Communication apparatus, control method, and storage medium

Abstract

To recognize whether or not a terminal of a wireless LAN performs communication in cooperation with a plurality of access points.SOLUTION: A communication device communicates a radio frame having a preamble of a physical layer (PHY) and a data field. The preamble includes an L-STF (LegacyShortTrainingField), an L-LTF (LegacyLongTrainingField), an L-SIG (LegacySignalField), an EHT-SIG-A (ExtremelyHighThroughputSignalAField), an EHT-STF (EHTShortTrainingField), and an EHT-LTF (EHTLongTrainingField), and the EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether or not data is transmitted in parallel from a plurality of communication apparatuses to a common partner apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication control technique for a wireless LAN. [Background technology]

[0002] With the recent increase in the amount of data being communicated, development of communication technologies such as wireless local area networks (LANs) is progressing. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard series is known as a major communication standard for wireless LANs. The IEEE 802.11 standard series includes standards such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax. For example, the latest standard, IEEE 802.11ax, uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access (OFDMA) to standardize technology that not only achieves a high peak throughput of up to 9.6 gigabits per second (Gbps) but also improves communication speeds under congested conditions (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Meanwhile, a study group called IEEE802.11EHT (Extremely High Throughput) has been formed as a successor standard to IEEE802.11ax to further improve throughput. To achieve this, EHT considers allocating transmission data intended for a single station (STA) to multiple spatially distributed access points (APs), which then transmit the data to the STA in parallel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-050133 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] It would be useful for a STA to recognize whether it is receiving frames from a single AP or multiple APs. However, conventional standards assume that a STA communicates with a single AP, not with multiple APs in parallel. Therefore, there is no mechanism for a STA to recognize that frames are being transmitted in parallel from multiple APs.

[0006] The present invention provides a technique that makes it possible to recognize whether a wireless LAN terminal is communicating with multiple access points in parallel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a transmitting means for transmitting a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble and a data field, wherein the preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), and the EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from another communication device different from the communication device to a common partner device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to recognize whether a terminal of a wireless LAN is communicating in cooperation with a plurality of access points. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network configuration. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an AP. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of an AP. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of processing executed in an AP. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing executed in a network. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a PHY frame structure of an EHT SU PPDU. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a PHY frame structure of an EHT ER PPDU. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a PHY frame structure of an EHT MU PPDU. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the claimed invention. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0011] (Network configuration) FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication network according to this embodiment. This wireless communication network includes access points (AP102, AP103, AP104) and terminals (STA105, STA106, STA107), each of which is an EHT (Extremely High Throughput) device. These devices are all compliant with IEEE 802.11 EHT (Extreme High Throughput) and are configured to be able to perform wireless communication compliant with standards established prior to the IEEE 802.11 EHT standard. Note that the name IEEE 802.11 EHT is provided for convenience and may be replaced with a different name once the standard is finalized. However, this specification and the appended claims are intended to cover all standards capable of supporting the processing described below. Hereinafter, when a specific device is not being referred to, an access point may be referred to as an "AP" and a station may be referred to as an "STA" without a reference number. While FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication network including three APs and three STAs as an example, the number of these communication devices may be two or less, or may be four or more. In FIG. 1, the communication range of the network formed by AP 102, AP 103, and AP 104 is indicated by circle 101. This communication range may cover a wider range or may cover only a narrower range. Also, while FIG. 1 shows STAs that support EHT, there may be STAs that support only standards (legacy standards) of generations prior to EHT. EHT may be interpreted as an acronym for Extreme High Throughput.

[0012] In this example, it is assumed that AP103 and AP104 can receive signals transmitted by AP102, and that AP102 can receive signals transmitted by AP103 and AP104. However, the connection topology is not particularly limited, and AP102 may be connected to AP103 and AP104 via wired or wireless connections. AP103 and AP104 may or may not be able to transmit and receive signals to and from each other. AP102 to AP104 are capable of configuring an IEEE802.11EHT Multi-AP Coordination system. In other words, AP102 to AP104 are assumed to support a configuration in which multiple APs cooperate to communicate with one STA, as defined by IEEE802.11EHT. For example, STA105 can transmit and receive wireless frames in parallel with AP103 and AP104, which operate in cooperation with each other. The STA 105 may have, for example, multiple wireless LAN controllers and may be configured to transmit and receive wireless frames to and from multiple APs using separate wireless channels. The STA 105 may also have a single physical controller capable of processing multiple frames received in parallel via multiple wireless channels. That is, the STA 105 has a configuration that allows it to logically process multiple wireless communications in parallel using one or more physical controllers.

[0013] Here, APs such as AP103 and AP104 that directly transmit and receive signals with each STA are referred to as slave access points (S-APs). APs such as AP102 that can transmit and receive frames with each STA, at least indirectly, by issuing instructions to AP103 and AP104, are referred to as master access points (M-APs). The M-AP may also directly transmit and receive signals with STA105. For example, AP102 may function as both an M-AP and an S-AP. In this case, for example, while transmitting and receiving wireless frames between itself and STA105, AP102 may issue instructions to AP103 or AP104 to transmit and receive wireless frames with the STA. When the M-AP transmits wireless frames from the S-AP, it may also transmit data to be transmitted to the S-AP. However, this is not a limitation; the S-AP may also directly obtain data to be transmitted, for example, from the Internet. In addition, the M-AP may receive data that the S-AP received from the STA from the S-AP, but the S-AP may also forward the data received from the STA to the STA's partner device without forwarding it to the M-AP.

[0014] Any AP in the same network can operate as an M-AP, and some criteria can determine which AP will operate as the M-AP. An M-AP may only perform the role of an M-AP, such as sending instructions to other APs, without operating as an AP, such as transmitting beacons. Each AP may have multiple wireless LAN controllers and thus operate as multiple S-APs. An M-AP may also be realized as a logical function, and one physical AP may operate as an M-AP while also operating as one or more S-APs.

[0015] In the following, an example of the configuration and processing flow of the AP 103 and AP 104 will be described as APs (S-APs) that directly transmit wireless frames to STAs.

[0016] (AP configuration) 2 shows the functional configuration of AP 103. AP 104 also has similar functions. As an example, AP 103 has two sets of functional units (wireless LAN control unit 201 and antenna 207, and wireless LAN control unit 206 and antenna 208) for performing wireless LAN communication. However, the number of wireless LAN control units included in AP 103 is not limited to two, and may be one, or three or more. AP 103 further has a frame generation unit 202, an M-AP signal analysis unit 203, a UI control unit 204, and a storage unit 205.

[0017] The wireless LAN control unit 201 and the wireless LAN control unit 206 are configured to include circuits for transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from other wireless LAN devices (e.g., other APs or STAs) and programs for controlling these circuits. The wireless LAN control unit 201 and the wireless LAN control unit 206 perform wireless LAN communication control, such as transmitting frames generated by the frame generation unit 202 and receiving wireless frames from other wireless LAN devices, in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard series. The frame generation unit 202 generates wireless frames to be transmitted by the wireless LAN control unit 201 and the wireless LAN control unit 208 based on the content analyzed by the M-AP signal analysis unit 203. Note that the frame generation unit 202 may generate wireless frames without analysis by the M-AP signal analysis unit 203, for example, when operating as an M-AP or when not cooperating with other APs. The M-AP signal analysis unit 203 interprets the content of wireless frames received from the M-AP and transmitted to STAs when the own device (AP 103) operates as an S-AP. For example, regarding a frame transmitted from AP 103 to STA 105, information such as how many APs other than AP 103 are transmitting frames to STA 105, and on which channel transmission and reception will be performed, is obtained through this analysis.

[0018] The UI control unit 204 includes hardware related to a user interface (UI), such as a touch panel or buttons, for accepting operations on the AP 103 by a user (not shown) of the AP 103, and a program for controlling these. The UI control unit 204 also has a function for presenting information to the user, such as displaying images or outputting audio. The storage unit 205 includes a storage device, such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory), for storing programs executed by the AP 103 and various data.

[0019] 3 shows the hardware configuration of AP 103. As an example of the hardware configuration, AP 103 has a storage unit 301, a control unit 302, a function unit 303, an input unit 304, an output unit 305, a communication unit 306, and antennas 307 to 308. The AP 104 and the STAs may also have similar hardware configurations. Since the STAs have general wireless LAN communication functions, a description of their functional configurations will be omitted.

[0020] The storage unit 301 is configured with a ROM and / or a RAM, and stores various information such as programs for performing various operations described below and communication parameters for wireless communication. Note that, in addition to memories such as a ROM and a RAM, the storage unit 301 may also use storage media such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a DVD, etc.

[0021] The control unit 302 is configured by, for example, one or more processors such as a CPU or MPU, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc. Here, CPU is an acronym for Central Processing Unit, and MPU is an acronym for Micro Processing Unit. The control unit 302 controls the entire AP 103 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 301. Note that the control unit 302 may also control the entire AP 103 in cooperation with the program stored in the storage unit 301 and an OS (Operating System).

[0022] Furthermore, the control unit 302 controls the functional unit 303 to execute predetermined processes such as capturing images, printing, and projection. The functional unit 303 is hardware that causes the AP 103 to execute predetermined processes. For example, if the AP 103 is a camera, the functional unit 303 is an imaging unit that performs imaging processing. For example, if the AP 103 is a printer, the functional unit 303 is a printing unit that performs printing processing. For example, if the AP 103 is a projector, the functional unit 303 is a projection unit that performs projection processing. The data processed by the functional unit 303 may be data stored in the storage unit 301, or may be data communicated with other APs or STAs via the communication unit 306, which will be described later.

[0023] The input unit 304 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 305 outputs various types of information to the user. Here, the output by the output unit 305 includes, for example, at least one of display on a screen, audio output by a speaker, vibration output, etc. Note that both the input unit 304 and the output unit 305 may be realized by a single module, such as a touch panel.

[0024] The communication unit 306 controls wireless communication compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard series and IP communication. The communication unit 306 is a so-called wireless chip and may itself include one or more processors and memories. In this embodiment, the communication unit 306 can execute processing compliant with at least the IEEE 802.11ax standard. The communication unit 306 also controls the antennas 307 to 308 to transmit and receive wireless signals for wireless communication. The AP 103 communicates content such as image data, document data, and video data with other communication devices via the communication unit 306. The antennas 307 to 308 are, for example, antennas capable of transmitting and receiving at least one of the sub-GHz band, the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. Note that the frequency bands (and their combinations) supported by the antennas 307 to 308 are not particularly limited. Each of the antennas 307 to 308 may be a single antenna, or may be configured to include two or more antennas for MIMO (Multi-Input and Multi-Output) transmission and reception. 3 shows at least two antennas 307-308, the AP 103 may have only one antenna, for example, by using a multi-band antenna that supports two or more of the above-mentioned frequency bands. The AP 103 may also have more antennas.

[0025] (Processing flow) Next, an example of the flow of processing executed by the AP 103 and AP 104 as described above and the flow of processing executed in the wireless communication network will be described. Figures 4 and 5 show an example of the flow of processing when AP 103 is determined to operate as an S-AP, exchanges information with AP 102, and then transmits data to STA 105 in cooperation with AP 104.

[0026] In this process, first, it is determined which AP among AP102 to AP104 will operate as the M-AP (and which AP will operate as the S-AP) (S401). For example, AP 103 transmits AP parameters to AP 102 (F501), and the parameters are compared to determine the AP that will operate as the M-AP. AP parameters may also be transmitted from AP 104 to AP 102 (not shown). In this process example, it is assumed that AP 102 is determined to operate as the M-AP, and APs 103 and 104 are determined to operate as S-APs. Thereafter, network information such as SSID and BSSID is notified from AP 102 operating as the M-AP to APs 103 and 104 operating as S-APs. Then, AP 103 and AP 104 receive the notified network information (S402, F502). If the roles of the M-AP and the S-AP are determined in advance, the processes of S401, S402, F501, and F502 may be omitted.

[0027] The AP 103 transmits a Beacon in accordance with the notified information (F503). Note that this Beacon includes information indicating to the connected STA that multiple APs are capable of cooperative data transmission and reception. Note that the AP here includes a logical AP, and one AP may include two logical APs, for example, an AP operating in the 2.4 GHz band and an AP operating in the 5 GHz band. In other words, data transmission and reception by multiple APs may include data transmission and reception by one physical AP capable of operating as multiple logical APs. For example, the AP 103 adds a Multi-AP Information Element to the Beacon and transmits the Beacon including information such as the SSID, BSSID, and operating wireless channel used by the multiple S-APs capable of cooperative operation. The storage method and configuration of this information are not limited to this, and the AP 103 may store and transmit similar information in a similar format. Upon receiving the Beacon, the STA 105 performs connection processing with at least one of the multiple S-APs based on the information included in the Beacon (S403, F504). The connection process here includes processes such as authentication and association defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard series. When the AP 103 establishes a connection with the STA 105, it notifies the M-AP that it has become connected to the STA, along with the connection parameters (S404, F505). At this time, if one physical AP becomes connected to two logical APs, each of which is connected to a STA, it may notify the M-AP of this. Note that in FIG. 5, only the AP 103 is connected to the STA 105, but the AP 104 may also transmit a Beacon to connect to the STA 105 and notify the M-AP (AP 102) that it has become connected. However, this is not limited thereto. For example, the STA may be connected to only one of multiple S-APs. In this case, for example, a wireless frame transmitted from another S-AP with which it is not connected may be treated by the STA as a wireless frame transmitted from the S-AP with which it is connected.Note that even if a STA is connected to only one of multiple S-APs, it may be possible to recognize that the S-APs from which the wireless frames are sent are different. In this embodiment, the STA can recognize that signals are being transmitted from multiple S-APs (that a Multi-AP Coordination system is configured) by decoding the physical layer (PHY) preamble of the wireless frame. That is, information indicating that a Multi-AP Coordination system is configured is included in the PHY preamble of a frame received by an S-AP from an M-AP or a frame received by an STA from an S-AP (or M-AP). This allows a device receiving a frame to confirm whether multiple APs or a single AP are transmitting data to the STA. This will be described later.

[0028] The M-AP manages the connection parameters of the S-AP that has established a connection with the STA, determines transmission parameters based on the information, and allocates subsequent transmission data (F506). Information about the transmission parameters determined by the M-AP is notified to the S-AP, and the AP 103 determines its own transmission parameters based on the notified information (S405). The connection parameters may include information about the transmission rate and error rate of each connection. For example, the M-AP may allocate more transmission data to an S-AP with a connection having a high transmission rate and less transmission data to an S-AP with a connection having a low transmission rate. This allows efficient data transmission from each S-AP to the STA. The connection parameters may be updated periodically by each S-AP to reflect the current connection status and notified to the M-AP. After that, when the S-AP receives transmission data from the M-AP to the STA (S406, F507), it transmits the data to the STA (S407, F508).

[0029] Such parallel transmission of data from multiple S-APs to a single STA can be achieved, for example, by the M-AP notifying the S-AP of data to be transmitted and then transmitting a trigger frame to the S-AP to trigger transmission. That is, when the S-AP has completed preparation of the data to be transmitted, it transmits the data simultaneously to the STAs upon receiving the trigger frame from the M-AP. Note that when the M-AP transmits the data to be transmitted to the S-AP, information indicating the transmission timing of the data may be notified to the S-AP along with the data to be transmitted. In this case, the multiple S-APs can transmit data to the STAs in parallel by transmitting the data to be transmitted at the instructed transmission timing.

[0030] On the other hand, when the S-AP receives data from the STA (S408), it transmits the received data to the M-AP (S409). Note that the order of data transmission and reception is merely an example, and data may be transmitted and received in a manner other than that shown in the figure, such as receiving data from the STA before transmitting data to the STA.

[0031] (frame structure) Examples of PPDUs (Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Units) defined in the IEEE 802.11 EHT standard and transmitted in S406 to S407, F503, and F507 to F508 are shown in Figures 6 to 8. Figure 6 shows an example of an EHT SU (Single User) PPDU, which is a PPDU for single-user communication, and Figure 7 shows an example of an EHT MU (Multi User) PPDU for multi-user communication. Figure 8 shows an example of an EHT ER (Extended Range) PPDU for long-distance transmission. The EHT ER PPDU is used when the communication range needs to be extended in communication between an AP and a single STA.

[0032] The PPDU includes a Short Training Field (STF), a Long Training Field (LTF), and a Signal Field (SIG). As shown in Fig. 6, the beginning of the PPDU includes Legacy (L-STF) 601, L-LTF 602, and L-SIG 603 to ensure backward compatibility with the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ax standards. The frame formats of Figs. 7 and 8 also include L-STF (L-STF 701 and L-STF 801), L-LTF (L-LTF 702 and L-LTF 802), and L-SIG (L-SIG 703 and L-SIG 803). The L-LTF is located immediately after the L-STF, and the L-SIG is located immediately after the L-LTF. 6 to 8 also include an RL-SIG (Repeated L-SIG, RL-SIG604, RL-SIG704, RL-SIG804) placed immediately after the L-SIG. The RL-SIG field repeatedly transmits the contents of the L-SIG. The RL-SIG allows the receiver to recognize that the PPDU complies with the IEEE 802.11ax standard or later, and may be omitted in IEEE 802.11EHT in some cases. Alternatively, a field may be provided in place of the RL-SIG to allow the receiver to recognize that the PPDU is an IEEE 802.11EHT PPDU. The fields of the PPDU do not necessarily have to be arranged in the order shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and new fields not shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 may be included.

[0033] L-STF601 is used for detecting PHY frame signals, automatic gain control (AGC), timing detection, etc. L-LTF602 is used for high-precision frequency and time synchronization and for acquiring channel state information (CSI). L-SIG603 is used to transmit control information including data transmission rate and PHY frame length information. Legacy devices that comply with the IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ax standards can decode the various legacy fields listed above.

[0034] Each PPDU further includes an EHT-SIG (EHT-SIG-A605, EHT-SIG-A705, EHT-SIG-B706, EHT-SIG-A805) for transmitting control information for the EHT, which is placed immediately after the RL-SIG. Each PPDU also has an STF for the EHT (EHT-STF606, 707, 806) and an LTF for the EHT (EHT-LTF607, 708, 807). Each PPDU has a data field 608, 709, 808 and a packet extension field 609, 710, 809 after these control fields. The fields from the L-STF to the EHT-LTF of each PPDU are called a PHY preamble.

[0035] 6 to 8 show, as an example, a PPDU that can ensure backward compatibility, but if it is not necessary to ensure backward compatibility, for example, the legacy field may be omitted. In this case, for example, EHT-STF or EHT-LTF is used instead of L-STF and L-LTF to establish synchronization. In this case, the EHT-STF after the EHT-SIG field or one of multiple EHT-LTFs may be omitted.

[0036] As shown in Tables 1 and 2 below, EHT-SIG-A605 and 805 included in the EHT SU PPDU and EHT ER PPDU contain EHT-SIG-A1 and EHT-SIG-A2 required for PPDU reception. In this embodiment, a "Multi-AP" subfield indicating whether data is transmitted from multiple APs to the STA is included in EHT-SIG-A1. Furthermore, as shown in Tables 3 and 4 below, EHT-SIG-A705 of the EHT MU PPDU in FIG. 7 contains EHT-SIG-A1 and EHT-SIG-A2 required for PPDU reception. In this embodiment, a "Multi-AP" subfield indicating whether data is transmitted from multiple APs to the STA is included in EHT-SIG-A2. For example, when data is transmitted from multiple APs to the STA, a "1" is stored in this "Multi-AP" subfield, and when data is transmitted from a single AP to the STA, a "0" is stored in this field. Note that the configurations of Tables 1 to 4 are merely examples, and for example, in the EHT SU PPDU and EHT ER PPDU, this Multi-AP information may be indicated at a position other than the 15th bit of the EHT-SIG-A1 field. Similarly, in the EHT MU PPDU, this Multi-AP information may be indicated at a position other than the 8th bit of the EHT-SIG-A2 field. Furthermore, the Multi-AP information may specify whether data is transmitted from multiple physical APs to the STA, or may specify whether data is transmitted from multiple logical APs to the STA. For example, even if data is transmitted physically from one AP to the STA, the Multi-AP subfield may be set to 1 if data is transmitted logically from multiple APs to the STA.

[0037] [Table 1]

[0038] [Table 2]

[0039] [Table 3]

[0040] [Table 4]

[0041] The EHT-SIG-B706 of the EHT MU PPDU includes information on the Common field as shown in Table 5 and the User Block field as shown in Table 6, which are necessary for receiving the PPDU.

[0042] [Table 5]

[0043] [Table 6]

[0044] As shown in Figure 6, the User Block field includes a User field, which stores information for each user. The format of the User field differs depending on whether data is transmitted to multiple users using OFDMA or MU-MIMO. Table 7 shows the User field when data is transmitted using OFDMA, and Table 8 shows the User field when data is transmitted using MU-MIMO.

[0045] [Table 7]

[0046] [Table 8]

[0047] The contents of these subfields are the same as those specified in the IEEE802.11ax standard, so we will not explain them here.

[0048] As described above, the frame structure of the PPDUs (EHT SU PPDU, EHT ER PPDU, and EHT MU PPDU) used in the IEEE 802.11 EHT standard can inform a STA whether a single AP or multiple APs are transmitting data. That is, an S-AP can notify the STA whether there are other APs transmitting data in parallel to a common peer device (STA) in addition to the S-AP itself. Furthermore, by transmitting this frame, an M-AP can notify the S-AP whether there are other S-APs transmitting data in parallel to the common peer device (STA) (or whether the M-AP transmits data in parallel). In this case, for example, if a STA has performed connection processing with only one AP, the STA can recognize that there are other APs with which to communicate on a wireless channel different from the AP that performed the connection processing, i.e., a wireless channel different from the wireless channel on which the STA itself is operating. The wireless channel here may include, for example, a frequency channel or a spatial channel. For example, the STA can operate to identify multiple APs from which data is being transmitted, based on, for example, confirming that data is being received from multiple APs by checking the PHY preamble. For example, a STA may check the sender address in a MAC (medium access control) header for each of multiple data streams to obtain information about multiple APs. Furthermore, when the STA checks information about multiple APs, it may individually transmit acknowledgments (ACK / NACK) to those APs. Furthermore, if the wireless quality of data from some APs is degraded, the STA may notify one of the APs (e.g., the master AP) that the AP should be excluded from the Multi-AP Coordination target. This enables the STA to maintain high wireless quality communications. Furthermore, the STA or the AP may notify the user via a UI of information indicating whether data is being transmitted from multiple APs to the STA. Furthermore, if the STA does not support Multi-AP Coordination and receives a PPDU indicating that data is being transmitted from multiple APs, the STA may immediately discard the PPDU.This prevents the STA from unnecessarily decoding information after the Multi-AP subfield for a PPDU that the STA does not support, thereby reducing power consumption. Note that the present invention can also be implemented by an information processing device (e.g., a wireless chip) that generates the PHY preamble, in addition to the APs 102-104 and STAs 105-107, which are communication devices.

[0049] In the above example, the Multi-AP subfield is provided as a one-bit field to indicate whether data is transmitted from multiple APs to the STA, but this is not limited to this. For example, the Multi-AP subfield may be provided as a two-bit or more field to indicate the number of APs transmitting data to the STA. For example, if a two-bit field is provided, "00" can indicate that data is transmitted to the STA from one AP, "01" can indicate that data is transmitted from two APs, "10" can indicate that data is transmitted from three APs, and "11" can indicate that data is transmitted from four or more APs. Similarly, a three-bit or more field can be provided to indicate a larger number of APs.

[0050] <<Other embodiments>> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0051] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 102: AP (M-AP), 103, 104: AP (S-AP), 105 to 107: STA, 201, 206: Wireless LAN control unit, 202: Frame generation unit, 203: M-AP signal analysis unit, 204: UI control unit, 205: Storage unit

Claims

1. a transmitting means for transmitting a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble and a data field; The preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), The EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from another communication device different from the communication device to a common counterpart device; A communication device comprising:

2. a receiving means for receiving a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble and a data field; The preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), The EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from multiple other devices; When the subfield indicates that data is being transmitted in parallel from multiple other devices, the data field includes data from any of the multiple other devices. A communication device comprising:

3. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the subfield is a 1-bit subfield in the EHT-SIG-A indicating whether a single device or multiple devices transmit data in parallel.

4. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the subfield is a subfield of 2 or more bits in the EHT-SIG-A that indicates the number of devices that transmit data in parallel.

5. 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the subfield includes information corresponding to the number of physical devices that transmit data.

6. 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the subfield contains information according to the number of logical devices that transmit data.

7. 3. The communication device of claim 2, configured to notify a user of information indicating whether data is received from a plurality of other devices based on the information in the subfield.

8. generating means for generating a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble; The preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), The EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from multiple communication devices to a common destination device; 1. An information processing device comprising:

9. 1. A communication method performed by a communication device, comprising: a transmitting step of transmitting a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble and a data field; The preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), The EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from another communication device different from the communication device to a common counterpart device; A communication method comprising:

10. 1. A communication method performed by a communication device, comprising: receiving a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble and a data field; The preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), The EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from multiple other devices; When the subfield indicates that data is being transmitted in parallel from multiple other devices, the data field includes data from any of the multiple other devices. A communication method comprising:

11. A control method executed by an information processing device, comprising: generating a radio frame having a physical layer (PHY) preamble; The preamble includes an L-STF (Legacy Short Training Field), an L-LTF (Legacy Long Training Field), an L-SIG (Legacy Signal Field), an EHT-SIG-A (Extremely High Throughput Signal A Field), an EHT-STF (EHT Short Training Field), and an EHT-LTF (EHT Long Training Field), The EHT-SIG-A includes a subfield indicating whether data is transmitted in parallel from multiple communication devices to a common destination device; A control method comprising:

12. A program for causing a computer to operate as the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or the information processing device according to claim 8.

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