Method and apparatus for executing preamble puncturing-based communication in a wireless LAN system

Abstract

A method and an apparatus operating in a wireless LAN system are disclosed. A method performed by a first STA in a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: generating a PPDU including a first U-SIG field associated with a first bandwidth and a second U-SIG field associated with a second bandwidth; and transmitting the PPDU including the first U-SIG field and the second U-SIG field to a second STA, wherein the first U-SIG field may include a first punctured channel information field indicating a first puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the first bandwidth, and the second U-SIG field may include a second punctured channel information field indicating a second puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the second bandwidth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to communication operations in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for performing communication based on preamble puncturing in a next-generation wireless LAN system.

Background Art

[0002] New technologies for improving the transmission rate, increasing the bandwidth, improving the reliability, reducing errors, and reducing latency have been introduced for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Among WLAN technologies, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 series of standards can be referred to as Wi-Fi. For example, technologies recently introduced to WLANs include enhancements for Very High-Throughput (VHT) of the IEEE 802.11ac standard, enhancements for High Efficiency (HE) of the IEEE 802.11ax standard, and the like.

[0003] To provide a more improved wireless communication environment, improvement technologies for Extremely High Throughput (EHT) are being discussed. For example, technologies for increased bandwidth, efficient utilization of multiple bands, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) to support increased spatial streams, and technologies for multi-access point (AP) coordination are being studied. In particular, various technologies for supporting traffic with low latency or real-time characteristics are being studied. In addition, new technologies for supporting ultra-high reliability (UHR), including improvements or extensions of EHT technology, are being discussed.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The technical problem addressed by this disclosure is to provide a preamble puncturing-based communication execution method and apparatus for a wireless LAN system.

[0005] A further technical challenge of this disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for indicating a preamble puncturing pattern in the 480MHz / 640MHz bandwidth in a wireless LAN system.

[0006] The technical challenges addressed in this disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other technical challenges not mentioned will be clearly understood by those with ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In a wireless LAN system according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communication execution method by a first station (STA) includes the steps of: generating a PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit) including a first U (universal)-signal (SIG) field associated with a first bandwidth and a second U-SIG field associated with a second bandwidth; and transmitting the PPDU, which includes the first U-SIG field and the second U-SIG field, to a second STA, wherein the first U-SIG field includes a first punctured channel information field indicating a first punctured pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the first bandwidth, and the second U-SIG field may include a second punctured channel information field indicating a second punctured pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the second bandwidth.

[0008] A communication execution method by a second station (STA) in a wireless LAN system according to a further aspect of the present disclosure includes the steps of: transmitting information relating to the total bandwidth for transmitting a PPDU (physical layer protocol data unit) to a first STA; and receiving the PPDU from the first STA, which includes a first U-SIG field relating to a first bandwidth of the total bandwidth and a second U-SIG field relating to a second bandwidth of the total bandwidth, wherein the first U-SIG field includes a first punctured channel information field indicating a first punctured pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the first bandwidth, and the second U-SIG field may include a second punctured channel information field indicating a second punctured pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the second bandwidth. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] Various embodiments of this disclosure can provide a preamble puncturing-based communication execution method and apparatus for a wireless LAN system.

[0010] Various embodiments of this disclosure provide a method and apparatus for instructing a preamble puncturing pattern in the 480MHz / 640MHz band in a wireless LAN system.

[0011] Various embodiments of this disclosure enable improved efficiency and throughput by supporting preamble puncturing-based communications over wider bandwidths.

[0012] The effects derived from this disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and any other effects not mentioned above will be clearly understood by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] The accompanying drawings, included as part of the detailed description to aid in understanding this disclosure, provide examples of the disclosure and illustrate the technical features of the disclosure together with the detailed description.

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This figure shows an exemplary structure of a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the link setup process to which this disclosure applies. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates the backoff process to which this disclosure applies. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates the CSMA / CA baseframe transmission operation to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 6] This figure illustrates an example of a frame structure used in a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a PPDU as defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard to which this disclosure applies. [Figure 8] This figure illustrates an example of a resource unit in a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 9] This figure illustrates an example of a resource unit in a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 10] This figure illustrates an example of a resource unit in a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 11] This figure shows an exemplary structure of the HE-SIG-B field. [Figure 12] This diagram illustrates the MU-MIMO scheme, where multiple users / STAs are assigned to a single RU. [Figure 13] This figure shows examples of PPDU formats to which this disclosure can be applied. [Figure 14] FIG. is an illustration of an example of a trigger frame format to which the present disclosure is applicable. [Figure 15] FIG. is a diagram for explaining operations performed by a first STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. is a diagram for explaining operations performed by a second STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. is a diagram for explaining a PPDU transmission / reception procedure between a transmitting STA and a receiving STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description disclosed below together with the accompanying drawings is for explaining exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not for showing the only embodiments in which the present disclosure can be implemented. The following detailed description includes specific details in order to provide a complete understanding of the present disclosure. However, it is understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be implemented without such specific details.

[0016] In some cases, in order to avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, known structures and devices may be omitted, or may be shown in the form of a block diagram centered on the core functions of each structure and device.

[0017] In the present disclosure, when a certain component is “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” to another component, this may include not only a direct connection relationship but also an indirect connection relationship in which there are further other components between them. Also, in the present disclosure, the terms “including” or “having” identify the presence of the recited features, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0018] In this disclosure, terms such as "first," "second," etc., are used solely to distinguish one component from another, and are not used to limit the components, nor do they limit the order or importance of the components unless specifically mentioned. Therefore, within the scope of this disclosure, a first component in one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly, a second component in one embodiment may be referred to as a first component in another embodiment.

[0019] The terms used in this disclosure are for illustrative purposes relating to specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. As used in the description of the embodiments and in the attached claims, singular forms are intended to include plural forms unless otherwise specified in the context. The terms "and / or" used in this disclosure may refer to one of the related enumerated items, or to any and all possible combinations of two or more of them. In this disclosure, a " / " between words has the same meaning as "and / or" unless otherwise specified.

[0020] The examples in this disclosure may be applied to a variety of wireless communication systems. For example, the examples in this disclosure may be applied to wireless LAN systems. For example, the examples in this disclosure may be applied to IEEE 802.11a / g / n / ac / ax standard-based wireless LANs. Furthermore, the examples in this disclosure may be applied to newly proposed IEEE 802.11be (or EHT) standard-based wireless LANs. The examples in this disclosure may be applied to IEEE 802.11be release-2 standard-based wireless LANs that represent further improvements to the IEEE 802.11be release-1 standard. In addition, the examples in this disclosure may be applied to next-generation standard-based wireless LANs following IEEE 802.11be. Moreover, the examples in this disclosure may be applied to cellular wireless communication systems. For example, they may be applied to cellular wireless communication systems based on 3GPP® (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard LTE (Long Term Evolution) series technologies and 5G NR (New Radio) series technologies.

[0021] The following describes the technical features to which the examples in this disclosure may apply.

[0022] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] The first device 100 and the second device 200 illustrated in Figure 1 may be replaced with various terms such as terminal, wireless device, WTRU (Wireless Transmit Receive Unit), UE (User Equipment), MS (Mobile Station), UT (user terminal), MSS (Mobile Subscriber Station), MSS (Mobile Subscriber Unit), SS (Subscriber Station), AMS (Advanced Mobile Station), WT (Wireless terminal), or simply user. Furthermore, the first device 100 and the second device 200 may be replaced with various terms such as access point (AP), BS (Base Station), fixed station, Node B, BTS (base transceiver system), network, AI (Artificial Intelligence) system, RSU (roadside unit), repeater, router, relay, gateway, etc.

[0024] The devices 100 and 200 illustrated in Figure 1 can also be referred to as stations (STA). For example, the devices 100 and 200 illustrated in Figure 1 can be referred to by various terms such as transmitting device, receiving device, transmitting STA, and receiving STA. For example, STA 110 and 200 can play the role of an AP (access point) or a non-AP. That is, in this disclosure, STA 110 and 200 may have AP and / or non-AP functions. When STA 110 and 200 have AP functions, they can simply be called APs, and when STA 110 and 200 have non-AP functions, they can simply be called STAs. In addition, in this disclosure, AP may be represented as AP STA.

[0025] Referring to Figure 1, the first device 100 and the second device 200 can send and receive wireless signals using various wireless LAN technologies (e.g., the IEEE 802.11 series). The first device 100 and the second device 200 may include interfaces to the medium access control (MAC) layer and the physical layer (PHY) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0026] Furthermore, the first device 100 and the second device 200 can also further support various communication standards other than Wi-Fi technology (e.g., 3GPP LTE series, 5G NR series standards, etc.). The devices of this disclosure may also be embodied in various devices such as mobile phones, vehicles, personal computers, Augmented Reality (AR) equipment, and Virtual Reality (VR) equipment. In addition, the STA of this specification can support various communication services such as voice calls, video calls, data communication, autonomous driving, Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Machine-to-Machine (M2M), Device-to-Device (D2D), and Internet of Things (IoT).

[0027] The first device 100 includes one or more processors 102 and one or more memories 104, and may further include one or more transceivers 106 and / or one or more antennas 108. The processor 102 may control the memories 104 and / or the transceivers 106 and be configured to embody the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operation diagrams of this disclosure. For example, the processor 102 may process information in the memory 104 to generate first information / signals and then transmit a radio signal containing the first information / signals via the transceiver 106. Alternatively, the processor 102 may receive a radio signal containing second information / signals via the transceiver 106 and then store information obtained from signal processing of the second information / signals in the memory 104. The memory 104 may be linked to the processor 102 and can store various information relating to the operation of the processor 102. For example, memory 104 may store software code that executes some or all of a process controlled by processor 102, or that contains instructions for executing the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams in this disclosure. Here, processor 102 and memory 104 may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to embody wireless LAN technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). Transceiver 106 may be coupled with processor 102 and can transmit and / or receive radio signals via one or more antennas 108. Transceiver 106 may include a transmitter and / or receiver. Transceiver 106 may be used synonymously with RF (Radio Frequency) unit. In this disclosure, device may also mean communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0028] The second device 200 includes one or more processors 202, one or more memories 204, and may further include one or more transceivers 206 and / or one or more antennas 208. The processor 202 may control the memories 204 and / or the transceivers 206 and be configured to embody the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams disclosed herein. For example, the processor 202 may process information in the memory 204 to generate third information / signals and then transmit a radio signal containing the third information / signals via the transceiver 206. Alternatively, the processor 202 may receive a radio signal containing fourth information / signals via the transceiver 206 and then store information obtained from signal processing of the fourth information / signals in the memory 204. The memory 204 may be linked to the processor 202 and can store various information related to the operation of the processor 202. For example, memory 204 may store software code that executes some or all of the processes controlled by processor 202, or that contains instructions for executing the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams disclosed in this disclosure. Here, processor 202 and memory 204 may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to embody wireless LAN technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). Transceiver 206 may be coupled with processor 202 and may transmit and / or receive radio signals via one or more antennas 208. Transceiver 206 may include a transmitter and / or receiver. Transceiver 206 may be used synonymously with RF unit. In this disclosure, device may also mean communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0029] The hardware elements of devices 100,200 will be described in more detail below. However, one or more protocol layers may be embodied by one or more processors 102,202. For example, one or more processors 102,202 can embodied one or more layers (e.g., layers with the same functionality, such as PHY and MAC). One or more processors 102,202 can generate one or more PDUs (Protocol Data Units) and / or one or more SDUs (Service Data Units) by means of the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams in this disclosure. One or more processors 102,202 can generate messages, control information, data, or information by means of the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams in this disclosure. One or more processors 102,202 can generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) containing PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information by the functions, procedures, proposals and / or methods of this disclosure and provide them to one or more transceivers 106,206. One or more processors 102,202 can receive signals (e.g., baseband signals) from one or more transceivers 106,206 and obtain PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information by the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams of this disclosure.

[0030] One or more processors 102,202 may be referred to as controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or microcomputers. One or more processors 102,202 may be embodied by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), one or more DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), one or more DSPDs (Digital Signal Processing Devices), one or more PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), or one or more FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) may be included in one or more processors 102,202. The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams disclosed in this disclosure may be embodied using firmware or software, and the firmware or software may be embodied to include modules, procedures, functions, etc. Firmware or software configured to perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or sequence diagrams disclosed in this disclosure may be contained in one or more processors 102,202 or stored in one or more memories 104,204 and driven by one or more processors 102,202. The descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or sequence diagrams disclosed in this disclosure may be embodied by firmware or software in the form of code, instructions and / or sets of instructions.

[0031] One or more memories 104,204 may be connected to one or more processors 102,202 and can store various forms of data, signals, messages, information, programs, code, instructions and / or commands. One or more memories 104,204 may consist of ROM, RAM, EPROM, flash memory, hard drives, registers, cache memory, computer-readable storage media and / or combinations thereof. One or more memories 104,204 may be located inside and / or outside of one or more processors 102,202. Furthermore, one or more memories 104,204 may be connected to one or more processors 102,202 by various technologies such as wired or wireless connections.

[0032] One or more transceivers 106,206 can transmit user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., as referred to in the methods and / or operation sequence diagrams of this disclosure, to one or more other devices. One or more transceivers 106,206 can receive user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., as referred to in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams disclosed in this disclosure, from one or more other devices. For example, one or more transceivers 106,206 may be coupled with one or more processors 102,202 to transmit and receive radio signals. For example, one or more processors 102,202 can control one or more transceivers 106,206 to transmit user data, control information, or radio signals to one or more other devices. Also, one or more processors 102,202 can control one or more transceivers 106,206 to receive user data, control information, or radio signals from one or more other devices. Furthermore, one or more transceivers 106,206 may be connected to one or more antennas 108,208, and one or more transceivers 106,206 may be configured to transmit and receive user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., as referred to in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation sequence diagrams disclosed in this disclosure, via one or more antennas 108,208. In this disclosure, one or more antennas may be multiple physical antennas or multiple logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). One or more transceivers 106,206 may convert the received user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., from RF band signals to baseband signals for processing using one or more processors 102,202. One or more transceivers 106,206 may convert the user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., processed by one or more processors 102,202, from baseband signals to RF band signals. To this end, one or more transceivers 106,206 may include (analog) oscillators and / or filters.

[0033] For example, either STA100 or STA200 can perform the intended operation of an AP, and the other STA100 or STA200 can perform the intended operation of a non-AP STA. For example, the transceivers 106 and 206 in Figure 1 can perform the transmission and reception of signals (e.g., packets or PPDUs (Physical Layer Protocol Data Units) conforming to IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax / be, etc.). Furthermore, in this disclosure, the operation of various STAs generating transmission and reception signals or performing data processing and calculations in advance for transmission and reception signals may be performed by the processors 102 and 202 in Figure 1. For example, an example of an operation that generates transmit / receive signals or performs data processing or calculations in advance for transmit / receive signals may include: 1) an operation to determine / acquire / construct / calculate / decode / encode bit information of fields contained within the PPDU (SIG (signal), STF (short training field), LTF (long training field), Data, etc.); 2) an operation to determine / construct / acquire time resources and frequency resources (e.g., subcarrier resources) used for fields contained within the PPDU (SIG, STF, LTF, Data, etc.); 3) an operation to determine / construct / acquire specific sequences (e.g., pilot sequence, STF / LTF sequence, extra sequence applied to SIG) used for fields contained within the PPDU (SIG, STF, LTF, Data, etc.); 4) power control operations and / or power saving operations applied to the STA; and 5) operations related to determining / acquiring / constructing / calculating / decoding / encoding the ACK signal. Furthermore, in the following example, various pieces of information used by various STAs for determining / acquiring / composing / calculating / decoding / encoding the transmit / receive signals (e.g., information about fields / subfields / control fields / parameters / power, etc.) may be stored in memories 104,204 in Figure 1.

[0034] In the following, downlink (DL) refers to the link for communication from AP STA to non-AP STA, and downlink PPDU / packets / signals, etc., may be transmitted and received through the downlink. In downlink communication, the transmitter may be part of AP STA, and the receiver may be part of non-AP STA. Uplink (UL) refers to the link for communication from non-AP STA to AP STA, and uplink PPDU / packets / signals, etc., may be transmitted and received through the uplink. In uplink communication, the transmitter may be part of non-AP STA, and the receiver may be part of AP STA.

[0035] Figure 2 shows an exemplary structure of a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0036] The structure of a wireless LAN system may consist of multiple components. A wireless LAN may be provided that supports transparent STA mobility to higher layers through the interaction of multiple components. A BSS (Basic Service Set) corresponds to the basic structural block of a wireless LAN. Figure 2 illustrates the existence of two BSSs (BSS1 and BSS2), with each BSS containing two STAs as members (STA1 and STA2 are included in BSS1, and STA3 and STA4 are included in BSS2). In Figure 2, the ellipses representing the BSSs may be understood as representing the coverage area where the STAs included in that BSS maintain communication. This area can be called a BSA (Basic Service Area). When an STA moves outside a BSA, it can no longer communicate directly with other STAs within that BSA.

[0037] Ignoring the DS shown in Figure 2, the most basic type of BSS in a wireless LAN is the Independent BSS (IBSS). For example, an IBSS can have a minimal form consisting of only two STAs. For instance, assuming other components are omitted, BSS1 consisting only of STA1 and STA2, or BSS2 consisting only of STA3 and STA4, can each be considered a typical example of an IBSS. Such a configuration is possible when STAs can communicate directly without APs. Furthermore, this type of wireless LAN is not pre-planned and configured, but can be configured when the LAN requires it, and can be called an ad-hoc network. Since an IBSS does not include APs, there is no centralized management entity. That is, in an IBSS, STAs are managed in a distributed manner. In an IBSS, all STAs may be mobile STAs, and connection to a distributed system (DS) is not permitted, forming a self-contained network.

[0038] STA membership in the BSS can change dynamically due to actions such as STAs joining and leaving the BSS domain. To become a member of the BSS, an STA can join the BSS using a synchronization process. To access all services of the BSS-based structure, an STA must be associated with the BSS. Such associations may be configured dynamically and may include the use of Distribution System Services (DSS).

[0039] In a wireless LAN, the direct distance between STAs may be limited by the PHY performance. While this distance limit may be sufficient in some cases, there may be situations requiring communication between STAs over longer distances. Distributed systems (DS) may be configured to support extended coverage.

[0040] DS refers to a structure in which BSSs are interconnected. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, BSSs may exist as components of an extended form of a network composed of multiple BSSs. DS is a logical concept and may be identified by the characteristics of the Distributed System Medium (DSM). In this regard, Wireless Medium (WM) and DSM may be logically distinct. Each logical medium is used for a different purpose and by different components. These mediums are neither limited to being the same nor limited to being different. The flexibility of wireless LAN structures (DS structures or other network structures) can be explained by the fact that multiple mediums are logically distinct from one another. That is, wireless LAN structures can be embodied in various ways, and each embodied example may be identified independently by its physical characteristics.

[0041] DS can support mobile devices by providing seamless integration of multiple BSSs and offering the necessary logical services for handling destination addresses. DS may also include a portal component that acts as a bridge for connecting wireless LANs with other networks (e.g., IEEE 802.X).

[0042] An AP (Application Programming Object) is an entity that enables a coupled non-AP STA (Systematization System) to access the DS (Data Storage System) via the WM (Web Module) and also possesses the functionality of an STA. Data can be moved between the BSS (Base System Storage) and the DS via the AP. For example, STA2 and STA3, shown in Figure 2, possess the functionality of an STA while also providing the ability for coupled non-AP STAs (STA1 and STA4) to access the DS. Furthermore, since all APs are essentially STAs, all APs are addressable entities. The address used by an AP for communication on the WM and the address used by an AP for communication on the DSM (Data Storage System) do not necessarily have to be the same. A BSS consisting of an AP and one or more STAs can be called an infrastructure BSS.

[0043] Data transmitted from one of the STAs connected to an AP to the AP's STA address is always received on an uncontrolled port and may be processed by an IEEE 802.1X port access entity. Alternatively, once a controlled port is authenticated, the transmitted data (or frame) may be forwarded to a DS.

[0044] An Extended Service Set (ESS) may be added to the aforementioned DS structure to provide even broader coverage.

[0045] An ESS (Service Set Network) refers to a network of arbitrary size and complexity composed of DSs (Distributed Service Sets) and BSSs (Blockchain Service Sets). An ESS can be a collection of BSSs connected to a single DS. However, an ESS cannot contain a DS. A key feature of an ESS network is that it appears as an IBSS (Internet Link Control Service Set) at the LLC (Logical Link Control) layer. STAs (Stage Attacks) within an ESS can communicate with each other, and mobile STAs can move transparently to the LLC from one BSS to another (within the same ESS). APs (Access Points) within an ESS may have the same SSID (Service Set Identification). An SSID is distinct from a BSSID, which is the identifier for a BSS.

[0046] In wireless LAN systems, no assumptions are made regarding the relative physical location of BSSs, and any of the following forms are possible: BSSs may partially overlap, which is a commonly used form to provide continuous coverage. BSSs do not have to be physically connected, and logically there is no limit to the distance between BSSs. BSSs may also be located in the same physical location, which may be used to provide redundancy. One (or more) IBSS or ESS networks may physically exist in the same space as one (or more) ESS networks. This may include ESS network configurations when an ad hoc network operates in the location where an ESS network exists, when physically overlapping wireless networks are configured by different organizations, or when two or more different access and security policies are required at the same location.

[0047] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the link setup process to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0048] For an STA to set up a link to a network and send and receive data, it must first discover the network, perform authentication, establish an association, and carry out security authentication procedures. The link setup process can be called the session initiation process or session setup process. Alternatively, the discovery, authentication, association, and security setting processes of the link setup process can be collectively referred to as the association process.

[0049] In step S310, the STA can perform a network discovery operation. The network discovery operation may include the STA's scanning operation. That is, in order for the STA to access a network, it must find a network that it can join. Before joining a wireless network, the STA must identify a compatible network, and the process of identifying networks in a specific area is called scanning.

[0050] There are two scanning methods: active scanning and passive scanning. Figure 3 illustrates a network discovery operation that includes the active scanning process. In active scanning, the STA performing the scanning sends a probe request frame to search for any APs in the vicinity while moving between channels, and waits for a response. The responder sends a probe response frame to the STA that sent the probe request frame as a response to the probe request frame. Here, the responder may be the STA that last sent a beacon frame in the BSS of the channel being scanned. In BSS, APs send beacon frames, so APs become the responders, while in IBSS, STAs within IBSS send beacon frames alternately, so the responders are not constant. For example, an STA that sends a probe request frame on channel 1 and receives a probe response frame on channel 1 can save the BSS-related information contained in the received probe response frame and move to the next channel (e.g., channel 2) to perform scanning in the same way (i.e., send and receive probe requests / responses on channel 2).

[0051] Although not shown in Figure 3, the scanning operation may also be performed using a passive scanning method. In passive scanning, the STA performing the scanning waits for beacon frames while switching channels. A beacon frame is one of the management frames defined in IEEE 802.11, and is transmitted periodically to announce the presence of a wireless network, allowing the scanning STA to find and join the wireless network. In BSS, APs are responsible for periodically transmitting beacon frames, while in IBSS, STAs within IBSS transmit beacon frames alternately. When the scanning STA receives a beacon frame, it stores the BSS information contained in the beacon frame and records the beacon frame information on each channel while moving to other channels. An STA that has received a beacon frame can store the BSS-related information contained in the received beacon frame and move to the next channel to perform scanning on the next channel in the same way. Comparing active scanning and passive scanning, active scanning has the advantage of less delay and power consumption compared to passive scanning.

[0052] After the STA discovers the network, an authentication process may be performed in step S320. This authentication process can be called the first authentication process to clearly distinguish it from the security setup operation in step S340, which will be described later.

[0053] The authentication process involves the STA sending an authentication request frame to the AP, and the AP responding by sending an authentication response frame to the STA. The authentication frame used in the authentication request / response corresponds to the management frame.

[0054] The authentication frame may include information such as the authentication algorithm number, authentication transaction sequence number, status code, challenge text, Robust Security Network (RSN), and Finite Cyclic Group. This is just an example of some of the information that may be included in the authentication request / response frame, and may be replaced by other information or may contain additional information.

[0055] The STA can send an authentication request frame to the AP. Based on the information contained in the received authentication request frame, the AP can decide whether or not to allow authentication to the STA. The AP can provide the STA with the result of the authentication process using an authentication response frame.

[0056] After the STA has been successfully authenticated, the association process may take place in step S330. The association process includes the STA sending an association request frame to the AP, and the AP sending an association response frame to the STA in response.

[0057] For example, a join request frame may include information about various capacities, such as the beacon listening interval, SSID (service set identifier), supported rates, supported channels, RSN, mobility domain, supported operating classes, TIM broadcast request (Traffic Indication Map Broadcast request), and interworking service capacity. For example, a join response frame may include information about various capacities, such as the status code, AID (Association ID), supported rates, EDCA (Enhanced Distributed Channel Access) parameter set, RCPI (Received Channel Power Indicator), RSNI (Received Signal to Noise Indicator), mobility domain, timeout interval (e.g., association comeback time), overlapping BSS scan parameters, TIM broadcast response, and QoS (Quality of Service) map. This is an example of some of the information that may be included in a join request / response frame, and may be replaced by other information or may include additional information.

[0058] After the STA is successfully connected to the network, the security setup process may be performed in step S340. The security setup process in step S340 can also be described as an authentication process using RSNA (Robust Security Network Association) request / response, and the authentication process in step S320 can be called the first authentication process, while the security setup process in step S340 can simply be called the authentication process.

[0059] The security setup process in stage S340 may include, for example, a process of private key setup using a four-way handshake with an EAPOL (Extensible Authentication Protocol over LAN) frame. Furthermore, the security setup process may be performed using a security method not defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0060] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the backoff process to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0061] In wireless LAN systems, the basic access mechanism of MAC (Medium Access Control) is the CSMA / CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) mechanism. The CSMA / CA mechanism is also called the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) of IEEE 802.11 MAC, and basically employs a "listen before talk" access mechanism. With this type of access mechanism, an AP and / or STA can perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) to sense the radio channel or medium within a predetermined time interval (e.g., DIFS (DCF Inter-Frame Space)) before initiating transmission. If the sensing determines that the medium is idle, the AP and / or STA will begin transmitting a frame through that medium. On the other hand, if the medium is perceived as occupied or busy, the AP and / or STA will not begin transmitting itself, but will wait for a delay period (e.g., a random backoff period) for medium access before attempting to transmit a frame. By applying a random backoff period, multiple STAs are expected to attempt to transmit frames after waiting for different periods of time from each other, thus minimizing collisions.

[0062] Furthermore, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol provides HCF (Hybrid Coordination Function). HCF is based on the aforementioned DCF and PCF (Point Coordination Function). PCF is a polling-based synchronous access method that periodically polls so that all receiving APs and / or STAs can receive data frames. HCF also has EDCA (Enhanced Distributed Channel Access) and HCCA (HCF Controlled Channel Access). EDCA is a competition-based access method for a provider to provide data frames to multiple users, while HCCA uses a non-competition-based channel access method with a polling mechanism. In addition, HCF includes a media access mechanism to improve the QoS (Quality of Service) of wireless LANs and can transmit QoS data during both the Contention Period (CP) and the Contention Free Period (CFP).

[0063] Refer to Figure 4 to explain the operation based on the random backoff period. When a medium that was occupied / busy changes to idle, multiple STAs can attempt to transmit data (or frames). As a way to minimize collisions, each STA can select a random backoff count and wait for the corresponding slot time before attempting to transmit. The random backoff count has a pseudo-random integer value and may be determined to any one of the values ​​in the range of 0 to CW, where CW is the Contention Window parameter value. The CW parameter is initially given as CWmin, but can take twice that value in case of transmission failure (e.g., if an ACK for a transmitted frame is not received). When the CW parameter value becomes CWmax, the STA can attempt to transmit data while maintaining the CWmax value until successful data transmission occurs, at which point it is reset to the CWmin value. The CW, CWmin, and CWmax values ​​are 2 n It is preferable to set it to -1 (n=0,1,2,...).

[0064] Once the random backoff process begins, the STA continues to monitor the media while counting down the backoff slots according to the determined backoff count value. When the media is monitored as occupied, the countdown stops and it waits; when the media becomes idle, the remaining countdown resumes.

[0065] In the example in Figure 4, when a packet to be transmitted reaches the MAC of STA3, STA3 can immediately transmit the frame after confirming that the medium is idle for DIFS only. The remaining STAs monitor the occupied / busy state of the medium and wait. Meanwhile, data to be transmitted may also be generated in STA1, STA2, and STA5. When each STA monitors the medium as idle, after waiting for DIFS only, it can count down the backoff slot using a random backoff count value of its choice. Assume that STA2 selects the minimum backoff count value and STA1 selects the maximum backoff count value. That is, the example illustrates a case where the remaining backoff time for STA5 is shorter than the remaining backoff time for STA1 when STA2 finishes its backoff count and begins transmitting a frame. STA1 and STA5 pause their countdown and wait for a while while STA2 occupies the medium. When STA2's occupation ends and the medium becomes idle again, STA1 and STA5 wait for DIFS only before resuming the paused backoff count. In other words, frame transmission can begin after counting down the remaining backoff slots equal to the remaining backoff time. Since STA5's remaining backoff time was shorter than STA1's, STA5 begins frame transmission. Data to transmit may also occur in STA4 while STA2 is occupying the medium. From STA4's perspective, when the medium becomes idle, it can wait for DIFS, then count down using a random backoff count value of its choosing, and begin frame transmission. The example in Figure 4 shows a case where STA5's remaining backoff time coincidentally matches STA4's random backoff count value, in which case a collision may occur between STA4 and STA5. If a collision occurs, neither STA4 nor STA5 will receive an ACK, and data transmission will fail. In this case, STA4 and STA5 can double their CW value, select a random backoff count value, and then perform the countdown.STA1 waits while the medium is occupied by transmissions from STA4 and STA5. When the medium becomes idle, STA1 waits only for DIFS time, and can start transmitting frames once the remaining backoff time has elapsed.

[0066] As illustrated in Figure 4, data frames are used to transmit data forwarded to higher layers and may be transmitted after a backoff that occurs after DIFS has elapsed, from the time the medium becomes idle. Furthermore, management frames are used to exchange management information that is not forwarded to higher layers and are transmitted after a backoff that occurs after an IFS such as DIFS or PIFS (Point Coordination Function IFS) has elapsed. Subtypes of management frames include beacons, association request / response, re-association request / response, probe request / response, and authentication request / response. Control frames are used to control access to the medium. Subtypes of control frames include RTS (Request-To-Send), CTS (Clear-To-Send), ACK (Acknowledgment), PS-Poll (Power Save-Poll), Block ACK (BlockAck), Block ACK Request (BlockACKReq), NDP Announcement (null data packet announcement), and Trigger. If a control frame is not a response frame to a previous frame, it is sent after a backoff that occurs after DIFS (Distributed Ingress Fault System), and if it is a response frame to a previous frame, it is sent after a short IFS (Shorter Ingress Fault System) without a backoff. The type and subtype of a frame may be identified by the type and subtype fields in the frame control (FC) field.

[0067] A Quality of Service (QoS) STA can transmit a frame after an arbitration IFS (AIFS) for the access category (AC) to which the frame belongs, i.e., after a backoff that occurs after AIFS[i] (where i is a value determined by the AC). Frames for which AIFS[i] is available can be data frames, management frames, or control frames that are not response frames.

[0068] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the CSMA / CA baseframe transmission operation to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0069] As mentioned earlier, the CSMA / CA mechanism includes not only physical carrier sensing, where the STA directly senses the medium, but also virtual carrier sensing. Virtual carrier sensing is intended to compensate for problems that can occur in medium access, such as the hidden node problem. For virtual carrier sensing, the STA's MAC can utilize the Network Allocation Vector (NAV). The NAV is a value that indicates to other STAs the time remaining until the medium becomes available, used by an STA that is currently using or authorized to use the medium. Therefore, the value set as the NAV corresponds to the period during which the STA sending the frame is scheduled to use the medium, and STAs receiving the NAV value are prohibited from accessing the medium during that period. For example, the NAV may be set based on the value of the "duration" field in the frame's MAC header.

[0070] In the example shown in Figure 5, we assume that STA1 is attempting to transmit data to STA2, and STA3 is in a position where it can overhear some or all of the frames transmitted and received between STA1 and STA2.

[0071] In CSMA / CA baseframe transmission operation, a mechanism utilizing RTS / CTS frames may be applied to reduce the possibility of collisions between transmissions from multiple STAs. In the example in Figure 5, while STA1 is transmitting, carrier sensing by STA3 may determine that the medium is idle. That is, STA1 may be a hidden node for STA3. Alternatively, in the example in Figure 5, while STA2 is transmitting, carrier sensing by STA3 may determine that the medium is idle. That is, STA2 may be a hidden node for STA3. By exchanging RTS / CTS frames before data transmission and reception between STA1 and STA2, it is possible to prevent STAs outside the transmission range of either STA1 or STA2, or STAs outside the carrier sensing range for transmissions from STA1 or STA3, from attempting to occupy the channel during data transmission and reception between STA1 and STA2.

[0072] Specifically, STA1 can determine whether a channel is in use or not using carrier sensing. In terms of physical carrier sensing, STA1 can determine the channel's occupied or idle state based on the energy magnitude or signal correlation detected from the channel. In terms of virtual carrier sensing, STA1 can determine the channel's occupied state using a network allocation vector (NAV) timer.

[0073] STA1 can send an RTS frame to STA2 after backoff if the channel is idle during DIFS. STA2, upon receiving an RTS frame, can send a CTS frame, which is a response to the RTS frame, to STA1 after SIFS.

[0074] If STA3 cannot overhear CTS frames from STA2 but can overhear RTS frames from STA1, STA3 can use the duration information contained in the RTS frames to set the NAV timer for subsequent consecutive frame transmission periods (e.g., SIFS + CTS frame + SIFS + data frame + SIFS + ACK frame). Alternatively, if STA3 cannot overhear RTS frames from STA1 but can overhear CTS frames from STA2, STA3 can use the duration information contained in the CTS frames to set the NAV timer for subsequent consecutive frame transmission periods (e.g., SIFS + data frame + SIFS + ACK frame). In other words, STA3 can set NAV based on overhearing one or more RTS or CTS frames from at least one of STA1 or STA2. If STA3 receives a new frame before the NAV timer expires, it can update the NAV timer using the duration information contained in the new frame. STA3 will not attempt to access the channel until the NAV timer expires.

[0075] When STA1 receives a CTS frame from STA2, it can send a data frame to STA2 after SIFS from the time it has finished receiving the CTS frame. If STA2 successfully receives the data frame, it can send an ACK frame, which is a response to the data frame, to STA1 after SIFS. When the NAV timer expires, STA3 can use carrier sensing to determine whether or not the channel is in use. If STA3 determines that the channel is not being used by another terminal between the expiration of the NAV timer and DIFS, it can attempt to access the channel after the random backoff conflict window (CW) has passed.

[0076] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure used in a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0077] The PHY layer can prepare the MPDU (MAC PDU) to be transmitted based on instructions or primitives (meaning a set of instructions or parameters) from the MAC layer. For example, when the PHY layer receives an instruction from the MAC layer requesting it to start transmitting, it switches to transmit mode and can assemble the information provided by the MAC layer (e.g., data) into a frame and transmit it. Also, when the PHY layer detects a valid preamble in the frame it is receiving, it monitors the preamble header and sends an instruction to the MAC layer to signal that the PHY layer has started receiving.

[0078] Thus, information transmission and reception in wireless LAN systems are performed in the form of frames, and for this purpose, the Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) frame format is defined.

[0079] A basic PPDU frame may include an STF (Short Training Field), an LTF (Long Training Field), a SIG (SIGNAL) field, and a Data field. The most basic (e.g., non-HT (High Throughput)) PPDU frame format may consist only of an L-STF (Legacy-STF), an L-LTF (Legacy-LTF), a SIG field, and a Data field. Depending on the type of PPDU frame format (e.g., HT-mixed format PPDU, HT-greenfield format PPDU, VHT (Very High Throughput) PPDU, etc.), additional (or other types of) STF, LTF, and SIG fields may be included between the SIG field and the Data field (see Figure 7 below for further details).

[0080] STF is a signal used for signal detection, AGC (Automatic Gain Control), diversity selection, and precise time synchronization, while LTF is a signal used for channel estimation and frequency error estimation. In essence, STF and LTF are signals for synchronizing the OFDM physical layer and for channel estimation.

[0081] The SIG field may include fields such as the RATE field and the LENGTH field. The RATE field may contain information about the modulation and coding rate of the data. The LENGTH field may contain information about the length of the data. Furthermore, the SIG field may include a parity bit, a SIG TAIL bit, and so on.

[0082] The data field may include a SERVICE field, a PSDU (Physical Layer Service Data Unit), and PPDU TAIL bits, and may also include padding bits if necessary. Some bits of the SERVICE field may be used for synchronizing the descramble at the receiving end. The PSDU corresponds to the MAC PDU defined in the MAC layer and may contain data generated / used in higher layers. The PPDU TAIL bits may be used to return the encoder to a 0 state. Padding bits may be used to adjust the length of the data field to a predetermined unit.

[0083] MAC PDUs are defined by various MAC frame formats, and a basic MAC frame consists of a MAC header, frame body, and FCS (Frame Check Sequence). MAC frames are composed of MAC PDUs and may be transmitted / received by PSDUs, which are the data portion of the PPDU frame format.

[0084] The MAC header includes fields such as Frame Control, Duration / ID, and Address. The Frame Control field may contain control information necessary for transmitting / receiving frames. The Duration / ID field may be set to the time required to transmit the frame. For specific details on the Sequence Control, QoS Control, and HT Control subfields of the MAC header, refer to the IEEE 802.11 standard document.

[0085] The Null Data Packet (NDP) frame format refers to a frame format that does not include data packets. That is, an NDP frame is a frame format that includes the PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Procedure) header portion (i.e., the STF, LTF, and SIG fields) of a typical PPDU frame format, but omits the remaining portion (i.e., the data fields). NDP frames can also be referred to as short frame formats.

[0086] Figure 7 shows an example of a PPDU as defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard to which this disclosure applies.

[0087] Standards such as IEEE 802.11a / g / n / ac / ax use various forms of PPDU. The basic PPDU format (IEEE 802.11a / g) includes L-LTF, L-STF, L-SIG, and Data fields. The basic PPDU format can also be referred to as the non-HT PPDU format.

[0088] The HT PPDU format (IEEE 802.11n) further includes the HT-SIG, HT-STF, and HT-LFT(s) fields in addition to the basic PPDU format. The HT PPDU format shown in Figure 7 can be called the HT-mixed format. The HT-greenfield format PPDU may be further defined, which does not include L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG, and consists of the HT-GF-STF, HT-LTF1, HT-SIG, one or more HT-LTF, and Data fields (not shown).

[0089] An example of the VHT PPDU format (IEEE 802.11ac) is that it further includes the VHT SIG-A, VHT-STF, VHT-LTF, and VHT-SIG-B fields in addition to the basic PPDU format.

[0090] An example of the HE PPDU format (IEEE 802.11ax) further includes the RL-SIG (Repeated L-SIG), HE-SIG-A, HE-SIG-B, HE-STF, HE-LTF(s), and PE (Packet Extension) fields in addition to the basic PPDU format. Depending on the specific example of the HE PPDU format, some fields may be omitted or their lengths may change. For example, the HE-SIG-B field is included in the HE PPDU format for multiple users (MU), while it is not included in the HE PPDU format for single users (SU). Also, the HE trigger-based (TB) PPDU format does not include HE-SIG-B, and the length of the HE-STF field may be changed to 8us. The HE ER (Extended Range) SU PPDU format does not include the HE-SIG-B field, and the length of the HE-SIG-A field may be changed to 16us.

[0091] Figures 8 to 10 illustrate examples of resource units in a wireless LAN system to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0092] Referring to Figures 8 to 10, a resource unit (RU) defined in a wireless LAN system will be explained. An RU may contain multiple subcarriers (or tones). An RU may be used when transmitting a signal to multiple STAs based on the OFDMA method. An RU may also be defined when transmitting a signal to a single STA. An RU may be used for the STF, LTF, data field, etc., of a PPDU.

[0093] As shown in Figures 8 to 10, RUs corresponding to different numbers of tones (i.e., subcarriers) can be used to constitute some fields of a 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz X-PPDU (where X is HE, EHT, etc.). For example, resources may be allocated in units of RUs shown for the X-STF, X-LTF, and Data fields.

[0094] Figure 8 shows an example of resource unit (RU) configuration used in the 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0095] As shown at the top of Figure 8, 26 units (i.e., units corresponding to 26 tones) may be allocated. Six tones may be used as a guard band in the leftmost band of the 20MHz band, and five tones may be used as a guard band in the rightmost band of the 20MHz band. In addition, seven DC tones may be inserted in the center band, i.e., the DC band, and there may be 26 units corresponding to 13 tones on each side of the DC band. Furthermore, 26, 52, or 106 units may be allocated to the other bands. Each unit may be allocated for the STA or the user.

[0096] The RU configuration in Figure 8 can be used not only for situations involving multiple users (MU) but also for situations involving a single user (SU), in which case it is possible to use one 242 unit as shown at the bottom of Figure 8. In this case, three DC tones may be inserted.

[0097] In the example shown in Figure 8, various sizes of RUs are illustrated, such as 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, and 242-RU, but the specific sizes of such RUs may be reduced or expanded. Therefore, the specific size of each RU (i.e., the number of corresponding tones) is not limited in this disclosure and is illustrative. Also, in this disclosure, the number of RUs within a given bandwidth (e.g., 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 MHz, ...) may differ depending on the size of the RU. The same applies to the example in Figure 8 as to the example in Figure 9 and / or Figure 10 described below, in which the size and / or number of RUs may be changed.

[0098] Figure 9 shows an example arrangement of resource units (RUs) used in the 40 MHz bandwidth.

[0099] Just as various sizes of RU were used in the example in Figure 8, 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, 484-RU, etc., may be used in the example in Figure 9. In addition, five DC tones may be inserted at the center frequency, twelve tones may be used as a guard band in the leftmost band of the 40MHz bandwidth, and eleven tones may be used as a guard band in the rightmost band of the 40MHz bandwidth.

[0100] Furthermore, as shown in the figure, 484-RU may be used when it is used for a single user.

[0101] Figure 10 shows an example arrangement of resource units (RUs) used in the 80 MHz bandwidth.

[0102] Just as various sizes of RUs were used in the examples in Figures 8 and 9, 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, 484-RU, 996-RU, etc., may be used in the example in Figure 10. Furthermore, in the 80MHz PPDU, the RU arrangement of the HE PPDU and EHT PPDU may differ from each other, and the example in Figure 10 shows an example of the RU arrangement for the 80MHz EHT PPDU. In the example in Figure 10, the leftmost band of the 80MHz bandwidth uses 12 tones as a guard band, and the rightmost band of the 80MHz bandwidth uses 11 tones as a guard band, which is the same for both the HE PPDU and the EHT PPDU. Unlike the HE PPDU, where seven DC tones are inserted into the DC band and there is one 26-RU on each side of the DC band corresponding to 13 tones, the EHT PPDU has 23 DC tones inserted into the DC band and one 26-RU on both the left and right sides of the DC band. Unlike the HE PPDU, where there is one null subcarrier between 242-RUs that are not in the center band, the EHT PPDU has five null subcarriers. In the HE PPDU, one 484-RU does not contain null subcarriers, but in the EHT PPDU, one 484-RU contains five null subcarriers.

[0103] Furthermore, as shown in the figure, the 996-RU may be used when used for a single user, and in this case, the insertion of five DC tones is common to both the HE PPDU and the EHT PPDU.

[0104] An EHT PPDU of 160MHz or higher may be configured with multiple 80MHz subblocks as shown in Figure 10. The RU configuration for each 80MHz subblock may be the same as the RU configuration for the 80MHz EHT PPDU in Figure 10. When the 80MHz subblock of a 160MHz or 320MHz EHT PPDU is not punctured and the entire 80MHz subblock is used as part of an RU or MRU (Multiple RU), the 80MHz subblock may use RU 996-996 as shown in Figure 10.

[0105] Here, an MRU corresponds to a group of subcarriers (or tones) composed of multiple RUs, and the multiple RUs constituting an MRU may be of the same size or of different sizes. For example, a single MRU may be defined as 52+26-tone, 106+26-tone, 484+242-tone, 996+484-tone, 996+484+242-tone, 2×996+484-tone, 3×996-tone, or 3×996+484-tone. Here, the multiple RUs constituting a single MRU may correspond to small-sized RUs (e.g., 26, 52, 106) or large-sized RUs (e.g., 242, 484, 996, etc.). That is, a single MRU containing both small-sized and large-sized RUs may not be set / defined. Also, the multiple RUs constituting a single MRU may or may not be consecutive in the frequency domain.

[0106] If the 80MHz subblock contains RUs smaller than 996 tones, or if a portion of the 80MHz subblock is punctured, the 80MHz subblock may use an RU arrangement excluding 996-tone RUs.

[0107] The RUs of this disclosure may be used in uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) communication. For example, in the case of trigger-based UL-MU communication, an STA (e.g., AP) transmitting a trigger may use trigger information (e.g., a trigger frame or TRS (triggered response scheduling)) to assign a first RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a first STA and a second RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a second STA. The first STA can then transmit a first trigger-based (TB) PPDU based on the first RU, and the second STA can transmit a second TB PPDU based on the second RU. The first and second TB PPDUs may be transmitted to the AP in the same time interval.

[0108] For example, when a DL MU PPDU is configured, the STA (e.g., AP) sending the DL MU PPDU can assign a first RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU) to the first STA and a second RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU) to the second STA. That is, the sending STA (e.g., AP) can use the first RU to send the HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Data fields for the first STA within a single MU PPDU, and use the second RU to send the HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Data fields for the second STA.

[0109] Information regarding the RU's placement may be signaled via HE-SIG-B in HE PPDU format.

[0110] Figure 11 shows an exemplary structure of the HE-SIG-B field.

[0111] As shown in the figure, the HE-SIG-B field may include a common field and a user-specific field. When HE-SIG-B compression is applied (for example, in full-bandwidth MU-MIMO transmission), the common field does not need to be included in HE-SIG-B, and the HE-SIG-B content channel may include only the user-specific field. When HE-SIG-B compression is not applied, the common field may be included in HE-SIG-B.

[0112] Common fields may include information related to RU allocation (e.g., RU assignment, RUs allocated for MU-MIMO, number of MU-MIMO users (STAs), etc.).

[0113] The common field may contain N*8 RU allocation subfields, where N is the number of subfields, and may have values ​​such as N=1 for 20 or 40MHz MU PPDU, N=2 for 80MHz MU PPDU, N=4 for 160MHz or 80+80MHz MU PPDU, and so on. One 8-bit RU allocation subfield can indicate the size (26, 52, 106, etc.) and frequency position (or RU index) of RUs included in the 20MHz band.

[0114] For example, if the value of the 8-bit RU allocation subfield is 00000000, nine 26-RUs are arranged sequentially from left to right in the example shown in Figure 8. If the value is 00000001, seven 26-RUs and one 52-RU are arranged sequentially from left to right. If the value is 00000010, five 26-RUs, one 52-RU, and two 26-RUs are arranged sequentially from left to right.

[0115] As an additional example, if the value of the 8-bit RU allocation subfield is 01000y2y1y0, then one 106-RU and five 26-RUs are arranged sequentially from left to right in the example in Figure 8. In this case, multiple users / STAs may be assigned to the 106-RU using the MU-MIMO method. Specifically, up to eight users / STAs may be assigned to the 106-RU, and the number of users / STAs assigned to the 106-RU is determined based on the 3-bit information (i.e., y2y1y0). For example, if the 3-bit information (y2y1y0) corresponds to a decimal value N, then the number of users / STAs assigned to the 106-RU may be N+1.

[0116] Basically, one user / STA may be assigned to each of multiple RUs, and different users / STAs may be assigned to different RUs. For RUs of a certain size or larger (e.g., 106, 242, 484, 996-tones, ...), multiple users / STAs may be assigned to a single RU, and the MU-MIMO scheme may be applied to such multiple users / STAs.

[0117] The set of user-specific fields contains information about how all users (STAs) of the PPDU decode their payload. The user-specific fields may contain zero or more user-block fields. A non-final user-block field contains two user fields (i.e., information used for decoding in two STAs). A final user-block field contains one or two user fields. The number of user fields may be indicated by the RU allocation subfield of HE-SIG-B, the symbol count of HE-SIG-B, or the MU-MIMO user field of HE-SIG-A. User-specific fields may be encoded separately from or independently of common fields.

[0118] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the MU-MIMO scheme in which multiple users / STAs are assigned to a single RU.

[0119] In the example in Figure 12, we assume that the value of the RU allocation subfield is 01000010. This corresponds to the case where y2y1y0 = 010 in 01000y2y1y0. 010 corresponds to 2 in decimal (i.e., N=2), and it can be shown that 3 (=N+1) users are assigned to one RU. In this case, one 106-RU and five 26-RUs may be arranged sequentially from the leftmost to the rightmost of a particular 20MHz band / channel. Three users / STAs may be assigned to the 106-RU in a MU-MIMO manner. As a result, a total of 8 users / STAs are assigned to the 20MHz band / channel, and the user-specific field of HE-SIG-B may contain 8 user fields (i.e., 4 user block fields). The 8 user fields may be assigned to the RU as shown in Figure 12.

[0120] User fields may be constructed based on two formats. User fields for MU-MIMO assignments may be constructed in the first format, and user fields for non-MU-MIMO assignments may be constructed in the second format. Referring to an example in Figure 12, user fields 1 to 3 may be based on the first format, and user fields 4 to 8 may be based on the second format. The first and second formats may contain bit information of the same length (e.g., 21 bits).

[0121] The user fields of the first format (i.e., the format for MU-MIMO assignment) may be configured as follows: For example, of the total 21 bits of a single user field, B0 to B10 may contain the user's identification information (e.g., STA-ID, AID, partial AID, etc.), B11 to B14 may contain spatial configuration information such as the number of spatial streams for the user, B15 to B18 may contain MCS (Modulation and coding scheme) information applied to the Data field of the PPDU, B19 may be defined as a reserved field, and B20 may contain coding type information applied to the Data field of the PPDU (e.g., BCC (binary convolutional coding) or LDPC (low-density parity check)).

[0122] The user field of the second format (i.e., the format for non-MU-MIMO assignments) may be configured as follows: For example, of the 21 bits in a single user field, B0 to B10 may contain the user's identification information (e.g., STA-ID, AID, partial AID, etc.), B11 to B13 may contain spatial stream number (NSTS) information applied to the RU, B14 may contain information indicating whether beamforming is possible (or whether a beamforming steering matrix can be applied), B15 to B18 may contain MCS (Modulation and coding scheme) information applied to the Data field of the PPDU, B19 may contain information indicating whether DCM (dual carrier modulation) can be applied, and B20 may contain coding type information applied to the Data field of the PPDU (e.g., BCC or LDPC).

[0123] The terms MCS, MCS information, MCS index, and MCS field used in this disclosure may be represented by specific index values. For example, MCS information may be represented by index 0 to index 11. MCS information may include information about the star modulation type (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM, etc.) and information about the coding rate (e.g., 1 / 2, 2 / 3, 3 / 4, 5 / 6, etc.). Information about the channel coding type (e.g., BCC or LDPC) may be omitted from the MCS information.

[0124] Figure 13 shows examples of PPDU formats to which this disclosure can be applied.

[0125] The PPDU in Figure 13 may be referred to by various names such as EHT PPDU, Transmit PPDU, Receive PPDU, Type 1 or Type N PPDU. For example, the PPDU or EHT PPDU of this disclosure can be referred to by various names such as Transmit PPDU, Receive PPDU, Type 1 or Type N PPDU. Furthermore, the EHT PPU can be used in EHT systems and / or new wireless LAN systems that improve upon EHT systems.

[0126] The EHT MU PPDU in Figure 13 corresponds to a carry PPDU that carries one or more data (or PSDUs) for one or more users. In other words, the EHT MU PPDU may be used for either SU transmissions or MU transmissions. For example, the EHT MU PPDU may correspond to a PPDU for one or more receiving STAs.

[0127] In Figure 13, the EHT TB PPDU omits the EHT-SIG compared to the EHT MU PPDU. An STA that receives a trigger for UL MU transmission (e.g., a trigger frame or TRS) can perform the UL transmission based on the EHT TB PPDU format.

[0128] In the example of the EHT PPDU format shown in Figure 13, L-STF to EHT-LTF correspond to the preamble or physical preamble and may be generated / transmitted / received / acquired / decoded at the physical layer.

[0129] The subcarrier frequency spacing for L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG (Universal SIGNAL), and EHT-SIG fields (collectively referred to as pre-EHT modulated fields) may be set to 312.5 kHz. The subcarrier frequency spacing for EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, Data, and PE fields (collectively referred to as EHT modulated fields) may be set to 78.125 kHz. In other words, the tone / subcarrier index for L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG fields may be displayed in units of 312.5 kHz, while the tone / subcarrier index for EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, Data, and PE fields may be displayed in units of 78.125 kHz.

[0130] The L-LTF and L-STF in Figure 13 may be configured identically to the corresponding fields of the PPDU described in Figures 6 and 7.

[0131] The L-SIG field in Figure 13 consists of 24 bits and may be used to communicate rate and length information. For example, the L-SIG field may include a 4-bit Rate field, a 1-bit Reserved bit, a 12-bit Length field, a 1-bit Parity field, and a 6-bit Tail field. For example, the 12-bit Length field may contain information about the length or time duration of the PPDU. For example, the value of the 12-bit Length field may be determined based on the type of PPDU. For example, for non-HT, HT, VHT, or EHT PPDUs, the value of the Length field may be determined to be a multiple of 3. For example, for HE PPDUs, the value of the Length field may be determined to be a multiple of 3 + 1 or a multiple of 3 + 2.

[0132] For example, a transmitting STA can apply BCC encoding based on half the coding rate to 24 bits of information in the L-SIG field. The transmitting STA can then obtain 48 bits of BCC encoded bits. BPSK modulation may be applied to the 48 bits of encoded bits to generate 48 BPSK symbols. The transmitting STA can map the 48 BPSK symbols to positions excluding the pilot subcarrier (e.g., {subcarrier indices -21, -7, +7, +21}) and the DC subcarrier (e.g., {subcarrier index 0}). Consequently, the 48 BPSK symbols may be mapped to subcarrier indices -26 to -22, -20 to -8, -6 to -1, +1 to +6, +8 to +20, and +22 to +26. The transmitting STA can further map the signal {-1, -1, -1, 1} to subcarrier indices {-28, -27, +27, +28}. The signal may be used for channel estimation in the frequency domain corresponding to {-28, -27, +27, +28}.

[0133] The transmitting STA can generate an RL-SIG that is generated identically to the L-SIG. BPSK modulation is applied to the RL-SIG. Based on the presence of the RL-SIG, the receiving STA can determine that the received PPDU is either an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU.

[0134] A U-SIG (Universal SIG) may be inserted after the RL-SIG in Figure 13. The U-SIG can be named in various ways, such as first SIG field, first SIG, first type SIG, control signal, control signal field, or first (type) control signal.

[0135] A U-SIG may contain N bits of information, including information to identify the type of EHT PPDU. For example, a U-SIG may consist of two symbols (e.g., two consecutive OFDM symbols). Each symbol for the U-SIG (e.g., an OFDM symbol) may have a duration of 4us, and the U-SIG may have a total duration of 8us. Each symbol of the U-SIG may be used to transmit 26 bits of information. For example, each symbol of the U-SIG may be transmitted and received based on 52 data tones and 4 pilot tones.

[0136] In a U-SIG (or U-SIG field), for example, A-bit information (e.g., 52 uncoded bits) may be transmitted. The first symbol of the U-SIG (e.g., U-SIG-1) may transmit the first X bits of the total A-bit information (e.g., 26 uncoded bits), and the second symbol of the U-SIG (e.g., U-SIG-2) may transmit the remaining Y bits of the total A-bit information (e.g., 26 uncoded bits). For example, a transmitting STA can obtain the 26 uncoded bits contained in each U-SIG symbol. The transmitting STA can perform convolution encoding (e.g., BCC encoding) based on a rate of R=1 / 2 to generate 52-coded bits and perform interleaving on the 52-coded bits. The transmitting STA can perform BPSK modulation on the interleaved 52-coded bits to generate 52 BPSK symbols to be assigned to each U-SIG symbol. A single U-SIG symbol may be transmitted based on 56 tones (subcarriers) from subcarrier index -28 to subcarrier index +28, excluding DC index 0. The 52 BPSK symbols generated by the transmitting STA may be transmitted based on the remaining tones (subcarriers), excluding the pilot tones -21, -7, +7, and +21.

[0137] For example, the A-bit information transmitted by the U-SIG (e.g., 52 uncoded bits) may include a CRC field (e.g., a 4-bit field) and a tail field (e.g., a 6-bit field). The CRC field and tail field may be transmitted in a second symbol of the U-SIG. The CRC field may be generated based on 26 bits assigned to the first symbol of the U-SIG and the remaining 16 bits in the second symbol excluding the CRC / tail field, and may be generated based on a conventional CRC calculation algorithm. The tail field may also be used to terminate the trellis of the convolution decoder and may be set to 0, for example.

[0138] The A-bit information transmitted by the U-SIG (or U-SIG field) (e.g., 52 uncoded bits) can be distinguished into version-independent bits and version-dependent bits. For example, the size of the version-independent bits may be fixed or variable. For example, the version-independent bits may be assigned only to the first symbol of the U-SIG, or they may be assigned to both the first and second symbols of the U-SIG. For example, the version-independent bits and version-dependent bits may have various names, such as first control bits and second control bits.

[0139] For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a 3-bit physical layer version identifier (PHY version identifier). For example, the 3-bit PHY version identifier may contain information about the physical layer version (PHY version) of the transmitted and received PPDUs. For example, the first value of the 3-bit PHY version identifier can indicate that the transmitted and received PPDUs are EHT PPDUs. In other words, a transmitting STA can set the 3-bit PHY version identifier to the first value when transmitting an EHT PPDU. In other words, a receiving STA can determine that the received PPDU is an EHT PPDU based on the PHY version identifier having the first value.

[0140] For example, the version-independent bits of a U-SIG may include a 1-bit UL / DL flag field. The first value of the 1-bit UL / DL flag field is related to UL communication, and the second value of the UL / DL flag field is related to DL communication.

[0141] For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include information about the length of the TXOP (transmission opportunity) and information about the BSS color ID.

[0142] For example, if EHT PPDUs are categorized into various types (e.g., EHT PPDUs associated with SU mode, EHT PPDUs associated with MU mode, EHT PPDUs associated with TB mode, EHT PPDUs associated with Extended Range transmission, etc.), information regarding the type of EHT PPDU may be included in version-dependent bits of the U-SIG.

[0143] For example, a U-SIG may include information about: 1) a bandwidth field containing information about bandwidth; 2) a field containing information about the MCS method applied to the EHT-SIG; 3) an indication field containing information about whether or not the DCM method is applied to the EHT-SIG; 4) a field containing information about the number of symbols used for the EHT-SIG; 5) a field containing information about whether or not the EHT-SIG is generated across the entire bandwidth; 6) a field containing information about the type of EHT-LTF / STF; and 7) fields indicating the length of the EHT-LTF and the CP length.

[0144] Preamble puncturing may be applied to the PPDU in Figure 13. Preamble puncturing can mean the transmission of a PPDU in which one or more 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU bandwidth are not present. Preamble puncturing may be applied to PPDUs transmitted to one or more users. For example, the resolution of preamble puncturing may be 20 MHz for EHT MU PPDUs in OFDMA transmissions with bandwidths greater than 40 MHz and non-OFDMA transmissions with bandwidths of 80 MHz and 160 MHz. That is, in the above case, puncturing of subchannels smaller than 242-tone RU may not be permitted. Also, for EHT MU PPDUs in non-OFDMA transmissions with a bandwidth of 320 MHz, the resolution of preamble puncturing may be 40 MHz. That is, puncturing of subchannels smaller than 484-tone RU in a 320 MHz bandwidth may not be permitted. Furthermore, in EHT MU PPDU, preamble puncturing does not need to be applied to the primary 20MHz channel.

[0145] For example, for an EHT MU PPDU, information regarding preamble puncturing may be included in the U-SIG and / or EHT-SIG. For instance, the first field of the U-SIG may include information regarding the contiguous bandwidth of the PPDU, and the second field of the U-SIG may include information regarding the preamble puncturing applied to the PPDU.

[0146] For example, U-SIGs and EHT-SIGs may include information about preamble puncturing based on the following method: If the bandwidth of the PPDU exceeds 80 MHz, the U-SIGs may be configured individually in 80 MHz units. For example, if the bandwidth of the PPDU is 160 MHz, the PPDU may include a first U-SIG for the first 80 MHz band and a second U-SIG for the second 80 MHz band. In this case, the first field of the first U-SIG may include information about the 160 MHz bandwidth, and the second field of the first U-SIG may include information about preamble puncturing applied to the first 80 MHz band (i.e., information about the preamble puncturing pattern). The first field of the second U-SIG may include information about the 160 MHz bandwidth, and the second field of the second U-SIG may include information about preamble puncturing applied to the second 80 MHz band (i.e., information about the preamble puncturing pattern). An EHT-SIG following the first U-SIG may include information about preamble puncturing applied to the second 80 MHz band (i.e., information about the preamble puncturing pattern), and an EHT-SIG following the second U-SIG may include information about preamble puncturing applied to the first 80 MHz band (i.e., information about the preamble puncturing pattern).

[0147] As an addition or alternative, the U-SIG and EHT-SIG may include information on preamble puncturing based on the following methods: The U-SIG may include information on preamble puncturing for the entire bandwidth (i.e., information on the preamble puncturing pattern). That is, the EHT-SIG may not include information on preamble puncturing, and only the U-SIG may include information on preamble puncturing (i.e., information on the preamble puncturing pattern).

[0148] U-SIGs may be configured in 20MHz units. For example, when an 80MHz PPDU is configured, U-SIGs may be duplicated. That is, an 80MHz PPDU may contain four identical U-SIGs. PPDUs with a bandwidth exceeding 80MHz may contain different U-SIGs.

[0149] The EHT-SIG in Figure 13 may contain control information for the receiving STA. The EHT-SIG may be transmitted with at least one symbol, which may have a length of 4us. Information regarding the number of symbols used for the EHT-SIG may be included in the U-SIG.

[0150] The EHT-SIG may include the technical features of the HE-SIG-B described in Figures 11 and 12. For example, the EHT-SIG may include common fields and user-specific fields, identical to the example in Figure 8. The common fields of the EHT-SIG may be omitted, and the number of user-specific fields may be determined based on the number of users.

[0151] As in the example in Figure 11, the common fields and user-specific fields of the EHT-SIG may be coded separately. One user block field included in the user-specific field contains information for two user fields, but the last user block field included in the user-specific field may contain one or two user fields. That is, one user block field of the EHT-SIG may contain a maximum of two user fields. As in the example in Figure 12, each user field may be related to MU-MIMO assignment or non-MU-MIMO assignment.

[0152] Similar to the example in Figure 11, the common field of the EHT-SIG may include a CRC bit and a Tail bit, the length of the CRC bit may be determined to be 4 bits, and the length of the Tail bit may be determined to be 6 bits and set to 000000.

[0153] As in the example shown in Figure 11, the common fields of the EHT-SIG may include RU allocation information. RU allocation information can represent information about the location of RUs to which multiple users (i.e., multiple receiving STAs) are assigned. RU allocation information may consist of 9-bit (or N-bit) units.

[0154] A mode in which the common field of the EHT-SIG is omitted may be supported. This mode in which the common field of the EHT-SIG is omitted can be called compressed mode. When compressed mode is used, multiple users of the EHT PPDU (i.e., multiple receiving STAs) can decode the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) based on non-OFDMA. That is, multiple users of the EHT PPDU can decode the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) received in the same frequency band. When non-compressed mode is used, multiple users of the EHT PPDU can decode the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) based on OFDMA. That is, multiple users of the EHT PPDU can receive the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) in different frequency bands.

[0155] The EHT-SIG may be constructed based on various MCS techniques. As mentioned above, information regarding the MCS technique applied to the EHT-SIG may be included in the U-SIG. The EHT-SIG may be constructed based on the DCM technique. The DCM technique can provide an effect similar to frequency diversity by reusing the same signal on two subcarriers, thereby reducing interference and improving coverage. For example, modulation symbols with the same modulation technique applied may be repeatedly mapped on available tones / subcarriers. For example, of the N data tones allocated for the EHT-SIG (e.g., 52 data tones), the first half of the consecutive tones (e.g., tones 1-26) may be mapped to modulation symbols with a specific modulation technique applied (e.g., BPSK modulation symbols), and the remaining half of the consecutive tones (e.g., tones 27-52) may be mapped to modulation symbols with the same specific modulation technique applied (e.g., BPSK modulation symbols). In other words, the modulation symbol mapped to the first tone and the modulation symbol mapped to the 27th tone are identical.

[0156] As mentioned above, information (e.g., a 1-bit field) regarding whether or not the DCM method is applied to the EHT-SIG may be included in the U-SIG. The EHT-STF in Figure 13 may be used to improve automatic gain control (AGC) estimation in a MIMO or OFDMA environment. The EHT-LTF in Figure 13 may be used to estimate the channel in a MIMO or OFDMA environment.

[0157] Information regarding the types of STFs and / or LTFs (including information regarding the GI (guard interval) applied to the LTF) may be included in the U-SIG field and / or EHT-SIG field in Figure 13, etc.

[0158] The PPDU in Figure 13 (i.e., the EHT PPDU) may be configured based on the example RU configurations in Figures 8 to 10.

[0159] For example, an EHT PPDU transmitted over a 20MHz bandwidth, i.e., a 20MHz EHT PPDU, may be configured based on the RUs in Figure 8. That is, the locations of the RUs for the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and data field included in the EHT PPDU may be determined as shown in Figure 8. An EHT PPDU transmitted over a 40MHz bandwidth, i.e., a 40MHz EHT PPDU, may be configured based on the RUs in Figure 9. That is, the locations of the RUs for the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and data field included in the EHT PPDU may be determined as shown in Figure 9.

[0160] An EHT PPDU transmitted over the 80MHz band, i.e., an 80MHz EHT PPDU, may be constructed based on the RUs in Figure 10. That is, the locations of the RUs for the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and data field included in the EHT PPDU may be determined as shown in Figure 10. The tone-plan for 80MHz in Figure 10 may correspond to two iterations of the tone-plan for 40MHz in Figure 9.

[0161] The tone plan for 160 / 240 / 320MHz may consist of multiple repetitions of the pattern shown in Figure 9 or Figure 10.

[0162] The PPDU in Figure 13 may be identified as an EHT PPDU based on the following method.

[0163] The receiving STA can determine the type of the received PPDU to be an EHT PPDU based on the following: For example, the received PPDU may be determined to be an EHT PPDU if 1) the first symbol after the L-LTF signal of the received PPDU is BPSK, 2) an RL-SIG is detected in which the L-SIG of the received PPDU is repeated, and 3) the result of applying modulo 3 to the value of the Length field of the L-SIG of the received PPDU (i.e., the remainder when divided by 3) is detected to be 0. When the received PPDU is determined to be an EHT PPDU, the receiving STA can determine the type of the EHT PPDU based on the bit information contained in the symbol after the RL-SIG in Figure 13. In other words, the receiving STA can determine the received PPDU to be an EHT PPDU based on 1) the first symbol after the L-LTF signal which is BSPK, 2) an RL-SIG that is consecutive to the L-SIG field and identical to the L-SIG, and 3) an L-SIG that contains a Length field in which the result of applying modulo 3 is set to 0.

[0164] For example, a receiving STA can determine the type of the received PPDU to be HE PPDU based on the following: For example, if 1) the first symbol after the L-LTF signal is BPSK, 2) an RL-SIG consisting of repeated L-SIGs is detected, and 3) the result of applying modulo 3 to the Length value of the L-SIG is detected to be 1 or 2, then the received PPDU may be determined to be HE PPDU.

[0165] For example, a receiving STA can determine the type of the received PPDU to be non-HT, HT, or VHT PPDU based on the following: For example, if 1) the first symbol after the L-LTF signal is BPSK, and 2) no RL-SIG (where L-SIG is repeated) is detected, the received PPDU may be determined to be non-HT, HT, or VHT PPDU.

[0166] Furthermore, if the receiving STA detects an RL-SIG in which the L-SIG is repeated from the received PPDU, it can determine that it is an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU. In this case, if the rate (6Mbps) check fails, the received PPDU may be determined to be a non-HT, HT, or VHT PPDU. If the rate (6Mbps) check and parity check pass, and the result of applying modulo 3 to the Length value of the L-SIG is detected as 0, the received PPDU may be determined to be an EHT PPDU, and if the result of Length mod 3 is not 0, it may be determined to be an HE PPDU.

[0167] The PPDU in Figure 13 may be used to send and receive various types of frames. For example, the PPDU in Figure 13 may be used to send and receive one or more (simultaneous) control frames, management frames, or data frames.

[0168] The following provides a more detailed explanation of U-SIGs included in the EHT PPDU.

[0169] For 40MHz EHT PPDU or ER (Extended Range) preambles, the U-SIG content is identical across two 20MHz subchannels. For 80MHz EHT PPDU or ER preambles, the U-SIG content is identical across all non-punctured 20MHz subchannels. For 160 / 320MHz EHT PPDU or ER preambles, the U-SIG content is identical across all non-punctured 20MHz subchannels within each 80MHz subblock, and may differ from the U-SIG content in other 80MHz subblocks.

[0170] The U-SIG-1 part of the U-SIG of the EHT MU PPDU may include PHY version identifier (B0-B2), BW (B3-B5), UL / DL (B6), BSS color (B7-B12), and TXOP (B13-B19), Disregard (B20-B24), and Validate (B25).

[0171] The U-SIG-2 part of the EHT MU PPDU may include the PPDU type and compression mode (B0-B1), validation (B2), punctured channel information (B3-B7), validation (B8), EHT-SIG MCS (B9-B10), number of EHT-SIG symbols (B11-B15), CRC (B16-B19), and tail (B20-B25).

[0172] As an example, let's assume the UL / DL field value is set to 0. When the PPDU type and compression mode (B0~B1) field values ​​in the U-SIG-2 part are 0, this indicates DL OFDMA transmission. When the PPDU type and compression mode (B0~B1) field values ​​in the U-SIG-2 part are 1, this indicates EHT SU transmission or EHT sounding NDP. When the PPDU type and compression mode (B0~B1) field values ​​in the U-SIG-2 part are 2, this indicates non-OFDMA DL MU-MIMO transmission.

[0173] As another example, consider the case where the UL / DL field value is set to 1. When the PPDU type and compression mode (B0-B1) field values ​​in the U-SIG-2 part are 0, this may indicate TB PPDU (e.g., UL OFDMA or UL-non-OFDMA). And when the PPDU type and compression mode (B0-B1) field values ​​in the U-SIG-2 part are 1, this may indicate EHT SU transmission or EHT sounding NDP.

[0174] Here, an example of a 5-bit punctured channel instruction for a non-OFDMA case in EHT MU PPDU is shown in Table 1 below.

[0175] [Table 1]

[0176] In the puncturing patterns in Table 1, 1 indicates an unpunctured subchannel, and x indicates a punctured subchannel. The puncturing granularity for 80 MHz and 160 MHz PPDU bandwidths is 20 MHz, and the puncturing granularity for 320 MHz PPDU bandwidth may be 40 MHz.

[0177] Next, the U-SIG-1 part of the U-SIG for the EHT TB PPDU may include the version identifier (B0-B2), BW (B3-B5), UL / DL (B6), BSS color (B7-B12), TXOP (B13-B19), and disregard (B20-B25), while the U-SIG-2 part may include the PPDU type and compression mode (B0-B1), validate (B2), spatial reuse 1 (B3-B6), spatial reuse 2 (B7-B10), disregard (B11-B15), CRC (B16-B19), and tail (B20-B25).

[0178] As mentioned above, the U-SIG field of the EHT MU PPDU contains 5-bit punctured channel information, while the EHT TB PPDU does not contain punctured channel information. This is because it is assumed that the EHT TB PPDU is configured according to resource allocation indicated by the trigger frame or TRS control information, and therefore the STA did not need to inform the AP of the resource information of the EHT TB PPDU.

[0179] Furthermore, even if an STA receives a trigger frame or TRS control information as described above, it does not have to respond with an HE TB PPDU. For example, a non-AP STA may choose not to respond to a trigger frame if one or more subfields of a common information field included in the trigger frame or a user field addressed to or selected by the non-AP STA have values ​​that are not recognized, supported, or satisfied. Similarly, a non-AP STA may choose not to respond to a TRS control subfield if the TRS control subfield included in a frame addressed to the non-AP STA has values ​​that are not recognized, supported, or satisfied by the non-AP STA.

[0180] Figure 14 shows an exemplary format of a trigger frame to which this disclosure may apply.

[0181] A trigger frame can allocate resources for one or more TB PPDU transmissions and request TB PPDU transmissions. The trigger frame may also include other information requested by the STA that will transmit the TB PPDU in response. The trigger frame may include common info and user info list fields in its frame body.

[0182] The common information field may include information that applies in common to one or more TB PPDU transmissions requested by a trigger frame, such as the trigger type, UL length, whether or not there are subsequent trigger frames (e.g., More TF), whether or not a CS (channel sensing) request is made, and UL BW (bandwidth). Figure 14 shows an illustrative common information field format for an EHT variant.

[0183] The 4-bit trigger type subfield may have values ​​from 0 to 15. Of these, values ​​0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the trigger type subfield are defined to correspond to basic, BFRP (Beamforming Report Poll), MU-BAR (multi user-block acknowledgement request), MU-RTS (multi user-request to send), BSRP (Buffer Status Report Poll), GCR (groupcast with retries) MU-BAR, BQRP (Bandwidth Query Report Poll), and NFRP (NDP Feedback Report Poll), respectively, while values ​​from 8 to 15 are defined as reserved.

[0184] Among the common information, the trigger-dependent common info subfield may contain information that is selectively included based on the trigger type.

[0185] A special user info field may be included within the trigger frame. The special user info field does not contain user-specific information, but it does contain extended common information not provided in the common information field.

[0186] The user information list contains zero or more user info fields. Figure 14 illustrates the EHT variant user info field format.

[0187] The AID12 subfield essentially indicates that it is a user information field for the STA having that AID. It may also be used for other purposes, such as assigning a Random Access (RA)-RU to a field with a predetermined specific value, or being configured as a special user info field. A special user info field does not contain user-specific information but is a user information field that includes extended common information not provided in the common information field. For example, a special user info field may be identified by the AID12 value 2007, and a special user info field flag subfield within the common information field may indicate whether or not it contains a special user info field.

[0188] The RU allocation subfield can indicate the size and location of the RU / MRU. For this purpose, the RU allocation subfield may be analyzed together with the PS160 (primary / secondary 160MHz) subfield of the user information field, the UL BW subfield of the common information field, etc. For example, as shown in Table 2 below, the mapping of B7 to B1 of the RU allocation subfield may be defined together with the setting of the B0 and PS160 subfields of the RU allocation subfield. Table 2 shows an example of encoding for the PS160 subfield and RU allocation subfield of the EHT variant user information field.

[0189] [Table 2-1]

[0190] [Table 2-2]

[0191] [Table 2-3]

[0192] Setting B0 in the RU assignment subfield to 0 indicates that the RU / MRU assignment applies to the primary 80MHz channel, while setting it to 1 indicates that the RU assignment applies to the secondary 80MHz channel of the primary 160MHz channel. Setting B0 in the RU assignment subfield to 0 indicates that the RU / MRU assignment applies to the lower 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz channel, while setting it to 1 indicates that the RU assignment applies to the upper 80MHz of the secondary 160MHz channel.

[0193] In the trigger frame RU assignment table in Table 2, the parameter N may be calculated based on the formula N = 2 * X1 + X0. For bandwidths of 80 MHz or less, the PS160, B0, X0, and X1 values ​​may be set to 0. For 160 MHz and 320 MHz bandwidths, the PS160, B0, X0, and X1 values ​​may be set as shown in Table 3. Such settings indicate the absolute frequency order for the primary and secondary 80 MHz and 160 MHz channels. The order from left to right represents the order from lower frequencies to higher frequencies. The primary 80 MHz channel is denoted as P80, the secondary 80 MHz channel as S80, and the secondary 160 MHz channel as S160.

[0194] [Table 3]

[0195] Method for indicating puncturing patterns in 480MHz and 640MHz bandwidths

[0196] In wireless LAN systems, various puncture patterns are defined to improve efficiency and throughput.

[0197] In IEEE 802.11be-based wireless LAN systems, various preamble puncturing methods may be applied to MU PPDUs above 80 MHz. The method for specifying the preamble puncturing pattern may be defined differently depending on whether the transmission is non-OFDMA or OFDMA.

[0198] Specifically, the preamble puncturing pattern may be indicated by the punctured channel information field of the U-SIG field of the MU PPDU, and the punctured channel information field may consist of 5 bits.

[0199] When the Non-OFDMA transmission method is applied / configured, a 5-bit punctured channel information field may indicate a puncturing pattern corresponding to the bandwidth of the entire MU PPDU. That is, the punctured channel information fields in the U-SIG field of all 20MHz channels except the punctured 20MHz channel may be set to the same value.

[0200] When the OFDMA transmission method is applied / configured, the 80MHz puncturing pattern may be indicated in a bitmap manner by 4 bits of the 5-bit punctured channel information field.

[0201] In other words, when the OFDMA transmission method is applied / configured, the punctured channel information field values ​​in the U-SIG field may be set to different values ​​for each 80MHz. However, the punctured channel information fields in the U-SIG field of all 20MHz channels, excluding the punctured 20MHz channel within a specific 80MHz, may be set to the same value.

[0202] The puncturing pattern of the 80MHz channel to which the (punctured) 20MHz channel belongs may be indicated based on a bitmap. Each bit constituting the bitmap may correspond to / map to each of the 20MHz ranges of the 80MHz channel, from the lowest 20MHz to the highest 20MHz.

[0203] It may be instructed that if a specific bit value in the bitmap is 1 (or 0), the 20MHz corresponding to that specific bit should not be punctured. Conversely, it may be instructed that if a specific bit value in the bitmap is 0 (or 1), the 20MHz corresponding to that specific bit should be punctured.

[0204] In next-generation wireless LAN systems, various preamble puncturing schemes may be applied to MU PPDUs above 80 MHz. For example, bandwidths such as 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz may be further defined, and methods for specifying puncturing patterns in those bandwidths may be applied / defined.

[0205] Figure 15 is a diagram illustrating the operation performed by the first STA according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0206] In Figures 15 and 16, the first STA is a non-AP STA and the second STA is an AP STA, but it is not limited to this. The first STA may be embodied as an AP STA and the second STA may be embodied as a non-AP STA.

[0207] The first STA can generate a PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit) that includes a first U (universal)-signal (SIG) field associated with the first bandwidth and a second U-SIG field associated with the second bandwidth (S1510).

[0208] Here, the first bandwidth is either primary 160 MHz or primary 320 MHz, and the second bandwidth may be secondary 320 MHz or one of the specific 160 MHz within secondary 320 MHz.

[0209] However, this is only one embodiment, and the first and second bandwidths may each be 80 MHz. For example, when the total bandwidth is 640 MHz, the total bandwidth may be divided into the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth bandwidths, and each bandwidth may be 80 MHz. As another example, when the total bandwidth is 480 MHz, the total bandwidth may be divided into the first to sixth bandwidths, and each bandwidth may be 80 MHz.

[0210] The first U-SIG field may include a first punctured channel information field that indicates the first punctured pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the first bandwidth. For example, the plurality of punctured patterns corresponding to the first bandwidth may include at least one punctured pattern defined for the first bandwidth and at least one punctured pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the first bandwidth.

[0211] The second U-SIG field may include a second punctured channel information field that indicates the second puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the second bandwidth. For example, the plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the second bandwidth may include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the second bandwidth and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the second bandwidth.

[0212] Here, the puncturing patterns defined for the first and second bandwidths respectively can be interpreted as the 5-bit-based puncturing patterns disclosed in Table 1.

[0213] The first punctured channel information field and the second punctured channel information field may be set to different values, or they may be set to the same value.

[0214] As an addition or alternative, the first U-SIG field may include first information indicating a first bandwidth and one of the bandwidths less than or equal to the first bandwidth, and the second U-SIG field may include second information indicating a second bandwidth and one of the bandwidths less than or equal to the second bandwidth.

[0215] Based on the first information indicating a specific bandwidth, the first punctured channel information field may indicate a first puncturing pattern from among at least one puncturing pattern corresponding to the indicated specific bandwidth. That is, the first punctured channel information field may indicate a first puncturing pattern from among at least one puncturing pattern corresponding to the bandwidth indicated by the first information.

[0216] Then, based on the second information indicating a specific bandwidth, the second punctured channel information field may indicate a second puncturing pattern from among at least one puncturing pattern corresponding to the indicated specific bandwidth. That is, the second punctured channel information field may indicate a second puncturing pattern from among at least one puncturing pattern corresponding to the bandwidth indicated by the second information.

[0217] The first information may be indicated by a first field contained in a first punctured channel information field or a first U-SIG field. The second information may be indicated by a second field contained in a second punctured channel information field or a second U-SIG field.

[0218] In this case, the first information and / or the second information may consist of 3 bits or less. For example, if the first information and / or the second information indicate one of 320 / 160 / 80 / 40 / 20MHz, the first information and / or the second information may consist of 3 bits. As another example, the first information and / or the second information may consist of 3 bits or less and be configured to indicate a limited bandwidth.

[0219] As an addition or alternative, the first punctured channel information field may include a bitmap showing a first puncturing pattern, and the second punctured channel information field may include a bitmap showing a second puncturing pattern.

[0220] If the total bandwidth consists of the first to sixth (or eighth) bandwidths, the punctured channel information field corresponding to each bandwidth may include a bitmap showing a separate puncturing pattern.

[0221] The first STA can transmit a PPDU containing the first U-SIG field and the second U-SIG field to the second STA (S1520).

[0222] For example, the first STA can transmit a PPDU containing the first U-SIG field to the second STA using the remaining bandwidth of the first bandwidth, excluding the first specific bandwidth punctured by the first punctured channel information field. Then, the first STA can transmit a PPDU containing the second U-SIG field to the second STA using the remaining bandwidth of the second bandwidth, excluding the second specific bandwidth punctured by the second punctured channel information field.

[0223] Here, the multiple U-SIG fields corresponding to each of the multiple 20MHz channels that constitute the remaining bandwidth of the first bandwidth excluding the first specific bandwidth punctured by the first punctured channel information field may be identical to each other. Similarly, the multiple U-SIG fields corresponding to each of the multiple 20MHz channels that constitute the remaining bandwidth of the second bandwidth excluding the second specific bandwidth punctured by the second punctured channel information field may be identical to each other.

[0224] Furthermore, the PPDU may include a non-OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access) based MU (multi-user) PPDU. However, this is only one example, and the PPDU may also include an OFDMA-based MU PPDU.

[0225] In basic wireless communication systems, the puncturing pattern may be indicated / set by the punctured channel information field value in the U-SIG field corresponding to a single bandwidth.

[0226] In the manner described above in this disclosure, the punctured channel information field value of the U-SIG field corresponding to each bandwidth constituting the total bandwidth may indicate / set the puncturing pattern for each bandwidth. That is, the total bandwidth may be divided into multiple bandwidths, and one of the puncturing patterns defined for multiple bandwidths may be indicated / set within the divided bandwidths through the punctured channel information field of the U-SIG field, thereby indicating / setting the puncturing pattern for the total bandwidth.

[0227] This eliminates ambiguity regarding preamble puncturing and can improve throughput, even when a wider overall bandwidth is defined / configured / instructed, because the puncturing pattern is instructed for each bandwidth that makes up the overall bandwidth.

[0228] Figure 16 is a diagram illustrating the operation performed by the second STA according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0229] The second STA can transmit information related to the total bandwidth for PPDU transmission to the first STA (S1610).

[0230] For example, the second STA may transmit information related to the overall bandwidth for PPDU transmission to the first STA using a trigger frame or another type of PPDU. For example, information related to the overall bandwidth for PPDU transmission may be indicated in the BW field included in the trigger frame or another type of PPDU.

[0231] The second STA can receive from the first STA a PPDU containing a first U-SIG field associated with the first bandwidth and a second U-SIG field associated with the second bandwidth (S1620).

[0232] The total bandwidth may, but is not limited to, a first bandwidth and a second bandwidth. The total bandwidth may be composed of bandwidths in units of 80 MHz. Here, the number of 80 MHz bandwidths may, but is not limited to, six or eight.

[0233] The structural features of the PPDU and U-SIG fields described with reference to Figure 16 correspond to the structural features of the PPDU and U-SIG fields described with reference to Figure 15, so redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0234] The following describes how to specify puncturing patterns in the 480MHz and / or 640MHz bandwidth.

[0235] The method for indicating puncturing patterns in next-generation wireless LAN systems may be based on the punctured channel information field of the U-SIG field, as in IEEE 802.11be-based wireless LAN systems. Below, we will describe a method for indicating puncturing patterns by distinguishing between non-OFDMA transmission conditions and OFDMA transmission conditions.

[0236] Example 1

[0237] Example 1 relates to a method for specifying a puncturing pattern in non-OFDMA transmission conditions.

[0238] When non-OFDMA transmission in the 480MHz and / or 640MHz bandwidth, a puncturing pattern suitable for that bandwidth may be defined. For example, in addition to a predefined puncturing pattern for bandwidths from 80MHz to 320MHz, a puncturing pattern for 480MHz and / or 640MHz may be further defined.

[0239] The methods for defining puncturing patterns for 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz may be distinguished by whether or not they are dependent on existing bandwidth puncturing patterns.

[0240] Example 1-1

[0241] Puncture patterns at 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz may be defined independently of existing bandwidth puncture patterns (e.g., puncture patterns below 320 MHz). That is, when transmitting 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz MU PPDU, the puncture patterns for those bandwidths may be further defined regardless of existing bandwidth puncture patterns.

[0242] In an IEEE 802.11be-based wireless LAN system, the puncturing pattern at 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz may be indicated by the puncturing channel information field in the U-SIG field, taking the overall bandwidth into account, similar to the non-OFDMA transmission status of a specific bandwidth. That is, the punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20 MHz channels except the punctured 20 MHz channel may be set to the same value.

[0243] Here, the method for indicating a puncturing pattern at 480 MHz may be considered as a special case in the method for indicating a puncturing pattern at 640 MHz. In this case, a puncturing pattern applicable to 480 MHz may be included in the puncturing pattern applicable to 640 MHz. Furthermore, 640 MHz may be indicated by the BW field (of the U-SIG field), but 480 MHz may not be indicated. That is, the BW field (of the U-SIG field) may have additional information / values ​​indicating 640 MHz, but may not have additional information / values ​​indicating 480 MHz.

[0244] As another example, the method for indicating a puncturing pattern at 480 MHz may be defined independently of the method for indicating a puncturing pattern at 640 MHz. In this case, the BW field (of the U-SIG field) may indicate not only 640 MHz but also 480 MHz.

[0245] As an addition or alternative, additional puncturing patterns may be defined for bandwidths of 320 MHz or less, in addition to the existing puncturing patterns.

[0246] Depending on the number of puncturing patterns added to bandwidths of 320 MHz or less and / or the number of puncturing patterns defined for 480 / 640 MHz, the number of bits in the punctured channel information field may include 5 bits or 6 bits.

[0247] When Example 1-1 is applied, there is a technical benefit in that even if only some of the channels within the MU PPDU are decoded, the puncturing pattern information applied to the MU PPDU can be obtained.

[0248] Examples 1-2

[0249] Puncture patterns at 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz may be defined in relation to existing puncture patterns in bandwidths (e.g., puncture patterns below 320 MHz).

[0250] In other words, puncturing patterns at 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz may be defined based on puncturing patterns for bandwidths below 320 MHz. Furthermore, additional puncturing patterns may be defined in addition to the predefined puncturing patterns for each bandwidth below 320 MHz.

[0251] As described in Example 1-1, when transmitting an MU PPDU up to 320 MHz, the punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20 MHz channels except the punctured 20 MHz channel in the MU PPDU may be set to a value corresponding to the puncturing pattern applied to the MU PPDU.

[0252] When transmitting MU PPDU at 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz, the puncturing channel information field may, but is not limited to, the method described in Example 1-1. Below, a new method for specifying a puncturing pattern applicable when transmitting MU PPDU at 480 MHz and / or 640 MHz is described.

[0253] As an example of this disclosure, we assume that the puncturing pattern indication method at 480 MHz is considered, while the puncturing pattern indication method at 640 MHz is considered as a special case.

[0254] A 640MHz puncturing pattern may consist of a combination of preamble puncturing patterns defined for primary 320MHz and secondary 320MHz, respectively. The preamble puncturing patterns defined for primary 320MHz (hereinafter, P320) and secondary 320MHz (hereinafter, S320) may be preamble puncturing patterns defined with a bandwidth of 320MHz or less.

[0255] Here, the punctured channel information fields of the U-SIG fields in P320 and S320 may be set to different values ​​from each other. That is, the content of the U-SIG field in P320 may be the same, and the content of the U-SIG field in S320 may be the same, but the content of the U-SIG field in P320 and the content of the U-SIG field in S320 may be different from each other.

[0256] The punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20MHz channels within P320, excluding the punctured 20MHz channel, can indicate the puncturing pattern of P320.

[0257] The puncturing pattern for P320 may be one of the puncturing patterns defined for a 320MHz bandwidth. In this case, if puncture occurs at 160MHz or higher in P320, one of the puncturing patterns defined for 160 / 80 / 40 / 20MHz bandwidths may be indicated.

[0258] Furthermore, the punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20MHz channels in S320, excluding the punctured 20MHz channel, can indicate the puncturing pattern of S320.

[0259] The puncturing pattern in S320 may be one of the puncturing patterns defined for a 320MHz bandwidth. In this case, if puncture occurs at 160MHz or higher in S320, one of the puncturing patterns defined for 160 / 80 / 40 / 20MHz bandwidths may be indicated.

[0260] As an additional or alternative, assume that 480 MHz (i.e., a puncturing pattern for 480 MHz) is further defined.

[0261] In this case, the instruction for the puncturing pattern for 640MHz may be the same as when 480MHz is considered as a special case of 640MHz, and preamble puncturing of 160MHz or higher does not need to be considered in P320 and S320.

[0262] The puncturing pattern at 480MHz may be based on either a "P160 (i.e., primary 160MHz) + S320 combination" or a "P320 + S320 combination with a specific 160MHz (hereinafter referred to as SS160)".

[0263] The "P160 (i.e., primary 160MHz) + S320 combination" can mean a combination of puncturing patterns applicable to P160 and puncturing patterns applicable to S320. In this case, the punctured channel information fields in the U-SIG for P160 and S320 may be set to different values.

[0264] In other words, the U-SIG content in P160 is the same, and the U-SIG content in S320 is the same, but the U-SIG content in P160 and the U-SIG content in S320 may be different from each other.

[0265] The punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20MHz channels except the punctured 20MHz channel within P160 can indicate the puncturing pattern of P160.

[0266] The puncturing pattern applicable to P160 (i.e., the puncturing pattern of P160) may be any one of the puncturing patterns defined for a 160 MHz bandwidth. However, if a bandwidth of 80 MHz or more is punctured by P160, the puncturing pattern applicable to P160 may be any puncturing pattern defined for an 80 / 40 / 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0267] Furthermore, the punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20MHz channels in S320, excluding the punctured 20MHz channel, can indicate the punctured channel in S320.

[0268] The puncturing pattern applicable to S320 (i.e., the puncturing pattern of S320) may be one of the puncturing patterns defined for a 320 MHz bandwidth. However, if 160 MHz or more is punctured within S320, the puncturing pattern applicable to S320 may be one of the puncturing patterns defined for a 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0269] The "P320 + SS160 combination" can mean a combination of puncturing patterns applicable to P320 and puncturing patterns applicable to SS160. In this case, the punctured channel information fields in the U-SIG of P320 and SS160 may be set to different values.

[0270] namely, the U-SIG content within P320 is the same, and the U-SIG content within SS160 is the same, but the U-SIG content within P320 and the U-SIG content within SS160 may be different from each other.

[0271] The punctured channel information field of the U-SIG field of all 20 MHz channels except for the 20 MHz channel punctured within P320 can indicate the puncturing pattern of P320.

[0272] The puncturing pattern of P320 may be one of the puncturing patterns defined with a 320 MHz bandwidth. However, when 160 MHz or more is punctured in P320, the puncturing pattern of P320 may be a puncturing pattern defined with a 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0273] Also, the punctured channel information field of the U-SIG field of all 20 MHz channels except for the 20 MHz channel punctured within SS160 can indicate the puncturing pattern of SS160.

[0274] The puncturing pattern of SS160 may be one of the puncturing patterns defined with a 160 MHz bandwidth. However, when 80 MHz or more is punctured in SS160, the puncturing pattern of SS160 may be a puncturing pattern defined with an 80 / 40 / 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0275] Depending on the number of puncturing patterns used in each bandwidth of 320 MHz or less, the number of bits of the punctured channel information field may be 5 or 6 bits.

[0276] As an addition or alternative, when the bandwidth of 160 / 80 MHz or more is punctured in each 320 / 160 MHz channel that constitutes 480 / 640 MHz, a puncturing pattern of 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz other than 320 MHz may be indicated, and a puncturing pattern of 80 / 40 / 20 MHz other than 160 MHz may be indicated.

[0277] Thereby, it is possible to further indicate which puncturing pattern value of which bandwidth constitutes the punctured channel information field in each 320 / 160 MHz channel.

[0278] As an example of the present disclosure, assume that 480 MHz is a special case of 640 MHz. The bandwidth of 160 MHz or more may be punctured in each 320 MHz (that is, P320 and S320) that constitutes 640 MHz.

[0279] At this time, since the punctured channel information field may be configured to indicate a puncturing pattern corresponding to 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz, 3 bits may be added to indicate 320 / 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz (that is, the puncturing pattern corresponding to 320 / 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz).

[0280] As an addition or alternative, 320 MHz (that is, the puncturing pattern corresponding to 320 MHz) or another bandwidth may be indicated by the added 1 bit or 2 bits. As another example, 320 MHz or 160 MHz may be indicated by the added 1 bit.

[0281] The above-mentioned added 1 / 2 / 3 bits may be included in the punctured channel information field, but are not limited thereto. The above-mentioned added 1 / 2 / 3 bits may be defined as a new field. And the above-mentioned added 1 / 2 / 3 bits may be reserved or used for another purpose in bandwidths other than 640 MHz.

[0282] As yet another example of this disclosure, suppose a bandwidth of 480 MHz is further defined. In this case, each 320 MHz (i.e., P320 and S320) channel constituting 640 MHz does not need to consider puncturing in bandwidths of 160 MHz or more, and no additional bits may be required.

[0283] As an addition or alternative, if a bandwidth of 80 or more 160 MHz or more is punctured in each of the 160 MHz and 320 MHz channels constituting 480 MHz, three bits may be added to indicate 320 / 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz (i.e., the puncturing pattern corresponding to 320 / 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz).

[0284] As yet another example, puncturing may be applied to a bandwidth of 80 MHz or more on a 160 MHz channel. In this case, the punctured channel information field may be configured to indicate an 80 / 40 / 20 MHz puncturing pattern, so two bits may be added to indicate 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz (i.e., the puncturing pattern corresponding to 160 / 80 / 40 / 20 MHz).

[0285] As yet another example, an additional 1 or 2 bits may indicate 160 MHz (i.e., a puncturing pattern corresponding to 160 MHz) and other bandwidths. As yet another example, an additional 1 bit may indicate 160 MHz or 80 MHz (i.e., a puncturing pattern corresponding to 80 MHz).

[0286] The aforementioned additional 1 / 2 / 3 bits may, but are not limited to, be included in the punctured channel information field. The aforementioned additional 1 / 2 / 3 bits may be defined as a new field. Furthermore, the aforementioned additional 1 / 2 / 3 bits may be reserved or used for other purposes in bandwidths other than 480 MHz.

[0287] Furthermore, the number of additional bits in the 160MHz channel may be less than or equal to the number of additional bits used in the 320MHz channel. If the number of additional bits in the 160MHz channel is less than the number of additional bits used in the 320MHz channel, only some of the additional bits used in the 320MHz channel may be used for the 160MHz channel, with the remaining bits reserved or used for another purpose.

[0288] As yet another example of this disclosure, suppose there are no additional bits as described above on the punctured information field, or no other new field consisting of additional bits. In this case, the 320 MHz channel comprising 640 / 480 MHz may always indicate a puncturing pattern defined with a 320 MHz bandwidth, and the 160 MHz channel comprising 640 / 480 MHz may always indicate a puncturing pattern defined with a 160 MHz bandwidth.

[0289] Puncture patterns generated by puncturing over bandwidths of 160 / 80 MHz or higher may be further defined as puncture patterns for a 320 / 160 MHz bandwidth. These additional puncture patterns do not need to be used as puncture patterns when transmitting 320 / 160 MHz MU PPDUs, and may only be used on each 320 / 160 MHz channel when transmitting 640 / 480 MHz MU PPDUs. Therefore, in 320 / 160 MHz MU PPDUs, values ​​for indicating these additional puncture patterns may be reserved or used for other purposes.

[0290] When the above-described examples 1-2 are applied, puncturing patterns in 320 / 160MHz units may be used to construct puncturing patterns corresponding to 640 / 480MHz.

[0291] Examples 1-3

[0292] Examples 1-3 describe a method for instructing a puncturing pattern using a bitmap, similar to the OFDMA transmission method.

[0293] The punctured channel information field values ​​of the U-SIG field for each 80MHz channel may be set to different values ​​from each other. That is, the U-SIG content within a particular 80MHz may be identical to each other, but different U-SIG content may be set for each 80MHz.

[0294] Within each 80MHz channel, all 20MHz channels except for the punctured 20MHz channel may be indicated in bitmap format with respect to the 80MHz puncturing pattern to which the punctured 20MHz channel belongs.

[0295] In other words, the punctured channel information field may consist of 4 bits, and each bit of the punctured channel information field may be mapped from the lowest 20 MHz to the highest 20 MHz. When a particular bit value of the punctured channel information field is set to 1 (or 0), this indicates that the 20 MHz corresponding to that particular bit will not be punctured.

[0296] If a specific bit value in the punctured channel information field is set to 0 (or 1), this can indicate that the 20MHz corresponding to that specific bit is punctured.

[0297] As an addition or alternative, the punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field for each 80 MHz channel can indicate a puncturing pattern defined for a non-bitmap 80 MHz channel. At this time, the punctured channel information fields in the U-SIG field for each 80 MHz channel may be set to different values. That is, the U-SIG content within a specific 80 MHz may be the same, but different U-SIG contents may be set for each 80 MHz.

[0298] As an addition or alternative, the puncturing pattern defined by the 80 MHz bandwidth / channel may be the same as the puncturing pattern defined for the MU PPDU with an 80 MHz bandwidth, but may be configured differently.

[0299] As yet another example, the puncturing pattern defined for the MU PPDU with an 80 MHz bandwidth may be configured based on the puncturing pattern defined by the 80 MHz bandwidth and other puncturing patterns.

[0300] The punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of all 20 MHz channels except the punctured 20 MHz channels within each 80 MHz channel may indicate the puncturing pattern of the 80 MHz to which the 20 MHz channel belongs. A punctured channel information field of 4 bits or less may be configured according to the number of puncturing patterns defined by the 80 MHz channel.

[0301] Examples 1-3 can indicate the puncturing pattern applied to the MU PPDU regardless of the puncturing pattern defined for each bandwidth, so the flexibility related to the puncturing pattern definition can be improved.

[0302] Example 2

[0303] Example 2 relates to a method for specifying a puncturing pattern in OFDMA transmission conditions.

[0304] As an example of this disclosure, a method for specifying the puncturing pattern in a non-OFDMA transmission situation may be applied / defined even in an OFDMA transmission situation.

[0305] As an additional or alternative, the methods according to Examples 1-3 may be applied for flexibility in OFDMA transmission.

[0306] Specifically, when a punctured channel information field of 4 bits or more that indicates a puncturing pattern in a bitmap manner is defined (and / or when a 4-bit field is used for puncturing pattern indication during non-OFDMA transmission), bitmap-based puncturing pattern indication may be performed using only the first or last 4 bits of the punctured channel information field, and the last bit of the punctured channel information field may be reserved or used for another purpose.

[0307] As yet another example of this disclosure, suppose that in a non-OFDMA transmission situation, a punctured channel information field of x bits or more is defined to indicate a puncturing pattern. In this case, if a method is applied to indicate the puncturing pattern of an 80 MHz channel using x bits (for example, x is a natural number less than or equal to 4), the puncturing pattern may be indicated by the first or last x bits of the punctured channel information field. The remaining bits of the punctured channel information field, excluding x bits, may be reserved or used for other purposes.

[0308] If the punctured channel information fields are not defined identically in non-OFDMA transmission and OFDMA transmission situations, non-OFDMA transmission or OFDMA transmission may be distinguished by a specific field in the U-SIG field. In other words, non-OFDMA transmission or OFDMA transmission may be indicated by a specific field in the U-SIG field.

[0309] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating a PPDU transmission and reception procedure between a transmitting STA and a receiving STA according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Some steps shown in Figure 17 may be omitted depending on the circumstances and / or settings. The transmitting device and the receiving STA may be AP and / or non-AP STAs.

[0310] The transmitting STA can acquire control information related to the tone plan (or RU) described above (S105). The control information related to the tone plan may include the size and location of the RU, control information related to the RU, information about the frequency band in which the RU is contained, and information about the STA receiving the RU.

[0311] The transmitting STA can configure / generate a PPDU based on the acquired control information (S110). Configuring / generating a PPDU means configuring / generating each field of the PPDU. That is, the step of configuring / generating a PPDU may include the step of configuring the EHT-SIG-A / B / C fields, which contain control information related to the tone plan.

[0312] In other words, the steps of configuring / generating the PPDU may include configuring a field containing control information (e.g., an N-bitmap) that indicates the size / location of the RU, and / or configuring a field containing an identifier (e.g., AID) of the STA that receives the RU.

[0313] Furthermore, the step of configuring / generating the PPDU may include a step of generating the STF / LTF sequence to be transmitted by a specific RU. The STF / LTF sequence may be generated based on a pre-configured STF generation sequence / LTF generation sequence.

[0314] Furthermore, the step of configuring / generating the PPDU may include the step of generating the data fields (i.e., MPDU) to be transmitted in a specific RU.

[0315] The transmitting STA can send the configured / generated PPDU to the receiving STA (S115).

[0316] Specifically, the transmitting STA can perform at least one of the following: CSD (cyclic shift diversity), spatial mapping, IDFT (inverse discrete Fourier transform) / IFFT (inverse fast Fourier transform) operation, and GI (guard interval) insertion operation.

[0317] The receiving STA can decode the PPDU and obtain control information related to the tone plan (or RU) (S120).

[0318] Specifically, the receiving STA can decode the L-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG of the PPDU based on the L-STF / LTF and obtain the information contained in the L-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG fields. Information regarding the various tone plans (i.e., RUs) of this disclosure may be contained in the EHT-SIG (EHT-SIG-A / B / C, etc.), and the receiving STA can obtain information regarding the tone plans (i.e., RUs) by the EHT-SIG.

[0319] The receiving STA can decode the rest of the PPDU based on the information obtained regarding the tone plan (i.e., RU) (S125). For example, the receiving STA can decode the STF / LTF fields of the PPDU based on the information regarding the tone plan (i.e., RU). The receiving STA can also decode the data fields of the PPDU based on the information regarding the tone plan (i.e., RU) and obtain the MPDU contained in the data fields.

[0320] Furthermore, the receiving STA can perform processing operations to transmit the decoded data to a higher layer (e.g., the MAC layer). Also, if the higher layer instructs the PHY layer to generate a signal in response to the data transmitted to the higher layer, the receiving STA can perform subsequent operations.

[0321] The embodiments described above are combinations of the components and features of the present disclosure in a predetermined form. Each component or feature should be considered optional unless otherwise explicitly mentioned. Each component or feature may be implemented in a form that does not combine with other components or features. It is also possible to combine some components and / or features to constitute embodiments of the present disclosure. The order of operations described in embodiments of the present disclosure may be changed. Some components or features of one embodiment may be included in other embodiments, or replaced by corresponding components or features of other embodiments. It is clear that claims that do not have an explicit reference relationship in the claims may be combined to constitute embodiments, or may be included as new claims by amendment after filing.

[0322] It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that this disclosure can be embodied in other specific forms, provided that the essential features of this disclosure are not deviated from. Therefore, the above-mentioned detailed description should not be constrained in any way and should be considered illustrative. The scope of this disclosure should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the attached claims, and any modifications within the equivalent scope of this disclosure are included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0323] The scope of this disclosure includes software or machine-executable instructions (e.g., operating systems, applications, firmware, programs, etc.) that cause an apparatus or computer to perform operations according to the methods of various embodiments, and non-transitory computer-readable medium on which such software or instructions are stored and executable on the apparatus or computer. Instructions available for programming a processing system that performs the features described in this disclosure may be stored on / in a storage medium or computer-readable storage medium, and the features described in this disclosure may be embodied using a computer program product including such storage medium. The storage medium may include, but is not limited to, high-speed random-access memory such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random-access solid-state memory devices, and may include non-volatile memory such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. Memory optionally includes one or more storage devices located remotely from the processor. Memory, or alternatively, non-volatile memory devices within memory, include non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The features described in this disclosure may be stored on any one of the machine-readable media and integrated into software and / or firmware that can control the hardware of the processing system and cause the processing system to interact with other mechanisms that utilize the results relating to the embodiments of this disclosure. Such software or firmware may include, but is not limited to, application code, device drivers, operating systems and execution environments / containers. [Industrial applicability]

[0324] Although the method proposed in this disclosure has been described primarily in the context of its application to IEEE 802.11-based systems, it can be applied to a variety of other wireless LAN or wireless communication systems.

Claims

1. A first STA (station) generates a PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit) including a first U (universal)-SIG (signal) field associated with a primary bandwidth channel and a second U-SIG field associated with a secondary bandwidth channel, The first STA transmits the PPDU, which includes the first U-SIG field and the second U-SIG field, to the second STA within the primary bandwidth channel and the secondary bandwidth channel, The primary bandwidth is one of either primary 160 MHz or primary 320 MHz, and the secondary bandwidth is one of either secondary 320 MHz or a specific 160 MHz within secondary 320 MHz. The first U-SIG field includes a first punctured channel information field associated with a first puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the primary bandwidth channel, The second U-SIG field includes a second punctured channel information field associated with the second puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the secondary bandwidth channel, The plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the primary bandwidth channel include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the primary bandwidth channel and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the primary bandwidth channel. The plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the secondary bandwidth channel include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the secondary bandwidth channel and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the secondary bandwidth channel. A method wherein the first punctured channel information field and the second punctured channel information field are each set to different values.

2. The first U-SIG field includes first information related to the primary bandwidth channel and one of the bandwidths less than or equal to the primary bandwidth channel, The method according to claim 1, wherein the second U-SIG field includes second information related to one of the secondary bandwidth and the bandwidth below the secondary bandwidth channel.

3. Of the at least one puncturing pattern corresponding to the bandwidth indicated by the first information, the first puncturing pattern is indicated by the first punctured channel information field. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second puncturing pattern among at least one puncturing pattern corresponding to the bandwidth indicated by the second information is indicated by the second punctured channel information field.

4. The first information is indicated by the first punctured channel information field or the first field included in the first U-SIG field, The method according to claim 2, wherein the second information is indicated by a second field included in the second punctured channel information field or the second U-SIG field.

5. In the remaining bandwidth of the primary bandwidth channel, excluding the first specific bandwidth punctured by the first punctured channel information field, the PPDU including the first U-SIG field is transmitted to the second STA. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PPDU including the second U-SIG field is transmitted to the second STA in the remaining bandwidth of the secondary bandwidth channel, excluding the second specific bandwidth punctured by the second punctured channel information field.

6. The multiple U-SIG fields corresponding to each of the multiple 20 MHz channels that constitute the remaining bandwidth of the primary bandwidth excluding the first specific bandwidth punctured by the first punctured channel information field are identical to each other. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of U-SIG fields corresponding to each of the plurality of 20 MHz channels that constitute the remaining bandwidth of the secondary bandwidth excluding the second specific bandwidth punctured by the second punctured channel information field are identical to one another.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PPDU includes a non-OFDMA (non-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access) based MU (multi-user) PPDU.

8. The first punctured channel information field includes a bitmap representing the first puncturing pattern, The method according to claim 1, wherein the second punctured channel information field includes a bitmap showing the second puncturing pattern.

9. A first STA (station), At least one transceiver and, The system comprises at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver, The aforementioned at least one processor is A PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit) is generated that includes a first U (universal)-SIG (signal) field associated with the primary bandwidth channel and a second U-SIG field associated with the secondary bandwidth channel. The PPDU, including the first U-SIG field and the second U-SIG field, is configured to be transmitted to the second STA via the at least one transceiver in the primary bandwidth channel and the secondary bandwidth channel. The primary bandwidth is one of either primary 160 MHz or primary 320 MHz, and the secondary bandwidth is one of either secondary 320 MHz or a specific 160 MHz within secondary 320 MHz. The first U-SIG field includes a first punctured channel information field associated with a first puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the primary bandwidth channel, The second U-SIG field includes a second punctured channel information field associated with the second puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the secondary bandwidth channel, The plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the primary bandwidth channel include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the primary bandwidth channel and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the primary bandwidth channel. The plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the secondary bandwidth channel include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the secondary bandwidth channel and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the secondary bandwidth channel. A first STA, wherein each of the first punctured channel information field and the second punctured channel information field is set to a different value.

10. A second STA (station), At least one transceiver and, The system comprises at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver, The aforementioned at least one processor is Information related to the total bandwidth channel for PPDU (physical layer protocol data unit) transmission is transmitted to the first STA via the at least one transceiver. The PPDU, which includes a first U (universal)-SIG (signal) field associated with the primary bandwidth channel among the overall bandwidth channels and a second U-SIG field associated with the secondary bandwidth channel among the overall bandwidth channels, is configured to be received from the first STA via at least one transceiver. The primary bandwidth is one of either primary 160 MHz or primary 320 MHz, and the secondary bandwidth is one of either secondary 320 MHz or a specific 160 MHz within secondary 320 MHz. The first U-SIG field includes a first punctured channel information field associated with a first puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the primary bandwidth channel, The second U-SIG field includes a second punctured channel information field associated with the second puncturing pattern among a plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the secondary bandwidth channel, The plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the primary bandwidth channel include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the primary bandwidth channel and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the primary bandwidth channel. The plurality of puncturing patterns corresponding to the secondary bandwidth channel include at least one puncturing pattern defined for the secondary bandwidth channel and at least one puncturing pattern defined for bandwidths less than or equal to the secondary bandwidth channel. A second STA, wherein the first punctured channel information field and the second punctured channel information field are each set to different values.

Images