Trigger frame response with network allocation vector

• US 10,420,145 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2018
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel IP Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Huang, Po-Kai, Stacey, Robert J., Li, Qinghua
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamara, Mohamed A
• Application Number:
  US15/906,190
• Publication Number:
  US 20180255581A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0064 Rate requirement of the data, e.g. scalable bandwidth, data priority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0094 Indication of how sub-channels of the path are allocated
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Computer readable media, methods, and apparatuses to determine whether to respond to a frame based on a network allocation vector. An apparatus of a station comprising memory and processing circuitry coupled to the memory is disclosed. The processing circuitry is configured to: decode a frame comprising a first duration and a first transmitter address, if the frame is a trigger frame or a multi-user request-to-send (MU-RTS) frame from a master station of a basic service set (BSS), respond to the trigger frame or the MU-RTS frame if the trigger frame or MU-RTS frame comprises a NAV indicator that indicates not to consider a network allocation vector (NAV). The indication may be an indication in a physical header or an indication in a media access control header.

Claims

1. An apparatus of a high-efficiency (HE) station (STA), the apparatus comprising:

memory; and

processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitry configured to;

decode a trigger frame from an access point, the trigger frame comprising an uplink (UL) resource allocation for the HE STA, wherein a media access control (MAC) portion of the trigger frame comprises an indicator field,

wherein a value of the indicator field indicates whether a network allocation vector (NAV) and occupancy of a bandwidth are to be considered in determining whether to respond to the trigger frame, wherein if the value of the indicator field is zero, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are not to be considered in determining whether to respond, and if the value of the indicator field is one, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are to be considered in determining whether to respond;

determine whether to respond to the trigger frame considering the NAV and the occupancy of the bandwidth if the value of the indicator field is one, and without considering the NAV and the occupancy of the bandwidth if the value of the indicator field is zero; and

in response to a determination to respond to the trigger frame, encode an UL frame in accordance with the UL resource allocation, and generate signaling to cause the HE STA to transmit the UL frame to the access point.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if a value of the indicator field is zero.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if the value of the indicator field is one and a value of a network availability vector (NAV) of the HE STA is zero and the occupancy of the bandwidth indicates idle.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if the value of the indicator field is one and the value of the NAV is set by a duration of an intra basic service set (intra-BSS) frame.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the HE STA is associated with the access point.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the trigger frame comprises a plurality of UL resource allocations for a plurality of HE STAs including the HE STA, and wherein the indicator field is for each of the plurality of UL resource allocations.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

generate signaling to cause the HE STA to transmit the UL frame to the access point an interframe space after receiving the trigger frame.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the UL resource allocation comprises a subchannel allocation.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if the value of the indicator field is one and the NAV was set by a frame from the access point.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the UL resource allocation comprises a subchannel allocation, and wherein the bandwidth includes the subchannel allocation.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the HE STA and the access point are each one from the following group:

an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 ax access point, an IEEE 802.11 ax station, an IEEE 802.11 station, and an IEEE 802.11 access point.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry;

and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of an apparatus of a high-efficiency (HE) station (STA), the instructions to configure the one or more processors to:

decode a trigger frame from an access point, the trigger frame comprising an uplink (UL) resource allocation for the HE STA, wherein a media access control (MAC) portion of the trigger frame comprises an indicator field,

wherein a value of the indicator field indicates whether a network allocation vector (NAV) and occupancy of a bandwidth are to be considered in determining whether to respond to the trigger frame, wherein if the value of the indicator field is zero, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are not to be considered in determining whether to respond, and if the value of the indicator field is one, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are to be considered in determining whether to respond;

determine whether to respond to the trigger frame considering the NAV and the occupancy of the bandwidth if the value of the indicator field is one, and without considering the NAV and the occupancy of the bandwidth if the value of the indicator field is zero; and

in response to a determination to respond to the trigger frame, encode an UL frame in accordance with the UL resource allocation, and generate signaling to cause the HE STA to transmit the UL frame to the access point.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further configure the one or more processors to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if a value of the indicator field is zero.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further configure the one or more processors to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if the value of the indicator field is one and a value of a network availability vector (NAV) of the HE STA is zero and the occupancy of the bandwidth indicates idle.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further configure the one or more processors to:

determine to respond to the trigger frame if the value of the indicator field is one and the value of the NAV is set by a duration of an intra basic service set (intra-BSS) frame.

18. A method performed by an apparatus of a high-efficiency (HE) station (STA), the method comprising:

decoding a trigger frame from an access point, the trigger frame comprising an uplink (UL) resource allocation for the HE STA, wherein a media access control (MAC) portion of the trigger frame comprises an indicator field,

wherein a value of the indicator field indicates whether a network allocation vector (NAV) and occupancy of a bandwidth are to be considered in determining whether to respond to the trigger frame, wherein if the value of the indicator field is zero, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are not to be considered in determining whether to respond, and if the value of the indicator field is one, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are to be considered in determining whether to respond;

determining whether to respond to the trigger frame considering the NAV and the occupancy of the bandwidth if the value of the indicator field is one, and without considering the NAV and the occupancy of the bandwidth if the value of the indicator field is zero; and

in response to a determination to respond to the trigger frame, encoding an UL frame in accordance with the UL resource allocation, and generate signaling to cause the HE STA to transmit the UL frame to the access point.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

determining to respond to the trigger frame if the value of the indicator field is one and a value of a network availability vector (NAV) of the HE STA is zero and the occupancy of the bandwidth indicates idle.

20. An apparatus of a high-efficiency (HE) access point (AP), the apparatus comprising:

memory; and

processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitry configured to;

decoding a trigger frame from an access point, the trigger frame comprising a plurality of uplink (UL) resource allocations for a plurality of HE stations (STAs), wherein a media access control (MAC) portion of the trigger frame comprises an indicator field,

wherein a value of the indicator field indicates whether a network allocation vector (NAV) and occupancy of a bandwidth are to be considered by the plurality of HE STAs in determining whether to respond to the trigger frame for each of the plurality of HE STAs, wherein if the value of the indicator field is zero, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are not to be considered by the plurality of HE STAs in determining whether to respond, and if the value of the indicator field is one, the occupancy of the bandwidth and the NAV are to be considered by the plurality of the HE STAs in determining whether to respond; and

generate signaling to cause the HE AP to transmit the trigger frame to the plurality of STAs.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

decode a plurality of UL packets from the plurality of HE STAs in accordance with the plurality of UL resource allocations.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

set a value of the indicator field to one prior to transmission of the trigger frame, wherein an UL packet from a HE STA of the plurality of HE STAs indicates that a NAV of the HE STA indicated idle and that the occupancy of the bandwidth indicated idle prior to the HE STA transmitting the UL packet.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of UL resource allocations comprises a subchannel allocation, and wherein the bandwidth includes the subchannel allocation.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of HE STAs and the HE AP are one from the following group:

an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax access point, an IEEE 802.1 lax station, an IEEE 802.11 station, and an IEEE 802.11 access point.