Uplink Frame Control Allocation for WiFi Overhead Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing WiFi communication networks face inefficiencies in control mechanisms, particularly with the upcoming 802.11ax standard, which requires more efficient control signal transmission to maintain reasonable network throughput due to increased support for a larger number of stations and high overhead in existing standards.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating control signals into regular uplink frames, specifically within the HE-LTF portion, allowing for flexible control allocation (FCA) where different types of control data can be transmitted simultaneously without data payload, and supporting contention-based random access for both associated and non-associated stations, enabling efficient allocation of time-frequency resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If control signals are transmitted using existing data payload transmission methods, then control mechanisms can be implemented, but network overhead increases and throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the uplink frame into distinct portions: a first portion dedicated to control signals and a second portion for data payload. This segmentation allows control signals to be transmitted independently without requiring full data payload structures, thereby reducing overhead and improving throughput while maintaining reliable control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts control signal transmission from the traditional data payload transmission framework. By taking out control signals and placing them in a dedicated first portion of the uplink frame, the system eliminates the overhead associated with data payload structures for control transmissions, thus improving network throughput while preserving control reliability.
2Productivity
If multiple control signals are transmitted simultaneously, then control efficiency improves, but resource allocation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the uplink frame into multiple dedicated portions for different control signals. Each control signal type has its designated location in the first portion, which simplifies resource allocation despite multiple simultaneous transmissions. The segmented structure provides clear boundaries and allocation rules, reducing the complexity of managing multiple control signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The first portion of the uplink frame is designed as a universal resource that can accommodate multiple types of control signals simultaneously. This multi-functional design allows different control signals to share the same resource pool with predefined allocation rules, improving control transmission efficiency while avoiding the complexity of separate dedicated resources for each control type.
3Reliability
If control signals are transmitted in separate dedicated frames, then control reliability is maintained, but transmission time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges control signal transmission with the regular uplink frame structure by incorporating control signals into the first portion of the same frame that also carries data payload in the second portion. This combining approach allows control signals to be transmitted alongside data without requiring separate dedicated frames, thereby reducing transmission time while maintaining control reliability through dedicated resource allocation.
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a client type communication device (110) for communicating with an access point type communication device (120), the client type communication device (110) comprising: a transceiver unit (111), configured to receive (122) a trigger frame (124) from the access point type communication device (120), the trigger frame (124) indicating a particular portion (126) of time-frequency resources of an uplink frame (200) to be allocated by the client type communication device (110) for uplink transmission of multiple types of control data (300); and a control unit (113), configured to allocate the indicated portion (126) of time-frequency resources of the uplink frame (200) for uplink transmission of the multiple types of control data (300), wherein the transceiver unit (111) is configured to transmit (114) the uplink frame (200) comprising the multiple types of control data (300) to the access point type communication device (120).