Terminal, transmission method and integrated circuit

Abstract

To improve efficiency of Multi-AP coordination control.SOLUTION: A terminal includes: a receiver for receiving a control signal having common information common to a plurality of users including information regarding unassigned resources and user individual information individual to the plurality of users; and a circuit for decoding a control signal having the common information and the user individual information. The common information includes information indicating a resource arrangement pattern in a frequency band, and the circuit determines an arrangement pattern from a plurality of arrangement pattern candidates including an arrangement pattern including the unassigned resources, the arrangement pattern including the unassigned resources is a pattern with the total size of the unassigned resources equal to or more than a predetermined value, and only a preamble is transmitted on the unassigned resources.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal, a transmission method, and an integrated circuit. [Background technology]

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

[0003] In 11be, Multi-AP coordination, in which multiple access points (also called "base stations," hereinafter referred to as "APs (Access Points)") cooperate to transmit data, is being considered as a technology to improve throughput (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] IEEE 802.11-19 / 927r0, Coordinated Transmission Scheme for 11be, May 16, 2019 [Non-patent document 2] IEEE P802.11ax / D4.0 Draft Standard for Information technology, February 2019 Summary of the Invention

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

[0006] Non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure contribute to providing a terminal, a transmission method, and an integrated circuit that can improve the efficiency of control of Multi-AP coordination.

[0007] A terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a receiver that receives a control signal having common information, which is information common to a plurality of users and includes information regarding unallocated resources, and user-specific information that is individual to the plurality of users; and a circuit that decodes the control signal having the common information and the user-specific information, wherein the common information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in a frequency band, and the circuit determines the allocation pattern from a plurality of allocation pattern candidates including an allocation pattern that includes the unallocated resources, and the allocation pattern that includes the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the total size of the unallocated resources is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and only a preamble is transmitted in the unallocated resources.

[0008] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the efficiency of control of Multi-AP coordination.

[0010] Further advantages and benefits of an embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some of the embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a format of SIG-B included in a downlink control signal. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the configuration of the SIG-B User field [Figure 3A] An example of two APs cooperating in Coordinated OFDMA [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B illustrates an example of resource allocation in the two APs illustrated in FIG. 3A. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of a downstream radio transmission device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of a downstream radio receiving device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a list of resource unit (RU) allocation pattern candidates. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 shows an example of a format of a downlink multi-user (DL MU) signal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of unallocated RU information. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second example of unallocated RU information. [Figure 12] A diagram showing an example of STA common information when the size of the Unallocated RU field is variable [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 shows an example of a format of a DL MU signal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 shows a first example of a list of RU allocation pattern candidates according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17]FIG. 10 shows a second example of a list of RU allocation pattern candidates according to the second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 shows an example of a preamble format selected in the third embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 shows an example of a selected preamble format. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0013] (Embodiment 1) [Multi-user (MU) transmission] For example, 11ax supports multi-user (MU) transmission, such as Downlink MU-Multiple Input Multiple Output (DL MU-MIMO) and DL Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (DL OFDMA).

[0014] In the case of DL MU-MIMO or DL ​​OFDMA, an access point (also called an Access Point (AP) or "base station") notifies each STA (also called a "Station (STA)" or "terminal") of control information, for example, using a preamble control signal (e.g., called an SIG-B or SIG-B field) included in a DL Multiuser Physical layer convergence procedure Protocol Data Unit (DL MU PPDU).

[0015] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of HE-SIG-B (hereinafter simply referred to as "SIG-B") of a High Efficiency MU PPDU (HE MU PPDU) (hereinafter simply referred to as "MU PPDU") that instructs downlink MU transmission in 11ax. Figure 1 also shows an example of the format of a preamble attached to data. Figure 1 also shows an example of the configuration of SIG-B among the fields included in the preamble format.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, SIG-B includes a "Common field" containing information common to multiple users (in other words, STAs) (hereinafter referred to as "common information" or "STA common information"), and a "User Specific field" containing information for each user (hereinafter referred to as "user information," "STA individual information," or "user individual information").

[0017] In the Common field, for example, the Resource Unit (RU) Allocation subfield indicates the allocation pattern of RUs allocated to each user in the AP's channel bandwidth (Channel Bandwidth) (hereinafter referred to as the "RU allocation pattern"). For example, the RU Allocation subfield has a size of 8 bits.

[0018] Furthermore, the User Specific field includes, for example, one or more User Block fields. Each User Block field is a field obtained by encoding the User fields of one or two users with a Block Check Character (BCC). Furthermore, the order of the User fields corresponding to each user in the User Specific field shown in FIG. 1 may be determined based on the RU Allocation subfield of the Common field. For example, the User field may be associated with an RU included in the RU allocation pattern. Furthermore, the HE-SIG-A is STA common information, and includes control information for demodulating and decoding the HE-SIG-B.

[0019] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the User field of SIG-B. As shown in FIG. 2, the User field is a field that notifies information for each user (STA), including, for example, STA#1 and STA#2. The User field may be interpreted as a field that notifies STA information. The User field includes information such as a "STA ID subfield" indicating the identifier of the user (STA), a "Spatial Configuration subfield" indicating spatial stream allocation information, a "Modulation and channel Coding Scheme (MCS) subfield" indicating the modulation and coding method, and a "Coding subfield" indicating the coding method. For example, when the channel bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, the size of the STA ID subfield and the size of the User field are 11 bits and 21 bits, respectively.

[0020] [Multi-AP coordination] Multi-AP coordination involves coordinated scheduling among multiple APs, and dynamic coordination of transmission timing and transmission bandwidth. This coordination reduces the effects of interference between neighboring APs (e.g., at cell edges) and improves throughput.

[0021] For example, Coordinated OFDMA (also called Dynamic point selection (DPS)) is being studied as an example of Multi-AP coordination (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0022] FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of two APs that cooperate with each other using Coordinated OFDMA. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of resource allocation in the two APs shown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3A shows two APs (AP1 and AP2) and three STAs (STA1, STA2, and STA3). AP1 and AP2 are an example of APs that are adjacent to each other. In FIG. 3A, STA1 and STA2 communicate wirelessly with AP1, and STA3 communicates wirelessly with AP2. Also in FIG. 3A, STA2 is located at the cell edge between AP1 and AP2. FIG. 3B shows an example of resources allocated to each of AP1 and AP2.

[0023] In Coordinated OFDMA, multiple APs cooperate with each other, but when transmitting data to a certain user (STA), the APs are dynamically switched to the AP with the best communication quality.

[0024] For example, a neighboring AP that is a significant source of interference for a data transmitting STA can reduce the impact of the interference and improve the throughput of the STA by setting the RU assigned to the STA as an unassigned RU. In the example of Figures 3A and 3B, for STA2 located at the cell edge, AP2, which is adjacent to AP1 with which STA2 is communicating, becomes an interference source. In this example, as shown in Figure 3B, the RU assigned to STA2 in AP1 and used for data transmission with AP1 is set as an RU (unassigned RU) not assigned to any STA in AP2. This reduces the impact of interference from AP2 and improves the throughput of STA2.

[0025] Here, "unassigned RU" refers to an RU that is not assigned to any of the STAs accommodated by AP1, for example, in AP1, and "assigned RU" refers to an RU that is assigned to any of the STAs accommodated by AP1, for example, in AP1. For example, an RU set as an "unassigned RU" in AP1 can become an "assigned RU" in another AP (for example, AP2).

[0026] In downlink MU transmission using the 11ax HE MU PPDU, by setting the ID of a certain STA (e.g., STA1) to the STA ID included in the User field of SIG-B, it is possible to notify that the RU associated with this User field is the RU assigned to STA1 (the RU assigned to STA1). Then, by setting an unused Associated ID (AID) (e.g., "2046") to the STA ID included in the User field of SIG-B, it is possible to notify that the RU associated with that User field is an unassigned RU (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0027] To improve throughput in Coordinated OFDMA and / or DPS, an AP that transmits cooperatively needs to dynamically schedule assigned and unassigned RUs according to the channel quality of the multiple STAs it accommodates and notify the multiple STAs it accommodates.

[0028] However, when notifying an unallocated RU using an 11ax HE MU PPDU, a User field (21 bits in the example of FIG. 2) is notified, which includes a STA ID field set with an unused AID and has the same size as the User field when notifying an allocated RU. Although the User field including the STA ID field set with an unused AID is a User field associated with an unallocated RU, i.e., an RU not used by any STA, it includes a subfield for information related to signal transmission (e.g., a "Spatial Configuration subfield"), resulting in wasted signaling. Therefore, when Multi-AP coordination is applied in 11be, the number of dynamic unallocated RU notifications from the AP increases, which increases the overhead of control information in the HE MU PPDU.

[0029] In addition, in 11be, there are plans to expand the maximum channel bandwidth from 160 MHz to 320 MHz. Since the RU allocation pattern information (RU Allocation subfield) included in SIG-B is notified every 20 MHz, the larger the channel bandwidth, the greater the signaling overhead due to the influence of the User field that notifies unallocated RUs.

[0030] Note that the STA performs decoding processing on a per-User Block field basis to extract the User field. For example, if, in order to reduce overhead, the AP sets the User field associated with an unallocated RU to a User field that includes an STA ID field with an unused AID set and does not include a subfield containing other information related to signal transmission (e.g., a "Spatial Configuration subfield"), the size of the User Block field will change. Since the STA cannot determine the size of the User Block field before decoding, the STA may not be able to correctly decode the User Block field. Alternatively, if the STA attempts to perform decoding processing for all possible User Block field size patterns for a User Block field whose size changes in order to correctly decode the field, the processing load on the STA will increase.

[0031] Therefore, even if the user field is associated with an unallocated RU, the size is fixed, just like the size of the user field associated with an allocated RU, which increases signaling overhead.

[0032] Therefore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for appropriately controlling the Multi-AP coordination process in MU transmission and reducing signaling overhead will be described.

[0033] [Wireless communication system configuration] The wireless communication system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least one AP and a plurality of STAs.

[0034] For example, in DL communications (e.g., transmission and reception of DL data), an AP (also called a "downstream wireless transmitter") transmits DL signals to multiple STAs (also called "downstream wireless receivers") via a downstream MU. Each STA receives the DL signal intended for that STA from the signal transmitted via the downstream MU.

[0035] [Example of wireless communication system configuration for DL ​​communication] First, a configuration example of a wireless communication system for DL ​​communication will be described. The wireless communication system for DL ​​communication includes, for example, a downlink wireless transmitting device 10 (for example, an AP) and a downlink wireless receiving device 20 (for example, an STA).

[0036] The downlink radio transmitting apparatus 10 transmits, for example, a preamble control signal (for example, SIG-B) including common information and user information, and a DL data signal set based on the control signal, to the downlink radio receiving apparatus 200. The downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 receives the control signal and DL data signal transmitted from the downlink radio transmitting apparatus 10. Note that the preamble may be included, for example, in a physical data channel for MU transmission (for example, MU PPDU).

[0037] 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a portion of a downlink radio transmission device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the downlink radio transmission device 10 shown in FIG. 4, a control unit generates common information (e.g., information in a common field) that is information common to multiple users and includes information on unallocated resources, and user-specific information (e.g., information in a user specific field) that is specific to multiple users. The radio transmission unit transmits a control signal (e.g., SIG-B) including the common information and the user-specific information.

[0038] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a portion of a downlink radio receiving device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the downlink radio receiving device 20 shown in Fig. 5, a radio receiving unit receives a control signal having common information (e.g., information in a common field) that is information common to multiple users and includes information on unallocated resources, and user-specific information (e.g., information in a user specific field) that is individual to multiple users. A control unit determines resources allocated to the downlink radio receiving device 20 (e.g., a terminal or STA) based on the information on the unallocated resources.

[0039] <Configuration example of downlink radio transmitting device 100> Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission device 100 (hereinafter referred to as AP 100) according to this embodiment 1. The AP 100 shown in Fig. 6 includes, for example, a radio transmission / reception unit 101, a received signal demodulation unit 102, a quality information decoding unit 103, a scheduling unit 104, a data coding unit 105, a data modulation unit 106, a frequency allocation unit 107, a preamble generation unit 108, and a time multiplexing unit 109.

[0040] For example, the AP 100 shown in Fig. 6 is an example of the downlink radio transmitting device 10 shown in Fig. 4. The control unit shown in Fig. 4 may correspond to the processing units (e.g., the scheduling unit 104 and the preamble generating unit 108) related to generation of the control signal in Fig. 6. Furthermore, the radio transmitting unit shown in Fig. 4 may correspond to the radio transceiver unit 101 shown in Fig. 6, for example.

[0041] The radio transmission / reception unit 101 receives a signal transmitted from downlink radio reception device 200 (see FIG. 7 , for example, STA 200) via an antenna, and performs radio reception processing such as down-conversion and A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion on the received signal. For example, the radio transmission / reception unit 101 extracts received data including quality information from the received signal after radio reception processing, and outputs the extracted data to the received signal demodulation unit 102. The radio transmission / reception unit 101 also performs radio transmission processing such as D / A (Digital / Analog) conversion and up-conversion to a carrier frequency on a signal (for example, MU PPDU) obtained by time-multiplexing a preamble and data input from the time multiplexing unit 109. The radio transmission / reception unit 101 then transmits the signal after radio transmission processing to STA 200 via the antenna. The signal transmitted from STA 200 may include, for example, a preamble (also referred to as a preamble signal or a preamble portion) and data (also referred to as a data signal or a data portion).

[0042] The received signal demodulation unit 102 performs processing such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the signal input from the radio transmission / reception unit 101, and demodulates the data based on the control information and channel estimation results included in the preamble (also called a PPDU header) of the received signal. The received signal demodulation unit 102 outputs the demodulated data signal to the quality information decoding unit 103.

[0043] The quality information decoding unit 103 decodes radio quality information of the STA 200 from the received signal input from the received signal demodulation unit 102. The radio quality information may be, for example, channel information (e.g., frequency response) in units of a predetermined frequency resource, a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), or a reception level. The quality information decoding unit 103 outputs the decoded radio quality information to the scheduling unit 104.

[0044] The scheduling unit 104 performs scheduling for the STAs 200 based on, for example, the radio quality information for each STA 200 input from the quality information decoding unit 103. The scheduling unit 104 also determines the number of STAs to be multiplexed into an MU (the number of terminals or the number of users multiplexed), the MCS for DL ​​data of each STA, the coding method, the RU to be allocated, and the frequency bandwidth. When using Multi-AP coordination or the like, the scheduling unit 104 determines an RU that is expected to have a large impact of interference on other STAs as an unallocated RU. Here, the other STAs may be, for example, STAs that are wirelessly connected to neighboring APs. An unallocated RU corresponds to, for example, an RU that is not allocated to a STA that is wirelessly connected to itself.

[0045] Scheduling section 104 outputs scheduling information indicating the scheduling result to data encoding section 105, data modulation section 106, frequency allocation section 107 and preamble generation section .

[0046] Data coding section 105 encodes a data sequence (DL data) addressed to STA 200 based on the scheduling information (e.g., coding method or MCS) input from scheduling section 104. Data coding section 105 outputs the encoded data to data modulation section .

[0047] The data modulation unit 106 modulates the coded data input from the data coding unit 105 based on the scheduling information (for example, frequency resources or MCS) input from the scheduling unit 104. The data modulation unit 106 outputs the modulated data to the frequency allocation unit 107.

[0048] Based on the scheduling information (e.g., frequency allocation information) input from the scheduling unit 104, the frequency allocation unit 107 maps the modulated data input from the data modulation unit 106 to the RU assigned to the STA 200. Then, the frequency allocation unit 107 performs an inverse fast Fourier transform (e.g., an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT)) to generate an OFDM signal. The frequency allocation unit 107 outputs the OFDM signal to the time multiplexing unit 109.

[0049] Preamble generation section 108 has STA common information generation section 108a and STA individual information generation section 108b. Preamble generation section 108 generates a preamble including STA common information and STA individual information based on scheduling information (e.g., number of transmitting terminals, coding method, MCS, frequency allocation (including unallocated RUs)) input from scheduling section 104. Preamble generation section 108 outputs the generated preamble to time multiplexing section 109. The STA common information may include information regarding unallocated RUs (unallocated RU information). The information regarding unallocated RUs may be information that explicitly or implicitly indicates (specifies) unallocated RUs.

[0050] The STA common information generation unit 108a generates control information common to the STAs that multiplex an MU based on the scheduling information. The control information common to the STAs that multiplex an MU corresponds to STA common information. The STA common information includes, for example, an RU allocation pattern for STA200 that is multiplexed into a channel band and unallocated RU information.

[0051] The RU allocation pattern indicates, for example, the size of each of one or more RUs specified in a channel band and the allocation (e.g., order) of the one or more RUs in the channel band. For example, the RU allocation pattern is selected from multiple RU allocation pattern candidates.

[0052] The method for generating unallocated RU information will be described later.

[0053] The STA-individual information generation unit 108b generates STA-individual control information to which frequency resources are allocated, based on the scheduling information. The STA-individual control information corresponds to the STA-individual information. The STA-individual information includes, for example, the STA ID, MCS, etc. The STA-individual information for each STA 200 that is multiplexed into an MU is notified using a User field. The arrangement order (sorting order) of the User field for each STA 200 in the preamble (for example, HE MU PPDU) may be specified according to the RU allocation pattern. For example, the User field is sorted according to the order of RUs (i.e., allocated RUs) excluding unallocated RUs among the RUs in the RU allocation pattern.

[0054] The STA individual information generating section 108 b generates a preamble by adding the STA individual information to the STA common information output from the STA common information generating section 108 a, and outputs the generated preamble to the time multiplexing section 109 .

[0055] The time multiplexing unit 109 generates a transmission signal (e.g., an MU PPDU signal) by time-multiplexing the preamble output from the preamble generation unit 108 and the data signal output from the frequency allocation unit 107. For example, in time multiplexing, the data signal is multiplexed after the preamble in the time direction. The time multiplexing unit 109 outputs the transmission signal to the radio transmission and reception unit 101.

[0056] The radio transmission / reception unit 101 performs radio transmission processing such as D / A conversion and up-conversion to a carrier frequency on the transmission signal input from the time multiplexing unit 109, and transmits the signal after radio transmission processing to the STA 200 via an antenna.

[0057] <Configuration example of downlink radio receiving device 200> Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of downlink radio receiving apparatus 200 (for example, STA 200) according to this embodiment 1. STA 200 shown in Fig. 7 includes, for example, a radio transmitting and receiving section 201, a separating section 202, a frequency extracting section 203, a preamble decoding section 204, a data demodulating section 205, a data decoding section 206, a quality estimating section 207, and a modulating section 208.

[0058] For example, STA 200 shown in Fig. 7 is an example of downlink radio receiving device 20 shown in Fig. 5. The control unit shown in Fig. 5 may correspond to a processing unit (e.g., preamble decoding unit 204, etc.) related to decoding a control signal and determining an allocated RU based on the control signal in Fig. 7. Furthermore, the radio receiving unit shown in Fig. 5 may correspond to radio transmitting and receiving unit 201 shown in Fig. 7, for example.

[0059] The radio transmission / reception unit 201 performs radio transmission processing such as D / A conversion and up-conversion to a carrier frequency on the transmission signal input from the modulation unit 208, and transmits the signal after the radio transmission processing via an antenna to the AP 100. The radio transmission / reception unit 201 also performs radio reception processing such as down-conversion and A / D conversion on the signal received via the antenna, and outputs the signal after the radio reception processing to the demultiplexing unit 202.

[0060] Demultiplexing section 202 separates the signal after radio reception processing into data and a preamble in the time domain, and outputs the data to frequency extraction section 203, and outputs the preamble to preamble decoding section 204 and quality estimating section 207.

[0061] The preamble decoder 204 includes an STA common information decoder 204a and an STA individual information decoder 204b.

[0062] The STA common information decoding unit 204a demodulates and decodes the STA common information from the preamble input from the demultiplexing unit 202, and extracts the STA common information. The STA common information decoding unit 204a determines the assigned RU assigned to STA 200 in the channel band (e.g., 20 MHz band) from the RU allocation pattern and unallocated RU information included in the extracted STA common information. The STA common information decoding unit 204a then outputs information on the determined assigned RU to the STA individual information decoding unit 204b. The STA common information decoding unit 204a also extracts a signal including STA individual information from the preamble input from the demultiplexing unit 202, and outputs this to the STA individual information decoding unit 204b. A method for determining the assigned RU from the RU allocation pattern and unallocated RU information will be described later.

[0063] The STA individual information decoding unit 204b demodulates and decodes the STA individual information input from the STA common information decoding unit 204a, and extracts the STA individual information. The STA individual information decoding unit 204b decodes the User field included in the STA individual information arranged in the order of the assigned RUs, and determines whether the STA ID matches an ID previously set in the own terminal. The STA individual information decoding unit 204b determines that a User field in which an ID matching the previously set ID of the own terminal is set is control information addressed to the own terminal. The STA individual information decoding unit 204b outputs the STA individual control information included in the User field addressed to the own terminal to the data demodulation unit 205 and the data decoding unit 206. Furthermore, the STA individual information decoding unit 204b determines the assigned RU assigned to the own terminal based on the order of the control information addressed to the own terminal and the information of the assigned RU input from the STA common information decoding unit 204a. The STA individual information decoding unit 204b outputs the allocated RU allocated to the own terminal to the frequency extraction unit 203.

[0064] The frequency extraction unit 203 extracts (demaps) the received data signal addressed to its own terminal and contained in the allocated RU input from the preamble decoding unit 204 from the received signal, which is transmitted using one or more RUs and contains signals addressed to one or more STAs, and outputs the extracted data signal to the data demodulation unit 205.

[0065] Data demodulation section 205 performs processing such as channel equalization and demodulation on the data signal input from frequency extraction section 203 based on the control information (e.g., MCS, encoding method, etc.) input from preamble decoding section 204, and extracts demodulated data addressed to its own terminal. Data demodulation section 205 outputs the extracted demodulated data to data decoding section 206.

[0066] Data decoding section 206 decodes desired data from the demodulated data inputted from data demodulation section 205 based on the control information inputted from preamble decoding section 204 (for example, MCS, encoding method, etc.).

[0067] The quality estimation unit 207 performs channel estimation based on a reference signal (e.g., STF, LTF) included in the preamble input from the demultiplexing unit 202, and generates wireless quality information indicating at least one of the wireless qualities (e.g., frequency response and SNR) estimated for each predetermined frequency resource. The quality estimation unit 207 outputs an uplink signal including the wireless quality information to the modulation unit 208.

[0068] The modulator 208 performs IFFT processing, modulation, and other processes on the signal input from the quality estimator 207 to generate a modulated uplink signal (referred to as a data signal or an OFDM signal, for example). The modulator 208 outputs the modulated uplink signal to the radio transmitter / receiver 201. Note that the modulator 208 may perform IFFT processing, modulation, and other processes on the uplink signal including data, control information, and the like.

[0069] [Example of AP and STA operation] Next, an example of the operation of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0070] For example, AP100 includes unallocated RU information in the STA common information in one PPDU header (also called a preamble) that includes STA common information and STA individual information for multiple STAs 200 multiplexed by MU-MIMO or OFDMA. The unallocated RU information is, for example, bitmap information indicating the unallocated RUs and / or contiguous band information of the unallocated RUs. AP100 also transmits STA individual information that includes a User field associated with the allocated RU. Note that the STA individual information in this embodiment 1 does not need to include a User field associated with the unallocated RU (for example, a User field in which an unused ID is included in the Used ID field).

[0071] Below, as an example, a method of transmitting unallocated RU information in the format of control information for MU transmission in 11ax (for example, SIG-B in the case of DL MU transmission) will be described.

[0072] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a list of candidate RU allocation patterns. The list shown in Fig. 8 shows candidate RU allocation patterns for the minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax). The list shown in Fig. 8 includes multiple patterns that differ in at least one of the size per RU and the arrangement (order) of each RU for the nine RUs of the minimum allocation granularity, RU #1 to RU #9, in the channel band.

[0073] For example, in pattern 0 of Figure 8, nine RUs with the minimum allocation granularity are defined as nine RUs without any change in size. Also, in pattern 1 of Figure 8, RU#1 to RU#7 are defined as RUs with no change in size, and RU#8 and RU#9 are defined as one RU with a size of 52 tones. In pattern 3 of Figure 8, RU#1 to RU#5 are defined as RUs with no change in size, RU#6 and RU#7 are defined as one RU with a size of 52 tones, and RU#8 and RU#9 are defined as one RU with a size of 52 tones. In other words, in pattern 3 of Figure 8, seven RUs are defined.

[0074] For example, AP100 selects one RU placement pattern from the candidate RU placement patterns shown in FIG. 8. Then, AP100 notifies information indicating the selected RU placement pattern (N bits indices in FIG. 8) in the RU allocation field of the STA common information. AP100 also allocates RUs included in the selected RU placement pattern to STAs. AP100 then sorts the STA-specific information in the order in which RUs included in the selected RU placement pattern were allocated to STAs. Furthermore, AP100 notifies information regarding RUs (unassigned RUs) that are not allocated to any STAs among the RUs included in the selected RU placement pattern, using the STA common information.

[0075] The following describes an example of STA common information and an example of STA individual information when AP 100 selects pattern 2 in FIG. 8 and allocates RUs of pattern 2 to four STAs (STA#1 to STA#4).

[0076] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a DL MU signal in the first embodiment. Fig. 9 shows STA common information (Common field) and STA individual information (User specific field). Note that in Fig. 9, descriptions of fields and subfields similar to those of the STA common information and STA individual information shown in Fig. 1 will be omitted.

[0077] The STA common information shown in Fig. 9 has a subfield (Unallocated RU subfield) for reporting information related to unallocated RUs. The STA individual information shown in Fig. 9 also includes a User field for the number of allocated RUs.

[0078] The Unallocated RU field may be bit pattern information indicating whether or not an RU is unallocated for each minimum allocation granularity of the RU allocation pattern (26 tones in the case of 11ax).

[0079] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of unallocated RU information. For example, as in the example of Fig. 10, the Unallocated RU field may indicate whether or not an RU is unallocated using bit pattern information of 9 bits.

[0080] In Figure 10, the RU allocation field indicates that the RU allocation pattern is pattern 2 shown in Figure 8 (a pattern in which 26-tone RUs are allocated to the frequency bands of RU#1 to RU#5 and RU#8 to RU#9, and 52-tone RUs are allocated to the frequency band of RU#6 to RU#7). Also, in Figure 10, in the RU allocation pattern of pattern 2, RU#1 is allocated to STA#1, RU#3 is allocated to STA#2, RU#6 to RU#7 are allocated to STA#3, and RU#9 is allocated to STA#4.

[0081] The Unallocated RU field included in the STA common information indicates whether RU#1 to RU#9 are unallocated RUs. In the example of Fig. 10, RU#2, RU#4, RU#5, and RU#8 are unallocated RUs, and the remaining RUs are allocated RUs. Therefore, if "1" is associated with unallocated RUs and "0" is associated with allocated RUs, the Unallocated RU field indicates 9-bit bit pattern information of "010110010" as shown in Fig. 10. In this case, in the RU allocation pattern, the RUs allocated to the STAs are arranged in the order STA#1, STA#2, STA#3, and STA#4. Therefore, the User fields of each STA are arranged in the order STA#1, STA#2, STA#3, and STA#4 in the STA individual information (User specific field).

[0082] Note that the information indicated in the Unallocated RU field is not limited to the bit pattern described above. For example, the unallocated RUs may be limited to consecutive RUs in the RU allocation pattern, and the unallocated RU information may be information indicating "the number of unallocated RUs consecutive to the start RU of the unallocated RU." This example will be described below.

[0083] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the unallocated RU information.

[0084] In Fig. 11, as in Fig. 10, the RU allocation field indicates that the RU allocation pattern is pattern 2 shown in Fig. 8. Also in Fig. 11, in the RU allocation pattern of pattern 2, RU #1 is allocated to STA #1, RU #2 is allocated to STA #3, RU #8 is allocated to STA #2, and RU #9 is allocated to STA #4. In this case, RU #3 to RU #7 are unallocated RUs. In the example of Fig. 11, the unallocated RUs are allocated consecutively in the RU allocation pattern.

[0085] The Unallocated RU field included in the STA common information indicates the starting RU of the unallocated RUs (RU#3 in FIG. 11) and the number of consecutive unallocated RUs (5 in FIG. 11). In this case, the Unallocated RU field may be 6 bits in size. Note that in the example of FIG. 11, the RUs allocated to the STAs in the RU allocation pattern are arranged in the order STA#1, STA#3, STA#2, and STA#4. Therefore, the User fields of each STA are arranged in the order STA#1, STA#3, STA#2, and STA#4 in the STA individual information (User specific field).

[0086] 10 and 11, by including unallocated RU information in the STA common information, the User field associated with the unallocated RU is not included in the STA-specific information, thereby reducing the signaling of the STA-specific information. Therefore, even when Multi-AP coordination is applied, unallocated RUs can be dynamically notified with little overhead, improving throughput.

[0087] The size of the Unallocated RU field may be changed depending on the number of RUs in the RU allocation pattern to be notified. When the size of the Unallocated RU field is made variable, other information may be added to the STA common information so that the overall size of the STA common information does not change.

[0088] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of STA common information when the size of the Unallocated RU field is variable. Fig. 12 shows an example of an RU allocation pattern (hereinafter referred to as RU allocation pattern X) that specifies four RUs, each with a size of 52 tones, and an example of an RU allocation pattern (hereinafter referred to as RU allocation pattern Y) that specifies nine RUs, each with a size of 26 tones.

[0089] For example, as shown in Figure 12, the maximum size of the Unallocated RU field may be defined as 9 bits, and other information (such as transmission power control information) may be included if the size of the Unallocated RU field is smaller than the maximum value. In Figure 12, for example, in the case of RU allocation pattern X, the size of the Unallocated RU field in the STA common information is 4 bits, and 5 bits contain transmission power control information (Power control). Also in Figure 12, in the case of RU allocation pattern Y, the size of the Unallocated RU field is 9 bits (maximum size). By adjusting the size in this way, the total size of the STA common information may be fixed.

[0090] Alternatively, the size of the Unallocated RU field used as bitmap information may be limited by limiting the size of the unallocated RU to a predetermined value or more. For example, the size of the unallocated RU may be limited to 52 tones or more, and the size of the bitmap may be limited to 4 bits (the same number of bits as the maximum number of RUs per channel band for 52 tones).

[0091] As described above, in this embodiment 1, information on unallocated RUs is notified by STA common information. This notification can reduce the signaling overhead associated with the notification, thereby improving the efficiency of control of Multi-AP coordination.

[0092] (Embodiment 2) In the second embodiment, information on unallocated RUs is notified by STA common information, as in the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, information on unallocated RUs is notified in a format different from that in the first embodiment.

[0093] <Configuration example of downlink radio transmitting device 300> Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission device 300 (hereinafter referred to as AP 300) according to the present embodiment 2. Note that in Fig. 13, the same components as those in Fig. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0094] The AP 300 shown in FIG. 13 has a configuration in which the scheduling section 104 and the preamble generating section 108 of the AP 100 shown in FIG. 6 are replaced with a scheduling section 304 and a preamble generating section 308, respectively.

[0095] For example, the AP 300 shown in Fig. 13 is another example of the downlink radio transmitting device 10 shown in Fig. 4. The control unit shown in Fig. 4 may correspond to the processing units (e.g., the scheduling unit 304 and the preamble generating unit 308) related to generation of the control signal in Fig. 13. Furthermore, the radio transmitting unit shown in Fig. 4 may correspond to the radio transmitting and receiving unit 101 shown in Fig. 13, for example.

[0096] The preamble generation unit 308 has an STA common information generation unit 308a, an STA individual information generation unit 308b, and an RU allocation pattern storage unit 308c. The preamble generation unit 308 generates a preamble including the STA common information and the STA individual information based on the scheduling information (e.g., the number of transmitting terminals, the coding method, the MCS, and the frequency allocation (including unallocated RUs)) input from the scheduling unit 304. The preamble generation unit 308 outputs the generated preamble to the time multiplexing unit 109.

[0097] The RU allocation pattern storage unit 308c stores candidate RU allocation patterns to be included in the STA common information. The candidate RU allocation patterns include RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs. The RU allocation pattern storage unit 308c outputs the candidate RU allocation patterns that it stores to the scheduling unit 304 and the STA common information generation unit 308a.

[0098] The scheduling unit 304 determines unallocated RUs and allocated RUs to be allocated to STAs from among candidate RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs defined in the RU allocation pattern, and outputs information about the determined unallocated RUs and allocated RUs (scheduling information including frequency allocation information) to the preamble generation unit 308 and the frequency allocation unit 107. Note that the scheduling unit 304 does not need to determine unallocated RUs when all of the RUs defined in the channel band are to be allocated to any STA.

[0099] The STA common information generation unit 308a determines RU allocation pattern information (RU allocation field) to be included in the STA common information based on the frequency allocation information from the scheduling unit 304 and the RU allocation pattern stored in the RU allocation pattern storage unit 308c.

[0100] The STA-specific information generation unit 308b generates STA-specific information (e.g., STA ID, MCS, etc.) of the STA to which frequency resources are allocated based on the scheduling information. Note that STA-specific control information for each STA to be multiplexed into an MU is notified using a User field. The arrangement order (sorting order) of the User field for each STA in the preamble (e.g., HE MU PPDU) may be specified according to the RU allocation pattern. For example, the User field is sorted according to the order of the RU allocation pattern excluding unallocated RUs.

[0101] The STA individual information generating section 308 b generates a preamble by adding the STA individual information to the STA common information output from the STA common information generating section 308 a, and outputs the preamble to the time multiplexing section 109 .

[0102] <Configuration example of downlink radio receiving device 400> Fig. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving device 400 (for example, STA 400) according to this embodiment 2. Note that in Fig. 14, the same components as those in Fig. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description may be omitted.

[0103] STA 400 shown in FIG. 14 has a configuration in which preamble decoding section 204 of STA 200 shown in FIG.

[0104] For example, STA 400 shown in Fig. 14 is an example of downlink radio receiving device 20 shown in Fig. 5. The control unit shown in Fig. 5 may correspond to a processing unit (e.g., preamble decoding unit 404, etc.) related to decoding a control signal and determining an allocated RU based on the control signal in Fig. 14. Furthermore, the radio receiving unit shown in Fig. 5 may correspond to radio transmitting and receiving unit 201 shown in Fig. 14, for example.

[0105] The preamble decoder 404 includes an STA common information decoder 404a, an STA individual information decoder 404b, and an RU allocation pattern holder 404c.

[0106] Similar to the RU allocation pattern storage unit 308c of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 300 described above, the RU allocation pattern storage unit 404c stores candidate RU allocation patterns that include RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs.

[0107] The STA common information decoding unit 404a demodulates and decodes the STA common information from the preamble input from the demultiplexing unit 202, and extracts the STA common information. The STA common information decoding unit 404a determines the assigned RUs and unassigned RUs assigned to the STA 400 in the channel band (e.g., 20 MHz band) based on the RU allocation pattern included in the extracted STA common information and the RU allocation pattern candidates stored in the RU allocation pattern storage unit 404c. The STA common information decoding unit 404a then outputs information on the determined assigned RUs and unassigned RUs to the STA individual information decoding unit 404b. The STA common information decoding unit 404a also extracts a signal including STA individual information from the preamble input from the demultiplexing unit 202, and outputs this to the STA individual information decoding unit 404b.

[0108] The STA individual information decoding unit 404b demodulates and decodes the STA individual information input from the STA common information decoding unit 404a, and extracts the STA individual information. The STA individual information decoding unit 404b decodes the User field included in the STA individual information arranged in the order of the assigned RUs, and determines whether the STA ID matches an ID previously set in the own terminal. The STA individual information decoding unit 404b determines that a User field in which an ID that matches the previously set ID of the own terminal is set in the STA ID is control information addressed to the own terminal. The STA individual information decoding unit 404b outputs the STA individual control information included in the User field addressed to the own terminal to the data demodulation unit 205 and the data decoding unit 206. In addition, the STA individual information decoding unit 404b outputs the assigned RU assigned to the own terminal to the frequency extraction unit 203.

[0109] As described above, in Embodiment 1, the unallocated RU field, which is provided separately from the RU allocation pattern information (RU allocation field), indicates unallocated RU information. In Embodiment 2, since RU allocation pattern candidates include RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs, the unallocated RUs are indicated (specified) by the RU allocation pattern indicated by the RU allocation pattern information.

[0110] [Example of AP and STA operation] Next, an example of the operation of the AP 300 and the STA 400 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0111] Below, as an example, a method of transmitting unallocated RU information in the format of control information for MU transmission in 11ax (for example, SIG-B in the case of DL MU transmission) will be described.

[0112] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a DL MU signal in the second embodiment. Fig. 15 shows STA common information (Common field) and STA individual information (User specific field). Note that in Fig. 15, descriptions of fields and subfields similar to those of the STA common information and STA individual information shown in Fig. 1 will be omitted.

[0113] The STA common information shown in Figure 15 has the same fields and subfields as the STA common information shown in Figure 1, but the RU allocation pattern information (e.g., RU Allocation subfield) included in the STA common information notifies STA400 of the RU allocation pattern including unallocated RUs.

[0114] Figure 16 is a diagram showing a first example of a list of candidate RU allocation patterns in this embodiment 2. Similar to Figure 8, Figure 16 shows candidate RU allocation patterns for the minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax). However, the candidate RU allocation patterns shown in Figure 16 include RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs.

[0115] For example, as shown in the example of Figure 16, RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs are included in the candidate RU allocation patterns by limiting all patterns in which the total size of the unallocated RUs is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (e.g., 26 × 4 tones or greater), or by limiting it to some of those patterns.

[0116] Figure 17 is a diagram showing a second example of a list of candidate RU allocation patterns in this embodiment 2. Similar to Figure 8, Figure 17 shows candidate RU allocation patterns for the minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax). However, the candidate RU allocation patterns shown in Figure 17 include RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs.

[0117] For example, as shown in the example of Figure 17, RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs are included in the candidate RU allocation patterns by limiting all patterns in which the size of one consecutive unallocated RU is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (e.g., 106 tones or greater), or by limiting it to some of those patterns.

[0118] Note that RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs may be limited to all patterns in which the number of consecutive unallocated RUs is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, three or more), or to some of those patterns.

[0119] In addition, in an RU placement pattern that includes unallocated RUs, there may be no restrictions on the size, number, location, etc. of the unallocated RUs.

[0120] As shown in Figures 16 and 17, by specifying RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs among the candidate RU allocation patterns, unallocated RU information can be notified using the RU allocation field in the STA common information. Also, as shown in Figures 16 and 17, by restricting the RU allocation patterns that include unallocated RUs included in the candidate RU allocation patterns based on the number, size, position, etc. of unallocated RUs, it is possible to limit the number of candidate RU allocation patterns, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0121] For example, by prioritizing RU allocation patterns with a large number of unallocated RUs among the candidate RU allocation patterns, it is possible to achieve greater overhead reduction effects compared to the method of notifying the User field associated with unallocated RUs. Also, as shown in Figure 17, by prioritizing RU allocation patterns with a large number of unallocated RUs among the candidate RU allocation patterns, it is possible to prioritize cooperative transmission with a coarse frequency allocation granularity, simplifying the scheduler and feedback control. Simplifying the scheduler and feedback control reduces implementation complexity.

[0122] Furthermore, when notifying an unallocated RU that is not included in the RU placement pattern, the notification can be made using a User field with an unused AID set in the STA ID field, as in the conventional method, thereby preventing a reduction in scheduling flexibility.

[0123] Note that candidate RU placement patterns, including RU placement patterns that include unallocated RUs, may be defined for each BSS (AP) by announcing them to multiple STAs accommodated by the AP using beacons, etc. Alternatively, multiple candidate RU placement patterns (e.g., the lists shown in Figures 16 and 17) may be defined according to specifications, and dynamically switched by notifying multiple STAs accommodated by the AP using beacons, etc., of the candidate RU placement pattern numbers to be used depending on the communication conditions. For example, an appropriate RU placement pattern can be set depending on the communication conditions, such as the number of STAs accommodated in a cooperative BSS.

[0124] In addition, candidate RU placement patterns including RU placement patterns including unallocated RUs may be defined separately from candidate RU placement patterns defined in conventional 11ax (e.g., Figure 8), or RU placement patterns including unallocated RUs may be replaced with RU placement patterns defined in conventional 11ax.

[0125] As described above, in this embodiment 2, unallocated RU information is notified by STA common information, as in embodiment 1. However, in this embodiment 2, the unallocated RU information is notified by the RU allocation field of the STA common information. This notification can reduce the signaling overhead associated with the notification, thereby improving the efficiency of control of Multi-AP coordination.

[0126] (Embodiment 3) In the third embodiment, the unallocated RU information is either notified by STA common information or notified by STA individual information.

[0127] <Configuration example of downlink radio transmitting device 500> Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission device 500 (for example, AP 500) according to the present embodiment 3. Note that in Fig. 13, the same components as those in Fig. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0128] The downlink radio transmitting apparatus 500 shown in FIG. 18 has a configuration in which the preamble generating section 108 of the downlink radio transmitting apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 6 is replaced with a preamble generating section 508, and a format control section 510 is added.

[0129] Based on the allocated RU and unallocated RU information from the scheduling unit 104, the format control unit 510 determines whether to include the allocated RU and unallocated RU information in the STA common information or in the STA individual information. Then, based on this determination, the format control unit 510 controls switching of the preamble format. The format control unit 510 instructs the preamble generation unit 508 on the preamble format. The format switching control method in the format control unit 510 will be described later.

[0130] Based on instructions from format control section 510, preamble generation section 508 generates a preamble that employs a format for reporting RU allocation information including allocated and unallocated RUs. Preamble generation section 508 includes information for instructing STA 600 of the applied format (e.g., referred to as an RU allocation format) in STA common information. For example, the RU allocation format is included in STA common information such as HE-SIG-A (see FIG. 1). Note that HE-SIG-A includes control information for demodulating HE-SIG-B. Note that the RU allocation information may be the same as or different from the RU allocation pattern information described above.

[0131] <Configuration example of downlink radio receiving device 600> Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving device 600 (for example, an STA) according to the present embodiment 3. In Fig. 19, the same components as those in Fig. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0132] The downlink radio receiving apparatus 600 shown in FIG. 19 has a configuration in which the preamble decoding section 204 of the downlink radio receiving apparatus 200 shown in FIG.

[0133] The preamble decoding unit 604 determines the format of the control information (e.g., HE-SIG-B) including the allocated RU and unallocated RU information from the format information (RU allocation format) included in the STA common information (e.g., HE-SIG-A) of the received preamble.The preamble decoding unit 604 then decodes the control information (allocated RU, MCS, etc.) addressed to its own terminal according to the determined format.

[0134] [Example of AP and STA operation] Next, an example of the operation of the AP 500 and the STA 600 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0135] Below, as an example, a method of switching the format including the allocated RU in the format of control information for MU transmission in 11ax (for example, SIG-B in the case of DL MU transmission) will be described.

[0136] For example, the format control unit 510 of the AP 500 selects a format with less overhead depending on the number of allocated RUs and the number of unallocated RUs from the scheduling unit 104.

[0137] 20 is a diagram showing an example of a preamble format selected in the third embodiment. In FIG. 20, two formats, format A and format B, are shown.

[0138] The RU allocation pattern notified by the RU allocation field of format A is determined, for example, from the candidate RU allocation patterns shown in Fig. 8. The STA-specific information of format A includes a User field for the number of RUs included in the RU allocation pattern. In this case, unallocated RUs are indicated (identified) by setting an unused AID in the STA ID field of the User field.

[0139] For example, when the number of unallocated RUs is large (when the number of allocated RUs is small), format control unit 510 selects format B. In format B, the User field of the number of allocated RUs is included in the STA-specific information. The RU allocation field is included in the User field of the STA-specific information, not in the STA common information. Note that the RU allocation information included in the STA-specific information is not the RU allocation pattern for the entire channel band, but information indicating the RU allocation of the STA corresponding to the User field (for example, it may be the same as the terminal-specific RU allocation information used in the 11ax Trigger frame).

[0140] The RU allocation information for each terminal may be bitmap information indicating whether RUs are allocated or not for each minimum allocated RU size. Alternatively, allocation to a STA may be limited to contiguous bandwidth allocation, and the first RU number and the number of consecutive allocated RUs may be notified.

[0141] When the number of unallocated RUs is large, the number of user fields is small, so even if STA-specific information includes RU allocation information, as shown in format B, the increase in overhead is suppressed.

[0142] On the other hand, if the number of unallocated RUs is small (if the number of allocated RUs is large), format control unit 510 selects format A. In format A, as with 11ax, RU allocation information is included in the STA common information, and a User field for the number of RUs specified by the RU allocation information is included in the STA individual information. Also, in format A, as with 11ax, an unallocated RU is indicated by setting an unused AID in the STA ID field.

[0143] When the number of allocated RUs is large, the number of user fields is also large, so by including RU location information in the STA common information as shown in format A, the increase in overhead can be suppressed.

[0144] As described above, in the third embodiment, signaling overhead can be reduced by controlling the format depending on the allocated RU and the unallocated RU.

[0145] The above-described embodiments may be used in combination.

[0146] For example, embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 may be combined. In this combination, unallocated RUs included in an RU allocation pattern consisting of RUs with a size equal to or greater than a predetermined value may be notified by bitmap information in the Unallocated RU field, as shown in embodiment 1. On the other hand, unallocated RUs included in an RU allocation pattern consisting of RUs with a size less than a predetermined value may be notified by an RU allocation pattern including unallocated RUs, as shown in embodiment 2.

[0147] Furthermore, for example, the first embodiment may be combined with the third embodiment. An example of this combination will be described with reference to FIG.

[0148] Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a selected preamble format. Two formats, format C and format D, are shown in Fig. 21. Format C is a format similar to 11ax. As with embodiment 1, format D includes an Unallocated RU field containing information for identifying unallocated RUs in the STA common information, and a User field containing the number of allocated RUs in the STA individual information.

[0149] If the number of unallocated RUs is less than a predetermined value, a format similar to 11ax (HE-SIG-B) may be selected, such as format C. In this case, the unallocated RUs may be notified by setting an unused AID in the STA ID field of the User field without providing an Unallocated RU field in the STA common information. Here, the predetermined value may be 1 or a value greater than 1.

[0150] If the number of unallocated RUs is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a format including an Unallocated RU field is applied, such as format D. In format D, for example, as shown in embodiment 1, unallocated RUs may be notified by the Unallocated RU field included in the STA common information.

[0151] Information indicating these formats is notified, for example, by being included in STA common information (for example, HE-SIG-A), as in the third embodiment.

[0152] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above.

[0153] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, a configuration example based on the format of an 11ax MU transmission control signal has been described as an example, but the format to which an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied is not limited to the 11ax format. An embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to MU transmission controlled using, for example, STA common information and STA individual information.

[0154] For example, the format of the control signal instructing MU transmission is not limited to the format defined in 11ax (for example, SIG-B or Trigger frame).

[0155] Furthermore, the formats shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, some of the fields and subfields included in the formats shown in the above embodiments may be omitted, fields and subfields that notify other information may be added, or the order of the fields and subfields may be changed. Furthermore, the terms "field" and "subfield" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0156] Furthermore, the names of the information and fields shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to these.

[0157] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, "RU allocation" refers to, for example, the allocation (size, position, and / or order) of RUs in a frequency band (channel band). "Allocated RU" refers to, for example, an RU allocated to a user (e.g., an STA). "Unallocated RU" refers to, for example, an RU not allocated to a user (e.g., an STA).

[0158] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, an example has been shown in which the STA common information is the "Common field" of SIG-B and the user specific information is the "User Specific field" of SIG-B, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the STA common information may be included in another field of the preamble (for example, a field included in SIG-A).

[0159] In each of the above embodiments, the case where the downlink radio transmitting device is an AP and the downlink radio receiving device is an STA has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0160] Furthermore, the notation "... section" in the above embodiments may be replaced with other notations such as "... circuitry," "... device," "... unit," or "... module."

[0161] The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software in conjunction with hardware. Each functional block described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. Each process described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely controlled by a single LSI or a combination of LSIs. An LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of a single chip that includes some or all of the functional blocks. An LSI may have data inputs and outputs. Depending on the level of integration, an LSI may be referred to as an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI. The integration method is not limited to LSIs; it may also be realized by dedicated circuits, general-purpose processors, or dedicated processors. Furthermore, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which can be programmed after LSI fabrication, or a reconfigurable processor, which allows the connections and settings of circuit cells within an LSI to be reconfigured, may also be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital or analog processing. Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, it is natural that such technology can be used to integrate functional blocks. The application of biotechnology is also a possibility.

[0162] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system with communications capabilities (collectively referred to as communications apparatus), including, but not limited to, telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine devices, communications-enabled vehicles or mobile transportation (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and combinations of the above.

[0163] Communications equipment is not limited to portable or mobile equipment, but also includes non-portable or fixed equipment, devices, and systems of any kind, such as smart home devices (such as appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or metering devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines, and any other "things" that may exist on an IoT (Internet of Things) network.

[0164] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communications satellite systems, etc., as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0165] A communications apparatus also includes devices such as controllers and sensors connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0166] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0167] A base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that generates common information common to multiple users, the common information including information related to unallocated resources, and user-specific information individual to the multiple users, and a transmission circuit that transmits a control signal including the common information and the user-specific information.

[0168] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the common information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in a frequency band, and the user individual information includes a number of pieces of information corresponding to the number of resources allocated to the user in the allocation pattern.

[0169] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the common information includes information indicating the unallocated resources in the placement pattern, and the information indicating the unallocated resources indicates the location of resources that are not allocated to any of the multiple users in the placement pattern.

[0170] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control circuit determines the allocation pattern from among a plurality of allocation pattern candidates, the allocation pattern including the unallocated resource.

[0171] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation pattern including the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the total size of the unallocated resources is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0172] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation pattern including the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the number of consecutive unallocated resources in the frequency band is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0173] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the allocation pattern including the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the size of the contiguous unallocated resources in the frequency band is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0174] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control circuit selects either a first format in which information regarding the unallocated resources is included in common information common to the multiple users, or a second format in which information regarding the unallocated resources is included in the individual user information for the multiple users, and the transmission circuit transmits the control signal in the selected format from the first format and the second format.

[0175] A base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that selects either a first format in which information regarding unallocated resources is included in common information common to multiple users, or a second format in which information regarding the unallocated resources is included in user-specific information individual to the multiple users, and a transmission circuit that transmits a control signal in the selected format from the first format and the second format.

[0176] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control signal comprises the common information including information indicating the selected format.

[0177] In a transmission method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station generates common information common to multiple users, including information regarding unallocated resources, and user-specific information individual to the multiple users, and transmits a control signal including the common information and the user-specific information.

[0178] In a receiving method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal receives a control signal having common information common to multiple users, the common information including information on unallocated resources, and user-specific information specific to the multiple users, and determines resources to be allocated to the terminal based on the information on the unallocated resources.

[0179] The disclosures of the specification, drawings and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-139824, filed on July 30, 2019, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. [Industrial Applicability]

[0180] One embodiment of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0181] 10,100,300,500 Downstream wireless transmitter (AP) 20,200,400,600 Downstream Radio Receiver (STA) 101,201 Radio transmitter / receiver 102 Received signal demodulation unit 103 Quality information decoding unit 104,304 Scheduling Department 105 Data Encoding Unit 106 Data modulation section 107 Frequency allocation unit 108,308,508 Preamble generation section 108a,308a STA common information generation unit 108b,308b STA individual information generation unit 109 Time multiplex section 202 Separation section 203 Frequency Extraction Unit 204, 404, 604 Preamble Decoding Unit 204a, 404a STA common information decoding unit 204b, 404b STA individual information decoding unit 205 Data demodulation section 206 Data Decoding Unit 207 Quality estimation section 208 Modulation section 308c, 404c RU placement pattern storage section 510 Format control section

Claims

1. a receiver for receiving a control signal having common information common to a plurality of users, the common information including information about unallocated resources, and user-specific information specific to the plurality of users; a circuit for decoding the control signal having the common information and the user individual information; Equipped with the common information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in a frequency band; the circuit determines the placement pattern from among a plurality of placement pattern candidates including a placement pattern that includes the unallocated resource; The allocation pattern including the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the total size of the unallocated resources is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, In the unallocated resources, only a preamble is transmitted. Terminal.

2. The control signal is transmitted in Multi-AP coordination. The terminal according to claim 1 .

3. In the Multi-AP coordination, control is performed so that start times and end times of transmission timings of the control signals from multiple APs are synchronized. The terminal according to claim 2.

4. In the Multi-AP coordination, the control signal is transmitted from a plurality of APs in response to a trigger frame from one AP. The terminal according to claim 2.

5. The terminal is receiving a control signal having common information common to a plurality of users, the common information including information regarding unallocated resources, and user-specific information specific to the plurality of users; decoding the control signal having the common information and the user individual information; the common information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in a frequency band; the allocation pattern is determined from a plurality of allocation pattern candidates including an allocation pattern including the unallocated resources; The allocation pattern including the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the total size of the unallocated resources is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, In the unallocated resources, only a preamble is transmitted. Sending method.

6. receiving a control signal having common information common to a plurality of users, the common information including information regarding unallocated resources, and user-specific information specific to the plurality of users; and decoding the control signal having the common information and the user individual information. the common information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in a frequency band; the allocation pattern is determined from a plurality of allocation pattern candidates including an allocation pattern including the unallocated resources; The allocation pattern including the unallocated resources is a pattern in which the total size of the unallocated resources is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, In the unallocated resources, only a preamble is transmitted. Integrated circuit.

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