Access point, terminal, and communication method

Abstract

This access point for improving the efficiency of transmission control in wireless communication comprises: a reception circuit for receiving information pertaining to another network; and a control circuit for determining, on the basis of the information pertaining to the other network, channel information about a network to which the access point belongs.

Description

Access point, terminal, and communication method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an access point, a terminal, and a communication method.

[0002] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, IEEE 802.11bn (hereinafter referred to as "11bn"), is being developed by a study group (SG) as a successor to IEEE 802.11be (hereinafter referred to as "11be"), which is also known as "Extremely High Throughput (EHT)." 11bn is also known as "Ultra High Reliability (UHR)."

[0003] IEEE 802.11 UHR Proposed PAR, 23 / 0480r3Coordinated AP Time / Frequency Sharing in a Transmit Opportunity in 11be, 19 / 1582r1Coordinated TDMA (C-TDMA) Follow-up, 23 / 1895r2

[0004] However, the method for controlling signal transmission in wireless communication such as wireless LAN has not been fully studied.

[0005] Non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure contribute to providing an access point, a terminal, and a communication method that can improve the efficiency of transmission control in wireless communication.

[0006] An access point according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a receiving circuit that receives information about other networks, and a control circuit that determines channel information of the network to which the access point belongs based on the information about the other networks.

[0007] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, it is possible to improve the efficiency of transmission control in wireless communication.

[0009] Further advantages and benefits of one embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features.

[0010] Diagram showing an example of a Coordinated Time Division Multiple Access (C-TDMA) control methodDiagram showing an example of a C-TDMA control methodDiagram showing an example of an HT Operation elementDiagram showing an example of a VHT Operation elementDiagram showing an example of an HE Operation elementDiagram showing an example of an EHT Operation elementDiagram showing an example of an Operation channelDiagram showing an example of a decrease in frequency utilization efficiency in C-TDMADiagram showing an example of the configuration of a part of an access point (AP: Access Point)Block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a part of a terminal (STA: Station)Diagram showing an example of a transmission and reception sequence by an AP and a STABlock diagram showing an example of an AP configurationBlock diagram showing an example of an STA configurationDiagram showing an example of the operation of an AP and a STADiagram showing an example of common information for Multi-user Request-to-send (MU-RTS)Diagram showing an example of user information for MU-RTSTransmission Opportunity (TXOP)Shared APDiagram showing an example of an operating channel before changing the Basic Service Set (BSS)TXOPShared APDiagram showing an example of an operating channel after changing the BSSFigure showing an example of TXOP sharingFigure showing an example of TXOP sharingDiagram showing an example of the operation of an AP and a STADiagram showing an example of common information for MU-RTS TXSDiagram showing an example of user information for MU-RTS MU-RTS FIG. 1 shows an example of a TXS signal. FIG. 2 shows an example of the operation of an AP and an STA. FIG. 3 shows an example of Special User Info. FIG. 4 shows an example of an MU-RTS TXS signal. FIG. 5 shows an example of frequency resource allocation. FIG. 6 shows an example of TXOP sharing. FIG. 7 shows an example of TXOP sharing. FIG. 8 shows an example of the operation of an AP and an STA. FIG. 9 shows an example of an operating channel.

[0011] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] In 11bn, Multi-AP (MAP) coordination (also called cooperative communication), in which multiple access points (also called Access Points (APs) or base stations) transmit in cooperation with each other, is being discussed (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0013] Multi-AP coordination includes various types (or schemes) of Multi-AP coordination, such as "Joint Transmission (JT)," in which multiple APs transmit the same data; "Coordinated Beamforming (C-BF)," which reduces interference to destination terminals (Station (STA) or non-AP STA) of other APs through null control; "Coordinated Spatial Reuse (C-SR)," which reduces interference to destination STAs of other APs through transmission power control; "Coordinated Time Division Multiple Access (C-TDMA)," which divides and shares time resources; "Coordinated Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (C-OFDMA)," which divides and shares frequency resources; and "Coordinated Restricted Target Wake Time (C-rTWT)," which coordinates the transmission period of signals that require low latency.

[0014] Two control methods are being considered for C-TDMA, which is one type of Multi-AP coordination.

[0015] The first control method is a control method in which APs negotiate with each other before transmitting a data signal and determine the time allocation for each AP (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). Figure 1 shows a sequence diagram of this control method. As shown in Figure 1, this control method consists of a TX Indication and Request phase, a Schedule Allocation phase, and a Data TX phase.

[0016] In the TX Indication and Request phase, the AP that acquires the channel usage opportunity (also called a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP), or transmission opportunity or transmission right) (called the "Sharing AP"; AP1 in Figure 1) sends a Coordinated AP TXOP Indication (CTI) frame containing information about the acquired TXOP to the APs controlled by the Sharing AP (called "Shared APs"; AP2, AP3, and AP4 in Figure 1). The Shared AP then sends a Coordinated AP TXOP Request (CTR) frame containing the duration of the TXOP to be used for transmission by the Shared AP to the Sharing AP.

[0017] In the Schedule Allocation phase, the Sharing AP notifies the Shared AP of a Coordinated AP TXOP AP Schedule (CTAS) frame containing the scheduling information of the time resources of each AP determined based on the received CTR. The Shared AP then notifies the STAs (not shown) under each AP of a Coordinated TXOP Local Schedule (CTLS) frame containing the scheduling information of the time resources notified from the Sharing AP.

[0018] In the Data Tx phase, each AP communicates with the STAs under its control within the range of time resources notified in advance.

[0019] The first control method has been described above.

[0020] The second control method is an extension of the Multi-user Request-to-send Triggered TXOP sharing (MU-RTS TXS) defined in IEEE 802.11be, in which the start of time resources for each AP is notified by MU-RTS TXS (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 3). Figure 2 shows a sequence diagram of this control method. As shown in Figure 2, AP1 (Sharing AP) that has acquired a TXOP transmits a Schedule Announcement signal containing C-TDMA schedule information to STA1 and AP2 (Shared AP) under its control. STAs under AP1 that are able to transmit and AP2 transmit CTS signals in response to the Schedule Announcement signal.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, AP1 transmits and receives signals to and from the STAs that responded with CTS during the TXOP period of AP1. After the communication between AP1 and the STAs under AP1 is completed, AP1 transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal to AP2 to transfer the TXOP.

[0022] It should be noted that the MU-RTS TXS signal refers to an MU-RTS signal in which the value of the TXS Mode subfield included in the shared information (for example, Common Info) of the MU-RTS signal is non-zero.

[0023] The frequency resources available to AP2 using the TXOP transferred (or shared) through TXOP Sharing may be signaled, for example, by a combination of the Resource Unit (RU) Allocation subfield, Primary Secondary (PS) 160 subfield, and Bandwidth (BW) subfield of the MU-RTS TXS signal. AP2, which receives the TXOP (e.g., transmission right), transmits and receives signals with a STA (STA2) subordinate to AP2 during the TXOP Sharing period notified by the MU-RTS TXS signal. When there are no more signals to transmit or receive with a STA subordinate to AP2 or when the TXOP Sharing period of AP2 ends, AP2 transmits a Contention Free (CF)-End signal to AP1, the Sharing AP, and returns the TXOP.

[0024] The second control method has been described above.

[0025] Furthermore, 11bn is studying a method for allocating a primary 20MHz channel (also called a primary channel) in Multi-AP coordination. A primary channel is a channel defined for each network (e.g., Basic Service Set (BSS)) consisting of an AP and multiple STAs under the AP. The transmission signals of the AP and STAs (hereinafter referred to as "AP / STA") belonging to the BSS are transmitted using frequency resources including the primary channel. The primary channel is determined from among the channels (also called operating channels) available to the AP. The primary channel and operating channel for each BSS are notified to the STAs by each "Operation element" included in the beacon signal transmitted by the AP.

[0026] 3 to 6 show examples of Operation elements.

[0027] The channel number of the primary channel may be notified, for example, by the "primary channel subfield" of the HT Operation element shown in Fig. 3 and the HE Operation element shown in Fig. 5. Furthermore, the operating channel may be identified by the bandwidth of the operating channel notified by the "Channel Width subfield" of the VHT Operation element shown in Fig. 4, the HE operation element shown in Fig. 5, or the EHT Operation element shown in Fig. 6, and the center frequency of the operating channel notified by the "Channel Center Frequency Segment (CCFS) 0 / 1 subfield." Fig. 7 shows an example of an operating channel. In the example of Fig. 7, the channel width is 320 MHz, CCFS0 indicates the channel number of the center frequency of the 160 MHz segment including the primary channel, and CCFS1 indicates the channel number of the center frequency of the operating channel.

[0028] However, a method for controlling an operating channel in Multi-AP coordination has not been fully studied. For example, in C-TDMA, which is one type of Multi-AP coordination, an operating channel of a BSS to which AP1 belongs (AP1 BSS Operating channel) and an operating channel of a BSS to which AP2 belongs (AP2 BSS Operating channel) are defined as shown in Figure 8. In this case, in C-TDMA, when AP1 shares (or transfers) the TXOP of the frequency resource acquired by AP1 to AP2 by TXOP Sharing, since the operating channel of AP1 and the operating channel of AP2 are different, AP2 cannot use all of the shared (or transferred) frequency resource, and a waste of frequency resource (for example, 160 MHz in the example of Figure 8) occurs, resulting in a decrease in frequency utilization efficiency.

[0029] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for appropriately controlling operating channels in multi-AP coordination and improving frequency utilization efficiency will be described.

[0030] For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal (e.g., an AP) determines channel information of a BSS to which the terminal belongs based on information about other BSSs (also referred to as overlapped BSSs (OBSSs)). Note that the channel information of the BSS may include, for example, information about the primary channel (e.g., a primary channel number) and information about the operating channel (e.g., an operating channel width, a center frequency of the operating channel, etc.). Furthermore, the terminal (e.g., an AP) switches between the primary channel and the operating channel based on the determined channel information to transmit and receive signals to and from other terminals. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP can transmit and receive signals using C-TDMA with improved frequency utilization efficiency by switching the operating channel based on information about other BSSs.

[0031] [Configuration of Wireless Communication System] A wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include, for example, an AP 100 and an STA 200. In the wireless communication system, there may be two or more APs 100 and one or more STAs 200. For example, the AP 100 transmits a downlink (DL) signal to another AP or the STA 200. Furthermore, the STA 200 transmits an uplink (UL) signal based on a signal received from the AP 100.

[0032] 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of an AP 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the AP 100 illustrated in FIG. 9, a communication unit (e.g., corresponding to a receiving circuit) receives information about other networks (BSSs). A control unit (e.g., corresponding to a control circuit) determines channel information of the network (BSS) to which the AP 100 belongs based on the information about the other networks (BSSs).

[0033] 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of a STA 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the STA 200 illustrated in FIG. 10, a communication unit (e.g., corresponding to a receiving circuit) receives channel information of a network to which the AP 100 belongs, which is determined based on information about other networks (BSSs) in the AP 100. A control unit (e.g., corresponding to a control circuit) determines a channel to be used for communication with the AP 100 based on the received channel information.

[0034] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each terminal (for example, AP 100 or STA 200) determines an operating channel that the terminal can use based on information about other terminals, and switches the operating channel to transmit and receive signals.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple APs 100 and multiple STAs 200 perform Multi-AP coordination. As an example, a method will be described in which two APs 100 (e.g., AP1 and AP2) transmit and receive information related to C-TDMA with two STAs 200 (e.g., STA1 and STA2) to perform C-TDMA. For example, in C-TDMA, an AP 100 that shares a TXOP (performs TXOP sharing) notifies APs of other BSSs of control information related to the TXOP (TXOP control information).

[0036] An example of the operation of the AP 100 and the STA 200 according to this embodiment will be described below.

[0037] 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of operation of AP100 (e.g., AP1 and AP2) and STA200 (e.g., STA1 and STA2) according to this embodiment. The example in FIG. 11 shows an example of operation of BSS1, which is a network (BSS) configured with AP1 and STA1, and BSS2, which is configured with AP2 and STA2.

[0038] 11, AP1 broadcasts a Beacon signal including information about BSS1, such as the primary channel and operating channel of BSS1. AP2 receives the Beacon signal transmitted by AP1 and stores the information about the primary channel and operating channel of BSS1 in a buffer.

[0039] AP2, like AP1, broadcasts a Beacon signal containing information about BSS2, such as the primary channel and operating channel of BSS2. AP1 receives the Beacon signal transmitted by AP2 and stores the information about the primary channel and operating channel of BSS2 in a buffer.

[0040] AP1 acquires a TXOP by carrier sensing and operates as a sharing AP that controls multi-AP coordination. For example, an AP that acquires a TXOP is also called a "TXOP owner."

[0041] AP1 transmits an MU-RTS signal including a method (e.g., type) of Multi-AP coordination to STA1 and AP2 under its control. STA1 receives and processes the MU-RTS signal transmitted by AP1, and if it decodes the MU-RTS signal without any signal errors, it transmits a Clear To Send (CTS) signal to AP1. On the other hand, if a signal error occurs when decoding the MU-RTS signal, STA1 does not transmit a CTS signal to AP1. AP2 receives and processes the MU-RTS signal transmitted by AP1, and if it decodes the MU-RTS signal without any signal errors and participates in Multi-AP coordination managed (or controlled) by AP1, it transmits a CTS signal to AP1. On the other hand, if a signal error occurs when decoding the MU-RTS signal, or if AP2 does not participate in Multi-AP coordination managed by AP1, AP2 does not transmit a CTS signal to AP1. Note that when AP2 participates in Multi-AP coordination managed by AP1, AP2 operates as a Shared AP.

[0042] AP1 performs reception processing of the CTS signal transmitted by STA1 or AP2.

[0043] When AP1 receives a CTS signal from STA1, it transmits a data signal to STA1 in BSS1. When STA1 decodes the data signal transmitted by AP1 without any signal errors, it transmits an acknowledgement (ACK) signal.

[0044] After AP1 receives a CTS signal from AP2 and finishes communication with STA1 under AP1, it transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal to AP2 and performs TXOP sharing. AP2 performs reception processing for the MU-RTS TXS signal transmitted by AP1. AP2 transmits data to STA2 in BSS2 as the TXOP owner during the TXOP sharing period notified by the MU-RTS TXS signal. STA2 transmits a response signal (ACK) if it decodes the data signal transmitted by AP2 without error. On the other hand, if AP2 has no data to transmit to the STA in BSS2 or if the TXOP sharing period notified by the MU-RTS TXS signal has elapsed, it transmits a TXOP return signal (also called a Contention Free (CF)-End signal) to AP1. AP1 performs reception processing for the TXOP return signal transmitted from AP2 and becomes the TXOP owner again. Note that while AP2 is the TXOP owner through TXOP sharing, AP1 does not communicate with STA1 under AP1.

[0045] An example of a Multi-AP coordination sequence has been described above.

[0046] [Configuration Example of AP 100] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the AP 100 (corresponding to, for example, a downlink radio transmission device) according to this embodiment.

[0047] The AP 100 shown in FIG. 12 may include, for example, a radio receiving unit 101, a preamble demodulation unit 102, a data demodulation unit 103, a data decoding unit 104, an operating channel control unit 105, a scheduling unit 106, a data generation unit 107, a data encoding unit 108, a data modulation unit 109, a preamble generation unit 110, and a radio transmission unit 111.

[0048] At least one of the preamble demodulation unit 102, data demodulation unit 103, data decoding unit 104, operating channel control unit 105, scheduling unit 106, data generation unit 107, data coding unit 108, data modulation unit 109, and preamble generation unit 110 shown in Fig. 12 may be included in the control unit shown in Fig. 9. Also, at least one of the radio reception unit 101 and radio transmission unit 111 shown in Fig. 12 may be included in the communication unit shown in Fig. 9.

[0049] 12 , a wireless receiving unit 101 receives a signal transmitted from another AP or STA 200 (e.g., a downlink wireless receiving device) via an antenna, and performs wireless receiving processing such as down-conversion and Analog-to-Digital (A / D) conversion. The wireless receiving unit 101 divides the signal after wireless receiving processing into a preamble portion (also called a preamble signal) and a data portion (also called a data signal), and outputs the preamble signal to a preamble demodulation unit 102 and the data signal to a data demodulation unit 103.

[0050] The preamble demodulation unit 102 performs a Fourier transform (e.g., Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)) on the preamble signal input from the radio receiving unit 101 to extract reception control information used for demodulating and decoding the data signal. The reception control information may include, for example, a frequency bandwidth (BW), a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and an error correction code. The preamble demodulation unit 102 also performs channel estimation based on a reference signal included in the preamble signal to derive a channel estimation value. The preamble demodulation unit 102 outputs the reception control information to the data demodulation unit 103 and the data decoding unit 104, and outputs the channel estimation value to the data demodulation unit 103.

[0051] Data demodulation section 103 performs FFT on the data signal input from radio receiving section 101, and demodulates the data signal using the reception control information and channel estimation value input from preamble demodulation section 102. Data demodulation section 103 outputs the demodulated data signal to data decoding section 104.

[0052] The data decoding unit 104 decodes the demodulated data signal input from the data demodulation unit 103 using the reception control information input from the preamble demodulation unit 102. The data decoding unit 104 determines whether there is an error in the decoded data signal using a method such as Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). If there is no error in the decoded data signal, the data decoding unit 104 outputs the decoded data signal to the operating channel control unit 105 and the scheduling unit 106.

[0053] The operating channel control unit 105 holds in a buffer the operating channel information (including, for example, the primary channel number, channel bandwidth, or center frequency) included in the decoded data signal input from the data decoding unit 104. The operating channel control unit 105 sets (for example, changes or switches) information regarding the channels (for example, the primary channel and operating channel) of the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs, based on the operating channel information included in the decoded data signal. The operating channel control unit 105 outputs the operating channel information held in the buffer to the scheduling unit 106. The operating channel control unit 105 generates new operating channel information using the operating channel information held in the buffer and outputs it to the scheduling unit 106.

[0054] The scheduling unit 106 determines scheduling information (e.g., destination information, MCS, error correction code, allocated frequency resource, allocated time resource) for transmitting a signal to another AP or STA 200. The scheduling unit 106 determines the scheduling information based on, for example, capability, RTS / CTS, and TXOP control information included in the decoded data signal input from the data decoding unit 104, and operating channel information input from the operating channel control unit 105. The scheduling unit 106 outputs the scheduling information to the data generation unit 107, the data encoding unit 108, the data modulation unit 109, and the preamble generation unit 110.

[0055] The data generation unit 107 generates a data sequence to be transmitted to another AP or STA 200 based on the scheduling information input from the scheduling unit 106. For example, the data sequence to be transmitted to another AP may include a Beacon signal, an RTS signal, a CTS signal, an ACK signal, or a TXOP return signal, which includes capability information or operating channel information related to multi-AP coordination. For example, the data sequence to be transmitted to STA 200 may include a Beacon signal, an RTS signal, a CTS signal, an ACK signal, or a data signal, which includes capability information or operating channel information related to multi-AP coordination. The data generation unit 107 outputs the data sequence to the data encoding unit 108.

[0056] Data encoding section 108 encodes the data sequence input from data generation section 107 based on the scheduling information input from scheduling section 106 , and outputs the encoded data to data modulation section 109 .

[0057] The data modulation unit 109 performs modulation and inverse Fourier transform (IFFT) on the coded data signal input from the data coding unit 108 based on the scheduling information input from the scheduling unit 106, and outputs the modulated data signal to the radio transmission unit 111.

[0058] The preamble generating section 110 generates a preamble signal based on the scheduling information input from the scheduling section 106. The preamble generating section 110 performs modulation and IFFT processing on the preamble signal, and outputs the preamble signal to the radio transmitting section 111.

[0059] The wireless transmission unit 111 generates a wireless frame (also called a packet signal) by adding a preamble signal input from the preamble generation unit 110 to the modulated data signal input from the data modulation unit 109. The wireless transmission unit 111 performs wireless transmission processing such as digital-to-analog (D / A) conversion on the wireless frame and up-conversion to a carrier frequency, and transmits the signal after the wireless transmission processing to another AP or STA 200 via an antenna.

[0060] [Configuration Example of STA 200] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the STA 200 (for example, a downstream radio receiving device).

[0061] The STA 200 shown in FIG. 13 may include, for example, a radio receiving unit 201, a preamble demodulating unit 202, a data demodulating unit 203, a data decoding unit 204, an operating channel control unit 205, a transmission signal generating unit 206, and a radio transmitting unit 207.

[0062] At least one of the preamble demodulation unit 202, data demodulation unit 203, data decoding unit 204, operating channel control unit 205, and transmission signal generation unit 206 shown in Figure 13 may be included in the control unit shown in Figure 10, and at least one of the radio receiving unit 201 and radio transmitting unit 207 shown in Figure 13 may be included in the communication unit shown in Figure 10.

[0063] 13 , wireless receiving section 201 receives a signal transmitted from AP 100 (e.g., a downlink wireless transmission device) via an antenna. Wireless receiving section 201 performs wireless reception processing such as down-conversion and A / D conversion of the received signal. Wireless receiving section 201 outputs a preamble signal extracted from the received signal after wireless reception processing to preamble demodulation section 202, and outputs a data signal extracted from the received signal after wireless reception processing to data demodulation section 203.

[0064] The preamble demodulation unit 202 performs an FFT on the preamble signal input from the radio reception unit 201, and extracts reception control information (including, for example, BW, MCS, and error correction code) used for demodulating and decoding the data signal (or data portion). The preamble demodulation unit 202 also performs channel estimation based on a reference signal included in the preamble signal, and derives a channel estimation value. The preamble demodulation unit 202 outputs the reception control information to the data demodulation unit 203, the data decoding unit 204, and the operating channel control unit 205, and outputs the channel estimation value to the data demodulation unit 203.

[0065] The data demodulation unit 203 performs an FFT on the data signal input from the radio receiving unit 201, demodulates the data signal using the reception control information and channel estimation value input from the preamble demodulation unit 202, and outputs the demodulated data signal to the data decoding unit 204.

[0066] The data decoding unit 204 decodes the demodulated data signal input from the data demodulation unit 203 using the reception control information input from the preamble demodulation unit 202. The data decoding unit 204 determines whether there is an error in the decoded data signal using a method such as CRC. If there is no error in the decoded data signal, the data decoding unit 204 outputs the decoded data signal to the operating channel control unit 205 and the transmission signal generation unit 206.

[0067] The operating channel control unit 205 sets (e.g., changes or switches) the primary channel and operating channel of the STA 200 based on the information input from the preamble demodulation unit 202 and the operating channel information included in the decoded data signal input from the data decoding unit 204. The operating channel control unit 205 outputs the set operating channel information to the transmission signal generation unit 206.

[0068] The transmission signal generation unit 206 generates a data sequence to be transmitted to the AP 100 based on the decoded data signal input from the data decoding unit 204. For example, the data sequence to be transmitted to the AP 100 may include a CTS or a response signal (ACK or Block ACK (BA)) in response to a signal received from the AP 100. The data sequence to be transmitted to the AP 100 may also include a data signal for the AP 100. The transmission signal generation unit 206 encodes the generated data sequence and generates a data signal by performing modulation and IFFT processing on a predetermined frequency resource indicated in the operating channel information input from the operating channel control unit 205. The transmission signal generation unit 206 adds a preamble signal to the data signal to generate a radio frame and outputs the radio frame to the radio transmission unit 207.

[0069] The wireless transmission unit 207 performs wireless transmission processing such as D / A conversion or upconversion to a carrier frequency on the wireless frame input from the transmission signal generation unit 206, and transmits the signal after wireless transmission processing to the AP 100 via an antenna.

[0070] The above describes exemplary configurations of the AP 100 and the STA 200.

[0071] [Example of Operation of AP 100 and STA 200] An example of operation regarding Multi-AP coordination in the AP 100 and the STA 200 will be described below.

[0072] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP 100 determines channel information of the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs based on information of other BSSs. For example, the channel information may include a primary channel number and operating channel information (e.g., the bandwidth and center frequency of the operating channel).

[0073] (Method 1) In method 1, the AP 100 transmits (e.g., notifies) channel information of the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs (also referred to as its own BSS) using a management frame. For example, the AP 100 may notify other APs by including an HT / VHT / HE / EHT operation element including the channel information in a beacon signal, which is a management frame.

[0074] The channel information notified using the management frame may be information about a long-distance channel that can transmit and receive multiple signals (for example, information about a permanent channel).

[0075] <Example 1 of Method 1> In Example 1, the AP 100 determines the channel information of the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs based on the capability information regarding Multi-AP coordination of an Overlapped BSS (OBSS) AP (AP of another BSS).

[0076] For example, the AP 100 acquires the capability of the OBSS AP from a Beacon signal (including, for example, information about the OBSS) transmitted by the OBSS AP.

[0077] For example, the capability of an OBSS AP may indicate whether or not it supports joint transmission or C-TDMA. For example, if the OBSS AP supports joint transmission or C-TDMA (e.g., if the capability for each function is a value of 1), the AP 100 determines channel information by setting the operating channel of the OBSS to a band that matches the operating channel of the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs. This allows for an increase in available frequency resources (frequency resources that match between the AP 100 and the OBSS AP) when the AP 100 and the OBSS AP simultaneously transmit the same data using common frequency resources in joint transmission. Furthermore, in C-TDMA, when the AP 100 temporarily assigns (e.g., transfers) frequency resources for which TXOPs are reserved to the OBSS AP through TXOP sharing, the available frequency resources for the OBSS AP can be increased.

[0078] On the other hand, for example, if the OBSS AP does not support Multi-AP coordination (including, for example, joint transmission and C-TDMA), the AP 100 determines channel information by setting the operating channel of the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs to a band that does not partially overlap (match) with the operating channel of the OBSS. As a result, even if the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs and the OBSS are adjacent to each other, the operating channels are different, so that each BSS can reduce the influence of interference from other BSSs, and multiple BSSs can transmit simultaneously using different channels.

[0079] <Example 2 of Method 1> In Example 2, the AP 100 determines the Multi-AP coordination method to be executed based on the operating channel information of the OBSS.

[0080] For example, the AP 100 acquires the operating channel information of the OBSS AP from a Beacon signal transmitted by the OBSS AP.

[0081] For example, if the bandwidth of the operating channel of the OBSS AP is narrower than that of the AP 100, the AP 100 decides not to perform C-TDMA. On the other hand, if the bandwidth of the operating channel of the OBSS AP is equal to or larger than that of the AP 100, the AP 100 decides to perform C-TDMA.

[0082] This allows AP100 to prevent the wasteful use of frequency resources (e.g., allocation of frequency resources that cannot be used by the OBSS AP) by performing TXOP sharing with an OBSS AP that has a narrower operating channel bandwidth than the BSS to which AP100 belongs.

[0083] Above, examples 1 and 2 of method 1 have been described.

[0084] According to Method 1, the AP 100 can determine in advance an operating channel suitable for multi-AP coordination based on information (e.g., capability or operating channel information) included in the beacon signal of the OBSS. This allows the AP 100 to reduce, for example, the number of times the operating channel is changed for each multi-AP coordination and the number of times the AP 100 notifies the STA 200 under the control of the AP 100 of the change in operating channel, thereby reducing the overhead of multi-AP coordination.

[0085] (Method 2) In method 2, the AP 100 notifies other APs or the STA 200 subordinate to the AP 100 of "shared channel information." The shared channel information may include, for example, information about a channel that the AP 100 (Sharing AP or Shared AP) is to share with other communication devices (for example, APs or STAs). The shared channel information may include, for example, at least a portion of a channel that has acquired a TXOP or information about an operating channel.

[0086] Here, the shared channel information may include, for example, the bandwidth or center frequency of a channel from which the AP 100 has acquired a TXOP or a shared channel (for example, a channel shared by TXOP sharing). The shared channel information may be transmitted (or notified) by being included in an initial control frame (for example, an MU-RTS signal).

[0087] The channel information notified using the initial control frame may be channel information for a short period in which at least one signal can be transmitted and received (for example, temporary channel information).

[0088] (Method 2-1) In method 2-1, an AP that shares a TXOP with another AP (called a "TXOP Shared AP") notifies the STAs 200 under the control of the AP of information on the channels to be shared.

[0089] FIG. 14 shows an example in which a TXOP Shared AP notifies subordinate STAs 200 of sharing channel information.

[0090] As shown in Fig. 14, AP1, which is an AP that has acquired a TXOP (referred to as a "TXOP Sharing AP" or Sharing AP), communicates (exchanges data frames) with a STA under its control, and then transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal including AP1's Operating channel information (also referred to as Operating Channel Info) to AP2, which is a TXOP Shared AP (or Shared AP). As a result, the transmission right for the frequency resource for which AP1 has acquired a TXOP is temporarily transferred to AP2. The MU-RTS TXS signal transmitted from AP1 to AP2 may include, for example, information about the frequency resource for which AP1 has acquired a TXOP (e.g., AP1's operating channel information).

[0091] Upon receiving the MU-RTS TXS signal, AP2 transmits a CTS signal to AP1. Then, based on the AP1's operating channel information included in the MU-RTS TXS signal, AP2 notifies STA2 under AP2 of shared channel information (Sharing channel info) to match the AP2's operating channel with the operating channel received from AP1 (AP1's operating channel). For example, AP2 determines the shared channel information based on the frequency resources (e.g., BW subfield, RU Allocation subfield, PS160 subfield) included in the MU-RTS TXS signal notified from AP1. The changed operating channel of AP2 to match the operating channel of AP1 is called a temporary operating channel (also called a temporary operating channel).

[0092] 15 and 16 show examples of signaling when shared channel information is included in the MU-RTS signal.

[0093] Figure 15 shows an example of the common information section (e.g., Common Info) of the MU-RTS signal. The common information section of the MU-RTS signal shown in Figure 15 includes, for example, the "Sharing Channel Switch subfield," "Sharing Channel Width subfield," "Primary Channel subfield," and "CCFS 0 / 1 subfield," which are information on the channels to be shared. Note that when the information on the channels to be shared is included in the MU-RTS signal, the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield of the MU-RTS signal may be set to 0.

[0094] The Sharing Channel Switch subfield indicates whether the operating channel has been switched. The Sharing Channel Switch subfield is, for example, a 1-bit subfield, and indicates that the operating channel has not been switched when the value is 0, and indicates that the operating channel has been switched when the value is 1.

[0095] The Sharing Channel Width subfield replaces an existing field (for example, the UL BW subfield) when the Sharing Channel Switch subfield=1, and notifies the bandwidth of the temporary operating channel.

[0096] The Primary Channel subfield replaces the existing Reserved subfield and notifies the primary channel number of the temporary operating channel when the Sharing Channel Switch subfield = 1. Note that when changing the operating channel, the primary channel does not need to be changed.

[0097] The CCFS 0 / 1 subfield replaces the existing Reserved subfield and notifies the center frequency of the temporary operating channel when the Sharing Channel Switch subfield = 1. For example, when the Sharing Channel Width = 320 MHz, CCFS0 notifies the center frequency number of the primary 160 MHz, and CCFS1 notifies the center frequency number of the entire operating channel.

[0098] Fig. 16 shows an example of a user information section (e.g., User Info) of an MU-RTS signal. The user information section of the MU-RTS signal shown in Fig. 16 includes, for example, an "Operating Channel Duration subfield" which is information about the channel to be shared.

[0099] The Operating Channel Duration subfield replaces the existing Reserved subfield when the Sharing Channel Switch subfield = 1, and notifies the duration of temporary operating channel usage.

[0100] The "AID12 subfield" of the user information section of the MU-RTS signal may notify the STA 200 of an individual Association ID (AID), or may notify the AID of a group (group AID) including multiple STAs 200. For example, the AP 100 may use a value of AID12=1 to 2007 as the group AID. For example, the group AID is assigned separately from the AID for each STA 200, and can be used as an AID common to multiple STAs 200. Also, for example, AID12=2047 to 4094 may be defined and used as a group AID addressed to all (or some) of the STAs 200 under the AP 100.

[0101] In FIG. 14, STA2 receives the sharing channel information (Sharing channel info) and transmits a CTS signal to AP2.

[0102] AP2 and STA2 under AP2 set (e.g., change or switch) the operating channel based on the shared channel information to communicate. Figures 17 and 18 show examples of the operating channel before and after the change. The operating channel of AP2 BSS before the change shown in Figure 17 indicates that AP2 cannot use some of the frequency resources transferred from AP1 through TXOP sharing. On the other hand, the operating channel of AP2 BSS after the change shown in Figure 18 indicates that AP2 can use all of the frequency resources transferred through TXOP sharing by matching the operating channel of AP1 BSS with the operating channel of AP2 BSS.

[0103] In FIG. 14, when communication ends before the TXOP Sharing allocation time, or when the TXOP Sharing allocation time expires, AP2 transmits a TXOP return signal to AP1 and STA2 subordinate to AP2 to notify them of the return of the TXOP and the end of the usage period of the temporary operating channel that was changed based on the shared channel information.

[0104] Thus, according to method 2-1, the TXOP Shared AP and the STAs under the TXOP Shared AP can use all of the TXOP frequency resources shared by the TXOP Sharing AP. That is, the TXOP Shared AP and the STAs under the TXOP Shared AP can reduce the amount of unavailable frequency resources (wasted frequency resources) among the frequency resources shared by the TXOP Sharing AP. This improves frequency utilization efficiency.

[0105] In addition, in method 2-1, the band that the TXOP Shared AP will no longer use due to a change in the operation channel (for example, the band of the AP2 BSS operation channel shown in Figure 17 that does not overlap with the AP1 BSS Operating channel) may be used by other communication devices (for example, communication devices of other systems).

[0106] (Method 2-2) In Method 2-2, a TXOP Sharing AP (an AP that shares the acquired TXOP with other APs) notifies the OBSS AP of TXOP control information, and notifies the STA 200 under the AP and at least one of the APs 100 of other BSSs (hereinafter also referred to as AP / STA) of the shared channel information.

[0107] For example, as shown in Figures 19 and 20, if the BWs of the operating channels of AP1 (e.g., AP1 BSS) and AP2 (e.g., AP2 BSS) are different (at least partially non-overlapping), and AP1 TXOP shares all of its acquired frequency resources (320 MHz in Figures 19 and 20) with AP2, some frequency resources will be unavailable to AP2. For example, in Figure 19, AP2 can use 80 MHz of the frequency resources TXOP shared with AP1 that overlap with AP2's operating channel, but the remaining 240 MHz of frequency resources will be unavailable. Also, in Figure 20, AP2 can use 40 MHz of the frequency resources TXOP shared with AP1 that overlap with AP2's operating channel, but the remaining 280 MHz of frequency resources will be unavailable.

[0108] Furthermore, among the operating channels of AP2, for frequency resources that do not overlap with frequency resources shared by AP1 through TXOP sharing, AP2 may newly perform carrier sensing to determine whether communication is possible.

[0109] In method 2-2, for example, the shared channel information may include information regarding frequency resources (e.g., excess frequency resources) that are not used by an AP (TXOP Shared AP) that shares a TXOP through TXOP Sharing.

[0110] Hereinafter, as examples of method 2-2, "an example in which information on channels to be shared is notified to a STA" and "an example in which information on channels to be shared is notified to an AP" will be described.

[0111] <Example of Notifying STA of Channel Information to be Shared> FIG. 21 shows an example in which a TXOP sharing AP notifies an OBSS AP of TXOP control information and notifies STAs under the TXOP sharing AP of channel information to be shared.

[0112] 21 , after AP1, which is a TXOP Sharing AP, communicates with STA1 under its control, it transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal including TXOP control information (e.g., information on the frequency resource to be shared, a TXOP sharing period) to AP2, which is a TXOP Shared AP, and temporarily transfers the transmission rights of the frequency resource acquired by AP1 to AP2. AP1 also notifies STA1 under its control of an MU-RTS TXS signal including information on the channel to be shared. The operating channel of AP1 and the STAs under its control that has been changed after AP1 notifies STA1 under its control of the MU-RTS TXS signal including information on the channel to be shared is called a temporary operating channel.

[0113] The shared channel information may be signaled, for example, by the common information and user information of the MU-RTS signal.

[0114] Figures 22 and 23 show signaling examples when shared channel information is included in an MU-RTS TXS signal. Also, Figure 24 shows an example of an MU-RTS TXS signal including TXOP control information and shared channel information. An MU-RTS TXS signal including TXOP control information and shared channel information may include user information of the destination AP of the TXOP control information at the beginning of the user information (e.g., the user information at the left end of Figure 24), and may include user information of the destination STA of the shared channel information in the second or subsequent user information positions from the beginning.

[0115] Fig. 22 shows the common part (e.g., Common Info) of the MU-RTS TXS signal. The common part of the MU-RTS signal shown in Fig. 22 includes, for example, the "TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield," "UL BW2 subfield," and "CCFS0 / 1 subfield," which are information on the channel to be shared.

[0116] The TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield, in combination with the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield, notifies the TXOP Sharing mode. If the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 0, the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield notifies the non-TXOP Sharing mode, if the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 1, the TXOP Sharing mode for the STA200 under the TXOP Sharing AP to communicate with the TXOP Sharing AP, and if the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 2, the TXOP Sharing mode for the STA200 under the TXOP Sharing AP to communicate with the TXOP Sharing AP or other STAs.

[0117] If the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield is 0 to 2, the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield is not referenced. If the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield is 3 (for example, the Reserved subfield in existing standards), the Reserved subfield is read as a replacement and the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield is referenced.

[0118] For example, if the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 3 and the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield = 0, the TXOP Sharing AP notifies the OBSS AP that it will perform TXOP sharing. Also, if the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 3 and the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield = 1, the TXOP sharing AP performs TXOP sharing to the OBSS AP and notifies the mode in which to transmit shared channel information to STA 200.

[0119] The UL BW2 subfield shown in Fig. 22 replaces the existing Reserved subfield and notifies the bandwidth of the temporary operating channel when the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 3 and the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield = 1. The UL BW1 subfield notifies the bandwidth that the destination AP of the TXOP control information can use for TXOP Sharing.

[0120] The CCFS 0 / 1 subfield shown in Fig. 22 replaces the existing Reserved subfield and notifies the center frequency of a temporary operating channel when the Sharing Channel Switch subfield = 1. For example, when the Sharing Channel Width = 320 MHz, CCFS0 notifies the center frequency number of the primary 160 MHz, and CCFS1 notifies the center frequency number of the entire operating channel.

[0121] Fig. 23 shows the user information section (e.g., User Info) of the MU-RTS TXS signal. The user information section of the MU-RTS signal shown in Fig. 23 includes, for example, a "Primary Channel subfield" that is information about the channel to be shared.

[0122] When the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield = 3 and the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield = 1, the Primary Channel subfield replaces the existing Reserved subfield and notifies the primary channel of the temporary operating channel. For example, the 20 MHz channel included in the operating channel may be selected as the primary channel of the temporary operating channel.

[0123] The AID12 subfield in the user information section of the MU-RTS signal may notify the STA 200 of an individual AID, or may notify the AID of a group including multiple STAs 200 (group AID). For example, the AP 100 may use a value of AID12=1 to 2007 as the group AID. For example, the group AID is assigned separately from the AID for each STA 200 and can be used as a common AID for multiple STAs 200. Also, for example, AID12=2047 to 4094 may be defined and used as a group AID addressed to all STAs 200 under the AP 100.

[0124] The "Allocation Duration subfield" included in the user information shown in Fig. 23 notifies the usage duration of TXOP Sharing and the temporary operating channel. For example, the Allocation Duration subfield of user information including the AID of a TXOP Shared AP that shares TXOP Sharing notifies the duration of TXOP Sharing. Furthermore, the Allocation Duration subfield of user information including the AID of a destination STA of the temporary operating channel or a group AID notifies the usage duration of the temporary operating channel.

[0125] The MU-RTS TXS signal containing the shared channel information contains information on at least one user.

[0126] In Fig. 21, AP2 receives the MU-RTS TXS signal and transmits a CTS signal to AP 1. AP2 then communicates with STA2 under its control using a channel that matches the frequency resource (primary 160 MHz (P160) in Fig. 21) notified in the RU Allocation subfield of the user information of the MU-RTS TXS signal and the Operating channel of the AP2 BSS.

[0127] In Fig. 21 , STA1 under AP1 receives the MU-RTS TXS signal and transmits a CTS signal to AP1. STA1 then communicates with AP1 using a temporary operating channel (secondary 160 MHz (S160) in Fig. 21 ) that has been changed based on the shared channel information included in the MU-RTS TXS signal. That is, STA1 communicates using secondary 160 MHz, which is one of AP1's operating channels and is a channel (resource) different from the channel used by AP2, which is a TXOP Shared AP (or the channel assigned to AP2).

[0128] In addition, primary 160 MHz and secondary 160 MHz in FIG. 21 represent frequency divisions in the TXOP Sharing AP before the operating channel is changed.

[0129] The frequency resource notified by the TXOP control information and the frequency resource notified by the shared channel information (e.g., temporary operating channel) may be independent frequency resources, that is, the TXOP control information and the shared channel information do not need to notify overlapping frequency resources.

[0130] The frequency resource of the TXOP control information notified to the TXOP Shared AP may be determined based on, for example, operating channel information of the TXOP Shared AP included in a beacon signal received by the TXOP Sharing AP. For example, the TXOP Sharing AP notifies a frequency resource within the operating channel of the TXOP Shared AP as the frequency resource of the TXOP control information, and does not notify a frequency resource outside the operating channel of the TXOP Shared AP as the frequency resource of the TXOP control information. Furthermore, for example, a frequency resource different from the frequency resource of the TXOP control information (for example, a frequency resource not assigned to the TXOP Shared AP) may be notified as shared channel information (temporary operating channel).

[0131] In this way, by notifying STA200 under the TXOP Sharing AP of the channel information to be shared, the TXOP Shared AP can communicate with STA200 under the TXOP Shared AP using the TXOP Shared frequency resources, and the TXOP Sharing AP can communicate with STA200 under the TXOP Sharing AP in frequency resources that the TXOP Shared AP cannot use, thereby improving frequency utilization efficiency.

[0132] <Example of Notifying AP of Channel Information to be Shared> FIG. 25 shows an example in which a TXOP sharing AP notifies an OBSS AP of TXOP control information and notifies other OBSS APs of channel information to be shared.

[0133] 25, after AP1, which is a TXOP Sharing AP, communicates with STA1 under its control, it transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal including TXOP control information to AP2, which is a TXOP Shared AP, and temporarily transfers the transmission rights for the frequency resources acquired by AP1 to AP2. AP1 also notifies AP3 of the MU-RTS TXS signal including information on the channels to be shared.

[0134] The shared channel information may be notified, for example, by common information and user information of the MU-RTS signal. For example, the shared channel information may be notified by the MU-RTS TXS signaling shown in Figures 22 and 23. As shown in Figure 23, the shared channel information may notify the primary channel number used by the OBSS AP, or may notify a new primary channel number.

[0135] In Fig. 25, AP2, which has received the MU-RTS TXS signal, transmits a CTS signal to AP 1. AP2 then communicates with STA2 under its control using a channel that matches the frequency resource (primary 160 MHz (P160) in Fig. 25) notified in the RU Allocation subfield of the user information of the MU-RTS TXS signal and the Operating channel of the AP2 BSS.

[0136] In Figure 25, AP3, which has received the MU-RTS TXS signal, transmits a CTS signal to AP1. Thereafter, AP3 communicates with STA3 subordinate to AP3 using the temporary operating channel (secondary 160 MHz (S160) in Figure 25) notified by the MU-RTS TXS signal (for example, shared channel information). At this time, AP3 may notify STA3 subordinate to AP3 of the shared channel information by applying Method 2-1.

[0137] Although FIG. 25 shows an example in which a TXOP Sharing AP transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal to two TXOP Shared APs, the TXOP Sharing AP may transmit an MU-RTS TXS signal to three or more TXOP Shared APs.

[0138] In this way, by notifying other OBSSs of the channel information to be shared, the TXOP Shared AP can communicate with STAs under the TXOP Shared AP in the TXOP Shared frequency resources, and other TXOP Shared APs can communicate with STAs under them in frequency resources that the TXOP Shared AP cannot use, thereby improving frequency utilization efficiency.

[0139] (Variation 1 of the method for notifying information on a channel to be shared) In Method 2-1 and Method 2-2, examples have been described in which information on a channel to be shared is notified in the user information of an MU-RTS TXS signal, but this is not limited to this, and information on a channel to be shared may also be notified by special user information (Special User Info).

[0140] FIG. 26 shows an example of notifying shared channel information by Special User Info.

[0141] For example, when the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield of the MU-RTS TXS signal is 3, the Reserved subfield of the common information of the MU-RTS TXS signal is replaced with the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension subfield. When the TXOP Sharing Mode subfield is 3 and the TXOP Sharing Mode Extension is 1, the MU-RTS TXS signal may include Special User Info that notifies the shared channel information shown in FIG.

[0142] Note that the Special User Info including the information on the channels to be shared may be notified separately from the Special User Info for notifying additional common information that is included in the MU-RTS TXS signal when the Special User Info Field Flag included in the common information of the MU-RTS TXS signal is 1. For example, the MU-RTS TXS signal may include multiple types of Special User Info, as shown in Fig. 27 .

[0143] In this way, by notifying the shared channel information by Special User Info, the shared channel information can be notified in combination with other functions notified using the Reserved subfield of the MU-RTS TXS signal.

[0144] (Variation 2 of Method for Notifying Information on Channels to be Shared) Information on channels to be shared may be notified based on frequency resource information in TXOP control information.

[0145] For example, as shown in Figure 28, a case will be described in which a primary 160 MHz is assigned to the destination AP of the TXOP control information, and a secondary 160 MHz is assigned to the destination AP / STA of the shared channel information. In this case, the common information of the MU-RTS TXS signal notifies the total frequency bandwidth (320 MHz in the example of Figure 28) of the frequency resource of the TXOP control information and the frequency resource of the shared channel information in the UL BW subfield. The MU-RTS TXS signal does not need to include the shared channel information in the common information.

[0146] In addition, the destination AP user information of the TXOP control information notifies the primary 160 MHz in the RU Allocation subfield. The destination AP / STA user information of the shared channel information notifies the primary channel of the temporary operating channel in the Primary Channel subfield as the shared channel information.

[0147] The destination AP of the TXOP control information that receives the MU-RTS TXS signal decodes the common information and user information addressed to that AP, and confirms that the primary 160 MHz TXOP has been shared.

[0148] The destination AP / STA of the shared channel information that receives the MU-RTS TXS signal decodes the common information, the user information of the destination AP of the TXOP control information, and the user information of the destination AP / STA of the shared channel information.The destination AP / STA of the shared channel information then confirms, from the common information and the RU Allocation subfield included in the user information of the destination AP of the TXOP control information, that a channel (secondary 160 MHz in the case of Figure 28) among the channels included in the Operating channel that is not assigned to the destination AP of the TXOP control information has been assigned as a temporary operating channel, and confirms the primary channel of the temporary operating channel from the user information addressed to that AP / STA.

[0149] In this way, by notifying the shared channel information based on the frequency resource information of the TXOP control information (e.g., user information addressed to the TXOP shared AP), the shared channel information can be notified in combination with other functions notified using the Reserved subfield of the MU-RTS TXS signal.

[0150] (Variation 3 of Method for Reporting Information on Channels to be Shared) The information on channels to be shared may report information on non-contiguous frequency resources (for example, referred to as Multiple-RU (MRU)).

[0151] For example, in the method of notifying the shared channel information described in Method 2-2, a temporary operating channel is notified using the BW2 subfield and the DDFS0 / 1 subfield, and therefore only one continuous frequency resource can be notified. Therefore, when the operating channels of AP1 and AP2 are discontinuous as shown in Figure 29, only one of the discontinuous frequency resources is notified by the shared channel information, resulting in an unusable frequency resource.

[0152] On the other hand, the shared channel information notified by the MU-RTS TXS signal may be notified by the frequency resource notification method of the Basic Trigger signal.

[0153] For example, the shared channel information indicates the RU and MRU of the temporary operating channel by combining the BW subfield indicated in the common information of the MU-RTS TXS signal and the PS160 subfield and RU Allocation subfield indicated in the user information of the MU-RTS TXS signal. As a result, for example, as shown in Fig. 30, the shared channel information can indicate discontinuous frequency resources.

[0154] In this way, by notifying shared channel information including non-contiguous frequency resource information, it is possible to reduce unavailable frequency resources, thereby improving frequency utilization efficiency.

[0155] The above describes variations in the method of notifying information about channels to be shared.

[0156] In method 2-2, a Shared TXOP AP that receives TXOP control information addressed to an OBSS AP and a signal including shared channel information addressed to other APs / STAs does not need to send a TXOP return signal (e.g., a CF-End signal) to the Sharing AP if the communication ends earlier than the TXOP Sharing allocation time or at the end of the TXOP Sharing allocation time. If the TXOP Sharing AP is communicating using temporary channel information, the TXOP Sharing AP may not be able to receive the TXOP return signal. Therefore, by not sending a TXOP return signal, the TXOP Shared AP can increase the opportunities to transmit other data signals.

[0157] (Method 2-3) In Method 2-3, the TXOP Sharing AP notifies the AP / STA of the shared channel information based on the channel information after the TXOP Shared AP changes the operating channel. For example, the TXOP Sharing AP determines the temporary operation channel information based on the channel (temporary operation channel) to which the TXOP Shared AP changes.

[0158] FIG. 31 shows an example of operation in Method 2-3.

[0159] In FIG. 31, AP1, which is a TXOP sharing AP, communicates with STA1 under its control (not shown), and then transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal to AP2 to perform TXOP sharing.

[0160] Upon receiving the MU-RTS TXS signal, AP2 transmits a CTS signal to AP1. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 32, if a portion of AP2's operating channel exists outside of AP1's operating channel shared by TXOP Sharing, AP2 transmits shared channel information (Sharing Channel Info) to AP1 and STA2 subordinate to AP2, notifying them that the AP2's operating channel will be temporarily changed. Note that AP2 may determine and notify the shared channel information according to, for example, Method 2-1 (e.g., FIGS. 15 and 16).

[0161] Upon receiving the information about the channel to be shared, STA2 transmits a CTS signal to AP2 and sets (for example, changes or switches) the operating channel based on the information about the channel to be shared.

[0162] Upon receiving the information about the channel to be shared, AP1 transmits a CTS signal to AP2 and compares the changed operating channel of AP2 with the frequency resource (e.g., AP1's operating channel) notified by TXOP Sharing to check whether there is a frequency resource that AP2 is not using. If there is a frequency resource that AP2 is not using, AP1 transmits an MU-RTS TXS signal including the information about the channel to be shared to STA1 subordinate to AP1, notifying that AP2 will use the frequency resource that AP2 is not using as a temporary operating channel for communication.

[0163] STA1, which receives the MU-RTS TXS signal from AP1, transmits a CTS signal.

[0164] 33, AP1 communicates with STA1 under AP1 using a temporary operating channel changed based on the shared channel information notified to STA1 under AP1 by AP1 using an MU-RTS TXS signal. AP2 communicates with STA2 under AP2 using a temporary operating channel changed based on the Sharing Channel Info notified to STA2 under AP2.

[0165] Method 2-3 allows the TXOP Sharing AP to communicate using unused frequency resources after changing the operating channel of the Shared AP, thereby improving frequency utilization efficiency and maximizing the frequency resources available to the TXOP Shared AP.

[0166] Methods 1 and 2 have been described above.

[0167] In this embodiment, the AP 100 receives information about other BSSs (OBSSs) and determines channel information for the BSS to which the AP 100 belongs based on the information about the other BSSs. As a result, for example, in C-TDMA, when the TXOP of the frequency resources acquired by the Sharing AP is shared (or transferred) to the Shared AP 2 by TXOP Sharing, even if the Operating Channel of the Sharing AP and the Operating Channel of the Shared AP are different, the Sharing AP or the Shared AP can be appropriately set (e.g., changed). This allows the Sharing AP and the Shared AP to improve the utilization efficiency of the shared (or transferred) frequency resources. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the efficiency of transmission control (e.g., Multi-AP coordination) in wireless communication can be improved.

[0168] One embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above.

[0169] (Other Embodiments) In the above-described embodiments, before transmitting a signal including channel information, the AP 100 may transmit a signal to cancel power saving mode (a signal instructing a switch from power saving mode to operating mode; for example, a wake-up packet) to the destination AP / STA of the channel information. This allows the AP / STA, which is in a dormant state (for example, a doze state) in power saving mode, to be switched to an active state (for example, an awake state or operating mode), thereby reducing the probability that the AP / STA will fail to receive a signal including channel information.

[0170] Although the example of including permanent channel information in the management frame has been described in Method 1, the present invention is not limited to this and the permanent channel information may be included in the initial control frame. Also, although the example of including temporary channel information in the initial control frame has been described in Method 2, the present invention is not limited to this and the temporary channel information may be included in the management frame.

[0171] In Methods 2-2 and 2-3, the TXOP shared AP may transmit a TXOP return signal to the TXOP Sharing AP and terminate TXOP Sharing when the TXOP Sharing period ends or when there is no data to transmit to the STAs under the TXOP Shared AP before the TXOP Sharing period ends. However, if the TXOP Sharing AP is communicating on a temporary operating channel, the TXOP Sharing AP may not receive the TXOP return signal transmitted by the TXOP Shared AP. Therefore, the TXOP Shared AP may transmit the TXOP return signal as a top-priority reception signal (e.g., a preemption signal). If the TXOP Sharing AP detects a TXOP return signal that is a preemption signal, it stops the current transmission / reception process and performs reception processing for the preemption signal. Note that when the TXOP Sharing AP notifies the TXOP Shared AP of TXOP control information via an MU-RTS TXS signal, the TXOP control information may include permission information for the TXOP Shared AP to transmit the TXOP return signal as a preemption signal.

[0172] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the claims. It is understood that such modifications or alterations also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the components in the embodiments may be combined in any manner without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0173] In the above-described embodiments, the notation "... part" used for each component may be replaced with other notations such as "... circuit," "... assembly," "... device," "... unit," or "... module."

[0174] The interface names (frame names), field names, or subfield names described in the above-described embodiments may be other names.

[0175] In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the field (or subfield) used for notifying control information is an example, and other fields or subfields may be used. Furthermore, the number of bits used for notifying control information in each field or subfield is an example, and other numbers of bits may be used.

[0176] Furthermore, the signal formats described in each of the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples, and other configurations may be used in which at least one of other fields is added and some fields is deleted, and other configurations may be used in which at least one of other subfields is added and some subfields are deleted in each of the above-mentioned fields.

[0177] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as an example, a case based on the format defined in IEEE 802.11 has been described, but the format to which an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied is not limited to the IEEE 802.11 format.

[0178] The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software in conjunction with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit, and each process described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely controlled by a single LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of a single chip that includes some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may have data input and output. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may also be called an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI.

[0179] The integrated circuit method is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. Also, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed after LSI manufacturing, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells within the LSI, may be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital processing or analog processing.

[0180] Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, it is natural that such technology may be used to integrate functional blocks. The application of biotechnology, etc. is also a possibility.

[0181] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system (collectively referred to as a communications apparatus) that has a communications function. The communications apparatus may include a radio transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The radio transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, or both functions. The radio transceiver (transmitter and receiver) may include a radio frequency (RF) module and one or more antennas. The RF module may include an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, or the like. Non-limiting examples of communication devices include telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles or mobile transportation (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and combinations of the above devices.

[0182] The communication devices are not limited to portable or mobile devices, but also include any kind of non-portable or fixed equipment, devices, and systems, such as smart home devices (such as home appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or measuring devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines, and any other "things" that may exist on an IoT (Internet of Things) network.

[0183] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communication satellite systems, and the like, as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0184] A communications apparatus also includes devices such as controllers and sensors connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0185] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0186] An access point according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a receiving circuit that receives information about other networks, and a control circuit that determines channel information of the network to which the access point belongs based on the information about the other networks.

[0187] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel information includes information about a primary channel and information about an operating channel.

[0188] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel information is information about a permanent channel.

[0189] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device further includes a transmitting circuit for transmitting the channel information using a management frame.

[0190] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the information about the other network includes a capability related to cooperative communication of an access point belonging to the other network, and the control circuit determines the channel information based on the capability.

[0191] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the capability indicates whether or not Coordinated Time Division Multiple Access (C-TDMA) is supported, and if the access point of the other network supports C-TDMA, the control circuit sets the operating channel of the network to which the access point belongs to a band that matches the operating channel of the other network.

[0192] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if an access point of the other network does not support a capability related to cooperative communication, the control circuit sets the operating channel of the network to which the access point belongs to a band that does not match the operating channel of the other network.

[0193] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the information about the other network includes information about an operating channel of the other network, and the control circuit determines a cooperative communication method based on the information about the operating channel of the other network.

[0194] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel information is information about a temporary channel.

[0195] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device further includes a transmitting circuit for transmitting the channel information using an initial control frame.

[0196] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the access point is an access point that shares a channel transmission opportunity (TXOP) with other access points, the channel information includes shared channel information regarding a channel that the access point is to share with other communication devices, and the access point further includes a transmitting circuit that transmits the shared channel information to a terminal under the access point.

[0197] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control circuit determines the shared channel information based on frequency resources notified by the other access points.

[0198] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the access point is an access point that shares a channel transmission opportunity (TXOP) with another access point, the channel information includes shared channel information regarding a channel that the access point is to share with another communication device, and the access point further includes a transmitting circuit that transmits control information regarding the TXOP to the access point of the other network and transmits the shared channel information.

[0199] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission circuit transmits the shared channel information to a terminal under the access point or an access point of the other network.

[0200] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shared channel information is signaled by common information and user information of a Multi-user Request-to-send (MU-RTS) signal or an MU-RTS Triggered TXOP sharing (TXS) signal.

[0201] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shared channel information is signaled in a special user info field.

[0202] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shared channel information is notified based on user information of an access point that shares the TXOP.

[0203] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the shared channel information indicates contiguous or non-contiguous frequency resources.

[0204] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission circuit transmits a signal to the terminal instructing it to switch from a power saving mode to an operating mode before transmitting the control information related to the TXOP.

[0205] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the access point is an access point that shares a channel transmission opportunity (TXOP) with other access points, and the control circuit determines information about the temporary channel based on a channel to which the other access points that share the TXOP change.

[0206] A terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes, at an access point, a receiving circuit that receives channel information of a network to which the access point belongs, the channel information being determined based on information about other networks, and a control circuit that determines a channel to be used for communication with the access point based on the channel information.

[0207] In a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an access point receives information about other networks and determines channel information of the network to which the access point belongs based on the information about the other networks.

[0208] In a communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal receives, at an access point, channel information of a network to which the access point belongs, the channel information being determined based on information regarding other networks, and determines a channel to be used for communication with the access point based on the channel information.

[0209] The disclosures of the specification, drawings and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-111750, filed on July 11, 2024, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0210] One embodiment of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems.

[0211] 100 AP 101, 201 Radio receiving unit 102, 202 Preamble demodulation unit 103, 203 Data demodulation unit 104, 204 Data decoding unit 105, 205 Operating channel control unit 106 Scheduling unit 107 Data generation unit 108 Data encoding unit 109 Data modulation unit 110 Preamble generation unit 111, 207 Radio transmitting unit 200 STA 206 Transmission signal generation unit

Claims

1. An access point comprising: a receiving circuit for receiving information about other networks; and a control circuit for determining channel information of a network to which the access point belongs based on the information about the other networks.

2. The access point according to claim 1, wherein the channel information is information about a temporary channel.

3. The access point according to claim 2, further comprising a transmission circuit that transmits the channel information using an initial control frame.

4. The access point according to claim 2, wherein the access point is an access point that shares a channel transmission opportunity (TXOP) with other access points, the channel information includes shared channel information regarding a channel that the access point is to share with other communication devices, and the access point further comprises a transmission circuit that transmits the shared channel information to terminals under the control of the access point.

5. The access point according to claim 4, wherein the control circuit determines the shared channel information based on frequency resources notified by the other access points.

6. The access point according to claim 2, wherein the access point is an access point that shares a channel transmission opportunity (TXOP) with another access point, the channel information includes shared channel information regarding a channel that the access point is to share with another communication device, and the access point further comprises a transmitting circuit that transmits control information regarding the TXOP to an access point of the other network and transmits the shared channel information.

7. The access point according to claim 6, wherein the transmission circuit transmits the shared channel information to a terminal under the control of the access point or to an access point of the other network.

8. The access point according to claim 6, wherein the shared channel information is signaled in a special user info field.

9. The access point according to claim 6, wherein the shared channel information is notified based on user information addressed to the access point that shares the TXOP.

10. The access point of claim 7, wherein the shared channel information indicates contiguous or non-contiguous frequency resources.

11. The access point according to claim 6, wherein the transmission circuit transmits a signal to the terminal instructing the terminal to switch from a power saving mode to an operating mode before transmitting the control information related to the TXOP.

12. The access point according to claim 2, wherein the access point is an access point that shares a channel transmission opportunity (TXOP) with other access points, and the control circuit determines information about the temporary channel based on a channel to which the other access points that share the TXOP change.

13. A terminal comprising: a receiving circuit at an access point that receives channel information of the network to which the access point belongs, the channel information being determined based on information about other networks; and a control circuit that determines a channel to be used for communication with the access point based on the channel information.

14. A communication method, wherein an access point receives information about other networks, and determines channel information of the network to which the access point belongs based on the information about the other networks.

15. A communication method in which a terminal receives, at an access point, channel information of a network to which the access point belongs, the channel information being determined based on information about other networks, and determines a channel to be used for communication with the access point based on the channel information.

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