Terminal, communication method, and integrated circuit

Abstract

To flexibly control uplink transmission power for each terminal.SOLUTION: A terminal includes: a receiving circuit that receives a control signal including parameters related to uplink transmission power control generated based on information related to transmission power control received by a first access point from a second access point, in which the parameters include information related to downlink transmission power determined in accordance with a type of uplink communication control, for each of a plurality of terminals; and a control circuit that controls uplink transmission power based on the parameters.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an access point, a terminal, and a communication method. [Background technology]

[0002] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is working on developing technical specifications for IEEE 802.11be (hereinafter referred to as "11be") as the successor standard to IEEE 802.11ax (hereinafter referred to as "11ax"), the 802.11 standard.

[0003] In 11be, Multi-AP (MAP) coordination (also called "cooperative communication") is being considered, in which data is transmitted and received in coordination between multiple access points (also called "base stations", hereinafter referred to as "APs (Access Points)") and multiple terminals (hereinafter referred to as "STAs (Stations)") in the downlink and uplink (see, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1, 2, or 3). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] IEEE 802.11-19 / 1903r0, Uplink Coordinated Multi-AP [Non-Patent Document 2] IEEE 802.11-20 / 0056r0, Preparations for Coordinated OFDMA [Non-Patent Document 3] IEEE 802.11-20 / 0617r0, Multi-AP Operation -Basic Definition [Non-Patent Document 4] IEEE P802.11ax / D6.0, November 2019 [Non-Patent Document 5] IEEE 802.11-19 / 1582r2, Coordinated AP Time / Frequency Sharing in a Transmit Opportunity in 11be [Non-Patent Document 6] IEEE 802.11-19 / 1961r1, Multi-AP Group Establishment,2020-01-02 [Non-Patent Document 7] IEEE 802.11-19 / 1972r1, Operation of Virtual BSS for Multi-AP Coordination,2019-11-05 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, a method for controlling transmission power in wireless communication such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) has not been fully studied.

[0006] Non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure contribute to providing an access point, a terminal, and a communication method that can flexibly control uplink transmission power for each terminal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An access point according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that generates parameters related to uplink transmission power control based on information related to transmission power control received from another access point, and a transmission circuit that transmits a control signal including the parameters.

[0008] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, an apparatus, 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. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, uplink transmission power for each terminal can be flexibly controlled.

[0010] 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]

[0011] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an example of a cooperative communication procedure [Diagram 2] A diagram showing an example of the format of the Common Info field [Diagram 3] A diagram showing an example of the format of the User Info field [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of target received signal strength indicator (RSSI) [Diagram 5] A diagram showing an example of a trigger type [Figure 6] A diagram showing an example of uplink multi-AP coordination [Figure 7] An example of coordinated AP (CAP) transmission (Tx) phase [Figure 8] FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system and an example of resource allocation. [Figure 9] Block diagram showing a partial configuration example of an AP [Figure 10] Block diagram showing a partial configuration example of an STA [Figure 11] Block diagram showing an example of an AP configuration [Figure 12] Block diagram showing an example of STA configuration [Figure 13]A sequence diagram showing an example of upstream cooperative communication processing [Figure 14] Diagram showing an example of resource allocation [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field according to Example 1. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a User Info field according to Example 1. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field according to Example 2. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field according to Example 2. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field according to a switching method 1; [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a trigger type according to a switching method 4. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a trigger type according to switching method 5. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a trigger type according to switching method 6. [Diagram 23] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of Trigger Dependent Common Info according to switching method 6. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field according to Example 3. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field according to Example 3. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a User Info field according to Example 4. [Figure 27] A diagram showing an example of the target RSSI format [Figure 28] A diagram showing an example of the trigger frame configuration [Figure 29] A diagram showing an example of the trigger frame configuration [Diagram 30] Diagram showing an example of resource allocation DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) [MAP coordination] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of MAP coordination.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, in MAP coordination, for example, when cooperative communication is started, it is considered to perform control of the following three steps (for example, see Non-Patent Document 3).

[0015] The first step is, for example, a step (or section) of determining APs that will perform cooperative control (also called, for example, "Multi-AP setup" or "MAP selection"). In this step, for example, the APs may communicate information about the capabilities of each AP or the STAs they accommodate between each other to select the APs that will cooperate.

[0016] The second step is, for example, a step (or section) in which information regarding data to be transmitted and received through cooperative communication (e.g., a transmission method or a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS)) is communicated between APs (also referred to as "Multi-AP coordination").

[0017] The third step is, for example, a step (or a section) of transmitting and receiving sounding or data for cooperative communication between the AP and the STA (for example, also called "Multi-AP transmission").

[0018] For example, 11ax supports multi-user (MU) transmission in the uplink (UL). UL MU transmission includes, for example, MU-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). In UL MU transmission, for example, an AP may transmit a signal (also called a "Trigger frame") that is a trigger for an uplink signal to a plurality of STAs it accommodates. A terminal may transmit an uplink signal (also called an uplink response signal) to the AP based on the Trigger frame. The uplink response signal is also called a Trigger based Physical layer convergence procedure Protocol Data Unit (TB PPDU), for example.

[0019] When transmitting an uplink response signal, for example, uplink transmission power control may be applied in the STA. pwr STA " may be calculated according to the following formulas (1) and (2) using, for example, a setting value of an "AP TX Power" field related to the transmission power of the AP in the downlink (DL) included in the Common Info field in the Trigger frame shown in FIG. 2 and a setting value of a "UL Target RSSI" field related to the target RSSI (e.g., target received signal strength) of the AP in the uplink (UL) included in the User Info field in the Trigger frame shown in FIG. 3 (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 3).

[0020] The Common Info field may include information common to multiple STAs (e.g., also called "common information" or "STA common information"). The User Info field may include information specific to each STA (e.g., called "user information", "STA individual information" or "user individual information").

number

number

[0021] In formula (1) and formula (2), PL DL represents the path loss in the downlink, and Tx pwr AP represents the setting value of the AP TX Power field, and DL RSSI represents the received strength (e.g., RSSI) of the downlink signal estimated (or measured) at the STA, and Target RSSI represents the setting value of the UL Target RSSI field.

[0022] In addition, Target RSSI (e.g., Target RSSI ) can be set to the values ​​shown in FIG.

[0023] Furthermore, for the Trigger frame, multiple types (e.g., called "Trigger type") may be defined, for example, as shown in Fig. 5. For example, depending on the value of the Trigger type, the contents notified in the "Trigger Dependent Common Info" field included in the Common Info field and the "Trigger Dependent User Info" field included in the User Info field may differ (for example, see Non-Patent Document 4).

[0024] In 11be, when cooperative communication is performed for an uplink response signal, for example, as shown in Fig. 6, multiple APs (e.g., AP-1 and AP-2) transmit a trigger frame (e.g., represented as UL MU Trigger) with the same content at the same timing, and a STA that is requested to transmit an uplink response signal (e.g., represented as High Efficiency (HE) TB PPDU) after receiving the trigger frame (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Note that, as shown in Fig. 6, the trigger frame includes, for example, a trigger frame used for communication between APs (also called, for example, a MAP trigger frame or M-AP Trigger) and a trigger frame used for communication between an AP and a STA (e.g., a UL MU Trigger).

[0025] The uplink transmission power control of 11ax is performed based on, for example, one setting value "AP TX Power" (in other words, the downlink transmission power of one AP) included in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame. However, for example, in MAP coordination, since there is a possibility that uplink response signals are received in multiple APs, the accuracy of uplink transmission power control for each of multiple APs may be reduced with one setting value as in 11ax.

[0026] For example, when the downlink transmission power differs among multiple APs performing cooperative communication, as shown in equation (1), a single setting value for the downlink transmission power (AP TX Power) may result in a decrease in the estimation accuracy of the path loss between the AP and the STA, which is estimated from the downlink signal from each AP.

[0027] Also, for example, compared to cellular communication, in wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), it is assumed that APs may be arranged irregularly or that performance may vary greatly from AP to AP. Therefore, it is assumed that there are more cases where the transmission power of each AP is different than in cellular communication. Therefore, in wireless communication by wireless LAN, when uplink MAP coordination processing is performed, the accuracy of the transmission power control is likely to be reduced in the uplink transmission power control similar to the above-mentioned 11ax.

[0028] Therefore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, a method for improving the accuracy of transmission power control of an uplink signal (for example, an uplink response signal) in the uplink MAP coordination process will be described.

[0029] In the following, for example, a period during which information is exchanged between APs before an AP transmits a MAP trigger is called a "Negotiation phase". Also, for example, a period during which data is transmitted from an AP to a STA after the Negotiation phase is called a "Multi-AP transmission phase". The Negotiation phase may be, for example, a Multi-AP coordination period in Non-Patent Document 3, or may be a period including both Multi-AP setup and Multi-AP coordination. The Negotiation phase may also include a period during which control information such as a beacon is communicated between APs. Also, for example, the Negotiation phase may include a period (Schedule Allocation) for instructing the allocation of resources (frequency or time (TXOP: transmission opportunity)) of each AP, as described in Non-Patent Document 5 (for example, FIG. 7).

[0030] In the following description, for example, a set of APs performing MAP coordination processing (for example, cooperative communication) is called an "AP group." The AP group may be, for example, a Static Multi-AP Group or a Dynamic Multi-AP Group (for example, see Non-Patent Document 6), or a Virtual BSS (for example, see Non-Patent Document 7). In addition, for example, within an AP group, an AP that controls Multi-AP coordination may be called a "Sharing AP" (or a "Coordinator AP" or a "first AP"). In addition, for example, an AP whose Multi-AP coordination is controlled by a Sharing AP may be called a "Shared AP" (or a "Coordinated AP" or a "second AP"). In an AP group, a Sharing AP may start transmission by, for example, Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA).

[0031] [Wireless communication system configuration] The wireless communication system according to this embodiment may include, for example, a plurality of APs 100 and a plurality of STAs 200.

[0032] For example, in this embodiment, the AP 100 may notify the STAs 200 of information on the transmission power of the AP taking into consideration the cooperative communication control for each STA 200, by using a Trigger frame. "Notification" may be interpreted as "transmission" or "instruction."

[0033] The information on the transmission power of the AP may include, for example, information on the downlink transmission power of the AP 100 that communicates with each of the multiple STAs 200 that are communication control targets among the multiple APs 100. For example, the STAs 200 that do not perform cooperative communication may be notified of information on the transmission power of the AP 100 (for example, called an association AP) to which the STAs 200 are connected.

[0034] Also, for example, the STA 200 performing cooperative communication may be notified of information regarding the transmission power of the AP 100 according to cooperative communication control. For example, when the control method of cooperative communication (also referred to as "cooperative communication mode" for example) is Diversity reception, information regarding the transmission power of one AP 100 scheduled to receive an uplink signal may be notified to the STA 200 performing cooperative communication. Also, for example, when the cooperative communication mode is joint reception, information regarding the combined value of the transmission powers of a plurality of APs 100 scheduled to receive an uplink signal may be notified to the STA 200 performing cooperative communication.

[0035] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, for example, an example is shown in which communication control for the STAs 1, 2, and 3 is performed by the APs 1 and 2. Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the STAs 1 and 3 do not perform cooperative communication, and the STA 2 performs cooperative communication (for example, Joint Reception). In the case of resource allocation shown in FIG. 8, for example, in the Trigger frame, information regarding the transmission power of the AP 1 may be notified to the STA 1, information regarding the value obtained by combining the transmission power of the AP 1 and the transmission power of the AP 2 may be notified to the STA 2, and information regarding the transmission power of the AP 2 may be notified to the STA 3.

[0036] Note that an example of notification of information regarding the transmission power of the AP 100 (for example, downlink transmission power) for each STA 200 in the Trigger frame will be described later.

[0037] By such notification of information regarding the transmission power of the AP 100 by the Trigger frame, each STA 200 can perform transmission power control according to the transmission method of the uplink signal (for example, presence or absence of cooperative communication). Therefore, for example, by improving the accuracy of transmission power control of the uplink signal in the MAP coordination process, the uplink throughput can be improved.

[0038] Hereinafter, a configuration example of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0039] Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a part of an AP 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the AP 100 shown in Fig. 9, a control unit (e.g., corresponding to a control circuit) generates parameters related to uplink transmission power control for each of a plurality of uplinks in uplink communication control (e.g., Multi-AP control) based on communication between base stations, and a transmission unit (e.g., corresponding to a transmission circuit) transmits a control signal (e.g., a Trigger frame) including the parameters.

[0040] Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a part of the STA200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the STA200 shown in Fig. 10, a receiver (e.g., a receiver circuit) receives a control signal including a parameter related to uplink transmission power control for each of a plurality of uplinks in uplink communication control (e.g., multi-AP control) based on communication between base stations, and a controller (e.g., a control circuit) controls the uplink transmission power based on the parameter.

[0041] [Example of AP100 configuration] Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the AP 100. The AP 100 shown in Fig. 11 may include, for example, a setting unit 101, a control signal generating unit 102 for STAs, a control signal generating unit 103 for APs, a transmission signal generating unit 104, a wireless transmitting / receiving unit 105, and a received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106.

[0042] For example, the control unit shown in Fig. 9 may correspond to the processing units related to generation of transmission signals in Fig. 11 (for example, setting unit 101, STA-directed control signal generating unit 102, AP-directed control signal generating unit 103, transmission signal generating unit 104, and received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106, etc.). Also, the wireless transmission unit shown in Fig. 9 may correspond to, for example, wireless transmission / reception unit 105 shown in Fig. 11.

[0043] Also, for example, the setting unit 101, the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102, and the AP-directed control signal generating unit 103 may be included in an access control unit (e.g., a Medium Access Control (MAC) processing unit), and the transmission signal generating unit 104 and the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106 may be included in a baseband (BB) processing unit.

[0044] The setting unit 101 may set, for example, control information for the STA 200. For example, the setting unit 101 may set resource allocation information for each STA 200 and scheduling information such as MCS. The setting unit 101 may also determine parameters related to uplink transmission power control such as AP TX Power or target RSSI (hereinafter referred to as uplink transmission power control parameters) based on, for example, information input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106 (for example, control information notified by communication between AP groups in the negotiation phase). The setting unit 101 may output, for example, control information including the uplink transmission power control parameters to the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102.

[0045] Furthermore, the setting unit 101 may determine a transmission power control parameter to be notified by communication between AP groups in the negotiation phase, for example, based on the scheduling information. The setting unit 101 may output control information including the determined transmission power control parameter to the AP-directed control signal generating unit 103, for example.

[0046] In addition, in the negotiation phase, for example, the scheduler may not have completed the final resource allocation. Therefore, the transmission power control parameters notified by each AP 100 in the negotiation phase may be parameters related to candidates of transmission power applicable to the AP 100 according to the capability or coverage of each AP 100. The setting unit 101 may output, for example, parameters related to candidates of transmission power applicable to the AP 100 to the AP-directed control signal generating unit 103.

[0047] For example, each AP 100 notifies the transmission power control parameters based on the capability or coverage, so that the sharing AP can recognize the transmission power of each AP 100 before the final resource allocation in the scheduler. The transmission power control parameters may include, for example, the capability of the transmission power of each AP 100. The capability of the transmission power may include, for example, the range of the transmission power that each AP 100 can output (for example, the maximum value, minimum value, and step width of the transmission power of the AP 100). The transmission power control parameters may include, for example, the capability of the transmission power of the STA 200 accommodated by each AP 100.

[0048] The sharing AP may reset the transmission power of each AP100 based on, for example, a transmission power control parameter notified from each AP100 in the AP group. For example, the sharing AP may reset the transmission power of each AP100 based on the transmission power capability of the AP100 or the STA200. As a method of resetting the transmission power, for example, when the difference in the transmission power capability of each AP100 is within a threshold, a method of unifying the transmission power of multiple AP100 included in the AP group may be used. The unified transmission power may be set to, for example, the transmission power of one AP (for example, the maximum or minimum transmission power in the AP group) among the transmission powers exchanged between the AP100. Alternatively, the unified transmission power may be set to, for example, the average or total transmission power of multiple AP100 in the AP group. By unifying the transmission power, for example, the sharing AP does not need to notify each AP100 of the reset transmission power, and only needs to notify the existing TX AP Power, so that the signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0049] Furthermore, the information regarding the capability of the transmission power may be, for example, control information such as "UL MU Power Capabilities element" applied in 11ax. Furthermore, the transmission power control parameters notified between the APs 100 may include, for example, an OMI (Operating mode indication) notifying an applicable bandwidth or the number of SSs (spatial streams). Furthermore, the transmission power control parameters notified between the APs 100 may include, for example, a path loss. For example, the sharing AP may determine whether or not to apply cooperative communication based on the path loss notified from each AP 100.

[0050] In addition, the transmission power control parameters notified between the APs 100 may include, for example, spatial reuse (parameterized spatial reuse (PSR)) to be notified to the STA 200 in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame. The sharing AP may set the transmission power of each AP 100 and the target RSSI of the STA 200 based on, for example, the PSR notified from each AP 100. For example, when uplink cooperative communication is applied, the sharing AP may reset the target RSSI of each AP 100 in the negotiation phase, taking into account the combined gain. An example of a method for resetting the target RSSI when uplink cooperative communication is applied will be described later.

[0051] 11, the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 may generate, for example, a control signal (for example, a Trigger frame) for the STA 200. For example, the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 may generate the control signal based on control information (for example, resource allocation results for each STA 200, or transmission power control parameters such as AP Tx Power and target RSSI) input from the setting unit 101 and information input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106.

[0052] The control signal for STA200 may include, for example, time and frequency resource information (e.g., resource unit (RU) allocation information for uplink cooperative communication, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.), as well as at least one of the following: transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power of AP100 or target RSSI, etc.), information regarding trigger frame generation (e.g., UL MCS, guard interval (GI), long training field (LTF) mode), Trigger type notifying the type of control signal, and terminal identification information (e.g., association ID (AID)).

[0053] Also, in this embodiment, for example, the control signal for the STA 200 may include information regarding the downlink transmission power for each STA 200 based on the cooperative communication mode by the AP 100 applied to the STA 200.

[0054] The STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 outputs the generated control signal to the transmission signal generating unit 104, for example.

[0055] An example of the format of a control signal for STA 200 during uplink coordinated communication will be described later.

[0056] Also, for example, at least some of the multiple STAs 200 instructed by the Trigger frame to transmit uplink response signals may not perform uplink cooperative communication. Therefore, when the format of the control signal for the STAs 200 during uplink cooperative communication is applied, the signaling overhead may increase. For example, when each of the multiple STAs 200 instructed by the Trigger frame to transmit uplink response signals does not perform uplink cooperative communication, it is not necessary to notify the transmission power control parameter considering the control method by cooperative communication. Therefore, the AP 100 may determine whether or not to apply the format of the control signal for the STAs 200 during uplink cooperative communication when generating a control signal (in other words, may switch the format of the control signal). An example of the method of switching the control signal format will be described later.

[0057] The AP-directed control signal generating unit 103 may generate, for example, a control signal (for example, a trigger frame) for the AP 100. For example, the AP-directed control signal generating unit 103 may generate the control signal based on control information (for example, a transmission power control parameter) input from the setting unit 101 and information input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106.

[0058] The control signal for AP100 may include, for example, at least one of the following: time and frequency resource information (e.g., RU allocation information for uplink cooperative communication, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.), transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power of AP100, target RSSI, etc.), and information related to generation of a control signal (e.g., trigger frame) for STA200 (e.g., UL MCS, GI, LTF mode). Furthermore, the control signal for AP100 may include, for example, at least one of the transmission power capability of each AP100 (e.g., the range of transmission power that each AP100 can output (e.g., maximum, minimum, step width of transmission power)), and the transmission power capability of the STA200 accommodated in each AP100.

[0059] The AP-directed control signal generating unit 103 outputs the generated control signal to the transmission signal generating unit 104, for example.

[0060] The transmission signal generating unit 104 performs coding and modulation processing on, for example, a control signal, or data and ACK / Block-ACK, input from the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 or the AP-directed control signal generating unit 103. The transmission signal generating unit 104 may generate a radio frame (transmission signal) by adding, for example, a pilot signal used for frequency synchronization or timing synchronization on the receiving side (for example, another AP 100 or STA 200), a channel estimation signal (for example, LTF or Extremely High Throughput (EHT)-LTF), etc. to the modulated signal. The transmission signal generating unit 104 outputs the generated transmission signal to the wireless transmitting / receiving unit 105.

[0061] The wireless transceiver 105 performs wireless transmission processing, such as D / A conversion and up-conversion to a carrier frequency, on the transmission signal input from the transmission signal generator, and transmits the signal after wireless transmission processing via an antenna.

[0062] For example, when AP 100 receives an uplink signal (eg, an uplink response signal (TB-PPDU)) and feedback information transmitted from STA 200, or a control signal between AP groups, AP 100 may operate as follows.

[0063] A radio signal received via an antenna is input to the radio transmission / reception unit 105. The radio transmission / reception unit 105 performs radio reception processing, such as down-conversion of a carrier frequency, on the received radio signal, and outputs the signal after the radio reception processing to the received signal demodulation / decoding unit 106.

[0064] The received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106 may, for example, perform processing such as autocorrelation processing on the signal input from the wireless transmission / reception unit 105 and extract the received wireless frame. The received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106 may also decode and demodulate, for example, an uplink response signal (for example, TB-PPDU) from the STA 200 and feedback information, or a control signal between AP groups, which are included in the extracted wireless frame. The received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106 may, for example, output the feedback information and the control signal between AP groups to the setting unit 101, the STA-directed control signal generation unit 102, and the AP-directed control signal generation unit 103.

[0065] [STA200 configuration example] Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of STA 200 according to this embodiment. STA 200 shown in Fig. 12 may include, for example, radio transmission / reception section 201, received signal demodulation / decoding section 202, transmission power calculation section 203, response signal generation section 204, and transmission signal generation section 205.

[0066] For example, the control unit shown in FIG. 10 may correspond to the processing units related to the generation of the transmission signal in FIG. 12 (for example, the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202, the transmission power calculation unit 203, the response signal generation unit 204, the transmission signal generation unit 205, etc.). Also, the wireless reception unit shown in FIG. 10 may correspond to, for example, the wireless transmission and reception unit 201 shown in FIG. 12.

[0067] Also, for example, the transmission power calculation unit 203 and the response signal generation unit 204 may be included in the access control unit, and the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202 and the transmission signal generation unit 205 may be included in the baseband processing unit.

[0068] The wireless transmission and reception unit 201, for example, receives the signal transmitted from the AP 100 via the antenna, performs wireless reception processing such as down-conversion and A / D conversion on the received signal, and outputs the signal after the wireless reception processing to the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202. Also, the wireless transmission and reception unit 201 may perform wireless transmission processing such as D / A conversion and up-conversion to the carrier frequency on the signal input from the transmission signal generation unit 205. Further, the wireless transmission and reception unit 201 may transmit the signal after the wireless transmission processing via the antenna based on the transmission power instructed from the transmission power calculation unit 203.

[0069] The received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202 may perform processing such as autocorrelation processing on the signal input from the wireless transmission and reception unit 201 and extract the received wireless frame. The received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202 may demodulate and decode the control signal (for example, Trigger frame) included in the extracted wireless frame and output transmission power control parameters such as AP TX Power or target RSSI to the transmission power calculation unit 203. Also, the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202 may output control parameters such as time and frequency resource information (for example, RU allocation information, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.) or MCS to the transmission signal generation unit 205.

[0070] The received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202 may determine whether or not the control signal format for the STA 200 during uplink cooperative communication is to be applied, for example, based on a control signal format switching control method described later.

[0071] The transmission power calculation unit 203 may calculate, for example, the transmission power of an uplink signal (for example, an uplink response signal). For example, the transmission power calculation unit 203 may calculate the transmission power of the uplink response signal based on transmission power control parameters (for example, AP TX Power and target RSSI) input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 202 and a path loss (not shown) estimated from the downlink signal. The transmission power calculation unit 203 may output, for example, information on the calculated transmission power to the wireless transmission and reception unit 201. An example of a method of calculating the uplink transmission power in the transmission power calculation unit 203 will be described later. "Calculate" may be read as "determine". For example, the transmission power may be determined based on information in a table format.

[0072] The response signal generating unit 204 may, for example, generate an uplink response signal and output the generated uplink response signal to the transmission signal generating unit 205. The uplink response signal may include, for example, the ID of the STA 200 and transmission information of the STA 200 (for example, data, a transmission buffer state notification, or a DL Data request, etc.).

[0073] The transmission signal generating unit 205 performs coding and modulation on the uplink response signal input from the response signal generating unit 204, for example, based on the control parameters (e.g., MCS, etc.) input from the received signal demodulating and decoding unit 202. The transmission signal generating unit 205 may, for example, add a control signal (preamble) such as a pilot signal used for frequency synchronization or timing synchronization on the receiving side (e.g., AP 100) and a channel estimation signal to the modulated signal, and generate a radio frame (transmission signal). The transmission signal generating unit 205 outputs the generated transmission signal to the radio transmitting and receiving unit 201, for example.

[0074] [Example of AP and STA operation] Next, an example of the operation of the AP 100 and the STA 200 of this embodiment will be described.

[0075] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to the present embodiment.

[0076] 13, as an example, the operations of two APs 100 (for example, AP1 and AP2) and two STAs 200 (for example, STA1 and STA2) will be described. Also, in FIG. 13, for example, AP1 is a sharing AP, and AP2 is a shared AP.

[0077] In FIG. 13, in the negotiation phase, AP1 and AP2 may notify, for example, time and frequency resource information (e.g., RU allocation information for uplink cooperative communication, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.), transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power of each AP100, target RSSI, etc.), or information regarding trigger frame generation (e.g., UL MCS, GI, or LTF mode).

[0078] The transmission power control parameters in the negotiation phase may include, for example, the transmission power capability of each AP100 (for example, the range of transmission power that each AP100 can output (for example, maximum, minimum, and step width of transmission power)). In addition, the transmission power control parameters may include, for example, the transmission power capability of the STA200 accommodated in each AP100. Based on the transmission power capabilities of each AP100 and STA200, the AP100 can perform cooperative control and scheduling that takes the capabilities into consideration.

[0079] Also, in the negotiation phase, for example, after the Sharing AP collects the transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power capability) of each shared AP, the transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power, target RSSI, capability of AP100) notified from other APs 100 may not be within a specified range (e.g., X≧transmission power control parameter≧Y). In this case, the Sharing AP may exclude the corresponding AP 100 from APs (e.g., AP group) that perform cooperative communication.

[0080] The range setting values ​​X and Y may be set based on, for example, the transmission power, target RSSI, and capability of the sharing AP. For example, when the transmission power control parameter is the transmission power of the AP 100, X may be set to (transmission power of the sharing AP)+α, and Y may be set to (transmission power of the sharing AP)-α. α may be any value, for example, an integer or a real number.

[0081] For example, the greater the difference in transmission power, target RSSI, or capability between APs 100 in an AP group, the more complex the control of cooperative communication becomes. Therefore, the sharing AP can easily control cooperative communication by excluding APs that have a large difference in transmission power control parameter value between themselves and the sharing AP (for example, APs 100 that do not fall within X≧transmission power control parameter≧Y) from APs that perform cooperative communication.

[0082] Note that part of the above information may be notified by, for example, a MAP trigger.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 13, when the negotiation phase ends, a sharing AP (for example, AP1) may transmit a Multi-AP trigger frame to each AP 100 (for example, AP2) that is performing cooperative communication.

[0084] For example, after a specified time (e.g., Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS)) has elapsed since the transmission and reception of a Multi-AP trigger frame, APs 100 (e.g., AP1 and AP2) in an AP group may simultaneously transmit a Trigger frame (e.g., a Trigger frame for TB-PPDU) for triggering uplink communication of STAs 200 (e.g., STA1 and STA2). Note that the information contained in the PPDU containing this Trigger frame may be similar information between the APs 100, for example. For example, by multiple APs 100 transmitting the same (common) information in the Trigger frame, the STAs 200 can receive signals from each AP 100 while suppressing interference.

[0085] For example, in a PPDU including a Trigger frame, a value such as a Cyclic shift set for each antenna or stream may be set to a different value for each AP 100. A part of a preamble included in a PPDU may be replaced for each AP 100. A frequency resource of EHT-LTF may be different for each AP 100. A preamble may be a signal in a sub-channel (e.g., 20 MHz band) unit, and even if data is a signal in a partial frequency band of the preamble, the preamble may be a signal in the frequency band of the sub-channel (e.g., 20 MHz band).

[0086] For example, as shown in FIG. 13, after receiving a Trigger frame, STA200 (e.g., STA1 and STA2) may check whether or not an AID addressed to the STA200 or an AID for random access (e.g., 2045) is included in the AID field in the User Info field of the Trigger frame. For example, if an AID addressed to the STA200 or an AID for random access is included, STA200 may perform uplink transmission power control and generate an uplink response signal (e.g., TB-PPDU) based on values ​​indicated in the Common Info field and the User Info field. Then, STA200 may transmit an uplink response signal to AP100 based on, for example, the determined transmission power.

[0087] In addition, when the AID of the STA200 is individually designated by the association AP, each of the cooperating APs 100 may not assign the same AID to the STA200 among the APs 100. In other words, the cooperating APs 100 may assign different AIDs to the STA200 among the APs 100. This makes it possible to identify the STA200 that performs cooperative communication within an AP group, for example. For example, an AID assignment range may be designated for each AP100, and each AP100 may assign an AID within the designated range to the associated STA200.

[0088] Furthermore, each AP 100 may, for example, notify the cooperating AP 100 of the AID allocation range. When each AP 100 is notified of the AID allocation range, it may specify an allocation range that does not overlap with the notified allocation range. This makes it possible to suppress overlap of the AID allocation range between the APs 100. The AID allocation range of each AP 100 may be notified by a beacon.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 13, each AP100 may receive, for example, an uplink response signal (for example, a TB PPDU) and transmit information (for example, an ACK or a Block-ACK) regarding the success or failure of reception (or decoding) of the uplink response signal to the STA200. When performing cooperative communication, for example, the AP100 that receives the response signal may transmit an ACK to the STA200. For example, in diversity reception, among the AP100 performing cooperative communication, one AP100 that receives the uplink response signal may transmit an ACK. Also, for example, in joint reception, multiple AP100 that receive a response signal may transmit an ACK. By each AP100 that receives a response signal transmitting an ACK, the ACK can be jointly transmitted, and the reception performance of the ACK at the STA200 can be improved.

[0090] When joint reception is applied, the sharing AP may transmit an ACK and the shared AP may not transmit an ACK. By transmitting an ACK and the shared AP not transmitting an ACK, ACK information does not need to be communicated between APs 100.

[0091] Also, the ACK is not limited to being transmitted after the lapse of SIFS from when the AP 100 receives the uplink response signal, but may be transmitted after a certain time has elapsed (called a Delayed ACK). For example, the ACK response method may be changed depending on the cooperative communication method. For example, in joint reception, Delayed ACK may be applied in consideration of the reception synthesis processing time.

[0092] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a case where, for example, in the configuration example of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 8, a 20 MHz band is assigned to STA1, a 20 MHz band to STA2, and a 40 MHz band (in other words, resources) to STA#3. In FIG. 14, for example, when transmitting a Trigger frame, AP1 and AP2 may transmit the same (common) information to STA1, STA2, and STA3 in an 80 MHz band. STA1, STA2, and STA3 may transmit uplink response signals (for example, TB PPDU) in a band indicated by the Trigger frame. In addition, AP1 and AP2 may transmit ACKs (or BAs) to each STA in a band in which uplink response signals from STA1, STA2, and STA3 are transmitted.

[0093] [Method of selecting target RSSI when using cooperative uplink communications] Next, an example of a method for selecting a target RSSI (for example, an uplink target RSSI) for each STA 200 when uplink coordinated communication is applied according to this embodiment will be described.

[0094] <Selection method 1> In selection method 1, for example, the AP 100 may select the maximum target RSSI from among the target RSSIs for each STA 200 set by each AP 100 that is performing cooperative communication.

[0095] As an example, a selection example of the target RSSI for STA2 shown in Fig. 8 will be described. For example, if the target RSSI set by AP1 for STA2 is RSSI#1 and the target RSSI set by AP2 for STA2 is RSSI#2, the value of max(RSSI#1, RSSI#2) may be selected as the target RSSI for STA2.

[0096] By selecting the maximum target RSSI as the target RSSI for STA200, it becomes possible to set the highest reception level among the reception levels of the uplink response signal based on the target RSSI set for each STA200, thereby improving the probability of successfully receiving the uplink response signal at AP100.

[0097] <Selection method 2> In selection method 2, for example, the AP 100 may select the smallest target RSSI from among the target RSSIs for each STA 200 set by each AP 100 that is performing cooperative communication.

[0098] As an example, a selection example of the target RSSI for STA2 shown in Fig. 8 will be described. For example, if the target RSSI set by AP1 for STA2 is RSSI#1 and the target RSSI set by AP2 for STA2 is RSSI#2, the value of min(RSSI#1, RSSI#2) may be selected as the target RSSI for STA2.

[0099] By selecting the minimum target RSSI for the STA 200, it is possible to reduce interference (e.g., adjacent-channel interference (ACI)) caused by an uplink response signal transmitted from the STA 200 on response signals of other STAs. This can improve the probability that the AP 100 will successfully receive response signals of other STAs.

[0100] <Selection method 3> In selection method 3, for example, the AP 100 may select an average value of the target RSSI for each STA 200 set by each AP 100 that is performing cooperative communication.

[0101] By selecting the average value as the target RSSI for STA 200, it is possible to maintain the reception performance of the uplink response signal in AP 100, while suppressing the ACI that the uplink response signal transmitted from STA 200 gives to other STAs.

[0102] Alternatively, the AP 100 may calculate an average value by weighting the target RSSI set for each STA 200. For example, a large weighting coefficient may be set for the target RSSI of a Sharig AP, and a small weighting coefficient may be set for the target RSSI of a Shared AP.

[0103] The above describes the selection methods 1 to 3. Note that the method of selecting the target RSSI for each STA 200 when uplink coordinated communication is applied is not limited to the above-mentioned selection methods 1 to 3. For example, the target RSSI for a certain STA 200 may be set based on one or more target RSSIs among the target RSSIs set for the STA 200 in each AP 100.

[0104] [Trigger frame format and uplink transmission power calculation method for uplink cooperative communications] Hereinafter, an example of a trigger frame format for uplink cooperative communication and a method of calculating (determining) uplink transmission power in the STA 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0105] In this embodiment, for example, information on the transmission power of AP100 (in other words, transmission power control parameters) may be set for each STA200 by the Trigger frame. For example, the transmission power control parameters may include information on downlink transmission power determined for each of multiple STAs 200 in accordance with the type of uplink communication control (for example, multi-AP control) based on communication between APs 100. For example, the type of multi-AP control for each STA200 may include, for example, a case where coordinated uplink communication control is performed and a case where coordinated uplink communication control is performed. Furthermore, when coordinated uplink communication control is performed, for example, joint transmission and diversity reception may be included.

[0106] <Example 1> Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field of a Trigger frame in Example 1. Note that the Common Info field and the User Info field of the Trigger frame may include fields different from those shown in Fig. 15. Also, some of the fields shown in Fig. 15 may not be included.

[0107] 15 may include, for example, "AP TX Power", a setting value (e.g., also called a reference value) of the transmission power of the AP 100 commonly used when multiple STAs 200 to which a Trigger frame is to be transmitted calculate uplink transmission power. For example, the transmission power of a sharing AP, the average value (e.g., also called average transmission power) of the APs 100 belonging to an AP group performing cooperative communication, or any one of the transmission powers (e.g., maximum or minimum) of the APs 100 belonging to the AP group may be set to "AP TX Power".

[0108] Furthermore, the User Info field shown in FIG. 15 may include, for example, an offset value (eg, "AP TX Power offset") for the value "AP TX Power" that is included in the Common Info field and is common to a plurality of STAs 200.

[0109] For example, if the setting value of AP TX Power is the transmission power of a sharing AP or the average transmission power of an AP group, the value of "AP TX Power offset" may be a negative value. Therefore, for example, if the field of "AP TX Power offset" is 4 bits, an offset value such as -8 to +7 [dB] may be set.

[0110] The AP 100 may determine the AP TX power offset based on, for example, a cooperative communication mode (for example, diversity reception or joint reception, etc.). For example, in selecting the cooperative communication mode, joint reception may be applied between multiple APs 100 in which the path loss between the STA 200 and the AP 100 is within X dB. On the other hand, between multiple APs 100 in which the path loss is greater than X dB, diversity reception by one AP 100 with the smallest path loss may be applied, for example.

[0111] For example, the STA 200 that applies joint reception can calculate the downlink path loss by using the combined transmission power of multiple APs 100 participating in the joint reception.

[0112] As an example, a wireless communication system configuration shown in FIG. 8 will be described.

[0113] The setting value of "AP TX Power" in the Common Info field is, for example, the transmission power (TxPow AP1 [dBm]) may be set.

[0114] Also, the setting value of "AP TX Power offset" in the User Info field for STA1 may be set to, for example, 0 [dB]. In other words, the setting value of "AP TX Power offset" for STA1 may be set to a value obtained by subtracting AP TX Power (here, the transmission power of AP1) from the transmission power of AP1.

[0115] In addition, the setting value of the "AP TX Power offset" in the User Info field for STA2 may be set to a value obtained by subtracting AP TX Power (here, the transmission power of AP1) from the combined power of the transmission powers of AP1 and AP2, as shown in the following equation (3), taking into account joint reception by AP1 and AP2.

number

[0116] In addition, the setting value of "AP TX Power offset" in the User Info field for STA3 may be set to, for example, a value obtained by subtracting AP TX Power (here, the transmission power of AP1) from the transmission power of AP2, as shown in the following equation (4).

number

[0117] For example, the STA200 may set the “AP TX Power” (e.g., Tx Pow Ap ) and the "AP Tx Power offset" in the User Info field (e.g., Tx PowOffset Ap Based on the set value of the uplink transmission power (for example, Tx Pow STA (expressed as

number

number

[0118] As a result, for example, in Figure 8, for STA1, uplink transmission power based on the transmission power of AP1 is set, for ST2, uplink transmission power based on the combined value of the transmission powers of AP1 and AP2 is set, and for STA3, uplink transmission power based on the transmission power of AP2 is set.

[0119] In this way, in example 1, the AP 100 notifies the STA 200 of information on the transmission power considering the cooperative communication mode for each STA 200 (in other words, the transmission power of the AP 100 considering the MAP coordination process for each STA 200) by, for example, a Trigger frame. Also, the STA 200 can recognize the transmission power of the AP 100 considering the cooperative communication mode, for example, based on the received Trigger frame. For example, even if the transmission powers of the multiple APs 100 are different, the AP 100 can notify information on the transmission power of the AP 100 according to the uplink transmission method (for example, the cooperative communication mode) of each STA 200 by the Trigger frame. Therefore, even when the cooperative communication mode is applied, each STA 200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink path loss, for example, and correctly calculate (determine) the uplink transmission power, thereby improving the uplink throughput.

[0120] In addition, when any of the "Trigger format switching methods 4 to 6" described later is applied, the "AP TX Power offset" of the User Info field applied in the uplink cooperative communication mode may be placed in the Trigger Dependent User Info field, for example, as shown in FIG. 16.

[0121] <Example 2> Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field of a Trigger frame in Example 2. Note that the Common Info field and the User Info field of the Trigger frame may include fields different from those shown in Fig. 17. Also, some of the fields shown in Fig. 17 may not be included.

[0122] In the Common Info field shown in FIG. 17 (for example, the AP TX Power field), a set of transmission powers (for example, AP TxPower#1 to AP TxPower#N) considering, for example, the cooperative communication mode (for example, Diversity reception, or joint reception, etc.) for each STA200 may be included.

[0123] For example, in the configuration example of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 8, the Common Info field may include a set of the transmission power of AP1, the transmission power of AP2, and the combined transmission power of AP1 and AP2 considering joint reception (for example, expressed as "transmission power of AP#1 + AP#2").

[0124] Note that the number N of sets of the transmission power of AP100 may be determined by, for example, any of the following methods.

[0125] For example, the value of the number N of sets may be a fixed value. The value of the number N of sets may be, for example, predefined (or defined) in the specification in advance. The fixed value may be, for example, a value based on the maximum number of AP100s performing assumed cooperative communication or the maximum number of AP100s considering the combinations of AP100s in joint reception. By setting the value of the number N of sets to a fixed value, the generation process of the Trigger frame in AP100 and the determination process of the Trigger frame in STA200 can be simplified.

[0126] Also, for example, the value of the number N of sets may be a value notified (in other words, set) from AP100 to STA200. The value of the number N of sets may be notified, for example, by a beacon or control information in the Negotiation phase. For example, AP100 can reduce the signaling overhead by notifying the number N of sets considering the cooperative communication in the AP group.

[0127] 17 may include an index (e.g., AP TX Power index) indicating which value of the transmission power set included in the Common Info field is to be used by the STA 200. In other words, the User Info field may include an index associated with information on a plurality of downlink transmission powers set in the Common Info field.

[0128] For example, in the configuration example of the wireless communication system shown in Fig. 8, a case will be described in which the transmission power of AP1 is set to AP TxPower#1, the transmission power of AP2 is set to AP TxPower#2, and the transmission power of AP#1+AP#2 is set to AP TxPower#3 in the Common Info field. In this case, index #1 may be set to the User Info field for STA1, index #3 may be set to the User Info field for STA2, and index #2 may be set to the User Info field for STA3.

[0129] For example, the STA 200 may set the AP TX Power (for example, Tx Pow Ap Based on the setting value of the AP Tx Power index (e.g., i) in the User Information field, the uplink transmission power (e.g., Tx Pow STA (expressed as

number

number

[0130] As a result, for example, in Figure 8, for STA1, uplink transmission power based on the transmission power of AP1 is set, for ST2, uplink transmission power based on the combined value of the transmission powers of AP1 and AP2 is set, and for STA3, uplink transmission power based on the transmission power of AP2 is set.

[0131] In this way, in example 2, the AP 100 notifies the STA 200 of information regarding the transmission power considering the cooperative communication mode for each STA 200 (in other words, the transmission power of the AP 100 considering the MAP coordination process for each STA 200) by, for example, a Trigger frame. Also, the STA 200 can recognize the transmission power of the AP 100 considering the cooperative communication mode, for example, based on the received Trigger frame. For example, even if the transmission powers of the multiple APs 100 are different, the AP 100 can notify information regarding the transmission power of the AP 100 according to the uplink transmission method (for example, the cooperative communication mode) of each STA 200 by the Trigger frame. Therefore, even when the cooperative communication mode is applied, each STA 200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink path loss, for example, and correctly calculate (determine) the uplink transmission power, thereby improving the uplink throughput.

[0132] Here, for the transmission power control parameters for each STA 200 included in the User Info field, the number of bits is likely to be smaller for the index value as in Example 2 compared to the offset value as in Example 1 (e.g., FIG. 15). Also, generally, in a wireless communication system, the number of STAs 200 is likely to be greater than the number of APs 100. Thus, in Example 2, for example, the greater the number of STAs 200 set (in other words, triggered) by the Trigger frame, the more the increase in the User Info field size can be suppressed compared to Example 1, and therefore the signaling overhead can be further reduced.

[0133] In addition, when any of "Trigger format switching methods 4 to 6" described later is applied, "AP TX Power #2 to AP TX Power #N" of the Common Info field applied in the uplink cooperative communication mode may be placed in the Trigger Dependent Common Info field, for example, as shown in Fig. 18. For example, AP TX Power #1 may be placed in the AP TX Power field shown in Fig. 18. Similarly, "AP TX Power index" of the User Info field applied in the uplink cooperative communication mode may be placed in the Trigger Dependent User Info field, as shown in Fig. 18.

[0134] The above describes an example of the trigger frame format for uplink cooperative communication and a method for calculating the uplink transmission power in the STA 200.

[0135] [Trigger frame format switching method] Next, a method of switching between a control signal format (Trigger frame format) when the uplink coordinated communication is applied and a control signal format when the uplink coordinated communication is not applied (in other words, a method of notifying the format to the STA 200) will be described. Note that the switching of the format may be interpreted as selection of a format, or determination or setting of a format.

[0136] For example, when at least one of the multiple STAs 200 instructed to transmit an uplink response signal by the Trigger frame performs uplink coordinated communication, the format of the control signal when uplink coordinated communication is applied may be applied.

[0137] On the other hand, for example, when each of a plurality of STAs 200 (for example, all of the STAs 200) instructed to transmit an uplink response signal by the Trigger frame does not perform uplink coordinated communication, a control signal format for when uplink coordinated communication is not applied may be applied.

[0138] For example, the AP 100 and the STA 200 may switch the format of the trigger frame based on any one of switching methods 1 to 6 described below. For example, the AP 100 and the STA 200 may determine a trigger frame format when applying A-uplink coordinated communication control (e.g., uplink communication control coordinated between the APs 100) and a trigger frame format when uplink coordinated communication control is not performed based on information related to the coordination of multi-AP control (e.g., flag information or trigger type described later). This can reduce signaling overhead when multiple STAs 200 instructed to send uplink response signals by the trigger frame do not perform uplink coordinated communication.

[0139] <Switching method 1> In the switching method 1, the AP 100 may notify the STA 200 of control information including flag information indicating whether or not to perform uplink coordinated communication.

[0140] For example, as shown in FIG. 19, information indicating whether or not uplink coordinated communication is applied (for example, "UL multi AP flag") may be included in the Common Info field.

[0141] For example, when the UL multi AP flag is 1, the control signal format for STA200 during uplink cooperative communication may be applied as in Example 1 or Example 2. On the other hand, for example, when the UL multi AP flag is 0, the format of the control signal for STA200 during uplink cooperative communication may not be applied. For example, when the UL multi AP flag is 0, the same control signal format as that of 11ax may be applied.

[0142] For example, when the STA 200 receives a Trigger frame, the STA 200 may determine which format is to be applied to the Trigger frame (control signal) based on the UL multi AP flag in the Common Info field.

[0143] <Switching method 2> In switching method 2, for example, AP100 may notify information indicating whether or not to apply the format of a control signal for STA200 during uplink cooperative communication (e.g., a UL multi AP flag similar to switching method 1) in a signal field (e.g., Universal-SIG (U-SIG) or EHT-SIG) in the preamble of a downlink PPDU that includes a Trigger frame.

[0144] <Switching method 3> In switching method 3, for example, AP 100 may notify STA 200 of information in a beacon or control information indicating whether to apply the format of a control signal for STA 200 during uplink cooperative communication (for example, a UL multi AP flag similar to switching method 1).

[0145] <Switching method 4> In switching method 4, for example, the AP 100 may instruct the STA 200 on the format of the control signal by using "Trigger type" included in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame.

[0146] In switching method 4, for example, in the Trigger Type subfield value, the multi-AP application mode may be set for at least one of the modes such as Basic and Beamforming Report Poll (BFRP).

[0147] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a trigger type according to switching method 4. Fig. 20 shows an example of a relationship between a trigger type (e.g., a trigger frame variant) and a value (trigger type subfield value) associated with the trigger type notified from the AP 100 to the STA 200 by a trigger frame (e.g., a common info field).

[0148] In the example shown in Fig. 20, a combination of Basic and multi-AP application mode is set as the Trigger type in the Trigger Type subfield value = 8. Note that the setting of the Trigger type shown in Fig. 20 is an example, and a Trigger frame type other than Basic and the multi-AP application mode may be notified.

[0149] When the Trigger type is a type corresponding to uplink coordinated communication (for example, multi-AP application mode), the AP 100 and the STA 200 may set a Trigger frame format for application of uplink coordinated communication.

[0150] Switching method 4 eliminates the need to add a new field or format for controlling the switching of the control signal format, thereby making it possible to suppress an increase in changes to specifications.

[0151] <Switching method 5> In switching method 5, for example, the AP 100 may instruct the STA 200 on the format of the control signal by using "Trigger type" included in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame.

[0152] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a trigger type according to the switching method 5. In FIG.

[0153] As shown in FIG. 21, the AP 100 may notify the STA 200 whether or not the Trigger format is for uplink cooperative communication by, for example, a field different from the Trigger Type subfield value (for example, a Multi-AP operation flag (for example, 1 bit)).

[0154] <Switching method 6> In switching method 6, for example, the AP 100 may instruct the STA 200 on the format of the control signal by using "Trigger type" included in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame.

[0155] Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a trigger type according to switching method 6. Fig. 22 shows an example of a relationship between a trigger type (e.g., a trigger frame variant) and a value (trigger type subfield value) associated with the trigger type notified from the AP 100 to the STA 200 by a trigger frame (e.g., a common info field).

[0156] As shown in Fig. 22, in "Trigger type", for example, it may be notified that uplink cooperative communication (multi-AP) will be performed. In the example shown in Fig. 22, when the Trigger Type subfield value = 8, it may be notified that uplink cooperative communication will be performed.

[0157] In addition, when the application of uplink coordinated communication is notified by the Trigger type (for example, when the Trigger Type subfield value = 8), the type of the Trigger frame (for example, Basic or BFRP, etc.) may be notified in a field different from the Trigger type (for example, Trigger Info in the Trigger Dependent Common Info field) as shown in, for example, Fig. 23. For example, the type of the Trigger format notified in the Trigger Info may be the same as the content shown in Fig. 5 (for example, the Trigger type of 11ax).

[0158] For example, when the Trigger type is a type corresponding to uplink coordinated communication (for example, multi-AP application mode), the AP 100 and the STA 200 may set a Trigger frame format for application of uplink coordinated communication.

[0159] The above describes how to switch the trigger frame format.

[0160] In this manner, in this embodiment, the AP 100 notifies the STA 200 of parameters related to uplink transmission power control when performing uplink cooperative communication (for example, parameters related to the transmission power of the AP 100 for each STA 200) by using the Trigger frame. Also, the STA 200 controls the transmission power of the uplink response signal based on the parameters related to uplink transmission power control included in the received Trigger frame, for example.

[0161] This allows each STA200 to calculate the transmission power of the uplink response signal based on the transmission power control parameter (transmission power of AP100) for each STA200 included in the Trigger frame. Therefore, even if the transmission power of multiple AP100 in an AP group is different, each STA200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink path loss and improve the accuracy of the transmission power control of the uplink response signal, thereby improving the uplink throughput.

[0162] Therefore, according to this embodiment, uplink transmission power can be flexibly set (controlled) for each STA 200 in Multi-AP coordination.

[0163] (Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, for example, a method of notifying the transmission power of the AP 100 in consideration of the cooperative communication control for each STA in a trigger frame is described. In the present embodiment, a method of notifying the STA 200 of information related to the transmission power of each AP 100 in an AP group (for example, the downlink transmission power of each AP 100 related to multi-AP control) in a trigger frame is described.

[0164] The configuration example of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to this embodiment may be the same as the configuration example of the first embodiment.

[0165] Hereinafter, an example of a trigger frame format for uplink coordinated communication and a method for calculating uplink transmission power according to the present embodiment will be described. Note that, in the present embodiment, the trigger frame format may be switched in the same manner as in the first embodiment (for example, any one of switching methods 1 to 6).

[0166] <Example 3> Fig. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a Common Info field and a User Info field of a Trigger frame in Example 3. Note that the Common Info field and the User Info field of the Trigger frame may include fields different from those shown in Fig. 24. Also, some of the fields shown in Fig. 24 may not be included.

[0167] The Common Info field (eg, AP TX Power field) shown in FIG. 24 may include, for example, the transmission power (eg, AP TX Power #1 to AP TX Power #N) for each AP 100 in the AP group.

[0168] In addition, N may be a fixed value, for example, as in Example 2 of the first embodiment, or may be notified from the AP 100 to the STA 200 by a beacon or control information. In addition, when the number of APs 100 in the AP group is less than N, there may be an unused area in the AP TX Power field.

[0169] For example, in the configuration example of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 8, in the Common Info field, the transmission power of AP1 may be set to AP TX Power #1, and the transmission power of AP2 may be set to AP TX Power #2.

[0170] Also, the User Info field shown in FIG. 24 may include, for example, an "AP TX Power index" having the same number of bits (N) as the number N of transmission power for each AP 100 set in the Common Info field. Each bit of the AP TX Power index (for example, AP TX Power index#n, n=1, 2, ..., N) may correspond to each of the AP TX Power#1 to AP TX Power#N set in the Common Info field. In other words, the N bits of the AP TX Power index may be bitmap information corresponding to each of the AP TX Power#1 to AP TX Power#N.

[0171] For example, when the value of each bit of the AP TX Power index (for example, AP TX Power index#n, n=1, 2, ..., N) is 1, the STA200 may calculate the uplink transmission power using the AP TX Power set in the corresponding Common Info field. Also, when multiple bits of the AP TX Power index are 1, the STA200 may calculate the uplink transmission power by combining the values ​​of multiple AP TX Powers corresponding to the multiple bits. For example, when Joint reception is applied, multiple AP TX Power indices corresponding to multiple APs 100 that receive an uplink response signal from the STA200 may be set to 1.

[0172] For example, the STA 200 may receive the AP TX Power (e.g., Tx Pow Ap Based on the setting value of the AP Tx Power index (e.g., i) in the User Information field, the uplink transmission power (e.g., Tx Pow STA (expressed as

number

number

number

[0173] As shown in equations (9) and (10), the STA 200 uses the transmission power Tx of the AP 100, for example, whose AP Tx Power index(i) value is set to 1. Pow Ap (i) added value Tx Pow Ap Based on the path loss PL DL Estimate.

[0174] For example, in the configuration example of the wireless communication system shown in Fig. 8, a case will be described in which the transmission power of AP1 is set in AP TxPower#1, the transmission power of AP2 is set in AP TxPower#2, and N is 2 bits. In this case, for example, the AP TX Power index in the User Info field of STA1 may be set to "10", the AP TX Power index in the User Info field of STA2 may be set to "11", and the AP TX Power index in the User Info field of STA3 may be set to "01".

[0175] As a result, for example, in Figure 8, STA1 calculates the uplink transmission power based on the transmission power of AP1, ST2 calculates the uplink transmission power based on the combined value of the transmission powers of AP1 and AP2, and STA3 calculates the uplink transmission power based on the transmission power of AP2.

[0176] In this way, in Example 3, for example, the transmission power of each AP100 in the AP group is set (in other words, notified) by the Trigger frame. The STA200 can recognize the transmission power of the AP100 taking into consideration the cooperative communication mode, for example, based on the received Trigger frame. For example, even if the transmission powers of the multiple APs 100 are different, the STA200 can recognize (or select) information regarding the transmission power of the AP100 according to the uplink transmission method (e.g., cooperative communication mode) of each STA200 by the Trigger frame. Therefore, even when the cooperative communication mode is applied, each STA200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink path loss, for example, and correctly calculate (determine) the uplink transmission power, thereby improving the uplink throughput.

[0177] In addition, when any of "Trigger format switching methods 4 to 6" described in the first embodiment is applied, "AP TX Power #2 to AP TX Power #N" of the Common Info field applied in the uplink coordinated communication mode may be placed in the Trigger Dependent Common Info field, for example, as shown in FIG. 25. For example, AP TX Power #1 may be placed in the AP TX Power field shown in FIG. 25. Similarly, "AP TX Power index" of the User Info field applied in the uplink coordinated communication mode may be placed in the Trigger Dependent User Info field, as shown in FIG. 25.

[0178] <Example 4> In Example 4, similarly to Example 3, for example, the transmission power (for example, AP TX Power #1 to AP TX Power #N) for each AP 100 in the AP group may be included in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame.

[0179] On the other hand, in Example 4, for example, information on the transmission power of the AP 100 used for calculating the uplink transmission power (for example, "AP TX Power index" in Example 3) may not be indicated in the User Info field of the Trigger frame. For example, as shown in FIG. 26, the User Info field may have the same format as that of 11ax.

[0180] The STA 200 may select a transmission power to be used for calculating the uplink transmission power from among the transmission powers of a plurality of APs 100 notified in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame, for example.

[0181] STA200 may, for example, estimate the path loss in communication with each AP100, and calculate the uplink transmission power for each transmission destination (AP100) based on the transmission power for each AP100 notified in the Common Info field and the estimated path loss.

[0182] Here, the EHT-LTFs between the APs 100 of the AP group may be orthogonal for path loss estimation between each AP 100. As a method for orthogonalizing the EHT-LTFs, for example, a method using different frequency resources or different codes (e.g., orthogonal codes, etc.) may be applied.

[0183] Also, the STA200 may estimate the path loss between each AP100, for example, without using the orthogonal EHT-LTF. For example, it is assumed that the path loss difference between the AP100 performing cooperative communication is small (for example, the path loss difference is below a threshold) in many cases. Therefore, the STA200 may assume that there is no difference between the path losses corresponding to each of the multiple AP100 (for example, below a threshold), and estimate the path loss estimated based on the non-orthogonal EHT-LTF as the path loss of each AP100.

[0184] STA200 may determine the final uplink transmission power based on the uplink transmission power calculated for each transmission destination (AP100), for example, by one of the following selection methods.

[0185] (1) The STA 200 may select, for example, the minimum uplink transmission power from among the calculated uplink transmission powers. By selecting the minimum uplink transmission power, the power consumption of the STA 200 can be reduced.

[0186] (2) The STA 200 may select, for example, the maximum uplink transmission power from among the calculated uplink transmission powers. By selecting the maximum uplink transmission power, the reception quality of the uplink response signal can be improved, and the uplink throughput can be improved.

[0187] (3) The STA 200 may set the calculated average value of the uplink transmission power of the transmission destination (AP 100) as the uplink transmission power, for example. This can reduce the power consumption of the STA 200 and improve the reception quality of the uplink response signal, for example.

[0188] The method of selecting the uplink transmission power is not limited to the above. For example, the uplink transmission power may be set to a weighted average value of the calculated uplink transmission power of the destination (AP 100).

[0189] In this manner, in Example 4, for example, the transmission power of each AP100 in the AP group is set (in other words, notified) by the Trigger frame. The STA200 can recognize the transmission power of the AP100 taking into consideration the cooperative communication mode, for example, based on the received Trigger frame. For example, even if the transmission powers of the multiple APs 100 are different, the STA200 can recognize (or select) information regarding the transmission power of the AP100 according to the uplink transmission method (e.g., cooperative communication mode) of each STA200, by the Trigger frame. Therefore, even when the cooperative communication mode is applied, each STA200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink path loss, for example, and correctly calculate (determine) the uplink transmission power, thereby improving the uplink throughput.

[0190] In addition, in example 4, for example, the STA 200 can dynamically switch the AP 100 to which it transmits (for example, diversity reception), so that it is possible to improve the reception quality of the uplink response signal or reduce power consumption.

[0191] In this manner, in this embodiment, the AP 100 notifies the STA 200 of parameters related to uplink transmission power control taking into account uplink cooperative communication (for example, parameters related to uplink transmission power control for each of the multiple STAs 200) by using the Trigger frame. Also, the STA 200 controls the transmission power of the uplink response signal based on the parameters related to transmission power control included in the received Trigger frame, for example.

[0192] This allows each STA 200 to calculate the transmission power of the uplink response signal based on the transmission power control parameter (transmission power of AP 100) for each AP 100 included in the Trigger frame. Therefore, even if the transmission power of multiple APs 100 in an AP group is different, each STA 200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink path loss, thereby improving the accuracy of the transmission power control of the uplink response signal and improving the uplink throughput.

[0193] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the uplink transmission power for each STA 200 can be flexibly set (controlled) in Multi-AP coordination.

[0194] (Embodiment 3) In the first and second embodiments, a notification method regarding the transmission power of an AP for uplink coordinated communication has been described. In the present embodiment, a notification method regarding the target RSSI (for example, target received signal strength) of the uplink will be described.

[0195] A configuration example of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to this embodiment may be similar to the configuration example of embodiment 1. For example, the operation of the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 of the AP 100 is different from that of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2, so an operation example will be described below.

[0196] The STA control signal generating unit 102 may generate a control signal for the STA 200 based on, for example, the result of resource allocation to each STA 200, a transmission power control parameter (e.g., AP TX Power or target RSSI, etc.) input from the setting unit 101, or information input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106.

[0197] The control signal for STA200 may include, for example, time and frequency resource information (e.g., RU allocation information for uplink cooperative communication, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.), as well as at least one of the following: transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power of AP100 or target RSSI, etc.), information regarding trigger frame generation (e.g., UL MCS, GI, LTF mode), Trigger type notifying the type of control signal, and terminal identification information (e.g., AID).

[0198] In addition, in this embodiment, for example, the dynamic range of the target RSSI may be increased by adjusting the target RSSI compared to when the uplink coordinated communication is not applied. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the uplink coordinated communication is applied, the format of the target RSSI field may be changed compared to when the uplink coordinated communication is not applied (an example will be described later).

[0199] The STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 outputs the generated control signal to the transmission signal generating unit 104, for example.

[0200] [How to adjust target RSSI] An example of a method for adjusting the target RSSI in this embodiment will be described below.

[0201] AP100 may adjust the "target RSSI" in the User Info field based on, for example, the "AP TX Power" set in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame, the transmission power of each AP100 in the AP group, and the cooperative communication mode applied to each STA200.

[0202] For example, AP100 may adjust the target RSSI according to the following equation (12).

number

[0203] In formula (12), Target RSSI_adj (u) represents the adjusted target RSSI [dBm] for STA#u. RSSI (u) represents the target RSSI [dBm] before adjustment for STA#u. The target RSSI before adjustment may be the target RSSI set by the same method as in the first or second embodiment, for example.

[0204] In addition, in equation (12), Tx Pow Ap represents the AP TX Power [dBm] set in the Common Info field, and Tx Pow Ap(u) represents the transmission power [dBm] of at least one AP 100 that receives the uplink response signal transmitted from STA#u.

[0205] Tx Pow Ap For example, the transmission power of the sharing AP may be set in Tx Pow Ap The value is not limited to the transmission power of the sharing AP, but may be the average transmission power of the AP group performing cooperative communication, or may be the transmission power of any AP 100 in the AP group (for example, the maximum or minimum transmission power).

[0206] In addition, for example, Tx for STA200 that does not perform uplink cooperative communication Pow Ap(u) The transmission power of the association AP may be set to Tx Pow Ap(u) For example, the transmission power of the AP 100 that receives the uplink response signal may be set in the Tx Pow Ap(u) For example, the total value of the transmission power of multiple APs 100 receiving uplink response signals may be set to .

[0207] As shown in equation (12), the adjusted target RSSI (Target RSSI_adj For example, the transmission power of one or more APs 100 performing cooperative communication is reflected in (u). Therefore, the STA 200 can calculate the uplink transmission power according to the cooperative communication mode set for each STA 200 based on the target RSSI notified by the trigger frame.

[0208] [target RSSI field format] An example of the format of the target RSSI field will now be described.

[0209] For example, even if the dynamic range of the target RSSI increases due to adjustment of the target RSSI, a format may be applied that enables a desired target RSSI to be notified in the User Info field of the Trigger frame.

[0210] For example, as described later, by setting (or changing) the format of the target RSSI field, the AP 100 can notify the STA 200 of a desired target RSSI, thereby improving the accuracy of uplink transmission power control in the STA 200.

[0211] In this embodiment, for example, the Trigger frame format may be switched in the same manner as in the first embodiment (for example, any one of switching methods 1 to 6).

[0212] <target RSSIフォーマット1> For example, the number of bits corresponding to the target RSSI setting value in the target RSSI field may be increased. For example, in 11ax, the number of bits in the target RSSI field is 7 bits. In this embodiment, for example, the number of bits may be more than 7 bits (for example, 8 bits) in consideration of an increase in the dynamic range of the target RSSI due to uplink cooperative communication.

[0213] In other words, the bit size corresponding to the information on the target RSSI may be different between when uplink coordinated communication control (for example, uplink communication control coordinated between APs 100) is performed and when uplink coordinated communication control is not performed.

[0214] Also, for example, a part of the reserve area set in the target RSSI field (for example, a table) in 11ax shown in Fig. 4 may be used as an increase in bits corresponding to the setting value of the target RSSI. In this case, the number of bits in the target RSSI field does not need to be increased.

[0215] <target RSSIフォーマット2> Fig. 27 shows an example of a target RSSI field (e.g., a table). Fig. 20 shows an example of a relationship between a target RSSI value (or a candidate value, e.g., a range of -155 dBm to 25 dBm) and an index value (e.g., any one of 0 to 127) notified from the AP 100 to the STA 200 by a Trigger frame (e.g., a User Info field).

[0216] As shown in Fig. 27, for example, the step width of the target RSSI may be increased to expand the settable target RSSI range (for example, the maximum value is increased and the minimum value is decreased) compared to the setting values ​​shown in Fig. 4. For example, the step width of the target RSSI is 1 dB step in 11ax and 2 dB step in Fig. 27.

[0217] In other words, the difference (in other words, the step width) between the target RSSIs associated with each of the two indexes associated with the candidate values ​​of the target RSSI may be different between when uplink cooperative communication control (e.g., uplink communication control coordinated between AP100) is performed and when uplink cooperative communication control is not performed.

[0218] Note that FIG. 27 is just an example, and for example, the range of either the maximum value or the minimum value may be expanded, and the step width may be a step width other than 2 dB (for example, 1.5 dB).

[0219] Furthermore, regarding whether or not to apply "target RSSI format 2", for example, the STA200 may switch based on the setting value of the "AID12" field of the User Info field. For example, when an AID (for example, an AID for cooperative communication) separately reserved for cooperative communication is specified, the STA200 may apply a target RSSI table (for example, FIG. 27) in which the step width of RSSI is increased, and when an AID different from the AID for cooperative communication is specified, the STA200 may use a target RSSI table (for example, FIG. 4) in which the step width of RSSI is 1 dB. In other words, the STA200 may change the step width or range (maximum value, minimum value) of the target RSSI based on the AID specified by the Trigger frame, for example.

[0220] The AID for cooperative communication may be, for example, any AID from 2047 to 4094 reserved in 11ax, or an AID indicated by a beacon or control information.

[0221] An example of the format of the target RSSI field has been described above.

[0222] In this embodiment, for example, by using a method of reporting target RSSI that takes uplink coordinated communication control into consideration, it is possible to improve the accuracy of uplink transmission power control in uplink coordinated communication, similarly to the first and second embodiments. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, for example, since it is only necessary to change the method of reporting target RSSI from the method of reporting a control signal in 11ax, it is possible to suppress changes in specifications.

[0223] (Embodiment 4) The configuration example of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to this embodiment may be the same as the configuration example of the first embodiment.

[0224] In the first to third embodiments, a method has been described in which multiple APs 100 control uplink transmission power for uplink cooperative communication in one Trigger frame. In the present embodiment, a method will be described in which each AP 100 generates a Trigger frame for each AP 100 (in other words, a Trigger frame for each AP 100) and controls uplink transmission power for uplink cooperative communication using multiple Trigger frames.

[0225] In this embodiment, the operation of the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 of the AP 100 is different from that of the other embodiments, so an example of the operation will be described below.

[0226] The STA control signal generating unit 102 may generate a control signal for the STA 200 based on, for example, the result of resource allocation to each STA 200, a transmission power control parameter (e.g., AP TX Power or target RSSI, etc.) input from the setting unit 101, or information input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106.

[0227] The control signal for STA200 may include, for example, time and frequency resource information (e.g., RU allocation information for uplink cooperative communication, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.), as well as at least one of the following: transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power of AP100 or target RSSI, etc.), information regarding trigger frame generation (e.g., UL MCS, GI, LTF mode), Trigger type notifying the type of control signal, and terminal identification information (e.g., AID).

[0228] In addition, in this embodiment, the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 may individually generate trigger frames for the number of APs in the AP group. In other words, the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 may generate trigger frames for each AP 100 in the AP group. An example of the configuration of the trigger frame will be described later.

[0229] The STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 outputs the generated control signals to the transmission signal generating unit 104, for example.

[0230] [Trigger frame configuration example] An example of the configuration of a trigger frame according to this embodiment will be described below.

[0231] <Configuration example 1> In configuration example 1, for example, the User Info field of the Trigger frame corresponding to each AP100 may include information regarding the STA200 that is to receive an uplink response signal at the corresponding AP100 (in other words, the STA200 that sets the corresponding AP100 as its transmission destination).

[0232] Furthermore, in configuration example 1, for example, when joint reception is applied, the same AID may be set in each of the trigger frames of the multiple APs 100 that receive the uplink response.

[0233] For example, a configuration example of a wireless communication system shown in Fig. 8 will be described. Fig. 28 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a trigger frame according to configuration example 1. As shown in Fig. 28, a trigger frame may be generated for each AP100 (e.g., AP1 and AP2). In the example of Fig. 8, a trigger frame for AP1 may include a user info field for each of STA1 and STA2. Also, in the example of Fig. 8, a trigger frame for AP2 may include a user info field for each of STA2 and STA3.

[0234] STA200 may, for example, decode multiple Trigger frames in a received downlink PPDU (e.g., EHT PPDU or MU PPDU), and perform uplink transmission power control based on the target RSSI set in the User Info field including the AID addressed to STA200 and the AP TX Power included in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame including the AID addressed to STA200.

[0235] For example, in the example of Fig. 28, STA1 may calculate uplink transmission power based on the target RSSI set in the User Info field for STA1 included in the Trigger frame for AP1 and the AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame for AP1. Also, STA3 may calculate uplink transmission power based on the target RSSI set in the User Info field for STA3 included in the Trigger frame for AP2 and the AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame for AP2.

[0236] Also, for example, in the example of FIG. 28, STA2 may calculate the uplink transmission power based on the target RSSI set in the User Info field for STA2 included in each of the Trigger frames for AP1 and AP2, and the AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of each of the Trigger frames for AP1 and AP2.

[0237] In addition, when the same AID (for example, the AID of STA2 shown in FIG. 28) is included in a plurality of Trigger frames, the STA200 corresponding to the AID may calculate the uplink transmission power using, for example, the value obtained by adding the AP TX Powers of each Trigger frame as the transmission power of the AP.

[0238] Also, when the same AID is included in a plurality of Trigger frames, the STA200 corresponding to the AID may select, for example, the average value, maximum value, or minimum value of the target RSSI when the target RSSIs set in each User Info field are different.

[0239] According to Configuration Example 1, the STA200 can recognize, for example, the transmission power of each AP100, enabling uplink transmission power control considering the cooperative communication mode and improving the uplink throughput.

[0240] <Configuration Example 2> Configuration Example 2 differs from Configuration Example 1 in the method of notifying the transmission power control parameters when Joint transmission is applied.

[0241] For example, in configuration example 2, information (e.g., a "multi-AP mode" field) indicating whether or not a cooperative communication mode (e.g., joint transmission) is applied may be set in the User Info field. Also, in configuration example 2, for example, it is not necessary to notify multiple AIDs (e.g., the same AID) in the Trigger frame corresponding to each of the multiple APs 100. For example, the User Info field corresponding to each of the multiple AIDs may be set in one of the Trigger frames corresponding to the multiple APs 100.

[0242] For example, a configuration example of a wireless communication system shown in Fig. 8 will be described. Fig. 29 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a trigger frame according to configuration example 2. As shown in Fig. 29, a trigger frame may be generated for each AP100 (e.g., AP1 and AP2). In the example of Fig. 8, a trigger frame for AP1 may include a user info field for each STA1 and STA2. Also, in the example of Fig. 8, a trigger frame for AP2 may include a user info field for each STA3.

[0243] For example, when Joint reception is indicated in a multi-AP mode field included in a User Info field for the STA200, the STA200 may calculate the uplink transmission power by using the sum of AP TX Powers of multiple Trigger frames included in the PPDU as the transmission power of the AP. On the other hand, when a mode other than Joint transmission (e.g., no cooperative communication or diversity reception) is indicated in a multi-AP mode field included in a User Info field for the STA200, the STA200 may calculate the uplink transmission power based on the AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame whose AID of the STA200 is included in the User Info field.

[0244] In the example of FIG. 29, a mode different from Joint transmission is indicated in the multi-AP mode field for STA1. Therefore, STA1 may calculate uplink transmission power based on AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame for AP1 including the User Info field for STA1. Similarly, in the example of FIG. 29, a mode different from Joint transmission is indicated in the multi-AP mode field for STA3. Therefore, STA3 may calculate uplink transmission power based on AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of the Trigger frame for AP2 including the User Info field for STA3.

[0245] 29, the multi-AP mode field for STA2 indicates joint transmission. Therefore, STA2 may calculate uplink transmission power based on the sum of AP TX Power set in the Common Info field of each Trigger frame for multiple APs (AP1 and AP2).

[0246] According to the configuration example 2, the STA 200 can recognize the transmission power of each AP 100, and the uplink transmission power control considering the cooperative communication mode is possible, and the uplink throughput can be improved. Also, in the configuration example 2, since the User Info field corresponding to the same AID is not set in multiple Trigger frames, for example, the more the number of STAs 200 performing Joint reception, the more the signaling overhead can be reduced compared to the embodiment 1.

[0247] (Embodiment 5) The configuration example of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to this embodiment may be the same as the configuration example of the first embodiment.

[0248] In the fourth embodiment, a configuration has been described in which a plurality of APs 100 transmit a single downlink PPDU including a plurality of Trigger frames for each AP 100. In the present embodiment, for example, each of the plurality of APs 100 transmits a downlink PPDU including a Trigger frame corresponding to each AP 100 by allocating it to a different frequency resource from each other.

[0249] In this embodiment, the operation of the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 of the AP 100 is different from that of the other embodiments, so an example of the operation will be described below.

[0250] The STA control signal generating unit 102 may generate a control signal for the STA 200 based on, for example, the result of resource allocation to each STA 200, a transmission power control parameter (e.g., AP TX Power or target RSSI, etc.) input from the setting unit 101, or information input from the received signal demodulation and decoding unit 106.

[0251] The control signal for STA200 may include, for example, time and frequency resource information (e.g., RU allocation information for uplink cooperative communication, TXOP, LENGTH, etc.), as well as at least one of the following: transmission power control parameters (e.g., transmission power of AP100 or target RSSI, etc.), information regarding trigger frame generation (e.g., UL MCS, GI, LTF mode), Trigger type notifying the type of control signal, and terminal identification information (e.g., AID).

[0252] In this embodiment, the STA-directed control signal generating unit 102 generates a control signal for the STA 200 associated with each AP 100, for example.

[0253] [Resource Allocation Method] An example of a method for allocating resources for a control signal will now be described.

[0254] Each AP 100 in the AP group may allocate a downlink PPDU including a Trigger frame in, for example, a different frequency resource.

[0255] 30 is a diagram showing an example of resource allocation for a PPDU (for example, an EHT PPDU or an MU PPDU) including a Trigger frame. Note that the example shown in FIG. 30 shows resource allocation in the example configuration of the wireless communication system shown in FIG.

[0256] For example, in FIG. 30, AP1 may allocate a downlink PPDU including a trigger frame to a 40 MHz channel including a primary channel for AP1 (P20 for AP1) and transmit the downlink PPDU. Similarly, AP#2 may allocate a downlink PPDU including a trigger frame to a 40 MHz channel including a primary channel for AP2 (P20 for AP2) and transmit the downlink PPDU. As a result, the STA200 receives the trigger frame from AP1 and the trigger frame from AP2 in different frequency resources, for example.

[0257] The configuration of the Trigger frame when performing cooperative communication may be the same as, for example, either of Configuration Example 1 and Configuration Example 2 of the fourth embodiment. For example, when Configuration Example 1 is applied, a User Info field in which the AID of the STA 200 to which joint reception is applied is set may be included in each Trigger frame from each AP 100. Furthermore, when Configuration Example 2 is applied, a "multi-AP mode" field may be placed in the User Info field of the Trigger frame from each AP 100.

[0258] Also, in this embodiment, for example, as described in Example 4 of Embodiment 2, the STA 200 may determine the transmission power of the AP 100 to be used for transmission power calculation based on the transmission power of the multiple APs 100 notified by multiple Trigger frames. For example, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 30, the downlink PPDU including the Trigger frame of each AP 100 is transmitted using different frequency resources, so that the STA 200 can improve the estimation accuracy of the downlink signal from each AP 100 and improve the estimation accuracy of the path loss of each AP 100.

[0259] According to this embodiment, the STA 200 can recognize, for example, the transmission power of each AP 100, and can control the uplink transmission power taking into account the cooperative communication mode, thereby improving the uplink throughput.

[0260] In addition, the fourth embodiment and the fifth embodiment may be combined. For example, a downlink PPDU transmitted using some frequency resources may include trigger frames of a plurality of APs 100, and a downlink PPDU transmitted using other frequency resources may include a trigger frame of one AP 100.

[0261] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above.

[0262] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, as an example, a configuration example based on the 11ax control signal format has been described, but the format to which an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied is not limited to the 11ax format.

[0263] In addition, the formats shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, some of the fields and subfields included in the formats shown in the above embodiments may be omitted, fields and subfields that notify other information may be added, or the order of the fields and subfields may be changed. In addition, the terms "field" and "subfield" may be interchangeable.

[0264] Furthermore, the names of the information and fields shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to these.

[0265] Further, in each of the above embodiments, uplink communication has been described, but the present disclosure is not limited to this and may be applied to downlink communication.

[0266] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the wireless communication system includes a plurality of STAs 200. However, the wireless communication system may include only one STA 200. For example, control information of an uplink signal for one STA 200 may be notified by a Trigger frame.

[0267] Furthermore, the expression "... part" in the above embodiments may be replaced with other expressions such as "... circuitry", "... device", "... unit", or "... module".

[0268] 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.

[0269] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system having a communication function (collectively referred to as a communication apparatus). The communication apparatus may include a radio transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The radio transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, or both as functions. The radio transceiver (transmitter and 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. 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.

[0270] 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.

[0271] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communications satellite systems, etc., as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0272] 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.

[0273] 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.

[0274] An access point according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that generates parameters related to uplink transmission power control based on information related to transmission power control received from another access point, and a transmission circuit that transmits a control signal including the parameters.

[0275] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the parameters include information regarding downlink transmission power determined for each of a plurality of terminals in accordance with a type of uplink communication control.

[0276] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control signal includes common information including information common to the multiple terminals and terminal-specific information individual to the multiple terminals, the common information including a value common to the multiple terminals regarding the downlink transmission power, and the terminal-specific information including an offset value relative to the common value.

[0277] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control signal includes common information including information common to the multiple terminals and terminal-specific information individual to the multiple terminals, the common information includes information relating to the transmission power of the multiple downlinks, and the terminal-specific information includes an index associated with the information relating to the transmission power of the multiple downlinks.

[0278] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the information includes information regarding the downlink transmission power for each access point related to the uplink communication control.

[0279] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the parameters include information regarding a target received signal strength of the access point in uplink communication control, and a bit size corresponding to the information regarding the target received signal strength differs between a case in which the uplink communication control is performed in coordination between the access point and the other access point and a case in which the uplink communication control is not performed in coordination between the access point and the other access point.

[0280] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the parameter includes an index associated with a candidate value of a target received signal strength of the access point in uplink communication control, and a difference between the target received signal strengths associated with a first index and a second index differs between a case in which the uplink communication control is performed in coordination between the access point and the other access point and a case in which the uplink communication control is not performed in coordination between the access point and the other access point.

[0281] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control circuit determines, based on information regarding the coordination of the uplink communication control, the format of the control signal to a first format when the uplink communication control is to be performed in coordination between the base stations, and determines the format of the control signal to a second format when the uplink communication control is not to be performed in coordination between the base stations.

[0282] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the information regarding the coordination of the uplink communication control includes flag information indicating whether or not the coordination is to be performed.

[0283] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flag information is included in any one of common information including information common to a plurality of terminals, a signal field in a data unit including the control signal, and a beacon.

[0284] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the information regarding the coordination of uplink communication control includes information regarding the type of the control signal, and the control circuit sets the first format when the type of the control signal corresponds to the coordination.

[0285] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control circuit generates the control signal for each of the access points.

[0286] A terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a receiving circuit that receives a control signal including parameters related to uplink transmission power control generated based on information related to transmission power control received from another access point, and a control circuit that controls the transmission power of the uplink based on the parameters.

[0287] In a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an access point generates parameters related to uplink transmission power control based on information related to transmission power control received from another access point, and transmits a control signal including the parameters.

[0288] In a communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal receives a control signal including parameters related to uplink transmission power control generated based on information related to transmission power control received from another access point, and controls the transmission power of the uplink based on the parameters.

[0289] The disclosures of the specification, drawings and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-090745, filed on May 25, 2020, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. [Industrial Applicability]

[0290] One embodiment of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0291] 100 AP 101 Setting section 102 STA control signal generator Control signal generation unit for 103 AP Transmission signal generation units 104, 205 Wireless transceiver units 105, 201 Received signal demodulation and decoding units 106, 202 200 STA Transmission power calculation unit 203 Response signal generation unit 204

Claims

1. a receiving circuit for receiving a control signal including a parameter related to uplink transmission power control generated based on information related to transmission power control received by a first access point from a second access point, the parameter including information related to downlink transmission power determined for each of a plurality of terminals in accordance with a type of uplink communication control; and a control circuit for controlling the transmission power of the uplink based on the parameter. Terminal.

2. The control signal includes common information including information common to the plurality of terminals; Terminal individual information individual to the plurality of terminals; the common information includes a value related to transmission power of the downlink that is common to the plurality of terminals; The terminal individual information includes an offset value relative to the common value. The terminal according to claim 1.

3. The control signal includes common information including information common to the plurality of terminals; Terminal individual information individual to the plurality of terminals; the common information includes information regarding the transmission powers of the plurality of downlinks; The terminal individual information includes an index associated with information regarding the transmission power of the plurality of downlinks. The terminal according to claim 1.

4. a format of the control signal is a first format when the coordinated uplink communication control is performed between the first access point and the second access point based on information regarding coordination of uplink communication control, and is a second format when the coordinated uplink communication control is not performed between the first access point and the second access point. The terminal according to claim 1.

5. The information regarding the cooperation of the uplink communication control includes flag information indicating whether or not the cooperation is to be performed. The terminal according to claim 4.

6. The flag information is included in any one of common information including information common to the plurality of terminals, a signal field in a data unit including the control signal, and a beacon. The terminal according to claim 5.

7. the information regarding the coordination of the uplink communication control includes information regarding a type of the control signal; When the type of the control signal is a type corresponding to the cooperation, the format of the control signal is the first format. The terminal according to claim 4.

8. The terminal is a first access point receives a control signal including a parameter related to uplink transmission power control generated based on information related to transmission power control received from a second access point, the parameter including information related to downlink transmission power determined for each of a plurality of terminals in accordance with a type of uplink communication control; controlling a transmission power of the uplink based on the parameter; Communication methods.

9. A process in which a first access point receives a control signal including a parameter related to uplink transmission power control generated based on information related to transmission power control received from a second access point, the parameter including information related to downlink transmission power determined for each of a plurality of terminals in accordance with a type of uplink communication control; and controlling a process of controlling a transmission power of the uplink based on the parameter. Integrated circuits.

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