Communication control devices and methods

Abstract

A first communication control device is configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a first communication device configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices. The first communication control device comprising control circuitry configured to define a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRU) by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs; and map second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device to map second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.

Description

WITTEWELLERPAT E N TA N WA LT EApplicants:Sony Group Corporation 27.01.20261-7-1 Konan 4727P383WO - SK Minato-KuTokyo 108-0075JAPAN SONY Europe LimitedThe Heights, Brooklands,Weybridge, SurreyKT130XWUNITED KINGDOMCOMMUNICATION CONTROL DEVICES AND METHODSBACKGROUNDFIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication control devices and methods, in particular to control a wireless communication circuitry of a communication device configured to communicate with one or more other communication devices.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[0002] In communication systems, in particular for wireless communication, the transmission bandwidth is often organized by resource units (RUs) of different size. These Rlls are defined by a continuous block of tones (e.g., OFDM subcarriers). For long-range or high-reliability operations, it is desired to reduce bandwidth or the number of tones of a RU to enhance transmit power per bandwidth or per tone while keeping average power same. However, due to regulatory bodies defining a limit on spectral power density, the enhancement of transmit power of Rlls is limited. Distributed resource units (dRUs) can lower the spectral density of transmissions of data units (e.g. PPDlls) enabling a power boost at the transmitting communication device. However, this may create the problem of low spectral efficiency when allocating resources to a low number of communication devices.

[0003] The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor(s), to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.SUMMARY

[0004] It is an object to increase the spectral efficiency. It is a further object to provide corresponding communication devices and methods as well as a corresponding computer program and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for implementing said communication methods.

[0005] According to an aspect there is provided a first communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a first communication device configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices, the first communication control device comprising control circuitry configured to:define a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRU) by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs; andmap second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device tomap second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.

[0006] According to a further aspect there is provided a third communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a third communication device configured to communicate with a first communication device, the third communication control device comprising control circuitry configured to:process allocation information related to the allocation of tones to second distributed resource units (dRUs), wherein two or more second dRUs are defined to be combined to define a multiple dRU (MdRLI), wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs, and wherein second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted from the first communication device to the third communication device or from the third communication device to the first communication device are mapped onto the MdRU; anddemap from the MdRU the second complex symbols of the second data stream of data received from the first communication device according to the processed allocation information and / or to map onto the MdRU second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to the first communication device according to the processed allocation information.

[0007] According to still further aspects corresponding methods, a computer program comprising program means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method disclosed herein, when said computer program is carried out on a computer, as well as a non- transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor, causes the methods disclosed herein to be performed are provided.

[0008] Embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. It shall be understood that the disclosed methods, the disclosed computer program and the disclosed computer-readable recording medium have similar and / or identical further embodiments as the claimed devices and as defined in the dependent claims and / or disclosed herein.

[0009] The present disclosure introduces the definition of a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRU) and a corresponding parsing operation to increase the spectral efficiency of the dRU operation. One of the aspects of the disclosure is to allow for dRUs to be combined to keep a maximum spectral density limit when a power boost is needed and to neglect this limit in the dRU combination for communication device (e.g. stations (STAs)) that do not require a power boost to fill the distribution bandwidth (herein also called “available bandwidth”) for transmission of data units (e.g. PPDUs).

[0010] In this context, it shall be noted that the expressions “available bandwidth” and “distribution bandwidth” are mutually used herein with the same meaning. There can be several distribution bandwidths (e.g., 20MH, 40MHz, and 80MHz), and within a large bandwidth PPDU (>= 80MHz) there can be subblocks with different distribution bandwidths where the dRUs can be defined. For example, in an 80MHz PPDU there can be two blocks of 20MHz and one with 40MHz. The second dRUs that are combined to form a MdRU can belong to different frequency subblocks with same or different distribution bandwidths. The present disclosure allows the possibility to have the two or more dRUs being in separate frequency blocks with same of different distribution bandwidths.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first communication device may be an access point (AP), the second communication device may be STA requiring a power boost, and the third communication device may be STA not requiring a power boost. The AP may be configured to communicate with the STAs, and each of the AP and the STA may comprise a corresponding communication control device for controlling a wireless communication circuitry of the respective communication device.

[0012] The foregoing paragraphs have been provided by way of general introduction and are not intended to limit the scope of the following claims. The described embodiments, together with further advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0013] A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:Fig. 1 shows the different regular resource units of WLAN for 20 MHz, 40 MHz and 80 MHz.Fig. 2 shows a diagram illustrating 52+26 tone MRUs in an OFDMA 20 MHz EHT PPDU.Fig. 3 shows a table illustrating subcarrier allocation related constants for MRUs in an OFDMA EHT PPDU.Fig. 4 shows diagrams illustrating the difference between a regular RU and a distributed RU.Fig. 5 shows a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the layout of the main communication devices in an embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a transmitter according to the present disclosure.Fig. 7 shows a diagram illustrating the low efficiency allocation issue addressed by the present disclosure in a 40MHz PPDU.Fig. 8 shows several tables that illustrate the size of unallocated dRUs for specific dRU allocations considering a 20MHz, 40MHz and 80MHz PPDU bandwidth.Fig. 9 shows a diagram illustrating the MdRU parsing operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 10 shows a diagram illustrating the first embodiment of MdRU allocation with MRU size in 80MHz PPDU that solves the low efficiency allocation issue illustrated in Fig. 21.Fig. 11 shows a diagram illustrating a fixed MdRU with hierarchical dRU tone map for a 20MHz PPDUFig. 12 shows a diagram of a fixed MdRU definition based on hierarchical dRU tone map for an 80MHz PPDU.Fig. 13 shows tables indicating new MdRU definitions including the corresponding PHY parameters.Fig. 14 shows a diagram of a dRU set with power boost containing a 106-tone dRU and a 26-tone dRUs.Fig. 15 shows a diagram of two 26-tone dRUs allowing the same power boost and a dRU set with power boost containing a 4x106 MdRU.Fig. 16 shows a diagram illustrating the definition of MdRU with hierarchical dRU tone map for 20+40MHz PPDU.Fig. 17 shows a diagram of a known transmitter using known parameters.Fig. 18 shows a diagram of a transmitter illustration multi-user transmission using the definition of MdRUs with spatial and frequency mapping changes.Fig. 19 shows a diagram illustrating the second embodiment of MdRU allocation with MRU size in a 40MHz PPDU that solves the low efficiency allocation issue illustrated in Fig. 7.Fig. 20 shows a diagram illustrating the MdRU parsing operation according to the second embodiment of MdRU allocation for the example illustrated in Fig. 19.Fig. 21 shows a diagram illustrating the low efficiency allocation issue addressed by the present disclosure in an 80MHz PPDll.Fig. 22 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a first communication control method according to the present disclosure.Fig. 23 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a third communication control method according to the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) is used by IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards (hereinafter referred to as “802.11”) to efficiently multiplex transmissions to or from several stations (STAs) within the frequency domain. Each STA (herein referred to as an example of a “communication device”) generally is allocated a resource unit (RU) consisting of a set of subcarriers or tones for all OFDM symbols in a PPDU (herein referred to as an example of a “data unit”). In addition, the standard amendment 802.11 be includes the possibility to combine specific RU sizes into a multiple RU (MRU) to increase efficiency and flexibility.

[0015] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, Fig. 1 shows the different regular resource units (rRUs) of WLAN for 20 MHz (Fig. 1A), 40 MHz (Fig. 1B) and 80 MHz (Fig.1C). There are fixed MRU combinations allowed in the standard namely: 52+26, 106+26, 484+242, 996+484, 996+484+242, 2x996+484, 3x996, and 3x996+484 tone MRUs. There are guard subcarriers, null subcarriers, and data subcarriers. It shall be noted in this context that the terms “subcarriers”, “carriers” and “tones” are equivalently used herein and shall be understood as meaning the same. Fig. 2 depicts 52+26 tone MRUs in anOFDMA 20 MHz EHT PPDll (extremely high throughput PPDll). Fig. 3 depicts a table showing subcarrier allocation related constants for MRUs in an OFDMA EHT PPDU.

[0016] In a downlink transmission, i.e., a transmission from an access point (AP) to one or more stations (STAs), the data for each STA may be contained in an RU. For example, different data to two STAs can be multiplexed in downlink in two 106 tone RUs. Similarly, in uplink transmission, i.e., transmission from one or more STAs to an AP, each STA puts its data to be transmitted on a distinct RU. Since the transmit data is contained in different RUs the data is multiplexed in frequency and can be retrieved without mutual interference.

[0017] Regulatory bodies define two limits: a maximum total transmit power (dBm) and a maximum spectral power density (dBm / MHz). Assuming a device just transmits a single rRU, the less tones an rRU has, the higher the spectral power density can be while maintaining the total transmit power. Thus, if a rRU gets small, the maximum spectral power density is a limiting factor; hence, transmit power is less than the maximum total transmit power.

[0018] Fig. 4 shows diagrams illustrating the difference between an rRU (shown in Fig. 4A) and a dRU (shown in Fig. 4B). In 802.11ax and 802.11be, the tones comprising each RU are defined to be contiguous (with some exceptions for e.g., middle RUs) as shown in Fig. 4A. These RUs are referred to as regular RUs (rRUs). Distributed resource units (dRUs) have been proposed for 802.11 bn amendment, wherein the tones allocated to each dRU are spread over a larger bandwidth compared to rRUs as shown in Fig. 4B. The objective of dRUs is to decrease the spectral density of each dRU and overcome transmit power limitations set by regulatory power spectral density limits. This means that dRUs can be transmitted with higher power that rRUs. To simplify implementation, the structure of dRUs has been proposed to be hierarchical wherein larger dRUs are defined as combinations of smaller dRUs and the dRU definitions follow the same sizes as rRUs in previous amendments.

[0019] Fig. 5 shows a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the layout of the main communication devices in an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to thisembodiment the AP 10 (first communication device), the STA1 20 (second communication device) and the STA230 (third communication device) each comprises a communication control device 11, 21, 31 that controls a wireless communication circuitry 12, 22, 32 of the respective communication device so that the AP 10 can communication with STA1 20 and STA230. The communication control devices 11, 21, 31 may each further comprise control circuitry 13, 23, 33 to control the wireless communication circuitry of the respective communication device. The wireless communication circuitry 12, 22, 32 and / or the control circuitry 13, 23, 33 may implement the components of the respective communication device as illustrated hereinafter and may carry out the respective functions of these components. In an embodiment, the first communication device 10 may be an AP, the second communication device 20 may be a STA requiring power boost, and the third communication device 30 may be a STA not requiring power boost.

[0020] Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a transmitter 40 according to the present disclosure (the first communication device, representing in an embodiment an AP). Fig. 6 particularly illustrates the physical layer (PHY) operation for sending PSDlls to several users in a multi-user transmission. In the downlink (DL), the AP 40 will generate the PSDlls for all users (a user being a non-AP STA, e.g. the STA1 referred to as user 0 and STA2 referred to as user N_u-1) and transmit a multi-user PPDll (MU-PPDU) whereas in the uplink (UL) the AP 40 triggers the STAs to jointly transmit a trigger-based PPDll (TB-PPDU). In the UL each user generates its own PSDU.

[0021] The size of the allocated RU determines the number of data subcarriers or data tones, i.e. , NSD, that will be used for data transmission. The selection of modulation and coding scheme (MCS) parameter determines the number of coded bits per subcarrier (NBPSCS) and coding rate (R). In turn, the number of coded bits per OFDM symbol (NCBPS) is given by the product between NBPSCS and NSD. Furthermore, the number of data bits per OFDM symbol (NDBPS) is obtained by multiplying NCBPS times R.

[0022] The pre-FEC padding (FEC, i.e., forward error correction) operation by a pre-FEC padding unit 41, 51 is done before the FEC coding and includes a MAC and PHY pre-FEC padding. The NDBPS determines the number of bits for each user’s FEC-padding as explained below. A scrambler 42, 52 takes the bits in the service field, PSDU and pre-FECPHY padding and randomizes their order to provide diversity against effective channel variations. A FEC coding unit 43, 53, which may apply either binary convolutional code (BCC) or low-density parity check (LDPC) coding, adds redundancy to the input bits to provide robustness and possibility to do error correction due to noise, distortions and / or channel variations. Once the FEC padding has been determined, these operations are not affected by the Rll allocation.

[0023] A post-FEC padding unit 44, 54 operates after the FEC coding and includes the bits needed to fill the last OFDM symbol in the data field. A stream parser 45, 55 processes the encoded bits in blocks of NCBPS and rearranges them into as many groups as the number of spatial streams (NSS) wherein each group contains NCBPSS bits (i.e., number of coded bits per OFDM symbol per spatial stream). The bits from the NSS groups are assigned to each spatial stream in a round robin fashion in subgroups based on the constellation size.

[0024] A BCC interleaver 46, 56 (applied only when BCC is used) is applied to each NCBPSS block obtained from the stream parser by entering the bits in rows and reading them out in columns. The number of rows Nrow and number of columns Ncol are specified based on the size of the allocated Rll size. The product between Nrow and Ncol divided by the number of coded bits per subcarrier (NBPSCS) should be equal to the number of data tones, NSD, in the corresponding Rll. A constellation mapper 47, 57 maps the NCBPS into in-phase and quadrature constellation points depending on the selected modulation order resulting in NSS streams of complex symbols wherein each stream contains as many symbols as data tones, NSD, in the corresponding Rll. The complex symbols (sometimes also referred to as complex numbers), generally correspond to bits that are mapped to complex constellation points by the constellation mapper. An LDPC tone mapper 48, 58 (applied only when LDPC is used) permutes the streams of complex symbols from the constellation mapper with a fixed tone mapping distance that is defined based on the RU size. The larger the RU size the larger the distance is to increase frequency diversity. A cyclic shift diversity (CSD) unit 49, 59 applies predetermined time shifts per spatial stream and / or transmission antennas to avoid unintentional beamforming effects.

[0025] A spatial and frequency mapping unit 60 maps the complex symbols onto each transmission antenna for each subcarrier via the spatial mapping matrix and onto the frequency location of the data tones of the corresponding Rll within the PPDll bandwidth. The spatial mapping matrix maps each spatial stream into the transmission antennas. Finally, an inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) unit 61 creates the time domain OFDM symbol upon which guard interval (Gl) insertion and windowing operations are performed in a Gl and windowing unit 62 before going into analog RF circuitry 62 to be transmitted into the wireless medium.

[0026] Herein, data streams refer to the complex numbers (or symbols) that are obtained after the constellation mapper (or LDPC tone mapper when present), these are processed in blocks of NSD tones per OFDM symbol and are mapped to the subcarrier indices of the corresponding MdRLI by the MdRLI parsing operation. Data streams can be composed of one or more spatial streams that are mapped to transmit antennas via the spatial mapping operation.

[0027] In the following, main steps of an embodiment of the pre-FEC and post-FEC padding process for an MU-PPDU will be discussed. In a first step of the pre-FEC and post-FEC padding process, the number of data bits in the last OFDM symbol per user is computed. The last OFDM symbol of the data field is partitioned into four segments and the pre-FEC padding is computed up to one of such segments determined by the pre-FEC padding factor “a”. Each of the first 3 out of 4 segments contains a predefined number of data subcarriers (NSD_short) which is used to calculate the corresponding number of data bits (NDBPS_short) of the corresponding segments. It shall be noted that, since four segments equate a full OFDM symbol, when a = 4, NSD and NDBPS are used. In addition, the transmitter computes a number of excess bits (Nexcess) in the last OFDM symbol based on the length of the PSDll and the NDBPS.

[0028] In a second step of the pre-FEC and post-FEC padding process, initial PHY parameters per user are computed. For each user in the multi-user transmission, an initial number of pre-FEC padding factor “ajnit” is obtained based as follows:ajnit <An initial number of OFDM symbols (NSYMJnit) in data field is computed aswhere APEP_LENGTH is the number of octets of data that are included in the PSDll. Ntail corresponds to the tail bits when using BCC (Ntail = 0 for LDPC) and Nservice are the number of service bits.

[0029] In a third step of the pre-FEC and post-FEC padding process, common PHY parameters among all users are computed. After performing the second step for each STA, a common NSYMJnit and ajnit value is chosen that corresponds to the longest packet duration among all users. From these values, an initial NDBPS and number of coded bits per symbol (NCBPS) for the last OFDM symbol are computed. In turn, these values are used to compute the number of payload bits and available bits used for LDPC coding.

[0030] In a fourth step of the pre-FEC and post-FEC padding process, PHY parameters are modified if required by coding operation. The FEC coding is either BCC or LDPC. For BCC the coding parameters remain unchanged, however for LDPC the data bits are encoded into an integer number of codewords (CWs) of a fixed size. Because the data bits may not fit precisely into an integer number of CWs, a puncturing operation may be used to remove some bits. If the number of puncturing bits is too large, an additional segment to the last OFDM symbol may be added which would result in an update of the pre-FEC padding parameter “a”, the number of data and coded bits in the last OFDM symbol, and possibly the total number of OFDM symbols NSYM if the ajnit =4.

[0031] In a fifth step of the pre-FEC and post-FEC padding process, the number of padding bits is computed. From the fourth step, a final number of OFDM symbols (NSYM) and pre- FEC padding factor “a” is obtained. Then, the final NDBPS and NCBPS for the last OFDMsymbol, namely, NDBPSJast and NCBPSJast respectively, are computed. The pre-FEC padding bits are computed for each user asN_PAD_preFEC_u = (NSYM - 1) NDBPS_u + NDBPS_last_u - 8 APEP_LENGTH - Nservice — Ntail ,where “_u” indicates the user index. The pre-FEC MAC padding is obtained by rounding N_PAD_preFEC_u to the nearest octet and it is included as part of the PSDll, and the pre- FEC PHY padding contains the rest of the pre-FEC padding bits. The post-FEC padding is computed as the difference between the NCBPS minus the NCBPSJast for each user. This accounts for all the bits needed to fill the last OFDM symbol.

[0032] In case of TB-PPDU transmissions, the main process is very similar as described in the MU-PPDU case with the difference that the AP sets most of the PHY parameters and indicates them to the non-AP STAs in a trigger frame (TF) or triggered response scheduling (TRS) field of a DL PPDll. Thus, each STA calculates the padding bits based on the indicated parameters.

[0033] Utilizing dRUs to lower the spectral density enables a power boost at the transmitting STA but it also means that each STA spreads its transmission over a larger bandwidth. This creates the problem of low efficiency when allocating resources with low number of STAs, especially when not all STAs require a power boost. Fig. 7 shows a diagram illustrating the low efficiency allocation issue by use of a simplified diagram of the transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 6 as well as the allocation of dRU to two STAs. In this example, STA 1 is considered to require a power boost and STA 2 is considered not to require a power boost. The dRU 71 allocated to STA 1 is a 26-tone dRU and has a low spectral density. For STA 2, for the largest dRU possible it would be desired to make most use of the PPDU bandwidth which is a 242-tone dRU 72. This allocation, however, results in two 106-tone dRUs 73, 74 left unused, which represent approx. 43% of the available bandwidth (distribution bandwidth). A simple solution to the low efficiency issue would be to store data for STA 1 and wait until there are enough STAs to achieve a more efficientresource allocation. However, this approach creates additional delays forSTA 1 that may not be tolerable for the traffic requirements.

[0034] According to an element of the present disclosure, multiple dRU (MdRLI) combinations and corresponding MdRLI parsing methods are defined to allow for STAs that do not require dRUs with low spectral density to be assigned the majority of the PPDll bandwidth that is not needed by the STAs requiring a low spectral density dRU. MdRUs can be defined with specific sizes to allocate more bandwidth to STAs not requiring a low spectral density. Fig. 8 shows several tables that illustrate the size of unallocated dRUs for specific dRU allocations considering a 20MHz, 40MHz and 80MHz PPDU bandwidth. The unallocated dRU combinations shown in Fig. 8 assume one STA not requiring a low spectral density dRU allocation and correspond to cases not covered by MRU sizes defined in 802.11 be. More unallocated dRUs combinations can be obtained by splitting dRUs larger than 26 tones into smaller dRUs based on the dRU hierarchical tone map (e.g., a 52-tone dRU can also be two 26-tone dRUs; Fig. 1 shows more examples).

[0035] The definition of MdRUs affects the NDPBS and NCBPS. Thus, one or more the following PHY parameters may require modification for each new MdRU definition (Fig. 13 shows a list of new MdRU definitions and corresponding PHY parameters, which will be explained below with reference to “case 2” in more detail):MdRU size: as a combination of existing dRUs;NSD: number of data subcarriers;NSD_short: number of data subcarriers used in each of the four segments of the last OFDM symbol for calculating the FEC padding;NBPSCS is the number of coded bits per subcarrier;Nrow, Ncol: number of rows and columns, respectively, for the BCC interleaver; D_TM: tone mapping distance for LDPC tone mapper.

[0036] The MdRU parsing operation is part of the frequency mapping by spatial and frequency mapping unit 60 (see Fig. 6). Fig. 9 shows a diagram illustrating the MdRU parsing operation by use of a diagram of part the transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 6 and two examples of the MdRU parsing operation. The NSD complex symbolsi e {0, ...,NSD - 1}) fromthe constellation mapper 47 (or 57) (or LDPC tone mapper 48 (or 58) if present) are mapped to the subcarrier indices of the corresponding OFDM symbol. The subcarriers that form a MdRU are the union of the subcarrier sets of each dRU being combined. In the example shown in Fig. 9, a 52+26 tone MdRLI parsing for a 20MHz PPDll is shown where the tones of the 26-tone dRU are spread further apart than those of the 52 tone dRU. Two examples for the MdRU parsing operation are explained:

[0037] According to exemplary parsing operation A, the complex symbols, ditare alternately mapped between the dRUs that form the MdRU based on the MdRU subcarrier indices. For example, the allocation of complex symbols starts with the lowest subcarrier index that corresponds to the 26-tone dRU and switches to the 52-tone dRUs following the order of the combined subcarrier indices. According to exemplary parsing operation B, the complex symbols, ditare sequentially mapped for each dRU that form the MdRU. For example, the 24 data tones in the 26-tone dRU are filled first followed by the 48 data tones in the 52-tone dRU.

[0038] Fig. 21 shows a diagram illustrating the low efficiency allocation issue for an 80MHz PPDU by use of a simplified diagram of the transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 6 as well as the allocation of dRU to two STAs. In this example, STA 1 is considered to require a power boost and STA 2 is considered not to require a power boost. The dRU allocated to STA 1 is a 242-tone dRU and has a low spectral density. For STA 2, the largest dRU possible it would be desired to make most use of the PPDU bandwidth which is a 484-tone dRU is allocated. This allocation, however, results in a 242-tone dRU left unused which represents 25% of the available bandwidth (distribution bandwidth).

[0039] There are different embodiments of how to define MdRUs and corresponding PHY parameters, some of which will be explained in the following.

[0040] In a first embodiment, MdRU allocation is defined utilizing 802.11be MRU sizes. Defining MdRU with 802.11 be MRU sizes for STAs that do not require low density dRUs would simplify the implementation since it is not necessary to modify PHY parameters. Fig. 10 shows a diagram illustrating the first embodiment of MdRU allocation with MRU size in80MHz PPDll. It shows a diagram of part of the transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 6 with two STAs, where a 484+242-tone MdRLI is allocated to STA 2 that does not require a power boost while STA 1 is allocated to a 242-tone dRU to achieve a desired power boost. This solution avoids a 25% loss of the PPDll bandwidth.

[0041] Since dRUs are spread over the PPDll bandwidth, the exact dRUs that are combined into an MdRU are not particularly important but rather the size of the combined dRUs. As a general rule, the STAs requiring a power boost are allocated to dRUs or MdRUs such that a maximum spectral density limit is respected for each STA. For ease of notation the set of these dRUs are denoted as dRU_PB_set (dRU set with power boost). Then, the STAs not requiring a power boost are allocated to dRUs or MdRUs without a maximum spectral density limit, with the aim of filling the rest of available bandwidth, for ease of notation the set of these dRUs are denoted as dRU_nonPB_set (dRU set with no power boost).

[0042] Hence, according to the present disclosure dRUs may be selected that best fill the unused bandwidth to reduce or minimize the unallocated bandwidth. For instance, the unallocated bandwidth may be reduced to a set value, which may be given as a number of empty subcarriers or dRUs, as a ratio between the unallocated bandwidth and the total distribution bandwidth, or as a ratio between the unallocated bandwidth and the total PPDU bandwidth.

[0043] Fig. 11 shows a diagram illustrating a fixed MdRU with hierarchical dRU tone map for a 20MHz PPDU, in particular a definition for 52+26 and 106+26 MdRUs in a 20MHz bandwidth. dRUs in dRU_nonPB_set are indicated by dotted frames in Fig. 11. The 106+26 MdRU 1 does not overlap with the 52+26 MdRU 1, thus, in case only one STA requires a 26-tone dRU in a 20MHz PPDU to achieve a desired power boost, two other STAs may be assigned to 106+26 MdRU 1 and 52+26 MdRU 1, respectively, to occupy the full bandwidth. In this example the following dRU allocation rule can be used:a. One occupied 26-tone dRU within dRU_PB_seti. dRU_PB_set includes 26-tone dRU 1ii. dRU_nonPB_set includes 106+26 MdRU 1 and 52+26 MdRU 1. b. 2 to 4 occupied 26-tone dRUs within dRU_PB_seti. dRU_PB_set includes 26-tone dRU 1 to 4ii. dRU_nonPB_set includes 106+26 MdRU 1.c. 5 to 6 occupied 26-tone dRUs within dRU_PB_seti. dRU_PB_set includes 26-tone dRU 1 to 6ii. dRU_nonPB_set includes 52+26 MdRLI 2.

[0044] Similarly, Fig. 12 shows a diagram of a fixed MdRLI definition based on hierarchical dRU tone map for an 80MHz PPDU, in particular an example of a 484+242 MdRU definition for an 80MHz PPDU. In this case, if dRU_PB_set includes one 242-tone dRU, it should be 242-tone dRU 1 and dRU_nonPB_set includes the 484+242 MdRU.

[0045] In a second embodiment new MdRU sizes are defined. Utilizing 802.11 be MRU sizes can offer improved resource allocation in specific cases but as is shown in Fig. 8, many cases are still not covered which would result in spectral efficiency loss. Fig. 13 shows tables indicating new MdRU definitions (indicated by small arrows) including the corresponding PHY parameters. Additional MdRU sizes can be obtained by decomposing 52-tone dRUs into two 26-tone dRUs which would not change the PHY parameters because the NSD would be unchanged. Highlighted MdRUs may be a good subset to balance flexibility and complexity. The proposed MdRUs include combinations of large size (242 tones and above) and small size (less than 242 tones) dRUs which were not allowed in 802.11 be.

[0046] Fig. 19 shows a diagram illustrating the second embodiment of MdRU allocation with MRU size in a 40MHz PPDU that solves the low efficiency allocation issue illustrated in Fig. 7. It shows a diagram of part the transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 6 with two STAs, where a 242+106+ 106-tone MdRU is allocated to STA 2 that does not require a power boost while STA 1 is allocated to a 26-tone dRU to achieve a desired power boost. This solution avoids a 43% loss of the PPDU bandwidth.

[0047] Fig. 20 shows a diagram illustrating the MdRU parsing operation for the exemplary implementation of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 19 by use of a diagram of part the transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 6 and two examples of the MdRU parsing operation. In the example shown in Fig. 20, a 242+106+106 tone MdRU parsing for a 40MHz PPDU is shown where the tones of the 242-tone dRU are spread further apart than those of the106 tone dRUs. According to exemplary parsing operation A, the complex symbols, d are alternately mapped between the dRUs that form the MdRU based on the MdRU subcarrier indices. For example, the allocation of complex symbols starts with the lowest subcarrier index that corresponds to the 242-tone dRU and switches one of the two 106- tone dRUs following the order of the combined subcarrier indices. According to exemplary parsing operation B, the complex symbols, ditare sequentially mapped for each dRU that form the MdRU. For example, the 234 data tones in the 242-tone dRU are filled first followed by the 102 data tones of one of the two 106-tone dRUs and finally the 102 data tones in the other 106-tone dRU.

[0048] The selection and allocation of dRUs and MdRUs to specific STAs may then be based on the following parameters:o Distribution bandwidth for the dRUso Number of available dRUs and MdRU definitionso Number of STAs requiring a power boosto Number of STAs not requiring a power boosto Spectral density of available dRUs and MdRUso Spectral density limit or target power boost per STA requiring a power boost.

[0049] Figs. 14 and 15 show examples of the proposed dRU selection for two STAs requiring a power boost and one STA that does not, being allocated to dRUs in a 40MHz PPDU. dRUs in dRU_PB_set are indicated by dashed frames and dRUs in dRU_nonPB_set are indicated by dotted frames. In Fig. 14, a dRU_PB_set contains a 106-tone dRU and a 26- tone dRUs, wherein the latter allows for a higher power boost than the former, and the dRU_nonPB_set contains a 242+106-tone MdRU. In Fig. 15, the dRU_PB_set contains two 26-tone dRUs allowing the same power boost and the dRU_nonPB_set contains a 4x106 MdRU.

[0050] In a third embodiment MdRUs for punctured PPDUs or segmented PPDUs are defined. A large bandwidth PPDU may puncture segments of 20MHz to, for example, avoid interfer-ence or share the spectrum with other STAs. In these cases, the remaining segments to transmit dRUs can be of 20MHz or 40MHz. Alternatively, to support STAs that have bandwidth limitations, e.g., only 20MHz STAs, the PPDll bandwidth can be separated into segments of 20MHz or 40MHz.

[0051] MdRUs can be defined to include dRUs from different segments as shown in Fig. 16depicting a diagram illustrating the definition of MdRU with hierarchical dRU tone map for 20+40MHz PPDU, in particular for dRUs in the dRU_PB_set and dRU_nonPB_set. For the dRUs in the dRU_PB_set it is important that a maximum spectral density is respected. A ratio between the dRU size and the spreading bandwidth (i.e., bandwidth over which the dRUs spread over) can be used as a guide to compare the spectral densities. For example, a 106-tone dRU in a 40MHz has a comparable spectral density a 52-tone dRU in 20MHz, and a 52-tone dRU in 40MHz has the same spectral density as a 26-tone dRU in 20MHz.

[0052] In Fig. 16, one STA is assigned to dRU_PB_set which contains a 106+52 MdRU and one other STA is assigned to dRU_nonPB_set containing a 242+106+106 MdRU. In both cases the dRUs are spread over different bandwidths i.e., 40MHz and 20MHz.

[0053] In a fourth embodiment MdRUs are defined by spatial and frequency mapping for MdRUs with dRUs of equal size. The MdRUs defined in Fig. 13 that combine dRUs of equal size also define new PHY parameters. An alternative way to reuse already defined PHY parameters is to change the spatial and frequency mapping operation to map spatial streams to separate dRUs of equal size that form an MdRU allocated to a specific STA.

[0054] Figs. 17 and 18 show diagrams of the transmitter, wherein Fig. 17 shows a diagram of a known transmitter including an illustration of the known approach and Fig. 18 shows a transmitter according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for multi-user transmission illustrating the implementation of the approach of defining MdRUs by spatial and frequency mapping.

[0055] To implement this approach, first a number of equal size dRU per MdRLI is defined as n_dRU. Then, an initial NSS is defined as NSSJni being larger than or equal to n_dRU. In Figs. 17 and 18, n_dRU = 2 and NSSJni = 2. Afterwards, an initial dRU size, dRUJni, is selected which defines the size of each equal size dRU in the resulting MdRU. The final NSS, NSS_f, is given by dividing NSSJni by n_dRU resulting in an MdRU with n_dRUs of size dRUJni with NSS_f spatial streams.

[0056] To support this operation the following considerations are important: The initial PHY parameters are determined by NSSJni and dRUJni: The NSD, NSD_short, BCC Nrow and Ncol, LDPC D_TM are selected for a dRU of size dRUJni (see Fig. 13). The number of LTFs does not need to correspond to the initial NSSJni but only to NSS_f. The FEC padding, scrambler, FEC encoding, stream parser, and constellation mapper operations are performed using the initial PHY parameters. BCC interleaver (for BCC case) and LDPC tone mapper (for LDPC case) are done independently for each initial spatial stream. The cyclic shift diversity (CSD) per spatial stream may not be necessary and can be bypassed.

[0057] Changes are mainly made to the spatial and frequency mapping by the spatial and frequency mapping. The data tones of each SS are allocated to a different dRU that forms part of the MdRU. Each dRU has the same size. To simplify the operation, NSS is a multiple integer of n_dRU such that the NSSJ is the same for all dRUs in the MdRU. An optional tone mapping permutation can be done to the spatial streams of selected dRUs within the defined MdRU to improve frequency diversity.

[0058] The definitions of MdRU sizes are typically done in a standardized way and the AP performs the RU allocation. In an embodiment of the UL, the non-AP STA is the transmitter of the TB-PPDU containing the defined MdRUs. Thus, the AP indicates, in a separate previously transmitted TF or TRS field, to the non-AP STA the information necessary to transmit the TB-PPDU according to the selected dRU allocation. In an embodiment of the DL, non-AP STA receives the MU-PPDU transmitted by the AP, thus, the AP indicates (in the MU-PPDU) the necessary information for the non-AP STA to receive the MU-PPDU and decode the PSDU addressed to it.

[0059] One or more of the following pieces of information may be indicated by the AP for configuring the TB-PPDU or receiving the MU-PPDU:STA identifier identifying the STA allocated to a particular dRU or MdRLI;Size and frequency location of dRU or MdRU allocated to a non-AP STA;Bandwidth indication and / or frequency segment over which the dRUs or MdRUs are located;Indication of which dRUs and / or MdRUs belong to dRU_PB_set and / or dRU_nonPB_set;Indication of STA assigned to dRUs or MdRUs in dRU_PB_set or dRU_nonPB_set; andIndication of a spatial and frequency map change for an equal size MdRU.Based on this information the non-AP STA can obtain the PHY parameters necessary to transmit a TB-PPDU or receive a MU-PPDU.

[0060] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in downlink for transmitting a MU- PPDU, the AP may perform the following steps:Encode and modulate data units into data streams to be carried by a PPDU and transmitted to two or more non-AP STAs;- Allocate the data streams of at least one non-AP STA to two or more dRU forming a MdRU, wherein a dRU is formed by a set of subcarriers that are distributed over part or all the bandwidth within a PPDU; andMap the allocated data streams to the subcarriers corresponding to the MdRU; Include the mapped data streams into the PPDU and transmit the PPDU to the two or more non-AP STAs.

[0061] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in uplink for transmitting a TB- PPDU, the AP may perform the following steps:- Transmit a trigger indication to two or more non-AP STAs indicating the non-AP STAs to encode and modulate data units into data streams to be carried by a PPDU that is transmitted in response to the trigger indication, the trigger indication indicating to at least one non-AP STA the allocation of the data streams to two or more dRU forming a MdRU, to map the allocated data streams to the subcarriers corresponding to the MdRU, and to include the mapped data streams into thePPDll, wherein a dRU is formed by a set of subcarriers that are distributed over part or all the PPDll bandwidth; andReceive the PPDll from at least one of the two or more non-AP STAs in response to the trigger indication

[0062] Fig. 22 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a first communication control method 100 according to the present disclosure for controlling a wireless communication circuitry of a first communication device 10 configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices 20, 30. In a first step 101, an MdRU is defined by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs. In a second step 102, second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device are mapped onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device to map second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.

[0063] Fig. 23 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a third communication control method 200 according to the present disclosure for controlling a wireless communication circuitry of a third communication device 30 configured to communicate with a first communication device 10. In a first step 201, allocation information related to the allocation of tones to second dRUs is processed, wherein two or more second dRUs are defined to be combined to define an MdRU, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs, and wherein second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted from the first communication device to the third communication device or from the third communication device to the first communication device are mapped onto the MdRU. In a second step 202, from the MdRU the second complex symbols of the second data stream of data received from the first communication device are demapped according to the processed allocation information and / or to map onto the MdRU second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to the first communication device according to the processed allocation information.

[0064] The device may be implemented by respective units or circuitry, e.g. a processor, processing circuitry, a computer, dedicated hardware, etc., that carries out the functions of the device. Alternatively, a common unit or circuitry, e.g. a common processor or computer, may implement the various functions of the device, or separate units or elements may be used that together represent the circuitry.

[0065] Thus, the foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting the scope of the disclosure, as well as other claims. The disclosure, including any readily discernible variants of the teachings herein, defines, in part, the scope of the foregoing claim terminology such that no inventive subject matter is dedicated to the public.

[0066] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0067] In so far as embodiments of the disclosure have been described as being implemented, at least in part, by software-controlled data processing apparatus, it will be appreciated that a non-transitory machine-readable medium carrying such software, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, semiconductor memory or the like, is also considered to represent an embodiment of the present disclosure. Further, such a software may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.

[0068] The elements of the disclosed devices, apparatus and systems may be implemented by corresponding hardware and / or software elements, for instance appropriate circuits or circuitry. A circuit is a structural assemblage of electronic components including conven-tional circuit elements, integrated circuits including application specific integrated circuits, standard integrated circuits, application specific standard products, and field programmable gate arrays. Further, a circuit includes central processing units, graphics processing units, and microprocessors which are programmed or configured according to software code. A circuit does not include pure software, although a circuit includes the abovedescribed hardware executing software. A circuit or circuitry may be implemented by a single device or unit or multiple devices or units, or chipset(s), or processor(s).

[0069] It follows a list of further embodiments of the disclosed subject matter:1. A first communication control device (11) configured to control a wireless communication circuitry (12) of a first communication device (10) configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices (20, 30), the first communication control device comprising control circuitry (13) configured to:define a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRU) by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs; andmap second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device to map second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.2. The first communication control device according to embodiment 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to map first complex symbols of a first data stream of data to be transmitted to a second communication device onto the first dRU to which a plurality of tones distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated.3. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to select the number of tones allocated to a dRU from a group of predetermined numbers, in particular from a group of numbers comprising the numbers 26, 52, 106, 242 and 484.4. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU by selecting a predetermined definition of a MdRU from a plurality of predetermined MdRLI definitions, in particular from MdRLI definitions including one or more of a 26+52 tone MdRLI, a 106+26 MdRLI, a 106+52 tone MdRU, and a 242+484 MdRU.5. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU by selecting predetermined definitions of two or more dRUs for the combination into the MdRU from a plurality of predetermined dRU definitions.6. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU by selecting dRUs that are distributed over separate frequency blocks wherein each block can have the same or different distribution bandwidths.7. The first communication control device according to embodiment 3 and / or 4, wherein the control circuitry is configured to select the predetermined definition of a MdRU and / or the predetermined definitions of two or more dRUs based on one or more of:the distribution bandwidth for the dRUs,the number of available dRU and / or MdRU definitions,the number of second communication devices requiring a power boost;the number of third communication devices not requiring a power boost, the spectral density of available dRUs and / or MdRUs, andthe spectral density limit and / or target power boost per second communication device requiring a power boost.8. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU based on one or more of:the distribution bandwidth,the number of tones allocated to the first dRU,the total number of tones minus the number of tones allocated to the first dRU, the number of tones used in the segments of a last symbol of OFDM symbols;a number of rows and columns that characterize the BCC interleaver;a tone mapping distance for LDPC tone mapper; andthe number of spatial streams.9. The first communication control device according to embodiment 2,wherein the second communication device requires a higher transmit power or a lower spectral density for the transmission of the data of a first data stream of data to be transmitted to the second communication device compared to the second data stream.10. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless communication circuitry of the first communication device to transmit allocation information related to the allocation of tones to the first and second dRUs.11. The first communication control device according to embodiment 10, wherein the allocation information comprises one or more of:an identifier identifying the communication devices allocated to respective dRUs and / or MdRUs,size and / or frequency location of dRU and / or MdRU allocated to a second and / or third communication devices,bandwidth indication and / or frequency segment over which the dRUs and / or MdRUs are located,indication which dRUs and / or MdRUs belong to sets of dRU for second communication devices requiring a power boost or a low spectral density and third communication devices not requiring a power boost or a low spectral density,indication of second and / or third communication devices assigned to dRUs and / or MdRUs,indication of a spatial and / or frequency map change for an equal size MdRU, the distribution bandwidth,the total number of tones minus the number of tones allocated to the first dRU, and the number of spatial streams.12. The first communication control device according to embodiment 10 or 11,wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless communication circuitry of the first communication device to transmit a trigger indication including the allocation information and triggering the second and / or third communication devices to map the data of the data streams according to the trigger information and to transmit the data of the data streams or to transmit a data unit to the second and / or third communication devices including a preamble and a data field wherein the allocation information is transmitted in the preamble and the mapped first and / or second data streams are transmitted in the data field.13. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to select second dRUs, in particular the number of tones allocated to the second dRUs that fill the distribution bandwidth not allocated to the first dRU to reduce or minimize the unallocated bandwidth.14. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to map the second complex symbols onto the MdRU in sequential order according to the indices of the tones allocated to the MdRU or alternately between the different dRUs combined into the MdRU or by sequentially filling the dRUs combined into the MdRU.15. The first communication control device according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the control circuitry is configured to change the spatial and / or frequency mapping of an initial number of spatial streams corresponding to the second data stream of data to map said spatial streams into separate second dRUs of equal size that form an equal size MdRU.16. A third communication control device (31) configured to control a wireless communication circuitry (32) of a third communication device (30) configured to communicate with a first communication device (10), the third communication control device comprising control circuitry (33) configured to:process allocation information related to the allocation of tones to second distributed resource units (dRUs),wherein two or more second dRUs are defined to be combined to define a multiple dRU (MdRLI), wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs, and wherein second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted from the first communication device to the third communication device or from the third communication device to the first communication device are mapped onto the MdRU; anddemap from the MdRU the second complex symbols of the second data stream of data received from the first communication device according to the processed allocation information and / or to map onto the MdRU second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to the first communication device according to the processed allocation information.17. The second communication control device according to embodiment 16, wherein the control circuitry is configured to receive the allocation information as part of a trigger indication or in a preamble of a data unit received from the first communication device.18. First communication control method of a first communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a first communication device configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices, the first communication method comprising:defining a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRU) by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs; andmapping second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device to map second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.19. Third communication control method of a third communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a third communication deviceconfigured to communicate with a first communication device, the third communication method:processing allocation information related to the allocation of tones to second distributed resource units (dRUs), wherein two or more second dRUs are defined to be combined to define a multiple dRU (MdRLI), wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs, and wherein second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted from the first communication device to the third communication device or from the third communication device to the first communication device are mapped onto the MdRU; anddemapping from the MdRU the second complex symbols of the second data stream of data received from the first communication device according to the processed allocation information and / or to map onto the MdRU second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to the first communication device according to the processed allocation information.20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor, causes the method according to embodiment 18 or 19 to be performed.21. A computer program comprising program code means for causing a computer to perform the steps of said method according to embodiment 18 or 19 when said computer pro-gram is carried out on a computer.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A first communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a first communication device configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices, the first communication control device comprising control circuitry configured to:define a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRU) by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs; andmap second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device to map second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.

2. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to map first complex symbols of a first data stream of data to be transmitted to a second communication device onto the first dRU to which a plurality of tones distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated.

3. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to select the number of tones allocated to a dRU from a group of predetermined numbers, in particular from a group of numbers comprising the numbers 26, 52, 106, 242 and 484.

4. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU by selecting a predetermined definition of a MdRU from a plurality of predetermined MdRU definitions, in particular from MdRU definitions including one or more of a 26+52 tone MdRU, a 106+26 MdRU, a 106+52 tone MdRU, and a 242+484 MdRU.

5. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU by selecting predetermined definitions of two or more dRUs for the combination into the MdRLI from a plurality of predetermined dRU definitions.

6. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRLI by selecting dRUs that are distributed over separate frequency blocks wherein each block can have the same or different distribution bandwidths.

7. The first communication control device according to claim 3 and / or 4, wherein the control circuitry is configured to select the predetermined definition of a MdRU and / or the predetermined definitions of two or more dRUs based on one or more of: the distribution bandwidth for the dRUs,the number of available dRU and / or MdRU definitions,the number of second communication devices requiring a power boost;the number of third communication devices not requiring a power boost, the spectral density of available dRUs and / or MdRUs, andthe spectral density limit and / or target power boost per second communication device requiring a power boost.

8. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to define the MdRU based on one or more of:the distribution bandwidth,the number of tones allocated to the first dRU,the total number of tones minus the number of tones allocated to the first dRU, the number of tones used in the segments of a last symbol of OFDM symbols; a number of rows and columns that characterize the BCC interleaver;a tone mapping distance for LDPC tone mapper; andthe number of spatial streams.

9. The first communication control device according to claim 2,wherein the second communication device requires a higher transmit power or a lower spectral density for the transmission of the data of a first data stream of data to be transmitted to the second communication device compared to the second data stream.

10. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless communication circuitry of the first communication device to transmit allocation information related to the allocation of tones to the first and second dRUs.

11. The first communication control device according to claim 10,wherein the allocation information comprises one or more of:an identifier identifying the communication devices allocated to respective dRUs and / or MdRUs,size and / or frequency location of dRU and / or MdRU allocated to a second and / or third communication devices,bandwidth indication and / or frequency segment over which the dRUs and / or MdRUs are located,indication which dRUs and / or MdRUs belong to sets of dRU for second communication devices requiring a power boost or a low spectral density and third communication devices not requiring a power boost or a low spectral density,indication of second and / or third communication devices assigned to dRUs and / or MdRUs,indication of a spatial and / or frequency map change for an equal size MdRU, the distribution bandwidth,the total number of tones minus the number of tones allocated to the first dRU, and the number of spatial streams.

12. The first communication control device according to claim 10 or 11,wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless communication circuitry of the first communication device to transmit a trigger indication including the allocation information and triggering the second and / or third communication devices to map the data of the data streams according to the trigger information and to transmit the data of the data streams or to transmit a data unit to the second and / or third communication devicesincluding a preamble and a data field wherein the allocation information is transmitted in the preamble and the mapped first and / or second data streams are transmitted in the data field.

13. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to select second dRUs, in particular the number of tones allocated to the second dRUs that fill the distribution bandwidth not allocated to the first dRU to reduce or minimize the unallocated bandwidth.

14. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to map the second complex symbols onto the MdRU in sequential order according to the indices of the tones allocated to the MdRU or alternately between the different dRUs combined into the MdRU or by sequentially filling the dRUs combined into the MdRU.

15. The first communication control device according to claim 1 ,wherein the control circuitry is configured to change the spatial and / or frequency mapping of an initial number of spatial streams corresponding to the second data stream of data to map said spatial streams into separate second dRUs of equal size that form an equal size MdRU.

16. A third communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a third communication device configured to communicate with a first communication device, the third communication control device comprising control circuitry configured to:process allocation information related to the allocation of tones to second distributed resource units (dRUs),wherein two or more second dRUs are defined to be combined to define a multiple dRU (MdRU), wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs, and wherein second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted from the first communication device to the third communicationdevice or from the third communication device to the first communication device are mapped onto the MdRU; anddemap from the MdRU the second complex symbols of the second data stream of data received from the first communication device according to the processed allocation information and / or to map onto the MdRLI second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to the first communication device according to the processed allocation information.

17. The second communication control device according to claim 16,wherein the control circuitry is configured to receive the allocation information as part of a trigger indication or in a preamble of a data unit received from the first communication device.

18. First communication control method of a first communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a first communication device configured to communicate with one or more second and third communication devices, the first communication method comprising:defining a multiple distributed resource unit (MdRLI) by combining two or more second dRUs, wherein a plurality of tones of a distribution bandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs; andmapping second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to a third communication device onto the MdRU or notify the third communication device to map second complex symbols of the second data stream of data to be transmitted from the third communication device to the first communication device onto the MdRU.

19. Third communication control method of a third communication control device configured to control a wireless communication circuitry of a third communication device configured to communicate with a first communication device, the third communication method:processing allocation information related to the allocation of tones to second distributed resource units (dRUs), wherein two or more second dRUs are defined to be combined to define a multiple dRU (MdRU), wherein a plurality of tones of a distributionbandwidth not allocated to a first dRU and distributed over the distribution bandwidth is allocated to each of said two or more second dRUs, and wherein second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted from the first communication device to the third communication device or from the third communication device to the first communication device are mapped onto the MdRLI; anddemapping from the MdRLI the second complex symbols of the second data stream of data received from the first communication device according to the processed allocation information and / or to map onto the MdRLI second complex symbols of a second data stream of data to be transmitted to the first communication device according to the processed allocation information.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor, causes the method according to claim 18 or 19 to be performed.

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