Method and device for performing uplink transmission / reception operation on basis of frame check sequence in wireless LAN system

Abstract

A method and a device for operating in a wireless LAN system are disclosed. A method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise the steps of: receiving, by a first station (STA), a block acknowledgement request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field from a second STA; and decoding the BAR frame by the first STA, wherein the intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is configured, and the length of a padding field in the BAR frame is based on a dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field.

Description

Method and device for performing uplink transmission and reception operations based on a frame check sequence in a wireless LAN system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and device for performing uplink transmission and reception operations based on a frame check sequence (FCS) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system.

[0002] New technologies have been introduced for wireless local area networks (WLANs) to improve transmission rates, increase bandwidth, enhance reliability, reduce errors, and reduce latency. Among WLAN technologies, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 series of standards can be referred to as Wi-Fi. For example, recently introduced technologies for WLANs include enhancements for Very High Throughput (VHT) in the 802.11ac standard and enhancements for High Efficiency (HE) in the IEEE 802.11ax standard.

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

[0004] The technical problem of the present disclosure relates to a method and device for transmitting and receiving traffic in a wireless LAN system.

[0005] The technical problem of the present disclosure relates to a method and device for performing an uplink transmission and reception operation based on a frame including an intermediate FCS field in a wireless LAN system.

[0006] The technical problems to be achieved in the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

[0007] A method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises the steps of: receiving, by a first station (STA), a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field from a second STA; and decoding, by the first STA, the BAR frame, wherein the intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set, and a length of a padding field within the BAR frame may be based on a dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field.

[0008] A method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure comprises the steps of: generating, by a second station (STA), a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field; and transmitting, by the second STA, the BAR frame to the first STA, wherein the intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set, and a length of a padding field within the BAR frame may be based on a dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field.

[0009] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method and device for transmitting and receiving traffic in a wireless LAN system can be provided.

[0010] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method and device for performing an uplink transmission and reception operation based on a frame including an intermediate FCS field in a wireless LAN system can be provided.

[0011] The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains from the description below.

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and are part of the detailed description to aid in understanding the present disclosure, provide embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description, describe the technical features of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a link setup process to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a backoff process to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operation to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0018] FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining an example of a frame structure used in a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0019] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating examples of PPDUs defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0020] FIG. 8 is a drawing showing an exemplary format of a trigger frame to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first STA according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a second STA according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a trigger frame including an intermediate FCS and the operation of an STA supporting DPS according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an STA supporting DSO according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an STA that supports integrity check of a trigger frame according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are drawings for explaining the configuration of a BAR frame according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description set forth below, together with the accompanying drawings, is intended to explain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the present disclosure may be practiced. The following detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.

[0028] In some cases, to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present disclosure, known structures and devices may be omitted or illustrated in block diagram form focusing on the core functions of each structure and device.

[0029] In the present disclosure, when a component is said to be "connected," "coupled," or "connected" to another component, this may include not only a direct connection but also an indirect connection in which another component exists between them. Furthermore, the terms "comprises" or "has" in the present disclosure specify the presence of the mentioned features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0030] In this disclosure, terms such as “first,” “second,” etc. are used only to distinguish one component from another and are not used to limit the components, and do not limit the order or importance between the components unless specifically stated otherwise. Accordingly, within the scope of this disclosure, a first component in one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly, a second component in one embodiment may be referred to as a first component in another embodiment.

[0031] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims. As used in the description of the embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and / or" as used herein may refer to any one of the associated enumerated items, or is meant to refer to and encompass any and all possible combinations of two or more of them. Furthermore, the use of " / " between words in this disclosure has the same meaning as "and / or" unless otherwise stated.

[0032] The examples of the present disclosure can be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless LAN system. For example, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless LAN based on the IEEE 802.11a / g / n / ac / ax / be standards. Furthermore, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless LAN based on the newly proposed IEEE 802.11bn (or UHR) standard. Additionally, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless LAN based on the next-generation standard after IEEE 802.11bn. Furthermore, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a cellular wireless communication system. For example, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a cellular wireless communication system based on the LTE (Long Term Evolution) series of technologies and the 5G NR (New Radio) series of technologies of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard.

[0033] Below, technical features to which examples of the present disclosure can be applied are described.

[0034] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] The first device (100) and the second device (200) illustrated in FIG. 1 may be replaced with various terms such as a terminal, a wireless device, a WTRU (Wireless Transmit Receive Unit), a UE (User Equipment), an MS (Mobile Station), a UT (user terminal), an MSS (Mobile Subscriber Station), an MSS (Mobile Subscriber Unit), an SS (Subscriber Station), an AMS (Advanced Mobile Station), a WT (Wireless terminal), or simply a user. In addition, the first device (100) and the second device (200) may be replaced with various terms such as an access point (AP), a BS (Base Station), a fixed station, a Node B, a BTS (Base Transceiver System), a network, an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system, an RSU (road side unit), a repeater, a router, a relay, a gateway, etc.

[0036] The devices (100, 200) illustrated in FIG. 1 may also be referred to as stations (STAs). For example, the devices (100, 200) illustrated in FIG. 1 may be referred to by various terms such as transmitting device, receiving device, transmitting STA, and receiving STA. For example, the STAs (110, 200) may perform an AP (access point) role or a non-AP role. That is, in the present disclosure, the STAs (110, 200) may perform the functions of an AP and / or a non-AP. When the STAs (110, 200) perform an AP function, they may simply be referred to as APs, and when the STAs (110, 200) perform a non-AP function, they may simply be referred to as STAs. In addition, in the present disclosure, the APs may also be referred to as AP STAs.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, the first device (100) and the second device (200) can transmit and receive wireless signals through various wireless LAN technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). The first device (100) and the second device (200) can include interfaces for a medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical layer (PHY) that follow the provisions of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0038] In addition, the first device (100) and the second device (200) may additionally support various communication standards (e.g., 3GPP LTE series, 5G NR series standards, etc.) other than wireless LAN technology. In addition, the device of the present disclosure may be implemented as various devices such as a mobile phone, a vehicle, a personal computer, an AR (Augmented Reality) device, a VR (Virtual Reality) device, etc. In addition, the STA of the present specification may support various communication services such as voice calls, video calls, data communications, autonomous driving, MTC (Machine-Type Communication), M2M (Machine-to-Machine), D2D (Device-to-Device), and IoT (Internet-of-Things).

[0039] A first device (100) includes one or more processors (102) and one or more memories (104), and may further include one or more transceivers (106) and / or one or more antennas (108). The processor (102) controls the memories (104) and / or the transceivers (106), and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the processor (102) may process information in the memories (104) to generate first information / signals, and then transmit a wireless signal including the first information / signals via the transceivers (106). Furthermore, the processor (102) may receive a wireless signal including second information / signals via the transceivers (106), and then store information obtained from signal processing of the second information / signals in the memory (104). The memory (104) may be connected to the processor (102) and may store various information related to the operation of the processor (102). For example, the memory (104) may perform some or all of the processes controlled by the processor (102), or may store software code including instructions for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. Here, the processor (102) and the memory (104) may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement a wireless LAN technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). The transceiver (106) may be connected to the processor (102) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas (108). The transceiver (106) may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver (106) may be used interchangeably with an RF (Radio Frequency) unit. In the present disclosure, a device may also mean a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0040] The second device (200) includes one or more processors (202), one or more memories (204), and may further include one or more transceivers (206) and / or one or more antennas (208). The processor (202) controls the memories (204) and / or the transceivers (206), and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the processor (202) may process information in the memory (204) to generate third information / signals, and then transmit a wireless signal including the third information / signals via the transceivers (206). Furthermore, the processor (202) may receive a wireless signal including fourth information / signals via the transceivers (206), and then store information obtained from signal processing of the fourth information / signals in the memory (204). The memory (204) may be connected to the processor (202) and may store various information related to the operation of the processor (202). For example, the memory (204) may perform some or all of the processes controlled by the processor (202), or may store software code including instructions for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. Here, the processor (202) and the memory (204) may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement a wireless LAN technology (e.g., IEEE 802.11 series). The transceiver (206) may be connected to the processor (202) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas (208). The transceiver (206) may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver (206) may be used interchangeably with an RF unit. In the present disclosure, a device may also mean a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0041] Hereinafter, the hardware elements of the device (100, 200) will be described in more detail. Although not limited thereto, one or more protocol layers may be implemented by one or more processors (102, 202). For example, one or more processors (102, 202) may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as PHY, MAC). One or more processors (102, 202) may generate one or more Protocol Data Units (PDUs) and / or one or more Service Data Units (SDUs) according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. One or more processors (102, 202) may generate messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. One or more processors (102, 202) can generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information according to the functions, procedures, proposals and / or methods disclosed in the present disclosure, and provide the signals to one or more transceivers (106, 206). One or more processors (102, 202) can receive signals (e.g., baseband signals) from one or more transceivers (106, 206) and obtain PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure.

[0042] One or more processors (102, 202) may be referred to as a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or a microcomputer. One or more processors (102, 202) may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), one or more Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) may be included in one or more processors (102, 202). The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software, and the firmware or software may be implemented to include modules, procedures, functions, etc. The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software configured to perform one or more processors (102, 202) or stored in one or more memories (104, 204) and driven by one or more processors (102, 202). The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software in the form of codes, instructions and / or sets of instructions.

[0043] One or more memories (104, 204) may be coupled to one or more processors (102, 202) and may store various forms of data, signals, messages, information, programs, codes, instructions, and / or commands. The one or more memories (104, 204) may be configured as ROM, RAM, EPROM, flash memory, hard drives, registers, cache memory, computer-readable storage media, and / or combinations thereof. The one or more memories (104, 204) may be located internally and / or externally to the one or more processors (102, 202). Additionally, the one or more memories (104, 204) may be coupled to the one or more processors (102, 202) via various technologies, such as wired or wireless connections.

[0044] One or more transceivers (106, 206) can transmit user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., as mentioned in the methods and / or flowcharts of the present disclosure, to one or more other devices. One or more transceivers (106, 206) can receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., as mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or flowcharts of the present disclosure, from one or more other devices. For example, one or more transceivers (106, 206) can be coupled to one or more processors (102, 202) and can transmit and receive wireless signals. For example, one or more processors (102, 202) can control one or more transceivers (106, 206) to transmit user data, control information, or wireless signals to one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more processors (102, 202) may control one or more transceivers (106, 206) to receive user data, control information, or wireless signals from one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be coupled to one or more antennas (108, 208), and one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be configured to transmit and receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, or the like, as referred to in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, via one or more antennas (108, 208). In the present disclosure, one or more antennas may be multiple physical antennas or multiple logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). One or more transceivers (106, 206) can convert received user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. from RF band signals to baseband signals in order to process the received user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. using one or more processors (102, 202).One or more transceivers (106, 206) may convert user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. processed by one or more processors (102, 202) from baseband signals to RF band signals. For this purpose, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may include an (analog) oscillator and / or filter.

[0045] For example, one of the STAs (100, 200) may perform the intended operation of an AP, and the other of the STAs (100, 200) may perform the intended operation of a non-AP STA. For example, the transceivers (106, 206) of FIG. 1 may perform transmission and reception operations of signals (e.g., packets or PPDUs (Physical layer Protocol Data Units) according to IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax / be / bn, etc.). In addition, in the present disclosure, operations in which various STAs generate transmission and reception signals or perform data processing or calculations in advance for transmission and reception signals may be performed in the processors (102, 202) of FIG. 1. For example, an example of an operation for generating a transmission / reception signal or performing data processing or operation in advance for a transmission / reception signal may include 1) an operation for determining / obtaining / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding bit information of a field (SIG (signal), STF (short training field), LTF (long training field), Data, etc.) included in a PPDU, 2) an operation for determining / configuring / obtaining time resources or frequency resources (e.g., subcarrier resources) used for a field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data, etc.) included in a PPDU, 3) an operation for determining / configuring / obtaining a specific sequence (e.g., a pilot sequence, an STF / LTF sequence, an extra sequence applied to SIG) used for a field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data, etc.) included in a PPDU, 4) a power control operation and / or a power saving operation applied to an STA, 5) an operation related to determining / obtaining / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding an ACK signal, etc. Additionally, in the examples below, various information (e.g., information related to fields / subfields / control fields / parameters / power, etc.) used by various STAs for determining / acquiring / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding transmission / reception signals can be stored in the memory (104, 204) of FIG. 1.

[0046] Hereinafter, downlink (DL) refers to a link for communication from an AP STA to a non-AP STA, and downlink PPDUs / packets / signals, etc. can be transmitted and received through the downlink. In downlink communication, the transmitter may be part of an AP STA, and the receiver may be part of a non-AP STA. Uplink (UL) refers to a link for communication from a non-AP STA to an AP STA, and uplink PPDUs / packets / signals, etc. can be transmitted and received through the uplink. In uplink communication, the transmitter may be part of a non-AP STA, and the receiver may be part of an AP STA.

[0047] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0048] The structure of a wireless LAN system can be composed of multiple components. Through the interaction of multiple components, a wireless LAN that supports transparent STA mobility to the upper layer can be provided. A Basic Service Set (BSS) corresponds to a fundamental building block of a wireless LAN. FIG. 2 illustrates, by way of example, the existence of two BSSs (BSS1 and BSS2) and the inclusion of two STAs as members of each BSS (STA1 and STA2 are included in BSS1, and STA3 and STA4 are included in BSS2). The oval representing a BSS in FIG. 2 can also be understood as representing a coverage area in which STAs included in the corresponding BSS maintain communication. This area can be referred to as a Basic Service Area (BSA). When an STA moves outside of a BSA, it cannot directly communicate with other STAs within the BSA.

[0049] If we do not consider the DS illustrated in Figure 2, the most basic type of BSS in a wireless LAN is an Independent BSS (IBSS). For example, an IBSS can have a minimal form consisting of only two STAs. For example, assuming other components are omitted, BSS1 consisting of only STA1 and STA2, or BSS2 consisting of only STA3 and STA4, can be representative examples of an IBSS, respectively. Such a configuration is possible when the STAs can communicate directly without an AP. Furthermore, in this type of WLAN, a LAN can be configured when needed rather than being planned in advance, and this can be called an ad-hoc network. Since an IBSS does not include an AP, there is no centralized management entity. That is, in an IBSS, STAs are managed in a distributed manner. In IBSS, all STAs can be mobile STAs, and access to distributed systems (DS) is not permitted, forming a self-contained network.

[0050] An STA's membership in a BSS can dynamically change, for example, when an STA is turned on or off, or when an STA enters or leaves a BSS area. To become a member of a BSS, an STA can join the BSS using a synchronization process. To access all services in the BSS infrastructure, an STA must be associated with the BSS. This association can be dynamically established and may involve the use of a Distribution System Service (DSS).

[0051] In a wireless LAN, the direct STA-to-STA distance can be limited by PHY performance. While this distance limit may be sufficient in some cases, communication between STAs over longer distances may be required in other cases. To support extended coverage, a distributed system (DS) can be configured.

[0052] DS refers to a structure in which BSSs are interconnected. Specifically, a BSS may exist as an extended component of a network composed of multiple BSSs, as illustrated in Figure 2. DS is a logical concept and can be specified by the characteristics of a distributed system medium (DSM). In this regard, the Wireless Medium (WM) and DSM can be logically distinguished. Each logical medium is used for a different purpose and by different components. These media are neither limited to being identical nor limited to being different. This logical difference between multiple media explains the flexibility of the WLAN architecture (DS architecture or other network architectures). In other words, the WLAN architecture can be implemented in various ways, and the physical characteristics of each implementation can independently specify the WLAN architecture.

[0053] A DS can support mobile devices by providing seamless integration of multiple BSSs and the logical services necessary to handle addresses to destinations. Additionally, a DS may further include a component called a portal, which acts as a bridge for connecting wireless LANs to other networks (e.g., IEEE 802.X).

[0054] An AP is an entity that enables access to a DS through a WM for associated non-AP STAs and also has the functionality of an STA. Data movement between a BSS and a DS can be performed through an AP. For example, STA2 and STA3 illustrated in FIG. 2 have the functionality of an STA and provide the function of allowing associated non-AP STAs (STA1 and STA4) to access the DS. In addition, since all APs are basically STAs, all APs are addressable entities. The address used by an AP for communication on a WM and the address used by an AP for communication on a DSM do not necessarily have to be the same. A BSS consisting of an AP and one or more STAs can be referred to as an infrastructure BSS.

[0055] Data transmitted from one of the STA(s) associated with an AP to the STA address of that AP is always received on an uncontrolled port and can be processed by an IEEE 802.1X port access entity. In addition, if the controlled port is authenticated, the transmitted data (or frame) can be forwarded to the DS.

[0056] In addition to the structure of the DS described above, an extended service set (ESS) may be established to provide wider coverage.

[0057] An ESS is a network of arbitrary size and complexity, consisting of DSs and BSSs. An ESS may correspond to a set of BSSs connected to a DS. However, an ESS does not include a DS. An ESS network is characterized by appearing as an IBSS at the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. STAs within an ESS can communicate with each other, and mobile STAs can move from one BSS to another (within the same ESS) transparently to the LLC. APs within an ESS may have the same SSID (service set identification). The SSID is distinct from the BSSID, which is the identifier of the BSS.

[0058] In a wireless LAN system, no assumptions are made about the relative physical locations of BSSs, and all of the following configurations are possible: BSSs can be partially overlapping, which is commonly used to provide continuous coverage. BSSs can also be physically disconnected, and there is no logical distance limit between them. BSSs can also be physically co-located, which can be used to provide redundancy. Furthermore, one (or more) IBSS or ESS networks can physically co-exist with one (or more) ESS networks. This can occur in cases where an ad-hoc network operates at the same location as an ESS network, where physically overlapping wireless networks are configured by different organizations, or where two or more different access and security policies are required at the same location.

[0059] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a link setup process to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0060] For an STA to set up a link and transmit and receive data on a network, it must first discover the network, perform authentication, establish an association, and complete security authentication procedures. The link setup process can also be referred to as the session initiation process or session setup process. Furthermore, the discovery, authentication, association, and security setup processes of the link setup process can be collectively referred to as the association process.

[0061] In step S310, the STA may perform a network discovery operation. This network discovery operation may include scanning operations by the STA. That is, for the STA to access a network, it must search for available networks. Before joining a wireless network, the STA must identify compatible networks. The process of identifying networks in a specific area is called scanning.

[0062] Scanning methods include active scanning and passive scanning. Figure 3 illustrates a network discovery operation including an active scanning process as an example. In active scanning, an STA performing scanning transmits a probe request frame to discover any APs in the vicinity while moving between channels and waits for a response. The responder transmits a probe response frame in response to the STA that transmitted the probe request frame. Here, the responder may be the STA that last transmitted a beacon frame in the BSS of the channel being scanned. In the BSS, the AP transmits the beacon frame, so the AP becomes the responder. In the IBSS, the STAs within the IBSS take turns transmitting beacon frames, so the responder is not fixed. For example, an STA that transmits a probe request frame on channel 1 and receives a probe response frame on channel 1 can store BSS-related information included in the received probe response frame and move to the next channel (e.g., channel 2) to perform scanning (i.e., transmitting and receiving probe requests / responses on channel 2) in the same manner.

[0063] Although not shown in Figure 3, the scanning operation can also be performed in a passive scanning manner. In passive scanning, the STA performing the scanning moves between channels and waits for a beacon frame. A beacon frame is one of the management frames defined in IEEE 802.11. It announces the existence of a wireless network and is periodically transmitted so that the STA performing the scanning can find the wireless network and participate in the wireless network. In the BSS, the AP performs the role of periodically transmitting the beacon frame, and in the IBSS, the STAs within the IBSS take turns transmitting the beacon frame. When the STA performing the scanning receives a beacon frame, it stores the information about the BSS included in the beacon frame and moves to another channel, recording the beacon frame information on each channel. The STA receiving the beacon frame stores the BSS-related information included in the received beacon frame and moves to the next channel to perform scanning on the next channel in the same manner. Comparing active scanning and passive scanning, active scanning has the advantage of lower delay and power consumption than passive scanning.

[0064] After the STA discovers the network, an authentication process may be performed in step S320. This authentication process may be referred to as the first authentication process to clearly distinguish it from the security setup operation of step S340 described below.

[0065] The authentication process involves the STA sending an authentication request frame to the AP, and the AP responding by sending an authentication response frame to the STA. The authentication frame used for the authentication request / response corresponds to a management frame.

[0066] The authentication frame may include information such as an authentication algorithm number, an authentication transaction sequence number, a status code, a challenge text, a Robust Security Network (RSN), and a Finite Cyclic Group. These are just some examples of information that may be included in an authentication request / response frame, and may be replaced with other information or include additional information.

[0067] An STA can send an authentication request frame to an AP. The AP can determine whether to grant authentication to the STA based on the information contained in the received authentication request frame. The AP can provide the result of the authentication process to the STA via an authentication response frame.

[0068] After the STA is successfully authenticated, an association process may be performed in step S330. The association process includes a process in which the STA transmits an association request frame to the AP, and in response, the AP transmits an association response frame to the STA.

[0069] For example, the association request frame may include information about various capabilities, a beacon listen interval, a service set identifier (SSID), supported rates, supported channels, RSN, a mobility domain, supported operating classes, a Traffic Indication Map Broadcast request, interworking service capabilities, etc. For example, the association response frame may include information about various capabilities, a status code, an Association ID (AID), supported rates, an Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) parameter set, a Received Channel Power Indicator (RCPI), a Received Signal to Noise Indicator (RSNI), a mobility domain, a timeout interval (e.g., an association comeback time), overlapping BSS scan parameters, a TIM broadcast response, a Quality of Service (QoS) map, etc. These are just some examples of information that may be included in a combined request / response frame, and may be replaced with other information or include additional information.

[0070] After the STA successfully joins the network, a security setup process may be performed in step S340. The security setup process in step S340 may be referred to as an authentication process through a Robust Security Network Association (RSNA) request / response, the authentication process in step S320 may be referred to as a first authentication process, and the security setup process in step S340 may also be referred to simply as an authentication process.

[0071] The security setup process of step S340 may include, for example, a process of establishing a private key through a four-way handshaking using an Extensible Authentication Protocol over LAN (EAPOL) frame. Furthermore, the security setup process may be performed according to a security method not defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0072] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a backoff process to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0073] In wireless LAN systems, the basic access mechanism of MAC (Medium Access Control) is Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA). The CSMA / CA mechanism, also known as the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) of the IEEE 802.11 MAC, essentially employs a "listen before talk" access mechanism. According to this type of access mechanism, the AP and / or STA may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) to sense the wireless channel or medium for a predetermined time period (e.g., a DCF Inter-Frame Space (DIFS)) before starting transmission. If the sensing result determines that the medium is in an idle state, the AP and / or STA may start transmitting frames through the medium. On the other hand, if the medium is detected to be occupied or busy, the AP and / or STA may not start its own transmission, but may wait for a delay period (e.g., a random backoff period) for medium access before attempting to transmit frames. By applying a random backoff period, multiple STAs are expected to attempt to transmit frames after waiting for different periods of time, thereby minimizing collisions.

[0074] In addition, the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol provides the Hybrid Coordination Function (HCF). The HCF is based on the DCF and the Point Coordination Function (PCF). The PCF is a polling-based synchronous access method that periodically polls all receiving APs and / or STAs to ensure that they receive data frames. In addition, the HCF has the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) and the HCF Controlled Channel Access (HCCA). The EDCA is a contention-based access method for a provider to provide data frames to multiple users, while the HCCA uses a non-contention-based channel access method that utilizes a polling mechanism. In addition, the HCF includes a medium access mechanism to improve the Quality of Service (QoS) of the wireless LAN, and can transmit QoS data in both the Contention Period (CP) and the Contention Free Period (CFP).

[0075] Referring to Fig. 4, an operation based on a random backoff period is described. When a medium that was occupied / busy changes to an idle state, multiple STAs can attempt to transmit data (or frames). To minimize collisions, each STA can select a random backoff count, wait for the corresponding slot time, and then attempt transmission. The random backoff count has a pseudo-random integer value and can be determined as one of the values ​​in the range of 0 to CW. Here, CW is a contention window parameter value. The CW parameter is given an initial value of CWmin, but can take a doubled value in case of transmission failure (e.g., when an ACK for a transmitted frame is not received). When the CW parameter value becomes CWmax, data transmission can be attempted while maintaining the CWmax value until data transmission is successful, and if data transmission is successful, it is reset to the CWmin value. The CW, CWmin, and CWmax values ​​are 2. n It is desirable to set it to -1 (n=0, 1, 2, ...).

[0076] Once the random backoff process begins, the STA continues to monitor the medium while counting down the backoff slots according to the determined backoff count value. If the medium is monitored as occupied, the countdown stops and waits. When the medium becomes idle, the remaining countdown resumes.

[0077] In the example of FIG. 4, when a packet to be transmitted reaches the MAC of STA3, STA3 can immediately transmit a frame if it confirms that the medium is idle for DIFS. The remaining STAs monitor the medium for occupied / busy states and wait. In the meantime, data to be transmitted may also occur in each of STA1, STA2, and STA5, and each STA can count down the backoff slot according to a random backoff count value selected by each STA after waiting for DIFS if the medium is monitored as idle. Assume that STA2 selects the smallest backoff count value and STA1 selects the largest backoff count value. In other words, this example shows a case where the remaining backoff time of STA5 is shorter than the remaining backoff time of STA1 when STA2 finishes the backoff count and starts frame transmission. STA1 and STA5 briefly stop counting down and wait while STA2 occupies the medium. When STA2's occupation ends and the medium becomes idle again, STA1 and STA5 wait for DIFS and then resume the backoff count that they had stopped. That is, they can start transmitting frames after counting down the remaining backoff slots equal to the remaining backoff time. Since STA5's remaining backoff time is shorter than STA1's, STA5 starts transmitting frames. While STA2 occupies the medium, STA4 may also have data to transmit. From STA4's perspective, when the medium becomes idle, it waits for DIFS, counts down according to its selected random backoff count value, and then starts transmitting frames. In the example of Figure 4, the remaining backoff time of STA5 coincidentally matches the random backoff count value of STA4, in which case a collision may occur between STA4 and STA5. If a collision occurs, neither STA4 nor STA5 will receive an ACK, resulting in a failure in data transmission.In this case, STA4 and STA5 can select a random backoff count value and perform a countdown after doubling the CW value. STA1 waits while the medium is occupied by transmissions from STA4 and STA5, and when the medium becomes idle, it waits for DIFS and can start transmitting frames after the remaining backoff time elapses.

[0078] As in the example of Fig. 4, a data frame is a frame used for transmitting data forwarded to a higher layer, and can be transmitted after a backoff performed after DIFS elapses from when the medium becomes idle. Additionally, a management frame is a frame used for exchanging management information that is not forwarded to a higher layer, and is transmitted after a backoff performed after an IFS elapses, such as DIFS or PIFS (Point coordination function IFS). Subtype frames of a management frame include a beacon, an association request / response, a re-association request / response, a probe request / response, and an authentication request / response. A control frame is a frame used to control access to the medium. The subtype frames of the control frame include Request-To-Send (RTS), Clear-To-Send (CTS), Acknowledgment (ACK), Power Save-Poll (PS-Poll), Block ACK (BlockAck), Block ACK Request (BlockACKReq), Null Data Packet Announcement (NDP), and Trigger. If the control frame is not a response frame to the previous frame, it is transmitted after a backoff performed after the DIFS (Direct Inverse Frame Stop) has elapsed, and if it is a response frame to the previous frame, it is transmitted without a backoff performed after the SIFS (short IFS). The type and subtype of the frame can be identified by the type field and subtype field in the Frame Control (FC) field.

[0079] A QoS (Quality of Service) STA can transmit a frame after a backoff performed after the AIFS (arbitration IFS) for the access category (AC) to which the frame belongs, i.e., AIFS[i] (where i is a value determined by the AC), has elapsed. Here, the frames for which AIFS[i] can be used can be data frames, management frames, and also control frames that are not response frames.

[0080] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operation to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0081] As mentioned above, the CSMA / CA mechanism includes virtual carrier sensing in addition to physical carrier sensing, in which STAs directly sense the medium. Virtual carrier sensing is intended to address potential issues in medium access, such as the hidden node problem. For virtual carrier sensing, the MAC of an STA can utilize a Network Allocation Vector (NAV). The NAV is a value that an STA that is currently using or has the right to use the medium indicates to other STAs the remaining time until the medium becomes available. Therefore, the value set as NAV corresponds to the period during which the STA transmitting the frame is scheduled to use the medium, and an STA receiving the NAV value is prohibited from accessing the medium during that period. For example, the NAV can be set based on the value of the "duration" field in the MAC header of the frame.

[0082] In the example of FIG. 5, it is assumed that STA1 wants to transmit data to STA2, and STA3 is in a position to overhear some or all of the frames transmitted and received between STA1 and STA2.

[0083] In order to reduce the possibility of collisions in transmissions of multiple STAs in a CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operation, a mechanism using RTS / CTS frames may be applied. In the example of FIG. 5, while STA1 is transmitting, STA3 may determine that the medium is idle based on carrier sensing results. That is, STA1 may correspond to a hidden node for STA3. Alternatively, in the example of FIG. 5, while STA2 is transmitting, STA3 may determine that the medium is idle based on carrier sensing results. That is, STA2 may correspond to a hidden node for STA3. By exchanging RTS / CTS frames before performing data transmission and reception between STA1 and STA2, STAs outside the transmission range of either STA1 or STA2, or STAs outside the carrier sensing range for transmissions from STA1 or STA3, may not attempt to occupy the channel during data transmission and reception between STA1 and STA2.

[0084] Specifically, STA1 can determine whether a channel is occupied through carrier sensing. In terms of physical carrier sensing, STA1 can determine channel occupancy idleness based on the energy level or signal correlation detected in the channel. Furthermore, in terms of virtual carrier sensing, STA1 can determine the channel occupancy status using a network allocation vector (NAV) timer.

[0085] STA1 can transmit an RTS frame to STA2 after performing a backoff if the channel is idle during the DIFS. STA2 can transmit a CTS frame, which is a response to the RTS frame, to STA1 after an SIFS if it receives the RTS frame.

[0086] If STA3 cannot overhear a CTS frame from STA2 but can overhear an RTS frame from STA1, STA3 can use the duration information contained in the RTS frame to set a NAV timer for the subsequent consecutively transmitted frame transmission period (e.g., SIFS + CTS frame + SIFS + data frame + SIFS + ACK frame). Alternatively, if STA3 cannot overhear an RTS frame from STA1 but can overhear a CTS frame from STA2, STA3 can use the duration information contained in the CTS frame to set a NAV timer for the subsequent consecutively transmitted frame transmission period (e.g., SIFS + data frame + SIFS + ACK frame). That is, if STA3 can overhear one or more of the RTS or CTS frames from one or more of STA1 or STA2, it can set a NAV accordingly. If STA3 receives a new frame before the NAV timer expires, it can update the NAV timer using the duration information contained in the new frame. STA3 does not attempt channel access until the NAV timer expires.

[0087] If STA1 receives a CTS frame from STA2, it can transmit a data frame to STA2 after SIFS from the time when the CTS frame is completely received. If STA2 successfully receives the data frame, it can transmit an ACK frame in response to the data frame to STA1 after SIFS. STA3 can determine whether the channel is in use through carrier sensing if the NAV timer expires. If STA3 determines that the channel is not in use by another terminal during the DIFS after the NAV timer expires, it can attempt channel access after a contention window (CW) based on a random backoff has elapsed.

[0088] FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining an example of a frame structure used in a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0089] The PHY layer can prepare an MPDU (MAC PDU) to be transmitted based on an instruction or primitive (meaning a set of instructions or parameters) from the MAC layer. For example, when a command requesting the start of transmission of the PHY layer is received from the MAC layer, the PHY layer can switch to transmission mode and transmit the information (e.g., data) provided by the MAC layer in the form of a frame. In addition, when the PHY layer detects a valid preamble of the received frame, it monitors the header of the preamble and sends a command to the MAC layer notifying the start of reception of the PHY layer.

[0090] In this way, information transmission / reception in a wireless LAN system is done in the form of frames, and for this purpose, the PHY layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) format is defined.

[0091] A basic PPDU may include a Short Training Field (STF), a Long Training Field (LTF), a SIGNAL (SIG) field, and a Data field. The most basic (e.g., non-HT (High Throughput) as illustrated in FIG. 7) PPDU format may consist of only the Legacy-STF (L-STF), Legacy-LTF (L-LTF), Legacy-SIG (L-SIG) fields, and a Data field. Additionally, depending on the type of PPDU format (e.g., HT-mixed format PPDU, HT-greenfield format PPDU, VHT (Very High Throughput) PPDU, etc.), additional (or different types of) RL-SIG, U-SIG, non-legacy SIG field, non-legacy STF, non-legacy LTF, (i.e., xx-SIG, xx-STF, xx-LTF (e.g., xx is HT, VHT, HE, EHT, etc.)) may be included between the L-SIG field and the data field. More specific details are described below with reference to FIG. 7.

[0092] STF is a signal for signal detection, AGC (Automatic Gain Control), diversity selection, and precise time synchronization, while LTF is a signal for channel estimation, frequency error estimation, etc. STF and LTF can be said to be signals for synchronization and channel estimation of the OFDM physical layer.

[0093] The SIG field may include various information related to PPDU transmission and reception. For example, the L-SIG field may consist of 24 bits and may include a 4-bit Rate field, a 1-bit Reserved bit, a 12-bit Length field, a 1-bit Parity field, and a 6-bit Tail field. The RATE field may include information about the modulation and coding rate of data. For example, the 12-bit Length field may include information about the length or time duration of the PPDU. For example, the value of the 12-bit Length field may be determined based on the type of the PPDU. For example, for a non-HT, HT, VHT, or EHT PPDU, the value of the Length field may be determined as a multiple of 3. For example, for HE PPDU, the value of the Length field can be determined as a multiple of 3 + 1 or a multiple of 3 + 2.

[0094] The data field may include a SERVICE field, a Physical layer Service Data Unit (PSDU), a PPDU TAIL bit, and, if necessary, padding bits. Some bits of the SERVICE field may be used to synchronize the descrambler at the receiving end. The PSDU corresponds to a MAC PDU defined at the MAC layer and may contain data generated / used by upper layers. The PPDU TAIL bit may be used to return the encoder to a 0 state. The padding bit may be used to adjust the length of the data field to a predetermined unit.

[0095] MAC PDUs are defined according to various MAC frame formats, and a basic MAC frame consists of a MAC header, a frame body, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS). A MAC frame is composed of MAC PDUs and can be transmitted / received through the PSDU in the data portion of the PPDU format.

[0096] The MAC header includes a Frame Control field, a Duration / ID field, an Address field, etc. The Frame Control field may include control information required for frame transmission / reception. The Duration / ID field may be set to a time for transmitting the corresponding frame, etc. The Address subfields may indicate the receiver address, transmitter address, destination address, and source address of the frame, and some Address subfields may be omitted. For specific details of each subfield of the MAC header, including the Sequence Control, QoS Control, and HT Control subfields, refer to the IEEE 802.11 standard document.

[0097] The Null-Data PPDU (NDP) format refers to a PPDU format that does not include a data field. In other words, NDP refers to a frame format that includes a PPDU preamble (i.e., L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG fields, and, if additionally present, non-legacy SIG, non-legacy STF, and non-legacy LTF) in the general PPDU format, and does not include the remaining part (i.e., data field).

[0098] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating examples of PPDUs defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0099] Standards such as IEEE 802.11a / g / n / ac / ax use various PPDU formats. The basic PPDU format (IEEE 802.11a / g) includes L-LTF, L-STF, L-SIG, and Data fields. The basic PPDU format can also be referred to as the non-HT PPDU format (Fig. 7(a)).

[0100] The HT PPDU format (IEEE 802.11n) additionally includes HT-SIG, HT-STF, and HT-LFT(s) fields in addition to the basic PPDU format. The HT PPDU format illustrated in Fig. 7(b) may be referred to as an HT-mixed format. Additionally, an HT-greenfield format PPDU may be defined, which corresponds to a format that does not include L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG, but consists of HT-GF-STF, HT-LTF1, HT-SIG, one or more HT-LTF, and Data fields (not illustrated).

[0101] An example of the VHT PPDU format (IEEE 802.11ac) includes VHT SIG-A, VHT-STF, VHT-LTF, and VHT-SIG-B fields in addition to the basic PPDU format (Fig. 7(c)).

[0102] An example of a HE PPDU format (IEEE 802.11ax) additionally includes RL-SIG (Repeated L-SIG), HE-SIG-A, HE-SIG-B, HE-STF, HE-LTF(s), and PE (Packet Extension) fields in addition to the basic PPDU format (Fig. 7(d)). Depending on specific examples of the HE PPDU format, some fields may be excluded or their lengths may vary. For example, the HE-SIG-B field is included in the HE PPDU format for multi-users (MUs), but the HE PPDU format for single users (SUs) does not include the HE-SIG-B. In addition, the HE trigger-based (TB) PPDU format does not include the HE-SIG-B, and the length of the HE-STF field may vary to 8us. The HE ER (Extended Range) SU PPDU format does not include the HE-SIG-B field, and the length of the HE-SIG-A field may vary to 16us. For example, RL-SIG can be configured identically to L-SIG. The receiving STA can determine that the received PPDU is a HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU, described later, based on the presence of RL-SIG.

[0103] The EHT PPDU format may include the EHT MU (multi-user) PPDU of FIG. 7(e) and the EHT TB (trigger-based) PPDU of FIG. 7(f). The EHT PPDU format is similar to the HE PPDU format in that it includes an RL-SIG following an L-SIG, but may include a U (universal)-SIG, an EHT-SIG, an EHT-STF, and an EHT-LTF following the RL-SIG.

[0104] The EHT MU PPDU in FIG. 7(e) corresponds to a PPDU that carries one or more data (or PSDUs) for one or more users. That is, the EHT MU PPDU can be used for both SU transmission and MU transmission. For example, the EHT MU PPDU can correspond to a PPDU for one receiving STA or multiple receiving STAs.

[0105] The EHT TB PPDU of Fig. 7(f) omits the EHT-SIG compared to the EHT MU PPDU. An STA that has received a trigger for UL MU transmission (e.g., a trigger frame or TRS (triggered response scheduling)) can perform UL transmission based on the EHT TB PPDU format.

[0106] The L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG (Universal SIGNAL), and EHT-SIG fields can be encoded and modulated so that even legacy STAs can attempt demodulation and decoding, and can be mapped based on a predetermined subcarrier frequency interval (e.g., 312.5 kHz). These can be referred to as pre-EHT modulated fields. Next, the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, Data, and PE fields can be encoded and modulated so that they can be demodulated and decoded by an STA that has successfully decoded a non-legacy SIG (e.g., U-SIG and / or EHT-SIG) and obtained the information contained in the corresponding field, and can be mapped based on a predetermined subcarrier frequency interval (e.g., 78.125 kHz). These can be referred to as EHT modulated fields.

[0107] Similarly, in the HE PPDU format, the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, HE-SIG-A, and HE-SIG-B fields may be referred to as pre-HE modulation fields, and the HE-STF, HE-LTF, Data, and PE fields may be referred to as HE modulation fields. Additionally, in the VHT PPDU format, the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, and VHT-SIG-A fields may be referred to as pre-VHT modulation fields, and the VHT STF, VHT-LTF, VHT-SIG-B, and Data fields may be referred to as VHT modulation fields.

[0108] The U-SIG included in the EHT PPDU format of FIG. 7 can be configured based on, for example, two symbols (e.g., two consecutive OFDM symbols). Each symbol (e.g., OFDM symbol) for the U-SIG can have a duration of 4 us, and the U-SIG can have a total duration of 8 us. Each symbol of the U-SIG can be used to transmit 26 bits of information. For example, each symbol of the U-SIG can be transmitted and received based on 52 data tones and 4 pilot tones.

[0109] U-SIGs can be configured in 20MHz units. For example, when an 80MHz PPDU is configured, the same U-SIG can be duplicated in 20MHz units. That is, four identical U-SIGs can be included in an 80MHz PPDU. When the bandwidth exceeds 80MHz, for example, for a 160MHz PPDU, the U-SIGs in the first 80MHz unit and the U-SIGs in the second 80MHz unit can be different.

[0110] For example, A uncoded bits may be transmitted via U-SIG, and a first symbol of U-SIG (e.g., a U-SIG-1 symbol) may transmit the first X bits of information out of a total A bits of information, and a second symbol of U-SIG (e.g., a U-SIG-2 symbol) may transmit the remaining Y bits of information out of a total A bits of information. The A bits of information (e.g., 52 uncoded bits) may include a CRC field (e.g., a field of 4 bits in length) and a tail field (e.g., a field of 6 bits in length). The tail field may be used to terminate the trellis of the convolutional decoder and may be set to 0, for example.

[0111] The A bit information transmitted by U-SIG can be divided into version-independent bits and version-dependent bits. For example, U-SIG can be included in a new PPDU format (e.g., UHR PPDU format) not shown in FIG. 7, and in the format of the U-SIG field included in the EHT PPDU format and the format of the U-SIG field included in the UHR PPDU format, the version-independent bits can be the same, and some or all of the version-dependent bits can be different.

[0112] For example, the size of the version-independent bits of U-SIG can be fixed or variable. The version-independent bits can be assigned only to U-SIG-1 symbols, or to both U-SIG-1 symbols and U-SIG-2 symbols. The version-independent bits and the version-dependent bits can be called by various names, such as the first control bit and the second control bit.

[0113] For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a 3-bit PHY version identifier, which may indicate the PHY version (e.g., EHT, UHR, etc.) of the transmitted and received PPDUs. The version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a 1-bit UL / DL flag field. The first value of the 1-bit UL / DL flag field relates to UL communication, and the second value of the UL / DL flag field relates to DL communication. The version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include information about the length of a transmission opportunity (TXOP) and information about a BSS color ID.

[0114] For example, the version-dependent bits of the U-SIG may contain information that directly or indirectly indicates the type of PPDU (e.g., SU PPDU, MU PPDU, TB PPDU, etc.).

[0115] Information required for PPDU transmission and reception may be included in the U-SIG. For example, the U-SIG may further include information about bandwidth, information about the MCS technique applied to the non-legacy SIG (e.g., EHT-SIG or UHR-SIG), information indicating whether a dual carrier modulation (DCM) technique (e.g., a technique to achieve an effect similar to frequency diversity by reusing the same signal on two subcarriers) is applied to the non-legacy SIG, information about the number of symbols used for the non-legacy SIG, information about whether the non-legacy SIG is generated across the entire band, etc.

[0116] Some of the information required for transmitting and receiving a PPDU may be included in the U-SIG and / or the non-legacy SIG (e.g., EHT-SIG or UHR-SIG, etc.). For example, information about the type of the non-legacy LTF / STF (e.g., EHT-LTF / EHT-STF or UHR-LTF / UHR-STF, etc.), information about the length of the non-legacy LTF and the cyclic prefix (CP) length, information about the guard interval (GI) applicable to the non-legacy LTF, information about preamble puncturing applicable to the PPDU, information about resource unit (RU) allocation, etc. may be included only in the U-SIG, may be included only in the non-legacy SIG, or may be indicated by a combination of the information included in the U-SIG and the information included in the non-legacy SIG.

[0117] Preamble puncturing may refer to the transmission of a PPDU in which no signal is present in one or more frequency units within the PPDU's bandwidth. For example, the size of the frequency unit (or the resolution of the preamble puncturing) may be defined as 20 MHz, 40 MHz, etc. For example, preamble puncturing may be applied to a PPDU bandwidth greater than a certain size.

[0118] In the example of FIG. 7, non-legacy SIGs such as HE-SIG-B and EHT-SIG may include control information for the receiving STA. The non-legacy SIG may be transmitted over at least one symbol, and each symbol may have a length of 4 us. Information regarding the number of symbols used for the EHT-SIG may be included in a previous SIG (e.g., HE-SIG-A, U-SIG, etc.).

[0119] Non-legacy SIGs, such as HE-SIG-B and EHT-SIG, may contain common fields and user-specific fields. Common and user-specific fields may be coded separately.

[0120] In some cases, common fields may be omitted. For example, in a compressed mode where non-OFDMA (orthogonal frequency multiple access) is applied, common fields may be omitted, and multiple STAs may receive PPDUs (e.g., data fields of PPDUs) over the same frequency band. In a non-compressed mode where OFDMA is applied, multiple users may receive PPDUs (e.g., data fields of PPDUs) over different frequency bands.

[0121] The number of user-specific fields can be determined based on the number of users. A single user block field can contain up to two user fields. Each user field can be associated with either MU-MIMO allocation or non-MU-MIMO allocation.

[0122] The common field may include CRC bits and Tail bits, the length of the CRC bits may be determined as 4 bits, and the length of the Tail bits may be determined as 6 bits and set to 000000. The common field may include RU allocation information. The RU allocation information may include information about the location of RUs to which multiple users (i.e., multiple receiving STAs) are allocated.

[0123] An RU can contain multiple subcarriers (or tones). RUs can be used when transmitting signals to multiple STAs based on OFDMA techniques. RUs can also be defined when transmitting signals to a single STA. Resources can be allocated on an RU basis for non-legacy STFs, non-legacy LTFs, and data fields.

[0124] Depending on the PPDU bandwidth, an applicable RU size can be defined. The RU may be defined identically or differently for the applicable PPDU format (e.g., HE PPDU, EHT PPDU, UHR PPDU, etc.). For example, in the case of an 80MHz PPDU, the RU arrangements of HE PPDU and EHT PPDU may be different. The applicable RU size, RU number, RU position, DC (direct current) subcarrier position and number, null subcarrier position and number, guard subcarrier position and number, etc. for each PPDU bandwidth can be referred to as a tone plan. For example, a tone plan for a wide bandwidth can be defined in the form of multiple repetitions of a low bandwidth tone plan.

[0125] RUs of different sizes can be defined, such as 26-ton RU, 52-ton RU, 106-ton RU, 242-ton RU, 484-ton RU, 996-ton RU, 2X996-ton RU, 3X996-ton RU, etc. A multiple RU (MRU) is distinguished from multiple individual RUs and corresponds to a group of subcarriers consisting of multiple RUs. For example, one MRU can be defined as 52+26-tons, 106+26-tons, 484+242-tons, 996+484-tons, 996+484+242-tons, 2X996+484-tons, 3X996-tons, or 3X996+484-tons. Additionally, multiple RUs constituting one MRU may or may not be consecutive in the frequency domain.

[0126] The specific size of an RU may be reduced or expanded. Therefore, the specific size of each RU (i.e., the number of corresponding tones) in the present disclosure is not limited and is exemplary. Furthermore, within a given bandwidth (e.g., 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 MHz, etc.) in the present disclosure, the number of RUs may vary depending on the RU size.

[0127] The names of each field in the PPDU formats of FIG. 7 are exemplary and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited by those names. Furthermore, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied not only to the PPDU format exemplified in FIG. 7, but also to a new PPDU format in which some fields are excluded and / or some fields are added based on the PPDU formats of FIG. 7.

[0128] FIG. 8 is a drawing showing an exemplary format of a trigger frame to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0129] A trigger frame may allocate resources for the transmission of one or more TB PPDUs and request the transmission of TB PPDUs. The trigger frame may also include other information required by the STA transmitting the TB PPDU in response. The trigger frame may include common information and a user information list field in the frame body.

[0130] The common information field may include information that is common to one or more TB PPDU transmissions requested by a trigger frame, such as trigger type, UL length, presence of a subsequent trigger frame (e.g., More TF), whether CS (channel sensing) is required, UL BW (bandwidth), etc. Fig. 8 illustrates an example of an EHT variant common information field format.

[0131] The 4-bit trigger type subfield can have values ​​from 0 to 15. Among them, the values ​​0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the trigger type subfield are defined to correspond to basic, Beamforming Report Poll (BFRP), multi user-block acknowledgement request (MU-BAR), multi user-request to send (MU-RTS), Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP), groupcast with retries (GCR) MU-BAR, Bandwidth Query Report Poll (BQRP), and NDP Feedback Report Poll (NFRP), respectively, and the values ​​8 to 15 are defined as reserved.

[0132] Among the common information, the trigger dependent common info subfield may include information that is optionally included based on the trigger type.

[0133] A special user info field may be included within the trigger frame. The special user info field does not contain user-specific information, but rather extended common information not provided in the common information field.

[0134] A user information list contains zero or more user information fields. Figure 8 illustrates an example of an EHT variant user information field format.

[0135] The AID12 subfield basically indicates that it is a user information field for an STA with the corresponding AID. In addition, if the AID12 field has a predetermined specific value, it may be utilized for other purposes, such as allocating a random access (RA)-RU, or being configured in the form of a special user information field. The special user information field is a user information field that does not contain user-specific information, but contains extended common information not provided in the common information field. For example, the special user information field can be identified by the AID12 value of 2007, and the special user information field flag subfield within the common information field can indicate whether the special user information field is included.

[0136] The RU allocation subfield can indicate the size and location of an RU / MRU. For this purpose, the RU allocation subfield can be interpreted together with the PS160 (primary / secondary 160MHz) subfield of the user information field, the UL BW subfield of the common information field, etc.

[0137] FCS Field

[0138] The FCS field may contain a 32-bit CRC. The FCS field value may be computed over the entire field of the MAC header and the frame body field. The above-described field(s) may also be expressed as a computed field. The FCS field value is expressed as a 32-order standard generating polynomial (e.g., x 32 + x 26 + x 23 + x 22 + x 16 + x 12 + x 11 + x 10 + x 9 + x 7 + x 5 + x 4 + x 2 + x 1+ 1) can be used to produce the result.

[0139] The FCS field value can be the 1's complement (modulo 2) of the following sums:

[0140] a) x k (x 31 + x 30 + x 29 + ... + x 2 + x 1 + 1) is the remainder (modulo 2) of dividing G(x), where k represents the number of bits in the computation field; and

[0141] b) The contents of the calculated field (processed as a polynomial) are x 32 It is the remainder after multiplying by and dividing by G(x).

[0142] The FCS field can be transmitted starting with the coefficient of the highest-order term. In a typical implementation, the transmitter can preset all division remainders to 1, then modify the calculation field by dividing it by the generating polynomial G(x). The 1's complement of this remainder can be transmitted as the FCS field, with the most significant bit first.

[0143] At the receiver, all initial remainders are preset to 1, and the serially received bits of the computed field and the FCS can be divided by G(x) to produce a unique non-zero remainder (in the absence of transmission errors). This unique remainder can be a polynomial such that:

[0144] x 31 + x 30 + x 26 + x 25 + x 24 + x 18 + x 15 + x 14 + x 12 + x 11 + x 10 + x 8 + x 6 + x 5 + x 4 + x 3 + x +1.

[0145] BAR frame

[0146] A BAR (block acknowledgment request) frame may include a frame control field, a duration field, a receiver address (RA) field, a transmitter address (TA) field, a BAR control field, a BAR information field, and an FCS field. For example, the RA field relates to the address of the receiving STA, and the TA field relates to the address of the STA transmitting the BAR frame or bandwidth signaling TA.

[0147] The BAR control field may include a BAR type subfield and a TID_info subfield. The BAR type subfield may indicate a BAR frame variant, and the BAR frame variant may be at least one of Extended Compressed, Compressed, Multi-TID, GroupCast with Retries (GCR), and General Link Task Group-GroupCast with Retries (GLK-GCR).

[0148] The meaning of the TID_Info subfield of the BAR control field may be based on the BAR frame variant type. For example, the TID_Info subfield of the BAR control field of an extended compressed BAR frame or a compressed BAR frame may include the TID that requested the BAR frame. For example, the value of the TID_Info subfield of the BAR field in a GCR BAR frame or a GLK-GCR BAR frame may be set to 0.

[0149] The TID_INFO subfield in the BAR Control field of a multi-TID BAR frame can determine the number of TIDs present in the multi-TID BAR frame, given as "TID_INFO + 1". For example, if the TID_INFO subfield is set to 2, it can mean that there are three TID values ​​in the BAR Information field of the multi-TID BAR frame.

[0150] The BAR information field of a multi-TID BAR frame may include multiple sets of Per TID information subfields and a BA (block ACK) start sequence control subfield. The BA start sequence control subfield and the start sequence number subfield may include the sequence number of the first MSDU or A-MSDU transmitted by the corresponding BAR frame. The fragment number subfield of the BA start sequence control subfield may be set to 0.

[0151] Uplink transmission procedure based on intermediate FCS (sub)field

[0152] A padding field may optionally be included in the trigger frame described with reference to FIG. 8, thereby extending the length of the trigger frame. For example, if a padding field is included in the trigger frame, the padding field (e.g., time secured through the padding field) may provide time for the STA that has received the trigger frame to prepare UL MU data to be transmitted (e.g., PPDU to be transmitted SIFS after receiving the trigger frame).

[0153] For example, the value of the AID12 subfield located at the beginning of the padding field may be set to 4095 so that an STA that has received a trigger frame can recognize the padding field after the user information list field within the padding field of the trigger frame. That is, the initial 2 octet value of the padding field may be set to 1.

[0154] In a basic wireless LAN system, a receiving STA (e.g., an EHT STA) can perform an FCS check operation (e.g., a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check)-based operation) based on the value of the FCS field located after the padding field of the trigger frame. Thereafter, the receiving STA can transmit a PPDU based on the trigger frame to the transmitting STA that transmitted the trigger frame.

[0155] An STA that wishes to perform other operations as well as generate / prepare UL MU data within the time corresponding to the padding field must confirm that the trigger frame is a successful frame based on the FCS field of the trigger frame. However, as described above, in a basic wireless LAN system, the FCS field is placed after the padding field within the trigger frame. In other words, the time period corresponding to the padding field is before the FCS check operation is performed, and thus the STA may not be able to perform other operations within that time period.

[0156] Accordingly, there was a problem that the location of the FCS field on the basic wireless LAN system was inefficient for STAs supporting DPS (dynamic power save), integrity check for control frames, DSO (dynamic Subband operation), or / and DUO (dynamic unavailability operation) mode.

[0157] In the above description, the trigger frame, which is an ICF, can be replaced with a BAR frame, and the ICR for the ICF can be a BA frame.

[0158] Hereinafter, the procedures and parameters related to a new FCS (sub)field placed before a padding field within a BAR frame will be specifically described. In describing the present disclosure, the new FCS (sub)field may be expressed as, but is not limited to, an intermediate FCS (sub)field, an IFCS (sub)field, an FCS 2 (sub)field, a pre-FCS (sub)field, an extra FCS (sub)field, a post FCS (sub)field, etc.

[0159] The values, names, locations / names of (sub)fields, etc. described / suggested within the present disclosure may be changed and are not limited thereto. In addition, STAs may include non-AP STAs or AP STAs, etc. In addition, in describing the present disclosure, it is assumed, but not limited thereto, that UHR STAs are STAs that support DPS, integrity check for control frames (e.g., trigger frames or / and BAR frames), DSO and / or DUO mode, etc.

[0160] Additionally, in describing the present disclosure, a trigger frame supporting DPS, integrity check for control frames, DSO and / or DUO mode, etc. may include the (sub)fields shown in FIG. 8 and / or a new FCS (sub)field.

[0161] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a first STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 9 and 10 , each of the first STA and the second STA may be either a non-AP STA or an AP. In addition, in FIGS. 9 and 10 , it is assumed, but not limited to, that the first STA or / and the second STA are STAs (e.g., UHR STAs) that support DPS, integrity check for control frames (e.g., trigger frames, BAR frames, etc.), DSO and / or DUO mode.

[0162] The first STA can receive a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field from the second STA (S910).

[0163] For example, a BAR frame (e.g., a compressed BAR frame, etc.) may include a BAR control field, a BAR information field, a middle FCS field, a padding field, and an FCS field. In addition, the BAR control field, the BAR information field, the middle FCS field, the padding field, and the FCS field may be arranged in that order within the BAR frame. For example, the padding field may be arranged immediately after the middle FCS field within the BAR frame, and the FCS field may be arranged immediately after the padding field within the BAR frame. However, this is only one embodiment, and at least one of the fields described above may be omitted or the arrangement order may be changed within the BAR frame.

[0164] For example, the BAR control field may include a subfield related to whether at least one of an intermediate FCS field or a padding field is included within the BAR frame. For example, the BAR control field may include a intermediate FCS presence subfield (e.g., a subfield indicating whether an intermediate FCS field is present) and / or a padding presence subfield (e.g., a subfield indicating whether padding is present).

[0165] As an example of the present disclosure, the intermediate FCS field may include at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set. The number of at least one set may be 1 or 2 or more.

[0166] As an example of the present disclosure, it is assumed that the number of at least one set is 1. That is, a single set (e.g., a first set) is included on a BAR frame, and the single set may include a first fragment number subfield and a first intermediate FCS value subfield. The presence of a first intermediate FCS value subfield of the first set on the intermediate FCS field may be indicated by the first fragment number field of the first set.

[0167] That is, when the first fragment number field value is set to a specific value (e.g., a value indicating that the first intermediate FCS value subfield exists), the first intermediate FCS value subfield may be placed immediately after the first fragment number field within the intermediate FCS field. In this case, the length of the first intermediate FCS value subfield may be 32 bits.

[0168] In another example of the present disclosure, the number of at least one set may be 2 or more. In the following, it is assumed that at least one set includes a first set and a second set, but is not limited thereto.

[0169] For example, the second set may include a second fragment number subfield and a second intermediate FCS value subfield. For example, a specific value (e.g., a value indicating that a second intermediate FCS value subfield exists) may be set on the second fragment number subfield, and the second intermediate FCS value subfield may be positioned immediately after the second fragment number subfield. Additionally, each field included in the second set may be positioned after the fields included in the first set.

[0170] For example, the sum of the lengths of each intermediate FCS value subfield included in at least one set may be 32 bits. When the number of at least one set is 2, the sum of the lengths of the first intermediate FCS value subfield and the second intermediate FCS value subfield may be 32 bits.

[0171] In addition, the length of the padding field within the BAR frame may be based on a dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field. For example, a first STA may transmit a first frame (e.g., a combined frame or an action frame associated with an intermediate FCS value) including a DPS padding delay field to a second STA. For example, a value calculated based on the value of the DPS padding delay field and a predefined formula may be determined as the length of the padding field. A method related to this will be described in detail in Embodiment 5 and Embodiment 5-1.

[0172] The first STA can decode the BAR frame (S920).

[0173] For example, the first STA can determine that the BAR frame includes an intermediate FCS field and / or a padding field through the intermediate FCS presence subfield and / or the padding presence subfield. In addition, the first STA can obtain an intermediate FCS value through at least one intermediate FCS value subfield included in each of at least one sets.

[0174] For example, if there are two sets of at least one, the first STA may obtain (or / and concatenate) the FCS value(s) set in each of the first intermediate FCS value subfield and the second intermediate FCS value subfield, and perform an FCS check operation based on the corresponding FCS value(s).

[0175] For example, based on a successful FCS check operation, the first STA may perform at least one operation during a time period corresponding to a padding field of the BAR frame. Here, the at least one operation may include at least one of: i) generating a block acknowledgment (BA) frame associated with the BAR frame, ii) switching from a first capability bandwidth to a second capability bandwidth, iii) checking the integrity of the BAR frame, iv) switching from a primary channel to a secondary channel, or v) an operation related to a dynamic unavailability operation (DUO) mode.

[0176] For example, assume that an operation of switching from a first capability bandwidth (or primary channel) to a second capability bandwidth (or secondary channel) is performed. A first STA can receive a BAR frame in the first capability bandwidth (or primary channel). The first STA can switch from the first capability bandwidth to the second capability bandwidth (or secondary channel) during a padding time, and perform an operation of transmitting a BA frame in the second capability bandwidth (or secondary channel). The first capability bandwidth may be lower than the second capability bandwidth.

[0177] For example, if the FCS check operation based on the intermediate FCS field is successful, the first STA may not perform the FCS check operation on the FCS field located after the padding field within the BAR frame. If the FCS check operation based on the intermediate FCS field is not successful, the first STA may perform the FCS check operation through the FCS field located after the padding field within the BAR frame.

[0178] The method described in the example of FIG. 9 may be performed by the first device (100) of FIG. 1. For example, one or more processors (102) of the first device (100) of FIG. 1 may receive a BAR frame including an intermediate FCS field from a second STA through one or more transceivers (106). The one or more processors (102) may decode the BAR frame.

[0179] Furthermore, one or more memories (104) of the first device (100) may store commands for performing the method described in the example of FIG. 9 or the examples described below when executed by one or more processors (102).

[0180] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a second STA according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0181] The second STA can generate a BAR frame including an intermediate FCS field (S1010).

[0182] Prior to step S1010, the second STA may determine whether the first STA supports a DPS operation, an integrity check operation for the BAR frame, an operation related to DUO mode, and / or a DSO operation during the padding time of the BAR frame. For example, the second STA may receive capability information from the first STA regarding whether the second STA supports a DPS operation, an operation related to DUO mode, an integrity check operation for the BAR frame, and / or a DSO operation during the padding time.

[0183] In the following, it is assumed, but not limited to, that the first STA supports DPS operation, DUO mode-related operation, integrity check operation for BAR frame, and / or DSO operation during the padding time of the BAR frame.

[0184] The second STA may transmit a BAR frame to the first STA (S1020). Then, the second STA may receive a response frame (e.g., a second frame) requested / triggered by the BAR frame from the first STA.

[0185] The method described in the example of FIG. 10 may be performed by the second device (200) of FIG. 1. For example, one or more processors (202) of the second device (200) of FIG. 1 may generate a BAR frame including an intermediate FCS field. The one or more processors (202) may transmit the BAR frame to the first STA via one or more transceivers (206).

[0186] Furthermore, one or more memories (204) of the second device (200) may store instructions for performing the method described in the example of FIG. 10 or the examples described below when executed by one or more processors (202).

[0187] Below, we will specifically describe the operation based on the intermediate FCS field, the configuration of the intermediate FCS field, the configuration of a BAR (block acknowledgment request) frame including the intermediate FCS field, and the method for determining the length of the padding field within the BAR frame.

[0188] Example 1

[0189] Example 1 relates to the configuration of an operation and a BAR frame based on an intermediate FCS (sub)field.

[0190] As an example of the present disclosure, if an intermediate FCS (sub)field is included before a padding field of a trigger frame, an STA supporting DPS (e.g., a UHR STA) may perform an FCS check operation based on the intermediate FCS field. In addition, the STA may perform an operation of switching from a low capability bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz) to a high capability bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz) during a padding time of the padding field of the trigger frame (e.g., a time period corresponding to the padding field).

[0191] For example, as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 11, the STA may operate in a low capability bandwidth and mode (e.g., listening mode) while decoding the frame control field of the trigger frame to the middle FCS field. After performing an FCS check based on the middle FCS field, the STA may switch the listening mode to a mode associated with a high capability bandwidth (e.g., power mode) during the padding time of the padding field. Accordingly, the STA may perform an operation of checking CCA based on SIFS on the TXOP bandwidth, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 11.

[0192] Specifically, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 11, a receiving STA (e.g., a DPS-enabled STA) may receive an MU-RTS frame (e.g., an initial control frame (ICF)) from a transmitting STA (e.g., a DPS-supporting STA). At this time, the mode of the receiving STA may be a listening mode, and the listening mode may collectively refer to a mode capable of performing (receiving) capability-based operations related to a low bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz).

[0193] A receiving STA may switch from a listening mode to a power mode during the padding time of the padding field of an MU-RTS frame, and may transmit a CTS frame (e.g., an initial control response (ICR)) to the transmitting STA as a response to the MU-RTS frame within the power mode. Here, the power mode may collectively refer to a mode capable of performing (receiving) capability-based operations related to a high bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz).

[0194] Additionally or alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 12, assume that a middle FCS (sub)field is included before the padding field of the trigger frame. A DSO-enabled STA (e.g., a UHR STA) may perform an FCS check operation based on the middle FCS field of a trigger frame (e.g., a BSRP frame or ICF) transmitted by a DSO-enabled STA. In this case, the trigger frame may be transmitted and received on the primary 80 MHz and the secondary 80 MHz.

[0195] In addition, a DSO-enabled STA can perform an operation of switching from the primary 80 MHz to the secondary 80 MHz during the padding time of the padding field. Accordingly, the DSO-enabled STA can transmit a response frame (e.g., BSR or ICR) to a DSO-supporting STA on the secondary 80 MHz, and the primary 80 MHz can be used for data transmission of other STAs (which do not support DSO).

[0196] Additionally or alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 13, if there is information(s) (e.g., key ID, MIC, PN, etc.) for integrity check of the trigger frame and an intermediate FCS (sub)field before the padding field of the trigger frame, the STA (e.g., receiving STA) may perform an FCS check through the intermediate FCS (sub)field. Then, the STA may verify the validity of the information for integrity check of the trigger frame and / or perform a UL MU data generation / preparation operation based on the trigger frame during the padding time of the padding field.

[0197] Additionally or alternatively, if a middle FCS (sub)field of a trigger frame exists before the padding field of the trigger frame (e.g., a BSRP trigger frame, etc.), an STA (e.g., an STA supporting DUO) may perform an FCS check through the middle FCS (sub)field. Then, the STA may perform DUO-related operations during the padding time of the padding field.

[0198] Here, DUO mode may refer to a mode in which wireless LAN signals / data cannot be transmitted based on transmission / reception operations based on non-Wi-Fi technologies (e.g., Bluetooth (BT), Zigbee, UWB (Ultra-wideband), etc.). DUO-related operations may include encoding / decoding of information related to DUO mode / events, signaling operations of information related to DUO mode / events, etc.

[0199] In Example 1, the ICF trigger frame (e.g., BSRP, etc.) can be replaced with the ICF BAR frame, and the ICR (e.g., CTS, ACK, etc.) can be replaced with the BA frame.

[0200] Example 1-1

[0201] Example 1-1 relates to the configuration of a BAR frame. As illustrated in (a) of Fig. 14, the FCS field within the BAR frame may be placed after the BAR information field.

[0202] Below, a method is described in which a BAR frame including a new FCS (sub)field and a padding field after a BAR information field is transmitted to STA(s) supporting integrity check and / or DSO for DPS, control frames, etc. as exemplified in FIGS. 11 to 13.

[0203] For example, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 14, an STA (e.g., a UHR STA) that supports integrity checks for DPS, DSO, or / and BAR frames may perform an FCS check (e.g., CRC) operation via a new FCS (sub)field (e.g., an intermediate FCS (sub)field). If the FCS check is successful, the STA may perform the operation(s) described with reference to FIG. 11, FIG. 12, or / and FIG. 13 during the padding time.

[0204] In order to allow receiving STA(s) (e.g., STA(s) that have received a BAR frame) to perform additional operations during a given padding time, a new FCS (sub)field and a padding field may be positioned before the FCS field in the BAR frame. Accordingly, the receiving STA(s) may perform an FCS check (e.g., CRC) on the received MPDU in advance through the new FCS (sub)field, and may perform operations related to DPS, DUO mode, integrity check on control frames, and / or DSO, etc. during the padding time.

[0205] Example 2

[0206] Embodiment 2 relates to a method for indicating the presence or absence of a new FCS (sub)field (or, intermediate FCS field) / padding field and a BAR information field within a BAR frame. In describing the present disclosure, it is assumed that the padding field is located after the intermediate FCS (sub)field within the BAR frame.

[0207] As an example of the present disclosure, when a BAR frame is transmitted to STA(s) as an ICF (initial control frame) in DPS (or DSO or DUO) mode, the BAR frame may include an intermediate FCS (sub)field and a padding field. That is, a UHR STA that receives a BAR frame in DPS (or DSO or DUO) mode may identify that the BAR frame includes an intermediate FCS value and a padding value.

[0208] Additionally or alternatively, UHR STA(s) may identify the presence of an intermediate FCS (sub)field within a BAR frame via an intermediate FCS presence subfield. The intermediate FCS presence subfield may be defined via a reserved subfield within the BAR frame. For example, the intermediate FCS presence subfield may be set on at least one bit of a reserved field (e.g., the 6th bit (B5) to the 12th bit (B11)) within the BAR control field of the BAR frame. The intermediate FCS presence subfield may indicate whether an intermediate FCS field and / or a padding field are present prior to the FCS field within the BAR frame.

[0209] Additionally or alternatively, UHR STA(s) may identify the presence of a padding field within a BAR frame through the value of a padding presence subfield. For example, the padding presence subfield may be defined through a reserved subfield within the BAR frame. For example, the padding presence subfield may be set on at least one bit of a reserved field (e.g., the 6th bit (B5) to the 12th bit (B11)) within the BAR control field of the BAR frame. The padding presence subfield may indicate whether a padding field exists before the FCS field within the BAR frame.

[0210] As an example of the present disclosure, when a BAR frame is transmitted to STA(s) in ICF in DPS (or DSO or DUO) mode, the values ​​in the BAR information field of the corresponding BAR frame may be set to meaningless values ​​(or specific values). For example, in the case of a compressed BAR frame, the value of the starting sequence number field after the fragment number subfield in the BAR information field with the value 0 set may be set to only a specific value (e.g., 0 or 1). As another example, in the case of a multi-TID (traffic identifier) ​​BAR frame, the value of the BA starting sequence control subfield after the Per TID information subfield in the BAR information field may be set to a specific value (e.g., 1 or 0).

[0211] Additionally or alternatively, when a BAR frame is transmitted to STA(s) in DPS (or DSO or DUO) mode with ICF, there may not be a BAR information field value for BA of the ICR (initial control frame response) after the BAR control field in the BAR frame, and a (sub)field containing an intermediate FCS value may be present / located.

[0212] Additionally or alternatively, BAR information may not be present within a BAR frame. That is, if the purpose of the BAR frame is related to performing operations related to DPS, integrity check for control frames, DSO or DUO mode during padding time, BAR information may not be present within the BAR frame. For example, if an intermediate FCS field and a padding field are present within the BAR frame, the BAR information field may not be present within the BAR frame. For example, the BAR frame (e.g., the BAR control field) may include a new subfield (e.g., the BAR information presence subfield or the BA start sequence control presence subfield) that indicates the presence or absence of the BAR information field or the BA start sequence control subfield.

[0213] Example 3

[0214] Example 3 relates to a method for setting the value of a new FCS (sub)field. The method and length of configuring the new FCS (sub)field described in the present disclosure may be identical to the method and length of configuring the value of the FCS field included at the end of the MPDU configuration of a basic wireless LAN.

[0215] That is, the value of the intermediate FCS (sub)field can be set to a value for the CRC for the portion corresponding to the MAC header and frame body of the MPDU. For example, the intermediate FCS (sub)field can be set to a value for the CRC-32 (e.g., x 32 + x 26 + x 23 + x 22 + x 16 + x 12 + x 11 + x 10 + x 9 + x 7 + x 5 + x 4 + x 2 + x 1+ 1) and may have a length of 4 octets (e.g., 32 bits). Hereinafter, the present disclosure is described assuming that the configuration and value of the intermediate FCS (sub)field are 4 octets in length, but is not limited thereto.

[0216] Additionally or alternatively, the method and length of configuring the new FCS (sub)field may not be the same as the method and length of configuring the FCS field included at the end of the MPDU configuration of the basic wireless LAN system. That is, the value of the intermediate FCS (sub)field may be set to a value for a CRC for the portion corresponding to the MAC header and frame body of the MPDU. In this case, the intermediate FCS (sub)field may be configured based on a CRC of N bits shorter than 32 bits rather than CRC-32. Here, N may be, but is not limited to, 24, 16, 8, or 4. The primary FCS (sub)field value for the CRC for the MAC header and frame body in the BAR frame may be calculated according to Example 3-1.

[0217] Additionally or alternatively, depending on the value of N bits including 32 bits, reserved bits or / and bit(s) indicating additional information(s) may be used to align the length of the intermediate FCS (sub)field with the length in octets or the length of the FCS field of the underlying wireless LAN system.

[0218] Example 3-1

[0219] Example 3-1 relates to a CRC-N polynomial associated with an intermediate FCS (sub)field. Here, N can be 24 bits, 21 bits, 17 bits, 16 bits, 15 bits, 14 bits, 13 bits, 12 bits, 11 bits, 10 bits, 8 bits, 7 bits, 6 bits, 5 bits, 4 bits, 3 bits, or 1 bit.

[0220] For example, if N is 24 bits, the value of the intermediate FCS (sub)field can be calculated based on CRC-24, or CRC-24-Radix-64, CRC-24-WCDMA, etc.:

[0221] - CRC-24 : x 24 + x 22 + x 20 + x 19 + x 18 + x 16 + x 14 + x 13 + x 11 + x 10 + x 8 + x 7 + x 6 + x 3 + x 1 + 1

[0222] - CRC-24-Radix-64: x 24 + x 23 + x 18 + x 17 + x 14 + x 11 + x 10 + x 7 + x 6 + x 5 + x 4 + x 3 + x 1 + 1

[0223] - CRC-24-WCDMA : x 24 + x 23 + x 6 + x 5 + 1

[0224] As another example, if N is 21 bits, the value of the intermediate FCS (sub)field can be calculated based on CRC-21-CAN, etc.

[0225] As another example, if N is 17 bits, the value of the intermediate FCS (sub)field can be calculated based on CRC-17-CAN, etc.

[0226] As another example, if N is 16 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-16-Chakravarty, CRC-16-CCITT, CRC-16-CDMA2000, CRC-16-DECT, CRC-16-T10-DIF, CRC-16-DNP, CRC-16-IBM, CRC-16-OpenSafety-A, CRC-16-OpenSafety-B, CRC-16-Profibus, or Fletcher-16 (e.g., Fletcher's checksum):

[0227] CRC-16-DECT : x 16 + x 10 + x 8 + x 7 + x 3 + 1;

[0228] CRC-16-T10-DIF : x 16 + x 15 + x 11 + x 9 + x 8 + x 7 + x 5 + x 4 + x 2 + x 1 + 1;

[0229] CRC-16-DNP : x 16 + x 13 + x 12 + x 11 + x 10 + x 8 + x 6 + x 5 + x 2 + 1

[0230] CRC-16-IBM: x 16 + x 15 + x 2 + x 1

[0231] As another example, if N is 15 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-15-CAN, etc.:

[0232] As another example, if N is 14 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-14-GSM or CRC-14-DARC.

[0233] As another example, if N is 13 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-13-BBC, etc.:

[0234] CRC-13-BBC : x 13 + x 12 + x 11 + x 10 + x 7 + x 6 + x 5 + x 4 + x 2 + 1.

[0235] As another example, if N is 12 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-12, CRC-12-CDMA2000, or CRC-12-GSM, etc.:

[0236] CRC-12: + x 12 + x 11 + x3+ x 2 + x 1 + 1.

[0237] As another example, if N is 11 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-11:

[0238] CRC-11 : x 11 + x 9 + x 8 + x 2 + 1.

[0239] As another example, if N is 10 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-10, CRC-CDMA2000, or CRC-10-GSM:

[0240] CRC-10 : x 10 + x 9 + x 5 + x 4+ X 1 + 1.

[0241] As another example, if N is 8 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-8, CRC-8-AUTOSAR, CRC-8-CCITT, CRC-8-Dallas / Maxim, CRC-8-DARC, CRC-8-GSM-B, CRC-8-SAEJ1850, or CRC-8-WCDMA:

[0242] CRC-8 : x 8 + x 7 + x 6 + x 4 + x 2 + 1;

[0243] CRC-8-AUTOSAR : x 8 + x 5 + x 3 + x 2 + x 1 + 1;

[0244] CRC-8-Bluetooth: x 8 + x 7 + x 5 + x 2 + x 1 + 1;

[0245] CRC-8-CCITT: x 8 + x 2 + x 1 + 1;

[0246] CRC-8-Dallas / Maxim: x 8 + x 5 + x 4 + 1;

[0247] CRC-8-DARC: x 8 + x 5 + x 4 + x 3 + 1;

[0248] CRC-8-GSM-B: x 8 + x 6 + x 3 + 1;

[0249] CRC-8-SAEJ1850: x8 + x 4 + x 3 + x 2 + 1;

[0250] CRC-8-WCDMA: x 8 + x 7 + x 4 + x 3 + x 1 + 1.

[0251] As another example, if N is 7 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-7 or CRC-7-MVB:

[0252] CRC-7 : x 7 + x 3 + 1.

[0253] As another example, if N is 6 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-6-CDMA2000-A, CRC-6-CDMA2000-B, CRC-6-GSM, or CRC-6-ITU:

[0254] CRC-6-GSM : x 6 + x 5 + x 3 + x 2 + x 1 + 1;

[0255] CRC-6-ITU: x 6 + x 1 + 1.

[0256] As another example, if N is 5 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-5-EPC, CRC-5-ITU, or CRC-5-USB:

[0257] CRC-5-EPC : x 5 + x 3 + 1;

[0258] CRC-5-ITU : x 5 + x 4 + x 2 + 1;

[0259] CRC-5-USB : x5 + x 2 + 1.

[0260] As another example, if N is 4 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-4-ITU:

[0261] CRC-4-ITU : x 4 + x 1 + 1;

[0262] As another example, if N is 3 bits, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be derived based on CRC-3-GSM:

[0263] CRC-3-GSM : x 3 + x 1 + 1;

[0264] As another example, if N is 1 bit, the intermediate FCS (sub)field value can be calculated based on CRC-1:

[0265] CRC-3-GSM : x 1 + 1.

[0266] Example 4

[0267] Example 4 relates to the configuration of a BAR frame including an intermediate FCS (sub)field.

[0268] As an example of the present disclosure, a BAR frame may include an intermediate FCS (sub)field and a padding field according to Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2, and / or Embodiment 3. Variants of the BAR frame that may include an intermediate FCS (sub)field may correspond to, but are not limited to, compressed.

[0269] Example 4-1

[0270] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 15, a compressed BAR frame may include an intermediate FCS field (e.g., a field in which an intermediate FCS value is set) and a padding field. In this case, the intermediate FCS field and the padding field may be positioned between the BAR information field and the FCS field. The compressed BAR frame may correspond to an individually addressed (SU) BAR frame. At least one BA start sequence control subfield may be included within the BAR information field.

[0271] As an example of the present disclosure, as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 15, the middle FCS field and padding field within a compressed BAR frame may be located between the BAR information field and the FCS field. As an example, the middle FCS field within the compressed BAR frame may have a length of 4 octets, but is not limited thereto.

[0272] Additionally or alternatively, an STA (e.g., a UHR STA) that receives the BAR frame illustrated in (a) of FIG. 15 may check the presence or absence of an intermediate FCS value (or field) within the BAR frame through the field described in Embodiment 2 (e.g., an intermediate FCS presence subfield within the BAR control field). Through this, the STA may check the presence or absence of an intermediate FCS field (and / or a padding field) following one BA start sequence control subfield (e.g., 16 bits) within the BAR information field.

[0273] Additionally or alternatively, the BAR information field may not be present within the BAR frame. Alternatively, a new subfield (e.g., BAR Information Present Subfield or / and BA Start Sequence Control Present Subfield) may be included within the BAR control field to indicate the presence of the BAR information field or / and the BA Start Sequence Control subfield.

[0274] As an example of the present disclosure, as illustrated in (b) and / or (c) of FIG. 15, the middle FCS field and padding field within the compressed BAR frame may be located between the BAR information field and the FCS field.

[0275] For example, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 15, the value of the intermediate FCS may be divided and arranged through one or more BA start sequence control subfields. For example, the value of the intermediate FCS may be arranged subsequent to each of one or more fragment number subfields (within the intermediate FCS subfield). As another example, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 15, the value of the entire intermediate FCS may be arranged after a single fragment number subfield (within the intermediate FCS subfield).

[0276] At least one fragment number subfield within a compressed BAR frame may be set to a specific value, and the specific value may indicate that at least one fragment number subfield is followed by a value of an intermediate FCS. In a basic wireless LAN system, the value of the fragment number subfield within the BAR information field within the compressed BAR frame may be set to 0. Accordingly, the specific value set in the fragment number subfield(s) (e.g., a value indicating that a value of an intermediate FCS is followed) may be set to a non-zero value (e.g., a natural number greater than or equal to 1).

[0277] For example, if a specific value is set on the fragment number subfield, an intermediate FCS field may be included in the compressed BAR frame instead of the start sequence number field. Additionally or alternatively, a subfield containing reserved bits and / or additional information may be additionally included within the intermediate FCS field to align the length of the field containing the intermediate FCS value (e.g., the intermediate FCS field) in octets.

[0278] For example, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 15, if the value of the intermediate FCS field is calculated based on CRC-32, the size of the intermediate FCS value (e.g., the length of the intermediate FCS field) may be 32 bits. If a specific value is set on the fragment number subfield(s), the intermediate FCS value may be divided and set in one or more subfields after the fragment number subfield(s). A receiving STA that receives a compressed BAR frame may identify that there is an intermediate FCS value / field following the corresponding subfield through the specific value set in the fragment number subfield. In addition, the receiving STA may concatenate the values ​​of the intermediate FCS set in one or more subfields before the padding field, and perform an FCS check based on the values ​​of the concatenated intermediate FCS.

[0279] Additionally or alternatively, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 15, if the value of the intermediate FCS field is calculated based on CRC-32, the size of the intermediate FCS value (e.g., the length of the intermediate FCS field) may be 32 bits. If a specific value is set on the fragment number subfield, the intermediate FCS value may be divided and set in one or more subfields after the fragment number subfield. A receiving STA that receives a compressed BAR frame can identify that there is an intermediate FCS value / field following the corresponding subfield through the specific value set in the fragment number subfield. Then, the receiving STA can obtain the value of the intermediate FCS existing up to the padding field and perform an FCS check operation based on the value.

[0280] Additionally or alternatively, the BAR frame illustrated in (b) and / or (c) of FIG. 15 may include a subfield indicating the presence or absence of an intermediate FCS field (e.g., an intermediate FCS presence subfield) or / and a padding presence subfield (e.g., a subfield related to whether a padding field is present within the BAR frame).

[0281] Additionally or alternatively, the BAR frame illustrated in (b) and / or (c) of FIG. 15 may not include a BAR information field. In this case, the BAR frame may include subfield(s) within the BAR control field indicating the presence or absence of a BAR information field or / and a BA start sequence control subfield.

[0282] Example 5

[0283] Example 5 relates to a method for determining the length of padding within a BAR frame.

[0284] As an example of the present disclosure, the length of a padding field of a BAR frame including an intermediate FCS (sub)field and a padding field may be determined based on a padding delay time for DPS. An STA (e.g., a UHR STA) that supports DPS, DUO, integrity check of BAR frames, and / or DSO, etc., may transmit its desired DPS padding delay value (e.g., a delay value for a padding time of a padding field in its desired BAR frame) through a joining request frame and / or a separate new action frame for enabling DPS. That is, the joining request frame or / and the new action frame may include the DPS padding delay value. The DPS padding delay value may be set based on, but is not limited to, Tables 1 and 2.

[0285] DPS Padding Delay Subfield Values ​​DPS Padding Delay 00 μs 132 μs 264 μs 3128 μs 4256 μs 5-7 Reserved

[0286] DPS Padding Delay Subfield Values ​​DPS Padding Delay 00 μs 164 μs 2128 μs 3256 μs 41024 μs 5-7 Reserved

[0287] Additionally or alternatively, the DPS padding delay value announced from the STA to the AP may be based on N bits of a new (sub)field having the DPS padding delay value. For example, the DPS padding delay value may be a value calculated (e.g., "bit value x specific value") based on a specific value (e.g., unit, resolution) through the N bit value of the new (sub)field. Here, the specific value for obtaining (e.g., calculating) the DPS padding delay value may be one of 8, 16, 32, or 64. For example, if the new (sub)field has a length of 3 bits, the new sub(field) may have a value of one of 0 (e.g., "000") to 7 (e.g., "111"). The DPS padding delay value may be derived through the calculation of the value of the new sub(field) and the specific value.

[0288] As an example of the present disclosure, assume that a specific value is 64. In this case, if the new sub-field value is 0 (e.g., "000"), the DPS padding delay value may be 0 us. If the new sub-field value is 1 (e.g., "001"), the DPS padding delay value may be 64 us. If the new sub-field value is 2 (e.g., "010"), the DPS padding delay value may be 128 us. If the new sub-field value is 3 (e.g., "011"), the DPS padding delay value may be 192 us. If the new sub-field value is 4 (e.g., "100"), the DPS padding delay value may be 256 us. If the new sub-field value is 5 (e.g., "101"), the DPS padding delay value may be 320 us. If the new sub-field value is 6 (e.g., "110"), the DPS padding delay value may be 384 us. If the new sub-field value is 7 (e.g., "111"), the DPS padding delay value may be 448 us.

[0289] Additionally or alternatively, the DPS padding delay value announced from the STA to the AP may be based on N bits of a new (sub)field having the DPS padding delay value. For example, the DPS padding delay value may be obtained / calculated through an operation based on the N bit value of the new (sub)field and a specific value. In this case, the STA may also announce a specific value for calculating the DPS padding delay value to the AP. That is, a new (sub)field for the DPS padding delay and a new (sub)field including a specific value for calculating the DPS padding delay value may be defined. For example, 8, 16, 32, or 64 may be indicated through a new (sub)field value for a specific value (e.g., 0, 1, 2).

[0290] Additionally or alternatively, the DPS padding delay value announced from the STA to the AP may be based on a new (sub)field having the DPS padding delay value. For example, the DPS padding delay value may be obtained / calculated through an operation based on the N-bit value of the new (sub)field and a specific value. For example, when the new (sub)field has a length of 3 bits as shown in Table 1, the DPS padding delay value may be derived if the bit value in the specific calculation formula has a value greater than or equal to 1 (e.g., "001").

[0291] Here, if the value of the above bit is 0, the DPS padding delay value can be considered as 0 us. For example, a specific calculation formula is 2 (n+4) Assume that if the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 1 (e.g., "001"), the DPS padding delay value is 32 (2 5 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 2 (e.g., "010"), the DPS padding delay value is 64 (2 6 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 2 (e.g., "010"), the DPS padding delay value is 64 (2 6 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 3 (e.g., "011"), the DPS padding delay value is 128 (2 7 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 4 (e.g., "100"), the DPS padding delay value is 256 (2 8 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 5 (e.g., "101"), the DPS padding delay value is 512 (2 9 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 6 (e.g., "110"), the DPS padding delay value is 1024 (2 10 ) can be us. If the N bit value of the new (sub)field is 7 (e.g., "111"), the DPS padding delay value is 2048 (211 ) may be us.

[0292] Additionally or alternatively, the DPS padding delay value announced from the STA to the AP may be based on a new (sub)field having the DPS padding delay value. Based on the value of each bit of the new (sub)field (e.g., m = 1 or 0), (m X 2 0 ) + (m X 2 1 ) + (m X 2 2 ) + (m X 2 3 ) + ... (m X 2 (N-1) ) operation can be performed to derive the value of the DPS padding delay subfield. The derived value can be the DPS padding delay subfield value transmitted from the non-AP STA to the AP, and each value can have a unit of us. The AP can set the DPS_PADDING_DELAY value to calculate the padding length within the trigger frame after identifying whether the corresponding DPS padding delay subfield value is within a specific range.

[0293] Here, the method for determining whether the value of the DPS padding delay subfield falls within a specific range may be performed according to the method described below, but is not limited thereto.

[0294] As an example, the AP can map the value of the derived DPS padding delay subfield to Table 3 and set the applicable value to "DPS_PADDING_DELAY".

[0295] DPS padding delay subfield value (us) DPS_PADDING_DELAY 00 1 ~ 32133 ~ 64265 ~ 1283 129 ~ 2564 Reserved 5-7

[0296] For example, when the value of the DPS padding delay subfield has a value from 1 to 32, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 1. When the value of the DPS padding delay subfield has a value from 33 to 64, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 2. When the value of the DPS padding delay subfield has a value from 65 to 128, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 3. When the value of the DPS padding delay subfield has a value from 129 to 256, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 4. Additionally or alternatively, the AP may compute a specific value (e.g., a product operation of 2) on the derived DPS padding delay subfield value to produce a final DPS padding delay subfield value. The AP can set the DPS_PADDING_DELAY value to an applicable value by mapping the produced value to Table 4. For example, if the size of the new (sub)field is 8 bits, the DPS padding delay subfield value can be defined as in Table 4, but is not limited thereto.

[0297] DPS padding delay subfield value (us) DPS_PADDING_DELAY 00 1 ~ 64165 ~ 1282129 ~ 2563257 ~ 5124 Reserved 5-7

[0298] For example, when the DPS padding delay subfield value has a value of 1 to 64, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 1. When the DPS padding delay subfield value has a value of 65 to 128, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 2. When the DPS padding delay subfield value has a value of 129 to 256, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 3. When the DPS padding delay subfield value has a value of 257 to 512, the value of DPS_PADDING_DELAY may be set to 4. Embodiment 5-1

[0299] Embodiment 5-1 relates to a method for determining the length of a padding field when an intermediate FCS (sub)field and a padding field are included in a BAR frame according to Embodiments 3 and / or 4.

[0300] For example, if a receiving (UHR) STA supports Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR) / Enhanced Multi-Link Multi-Radio (EMLMR) and / or DPS, a transmitting STA may calculate a padding time required for the receiving STA based on a DPS padding delay time. Then, the transmitting STA may generate / determine a padding field with a length equal to or greater than the calculated value. The receiving STA may calculate the length of the padding field and padding time(s) from the total MPDU length of the trigger frame (or BAR frame) based on the value of the MPDU delimiter.

[0301] As an example of the present disclosure, when the padding delay value of the DPS is defined according to the values ​​exemplified in Table 1 and Table 2 or / and the method described in the present disclosure, and the padding field value in the trigger frame (or BAR frame) is derived, "L PAD,MAC = N DBPS m PAD " The diet can be used.

[0302] For example, in the above equation, N DBPS can be set to a value calculated based on the value defined as a modulation-dependent parameter. If the padding delay value of DPS based on Table 1, Table 2, Table 3 or Table 4 is 0, m PAD can be set to 0.

[0303] For example, if the padding delay value of DPS based on Table 1 or Table 3 is greater than 0, m PADcan be set based on "2" DPS padding delay + 2". For example, when Table 1 is applied, the padding delay value of DPS can be utilized as one of the values ​​of the DPS padding delay subfield listed in the left column of Table 1. When Table 3 is applied, the padding delay value of DPS can be utilized as one of the values ​​of the DPS_PADDING_DELAY listed in the right column of Table 3.

[0304] As another example, if the padding delay value of DPS based on Table 2 or Table 4 is greater than 0, m PAD can be set based on "2" DPS padding delay + 3". For example, when Table 2 is applied, the padding delay value of DPS can be utilized as one of the values ​​of the DPS padding delay subfield listed in the left column of Table 2. When Table 4 is applied, the padding delay value of DPS can be utilized as one of the values ​​of the DPS_PADDING_DELAY listed in the right column of Table 4.

[0305] Additionally or alternatively, the DPS padding delay value may be calculated based on a new (sub)field of N bits having a DPS padding delay value. When the DPS padding delay value is calculated by an operation (e.g., "bit value * specific value") on the value of the N bits of the new (sub)field and a specific value (e.g., unit, resolution, etc.), m PAD can be predefined as to what value it will be set to. The transmitting STA can set the length of the padding field based on the values ​​described above. For example, if a specific value is 64 and the new (sub)field value for DPS padding delay is 4 (e.g., "100"), the resulting value can be 256us. In this case, m PAD can be defined to be set to 64.

[0306] For example, if a receiving STA supports DPS, the STA may perform operations for DPS during the padding time of the padding field.

[0307] For example, an operation related to DPS may include switching from a lower capability bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz) to a higher capability bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz) and / or verifying CCA based on SIFS on the corresponding TXOP bandwidth according to the switching operation.

[0308] Additionally or alternatively, STA(s) that performed FCS check based on intermediate FCS may not perform FCS check operation based on FCS field after padding time.

[0309] Example 6

[0310] Example 6 relates to operations performed by each of a transmitting STA and a receiving STA. Example 6-1 relates to operations of a transmitting STA (e.g., a non-AP STA or an AP) that transmits a BAR frame, and Example 6-2 relates to operations of a receiving STA (e.g., an AP or a non-AP STA) that receives a BAR frame.

[0311] Example 6-1

[0312] A transmitting STA (e.g., a non-AP STA or an AP) may determine whether a receiving STA supports / performs operations related to DPS, integrity check for trigger frames, and / or DSO during the padding time. If the receiving STA supports / performs operations related to DPS, DUO mode, integrity check for trigger frames, and / or DSO, the transmitting STA may include the value of the intermediate FCS and the padding field in the BAR frame.

[0313] For example, an intermediate FCS field in which an intermediate FCS value is set may be included in the padding field of a BAR frame. At this time, the transmitting STA may configure a BAR frame (e.g., a compressed BAR frame) based on Embodiment 4-1 and / or Embodiment 4-2, and transmit the configured BAR frame to the receiving STA.

[0314] Example 6-2

[0315] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a receiving (UHR) STA (e.g., a non-AP STA or AP) can identify whether an intermediate FCS value is present within a (compressed) BAR frame (e.g., in a Per TID information subfield of the frame) via an intermediate FCS presence subfield of the frame.

[0316] For example, when a compressed BAR frame is received, the receiving (UHR) STA can check whether the value of the intermediate FCS exists within the BAR frame through the intermediate FCS presence subfield. For example, based on the presence of the intermediate FCS presence subfield indicated by the intermediate FCS presence subfield, the receiving (UHR) STA can check that the intermediate FCS field exists after the BAR information field within the BAR frame. The receiving (UHR) STA can perform an FCS check operation based on the value set in the intermediate FCS field.

[0317] Additionally or alternatively, when receiving a compressed BAR frame, the receiving (UHR) STA may check whether a value of an intermediate FCS exists within the BAR frame through the intermediate FCS presence subfield. If the value of the fragment number subfield(s) of the BAR frame indicates that the intermediate FCS value is placed subsequent to the corresponding subfield(s), the receiving (UHR) STA may check that an intermediate FCS field exists following the BAR information field within the BAR frame. The receiving (UHR) STA may perform an FCS check operation based on the value set in the intermediate FCS field.

[0318] Additionally or alternatively, STA(s) that performed FCS checks based on intermediate FCS values ​​may not additionally perform FCS checks based on FCS fields after the padding time.

[0319] For example, if the result of the FCS check based on the intermediate FCS value of the UHR STA is successful, the UHR STA may perform operations supported by the UHR STA during the padding time, such as non-primary channel access, DPS, in-device coexistence (IDC) (or operation according to DUO mode), integrity check for trigger frames (or BAR frames), and / or DSO. Additionally, if the STA needs to transmit UL MU data in response to the BAR frame, the STA may perform a UL MU data generation operation during the padding time.

[0320] After the padding time of the padding field, the receiving STA may not perform additional FCS check operations for the time corresponding to the FCS field (e.g., the FCS field positioned after the padding field). After the FCS field, the receiving STA may transmit a response message (e.g., ICR) for the BAR frame to the transmitting STA.

[0321] For example, if the result of the FCS check based on the intermediate FCS value of the receiving STA (e.g., UHR STA) is a failure (e.g., FCS check failure and / or FCS value is incorrect), the receiving STA may perform an Extended Interframe Space (EIFS) related operation in the FCS field after the padding time of the padding field.

[0322] At least one of the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2, Embodiment 3, Embodiment 4, Embodiment 4-1, Embodiment 4-2, Embodiment 5, Embodiment 5-1, Embodiment 6, Embodiment 6-1, Embodiment 6-2) may be applied, and a combination between the respective embodiments may also be applied.

[0323] The embodiments described above are combinations of components and features of the present disclosure in a predetermined form. Each component or feature should be considered optional unless explicitly stated otherwise. Each component or feature may be implemented without being combined with other components or features. Furthermore, it is also possible to combine some components and / or features to form an embodiment of the present disclosure. The order of operations described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be changed. Some components or features of one embodiment may be included in another embodiment or may be replaced with corresponding components or features of another embodiment. It is self-evident that claims that are not explicitly cited in the scope of the patent may be combined to form an embodiment or incorporated as a new claim through a post-application amendment.

[0324] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in any respect, but rather as illustrative. The scope of the present disclosure should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all modifications within the scope of equivalents of the present disclosure are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0325] The scope of the present disclosure includes software or machine-executable instructions (e.g., an operating system, an application, firmware, a program, etc.) that cause operations according to the methods of various embodiments to be executed on a device or a computer, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having such software or instructions stored thereon and executable on the device or computer. Instructions that can be used to program a processing system to perform the features described in the present disclosure can be stored on / in a storage medium or a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product including such a storage medium can be used to implement the features described in the present disclosure. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices, and can include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices. The memory optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from the processor(s). The memory or, alternatively, the non-volatile memory device(s) within the memory comprise a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The features described in this disclosure may be incorporated into software and / or firmware stored on any of the machine-readable media, which may control the hardware of the processing system and allow the processing system to interact with other mechanisms that utilize results according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Such software or firmware may include, but is not limited to, application code, device drivers, operating systems, and execution environments / containers.

[0326] The method proposed in this disclosure has been described with a focus on examples applied to IEEE 802.11-based systems, but can be applied to various wireless LANs or wireless communication systems in addition to IEEE 802.11-based systems.

Claims

1. A step of receiving a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field from a second STA by a first station (STA); and comprising a step of decoding the BAR frame by the first STA, The above intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set, A method wherein the length of the padding field within the above BAR frame is based on a dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field.

2. In paragraph 1, A first frame including the DPS padding delay field is transmitted from the first STA to the second STA, A method wherein the first frame comprises an association frame or an action frame associated with the intermediate FCS value.

3. In paragraph 1, A method wherein the presence of a first intermediate FCS value subfield of the first set is indicated on the intermediate FCS field by a first fragment number subfield of the first set of at least one of the sets.

4. In paragraph 3, A method wherein the first intermediate FCS value subfield is positioned immediately after the first fragment number subfield within the intermediate FCS field.

5. In paragraph 3, wherein said at least one set comprises said first set and said second set, The first intermediate FCS value and the second intermediate FCS value are obtained by the first STA by the first intermediate FCS value subfield and the second intermediate FCS subfield of the second set, respectively, A method in which an FCS check operation is performed by the first STA by the first intermediate FCS value and the second intermediate FCS value.

6. In paragraph 5, A method in which, based on the success of the above FCS check operation, at least one operation is performed by the first STA during a time period corresponding to a padding field of the BAR frame.

7. In paragraph 6, A method wherein the at least one operation comprises at least one of: i) generating a block acknowledgment (BA) frame associated with the BAR frame; ii) switching from a first capability bandwidth to a second capability bandwidth; iii) checking the integrity of the BAR frame; iv) switching from a primary channel to a secondary channel; or v) an operation associated with a dynamic unavailability operation (DUO_ mode).

8. In paragraph 1, A method in which the length of the padding field is determined based on the value of the DPS padding delay field and a value calculated based on a predefined formula.

9. In paragraph 1, The above BAR frame includes a BAR control field, a BAR information field, and an FCS field, The above padding field is placed immediately after the middle FCS field within the BAR frame, A method wherein the FCS field is placed immediately after the padding field within the BAR frame.

10. In paragraph 9, A method wherein the BAR control field includes a subfield related to whether at least one of the intermediate FCS field or the padding field is included in the BAR frame.

11. In paragraph 3, A method wherein the length of the first intermediate FCS value subfield is 32 bits.

12. In the first station (STA), the first STA: one or more transmitters and receivers; and comprising one or more processors connected to said one or more transceivers, One or more of the above processors: Receiving a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field from a second STA through the one or more transceivers; and is set to decode the above BAR frame, The above intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set, The length of the padding field within the BAR frame is based on the dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field of the first STA.

13. A step of generating a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame including an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field by a second station (STA); and comprising a step of transmitting the BAR frame to the first STA by the second STA, The above intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set, A method wherein the length of the padding field within the above BAR frame is based on a dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field.

14. In the second station (STA), the second STA: one or more transmitters and receivers; and comprising one or more processors connected to said one or more transceivers, One or more of the above processors: Generate a block acknowledgment request (BAR) frame containing an intermediate frame check sequence (FCS) field; and The BAR frame is set to be transmitted to the first STA through the one or more transceivers, The above intermediate FCS field includes at least one set of a fragment number subfield and an intermediate FCS value subfield in which an intermediate FCS value is set, The length of the padding field within the BAR frame is based on the dynamic power save (DPS) padding delay field of the second STA.

15. In a processing device, the processing device: one or more processors; and A processing device comprising one or more computer memories operatively connected to said one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by said one or more processors, perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more instructions, A computer-readable medium, wherein the one or more commands are executed by one or more processors to control a device to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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