WLAN AP Filtering of Non-BSS MU-PPDUs for Lower Processing Load

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies face challenges in efficiently transmitting data in congested environments, particularly in achieving high throughput and compatibility with legacy systems while minimizing interference and power consumption.

Innovation Solution

A wireless device and method that generate frames with phase-rotated subchannels to support High Efficiency WLAN (HEW) systems, using phase rotation values to differentiate and decode frames, allowing for increased subcarrier efficiency and compatibility with legacy devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the AP processes MU-PPDU from non-BSS stations without filtering, then the transmission efficiency is improved by allowing concurrent uplink transmissions, but the AP consumes excessive processing resources and experiences high power consumption

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission efficiencyVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and filters out MU-PPDUs from non-BSS stations before they reach the AP for processing. The AP receives PPDU, determines whether it is an MU-PPDU, identifies if the transmitting station belongs to the BSS, and discards MU-PPDUs from non-BSS stations. This prevents the AP from consuming processing resources and power on packets that should not be processed, while still allowing legitimate BSS MU-PPDUs to be processed efficiently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Reliability

If the AP processes all received PPDU including MU-PPDU from non-BSS stations, then no data is lost, but the channel occupancy time is excessively consumed and transmission efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata completenessVSAvoidtransmission efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes MU-PPDUs from non-BSS stations from the processing stream. By determining the BSS membership of the transmitting station and filtering out non-BSS MU-PPDUs, the system prevents these packets from occupying channel time unnecessarily, thereby improving overall transmission efficiency while maintaining reliability for legitimate BSS traffic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of processing all PPDU and then filtering results, the patent inverts the approach by pre-filtering MU-PPDUs based on BSS membership determination before full processing. This inversion occurs at the reception stage where the AP determines whether the station is a BSS member upon receiving MU-PPDU, and discards non-BSS packets immediately, avoiding wasted channel occupancy time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Use of energy by moving object

If the AP discards MU-PPDU from non-BSS stations, then processing resources are saved and power consumption reduces, but the risk of missing valid data increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower consumptionVSAvoiddata validity
Core Design Contradiction:
Use of energy by moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary verification of BSS membership before discarding MU-PPDU. The AP determines whether the transmitting station is a BSS member using information in the PPDU (such as BSS color or association identifiers) before making the discard decision. This preliminary action ensures that only confirmed non-BSS MU-PPDUs are discarded, preventing valid BSS data from being lost while still saving power by discarding genuine non-BSS packets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from the PPDU content (such as BSS color fields, association identifiers, or station addresses) to determine BSS membership. This feedback mechanism allows the AP to make accurate decisions about whether to process or discard each MU-PPDU, ensuring that power is saved on invalid packets while maintaining reliability by processing valid BSS packets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

4Reliability

If the AP processes HE-TWT service period requests from non-BSS stations, then service quality is maintained, but unnecessary processing overhead and latency are introduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice qualityVSAvoidprocessing latency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary BSS membership verification when receiving HE-TWT service period requests. Before processing the full service period establishment procedure, the AP determines whether the requesting station belongs to the BSS. This preliminary action prevents non-BSS stations from entering the time-consuming service period setup process, thereby reducing processing latency and overhead while maintaining service quality for legitimate BSS stations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4297356B1Method and device for transmitting data
Publication Date: 2026.05.20 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP4297356B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4297356B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4297356B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method and a device for receiving transmitting data in in a wireless local area network are provided. The device receives a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from a station over a transmission bandwidth and determines whether the station is a member of a basic service set (BSS) managed by the device based on the PPDU. When the PPDU is a multi-user (MU)-PPDU, the AP determines that the station is not a member of the BSS managed by the AP. Such MU-PPDU includes a first signal field and a second signal field, the first signal field having bandwidth information indicating the transmission bandwidth, the second signal field having user-specific information with allocation for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.