Resource Unit (RU) Downsizing

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, device, and system for requesting a trigger-based (TB) physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU). Some implementations relate more specifically to a trigger frame and PPDU design that supports RU downsizing. For example, an access point (AP) may transmit a trigger frame to a wireless station (STA) requesting a TB PPDU. In some aspects, the trigger frame may carry RU allocation information indicating an allocated RU or MRU (associated with a wireless medium) and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the RU or MRU is permitted. If interference is detected in a portion of the wireless medium and downsizing is permitted, the STA may transmit the TB PPDU in a downsized RU or MRU. The downsized RU or MRU includes a subset of tones in the RU or MRU allocated by the trigger frame.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to Related Applications This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 233,242, entitled "RESOURCE UNIT (RU) DOWNSIZING", filed on April 16, 2021, which is assigned to the assignee of this patent application. The disclosure of all prior applications is considered part of this patent application and is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to the downsizing of resource units (RUs) used in wireless communication.

Background Art

[0003] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more access points (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for use by several client devices, also called stations (STAs). The basic building block of a WLAN compliant with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard group is a basic service set (BSS) managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified by a basic service set identifier (BSSID) notified by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STA within the wireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0004] Existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard support trigger-based uplink communication. In particular, the IEEE 802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard defines a trigger frame format that can be used to request one or more STAs to transmit a trigger-based (TB) physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) data unit (PPDU). The trigger frame allocates resources to one or more STAs for the transmission of the TB PPDU and indicates how the TB PPDU should be configured for transmission. For example, the trigger frame may indicate the resource units (RUs) allocated for transmission in the TB PPDU. The RUs represent a set of tones or subcarriers across the wireless channel to which the TB PPDU should be transmitted. However, the TB PPDU cannot be transmitted according to existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard if any portion of the wireless channel is busy or otherwise unavailable.

[0005] For example, new WLAN communication protocols are being developed to enable enhanced WLAN communication capabilities, such as increased bandwidth and support for the allocation of multiple resource units (MRUs). As a result, trigger frames can allocate larger RUs (or MRUs) to TB PPDUs. Increasing the bandwidth of a wireless channel also increases the possibility of interference in any portion of the wireless channel. Therefore, new trigger frame and PPDU formats are needed to provide greater flexibility in media utilization. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Each of the systems, methods, and devices disclosed herein has several innovative aspects, and none of them alone represent all of the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0007] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein may be implemented as a method of wireless communication. The method can be performed by a wireless communication device and may include the steps of: receiving a trigger frame requesting a trigger-based (TB) physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) from the wireless communication device, wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating a plurality of tones allocated to the TB PPDU and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, wherein the plurality of tones represent a first RU or first plurality of resource units (MRUs) associated with a wireless medium; determining that one or more of the plurality of tones are unavailable, wherein one or more unavailable tones are associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists; and selectively transmitting the TB PPDU on a subset of the plurality of tones based on the downsizing information, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU smaller than the first RU or first MRU. In some embodiments, downsizing information may be indicated by the value of the downsizing bit in the user information field. In some other embodiments, RU allocation information and downsizing information are indicated together by the value of the RU allocation subfield in the user information field.

[0008] In some implementations, the method further includes receiving RU assurance information indicating one or more tones from a plurality of tones guaranteed to be associated with a TB PPDU, and excluding one or more unavailable tones and selecting a subset of tones to include at least one or more assured tones. In some embodiments, the RU assurance information may be carried in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, where the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the trigger frame. In some other embodiments, the RU assurance information may be carried in a special user information field in the trigger frame, where the special user information field is identified by an association identifier (AID) value not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RU assurance information may be carried in a management frame received prior to the trigger frame.

[0009] In some implementations, RU assurance information may include a bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of a wireless channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 20MHz subchannel of each 80MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 40MHz subchannel of each 160MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. Furthermore, in some implementations, RU assurance information may be mapped to one of several entries in a lookup table (LUT), where each entry in the LUT indicates each combination of one or more subchannels of a wireless channel associated with one or more guaranteed tones.

[0010] In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a physical layer preamble having a universal signaling field (U-SIG) that carries downsized signaling information representing a subset of tones. In some embodiments, the downsized signaling information may be mapped to one of several entries in the LUT, with each entry in the LUT representing a respective RU or MRU. In some other embodiments, the downsized signaling information may represent the remaining tones of several tones not included in the subset, with the remaining tones representing a third RU or third MRU.

[0011] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein may be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may include at least one modem, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor for storing processor-readable code. In some implementations, the execution of processor-readable code by at least one processor causes a wireless communication device to perform an operation that includes receiving a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU from the wireless communication device, the trigger frame containing a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating a plurality of tones assigned to the TB PPDU, and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, the plurality of tones representing a first RU or first MRU associated with the wireless medium, the determination that one or more of the plurality of tones are unavailable, the determination that one or more unavailable tones are associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists, and, based on the downsizing information, selectively transmitting the TB PPDU on a subset of the plurality of tones, the subset of tones representing a second RU or second MRU smaller than the first RU or first MRU.

[0012] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein may be implemented as a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a wireless communication device and may include the steps of transmitting a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU, wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating a plurality of tones allocated to the TB PPDU and downsizing information indicating that downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, wherein the plurality of tones represent a first RU or a first MRU, and receiving a TB PPDU on a subset of tones among the plurality of tones responding to the trigger frame, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or a second MRU smaller than the first RU or a first MRU. In some embodiments, the downsizing information may be indicated by the value of a downsizing bit in the user information field. In some other embodiments, the RU allocation information and downsizing information are indicated together by the value of the RU allocation subfield of the user information field.

[0013] In some implementations, the method includes the step of transmitting RU allocation information indicating one or more tones from a plurality of tones guaranteed to be associated with a TB PPDU, further comprising the step of transmitting a subset of tones which includes at least one or more guaranteed tones. In some embodiments, the RU guarantee information may be carried in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, where the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the trigger frame. In some other embodiments, the RU guarantee information may be carried in a special user information field of the trigger frame, where the special user information field is identified by an AID value that is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the wireless communication device. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RU guarantee information may be carried in a management frame transmitted prior to the trigger frame.

[0014] In some implementations, the RU assurance information may include a bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of a wireless channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, the RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 20MHz subchannel of each 80MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, the RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 40MHz subchannel of each 160MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. Furthermore, in some implementations, the RU assurance information may be mapped to one of several entries in a LUT, where each entry in the LUT indicates each combination of one or more subchannels of a wireless channel associated with one or more guaranteed tones.

[0015] In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a physical layer preamble with a U-SIG carrying downsized signaling information representing a subset of tones. In some embodiments, the downsized signaling information may be mapped to one of several entries in the LUT, with each entry in the LUT representing a respective RU or MRU. In some other embodiments, the downsized signaling information may represent the remaining tones among several tones not included in the subset, with the remaining tones representing a third RU or third MRU.

[0016] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described herein may be implemented in a wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device may include at least one modem, at least one processor commutably coupled to the at least one modem, and at least one memory commutably coupled to the at least one processor for storing processor-readable code. In some implementations, the execution of the processor-readable code by the at least one processor causes the wireless communication device to perform an operation which includes transmitting a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU, the trigger frame including a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating a plurality of tones allocated to the TB PPDU and downsizing information indicating that downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, and the plurality of tones representing a first RU or first MRU, and receiving a TB PPDU on a subset of tones among the plurality of tones responding to the trigger frame, the subset of tones representing a second RU or second MRU smaller than the first RU or first MRU.

[0017] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described herein are given in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, embodiments, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. Note that the relative dimensions in the following figures may not be drawn to a constant scale. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network. [Figure 2A] This figure shows an exemplary protocol data unit (PDU) that can be used for communication between an access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations (STAs). [Figure 2B] This figure shows an example field within the PDU in Figure 2A. [Figure 3]A diagram showing an exemplary Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) that can be used for communication between an AP and one or more STAs. [Figure 4] A block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device. [Figure 5A] A block diagram of an exemplary AP. [Figure 5B] A block diagram of an exemplary STA. [Figure 6] A diagram showing an exemplary trigger frame that can be used for communication between an AP and some STAs according to some implementations. [Figure 7] A diagram showing an exemplary user information field of a trigger frame formatted according to an existing trigger frame format. [Figure 8] A frequency diagram showing an exemplary resource allocation of a wireless channel according to some implementations. [Figure 9] A frequency diagram showing an exemplary resource allocation of a wireless channel including guaranteed subchannels according to some implementations. [Figure 10] A diagram showing another exemplary trigger frame that can be used for communication between an AP and some STAs according to some implementations. [Figure 11] A diagram showing a common information field of a trigger frame formatted according to an existing trigger frame format. [Figure 12] A diagram showing another exemplary trigger frame that can be used for communication between an AP and some STAs according to some implementations. [Figure 13] A diagram showing a special user information field of a trigger frame formatted according to an existing trigger frame format. [Figure 14] A diagram showing an exemplary trigger-based (TB) PPDU that can be used for communication between a STA and an AP according to some implementations. [Figure 15]This figure shows the Universal Signal Field (U-SIG) of a PPDU formatted according to an existing PPDU format. [Figure 16] This is a sequence diagram illustrating an exemplary message exchange between an AP and a STA in a wireless network. [Figure 17] This flowchart shows an exemplary process for wireless communications that supports resource unit (RU) downsizing through several implementation configurations. [Figure 18] This flowchart illustrates an exemplary process for wireless communications that supports RU downsizing through several implementation configurations. [Figure 19] This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication device in several implementation configurations. [Figure 20] This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication device in several implementation configurations. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0019] Similar reference numbers and names in various drawings refer to the same elements.

[0020] The following description covers several implementations for the purpose of illustrating innovative aspects of the disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in numerous different ways. The implementations described may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with, among other things, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth® standard as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or one or more of the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G, or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards published by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). The described implementations may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), quadrature FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), single-user (SU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), and multi-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations may also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals suitable for use in one or more of the following: wireless personal area networks (WPAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless wide area networks (WWAN), or internet of things (IOT) networks.

[0021] Various embodiments relate to trigger-based communications supporting new wireless communication protocols, and more specifically to trigger frames and Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) designs that support resource unit (RU) downsizing. As used herein, the term “RU downsizing” refers to the transmission of a TB PPDU over RUs or multiple RUs (MRUs) that are smaller than the RU or MRU initially allocated in the TB PPDU. For example, an access point (AP) may transmit a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU from a wireless station (STA). In some embodiments, the trigger frame may carry RU allocation information indicating the allocated RU or MRU (associated with the wireless medium) and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the RU or MRU is permitted. If interference is detected in a portion of the wireless medium (e.g., the medium is busy) and downsizing is permitted, the STA may transmit the TB PPDU in a tone (or “subcarrier”) spanning the downsized RU or MRU. A downsized RU or MRU includes a subset of tones within the RU or MRU allocated by the trigger frame. In some embodiments, the downsized RU or MRU may be required to include one or more guaranteed tones. The guaranteed tones span a portion of the wireless medium where the AP expects to receive signaling for the TB PPDU, such as in the physical layer (PHY) preamble. Thus, in some embodiments, the STA may provide signaling for the downsized RU or MRU in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU.

[0022] Certain implementations of the subject matter described herein may be carried out to achieve one or more of the following potential benefits: RU downsizing provides greater flexibility in medium utilization for trigger-based communications. By enabling the STA to transmit a TB PPDU over a subset of tones allocated by the trigger frame, aspects of the disclosure may support increased network throughput achievable according to the IEEE 802.11be amendment and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, if only a portion of the wireless medium is busy or unavailable, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU over tones spanning a downsized RU or MRU that avoids the busy portion. As a result, the TB PPDU can adapt to the state of the wireless medium. By requiring the downsized RU or MRU to contain one or more guaranteed tones, aspects of the disclosure may ensure that an AP can detect the TB PPDU and recover the information carried therein. For example, the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU, in its entirety, can be decoded from the guaranteed tones. Therefore, by signaling downsized RUs or MRUs in the PHY preamble, aspects of the present disclosure may ensure that the AP can identify downsized RUs or MRUs in the TB PPDU by observing only guaranteed tones.

[0023] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication network 100. In some embodiments, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network (hereinafter referred to as WLAN100). For example, WLAN100 may be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards (including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be, as defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments). WLAN100 may include a number of wireless communication devices, such as access points (APs) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. Although only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 may also include multiple APs 102.

[0024] Each of the STA104 may also be called a mobile station (MS), mobile device, mobile handset, wireless handset, access terminal (AT), user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), or subscriber unit, among other possible examples. The STA104 may represent a variety of devices, among other possible examples, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptops, display devices (e.g., in particular TVs, computer monitors, navigation systems), music or other audio or stereo devices, remote control devices ("remote"), printers, kitchen appliances or other household appliances, key fobs (e.g., for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems).

[0025] A single AP102 and an associated set of STA104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS) managed by each AP102. Figure 1 also shows an exemplary coverage area 106 of AP102, which may represent the basic service area (BSA) of WLAN100. The BSS may be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID) and to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be the medium access control (MAC) address of AP102. AP102 periodically broadcasts beacon frames ("beacons") containing the BSSID to enable any STA104 within AP102's wireless range to "associate" or reassociate with AP102 to establish or maintain their respective communication links 108 (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi links"). For example, a beacon may include identification information for the primary channel used by each AP102, as well as a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP102. The AP102 may provide access to the external network to various STA104 within the WLAN via their respective communication links 108.

[0026] AP102 and STA104 can function and communicate (via their respective communication links 108) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards (including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be, as defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments). These standards define the WLAN radio and the baseband protocols for the PHY and Media Access Control (MAC) layers. AP102 and STA104 transmit and receive wireless communication (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communication") between themselves in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs). AP102 and STA104 within WLAN100 may transmit PPDUs over unlicensed spectrum, which may be part of the spectrum including frequency bands conventionally used by Wi-Fi technologies such as the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 60GHz, 3.6GHz, and 700MHz bands. Some implementations of AP102 and STA104 described herein may also communicate over other frequency bands, such as the 6GHz band, which may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. AP102 and STA104 may also be configured to communicate over other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, which may have licenses to operate in one or more frequency bands that are the same or overlapping.

[0027] Access to a shared wireless medium is generally managed by a distributed coordination function (DCF). With a DCF, there is generally no centralized master device allocating the time and frequency resources of the shared wireless medium. Conversely, wireless communication devices such as AP102 or STA104 must wait for a certain period of time before being permitted to transmit data, and then compete for access to the wireless medium. In some implementations, wireless communication devices may be configured to implement DCF by using carrier-sensing multiple access (CSMA) / collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA / CA) techniques and timing intervals. Before transmitting data, a wireless communication device may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine if a suitable wireless channel is idle. CCA includes both physical (PHY-level) carrier sensing and virtual (MAC-level) carrier sensing. Physical carrier sensing is achieved by measuring the received signal strength of a valid frame, which is then compared to a threshold to determine if the channel is busy. For example, if the received signal strength of the detected preamble exceeds the threshold, the medium is considered busy. Physical carrier detection also includes energy detection. Energy detection involves measuring the total energy received by the wireless communication device, regardless of whether the received signal represents a valid frame. If the detected total energy exceeds a threshold, the medium is considered busy. Virtual carrier detection is achieved by using the Network Allocation Vector (NAV), which is an indicator of how much time the medium can next be idle. The NAV is reset whenever a valid frame not addressed to the wireless communication device is received. In effect, the NAV acts as a duration that must elapse before the wireless communication device can compete for access, even if there are no detected symbols or if the detected energy falls below the relevant threshold.

[0028] Some APs and STAs may be configured to implement spatial reuse techniques. For example, APs and STAs configured for communications using IEEE 802.11ax or 802.11be may be configured with BSS colors. APs associated with different BSSs may be associated with different BSS colors. If an AP or STA detects a wireless packet from another wireless communication device while competing for access, the AP or STA may apply different conflict parameters based on whether the wireless packet is being transmitted to another wireless communication device within its BSS or to a wireless communication device from an overlapping BSS (OBSS), as determined by the BSS color indication in the wireless packet's preamble. For example, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP or STA, the AP or STA may use a first Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with a wireless packet differs from the BSS color of the AP or STA, the AP or STA may use a second RSSI detection threshold instead of a first RSSI detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel, and the second RSSI detection threshold is greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the requirements for winning the conflict are relaxed when the interfering transmission is associated with OBSS.

[0029] Figure 2A shows an exemplary protocol data unit (PDU) 200 that can be used for wireless communication between AP102 and one or more STA104. For example, PDU 200 may be configured as a PPDU. As shown, PDU 200 includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, preamble 202 may include a legacy portion that itself contains a legacy short training field (L-STF) 206 which may consist of two BPSK symbols, a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208 which may consist of two BPSK symbols, and a legacy signaling field (L-SIG) 210 which may consist of two BPSK symbols. The legacy portion of preamble 202 may be configured according to the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. The preamble 202 may also include a non-legacy portion containing one or more non-legacy fields 212 that conform to an IEEE wireless communication protocol, such as IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, or later wireless communication protocol standards.

[0030] L-STF206 generally allows the receiving device to perform automatic gain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF208 generally allows the receiving device to perform fine timing and frequency estimation and also allows for initial estimation of the wireless channel. L-SIG210 generally allows the receiving device to determine the duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmitting over the PDU. For example, L-STF206, L-LTF208, and L-SIG210 can be modulated according to a two-phase-shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. Payload 204 can be modulated according to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or another suitable modulation scheme. The payload 204 may include a PSDU containing a data field (DATA) 214, which may carry higher-layer data, for example, in the form of a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) or an Aggregate MPDU (A-MPDU).

[0031] Figure 2B shows an exemplary L-SIG210 within the PDU200 of Figure 2A. The L-SIG210 includes a data rate field 222, reserved bits 224, a length field 226, parity bits 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222 indicates the data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the data rate field 212 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried in the payload 204). The length field 226 indicates the length of the packet, for example, in units of symbols or bytes. The parity bits 228 may be used to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits that may be used by the receiving device to terminate the operation of the decoder (e.g., a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device may use the data rate and length indicated in the data rate field 222 and the length field 226 to determine the time length of the packet, for example, in units of microseconds (μs) or other units of time.

[0032] Figure 3 shows an exemplary PPDU 300 that can be used for communication between AP 102 and one or more STA 104. As described above, each PPDU 300 includes a PHY preamble 302 and a PSDU 304. Each PSDU 304 may represent (or "carry") one or more MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) 316. For example, each PSDU 304 may carry an aggregate MPDU (A-MPDU) 306 that includes an aggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 308. Each A-MPDU frame 306 may include an MPDU frame 310 that includes a MAC delimiter 312 and a MAC header 314 before an accompanying MPDU 316 which contains the data portion ("payload" or "frame body") of the MPDU frame 310. Each MPDU frame 310 may also include a frame check sequence (FCS) field 318 for error detection (for example, the FCS field may include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)) and padding bits 320. An MPDU 316 may carry one or more MAC service data units (MSDUs) 316. For example, an MPDU 316 may carry an aggregate MSDU (A-MSDU) 322 containing multiple A-MSDU subframes 324. Each A-MSDU subframe 324 includes a corresponding MSDU 330, preceded by a subframe header 328 and optionally followed by padding bits 332.

[0033] Referring again to the MPDU frame 310, the MAC delimiter 312 acts as a marker for the start of the associated MPDU 316 and may indicate the length of the associated MPDU 316. The MAC header 314 may include several fields containing information that defines or indicates the characteristics or attributes of the data encapsulated within the frame body 316. The MAC header 314 may include a duration field indicating the duration that continues from the end of the PPDU until the end of the PPDU acknowledgment (ACK) or block ACK (BA) that will be sent by the receiving wireless communication device. The use of the duration field helps reserve the wireless medium for the indicated duration, allowing the receiving device to establish its network allocation vector (NAV). The MAC header 314 also includes one or more fields indicating the address of the data encapsulated within the frame body 316. For example, the MAC header 314 may include a source address, transmitter address, receiver address, or a combination of destination addresses. The MAC header 314 may further include a frame control field containing control information. The frame control field may specify the frame type, for example, a data frame, a control frame, or a management frame.

[0034] Figure 4 shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device 400. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be an example of a device for use in an STA, such as one of the STA104 described with reference to Figure 1. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may be an example of a device for use in an AP, such as AP102 described with reference to Figure 1. The wireless communication device 400 is capable of transmitting (or outputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (for example, in the form of wireless packets). For example, a wireless communication device may be configured to transmit and receive packets in the form of Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) and Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) that comply with IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocol standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or its amendments, including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be.

[0035] The wireless communication device 400 may be a package or device that includes, or can include, a chip, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), a chipset, and one or more modems 402, for example, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modem. In some implementations, one or more modems 402 (collectively, “modem 402”) may also include a WWAN modem (for example, a 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compliant modem). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may also include one or more radios 404 (collectively, “radio 404”). In some implementations, the wireless communication device 406 may further include one or more processors, processing blocks or processing elements 406 (collectively, “processor 406”), and one or more memory blocks or elements 408 (collectively, “memory 408”).

[0036] The modem 402 may include, for example, intelligent hardware blocks or devices such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The modem 402 is generally configured to implement the PHY layer. For example, the modem 402 is configured to modulate packets and output the modulated packets to the radio 404 for transmission over the wireless medium. The modem 402 is similarly configured to take the modulated packets received by the radio 404 and demodulate those packets to provide the demodulated packets. In addition to the modulator and demodulator, the modem 402 may further include digital signal processing (DSP) circuits, automatic gain control (AGC), a coder, a decoder, a multiplexer, and a demultiplexer. For example, during the transmit mode, data taken from the processor 406 is provided to the coder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. The encoded bits are then mapped (using a selected MCS) to points in a modulation constellation to provide modulated symbols. The modulated symbols are then N SS A number of spatial streams or N STS It can be mapped to a number of spatiotemporal streams. Then, each spatial stream or modulated symbol within a spatiotemporal stream can be multiplexed, transformed via an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently provided to a DSP circuit for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signal can then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The resulting analog signal can then be provided to a frequency upconverter and finally to radio 404. In implementations with beamforming, the modulated symbols within each spatial stream are precoded via a steering matrix prior to being provided to the IFFT block.

[0037] During the receive mode, the digital signal received from radio 404 is supplied to a DSP circuit, which is configured to acquire the received signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signal and estimating the initial timing and frequency offset. The DSP circuit is further configured to digitally adjust the digital signal, for example, by using channel (narrowband) filtering, analog fault correction (such as I / Q imbalance correction), and applying digital gain to finally acquire a narrowband signal. The output of the DSP circuit may then be supplied to an AGC, which is configured to use information extracted from the digital signal in one or more received training fields to determine an appropriate gain, for example. The output of the DSP circuit is also coupled to a demodulator, which is configured to extract modulated symbols from the signal and calculate, for example, the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream. The demodulator may then be coupled to a decoder, which is configured to process the LLR and provide the decoded bits. The decoded bits from all of the spatial streams are then supplied to a demultiplexer for demultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits can then be descrambled and provided to the MAC layer (processor 406) for processing, evaluation, or interpretation.

[0038] The radio 404 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter (or “transmitter chain”) and at least one RF receiver (or “receiver chain”), which may be combined with one or more transceivers. For example, the RF transmitter and RF receiver may each include various DSP circuits, each including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least one low-noise amplifier (LNA). The RF transmitter and RF receiver may then be coupled to one or more antennas. For example, in some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 may include, or be coupled with, multiple transmitting antennas (each with a corresponding transmitting chain) and multiple receiving antennas (each with a corresponding receiving chain). Symbols output from the modem 402 are provided to the radio 404, which then transmits the symbols via the coupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received via the antennas are acquired by the radio 404, which then provides the symbols to the modem 402.

[0039] The processor 406 may include intelligent hardware blocks or devices, such as processing cores, processing blocks, central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The processor 406 processes information received through the radio 404 and modem 402, and processes information to be output through the modem 402 and radio 404 for transmission over the wireless medium. For example, the processor 406 may implement a control plane and a MAC layer configured to perform various operations relating to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames, or packets. Among the operations or techniques, the MAC layer may be configured to perform or facilitate frame coding and decoding, spatial multiplexing, spatiotemporal block coding (STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation. In some implementations, the processor 406 may generally control the modem 402 to cause the modem to perform the various operations described above.

[0040] Memory 404 may include tangible storage media such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. Memory 404 may also store non-temporary processor or computer executable software (SW) code, which, when executed by processor 406, causes the processor to perform various operations for wireless communication described herein, including generating, transmitting, receiving, and interpreting MPDUs, frames, or packets. For example, various functions of the components disclosed herein, or various blocks or steps of the methods, operations, processes, or algorithms disclosed herein, may be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs.

[0041] Figure 5A shows a block diagram of an exemplary AP502. For example, AP502 may be an exemplary implementation of AP102 described with reference to Figure 1. AP502 includes a wireless communications device (WCD) 510 (although AP502 itself may be more commonly referred to as the wireless communications device used herein). For example, wireless communications device 510 may be an exemplary implementation of wireless communications device 400 described with reference to Figure 4. AP502 also includes a number of antennas 520 coupled with wireless communications device 510 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. In some implementations, AP502 also includes an application processor 530 coupled with wireless communications device 510, and memory 540 coupled with the application processor 530. AP502 further includes at least one external network interface 550 that enables AP502 to communicate with a core network or backhaul network in order to access an external network, including the Internet. For example, the external network interface 550 may include one or both of a wired (e.g., Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWAN interface). Some of the components described above can communicate directly or indirectly with some of the other components via at least one bus. The AP 502 further includes a wireless communication device 510, an application processor 530, memory 540, and a housing that includes at least some of the antenna 520 and the external network interface 550.

[0042] Figure 5B shows a block diagram of an exemplary STA504. For example, STA504 could be an exemplary implementation of STA104 described with reference to Figure 1. STA504 includes a wireless communication device 515 (although STA504 itself may sometimes be more commonly referred to as the wireless communication device used herein). For example, the wireless communication device 515 could be an exemplary implementation of the wireless communication device 400 described with reference to Figure 4. STA504 also includes one or more antennas 525 coupled with the wireless communication device 515 for transmitting and receiving wireless communications. STA504 further includes an application processor 535 coupled with the wireless communication device 515, and memory 545 coupled with the application processor 535. In some implementations, STA504 further includes a user interface (UI) 555 (such as a touchscreen or keypad) and a display 565, the display 565 of which may be integrated with the UI 555 to form a touchscreen display. In some implementations, the STA504 may further include one or more sensors 575, such as one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors. Some of the above-mentioned components can communicate directly or indirectly with some of the other components via at least one bus. The STA504 further includes a wireless communication device 515, an application processor 535, memory 545, and a housing that includes at least some of the antenna 525, UI 555, and display 565.

[0043] As described above, existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard define a trigger frame format that can be used to request one or more STAs to transmit a TB PPDU. The trigger frame allocates resources to one or more STAs for the transmission of the TB PPDU and indicates how the TB PPDU should be configured for transmission. For example, the trigger frame may indicate the RUs allocated for transmission in the TB PPDU. RUs represent a set of tones or subcarriers across the wireless channel to which the TB PPDU should be transmitted. However, the TB PPDU cannot be transmitted according to existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard if any portion of the wireless channel is busy or otherwise unavailable. As new WLAN communication protocols enable enhanced WLAN communication capabilities (such as increased bandwidth and support for larger RUs and MRUs), new trigger frame and PPDU formats are needed to provide greater flexibility in media utilization.

[0044] Various embodiments relate to trigger-based communications supporting new wireless communication protocols, and more specifically, to trigger frame and PPDU designs supporting RU downsizing. As used herein, the term “RU downsizing” refers to the transmission of a TB PPDU over a RU or MRU that is smaller than the RU or MRU initially allocated in the TB PPDU. For example, an AP may send a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU from an STA. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may carry RU allocation information indicating the allocated RU or MRU (associated with the wireless medium) and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the RU or MRU is permitted. If interference is detected in a portion of the wireless medium (e.g., the medium is busy) and downsizing is permitted, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU in tones (or “subcarriers”) over the downsized RU or MRU. The downsized RU or MRU includes a subset of the tones within the RU or MRU allocated by the trigger frame. In some embodiments, the downsized RU or MRU may be required to include one or more guaranteed tones. The guaranteed tones span a portion of the wireless medium where the AP expects to receive signaling for the TB PPDU, such as in the PHY preamble. Thus, in some embodiments, the STA may provide signaling for the downsized RU or MRU in the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU.

[0045] Certain implementations of the subject matter described herein may be carried out to achieve one or more of the following potential benefits: RU downsizing provides greater flexibility in medium utilization for trigger-based communications. By enabling the STA to transmit a TB PPDU over a subset of tones allocated by the trigger frame, aspects of the disclosure may support increased network throughput achievable according to the IEEE 802.11be amendment and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, if only a portion of the wireless medium is busy or unavailable, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU over tones spanning a downsized RU or MRU that avoids the busy portion. As a result, the TB PPDU can adapt to the state of the wireless medium. By requiring the downsized RU or MRU to contain one or more guaranteed tones, aspects of the disclosure may ensure that an AP can detect the TB PPDU and recover the information carried therein. For example, the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU, in its entirety, can be decoded from the guaranteed tones. Therefore, by signaling downsized RUs or MRUs in the PHY preamble, aspects of the present disclosure may ensure that the AP can identify downsized RUs or MRUs in the TB PPDU by observing only guaranteed tones.

[0046] Figure 6 shows an exemplary trigger frame 600 that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs in several implementations. The trigger frame 600 can be used to request a TB PPDU from one or more STAs. For example, referring to Figure 1, AP102 may send a trigger frame 600 to one or more of STA104 to request a TB PPDU. The trigger frame 600 can allocate RUs or MRUs for transmission in the TB PPDU. In some implementations, the trigger frame 600 may enable the downsizing of one or more RUs or MRUs within the TB PPDU.

[0047] The trigger frame 600 includes a MAC header 610, a common information field 620, a user information list 630, zero or more padding bits 640, and an FCS 650. The MAC header 610 includes a frame control field, a duration field, a receiver address (RA) field, and a transmitter address (TA) field. The common information field 620 and the user information list 630 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure a TB PPDU transmitted in response to the reception of the trigger frame 600. In some embodiments, the user information list 630 may include one or more user information fields 632, each carrying user-specific information about each user. In contrast, the common information field 620 may carry information that is common to all recipients of the trigger frame 600 (such as any user identified in the user information list 630).

[0048] In some implementations, each user information field 632 may carry RU allocation information 634 and RU downsizing information 636. The RU allocation information 634 indicates the RU or MRU allocated for transmission in the TB PPDU, and the RU downsizing information 636 indicates whether RU downsizing is permitted for each RU or MRU. In other words, the RU downsizing information 636 may indicate whether the TB PPDU can be transmitted over one or more tones spanning downsized RUs or MRUs smaller than the RU or MRU indicated by the RU allocation information 634. Since the trigger frame 600 may contain multiple user information fields 632 (to request TB PPDUs from multiple users), the RU downsizing information 636 may only apply to the RU allocation information 634 within the same user information field 632. In some embodiments, the RU downsizing information 636 may be indicated by the value of the downsizing bit in the user information field 632. In some embodiments, the RU allocation information 634 and the RU downsizing information 636 may be collectively represented by the value of the RU allocation subfield of the user information field.

[0049] Aspects of this disclosure recognize that the trigger frame 600 may contain several reserved bits. Reserved bits represent unused bits reserved for future implementations of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some aspects, one or more reserved bits from a previous version or release of the IEEE 802.11 standard may be reused (to carry information) in a later version or release. For example, some reserved bits in the trigger frame 600 may be reused in a later version or release of the IEEE 802.11 standard to expand the range of values ​​that can be represented by existing fields in a previous version or release. Some other reserved bits in the trigger frame 600 may be reused in a later version or release of the IEEE 802.11 standard to carry information that is not related to any information carried in a previous version or release (or remains unused in a later version or release). In some implementations, one or more reserved bits in the trigger frame 600 may be reused to carry RU allocation information 634.

[0050] Figure 7 shows an exemplary user information field 700 of a trigger frame formatted according to an existing trigger frame format. More specifically, the user information field 700 conforms to the Extremely High Throughput (EHT) variant user information field format defined by the initial release of the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Referring to Figure 6, for example, the user information field 700 may be an example of a user information field 632. Each user information field in the user information list is identified by its respective association identifier (AID) value in the AID12 subfield (bit positions B0-B11). In some embodiments, the AID value may uniquely identify a particular STA (or user) in the BSS. As shown in Figure 7, the user information field 700 includes a reserved bit (bit position B25). In some implementations, the reserved bit may be reused to carry RU downsizing information 636. For example, reserved bits may be replaced by downsizing bits (or subfields) in future releases or versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Thus, a first value of the downsizing bit (e.g., "1") may indicate that RU downsizing is permitted, and a second value of the downsizing bit (e.g., "0") may indicate that RU downsizing is not permitted.

[0051] The user information field 700 also includes an RU allocation subfield (at bit positions B12–B19) and a PS160 subfield (at bit position B39). The combined value of the RU allocation subfield and the PS160 subfield maps to an entry in the RU allocation table. The RU allocation table is a lookup table (LUT) that stores several entries representing each RU or MRU allocation. Specifically, each entry in the RU allocation table may indicate bandwidth, RU / MRU size, and RU / MRU index. In some implementations, each entry in the RU allocation table may be configured to convey RU allocation information 634 in addition to RU downsizing information 636. For example, aspects of this disclosure recognize that an RU allocation table associated with an existing version of the IEEE 802.11 standard includes several reserved entries (referred to herein as “downsizing entries”) that can be reused to indicate RU / MRU allocations that are permitted to be downsized. Table 1 shows an example RU allocation table suitable for conveying RU downsizing information 636 (for simplicity, only two entries are shown in Table 1).

[0052] [Table 1] As shown in Table 1, both entries in the RU allocation table identify the same MRU. However, the first entry in Table 1 (bits B7-B1 have a value equal to 104) represents an existing entry in the RU allocation table, while the second entry in Table 1 (bits B7-B1 have a value equal to 107) represents a downsized entry in the RU allocation table. In other words, the first entry can be found in the RU allocation table defined by existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In contrast, the second entry is reserved in existing RU allocation tables. When the values ​​of the RU allocation subfield (and PS160 subfield) are mapped to an RU or MRU associated with an existing entry in the RU allocation table (such as the first entry in Table 1), RU downsizing is not permitted for that RU or MRU. On the other hand, when the values ​​of the RU allocation subfield (and PS160 subfield) are mapped to an RU or MRU associated with a downsize entry in the RU allocation table (such as the second entry in Table 1), RU downsizing is permitted for that RU or MRU.

[0053] Figure 8 shows a frequency diagram 800 illustrating exemplary resource allocation of a wireless channel in several implementations. More specifically, Figure 8 shows a set of tones 802 that may be allocated in a TB PPDU and various tone configurations 812-824 that may be used for RU downsizing. For example, an AP may send a trigger frame (such as trigger frame 600 in Figure 6) requesting a TB PPDU to be transmitted by the STA over the allocated set of tones 802. In the example in Figure 8, the allocated tones 802 represent 996 tone RUs across an 80 MHz wireless channel. In some implementations, the trigger frame may carry RU downsizing information indicating that downsizing is permitted for the allocated tones 802. For example, in some cases, an STA may detect interference in a portion of the 80 MHz channel due to the medium being busy (e.g., being used by another STA). In such cases, the STA may transmit the TB PPDU using one of the downsized tone configurations 812-824 to avoid the busy portion of the channel.

[0054] Each of the downsized tone configurations 812-816 spans three 20MHz subchannels of an 80MHz wireless channel. For example, downsized tone configuration 812 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the second, third, and fourth 20MHz subchannels; downsized tone configuration 814 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the first, third, and fourth 20MHz subchannels; downsized tone configuration 816 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the first, second, and fourth 20MHz subchannels; and downsized tone configuration 818 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the first, second, and third 20MHz subchannels. Each of the downsized tone configurations 822 and 824 spans the respective 40MHz subchannels of the 80MHz channel. For example, the downsized tone configuration 822 represents 484 tone RUs across a first 40 MHz subchannel, and the downsized tone configuration 824 represents 484 tone RUs across a second 40 MHz subchannel.

[0055] In some implementations, the downsized tone configurations 812-824 offer greater flexibility in media utilization. For example, if the STA detects interference in one or more tones within the first 20MHz of the 80MHz channel, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU using the downsized tone configuration 812 or 824. Similarly, if the STA detects interference in one or more tones within the second 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU using the downsized tone configuration 814 or 824. Furthermore, if the STA detects interference in one or more tones within the third 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU using the downsized tone configuration 816 or 822. And even further, if the STA detects interference in one or more tones within the fourth 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU using the downsized tone configuration 818 or 822.

[0056] Aspects of this disclosure recognize that it is difficult for an AP to reconstruct a TB PPDU without knowing the tone to which the TB PPDU is transmitted. Therefore, when an STA performs RU downsizing, the AP needs to know which of the downsized tone configurations 812-824 will be used to transmit the TB PPDU. In some implementations, the downsized tone configuration may be required to include a subset of the "guaranteed" tone of the allocated tone 802. The guaranteed tone may span subchannels where the AP expects (or is guaranteed) to receive signaling for the downsized tone configuration. Signaling refers to control fields or information that may be used by a wireless communication device to interpret another field or portion of the PPDU. Aspects of this disclosure recognize that the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU carries signaling for the TB PPDU and is replicated on each 20 MHz subchannel of the wireless channel associated with the TB PPDU. Therefore, in some embodiments, the guaranteed tone may span at least 20 MHz subchannels of the wireless channel associated with the allocated tone 802.

[0057] Figure 9 shows a frequency diagram 900 illustrating exemplary resource allocation for a wireless channel, including guaranteed subchannels, in several implementations. More specifically, Figure 9 shows a set of tones 902 that can be allocated in a TB PPDU and various tone configurations 912-918 that can be used for RU downsizing. For example, an AP may send a trigger frame (such as the trigger frame 600 in Figure 6) requesting a TB PPDU to be transmitted by the STA over the allocated set of tones 902. In the example in Figure 9, the allocated tones 902 represent 996 tone RUs across an 80 MHz wireless channel. In some implementations, the trigger frame may carry RU downsizing information indicating that downsizing is permitted for the allocated tones 902. Thus, if the STA detects interference in a portion of the 80 MHz channel, the STA may transmit a TB PPDU using one of the downsized tone configurations 912-918 to avoid the busy portion of the channel.

[0058] In some implementations, the first 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel is associated with a guaranteed set of tones 920. Therefore, each of the downsized tone configurations 912-918 is required to include at least the first 20MHz subchannel. For example, downsized tone configuration 912 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the first, third, and fourth 20MHz subchannels; downsized tone configuration 914 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the first, second, and fourth 20MHz subchannels; downsized tone configuration 916 represents 484+242 tone MRUs across the first, second, and third 20MHz subchannels; and downsized tone configuration 918 represents 484 tone RUs across the first 40MHz subchannel. For example, referring to Figure 8, the first 20MHz subchannel is punctured in each of the downsized tone configurations 812 and 824. Therefore, the downsized tone configurations 812 and 824 are incompatible with the guaranteed tone 920 and cannot be used to downsize the allocated tone 902.

[0059] In the example in Figure 9, the guaranteed tone 920 is shown to include the first 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel. However, in some other implementations, the guaranteed tone may include any of the second, third, or fourth 20MHz subchannels of the 80MHz channel. Furthermore, in some implementations, the guaranteed tone may span subchannels larger than 20MHz (e.g., a 40MHz subchannel) for wireless channels associated with larger RUs or MRUs (e.g., 2x996 tone RUs). In some implementations, the guaranteed tone 920 may be static or known to the STA without any additional signaling from the AP. For example, in some embodiments, the location of the guaranteed tone 920 may coincide with the location of the primary 20MHz subchannel within a given wireless channel. In some other implementations, the guaranteed tone 920 may be dynamically allocated by the AP. For example, the AP may signal the location of the guaranteed tone 920 to the STA. Such signaling is referred to herein as “RU guarantee information”.

[0060] In some implementations, RU guarantee information may include a bitmap. Specifically, each bit in the bitmap may represent each subchannel of a given wireless channel. In some embodiments, the bitmap may include 16 bits representing a 320MHz channel. Thus, each bit in the bitmap may be associated with each 20MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. For example, any bit in the bitmap with a value equal to "1" may indicate that the guaranteed tone includes the 20MHz subchannel associated with that bit. In some other embodiments, the bitmap may include 8 bits representing a 320MHz channel. Thus, each bit in the bitmap may be associated with each 40MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. For example, any bit in the bitmap with a value equal to "1" may indicate that the guaranteed tone includes the 40MHz subchannel associated with that bit. Embodiments of this disclosure recognize that while the bitmap provides a high degree of flexibility in the allocation of guaranteed tones, it may also require a considerable amount of signaling overhead.

[0061] In some other implementations, RU assurance information may signal the respective locations of guaranteed tones within each subchannel of a given wireless channel. In some embodiments, the signaling may include four pairs of bits representing a 320MHz channel, with each pair of bits associated with a respective 80MHz subchannel. The value of each pair of bits may indicate which 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel is associated with the guaranteed tone. For example, a pair of bits with values ​​of "00", "01", "10", or "11" may indicate that the guaranteed tone is located in the first, second, third, or fourth 20MHz subchannel of the 80MHz channel, respectively. In some other embodiments, the signaling may include two pairs of bits representing a 320MHz channel, with each pair of bits associated with a respective 160MHz subchannel. The value of each pair of bits may indicate which 40MHz subchannel of the 160MHz channel is associated with the guaranteed tone. For example, a pair of bits having the values ​​"00", "01", "10", or "11" may indicate that the guaranteed tone includes the first, second, third, or fourth 40 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHz channel, respectively. Aspects of this disclosure recognize that requiring the presence of one set of guaranteed tones within each subchannel of a wireless channel reduces signaling overhead but also limits the flexibility in which guaranteed tones can be allocated.

[0062] In some other implementations, RU guarantee information may signal up to one set of guaranteed tones within each subchannel of a given wireless channel. Such signaling may require that at least five different values ​​be represented for each subchannel. For example, at least one of the values ​​may be used to indicate that a given subchannel does not contain any guaranteed tones, and the remaining four values ​​may be used to indicate the location of guaranteed tones within the subchannel. In some embodiments, each set of five values ​​may be associated with each 80MHz subchannel of a 320MHz channel. For example, an integer value of 0 may indicate that the 80MHz subchannel does not contain any guaranteed tones, and integer values ​​of 1, 2, 3, and 4 may indicate that guaranteed tones are contained within the first, second, third, or fourth 20MHz subchannels of the 80MHz channel, respectively. In some implementations, three bits may be allocated to each 80MHz channel to signal the binary representations of the values ​​0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 (such as "000", "001", "010", "011", and "100", respectively). However, aspects of this disclosure recognize that such signaling requires considerable overhead and results in several unused values ​​or bit combinations.

[0063] In some other implementations, the values ​​associated with the first 80MHz channel may be combined with the values ​​associated with the second 80MHz channel and mapped to their respective entries in a lookup table (LUT). In such implementations, the signaling may include 5 bits per 160MHz bandwidth, with each 5-bit value mapped to one of 25 entries in the LUT. Table 2 shows an exemplary LUT suitable for signaling the location of up to one guaranteed tone within each 80MHz subchannel of a 160MHz channel.

[0064] [Table 2] As shown in Table 2, each 5-bit entry in the LUT indicates the location of a guaranteed tone (or the absence of a guaranteed tone) in the first 80MHz subchannel of the 160MHz channel, as well as the location of a guaranteed tone (or the absence of a guaranteed tone) in the second 80MHz subchannel of the 160MHz channel. An additional 5-bit LUT may be required to indicate the location of a guaranteed tone in the second 160MHz channel. Thus, only 10 bits are required to signal the location of a guaranteed tone in the 320MHz channel. In some embodiments, the signaling overhead can be further reduced by changing the granularity of the guaranteed tones (e.g., from 20MHz to 40MHz). For example, Table 3 shows a suitable LUT for signaling the location of up to one guaranteed tone in each 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel.

[0065] [Table 3] As shown in Table 3, each 5-bit entry in the LUT indicates the location of a guaranteed tone (or the absence of a guaranteed tone) in the first 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel, as well as the location of a guaranteed tone (or the absence of a guaranteed tone) in the second 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. In this example, only 5 bits are needed to signal the location of a guaranteed tone in the 320MHz channel.

[0066] In some implementations, RU assurance information may be carried in MAC management frames sent by the AP to one or more STAs. For example, RU assurance information may be carried in information elements (IEs) of one or more beacon frames broadcast by the AP. In some embodiments, the size of the IE may be large enough to accommodate any of the signaling implementations described above (including 16-bit bitmaps). However, since beacon frames are broadcast periodically, such implementations may not allow the AP to dynamically change the location of the assured tone in order to adapt to changes or fluctuations in channel state. In some other implementations, RU assurance information may be carried in each trigger frame sent by the AP to one or more STAs. This allows the AP to dynamically allocate assured tones per PPDU in order to adapt to channel state at any given time.

[0067] Figure 10 shows another exemplary trigger frame 1000 that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs in several implementations. In some implementations, trigger frame 1000 may be an example of trigger frame 600 in Figure 6. For example, trigger frame 1000 may be used to request a TB PPDU from one or more STAs. Trigger frame 1000 can allocate RUs or MRUs to each STA for transmission within the TB PPDU. In some implementations, trigger frame 1000 may enable RU downsizing of one or more RUs or MRUs within the TB PPDU.

[0068] The trigger frame 1000 includes a MAC header 1010, a common information field 1020, a user information list 1030, zero or more padding bits 1040, and an FCS 1050. The MAC header 1010 includes a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, and a TA field. The common information field 1020 and the user information list 1030 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure a TB PPDU that is transmitted in response to the reception of the trigger frame 1000. The user information list 1030 may include one or more user information fields 1032, each carrying user-specific information about each user. In some implementations, each user information field 1032 may carry RU allocation information 1034 and RU downsizing information 1036. As explained with reference to Figure 6, the RU allocation information 1034 indicates the RU or MRU allocated for transmission in the TB PPDU, and the RU downsizing information 1036 indicates whether RU downsizing is permitted for each RU or MRU.

[0069] The common information field 1020 may carry information common to all recipients of the trigger frame 1000 (such as any user identified in the user information list 1030). In some implementations, the common information field 1020 may carry RU assurance information 1022 indicating one or more guaranteed tones to be included in the downsized RU or MRU. In some embodiments, the RU assurance information 1022 may include an 8-bit bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap represents each 40MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. In some other embodiments, the RU assurance information 1022 may signal the respective locations of guaranteed tones within each 80MHz or 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RU assurance information 1022 may signal up to one set of guaranteed tones within each 80MHz or 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz wireless channel. In some implementations, RU assurance information 1022 may replace one or more reserved bits in the common information field of the trigger frame format as defined by existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0070] Figure 11 shows the common information field 1100 of a trigger frame formatted according to an existing trigger frame format. More specifically, the common information field 1100 conforms to the EHT variant common information field format defined by the initial release of the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, referring to Figure 10, the common information field 1100 may be an example of the common field 1020. In the example in Figure 11, the common information field 1100 may be included in a trigger frame configured to request an EHT TB PPDU. Thus, the common information field 1100 contains a total of 11 reserved bits (bit positions B22, B26, B53, B56-B62, and B63). In some implementations, up to 10 of the reserved bits may be reused to carry RU assurance information 1022. A part of this disclosure recognizes that the number of reserved bits in the common information field 1100 may support any of the signaling implementations for the RU assurance information 1022 described above with reference to Figure 9, except for the 16-bit bitmap.

[0071] Figure 12 shows another exemplary trigger frame 1200 that can be used for communication between an AP and several STAs in several implementations. In some implementations, trigger frame 1200 may be an example of trigger frame 600 in Figure 6. For example, trigger frame 1200 may be used to request a TB PPDU from one or more STAs. Trigger frame 1200 can allocate RUs or MRUs to each STA for transmission in the TB PPDU. In some implementations, trigger frame 1200 may enable RU downsizing of one or more RUs or MRUs in the TB PPDU.

[0072] The trigger frame 1200 includes a MAC header 1210, a common information field 1220, a user information list 1230, zero or more padding bits 1240, and an FCS 1250. The MAC header 1210 includes a frame control field, a duration field, an RA field, and a TA field. The common information field 1220 and the user information list 1230 carry configuration information that can be used by the receiving device to configure a TB PPDU that is transmitted in response to the reception of the trigger frame 1200. The user information list 1230 may include one or more user information fields 1032, each carrying user-specific information about each user. In some implementations, each user information field 1232 may carry RU allocation information 1234 and RU downsizing information 1036. As explained with reference to Figure 6, the RU allocation information 1234 indicates the RU or MRU assigned for transmission in the TB PPDU, and the RU downsizing information 1236 indicates whether RU downsizing is permitted for each RU or MRU.

[0073] In some implementations, the user information list 1230 may further include a special user information field 1238. As illustrated with reference to Figure 7, each of the user information fields 1232 is identified by a unique AID value assigned to a particular STA (or user) in the BSS. In contrast, the special user information field 1238 may be identified by an AID value not assigned to any STA in the BSS. In some implementations, the special user information field 1238 may carry RU assurance information 1239 indicating one or more guaranteed tones to be included in the downsized RU or MRU. In some embodiments, the RU assurance information 1239 may include an 8-bit bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap represents each 40MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. In some other embodiments, the RU assurance information 1239 may signal the respective locations of guaranteed tones in each 80MHz or 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz channel. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RU assurance information 1239 may signal up to one set of guaranteed tones within each 80MHz or 160MHz subchannel of the 320MHz wireless channel. In some implementations, the RU assurance information 1239 may replace one or more reserved bits in the common information field of the trigger frame format as defined by existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0074] Figure 13 shows the special user information field 1300 of a trigger frame formatted according to an existing trigger frame format. More specifically, the special user information field 1300 conforms to the special user information field format defined by the initial release of the IEEE 802.11be revision of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Thus, the AID12 subfield (at bit positions B0-B11) can carry an AID value equal to 2007. For example, referring to Figure 12, the special user information field 1300 may be an example of the special user information field 1238. In the example in Figure 13, the special user information field 1300 may be included in the basic trigger frame. Thus, the special user information field 1300 contains a total of 11 reserved bits (at bit positions B37-B39 and B40-B47). In some implementations, up to 10 of the reserved bits may be reused to carry RU assurance information 1239. A part of this disclosure recognizes that the number of reserved bits in the special user information field 1300 may support any of the signaling implementations for RU assurance information 1239 described above with reference to Figure 9, except for the 16-bit bitmap.

[0075] In some other implementations, the special user information field 1238 of the trigger frame 1200 may be a new special user information field. As described above, the special user information field may be any user information field associated with an AID value not assigned to any user or STA in a given BSS. As shown in Figure 7, some AID values ​​associated with the AID12 subfield are reserved in existing versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard (e.g., 2008-2044 and 2047-4094). Therefore, in some implementations, the special user information field 1238 may be assigned one or more of the reserved values ​​associated with the AID12 subfield. In such implementations, any number of the remaining bits of the special user information field 1238 (after the AID12 subfield) may be reused to carry the RU assurance information 1239. A part of this disclosure recognizes that the remaining bits of the special user information field 1238 may support any of the signaling implementations for RU assurance information 1239, as described above with reference to Figure 9, which include a 16-bit bitmap.

[0076] As described above, RU assurance information indicates a set of assurance tones that should be included in any downsized RU or MRU used to transmit the TB PPDU. The assurance tones assure the AP that it can reconstruct the TB PPDU from the downsized RU or MRU it transmits. In some implementations, the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU may carry signaling information (also referred to herein as “downsized signaling information”) indicating the downsized RU or MRU. Aspects of this disclosure recognize that the PHY preamble of the TB PPDU is replicated on each occupied 20 MHz subchannel of the channel width. In some embodiments, each set of assurance tones may span at least 20 MHz of subchannels. Thus, the AP can observe the PHY preamble transmitted on the assurance tones to determine how to reconstruct the rest of the TB PPDU. For example, the AP may decode the downsized signaling information in the PHY preamble to determine the downsized RU or MRU associated with the TB PPDU.

[0077] Figure 14 shows an exemplary TB PPDU 1400 usable for communication between an STA and several APs in several implementation forms. The TB PPDU 1400 includes a PHY preamble, which includes a first part 1402 and a second part 1404. The TB PPDU 1400 may further include a PHY payload 1406 after the preamble, for example in the form of a PSDU carrying a DATA field 1426. In some implementation forms, the TB PPDU 1400 may be formatted as a non-legacy or ultrafast throughput (EHT) PPDU.

[0078] The first part 1402 of the PHY preamble includes L-STF1408, L-LTF1410, and L-SIG1412. The second part 1404 of the PHY preamble includes a repeating legacy signal field (RL-SIG)1414, a universal signal field (U-SIG)1416, a non-legacy short training field (EHT-STF)1422, and several non-legacy long training fields (EHT-LTF)1424. In the IEEE 802.11be amendment and future generations of the IEEE 802.11 standard, new fields may be used to carry signaling information. At least some of the new fields and signaling information may be included in U-SIG1416. For example, U-SIG1416 may include signaling regarding the type or format of additional signal fields that may follow U-SIG1416. In some implementations, U-SIG1416 may carry downsizing signaling information 1418. The downsized signaling information 1418 may indicate whether RU downsizing is performed in the TB PPDU 1400 and the downsized RU or MRU associated with the TB PPDU 1400 (if RU downsizing is performed).

[0079] In some implementations, the downsized signaling information 1418 may contain values ​​that are mapped to entries in the LUT. More specifically, each entry in the LUT may represent a downsized RU or MRU. For example, referring to Figure 9, the first entry in the LUT (with a value equal to 0) may represent 996 tone RUs associated with the allocated tone 902, the second entry in the LUT (with a value equal to 1) may represent 484+242 tone RUs associated with the downsized tone configuration 912, the third entry in the LUT (with a value equal to 2) may represent 484+242 tone RUs associated with the downsized tone configuration 914, the fourth entry in the LUT (with a value equal to 3) may represent 484+242 tone RUs associated with the downsized tone configuration 916, and the fifth entry in the LUT (with a value equal to 4) may represent 484+242 tone RUs associated with the downsized tone configuration 918.

[0080] In some other implementations, the downsized signaling information 1418 may include a first bit (also called the “downsizing bit”) to indicate whether RU downsizing is performed, and several bits (also called the “location bits”) to indicate the location of the dropped RU. As shown in Figure 9, each of the downsized tone configurations 912–918 includes a hole or gap within the 80 MHz channel associated with the allocated tone 902. For example, the downsized tone configuration 912 includes a 20 MHz gap that matches a second 20 MHz subchannel of the 80 MHz channel. The width of each gap is equal to the size of the RU (or MRU). Thus, the gaps in each downsized tone configuration are referred to herein as “dropped RUs”. In some examples, the size of the dropped RUs may vary. For example, the dropped RUs in each of the downsized tone configurations 912–916 are 242 tone RUs in size, and the dropped RUs in the downsized tone configuration 918 are 484 tone RUs in size. Therefore, in some implementations, the downsized signaling information 1418 may include one or more additional bits to indicate the resolution or size (also called "resolution bits") of the dropped RU.

[0081] The location bit may indicate the location of the dropped RU in the frequency domain. For example, referring to Figure 9, the location bit may indicate which of the 20MHz (or 40MHz) subchannels is associated with the dropped RU. In some embodiments, the value of the location bit may indicate the location of the dropped RU in increasing frequency order (excluding guaranteed tones), with the lowest value representing the lowest frequency subchannel. Table 4 shows exemplary bit configurations that may be used to illustrate each of the resource allocations shown in Figure 9.

[0082] [Table 4] Figure 15 shows U-SIG1500 of a PPDU formatted according to an existing PPDU format. More specifically, U-SIG1500 conforms to the EHT TB PPDU format as defined by the initial release of the IEEE 802.11be amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard. Referring to Figure 14, for example, U-SIG1500 may be an example of U-SIG1416. According to the EHT TB PPDU format, the reserved bits are further subdivided into valid bits and ignore bits. The valid bits are used to indicate whether the STA should continue to receive the PPDU, and the ignore bits can be ignored by the receiving STA. Aspects of this disclosure recognize that the ignore bits can be reused to carry downsized signaling information 1418. As shown in Figure 15, U-SIG1500 contains a total of 11 ignore bits distributed across two U-SIG symbols (U-SIG-1 and U-SIG-2). More specifically, U-SIG1500 includes six ignore bits in U-SIG-1 (at bit positions B20-B25) and five ignore bits in U-SIG-2 (at bit positions B11-B15). In some implementations, the downsized signaling information 1418 may reuse up to 11 of the ignore bits in U-SIG1500.

[0083] Figure 16 shows sequence diagram 1600 illustrating an exemplary message exchange between AP1610 and STA1620 in a wireless network. In some implementations, AP1610 may be an example of AP102 or 502 in Figures 1 and 5A, respectively, and STA1620 may be an example of either STA104 or 504 in Figures 1 and 5B, respectively.

[0084] AP1610 assigns a RU or MRU to the TB PPDU 1604 to be transmitted by STA1620. The RU or MRU represents the wireless channel 1630 on which the TB PPDU 1604 is transmitted. Therefore, AP1610 may select a RU or MRU based on the state of wireless channel 1630. AP1610 transmits a trigger frame 1602 requesting the TB PPDU 1604 from STA1620. In some implementations, trigger frame 1602 may be one of the trigger frames 600, 1000, 1200, or 1400 in Figures 6, 10, 12, and 14, respectively. Therefore, trigger frame 1602 may carry RU allocation information indicating the assigned RU or MRU, in addition to RU downsizing information indicating whether RU downsizing is permitted in the TB PPDU 1604.

[0085] STA1620 receives trigger frame 1602 from AP1610 and listens on wireless channel 1630. For example, STA1620 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) on wireless channel 1630 to determine whether the channel is busy or available for transmission of TB PPDU 1604. In the example in Figure 16, STA1620 detects interference 1632 on a portion of wireless channel 1630. For example, interference 1632 may be caused by wireless communication between other devices in the vicinity of STA1620 (e.g., during overlapping BSS). In other words, interference 1632 may result from the medium being busy. Therefore, based on detecting interference 1632 on the wireless channel, STA1620 may determine whether RU downsizing is permitted by trigger frame 1602.

[0086] In some implementations, the STA1620 may selectively transmit a TB PPDU 1604 based on RU downsizing information in the received trigger frame 1602. For example, if the RU downsizing information indicates that RU downsizing is not permitted, the STA1620 may not transmit a TB PPDU 1604. On the other hand, if the RU downsizing information indicates that RU downsizing is permitted, the STA1620 may determine whether the interference 1632 matches a set of guaranteed tones that should be included in any downsized RU or MRU. In some embodiments, the STA1620 may determine the location of the guaranteed tones based on the location of the primary 20 MHz subchannel in the wireless channel 1630. In some other embodiments, the STA1620 may receive RU assurance information from the AP1610 indicating the location of the guaranteed tones (as described with reference to Figures 9 to 13).

[0087] If interference 1632 matches one or more of the guaranteed tones, STA1620 may not transmit TB PPDU1604. On the other hand, if interference 1632 does not match any of the guaranteed tones, STA1620 may transmit TB PPDU1604 using a downsized RU or MRU to avoid interference 1632. As illustrated with reference to Figures 8 and 9, the downsized RU or MRU may include a subset of the tones associated with the RU or MRU allocated by trigger frame 1602. In some implementations, TB PPDU1604 may include downsized signaling information indicating that RU downsizing is performed in TB PPDU1604, as well as the downsized RU or MRU associated with TB PPDU1604 (as illustrated with reference to Figures 14 and 15).

[0088] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1700 for wireless communications supporting RU downsizing in several implementation configurations. In some implementation configurations, process 1700 may be performed by a wireless communications device within a network node, such as one of the STA104 or 504 described above with reference to Figures 1 and 5B, respectively.

[0089] In some implementations, process 1700 begins in block 1702 with receiving a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU from a wireless communication device, the trigger frame including a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating multiple tones allocated to the TB PPDU, and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the multiple tones is permitted, where the multiple tones represent a first RU or a first multiple resource units (MRU) associated with the wireless medium. In some embodiments, the downsizing information may be indicated by the value of a downsizing bit in the user information field. In some other embodiments, the RU allocation information and downsizing information may be indicated together by the value of the RU allocation subfield of the user information field.

[0090] In block 1704, process 1700 proceeds to determine that one or more of the multiple tones are unavailable, and that the one or more unavailable tones are associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists. In block 1706, process 1700 proceeds to selectively transmit a TB PPDU over a subset of the multiple tones based on the downsizing information, where the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU smaller than a first RU or first MRU. In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a PHY preamble having a U-SIG carrying downsized signaling information indicating the subset of tones. In some embodiments, the downsized signaling information may be mapped to one of several entries in a LUT, where each entry indicates the respective RU or MRU. In some other embodiments, the downsized signaling information may indicate the remaining tones of the multiple tones not included in the subset, where the remaining tones represent a third RU or third MRU.

[0091] In some implementations, process 1700 may include receiving RU assurance information indicating one or more tones from a plurality of tones guaranteed to be associated with a TB PPDU, and selecting a subset of tones to exclude one or more unavailable tones and include one or more guaranteed tones. In some embodiments, the RU assurance information may be carried in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, where the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the trigger frame. In some other embodiments, the RU assurance information may be carried in a special user information field in the trigger frame, where the special user information field is identified by an AID value not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same BSS as the wireless communication device. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RU assurance information may be received in a management frame before the trigger frame is received.

[0092] In some implementations, the RU assurance information may include a bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of a wireless channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, the RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 20MHz subchannel of each 80MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, the RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 40MHz subchannel of each 160MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. Furthermore, in some implementations, the RU assurance information may be mapped to one of several entries in a LUT, where each entry in the LUT indicates each combination of one or more subchannels of a wireless channel associated with one or more guaranteed tones.

[0093] Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary process 1800 for wireless communications supporting RU downsizing in several implementation configurations. In some implementation configurations, process 1800 may be performed by a wireless communications device operating as an AP, such as one of AP102 or AP502 in Figures 1 and 5A, respectively, or operating within an AP.

[0094] In some implementations, process 1800 begins in block 1802 by sending a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU, the trigger frame containing a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating multiple tones allocated to the TB PPDU, and downsizing information indicating that downsizing of multiple tones is permitted, with multiple tones representing a first RU or a first MRU. In some embodiments, the downsizing information may be indicated by the value of the downsizing bit in the user information field. In some other embodiments, the RU allocation information and downsizing information are indicated together by the value of the RU allocation subfield in the user information field.

[0095] In block 1804, process 1800 proceeds to receive a TB PPDU on a subset of tones among multiple tones responding to a trigger frame, where the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU smaller than a first RU or first MRU. In some implementations, the TB PPDU may include a PHY preamble having a U-SIG carrying downsized signaling information indicating the subset of tones. In some embodiments, the downsized signaling information may be mapped to one of multiple entries in a LUT, where each entry in the LUT indicates the respective RU or MRU. In some other embodiments, the downsized signaling information may indicate the remaining tones among multiple tones not included in the subset, where the remaining tones represent a third RU or third MRU.

[0096] In some implementations, process 1800 transmits RU allocation information indicating one or more tones from a plurality of tones guaranteed to be associated with a TB PPDU, and the transmission may include a subset of tones containing at least one or more guaranteed tones. In some embodiments, the RU guarantee information may be carried in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, where the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the trigger frame. In some other embodiments, the RU guarantee information may be carried in a special user information field of the trigger frame, where the special user information field is identified by an AID value not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the wireless communication device. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RU guarantee information may be carried in a management frame transmitted prior to the transmission of the trigger frame.

[0097] In some implementations, the RU assurance information may include a bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of a wireless channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, the RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 20MHz subchannel of each 80MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. In some other implementations, the RU assurance information may include one or more pairs of bits, where each pair indicates which 40MHz subchannel of each 160MHz channel is associated with one or more guaranteed tones. Furthermore, in some implementations, the RU assurance information may be mapped to one of several entries in a LUT, where each entry in the LUT indicates each combination of one or more subchannels of a wireless channel associated with one or more guaranteed tones.

[0098] Figure 19 shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device in several implementation forms. In some implementation forms, the wireless communication device 1900 is configured to perform process 1700 as described above with reference to Figure 17. The wireless communication device 1900 may be an exemplary implementation form of the wireless communication device 400 as described above with reference to Figure 4. For example, the wireless communication device 1900 may be a package or device including a chip, SoC, chipset, at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0099] The wireless communication device 1900 includes a receiving component 1910, a communication manager 1920, and a transmitting component 1930. The communication manager 1920 further includes a busy medium determination component 1922 and an RU downsizing component 1924. One or more parts of components 1922-1924 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, at least some of components 1922 or 1924 are implemented at least partially as software stored in memory (e.g., memory 408). For example, one or more parts of components 1922 and 1924 may be implemented as non-transient instructions (or "code") that can be executed by a processor (e.g., processor 406) to perform the function or operation of the respective component.

[0100] The receiving component 1910 is configured to receive an RX signal from one or more other wireless communication devices via a wireless channel. In some implementations, the RX signal may include a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU, the trigger frame including a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating multiple tones assigned to the TB PPDU, and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the multiple tones is permitted, with the multiple tones representing a first RU or a first MRU. The communication manager 1920 is configured to control or manage communication with one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the busy medium determination component 1922 may determine that one or more of the multiple tones are unavailable, with the one or more unavailable tones associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists, and the RU downsizing component 1924 may selectively transmit the TB PPDU over a subset of the multiple tones based on the downsizing information, with the subset of tones representing a second RU or a second MRU smaller than the first RU or a first MRU. The transmitting component 1930 is configured to transmit a TX signal to one or more other wireless communication devices via a wireless channel.

[0101] Figure 20 shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device 2000 in several implementation forms. In some implementation forms, the wireless communication device 2000 is configured to perform process 1800 as described above with reference to Figure 18. The wireless communication device 2000 may be an exemplary implementation form of the wireless communication device 400 as described above with reference to Figure 4. For example, the wireless communication device 2000 may be a package or device including a chip, SoC, chipset, at least one processor and at least one modem (e.g., a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem).

[0102] The wireless communication device 2000 includes a receiving component 2010, a communication manager 2020, and a transmitting component 2030. The communication manager 2020 may further include a downsized RU decision component 2022. Parts of the downsized RU decision component 2022 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, the downsized RU decision component 2022 is implemented at least partially as software stored in memory (such as memory 408). For example, parts of the downsized RU decision component 2022 may be implemented as non-transient instructions or code that can be executed by a processor (such as processor 406) to perform the function or operation of each component.

[0103] The receiving component 2010 is configured to receive an RX signal from one or more other wireless communication devices via a wireless channel. The transmitting component 2030 is configured to transmit a TX signal to one or more other wireless communication devices via a wireless channel. In some implementations, the TX signal may include a trigger frame requesting a TB PPDU, the trigger frame including a user information field that carries RU allocation information indicating multiple tones allocated to the TB PPDU and downsizing information indicating that downsizing of multiple tones is permitted, with the multiple tones representing a first RU or first MRU. The communication manager 2020 is configured to control or manage communication with one or more other wireless communication devices. In some implementations, the downsized RU determination component 2022 may receive the TB PPDU on a subset of tones among the multiple tones responding to the trigger frame, with the subset of tones representing a second RU or second MRU smaller than the first RU or first MRU.

[0104] Examples of implementation forms are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0105] 1. A method for wireless communication using a wireless communication device, The steps include receiving a trigger frame from a wireless communication device requesting a Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating multiple tones assigned to the TB PPDU, and downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the multiple tones is permitted, and the multiple tones represent a first RU or a first multiple resource units (MRU) associated with the wireless medium, A step of determining that one or more of several tones are unavailable, and that the one or more unavailable tones are associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists, A step of selectively transmitting TB PPDU on a subset of tones from among multiple tones based on downsizing information, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU that is smaller than a first RU or first MRU. A method that includes this.

[0106] 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein downsizing information is indicated by the value of the downsizing bit in the user information field.

[0107] 3. The method according to Clause 1, wherein RU allocation information and downsizing information are collectively indicated by the value of the RU allocation subfield in the user information field.

[0108] 4. The step of receiving RU assurance information indicating one or more tones from a set of tones guaranteed to be associated with a TB PPDU, The steps include: excluding one or more unavailable tones and selecting a subset of tones that includes at least one or more guaranteed tones; The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, further including the above.

[0109] 5. Any method of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein RU assurance information is carried in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, and the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the trigger frame.

[0110] 6. The RU assurance information is carried in the special user information field of the trigger frame, and the special user information field is identified by an association identifier (AID) value that is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device, in any way of Clauses 1 to 4.

[0111] 7. The step of receiving RU warranty information is The step of receiving a management frame that carries RU assurance information before receiving the trigger frame. Any method of clauses 1 through 4, including the above.

[0112] 8. The RU assurance information includes a bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of the wireless channel is associated with one or more assured tones, in any way of Clauses 1 through 7.

[0113] 9. The RU assurance information includes one or more pairs of bits, each of which 20 MHz subchannels of each 80 MHz channel are associated with one or more guaranteed tones, in any manner according to clauses 1 through 7.

[0114] 10. The RU assurance information includes one or more pairs of bits, each of which 40 MHz subchannels of each 160 MHz channel are associated with one or more guaranteed tones, in any manner according to clauses 1 through 7.

[0115] 11. In any way of Clauses 1 through 7, the RU guarantee information is mapped to one of several entries in a Lookup Table (LUT), where each entry in the LUT indicates a combination of one or more subchannels of a wireless channel associated with one or more guaranteed tones.

[0116] 12. Any method of Clauses 1 to 11, wherein the TB PPDU includes a physical layer preamble having a universal signal field (U-SIG) that carries downsized signaling information indicating a subset of tones.

[0117] 13. In any of the methods described in clauses 1 through 12, the downsized signaling information is mapped to one of several entries in the LUT, and each entry in the LUT represents the respective RU or MRU.

[0118] 14. In any way of Clauses 1 to 2, the downsized signaling information indicates the remaining tones of several tones not included in the subset, and the remaining tones represent a third RU or a third MRU.

[0119] 15. Wireless communication device, At least one modem and At least one processor that is communicatively coupled to at least one modem, The system comprises at least one processor and at least one memory for storing processor-readable code, wherein the processor-readable code, when executed by at least one processor in conjunction with at least one modem, is configured to perform one or more of the methods of clauses 1 to 14. Wireless communication device.

[0120] 16. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, A step of sending a trigger frame requesting a Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating multiple tones allocated to the TB PPDU, and that carries downsizing information indicating that downsizing of the multiple tones is permitted, and the multiple tones represent a first RU or a first multiple resource unit (MRU), The step of receiving a TB PPDU on a subset of tones among multiple tones responding to a trigger frame, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU that is smaller than a first RU or first MRU. Methods that include...

[0121] 17. The method according to clause 16, wherein downsizing information is indicated by the value of the downsizing bit in the user information field.

[0122] 18. The method according to Clause 16, wherein RU allocation information and downsizing information are collectively indicated by the value of the RU allocation subfield in the user information field.

[0123] 19. A step of transmitting RU allocation information indicating one or more tones from a plurality of tones guaranteed to be associated with a TB PPDU, wherein the subset of tones includes at least one or more guaranteed tones. Any method of Articles 16 to 18, further including the above.

[0124] 20. Any method of Clauses 16 to 19, wherein RU assurance information is carried in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, and the common information field carries information common to each user associated with the trigger frame.

[0125] 21. The RU assurance information is carried in the special user information field of the trigger frame, and the special user information field is identified by an association identifier (AID) value that is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the wireless communication device, in any way of the provisions of Clauses 16 to 19.

[0126] 22. The step of sending RU allocation information is The step of sending a management frame that carries RU assurance information before sending the trigger frame. Any method of provisions 16 to 19, including:

[0127] 23. The RU assurance information includes a bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of the wireless channel is associated with one or more assured tones, in any manner described in any of the clauses 16 to 22.

[0128] 24. The RU assurance information includes one or more pairs of bits, each of which 20 MHz subchannels of each 80 MHz channel are associated with one or more guaranteed tones, in any manner of clauses 16 to 23.

[0129] 25. The RU assurance information includes one or more pairs of bits, each of which 40 MHz subchannels of each 160 MHz channel are associated with one or more guaranteed tones, in any manner of clauses 16 to 23.

[0130] 26. Any method of Clauses 16 to 23, wherein RU assurance information is mapped to one of several entries in a lookup table (LUT), and each entry in the LUT indicates each combination of one or more subchannels of a wireless channel associated with one or more assured tones.

[0131] 27. Any method of Clauses 16 to 26, wherein the TB PPDU includes a physical layer preamble having a universal signal field (U-SIG) that carries downsized signaling information indicating a subset of tones.

[0132] 28. In any of the methods described in Clauses 16 to 27, the downsized signaling information is mapped to one of several entries in the LUT, where each entry in the LUT represents the respective RU or MRU.

[0133] 29. In any way of Clauses 16 to 27, the downsized signaling information indicates the remaining tones of several tones not included in the subset, and the remaining tones represent a third RU or a third MRU.

[0134] 30. Wireless communication device, At least one modem and At least one processor that is communicatively coupled to at least one modem, It comprises at least one processor and at least one memory for storing processor-readable code, wherein the processor-readable code, when executed by at least one processor in conjunction with at least one modem, is configured to perform one or more of the methods of any one of the terms of clauses 16 to 29. Wireless communication device.

[0135] As used herein, the phrases “at least one of” or “one or more of” the list of items refer to any combination of those items that includes a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to include the possibilities of a only, b only, c only, a and b, a and c, b and c, and a, b, and c.

[0136] The various exemplary components, logic, logic blocks, modules, circuits, operations, and algorithmic processes described herein with respect to the implementation forms disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware, firmware, or software, including the structures disclosed herein and their structural equivalents. The compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software is generally described in terms of functionality and is shown above for the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described herein. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware, or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0137] Various modifications of the implementations described herein may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the claims should not be limited to the implementations shown herein, but should be given the broadest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles disclosed herein, and the novel features.

[0138] In addition, the various features described herein in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation may be implemented separately or in any suitable partial combination in multiple implementations. Thus, features are described above as working in a particular combination and may even be initially claimed as such, but in some cases one or more features may be removed from the claimed combination, and the claimed combination may cover a partial combination or a variation of a partial combination.

[0139] Similarly, while actions are shown in a specific order in the diagrams, this should not be understood as requiring that such actions be performed in a specific or sequential order, or that all illustrated actions be performed, in order to achieve the desired result. Furthermore, diagrams may schematically illustrate one or more exemplary processes in the form of flowcharts or flow diagrams. However, other actions not illustrated may be incorporated into the schematicly illustrated exemplary processes. For example, one or more additional actions may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the illustrated actions. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementation forms described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementation forms, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0140] 100 Wireless Communication Networks 102 Access Point (AP) 104 stations (STA) 106 Coverage Area 108 Communication Links 200 Protocol Data Units (PDUs) 202 PHY Preamble 204 PHY payload 206 Legacy Short Training Field (L-STF) 208 Legacy Long Training Field (L-LTF) 210 Legacy Signal Field (L-SIG) 212 Non-Legacy Fields 214 Data Fields (DATA) 222 Data Rate Fields 224 reserved bits 226 Length Fields 228 parity bits 230 Tailfield 300 PPDU 302 PHY Preamble 304 PSDU 306 Aggregate MPDU (A-MPDU) 308 A-MPDU Subframe 310 MPDU Frame 312 MAC Delimiter 314 MAC Header 316 MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) 318 Frame Check Sequence (FCS) Field 320 padding bits 322 Aggregate MSDU (A-MSDU) 324 A-MSDU Subframe 328 Subframe Header 330 MSDU 332 padding bits 400 Wireless Communication Devices 402 Modem 404 Wireless 406 Wireless communication devices 406 Processors 408 memory 502 AP 504 STA 510 Wireless Communication Devices (WCD) 515 Wireless communication devices 520 Antenna 525 Antenna 530 Application Processors 535 Application Processors 540 memory 545 memory 550 External Network Interface 555 User Interface (UI) 565 displays 575 Sensor 600 trigger frames 610 MAC Header 620 Common Information Fields 630 User Information List 632 User Information Fields 634 RU allocation information 636 U Downsizing Information 640 padding bits 650 FCS 700 User Information Fields 802 Assigned tone 812~824 Tone Configuration 902 Tone 912~918 Tone Configuration 1000 trigger frames 1010 MAC Header 1020 Common Information Fields 1022 RU Warranty Information 1030 User Information List 1032 User Information Field 1034 RU allocation information 1036 RU Downsizing Information 1040 padding bits 1050 FCS 1100 Common Information Field 1200 trigger frames 1210 MAC Header 1220 Common Information Fields 1230 User Information List 1232 User Information Field 1234 RU allocation information 1236 RU Downsizing Information 1238 Special User Information Field 1239 RU Warranty Information 1240 padding bits 1250 FCS 1300 Special User Information Field 1400 TB PPDU 1402 Part 1 1404 Part 2 1406 PHY payload 1408 L-STF 1410 L-LTF 1412 L-SIG 1414 Repetitive Legacy Signal Field (RL-SIG) 1416 Universal Signal Field (U-SIG) 1418 Downsizing Signaling Information 1422 Non-Legacy Short Training Field (EHT-STF) 1424 Non-Legacy Long Training Field (EHT-LTF) 1426 DATA field 1500 U-SIG 1602 Trigger Frame 1604 TB PPDU 1610 AP 1620 STA 1630 Wireless Channels 1632 Interference 1700 processes 1800 processes 1900 Wireless Communication Devices 1910 Receiving Component 1920 Communications Manager 1922 Busy Media Determination Component 1924 RU Downsizing Components 1930 Transmitting Component 2000 Wireless communication devices 2010 Receiving Component 2020 Communications Manager 2022 Downsized RU Decision Component 2030 Sending Component

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, The steps include receiving a trigger frame requesting a Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) from the wireless communication device, wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating a plurality of tones assigned to the TB PPDU, and a downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, and the plurality of tones represent a first RU or a first plurality of resource units (MRU) associated with the wireless medium, The steps include receiving RU assurance information indicating one or more of the plurality of tones that are guaranteed to be associated with the TB PPDU, A step of determining that one or more of the plurality of tones are unavailable, and that the one or more unavailable tones are associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists. The steps include: excluding one or more unavailable tones and selecting a subset of tones that includes at least one or more guaranteed tones; A step of selectively transmitting the TB PPDU on a subset of the tones from the plurality of tones based on the downsizing information, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU that is smaller than the first RU or first MRU. A method that includes this.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the downsizing information is indicated by the value of the downsizing bit in the user information field.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU allocation information and the downsizing information are collectively represented by the value of the RU allocation subfield of the user information field.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU guarantee information is transported in a common information field preceding the user information field in the trigger frame, and the common information field transports information common to each user associated with the trigger frame.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU assurance information is carried in a special user information field of the trigger frame, and the special user information field is identified by an association identifier (AID) value that is not assigned to any wireless communication device associated with the same basic service set (BSS) as the wireless communication device.

6. The step of receiving the RU guarantee information, The step of receiving a management frame that carries the RU guarantee information before receiving the trigger frame. The method according to claim 1, including the method described in claim 1.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU assurance information includes a bitmap, and each bit of the bitmap indicates whether each subchannel of the wireless channel is associated with the one or more assured tones.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU guarantee information includes one or more pairs of bits, each of which 20 MHz subchannels of each 80 MHz channel is associated with the one or more guaranteed tones.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU guarantee information includes one or more pairs of bits, each of which 40 MHz subchannels of each 160 MHz channel is associated with the one or more guaranteed tones.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RU guarantee information is mapped to one of a plurality of entries in a lookup table (LUT), and each entry in the LUT indicates each combination of one or more subchannels of the wireless channel associated with the one or more guaranteed tones.

11. The TB PPDU includes a physical layer preamble having a universal signal field (U-SIG) that carries downsized signaling information representing a subset of the tone, The downsized signaling information is mapped to one of several entries in the LUT, and each entry in the LUT represents the respective RU or MRU, or The method according to claim 1, wherein the downsized signaling information indicates the remaining tones of the plurality of tones not included in the subset, and the remaining tones represent a third RU or a third MRU.

12. A wireless communication device, At least one modem and At least one processor that is communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, The system comprises at least one memory that is communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and stores processor-readable code, and the processor-readable code is executed by the at least one processor in cooperation with the at least one modem, Receiving a trigger frame requesting a Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) from the wireless communication device, wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating a plurality of tones allocated to the TB PPDU, and a downsizing information indicating whether downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, wherein the plurality of tones represent a first RU or a first plurality of resource units (MRUs) associated with the wireless medium. Receiving RU assurance information indicating one or more of the multiple tones that are guaranteed to be associated with the TB PPDU, Determining that one or more of the aforementioned multiple tones are unavailable, and that the one or more unavailable tones are associated with a portion of the wireless medium where interference exists, Excluding one or more unavailable tones and selecting a subset of tones that includes at least one or more guaranteed tones, Based on the downsizing information, the TB PPDU is selectively transmitted on a subset of the tones, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU that is smaller than the first RU or first MRU. It is configured to do, Wireless communication device.

13. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, The steps include sending a trigger frame requesting a Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating a plurality of tones allocated to the TB PPDU, and that carries downsizing information indicating that downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, and the plurality of tones represent a first RU or a first plurality of resource units (MRUs), The steps include transmitting RU allocation information indicating one or more tones from the plurality of tones that are guaranteed to be associated with the TB PPDU, The step of receiving the TB PPDU in response to the downsizing information on a subset of the tones, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU smaller than the first RU or first MRU, and the subset of tones includes at least one of the one or more guaranteed tones. Methods that include...

14. A wireless communication device, At least one modem and At least one processor that is communicatively coupled to the at least one modem, The system comprises at least one memory that is communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and stores processor-readable code, and the processor-readable code is executed by the at least one processor in cooperation with the at least one modem, The transmission involves sending a trigger frame requesting a Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), wherein the trigger frame includes a user information field that carries resource unit (RU) allocation information indicating a plurality of tones allocated to the TB PPDU, and that carries downsizing information indicating that downsizing of the plurality of tones is permitted, and the plurality of tones represent a first RU or a first plurality of resource units (MRUs). Transmitting RU allocation information indicating one or more of the multiple tones that are guaranteed to be associated with the TB PPDU, Receiving the TB PPDU in response to the downsizing information on a subset of the tones, wherein the subset of tones represents a second RU or second MRU smaller than the first RU or first MRU, and the subset of tones includes at least one of the one or more guaranteed tones. It is configured to do, Wireless communication device.

15. A computer program that includes instructions, When the instruction is executed in the at least one processor of the wireless communication device according to claim 12, it causes the at least one processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11. A computer program which, when the instruction is executed in the at least one processor of the wireless communication device according to claim 14, causes the at least one processor to execute the method according to claim 13.

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