Communication device, information processing device, and control method and program thereof

Abstract

To prevent a situation where a communication device receives a wireless frame conforming to the standard not designed for the communication device, and unnecessarily continues to read the wireless frame.SOLUTION: A communication device has generation means that generates a physical layer (PHY) frame including a preamble, and transmission means that transmits the PHY frame. The preamble includes a first Signal Field, a Short Training Field (STF), and a Long Training Field (LTF). The first Signal Field is arranged before the STF, and includes a field indicating the version of the PHY frame. The field consists of 3 bits, and when 0 is set using the 3 bits in the field, Extremely High Throughput (EHT) is indicated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to communication control technology in a wireless LAN.

Background Art

[0002] As a communication standard for a wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network), the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard is known. In the IEEE 802.11ax standard, which is the latest standard in the IEEE 802.11 standard series, by using OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), in addition to high peak throughput, improvement in communication speed under congested conditions is achieved (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Currently, for further throughput improvement, a Study Group called IEEE 802.11EHT (Extremely High Throughput) has been formed as a successor standard to IEEE 802.11ax.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] As has been the case with the formulation of numerous standards so far, it is assumed that new standards will also appear in the future. On the other hand, a communication device compliant only with an old-generation standard has to keep reading frames until it becomes clear that a wireless frame conforming to the new standard is a wireless frame of a standard with which the device is not compliant, resulting in increased power consumption.

[0006] The present invention provides a technique for preventing a communication device from unnecessarily continuing to read a wireless frame when it receives a wireless frame compliant with a non - supported standard.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A communication device according to one aspect of the present invention includes generation means for generating a physical layer (PHY) frame including a preamble, and transmission means for transmitting the PHY frame, wherein the preamble includes a first Signal Field, a Short Training Field (STF), and a Long Training Field (LTF), the first Signal Field is arranged before the STF and includes a field indicating the version of the PHY frame, the field is composed of 3 bits, and when 1 is set in the field, Extremely High Throughput (EHT) A specific successor version is indicated.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a communication device from unnecessarily continuing to read a wireless frame when it receives a wireless frame compliant with a non - supported standard.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out 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 invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0011] (Network Configuration) Fig. 1 shows a configuration example of the wireless communication network according to this embodiment. This wireless communication network is configured to include one access point (AP) and three stations (STA). Note that AP102 and STA103 comply with IEEE802.11EHT (Extremely High Throughput) and are configured to be able to perform wireless communication compliant with the standards formulated before the IEEE802.11EHT standard. Also, STA104 is assumed to be a STA that corresponds to the IEEE802.11ax standard but does not correspond to IEEE802.11EHT. Furthermore, STA105 is assumed to be a STA that complies with the communication standard after IEEE802.11EHT. Note that the name "IEEE802.11EHT" is provided for convenience and may be another name when the standard is finalized. However, this specification and the appended claims are intended to cover all standards that can support the following processes. Hereinafter, when not referring to a specific device, etc., the access point may be called "AP" and the station (terminal) may be called "STA" without reference numbers. Note that Fig. 1 shows a wireless communication network including one AP and three STAs as an example, but the number of these communication devices may be more or less than that shown. In one example, when communication is performed between STAs, the AP may not be present. In Fig. 1, the communicable range of the network formed by AP102 is indicated by circle 101. Note that this communicable range may cover a wider range or only a narrower range. Note that EHT may be understood as the initials of Extreme High Throughput.

[0012] (Configuration of the device) Fig. 2 shows a hardware configuration example of the communication devices (AP and STA). As an example of its hardware configuration, the communication device has a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a functional unit 203, an input unit 204, an output unit 205, a communication unit 206, and an antenna 207.

[0013] The storage unit 201 is composed of both a ROM and a RAM, or either one of them, and stores programs for performing various operations described later, as well as various types of information such as communication parameters for wireless communication. Note that, as the storage unit 201, in addition to memories such as ROM and RAM, storage media such as flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and DVDs may be used.

[0014] The control unit 202 is composed of, 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 the acronym for Central Processing Unit, and MPU is the acronym for Micro Processing Unit. The control unit 202 controls the entire device by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 201. Note that the control unit 202 may control the entire device in cooperation with the programs stored in the storage unit 201 and the OS (Operating System).

[0015] Also, the control unit 202 controls the functional unit 203 to execute predetermined processes such as imaging, printing, and projection. The functional unit 203 is the hardware for the device to execute predetermined processes. For example, when the device is a camera, the functional unit 203 is an imaging unit and performs imaging processing. Also, for example, when the device is a printer, the functional unit 203 is a printing unit and performs printing processing. Also, for example, when the device is a projector, the functional unit 203 is a projection unit and performs projection processing. The data processed by the functional unit 203 may be data stored in the storage unit 201, or may be data communicated with other APs or STAs via the communication unit 206 described later.

[0016] The input unit 204 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 205 performs various outputs to the user. Here, the output by the output unit 205 includes, for example, at least one of display on the screen, audio output by the speaker, vibration output, etc. Note that both the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be realized by one module such as a touch panel.

[0017] The communication unit 206 controls wireless communication compliant with the IEEE802.11 standard series and controls IP communication. The communication unit 206 is a so-called wireless chip and may itself be provided with one or more processors and memories. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 206 can execute at least processing compliant with the IEEE802.11ax standard. Further, the communication unit 206 controls the antenna 207 to transmit and receive wireless signals for wireless communication. The device communicates contents such as image data, document data, video data, etc. with other communication devices via the communication unit 206. The antenna 207 is an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving at least any one of, for example, the sub-GHz band, 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band. Note that the frequency band (and its combination) supported by the antenna 207 is not particularly limited. The antenna 207 may be a single antenna or a set of two or more antennas for performing MIMO (Multi-Input and Multi-Output) transmission and reception. Also, in FIG. 2, a single antenna 207 is shown, but it may include two or more (two sets or more) antennas each capable of corresponding to different frequency bands, for example.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows a functional configuration example of a communication device (AP and STA). As an example, the communication device has a wireless LAN control unit 301, a frame analysis unit 302, a frame generation unit 303, a UI control unit 304, a storage unit 305, and an antenna 306.

[0019] The wireless LAN control unit 301 includes a circuit for transmitting and receiving wireless signals using the antenna 306 and programs for controlling them, between it and other wireless LAN devices (for example, other APs or STAs). The wireless LAN control unit 301 executes communication control of the wireless LAN, such as transmitting the frame generated by the frame generation unit 303 and receiving wireless frames from other wireless LAN devices, in accordance with the IEEE802.11 standard series. The frame analysis unit 302 analyzes the wireless frame received via the wireless LAN control unit 301. This analysis is performed by reading from the head of the wireless frame. Note that, as will be described later, the frame analysis unit 302 can operate to discard wireless frames regarding standards (versions) that the communication device does not comply with, by analyzing the physical layer (PHY) preamble of the wireless frame. Thereby, the communication device can interrupt the analysis of wireless frames of types that it does not comply with at an early stage, and thus can reduce power consumption. The frame generation unit 303 generates a wireless frame including data to be transmitted to, for example, other APs or STAs. The frame generation unit 303 generates a wireless frame compliant with a standard that enables communication between the own device and the partner device, in accordance with the standard that the own device complies with, and in some cases, in accordance with the standard that the partner device of the communication complies with. For example, when the communication device complies with IEEE802.11EHT and the partner device complies with IEEE802.11ax, a wireless frame compliant with IEEE802.11ax is generated and transmitted and received. The UI control unit 304 includes hardware related to a user interface (UI) such as a touch panel or buttons for receiving operations on the communication device by a user (not shown) of the communication device and programs for controlling them. Note that the UI control unit 304 also has a function for presenting information to the user, such as display of an image or the like, or audio output. The storage unit 305 includes a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) for storing programs and various data executed by the communication device.

[0020] (Flow of processing) Next, the flow of processing executed by the communication device as described above will be explained. FIG. 4 shows an example of the flow of processing executed by a communication device (AP and STA) compliant with IEEE802.11EHT according to the present embodiment. First, the communication device determines an operating frequency band (S401). This determination of the operating frequency band is performed by the AP. That is, when the communication device is an AP, the operating frequency band is determined by a user operation or the like of the communication device, and when the communication device is an STA, it is determined to operate in the operating frequency band determined by the destination AP. Note that the operating frequency band can be, for example, any of the frequency bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, but if there are other available frequency bands, that frequency band may also be used. In the following, it is assumed that a frequency band of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz that can also be used by communication devices compliant with old-generation communication standards is used.

[0021] After that, when the communication device transmits a wireless frame, it determines the standard to which the wireless frame should conform. In this processing example, it is assumed that the communication device determines whether the standard is IEEE802.11EHT (S402). The communication device determines the communication standard to be used based on, for example, the standard to which the own device conforms and the standard to which the partner device conforms. For example, when both the communication device and the partner device conform to IEEE802.11EHT, the communication device determines to use IEEE802.11EHT. Also, when one of the communication device and the partner device conforms to a successor standard of IEEE802.11EHT and the other conforms to IEEE802.11EHT but not to its successor standard, the communication device determines to use IEEE802.11EHT. Also, when one of the communication device and the partner device conforms to IEEE802.11EHT but the other conforms only to an old-generation standard, the communication device determines to use that old-generation standard. For example, in the communication between AP102 and STA103, since both conform to IEEE802.11EHT, it is determined to use IEEE802.11EHT. Also, for the communication between AP102 and STA104, since AP102 conforms to IEEE802.11EHT but STA104 conforms only to IEEE802.11ax, it is determined to use IEEE802.11ax. Also, for the communication between AP102 and STA105, since STA105 conforms to a successor standard of IEEE802.11EHT but AP102 does not conform to its successor standard, it is determined to use IEEE802.11EHT. Here, the "successor standard" includes, for example, Wave2 of IEEE802.11EHT. That is, in this embodiment, even a version difference of IEEE802.11EHT with further improvements after the IEEE802.11EHT standard for using the wireless frame discussed below is formulated is treated as a successor standard.

[0022] When the communication device determines to use IEEE802.11EHT (YES in S402), it sets a field indicating the type of standard (e.g., the Version subfield described later) in the wireless frame and sets a value indicating EHT in that field (S403). Note that when the communication device determines to use a standard after IEEE802.11EHT, it can prepare a field indicating the type of standard and set a value indicating the standard to be used in that field. In this case, in S402, the communication device determines whether a standard after IEEE802.11EHT is used, and if a standard after IEEE802.11EHT is used, it can set an appropriate value in the field indicating the type of standard. Then, the communication device generates a wireless frame (PPDU) including such a field indicating the type of standard. Note that PPDU is an acronym for Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit. On the other hand, when the communication device determines to use an older generation standard (legacy standard) before IEEE802.11EHT (NO in S402), it generates a wireless frame (PPDU) according to that older generation standard. Then, the communication device transmits the generated wireless frame (S404). Note that the transmission of the wireless frame here also includes the transmission of a Beacon. That is, when the communication device is an AP, etc., the communication device generates and transmits a Beacon according to the communication standard to which the device conforms. Note that if the communication device only receives a wireless frame from the other device without transmitting a wireless frame itself, the processing of S402 to S404 may be omitted.

[0023] Next, the processing at the time of signal reception will be described. The communication device receives a wireless frame from the counterpart device (S405). Here, the counterpart device refers to the device that directly performs wireless communication. For example, when the communication device is a STA, the counterpart device is the connected AP, and when the communication device is an AP, the counterpart device is the STA connected to the own device. The communication device determines whether the received wireless frame is a wireless frame of a legacy standard (S406). Here, the legacy standard refers to the IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ax standards. When the communication device determines that it has received a wireless frame of a legacy standard (YES in S406), it reads all of that wireless frame (S407). On the other hand, when the communication device determines that it has received a wireless frame of a standard after the IEEE802.11ax standard, that is, a wireless frame of a standard after IEEE802.11EHT (NO in S406), it reads the field indicating the type of the above-mentioned standard (S408). Then, the communication device determines whether the own device corresponds to the type of standard indicated by the value set in the read field (whether it is possible to operate in accordance with that standard) (S409). For example, a communication device compliant with IEEE802.11EHT determines whether the value set in the field corresponds to IEEE802.11EHT. When the communication device corresponds to the type of standard of the wireless frame (YES in S409), it continues to analyze the wireless frame and reads all of the wireless frame (S410). When the communication device finishes reading the wireless frame, it continues to analyze the data stored in the data field as a frame of the MAC (Media Access Control) layer. On the other hand, when the communication device does not correspond to the type of standard of the wireless frame (NO in S409), it discards that wireless frame without analyzing the subsequent wireless frames (S411). This prevents the communication device from continuously and unnecessarily reading wireless frames of non-corresponding standards, and can prevent waste of the power consumption of the communication device. Note that when the communication device only transmits wireless frames and does not receive wireless frames, the processing after S405 may be omitted.

[0024] In FIG. 4, as an example, the AP generates and transmits a Beacon frame including information indicating the standard to which the own device conforms. Then, the STA transmits a Probe Request frame based on the Beacon frame. Then, the AP determines whether the Probe Request frame is a legacy frame or, if it is not a legacy frame, whether it is generated according to the standard supported by the own device. The AP performs analysis at the MAC layer when the Probe Request frame is a legacy frame or a frame generated according to the standard supported by the own device. Through this analysis at the MAC layer, the AP recognizes that this frame is a Probe Request frame and can transmit a Probe Response frame. On the other hand, when the Probe Request frame is generated according to a standard not supported by the own device, the AP discards the frame. Note that since the AP discards the frame without performing analysis at the MAC layer, it does not recognize that this frame is a Probe Request frame. Therefore, the AP does not transmit a Probe Response frame. In this way, the communication device may execute the signal transmission processing of S402 to S404 and the signal reception processing of S405 to S411 at different communication opportunities, or may execute these processes as a series of processes in one communication opportunity.

[0025] Here, configuration examples of wireless frames compliant with IEEE802.11EHT are shown in FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG. 5 shows an example of an EHT SU (Single User) PPDU for single-user communication, and FIG. 6 shows an example of an EHT MU (Multi User) PPDU for multi-user communication. FIG. 7 shows an example of an EHT ER (Extended Range) PPDU for long-distance transmission, and FIG. 8 shows an example of an EHT TB (Trigger Based) PPDU transmitted from the STA as a response to a trigger frame transmitted from the AP. The EHT ER PPDU is used when the communication range needs to be extended in communication between the AP and a single STA.

[0026] The PPDU includes fields such as STF (Short Training Field), LTF (Long Training Field), and SIG (Signal Field). As shown in Figure 5, the PPDU header has L (Legacy)-STF501, L-LTF502, and L-SIG503 to ensure backward compatibility with the IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ax standards. In the frame formats of Figures 6 to 8, L-STF (L-STF601, 701, 801), L-LTF (L-LTF602, 702, 802), and L-SIG (L-SIG603, 703, 803) are also included. Note that L-LTF is arranged immediately after L-STF, and L-SIG is arranged immediately after L-LTF. In the configurations of Figures 6 to 8, further, RL-SIG (Repeated L-SIG, RL-SIG504, 604, 704, 804) arranged immediately after L-SIG is included. In the RL-SIG field, the content of L-SIG is repeatedly transmitted. RL-SIG enables the receiver to recognize that the PPDU complies with standards after the IEEE802.11ax standard, and may be omitted in IEEE802.11EHT in some cases. Also, instead of RL-SIG, a field may be provided to enable the receiver to recognize that the PPDU is an IEEE802.11EHT PPDU.

[0027] L-STF is used for detecting PHY frame signals, automatic gain control (AGC), timing detection, etc. L-LTF is used for high-precision synchronization of frequency and time, obtaining propagation channel information (CSI: channel state information), etc. L-SIG is used to transmit control information including data transmission rate and PHY frame length information. Legacy devices compliant with the IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ax standards can decode the above various legacy fields.

[0028] Each PPDU further includes an EHT-SIG (EHT-SIG-A505, 605, 705, 805, and EHT-SIG-B606) for transmitting control information for EHT, which is arranged immediately after the RL-SIG. Each PPDU also has an EHT-STF (EHT-STF506, 607, 706, 806) and an EHT-LTF (EHT-LTF507, 608, 707, 807) for EHT. In each PPDU, after these control fields, there are data fields 508, 609, 708, 808 and Packet extention fields 509, 610, 709, 809. The fields from the L-STF to the EHT-LTF of each PPDU are called the PHY preamble. Note that each field of the PPDU does not necessarily have to be arranged in the order shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, and may include new fields not shown in FIGS. 5 to 8.

[0029] Note that FIGS. 5 to 8 show, as an example, a PPDU that can ensure backward compatibility. However, when backward compatibility does not need to be ensured, for example, legacy fields may be omitted. In this case, for example, EHT-STF or EHT-LTF may be used instead of L-STF and L-LTF for synchronization establishment. And in this case, one of the EHT-STF or a plurality of EHT-LTFs after the EHT-SIG field may be omitted.

[0030] The EHT-SIG-A505 and 705 included in the EHT SU PPDU and the EHT ER PPDU contain the EHT-SIG-A1 and EHT-SIG-A2 required for receiving the PPDU, as shown in Table 1 and Table 2 below. Also, the EHT-SIG-A605 of the EHT MU PPDU in Figure 6 contains the EHT-SIG-A1 and EHT-SIG-A2 required for receiving the PPDU, as shown in Table 3 and Table 4 below. Furthermore, the EHT-SIG-A805 of the EHT TB PPDU in Figure 8 contains the EHT-SIG-A1 and EHT-SIG-A2 required for receiving the PPDU, as shown in Table 5 and Table 6 below. In this embodiment, in any frame configuration, the "Version" subfield indicating according to which standard the wireless frame is generated is included in the first 3 bits of the EHT-SIG-A1.

[0031]

Table 1

[0032]

Table 2

[0033]

Table 3

[0034]

Table 4

[0035]

Table 5

[0036]

Table 6

[0037] And, for example, when a wireless frame is generated according to the IEEE802.11EHT standard, 0 is stored in this "Version" subfield. Also, when a wireless frame is generated according to a successor standard immediately after the IEEE802.11EHT standard or a successor version standard after a change has been made, 1 is stored in this "Version" subfield. Similarly, each time the type of standard increases, different values such as 2, 3, …, 7 are defined as the values set in the Version subfield corresponding to each standard. As in Tables 1 to 6 described above, by using a predetermined number of bits at the beginning of EHT-SIG-A as the Version subfield, a communication device can early determine whether its own device supports the standard to which the wireless frame conforms. As a result, the communication device can early terminate the reading (decoding process) of a wireless frame generated according to a standard that its own device does not support, and can suppress the power consumption related to the reading of the wireless frame.

[0038] Note that in the examples of Tables 1 to 6, the Version subfield is defined as a 3-bit field, but it is not limited to this. For example, a field of 4 bits or more or 2 bits or less may be provided as the Version subfield. Also, the information of this Version may be notified at a position other than the 0th to 2nd bits of the EHT-SIG-A1 field. Also, in the examples of Tables 1 to 6, an example of providing a Version subfield in EHT-SIG-A1 is shown, but this subfield may be provided in another location. For example, an additional signal field may be provided before the above-mentioned EHT-SIG-A (for example, immediately after the L-LTF field or the L-SIG field), and the new Version subfield may be included in that field. In one example, the new field may be placed before the RL-SIG field. Thereby, it becomes possible to discriminate the type of frame standard at an earlier stage, and it becomes unnecessary to analyze the subsequent frames. Accordingly, the calculation time and power consumption required to analyze the frames can be suppressed.

[0039] In the above description, the wireless frame of IEEE802.11EHT has been described. However, in the successor standards after IEEE802.11EHT, the same configuration can be adopted. That is, for example, a configuration in which a predetermined number of bits at the corresponding position of the field corresponding to the above-mentioned EHT-SIG-A stores information indicating the type (version) of the standard can also be adopted in the wireless frame corresponding to the new communication standard. Similarly, a configuration in which a new field for setting information indicating the type of the standard is provided after L-SIG (or RL-SIG) may be adopted in the wireless frame corresponding to the new communication standard. Thereby, when the communication device receives a wireless frame, after proceeding with the decoding of the wireless frame up to the information indicating the type of the standard, based on the fact that the wireless frame is generated by a standard that the own device does not support, the communication device can discard the wireless frame. In addition to the communication devices AP102 and STA103 to 105, the present invention can also be implemented by an information processing device (for example, a wireless chip) that generates the above-mentioned PHY preamble.

[0040] <<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 (for example, an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0041] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0042] 102: AP, 103 to 105: STA, 301: Wireless LAN control unit, 302: Frame analysis unit, 303: Frame generation unit, 304: UI control unit, 305: Storage unit

Claims

1. Generating means for generating a physical layer (PHY) frame including a preamble, Transmitting means for transmitting the PHY frame, The preamble includes a first Signal Field, a Short Training Field (STF), and a Long Training Field (LTF), The first Signal Field is arranged before the STF and includes a field indicating the version of the PHY frame, The field is composed of 3 bits, and when 1 is set in the field using the 3 bits, a specific version succeeding Extremely High Throughput (EHT) is indicated. A communication device characterized by this.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the STF is a field different from the Legacy Short Training Field (L-STF).

3. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the STF is an Extremely High Throughput Short Training Field (EHT-STF).

4. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication device has at least one antenna, and the frame is transmitted or received via the at least one antenna.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first 3 bits at the head of the first Signal field are assigned to the field.

6. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first Signal field further has a bandwidth field indicating the bandwidth and an MCS field indicating the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS).

7. The communication device according to claim 6, characterized in that the bandwidth field and the MCS field are located after the field indicating the version.

8. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication device is a station device that communicates with an access point.

9. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication device is an access point device.

10. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein when 1 is set in the field by using the 3 bits, the version of the successor standard immediately after EHT is indicated.

11. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the communication device supports EHT and does not support a successor version of EHT, a PHY frame with 0 set in the field is transmitted.

12. further comprising decoding means for decoding a radio frame that decodes the PHY frame, when the value indicating the version is a value indicating EHT, at least one field that constitutes the PHY frame and is received after the first Signal Field is decoded, and when the value indicating the version is not a value indicating EHT, at least one field that constitutes the PHY frame and is received after the first Signal Field is not decoded. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

13. receiving means for receiving a physical layer (PHY) frame including a preamble, having decoding means for decoding the PHY frame, the preamble includes a first Signal Field, a Short Training Field (STF), and a Long Training Field (LTF), the first Signal Field is arranged in front of the STF and includes a field indicating the version of the PHY frame, the field is composed of 3 bits, and when 1 is set in the field by using the 3 bits, a specific version of the successor of Extremely High Throughput (EHT) is indicated. A communication device characterized by this.

14. The communication device according to claim 13, wherein the STF is a field different from the Legacy Short Training Field (EHT-STF).

15. The communication device according to claim 13, wherein the STF is an Extremely High Throughput Short Training Field (EHT-STF).

16. a generating step of generating a physical layer (PHY) frame including a preamble, having a transmitting step of transmitting the PHY frame, The preamble includes a first Signal Field, a Short Training Field (STF), and a Long Training Field (LTF). The first Signal Field is arranged before the STF and includes a field indicating the version of the PHY frame. The field is composed of 3 bits. When 1 is set in the field using the 3 bits, a specific version subsequent to Extremely High Throughput (EHT) is indicated. A communication method characterized by this is provided.

17. A receiving step of receiving a physical layer (PHY) frame including a preamble, A decoding step of decoding the PHY frame, The preamble includes a first Signal Field, a Short Training Field (STF), and a Long Training Field (LTF). The first Signal Field is arranged before the STF and includes a field indicating the version of the PHY frame. The field is composed of 3 bits. When 1 is set in the field using the 3 bits, a specific version subsequent to Extremely High Throughput (EHT) is indicated. A communication method characterized by this is provided.

18. A program for operating a computer as the communication device according to any one of Claims 1 to 12.

19. A program for operating a computer as the communication device according to any one of Claims 13 to 15.

Images