Apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable medium for communication in a wireless local area network

• US 10,045,299 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2016
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Communication Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Communication Systems LLC
• Inventors: Atefi, Ali
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): HENSON, JAMAAL R
• Application Number:
  US15/322,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20180115954A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0245 according to signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/146 Uplink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/241 taking into account channel quality metrics, e.g. SIR, SNR, CIR, Eb/lo
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/242 taking into account path loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/365 Power headroom reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0473 the resource being transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/006 in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Various aspects related to various apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable medium are described herein. Some aspects may enable an apparatus to protect downlink (DL) communication(s). Some aspects may enable an apparatus to perform DL communication(s). Some aspects may enable an apparatus to communicate regarding uplink (UL) communication(s). Some aspects may enable an apparatus to perform operation(s) related to an allocation vector. Some aspects may enable an apparatus to perform operation(s) related to random access. Some aspects may enable an apparatus to perform UL communication(s). The written description and appended drawings provide detailed descriptions regarding these and many other aspects.

Claims

1. A station (STA) configured for wireless communication, the STA comprising:

a transceiver configured to;

receive, from an access point (AP), an uplink (UL) transmission request (ULTR) intended for a plurality of STAs, the ULTR comprising information corresponding to a target received signal strength and information corresponding to a power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, the ULTR configured to trigger simultaneous UL transmissions by the plurality of STAs within a period of time after receiving the ULTR, the ULTR further comprising a first portion including a field common to the plurality of STAs and indicating a duration of at least a portion of the simultaneous UL transmissions, and a second portion including a plurality of user-specific fields indicating a description of resource allocation for the simultaneous UL transmissions; and

one or more processors configured to;

determine whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating an UL transmission in response to receiving the ULTR, wherein the carrier sensing comprises signal detection and NAV evaluation and occurs during a time period that begins after receiving the ULTR and ends before transmission of the UL transmission;

based on the received information corresponding to the power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, determine an amount of power loss during downlink (DL) transmission of the ULTR from the AP to the STA;

based on the determined amount of power loss during the DL transmission of the ULTR from the AP to the STA and further based on the received information corresponding to the target received signal strength, determine an amount of power for the UL transmission;

determine a number of resource units (RUs) assigned by the ULTR for random access and reduce a back-off counter based on the determined number of RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access; and

depending on a value of the reduced back-off counter, randomly select one or more of the RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit, in accordance with the determined amount of power for the UL transmission, the UL transmission to the AP using the randomly selected one or more RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access, the UL transmission comprising information corresponding to how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to a transmission power currently utilized.

2. The STA of claim 1, wherein how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to the transmission power currently utilized comprises:

a difference between a maximum transmission power and a currently utilized amount of power for the UL transmission.

3. The STA of claim 1, wherein the ULTR further comprises information for identifying the plurality of STAs for the simultaneous UL transmissions.

4. The STA of claim 1, wherein the UL transmission occurs simultaneously with an UL transmission of one or more other STAs of the plurality of STAs.

5. The STA of claim 1, wherein the determining whether to perform carrier sensing depends on whether the ULTR includes information indicating whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission in response to receiving the ULTR.

6. The STA of claim 1, wherein the ULTR includes an indication indicating whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission, and wherein the determining whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission comprises:

if the indication in the ULTR indicates no requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to the UL transmission in response to the ULTR, refraining from performing the carrier sensing; and

if the indication in the ULTR indicates a requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to the UL transmission in response to the ULTR, performing the carrier sensing for at least a subchannel allocated to the UL transmission.

7. The STA of claim 1, wherein the reducing the back-off counter based on the number of RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access comprises reducing a value of the back-off counter by a predetermined amount for each of the at least one RU by the ULTR for random access assigned and associated with a particular identifier.

8. The STA of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive a DL transmission comprising a packet destined to a plurality of STAs;

and

the one or more processor is/are further configured to;

use a field included in the packet to determine a total number of space-time streams (STSs) included in the packet and further use the field to select a subset of values from a set of values indicating a number of STSs destined to each of at least some of the plurality of STAs; and

determine a value of a user position (UP) assigned to the STA and select which of the plurality of STSs in the packet are destined to the STA by considering a number of STSs allocated to one or more other STAs each assigned a UP value that is different from the UP value assigned to the STA.

9. The STA of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors is/are further configured to:

in response to receiving the ULTR, consider a network/navigation allocation vector (NAV) unless the NAV was set by a frame originating from an apparatus from which the ULTR was transmitted.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for a station (STA) or an apparatus of the STA, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code or instructions configured to cause the STA or the apparatus to:

receive, from an access point (AP), an uplink (UL) transmission request (ULTR) intended for a plurality of STAs, the ULTR comprising information corresponding to a target received signal strength and information corresponding to a power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, the ULTR configured to trigger simultaneous UL transmissions by the plurality of STAs within a period of time after receiving the ULTR, the ULTR further comprising a first portion including a field common to the plurality of STAs and indicating a duration of at least a portion of the simultaneous UL transmissions, and a second portion including a plurality of user-specific fields indicating a description of resource allocation for the simultaneous UL transmissions;

determine whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating an UL transmission in response to receiving the ULTR, wherein the carrier sensing comprises signal detection and NAV evaluation and occurs during a time period that begins after receiving the ULTR and ends before transmission of the UL transmission;

based on the received information corresponding to the power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, determine an amount of power loss during downlink (DL) transmission of the ULTR from the AP to the STA;

based on the determined amount of power loss during the DL transmission of the ULTR from the AP to the STA and further based on the received information corresponding to the target received signal strength, determine an amount of power for the UL transmission;

determine a number of resource units (RUs) assigned by the ULTR for random access and reduce a back-off counter based on the determined number of RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access;

depending on a value of the reduced back-off counter, randomly select one or more of the RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access; and

in accordance with the determined amount of power for the UL transmission, transmit the UL transmission to the AP using the randomly selected one or more RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access, the UL transmission comprising information corresponding to how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to a transmission power currently utilized.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to the transmission power currently utilized comprises:

a difference between a maximum transmission power and a currently utilized amount of power for the UL transmission.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the ULTR further comprises information for identifying the plurality of STAs for the simultaneous UL transmissions.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the UL transmission occurs simultaneously with an UL transmission of one or more other STAs of the plurality of STAs.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the determining whether to perform carrier sensing depends on whether the ULTR includes information indicating whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission in response to receiving the ULTR.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the ULTR includes an indication indicating whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission, and wherein the determining whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission comprises:

if the indication in the ULTR indicates no requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to the UL transmission in response to the ULTR, refraining from performing the carrier sensing; and

if the indication in the ULTR indicates a requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to the UL transmission in response to the ULTR, performing the carrier sensing for at least a subchannel allocated to the UL transmission.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the reducing the back-off counter based on the number of RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access comprises reducing a value of the back-off counter by a predetermined amount for each of the at least one RU by the ULTR for random access assigned and associated with a particular identifier.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the code or instructions is/are further configured to cause the STA or the apparatus to:

receive a DL transmission comprising a packet destined to a plurality of STAs;

use a field included in the packet to determine a total number of space-time streams (STSs) included in the packet and further use the field to select a subset of values from a set of values indicating a number of STSs destined to each of at least some of the plurality of STAs; and

determine a value of a user position (UP) assigned to the STA and select which of the plurality of STSs in the packet are destined to the STA by considering a number of STSs allocated to one or more other STAs each assigned a UP value that is different from the UP value assigned to the STA.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,

wherein the code or instructions is/are further configured to cause the STA or the apparatus to:

in response to receiving the ULTR, consider a network/navigation allocation vector (NAV) unless the NAV was set by a frame originating from an apparatus from which the ULTR was transmitted.

19. A method of wireless communication by a station (STA) or an apparatus of the STA, the method comprising:

receiving, from an access point (AP), an uplink (UL) transmission request (ULTR)

intended for a plurality of STAs, the ULTR comprising information corresponding to a target received signal strength and information corresponding to a power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, the ULTR configured to trigger simultaneous UL transmissions by the plurality of STAs within a period of time after receiving the ULTR, the ULTR further comprising a first portion including a field common to the plurality of STAs and indicating a duration of at least a portion of the simultaneous UL transmissions, and a second portion including a plurality of user-specific fields indicating a description of resource allocation for the simultaneous UL transmissions;

determining whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating an UL transmission in response to receiving the ULTR, wherein the carrier sensing comprises signal detection and NAV evaluation and occurs during a time period that begins after receiving the ULTR and ends before transmission of the UL transmission;

based on the received information corresponding to the power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, determining an amount of power loss during downlink (DL) transmission of the ULTR from the AP to the STA;

based on the determined amount of power loss during the DL transmission of the ULTR from the AP to the STA and further based on the received information corresponding to the target received signal strength, determining an amount of power for the UL transmission;

determining a number of resource units (RUs) assigned by the ULTR for random access and reducing a back-off counter based on the determined number of RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access;

depending on a value of the reduced back-off counter, randomly selecting one or more of the RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access; and

in accordance with the determined amount of power for the UL transmission, transmitting the UL transmission to the AP using the randomly selected one or more RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access, the UL transmission comprising information corresponding to how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to a transmission power currently utilized.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to the transmission power currently utilized comprises:

a difference between a maximum transmission power and a currently utilized amount of power for the UL transmission.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the ULTR further comprises information for identifying the plurality of STAs for the simultaneous UL transmissions.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the UL transmission occurs simultaneously with an UL transmission of one or more other STAs of the plurality of STAs.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining whether to perform carrier sensing depends on whether the ULTR includes information indicating whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission in response to receiving the ULTR.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the ULTR includes an indication indicating whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission, and wherein the determining whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating the UL transmission comprises:

if the indication in the ULTR indicates no requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to the UL transmission in response to the ULTR, refraining from performing the carrier sensing; and

if the indication in the ULTR indicates a requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to the UL transmission in response to the ULTR, performing the carrier sensing for at least a subchannel allocated to the UL transmission.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the reducing the back-off counter based on the number of RUs assigned by the ULTR for random access comprises reducing a value of the back-off counter by a predetermined amount for each of the at least one RU by the ULTR for random access assigned and associated with a particular identifier.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving a DL transmission comprising a packet destined to a plurality of STAs;

using a field included in the packet to determine a total number of space-time streams (STSs) included in the packet and further use the field to select a subset of values from a set of values indicating a number of STSs destined to each of at least some of the plurality of STAs; and

determining a value of a user position (UP) assigned to the STA and select which of the plurality of STSs in the packet are destined to the STA by considering a number of STSs allocated to one or more other STAs each assigned a UP value that is different from the UP value assigned to the STA.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

in response to receiving the ULTR, considering a network/navigation allocation vector (NAV) unless the NAV was set by a frame originating from an apparatus from which the ULTR was transmitted.