Link Adaptation Control for Ultra-High Throughput Systems

Abstract

This application relates to link adaptation for extremely high throughput (EHT) systems. Various approaches are provided to enable transmission of link adaptation parameters for single-user multiple-input multiple-output (SU-MIMO) and multi-user multiple-input multiple-output MU-MIMO. In some embodiments, two control IDs in the A-control subfield are used, one for SU-MIMO and the other for MU-MIMO. These can both be reserved control IDs or a combination of a reserved control ID and a control ID2 normally used for HE link adaptation. In some embodiments, a single control ID in the A-control subfield is used. This can be a reserved control ID or a control ID2 normally used for HE link adaptation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to link adaptation for extremely high throughput (EHT) systems.

Background Art

[0002] [Cross-Reference] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 506,050, filed on October 20, 2021, entitled "Link Adaptation Control for Extremely High Throughput Systems", the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0003] [Background] Link adaptation, including adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) and others (such as power control), is a term used in wireless communication, indicating adapting modulation, coding, and other signal and protocol parameters to the conditions on the wireless link (e.g., path loss, interference caused by signals from other transmitters, receiver sensitivity, available transmitter power margin, etc.).

[0004] Link adaptation in wireless local area networks (WLANs) includes the transmission of link adaptation parameters from the transmitter to the receiver. For example, existing methods of transmitting link adaptation parameters, such as for high throughput (HT), very high throughput (VHT), and high efficiency (HE) variants, are not sufficient for use in new EHT systems.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application relates to link adaptation for extremely high throughput (EHT) systems. Various approaches are provided to enable the transmission of link adaptation parameters for single user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO). In some embodiments, two control IDs within an A control subfield are used, one for SU-MIMO and the other for MU-MIMO. These can both be preliminary control IDs or a combination of a preliminary control ID and a control ID2 commonly used for HE link adaptation. In some embodiments, a single control ID within the A control subfield is used. This can be a preliminary control ID or control ID2 commonly used for HE link adaptation.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that includes a wireless communication device communicating a MAC frame that includes a media access control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a frame check sequence. The MAC header has a high throughput (HT) control subfield that includes a control ID value and control information. When the control ID value is set to a first value, the control information is extremely high throughput (EHT) link adaptation parameters for EHT communication related to single user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO). When the control ID value is set to a second value, the control information is EHT link adaptation parameters for EHT communication related to multi-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO).

[0007] In some embodiments, the first value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and the second value is a different one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first value is 2 and the second value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. When the first value is 2, the method further includes communicating at the physical layer an indication that the MAC frame is a frame of a next generation protocol of the high efficiency (HE) protocol.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that includes a wireless communication device communicating a MAC frame including a media access control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a frame check sequence. The MAC header has a high throughput (HT) control subfield that includes a control ID value and control information. When the control ID value is set to a first value, the control information includes EHT link adaptation parameters for EHT communication, and the control information includes a SU / MU-MIMO indication as to whether the control information is for SU-MIMO or for MU-MIMO.

[0010] In some embodiments, the control information includes a bandwidth subfield indicating a recommended bandwidth and a resource unit (RU) allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield defined as follows. That is, when the recommended PPDU bandwidth exceeds 20 MHz, the resource unit (RU) allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield includes only the RU allocation. When the recommended PPDU bandwidth is equal to 20 MHz, the resource unit (RU) allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield includes a partial RU allocation and a SU / MU-MIMO indication.

[0011] In some embodiments, the control information includes a self - modulation and coding scheme feedback (MFB) sub - field, a bandwidth sub - field indicating a recommended PPDU bandwidth, and a modulation and coding scheme requirement sequence identifier (MSI) / (physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) format, coding type) / (PPDU format, SU / MU - MIMO indication) sub - field defined as follows. That is, when the self - MFB sub - field is 0, the MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) / (PPDU format, SU / MU - MIMO indication) includes the MSI. When the self - MFB sub - field is 1 and the recommended PPDU bandwidth is 20 MHz, the MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) / (PPDU format, SU / MU - MIMO indication) includes the PPDU format and the coding type. When the self - MFB sub - field is 1 and the recommended PPDU bandwidth exceeds 20 MHz, the MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) / (PPDU format, SU / MU - MIMO indication) includes the PPDU format and the coding type.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first value is 2 and the second value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. When the first value is 2, the method further includes communicating to the physical layer an indication that the MAC frame is a frame of a next - generation protocol of the high - efficiency (HE) protocol.

[0014] In some embodiments, the step of communicating includes transmission by an access point (AP).

[0015] In some embodiments, the step of communicating includes reception by an access point.

[0016] In some embodiments, the step of communicating includes transmission by a non-Access Point (AP) Station (STA).

[0017] In some embodiments, the step of communicating includes reception by a non-AP Station (STA).

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, an access point having a processor and a memory is provided. The access point is configured to execute a method including the step of communicating a MAC frame including a Media Access Control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a Frame Check Sequence by the access point. The MAC header has a High Throughput (HT) control subfield, and the HT control subfield includes a control ID value and control information. When the control ID value is set to a first value, the control information is an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) link adaptation parameter for EHT communication related to Single User Multiple Input Multiple Output (SU-MIMO).

[0019] In some embodiments, the first value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and the second value is a different one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

[0020] In some embodiments, the first value is 2, and the second value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. When the first value is 2, the method further includes the step of communicating, in the physical layer, an indication that the MAC frame is a frame of a next-generation protocol of the High Efficiency (HE) protocol.

[0021] According to another aspect of the present invention, a non-AP station having a processor and a memory is provided. The non-AP station is configured to execute a method including communicating a MAC frame, including a media access control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a frame check sequence, by the non-AP station. The MAC header has a high throughput (HT) control subfield, and the HT control subfield includes a control ID value and control information. When the control ID value is set to a first value, the control information is an extremely high throughput (EHT) link adaptation parameter for EHT communication related to single user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO). When the control ID value is set to a second value, the control information is an EHT link adaptation parameter for EHT communication related to multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO).

[0022] In some embodiments, the first value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and the second value is a different one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

[0023] In some embodiments, the first value is 2, and the second value is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. When the first value is 2, the method further includes communicating, in the physical layer, an indication that the MAC frame is a frame of a next-generation protocol of the high efficiency (HE) protocol.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0024] Here, an example of an embodiment of the present application is referred to as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025]

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[0026] To facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, first, an example of a system that supports wireless communication via an air interface will be described.

[0027] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary system 100 in which the method described herein may be implemented. The system 100 shown in FIG. 1A may support a wireless local area network (WLAN) including an access point (AP) 102 and a plurality of stations (STAs) 104 within the coverage of the AP 102. In the example shown, only one STA 104 and one AP 102 are present, but a plurality of STAs 104 and / or a plurality of APs 102 may be present. Each STA 104 may be any suitable device capable of wireless communication, including a mobile device or a stationary device such as, for example, a smartphone, a laptop, a mobile phone, or a tablet device, and the STAs 104 need not be the same as each other. The STA 104 may also be referred to as, for example, a terminal, a user device, a user equipment (UE), or a client. The AP 102 may also be referred to as a base station. The AP 102 may be implemented, for example, as a router. The STA 104 may access the network 106 via the AP 102.

[0028] System 100 may support communication between AP102 and each STA104, as well as direct communication between STA104s (also referred to as device - to - device communication). Using multiple antennas, AP102 may perform multi - user transmission (e.g., simultaneous transmission from AP102 to multiple STA104s, etc.) by using the spatial reuse technique of multi - user multiple - input multiple - output (MU - MIMO). For simplicity, the examples described herein may refer to wireless communication via the air interface between STA104 and AP102, but it should be understood that the present disclosure is equally applicable to wireless communication via the air interface between two STA104s, multi - user communication (e.g., between AP102 and multiple STA104s), or any other arbitrary wireless communication via the air interface.

[0029] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing unit 150 that may be used to implement the methods and systems disclosed herein, e.g., AP102, and / or one or more STA104s. Other processing units suitable for implementing the present disclosure may be used, and these may include components different from those described below. FIG. 1B shows a single instance of each component, but multiple instances of each component may exist in processing unit 150.

[0030] The processing unit 150 includes one or more processing devices 152 such as a processor, a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a dedicated logic circuit, or a combination thereof. The processing unit 150 may also include one or more input / output (I / O) interfaces 154, which may enable an interface to one or more suitable input devices 164 and / or output devices 166. The processing unit 150 includes one or more network interfaces 156 for wired or wireless communication with a network 106 (such as, for example, an intranet, the Internet, a P2P network, a WAN, a LAN, and / or a radio access network (RAN), etc.). The network interface 156 may include a wired link (such as, for example, an Ethernet cable, etc.) and / or a wireless link for in-network communication and / or inter-network communication. The network interface 156 may provide wireless communication, for example, via one or more transmitters / receivers, or a transceiver antenna 168. The antenna 168 may function together as an antenna array, in which case each antenna 168 may be referred to as an antenna element or a radiating element of the antenna array. Such antenna arrays may be plural. Also, the processing unit 150 may include one or more storage devices 158, which may include a mass storage unit such as a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, and / or an optical disk drive, etc.

[0031] The processing unit 150 may include one or more memories 160, which may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, random access memory (RAM), and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc.). The non-transitory memory 160 may store instructions for execution by the processing device 152 (e.g., in the form of software modules) such as those for implementing the methods described in this disclosure. For example, instructions for implementing a logic layer for supporting MLA (as further described below) may be stored in the memory 160.

[0032] The memory 160 may include other software instructions such as those for implementing an operating system and other applications / functions. In some examples, one or more data sets and / or modules may be provided by an external memory (e.g., an external drive that communicates with the processing unit 150 wired or wirelessly), or may be provided by a transient or non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include RAM, ROM, erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, CD-ROM, or other portable memory storage.

[0033] There may be a bus 162 that provides communication between components of the processing unit 150, including the processing unit 152, the I / O interface 154, the network interface 156, the storage unit 158, and / or the memory 160. The bus 162 may be any suitable bus architecture, for example, including a memory bus, a peripheral bus, or a video bus.

[0034] In FIG. 1B, an input device 164 (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a touch screen, and / or a keypad, etc.) and an output device 166 (e.g., a display, a speaker, and / or a printer, etc.) are shown as external to the processing unit 150. In other examples, one or more of the input device 164 and / or the output device 166 may be included as components of the processing unit 150. In other examples, neither the input device 164 nor the output device 166 may be present, and in this case, the I / O interface 154 may not be required.

[0035] AP102 and STA104 may each include a plurality of antenna elements 168 that form an antenna array, and may perform appropriate beamforming and beam steering control (e.g., using a beam steering circuit implemented by the processing device 152 and the processing unit 150, and / or a beam steering control module) to perform wireless communication via an air interface.

[0036] FIG. 2 depicts the format of an 802.11 media access control (MAC) frame format. The frame format includes a MAC header 200, a frame body 202, and a frame check sequence 204. Among other fields, the MAC header 200 includes a high throughput (HT) control field 206.

[0037] The HT control field 206 exists in control wrapper frames, QoS data frames, and QoS null frames, and also exists in management frames as determined by the +HTC subfield of the frame control field within the MAC header 200. The format of the HT control field is defined as shown in FIG. 3A for the high throughput (HT), very high throughput (VHT), and high efficiency (HE) variants. For the HT variant, the field includes an HT control middle, AC (access control) constraints, and RDG (reverse direction grant) / detail PPDU (PHY protocol data unit). For the VHT variant, the field includes a VHT control middle, AC constraints, and RDG / detail PPDU. For the HE variant, the field includes A control.

[0038] The HT control fields for the VHT and HE variants carry link adaptation (LA) parameters. For the HE variant, as detailed below, these are carried in the A control subfield.

[0039] The A control subfield is 30 bits in length. The format of the A control subfield is shown in FIG. 3B and includes a 4-bit control ID and up to 26 bits of control information.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a table showing the meaning of the control ID subfield values defined in 802.11Be D1.0. The control ID values are shown in column 400, the corresponding meanings are shown in column 402, the length of the control information subfield is shown in column 404, and the content of the subfield is shown in column 406. Different control ID values are assigned to indicate 11 different control information subfields.

[0041] The remaining 26 bits beyond the 4-bit control ID are used for the control information in the A control subfield. As can be seen from the length of the control information shown in column 404, some control IDs do not fully utilize all 26 bits of the control information subfield. In this case, the remainder of the control information subfield is padded with zeros. The control ID value of "2" having the 4-bit binary representation "0010" indicates that the control frame includes the HLA control subfield. In this type of control field, all 26 bits are assigned to the control information without zero padding.

[0042] Figure 5 shows the HLA control subfield format defined in 802.11Ax and indicates how the 26 bits are used for the indication of HE link adaptation (HLA) parameters. Among other parameters, the HLA parameters include one parameter indicating the number of spatial streams, i.e., parameter Nss500, and one parameter indicating the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), i.e., parameter HE-MCS502.

[0043] The 30-bit A control subfield in the HT control field is not large enough to carry additional LA parameters for EHT, such as individual Nss parameters for single-user multiple-input multiple-output (SU-MIMO) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), and individual MCS parameters for SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO.

[0044] [EHT Link Adaptation (EHT LA) - First Method Using Two Control ID Values within the A Control Subfield of the HE Variant HT Control Field] According to the first embodiment, as shown in Table 1 below, the two reserved control ID values in the A control subfield are used to indicate two separate control information subfields for EHT LA related to SU MIMO and MU MIMO respectively. In the example shown in this table, control IDs 11 and 12 are used for this purpose. More generally, any available reserved control ID can be used to select two control IDs from the currently unused set including, for example, control IDs 9, and 11 to 14. The control information subfield related to EHT LA contains 6 bits for either SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO.

[0045]

Table 1

[0046] [Control Information Subfield within EHT Link Adaptation (EHT LA)] An example of the content within the control information subfield in EHT LA SU MIMO and EHT LA - MU MIMO that can be used in this embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively. However, it should be understood that this is merely an example, and different LA parameters may be used for one or both of SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO.

[0047] For EHT LA in SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO, a set of definition examples for the EHT LA parameters within the control information subfield included in the examples of FIGS. 6 and 7 is provided below.

[0048] Spontaneous Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) Feedback (MFB) (Spontaneous MFB Indicator): Set to 1 if the EHT LA control is spontaneous MFB. Set to 0 if the EHT LA control is the EHT LA Feedback Request Indicator (MRQ) or non-spontaneous MFB.

[0049] MRQ (ETH LA Feedback Request Indicator): Set to 1 to request EHT LA feedback and set the spontaneous MFB to 0. Set to 0 to respond to an EHT LA request and set the spontaneous MFB to 0. If the spontaneous MFB is 1, the MRQ is held.

[0050] NSS (Recommended Spatial Stream Number for SU-MIMO): When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB (defined below) is 0, or when the spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 0, the NSS for the SU-MIMO subfield is the recommended spatial stream number N ss,su-mimo for the PPDU transmitted to the STA, where N ss,su-mimo is set to N ss,su-mimo -1. The range of N is from 1 to 16. When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, the NSS subfield is the recommended spatial stream number N ss,su-mimo for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA, where N ss,su-mimo is set to N -1. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0051] NSS (Recommended Spatial Stream Number for MU-MIMO): When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 0, or when the spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 0, the NSS for the MU-MIMO subfield is the recommended spatial stream number N ss,mu-mimo for the PPDU transmitted to the STA, where N ss,mu-mimo is set to N ss,mu-mimo -1. The range of N When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams N for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA. ss,mu-mimo and N ss,mu-mimo is set to N - 1. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0052] EHT-MCS for SU-MIMO (recommended EHT-MCS for SU-MIMO): When the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 0, or when the spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 0, the EHT-MCS for SU-MIMO indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the PPDU transmitted to the STA using SU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 1, the EHT-MCS for SU-MIMO indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA in SU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0053] EHT-MCS for MU-MIMO (recommended EHT-MCS for MU-MIMO): When the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 0, or when the spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 0, the EHT-MCS for MU-MIMO indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the PPDU transmitted to the STA using MU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 1, the EHT-MCS for MU-MIMO indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA in MU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0054] RU Allocation (Recommended EHT-MCS / RU / MRU Resource Unit (RU) / Multi-Resource Unit (MRU)): When the Spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 0, the RU Allocation subfield indicates the RU / MRU to be applied to the PPDU for which the recommended EHT-MCS is transmitted to the STA. When the Spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 1, the RU Allocation subfield indicates the RU / MRU requested by the MFB Requester to obtain feedback. The RU Allocation is interpreted as the BW and specifies the RU / MRU. When the Spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, the RU Allocation indicates the RU / MRU to be applied to the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA by the recommended EHT-MCS, indicating that the actual allocation of the RU / MRU can be ignored by the recipient. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0055] BW (Bandwidth of the Recommended EHT-MCS / Bandwidth Specified by the MFB Requester to Obtain Feedback): When the Spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 0, the BW indicates the bandwidth to be applied to the PPDU for which the recommended EHT-MCS is transmitted to the STA. When the Spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, the BW indicates the bandwidth to be applied to the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA by the recommended EHT-MCS. When the Spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 1, the BW indicates the bandwidth requested by the MFB Requester to obtain feedback. For 20 MHz, set to 0. For 40 MHz, set to 1. For 80 MHz, set to 2. For 160 MHz, set to 3. For 320 - 1 MHz, set to 4. For 320 - 2 MHz, set to 5. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0056] MSI / Partial PPDU Parameters (Partial Parameters of the Measured PPDU / MRQ Sequence Identifier): When the Spontaneous MFB Subfield is 0 and the MRQ Subfield is 1, the MSI / Partial PPDU Parameter Subfield contains a sequence number in the range of 0 to 3 that identifies a specific EHT - MCS feedback request. When the Spontaneous MFB Subfield is 0 and the MRQ Subfield is 0, the MSI / Partial PPDU Parameter Subfield contains a sequence number in the range of 0 to 3 that responds to a specific Spontaneous EHT - MCS feedback request. When the Spontaneous MFB Subfield is 1, the MSI / Partial PPDU Parameter Subfield contains the PPDU format (1 bit regarding the indication of EHT MU PPDU or EHT TB PPDU) and the coding type (1 bit regarding the indication of BCC or LDPC).

[0057] Tx Beamforming (Transmission Type of the Measured PPDU): When the Spontaneous MFB Subfield is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB Subfield is 0, the Tx Beamforming Subfield indicates whether the PPDU for which the Spontaneous MFB is estimated is beamformed. For non - beamformed PPDUs, set to 0. For beamformed PPDUs, set to 1. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0058] UL EHT TB PPDU MFB (UL EHT Trigger-Based (TB) PPDU MFB Indication): When the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1, the value 1 within this subfield indicates that the NSS, EHT-MCS, BW, and RU allocation fields represent the recommended MFB for an EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0059] Advantages of the first embodiment include maintaining the A control format and the definitions for subfields within the A control subfield for HE without changing them by using two reserved control ID values.

[0060] [EHT Link Adaptation (EHT LA) - Second Method Using Two Control ID Values in the A Control Subfield in the HE Variant HT Control Field] According to the second embodiment, the control information subfields within the EHT LA field for SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO are indicated by a control ID value equal to 2 (for HLA in 802.11Ax), and a reserved control ID value (e.g., 11, etc.) within the A control subfield, respectively. The control information subfield regarding EHT LA includes 26 bits for SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO configurations. In this case, control ID 2 is used for both HLA and EHT LA for SU-MIMO. The transmitter and receiver will distinguish between these two cases based on some other criteria, such as the length field in the legacy PHY header in the physical (PHY) layer. If this distinction can be made in the PHY layer, the receiver will recognize it before the MAC layer processing is executed. More specifically, in the PHY layer, the transmitter and receiver can determine whether the frame is HLA or EHT. In the following example, when the TXVECTOR parameter format (a specific example of PHY layer parameters) indicates a HE PPDU, this means that the frame is HLA and is interpreted as indicating the control ID2 HLA LA parameter. On the other hand, when the TXVECTOR parameter format indicates an EHT PPDU, this means that the frame is EHT and the control ID2 is interpreted as the EHT LA for SU-MIMO. More generally, the indication can convey in the physical layer that the MAC frame is a frame of the next-generation protocol of the high-efficiency (HE) protocol, and an example is EHT.

[0061] [Table 2]

[0062] Specific examples of the format of the control information subfield in EHT Link Adaptation (EHT LA) are the same as those for the example of the first embodiment detailed above, but other formats can alternatively be used. The definition examples of the EHT LA parameters in the control information subfield are as described for the first embodiment above.

[0063] The advantages of the second embodiment include maintaining without changing the A control format, using one existing control ID for HLA, and using one spare control ID for the indication of EHT LA.

[0064] It can be seen that the first embodiment and the second embodiment share the feature that two control IDs are used for EHT LA. That is, one is used for SU-MIMO (which is either 2 or a preliminary control ID), and the other is used for MU-MIMO (which is a preliminary control ID). A flowchart of the method encompassing the first embodiment and the second embodiment is depicted in FIG. 8. The method begins, at block 800, with a wireless communication device communicating a MAC frame that includes a media access control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a frame check sequence. The MAC header includes a high throughput (HT) control subfield, which, as shown in step 802, includes a control ID value and control information. When the control ID value is set to a first value, the control information is the extremely high throughput (EHT) link adaptation parameters for EHT communication related to single-user multiple-input multiple-output (SU-MIMO), as shown in step 804. When the control ID value is set to a second value, the control information is the EHT link adaptation parameters for EHT communication related to multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO), as shown in step 806.

[0065] In some embodiments, the first control ID is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and the second control ID is a different one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. In some embodiments, the first control ID is 2, and the second control ID is one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14. When the first value is 2, the method further includes communicating, at the physical layer, an indication that the MAC frame is a frame of a next-generation protocol of the high efficiency (HE) protocol.

[0066] In FIG. 8, the communication step can include reception by an access point. Alternatively, the communication step can include transmission by an access point. The communication step can include reception by a non-AP station. Also, the communication step can include transmission by a non-AP station.

[0067] [First method of EHT link adaptation (EHT LA) using one control ID value within the A control subfield of the HE variant HT control field] In the third embodiment, one spare control ID value within the A control subfield is used to indicate one control information subfield that carries EHT LA parameters related to the SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO configuration. The control information subfield for EHT LA includes 26 bits. Contained in the 26 bits is an SU / MU-MIMO indication (e.g., a single SU / MU-MIMO indication bit, etc.), which is used to signal whether the EHT LA parameters carried in the control information subfield are related to SU-MIMO or related to MU-MIMO. The position of the SU / MU-MIMO indication can be varied according to other factors. Specific examples to which this applies are provided below. The meaning of the control ID for this example is depicted in Table 3 below, where control ID 2 is used as usual for HE link adaptation, and a spare control ID (11 in this example) is used for EHT link adaptation.

[0068]

Table 3

[0069] A specific example of the content of the control information subfield in EHT LA for SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO is illustrated in FIG. 9.

[0070] Figures 10A and 10B show the detailed breakdown of the RU allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO) subfield. The content regarding the case where the recommended BW is 20 MHz is depicted in Figure 10. In this case, the RU allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield uses 8 bits and 1 bit in the illustrated example to include the partial RU allocation and the SU / MU-MIMO indication.

[0071] The content regarding the case where the recommended BW exceeds 20 MHz is depicted in Figure 10B. In this case, the RU allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / M U -MIMO indication) subfield includes only the RU allocation and is 9 bits in the illustrated example.

[0072] Figures 11A, 11B, and 11C show the detailed breakdown of the MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) / (PPDU format, SU / MU-MIMO) subfield, which varies as a function of the spontaneous MFB subfield and the recommended BW subfield.

[0073] The content regarding the case where the spontaneous MFB subfield is 0 is depicted in Figure 11A. In this case, the MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) / (PPDU format, SU / MU-MIMO) subfield includes only the MSI. Note that since non-spontaneous MFB means that the STA recognizes or responds to the feedback type requested by the requester using the specified specific HE-MCS feedback request, there is no need to indicate the SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO configuration in this case.

[0074] The content regarding the case where the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the recommended BW is 20 MHz is depicted in Figure 11B. In this case, the subfield includes the PPDU format and the coding type, and in the illustrated example, 1 bit is used for each.

[0075] The content of the subfield regarding the case where the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the recommended BW exceeds 20 MHz is depicted in Figure 11C. In this case, the subfield includes the PPDU format and the SU / MU-MIMO indicator.

[0076] Specific definition examples of the EHT LA parameters within the control information subfield regarding this embodiment are provided below.

[0077] Spontaneous MFB (Spontaneous MFB Indicator): Set to 1 when the EHT LA control is spontaneous MFB. Set to 0 when the EHT LA control is MRQ or non-spontaneous MFB.

[0078] MRQ (ETH LA Feedback Request Indicator): Set to 1 to request EHT LA feedback and set the spontaneous MFB to 0. Set to 0 to respond to the EHT LA request and set the spontaneous MFB to 0. When the spontaneous MFB is 1, MRQ is reserved.

[0079] NSS (Recommended Spatial Stream Number for SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO)

[0080] When the spontaneous MFB is 1, the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 0, and 1) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates SU-MIMO, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended spatial stream number N ss,su-mimo for the PPDU transmitted to the STA, and N ss,su-mimo is set to N - 1.ss,su-mimo The range is from 1 to 16. 2) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates MU-MIMO, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams N for the PPDU transmitted to the STA. ss,mu-mimo and N ss,mu-mimo is set to N - 1. The range of N ss,mu-mimo is from 1 to 4.

[0081] When the self-triggered MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, and 1) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates SU-MIMO, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams N for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA, ss,su-mimo and N ss,su-mimo is set to N - 1. 2) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates MU-MIMO, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams N for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA, ss,mu-mimo and N ss,mu-mimo is set to N - 1. When the self-triggered MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 0, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams for the PPDU transmitted to the STA for either SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO that can be identified by the MSI. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0082] EHT-MCS (recommended EHT-MCS for SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO)

[0083] When the self-triggered MFB subfield is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 0, and 1) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates SU-MIMO, the EHT-MCS subfield indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the PPDU transmitted to the STA using SU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. 2) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates MU-MIMO, the EHT-MCS subfield indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the PPDU transmitted to the STA using MU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index.

[0084] When the self-triggered MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 1, and 1) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates SU-MIMO, the EHT-MCS subfield indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA in SU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. 2) When the SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates MU-MIMO, the EHT-MCS subfield indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA in MU-MIMO and is set to the EHT-MCS index. When the self-triggered MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 0, the EHT-MCS subfield indicates the recommended EHT-MCS for the PPDU transmitted to the STA for either SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO that can be identified by the MSI. In other cases, this subfield is reserved.

[0085] RU allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO) (the RU of the recommended EHT-MCS / RU / MRU specified by the MFB requester to obtain feedback, and the SU / MU-MIMO type).

[0086] When the BW subfield is set to 0 (indicating that the PPDU bandwidth of the recommended EHT-MCS / RU / MRU is 20 MHz), this subfield includes the partial RU allocation subfield and the SU / MU-MIMO subfield, each containing 8 bits and 1 bit, respectively, as described above with reference to FIG. 10A.

[0087] The partial RU allocation subfield includes bits B7-B0 from bits B8-B0 of the RU allocation subfield specified in the RU allocation subfield in 802.11be D1.1 and can indicate all RUs / MRUs specified within a 20 MHz PPDU BW.

[0088] The SU / MU-MIMO subfield indicates that the recommended EHT-MCS with SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO applies to the PPDU. It is set to 0 to indicate SU-MIMO and 1 to indicate MU-MIMO.

[0089] When the BW subfield is set to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (indicating that the PPDU bandwidth of the recommended EHT-MCS / RU / MRU is 40, 80, 160, 320-1, or 320-2 MHz), this subfield includes only RU allocation as described above with reference to Figure 10B specified within the RU allocation subfield in 802.11be D1.1.

[0090] When the self-triggered MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 0, this (partial) RU allocation subfield indicates the RU / MRU to which the recommended EHT-MCS applies for the PPDU transmitted to the STA.

[0091] When the self-triggered MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, this (partial) RU allocation indicates the RU / MRU to which the recommended EHT-MCS applies for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA and indicates that the actual allocation of RU / MRU can be ignored by the recipient.

[0092] When the self-triggered MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 1, this (partial) RU allocation subfield indicates the RU / MRU requested by the MFB requester to obtain feedback.

[0093] The RU allocation is interpreted with the PPDU BW to specify the RU / MRU.

[0094] Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0095] BW (PPDU bandwidth specified by the MFB requester to obtain the PPDU bandwidth / feedback of the recommended EHT-MCS)

[0096] When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 0, BW indicates the bandwidth applicable to the PPDU for which the recommended EHT-MCS is transmitted to the STA.

[0097] When the spontaneous MFB is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB is 1, BW indicates the bandwidth applicable to the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA for which the recommended EHT-MCS is used.

[0098] When the spontaneous MFB is 0 and the MRQ is 1, BW indicates the PPDU bandwidth requested by the MFB requester to obtain feedback.

[0099] For 20 MHz, set to 0. For 40 MHz, set to 1. For 80 MHz, set to 2. For 160 MHz, set to 3. For 320-1 MHz, set to 4. For 320-2 MHz, set to 5.

[0100] Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0101] Tx beamforming (transmission type of the measured PPDU):

[0102] When the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is 0, the Tx beamforming subfield indicates whether the PPDU for which the spontaneous MFB is estimated is beamformed.

[0103] For non-beamformed PPDUs, set to 0.

[0104] For the beamforming PPDU, it is set to 1.

[0105] Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0106] UL EHT TB PPDU MFB (UL EHT TB PPDU MFB Indication): When the self-triggered MFB subfield is 1, the value 1 in this subfield indicates that the NSS, EHT-MCS, BW, and RU allocation fields represent the recommended MFB for the EHT TB PPDU transmitted from the STA. Otherwise, this subfield is reserved.

[0107] MSI / (PPDU Format, Coding Type) / (PPDU Format, SU / MU-MIMO) (MRQ Sequence Identifier / PPDU Format, Coding Type, and SU / MU-MIMO Type of the Measured PPDU)

[0108] As shown in Figure 11A, when the self-triggered MFB subfield is 0 and the MRQ subfield is 1, this subfield contains a sequence number in the range of 0 to 3 that identifies a specific EHT-MCS feedback request.

[0109] As shown in Figure 11A, when the self-triggered MFB subfield is 0 and the MRQ subfield is 0, this subfield contains a sequence number in the range of 0 to 3 that responds to a specific non-self-triggered EHT-MCS feedback request.

[0110] When the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the BW subfield is set to 0 (indicating that the recommended EHT-MCS / RU / MRU PPDU bandwidth is 20 MHz), as shown in Figure 11B, this subfield includes a PPDU format (1 bit) (set to 0 for the indication of an EHT MU PPDU and set to 1 for an EHT TB PPDU) and an encoding type (1 bit) (set to 0 for the indication of BCC and set to 1 for LDPC) subfield.

[0111] When the spontaneous MFB subfield is 1 and the BW subfield is set to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (indicating that the recommended EHT-MCS / RU / MRU PPDU bandwidth is 40, 80, 160, 320-1, or 320-2 MHz), as shown in Figure 11C, this subfield includes a PPDU format (1 bit) (set 0 for the indication of an EHT MU PPDU and set 1 for the indication of an EHT TB PPDU) and an SU / MU-MIMO type (1 bit) (set to 0 for the indication of SU-MIMO and set to 1 for MU-MIMO) subfield.

[0112] The advantages of the third embodiment include maintaining without changing the A control format and using only one spare control ID for the indication of EHT LA control.

[0113] In the embodiments described above, it can be seen that the position of the SU / MU-MIMO indicator changes depending on the recommended BW and the spontaneous MFB. This should be understood as a specific example. More generally, within the 26-bit control information, there is some indicator as to whether the EHT LA parameters apply to SU-MIMO or to MU-MIMO. In some embodiments, there may be exceptions to the need to include the SU / MU-MIMO indicator in certain cases, such as when the spontaneous MFB subfield is 0 as described above.

[0114] [Second method of EHT Link Adaptation (EHT LA) using one control ID value within the A control subfield of the HE variant HT control field] According to the fourth embodiment, a control ID value equal to 2 (for HLA in 802.11ax) is used to indicate LA parameters for both HE and HLA. The receiver determines which case is relevant based on another basis, such as based on PHY layer parameters as described for the second embodiment above. Table 4 below shows the assignment of control IDs for this embodiment.

[0115]

Table 4

[0116] In a specific example, the format of the control information subfield in EHT Link Adaptation (EHT LA) is the same as that described for the third embodiment above with reference to FIGS. 9, 10, and 11. Furthermore, an example of the definition of EHT LA parameters within the control information subfield is as described for the third embodiment above.

[0117] The advantages of the fourth embodiment include maintaining without changing the A control format and reusing the control ID value 2 for indication of EHT LA control.

[0118] It can be seen that the third and fourth embodiments share the feature that a single ID is used for EHT LA. This is either the reserved control ID (third embodiment) or control ID 2 (fourth embodiment).

[0119] A flowchart of a method including a third embodiment and a fourth embodiment is depicted in FIG. 12. The method begins, in block 1200, with a wireless communication device communicating a MAC frame that includes a media access control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a frame check sequence. The MAC header has a high throughput (HT) control subfield that includes a control ID value and control information, as shown in step 1202. When the control ID value is set to a first value, the control information includes EHT link adaptation parameters for EHT communication, and as shown in step 1204, the control information includes a SU / MU-MIMO indication as to whether the control information is for SU-MIMO or for MU-MIMO. The first value is 2 in some embodiments and one of 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14 in other embodiments. Many examples have been described above for the indication as to whether the control information is for SU-MIMO or for MU-MIMO, and any of them can be applied here.

[0120] In FIG. 12, the step of communicating can include reception by an access point. Alternatively, the step of communicating can include transmission by an access point. The step of communicating can include reception by a non-AP station. Alternatively, the step of communicating can include transmission by a non-AP station.

[0121] In some embodiments, for example, a transmitter that can be an AP or a non-AP STA determines EHT LA link adaptation information for EHT transmission for SU-MIMO or MU-MIMO. Detailed examples of EHT LA parameters are as described above. Determining the EHT LA parameters can include performing channel measurements. The transmitter then transmits the EHT LA information using one of the methods described above. Thereafter, data transmission is performed using the updated EHT LA parameters. This is done until the EHT LA parameters are updated again.

[0122] In light of the above teachings, numerous changes and modifications are possible in the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Claims

1. A method comprising: communicating, by a wireless communication device, a MAC frame including a media access control (MAC) header, a frame body, and a frame check sequence; wherein the MAC header includes: a high throughput (HT) control subfield including a control ID value and control information; when the control ID value is set to a first value and the MAC frame is a frame of an extremely high throughput (EHT) protocol, the control information includes EHT link adaptation parameters for EHT communication; when the control ID value is set to the first value and the MAC frame is a frame of a high efficiency (HE) protocol, the control information includes HE link adaptation parameters for HE communication; The method.

2. The control information includes a bandwidth subfield indicating a recommended bandwidth and a resource unit (RU) allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield defined as follows: when the recommended physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) bandwidth exceeds 20 MHz, the resource unit (RU) allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield includes only an RU allocation; when the recommended PPDU bandwidth is equal to 20 MHz, the resource unit (RU) allocation / (partial RU allocation, SU / MU-MIMO indication) subfield includes a partial RU allocation and the SU / MU-MIMO indication; The method according to claim 1.

3. The control information includes a self-modulation and coding scheme feedback (MFB) subfield, a bandwidth subfield indicating a recommended physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) bandwidth, and a modulation and coding scheme requirement sequence identifier (MSI) / (PPDU format, coding type) subfield defined as follows: when the self MFB subfield is 0, MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) includes MSI; when the self MFB subfield is 1, the MSI / (PPDU format, coding type) includes a PPDU format and a coding type; ​ ​ The method according to claim 1.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first value is 2.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising, in the case where the MAC frame is a frame of the EHT protocol, the step of communicating, in the physical layer, an indication that the MAC frame is a frame of the EHT protocol.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the HT control subfield includes a high efficiency (HE) variant HT control field, the HE variant HT control field includes an A control subfield, and the A control subfield includes the control ID and the control information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of communicating includes at least one of a step of transmitting or a step of receiving.

8. An access point comprising a processor and a memory, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A non-access point (AP) station comprising a processor and a memory, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions which, when executed, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 to be executed.

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