Communication device and method for information containers

Abstract

A communication device and method for an information container is provided. One example embodiment provides a communication device comprising: a circuit that, when operative, generates an information container larger than 255 octets; and a transmitter that, when operative, transmits a frame including the information container.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to communication methods and devices, and more particularly to methods and devices for information containers. [Background technology]

[0002] Elements used in the IEEE 802.11 family of standards provide a general container for variable-length information. Subelements are very similar, except that subelement IDs are defined only within the context of a frame or element. TLVs (Type / Length / Value) are similar to elements and are used for similar purposes in IEEE 802.11 and other standards. STAs may transmit information that does not fit into a single element (e.g., information longer than 254 octets) by splitting it into a series of elements consisting of the element that does not fit the information, followed immediately by one or more Fragment elements. IEEE 802.11be extends the element fragmentation procedure for subelements of the Multi-Link element. As of D0.2, IEEE 802.11bf uses elements to transmit sensing measurement reports. IEEE 802.11bf defines an element splitting method for DMG sensing reports for similar purposes. Segmented feedback is also used in the sounding procedures of IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ax, and IEEE 802.11be when the compressed feedback frame exceeds 11,454 octets.

[0003] However, there is still limited discussion about communication devices and methods for information containers suitable for carrying larger amounts of data (eg, data exceeding 254 octets).

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a communication device and method that can solve the above problems. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the background of this disclosure. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The non-limiting exemplary embodiments facilitate providing a communication apparatus and method for an information container.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided that includes a circuit that, when operative, generates an information container larger than 255 octets, and a transmitter that, when operative, transmits a frame including the information container.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided that includes a receiver that, in operation, receives a frame including an information container that includes data greater than 255 octets, and circuitry that, in operation, extracts data from the information container.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided that generates an information container larger than 255 octets and transmits a frame that includes the information container.

[0009] It should be noted that the general or specific embodiments can be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any combination thereof. Further advantages and effects of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or effects may be provided by some of the embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, but not all of them are necessarily required to achieve one or more identical features.

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which together with the following detailed description are incorporated into and form a part of this specification, are provided to illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages, and like reference numerals are used to refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an example of fragmentation of an element with element identifier (ID) extension. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 shows an example of an element format. [Figure 2B] A diagram showing an example of a sub-element format [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a Jumbo Element according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] A diagram showing scenarios in which jumbo elements may be utilized. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 illustrates another scenario in which jumbo elements may be utilized. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission flow for a jumbo element, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo element without fragmentation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is another diagram of a jumbo element without fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo element with legacy fragmentation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo element with jumbo fragmentation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo element with mixed fragmentation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary fragment of the jumbo element in FIG. 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 is a diagram of an exemplary jumbo element used to carry a sensing measurement report, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram of a Jumbo Subelement according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 14] 1 is a flowchart illustrating processing of jumbo sub-elements according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo sub-element without fragmentation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is another diagram of a jumbo sub-element without fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo sub-element with legacy fragmentation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 18] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission flow of a jumbo element carrying jumbo sub-elements according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] 1 is a diagram of a jumbo element carrying jumbo sub-elements according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 20] 1 is a diagram of a fragment of a jumbo element carrying jumbo sub-elements, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is another view of a jumbo element carrying jumbo sub-elements, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is another diagram of a fragment of a jumbo element carrying jumbo sub-elements, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 23A] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a Jumbo Fragment Retransmission Poll frame, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 23B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of retransmission using a Jumbo Fragment Retransmission Poll frame, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 24]1 illustrates an alternative format for a jumbo element, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 25] FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative format for a jumbo element for fragmentation modes 0 or 2, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 illustrates a jumbo element in an alternative format for fragmentation mode 1 or 3, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 27] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 28] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission flow for a variation of a jumbo element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 29] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo element without a control field according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 30] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo element without fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 31] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo element with conventional fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 32] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo element with jumbo fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 33] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo element with mixed fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 34] FIG. 34 illustrates a fragment of a variation of the jumbo element shown in FIG. 33, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 35] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo sub-element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 36] FIG. 1 illustrates a variation of a jumbo sub-element without a control field, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 37] FIG. 1 illustrates a jumbo TLV (Type / Length / Value) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 38]FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified format of a jumbo element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 39] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified format of a jumbo sub-element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 40] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified format of a jumbo TLV according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 41] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission flow for a jumbo element transformation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 42] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a station (STA) suitable for sensing and communication, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 43] 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an information container method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 44] 1 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of an STA operable to process information containers in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

[0013] The following detailed description is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure or the application and uses of the embodiments of the present disclosure. There is no intention to be bound by the preceding background description or the theory presented in this specification. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the disclosure.

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

[0015] In the following paragraphs, in particular, access points (APs) and stations (STAs) for processing, transmitting, and receiving information containers in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless network are described with reference to several exemplary embodiments.

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

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

[0018] Similarly, an AP, which may be interchangeably referred to as a Wireless Access Point (WAP) in the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology, is a communications device that enables STAs in a WLAN to connect to a wired network. APs typically connect to a router (via the wired network) as standalone devices, but may also be integrated with or used within a router.

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

[0020] A STA may transmit information that does not fit into a single element (e.g., information greater than 254 octets) by splitting it into a series of elements consisting of the non-fitting element, followed immediately by one or more fragment elements. All information for the fragmented elements is contained in the same Media Access Control (MAC) Management Protocol Data Unit (MMPDU). Figure 1 shows an example 100 of fragmentation of an element with an element identifier (ID) extension. An Element ID (EID) field 102 indicates the element ID of the fragmented element, an Element ID Extension (EX) field 104 indicates the element ID extension of the fragmented element, and a Fragment Element ID (FID) field 106 indicates the fragment element ID. The information to be fragmented is divided into M+N parts. For elements that do not have an Element ID Extension field, L is the size of the information (in octets), M is Floor(L / 255), where Floor(x) represents the largest integer not greater than the value x, and N is equal to 1 if L mod 255>0, and equal to 0 otherwise. For elements that have an Element ID Extension field (e.g., EX field 104), L is the size of the information (in octets), M is Floor((L+1) / 255), and N is equal to 1 if (L-254) mod 255>0, and equal to 0 otherwise.

[0021] Current element formats (e.g., see element format 200 in FIG. 2A ) and sub-element formats (e.g., see element format 202 in FIG. 2B ) are not suitable for carrying large amounts of data (more than 254 octets) because fragmentation causes significant overhead. Therefore, it is desirable to design a unified container for information (e.g., sometimes referred to herein as an information container) that is backward compatible (parseable by legacy devices) regardless of the size of the data. In this disclosure, new variants of elements / sub-elements / TLVs are proposed as information containers for information of variable sizes (including extension sizes). Elements / sub-elements / TLVs may carry signaling to indicate the method used to fragment the element / sub-element / TLV, to indicate the extension size of the information being carried, and / or to keep track of the fragments of the element / sub-element / TLV.

[0022] A new variant of an element called a jumbo element (e.g., jumbo element 300 in FIG. 3) may be used as a unified container (e.g., information container) for information regardless of the size of the data. The meanings of the Element ID field 302, Length field 304, and Element ID Extension field 306 may be similar to those in the baseline standard. One or more values ​​of the Element ID Extension field 306 may uniquely identify the jumbo element (e.g., values ​​of 96 and 97 identify two different jumbo elements: 96 identifies a jumbo element used to carry sensing measurement reports, and 97 identifies a jumbo element used to carry an extended Multi-Link element). Additional information needed to parse the jumbo element may be carried in the Control field 308, which immediately precedes the Data field 310. The Fragmentation Mode field 312 may indicate a value based on the fragmentation mode used, e.g., "0" for no fragmentation, "1" for legacy fragmentation, "2" for jumbo fragmentation, and "3" for mixed fragmentation. The Additional Length field 314 may indicate the number of octets carried in the Data field 310 .In fragmentation modes 2 or 3 (jumbo fragmentation or mixed fragmentation), Fragmentation Options field 316 may include a Fragment ID field 318 (to uniquely identify a jumbo element that has been split into multiple fragments and is identical for all fragments of the same jumbo element), a Remaining Fragments field 320 (to indicate the number of remaining fragments of the jumbo element, for example, by setting it to 0 for the last fragment or to a value between 1 and 15 for fragments that are not the last fragment), and a First Fragment field 322 (to set it to 1 to indicate the first fragment or 0 if not the first fragment). Fragmentation Options field 316 is reserved in fragmentation modes other than modes 2 or 3 (jumbo fragmentation or mixed fragmentation).

[0023] The Element ID field 302, Length field 304, Element ID Extension field 306, and Control field 308 are considered part of the header of the jumbo element 300. The 14 bits of the Additional Length field 314 can signal a Data field length of up to 16,383 octets.

[0024] In this disclosure, legacy STAs refer to STAs that do not understand the jumbo element format, and new STAs refer to STAs that do understand the jumbo element format. There are two possible scenarios in which jumbo elements are used. In the first scenario, referring to example 400 in FIG. 4A, legacy STAs 406 are not expected to parse the element (e.g., the element is included only in unicast frames transmitted between new STAs 402 and 404 that understand the jumbo element format). In the second scenario, referring to the description of example 408 in FIG. 4B, legacy STAs 410 are expected to parse the element (e.g., the element is carried in a broadcast frame that can also be received by legacy STAs). Legacy STAs that are expected to parse the element should be able to correctly discard the element.

[0025] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart 500 illustrating a transmission flow for a jumbo element in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The process begins at step 502. At step 504, it is determined whether a single legacy element is sufficient to carry the Control field and data. If so, the process proceeds to step 518, where fragmentation mode 0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 506, where it is determined whether legacy STAs are expected to parse the jumbo element. If so, the process proceeds to step 508, where it is determined whether the inclusion of the jumbo element would cause the frame to exceed the maximum allowed MPDU size. If so, the process proceeds to step 514, where fragmentation mode 3 (e.g., mixed fragmentation) is used, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 512, where fragmentation mode 1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation) is used, and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 506 that legacy STAs are not expected to parse the jumbo element, processing proceeds to step 510, where it is determined whether the inclusion of the jumbo element would cause the frame to exceed the maximum allowable MPDU size. If it is determined that this is the case, processing proceeds to step 516, where fragmentation mode 2 (e.g., jumbo fragmentation) is used, and processing ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 518, where fragmentation mode 0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used, and processing ends. Although the above flow shows step 506 occurring before step 508 or 510, this is not intended to exclude other possible flows. For example, either step 508 or 510 could occur first to determine whether the inclusion of the jumbo element would cause the frame to exceed the maximum allowable MPDU size, and then step 506 could be followed by a determination of whether legacy STAs are expected to parse the jumbo element.

[0026] When legacy STAs are expected to parse elements, it means that legacy STAs can receive host frames, decode them, and parse their contents. In this case, backward compatibility must be considered. For example, Beacon frames and Probe Response frames can be expected to carry both conventional and jumbo elements, but newly defined frames (e.g., Sensing Measurement Report frames (defined in IEEE 802.11bf)) can, by definition, carry only jumbo elements (e.g., to carry sensing measurement reports).

[0027] In fragmentation mode 0 (i.e., no fragmentation), L may be the length (in octets) of the data being carried. Fragmentation mode 0 may be used when a single legacy element is sufficient to carry the Control field and data (e.g., when L is less than 252 octets). This means that the combined size of the Control and Data fields is 255 octets or less. This is applicable to both example 400 and example 408 scenarios. In fragmentation mode 0, the Fragmentation Options field in the Control field is reserved. The Additional Length field is set to L, for example, as the number of octets carried in the Data field. If L is less than 252 octets, the Length field may indicate the total length of the element excluding the Element ID and Length fields. Referring to the jumbo element 600 in FIG. 6, the Element ID Extension field 604 with a value of 120 is used to identify a jumbo element. Because L=200 octets, the jumbo element 600 does not need to be fragmented, and therefore the Fragmentation Mode field 606 indicates a value of 0 (e.g., no fragmentation). Legacy STAs do not understand the value of the Element ID Extension field 604 (e.g., 120) and use the Length field 602 to discard the element.

[0028] Fragmentation mode 0 is also used when a single legacy element is not sufficient to carry the Control field and data, but the data can fit into a single frame / MPDU (e.g., when L is greater than 251 octets but less than L_max (e.g., 11,420 octets), the MPDU size does not exceed the maximum MPDU size supported by the receiving STA (e.g., 11,454 octets), and legacy STAs are not expected to parse the element). The maximum MPDU size a STA can receive depends on the capabilities of the STA and may also depend on the frequency band in which the STA is operating. For example, for VHT (Very High Throughput) and HE (High Efficiency) STAs, the maximum MPDU size may be 3,895 octets, 7,991 octets, or 11,454 octets. The STA signals the maximum MPDU size, for example, using the Maximum MPDU Length field in the VHT Capabilities Information field.

[0029] Referring to the jumbo element 700 with fragmentation mode 0 in the Fragmentation Mode field 704 of FIG. 7, the Fragmentation Options field 708 in the Control field is reserved. The Additional Length field 706 is set to L, the number of octets carried in the Data field 710. The Length field 702 is set to 255. New STAs ignore the Length field 702 and extract the data based on the Additional Length field 708. Alternatively, the Length field 702 may be defined as reserved in this case and may be reused for other purposes in the future. Because the length L of the Data field 710 is 750 octets, the MPDU size does not exceed the maximum MPDU size supported by the receiving STA (e.g., 11,454 octets), and there is no need to fragment the jumbo element 700. If legacy STAs (e.g., STA 712) are not expected to parse elements, that means that backward compatibility does not need to be considered, for example, if the host frame is a new frame type that is only understood by new STAs (e.g., 714 and 716), in which case the legacy STAs discard the entire frame and do not need to parse the elements contained in the frame.

[0030] Fragmentation mode 1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation) is used when a single legacy element is not sufficient to carry the Control field and data, but the data can fit into a single frame / MPDU (e.g., L is greater than 251 octets but less than L_max (e.g., 11,420 octets), and the MPDU size does not exceed the maximum allowed MPDU size (e.g., 11,454 octets)), and when legacy STAs are expected to parse the element. Here, L_max is the maximum payload size that can be carried in a frame / MPDU so that the frame does not exceed the maximum allowed MPDU size (e.g., 11,454 octets). Assume that legacy STAs will parse the element means that legacy STAs can receive host frames, decode them, and parse their contents. In this case, backward compatibility must be considered.

[0031] In fragmentation mode 1, the Fragmentation Options field in the Control field is reserved. The Additional Length field is set to L, e.g., the number of octets carried in the Data field. Elements are fragmented according to 802.11 element fragmentation rules (e.g., 10.28.11 (Element Fragmentation) of IEEE 802.11-2020), except that the first three octets of the first fragment are used to carry the Control field, so the first fragment carries only 251 octets of information (versus the baseline 254 octets), and the number of octets carried in the last fragment is m = (L - 251) mod 255. That is, if the information is too large to fit into a single element, the element is split into a series of elements consisting of the element with the missing information followed immediately by one or more fragment elements.

[0032] The legacy fragmentation rules for jumbo elements are as follows: M is defined as Floor((L+4) / 255). For example, Floor(x) gives the largest integer less than or equal to x. N is equal to 1 if ((L-251)mod255) is greater than 0, and equal to 0 otherwise. An element that does not contain enough information is filled with the first portion of information and is called the initial element. The initial element contains 251 octets of information. This element is immediately followed by M-1 fragment elements, each containing the next 255 octets of information. If N=1, these elements are immediately followed by a final fragment element containing the remaining portion of the information. To reconstruct the original information, the portion of information from the initial element is concatenated, in order, with the portions of information from the following fragment elements.

[0033] Therefore, new STAs can use the Fragmentation Mode field (e.g., indicating a value of "1") to detect that the element was fragmented according to the legacy rules and parse the element according to the legacy defragmentation rules, except that the Control field is omitted from the first element. Legacy STAs do not understand the value of the Element ID Extension field (e.g., 120) and discard all fragments of the element according to the baseline parsing rules in 10.28.12 (Defragmentation of Elements) of IEEE 802.11-2020.

[0034] 8 shows a diagram of a jumbo element 800 with legacy fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The jumbo element 800 (L=1,175 octets) is split into five legacy fragments. The Fragmentation field 802 indicates a value of 1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation). The Additional Length field 802 indicates a value of L=1,175. Furthermore, in this example, the size of the first fragment is 251 octets, the next three fragments are each 255 octets, and the size of the final fragment (m) is 159 octets.

[0035] Fragmentation mode 2 (e.g., jumbo fragmentation) may be used when a single legacy element is not sufficient to carry the Control field and data, when the data does not fit into a single frame / MPDU (e.g., when L is greater than L_max (e.g., 11,420 octets)), and when legacy STAs are not expected to parse the element.

[0036] The jumbo fragmentation rules for fragmentation mode 2 are as follows: If a host frame would exceed the maximum MPDU size (e.g., 11,454 octets), the information contained in a jumbo element must be split into two or more jumbo fragments. The Fragment ID field in the Fragmentation Options field uniquely identifies a jumbo element that is split into multiple fragments and is the same for all fragments of the same jumbo element. Each jumbo fragment is contained in a separate frame and contains a contiguous portion of information. Each jumbo fragment must be of equal length, except for the first and last fragments, which may be smaller. Each frame containing a jumbo fragment, except for the last fragment, has a length equal to the maximum MPDU size supported by the STA. The Remaining Fragments field in the Fragmentation Options field identifies the fragment of the jumbo element and is set to 0 for the last fragment and to a value between 1 and 15 for non-last fragments. The First Fragment field in the Fragmentation Options field is set to "1" for the first fragment and to "0" for all fragments other than the first. The Additional Length field in the Control field of each jumbo fragment is set to the number of octets of information carried in the Data field of the jumbo fragment carried in that frame. The Additional Length field in the Control field of jumbo fragments other than the last fragment (e.g., n and p) MUST be set so that the frame carrying the fragment has a length equal to the maximum MPDU size supported by the receiving STA.If the frame carrying the first jumbo fragment contains other fields or elements in the frame body, the Additional Length field in the Control field of the jumbo fragment (e.g., n) may be set to a value smaller than the values ​​of the Additional Length fields in the Control fields of jumbo fragments (e.g., p) other than the first and last jumbo fragments. If the frame carrying the first jumbo fragment does not contain other fields or elements (e.g., if the frame body carries only the first jumbo fragment), n=p. The Additional Length field in the Control field of the last jumbo fragment (e.g., k) is set to the number of remaining octets of information, and the size of the frame carrying the fragment may be smaller than the maximum MPDU size.

[0037] Further, for the rules of jumbo fragmentation mode 2, M is Floor((Ln) / p). N is equal to 1 if ((Ln) mod p) > 0, and 0 otherwise. The first jumbo fragment is called the initial jumbo fragment. The leading jumbo fragment contains n octets of information. This fragment is immediately followed by M jumbo fragment elements containing the next portion of p octets of information. If N=1, these elements are immediately followed by the final jumbo fragment carrying the last portion of information, and the number of octets of information carried in the final jumbo fragment (k) = (Ln) mod p.

[0038] For jumbo fragmentation rules with fragmentation mode 2, a new STA will use the Fragmentation Mode field (=2) to detect that a jumbo element has been fragmented according to the jumbo fragmentation rules and will parse the element as follows: To reconstruct the original information, the portion of information from the first jumbo fragment is concatenated in order with the portions of information from the following set of jumbo fragments (with matching Fragment ID field values). The defragmentation procedure shall be completed when the last jumbo fragment with a matching Fragment ID field (jumbo fragment identified by the Remaining Fragments field = 0) is received or an element other than a jumbo fragment element is detected.

[0039] FIG. 9 illustrates a diagram of a jumbo element with jumbo fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The maximum MPDU size supported by a STA receiving the jumbo element 900 is 11,454 octets. The Fragmentation Mode field 906 in all jumbo fragments indicates a value of "2" (e.g., jumbo fragmentation), and the length (L) of the information being carried is 74,950 octets. Assume that the first frame 902 has remaining free space to carry 10,000 octets (e.g., n = 10,000 octets), and the empty frame can carry 11,420 octets (e.g., p = 11,420). M = Floor((Ln) / p) = 5. Since ((Ln) mod p) > 0, N = 1.

[0040] The jumbo element 900 is divided into seven jumbo fragments. Each fragment is contained in a different frame. The Additional Length field 908 in the first fragment 904 has n = 10,000 octets. The Additional Length field 910 in each of the next five fragments has p = 11,420 octets. The Additional Length field 912 in the last fragment 926(k) has (Ln) mod p = 7,850 octets. The Remaining Fragments field 914 in the first fragment 904 has a value of "6," indicating that six fragments remain. The First Fragment field 916 in the first fragment 904 has a value of 1, indicating that fragment 904 is the first jumbo fragment. The Remaining Fragments field 918 in the second fragment 922 has a value of 5, indicating that five fragments remain. A value of 0 in the First Fragment field 920 in the second fragment 922 indicates that the fragment 922 is not the first jumbo fragment. A value of 0 in the Remaining Fragments field 924 in the last fragment 926 indicates that there are no remaining fragments, e.g., the fragment 926 is the last jumbo fragment.

[0041] Fragmentation mode 3 (e.g., mixed fragmentation) is used when a single legacy element is not sufficient to carry the Control field and data, when the data does not fit into a single frame / MPDU (e.g., when L is larger than the maximum allowable MPDU size L_max (e.g., 11,420 octets) supported by the receiving STA), and when legacy STAs are expected to parse the element. In mixed fragmentation mode, a two-stage fragmentation process is applied to jumbo elements that would cause the host frame to exceed the maximum MPDU size (e.g., 11,454 octets). In step 1, the jumbo element is split into multiple jumbo fragments according to the jumbo fragmentation rules (e.g., fragmentation mode 2). However, the length of the Data field of each jumbo fragment also includes two octets of overhead (Element ID field and Length field) for each legacy fragment created in step 2. Each jumbo fragment is contained in a different frame. In step 2, each jumbo fragment whose Additional Length field is greater than 251 octets is further split into two or more legacy fragments according to the rules of legacy fragmentation (i.e., fragmentation mode 1).

[0042] The mixed defragmentation rules are as follows: For step 1, a new STA uses the Fragmentation Mode field (=3) to detect that an element has been fragmented according to the mixed fragmentation rules and extracts information from each jumbo fragment according to the legacy defragmentation rules, except that the Control field is omitted from the first element of each jumbo fragment. In step 2, to reconstruct the original information, the portion of information from the first jumbo fragment is concatenated in order with the portions of information from the following series of jumbo fragments (e.g., jumbo fragments with matching Fragment ID field values). The defragmentation procedure shall be completed when the last jumbo fragment with a matching Fragment ID field (i.e., a jumbo fragment identified by a Remaining Fragments field = 0) is received or an element other than a jumbo fragment element is detected. Legacy STAs will not recognize that a frame carries fragments of the same jumbo element, will treat the jumbo fragments as legacy fragmented elements, and will discard them according to the legacy parsing rules.

[0043] FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a jumbo element 1000 with mixed fragmentation, and FIG. 11 shows an example fragment 1100 of the jumbo element 1000, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The jumbo element 1000 (L=74,950 octets) is divided into seven jumbo fragments. Each fragment is contained in a different frame. The Additional Length field 1102 in the first fragment 1002 may be set to n, which may correspond to the total size of the data 1114 for the first jumbo fragment 1002. For example, if the total size of the data 1114 for the first jumbo fragment 1002 is 10,000 octets, then n equals 10,000 octets. The Additional Length field 1104 in each of the next five fragments (i.e., fragments other than the first and last fragments) may be set to p, which may correspond to the total size of the data 1116 for each of the five jumbo fragments. For example, if the total size of the data 1116 of each of the five fragments between the first fragment 1002 and the last fragment 1004 is 11,332 octets, then p is equal to 11,332 octets. The Additional Length field 1106 in the last fragment 1004 may be set to k, which may correspond to the total size of the data 1118 of the last jumbo fragment 1004. For example, if the total size of the data 1118 of the last jumbo fragment 1004 is 8,290 octets, then k may be equal to 8,290 octets (i.e., the size of the remaining data). Each jumbo fragment may be further divided into two or more legacy fragments. For example, the last legacy fragment of the first jumbo fragment 1002 has a Length field 1108 indicating a length m=(n-251) mod 255. The last legacy fragment of each fragment other than the first jumbo fragment 1002 and the last jumbo fragment 1004 has a Length field 1110 that indicates the length m2 = (p-251) mod 255.Additionally, the last legacy fragment of the last jumbo fragment 1004 has a Length field 1112 that indicates the length m3 = (k-251) mod 255.

[0044] 12 illustrates an example jumbo element 1200 including a first jumbo fragment 1202 and a second jumbo fragment 1204 used to carry a sensing measurement report, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the sensing measurement report is too large to fit into a single Sensing Measurement Report frame, so it is split into two jumbo fragments and placed in two Sensing Measurement Report frames 1206 and 1208. An Element ID Extension field 1210 containing a value of “120” identifies the sensing measurement jumbo element, and a Fragment ID field 1212 containing, for example, a value of “6” identifies a specific sensing measurement report for a specific sensing measurement instance. A header portion 1214 of the sensing measurement report is included only in the first jumbo fragment 1202. Furthermore, the Sensing Measurement Report field 1216 carries a first part of the actual report (eg, CSI feedback), and the Sensing Measurement Report field 1218 carries a second part of the actual report (eg, CSI feedback).

[0045] Similar to the jumbo element, a new variant of subelements (called jumbo subelements) can be used as a unified information container for information within a jumbo element or within a field within a frame (regardless of the size of the data contained in the subelement). Figure 13 shows a diagram of a jumbo subelement 1300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In the jumbo subelement 1300, the meaning of the subelement ID and length conforms to the standard. One or more values ​​in the Subelement ID field 1302 uniquely identify the jumbo subelement (e.g., 0, 1 identify two different jumbo subelements). One value of the Subelement ID is defined as a fragment ID for the jumbo fragment subelement (e.g., 254). Additional information required to parse the jumbo subelement is carried in the Control field 1304, which immediately precedes the Data field. Two fragmentation modes can be defined for the subelement: For example, the Fragmentation Mode field 1306 may indicate a value of "0" for no fragmentation, a value of "1" for legacy fragmentation (e.g., 11be), and values ​​"2-3" may be reserved. Additionally, the Additional Length field 1308 may indicate the number of octets carried in the Data field 1310. The 14 bits of the Additional Length field 1308 can signal a Data field length of up to 16,383 octets. A jumbo subelement must not cause the host frame to exceed the maximum MPDU size supported by the receiving STA, and all fragments of a jumbo subelement must be carried in the same MPDU. That is, fragmentation across the MPDU of a jumbo subelement is not allowed.

[0046] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart 1400 illustrating jumbo sub-element processing in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The process begins at step 1402. In the next step 1404, it is determined whether a single legacy sub-element is sufficient to carry the Control field and the jumbo sub-element data. If so, the process proceeds to step 1410, where fragmentation mode 0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used, and the process then ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 1406, where it is determined whether legacy STAs are expected to parse the jumbo sub-element. If legacy STAs are not expected to parse the jumbo sub-element, the process proceeds to step 1410, where fragmentation mode 0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used, and the process then ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 1408, where fragmentation mode 1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation) is used, and the process then ends.

[0047] For jumbo subelements, if a single legacy subelement is sufficient to carry the Control field and data (e.g., if L is less than 253 octets), fragmentation mode 0 is used. This is applicable to both the scenarios of Figures 4A and 4B. The Additional Length field is set to L, e.g., the number of octets carried in the Data field. If L is less than 252 octets, the Length field indicates the total length of the element excluding the Element ID and Length fields. Referring to jumbo subelement 1500 of Figure 15, Subelement ID field 1502, which indicates a value x (e.g., 0), is used to identify the jumbo subelement. Let L be the length (e.g., in octets) of the data being carried. Length field 1504 indicates a value of L+2, Fragmentation Mode field 1506 indicates 0 (e.g., no fragmentation), and Additional Length field 1508 indicates the value of L. In this example, L = 240 octets. Therefore, there is no need to fragment the jumbo sub-element 1500.

[0048] Fragmentation mode 0 is used when legacy STAs are not expected to parse the element, even if a single legacy subelement is not sufficient to carry the Control field and data. Referring to the jumbo subelement 1600 of FIG. 16, the Additional Length field 1608 is set to L, i.e., the number of octets carried in the Data field 1610. The Length field 1604 is set to 255. New STAs ignore the Length field 1604 and extract the data based on the Additional Length field 1608. Alternatively, the Length field can be defined as spare in this case and reused for other purposes in the future. In this case, there is no need to split the jumbo subelement 1600 because L = 750 octets.

[0049] Fragmentation mode 1 is used when a single legacy subelement is not sufficient to carry the Control field and data, and when legacy STAs (e.g., STA 1714 in Figure 17) are expected to parse the subelement. The Additional Length field is set to L, e.g., the number of octets carried in the Data field. The data is split into a series of subelements consisting of jumbo subelements, followed immediately by one or more fragment subelements (subelement ID set to 254). The first two octets of the jumbo subelement are used to carry the Control field, so that the subelement carries only 253 octets of information (versus the baseline 255 octets), and the number of octets carried in the last fragment subelement is m = (L - 253) mod 255.

[0050] Legacy fragmentation rules for jumbo subelements can be as follows: M is Floor((L+2) / 255). N is equal to 1 if ((L-253)mod255) is greater than 0, otherwise it is equal to 0. Subelements that do not fit are filled with the first portion of information and are called initial subelements. The initial subelement contains 253 octets of information. This subelement is immediately followed by M-1 fragment subelements, each containing the next 255 octets of information. If N=1, these subelements are immediately followed by a final fragment subelement that carries the remainder of the information. New STAs use the Fragmentation Mode field (=1) to detect that a subelement has been fragmented according to legacy rules and parse the subelement according to legacy defragmentation rules. To reconstruct the original information, the Control field is removed from the Data field of the first subelement, and the portion of information from the first subelement is concatenated with the portions of information from the following series of Fragment subelements, in order. The defragmentation procedure shall be completed when a subelement other than the Fragment subelement is encountered, or when the last Fragment subelement is received. Legacy STAs do not understand the value of the Subelement ID field and will discard all fragments of the subelement according to the baseline parsing rules.

[0051] For example, the jumbo subelement 1700 (L=1,175 octets) in Figure 17 is split into five fragments. The Additional Length field 1706 indicates a value of L=1,175 octets. The first fragment 1708 has a size of 253 octets, the next three fragments 1710 each have a size of 255 octets, and the final fragment 1712 has a size of m=(L-253) mod 255=157 octets.

[0052] 18 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission flow of a jumbo element carrying jumbo sub-elements according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The process begins at step 1802. At step 1804, it is determined whether a single legacy element is sufficient to carry all jumbo sub-elements. If so, the process proceeds to step 1818, where fragmentation mode=0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used for both the jumbo element and the jumbo sub-elements, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 1806, where it is determined whether legacy STAs are expected to parse the jumbo element. If so, the process proceeds to step 1808, where it is determined whether the inclusion of the jumbo sub-elements would cause the frame to exceed the maximum allowed MPDU size. If so, the process proceeds to step 1812, where fragmentation mode=3 (e.g., mixed fragmentation) is used for the jumbo element and fragmentation mode=1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation) is used for the jumbo sub-elements, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 1810, where fragmentation mode=1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation) is used for both the jumbo element and the jumbo sub-elements, and the process ends. If, in step 1806, it is determined that legacy STAs are not expected to parse the jumbo element, the process instead proceeds to step 1814, where it is determined whether the inclusion of the jumbo sub-element would cause the frame to exceed the maximum allowed MPDU size. If it is determined that this is the case, the process proceeds to step 1816, where fragmentation mode=2 (e.g., jumbo fragmentation) is used for the jumbo element and fragmentation mode=0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used for the jumbo sub-elements, and the process ends.If not, the process proceeds to step 1818, where fragmentation mode=0 (e.g., no fragmentation) is used for both the jumbo element and the jumbo sub-element, and the process ends. While the above flow shows step 1806 occurring before steps 1808 or 1814, this is not intended to exclude other possible flows. For example, either step 1808 or 1814 could occur first, with step 1808 determining whether the inclusion of the jumbo sub-element would cause the frame to exceed the maximum allowed MPDU size, and step 1806 determining whether legacy STAs are expected to parse the jumbo element.

[0053] For jumbo elements that include jumbo subelements, if legacy STAs are not expected to parse the jumbo element and jumbo subelements, and if a single jumbo element is sufficient to carry all jumbo subelements, or if a single legacy element is sufficient to carry all jumbo subelements, fragmentation mode=0 is used for both the jumbo element and the jumbo subelements. Referring to jumbo element 1900 in Figure 19, two jumbo subelements (ID=0 and 1 in Subelement ID (SubEID) fields 1908 and 1914, respectively) are defined within jumbo element 1900 (ID=120, as shown in Element ID Extension (EID Ext) field 1902). Jumbo element 1900 carries two jumbo subelements of length L1=3,500 octets (as shown in Additional Length field 1912) and L2=5,400 octets (as shown in Additional Length field 1918). The length of the Data field in jumbo element 1900 is (L) = L1 + L2 + 2 * 4 = 8,908 octets. Because a single jumbo element is sufficient to carry both jumbo sub-elements, the Fragmentation Mode field 1904 in the Control field of the jumbo element is set to 0 (no fragmentation). Furthermore, fragmentation mode = 0 is used for both jumbo sub-elements (as shown in Fragmentation Mode fields 1912 and 1916).

[0054] If legacy STAs are not expected to parse jumbo elements and jumbo sub-elements, and if a single jumbo element is not sufficient to carry all jumbo sub-elements, fragmentation mode=0 is used for jumbo sub-elements and fragmentation mode=2 (jumbo fragmentation) is used for jumbo elements. For example, if the inclusion of an element would cause the host frame to exceed the maximum MPDU size supported by the STA, then a single jumbo element is insufficient. Referring to jumbo element 2000 of FIG. 20, within the jumbo element (ID=120, as shown in EID Ext fields 2002 and 2022), four jumbo sub-elements ID=0, 1, 2, and 3 (as shown in SubEID fields 2010, 2016, 2030, and 2036, respectively) of lengths L1=3,500 octets, L2=5,400 octets, L3=4,600 octets, and L4=5,500 octets (as shown in Additional Length fields 2014, 2020, 2034, and 2040, respectively) are defined. Because a single jumbo element is insufficient to carry four jumbo subelements, the jumbo element is split into two jumbo fragments using jumbo fragmentation (e.g., the Fragmentation Mode fields 2004 and 2024 in the Control field of the jumbo fragment are set to 2 (jumbo fragmentation)). The first jumbo fragment carries the first and second jumbo subelements (IDs = 0 and 1), and the second jumbo fragment carries the third and fourth jumbo subelements (IDs = 2 and 3). The length of the Data field in the first jumbo fragment (n) = L1 + L2 + 2*4 = 8,908 octets, and the length of the Data field in the second jumbo fragment (k) = L3 + L4 + 2*4 = 10,108 octets. The two jumbo fragments are contained in two different frames.Additionally, fragmentation mode=0 (no fragmentation as indicated in Fragmentation Mode fields 2012, 2018, 2032, and 2038) is used for the four jumbo sub-elements. Note that if a jumbo element carries only jumbo sub-elements, the frame carrying the jumbo element does not need to be equal to the maximum MPDU size supported by the receiving STA.

[0055] If legacy STAs are expected to parse the jumbo element and jumbo subelements, and a single jumbo element is sufficient to carry all jumbo subelements, fragmentation mode=1 (legacy fragmentation) is used for both the jumbo element and the jumbo subelements. Referring to the jumbo element 2100 of FIG. 21, one jumbo subelement (ID=0, indicated in the SubEID field 2106) is defined within the jumbo element (ID=120, indicated in the EID Ext field 2102) with length L1=3,500 (indicated in the Additional Length field 2110). Because a single jumbo element is sufficient to carry all subelements, both the jumbo element and the jumbo subelements are fragmented using legacy fragmentation mode (e.g., the Fragmentation Mode field 2104 of the Control field of the jumbo element 2100 and the Fragmentation Mode field 2108 of the jumbo subelement are set to 1 (legacy fragmentation)).

[0056] If legacy STAs are expected to parse jumbo elements and jumbo sub-elements, and a single jumbo element is not sufficient to carry all jumbo sub-elements, fragmentation mode=1 (legacy fragmentation) is used for the jumbo sub-elements, and fragmentation mode=3 (mixed fragmentation) is used for the jumbo element. Referring to jumbo element 2200 of Figure 22, within the jumbo element (with ID=120, as shown in EID Ext fields 2202 and 2212), two jumbo sub-elements (with IDs=0 and 1, as shown in SubEID fields 2208 and 2218, respectively) are defined with lengths n=9,500 octets (as shown in Additional Length field 2206) and p=8,700 octets (as shown in Additional Length field 2216). Because a single jumbo element cannot carry all the sub-elements, the jumbo sub-elements are fragmented using legacy fragmentation mode (i.e., the Fragmentation Mode fields 2210 and 2220 in the Control field of the jumbo sub-element are set to 1 (legacy fragmentation)), while jumbo fragmentation is used for jumbo elements (i.e., the Fragmentation Mode fields 2204 and 2214 in the Control field of the jumbo element 2200 are set to 3).

[0057] FIG. 23A illustrates an example of a Jumbo Fragment Retransmission Poll frame 2300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The Jumbo Fragment Retransmission Poll frame 2300 is used to request selective retransmission of jumbo fragments in the event of a reception failure. Selective retransmission of jumbo fragments is more useful when the ACK policy of the host frame is set to "No Ack" or when the frame type of the host frame does not require Ack frames by default, e.g., when the frame is an Action No Ack frame. The Fragment ID field 2302 identifies the jumbo element whose fragments are requested for retransmission. The Fragment Retransmission Bitmap field 2304 indicates the jumbo fragments whose retransmissions are requested. If the bit in position n (n=0 for the least significant bit (LSB), n=15 for the most significant bit (MSB)) is 1, jumbo fragments whose Remaining Fragments field in the Fragmentation Options field in the Control field is n are requested. Referring to example 2306 in Figure 23B, four jumbo fragments are included in an A-MPDU, with one fragment carried per MPDU. The transmission of the third jumbo fragment fails (as indicated by reference numeral 2308), and retransmission is requested using a Jumbo Fragment Retransmission Poll frame 2310. The bit in position 1 2314 of Fragment Retransmission Bitmap field 2312 is set to 1 to indicate that the jumbo fragment with the Remaining Fragments field = 1 is requested to be retransmitted.

[0058] Figure 24 illustrates a jumbo sub-element 2400 in an alternative format according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The semantics of the fields of the jumbo sub-element 2400 are generally similar to the jumbo elements shown in previous figures, with some differences noted below: A reserved value (e.g., 254) in the Element ID field 2406 uniquely identifies a variant of the jumbo element. The octets immediately following the Length field 2402 are used as the Length Extension field 2404, which, together with the Length field 2402, indicate the size of the jumbo element 2400. The octets immediately following the Length Extension field 2404 are used as the Jumbo Element ID field 2406, which distinguishes between different types of jumbo elements.

[0059] An Element ID field value of "254" may be used to identify variations of jumbo elements. For example, the Element ID field value "254" is a reserved value for identifying jumbo elements. Jumbo element IDs = 0, 1, 2, etc. identify different types of jumbo elements. Referring to the jumbo element 2500 with Element ID field 2502 = 254 in FIG. 25, the Fragmentation Mode field 2504 indicates 0, indicating no fragmentation, or 2, indicating jumbo fragmentation. Furthermore, the Length field 2506 indicates n, and the Length Extension field 2508 indicates M. L is the total size (octets) of the data in the jumbo element 2500, which is L = (M * 255 + n - 1) octets.

[0060] Referring to the jumbo element 2600 with Element ID field 2602 = 254 in Figure 26, the Fragmentation Mode field 2604 indicates 1 or 3 to indicate legacy fragmentation or mixed fragmentation, respectively. Additionally, the Length Extension field 2606 indicates the number of jumbo fragments into which the jumbo element is divided, where M is M+1. L is the total size of data in the jumbo element 2600 (in octets), where L = ((M-1) * 255 + 251 + m) octets, and m = (L-251) mod 255.

[0061] In one embodiment, a new variant of the jumbo element may be used as a unified container for information (e.g., regardless of data size). In this variant, the field meanings are the same as the previously described jumbo element, with the following exceptions: Referring to jumbo element 2700 of FIG. 27, a single value in Element ID Extension field 2702 may uniquely identify the variant of the jumbo element (e.g., 96). Jumbo Element ID field 2704, which immediately follows Element ID Extension field 2702, may identify different types of jumbo elements. Control field 2706 is not present when a single legacy element is sufficient to carry the jumbo element ID and data (e.g., L<254 octets).

[0062] The Control field 2706 is present when a single legacy element is not sufficient to carry the jumbo element ID and data (e.g., L > 253 octets). The Fragmentation Options field 2710 and the Total Length field 2712 are not present when fragmentation mode = 0 or 1 in the Fragmentation Mode field 2708, in which case the Control field is 2 octets long. The Total Length field 2712 indicates the total number of octets carried in the jumbo element 2700 across all its fragments. This information can be used by receiving STAs to pre-provision resources (e.g., free memory space) for the data carried in the jumbo element 2700. If the Fragmentation Options field 2710 is present, the Total Length field 2712 is optionally present when fragmentation mode = 2 or 3 in the Fragmentation Mode field 2708. For example, the Total Length field 2712 is present in the first jumbo fragment and indicates the total number of octets carried by the jumbo element 2700 across all fragments of the jumbo element 2700, in which case the Control field 2706 is 6 octets long. In another example, the Total Length field 2712 is not present in jumbo fragments other than the first fragment, in which case the Control field 2706 is 3 octets long.

[0063] FIG. 28 shows a flowchart 2800 illustrating a transmission flow for a jumbo element variant according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The process starts at step 2802. In step 2804, it is determined whether a single legacy element is sufficient to carry the Jumbo Element ID field and the jumbo element data. If so, the process proceeds to step 2808, where the Control field is omitted, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 2806, where the Control field is present, and the process further proceeds to step 2810, where it is determined whether the fragmentation mode is 0 (no fragmentation) or 1 (legacy fragmentation). If it is determined that the fragmentation mode is either 0 or 1, the process proceeds to step 2812, where the Control field is set to 2 octets, the Fragmentation Options field, and the Total Length field are omitted, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 2814, where it is determined whether the fragmentation mode is 2 (jumbo fragmentation) or 3 (mixed fragmentation). If it is determined that the fragmentation mode is not 2 or 3, then in step 2818, it is determined that the mode is not supported and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 2816, where it is determined whether this is the first jumbo element. If it is determined that this is the case, the process proceeds to step 2820, where the Control field is set to 6 octets, the Total Length field is present, and the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step 2822, where the Control field is set to 3 octets, the Total Length field is omitted, and the process ends.

[0064] In one embodiment, an Element ID Extension field with a value of 120 is used to identify variations of the jumbo element. Jumbo element IDs = 0, 1, 2, etc. may identify different types of jumbo elements. Referring to the jumbo element 2900 with L = 200 octets in FIG. 29, the Control field is not present (because L is only 200 octets). A receiving new STA determines that the Control field is not present based on the Length field 2902 (L < 254). Legacy STAs do not understand the value of the Element ID Extension field 2904 (e.g., 120) and discard the element using the Length field 2902. In the jumbo element 3000 of FIG. 30, if L = 750 octets and the EID Extension field 3004 indicates a value of 120, legacy STAs are not expected to parse the jumbo element 3000. The Control field 3006 is 2 octets (the Frag. Options field and the Total Length field are not present). In Control field 3006, Fragmentation Mode field 3008 indicates a value of 0 (e.g., no fragmentation) and Additional Length field indicates L (e.g., the total size in octets of the data in jumbo element 3000 is L). A receiving new STA determines that Control field 3006 is present based on Length field 3002 (L>253).

[0065] FIG. 31 illustrates an exemplary jumbo element 3100 with legacy fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. A legacy STA is expected to parse the jumbo element 3100 (L=1,175 octets) split into five legacy fragments. The Length field 3112 indicates a value of 255, and the EID Extension field 3114 indicates a value of 120 (e.g., indicating a jumbo element 3100 that is a variant of a jumbo element). The Additional Length field 3106 indicates a value of 1,175 (e.g., 1,175 octets). The Control field 3102 is two octets (the Frag. Options field and the Total Length field are not present). The Fragmentation Mode field 3104 indicates a value of 1 (e.g., legacy fragmentation). The size of the first fragment 3108 is 251 octets, the next three fragments are each 255 octets in size, and the final fragment 3110(m) is 159 octets in size (m=(L-251)mod255).

[0066] FIG. 32 illustrates an exemplary jumbo element 3200 with jumbo fragmentation, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The length (L) of the information being carried is 74,950 octets, and legacy STAs are not expected to parse the jumbo element 3200. In this example, the first frame 3202 has remaining free space to carry 10,000 octets, e.g., n=10,000 octets, and an empty frame can carry 11,420 octets, e.g., p=11,420. M is Floor((Ln) / p)=5. Since ((Ln) mod p)>0, N=1. The jumbo element 3200 is split into seven jumbo fragments. For example, the Fragmentation Mode field 3204 indicates a value of "2" (jumbo fragmentation). Each fragment is contained in a different frame. The Additional Length field 3206 in the first fragment = n = 10,000 octets. The Total Length field is present in the first fragment and is 74,950 octets. The Additional Length field 3208 in each of the next five fragments is p = 11,420 octets. The Additional Length field 3210 in the last fragment (k) is (Ln) mod p = 7,850 octets.

[0067] FIG. 33 illustrates an exemplary jumbo element 3300 with mixed fragmentation, and FIG. 34 illustrates an example fragment 3400 of the jumbo element 3300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Legacy STAs are assumed to parse the jumbo element 3300. The jumbo element 3300 (L=74,950 octets) is split into seven jumbo fragments. The Fragmentation Mode field 3402 indicates a value of 3 (mixed fragmentation). Each jumbo fragment is further split into legacy fragments, and each jumbo fragment is contained in a different frame. The Additional Length field 3404(n) in the first jumbo fragment 3302 indicates 10,000 octets. The Total Length field 3406 is present in the first fragment 3302 and indicates a value of 74,950 octets. The number of octets carried in the last legacy fragment of the first jumbo fragment 3302 is m1 = (n-248) mod 255. The Additional Length field 3408(p) in each of the next five fragments is 11,332 octets. The number of octets carried in the last legacy fragment of each of the next five jumbo fragments is m2 = (p-251) mod 255. The Additional Length field 3410 in the last jumbo fragment 3304(k) is 8,290 octets. The number of octets carried in the last legacy fragment of the last jumbo fragment 3304 is m3 = (k-251) mod 255.

[0068] Similar to the jumbo element, the new variant of the subelement (called the jumbo subelement) can be used as a uniform container for information within a jumbo element or within a field within a frame (regardless of the size of the data contained in the subelement). Referring to the jumbo subelement 3500 of Figure 35, the meaning of the fields is the same as for the jumbo element in the previous embodiment, except that the Control field 3502 is absent when a single legacy subelement is sufficient to carry the data (e.g., when L<256 octets) and is present in all other cases. The 14 bits of the Additional Length field 3506 can signal the length of the Data field (e.g., the length of Data field 3504) up to 16,383 octets.

[0069] Figure 36 illustrates an exemplary jumbo subelement 3600 without a Control field, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The Subelement ID field 3602 indicates a value x used to identify the jumbo subelement. In this example, L is the length of the data being carried in octets (e.g., the length of the Data field 3606). Since L in this case is 240 octets, there is no Control field. A receiving new STA determines that there is no Control field based on the Length field 3604 (L<256).

[0070] In one embodiment, a new variant of TLV (Type / Length / Value) called Jumbo TLV may be used as a uniform container for information (regardless of data size). Referring to Jumbo TLV 3700 in Figure 37, the meaning of Type field 3702, Length field 3704, and Value field 3708 are the same as in the baseline. Type field 3702, Length field 3704, and Control field 3706 are considered part of the header of Jumbo TLV 3700. One or more values ​​of Type field 3702 may be set to uniquely identify a Jumbo element (e.g., 0xEd, 0xEe identify two different Jumbo TLVs). Additional information required to parse Jumbo TLV 3700 is carried in Control field 3706, which immediately precedes Value field 3708. The meaning of the subfields of Control field 3706 and the fragmentation scheme are similar to those of the Jumbo element according to the previous embodiment. Additionally, 14 bits of Additional Length field 3710 can signal the length of the Data field up to 16,383 octets.

[0071] In one embodiment, the simplified format of jumbo elements / subelements / TLVs can be used when backward compatibility is not required (e.g., when legacy STAs are not expected to parse jumbo elements / subelements / TLVs or when legacy elements / subelements / TLVs are not used together in the same frame as jumbo elements / subelements / TLVs). Such scenarios where backward compatibility is not required may arise, for example, when new frequency bands become available in 802.11 in the future and only new STAs are permitted to operate in the new frequency band, e.g., the 7 GHz band, or when, in an existing frequency band (e.g., the 5 GHz band), the Basic Service Set (BSS) policy allows only new generation STAs (e.g., new STAs) to join the BSS but not legacy STAs. Alternatively, the use of jumbo elements / subelements / TLVs is restricted to specific frame / packet types (e.g., as defined in the specification), and these frames / packets carry only jumbo elements (e.g., do not carry legacy elements).

[0047] Referring to jumbo element 3800 in Figure 38, jumbo subelement 3900 in Figure 39, and jumbo TLV 4000 in Figure 40, the two octets in the ID / Type fields, e.g., Jumbo Element ID field 3802, Jumbo Subelement ID field 3902, and Jumbo TLV field 4002, allow up to 65,535 elements, subelements, and TLVs to be defined, respectively. The three octets in Length fields 3804 and 4004 allow jumbo element 3800 and jumbo TLV 4000, respectively, to carry 16,777,214 octets of data (e.g., assuming the maximum supported MPDU / packet size is large enough). The two octets in Length field 3904 allow jumbo subelement 3900 to carry up to 65,535 octets of data.The meaning of the Fragmentation Options fields 3806 and 4006 is similar to that of the jumbo elements and TLVs (e.g., jumbo fragmentation) of the previous embodiments, and is used to convey information related to the jumbo fragments of the jumbo element 3800 and jumbo TLV 4000, respectively, when the jumbo element 3800 and jumbo TLV 4000 are split into two or more jumbo fragments (e.g., because the size exceeds the maximum supported MPDU size).

[0072] FIG. 41 shows a flowchart 4100 illustrating a transmission flow for a jumbo element variant according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The process starts at step 4102. In step 4104, it is determined whether legacy STAs are present in the BSS or network. If not, the process proceeds to step 4108, where a jumbo element, jumbo sub-element, or jumbo TLV is utilized, and the process ends. If present, the process proceeds to step 4106, where it is determined whether a host frame, packet, broadcast, or multicast (e.g., whether a group of STAs is addressed) is present. If it is determined that a host frame, packet, broadcast, or multicast is present, the process proceeds to step 4110, where it is determined whether the host frame or packet is decodable by legacy STAs. If so, the process proceeds to step 4114, where a legacy element, legacy sub-element, or legacy TLV is utilized, and the process ends. If it is not decodable, the process proceeds to step 4116 where a jumbo element, jumbo sub-element, or jumbo TLV is used instead, and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 4106 that there is no host frame, packet broadcast, or multicast, the process proceeds to step 4112 where it is determined whether the receiver is a legacy STA. If it is determined that it is a legacy STA, the process proceeds to step 4118 where a legacy element, legacy sub-element, or legacy TLV is utilized, and the process ends. If it is not a legacy STA, the process proceeds to step 4120 where a jumbo element, jumbo sub-element, or jumbo TLV is used instead, and the process ends.In step 4110, if the host frame may carry either a legacy element or a jumbo element, to avoid confusion for new STAs, a reserved value of Element ID (e.g., a value between 245 and 254) may be used in the first octet of the Jumbo Element ID field to identify the element as a jumbo element, and the second octet of the Jumbo Element ID field identifies the jumbo element subtype. Alternatively, the frame / packet may carry signaling (e.g., in the frame header) that indicates the type of element carried in the frame / packet (e.g., a bit (e.g., called Element Type) set to 0 indicates that a legacy element is carried, and a bit set to 1 indicates that a jumbo element is carried).

[0073] FIG. 42 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a communication device 4200. The communication device 4200 is implemented as an AP or STA for utilizing information containers in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication device 4200 includes a power supply 4202, a memory 4204, a central processing unit (CPU) 4206 having at least one processor, a secondary storage device 4208, and a wireless I / F 4212. The memory 4204 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing data representing instructions executable by at least one processor of the CPU 4206 in communication with the wireless I / F 4212 to perform an enhanced client discovery procedure in accordance with various embodiments described herein. The wireless I / F 4212 includes a MAC layer 4214 and a PHY layer 4216. The PHY layer 4216 is connected to a wireless transmitter (not shown), a wireless receiver (not shown), and an antenna 4222 used to transmit and receive signals to and from other communication devices (e.g., STAs / APs). The secondary storage device 4208 may be configured to store the AID of the associated communication device.

[0074] The MAC layer 4214 includes an information container transmission module 4218. The information container transmission module 4218 may be configured to generate and transmit information containers (e.g., jumbo elements, jumbo sub-elements, jumbo TLVs, and other similar frames) in accordance with the various embodiments described above. The MAC layer 4214 further includes an information container reception module 4220 configured to receive and process frames including information containers (e.g., jumbo elements, jumbo sub-elements, jumbo TLVs, and other similar frames) in accordance with the various embodiments described above.

[0075] 43 shows a flow diagram 4300 illustrating a method of communication according to various embodiments. In step 4302, an information container greater than 255 octets is generated. In step 4304, a frame containing the information container is transmitted.

[0076] 44 is a partial schematic diagram of a communication device 4400 operable to process information containers in accordance with various embodiments. The communication device 4400 may be implemented as a STA or an AP in accordance with various embodiments.

[0077] The various functions and operations of the communications device 4400 are arranged in layers according to a hierarchical model, in which lower layers report to and receive instructions from higher layers according to IEEE specifications, and for the sake of brevity, the details of the hierarchical model will not be described in this disclosure.

[0078] As shown in FIG. 44 , the communications device 4400 may include a circuit 4414, at least one wireless transmitter 4402, at least one wireless receiver 4404, and multiple antennas 4412 (for simplicity, only one antenna is shown in FIG. 44 for illustrative purposes). The circuit may include at least one controller 4406 for software- and hardware-assisted execution of tasks the circuit is designed to perform, including control of communications with one or more other devices in a wireless network. The at least one controller 4406 may control at least one transmit signal generator 4408 for generating frames to be transmitted to one or more other STAs or APs via the at least one wireless transmitter 4402 and at least one receive signal processor 4410 for processing frames received from one or more other STAs or APs via the at least one wireless receiver 4404. The at least one transmit signal generator 4408 and the at least one receive signal processor 4410 may be standalone modules of the communications device 4400 that communicate with the at least one controller 4406 for the functions described above. Alternatively, the at least one transmission signal generating unit 4408 and the at least one reception signal processing unit 4410 may be included in the at least one control unit 4406. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the arrangement of these functional modules is flexible and may vary according to actual needs and / or requirements. Data processing, virtual memory, and other related control devices may be provided on an appropriate circuit board and / or in a chipset.

[0079] In various embodiments, in operation, the at least one wireless transmitter 3602, the at least one wireless receiver 4404, and the at least one antenna 4412 may be controlled by the at least one controller 4406. Furthermore, although only one wireless transmitter 4402 is shown, it is understood that there may be more than one such transmitter.

[0080] In various embodiments, the at least one wireless receiver 4404, in operation together with the at least one receive signal processor 4410, form the receiver portion of the communication device 4400. In operation, the receiver portion of the communication device 4400 provides the functionality necessary to process the information container. Although only one wireless receiver 4404 is shown, it will be understood that there can be more than one such receiver.

[0081] In operation, the communication device 4400 provides the functionality necessary for generating and transmitting information containers. For example, in operation, the circuitry 4414 may generate information containers larger than 255 octets. In operation, the transmitter 4402 may transmit frames including the information containers.

[0082] The information container may be divided into multiple fragments, and the information container includes information about the multiple fragments. In operation, the receiver 4404 may receive a retransmission request frame requesting retransmission of one or more fragments of the multiple fragments, and the transmitter 4402 may be further configured to transmit the requested one or more fragments.

[0083] The information container may indicate the size of the information container or the size of a fragment of the information container. The information container may be an element, a subelement, or one of TLV (Type / Length / Value).

[0084] The information container may include information regarding a fragmentation mode of the information container. The circuit 4414 may be further configured to determine the mode of fragmentation based on a type of frame. The circuit 4414 may be further configured to determine the mode of fragmentation based on a type of communication device to which the frame is destined.

[0085] In operation, the communications device 4400 provides the functionality necessary to receive and process information containers. For example, the receiver 4404 may in operation receive a frame including an information container that includes more than 255 octets of data. The circuitry 4414 may in operation extract data from the information container.

[0086] The information container may be divided into multiple fragments, and the information container includes information about the multiple fragments. In operation, the transmitter 4402 may be configured to transmit a retransmission request frame to request retransmission of one or more fragments of the multiple fragments, and the receiver 4404 may be further configured to receive the requested one or more fragments.

[0087] The information container may indicate the size of the information container or the size of a fragment of the information container. The information container may be an element, a subelement, or one of TLV (Type / Length / Value).

[0088] The information container may include information regarding a fragmentation mode of the information container. The circuit 4414 may be further configured to extract data from the information container based on the mode of fragmentation.

[0089] The present disclosure can be implemented by software, hardware, or software cooperating 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. The LSI may be formed as an individual chip, or a single chip may be formed to include some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may include a data input / output unit coupled to it. Depending on the level of integration, the LSI may be referred to as an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI. However, the technology for implementing an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and may be implemented using dedicated circuits, general-purpose processors, or dedicated processors. Furthermore, FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), which can be programmed after LSI fabrication, and reconfigurable processors, which can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells arranged within the LSI, may also be used. The present disclosure can be implemented using digital or analog processing. If, as a result of advances in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, LSI is replaced by future integrated circuit technologies, these future integrated circuit technologies can be used to integrate functional blocks. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0090] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system having communication capabilities (collectively referred to as communication devices).

[0091] Non-limiting examples of 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 (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), smart glasses), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and combinations of the above devices.

[0092] Communication devices are not limited to portable or mobile devices, but also include non-portable or fixed equipment, devices, and systems of any kind, such as smart home devices (appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or metering devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines, and any other "things" that may exist on an IoT (Internet of Things) network.

[0093] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communications satellite systems, etc., as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0094] A communications device also includes devices, such as controllers and sensors, coupled to a communications unit that perform the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications unit to perform the communications functions of the communications device.

[0095] Communication devices also include infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicate with or control the various non-limiting devices listed above.

[0096] A non-limiting example of a station may be a station included in a first plurality of stations associated with a multi-link station logical entity (i.e., MLD), where, as part of the first plurality of stations associated with the multi-link station logical entity, the stations of the first plurality of stations share a common Medium Access Control (MAC) data service interface to upper layers, the common MAC data service interface being associated with a common MAC address or traffic identifier (TID).

[0097] Thus, the present embodiment can provide a communication device and method for processing information containers.

[0098] While exemplary embodiments have been presented in the detailed description of the present embodiments, it should be understood that numerous variations exist. Furthermore, it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are examples and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, operation, or configuration of the present disclosure in any way. Rather, the above detailed description provides those skilled in the art with a convenient roadmap for implementing the exemplary embodiments, with the understanding that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of steps described in the exemplary embodiments, and in the modules and structure of the devices described in the exemplary embodiments, without departing from the scope of the subject matter set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. a circuit that, when operational, generates an information container greater than 255 octets; a transmitter that, in operation, transmits a frame including said information container; A communication device comprising:

2. The information container is divided into a plurality of fragments, and the information container contains information about the plurality of fragments. The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. and a receiver configured, in operation, to receive a retransmission request frame requesting retransmission of one or more fragments of the plurality of fragments, the transmitter further configured to transmit the requested one or more fragments. The communication device according to claim 2 .

4. the information container contains information about a mode of fragmentation of the information container; The communication device according to claim 1 .

5. the circuitry is further configured to determine the mode of fragmentation based on the type of the frame. The communication device according to claim 4.

6. the circuitry is further configured to determine the mode of fragmentation based on a type of communication device to which the frame is destined. The communication device according to claim 4.

7. The information container indicates the size of the information container or the size of a fragment of the information container. The communication device according to claim 1 .

8. The information container is one of an element, a sub-element, or a TLV (Type / Length / Value). The communication device according to claim 1 .

9. a receiver that, in operation, receives a frame including an information container that includes more than 255 octets of data; a circuit for extracting said data from said information container in operation; A communication device comprising:

10. The information container is divided into a plurality of fragments, and the information container contains information about the plurality of fragments. The communication device according to claim 9.

11. and a transmitter configured, in operation, to transmit a retransmission request frame to request retransmission of one or more fragments of the plurality of fragments, the receiver further configured to receive the requested one or more fragments. The communication device according to claim 10.

12. the information container contains information about a mode of fragmentation of the information container; The communication device according to claim 9.

13. the circuitry is further configured to extract the data from the information container based on the mode of fragmentation. The communication device of claim 12.

14. The information container indicates the size of the information container or the size of a fragment of the information container. The communication device according to claim 9.

15. The information container is one of an element, a sub-element, or a TLV (Type / Length / Value). The communication device according to claim 9.

16. generating an information container greater than 255 octets; transmitting a frame containing said information container; A communication method, including:

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