Tone block and spatial stream allocation
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- selecting a block allocation that indicates a plurality of contiguous tone blocks of a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication channel for a multi-user, multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit, wherein each of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks corresponds to a respective device set having at least one communication device;
selecting, for at least some of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks, respective spatial stream allocations that indicate a number of spatial streams for the corresponding contiguous tone block of the MU-MIMO OFDMA data unit, wherein the number of spatial streams of a contiguous tone block is equal to a number of communication devices of the device set that corresponds to the contiguous tone block;
encoding a first field to indicate the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations, wherein the first field includes a plurality of subfields having respective indices to a plurality of hierarchical codebooks that indicate predetermined block allocations and predetermined spatial stream allocations, wherein;
the plurality of subfields includes a first subfield and one or more second subfields,the plurality of hierarchical codebooks includes i) a block allocation codebook that indicates the predetermined block allocations, ii) a multi-user codebook that indicates the predetermined spatial stream allocations, and iii) an index codebook that indicates which of the plurality of hierarchical codebooks are indexed by the one or more second subfields,the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations are selected from the plurality of hierarchical codebooks, andthe first subfield has an index to the index codebook;
encoding one or more second fields to indicate a respective device identifier for each communication device of the respective device sets; and
transmitting the first field and the one or more second fields to the communication devices of the respective device sets.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is described. A block allocation that indicates a plurality of contiguous tone blocks of a wireless local area network communication channel is selected for a multi-user, multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit. A contiguous tone block corresponds to a respective device set having at least one communication device. Respective spatial stream allocations are selected, for at least some of the blocks, that indicate a number of spatial streams for the corresponding block of the data unit. The number of streams of a block is equal to a number of communication devices of the device set that corresponds to the block. A first field is encoded and transmitted to indicate the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations. A second field is encoded and transmitted to indicate a respective device identifier for each communication device of the respective device sets.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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selecting a block allocation that indicates a plurality of contiguous tone blocks of a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication channel for a multi-user, multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit, wherein each of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks corresponds to a respective device set having at least one communication device; selecting, for at least some of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks, respective spatial stream allocations that indicate a number of spatial streams for the corresponding contiguous tone block of the MU-MIMO OFDMA data unit, wherein the number of spatial streams of a contiguous tone block is equal to a number of communication devices of the device set that corresponds to the contiguous tone block; encoding a first field to indicate the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations, wherein the first field includes a plurality of subfields having respective indices to a plurality of hierarchical codebooks that indicate predetermined block allocations and predetermined spatial stream allocations, wherein; the plurality of subfields includes a first subfield and one or more second subfields, the plurality of hierarchical codebooks includes i) a block allocation codebook that indicates the predetermined block allocations, ii) a multi-user codebook that indicates the predetermined spatial stream allocations, and iii) an index codebook that indicates which of the plurality of hierarchical codebooks are indexed by the one or more second subfields, the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations are selected from the plurality of hierarchical codebooks, and the first subfield has an index to the index codebook; encoding one or more second fields to indicate a respective device identifier for each communication device of the respective device sets; and transmitting the first field and the one or more second fields to the communication devices of the respective device sets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A first communication device, comprising:
a network interface device having one or more integrated circuits configured to; select a block allocation that indicates a plurality of contiguous tone blocks of a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication channel for a multi-user, multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit, wherein each of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks corresponds to a respective device set having at least one second communication device; select, for at least some of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks, respective spatial stream allocations that indicate a number of spatial streams for the corresponding contiguous tone block of the MU-MIMO OFDMA data unit, wherein the number of spatial streams of a contiguous tone block is equal to number of communication devices of the device set that corresponds to the contiguous tone block; encode a first field to indicate the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations, wherein the first field includes a plurality of subfields having respective indices to a plurality of hierarchical codebooks that indicate predetermined block allocations and predetermined spatial stream allocations, the plurality of subfields includes a first subfield and one or more second subfields, the plurality of hierarchical codebooks includes i) a block allocation codebook that indicates the predetermined block allocations, ii) a multi-user codebook that indicates the predetermined spatial stream allocations, and iii) an index codebook that indicates which of the plurality of hierarchical codebooks are indexed by the one or more second subfields, the selected block allocation and the selected spatial stream allocations are selected from the plurality of hierarchical codebooks, and the first subfield has an index to the index codebook; encode one or more second fields to indicate a respective device identifier for each communication device of the respective device sets; and transmit the first field and the one or more second fields to the communication devices of the respective device sets. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method, comprising:
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receiving an orthogonal frequency division multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) data unit via a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication channel; decoding a non-legacy signal field of the OFDM data unit of the OFDM data unit to determine i) a block allocation that indicates a plurality of contiguous tone blocks of the WLAN communication channel, and ii) respective spatial stream allocations that indicate a number of spatial streams for at least some of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks, wherein each of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks corresponds to a respective device set having at least one communication device, and the number of spatial streams of a contiguous tone block is equal to a number of communication devices of the device set that corresponds to the contiguous tone block, and wherein; the non-legacy signal field includes a plurality of subfields having respective indices to a plurality of hierarchical codebooks, the plurality of subfields includes a first subfield and one or more second subfields, the plurality of hierarchical codebooks includes i) a block allocation codebook that indicates predetermined block allocations, ii) a multi-user codebook that indicates predetermined spatial stream allocations, and iii) an index codebook that indicates which of the plurality of hierarchical codebooks are indexed by the one or more second subfields, the block allocation and the spatial stream allocations are selected from the plurality of hierarchical codebooks, and the first subfield has an index to the index codebook; determining an assigned contiguous tone block and spatial stream based on the block allocation and the spatial stream allocations; and decoding a data portion of a multi-user, multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit using the assigned contiguous tone block and spatial stream.
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14. A first communication device, comprising:
a network interface device having one or more integrated circuits configured to; receive an orthogonal frequency division multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) data unit via a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication channel; decode a non-legacy signal field of the OFDM data unit to determine i) a block allocation that indicates a plurality of contiguous tone blocks of the WLAN communication channel, and ii) respective spatial stream allocations that indicate a number of spatial streams for at least some of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks, wherein each of the plurality of contiguous tone blocks corresponds to a respective device set having at least one communication device, and the number of spatial streams of a contiguous tone block is equal to a number of communication devices of the device set that corresponds to the contiguous tone block, and wherein; the non-legacy signal field includes a plurality of subfields having respective indices to a plurality of hierarchical codebooks, the plurality of subfields includes a first subfield and one or more second subfields, the plurality of hierarchical codebooks includes i) a block allocation codebook that indicates predetermined block allocations, ii) a multi-user codebook that indicates predetermined spatial stream allocations, and iii) an index codebook that indicates which of the plurality of hierarchical codebooks are indexed by the one or more second subfields, the block allocation and the spatial stream allocations are selected from the plurality of hierarchical codebooks, and the first subfield has an index to the index codebook; determine an assigned contiguous tone block and spatial stream based on the block allocation and the spatial stream allocations; and decode a data portion of a multi-user, multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit using the assigned contiguous tone block and spatial stream.
Specification