Method and device for PPDU transmission and reception in wireless LAN system

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and a device for PPDU transmission and reception in a wireless LAN system. A method performed by an STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise the steps of: receiving a trigger frame from an AP; and transmitting a PPDU to the AP on the basis of the trigger frame.

Description

PPDU transmission and reception method and device in a wireless LAN system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and device for transmitting and receiving a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) 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 is to provide a method and device for transmitting and receiving a PPDU including a resource unit (RU) composed of discontinuous distributed subcarriers.

[0005] The technical problem of the present disclosure is to provide a method for efficiently using information bits within a trigger frame requesting transmission of a PPDU including an RU composed of discontinuous distributed subcarriers.

[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 can 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 performed by a station (STA) according to one aspect of the present disclosure may include: receiving a trigger frame from an access point (AP); and transmitting a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) to the AP based on the trigger frame. The trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information field, and based on a request for DRU transmission for the PPDU by a DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field includes a DRU DBW subfield indicating a distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU, and each of the one or more DRUs may be composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

[0008] A method performed by an access point (AP) according to an additional aspect of the present disclosure may include: transmitting a trigger frame to a station (STA); and receiving a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) from the STA based on the trigger frame. The trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information field, and based on a request for DRU transmission for the PPDU by a DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field includes a DRU DBW subfield indicating a distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU, and each of the one or more DRUs may be composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, transmission power can be improved by using an RU composed of discontinuous distributed subcarriers, thereby increasing transmission throughput and improving coverage.

[0010] Additionally, according to the present disclosure, signaling overhead can be reduced by efficiently using information bits for a trigger frame that triggers PPDU transmission including RUs composed of discontinuous distributed subcarriers.

[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 drawing showing an exemplary format of a trigger frame to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0022] Figure 10 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of resource units (RUs) used on a 20 MHz band.

[0023] Figure 11 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of resource units (RUs) used on a 40 MHz band.

[0024] Figure 12 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of resource units (RUs) used on the 80 MHz band.

[0025] FIG. 13 illustrates the application of a distributed-tone RU in a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0026] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a PPDU format according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 15 illustrates the operation of a STA device for a PPDU transmission and reception method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of an AP device for a PPDU transmission and reception method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] In this disclosure, terms such as "first," "second," etc. are used only to distinguish one component from another, are not used to limit the components, and do not limit the order or importance of 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] Below, technical features to which examples of the present disclosure can be applied are described.

[0036] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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).

[0041] 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). In addition, 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.

[0042] 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). In addition, 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an exemplary structure of a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0050] 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 basic 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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).

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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).

[0056] 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.

[0057] Data transmitted from one of the STA(s) associated with an AP to the STA address of that AP may always be received on an uncontrolled port and processed by an IEEE 802.1X port access entity. In addition, if the controlled port is authenticated, the transmitted data (or frame) may be forwarded to the DS.

[0058] In addition to the structure of the DS described above, an extended service set (ESS) may be established to provide wider coverage.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a link setup process to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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, an 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 by other information or include additional information.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a backoff process to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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).

[0077] 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 value doubled 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, ...).

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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 such as DIFS or PIFS (Point coordination function IFS) elapses. 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a CSMA / CA-based frame transmission operation to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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.

[0087] 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.

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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.

[0091] 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.

[0092] 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.

[0093] 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 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

[0094] 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.

[0095] 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.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] 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.

[0099] 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).

[0100] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating examples of PPDUs defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0101] 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)).

[0102] 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).

[0103] 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)).

[0104] 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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.

[0107] 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.

[0108] The L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG (Universal SIGNAL), and EHT-SIG fields can be encoded and modulated to allow legacy STAs to attempt demodulation and decoding, and 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 to allow STAs that have successfully decoded non-legacy SIGs (e.g., U-SIG and / or EHT-SIG) and obtained the information contained in the fields, and mapped based on a predetermined subcarrier frequency interval (e.g., 78.125 kHz). These can be referred to as EHT modulated fields.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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.).

[0117] 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.

[0118] 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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.).

[0121] 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.

[0122] 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.

[0123] 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.

[0124] 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.

[0125] 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.

[0126] 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.

[0127] 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.

[0128] 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.

[0129] 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.

[0130] trigger frame

[0131] FIG. 8 is a drawing showing an exemplary format of a trigger frame to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0132] 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.

[0133] The common information field may include information common to one or more TB PPDU transmissions requested by the 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.

[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 position of the 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. For example, the mapping of B7-B1 of the RU allocation subfield can be defined together with the settings of the B0 and PS160 subfields of the RU allocation subfield as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1 shows an example of encoding the PS160 subfield and the RU allocation subfield of the EHT variant user information field.

[0137]

[0138]

[0139]

[0140]

[0141]

[0142] When B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 0, it may indicate that the RU / MRU allocation is applied to the primary 80 MHz channel, and when its value is set to 1, it may indicate that the RU allocation is applied to the secondary 80 MHz channel of the primary 160 MHz. When B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 0, it may indicate that the RU / MRU allocation is applied to the lower 80 MHz of the secondary 160 MHz, and when its value is set to 1, it may indicate that the RU allocation is applied to the upper 80 MHz of the secondary 160 MHz.

[0143] In the trigger frame RU allocation table of Table 1, the parameter N can be calculated based on the formula N=2*X1+X0. For a bandwidth of 80 MHz or less, the values ​​of PS160, B0, X0, and X1 can be set to 0. For a bandwidth of 160 MHz and a bandwidth of 320 MHz, the values ​​of PS160, B0, X0, and X1 can be set as shown in Table 2. These settings represent the absolute frequency order for the primary and secondary 80 MHz and 160 MHz channels. The order from left to right represents the order from low frequency to high frequency. The primary 80 MHz channel is represented as P80, the secondary 80 MHz channel is represented as S80, and the secondary 160 MHz channel is represented as S160.

[0144]

[0145] FIG. 9 is a drawing showing an exemplary format of a trigger frame to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0146] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the EHT variant common info field format in the trigger frame illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0147] The trigger type subfield identifies a variant of the trigger frame.

[0148] The uplink length (UL) subfield indicates the value of the L-SIG LENGTH field of the solicited TB PPDU.

[0149] The more TF (trigger frame) subfield indicates whether transmission of a subsequent trigger frame is scheduled.

[0150] The carrier sense required (CS) subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the STAs identified in the User Info field should use energy detection (ED) to sense the medium and consider the medium condition and the network allocation vector (NAV) when determining whether to respond. The CS Required subfield is set to 0 to indicate that the STAs identified in the User Info field need not consider the medium condition or NAV when determining whether to respond.

[0151] The uplink bandwidth (UL BW) subfield, together with the uplink bandwidth extension (UL BW extension) subfield of the special user info field, indicates the bandwidth within the U-SIG field of the EHT TB PPDU.

[0152] If the trigger type subfield indicates that the trigger frame type is a MU-RTS (request to send) trigger frame, B20-B1 of the EHT variant common info field corresponds to the trigger TXOP (transmission opportunity) sharing mode subfield. Otherwise, B20-B1 of the EHT variant common info field corresponds to the GI (guard interval) and HE / ETF-LTF type subfields. The GI and HE / ETF-LTF type subfields indicate the GI and HE / EHT-LTF types of the HE or EHT TB PPDU response. The trigger TXOP sharing mode subfield indicates the triggered TXOP mode.

[0153] B22 of the EHT variant common info field is reserved and set to 0.

[0154] The number of HE / EHT-LTF symbols subfield indicates the number of HE-LTF symbols present in the HE TB PPDU or the number of EHT-LTF symbols present in the EHT TB PPDU.

[0155] B26 of the EHT variant common info field is reserved and set to 0.

[0156] The LDPC (low-density parity check) extra symbol segment subfield indicates the status of the LDPC extra symbol segment. If an LDPC extra symbol segment exists in the requested HE or EHT TB PPDU, it is set to 1; otherwise, it is set to 0.

[0157] The AP Tx (transmit) power subfield indicates the combined transmit power of the AP at the transmit antenna connectors of all antennas used to transmit the triggering PPDU, in dBm / 20MHz.

[0158] The pre-FEC padding factor subfield and the PE disambiguity subfield are encoded identically to the corresponding subfields in HE-SIG-A or EHT-SIG.

[0159] The UL spatial reuse subfield contains spatial reuse n subfields (1 ≤ n ≤ 4). When a trigger frame requests an EHT TB PPDU, each spatial reuse n subfield of the EHT variant common info field is determined based on the EHT spatial reuse 1 subfield or the EHT spatial reuse 2 subfield of the special user info field.

[0160] B53 of the EHT variant common info field is reserved and set to 0.

[0161] The HE / EHT P160 subfield is set to 0 to indicate that the TB PPDU requested on the primary 160 MHz is an EHT TB PPDU. The HE / EHT P160 subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the TB PPDU requested on the primary 160 MHz is an HE TB PPDU.

[0162] The special user info field flag subfield is always set to 0 in the EHT variant common info field, indicating that the special user info field is included in the trigger frame containing the EHT variant common info field.

[0163] The trigger dependent common info subfield is optionally present based on the value of the trigger type field.

[0164] Resource Unit (RU) and Resource Allocation

[0165] FIGS. 10 to 12 are diagrams for explaining examples of resource units of a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0166] Referring to FIGS. 10 to 12, a resource unit (RU) defined in a wireless LAN system is described. An RU may include multiple subcarriers (or tones). An RU may be used when transmitting signals to multiple STAs based on OFDMA techniques. An RU may also be defined when transmitting signals to a single STA. An RU may be used for the STF, LTF, and data fields of a PPDU.

[0167] As illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12, RUs corresponding to different numbers of tones (i.e., subcarriers) may be used to configure some fields of a 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz X-PPDU (X represents HE, EHT, etc.). For example, resources may be allocated in units of RUs illustrated for the X-STF, X-LTF, and Data fields.

[0168] Figure 10 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of resource units (RUs) used on a 20 MHz band.

[0169] As shown at the top of Fig. 10, 26 units (i.e., units corresponding to 26 tones) may be allocated. Six tones may be used as a guard band in the leftmost band of the 20 MHz band, and five tones may be used as a guard band in the rightmost band of the 20 MHz band. In addition, seven DC tones may be inserted in the center band, i.e., the DC band, and 26 units corresponding to 13 tones may exist on each side of the DC band. In addition, 26 units, 52 units, and 106 units may be allocated to other bands. Each unit may be allocated for an STA or a user.

[0170] The RU arrangement of Fig. 10 can be utilized not only in situations for multiple users (MUs) but also in situations for a single user (SU), in which case it is possible to use one 242-unit as shown at the bottom of Fig. 10. In this case, three DC tones can be inserted.

[0171] In the example of FIG. 10, RUs of various sizes, such as 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, and 242-RU, are exemplified, but the specific sizes of these RUs 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. In addition, in the present disclosure, within a given bandwidth (e.g., 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 MHz, ...), the number of RUs may vary depending on the RU size. In the examples of FIG. 11 and / or FIG. 12 described below, the fact that the size and / or number of RUs may be changed is the same as the example of FIG. 10.

[0172] Figure 11 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of resource units (RUs) used on a 40 MHz band.

[0173] As in the example of Fig. 10 where RUs of various sizes were used, the example of Fig. 11 may also use 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, 484-RU, etc. In addition, 5 DC tones may be inserted at the center frequency, 12 tones may be used as a guard band in the leftmost band of the 40 MHz band, and 11 tones may be used as a guard band in the rightmost band of the 40 MHz band.

[0174] Additionally, as shown, when used for a single user, 484-RU may be used.

[0175] Figure 12 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of resource units (RUs) used on the 80 MHz band.

[0176] As in the examples of FIGS. 10 and 11 where RUs of various sizes were used, the example of FIG. 12 may also use 26-RU, 52-RU, 106-RU, 242-RU, 484-RU, 996-RU, etc. In addition, in the case of 80MHz PPDU, the RU arrangement of HE PPDU and EHT PPDU may be different, and the example of FIG. 12 shows an example of the RU arrangement for 80MHz EHT PPDU. In the example of FIG. 12, 12 tones are used as guard bands in the leftmost band of the 80MHz band, and 11 tones are used as guard bands in the rightmost band of the 80MHz band, which is the same for HE PPDU and EHT PPDU. Unlike the HE PPDU, which has seven DC tones inserted into the DC band and one 26-RU corresponding to 13 tones on each side of the DC band, the EHT PPDU has 23 DC tones inserted into the DC band and one 26-RU corresponding to 13 tones on each side of the DC band. Unlike the HE PPDU, which has one null subcarrier between the 242-RUs other than the center band, the EHT PPDU has five null subcarriers. In the HE PPDU, one 484-RU does not contain a null subcarrier, but in the EHT PPDU, one 484-RU contains five null subcarriers.

[0177] Also, as shown, when used for a single user, 996-RU can be used, in which case the insertion of 5 DC tones is common in both HE PPDU and EHT PPDU.

[0178] An EHT PPDU of 160MHz or higher may be configured with multiple 80MHz subblocks as shown in FIG. 12. The RU layout for each 80MHz subblock may be the same as the RU layout of the 80MHz EHT PPDU as shown in FIG. 12. If an 80MHz subblock of a 160MHz or 320MHz EHT PPDU is not punctured and the entire 80MHz subblock is used as part of an RU or MRU (Multiple RU), the 80MHz subblock may use the 996-RU layout as shown in FIG. 12.

[0179] Here, an MRU corresponds to a group of subcarriers (or tones) composed of multiple RUs, and the multiple RUs constituting an MRU may be RUs of the same size or different sizes. For example, a single MRU may be defined as 52+26-tones, 106+26-tones, 484+242-tones, 996+484-tones, 996+484+242-tones, 2X996+484-tones, 3X996-tones, or 3X996+484-tones. Here, the multiple RUs constituting one MRU may correspond to RUs of small size (e.g., 26, 52, 106) or RUs of large size (e.g., 242, 484, 996, etc.). That is, a single MRU containing both small-sized RUs and large-sized RUs may not be configured / defined. Furthermore, multiple RUs constituting a single MRU may or may not be consecutive in the frequency domain.

[0180] If an 80MHz subblock contains RUs smaller than 996 tones, or portions of the 80MHz subblock are punctured, the 80MHz subblock may use RU layouts other than the 996-tone RUs.

[0181] The positions of the RUs can be fixed as defined in Tables 3 to 7 below according to each PPDU bandwidth.

[0182] Table 3 illustrates the indices of RUs within a 20MHz PPDU and the data and pilot subcarrier indices (ranges) for each RU.

[0183]

[0184] Table 4 illustrates the indices of RUs within a 40MHz PPDU and the data and pilot subcarrier indices (ranges) for each RU.

[0185]

[0186] Table 5 illustrates the indices of RUs within an 80MHz PPDU and the data and pilot subcarrier indices (ranges) for each RU.

[0187]

[0188] Table 6 illustrates the indices of RUs within a 160MHz PPDU and the data and pilot subcarrier indices (ranges) for each RU.

[0189]

[0190]

[0191] Table 7 illustrates the indices of RUs within a 320MHz PPDU and the data and pilot subcarrier indices (ranges) for each RU.

[0192]

[0193]

[0194]

[0195]

[0196] In Table 3, RU 5 corresponds to the middle 26-ton RU.

[0197] Referring to Tables 3 to 7, subcarrier index 0 corresponds to the DC tone. Negative subcarrier indices correspond to subcarriers having a lower frequency than the DC tone. Positive subcarrier indices correspond to subcarriers having a higher frequency than the DC tone. DC subcarriers may refer to subcarriers having zero energy, including the DC tone and subcarrier indices adjacent to subcarrier index 0 (i.e., the DC tone). Guard subcarriers may refer to subcarriers located at the edge of an OFDM symbol in the frequency domain and having zero energy. Null subcarriers are located near the DC or edge tone to protect against transmission center frequency leakage, receiver DC offset, and interference from adjacent RU(s) or MRU(s), and have zero energy.

[0198] Referring to FIGS. 10 to 12 and Tables 3 to 7, for each RU, an RU index can be assigned in order from low frequency to high frequency.

[0199] A PPDU in the 160 MHz range or higher may consist of multiple 80 MHz frequency subblocks. The tone plan and RU allocation for each 80 MHz frequency subblock may be the same as the 80 MHz PPDU. If an 80 MHz frequency subblock of a 160 MHz or 320 MHz PPDU is not punctured and the entire 80 MHz frequency subblock is used as an RU or as part of an RU / MRU, the 80 MHz frequency subblock may use the 996-tone RU illustrated in FIG. 12. If an 80 MHz frequency subblock contains RUs with fewer than 996 tones or a portion of the 80 MHz frequency subblock is punctured, the 80 MHz frequency subblock may use a tone plan and RU allocation excluding the 996-tone RU, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0200] An STA may be assigned multiple RUs (MRUs). The subcarrier indices of an MRU may be composed of the indices of the corresponding RUs that constitute the MRU.

[0201] The RU of the present disclosure can be used for uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) communication. For example, when trigger-based UL-MU communication is performed, an STA (e.g., an AP) transmitting a trigger can allocate a first RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a first STA and a second RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a second STA through trigger information (e.g., a trigger frame or triggered response scheduling (TRS)). Thereafter, the first STA can transmit a first trigger-based (TB) PPDU based on the first RU, and the second STA can transmit a second TB PPDU based on the second RU. The first / second TB PPDUs can be transmitted to the AP in the same time interval.

[0202] For example, when a DL MU PPDU is configured, an STA (e.g., an AP) transmitting the DL MU PPDU may allocate a first RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a first STA and a second RU (e.g., 26 / 52 / 106 / 242-RU, etc.) to a second STA.

[0203] distributed tones RU (DRU)

[0204] Power spectral density (PSD) in the band below 7 GHz is limited by regional regulations.

[0205] Here, PSD restrictions are more stringent in the 6 GHz band, with a PSD limit of -1 dBm / MHz for non-AP STAs in the low-power indoor (LPI) band. Here, for a 52-tone RU, the maximum transmit power is approximately 6 dBm. This means that the transmit power cannot be increased to the maximum transmit power due to the PSD restriction.

[0206] Limits for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands may vary depending on regional regulations. For example, a 10 dBm / MHz PSD limit applies in the 2.4 GHz band in Europe, China, Japan, and Korea. Here, the maximum transmit power for a 52-tone RU is approximately 17 dBm.

[0207] Even in the 5 GHz band, if PSD limitations can be circumvented, transmit power can be increased. For a 52-tone RU, the maximum transmit power is currently approximately 24 dBm, a 6 dB drop from the maximum allowable effective isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of 30 dBm.

[0208] As above, if the PSD limitation can be overcome, the transmission power can be improved, and the spectrum efficiency or range extension can be improved.

[0209] Here, the PSD limits described above are defined per MHz and per STA. That is, by distributing small RU tones over a wide bandwidth, the tones of each STA become non-contiguous, allowing each tone to be transmitted at a higher power.

[0210] In the present disclosure, for convenience of explanation, RUs defined by continuous tones in existing WLAN systems (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax, IEEE 802.11be, etc.) are referred to as regular RUs (RRUs), and RUs defined by distributed (i.e., non-continuous) tones may be referred to as distributed tones RUs (DRUs). However, this is merely an example, and the present disclosure is not limited to these terms.

[0211] STAs transmitting DRUs can transmit at higher power compared to RRUs. For example, in the 80 MHz band, a 52-tone DRU can only have one tone per MHz. In contrast, a 52-tone RRU can have approximately 13 tones per MHz. Since the PSD limit in the 6 GHz LPI band is -1 dBm / MHz, using a DRU for a 52-tone RU can increase the transmit power by up to 11 dB. This significant transmit power boost enables a higher MCS and longer signal range.

[0212] FIG. 13 illustrates the application of a distributed-tone RU in a wireless LAN system to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0213] Referring to FIG. 13, STA1 can transmit a UL OFDMA PPDU in DRU1, STA2 can transmit a UL OFDMA PPDU in DRU2, and STA3 can transmit a UL OFDMA PPDU in DRU3. Here, STA1, STA2, and STA3 can all boost their transmission power by using the DRU. As such, the DRU can be particularly useful for UL-OFDMA.

[0214] To maximize power boost, tones within a DRU should be distributed as widely as possible. For example, 1 tone / MHz. Furthermore, to avoid additional complexity, the DRU size should be the same as the RRU size.

[0215] Table 8 illustrates the achievable power boost for different DRUs at different bandwidths.

[0216] BW20BW40BW80Power Boost (dB)Power Boost (dB)Power Boost (dB)RU268.1311.1411.14RU526.378.1311.14RU1063.366.378.13RU242N / A2.695.12RU484N / AN / A2.69

[0217] In this way, DRUs can overcome PSD limitations and deliver significant gains. For example, in an 80MHz UL-OFDMA transmission with eight users, if each user uses a 106-tone DRU, overall performance can be improved by 8.13dB compared to if each user uses a 106-tone RRU.

[0218] DRU signaling method

[0219] In order to overcome PSD limitations and obtain better power gain in wireless LAN systems (802.11), a distributed tones RU (DRU) can be defined that uses distributed tones rather than continuous tones.

[0220] In this disclosure, we propose a method for signaling the DRU application and distributed bandwidth (DBW) (i.e., the size of the channel over which the DRU is distributed) (mode) in a two-step manner in a trigger frame.

[0221] DRU may be supported in TB PPDU, in which case signaling for DRU in trigger frame (e.g. UHR trigger frame) needs to be considered.

[0222] In UHR, the trigger frame may be an enhanced form of the trigger frame defined in the existing 11be (e.g., see FIGS. 8 and 9) and may have the structure below. Here, some of the fields exemplified below may not be used, and / or other fields may be added.

[0223] UHR Variant Common Information Fields | EHT Variant Special User Information Fields | UHR Variant Special User Information Fields | HE Variant User Information Fields | EHT Variant User Information Fields | UHR Variant User Information Fields

[0224] Here, the UHR variant common information field, UHR variant special user information field, and UHR variant user information field may be defined as improved fields with the same names as the existing 802.11be.

[0225] Considering the various PHY characteristics and their signaling, the user information field of the trigger frame does not have enough bits for DRU signaling. For example, the available spare bit (B25) in the EHT variant user information field format of the trigger frame in FIG. 8 is only 1 bit.

[0226] On the other hand, there are many spare bits in the common information field and special user information field of the trigger frame, and these spare bits can be used for DRU signaling. For example, in the EHT variant common information field format of the trigger frame of FIG. 8, bits B22, B53, B56-B62, and B63 are available. In the EHT variant special user information field, bits B25-B36, and B37-B38 are available.

[0227] Additionally, the distributed bandwidth of the assigned DRU (i.e., the frequency bandwidth to which the DRU is assigned) can be referred to as distributed bandwidth (DBW).

[0228] DBW mode can indicate an allowed combination of DBWs for DRU transmission. For example, DBW mode can be indicated in the common part or in the user information part.

[0229] Additionally, considering 80MHz-based PHY processing, it is better to perform separate DRU-related signal transmission for every 80MHz, which can reduce overhead.

[0230] However, considering the various potential DBW modes within 80MHz, more than two bits may be required for the DBW (mode) indication.

[0231] For example, potential DBW modes include:

[0232] - 80MHz (1 case), 160MHz (1 case), 20+20+40MHz, 40+20+20MHz (2 cases)

[0233] - P20+20+40MHz, 20+P20+40MHz, 40+P20+20MHz, 40+20+P20MHz (4 cases), P40+40MHz, 40+P40MHz (2 cases)

[0234] In the above cases, P20 and P40 represent unallocated channels (subblocks) of 20 MHz and 40 MHz, respectively (e.g., punctured). To individually indicate all of the above cases, 4 bits are required.

[0235] Since spare bits can be used for new PHY / MAC features, it is desirable to minimize overhead.

[0236] The simplest way to reduce overhead is to reduce the number of allowed DBW modes. However, most of the modes described above may be necessary considering 20MHz operating STAs and puncturing patterns.

[0237] An alternative approach is to use specific DBW mode directives when some of the other modes are applied. For example:

[0238] - The value representing 20+20+40MHz DBW mode can be used for P20+20+40MHz / 20+P20+40MHz / P40+40MHz DBW mode.

[0239] - The value indicating 40+20+20MHz DBW mode can be used for 40+P20+20MHz / 40+20+P20MHz / 40+P40MHz DBW mode.

[0240] This approach does not cause problems because it knows that no STA is assigned to the punctured channel and that the STA is not using any mode for TB PPDU transmission. Furthermore, assuming that the use of DRU is indicated in a separate subfield, only two bits may be required to indicate DBW mode.

[0241] Further benefits can be gained by separately indicating whether DRU is used in the TB PPDU. The present disclosure proposes an RRU / DRU flag subfield / bit (or DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit) and a DBW (mode) indication subfield / bit for such information.

[0242] For example, the DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit may be structured as follows:

[0243] - For trigger frames requesting 20 / 40 / 80MHz TB PPDU, the DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit consists of 1 bit and can indicate whether to use DRU in the entire bandwidth of the TB PPDU.

[0244] - For a trigger frame requesting 160 / 320MHz TB PPDU, the DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit consists of 1 bit for each 80MHz channel and can indicate whether to use DRU on the corresponding 80MHz channel of the TB PPDU.

[0245] - For trigger frames requesting 160 / 320MHz TB PPDU, the DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit may have different values ​​for each 80MHz channel.

[0246] For example, the DBW mode subfield may be configured as follows:

[0247] - When the trigger frame requests a 20 / 40MHz TB PPDU, the subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication may be reserved or used for other purposes, even if the DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit indicates DRU usage.

[0248] On the other hand, if 20+20MHz DBW mode is allowed at 40MHz, then a subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication may be required (i.e., used for DBW mode indication) when DRU is used in 40MHz TB PPDU.

[0249] - If the trigger frame requests an 80 / 160 / 320MHz TB PPDU and the DRU / RRU indication subfield / bit indicates that the DRU is not used on the particular 80MHz channel (i.e., only RRUs use the particular 80MHz channel), the subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication is reserved or may be used for other purposes.

[0250] In the above-described cases, unnecessary overhead can be reduced by reserving the subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication or using it for other purposes.

[0251] Consequently, the subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication may only be needed for 80 / 160 / 320 MHz TB PPDUs where DRU is used.

[0252] The detailed configuration of the subfields / bits for the DBW (mode) indication can be as follows:

[0253] - A subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication may exist within each 80 MHz of the trigger frame and may indicate DBW mode on the corresponding 80 MHz channel of the 80 / 160 / 320 MHz TB PPDU.

[0254] - The subfield / bit for DBW (mode) indication may have different values ​​on different 80 MHz channels for a trigger frame requesting a 160 / 320 MHz TB PPDU.

[0255] For example, for each 80 MHz frequency subblock, one of the DBW modes, such as {DBW 80 MHz}, {DBW 20 MHz + DBW 20 MHz + DBW 40 MHz}, or {DBW 40 MHz + DBW 20 MHz + DNW 20 MHz}, can be set.

[0256] As another example, there may be unallocated subchannels within each 80 MHz frequency subblock. In this case, considering the unallocated subchannels (i.e., referred to as gaps), any one of the DBW modes, such as {gap 20 MHz + DBW 20 MHz + DBW 40 MHz}, {DBW 20 MHz + gap 20 MHz + DBW 40 MHz}, {DBW 40 MHz + gap 20 MHz + DBW 20 MHz}, {DBW 40 MHz + DBW 20 MHz + gap 20 MHz}, {DBW 60 MHz + gap 20 MHz}, {gap 40 MHz + DBW 40 MHz}, {DBW 40 MHz + gap 40 MHz}, etc. may be set.

[0257] Additionally, the present disclosure proposes an alternative method for signaling the DRU application and distributed bandwidth (DBW) (i.e., the size of the channel over which the DRU is distributed) in a two-step manner in a trigger frame, in which a subfield for DBW (mode) indication can be used when unnecessary.

[0258] As described above, the indication of whether to apply the DRU of the trigger frame and the indication related to the DBW mode can be performed in two steps. For example, the indication of whether to apply the DRU and the indication related to the DBW mode can be transmitted in the UHR variant common information field or the UHR variant special user information field. As another example, the indication of whether to apply the DRU can be transmitted in the UHR variant common information field or the UHR variant special user information field, and the indication related to the DBW mode can be transmitted in the UHR variant user information field.

[0259] When triggering a 20 / 40 MHz TB PPDU or when triggering a TB PPDU transmitted by an RRU, the DBW mode indication may not be required (e.g., multiple DBW modes may not be supported when triggering a 20 / 40 MHz TB PPDU). In such cases, rather than simply reserving the bit / subfield for the DBW (mode) indication, it may be better to use it for other purposes, and this disclosure proposes the following alternative usages of the subfield.

[0260] Hereinafter, in the description of the present disclosure, for the convenience of explanation, a case in which an indication of whether to apply DRU (e.g., a DRU / RRU indication subfield) is transmitted in a UHR variant common information field or a UHR variant special user information field, and an indication related to a DBW mode is transmitted in a UHR variant user information field, will be mainly described. When an indication related to a DBW mode is transmitted in a UHR variant user information field, each UHR variant user information field can indicate a DBW allocated to each corresponding user (e.g., indicating one of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and 60 MHz with 2 bits), and the DBW mode can be indicated / set by combining the DBWs indicated in each UHR variant user information field. In this case, it may be referred to as a bit / subfield indicating the DBW of the DRU allocated to each user (hereinafter referred to as the DRU DBW (Distribution BW) subfield), and therefore, for example, the UHR variant user information field of the trigger frame may include the DRU DBW subfield.

[0261] When triggering a 20 or 40 MHz TB PPDU in a trigger frame (e.g., when triggering a 20 or 40 MHz TB PPDU and DRU application is indicated), the DRU DBW subfield can be used alternatively as follows:

[0262] Here, when triggering a 40 MHz TB PPDU, a DBW mode indication may be required if 20+20 MHz DBW mode is defined.

[0263] However, in the present disclosure, it is assumed that only the 40 MHz DBW mode is defined when triggering a 40 MHz TB PPDU. In this case, as in the case of triggering a 20 MHz TB PPDU, the DRU DBW subfield within each UHR variant user information field may be used alternatively as follows.

[0264] There are several ways in which the 20 or 40 MHz DRU tone plan and pilot tone can be defined. In these cases, the DRU DBW subfield can alternatively signal the tone plan and pilot tone.

[0265] For example, if the tone plan is defined in two ways and the pilot tone is also defined in two ways, the tone plan can be indicated using one bit of the DRU DBW subfield, and the pilot tone method can be indicated using the other bit. If the number of bits for DBW indication is insufficient, some of the bits corresponding to the existing EHT variant common information field, EHT variant special user information field, or spare bits of the EHT user information field can be additionally used.

[0266] For example, using two bits for DBW indication (e.g., i) all bits of the DRU DBW subfield or ii) all bits of the DRU DBW subfield + additional bits used), the following four cases can be indicated:

[0267] {Tone Plan Method 1 + Pilot Tone Method 1}, {Tone Plan Method 1 + Pilot Tone Method 2}, {Tone Plan Method 2 + Pilot Tone Method 1}, {Tone Plan Method 2 + Pilot Tone Method 2}

[0268] As another example, one of the bits in the DRU DBW subfield can be used to indicate two cases as follows:

[0269] {Tone Plan Method 1 + Pilot Tone Method 1 (or 2)}, {Tone Plan Method 2 + Pilot Tone Method 2 (or 1)}

[0270] Additionally, only one of the tone plan or pilot tone can be defined in two ways, while the other can be defined in only one way. In this case, one bit of the DRU DBW subfield can be used to indicate which of the two ways is defined (tone plan or pilot tone).

[0271] Additionally, i) when triggering a TB PPDU of 20 / 40 MHz in a trigger frame, if the subfield / bit for DRU / RRU indication indicates that only one of RRU or DRU is applicable to the entire channel, or ii) when triggering a TB PPDU of 80 MHz or more in a trigger frame, if the subfield / bit for DRU / RRU indication of a specific 80 MHz channel indicates that only one of RRU or DRU is applicable to the corresponding channel, the DRU DBW subfield in the corresponding channel may be used alternatively as follows:

[0272] For example, when triggering a TB PPDU of 80 MHz or more, a pattern (e.g., a puncturing pattern) for an unallocated channel (subblock) in the 80 MHz channel (i.e., a channel (or subblock) to which no DRU or RRU is allocated) may be indicated. In other words, when DRU is applied, a pattern (e.g., a puncturing pattern) for an unallocated channel (or subblock) may be indicated together with a DBW indication in the DRU DBW subfield. Here, when the number of bits for the DBW indication is insufficient, some of the bits corresponding to the reserved bits of the existing EHT variant common information field, the EHT variant special user information field, or the EHT variant user information field may be additionally used.

[0273] For example, a pattern (e.g., a puncturing pattern) for unallocated channels (or subblocks) can be indicated in a bitmap manner using 4 bits for DBW indication (e.g., i) all bits of the DRU DBW subfield or ii) all bits of the DRU DBW subfield + additional bits). In this case, starting from the lowest index bit (e.g., the Most Significant Bit (MSB) or the leftmost bit of the bitmap), the 20 MHz channel (or subblock) with the lowest frequency, the 20 MHz channel (or subblock) with the second lowest frequency, the 20 MHz channel (or subblock) with the second highest frequency, and the 20 MHz channel (or subblock) with the highest frequency can be mapped to indicate whether each 20 MHz channel (or subblock) is an unallocated channel (or subblock) (e.g., whether to puncture). Here, when triggering a 20 / 40 MHz TB PPDU in a trigger frame, it can indicate that there are no unallocated channels (or sub-blocks) (e.g., not puncturing), and the above bitmaps can all be set to 1.

[0274] Alternatively, a specific number of bits among the bits used for DBW indication may be used to indicate unallocated channels (or subblocks) (e.g., puncturing patterns) using the same values ​​for puncturing pattern indication applied at 20 / 40 / 80 MHz of the existing EHT as shown in Table 9 below. Here, if the number of bits for DBW indication is insufficient, some of the bits corresponding to the reserved bits of the existing EHT variant common information field, the EHT variant special user information field, or the EHT variant user information field may be additionally used.

[0275] Here, for 80 MHz, additional patterns (e.g., puncturing patterns) for unallocated channels (or subblocks) can be defined and indicated by mapping to new values. For example, patterns of xx11, 11xx can be indicated using two values ​​greater than or equal to 5. As another example, patterns of 1xx1 can be indicated using one value greater than or equal to 5. As yet another example, patterns of 1xxx, x1xx, xx1x, xxx1 can be indicated using four values ​​greater than or equal to 5.

[0276] If triggering a 20 / 40 MHz TB PPDU in a trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may not be used for that purpose, as unallocated channels (or subblocks) (e.g., puncturing) are not applied, and may be reserved or used for other purposes.

[0277]

[0278] Alternatively, when triggering a 20 / 40 MHz TB PPDU in the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may indicate the PPDU version of the TB PPDU. In addition, when triggering a TB PPDU of 80 MHz or more in the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may indicate the PPDU version of the TB PPDU triggered on the corresponding 80 MHz channel. Here, the PPDU version may include HE, EHT, and UHR. For example, using two bits of the DRU DBW subfield, a value of 0 for the bit for indicating DBW mode may indicate HE, a value of 1 may indicate EHT, a value of 2 may indicate UHR, and a value of 3 may be reserved. Here, when the number of bits for indicating DBW is insufficient, some of the bits corresponding to the reserved bits of the existing EHT variant common information field, the EHT variant special user information field, or the EHT variant user information field may be additionally used. On the other hand, since it is always a UHR PPDU when DRU is applied, no additional instructions may be needed.

[0279] In addition, considering versions after UHR, multiple bits (for example, 3 or more bits) can be used to indicate versions after UHR. For example, a value of 0 in the DRU DBW subfield can indicate HE, a value of 1 can indicate EHT, a value of 2 can indicate UHR, and values ​​of 3 or more can be reserved. These reserved values ​​can be mapped to later defined versions after UHR. Here, if the number of bits for DBW indication is insufficient, some of the bits corresponding to the reserved bits of the existing EHT variant common information field, the EHT variant special user information field, or the EHT variant user information field can be additionally used.

[0280] In addition, in the existing EHT, it was possible to distinguish whether the TB PPDU triggered by the trigger frame was the HE version or the EHT version by B54 and B55 of the EHT variant common information field of the trigger frame. Therefore, if this is used in the same way, there may be no need to separately indicate the HE version using the DRU DBW subfield. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish whether the TB PPDU triggered by the trigger frame is the EHT version or the UHR version using 1 bit of the DRU DBW subfield. For example, a value of 0 of the bit for indicating the DBW mode can indicate EHT, and a value of 1 can indicate UHR. In addition, versions after UHR can be indicated using multiple bits, taking into account versions after UHR. For example, a value of 0 of the DRU DBW subfield can indicate EHT, a value of 1 can indicate UHR, and values ​​3 or more can be reserved. These reserved values ​​can be mapped to versions after UHR later by defining them. Here, if the number of bits for DBW indication is insufficient, some of the bits corresponding to the existing EHT variant common information field, EHT variant special user information field, or reserved bits of the EHT variant user information field may be additionally used. If the bits for DBW indication are used for this purpose, they may perform the same role as the PHY version identifier subfield of the special user information field. When considering A-PPDU, etc., since special user information fields of various variants may exist, it may be desirable to indicate a clear version for each channel within 80 MHz.

[0281] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a PPDU format according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0282] Referring to FIG. 14, a UHR PPDU that can be used in a UHR system may include some format features of HE TB PPDU and EHT TB PPDU. For example, a UHR PPDU (e.g., UHR TB PPDU) may be configured to include L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, UHR-STF, UHR-LTF(s), and data fields.

[0283] Additionally, although not shown in FIG. 14, a UHR PPDU (e.g., a UHR MU PPDU) may be configured to further include a UHR SIG between the U-SIG and the UHR-STF.

[0284] In FIG. 14, L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG may be referred to as legacy parts, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and UHR-SIG (if included) may be referred to as SIG parts, UHR-STF may be referred to as STF part, and UHR-LTF may be referred to as LTF part.

[0285] All or part of all parts (i.e., fields) of Fig. 14 may be divided into multiple subparts / subfields. Each field (and its subfields) may be transmitted in units of 4us * N (N is an integer). In addition, it may include a guard interval (GI: Guard Interval) (or short GI) defined in a conventional wireless LAN system. A common subcarrier frequency spacing value (delta_f = 312.5 kHz / N or 312.5 kHz * N, N = integer) may be applied to all of the illustrated fields, or a first delta_f may be applied to the first part (e.g., all legacy parts, all / part of SIG parts), and a second delta_f (e.g., a value smaller than the first delta_f) may be applied to all / part of the remaining parts.

[0286] Some of the fields shown may be omitted, and the order of the fields is shown as an example and may be changed in various ways.

[0287] The SIG part may include various control information for the transmitted PPDU. For example, it may include the STF part, the LTF part, and control information for decoding data. For example, it may include all or part of the information included in the HE-SIG-A information described above, the information included in the HE-SIG-B information, the information included in the U-SIG information, and the information included in the EHT-SIG.

[0288] An STF part may contain an STF sequence.

[0289] The LTF part may include a training field (i.e., an LTF sequence) for channel estimation.

[0290] The data field contains user data and may contain packets for upper layers, i.e., may contain MPDUs (MAC Frames).

[0291] FIG. 15 illustrates the operation of a STA device for a PPDU transmission and reception method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0292] Figure 15 illustrates the operation of a STA device based on the previously proposed methods. The example in Figure 15 is provided for convenience of explanation and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Some of the steps illustrated in Figure 15 may be omitted depending on the circumstances and / or settings.

[0293] Referring to FIG. 15, the STA device receives a trigger frame from the AP device (S1501).

[0294] Here, the trigger frame may include a common information field and a user information field. For example, the trigger frame may include a UHR variant common information field and a UHR variant user information field. In addition, the trigger frame may further include a UHR variant special user information field.

[0295] The common information field may include a DRU / RRU indication subfield, and the DRU / RRU indication subfield may indicate whether DRU transmission or RRU transmission is requested for the PPDU.

[0296] Based on the DRU transmission request for the PPDU by the DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field may include a DRU DBW subfield indicating a distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU.

[0297] As described above, each of the one or more DRUs may be composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

[0298] For example, based on a request for DRU transmission for a 20 MHz or 40 MHz PPDU by the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may indicate a tone plan mode and / or a pilot tone mode for the one or more DRUs instead of DBW.

[0299] Here, a tone plan method and / or a pilot tone method may be indicated by using one or more bits of the DRU DBW subfield together with one or more bits of the common information field or special user information field.

[0300] Additionally, for example, based on a request for DRU transmission for a PPDU with a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz or more by the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may indicate one or more unallocated subchannels in a specific 80 MHz channel.

[0301] Here, the one or more unallocated subchannels may be indicated in a bitmap manner based on the DRU DBW subfield, and based on the value of each bit of the bitmap mapped to each 20 MHz subchannel of the specific 80 MHz channel, it may be indicated whether each 20 MHz subchannel is an unallocated subchannel. In addition, the bitmap may be configured using one or more bits of the DRU DBW subfield and one or more bits of the common information field or the special user information field.

[0302] Additionally, for example, based on whether DRU transmission for a 20 MHz or 40 MHz PPDU is requested by the trigger frame, the PPDU version of the PPDU may be indicated based on the DRU DBW subfield.

[0303] The STA device transmits a PPDU to the AP device based on a trigger frame (S1502).

[0304] The STA device can obtain information about the Tone Plan, the type of LTF used, and information about the DRU. As described above, information about the Tone Plan may include the size and location of the DRU, control information related to the DRU, information about the frequency band in which the DRU is included, and information about the STA transmitting and receiving the DRU. In addition, the STA device can obtain information about whether an RRU transmission or a DRU transmission is requested, and information about the DBW.

[0305] And, the STA device can configure / generate a PPDU based on the acquired control information. The step of configuring / generating the PPDU may include a step of configuring / generating each field of the PPDU. That is, step S1502 includes a step of configuring U-SIG and UHR-SIG fields including control information regarding a Tone Plan. For example, step S1502 may include a step of configuring a field including control information indicating a bandwidth of the PPDU and / or a step of configuring a field including control information (e.g., an N bitmap) indicating a size / position of a DRU and / or a step of configuring a field including an identifier (e.g., an AID) of an STA receiving the DRU. In the case of a TB PPDU, only a part of the information may be included.

[0306] Additionally, step S1502 may include a step of generating an STF / LTF sequence to be transmitted via a specific DRU. The STF / LTF sequence may be generated based on a preset STF generation sequence / LTF generation sequence.

[0307] Additionally, step S1502 may include a step of generating a data field (i.e., MPDU) to be transmitted through a specific DRU.

[0308] For the S1502 operation, at least one of operations such as cyclic shift diversity (CSD), spatial mapping, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) / inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) operation, and guard interval (GI) insertion may be performed.

[0309] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a distributed bandwidth (DBW) for one or more DRUs within the PPDU may be defined / set / allocated. Furthermore, each of the one or more DRUs may be composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

[0310] A signal / field / sequence configured according to the present disclosure can be transmitted in the form of FIG. 14.

[0311] The method described in the example of FIG. 15 may be performed by the first device (200) of FIG. 1. For example, one or more processors (202) of the first device (200) of FIG. 1 may be configured to generate a PPDU and transmit the PPDU via the transceiver(s) (106). Furthermore, one or more memories (204) of the first device (200) may store commands for performing the method described in the example of FIG. 15 or the examples described above when executed by one or more processors (202).

[0312] FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of an AP device for a PPDU transmission and reception method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0313] Figure 16 illustrates the operation of an AP device based on the previously proposed methods. The example in Figure 16 is provided for convenience of explanation and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Some of the steps illustrated in Figure 16 may be omitted depending on the circumstances and / or settings.

[0314] Referring to FIG. 16, the AP device transmits a trigger frame to the STA device (S1601).

[0315] Here, the trigger frame may include a common information field and a user information field. For example, the trigger frame may include a UHR variant common information field and a UHR variant user information field. In addition, the trigger frame may further include a UHR variant special user information field.

[0316] The common information field may include a DRU / RRU indication subfield, and the DRU / RRU indication subfield may indicate whether DRU transmission or RRU transmission is requested for the PPDU.

[0317] Based on the DRU transmission request for the PPDU by the DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field may include a DRU DBW subfield indicating a distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU.

[0318] As described above, each of the one or more DRUs may be composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

[0319] For example, based on a request for DRU transmission for a 20 MHz or 40 MHz PPDU by the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may indicate a tone plan mode and / or a pilot tone mode for the one or more DRUs instead of DBW.

[0320] Here, a tone plan method and / or a pilot tone method may be indicated by using one or more bits of the DRU DBW subfield together with one or more bits of the common information field or special user information field.

[0321] Additionally, for example, based on a request for DRU transmission for a PPDU with a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz or more by the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield may indicate one or more unallocated subchannels in a specific 80 MHz channel.

[0322] Here, the one or more unallocated subchannels may be indicated in a bitmap manner based on the DRU DBW subfield, and based on the value of each bit of the bitmap mapped to each 20 MHz subchannel of the specific 80 MHz channel, it may be indicated whether each 20 MHz subchannel is an unallocated subchannel. In addition, the bitmap may be configured using one or more bits of the DRU DBW subfield and one or more bits of the common information field or the special user information field.

[0323] Additionally, for example, based on whether DRU transmission for a 20 MHz or 40 MHz PPDU is requested by the trigger frame, the PPDU version of the PPDU may be indicated based on the DRU DBW subfield.

[0324] The AP device receives a PPDU based on a trigger frame from the STA device (S1602).

[0325] The AP device may receive all or part of the PPDU through step S1602. Here, for the operation of step S1602, the AP device may perform an operation to restore the results of the CSD, Spatial Mapping, IDFT / IFFT operation, and GI insertion operation applied by the STA device (e.g., applied in step S1502).

[0326] Here, the AP device can decode all or part of the PPDU. Additionally, the AP device can obtain control information related to the Tone Plan (i.e., DRU) from the decoded PPDU.

[0327] More specifically, the AP device can decode the L-SIG and U-SIG fields of the PPDU based on the Legacy STF / LTF, and obtain information included in the L-SIG and U-SIG fields. For example, information about various Tone Plans (i.e., DRUs) proposed in the present disclosure can be included in the UHR-SIG field, and the AP device can obtain information about the Tone Plan (i.e., DRU) through the UHR-SIG field. When receiving a TB PPDU, the receiving AP may already know information about the Tone Plan (i.e., DRU).

[0328] Furthermore, the AP device can decode the remaining portion of the PPDU based on the acquired Tone Plan (i.e., DRU) information. For example, the AP device can decode the STF / LTF field of the PPDU based on the Tone Plan (i.e., DRU) information. Furthermore, the AP device can decode the Data field of the PPDU based on the Tone Plan (i.e., RU) information and obtain the MPDU included in the Data field.

[0329] Additionally, the AP device can perform processing operations to forward decoded data to a higher layer (e.g., the MAC layer). Furthermore, if the higher layer instructs the PHY layer to generate a signal in response to the data forwarded to the higher layer, subsequent operations can be performed.

[0330] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a distributed bandwidth (DBW) for one or more DRUs within the PPDU may be defined / set / allocated. Furthermore, each of the one or more DRUs may be composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

[0331] The method described in the example of FIG. 16 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 be configured to receive and process PPDUs via the transceiver(s) (106). Furthermore, one or more memories (204) of the second device (200) may store commands for performing the method described in the example of FIG. 16 or the examples described above when executed by one or more processors (202).

[0332] In conventional wireless LAN systems, the RU (i.e., RRU) allocated to each STA for OFDMA transmission consists only of continuous subcarriers in the frequency domain. However, in contrast, RUs (i.e., DRUs) composed of discontinuous subcarriers can be allocated for OFDMA transmission according to the examples of the present disclosure. Accordingly, by allocating RUs composed of discontinuous subcarriers, transmission power can be improved, thereby achieving the effect of enhancing wireless communication efficiency. In addition, when requesting DRU transmission in a trigger frame, signaling overhead can be reduced since bits / subfields for indicating DBW in specific situations are alternatively used.

[0333] 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 form embodiments of the present disclosure by combining some components and / or features. 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 do not have an explicit citation relationship in the patent claims may be combined to form embodiments or incorporated as new claims through post-application amendments.

[0334] 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.

[0335] 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.

[0336] The method proposed in this disclosure is 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. In a method performed by a station (STA: station) in a wireless LAN system, the method: A step of receiving a trigger frame from an access point (AP); and A step of transmitting a PPDU (physical protocol data unit) to the AP based on the trigger frame, The above trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information field, Based on the request for DRU transmission for the PPDU by the DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field includes a DRU DBW subfield indicating the distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU, A method wherein each of said one or more DRUs is composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

2. In paragraph 1, A method for indicating a tone plan mode and / or a pilot tone mode for one or more DRUs instead of DBW based on the DRU DBW subfield, based on a request for DRU transmission for a 20 MHz or 40 MHz PPDU by the trigger frame.

3. In paragraph 2, A method in which a tone plan method and / or a pilot tone method is indicated by using one or more bits of the above DRU DBW subfield together with one or more bits of the above common information field or special user information field.

4. In paragraph 1, A method wherein, based on a request for DRU transmission for a PPDU of a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz or more by the trigger frame, the DRU DBW subfield indicates one or more unallocated subchannels in a specific 80 MHz channel.

5. In paragraph 4, The one or more unallocated subchannels are indicated in a bitmap manner based on the DRU DBW subfield, A method wherein, based on the value of each bit of the bitmap mapped to each 20 MHz subchannel of the specific 80 MHz channel, it is indicated whether each 20 MHz subchannel is an unallocated subchannel.

6. In paragraph 5, A method wherein the bitmap is configured using one or more bits of the DRU DBW subfield and one or more bits of the common information field or the special user information field.

7. In paragraph 1, A method wherein the PPDU version of the PPDU is indicated based on the DRU DBW subfield, based on a request for DRU transmission for a 20 MHz or 40 MHz PPDU by the trigger frame.

8. In a station (STA) device in a wireless LAN system, the device: 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: Receive a trigger frame from an access point (AP); and It is set to transmit a PPDU (physical protocol data unit) to the AP based on the above trigger frame, The above trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information field, Based on the request for DRU transmission for the PPDU by the DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field includes a DRU DBW subfield indicating the distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU, A device, wherein each of said one or more DRUs is composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

9. In a method performed by an access point (AP) in a wireless LAN system, the method comprises: A step of transmitting a trigger frame to a station (STA: station); and A step of receiving a PPDU (physical protocol data unit) from the STA based on the trigger frame, The above trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information field, Based on the request for DRU transmission for the PPDU by the DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field includes a DRU DBW subfield indicating the distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU, A method wherein each of said one or more DRUs is composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

10. In an access point (AP) device in a wireless LAN system, the device: 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: Transmit a trigger frame to a station (STA); and It is set to receive a PPDU (physical protocol data unit) from the STA based on the trigger frame, The above trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information field, Based on the request for DRU transmission for the PPDU by the DRU / RRU indication subfield of the common information field, the user information field includes a DRU DBW subfield indicating the distributed bandwidth (DBW) of one or more DRUs allocated in the PPDU, A device, wherein each of said one or more DRUs is composed of non-consecutive distributed subcarriers.

11. In a processing device configured to control a station (STA: station) in a wireless LAN system, 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 7.

12. 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 in a wireless LAN system to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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