Communication apparatus and communication method for control signaling

Abstract

To provide a communication apparatus and communication method for control signaling.SOLUTION: A communication apparatus 300 comprises: circuitry 314, which, in operation, generates a transmission signal comprising a first signal field and a second signal field; and a wireless transmitter 302, which, in operation, transmits the transmission signal. In the circuitry 314, the first signal field comprises punctured channel information, and the second signal field comprises supplemental punctured channel information. When the transmission signal is used for punctured single-user (SU) transmission or multi-user (MU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission, and the punctured channel information is able to indicate a channel puncturing pattern that is applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not comprise the supplemental punctured channel information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device and a communication method for performing control signaling, and more particularly to a communication device and a communication method for performing control signaling in an EHT WLAN (Extremely High Throughput Wireless Local Area Network).

Background Art

[0002] In the standardization of next-generation wireless local area networks (WLANs), a new wireless access technology having backward compatibility with IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax technologies has been studied in the IEEE 802.11 working group and named IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT) WLAN.

[0003] In 802.11be EHT WLAN, for the purpose of greatly increasing the peak throughput and capacity so as to exceed 802.11ax High Efficiency (HE) WLAN, the maximum channel bandwidth is expanded from 160 MHz to 320 MHz, the maximum number of spatial streams is increased from 8 to 16, and it is desired to support multi-link operation. Further, for the purpose of improving the spectral efficiency so as to exceed 11ax HE WLAN, it has been proposed to enable preamble puncturing for physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) transmitted to one communication device or a plurality of communication devices.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, efficient signaling support for preamble puncturing for PPDUs transmitted to a single communication device or a plurality of communication devices in the context of a communication device and a communication method for performing control signaling, particularly in an EHT WLAN, has not been discussed so far.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for a communication apparatus and a communication method that provide a realizable technical solution for performing control signaling in the context of EHT WLAN. Further, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent by reading the following detailed description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the background art in this specification.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments facilitate the provision of a communication apparatus and a communication method for performing control signaling in the context of EHT WLAN.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a circuit that generates a transmission signal including a first signal field and a second signal field during operation, wherein the first signal field includes punctured channel information, the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and where the transmission signal is used for punctured single-user (SU) transmission or multi-user (MU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission, and when the punctured channel information can indicate a channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information, and a transmitter that transmits the transmission signal during operation, a communication apparatus is provided.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a receiver that receives a transmission signal including a first signal field and a second signal field during operation, where the first signal field includes punctured channel information, the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and when the transmission signal is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission and the punctured channel information can indicate a channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information, and a communication device including a circuit that processes the transmission signal during operation.

[0009] According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication method including a step of generating a transmission signal including a first signal field and a second signal field, where the first signal field includes punctured channel information, the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and when the transmission signal is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission and the punctured channel information can indicate a channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information, and a step of transmitting the transmission signal.

[0010] Note that a general or specific embodiment can be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any optional combination thereof.

[0011] Further advantages and benefits of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the present specification and the drawings. These advantages and / or benefits can be obtained individually by various embodiments and features of the present specification and the drawings, and it is not necessary to provide all of these features in order to obtain one or more of such advantages and / or benefits.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012] Those having ordinary skill in the art will, by reading the following description, which is merely an example, with reference to the drawings, gain a deep understanding of and readily clarify the embodiments of the present disclosure.

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[0013] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the elements in the figures are illustrated in a concise and clear manner and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For the purpose of assisting in the accurate understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, for example, the dimensions of some elements in the illustrations, block diagrams, or flowcharts may be exaggerated compared to other elements.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example only with reference to the drawings. Similar reference numerals and reference characters in the drawings refer to similar or equivalent elements.

[0015] In the following paragraphs, specific exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to access points (APs) and stations (STAs) that perform uplink or downlink control signaling, particularly in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless network.

[0016] In the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology, a station (also called STA as a synonym) is a communication device having the ability to use the 802.11 protocol. Based on the definition of IEEE 802.11-2016, a STA can be any device including an IEEE 802.11-compliant media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to the wireless medium (WM).

[0017] A STA can be, for example, a notebook, a desktop personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an access point, or a Wi-Fi phone within a wireless local area network (WLAN) environment. A STA can be stationary or mobile. In a WLAN environment, the terms "STA", "wireless client", "user", "user device", and "node" are often used as synonyms.

[0018] Similarly, an AP (also called a wireless access point (WAP) as a synonym in the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology) is a communication device that enables STAs within a WLAN to connect to a wired network. An AP is usually connected to a router (via a wired network) as a stand-alone device, but an AP can also be integrated with or used within a router.

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

[0020] In a MIMO wireless network, "multiple" means multiple antennas used simultaneously for transmission through a wireless channel and multiple antennas used simultaneously for reception. In this regard, "multiple input" means multiple transmitter antennas that input a wireless signal into a channel, and "multiple output" means multiple receiver antennas that receive a wireless signal from the channel and input it into a receiver. For example, in an N×M MIMO network system, N is the number of transmitter antennas, M is the number of receiver antennas, and N may or may not be equal to M. In the present disclosure, for the sake of brevity, the number of transmitter antennas and the number of receiver antennas will not be further discussed.

[0021] In a MIMO wireless network, as communication between communication devices such as an AP and an STA, single-user (SU) communication and multi-user (MU) communication can be provided. A MIMO wireless network has advantages such as spatial multiplexing and spatial diversity that achieve higher data rates and robustness by using multiple spatial streams. According to various embodiments, the term "spatial stream" may be used interchangeably with the term "spatiotemporal stream" (or STS).

[0022] FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of SU communication 100 between AP 102 and STA 104 in a MIMO wireless network. As shown, the MIMO wireless network can include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 104, STA 106, etc.). When the SU communication 100 in the channel is performed over the entire channel bandwidth, it is called full-band SU communication. When the SU communication 100 in the channel is performed over a part of the channel bandwidth (e.g., one or more 20 MHz sub-channels within the channel are punctured), it is called punctured SU communication. In the SU communication 100, the AP 102 uses a plurality of antennas (e.g., four antennas as shown in FIG. 1A) to transmit a plurality of spatio-temporal streams towards a single communication device (i.e., STA 104). For the sake of simplicity, the plurality of spatio-temporal streams directed towards STA 104 are shown as a combined data transmission arrow 108 directed towards STA 104.

[0023] The SU communication 100 can be configured to perform two-way transmission. As shown in FIG. 1A, in the SU communication 100, the STA 104 can use a plurality of antennas (e.g., two antennas as shown in FIG. 1A) to transmit a plurality of spatio-temporal streams towards the AP 102. For the sake of simplicity, the plurality of spatio-temporal streams directed towards the AP 102 are shown as a combined data transmission arrow 110 directed towards the AP 102.

[0024] Thus, in the SU-MIMO communication 100 depicted in FIG. 1A, both uplink SU transmission and downlink SU transmission in the MIMO wireless network are possible.

[0025] FIG. 1B shows a schematic diagram of downlink MU communication 112 between an AP 114 and a plurality of STAs 116, 118, 120 in a MIMO wireless network. The MIMO wireless network can include one or more STAs (e.g., STA 116, STA 118, STA 120, etc.). The MU communication 112 can be OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) communication or MU-MIMO communication. In the case of OFDMA communication in a channel, the AP 114 simultaneously transmits a plurality of streams to the STAs 116, 118, 120 in the network using different resource units (RUs) within the channel bandwidth. In the case of MU-MIMO communication in a channel, the AP 114 uses multiple antennas by means of spatial mapping or precoding techniques to simultaneously transmit a plurality of streams to the STAs 116, 118, 120 using the same (one or more) RU within the channel bandwidth. When the RU in which OFDMA communication or MU-MIMO communication is performed occupies the entire channel bandwidth, the OFDMA communication or MU-MIMO communication is called full-band OFDMA communication or full-band MU-MIMO communication. When the RU in which OFDMA communication or MU-MIMO communication is performed occupies a part of the channel bandwidth (e.g., one or more 20 MHz sub-channels within the channel are punctured), the OFDMA communication or MU-MIMO communication is called punctured OFDMA communication or MU-MIMO communication. For example, two space-time streams can be directed to STA 118, another space-time stream can be directed to STA 116, and yet another space-time stream can be directed to STA 120. For the sake of brevity, the two space-time streams directed to STA 118 are shown as a combined data transmission arrow 124, the space-time stream directed to STA 116 is shown as a data transmission arrow 122, and the space-time stream directed to STA 120 is shown as a data transmission arrow 126.

[0026] To enable uplink MU transmission, trigger-based communication is provided in the MIMO wireless network. In this regard, FIG. 1C shows a schematic diagram of trigger-based uplink MU communication 128 between an AP 130 and multiple STAs 132, 134, 136 in the MIMO wireless network.

[0027] Since multiple STAs 132, 134, 136 participate in this trigger-based uplink MU communication, the AP 130 needs to coordinate the simultaneous transmissions of the multiple STAs 132, 134, 136.

[0028] For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 1C, the AP 130 simultaneously transmits trigger frames 139, 141, 143 to the STAs 132, 134, 136 to indicate user-specific resource allocation information (e.g., the number of spatio-temporal streams, the starting STS number, and the allocated RUs) that each STA can use. In response to the trigger frames, the STAs 132, 134, 136 can simultaneously transmit their respective spatio-temporal streams to the AP 130 according to the user-specific resource allocation information indicated in the trigger frames 139, 141, 143. For example, two spatio-temporal streams are directed from the STA 134 to the AP 130, another spatio-temporal stream is directed from the STA 132 to the AP 130, and yet another spatio-temporal stream is directed from the STA 136 to the AP 130. For the sake of brevity, the two spatio-temporal streams directed from the STA 134 to the AP 130 are shown as a combined data transmission arrow 140, the spatio-temporal stream directed from the STA 132 to the AP 130 is shown as a data transmission arrow 138, and the spatio-temporal stream directed from the STA 136 to the AP 130 is shown as a data transmission arrow 142.

[0029] Also, to enable downlink multi-AP communication, trigger-based communication is provided to the MIMO wireless network. In this regard, FIG. 1D shows a schematic diagram of downlink multi-AP communication 144 between STA 150 and multiple APs 146, 148 in the MIMO wireless network.

[0030] Since multiple APs 146, 148 participate in this trigger-based downlink multi-AP MIMO communication, the master AP 146 needs to coordinate the simultaneous transmissions of multiple APs 146, 148.

[0031] For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 1D, the master AP 146 simultaneously transmits trigger frames 147, 153 to the AP 148 and the STA 150, indicating the AP-specific resource allocation information (e.g., the number of spatio-temporal streams, the starting STS stream number, the allocated RU) that each AP can use. In response to the trigger frames, multiple APs 146, 148 can transmit their respective spatio-temporal streams to the STA 150 according to the AP-specific resource allocation information indicated in the trigger frame 147. The STA 150 can receive all the spatio-temporal streams according to the AP-specific resource allocation information indicated in the trigger frame 153. For example, two spatio-temporal streams are directed from the AP 146 to the STA 150, and another two spatio-temporal streams are directed from the AP 148 to the STA 150. For the sake of simplicity, the two spatio-temporal streams directed from the AP 146 to the STA 150 are shown as a combined data transmission arrow 152, and the two spatio-temporal streams directed from the AP 148 to the STA 150 are shown as a combined data transmission arrow 154.

[0032] In 802.11 WLAN, due to packet / PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit)-based transmission and the distributed MAC (Media Access Control) method, there is no time scheduling (i.e., allocation of periodic time slots for data transmission such as TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)). Scheduling of frequency and spatial resources is performed on a packet-by-packet basis. In other words, resource allocation information is PPDU-based.

[0033] Figure 2A shows an example of the format of a PPDU 200 used for SU communication between an AP and an STA in a HE WLAN. Such a PPDU 200 is referred to as a HE SU PPDU 200. The HE SU PPDU 200 can include a non-High Throughput Short Training (L-STF) field, a non-High Throughput Long Training (L-LTF) field, a non-High Throughput SIGNAL (L-SIG) field, a Repeated L-SIG (RL-SIG) field, a HE SIGNAL A (HE-SIG-A) field 202, a HE Short Training (HE-STF) field, a HE Long Training (HE-LTF) field, a Data field, and a Packet Extension (PE) field. The RL-SIG field is mainly used to identify the format of the HE PPDU. The HE-SIG-A field 202 contains control information necessary for decoding the Data field, such as uplink / downlink, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), bandwidth (BW), etc.

[0034] FIG. 2B shows an example of the format of a PPDU 204 used for downlink MU communication between an AP and a plurality of STAs in HE WLAN, such as OFDMA transmission or full-band MU-MIMO transmission. Such a PPDU 204 is referred to as a HE MU PPDU 204. The HE MU PPDU may have a format similar to that of the HE SU PPDU, but may include a HE signal B (HE-SIG-B) field 210. In particular, the HE MU PPDU 204 can include an L-STF field, an L-LTF field, an L-SIG field, an RL-SIG field, a HE-SIG-A field 206, a HE-SIG-B field 210, a HE-STF field, a HE-LTF field, a Data field 214, and a PE field. In the HE MU PPDU 204, the HE-SIG-B field 210 provides OFDMA and MU-MIMO resource allocation information so that the STA can identify the corresponding resources used in the Data field 214, as indicated by arrow 212. The HE-SIG-A field 206 includes information necessary to decode the HE-SIG-B field 210 (e.g., the MCS of HE-SIG-B, the number of HE-SIG-B symbols), as indicated by arrow 208.

[0035] Figure 2C shows the HE-SIG-B field 210 in more detail. The HE-SIG-B field 210 includes (or consists of) a Common field 216 (when present) followed by a User Specific field 218, and these are collectively referred to as the HE-SIG-B content channel. The HE-SIG-B field 210 includes an RU Allocation subfield that indicates the RU information for each allocation. The RU information includes the position of the RU in the frequency domain, the indication information of the RU allocated for non-MU-MIMO or MU-MIMO allocation, and the number of users in the MU-MIMO allocation. The Common field 216 does not exist in the case of full-band MU-MIMO transmission. In this case, the RU information (e.g., the number of users in the MU-MIMO allocation) is indicated in the HE-SIG-A field 202.

[0036] The User Specific field 218 includes (or consists of) one or more User fields for non-MU-MIMO allocation and / or MU-MIMO allocation. The User field includes user information (i.e., user-specific allocation information) indicating a user-specific allocation. In the example shown in Figure 2C, the User Specific field 218 includes five User fields (User field 0,..., User field 4), and the user-specific allocation information regarding the allocation (allocation 0) is provided by the User field 0, and the user-specific allocation information regarding a further allocation (allocation 1 including three MU-MIMO users) is provided by the User field 1, the User field 2, and the User field 3, and the user-specific allocation information regarding a further allocation (allocation 2) is provided by the User field 4.

[0037] Figure 2D shows the format of PPDU 220 used for uplink MU communication between an AP and multiple STAs in HE WLAN. Such a PPDU 220 is referred to as a HE TB (trigger-based) PPDU. The HE TB PPDU can have a format similar to that of a HE SU PPDU. Specifically, the HE TB PPDU 220 can include an L-STF field, an L-LTF field, an L-SIG field, an RL-SIG field, a HE-SIG-A field 222, a HE-STF field, a HE-LTF field, a Data field, and a PE field. The HE-STF of the HE TB PPDU 220 has a duration of 8 μs. The HE TB PPDU 220 is used for uplink MU transmission in response to a trigger frame. Instead of using the HE-SIG-B field, the information necessary for uplink MU transmission from one or more STAs is conveyed by the trigger frame that requests this transmission. In a general transmission of the HE TB PPDU 220, the HE-SIG-A related information is copied from the requesting trigger frame to the HE-SIG-A field 222 of the HE TB PPDU 220.

[0038] In 11ax HE WLAN, only preamble puncturing of PPDUs transmitted to multiple STAs is permitted. With the increase in the maximum channel bandwidth from 160 MHz to 320 MHz, an object of the present disclosure is to substantially overcome the existing problem of providing a communication apparatus and a communication method that perform control signaling enabling preamble puncturing of PPDUs transmitted to a single STA or multiple STAs in order to improve the spectral efficiency of EHT WLAN beyond 11ax HE WLAN. In particular, in the present disclosure, preamble puncturing of PPDUs used for SU, MU-MIMO, or OFDMA transmission is provided. According to various embodiments, the term "preamble puncturing" may be used interchangeably with the term "channel puncturing".

[0039] According to various embodiments, the EHT WLAN supports non-trigger-based communication as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B and trigger-based communication as shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D. In non-trigger-based communication, a communication device transmits a PPDU to one or more other communication devices without an explicit request. In trigger-based communication, a communication device transmits a PPDU to one or more other communication devices only after receiving a requested trigger frame.

[0040] FIG. 3A shows a partially framed schematic view of a communication device 300 according to the present disclosure. The communication device 300 can be implemented as an AP or an STA.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 3A, communication device 300 can include circuit 314, at least one wireless transmitter 302, at least one wireless receiver 304, and at least one antenna 312 (only one antenna is depicted for illustrative purposes in FIG. 3A for simplicity). Circuit 314 can include at least one controller 306 for use in executing tasks designed to be executed by at least one controller 306, including control of communication with one or more other communication devices in a MIMO wireless network, with the assistance of software and hardware. Circuit 314 can further include at least one transmission signal generator 308 and at least one reception signal processor 310. At least one controller 306 can control at least one transmission signal generator 308 to generate a PPDU (e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication if communication device 300 is an AP, or a PPDU used for trigger-based multi-AP joint transmission, and e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication if communication device 300 is a STA, or a PPDU used for trigger-based uplink transmission) to be transmitted to one or more other communication devices via at least one wireless transmitter 302, and can control at least one reception signal processor 310 to process a PPDU (e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication if communication device 300 is an AP, or a PPDU used for trigger-based uplink transmission, and e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication if communication device 300 is a STA, or a PPDU used for trigger-based multi-AP joint transmission) received from one or more other communication devices through at least one wireless receiver 304 under the control of at least one controller 306. At least one transmission signal generator 308 and at least one reception signal processor 310 can be stand-alone modules of communication device 300 that communicate with at least one controller 306 for the functions described above, as shown in FIG. 3A.Alternatively, at least one transmission signal generator 308 and at least one reception signal processor 310 may be included in at least one controller 306. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the arrangement of these functional modules is flexible and can vary according to actual needs and / or requirements. The data processing device, storage device, and other related control devices can be provided on a suitable circuit board and / or chipset. In various embodiments, during operation, at least one wireless transmitter 302, at least one wireless receiver 304, and at least one antenna 312 can be controlled by at least one controller 306.

[0042] Communication device 300 provides functions necessary for control signaling in non-trigger-based communication and trigger-based communication during operation. For example, communication device 300 can be an AP, and circuit 314 (e.g., at least one transmission signal generator 308 of circuit 314) can generate a transmission signal (e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication or a PPDU used for trigger-based multi-AP joint transmission) including a first signal field and a second signal field during operation. In this case, when the first signal field includes punctured channel information and the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and the transmission signal is used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, and the punctured channel information can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information. The wireless transmitter 302 can transmit the generated transmission signal to one or more other communication devices during operation.

[0043] The communication device 300 can be a STA, and the wireless receiver 304 receives, during operation, a transmission signal (e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication or a PPDU used for trigger-based multi-AP co-transmission) including a first signal field and a second signal field. In this case, the first signal field includes punctured channel information, and the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information. Here, when the transmission signal is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission and the punctured channel information can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information. The circuit 314 (e.g., at least one received signal processor 310 of the circuit 314) can process the received transmission signal during operation.

[0044] FIG. 3B is a flowchart 316 showing a communication method for transmitting a generated transmission signal according to the present disclosure. In step 318, a transmission signal is generated, and the transmission signal (e.g., a PPDU used for non-trigger-based communication or a PPDU used for trigger-based multi-AP co-transmission) includes a first signal field and a second signal field. The first signal field includes punctured channel information, and the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information. Here, when the transmission signal is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission and the punctured channel information can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information. In step 320, the generated transmission signal is transmitted to one or more other communication devices.

[0045] In various embodiments, when the transmission signal is used for puncturing-based SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, and the punctured channel information cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and the supplementary punctured channel information, together with the punctured channel information, indicates the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the transmission signal is used for puncturing-based OFDMA transmission, and the punctured channel information cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and the supplementary punctured channel information, together with the punctured channel information, indicates the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal. In one embodiment, the punctured channel information can indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a defined bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz). In another embodiment, the punctured channel information can indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a defined bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz) and a part of the channel puncturing pattern for a bandwidth larger than the defined bandwidth. Thereby, preamble puncturing for a PPDU transmitted to a single communication device or a plurality of communication devices in non-trigger-based communication becomes possible, and efficient signaling support and improvement of spectral efficiency of 11be EHT WLAN, which is superior to 11ax HE WLAN, can be advantageously realized.

[0046] In the following paragraphs, specific exemplary embodiments of control signaling that enables preamble puncturing for a PPDU transmitted to a single communication device or a plurality of communication devices in non-trigger-based communication will be described in relation to an AP and a plurality of STAs.

[0047] Figure 4 shows a flowchart 400 illustrating downlink communication according to the present disclosure, where the downlink communication is communication between an AP 402 and a single STA 404, or between the AP 402 and a plurality of communication devices (such as STA 404, STA 406, etc.). A contention-based channel access procedure, such as an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) procedure, is shown by block 408, and a short interframe spacing (SIFS) 411 is shown. The AP 402 can generate a transmission signal (e.g., an EHT basic PPDU) 410 including a first signal field and a second signal field, where the first signal field includes punctured channel information, the second signal field includes supplementary punctured channel information, and when the transmission signal is used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission and the punctured channel information can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include supplementary punctured channel information. The wireless transmitter of the AP 402 can transmit the generated transmission signal 410 to the STA 404 or the STAs 404, 406.

[0048] In an IEEE 802.11 network, SIFS is the time interval before a confirmation response is transmitted by the STA. After the last symbol of the transmission signal 410 is transmitted, the SIFS 411 becomes valid. At 412, when the transmission signal 410 is transmitted to the STAs 404, 406, the wireless transmitters of the STAs 404, 406 can simultaneously transmit their respective block acknowledgment (BA) frames 414, 415, or when the transmission signal 410 is transmitted to the STA 404, the wireless transmitter of the STA 404 can transmit its own BA frame 414.

[0049] According to the present disclosure, the EHT basic PPDU can be used for non-trigger-based SU communication or MU communication. FIG. 5A shows an example of the format of the EHT basic PPDU 500. The EHT basic PPDU 500 includes an L-STF field, an L-LTF field, an L-SIG field, an RL-SIG field, a Universal Signal (U-SIG) field 502, an EHT Signal (EHT-SIG) field 504, an EHT-STF field, an EHT-LTF field, a Data field, and a PE field. The L-STF field, the L-LTF field, the L-SIG field, the RL-SIG field, the U-SIG field, and the EHT-SIG field can be grouped as pre-EHT modulated fields, and the EHT-STF field, the EHT-LTF field, the Data field, and the PE field can be grouped as EHT modulated fields. Both the U-SIG field 502 and the EHT-SIG field 504 are present in the EHT basic PPDU transmitted to a single STA or multiple STAs.

[0050] According to various embodiments, the U-SIG field 502 has a duration of two OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) symbols. The data bits of the U-SIG field 502 are encoded and modulated together in the same manner as the HE-SIG-A field of 802.11ax. The modulated data bits of the U-SIG field 502 are mapped to 52 data tones of each of the two OFDM symbols and replicated for each 20 MHz frequency segment, in the same manner as the HE-SIG-A field of 802.11ax. An example of the transmission of the U-SIG field 502 when the bandwidth of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is 80 MHz is shown in FIG. 5B. According to various embodiments, the term "frequency segment" may be used interchangeably with the term "subchannel".

[0051] In various embodiments, the U-SIG field 502 has the same format regardless of whether the EHT basic PPDU 500 is transmitted to a single STA or multiple STAs. The U-SIG field 502 comprises two parts, namely U-SIG1 and U-SIG2, each containing 26 data bits. The U-SIG field 502 includes all version-independent bits and a portion of the version-dependent bits. All version-independent bits are included in U-SIG1, which has static positions and bit definitions across different physical layer (PHY) versions. The version-independent bits include a PHY version identifier (3 bits), an uplink / downlink (UL / DL) flag (1 bit), a basic service set (BSS) color (e.g., 6 bits), a transmission opportunity (TXOP) duration (e.g., 7 bits), and a bandwidth (e.g., 3 or 4 bits). The PHY version identifier of the version-independent bits is used to identify the exact PHY version starting from 802.11be. As an effect of including all version-independent bits in one part (i.e., U-SIG1) of the U-SIG field 502, legacy STAs only need to parse U-SIG1, thus improving their power efficiency. On the other hand, the version-dependent bits may have variable bit definitions for each PHY version. The portion of the version-dependent bits included in the U-SIG field 502 can include EHT-SIG related bits used to interpret the EHT-SIG field 504 in addition to the PPDU type, and spatial reuse related bits used to coexist with unintended STAs.

[0052]

Table 1

[0053] Returning to FIG. 5A, the EHT-SIG field 504 of the EHT basic PPDU 500 can include the remaining version-dependent bits. The EHT-SIG field 504 has a variable MCS and variable length. The EHT-SIG field 504 has a User Specific field following the Common field, and these are collectively referred to as the EHT-SIG content channel. The User Specific field includes one or more user fields. The Common field includes a first part and can include a second part. The first part includes information common to all scheduled STAs except for the RU allocation information, while the second part can include the RU allocation information. The first part includes a fixed number of data bits, which can be the same across all EHT-SIG content channels, while the second part can vary between EHT-SIG content channels.

[0054] Unlike the U-SIG field 502, the format of the EHT-SIG field 504 depends on whether the EHT basic PPDU 500 is transmitted to a single STA or multiple STAs. When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is transmitted to a single STA, regardless of the BW of the EHT basic PPDU, there is one EHT-SIG content channel, which is replicated for each 20 MHz frequency segment. When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is transmitted to multiple STAs, depending on the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500, there is one or two EHT-SIG content channels. Specifically, the EHT-SIG field 504, including the Common field and the User Specific field, is encoded separately for each L×20 MHz frequency segment (L = 1 or 2).

[0055] FIG. 5C is a table showing how the number of EHT-SIG content channels depends on the bandwidth and the value of L when the EHT basic PPDU 500 is transmitted to a plurality of STAs. As shown in FIG. 5C, in an embodiment where the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is 20 MHz, the EHT-SIG field 504 is encoded every 20 MHz, and since there is only one EHT-SIG content channel, L is always 1. In an embodiment where the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is 40 MHz, the AP can assign a value of L of 1 or 2. When L is set to "1", there will be two EHT-SIG content channels. When L is set to "2", only one EHT-SIG content channel will exist. In embodiments where the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is 80 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 160 + 80 MHz, 240 MHz, 160 + 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, two EHT-SIG content channels exist regardless of the value of L. This will be described in more detail below.

[0056] FIG. 5D shows a diagram of the mapping of one or two EHT-SIG content channels in a 40 MHz EHT basic PPDU. The number of EHT-SIG content channels depends on the bandwidth and the value of L as shown in FIG. 5C. A 40 MHz channel includes two 20 MHz frequency segments. When L = 1, two EHT-SIG content channels (i.e., EHT-SIG content channel 1 and EHT-SIG content channel 2) exist and are transmitted in the first and second 20 MHz frequency segments, respectively. When L = 2, there is only one EHT-SIG content channel.

[0057] Figure 5E shows a diagram of the mapping of two EHT-SIG content channels (i.e., EHT-SIG content channel 1 and EHT-SIG content channel 2) in an 80 MHz EHT basic PPDU. When L = 1, in an 80 MHz channel containing four 20 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first and third 20 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second and fourth 20 MHz frequency segments. When L = 2, in an 80 MHz channel containing two 40 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is transmitted in the first 40 MHz frequency segment, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is transmitted in the second 40 MHz frequency segment.

[0058] Figure 5F shows a diagram of the mapping of two EHT-SIG content channels in an 80 + 80 MHz or 160 MHz EHT basic PPDU. When L = 1, in an 80 + 80 MHz or 160 MHz channel containing eight 20 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth, and seventh 20 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth 20 MHz frequency segments. When L = 2, in an 80 + 80 MHz or 160 MHz channel containing four 40 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first and third 40 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second and fourth 40 MHz frequency segments.

[0059] Figure 5G shows the mapping diagrams of two EHT-SIG content channels in 160 + 80 MHz or 240 MHz EHT basic PPDUs. When L = 1, in a 160 + 80 MHz or 240 MHz channel containing 12 20 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh 20 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth 20 MHz frequency segments. When L = 2, in a 160 + 80 MHz or 240 MHz channel containing six 40 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first, third, and fifth 40 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, and sixth 40 MHz frequency segments.

[0060] Figure 5H shows the mapping diagrams of two EHT-SIG content channels in 160 + 160 MHz or 320 MHz EHT basic PPDUs. When L = 1, in a 160 + 160 MHz or 320 MHz channel containing 16 20 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, and fifteenth 20 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, fourteenth, and sixteenth 20 MHz frequency segments. When L = 2, in a 160 + 160 MHz or 320 MHz channel containing eight 40 MHz frequency segments, EHT-SIG content channel 1 is replicated and transmitted in the first, third, fifth, and seventh 40 MHz frequency segments, and EHT-SIG content channel 2 is replicated and transmitted in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth 40 MHz frequency segments.

[0061] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the U-SIG field 502 includes punctured channel information. There are two options for the punctured channel information conveyed in the U-SIG field 502: (i) the punctured channel information is conveyed in the Punctured Channel Info field, or (ii) the punctured channel information is conveyed in the BW field together with the bandwidth information. For example, in the case of Option 2, that is, when the punctured channel information and the BW information are conveyed in the BW field of the U-SIG field 502, the BW field of the U-SIG field 502 is set to "0" for 20 MHz, "1" for 40 MHz, "2" for 80 MHz non-preamble puncturing mode, "3" for 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz non-preamble puncturing mode, "4" for 240 MHz and 160+80 MHz non-preamble puncturing mode, "5" for 320 MHz and 160+160 MHz non-preamble puncturing mode, "6" for 80 MHz preamble puncturing mode, "7" for 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz preamble puncturing mode, "8" for 240 MHz and 160+80 MHz preamble puncturing mode, and "9" for 320 MHz and 160+160 MHz preamble puncturing mode. Note that the preamble puncturing mode is only permitted when the BW of the PPDU is 80 MHz or higher.

[0062] According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 can include supplementary punctured channel information according to the transmission mode of the EHT basic PPDU 500. In the case of the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include supplementary punctured channel information and RU allocation information. In the case of the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the EHT-SIG field 504 includes supplementary punctured channel information but does not include RU allocation information, and the punctured channel information of the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information of the EHT-SIG field 504 jointly indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. In the case of the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for OFDMA transmission, the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include supplementary punctured channel information but includes RU allocation information. The punctured channel information of the U-SIG field 502 and the RU allocation information of the EHT-SIG field 504 jointly indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. Specifically, the RU allocation information of the EHT-SIG field 504 can indicate that one or more 20 MHz sub-channels are not allocated. One or more unallocated 20 MHz sub-channels have the same effect as one or more punctured 20 MHz sub-channels.

[0063] With such a configuration of the EHT basic PPDU in which the U-SIG field 502 includes punctured channel information and the EHT-SIG field 504 includes supplementary punctured channel information, it is possible to obtain as much punctured channel information as early as possible, which is advantageous.

[0064] According to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, different EHT-SIG compression modes can be enabled according to the necessary information included in the EHT-SIG field 504 of the EHT basic PPDU 500. There can be three different EHT-SIG compression modes. (i) In compression mode 0 used for OFDMA transmission, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 includes RU allocation information but does not include supplementary punctured channel information. (ii) In compression mode 1 used for full-band SU or MU-MIMO, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information. (iii) In compression mode 2 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include RU allocation information but includes supplementary punctured channel information. In the various embodiments below, EHT-SIG compression mode 0 refers to no compression of the EHT-SIG field 504.

[0065] In one embodiment, the EHT-SIG compression mode can be indicated in the EHT-SIG Compression field and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502. Table 2 shows how various EHT-SIG compression modes are indicated in the EHT-SIG Compression field and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502. For the case of EHT-SIG compression mode 0 used for OFDMA transmission, the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "0" regardless of the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500. The Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 contains RU allocation information but does not contain supplementary punctured channel information. For the case of EHT-SIG compression mode 1 used for full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", and the value of the BW field is any one of "0" - "5" (i.e., non-preamble puncturing mode). The Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information. For the case of EHT-SIG compression mode 2 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", and the value of the BW field is any one of "5" - "9" (i.e., preamble puncturing mode). The Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain RU allocation information but contains supplementary punctured channel information.

Table 2

[0066] Furthermore, SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission is indicated through the EHT-SIG symbol or the Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field of the U-SIG field 502 when the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to 1. Specifically, if the value of the EHT-SIG symbol or the Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field is "0", it indicates SU transmission.

[0067] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart 600 illustrating the processing of the received EHT basic PPDU 500 in an AP or STA according to the first embodiment. The process can start by determining whether the EHT-SIG Compression field in the U-SIG field 502 of the received EHT basic PPDU 500 is set to "1". If it is set to "1", step 608 is executed; otherwise, step 604 is executed. In step 604, EHT-SIG compression mode 0 is determined. Next, in step 606, from the punctured channel information and RU allocation information obtained from the U-SIG field 502 and the EHT-SIG field 504 respectively, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 can be obtained. Returning to step 608, the process can continue by determining whether the BW field is set to a value greater than "5". If the BW field is not set to a value greater than "5", in step 610, EHT-SIG compression mode 1 indicating full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission is determined; otherwise, step 612 is executed. In step 612, EHT-SIG compression mode 2 indicating puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission is determined. Next, in step 614, from the punctured channel information and supplementary punctured channel information obtained from the U-SIG field 502 and the EHT-SIG field 504 respectively, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 is obtained.

[0068]

Table 3

[0069] Examples of the format of the second part of the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 are shown in Tables 9 and 10. The second part of the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 can include RU allocation information and / or supplemental punctured channel information, and can vary between EHT-SIG content channels. Similar to the punctured channel information and bandwidth information that can be included in a single field or two separate fields of the U-SIG field 502, the RU allocation information and supplemental punctured channel information can be included in a single field (e.g., RU Allocation Or Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field) of the second part of the Common field, and the field size depends on BW and the compression mode as shown in Table 9. Alternatively, the RU allocation information and supplemental punctured channel information can be included in two separate fields (e.g., RU Allocation Info field and Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field respectively) of the second part of the Common field. In this case, the field size of each of the RU Allocation Info field and the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field depends on BW as shown in Table 10. Specifically, the second part of the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 can include a bitmap for conveying supplemental punctured channel information. For example, it is a 3-bit bitmap for a BW of 80 MHz, a 7-bit bitmap for a BW of 160 MHz or 80 + 80 MHz, an 11-bit bitmap for a BW of 240 MHz or 160 + 80 MHz, and a 15-bit bitmap for a BW of 320 MHz or 160 + 160 MHz. This bitmap indicates whether each 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz is punctured.Note that the preamble puncturing mode is only permitted when the BW of the EHT basic PPDU is 80 MHz or higher. Also, note that in EHT-SIG compression mode 1, EHT-SIG field 504 does not include either RU allocation information or supplementary punctured channel information.

[0070] Examples of the format of the User field of EHT-SIG field 504 in the case of non-MU-MIMO allocation and MU-MIMO allocation are shown in Table 4 and Table 5, respectively. In the case of non-MU-MIMO allocation, the User field can include a STA ID field, an EHT MCS field, a DCM field, an NSTS field, a Coding field, and a Beamformed field, while in the case of MU-MIMO allocation, the User field can include a STA ID field, an EHT MCS field, a Spatial Configuration field, and a Coding field. Note that unless otherwise specified in this specification, the standard definitions, protocols, and functions of all fields of the Common fields and User fields described in Tables 3 - 5, Table 9, and Table 10 can be obtained from the 802.11ax specification, which will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Table 4

Table 5

[0071] The User Specific field can be composed of one or more User Block fields, and each User Block field includes one or two User fields. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the User Specific field can include three User Block fields 1, 2, and 3. User Block field 1 includes two User fields such as User field 1 and User field 2. User Block field 2 includes two User fields such as User field 3 and User field 4. User Block field 3 includes one User field 5. One or two User fields in each of the User Block fields 1-3 are added with a CRC field for error detection and tail bits. In one embodiment, the last User Block can be composed of one or two User fields depending on the total number of User fields permitted in the User Specific field indicating odd or even.

[0072] According to the present disclosure, the first and second parts of the EHT-SIG field 504 or the Common field of the EHT-SIG content channel can be encoded together or separately, resulting in different options for the EHT-SIG field format. FIG. 7A shows an example of the format of the EHT-SIG content channel of the EHT-SIG field 504 in which the first part 702a and the second part 702b of the Common field 702 are encoded together (Option 1). In this option, after the first part 702a of the Common field 702, the second part 702b of the Common field 702 follows, and a single block of CRC field and tail bits is added to the second part 702b. In such a format of the EHT-SIG field having a Common field encoded together, the number of CRC fields and tail bits used in the EHT-SIG field is reduced, and thus the signaling overhead is advantageously reduced.

[0073] FIG. 7B shows an example of another format of the EHT-SIG content channel or the EHT-SIG field 504 in which the first part 702a and the second part 702b of the common field 702 are encoded separately (Option 2). In this option, at the end of each separately encoded field, i.e., the first part 702a and the second part 702b of the common field 702, a CRC field and tail bits can be included. In one embodiment, when the EHT-SIG compression mode 1 is valid, for example, the EHT-SIG Compression field of the U-SIG field 502 is set to "1", and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502 is set to any of "0"-"5" indicating full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the second part 702b of the common field including RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information may not be present. In this case, both Option 1 and Option 2 of the format of the EHT-SIG field 504 or the EHT-SIG content channel are the same.

[0074] In yet another embodiment, the first part 702a and the second part 702b of the common field of the EHT-SIG content channel or the EHT-SIG field 504 can be encoded separately or together depending on which compression mode is valid. When the EHT-SIG compression mode 0 is valid, the first part 702a and the second part 702b of the common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 are encoded separately, while when the EHT-SIG compression mode 2 is valid, the first part 702a and the second part 702b of the common field are encoded together to reduce the signaling overhead of the EHT-SIG field.

[0075] According to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, when the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, if the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, supplementary punctured channel information is not necessary, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 does not have to include the supplementary punctured channel information. On the other hand, when the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, the EHT-SIG field 504 includes the supplementary punctured channel information, and the supplementary punctured channel information, together with the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502, indicates the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500.

[0076] In one embodiment, the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can be made to indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a defined BW (for example, 80 MHz). When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, if the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is less than or equal to the defined BW, supplementary punctured channel information is not necessary, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 does not have to include the supplementary punctured channel information.

[0077] In another embodiment, the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can be made to indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a defined BW (e.g., 80 MHz) and a part of the channel puncturing patterns for a BW larger than the defined BW. When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, if the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is less than or equal to the defined BW, no supplementary punctured channel information is required, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 may not include the supplementary punctured channel information. If the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is larger than the defined BW and a part of the channel puncturing pattern for a BW larger than the defined BW that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate includes the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, no supplementary punctured channel information is required, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 may not include the supplementary punctured channel information.

[0078] In yet another embodiment, the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can be made to indicate a plurality of channel puncturing patterns possible for different BWs. When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, if a plurality of channel puncturing patterns for different BWs that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate include the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, no supplementary punctured channel information is required, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 may not include the supplementary punctured channel information.

[0079] By virtue of the effects achieved in this way, compression mode 1 can be enabled in more use cases, and thus the signaling overhead of the EHT-SIG field can be minimized. Specifically, according to the second embodiment, there may be three different EHT-SIG compression modes for the EHT-SIG field 504 of the EHT basic PPDU 500. (i) In compression mode 0 (i.e., no compression), the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 contains RU allocation information used for OFDMA transmission but does not contain supplementary punctured channel information. (ii) In compression mode 1 used for SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information. (iii) In compression mode 2 used for SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain RU allocation information but contains supplementary punctured channel information.

[0080] In particular, EHT-SIG compression mode 1 is effective for the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission where supplementary punctured channel information within the EHT-SIG field 504 is not required. Examples of use cases include the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission (use case 1), or the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission (use case 2) when the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. In EHT-SIG compression mode 1, the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 contains neither RU allocation information nor supplementary punctured channel information.

[0081] EHT-SIG compression mode 2 is valid for an EHT basic PPDU 500 used for SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission that requires supplementary punctured channel information within the EHT-SIG 504. An example of a use case is an EHT basic PPDU 500 used for SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission where the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. In EHT-SIG compression mode 2, the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain RU allocation information but contains supplementary punctured channel information.

[0082] According to the second embodiment, the second use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 1 and the use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 2 are different depending on the content of the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. For example, assume that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate whether each 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz within the primary 80 MHz is punctured, and whether at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. Under this assumption, the second use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be further divided into two use cases. That is, the EHT basic PPDU 500 (use case 2.1) used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission when the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is 80 MHz, and the EHT basic PPDU 500 (use case 2.2) used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission when the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is greater than 80 MHz and the 20 MHz subchannels outside the primary 80 MHz are not punctured. On the other hand, the use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 2 is the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission when the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is greater than 80 MHz and at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured.

[0083]

Table 6

[0084] Specifically, the Punctured Channel Info field is a 4-bit bitmap, where the three least significant bits (LSBs) indicate whether each 20 MHz subchannel within the primary 80 MHz that is not the primary 20 MHz is punctured, and the most significant bit (MSB) indicates whether at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz that is reserved for the 80 MHz BW is punctured. The BW field of the U-SIG field 502 is set to "0" for 20 MHz, "1" for 40 MHz, "2" for 80 MHz, "3" for 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz, "4" for 240 MHz and 160+80 MHz, and "5" for 320 MHz and 160+160 MHz.

[0085] In one embodiment, the EHT-SIG compression mode can be indicated in the EHT-SIG Compression field, the Punctured Channel Info field, and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502. Table 11 shows how various EHT-SIG compression modes are indicated in the EHT-SIG Compression field, the Punctured Channel Info field, and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502. In particular, when the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "0" indicating OFDMA transmission, EHT-SIG compression mode 0 is enabled regardless of the value of the Punctured Channel Info field and the value of the BW field.

[0086] Table 11 is plotted based on the assumption that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate whether each 20 MHz subchannel within the primary 80 MHz that is not the primary 20 MHz is punctured, and whether at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1" and all the non-reserved bits of the Punctured Channel Information field are "0", indicating the non-preamble puncturing mode, EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be enabled in use case 1 regardless of the value of the BW field. When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", and the value of the BW field is "2" (BW = 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel within the 80 MHz channel that is not the primary 20 MHz is punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can be determined based only on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502, and thus EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500 in use case 2.1.The value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "0", and when the value of the BW field is greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel that is not a primary 20 MHz subchannel within the primary 80 MHz is punctured, and the 20 MHz subchannels outside the primary 80 MHz are not punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can also be determined based only on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. Therefore, EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500 in use case 2.2.

[0087] The value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", and when the value of the BW field is greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can be determined based on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504. Therefore, EHT-SIG compression mode 2 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500.

[0088] Furthermore, SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can be indicated through the EHT-SIG symbol or the Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field of the U-SIG field 502 when the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to 1. Specifically, the value "0" of the EHT-SIG symbol or the Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field indicates SU transmission.

[0089] Examples of the format of the second part of the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 are shown in Tables 12 and 13. The RU allocation information and the supplemental punctured channel information can be included in a single field (e.g., the RU allocation or the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field) of the second part of the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504, as shown in Table 12, and the field size depends on the BW and the compression mode. Alternatively, the RU allocation information and the supplemental punctured channel information can be included in two separate fields (e.g., the RU Allocation Info field and the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field, respectively) of the second part of the Common field 702b, where the field size of each of the RU Allocation Info field and the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field depends on the BW, as shown in Table 13. Specifically, the second part of the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 can include a bitmap for conveying the supplemental punctured channel information, e.g., 4 bits for a BW of 160 MHz or 80 + 80 MHz, 8 bits for a BW of 240 MHz or 160 + 80 MHz, and 12 bits for a BW of 320 MHz or 160 + 160 MHz. This bitmap indicates whether each 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured.

[0090] The first part of the Common field 702a and the User field of the EHT-SIG field 504 may be the same as those shown in Tables 3 to 5. Unless otherwise specified in this specification, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the standard definitions, protocols, and functions of all fields of the Common field and the User field described in Tables 3 - 5 can be obtained from the 802.11ax specification.

[0091] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart 800 illustrating the processing of a received EHT basic PPDU 500 in an AP or STA according to a second embodiment. The processing can start by determining, in step 802, whether the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to "1" indicating SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission. If the EHT-SIG Compression field is not set to "1", in step 804, EHT-SIG compression mode 0 is determined, and in step 806, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 is determined from the punctured channel information of the U-SIG field 502 and the RU allocation information of the EHT-SIG field 504, and the processing can end.

[0092] If the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to "1", step 808 is executed. In step 808, it is determined whether the BW field is set to a value greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz). If the BW field is not set to a value greater than "2", step 810 is executed. In step 810, it is determined whether the BW field is set to "2" (BW = 80 MHz) and at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1". If BW is not set to "2", or if all three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field are set to "0", in step 812, use case 1 of EHT-SIG compression mode 1, i.e., full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, can be determined and the process can end. If the BW field is set to "2" and at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", indicating that at least one 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz in the 80 MHz channel is punctured, in step 814, use case 2.1 of EHT-SIG compression mode 1 is determined.

[0093] Return to step 808. If it is determined that the BW field is set to a value greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz), execute step 816. In step 816, further determine whether the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", indicating that at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. If the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is not set to "1", in step 818, determine Use Case 2.2 of EHT-SIG Compression Mode 1. If the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", in step 822, determine EHT-SIG Compression Mode 2. If Use Case 2.1 or Use Case 2.2 of EHT-SIG Compression Mode 1 is determined in step 814 or step 818 respectively, execute step 820. In step 820, determine the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 from the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. On the other hand, if EHT-SIG Compression Mode 2 is determined in step 822, execute step 824. In step 824, determine the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 from the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504.

[0094] According to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the above-described puncturing-type channel signaling for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can also be applied to puncturing-type OFDMA transmission. Specifically, when the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing-type OFDMA transmission, the EHT-SIG field 504 includes RU allocation information. If the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include supplementary punctured channel information. If the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, the EHT-SIG field 504 includes supplementary punctured channel information. In this case, the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504 together indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. As a result, in the case of puncturing-type OFDMA transmission, the required RU allocation information is reduced, and thus the signaling overhead of the EHT-SIG field can be reduced.

[0095] In one embodiment, the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can be made to indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a defined BW (e.g., 80 MHz). When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing-type SU, MU-MIMO, or OFDMA transmission, if the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is less than or equal to the defined BW, supplementary punctured channel information is not required, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 does not have to include supplementary punctured channel information.

[0096] In another embodiment, the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can be made to indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a defined BW (e.g., 80 MHz) and a part of the channel puncturing pattern for a BW larger than the defined BW. When the EHT basic PPDU 500 is used for puncturing type SU, MU-MIMO, or OFDMA transmission, if the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is less than or equal to the defined BW, no supplementary punctured channel information is required, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 does not have to include supplementary punctured channel information. If the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is larger than the defined BW and a part of the channel puncturing pattern for a BW larger than the defined BW that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate includes the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, no supplementary punctured channel information is required, and thus the EHT-SIG field 504 does not have to include supplementary punctured channel information.

[0097] According to a third embodiment, there can be four different EHT-SIG compression modes for the EHT-SIG field 504 of the EHT basic PPDU 500. That is, (i) in compression mode 0, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 includes RU allocation information but does not include supplementary punctured channel information, (ii) in compression mode 1, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information, (iii) in compression mode 2, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not include RU allocation information but includes supplementary punctured channel information, (iv) in compression mode 3, the Common field of the EHT-SIG field 504 includes both RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information.

[0098] In particular, EHT-SIG compression mode 0 is effective for the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in OFDMA transmission that does not require supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504. Examples of use cases include the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in full-band OFDMA transmission (use case 1 of compression mode 0), and puncturing-type OFDMA transmission (use case 2 of compression mode 0) when the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. In EHT-SIG compression mode 0, the Common field in the EHT-SIG field 504 contains RU allocation information but does not contain supplementary punctured channel information.

[0099] On the other hand, EHT-SIG compression mode 3 is effective for the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in puncturing-type OFDMA transmission where the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. Since the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500, supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504 is required. In EHT-SIG compression mode 3, the Common field in the EHT-SIG field 504 contains both RU allocation information and supplementary punctured channel information. Such an implementation of compression mode 3 in the case of puncturing-type OFDMA transmission can advantageously reduce the signaling overhead of the EHT-SIG field because RU allocation information for the punctured (one or more) 20 MHz subchannels is not required.

[0100] EHT-SIG Compression Mode 1 is valid for the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in SU transmissions or MU-MIMO transmissions that do not require supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504. Examples of use cases include the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in full-band SU transmissions or MU-MIMO transmissions (Use Case 1 of Compression Mode 1), and the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in puncturing-type SU transmissions or MU-MIMO transmissions when the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 (Use Case 2 of Compression Mode 1). In EHT-SIG Compression Mode 1, the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain either RU allocation information or supplementary punctured channel information.

[0101] EHT-SIG Compression Mode 2 is valid for the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in SU transmissions or MU-MIMO transmissions that require supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG 504. An example of a use case is the EHT basic PPDU 500 used in SU transmissions or MU-MIMO transmissions where the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500. In EHT-SIG Compression Mode 2, the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 does not contain RU allocation information but contains supplementary punctured channel information.

[0102] The second use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 0 or compression mode 1 and the use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 2 or compression mode 3 depend on the content of the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. For example, assuming that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate whether each 20 MHz subchannel within the primary 80 MHz but not the primary 20 MHz is punctured and whether at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured, the second use case of EHT-SIG compression mode 0 or 1 can be further divided into two use cases, namely, when the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is 80 MHz, the EHT basic PPDU (use case 2.1) used for puncturing type SU, MU-MIMO, or OFDMA transmission, and when the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500 is greater than 80 MHz and the 20 MHz subchannels outside the primary 80 MHz are not punctured, the EHT basic PPDU 500 (use case 2.2) used for puncturing type SU, MU-MIMO, or OFDMA transmission.

[0103] Table 7 shows an example of the format of the U-SIG field 502 in the EHT basic PPDU 500. The U-SIG field 502 includes two parts, namely U-SIG1 and U-SIG2, each containing 26 data bits. U-SIG1 includes all version-independent bits such as the PHY Version Identifier field, UL / DL Flag field, BSS Color field, TXOP Duration field, BW field, some version-dependent bits such as the PPDU Type field, and some EHT-SIG-related bits such as the EHT-SIG Compression field and EHT-SIG DCM field. U-SIG2 includes the remaining version-dependent bits such as the EHT-SIG EHT MCS field, Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field, Spatial Reuse field, Punctured Channel Info field, followed by reserved bits, CRC field, and tail bits. It should be noted that unless otherwise specified in this specification, the standard definitions, protocols, and functions of most fields of the U-SIG field 502 described in Table 7 can be obtained from the 802.11ax specification, which will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Table 7

[0104] Specifically, the Punctured Channel Info field is a 4-bit bitmap, where 3 of the LSBs indicate whether each 20 MHz sub-channel that is not the primary 20 MHz within the primary 80 MHz is punctured, and the MSB indicates whether at least one 20 MHz sub-channel outside the primary 80 MHz that is reserved for the 80 MHz BW is punctured. The BW field of the U-SIG field 502 is set to "0" for 20 MHz, "1" for 40 MHz, "2" for 80 MHz, "3" for 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz, "4" for 240 MHz and 160+80 MHz, and "5" for 320 MHz and 160+160 MHz.

[0105] In one embodiment, the EHT-SIG compression mode can be indicated in the EHT-SIG Compression field, the Punctured Channel Info field, and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502. Table 14 shows how various EHT-SIG compression modes are indicated in the EHT-SIG Compression field, the Punctured Channel Info field, and the BW field of the U-SIG field 502 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The EHT-SIG Compression field is set to "0" indicating OFDMA transmission and "1" indicating SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission.

[0106] Table 14 is plotted based on the assumption that the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 can indicate whether each 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz within the primary 80 MHz is punctured and whether at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1" and all non-reserved bits of the Punctured Channel Info field are set to "0", indicating the non-preamble puncturing mode for SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, regardless of the value of the BW field, EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be enabled in use case 1. When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", and the value of the BW field is "2" (BW = 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz within the 80 MHz channel is punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can be determined based only on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502, and thus EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500 in use case 2.1.The value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "0", and when the value of the BW field is greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel that is not a 20 MHz subchannel within the primary 80 MHz is punctured, and the 20 MHz subchannels outside the primary 80 MHz are not punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can also be determined based only on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. Therefore, EHT-SIG compression mode 1 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500 in use case 2.2.

[0107] The value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", and when the value of the BW field is greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can be determined based on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplemental punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504. Therefore, EHT-SIG compression mode 2 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500.

[0108] When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "0", all non-reserved bits of the Punctured Channel Information field are set to "0", indicating the non-preamble puncturing mode of OFDMA transmission, EHT-SIG Compression mode 0 can be enabled in Use Case 1 regardless of the value of the BW field. When the EHT-SIG Compression field is "0", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", and the value of the BW field is "2" (BW = 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz within the 80 MHz channel is punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type OFDMA transmission can be determined based only on the punctured channel information of the U-SIG field 502, so EHT-SIG Compression mode 0 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500 in Use Case 2.1. When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "1", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is "1", the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "0", and the value of the BW field is greater than "2" (BW > 80 MHz), at least one 20 MHz subchannel other than the 20 MHz subchannel within the primary 80 MHz is punctured, and the 20 MHz subchannels outside the primary 80 MHz are not punctured.In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type OFDMA transmission can also be determined based only on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. Therefore, in use case 2.2, EHT-SIG compression mode 0 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500.

[0109] When the value of the EHT-SIG Compression field is "0", the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", and the value of the BW field is greater than "2" (BW>80MHz), at least one 20MHz subchannel outside the primary 80MHz is punctured. In this case, the channel puncturing pattern applied to the EHT basic PPDU 500 used for puncturing-type OFDMA transmission can be determined based on the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504. Therefore, EHT-SIG compression mode 3 can be enabled for the EHT basic PPDU 500.

[0110] Furthermore, SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission can be indicated through the EHT-SIG symbol or the Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field in the U-SIG field 502 when the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to 1. Specifically, the value "0" of the Number Of EHT-SIG Symbols Or Non-OFDMA Users field indicates SU transmission.

[0111] Supplemental punctured channel information can be conveyed in the signaling field (e.g., the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field) of the first part of the Common field 702a of the EHT-SIG field 504, and the field size depends on the BW of the EHT basic PPDU 500. The Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field can include supplemental punctured channel information for all 20 MHz subchannels outside the primary 80 MHz. In one option, such a Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field is independent of the EHT-SIG content channel, and thus all EHT-SIG content channels include the same Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field. This field can include a bitmap, which is a 4-bit bitmap for a BW of 160 MHz or 80+80 MHz, an 8-bit bitmap for a BW of 240 MHz or 160+80 MHz, and a 12-bit bitmap for a BW of 320 MHz or 160+160 MHz. The bitmap indicates whether each 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured.

[0112] In another option, the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field within the EHT-SIG content channel can include supplemental punctured channel information regarding 20 MHz sub-channels outside the primary 80 MHz that correspond only to the EHT-SIG content channel. Such a Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field can be dependent on the EHT-SIG content channel and thus can vary between all EHT-SIG content channels. This field can include a bitmap, which is a 2-bit bitmap for a BW of 160 MHz or 80+80 MHz, a 4-bit bitmap for a BW of 240 MHz or 160+80 MHz, and a 6-bit bitmap for a BW of 320 MHz or 160+160 MHz. Thus, in this second implementation option of this field, the signaling overhead of the EHT-SIG field can be advantageously reduced.

[0113] Furthermore, the RU allocation can be included in the second part of the Common field 702b of the EHT-SIG field 504 (e.g., the RU Allocation Info field), and since the RU allocation information for the punctured 20 MHz sub-channels is not needed, the size of that field is determined by the values of the BW, the Punctured Channel Info field, and the Supplemental Punctured Channel Info field.

[0114] Figures 9A and 9B show a flowchart 900 illustrating the processing of a received EHT basic PPDU 500 in an AP or STA according to a third embodiment. The processing can start by determining, in step 902, whether the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to "1". If the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to "1", indicating SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, step 904 is executed to determine EHT-SIG compression mode 1 or 2. On the other hand, if the EHT-SIG Compression field is set to "0", indicating OFDMA transmission, step 922 is executed to determine EHT-SIG compression mode 0 or 3. Further processing of the received EHT basic PPDU 500 used for OFDMA transmission, following step 922, is described in Figure 9B.

[0115] Return to step 904 and determine whether the BW field is set to a value greater than "2". The value "2" of the BW field indicates that BW is 80 MHz. If the BW field is not set to a value greater than "2", execute step 906. In step 906, it is determined whether the BW field is set to "2" and at least one of the three least significant bits of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1". If the BW field is not set to "2" or all three least significant bits of the Punctured Channel Info field are set to "0", in step 908, the use case 1 of EHT-SIG compression mode 1, that is, full-band SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, can be determined and the process can be terminated. If the BW field is set to "2" and at least one of the three least significant bits of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", indicating that at least one 20 MHz subchannel that is not the primary 20 MHz within the 80 MHz channel is punctured, in step 910, the use case 2.1 of EHT-SIG compression mode 1 is determined.

[0116] Return to step 904. If it is determined that the BW field is set to a value greater than "2", execute step 912. In step 912, further determine whether the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", indicating that at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. If the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is not set to "1", in step 914, determine Use Case 2.2 of EHT-SIG Compression Mode 1. If the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", in step 916, determine EHT-SIG Compression Mode 2. In step 910 or step 914, if Use Case 2.1 or Use Case 2.2 of EHT-SIG Compression Mode 1 is determined respectively, execute step 918. In step 918, determine the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 from the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. On the other hand, if EHT-SIG Compression Mode 2 is determined in step 916, execute step 920. In step 920, determine the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 from the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504.

[0117] Return to step 922. After determining EHT-SIG compression mode 0 or 3, execute step 924. In step 924, determine whether the BW field is set to a value greater than "2". If the BW field is not set to a value greater than "2", execute step 926. In step 926, determine whether the BW field is set to "2" and at least one of the three least significant bits (LSBs) of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1". If BW is not set to "2" or all three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field are set to "0", in step 928, determine use case 1 of EHT-SIG compression mode 0, i.e., full-band OFDMA transmission, and the process can end. If the BW field is set to "2", at least one of the three LSBs of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", indicating that at least one 20 MHz subchannel other than the primary 20 MHz in the 80 MHz channel is punctured, in step 930, determine use case 2.1 of EHT-SIG compression mode 0.

[0118] Return to step 924. If it is determined that the BW field is set to a value greater than "2", execute step 932. In step 932, further determine whether the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", which indicates that at least one 20 MHz subchannel outside the primary 80 MHz is punctured. If the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is not set to "1", in step 934, determine Use Case 2.2 of EHT-SIG compression mode 0. If the MSB of the Punctured Channel Info field is set to "1", in step 936, determine EHT-SIG compression mode 3. In step 930 or step 934, if Use Case 2.1 or Use Case 2.2 of EHT-SIG compression mode 0 is determined respectively, execute step 938. In step 938, determine the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 from the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502. On the other hand, if EHT-SIG compression mode 3 is determined in step 936, execute step 940. In step 940, determine the channel puncturing pattern applied to the received EHT basic PPDU 500 from the punctured channel information in the U-SIG field 502 and the supplementary punctured channel information in the EHT-SIG field 504.

[0119] Figure 10 shows an example of the format of an EHT TB PPDU 1000. The EHT TB PPDU 1000 has a structure similar to that of the EHT basic PPDU 500, but does not have an EHT-SIG field 504. The EHT TB PPDU 1000 can include an L-STF field, an L-LTF field, an L-SIG field, an RL-SIG field, a U-SIG field 1002, an EHT-STF field, an EHT-LTF field, a Data field, and a PE field. The L-STF field, the L-LTF field, the L-SIG field, the RL-SIG field, and the U-SIG field 1002 can be grouped as pre-EHT modulation fields, and the EHT-STF field, the EHT-LTF field, the Data field, and the PE field can be grouped as EHT modulation fields. The EHT TB PPDU can be used for trigger-based communication in response to a requested trigger frame. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the EHT TB PPDU can be used for the transmission of BA frames 414, 415 by STAs 404, 406 when the EHT basic PPDU 410 is transmitted to the STAs 404, 406 and includes one or more trigger frames.

[0120] Table 8 shows an example of the format of the U-SIG field 1002 of the EHT TB PPDU 1000. Similar to the EHT basic PPDU 500, the U-SIG field 1002 includes two parts, namely U-SIG1 and U-SIG2, each containing 26 data bits. In this embodiment, all bits independent of the version can be included in U-SIG1. The first part of the U-SIG field 1002, i.e., U-SIG1, includes a PHY Version Identifier field, a UL / DL Flag field, a BSS Color field, a TXOP Duration field, a BW field, and a PPDU Type field. The PHY Version Identifier field is used to identify the exact PHY version starting from 802.11be. The second part of the U-SIG field 1002, i.e., U-SIG2, includes Spatial Reuse 1-4 fields, followed by a CRC field and tail bits. Information of some fields of the U-SIG field 1002 (such as the BW field and the Spatial Reuse 1-4 fields) can be copied from the corresponding trigger frame that requests the transmission of the EHT TB PPDU 1000. It should be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that the standard definitions, protocols, and functions of most fields of the U-SIG field 1002 of the EHT TB PPDU 1000 are obtained from the 802.11ax specification.

Table 8

[0121] FIG. 11 shows the configuration of a communication device 1100, such as an AP, according to various embodiments. Similar to the schematic example of the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3, the communication device 1100 includes a circuit 1102, at least one wireless transmitter 1110, at least one wireless receiver 1112, and at least one antenna 1114 (only one antenna is depicted in FIG. 11 for simplicity). The circuit 1102 can include at least one controller 1108 for use in executing tasks designed for the controller 1108 to perform control signaling communication with the assistance of software and hardware. The circuit 1102 can further include a transmission signal generator 1104 and a reception signal processor 1106. The at least one controller 1108 can control the transmission signal generator 1104 and the reception signal processor 1106. The transmission signal generator 1104 can include a frame generator 1122, a control signaling generator 1124, and a PPDU generator 1126. The frame generator 1122 can generate a MAC frame, such as a data frame or a trigger frame. The control signaling generator 1124 can generate the control signaling fields of the generated PPDU (e.g., the U-SIG field and the EHT-SIG field of the EHT basic PPDU). The PPDU generator 1126 can generate a PPDU (e.g., the EHT basic PPDU).

[0122] The receiving signal processor 1106 can include a data demodulator and decoder 1132 capable of demodulating and decoding the data portion of the received signal (e.g., the data field of an EHT basic PPDU or an EHT TB PPDU). The receiving signal processor 1106 can further include a control demodulator and decoder 1134 capable of demodulating and decoding the control signaling portion of the received signal (e.g., the U-SIG field of an EHT basic PPDU or an EHT TB PPDU, the EHT-SIG field of an EHT basic PPDU). At least one controller 1108 can include a control signaling parser 1142 and a scheduler 1144. The scheduler 1144 can determine RU information and user-specific allocation information for downlink SU or MU transmission assignments, as well as trigger information for uplink MU transmission assignments. The control signaling parser 1142 can analyze the control signaling portion of the received signal and the trigger information for uplink MU transmission assignments shared by the scheduler 1144, and can assist the data demodulator and decoder 1132 in demodulating and decoding the data portion of the received signal.

[0123] FIG. 12 shows the configuration of a communication device 1200 according to various embodiments, for example, an STA. Similar to the schematic example of the communication device 300 shown in FIG. 3, the communication device 1200 includes a circuit 1202, at least one wireless transmitter 1210, at least one wireless receiver 1212, and at least one antenna 1214 (only one antenna is depicted in FIG. 12 for simplicity). The circuit 1202 can include at least one controller 1208 for use in executing tasks designed for the controller 1208 to communicate control signaling with the assistance of software and hardware. The circuit 1202 can further include a received signal processor 1206 and a transmitted signal generator 1204. The at least one controller 1208 can control the received signal processor 1206 and the transmitted signal generator 1204. The received signal processor 1206 can include a data demodulator / decoder 1232 and a control demodulator / decoder 1234. The control demodulator / decoder 1234 can demodulate and decode the control signaling portion of the received signal (e.g., the U-SIG field and the EHT-SIG field of the EHT basic PPDU). The data demodulator / decoder 1232 can demodulate and decode the data portion of the received signal (e.g., the data field of the ETH basic PPDU) according to its assigned RU information and user-specific assignment information.

[0124] At least one controller 1208 can include a control signaling parser 1242, a scheduler 1244, and a trigger information parser 1246. The control signaling parser 1242 can analyze the control signaling part of the received signal (e.g., the U-SIG field and the EHT-SIG field of the EHT basic PPDU) and assist the data demodulator / decoder 1232 in demodulating and decoding the data part of the received signal (e.g., the data field of the EHT basic PPDU). The trigger information parser 1248 can analyze trigger information for its own uplink allocation from the received trigger frame included in the data part of the received signal. The transmission signal generator 1204 can include a control signaling generator 1224 capable of generating the control signaling field of the generated PPDU (e.g., the U-SIG field of the EHT basic PPDU or the EHT TB PPDU). The transmission signal generator 1204 can further include a PPDU generator 1226 for generating a PPDU (e.g., the EHT basic PPDU or the EHT TB PPDU). The transmission signal generator 1204 can further include a frame generator 1222 capable of generating a MAC frame (e.g., a data frame).

[0125] As described so far, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an advanced communication system, communication method, and communication device for performing control signaling in a very high-throughput MIMO WLAN network, and improve the spectral efficiency in the MIMO WLAN network.

[0126] The present disclosure can be implemented by software, by hardware, or by software cooperating with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each of the above-described embodiments can be implemented, in part or in whole, by an LSI such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be controlled, in part or in whole, by the same LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI can be formed individually as a plurality of chips, or a single chip can be formed so as to include part or all of the functional blocks. The LSI can include a data input / output section coupled to itself. The LSI is also referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI depending on the degree of integration. However, the technology for implementing the integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI, and can be implemented by using an application-specific circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. Furthermore, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the manufacture of the LSI, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of circuit cells disposed inside the LSI can also be used. The present disclosure can be implemented as digital processing or analog processing. As a result of the progress of semiconductor technology or another derived technology, when future integrated circuit technology replaces the LSI, functional blocks can be integrated using that future integrated circuit technology. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0127] The present disclosure can be implemented by any type of device, apparatus, or system having a communication function, referred to as a communication device.

[0128] The communication device can include a transceiver and a processing / control circuit. The transceiver can include a receiver and a transmitter, and / or can function as a receiver and a transmitter. The transceiver (as a transmitter and a receiver) can include an RF (radio frequency) module including an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, and one or more antennas.

[0129] Some non-limiting examples of such communication devices include telephones (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, e-book readers, remote healthcare / telemedicine devices, vehicles providing communication functions (e.g., automobiles, airplanes, ships), and various combinations thereof.

[0130] The communication device is not limited to being portable or mobile, and can include any type of device, apparatus, or system that is non-portable or stationary, such as smart home devices (e.g., household appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines, and any other "things" within the network of the "Internet of Things (IoT)".

[0131] Communication can include exchanging data through, for example, cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, and various combinations thereof.

[0132] The communication device can include devices such as a controller or a sensor coupled to a communication device that executes the communication functions described in the present disclosure. For example, the communication device can include a controller or a sensor that generates a control signal or a data signal used by a communication device that executes the communication functions of the communication device.

[0133] The communication device can further include infrastructure facilities, such as a base station, an access point, and any other device, apparatus, or system that communicates with or controls a device such as the device in the non-limiting example above.

[0134] Although some characteristics of various embodiments are described with reference to a device, the corresponding characteristics also apply to the methods of various embodiments, and vice versa.

[0135] Those skilled in the art will understand that numerous changes and / or modifications can be made to the present disclosure shown in a particular embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure as broadly described. Therefore, the embodiments in this specification are to be regarded in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive of the invention. [Table 9] [Table 10] [Table 11] [Table 12] [Table 13] [Table 14]

Claims

1. A receiver that receives a transmission signal including a first signal field and a second signal field, wherein the first signal field includes punctured channel information, and the second signal field includes a sub-field including supplementary punctured channel information, wherein, when the transmission signal is used for puncturing type single user (SU) transmission or multi-user (MU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission, and the punctured channel information can indicate a channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include the sub-field; a receiver, A circuit for processing the transmission signal; A communication device comprising the same.

2. The punctured channel information can indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a determined bandwidth; The communication device according to Claim 1.

3. The punctured channel information can indicate all possible channel puncturing patterns up to a determined bandwidth and a part of the channel puncturing patterns of a bandwidth larger than the determined bandwidth; The communication device according to Claim 1.

4. When the transmission signal is used for puncturing type SU transmission or MU-MIMO transmission, and the punctured channel information cannot indicate a channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field includes the sub-field, and the supplementary punctured channel information indicates, together with the punctured channel information, a channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal; The communication device according to Claim 1.

5. The punctured channel information and the bandwidth information are indicated in one signaling field of the first signal field; The communication device according to Claim 1.

6. The punctured channel information is indicated in a first signaling field of the first signal field, the bandwidth information is indicated in a second signaling field of the first signal field, and the first signaling field is different from the second signaling field; The communication device according to Claim 1.

7. When the transmission signal is used for puncturing type orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission and the punctured channel information cannot indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field includes the sub-field, and the supplementary punctured channel information indicates the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal together with the punctured channel information. The communication device according to claim 1. Claim 8 Receiving a transmission signal including a first signal field and a second signal field, wherein the first signal field includes punctured channel information, and the second signal field includes a sub-field including supplementary punctured channel information, wherein the transmission signal is used for puncturing type single user (SU) transmission or multi-user (MU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission, and when the punctured channel information can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include the sub-field; Processing the transmission signal; A communication method including: Claim 9 Receiving a transmission signal including a first signal field and a second signal field, wherein the first signal field includes punctured channel information, and the second signal field includes a sub-field including supplementary punctured channel information, wherein the transmission signal is used for puncturing type single user (SU) transmission or multi-user (MU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission, and when the punctured channel information can indicate the channel puncturing pattern applied to the transmission signal, the second signal field does not include the sub-field; Controlling to process the transmission signal; An integrated circuit.

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