Groupcast Response Allocation for WLAN Reception Accuracy

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Solution Overview

Problem

In wireless communications, access points (APs) in WLANs face challenges in ensuring all stations receive groupcast data reliably, as existing methods like Directed Groupcast Service and Groupcast with Retries may not accurately determine reception quality due to overhead limitations, leading to poor reception for some stations.

Innovation Solution

A method and device for groupcast data transmission that involves transmitting trigger information to stations to contend for response frames on specified random or fixed access resource blocks, allowing the AP to better confirm data reception quality and facilitate retransmissions by allocating resource blocks through Multi-User Block Acknowledgment Request (MU-BAR) or Block Acknowledgment (BAR) frames.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of substance

If the AP selects only several stations to transmit response frames to reduce overhead, then the overhead of response frames is reduced, but the AP cannot obtain accurate reception quality information from all stations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoverhead of response framesVSAvoidreception quality information accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of substanceVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by having only some stations (those with poor reception quality) transmit response frames, rather than all stations. This is achieved through the AP sending a response frame that includes a field indicating which specific stations should respond, based on the AP's assessment of reception quality from physical layer feedback. This reduces overhead while maintaining measurement accuracy for problematic cases.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Measurement precision

If the AP requires all stations to transmit response frames to obtain accurate reception quality, then the reception quality information accuracy is improved, but the overhead of response frames increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereception quality information accuracyVSAvoidoverhead of response frames
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the response behavior of different stations based on their individual reception quality. Stations with poor reception quality are required to transmit response frames, while stations with good reception quality do not. This is determined by the AP using physical layer feedback to assess each station's reception quality locally, and then selectively requesting responses only from those needing feedback.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If the AP uses active retries to retransmit groupcast data multiple times, then the reliability of groupcast transmission is improved, but the transmission efficiency deteriorates due to not being based on actual reception feedback

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegroupcast transmission reliabilityVSAvoidtransmission efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback-based retries by having the AP assess reception quality through physical layer feedback from stations, selectively request response frames from stations with poor reception, and then make retransmission decisions based on actual reception quality information. This creates a closed-loop feedback system where retransmissions are triggered by real reception conditions rather than fixed retry counts, improving both reliability and efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3490301B1Multicast data transmission response methods and devices
Publication Date: 2023.06.21 ZTE CORP
  • EP3490301B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3490301B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3490301B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a response method and device for groupcast data transmission, and a computer storage medium. The method includes: a first node transmits at least one groupcast frame to at least one groupcast group including more than one second node; a second node receives the groupcast frame, where a groupcast address carried by the groupcast frame corresponds to a groupcast group where the second node is located; the first node transmits trigger information to second nodes corresponding to the groupcast group; the second node receives the trigger information; when being determined to be a second node for randomly contending for transmitting a groupcast response frame, the second node contends for transmitting the groupcast response frame on a random access resource block allocated by the trigger information; when being determined to be a second node for regularly transmitting the groupcast response frame, the second node transmits, according to the trigger information, the groupcast response frame on a specified fixed access resource block.