it after identifying UF1 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 and UF3 (Type 2 user field) of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 addressed to it.

[0075] Similarly, for the two non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA2, the last user field addressed to STA2, i.e., UF4 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, is a Type 1 user field (UF Type subfield=0), and the remaining user field addressed to STA2, i.e., UF2 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, is a Type 2 user field (UF Type subfield=1). Specifically, in the Type 1 user field addressed to STA2 (UF4 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2), the Different Content Channel UF Flag subfield is set to 1 indicating that at least one user field addressed to STA2 is in a different EHT-SIG-B content channel, and the Single RU Assignment Flag subfield is set to 0 indicating that multiple RUs are assigned to STA2. Meanwhile, in the Type 2 user field (UF2 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1) assigned to STA2, the Contiguous RU Allocation Flag subfield is set to 0 indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs are assigned to STA2, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 2 indicating that two RUs are assigned to STA2. Thus, the Allocated RU Information subfield refers to the Next Allocated RU subfield, which indicates the next RU assigned to STA2. In this case, the Next Allocated RU subfield in UF2 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 is indicated as 52-tone RU7, which corresponds to UF4 of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2. This allows STA2 to easily determine the location of the next user field addressed to it after identifying the UF2 (Type 2 user field) of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 addressed to it.

[0076] For the one RU, 26-tone RU5 assigned to STA3, the user field corresponding to the assigned RU, i.e., UF3 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, is a type 1 user field (UF type subfield=0). Specifically, in the type 1 user field addressed to STA3 (UF3 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1), the single RU assignment flag subfield is set to 1, indicating that one RU is assigned to STA3. For the four consecutive RUs assigned to STA4, the same rule as for non-consecutive RU assignment can be applied. That is, the last user field addressed to STA4, i.e., UF2 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, is a type 1 user field (UF type subfield=0), and the remaining user fields addressed to STA4, i.e., UF4 and UF5 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, and UF1 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2, are type 2 user fields (UF type subfield=1), respectively. Specifically, in the Type 1 user field addressed to STA4 (UF2 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2), the UF flag subfield for different content channels is set to 1 indicating that at least one user field addressed to STA4 exists in a different EHT-SIG-B content channel, and the single RU allocation flag subfield is set to 0 indicating that multiple RUs are allocated to STA4. Meanwhile, in the Type 2 user fields addressed to STA4 (UF4 and UF5 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1, and UF1 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2), the consecutive RU allocation flag subfield is set to 1 indicating that multiple consecutive RUs are allocated to STA4, and the number of allocated RUs subfield is set to 4 indicating that a total of four RUs are allocated to STA4. Thus, the allocated RU information subfields in UF4 and UF5 refer to the RU location subfield indicating the location of the RU corresponding to the user field among all RUs allocated to STA4.In this case, the RU location subfields of UF4 and UF5 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 are shown as First RU and Second RU, respectively, indicating that the RUs corresponding to UF4 and UF5 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 are the first and second RU of four RUs assigned to STA4 (Number of assigned RUs subfield = 4), and the RU location subfield of UF1 in EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 is shown as Third RU, indicating that the RU corresponding to this user field is the third RU of four RUs assigned to STA4.

[0077] FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating a flow of processing a received EHT MU PPDU according to one embodiment. The STA is configured to process the EHT-SIG-B field of the received EHT MU PPDU to search for one or more RUs assigned to it. In step 602, an EHT-SIG-B content channel index i may be initialized to 1 indicating the first EHT-SIG-B content channel, and an assigned RU counter may be initialized to 0. In step 604, a user field index j may be initialized to 1 indicating the first user field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i. In step 606, it may be determined whether the user field j is valid. If a CRC check of the user block field containing the user field j fails, the user field j may be determined to be invalid. If the user field j is determined to be valid, step 608 is performed. If the user field j is not valid, the process instead proceeds to step 636. In step 608, it is determined whether the value of the STA ID subfield of the user field j matches the ID of the STA. If it is determined that the value of the STA ID subfield matches the ID of the STA, then step 610 is performed. If the STA ID subfield does not match the ID of the STA, then the process instead proceeds to step 636. In step 610, the assigned RU corresponding to the user field j is determined from the RU assignment information in the common field and the position of the user field j in the user specific field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i. In step 612, the assigned RU counter may be incremented by 1. In step 614, it is determined whether the UF type subfield of the user field j is set to 0 by referring to the type 1 user field. If the user field j is a type 1 user field, then step 616 is performed to obtain the user specific assignment information. In step 618, the single RU assignment flag is set to 1 and it is determined whether the assigned RU counter is 1. This step 618 is performed to identify whether the received EHT MU PPDU contains an error.If it is determined that the single RU allocation flag is set to 1 and the allocated RU counter is 1, then only one RU is allocated to the STA and only one user field is identified, in other words, the EHT MU PPDU does not contain any errors, so the process may end.

[0078] Returning to step 614, if the user field j is a type 2 user field, step 620 is executed instead. In step 620, it may be determined whether the consecutive RU allocation flag subfield of the type 2 user field j is set to 1. If the consecutive RU allocation flag subfield is not set to 1, indicating that multiple non-consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA, step 622 is executed. In step 622, the number of assigned RUs is determined from the number of assigned RUs subfield, and the user field index j and the EHT-SIG-B content channel index i are adjusted according to the next assigned RU subfield. Then, the user field with the adjusted index j in the EHT-SIG-B content channel with the adjusted index i is used to execute step 606. However, if the consecutive RU allocation flag subfield is set to 1 in step 620, indicating that multiple consecutive RUs are assigned to the STA, step 624 is executed instead. In step 624, the number of assigned RUs is determined, and the assigned RU counter is adjusted according to the number of assigned RUs subfield and the RU position subfield. In step 626, it may be determined whether the last user field addressed to the STA is valid. If the CRC check of the user block field containing the last user field fails, the last user field is invalid. If the last user field is valid, step 616 is performed to obtain user specific allocation information. On the other hand, if the last user field is not valid, the received EHT MU PPDU may be determined to contain an error, and the EHT MU PPDU is discarded in step 628.

[0079] Returning to step 618, this step is performed to identify whether the EHT MU PPDU contains an error when processing the user fields. Specifically, if it is determined in step 618 that one of (i) the single RU allocation flag subfield is not set to 1, or (ii) the assigned RU counter is not 1, then step 630 is performed. If it is determined in step 630 that the single RU allocation flag is set to 1 but the assigned RU counter is greater than 1, this indicates that one RU is assigned to the STA, but more than one user field is identified by the STA. In this case, the EHT MU PPDU is identified as containing an error and is discarded in step 628. Otherwise, step 632 is performed. If it is determined in step 632 that the single RU allocation flag is set to 0 but the assigned RU counter is 1, this indicates that multiple RUs are assigned to the STA, but only one user field is identified by the STA. In this case, the EHT MU PPDU is identified as containing an error and is discarded in step 628. Otherwise, in step 634, the assigned RU counter is checked to see if it matches the number of assigned RUs obtained from step 622, and if it indicates that this is the last user field (type 1 user field) addressed to the STA, the EHT MU PPDU does not contain any errors and the process may end.

[0080] In step 636, the user field index j may be incremented by one. Then, in step 638, it is determined whether the incremented user field index value j is greater than the total number of user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i. If the incremented user field index value j is not greater than the total number of user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i, indicating that at least one user field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i has not been processed, step 606 is performed with the user field having the incremented index j. If the incremented user field index value j is greater than the total number of user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel i, step 640 is performed instead. In step 640, the EHT-SIG-B content channel index i is incremented. Then, in step 642, it is determined whether the incremented index value i is greater than the total number of EHT-SIG-B content channels. If the incremented index value i is not greater than the total number of EHT-SIG-B content channels, indicating that at least one EHT-SIG-B content channel has not been processed, step 604 is performed using the first user field of the EHT-SIG-B content channel with the incremented index i. If the incremented index value i is greater than the total number of EHT-SIG-B content channels, indicating that all user fields of the EHT-SIG-B content channel have been processed, processing of the received EHT MU PPDU may end.

[0081] The following paragraphs describe several example embodiments of control signaling in uplink MU communications with reference to an AP and multiple STAs.

[0082] The EHT trigger frame can be used to request an EHT TB PPDU transmission in uplink MU communication, and to transmit user-specific RU allocation information and user-specific allocation information. FIG. 7A is a flow chart 700 illustrating uplink MU communication between an AP 702 and multiple STAs 704, 706 using an EHT trigger frame, according to various embodiments. Block 708 illustrates a contention-based channel access procedure (e.g., an EDCA procedure), and a SIFS 711 is illustrated. The AP 702 may generate a transmission signal (e.g., an EHT trigger frame) 710 that includes multiple user information fields (e.g., a user information field of a user information list field in the EHT trigger frame). One or more of the multiple user information fields are addressed to the STA 704. Similarly, one or more of the multiple user information fields are addressed to the STA 706. In one embodiment, the one or more user information fields addressed to each STA 704, 706 include the same user-specific allocation information. In another embodiment, the multiple user information fields are either type 1 user information fields or type 2 user information fields and include signaling indicating the type. The one or more user information fields addressed to each STA 704, 706 include one type 1 user information field. According to one embodiment, the type 1 user information field includes user-specific allocation information and the type 2 user information field does not include user-specific allocation information. In one embodiment, the type 1 user information field addressed to each STA 704, 706 includes signaling indicating whether one RU is assigned to each STA 704, 706. Also, the type 1 user information field addressed to each STA 704, 706 includes signaling indicating whether multiple consecutive RUs of the same RU size are assigned to each STA 704, 706. In another embodiment, when multiple non-contiguous RUs or multiple consecutive RUs of different RU sizes are assigned to each STA 704, 706, the one or more user information fields addressed to each STA 704, 706 include at least one type 2 user information field.At least one Type 2 User Information field each includes signaling indicating one or more additional RUs assigned to each STA 704, 706. The wireless transmitter of the AP 702 may transmit the generated transmission 710 to the STAs 704, 706.

[0083] The radio receivers of the STAs 704, 706 may receive a transmission 710, which may be processed by circuitry in the STAs 704, 706, respectively. After the final symbol of the transmission 710 is transmitted, the SIFS 711 is enabled, and at 712 the radio transmitters of the STAs 704, 706 may simultaneously transmit respective EHT TB PPDUs 714, 715 based on the user-specific RU allocation information and the user-specific allocation information contained in one or more user information fields addressed to the STAs 704, 706.

[0084] FIG. 7B illustrates an example of the format of an EHT trigger frame 720. The EHT trigger frame 720 may include a frame control field, a duration field, a recipient STA address (RA) field, a transmitting STA address (TA) field, a common information field 722, a user information list field 724 containing one or more user information fields, a padding field, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field. The frame control field, duration field, RA field, and TA field may be grouped in a MAC header of the EHT trigger frame 720. The common information field 722, user information list field 724, and padding fields may be grouped in a frame body of the EHT trigger frame 720. The common information field 722 includes common parameters for all STAs involved in uplink MU communication requested by the EHT trigger frame 720. FIG. 7C illustrates the user information field 724a of the EHT trigger frame in more detail. The user information list field 724 may include one or more user information fields, such as user information field 724a, which may each include an AID12 subfield, a RU allocation subfield 726, a UL FEC (forward error correction) coding type subfield, a UL MCS subfield, a UL DCM (dual carrier modulation) subfield, a SS (spatial stream) allocation subfield 728, a UL target RSSI (received signal strength indicator) subfield, and a trigger-dependent user information subfield 730. Each user information field 724a includes user-specific RU allocation information and user-specific allocation information, where the user-specific RU allocation information includes information regarding the RU allocation subfield 726.Specifically, for uplink MU communication, the user-specific allocation information includes at least information regarding the UL FEC coding type subfield, the UL MCS subfield, the UL DCM subfield, the SS allocation subfield, and the UL target RSSI subfield. The size of the RU allocation field may be 9 bits to accommodate a 320 MHz bandwidth, and the size of the SS allocation subfield may be 8 bits to accommodate up to 16 spatial streams.

[0085] According to the present disclosure, one or more RUs may be assigned to a STA in the EHT TB PPDU, and one transmission scheme is applied to one or more RUs assigned to a STA in the EHT TB PPDU. According to one embodiment, the number of user information fields addressed to a STA is the same as the number of RUs assigned to the STA. Thus, a user information field addressed to a STA uniquely corresponds to a RU assigned to the STA. All user fields addressed to a STA contain the same user-specific assignment information. That is, all subfields except the RU assignment subfield of all user information fields addressed to a STA have the same subfield value. In one embodiment, all user information fields addressed to a STA are consecutively arranged in the user information list field. This can advantageously facilitate the search of all user information fields addressed to a STA, and thus improve the power efficiency of the STA. In one embodiment, if two or more consecutive RUs exactly fit into one RU of a larger size, then two or more consecutive RUs of the same RU size are not assigned to a STA. For example, two consecutive 26-tone RUs that fit exactly into a 52-tone RU, or four consecutive 26-tone RUs that fit exactly into a 106-tone RU, allowing for maximum tonal utilization.

[0086] Table 8 shows an example of a user information list field of an EHT trigger frame including RU allocations assigned to four STAs (e.g., STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4) when the bandwidth is 40 MHz. For example, the user information list field may include 10 user information fields. Each user information field includes a RU allocation subfield indicating RU allocation information. The user information list field may indicate RU allocations such as RU1 with 52 tones, RU2 with 52 tones, RU5 with 26 tones, RU3 with 52 tones, RU4 with 52 tones, RU5 with 52 tones, RU6 with 52 tones, RU14 with 26 tones, RU7 with 52 tones, and RU8 with 52 tones, where each of the 10 RUs corresponds to one user information field based on the RU allocation subfield. All user information fields (UIFs) addressed to the STAs are consecutively arranged in the user information list field. For example, the first three user information fields, i.e., UIF1 to UIF3, are addressed to STA1 corresponding to three non-contiguous RU allocations for STA1 (e.g., RU1 with 52 tones, RU14 with 26 tones, and RU8 with 52 tones); the two consecutive user information fields, i.e., UIF4 and UIF5, are addressed to STA2 corresponding to two non-contiguous RU allocations for STA2 (e.g., RU2 with 52 tones and RU7 with 52 tones); UIF6 is addressed to STA3 corresponding to a single RU allocation for STA3 (e.g., RU5 with 26 tones); and the consecutive user information fields, i.e., UIF7 to UIF10, are addressed to STA4 corresponding to four consecutive RU allocations for STA4 (e.g., RU3 with 52 tones, RU4 with 52 tones, RU5 with 52 tones, and RU6 with 52 tones).

[0087] Table 8 shows the user information fields of the user information list field in the EHT trigger frame and their corresponding AID12 subfields and RU assignment subfields. [Table 8]

[0088] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of processing a received EHT trigger frame according to one embodiment. The STA is configured to process the User Information List field of the EHT trigger frame to search for one or more assigned RUs. In step 802, a UIF counter and an Allocated RU counter may be initialized to 0, and the UIF counter counts the number of processed User Information fields in the User Information List field. In step 804, it may be determined whether the AID12 subfield of the User Information field matches the AID (association identifier) ​​of the STA. If it is determined whether the AID12 subfield matches the AID of the STA, step 806 is executed. If the AID12 subfield does not match the AID of the STA, processing instead proceeds to 814. In step 806, the assigned RU is determined from the RU Allocated subfield. In step 808, the assigned RU counter may be incremented by one. In step 810, it is determined whether the assigned RU counter is one. If it is determined that the assigned RU counter is 1, indicating that one RU (first RU) has been assigned to the STA, step 812 is executed to obtain user-specific assignment information. After obtaining the user-specific assignment information, the process proceeds to step 814. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 810 that the assigned RU counter is not 1, specifically, is greater than 1, indicating that two or more RUs have been assigned to the STA, the process proceeds to step 814.

[0089] In step 814, the UIF counter is incremented by one. In step 816, it is determined whether the UIF counter is equal to the total number of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame. If the UIF counter is not equal to the total number of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame, indicating that all user information fields in the EHT trigger frame have not been processed, step 804 is performed using consecutive user information fields. In step 816, if the UIF counter is equal to the total number of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame, indicating that all user information fields in the EHT trigger frame have been processed, processing of the received EHT trigger frame may end.

[0090] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there are two types of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame, which are used when either multiple non-contiguous RUs or multiple consecutive RUs with different RU sizes are assigned to a STA. A type 1 user information field contains user-specific assignment information and is used as the first user information field addressed to a STA. Meanwhile, a type 2 user information field does not contain user-specific assignment information and is used as any of the subsequent user information fields addressed specifically to a STA. Each user information field includes signaling, such as a UIF type subfield, to indicate whether the user information field is a type 1 user information field or a type 2 user information field. For example, a UIF type subfield is set to 0 to indicate a type 1 user information field and a UIF type subfield is set to 1 to indicate a type 2 user information field. In one embodiment, when one RU or multiple consecutive RUs with the same RU size are assigned to a STA or assigned for random access, one type 1 user information field is used to transmit user-specific RU assignment information and user-specific assignment information. In another embodiment, when multiple non-contiguous RUs or multiple contiguous RUs with different RU sizes are assigned to a STA or assigned for random access, a Type 1 user information field or one or more Type 2 user information fields are used to transmit user-specific RU assignment information and user-specific assignment information. In yet another embodiment, the AID12 subfield of the Type 1 or Type 2 user information field is set to a first special value (e.g., 0) to indicate that the Type 1 or Type 2 user information field assigns one or more random access RUs to the associated STA, or is set to a second special value (e.g., 2045) to indicate that the Type 1 or Type 2 user information field assigns one or more random access RUs to non-associated STAs.By utilizing Type 1 and Type 2 User Information fields for transmitting user-specific RU allocation information, when a STA is assigned more than one RU, the number of User Information fields addressed to the STA is smaller than the number of RUs assigned to the STA, which can advantageously reduce channel overhead.

[0091] 9A illustrates an example of a Type 1 user information field 900 of an EHT trigger frame. The Type 1 user information field 900 may include (or consist of) an AID12 subfield, an RU allocation subfield 902, a UL FEC coding type subfield, a UL MCS subfield, a UL DCM subfield, a SS allocation subfield, a UL target RSSI subfield, and a trigger dependent user information subfield 906. The trigger dependent user information subfield 906 may further include a UIF type subfield (set to 0 to indicate a Type 1 user information field), a same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield 910, and a number of assigned RUs subfield 912. Similar to uplink MU communications, the user specific allocation information includes at least information regarding the UL FEC coding type subfield, the UL MCS subfield, the UL DCM subfield, the SS allocation subfield, and the UL target RSSI subfield of the EHT trigger frame, while the user specific RU allocation information (e.g., the assigned RU to be used as the first RU assigned to the STA) may be included in the RU allocation subfield 902 of the EHT trigger frame. The same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield 910 is set to 1 to indicate one RU or multiple consecutive RUs of the same RU size assigned to the STA. If the UIF type subfield 908 is set to 0 (type 1 user information field) and the same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield 910 is set to 1, the number of assigned RUs subfield indicates the number of consecutive RUs assigned to the STA. If the UIF type subfield 908 is set to 0 (type 1 user information field) and the same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield 910 is set to 0, the number of assigned RUs subfield indicates the number of remaining RUs assigned to the STA. Also, if the UIF type subfield 908 is set to 0 (type 1 user information field), the same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield 910 is set to 1, and the number of assigned RUs subfield is set to 1, only one RU is assigned to the STA.

[0092] 9B illustrates an example of a Type 2 user information field 920 of an EHT trigger frame. The Type 2 user information field 920 may include (or consist of) an AID12 subfield, a number of RU allocation subfield 922, RU allocation subfields 924a, 924b, 924c, and a trigger-dependent user information subfield 926. The trigger-dependent user information subfield 926 may further include a UIF type subfield (set to 1 to indicate a Type 2 user information field) and a number of allocated RUs subfield 930. The Type 2 user information field does not include user-specific allocation information and its related fields. Therefore, RU allocation subfields such as RU allocation subfield 1 924a, RU allocation subfield 2 924b, and RU allocation subfield 3 924c may be implemented in the Type 2 user information field 920, and each RU allocation subfield may indicate an RU allocated to a STA. The Number of RU Allocations subfield 922 may indicate the number of RU Allocation subfields included in the Type 2 user information field 920, in this case the number of the Number of RU Allocations subfield 922 is three, indicating three RU Allocation subfields 924a, 924b, 924c in the Type 2 user information field 920. The Number of Allocated RUs subfield in the Type 2 user information field 920 indicates the number of remaining RUs allocated to the STA other than the three RUs included in the RU Allocation subfields 924a, 924b, 924c.

[0093] Table 12 shows an example of a User Information List field including RU allocations assigned to three STAs (e.g., STA1, STA2, STA3) for a bandwidth of 20 MHz. The User Information List field may indicate RU allocations such as RU1 with 52 tones, RU3 with 26 tones, RU4 with 26 tones, RU5 with 26 tones, RU3 with 52 tones, RU8 with 26 tones, and RU9 with 26 tones. Below is an example of RU allocations to three STAs of seven RUs: STA1 may be assigned three non-contiguous RUs (e.g., RU1 with 52 tones, RU3 with 52 tones, and RU9 with 26 tones). STA2 may be assigned one RU (e.g., RU8 with 26 tones). STA3 may be assigned three contiguous RUs (e.g., RU3 with 26 tones, RU4 with 26 tones, and RU5 with 26 tones). In this example where Type 1 and Type 2 User Information fields are used, the User Information List field may include four User Information fields (e.g., UIF1 to UIF4) to transmit RU allocation information for seven RUs.

[0094] For the three non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA1, the Type 1 user information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA1 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF1, and the user-specific assignment information and the information of the first assigned RU (RU1 with 52 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 user information field addressed to STA1, the Same RU Size Contiguous RU Flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs or multiple consecutive RUs with different RU sizes are assigned to STA1, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 2, indicating that there are two more RUs assigned to STA1. The Type 2 user information field is used as one of the subsequent user information fields addressed to STA1 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=1) and as UIF2, and the remaining two RUs (i.e., RU3 with 52 tones and RU9 with 26 tones) of the three non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA1 are included in the RU assignment subfields 1 and 2, respectively. Specifically, in the Type 2 user information field addressed to STA1, the Number of RUs Allocated subfield is set to 2, indicating that two RU allocations are included in the Type 2 user information field, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 0, indicating that no other RUs are allocated to STA1.

[0095] For one RU assigned to STA2, the Type 1 User Information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA2 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF3, and the user-specific assignment information and the assigned RU information (RU8 with 26 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 User Information field addressed to STA2, the Same RU Size Consecutive RU Flag subfield and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield are both set to 1, indicating a single RU assignment. For three consecutive RUs assigned to STA3, the Type 1 User Information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA3 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF4, and the user-specific assignment information and the first assigned RU information (RU3 with 26 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 User Information field addressed to STA3, the Same RU Size Consecutive RU Flag subfield is set to 1, indicating that multiple consecutive RUs with the same RU size are assigned to STA3. The Number of Allocated RUs subfield indicates the number of consecutive RUs allocated to the STA that have the same RU size as the allocated RU, and in this case, the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 3, indicating that three consecutive RUs of the same size are allocated to STA3. Thus, there is no need to include allocation information of subsequent consecutive RUs of the same RU size in one or more additional user information fields, and channel overhead can be reduced.

[0096] Table 13 shows an example of a User Information List field including RU allocations assigned to four STAs (e.g., STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4) for a bandwidth of 20 MHz. The User Information List field may indicate RU allocations such as RU1 with 52 tones, RU2 with 52 tones, RU5 with 26 tones, RU3 with 52 tones, RU4 with 52 tones, RU5 with 52 tones, RU6 with 52 tones, RU14 with 26 tones, RU7 with 52 tones, and RU8 with 52 tones. Below is an example of RU allocations for four STAs with 10 RUs: STA1 may be assigned three non-contiguous RUs (e.g., RU1 with 52 tones, RU14 with 26 tones, and RU8 with 52 tones). STA2 may be assigned two non-contiguous RUs (e.g., RU2 with 52 tones and RU7 with 52 tones). STA3 may be assigned one RU (e.g., RU5 with 26 tones). STA4 may be assigned four consecutive RUs (e.g., RU3 with 52 tones, RU4 with 52 tones, RU5 with 52 tones, and RU3 with 52 tones). In this example where Type 1 and Type 2 User Information fields are used, the User Information List field may include six User Information fields (e.g., UIF1 to UIF6) to transmit RU allocation information for 10 RUs.

[0097] For the three non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA1, the Type 1 user information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA1 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF1, and the user-specific assignment information and the information of the first assigned RU (RU1 with 52 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 user information field addressed to STA1, the Same RU Size Contiguous RU Flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs or multiple consecutive RUs with different RU sizes are assigned to STA1, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 2, indicating that there are two more RUs assigned to STA1. The Type 2 user information field is used as one of the subsequent user information fields addressed to STA1 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=1) and as UIF2, and the remaining two RUs (i.e., RU14 with 26 tones and RU8 with 52 tones) of the three non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA1 are indicated in RU assignment subfields 1 and 2, respectively. Specifically, in the Type 2 user information field addressed to STA1, the Number of RUs Allocated subfield is set to 2, indicating that two RU allocations are included in the Type 2 user information field, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 0, indicating that no other RUs are allocated to STA1.

[0098] For the two non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA2, the Type 1 user information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA2 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF3, and the user-specific assignment information and the information of the first assigned RU (RU2 with 52 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 user information field addressed to STA2, the Same RU Size Contiguous RU Flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-contiguous RUs or multiple consecutive RUs with the same RU size are assigned to STA2, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 1, indicating that there is one more RU assigned to STA2. The Type 2 user information field is used as one of the subsequent user information fields addressed to STA2 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=1) and as UIF4, and the remaining RU (i.e., RU7 with 52 tones) of the two non-contiguous RUs assigned to STA2 is included in the RU assignment subfield 1. Specifically, in the Type 2 User Information field addressed to STA2, the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 1, indicating that one RU allocation is included in the Type 2 User Information field, and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 0, indicating that no other RUs are allocated to STA2.

[0099] For one RU assigned to STA3, the Type 1 User Information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA3 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF5, and the user-specific assignment information and the information of one assigned RU (RU5 with 26 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 User Information field addressed to STA3, the Same RU Size Consecutive RU Flag subfield and the Number of Assigned RUs subfield are both set to 1, indicating a single RU assignment. For four consecutive RUs assigned to STA4, the Type 1 User Information field is used as the first user information field addressed to STA4 in the User Information List field (UIF Type subfield=0) and as UIF6, and the user-specific assignment information and the information of the first assigned RU (RU3 with 52 tones) are included in the RU assignment subfield. Specifically, in the Type 1 User Information field addressed to STA4, the Same RU Size Consecutive RU Flag subfield is set to 1, indicating that multiple consecutive RUs with the same RU size are assigned to STA4. The Number of Allocated RUs subfield indicates the number of consecutive RUs allocated to the STA that have the same RU size as the assigned RU, in this case the Number of Allocated RUs subfield is set to 4, indicating that four consecutive RUs with the same RU size are allocated to STA4. Thus, there is no need to include allocation information of subsequent consecutive RUs of the same size in one or more additional user information fields, and channel overhead can be reduced.

[0100] FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for a received EHT trigger frame according to one embodiment. The STA is configured to process the User Information List field of the EHT trigger frame to search for one or more assigned RUs. In step 1002, a UIF counter and an Allocated RU counter may be initialized to 0, and the UIF counter counts the number of processed User Information fields in the User Information List field. In step 1004, it may be determined whether the AID12 subfield of the User Information field matches the AID of the STA. If it is determined whether the AID12 subfield matches the AID of the STA, step 1006 is executed. If the AID subfield does not match the AID of the STA, the process instead proceeds to 1026. In step 1006, it is determined whether the UIF Type subfield of the User Information field is set to 0, indicating a Type 1 User Information field. If the User Information field is a Type 1 User Information field, step 1008 is executed. In step 1008, the Allocated RU counter is incremented by one. In step 1010, the assigned RU is determined from the RU assignment subfield of the user information field. Then, in step 1012, the user-specific assignment information is obtained. In step 1014, it is determined whether the same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield is set to 1. If it is determined that the same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield is set to 1, indicating that one RU or multiple consecutive RUs with the same RU size are assigned to the STA, step 1016 is executed. If the same RU size consecutive RU flag subfield is set to 0, indicating that multiple non-consecutive RUs or multiple consecutive RUs with different RU sizes are assigned to the STA, the process may proceed to step 1026 instead. In step 1016, it is determined whether the assigned number of RUs subfield is set to 1. If it is determined that the assigned number of RUs subfield is set to 1, in this case it indicates that one RU is assigned to the STA, and the process may end. If the assigned number of RUs subfield is not 1, step 1018 is executed instead.In step 1018, all remaining allocated RUs are determined from the RU Allocation subfield and the Number of Allocated RUs subfield.

[0101] Returning to step 1006, if the user information field is a type 2 user information field, step 1020 is executed instead. In step 1020, the assigned RU counter is incremented according to the number of RUs assigned subfield. In step 1022, one or more remaining assigned RUs are determined according to the number of RUs assigned subfield and the corresponding one or more RU assignment subfields. In step 1024, it is determined whether the number of assigned RUs subfield is set to 0. If it is determined that the number of assigned RUs subfield is set to 0, indicating that there are no other RUs assigned to the STA, the process may end. If the number of assigned RUs subfield is not 0, the process may proceed to step 1026.

[0102] In step 1026, the UIF counter is incremented by one. In step 1028, it is determined whether the UIF counter is equal to the total number of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame. If the UIF counter is not equal to the total number of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame, indicating that all user information fields in the EHT trigger frame have not been processed, step 1004 is performed using consecutive user information fields. In step 1028, if the UIF counter is equal to the total number of user information fields in the EHT trigger frame, indicating that all user information fields in the EHT trigger frame have been processed, processing of the received EHT trigger frame may end.

[0103] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication device 1100, for example, an AP, according to various embodiments. Similar to the schematic example of the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3, the communication device 1100 includes a circuit 1102, at least one wireless transmitter 1110, at least one wireless receiver 1112, and at least one antenna 1114 (for simplicity, only one antenna is depicted in FIG. 11). The circuit 1102 may include at least one controller 1108, which is used when performing tasks designed to perform communication of control signaling with the assistance of software and hardware. The circuit 1102 may further include a transmission signal generator 1104 and a reception signal processor 1106. The at least one controller 1108 may control the transmission signal generator 1104 and the reception signal processor 1106. The transmission signal generator 1104 may include an MPDU generator 1122, a control signaling generator 1124, and a PPDU generator 1126. The MPDU generator 1122 may generate an A-MPDU (e.g., a data frame or an EHT trigger frame). The control signaling generator 1124 may generate control signaling fields of the generated PPDU (e.g., EHT-SIG-A and EHT-SIG-B fields of an EHT MU PPDU). The PPDU generator 1126 may generate a PPDU (e.g., an EHT MU PPDU).

[0104] The received signal processing unit 1106 may include a data demodulation and decoding unit 1132 that demodulates and decodes a data portion of the received signal (e.g., a data field of an EHT TB PPDU). The received signal processing unit 1106 may further include a control demodulation and decoding unit 1134 that demodulates and decodes a control signaling portion of the received signal (e.g., an EHT-SIG-A field of an EHT TB PPDU). The at least one controller 1108 may include a control signaling analyzer 1142 and a scheduler 1144. The scheduler 1144 may determine RU information and user-specific allocation information for allocation of downlink MU transmissions, and trigger information for allocation of uplink MU transmissions. The control signaling analyzer 1142 may analyze the control signaling portion of the received signal and trigger information for allocating uplink MU transmissions shared by the scheduler 1144, and assist the data demodulator and decoder 1132 in demodulating and decoding the data portion of the received signal.

[0105] FIG. 12 illustrates a configuration of a communication device 1200, such as a STA, according to various embodiments. Similar to the schematic example of the communication device 300 illustrated in FIG. 3, the communication device 1200 includes a circuit 1202, at least one wireless transmitter 1210, at least one wireless receiver 1212, and at least one antenna 1214 (for simplicity, only one antenna is illustrated in FIG. 12). The circuit 1202 may include at least one controller 1208, which is used when performing tasks designed to perform communication of control signaling with the assistance of software and hardware. The circuit 1202 may further include a reception signal processor 1206 and a transmission signal generator 1204. The at least one controller 1208 may control the reception signal processor 1206 and the transmission signal generator 1204. The reception signal processor 1206 may include a data demodulator and decoder 1232 and a control demodulator and decoder 1234. The control demodulator and decoder 1234 may demodulate and decode the control signaling portion of the received signal (e.g., the EHT-SIG-A and EHT-SIG-B fields of the EHT MU PPDU). The data demodulator and decoder 1232 may demodulate and decode the data portion of the received signal (e.g., the data field of the EHT MU PPDU) according to its own allocation RU information and user-specific allocation information.

[0106] At least one controller 1208 may include a control signaling analyzer 1242, a scheduler 1244, and a trigger information analyzer 1246. The control signaling analyzer 1242 may analyze the control signaling portion of the received signal (e.g., EHT-SIG-A and EHT-SIG-B fields of the EHT MU PPDU) and assist the data demodulator and decoder 1232 in demodulating and decoding the data portion of the received signal (e.g., data field of the EHT MU PPDU). The trigger information analyzer 1246 may analyze trigger information for its uplink assignment in the MU communication from a received trigger frame (e.g., EHT trigger frame). The transmit signal generator 1204 may include a control signaling generator 1224 that generates a control signaling field of the generated PPDU (e.g., EHT-SIG-A field of the EHT TB PPDU). Moreover, the transmission signal generator 1204 may include a PPDU generator 1226 that generates a PPDU (for example, an EHT TB PPDU). Furthermore, the transmission signal generator 1204 may include an MPDU generator 1222 that generates an A-MPDU (for example, a data frame).

[0107] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an advanced communication system, communication method, and communication device for control signaling in an ultra-high throughput MIMO WLAN network, and improve the spectral efficiency in the MIMO WLAN network.

[0108] The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software linked to hardware. Each functional block used in the description of the above embodiment may be realized partially or entirely as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit, and each process described in the above embodiment may be controlled partially or entirely by one LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of one chip to include some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may have input and output data. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may be called an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI. The method of integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. In addition, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed after LSI manufacture, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital processing or analog processing. Furthermore, if a new integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI appears due to the progress of semiconductor technology or a derivative technology, it is possible to integrate the functional blocks using that technology. The application of biotechnology is also a possibility.

[0109] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system having a communication capability (collectively referred to as communication apparatus).

[0110] The communication device may include a radio transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The radio transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter. The radio transceiver (transmitter, receiver) may include a Radio Frequency (RF) module and one or more antennas. The RF module may include an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, or the like.

[0111] Non-limiting examples of communication devices include telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones, etc.), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks, etc.), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smart watches, tracking devices, etc.), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth and telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles or mobile conveyances (e.g., cars, airplanes, boats, etc.), and combinations of the above devices.

[0112] Communications Equipment includes, but is not limited to portable or mobile equipment, non-portable or fixed equipment, devices and systems of any kind, such as smart home devices (appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or metering devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines and any other "Things" that may exist on an Internet of Things (IoT) network.

[0113] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communications satellite systems, etc., as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0114] A communications apparatus also includes devices, such as controllers and sensors, connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0115] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0116] Although certain features of the various embodiments are described with reference to a device, the corresponding features also apply to the methods of the various embodiments, and vice versa.

[0117] As shown in the specific embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous changes and / or modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure as broadly described. The embodiments herein are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

[0118] Table 9 shows an example of EHT-SIG-B content channels for a bandwidth of 20 MHz. [Table 9]

[0119] Table 10 shows an example of EHT-SIG-B content channel 1 when the bandwidth is 40 MHz. [Table 10]

[0120] Table 11 shows an example of EHT-SIG-B content channel 2 for a bandwidth of 40 MHz. [Table 11]

[0121] Table 12 shows an example of the user information list field when the bandwidth is 20 MHz. [Table 12]

[0122] Table 13 shows an example of the user information list field when the bandwidth is 40 MHz. [Table 13]

Claims

1. a receiver for receiving a trigger frame including an association identifier 12 (AID12) subfield and a user field including signaling indicating a multi-resource unit; and a circuit for decoding a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB-PPDU) received using the multi-resource unit from a station identified by the AID12 subfield; the trigger frame includes a first type user field and a second type user field, the second type user field not including a portion of the user specific information included in the first type user field; Communications equipment.

2. Each resource unit of the multi-resource unit has the same resource unit size; The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. Each resource unit of the multi-resource unit has a different resource unit size. The communication device according to claim 1 .

4. the multi-resource unit is a contiguous multi-resource unit; The communication device according to claim 1 .

5. If the first consecutive multi-resource unit has the same size as a single resource unit, and the frequency resource indicated by the single resource unit and the frequency resource indicated by the first consecutive multi-resource unit are consistent in the frequency domain, the first consecutive multi-resource unit is not assigned to the station; The communication device according to claim 1 .

6. the multi-resource unit is a non-contiguous multi-resource unit; The communication device according to claim 1 .

7. The multi-resource unit is indicated by a set of two subfields of the user field. The communication device according to claim 1 .

8. receiving a trigger frame including an association identifier 12 (AID12) subfield and a user field including signaling indicating a multi-resource unit; and decoding a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB-PPDU) received using the multi-resource unit from a station identified by the AID12 subfield; the trigger frame includes a first type user field and a second type user field, the second type user field not including a portion of the user specific information included in the first type user field; Communication methods.

9. receiving a trigger frame including an association identifier 12 (AID12) subfield and a user field including signaling indicating a multi-resource unit; decoding a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB-PPDU) received using the multi-resource unit from a station identified by the AID12 subfield; the trigger frame includes a first type user field and a second type user field, the second type user field not including a portion of the user specific information included in the first type user field; Integrated circuits.

Images