TW201711504A - ACK policy for uplink and downlink MU PPDU - Google Patents

Abstract

A method implemented by a station (STA) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) to acknowledge a downlink (DL) multi-user (MU) physical layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) transmitted by an access point (AP). The method includes receiving the DL MU PPDU, decoding a frame from the DL MU PPDU, where the frame includes an indication requesting the STA to provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement, determining whether trigger information for an uplink (UL) MU transmission has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, responsive to a determination that the trigger information has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, transmitting a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement frame to the AP during the UL MU transmission, according to the trigger information, and responsive to a determination that the trigger information has not been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, refraining from transmitting the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement frame to the AP.

Description

Validation policy for upstream and downstream multi-user communication protocol data units

Embodiments of the present invention are related to the field of wireless local area network (WLAN) operation. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for validating physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) in a multi-user (MU) transmission environment. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 is a set of entities and media access control (MAC) specifications for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) communications. These specifications provide the basis for wireless network products that are managed and defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance. These specifications define the use of the 2.400-2.500 GHz and 4.915-5.825 GHz bands. These bands are collectively referred to as the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Each spectrum is subdivided into channels with a center frequency and bandwidth. The 2.4 GHz band is split into 14 channels separated by 5 MHz, although some countries regulate the availability of such channels. The 5 GHz band is more regulated than the 2.4 GHz band, and the channel spacing depends on the regulation of individual countries or territories across the spectrum with a minimum spacing of 5 MHz.

WLAN devices are currently deployed in a diverse environment. These environments are characterized by the presence of many access points (APs) and non-AP stations (STAs) in a limited geographic area. Increasing interference from neighboring devices causes performance degradation. In addition, WLAN devices are increasingly required to support a wide variety of applications, such as video, cloud access, and offload. In particular, it is expected that video traffic will become the main type of traffic in WLAN deployments. With the immediate need for some of these applications, WLAN users are demanding improved performance.

High efficiency (HE) WLAN standardization is under discussion in a working group called IEEE 802.11ax. The goal of HE is to improve the performance perceived by users who require high capacity and high rate services. The HE can support UL and DL MU synchronous transmission, including multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

When the AP transmits a data frame to the STA during DL MU transmission, the AP may request immediate confirmation from the STA. For example, the AP may request immediate confirmation from the STA by setting the ACK policy field of the data frame to the binary value of "00". According to the current IEEE 802.11 specification, the ACK policy field is set in this way to the STA for immediate confirmation.

The AP may transmit a DL MU Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) that causes the STA to provide an acknowledgment. The STA may transmit an immediate ACK, a transmission delayed ACK, an SU transmission ACK, and an MU transmission ACK. If multiple STAs use the same transmission resource (eg, at the same time and frequency resources) to transmit an ACK, a collision may result.

Embodiments provide a base station (STA) implementation in a wireless local area network (WLAN) to acknowledge downlink (DL) multi-user (MU) physical layer (PHY) protocol data transmitted by an access point (AP) Unit (PPDU) method. The method includes receiving the DL MU PPDU, from the DL MU PPDU decoding block, wherein the box includes requesting the STA to provide an indication of trigger-based immediate acknowledgment, determining whether trigger information for uplink (UL) MU transmission has been Determining, in response to the trigger information being obtained from the DL MU PPDU, transmitting, according to the trigger information, a trigger-based immediate confirmation box to the AP, and responding to the trigger information not yet from the DL MU The PPDU gets a decision to refrain from transmitting the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement box to the AP.

Embodiments provide a network device operating in a base station in a wireless local area network (WLAN), wherein the STA is configured to acknowledge a downlink (DL) multi-user (MU) entity transmitted by an access point (AP) Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). The network device includes a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, a set of one or more processors, and a non-transitory machine readable medium having a MU validation module stored therein for processing by one or more of the groups When executed, causing the network device to receive the DL MU PPDU from the DL MU PPDU decoding block when the network device operates as the STA, wherein the box includes an indication requesting the STA to provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement, Determining whether trigger information for uplink (UL) MU transmission has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, in response to a decision that the trigger information has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, and according to the trigger information, transmitting a trigger-based immediate confirmation box To the AP, and in response to the trigger information has not yet been The DL MU PPDU gets a decision to stop transmitting the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement box to the AP.

Embodiments provide a non-transitory machine readable storage medium having a set of one or more processors stored therein that are to be functioned by a network device of a base station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) To confirm the computer code of the line (DL) multi-user (MU) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted by the access point (AP). When the computer code is executed by the network device operating as the STA, causing the network device to receive the DL MU PPDU from the DL MU PPDU decoding frame, wherein the box includes requesting the STA to provide triggering The immediate confirmation indication, whether the trigger information for the uplink (UL) MU transmission has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, and in response to the decision that the trigger information has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, according to the trigger information, the transmission is triggered A base-based immediate confirmation block to the AP, and in response to the decision that the trigger information has not been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, the transmission of the trigger-based immediate confirmation box to the AP is suppressed.

Embodiments provide a method for triggering immediate acknowledgment based on an access point (AP) implementation in a wireless local area network (WLAN) to be extracted from a base station (STA). The method includes generating trigger information for an uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission, generating a box, wherein the box includes an indication, wherein the indication requests the STA to provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement, wherein if obtained by the STA In the triggering information, the STA sends an immediate confirmation frame based on the trigger information transmission trigger to the AP, and if the trigger information is not obtained by the STA, the STA stops transmitting the trigger as a base. That is, the confirmation frame to the AP, and the transmission downlink (DL) MU physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) to the STA, wherein the DL MU PPDU includes the frame and the trigger information.

Embodiments provide a network device that functions as an access point (AP) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), where the AP is configured to trigger a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement from a base station (STA). The network device includes a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, a set of one or more processors, and a non-transitory machine readable medium having a MU validation module stored therein for processing by one or more of the groups When executed, causing the network device, when acting as an AP, to generate trigger information for an uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission, generating a box, wherein the box includes an indication, wherein the indication requests the STA to provide a trigger For the immediate confirmation of the base, if the STA obtains the trigger information, the STA sends an immediate confirmation frame based on the trigger information transmission trigger to the AP, and if the trigger information is not obtained by the STA, the STA stops the transmission of the trigger as The base immediately acknowledges the frame to the AP, and transmits a downlink (DL) MU physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) to the STA, wherein the DL MU PPDU includes the frame and the trigger information.

Embodiments provide a non-transitory machine readable storage medium having a set of one or more processors stored therein that function as a network device in an access point (AP) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) Execute a computer code that is triggered by the base station (STA) to trigger immediately. When the computer code is executed by a network device functioning as the AP, causing the network device to generate trigger information for an uplink (UL) multi-use (MU) transmission, generating a frame, wherein the frame includes an indication, wherein the indication request The STA provides a trigger-based immediate acknowledgment, wherein if the trigger information is obtained by the STA, the STA sends an immediate confirmation frame based on the trigger information transmission trigger to the AP, and if the trigger information is not obtained by the STA, The STA refrains from transmitting the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block to the AP, and transmits a downlink (DL) MU physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) to the STA, wherein the DL MU PPDU includes the frame and the trigger information.

1‧‧‧WLAN device

10‧‧‧baseband processor

11‧‧‧MAC processor

12‧‧‧MAC software processing unit

13‧‧‧MAC hardware processing unit

15‧‧‧PHY processor

20‧‧‧ Radio Frequency (RF) Transceiver

21‧‧‧RF Transmitter

22‧‧‧RF Receiver

30‧‧‧Antenna unit

40‧‧‧ memory

50‧‧‧Input interface unit

60‧‧‧Output interface unit

70‧‧‧ busbar

100‧‧‧Transmission Signal Processing Unit

110‧‧‧Encoder

120‧‧‧Interlacer

130‧‧‧ Mapper

140‧‧‧Anti-Fourier Transformer (IFT)

150‧‧‧Guard Interval (GI) Inserter

200‧‧‧ Received Signal Processing Unit

220‧‧‧GI remover

230‧‧‧Fourier Transformer (FT)

240‧‧‧Demapper

250‧‧‧Deinterlacer

260‧‧‧Decoder

1200‧‧‧MU Confirmation (ACK) Module

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation It should be noted that the various references to the "a" or "an" embodiment in this specification are not necessarily a reference to the same embodiment, and such reference is intended to mean at least one. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in the description of the embodiments, whether or not explicitly described, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the <RTIgt; Or feature.

1 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

2A depicts a diagram of the operation of a MU validation procedure in which a triggering box triggers a UL MU transmission, in accordance with some embodiments.

2B is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments, wherein trigger information included in the MAC header of the data frame triggers UL MU transmission.

3 is a diagram depicting a problem that can occur during a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

4 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure using trigger-based immediate acknowledgment in accordance with some embodiments.

5 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments in which blocking an ACK request box triggers an immediate acknowledgement.

6 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU acknowledgment procedure in which a trigger block triggers a UL MU transmission and blocks the ACK request field of the ACK request box and the data frame from initiating an immediate acknowledgement, in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 7 depicts a diagram of a problem that can occur during a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

8 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure using trigger-based immediate acknowledgment in accordance with some embodiments.

9 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in which a MU blocks an ACK request box from initiating an immediate acknowledgement, in accordance with some embodiments.

10 is a flow diagram of a process for validating a DL MU PPDU transmitted by an AP by a network device functioning like a non-AP STA, in accordance with some embodiments.

11 is a flow diagram of a process for triggering a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement from a STA implemented by a network device functioning as an AP, in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 12 is a block diagram of a network device implementing STA or AP for performing MU validation processing and modules in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 13 is a block diagram of a WLAN in accordance with some embodiments.

14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a transmission signal processor in a WLAN device in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a received signal processing unit in a WLAN, in accordance with some embodiments.

16 is a timing diagram of an example of a carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) transmission procedure in accordance with some embodiments.

17 is a diagram depicting DL MU PPDU and UL MU PPDU exchange, in accordance with some embodiments.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide methods and apparatus for validating physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) in a multi-user transmission environment. Embodiments are triggered by the use of base station (STA) implementations in a wireless local area network (WLAN) to trigger the concept of immediate acknowledgment to confirm that a line (DL) multi-user is transmitted by an access point (AP) ( MU) method of PPDU. Using the trigger-based immediate acknowledgment, the STA successfully decoding the trigger information for the uplink (UL) MU transmission from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP according to the trigger information (eg, using the configured transmission resource) during the UL MU transmission The confirmation box is transmitted to the AP in MU mode. On the other hand, the STA that cannot successfully decode the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP (before at least the UL MU transmission has ended) suppresses the transmission confirmation frame to the AP. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other In the examples, circuits, structures, and techniques that are well known are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of the description. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced without the specific details. Those skilled in the art will be able to carry out the appropriate functions in the practice of the invention without undue experiment.

The embodiments described in the "Implification", "Embodiment", "Example Embodiment" and the like in the specification may include specific features, structures, or features, but may not be included in every embodiment. Specific characteristics, structure, or characteristics. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiments. In addition, the particular features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiments, whether explicitly described or not, are considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the <Desc/Clms Page number> feature.

The terms "coupled" and "connected", along with their derivatives, may be used in the following description and claims. It should be understood that these terms are not considered as synonyms for each other. "Coupling" is used to indicate that two or more elements, which may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, cooperate or interact with each other. "Connection" is used to indicate the establishment of communication between two or more elements that are coupled to each other. As used herein, "group" refers to any positive integer item that includes an item.

Electronic devices use machine-readable media (also known as computer-readable media), such as non-transitory machine-readable media (eg, machine-readable storage media, such as magnetic disks, optical disks, read-only memory, flash memory) Body device, phase change memory) and transitory machine readable transmission medium (also known as carrier wave) (eg, electrical, optical, radio, acoustic, or other forms of propagation) Signals - such as carrier waves, infrared signals - are stored and transmitted (internal and/or through the network and other electronic devices) code (which consists of software instructions and sometimes referred to as computer code or computer programs) and/or data. Accordingly, an electronic device (eg, a computer) includes hardware and software, such as coupled to one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media (to store code and data for execution on the set of processors) A set of one or more processors, and a set of one or more physical network interfaces (etc.) to establish a network connection (to transmit codes and/or data using a propagated signal). In other words, typical electronic devices include non-volatile memory (including code regardless of whether the electronic device is turned on or off) and volatile memory (eg, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory ( SRAM)), and while the electronic device is turned on, copying the portion of the code currently being executed from the slower non-volatile memory to the volatile memory for execution by the processor of the electronic device (often Organized by hierarchy).

A network device (ND) is an electronic device that communicatively interconnects other electronic devices (eg, other network devices, end user devices) on the network. Some network devices are "multi-service network devices" that provide support for multi-network functions (eg, routing, bridging, switching, layer 2 aggregation, session border control, quality of service, and/or user management), and / Or support for multiple application services such as data, voice, and video. The network device or network element can include a wireless communication system, such as an AP in a wireless local area network (WLAN), and a non-AP STA. The STA is connected to a device that includes and communicates with a WLAN of a client or user device connected to the WLAN via an AP. AP system can be connected via wireless media Or a network device of a specialized wireless access point that communicates with other network devices in the WLAN via a wired connection. A STA or AP may be referred to herein as a WLAN device.

Conventionally, when a WLAN device (eg, a STA or an AP) transmits a data frame to another WLAN device, the transmitted WLAN device can indicate its desired acknowledgment policy in the data frame. For example, the 2-bit ACK policy subfield in the QoS Control field of the data frame (eg, bit 5 and bit 6 of the QoS Control field) can be used for this purpose. Table 1 shows how the ACK policy subfield can be interpreted by the WLAN device.

High efficiency (HE) WLAN standardization is under discussion in a working group known as the International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ax. The goal of HE is to improve the performance perceived by users who require high capacity and high rate services. HE can support UL and DL MU synchronous transmission Transmission, which includes multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission.

When an AP (eg, a High Efficiency (HE) AP) transmits a data frame to a STA (eg, a High Efficiency (HE) STA) during DL MU transmission, the AP may initiate an immediate acknowledgement from the STA. For example, the AP may initiate an immediate acknowledgement from the STA by setting the ACK Policy field of the data frame to the binary value of "00". According to the current IEEE 802.11 specification, the ACK policy field is set in this way to trigger an immediate acknowledgement from the STA in SU mode.

Each payload within a DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP during DL MU transmission may include a triggering block that includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. The trigger information may include information about the UL MU transmission, such as the transmission length of the UL MU transmission and the configuration of the transmission resources for the UL MU transmission. The presence of a trigger block in the DL MU PPDU triggers a UL MU transmission. The STA that successfully decodes the trigger information included in the trigger frame may transmit a confirmation block (eg, an ACK box or block ACK (BA) during the UL MU transmission according to the trigger information (eg, using the transmission resource assigned to the STA). ) box) to AP.

However, if the STA is unable to successfully decode the trigger information, the STA may transmit a confirmation frame in SU mode, which may result in a collision with other confirmation frames transmitted by other STAs during UL MU transmission.

Embodiments overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by introducing a new type of validation policy, referred to herein as trigger-based immediate validation. Using the trigger-based immediate acknowledgment, the STA successfully decoding the trigger information for the UL MU transmission from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP according to the touch Sending information (eg, using the configured transmission resources) transmits a confirmation box to the AP in MU mode during UL MU transmission. On the other hand, the STA that cannot successfully decode the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP (before at least the UL MU transmission has ended) suppresses the transmission confirmation frame to the AP. In this way, STAs that are unable to successfully decode trigger information from the DL MU PPDU will avoid transmitting the acknowledgment frame in SU mode during UL MU transmission, and thus avoid collisions with the acknowledgment frame transmitted by other STAs during UL MU transmission.

1 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments. For purposes of illustration, the operations in this and other figures will be described in the context of a simple WLAN including an AP and at least two STAs (e.g., STA1 and STA2). However, it should be understood that the principles and concepts described herein are not limited thereto. In this diagram and some of the other diagrams (Figure 2-9), the horizontal dimension represents the time dimension and the vertical dimension represents the frequency dimension. The AP transmits the data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during DL MU transmission (eg, in a DL MU PPDU - which may be a DL OFDMA PPDU). A data frame for STA1 is transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and a data frame for STA2 is transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. The data frame for STA1 includes an ACK policy field set to indicate an implicit blocking ACK request confirmation policy (eg, setting the ACK policy field to a binary value of "00"), which triggers an immediate acknowledgement from STA1. The data frame for STA2 includes an ACK policy field set to indicate blocking of the ACK acknowledgment policy (eg, setting the ACK policy field to a binary value of "11"), which requests a delay to STA2 confirm. Using the Block ACK acknowledgment policy, STA2 can expect to block the ACK request box from the AP in the future, and STA2 can transmit a confirmation box to the AP in response to receiving the Block ACK Request box from the AP.

Since the ACK policy field for the data frame of STA1 is set to indicate the implicit blocking ACK request acknowledgement policy, STA1 transmits the Block ACK box to the AP in SU mode. Since the ACK policy field for the data frame of STA2 is set to indicate the Block ACK acknowledgment policy, the AP transmission blocks the ACK request box to STA2, and STA2 transmits a Block ACK box in response to receiving the Block ACK Request box from the AP.

2A depicts a diagram of the operation of a MU validation procedure in which a triggering box triggers a UL MU transmission, in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits the trigger frame and the data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during the DL MU transmission (for example, in the DL MU PPDU). The trigger box and data frame for STA1 are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the trigger frame and data frame for STA2 are transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. The data frame for STA1 and the data frame for STA2 are immediately acknowledged from STA1 and STA2, respectively. Each trigger block includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. For example, the trigger information may include schedule information for scheduling UL MU transmissions. The presence of a trigger block triggers a UL MU transfer. Therefore, each of STA1 and STA2 transmits the Block ACK box to the MU mode according to the trigger information (eg, using the transmission resource assigned to the STA) during UL MU transmission (eg, in the UL MU PPDU - which may be a UL OFDMA PPDU) AP.

2B depicts a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments The schema of the operation, including the trigger information in the MAC header of the data frame, triggers the UL MU transmission. The AP transmits a data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during DL MU transmission (eg, in a DL MU PPDU), where each data frame includes trigger information in its MAC header. A data frame for STA1 is transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and a data frame for STA2 is transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. The data frame for STA1 and the data frame for STA2 are immediately acknowledged from STA1 and STA2, respectively. The presence of the trigger information in the MAC header of the data frame triggers the UL MU transmission. Thus, each of STA1 and STA2 transmits the Blocked ACK box to the AP in MU mode during UL MU transmission (eg, in the UL MU PPDU) based on trigger information (eg, using transmission resources assigned to the STA).

3 is a diagram depicting a problem that can occur during a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits the trigger frame and the data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during the DL MU transmission (for example, in the DL MU PPDU). The trigger box and data frame for STA1 are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the trigger frame and data frame for STA2 are transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. Each trigger block includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. The presence of a trigger block triggers a UL MU transfer. Each data frame includes an ACK policy field that is set to indicate that an immediate confirmation is required (eg, an implicit block ACK request confirmation policy).

In this example, STA1 successfully receives and decodes the trigger information included in the trigger frame (transmitted to STA1 by the AP), and thus transmits the Block ACK box to the AP in MU mode during UL MU transmission. However, in this example, STA2 cannot successfully decode the trigger information included in the trigger box (transmitted to STA2 by the AP). As a result, STA2 terminates transmitting the Block ACK box to the AP in SU mode, which collides with the Block ACK box transmitted by STA1 during UL MU transmission. Embodiments described herein address this problem by introducing a trigger-based concept of immediate confirmation. A MU validation procedure using trigger-based immediate acknowledgment to avoid such collisions is described with reference to FIG.

4 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure using trigger-based immediate acknowledgment in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits the trigger frame and the data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during the DL MU transmission (for example, in the DL MU PPDU). The trigger box and data frame for STA1 are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the trigger frame and data frame for STA2 are transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. Each trigger block includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. In an embodiment, each of the material frames includes an indication that the recipient (e.g., STA1 or STA2 in this example) should provide a trigger-based immediate confirmation. In an embodiment, this indication is included in the ACK policy field of the data frame. For example, the ACK policy field of the data frame can be set to the binary value of "01" to indicate that the receiver should provide a trigger-based immediate confirmation (the binary value of "01" is normally used for PSMP operation, but may not be used. PSMP, so this value can be used to indicate trigger-based immediate confirmation). Using the trigger-based immediate acknowledgment, the STA successfully decoding the trigger information for the UL MU transmission from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP according to the trigger information (eg, using the configured transmission resource) in the MU mode during the UL MU transmission Transmission confirmation box To the AP. On the other hand, the STA that cannot successfully decode the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP (before at least the UL MU transmission has ended) suppresses the transmission confirmation frame to the AP.

In this example, STA1 successfully receives and decodes the trigger information included in the trigger frame (transmitted to STA1 by the AP), and thus transmits the Block ACK box to the AP in MU mode during UL MU transmission. However, in this example, STA2 cannot successfully decode the trigger information included in the trigger box (transmitted to STA2 by the AP). Based on the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement policy, STA2 decides whether the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU (eg, from the trigger block in the DL MU PPDU) has been successfully decoded. In this example, STA2 decides that the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU has not been successfully decoded. Therefore, STA2 suppresses the transmission confirmation box to the AP. In this way, collisions can be avoided (for example, the collision described with reference to Figure 3).

In the above example, the trigger information is included in the trigger box in the DL MU PPDU. However, it should be understood that the trigger information can be included in the MAC header of the data frame, otherwise included in the DL MU PPDU.

In the above example, the AP implicitly requests immediate confirmation from the STA (eg, by setting the ACK policy field of the data frame). In an embodiment, the AP may explicitly request immediate acknowledgment from the STA by transmitting a Block ACK Request Block to the STA in the DL MU PPDU. Similar problems (e.g., collisions) as described above can also occur when the Block ACK Request box is used to request immediate acknowledgment from the STA. An embodiment of the Block ACK Request box for requesting immediate confirmation from the STA will now be described.

5 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments in which blocking an ACK request box triggers an immediate acknowledgement. The AP transmits the data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during DL MU transmission (eg, in a DL MU PPDU - which may be a DL OFDMA PPDU). Each data frame has its ACK policy field set to indicate an ACK acknowledgment policy (for example, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "11"). The AP also transmits a Block ACK Request Block to STA1 during DL MU transmission. A Block ACK Request Box and a Data Frame for STA1 are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and a data frame for STA2 is transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. The Block ACK Request box causes an immediate acknowledgement from STA1 in SU mode. Therefore, after the DL MU is transmitted, STA1 transmits the blocking ACK box to the AP in SU mode. The AP then transmits a Block ACK Request Block to STA2, which initiates an immediate acknowledgement from STA2 in SU mode. Therefore, when receiving the Block ACK Request box from the AP, STA2 transmits a Block ACK box to the AP.

6 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU acknowledgment procedure in which a trigger block triggers a UL MU transmission and blocks the ACK request field of the ACK request box and the data frame from initiating an immediate acknowledgement, in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits a trigger block, an ACK request block, and a data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during DL MU transmission (eg, in a DL MU PPDU). The trigger block for STA1, the block ACK request box, and the data frame are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the trigger block for STA2, the block ACK request box, and the data frame are transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. . Each trigger block includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. Trigger box The presence of UL MU transmission. Each data frame has its ACK policy field set to indicate an ACK acknowledgment policy (for example, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "11"). The combination of blocking the presence of the ACK request box and the setting of the ACK policy field of the data frame (to indicate that the ACK acknowledgment policy is blocked) triggers an immediate acknowledgment from the STA. Therefore, each of STA1 and STA2 transmits the Block ACK box to the MU mode according to the trigger information (eg, using the transmission resource assigned to the STA) during UL MU transmission (eg, in the UL MU PPDU - which may be a UL OFDMA PPDU) AP. In an embodiment, the STA (e.g., STA1 or STA2) may transmit additional blocks (e.g., one or more data frames) during UL MU transmission (if time permits).

Figure 7 depicts a diagram of a problem that can occur during a MU validation procedure in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits a trigger block, an ACK request block, and a data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during DL MU transmission (eg, in a DL MU PPDU). The trigger block for STA1, the block ACK request box, and the data frame are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the trigger block for STA2, the block ACK request box, and the data frame are transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. . Each trigger block includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. The presence of a trigger block triggers a UL MU transfer. Each data frame has its ACK policy field set to indicate an ACK acknowledgment policy (for example, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "11"). The combination of blocking the presence of the ACK request box and the setting of the ACK policy field of the data frame (to indicate that the ACK acknowledgment policy is blocked) triggers an immediate acknowledgment from the STA.

In this example, STA1 successfully receives and decodes the trigger information included in the trigger frame (transmitted to STA1 by the AP), and thus transmits the Block ACK box to the AP in MU mode during UL MU transmission. However, in this example, STA2 cannot successfully decode the trigger information included in the trigger box (transmitted to STA2 by the AP). As a result, STA2 terminates transmitting the Block ACK box to the AP in SU mode, which collides with the Block ACK box transmitted by STA1 during UL MU transmission. Embodiments described herein address this problem by introducing a trigger-based concept of immediate confirmation. A MU confirmation procedure using trigger-based immediate acknowledgment to avoid such collisions is described with reference to FIG.

8 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure using trigger-based immediate acknowledgment in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits a trigger block, an ACK request block, and a data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 during DL MU transmission (eg, in a DL MU PPDU). The trigger block for STA1, the block ACK request box, and the data frame are transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the trigger block for STA2, the block ACK request box, and the data frame are transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. . Each trigger block includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. In an embodiment, each block ACK request box includes an indication that the recipient (e.g., STA1 or STA2 in this example) should provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement. In an embodiment, this indication is included in the Block ACK Request (BAR) ACK Policy field of the Block ACK Request box. For example, the BAR ACK policy field of the Block ACK Request box may be set to a binary value of "1" to indicate that the receiver should provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement ("1") The binary value is normally used for PSMP operation, but PSMP may not be used, so this value can be used to indicate trigger-based immediate acknowledgement). Each data frame has its ACK policy field set to indicate an ACK acknowledgment policy (for example, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "11"). Using the trigger-based immediate acknowledgment, the STA successfully decoding the trigger information for the UL MU transmission from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP according to the trigger information (eg, using the configured transmission resource) in the MU mode during the UL MU transmission Send a confirmation box to the AP. On the other hand, the STA that cannot successfully decode the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU transmitted by the AP (before at least the UL MU transmission has ended) suppresses the transmission confirmation frame to the AP.

In this example, STA1 successfully receives and decodes the trigger information included in the trigger frame (transmitted to STA1 by the AP), and thus transmits the Block ACK box to the AP in MU mode during UL MU transmission. However, in this example, STA2 cannot successfully decode the trigger information included in the trigger box (transmitted to STA2 by the AP). Based on the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement policy, STA2 decides whether the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU (eg, from the trigger block in the DL MU PPDU) has been successfully decoded. In this example, STA2 decides that the trigger information from the DL MU PPDU has not been successfully decoded. Therefore, STA2 suppresses the transmission confirmation box to the AP. In this way, collisions can be avoided (for example, the collision described with reference to Figure 7).

In the above example, the trigger information is included in the trigger box in the DL MU PPDU. However, it should be understood that the trigger information can be included in the MAC header of the data frame, otherwise included in the DL MU PPDU. example For example, in an embodiment, the triggering information is included in the Block ACK Request box. Such a box is referred to herein as a MU blocking ACK request box (or MU-BAR box).

9 is a diagram depicting the operation of a MU validation procedure in which a MU blocks an ACK request box from initiating an immediate acknowledgement, in accordance with some embodiments. The AP transmits the MU to block the ACK request box and the data frame to each of STA1 and STA2 (for example, in the DL MU PPDU) during the DL MU transmission. The MU for STA1 blocks the ACK request box and the data frame from being transmitted in the first 20 MHz secondary channel, and the MU for STA2 blocks the ACK request box and the data frame from being transmitted in the second 20 MHz secondary channel. Each MU Block ACK Request box includes trigger information for UL MU transmission. Each data frame has its ACK policy field set to indicate an ACK acknowledgment policy (for example, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "11"). The MU blocks the presence of the ACK request box to trigger an immediate acknowledgement from the STA in MU mode. Therefore, each of STA1 and STA2 transmits the Block ACK box to the MU mode according to the trigger information (eg, using the transmission resource assigned to the STA) during UL MU transmission (eg, in the UL MU PPDU - which may be a UL OFDMA PPDU) AP. In an embodiment, the STA (e.g., STA1 or STA2) may transmit additional blocks (e.g., one or more data frames) during UL MU transmission (if time permits). In an embodiment, the AP may transmit a Block ACK Request Block (normal non-MU Block ACK Request Box) to the STA to initiate an immediate acknowledgement from the STA in SU mode, and the AP may transmit the MU Block ACK box to the STA to use the MU mode. Raise immediate confirmation from the STA.

10 is a flow diagram of a process for validating a DL MU PPDU transmitted by an AP by a network device functioning like a non-AP STA, in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, the operation of the flowchart can be implemented by a network device in a wireless communication network (e.g., WLAN) that functions as a non-AP STA. The operations in this flowchart and other flowcharts will be described with reference to the illustrative embodiments in the other figures. However, it should be understood that the operation of the flowcharts can be implemented by the embodiments of the present invention other than the embodiments discussed with reference to the other figures, and the embodiments of the invention discussed with reference to the other figures can be implemented with reference to the flowcharts. Operate different operations.

In an embodiment, when the STA receives the DL MU PPDU from the AP, processing begins (block 1010). The STA decodes the box from the DL MU PPDU, where the box includes an indication that the requesting STA provides a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement (block 1020). In an embodiment, the frame is a data frame. In an embodiment, the indication that the requesting STA provides a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement is included in the ACK policy field of the box. In one embodiment, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "01" to request the STA to provide an immediate confirmation based on the trigger. In an embodiment, the frame blocks the ACK request box. In an embodiment, the indication that the requesting STA provides a trigger-based immediate acknowledgment is included in the Block ACK Request (BAR) ACK Policy field of the Block ACK Request box. In one embodiment, the BAR ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "1" to request the STA to provide a trigger based immediate acknowledgment. In an embodiment, the frame MU blocks the ACK request box.

The STA determines whether the trigger information for the UL MU transmission has been (Successfully) derived (e.g., successfully decoded) from the DL MU PPDU (decision block 1030). In an embodiment, the trigger information for UL MU transmission includes information regarding the configuration of transmission resources for UL MU transmission. If the STA decides that the trigger information has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, the STA transmits a trigger-based immediate confirmation frame to the AP according to the trigger information (for example, by using an immediate confirmation box based on the transmission resource transmission trigger configured to the STA). For example, during UL MU transmission) (block 1040). In an embodiment, the short inter-frame space (SITS) transmission of the STA after receiving the DL MU PPDU triggers a base immediate acknowledgement block to the AP. On the other hand, if the STA decides that the trigger information has not been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, the STA severs the transmission trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block to the AP (block 1050). In an embodiment, if the STA decides that the trigger information cannot be obtained from the DL MU PPDU, the STA waits for the Block ACK Request box for the frame from the AP and transmits a confirmation box for the box in response to receiving the Block ACK request box. To the AP. In an embodiment, if the STA decides that the trigger information has not been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, the STA transmits a confirmation frame to the AP during a subsequent transmission opportunity (eg, TXOP) before it receives the Block ACK Request box from the AP.

11 is a flow diagram of a process for triggering a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement from a STA implemented by a network device functioning as an AP, in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, the operation of the flowchart can be implemented by a network device functioning as an AP in a wireless communication network (e.g., WLAN).

The AP generates trigger information for UL MU transmission (block 1105). In an embodiment, the trigger information for UL MU transmission includes information regarding the configuration of transmission resources for UL MU transmission. The AP generates a frame, where the box includes an indication, wherein the indication requests the STA to provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement, wherein if the trigger information is obtained by the STA (eg, successfully decoded), the STA immediately acknowledges based on the trigger information transmission trigger Block to the AP (e.g., during UL MU transmission), and if the trigger information is not obtained by the STA, the STA refrains from transmitting a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block to the AP (block 1110). In an embodiment, the frame is a data frame. In an embodiment, the indication that the requesting STA provides a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement is included in the ACK policy field of the box. In one embodiment, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "01" to request the STA to provide an immediate confirmation based on the trigger. In an embodiment, the frame blocks the ACK request box. In an embodiment, the indication that the requesting STA provides a trigger-based immediate acknowledgment is included in the Block ACK Request (BAR) ACK Policy field of the Block ACK Request box. In one embodiment, the BAR ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "1" to request the STA to provide a trigger based immediate acknowledgment. In an embodiment, the frame MU blocks the ACK request box. The STA then transmits the DL MU PPDU to the STA, where the DL MU PPDU includes the box and trigger information (block 1120).

As mentioned above, in an embodiment, the trigger information can be included in a trigger box in the DL MU PPDU. In an embodiment, multiple blocks including trigger blocks can be included in the DL MU PPDU by aggregating the blocks (eg, Mac Protocol Data Units (MPDUs)) in an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU). In an embodiment, including trigger information More than one frame can be included in the A-MPDU. In an embodiment, the box including the trigger information should be the first box or the last box in the A-MPDU. In an embodiment, the ACK policy field of the other blocks in the A-MPDU should not be set to indicate a normal ACK acknowledgement policy, an implicit block ACK request acknowledgement policy, or an ACK acknowledgement policy. The ACK policy field of the data frame in the A-MPDU may be set to a reserved value (eg, a binary value of "01") to indicate that the recipient should provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement. In this case, the recipient's acknowledgment behavior depends on whether the receiver can successfully receive and decode the trigger information (eg, from a trigger box or other box in the A-MPDU). For example, when the box in the DL MU PPDU includes an indication that the receiver should provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgment (for example, the ACK policy field of the data frame is set to a binary value of "01"), the receiving party's confirmation behavior can As shown below: ACK policy is set to 01: PSMP background or UL OFDMA background is in the box in the PSMP background

i) When bit 6 of the box control field is set to 1:

There may be a response box for the box received, but it is neither an ACK box nor a data frame of any +CF-ACK subtype. The ACK policy subfield for the QoS CF-Poll and QoS CF-ACK+CF-Poll data box is set to this value.

Ii) When bit 6 of the box control field is set to 0:

When the frame indicating the PSMP ACK appears in the PSMP Downlink Time (PSMP-UTT), the acknowledgment for it is received in a later PSMP Uplink Time (PSMP-UTT). When indicating PSMP ACK When the frame appears in the PSMP-UTT, the acknowledgment for it is received in a later PSMP-DTT.

In the box in the background of UL OFDMA

i) receiving the address of the frame with the sub-channel designation information according to the sub-channel designation information specified in the receiving frame, either independently or as part of the AFS of the SIFS after the PPDU carrying the frame Either way returns the ACK/block ACK box.

Ii) The recipient who did not receive the address of the box with the sub-channel designation information does not take action except when recording the status when receiving the box. The receiver can respond to its Block ACK Request box in the future using the program described in the Block Acknowledgment mechanism. However, before receiving the Block ACK Request box in the future, when the addressed receiver gets the TXOP, it can actively return the ACK/Block ACK box. This unsolicited ACK/block ACK box transmission is similar to the delayed ACK policy. Via the ACK policy field, the addressed recipient knows that it is being requested to return an ACK/block ACK box. However, because the sub-channel designation information is lost, the addressed receiver cannot return the ACK/block ACK box. Therefore, when the addressed receiver gets a new TXOP later, it can return an ACK/block ACK box for avoiding unnecessary retransmissions from the AP.

As mentioned above, in an embodiment, the trigger information can be included in the MAC header of the block in the DL PPDU. In this case, in an embodiment, the ACK policy field of the data frame in the A-MPDU must be set to indicate a normal ACK acknowledgement policy or an implicit block ACK request acknowledgement policy. In an embodiment, the MAC of all the boxes in the A-MPDU The trigger information in the header has the same information. In an embodiment, when the ACK policy field of the data frame in the A-MPDU is set to indicate that there is no ACK confirmation policy, the transmission resource designation information for the receiver of the data frame is not included in the trigger information.

As mentioned above, in an embodiment, the trigger information can be included in the MU Block ACK Request box. In an embodiment, the MU Block ACK Request box may have the following format:

The BAR Control field includes the number of users who requested immediate confirmation. Each user blocks the ACK request field and the designated field for each user channel is repeated for each user. The multi-user blocked ACK request box specifies the ACK box and the ACK box response to be transmitted during the UL MU transmission according to the sub-channel in the designated field per user sub-channel. One or more MU Block ACK Request boxes can be included in the DL MU PPDU. However, because the normal (non-MU) blocking ACK request box can still be used to request an ACK box or an ACK box to be transmitted in SU mode, in an embodiment, the MU blocking ACK request box and the normal blocking ACK request box should not coexist. In the same DL MU PPDU. The MU Block ACK Request box (with other boxes) can be included in the A-MPDU. In this case, in an embodiment, the MU blocking ACK request box should not be the first box or the last box in the A-MPDU.

In an embodiment, at most one of the frames including the trigger information can be included in the A-MPDU. In an embodiment, when the Block ACK Request box is included in the A-MPDU, the ACK Policy field of the data frame in the A-MPDU should be set to block ACK (because the Block ACK Request box also exists in the A-MPDU) ). In an embodiment, the BAR ACK policy field of the Block ACK Request box in the A-MPDU should not be set to a binary value of "0" (normal ACK), but should be set to a reserved value (eg, "1") The binary value) is an immediate acknowledgement indicating that the receiver should provide a trigger. In this case, the recipient's acknowledgment behavior depends on whether the receiver can successfully receive and decode the trigger information (eg, from a trigger box or other box in the A-MPDU). For example, when the Block ACK Request box in the DL MU PPDU includes an indication that the receiver should provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement (eg, to prevent the BAR ACK policy field of the ACK request box from being set to a binary value of "1"), The acknowledgement behavior of the receiver can be as follows: The BAR ACK policy is set to 1: the PSMP background or the UL OFDMA background is in the box in the PSMP context i) no acknowledgement.

The recipient does not send an immediate response when receiving the box. When the transmitter does not need immediate confirmation, the BAR ACK policy subfield is set to this value. A value of 1 is not used in the basic blocking ACK request box outside the PSMP sequence. A value of 1 is not used in the Multiple TID Block ACK Request box.

In the box in the background of UL OFDMA

i) receiving the receiver root of the address of the frame with the subchannel designation information The ACK/block ACK box is returned in a manner that either specifies the sub-channel designation in the frame of the reception, either independently or as part of starting a portion of the A-MPDU of the SIFS after the PPDU carrying the box.

Ii) The recipient who did not receive the address of the box with the sub-channel designation information does not take action except when recording the status when receiving the box. The receiver can respond to its Block ACK Request box in the future using the program described in the Block Acknowledgment mechanism.

In an embodiment, the Block ACK Request box in the DL MU PPDU includes an indication that the receiver should provide immediate acknowledgment in SU mode (eg, a binary value that prevents the BAR ACK policy field of the ACK request box from being set to "0". The receiving party's acknowledgment behavior can be as follows: The BAR ACK policy is set to 0: the PSMP background or SU background is in the box in the PSMP background i) Normal acknowledgment.

When the transmitter needs immediate confirmation, the BAR ACK policy subfield is set to this value. The recipient returns an ACK box (per PSMP confirmation rule).

The recipient addressed in the box i) in the SU background is returned to the Block ACK box either by itself or as part of the start of a portion of the SIFS A-MPDU after the PPDU carrying the box.

In an embodiment, the MU confirmation behavior is as follows. At most one of the following boxes can exist for each attempted reception of the DL MU PPDU In the party's A-MPDU: i) has one or more QoS data frames set to indicate an ACK policy field that implicitly blocks the ACK request acknowledgement policy; ii) has an immediate acknowledgement set to indicate that the receiver should provide a trigger based One or more QoS data frames of the ACK policy field (eg, setting the ACK policy field to a binary value of "01"); iii) blocking the ACK request box; and iv) the MU blocking the ACK request box.

In an embodiment, the DL MU PPDU shall not include one or more A-MPDUs including one or more of the following blocks that initiate an immediate acknowledgement in SU mode: i) having a policy set to indicate an implicit blocking ACK request confirmation policy One or more QoS data frames in the ACK policy field; and ii) Block ACK request box.

In an embodiment, the DL MU PPDU may include one or more A-MPDUs including one or more of the following blocks that cause immediate acknowledgment in MU mode: i) having an immediate setting indicating that the receiver should provide a trigger based One or more QoS data frames for the ACK policy field identified (eg, the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "01"); and ii) the MU blocks the ACK request box.

In an embodiment, when the DL MU PPDU includes an A-MPDU including a QoS data frame having an ACK Policy field set to indicate an implicit blocking ACK request acknowledgement policy or a block ACK request box, then the following box cannot exist in the DL MU PPDU: i) has one or more QoS data frames set to indicate that the receiver should provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgement ACK policy field (eg, set the ACK policy field to a binary value of "01") ; and ii) MU blocks the ACK request box.

In an embodiment, the ACK policy field of the data frame in the UL MU PPDU (transmitted from the STA to the AP) is set to indicate an implicit blocking ACK request confirmation policy (eg, setting the ACK policy field to "00" When the binary value is), the AP may respond by transmitting an ACK box or blocking the ACK box to the STA in either the SU mode or the MU mode (determined by the AP). This means that the acknowledgment behavior can vary depending on the direction of transmission (eg, UL MU transmission to DL MU transmission). In an embodiment, the confirmation behavior can be summarized in Table 2 as follows:

In an embodiment, one or more blocked ACK request frames may be present in the UL MU PPDU. In an embodiment, the normal (non-MU) Block ACK Request box included in the UL MU PPDU triggers an immediate acknowledgement from the AP in either the SU mode or the MU mode (as determined by the AP). In an embodiment, the acknowledgment behavior for blocking the ACK request box can be summarized in Table 3 as follows:

Figure 12 is a block diagram of a network device implementing STA or AP for performing MU validation processing and modules in accordance with some embodiments. In a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as the example WLAN depicted in Figure 13, a basic service set (BSS) includes a plurality of network devices, referred to herein as WLAN devices. Each WLAN device may include a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and a Physical (PHY) layer in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. In a plurality of WLAN devices, at least one WLAN device may be an AP station (eg, access point 0 and access point 1 in FIG. 13), and other WLAN devices may be non-AP stations (non-AP STAs) (eg, Station 0-3) in Figure 13. Alternatively, in a peer-to-peer network environment, all of the plurality of WLAN devices may be non-AP STAs. Generally, each of the AP STA and the non-AP STA may be referred to herein as a station (STA). However, for ease of description, only non-AP STAs are referred to herein as STAs, however, for ease of description, the AP stations are referred to herein as APs. As shown in FIG. 13, the WLAN can have any combination of STAs and APs that can form a discrete network, a peer-to-peer network, or any combination thereof. Any number of APs and STAs can be included in the WLAN, and any topology and configuration of such APs and STAs can be used in the network.

The example WLAN device 1 includes a baseband processor 10, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 20, an antenna unit 30, a memory 40, an input interface unit 50, an output interface unit 60, and a bus bar 70. The baseband processor 10 performs baseband signal processing and includes a MAC processor 11 and a PHY processor 15. These processors can include general purpose processing units or specific application products. Any type of integrated circuit (IC) of an integrated circuit (ASIC). In some embodiments, the MAC processor 11 is also implemented as an MU acknowledgment (ACK) module 1200. The MU validation module 1200 can function with respect to the individual functions of any combination of the embodiments described above with respect to Figures 1-13. In other embodiments, the MU validation module 1200 can be implemented or distributed by both the PHY processor 15 and the MAC processor 11. The MU validation module 1200 can be implemented as a hardware component of either the software or any of the PHY processor 15 or the MAC processor 11.

In an embodiment, the MAC processor 11 may include a MAC software processing unit 12 and a MAC hardware processing unit 13. The memory 40 can store software (referred to herein as "MAC software"), including at least some of the functions of the MAC layer. The MAC software processing unit 12 executes the MAC software to implement some of the functions of the MAC layer, and the MAC hardware processing unit 13 can implement the remaining functions of the MAC layer (referred to herein as "MAC hardware"). However, the MAC processor 11 is not limited to this function allocation.

The PHY processor 15 includes a transmission signal processing unit 100 and a reception signal processing unit 200 which are further described below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The baseband processor 10, the memory 40, the input interface unit 50, and the output interface unit 60 can communicate with each other via the bus bar 70. A radio frequency (RF) transceiver 20 includes an RF transmitter 21 and an RF receiver 22. The memory 40 can store operating systems and applications. In some embodiments, the memory can store recorded information related to the captured frame. The input interface unit 50 receives information from the user, and the output interface unit 60 outputs information. To the user.

Antenna unit 30 includes one or more antennas. When a MIMO or MU-MIMO system is used, the antenna unit 30 may include a plurality of antennas.

14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a transmission signal processor in a WLAN device in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to the above figures, the transmission signal processing unit 100 includes an encoder 110, an interleaver 120, a mapper 130, an inverse Fourier transform (IFT) 140, and a guard interval (GI) inserter 150. Encoder 110 encodes the input data. For example, encoder 110 may be a forward error correction (FEC) encoder. The FEC encoder may include a binary convolutional code (BCC) encoder, a subsequent puncturing device, or may include a low density parity check (LDPC) encoder.

The transmission signal processing unit 100 may further include a codec for mixing the input data before encoding to reduce the likelihood of a long sequence of 0 or 1. If BCC coding is used in the encoder 110, the transmission signal processing unit 100 may further include an encoder profiler for demultiplexing the coded bits in the complex BCC encoder. If LDPC encoding is used in the encoder 110, the transmission signal processing unit 100 may not use an encoder profiler.

Interleaver 120 interleaves the bits of each stream output from the encoder to change the bit order. Interlacing can be applied only when BCC coding is used. The mapper 130 maps the sequence of bits output from the interleaver to the cluster point. If LDPC encoding is used in the encoder 110, the mapper 130 may implement LDPC tone mapping in addition to the cluster mapping.

When multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) or multi-user (MU)-MIMO is used, the transmission signal processing unit 100 may use a plurality of interleavers 120 and a plurality of mappers 130 corresponding to the number N _SS of spatial streams. In this case, the transmission signal processing unit 100 may further include a stream parser for dividing the output of the BCC encoder or the LDPC encoder into blocks transmitted to different interleaver 120 or mapper 130. The transmission signal processing unit 100 may further include a spatial time block code (STBC) encoder for distributing the aggregator from the N _SS spatial stream to the N _STS spatial time stream and for mapping the spatial time stream to the transmission chain. Space mapper. The spatial mapper can use direct mapping, spatial expansion, or bunching.

The IFT 140 converts the squares of the aggregated points output from the mapper 130 or the spatial mapper into time domain blocks (i.e., symbols) by using inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). If an STBC encoder and a spatial mapper are used, the inverse Fourier transformer 140 can be set for each transmission chain.

When MIMO or MU-MIMO is used, the transmission signal processing unit 100 can insert a cyclic shift diversity (CSD) to prevent accidental bundling. The CSD insertion can occur before or after the inverse Fourier transform 140. CSD can be specified for each transport chain or can be specified for each spatial time stream. Alternatively, the CSD can be applied as part of a space mapper. When MU-MIMO is used, some of the blocks before the space mapper are available to each user.

The GI inserter 150 places the GI on the symbol. The transmission signal processing unit 100 can selectively perform windowing after inserting the GI to smooth the edges of the respective symbols. The RF transmitter 21 converts the symbol into an RF signal and The RF signal is transmitted by the antenna unit 30. When MIMO or MU-MIMO is used, the GI interposer 150 and the RF transmitter 21 can be set for each transmission chain.

Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a received signal processing unit in a WLAN, in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 15, the received signal processing unit 200 includes a GI remover 220, a Fourier transform (FT) 230, a demapper 240, a deinterleaver 250, and a decoder 260.

The RF receiver 22 receives the RF signal via the antenna unit 30 and converts the RF signal into a symbol. The GI remover 220 removes the GI from the symbol. When MIMO or MU-MIMO is used, the RF receiver 22 and the GI remover 220 can be set for each receive chain.

The FT 230 converts the symbols (i.e., time domain blocks) into squares of the aggregated points by using discrete Fourier transform (DFT) or fast Fourier transform (FFT). Fourier converter 230 can be set for each receive chain.

When MIMO or MU-MIMO is used, the received signal processing unit 200 may use a spatial demapper for converting the Fourier transformed receive chain into a gather point of the spatial time stream and for streaming the aggregate point from the spatial time stream Decomposed into the STBC decoder in the spatial stream.

The demapper 240 demaps the aggregation points output from the Fourier transformer 230 or the STBC decoder into a bit stream. If LDPC encoding is used, the demapper 240 can implement LDPC tone demapping more prior to aggregation demapping. The deinterleaver 250 deinterleaves the bits of each stream output from the demapper 240. Deinterlacing can be applied only when BCC encoding is used.

When MIMO or MU-MIMO is used, the received signal processing unit 200 can use a plurality of demappings corresponding to the number of spatial streams. The device 240 and the plurality of deinterlacers 250. In this case, the received signal processing unit 200 may further include a stream dissector for combining the streams output from the deinterleaver 250.

The decoder 260 decodes the stream output from the deinterleaver 250 or the stream dissector. For example, decoder 260 can be an FEC decoder. The FEC decoder may include a BCC decoder or an LDPC decoder. The received signal processing unit 200 may further include a demixing coder for demixing the coded decoded material. If BCC decoding is used in decoder 260, receive signal processing unit 200 may further include an encoder anamorphizer that will decode the data multiplexed by a plurality of BCC decoders. If LDPC decoding is used in the decoder 260, the received signal processing unit 200 may not use an encoder analytic analyzer.

16 is a timing diagram of an example of a carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) transmission procedure in accordance with some embodiments. In the illustrated example, STA1 is a transmission WLAN device for transmitting data, STA2 is a receiving WLAN device for receiving the data, and STA3 is a WLAN device, which may be located in a frame transmitted from STA1 and/or a frame transmitted from STA2. An area that can be received by the WLAN device.

STA1 can determine whether the channel is busy by carrier sensing. STA1 may determine channel occupancy based on signal quality on the channel or signal correlation in the channel, or may determine channel occupancy by using a Network Configuration Vector (NAV) timer.

When it is determined that the channel is not used by other devices during DIFS (i.e., the channel is idle), STA1 may transmit the RTS frame to STA2 after the implementation moves backward. STA2 can be transmitted after SIFS when receiving the RTS frame. The CTS box is sent as a response to the CTS box. When STA3 receives the RTS box, it can set the NAV timer to the transmission duration for the subsequent transmission frame by using the duration information included in the RTS box (eg, duration of SIFS + CTS box duration + SIFS+) Data frame duration + SIFS + ACK box duration). When STA3 receives the CTS box, it can set the NAV timer to the transmission duration for the subsequent transmission frame by using the duration information included in the RTS box (eg, duration of SIFS + frame duration + SIFS) +ACK box duration). When a new frame is received before the NAV adjuster expires, STA3 can update the NAV timer by using the duration information included in the new box. STA3 does not attempt to access the channel until the NAV timer expires.

When STA1 receives the CTS box from STA2, it can transmit the data frame to STA2 after passing the SIFS at the time when the CTS frame has been completely received. Upon successful reception of the data frame, STA2 may transmit an ACK box as a response to the data frame after passing the SIFS.

When the NAV timer expires, STA3 can determine whether the channel is busy by using carrier sensing technology. When it is determined that the channel is not used by other devices during DIFS and after the NAV timer has expired, STA3 may attempt channel access after the contention window according to the random backshift.

The solution provided herein has been described with reference to a wireless LAN system; however, it should be understood that the solution can be applied to other network environments, such as cellular telecommunications networks, wired networks, and similar communication networks.

17 is a diagram depicting DL MU PPDU and UL MU PPDU exchange, in accordance with some embodiments. In the illustrated example, AP is highly efficient The (HE)PPDU format transmits DL OFDMA PPDUs. The HE PPDU format includes the traditional preamble, the HE preamble, and the data destined for each STA. The AP transmits data for STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4, STAS, STA6, and STA7 via subchannels of 5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 5 MHz, 5 MHz, 5 MHz, and 5 MHz, respectively. In this example, after receiving the SIFS time of the DL OFDMA PPDU, STA1 and STA4 transmit control response frames in the UL OFDMA PPDU in HE PPDU format (eg, via 20 MHz and 20 MHz secondary channels, respectively).

Embodiments of the invention may be an article of manufacture, wherein a non-transitory machine readable medium, such as a microelectronic memory, has a programmatic one or more data processing components stored thereon (generally referred to herein as a "processor" ) to implement the instructions of the above operations. In other embodiments, some of these operations may be implemented by specific hardware components that include hard-wired logic (eg, dedicated digital filter blocks and state machines). Such operations may additionally be implemented by any combination of stylized data processing components and fixed hard circuit components.

Portions of the above-described embodiments have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits in computer memory. These calculus descriptions and representations are used by those who are familiar with the technology of the conference to best convey the substance of their work to others who are familiar with the technology. The algorithm is hereafter and generally conceived to result in a series of self-consistent operations that result in a desired result. These operations require operations that actually manipulate physical quantities. However, it should be kept in mind that all such and similar terms are to be accorded Unless otherwise specific It is apparent from the above discussion that, throughout the present description, the use of terms, such as terms set forth in the scope of the following claims, refers to the actions and processing of a conferencing device or similar electronic computing device, The scratchpad and memory of the conferencing device will be represented as a physical (electronic) amount of data manipulation and conversion to be similarly represented in the memory or scratchpad of the conferencing device or other such information storage, transmission or display device Additional information for physical quantities.

Although the flowchart in the drawings shows a specific operational order implemented by a particular embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that such an order is an example (eg, alternative embodiments may perform operations in different orders, combine specific operations, overlap specific operations, etc. ).

While the invention has been described in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that Modifications and changes to implementation. The description is therefore to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (20)

One is implemented by a base station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) to confirm that a line (DL) multi-user (MU) physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) is transmitted by an access point (AP). Method, the method comprising: receiving the DL MU PPDU; decoding the frame from the DL MU PPDU, wherein the box includes an indication requesting the STA to provide a trigger-based immediate acknowledgment; determining for uplink (UL) MU transmission Whether the trigger information has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU; in response to the decision that the trigger information has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, according to the trigger information, transmitting a trigger-based immediate confirmation box to the AP; and responding to the trigger information The decision to obtain from the DL MU PPDU has not been passed to the transmission of the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block to the AP. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is included in an ACK policy field of the box. The method of claim 2, wherein the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "01" to request the STA to provide the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement. For example, the method of claim 3, wherein the frame is a data frame. The method of claim 1, wherein the acknowledging transmission of the trigger-based immediate confirmation box comprises: Waiting for the block ACK request box for the box; and in response to receiving the block ACK request box, transmitting a confirmation box for the box to the AP. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement box comprises: after receiving the DL MU PPDU, the inter-frame space (SIFS) transmits the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block. The method of claim 1, further comprising: responding to the decision that the trigger information has not been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, transmitting during a subsequent transmission opportunity before receiving the Block ACK Request (BAR) box from the AP The confirmation box is to the AP. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering information includes information about a configuration of a transmission resource for the UL MU transmission, and transmitting the trigger-based immediate confirmation box includes: by using a configuration The transmission resource of the STA transmits the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement box. A network device operating in a base station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) configured to acknowledge a downlink (DL) multi-user (MU) physical layer transmitted by an access point (AP) ( PHY) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), the network device comprising: a radio frequency transceiver; a set of one or more processors; and a non-transitory machine readable medium having a MU validation module stored therein The group, when executed by the one or more processors of the group, causes the network device to receive the DL MU PPDU from the DL MU PPDU decoding block, wherein the box includes requesting the STA to provide trigger-based immediate acknowledgement And the decision to determine whether the trigger information for the uplink (UL) MU transmission has been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, in response to the trigger information being obtained from the DL MU PPDU, according to the trigger information, the transmission is triggered Immediately confirming the box to the AP, and in response to the decision that the trigger information has not been obtained from the DL MU PPDU, the transmission of the trigger-based immediate confirmation box to the AP is suppressed. A network device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the indication is included in an ACK policy field of the box. The network device of claim 10, wherein the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "01" to request the STA to provide the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement. The network device of claim 11, wherein the frame is a data frame. The network device of claim 9, wherein the MU confirmation module, when executed by the one or more processors of the group, causes the network device to wait for a block ACK request box for the box, and responds In response to receiving the Block ACK Request box, a confirmation box for the box is transmitted to the AP. The network device of claim 9, wherein after receiving the DL MU PPDU, the inter-frame space (SIFS) transmits the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block to the AP. An access point in a wireless local area network (WLAN) (AP) implementing a method for extracting a trigger-based immediate acknowledgment from a base station (STA), the method comprising: generating trigger information for uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission; generating a frame, wherein The frame includes an indication, wherein the indication requests the STA to provide an immediate acknowledgement based on the trigger, wherein if the trigger information is obtained by the STA, the STA transmits a trigger-based immediate confirmation box to the AP according to the trigger information, and If the trigger information is not obtained by the STA, the STA refrains from transmitting the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement block to the AP; and transmits a downlink (DL) MU entity (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) to the STA, The DL MU PPDU includes the frame and the trigger information. The method of claim 15, wherein the indication is included in an ACK policy field of the box. The method of claim 16, wherein the ACK policy field is set to a binary value of "01" to request the STA to provide the trigger-based immediate acknowledgement. For example, the method of claim 17 of the patent scope, wherein the frame is a data frame. The method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to the STA not transmitting the trigger-based immediate confirmation box to the AP, after transmitting the DL MU PPDU to the STA, transmitting Block the ACK request box to the STA. For example, the method of claim 15 of the patent scope, wherein the triggering asset The message includes information about the configuration of the transmission resources used for the UL MU transmission.