Enhanced frame for time-domain preemption

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and devices related to time domain preemption. A device may generate a frame including a preamble and a data payload. The device may split the data payload into multiple data portions. The device may insert a time domain gap between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame. The device may transmit the frame to a first station device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for wireless communication, and more specifically, to enhanced frames for time domain preemption.

Background Art

[0002] Wireless devices are becoming increasingly widespread and are increasingly demanding access to the wireless channel. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has developed one or more standards that utilize Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) in channel allocation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003] [Figure 1] A network diagram representing an example of a network environment for time domain preemption, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Represents an exemplary schematic diagram of time domain preemption, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] Represents an exemplary schematic diagram of time domain preemption, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] Represents an exemplary schematic diagram of time domain preemption, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] Represents an exemplary schematic diagram of time domain preemption, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] Represents an exemplary schematic diagram of time domain preemption, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] Represents a flowchart of an exemplary process of an exemplary time domain preemption system, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] A functional diagram of an exemplary communications station suitable for use as a user device is shown according to one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 9] This represents a block diagram of an example machine in which one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a block diagram of a wireless architecture following several examples. [Figure 11] An example of a front-end module circuit used in the wireless architecture of Figure 10 is shown according to one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 12] An example of a wireless IC circuit used in the wireless architecture of Figure 10 is shown according to one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 13] An example of a baseband processing circuit used in the wireless architecture of Figure 10 is shown according to one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0004] The following description and drawings illustrate embodiments that are sufficiently specific to enable those skilled in the art to carry out specific embodiments. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, algorithmic, and other modifications. Parts and features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for parts and features of other embodiments. The embodiments shown in the claims encompass all available equivalents of the claims.

[0005] There are critical use cases where a way to enable preemption is needed to allow an ongoing transmission to be aborted, so that an emergency communication from another STA can be transmitted.

[0006] Methods have been considered to allow emergency communication requests from STAs on a dedicated channel (dedicated radio wave). Upon receiving a request, the STA / AP would halt its ongoing PPDU transmission on its main radio wave to allow the STA with the emergency communication to use the medium (either by allowing access via enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) or by allowing the transmission to be triggered by a trigger frame).

[0007] When an STA / AP is sending a PPDU to STA1, if it receives an urgent message for STA2 in its queue, it may want to abort the ongoing transmission to STA1 and send a new PPDU to STA2.

[0008] Another approach to providing an opportunity for an STA to preempt the medium by sending an emergency communication request or transmitting an emergency packet every xμs / ms is to compel an STA to pause every xμs when it is transmitting a long PPDU. During this pause, an STA with an emergency communication can resume transmission of those PPDUs and obtain the medium, or they can send a short instruction that they have an emergency communication request, and if this happens, the STA whose PPDU was paused will return the remainder of its TxOP time to that STA. If no STA requests the medium during the pause, the STA whose pause was scheduled can resume its PPDU until the next pause.

[0009] Similarly, for uplinks (ULs), another proposal is to send a trigger frame to assign resource units (RUs) and time allocations (after the time boundary) to one or more STAs. At the time boundary, the PPDU transmission stops to allow the training signal (LTF) to be transmitted. If STAs have allocations within the same RU before and after the boundary, the same PPDU can follow. If two different STAs are scheduled before and after the boundary, the PPDU should terminate at the boundary.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, the time-domain preemption system may define a mechanism to pause, terminate, or resume the PPDU to enable these use cases.

[0011] Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure relate to systems, methods, and devices for frames such as Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) or aggregated PPDUs in the time domain for preemption, pause, and time multiplexing.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, a time-domain preemption system may prompt the use of a time-domain frame, such as a PPDU or aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU). This frame consists of a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) preamble / header, followed by several data portions. Each data portion may be preceded by an LTE field to enable channel estimation for a new STA. Each data portion may also be preceded by a signaling (SIG) field to enable any parameter changes / updates deemed necessary. In each data portion, the MAC payload consists of an A-MPDU or MPDU that can be punctured using puncturing rules.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, the time-domain preemption system may facilitate multiple modes: a mode in which there is complete continuity between MAC payloads of consecutive data portions (i.e., the receiver adds MAC payloads from multiple data portions and processes them as if they were received in a single data portion); a mode in which MAC and PHY padding are placed at the end of each data portion to terminate the data portion at the same time boundary between the data portion and the PPDU or A-PPDU, with pauses possible between two data portions.

[0014] The above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, algorithms, etc., may exist, some of which are described in more detail below. Exemplary embodiments are described hereby with reference to the attached diagrams.

[0015] Figure 1 is a network diagram representing an example of a time-domain preemption network environment according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may include one or more user devices 120 and one or more access points (APs) 102, which can communicate in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 communication standard. The user devices 120 may be non-stationary (e.g., not having a fixed location) mobile devices or stationary devices.

[0016] In some embodiments, the user device 120 and AP102 may include one or more computer systems similar to the functional diagram in Figure 8 and / or the exemplary machine / system in Figure 9.

[0017] One or more exemplary user devices 120 and / or AP102 may be operable by one or more users 110. Note that any addressable unit can be a station (STA). An STA may have several different characteristics, each of which forms its function. For example, a single addressable unit may simultaneously be a portable STA, a quality of service (QoS) STA, a dependent STA, and a hidden STA. One or more exemplary user devices 120 and / or AP102 may be STAs. One or more exemplary user devices 120 and / or AP102 may operate as a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) control point / access point (PCP / AP). User devices 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and / or AP102 may include, but are not limited to, any suitable processor-driven device, including mobile devices or non-mobile devices, such as static devices. For example, User Device 120 and / or AP 102 are user equipment (UE), stations (STA), access points (AP), software-enabled APs (SoftAP), personal computers (PC), wearable wireless devices (e.g., bracelets, watches, glasses, rings, etc.), desktop computers, mobile computers, laptop computers, ultrabook computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, server computers, handheld computers, handheld devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, sensor devices, PDA devices, handheld PDA devices, onboard devices, offboard devices, hybrid devices (e.g., combining cellular phone functionality and PDA device functionality), consumer devices, vehicle devices, non-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, PCS devices, PDA devices incorporating wireless communication devices, mobile or portable GPS devices, DVB devices, highly reliable small computing devices, non-desktop computers, "carry small""Live Large" (CSLL) devices, ultra-mobile devices (UMD), ultra-mobile PCs (UMPC), mobile internet devices (MID), "Origami" devices or computing devices, dynamically composable computing (DCC), context-aware devices, video devices, audio devices, A / V devices, set-top boxes (STB), Blu-ray disc (BD) players, BD recorders, digital video disc (DVD) players, high-definition (HD) DVD players, DVD recorders, HD This list may include DVD recorders, personal video recorders (PVRs), broadcast HD receivers, video sources, audio sources, video syncs, audio syncs, stereo tuners, broadcast radio receivers, flat panel displays, personal media players (PMPs), digital video cameras (DVCs), digital audio players, speakers, audio receivers, audio amplifiers, game consoles, data sources, data syncs, digital still image cameras (DSCs), media players, smartphones, televisions, music players, etc. Other devices, including smart devices such as lighting, mechanical control, car components, home components, and appliances, may also be included in this list.

[0018] As used herein, the term “Internet of Things (IoT) device” is used to refer to any object (e.g., appliance, sensor, etc.) that has an addressable interface (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address, Bluetooth® identifier (ID), Near Field Communication (NFC) ID, etc.) and can transmit information to one or more other devices via a wired or wireless connection. IoT devices may have passive communication interfaces such as quick response (QR) codes, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, NFC tags, etc., or active communication interfaces such as modems, transceivers, transceivers, etc. IoT devices may have a set of specific attributes that are embedded in and / or controlled / monitored by a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, ASIC, etc., and can be configured for connection to an IoT network such as a local ad-hoc network or the Internet (e.g., device state or status such as whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or operational, available or busy for task execution, etc., cooling or heating function, environmental monitoring or recording function, light emission function, sound generation function, etc.). For example, IoT devices may include, but are not limited to, refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwave ovens, freezers, dishwashers, dishes, hand tools, clothing, washing machines, clothes dryers, stoves, air conditioners, thermostats, televisions, lighting fixtures, vacuum cleaners, sprinklers, electric meters, gas meters, etc., as long as the device is equipped with an addressable communication interface for communicating with the IoT network. IoT devices may also include mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Thus, an IoT network may consist of a combination of devices that do not normally have an internet connection (e.g., dishwashers) and “legacy” internet-accessible devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computers, mobile phones, etc.).

[0019] The user device 120 and / or the AP 102 may also include, for example, mesh stations within a mesh network, in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards and / or 3GPP (registered trademark) standards.

[0020] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly or wired with each other via one or more communication networks 130 and / or 135. The user devices 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with each other, regardless of the presence or absence of the AP 102. Any of the communication networks 130 and / or 135 may include, for example, a broadcasting network, a cable network, a public network (e.g., the Internet), a private network, a wireless network, a cellular network, or any other suitable combination of various types of suitable communication networks such as any other appropriate private and / or public network, but is not limited thereto. Further, any of the communication networks 130 and / or 135 can have any suitable communication range associated therewith, for example, a global network (e.g., the Internet), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or a personal area network (PAN). Further, any of the communication networks 130 and / or 135 may include, but is not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted pair wire, optical fiber, hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceiver, radio frequency communication medium, white space communication medium, ultra-high frequency communication medium, satellite communication medium, or any medium of any type through which network traffic can be carried including any combination thereof.

[0021] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may include one or more communication antennas. The one or more communication antennas may be any suitable type of antenna corresponding to the communication protocol used by the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, and 128) and the AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communication antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, antennas compliant with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard family, directional antennas, omnidirectional antennas, dipole antennas, foldable dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, omni-directional antennas, quasi-omni-directional antennas, and the like. The one or more communication antennas may be communicatively coupled to radio components to transmit and / or receive signals such as communication signals to and / or from the user devices 120 and / or the AP 102.

[0022] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and / or directional reception along with wireless communication in a wireless network. Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may be configured to perform such directional transmission and / or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., a DMG antenna array, etc.). Each of the multiple antenna arrays may be used for transmission and / or reception in a particular respective direction or range of directions. Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional transmission directed towards one or more defined transmission sectors. Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and the AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined reception sectors.

[0023] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network can be achieved using RF beamforming and / or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, when performing a given MIMO transmission, user devices 120 and / or AP102 may be configured to use all or part of one or more of their communication antennas to perform MIMO beamforming.

[0024] Both user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP102 may include any suitable radio and / or transceiver for transmitting and / or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in bandwidth and / or channels corresponding to the communication protocol used by either user device 120 or AP102 to communicate with each other. The radio component may include hardware and / or software for modulating and / or demodulating the communication signals according to a predetermined transmission protocol. The radio component may further include hardware and / or software instructions for communicating via one or more Wi-Fi and / or Wi-Fi Direct protocols, as standardized by the IEEE 802.11 standard. In certain exemplary embodiments, a radio component may be configured to communicate in cooperation with a communication antenna over 2.4 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ax), 5 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, etc.), 6 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11ax, 802.11be, etc.), or 60 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11ad, 802.11ay), or 800 MHz channels (e.g., 802.11ah). The communication antenna may operate at 28 GHz and 40 GHz. This list of communication channels conforming to a specific 802.11 standard is merely a partial list, and it should be understood that other 802.11 standards (e.g., next-generation Wi-Fi or other standards) may be used. In some embodiments, non-Wi-Fi protocols, such as Bluetooth, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), ultra-high frequency (UHF) (e.g., IEEE 802.11af, IEEE 802.22), white band frequencies (e.g., white space), or other packetized wireless communications may be used for communication between devices. The radio component may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communication by the communication protocol.The radio component may further include a low-noise amplifier (LNA), an additional signal amplifier, an analog-to-digital (A / D) converter, one or more buffers, and a digital baseband.

[0025] In one embodiment, with reference to Figure 1, a user device 120 may communicate with one or more APs 102. For example, one or more APs 102 may implement time-domain preemption 142 with one or more user devices 120. It is understood that the above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope.

[0026] Figure 2 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of time-domain preemption according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] Referring to Figure 2, an example of a frame consisting of a preamble and a data payload (e.g., PPDU or A-PPDU) is shown.

[0028] In one or more embodiments, a time-domain preemption system may facilitate the division of a data payload into multiple data parts (data part 1, data part 2, and data part 3). The multiple data parts may be separated by delimiters (e.g., delimiter 201 or 202). The delimiters may be used to create an opportunity for other STAs with urgent communications to use the medium (either by enabling access via enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) or by enabling the transmission to be triggered by a trigger frame).

[0029] In one or more embodiments, the time-domain preemption system may define a delimiter to be an LTF field or an LTF and SIG field. It is understood that the above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of the system.

[0030] Figure 3 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of time-domain preemption according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Referring to Figure 3, a frame (e.g., PPDU or A-PPDU) is shown with pauses (pauses 301 and 302) between different data portions and delimiters (see Figure 2), and the frame is intended to be transmitted by the first STA. In some examples, only time pauses are added without delimiters. The pauses and / or delimiters are intended to create an opportunity for the second STA, which has urgent communication, to use the communication medium. If the second STA has more urgent traffic, it can use these pauses and / or delimiters to indicate that it needs to transmit data. The AP associated with both STAs may allow the second STA's traffic to pass through while the frame is paused. After the second STA has transmitted its urgent data, the first STA can resume its transmission.

[0032] The above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0033] Figure 4 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of time-domain preemption according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Referring to Figure 4, Mode 1 is shown, an example of a MAC payload where there is continuity between the MAC payloads contained in three data parts. Each MAC payload is appended sequentially, and the frame is processed by the receiving device as if the data parts were transmitted without separation. According to this mode, MAC efficiency is maintained because there is no padding between the data parts. However, if there is a problem receiving one part (for example, if either part 2 or 3 cannot be transmitted due to preemption at the end of part 1), the receiver should be able to receive the first MPDU if the first MPDU is complete (the complete codeword (CW) is detected) and the frame check sequence (FCS) can be checked. The last MPDU will not be received. Note that in this example, the data parts may not perfectly match the complete parts of the MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU).

[0035] The above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0036] Figure 5 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of time-domain preemption according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] Referring to Figure 5, Mode 2a is shown, which is an example of a MAC payload in which MAC and PHY padding (e.g., pads 501, 502, and 503) exists between the MAC payload contained in three data portions. The padding is intended to align the data portions with the complete portions of the MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU). According to this mode, MAC efficiency is affected because of the presence of padding between the data portions. All received MPDUs, however, are detectable, and the receiver can validate them by the FCS field within the data portion. It is understood that the above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope.

[0038] Figure 6 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of time-domain preemption according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] Referring to Figure 6, Mode 2b is shown, which is an example of a MAC payload where MAC and PHY padding exist between the MAC payloads contained in the three data parts of the data payload. In this mode, MAC efficiency is affected because of the presence of padding (e.g., pads 601, 602, and 603) between the data parts. However, compared to the previous mode, the last MPDU of the data part is allowed to be fragmented (e.g., MPDU6 fragment 1 604 and MPDU6 fragment 2 605). The remaining MPDU (fragment 2 605) will be included at the beginning of the next data part. This allows all MPDUs within the data part to be detected, and the fragmentation enables better MAC efficiency. It is necessary to define additional rules for handling the reception and acknowledgment of multiple fragments.

[0040] The simplest rule is that the receiver acknowledges valid receipt of the MPDU only if it has successfully received both fragments. An exception may be added if both the receiver and the sender are unambiguously aware that the medium has been preempted and the sender has not sent the second segment. In that case, the receiver may send an acknowledgment for the first fragment of the MPDU, even if the fragmentation levels are 1 and 2.

[0041] Otherwise, it can support fragmentation level 3, allowing acknowledgments to be made independently of different fragments.

[0042] The 802.11 standard can define only one of these modes, or it can provide signaling to indicate to the receiver which mode is being used. It may also exist that supports more than one mode.

[0043] If the medium is preempted, time-domain preemption can define rules that prevent / prevent the receiver from sending its block acknowledgment (BA) to the initiator. In this case, the initiator should later send a block acknowledgment request (BAR) to the STA to obtain a response from the STA (or send another frame to the STA and obtain an acknowledgment when requested). One approach is for the receiver to have a rule requiring it to remain in an awake state, so that at the end of transmission of a preemption emergency frame, if the initiator gains control of the medium, the initiator can send a BAR or frame to the receiver to collect an acknowledgment for the transmitted data portion. In modes 1 or 2, the BA contains only BA responses for packets that were successfully received.

[0044] The initiator may send a preempted first PPDU after the data portion which should use the medium for more urgent packets. At the end of the urgent packet transmission, the initiator, having gained control of the medium, may send a PPDU which is an A-PPDU containing the remaining data portion. When operating in Mode 1, if supported by the receiver (which may be a specific feature), the data portions received from the first PPDU before preemption and the second PPDU after preemption can be combined to form a MAC payload that the MAC detects (continuous mode). At the end of the second PPDU, the STA sends an immediate BA ACKing the entire PPDU.

[0045] The above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0046] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process 700 for a time-domain preemption system according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] In block 702, a device (e.g., user device 120 and / or AP102 in Figure 1, and / or time-domain preemption device 919 in Figure 9) may generate a frame containing a preamble and a data payload. The frame is a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU).

[0048] In block 704, the device can divide the data payload into multiple data parts.

[0049] In block 706, the device may insert a time-domain gap between each of the multiple data parts to allow preemption during transmission of the frame. The delimiter may be a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field. The time-domain gap may be different from the data payload. During the time-domain gap, the device may receive a preemption request from a second station device. The last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data part of the data payload may be fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment may be contained in the first data part of the multiple data parts, and the second fragment may be contained in the second data part of the multiple data parts. The multiple data parts correspond to a MAC frame consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter. The first part of the MAC frame includes padding to align the first part of the MAC frame with the first data part of the frame.

[0050] In block 708, the device may transmit a frame to the first station device.

[0051] The above description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0052] Figure 8 shows a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 800 according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, Figure 8 represents a functional block diagram of a communication station that may be suitable for use as AP102 (Figure 1) or user device 120 (Figure 1) according to several embodiments. The communication station 800 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, mobile device, cellular telephone, smartphone, tablet, netbook, wireless terminal, laptop computer, wearable computer device, femtocell, high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, access point, access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[0053] The communication station 800 may include a communication circuit 802 and a transceiver 810 for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from other communication stations using one or more antennas 801. The communication circuit 802 may include a circuit capable of operating physical layer (PHY) communications and / or medium access control (MAC) communications that control access to the radio medium, and / or any other communication layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication station 800 may further include a processing circuit 806 and a memory 808 positioned to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communication circuit 802 and the processing circuit 806 may be configured to perform the operations detailed in the figures, diagrams, and flows described above.

[0054] According to some embodiments, the communication circuit 802 may be configured to compete for a wireless medium and to construct frames or packets for communication over the wireless medium. The communication circuit 802 may also be configured to transmit and receive signals. The communication circuit 802 may also include circuits for modulation / demodulation, up-conversion / down-conversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 806 of the communication station 800 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 801 may be coupled to the communication circuit 802 configured to transmit and receive signals. Memory 808 may store information that configures the processing circuit 806 to perform operations for constructing and transmitting message frames and performing various operations described herein. Memory 808 may include any type of memory, including non-temporary memory, that stores information in a format readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, memory 808 may include computer-readable storage media, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and other storage devices and media.

[0055] In some embodiments, the communication station 800 may be part of a portable wireless communication device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capabilities, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that transmits and / or receives information wirelessly.

[0056] In some embodiments, the communications station 800 may include one or more antennas 801. Antennas 801 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, such as dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some embodiments, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used instead of two or more antennas. In such embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively isolated due to spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may occur between the antenna and the transmitting station's antenna, respectively.

[0057] In some embodiments, the communications station 800 may include one or more of the following: a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, a speaker, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen, including a touchscreen.

[0058] Although the communication station 800 is represented as comprising several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by a combination of software-based elements, such as processing elements including a digital signal processor (DSP), and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and various hardware and logic circuit combinations that perform at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication station 800 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0059] Certain embodiments may be implemented using one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may be implemented as instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which can be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. The computer-readable storage medium may include any non-temporary memory mechanism that stores information in a format readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the computer-readable storage medium may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage medium, optical storage medium, flash memory device, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, the communication station 800 may include one or more processors and may consist of instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0060] Figure 9 shows a block diagram of an example machine 900 or system on which one or more of the techniques discussed herein (e.g., methodology) may be performed. In other embodiments, machine 900 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected to other machines (e.g., networked). In a networked configuration, machine 900 may operate as a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In the example, machine 900 may operate as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Machine 900 may be any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify the actions to be performed by the machine, such as a personal computer (PC), tablet PC, set-top box (STB), personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, wearable computer device, web appliance, network router, switch or bridge, or base station. Furthermore, although only a single machine is represented, the term “machine” should also be understood to include any set of machines that individually or collectively execute a set (or set) of instructions to perform one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0061] The examples described herein may include, or may operate on, logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that, when in operation, can perform a specified operation. A module includes hardware. In the examples, the hardware may be specifically configured to perform a particular operation (e.g., hardwired). In other examples, the hardware may include a computer-readable medium containing configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and instructions, the instructions configuring the execution units to perform a particular operation during execution. Configuration may occur under the direction of the execution unit or loading mechanism. Thus, the execution unit is communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium when the device is in operation. In these examples, the execution unit may be the member of more than one module. For example, during operation, the execution unit may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time, and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[0062] The machine (e.g., computer system) 900 may include a hardware processor 902 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), main memory 904, and static memory 906, all or some of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 908. The machine 900 may further include a power management device 932, a graphics display device 910, an alphanumeric input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 914 (e.g., a mouse). In this example, the graphics display device 910, the alphanumeric input device 912, and the UI navigation device 914 may be touchscreen displays. The machine 900 may further include a memory device (i.e., a drive unit) 916, a signal generating device 918 (e.g., a speaker), a time-domain preemption device 919, a network interface device / transceiver 920 coupled to an antenna 930, and one or more sensors 928 such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors. The machine 900 includes an output controller 934 such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near-field communication (NFC)) connection, and may communicate with one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.). The operation of one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be performed by a baseband processor. The baseband processor may be configured to generate corresponding baseband signals. The baseband processor may further include physical layer (PHY) and medium access control layer (MAC) circuits, and may also interface with a hardware processor 902 for generating and processing baseband signals and for controlling the operation of main memory 904, storage device 916, and / or time-domain preemption device 919. The baseband processor may be provided on a single radio card, a single chip, or an integrated circuit (IC).

[0063] The storage device 916 may include a machine-readable medium 922 in which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 924 (e.g., software) that are utilized or embodied by one or more of the technologies or functions described herein are stored. The instructions 924 may reside, all or at least partially, in the main memory 904, in the static memory 906, or in the hardware processor 902 during their execution by the machine 900. In the example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 902, the main memory 904, the static memory 906, or the storage device 916 may constitute the machine-readable medium.

[0064] The time-domain preemption device 919 may perform or carry out any of the operations and processes described and illustrated above (e.g., process 700).

[0065] The above is only a portion of what the time-domain preemption device 919 is configured to perform, and it will be understood that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by the time-domain preemption device 919.

[0066] Although the machine-readable medium 922 is represented as a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” may also include a single or multiple mediums configured to store one or more instructions 924 (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers).

[0067] Various embodiments may be implemented entirely or partially in software and / or firmware. This software and / or hardware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. Such instructions may be read and executed by one or more processors to enable the execution of the operations described herein. Instructions may be in any suitable form, including but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, etc. Such computer-readable media may include, but not limited to, any tangible non-temporary medium that stores information in a format readable by one or more computers, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory, etc.

[0068] The term “machine-readable medium” may include any medium capable of storing, embodying, or transporting instructions executed by machine 900, causing machine 900 to execute one or more of the technologies of this disclosure, or storing, encoding, or transporting data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Examples of non-limiting machine-readable mediums may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. In the examples, a block of machine-readable medium includes a machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of particles having rest mass. Specific examples of block of machine-readable mediums include semiconductor memory devices (electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0069] Instruction 924 may further be transmitted or received on a communication network 926 using transmission-to-medium via a network interface device / transceiver 920 that utilizes one of several transport protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.). Examples of communication networks include, in particular, local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), basic telephone services (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., the IEEE 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi, the IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMAX), the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In the example, the network interface device / transceiver 920 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet®, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to the communication network 926. In the example, the network interface device / transceiver 920 may include multiple antennas for wireless communication using at least one of the following technologies: single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO). The term “transmission medium” should be understood to include any intangible medium, including digital or analog communication signals, that can store, encode, or carry instructions executed by machine 900, or intangible medium for assisting the communication of such software.

[0070] The actions and processes described and illustrated above may be performed or carried out in any appropriate order as desired in various implementations. Furthermore, in a particular implementation, at least some of the actions may be performed in parallel. Furthermore, in a particular implementation, fewer or more actions than described may be performed.

[0071] Figure 10 is a block diagram of several embodiments of wireless architectures 105A, 105B that may be implemented in either the example AP102 and / or the example user device (STA) 120 of Figure 1. Wireless architectures 105A, 105B may include wireless front-end module (FEM) circuits 1004a, b, wireless IC circuits 1006a, b, and baseband processing circuits 1008a, b. The illustrated wireless architectures 105A, 105B include both wireless local area network (WLAN) functionality and Bluetooth (BT) functionality, but embodiments are not limited thereto. In this disclosure, “WLAN” and “Wi-Fi” are used interchangeably.

[0072] The FEM circuits 1004a and 1004b may include a WLAN and Wi-Fi FEM circuit 1004a and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuit 1004b. The WLAN FEM circuit 1004a may include a received signal path that includes a circuit configured to act on a WLAN RF signal received from one or more antennas 1001 to amplify the received signal and supply the amplified version of the received signal to a WLAN radio IC circuit 1006a for further processing. The BT FEM circuit 1004b may include a received signal path that includes a circuit configured to act on a BT RF signal received from one or more antennas 1001 to amplify the received signal and supply the amplified version of the received signal to a BT radio IC circuit 1006b for further processing. The FEM circuit 1004a may also include a transmitted signal path that may include a circuit configured to amplify the WLAN signal supplied by the radio IC circuit 1006a for wireless transmission by one or more antennas 1001. Furthermore, the FEM circuit 1004b may also include a transmit signal path which may include a circuit configured to amplify the BT signal supplied by the wireless IC circuit 1006b for wireless transmission by one or more antennas 1001. In the embodiment of Figure 10, the FEM circuits 1004a and 1004b are shown as separate from each other, but embodiments are not limited in that way and include, to the extent thereto, the use of an FEM (not shown) which includes a transmit signal path and / or a receive signal path for both the WLAN signal and the BT signal, or the use of one or more FEM circuits in which at least a portion of the FEM circuits share a transmit signal path and / or a receive signal path for both the WLAN signal and the BT signal.

[0073] The illustrated wireless IC circuits 1006a and 1006b may include a WLAN wireless IC circuit 1006a and a BT wireless IC circuit 1006b. The WLAN wireless IC circuit 1006a may include a received signal path which may include a circuit that downconverts the WLAN RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1004a and supplies the baseband signal to the WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a. The BT wireless IC circuit 1006b may include a received signal path which may include a circuit that downconverts the BT RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1004b and supplies the baseband signal to the BT baseband processing circuit 1008b. The WLAN wireless IC circuit 1006a may also include a transmitted signal path which may include a circuit that upconverts the WLAN baseband signal supplied by the WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a and supplies the WLAN RF output signal to the FEM circuit 1004a for subsequent wireless transmission by one or more antennas 1001. The BT radio IC circuit 1006b may also include a transmit signal path which may include a circuit that upconverts the BT baseband signal supplied by the BT baseband processing circuit 1008b and supplies the BT RF output signal to the FEM circuit 1004b for subsequent radio transmission by one or more antennas 1001. In the embodiment of Figure 10, the radio IC circuits 1006a and 1006b are shown as separate from each other, but embodiments are not limited in that way and include the use of radio IC circuits (not shown) which include transmit signal paths and / or radio signal paths for both WLAN signals and BT signals, or the use of one or more radio IC circuits in which at least a portion of the radio IC circuits share transmit signal paths and / or receive signal paths for both WLAN signals and BT signals.

[0074] The baseband processing circuits 1008a and 1008b may include a WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a and a BT baseband processing circuit 1008b. The WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a may include memory such as a set of RAM arrays within a Fast Fourier Transform or inverse Fast Fourier Transform block (not shown) of the WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a. Each of the WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a and BT baseband processing circuit 1008b may further include one or more processors and control logic that process signals received from the corresponding WLAN or BT receiving signal paths of the wireless IC circuits 1006a and 1006b, and generate corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for the transmitting signal paths of the wireless IC circuits 1006a and 1006b. Each of the baseband processing circuits 1008a and 1008b may further include a physical layer (PHY) and a media access control layer (example of MAC payload) circuit, and may also interface with logic for generating and processing baseband signals and for controlling the operation of the wireless IC circuits 1006a and 1006b.

[0075] Still referring to Figure 10, according to the illustrated embodiment, the WLAN-BT co-existence circuit 1013 may include logic to provide an interface between the WLAN baseband processing circuit 1008a and the BT baseband processing circuit 1008b, enabling use cases requiring the co-existence of WLAN and BT. Furthermore, a switch 1003 may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuit 1004a and the BT FEM circuit 1004b to enable switching between the WLAN radio and the BT radio according to application needs. Furthermore, although the antenna 1001 is shown as being connected to the WLAN FEM circuit 1004a and the BT FEM circuit 1004b respectively, embodiments may include, within their scope, the sharing of one or more antennas between the WLAN FEM and the BT FEM, or the provision of more than one antenna connected to each of the FEMs 1004a or 1004b.

[0076] In some embodiments, the front-end module circuits 1004a, b, the wireless IC circuits 1006a, b, and the baseband processing circuits 1008a, b may be provided on a single radio card, such as a wireless radio card 1002. In some other embodiments, one or more antennas 1001, FEM circuits 1004a, b, and wireless IC circuits 1006a, b may be provided on a single radio card. In some other embodiments, the wireless IC circuits 1006a, b and the baseband processing circuits 1008a, b may be provided on a single chip or integrated circuit (IC), such as an IC 1012.

[0077] In some embodiments, the wireless radio card 1002 may include a WLAN radio card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communication, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. In some such embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A, 105B may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access (OFDMA) communication signals on a multi-carrier communication channel. The OFDM or OFDMA signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0078] In some of these multi-carrier embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A and 105B may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA), such as a wireless access point (AP), base station, or mobile device including a Wi-Fi device. In some of such embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A and 105B may be configured to transmit and receive signals in accordance with any of the IEEE standards, including the 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11-2016, 802.11n-2009, 802.11ac, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, and / or 802.11ax standards, and / or specific communication standards and / or protocols, such as proposed specifications for WLAN, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. The wireless architectures 105A and 105B may also be suitable for transmitting and / or receiving communications in accordance with other technologies and standards.

[0079] In some embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A and 105B may be configured for high-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In such embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A and 105B may be configured to communicate in accordance with OFDMA technology, but the scope of embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0080] In some other embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A, 105B may be configured to transmit and receive signals transmitted using one or more other modulation techniques, such as spread spectral modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiplexing (DS-CDMA) and / or frequency hopping code division multiplexing (FH-CDMA)), time division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) modulation, but the scope of embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0081] In some embodiments, as further shown in Figure 10, the BT baseband circuit 1008b may comply with Bluetooth (BT) connectivity standards such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth 8.0, or Bluetooth 6.0, or any other iteration of the Bluetooth Standard.

[0082] In some embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A, 105B may include other radio cards, such as cellular radio cards configured for cellular (e.g., 5GPP such as LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 7G communication).

[0083] In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the wireless architectures 105A and 105B may be configured for communication over various channel bandwidths, including bandwidths with center frequencies of approximately 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz, and bandwidths of approximately 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 5.5 MHz, 6 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, and 80 MHz (with continuous bandwidth) or a bandwidth of 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (with discontinuous bandwidth). In some embodiments, a 920 MHz channel bandwidth may be used. The scope of embodiments is, however, not limited with respect to the above center frequencies.

[0084] Figure 11 shows a WLAN FEM circuit 1004a according to several embodiments. Although the example in Figure 11 is described in relation to the WLAN FEM circuit 1004a, the example in Figure 11 may also be described in relation to an example BT FEM circuit 1004b (Figure 10), and other circuit configurations may also be appropriate.

[0085] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 1004a may include a TX / RX switch 1102 that switches operation between transmit mode and receive mode. The FEM circuit 1004a may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 1004a may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 1106 that amplifies the received RF signal 1103 and supplies the amplified received RF signal 1107 as an output (e.g., to radio IC circuits 1006a, b (Figure 10)). The transmit signal path of the circuit 1004a may include a power amplifier (PA) that amplifies the input RF signal 1109 (supplied by radio IC circuits 1006a, b) and one or more filters 1112, such as a bandpass filter (BPF), a low-pass filter (LPF), or other type of filter, which generates an RF signal 1115 for subsequent transmission (by one or more antennas 1001 (Figure 10)) via an example demultiplexer 1114.

[0086] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the FEM circuit 1004a may be configured to operate on either the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum or the 5 GHz frequency spectrum. In such embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuit 1004a may include a multiplexer 1104 for the receive signal path to separate signals from each spectrum and provide a separate LNA 1106 for each spectrum, as shown. In such embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 1004a may include a power amplifier 1110 for each frequency spectrum and a filter 1112 such as a BPF, LPF, or other type of filter, and a multiplexer 1104 for the transmit signal path to supply signals from one of the different spectra onto a single transmit path for mutual transmission by one or more antennas 1001 (Figure 10). In some embodiments, BT communication may utilize the 2.4 GHz signal path and may utilize the same FEM circuit 1004a used for WLAN communication.

[0087] Figure 12 shows a wireless IC circuit 1006a according to several embodiments. Wireless IC circuit 1006a is an example of a circuit that may be suitable for use as a WLAN or BT wireless IC circuit 1006a / 1006b (Figure 10), but other circuit configurations may also be appropriate. Alternatively, the example in Figure 12 may be described in relation to an example BT wireless IC circuit 1006b.

[0088] In some embodiments, the wireless IC circuit 1006a may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the wireless IC circuit 1006a may include at least a mixer circuit 1202, such as a down-conversion mixer circuit, an amplifier circuit 1206, and a filter circuit 1208. The transmit signal path of the wireless IC circuit 1006a may include at least a filter circuit 1212 and a mixer circuit 1214, such as an up-conversion mixer circuit. The wireless IC circuit 1006a may also include a synthesizer circuit 1204 that synthesizes frequencies 1205 for use by mixer circuits 1202 and 1214. Mixer circuits 1202 and / or 1214 may each be configured to provide a direct conversion function, according to the embodiment. The latter type of circuit exhibits a much simpler architecture compared to a standard superheterodyne mixer circuit, and any resulting flicker noise can be mitigated, for example, by the use of OFDM modulation. Figure 12 simply represents a simplified version of the wireless IC circuit and may include embodiments where each of the represented circuits contains more than one component, although these are not shown. For example, mixer circuit 1214 may each contain one or more mixers, and filter circuits 1208 and / or 1212 may each contain one or more filters, such as one or more BPFs and / or LPFs, depending on application needs. For example, if the mixer circuits are of the direct conversion type, they may each contain two or more mixers.

[0089] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1202 may be configured to downconvert the RF signal 1107 received from the FEM circuits 1004a, b (Figure 10) based on the combined frequency 1205 supplied by the synthesizer circuit 1204. The amplifier circuit 1206 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and the filter circuit 1208 may include an LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate the output baseband signal 1207. The output baseband signal 1207 may be supplied to the baseband processing circuits 1008a, b (Figure 10) for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 1207 may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, but this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1202 may have a passive mixer, but the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0090] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1214 may be configured to upconvert the input baseband signal 1211 based on the combined frequency 1205 supplied by the synthesizer circuit 1204 to generate the RF output signal 1109 for the FEM circuits 1004a,b. The baseband signal 1211 may be supplied by the baseband processing circuits 1008a,b and may be filtered by the filter circuit 1212. The filter circuit 1212 may include an LPF or a BPF, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0091] In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1202 and 1214 may each include two or more mixers, which, with the help of synthesizer circuit 1204, may each be configured for quadrature down-conversion and / or up-conversion. In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1202 and 1214 may each include two or more mixers configured for image removal (Hartley image removal). In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1202 and 1214 may be configured for direct down-conversion and / or direct up-conversion. In some embodiments, mixer circuits 1202 and 1214 may be configured for superheterodyne operation, but this is not a requirement.

[0092] The mixer circuit 1202 may, according to one embodiment, have a quadrature passive mixer (e.g., for common-mode (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) paths). In such an embodiment, the RF input signal 1107 from Figure 11 can be down-converted to supply I and Q baseband output signals to be transmitted to the baseband processor.

[0093] The quadrature passive mixer may be driven by a 0 and 90° time-varying LO switching signal supplied by a quadrature circuit that can be configured to receive an LO frequency (fLO) from a local oscillator or synthesizer, such as the LO frequency 1205 of the synthesizer circuit 1204 (Figure 12). In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the 0 and 90° time-varying switching signal may be generated by a synthesizer, but the scope of embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0094] In some embodiments, the LO signal may have different duty cycles (the percentage of a cycle in which the LO signal is high) and / or offsets (the difference between the start points of the cycles). In some embodiments, the LO signal may have an 85% duty cycle and an 80% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuit (e.g., the common-mode (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) paths) may operate at an 80% duty cycle. This can significantly reduce power consumption.

[0095] The RF input signal 1107 (Figure 11) may have a balanced signal, but the scope of the embodiment is not limited thereto. The I and Q baseband output signals can be supplied to a low-noise amplifier such as the amplifier circuit 1206 (Figure 12), or to the filter circuit 1208 (Figure 12).

[0096] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal 1207 and the input baseband signal 1211 may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal 1207 and the input baseband signal 1211 may be digital baseband signals. In such alternative embodiments, the wireless IC circuit may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuits.

[0097] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate wireless IC circuits may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum or for other spectra not described herein, but the scope of embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0098] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1204 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 1204 may be a synthesizer with a phase-locked loop including a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1204 may include a digital synthesizer circuit. The advantage of using a digital synthesizer circuit is that its footprint can be scaled down considerably compared to that of an analog synthesizer circuit, while still including some analog components. In some embodiments, the frequency input to the synthesizer circuit 1204 may be supplied by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not a requirement. Depending on the desired output frequency 1205, a frequency divider control input may be further supplied by either of the baseband processing circuits 1008a, b (Figure 10). In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table (e.g., within a Wi-Fi card) based on the number of channels and channel center frequencies determined or indicated by an example application processor 1010. The application processor 1010 may include or be connected to one of the example secure signal converter 101 or the example receive signal converter 103 (depending on, for example, which device the example wireless architecture is implemented in).

[0099] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1204 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency 1205, while in other embodiments, the output frequency 1205 may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the output frequency 1205 may be the LO frequency (fLO).

[0100] Figure 13 shows a functional block diagram of the baseband processing circuit 1008a according to several embodiments. The baseband processing circuit 1008a is an example of a circuit that may be suitable for use as the baseband processing circuit 1008a (Figure 10), but other circuit configurations may also be appropriate. Alternatively, the example in Figure 12 may be used to implement the BT baseband processing circuit 1008b, which is the example in Figure 10.

[0101] The baseband processing circuit 1008a may include a receive baseband processor (RX BBP) 1302 that processes the received baseband signal 1209 supplied by the radio IC circuits 1006a and b (Figure 10), and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP) 1304 that generates the transmit baseband signal 1211 for the radio IC circuits 1006a and b. The baseband processing circuit 1008a may also include control logic 1306 that coordinates the operation of the baseband processing circuit 1008a.

[0102] In some embodiments (for example, when analog baseband signals are exchanged between baseband processing circuits 1008a,b and radio IC circuits 1006a,b), the baseband processing circuit 1008a may include an ADC 1310 that converts the analog baseband signal 1309 received from the radio IC circuits 1006a,b into a digital baseband signal for processing by the RX BBP 1302. In such embodiments, the baseband processing circuit 1008a may also include a DAC 1312 that converts the digital baseband signal from the TX BBP 1304 into an analog baseband signal 1311.

[0103] For example, in some embodiments where OFDM or OFDMA signals are communicated via a baseband processor 1008a, the transmitting baseband processor 1304 may be configured to generate OFDM or OFDMA signals as needed for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). The receiving baseband processor 1302 may be configured to process the received OFDM or OFDMA signals by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, the receiving baseband processor 1302 may be configured to detect the presence of OFDM or OFDMA signals by performing autocorrelation to detect preambles such as short preambles, and by performing crosscorrelation to detect long preambles. The preamble may be a predetermined part of a frame structure for Wi-Fi communication.

[0104] Referring again to Figure 10, in some embodiments, antenna 1001 (Figure 10) may each have one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multi-input multi-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result. Antenna 1001 may each include a set of phased array antennas, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0105] The wireless architectures 105A and 105B are represented as comprising several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and implemented by a combination of software components such as processing elements including a digital signal processor (DSP) and / or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0106] The term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “example, case, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” should not necessarily be construed as preferable or advantageous to other embodiments. The terms “computing device,” “user device,” “communication station,” “station,” “handheld device,” “mobile device,” “wireless device,” and “user equipment (UE)” as used herein refer to cellular telephones, smartphones, tablets, netbooks, wireless terminals, laptop computers, femtocells, high data rate (HDR) subscriber stations, access points, printers, point of sale (PoS) devices, access terminals, or other personal communications system (PCS) devices. Devices may be movable or stationary.

[0107] As used herein, the term “communicate” is intended to include transmission, reception, or both transmission and reception. This may be particularly useful in the claims when describing an arrangement of data transmitted by one device and received by another device, but only the functionality of one of these devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, a bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmitting and receiving during the exchange) may be described as “communicate” when only the functionality of one of these devices is claimed. As used herein with respect to radio communications, the term “communicate” includes the transmission and / or reception of radio communications signals. For example, a radio communications unit capable of communicating radio communications signals may include a radio transmitter that transmits radio communications signals to at least one other radio communications unit, and / or a radio receiver that receives radio communications signals from at least one other radio communications unit.

[0108] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of ordinal adjectives such as “first,” “second,” and “third” to describe a common object is merely to indicate that different instances of the same object are being referred to, and not to indicate that the objects described in this manner must be in a given order in time, space, rank, or any other manner.

[0109] As used herein, the term “access point (AP)” may refer to a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, base station, evolved node B (eNodeB), or other similar terms known in the art. An access terminal may also be referred to as a mobile station, user equipment (UE), radio communication device, or other terms known in the art. The embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to radio networks. Some embodiments may relate to radio networks operating in accordance with one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.

[0110] Some embodiments may be used with a variety of devices and systems, such as, for example, personal computers (PCs), desktop computers, mobile computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, server computers, handheld computers, handheld devices, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, handheld PDA devices, onboard devices, offboard devices, hybrid devices, vehicle devices, non-vehicle devices, mobile or portable devices, consumer devices, non-mobile or non-portable devices, radio communication stations, radio communication devices, wireless access points (APs), wired or wireless routers, wired or wireless modems, video devices, audio devices, audio-video (A / V) devices, wired or wireless networks, wireless area networks, wireless video area networks (WVANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless LANs (WLANs), personal area networks (PANs), and wireless PANs (WPANs).

[0111] Some embodiments may be used with one-way and / or two-way wireless communication systems, cellular radiotelephone communication systems, mobile phones, cellular telephones, radiotelephones, personal communication system (PCS) devices, PDA devices incorporating wireless communication devices, mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) devices, devices incorporating GPS receivers or transmitters or chips, devices incorporating RFID elements or chips, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transceivers or devices, single input multiple output (SIMO) transceivers or devices, multiple input single output (MISO) transceivers or devices, devices with one or more built-in and / or external antennas, digital video broadcasting (DVB) devices or systems, multistandard wireless devices or systems, wired or wireless handheld devices, such as smartphones, wireless application protocol (WAP) devices, and the like.

[0112] Some embodiments may be used with one or more types of wireless communication signals and / or systems that conform to one or more wireless communication protocols, such as radio frequency (RF), infrared (IF), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), quadrature FDM (OFDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), time division multiple access (TDMA), enhanced TDMA (E-TDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA®), CDMA2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multitone (DMT), Bluetooth, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks, 3GPP®, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), etc. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and / or networks.

[0113] The following example relates to further embodiments.

[0114] Example 1 has a processing circuit coupled to storage, The processing circuit described above, Generate a frame containing the preamble and data payload. The aforementioned data payload is divided into multiple data parts, A time-domain gap is inserted between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame. The frame is transmitted to the first station device. It may include a device configured in such a way.

[0115] Example 2 may include a device of Example 1 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may consist of at least one of a delimiter or a time pause.

[0116] Example 3 may include a device of Example 2 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the delimiter may be a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

[0117] Example 4 may include a device of Example 1 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may differ from the data payload.

[0118] Example 5 may include a device of Example 1 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the frame may be a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU).

[0119] Example 6 may include a device of Example 1 and / or other examples of the present application that receives a preemption request from a second station device during the time domain gap.

[0120] Example 7 may include a device of Example 1 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data portion of the data payload may be fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment may be contained in the first data portion of the plurality of data portions, and the second fragment may be contained in the second data portion of the plurality of data portions.

[0121] Example 8 may include a device of Example 1 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the plurality of data portions correspond to a MAC frame consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter.

[0122] Example 9 may include a device of Example 8 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the first portion of the MAC frame includes padding such that the first portion of the MAC frame aligns with the first data portion of the frame.

[0123] Example 10, when executed on one or more processors, The operation of generating a frame that includes a preamble and data payload, The operation of dividing the aforementioned data payload into multiple data parts, An operation to insert a time-domain gap between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame, The operation of transmitting the aforementioned frame to the first station device and This may include non-temporary computer-readable media that stores computer-executable instructions that cause the execution of a computer.

[0124] Example 11 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may consist of at least one of a delimiter or a time pause.

[0125] Example 12 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the delimiter may be a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

[0126] Example 13 may include a non-transient computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may differ from the data payload.

[0127] Example 14 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the frame may be a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU).

[0128] Example 15 may include a non-transient computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application that receives a preemption request from a second station device during the time domain gap.

[0129] Example 16 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of a first data portion of the data payload may be fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment may be contained in the first data portion of a plurality of data portions, and the second fragment may be contained in the second data portion of a plurality of data portions.

[0130] Example 17 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Example 10 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the plurality of data portions correspond to MAC frames, each consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter.

[0131] Example 18 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Example 17 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the first portion of the MAC frame includes padding such that the first portion of the MAC frame is aligned with the first data portion of the frame.

[0132] Example 19 involves generating a frame containing a preamble and data payload using one or more processors, Dividing the aforementioned data payload into multiple data parts, Inserting a time-domain gap between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame, The aforementioned frame is transmitted to the first station device. This may include methods of living.

[0133] Example 20 may include a method of Example 19 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time domain gap may consist of at least one of a delimiter or a time pause.

[0134] Example 21 may include a method of Example 20 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the delimiter may be a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

[0135] Example 22 may include a method of Example 19 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may differ from the data payload.

[0136] Example 23 may include a method of Example 19 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the frame may be a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU).

[0137] Example 24 may include a method of receiving a preemption request from a second station device during the time domain gap, as described in Example 19 and / or other examples of the present application.

[0138] Example 25 may include a method of Example 19 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data portion of the data payload may be fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment may be contained in the first data portion of the plurality of data portions, and the second fragment may be contained in the second data portion of the plurality of data portions.

[0139] Example 26 may include a method of Example 19 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the plurality of data portions correspond to a MAC frame consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter.

[0140] Example 27 may include a method of Example 26 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the first portion of the MAC frame includes padding such that the first portion of the MAC frame aligns with the first data portion of the frame.

[0141] Example 28 provides means for generating a frame including a preamble and a data payload, Means for dividing the data payload into multiple data parts, Means for inserting a time-domain gap between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame, means for transmitting the frame to the first station device This may include a device having the following features.

[0142] Example 29 may include an apparatus of Example 28 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may consist of at least one of a delimiter or a time pause.

[0143] Example 30 may include an apparatus of Example 29 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the delimiter may be a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

[0144] Example 31 may include an apparatus of Example 28 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the time-domain gap may differ from the data payload.

[0145] Example 32 may include an apparatus of Example 28 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the frame may be a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU).

[0146] Example 33 may include an apparatus of Example 28 and / or other examples of the present application that receives a preemption request from a second station device during the time domain gap.

[0147] Example 34 may include an apparatus of Example 28 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data portion of the data payload may be fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment may be contained in the first data portion of the plurality of data portions, and the second fragment may be contained in the second data portion of the plurality of data portions.

[0148] Example 35 may include a device of Example 28 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the plurality of data portions correspond to a MAC frame consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter.

[0149] Example 36 may include an apparatus of Example 35 and / or other examples of the present application, wherein the first portion of the MAC frame includes padding such that the first portion of the MAC frame aligns with the first data portion of the frame.

[0150] Example 37 may include one or more non-temporary computer-readable media containing instructions that cause an electronic device to execute one or more elements of any other method or process described herein, in any manner described or related thereto, when one or more processors of the electronic device execute instructions.

[0151] Example 38 may include an apparatus having logic, modules, and / or circuits for performing one or more elements of any method described in or relating to any of Examples 1 to 36, or any other method or process described herein.

[0152] Example 39 may include a method, technique, or process, or a part or portion thereof, described in or related to any of Examples 1 through 36.

[0153] Example 40 includes one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media containing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a part thereof, described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 36.

[0154] Example 41 may include a method of communication within a wireless network, as illustrated and described herein.

[0155] Example 42 may include a system for providing wireless communication, as illustrated and described herein.

[0156] Example 43 may include a device that provides wireless communication, as illustrated and described herein.

[0157] Embodiments relating to this disclosure are disclosed in particular in the appended claims covering methods, storage media, devices, and computer program products, and any feature referred to in one claim category, e.g., Method, may also be claimed in another claim category, e.g., System. Dependencies or references in the appended claims are selected for formal reasons only. However, subject matter arising from intentional references to prior claims (in particular multiple dependencies) may also be claimed, so any combination of claims and their features is disclosed and can be claimed regardless of the dependencies selected in the appended claims. Subject matter that can be claimed includes not only combinations of features described in the appended claims but also other combinations of features in the claims, and each feature referred to in a claim may be combined with other features or combinations of features in the claims. Furthermore, any embodiment and feature described or illustrated herein may be claimed in another claim and / or in any combination with any embodiment or feature described or illustrated herein, or any feature of the appended claims.

[0158] The above descriptions of one or more embodiments are illustrative and illustrative, but are not intended to be comprehensive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the exact forms disclosed. Modifications and alterations are possible in light of the above art or can be obtained from various embodiments.

[0159] Certain aspects of this disclosure are described above with reference to block diagrams and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatus, and / or computer program products relating to various implementations. It will be understood that one or more blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, may each be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Similarly, some blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams do not necessarily have to be executed in the order presented, or may not necessarily be executed completely according to some implementations.

[0160] These computer-executable program instructions can be loaded into a dedicated computer or other specific machine, processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a particular machine, so that the instructions executed by the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing device produce means for implementing one or more functions identified in one or more blocks of the flow diagram. These computer program instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or memory that can instruct the computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular way, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce a product that includes instruction means for implementing one or more functions identified in one or more blocks of the flow diagram. For example, a particular implementation may provide a computer program product that includes a computer-readable storage medium on which computer-readable program code or program instructions are implemented, and the computer-readable program code is adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions identified in one or more blocks of the flow diagram. Computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device to generate a computer implementation process, such that the instructions executed by the computer or other programmable device provide elements or steps that implement a function identified in one or more blocks of the flow diagram.

[0161] Therefore, the blocks in block diagrams and flowcharts support combinations of means for performing a specific function, combinations of elements or steps for performing a specific function, and program instruction means for performing a specific function. Furthermore, each block in a block diagram and flowchart, as well as combinations of blocks in block diagrams and flowcharts, may be implemented by a dedicated, hardware-based computer system, or a dedicated combination of hardware and computer instructions, for performing a specific function, element, or step.

[0162] Conditional language, particularly expressions like "may," "may," "may," or "may," is generally intended to convey that certain features, elements, and / or behaviors may be included in a particular implementation, while others may not, unless otherwise specifically stated or understood in the context in which they are used. Thus, such conditional language does not generally imply that features, elements, and / or behaviors are required in some way in one or more implementations, or that one or more implementations necessarily include logic for determining whether these features, elements, and / or behaviors are included in or performed in a particular implementation, with or without user input or prompting.

[0163] Many modifications and other practices of the disclosures described herein will be apparent if one benefits from the teachings shown in the above description and the relevant drawings. Therefore, it should be understood that the disclosures are not limited to the specific practices disclosed, and modifications and other practices are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Certain terms are used herein, but they are used in a general and descriptive sense only and are not intended to be limiting.

Claims

1. It has a processing circuit coupled to the storage, The aforementioned processing circuit is Generate a frame containing the preamble and data payload. The aforementioned data payload is divided into multiple data parts, A time-domain gap is inserted between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame. The frame is transmitted to the first station device. It is structured in such a way, The device wherein the time-domain gap is comprised of a delimiter, which is a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

2. The frame is a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU). The device according to claim 1.

3. During the time-domain gap, the processing circuit is further configured to receive a preemption request from the second station device. The device according to claim 1.

4. The last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data portion of the data payload is fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment being included in the first data portion of the plurality of data portions, and the second fragment being included in the second data portion of the plurality of data portions. The device according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned multiple data portions correspond to a MAC frame consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter. The device according to claim 1.

6. The first portion of the MAC frame includes padding to align the first portion of the MAC frame with the first data portion of the frame. The device according to claim 5.

7. When executed on one or more processors, the one or more processors: The operation of generating a frame that includes a preamble and data payload, The operation of dividing the aforementioned data payload into multiple data parts, An operation to insert a time-domain gap between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame, The operation of transmitting the aforementioned frame to the first station device and Includes computer executable instructions that cause the execution of A computer program in which the time-domain gap is comprised of a delimiter, the delimiter being a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

8. The frame is a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU). The computer program according to claim 7.

9. During the time-domain gap, the computer executable instruction causes one or more processors to perform an operation to receive a preemption request from a second station device. The computer program according to claim 7.

10. The last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data portion of the data payload is fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment being included in the first data portion of the plurality of data portions, and the second fragment being included in the second data portion of the plurality of data portions. The computer program according to claim 7.

11. The aforementioned multiple data portions correspond to a MAC frame consisting of individual MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) separated by a MAC delimiter. The computer program according to claim 7.

12. The first portion of the MAC frame includes padding to align the first portion of the MAC frame with the first data portion of the frame. The computer program according to claim 11.

13. One or more processors generate a frame containing a preamble and a data payload, Dividing the aforementioned data payload into multiple data parts, Inserting a time-domain gap between each of the multiple data portions to allow preemption during transmission of the frame, The aforementioned frame is transmitted to the first station device. It has, The method wherein the time-domain gap is comprised of a delimiter, the delimiter being a long training field (LTF) field or a signaling (SIG) field.

14. The frame is a Physical Layer (PHY) Convergence Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) or an Aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU). The method according to claim 13.

15. The further includes receiving a preemption request from a second station device during the aforementioned time-domain gap, The method according to claim 13.

16. The last MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) of the first data portion of the data payload is fragmented into two fragments, the first fragment being included in the first data portion of the plurality of data portions, and the second fragment being included in the second data portion of the plurality of data portions. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15.

17. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program according to any one of claims 7 to 12.

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