Method and system for addressing channel access unfairness in IEEE 802.11n wireless networks
First Claim
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1. A method of wireless communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) including legacy stations (L-stations) and high-throughput stations (HT-stations), comprising the steps of:
- initiating a legacy signal field (L-SIG) transmission opportunity protection (TXOP) Extended Physical Layer (PHY) Protection (EPP) sequence; and
appending a legacy frame comprising L-station legacy fields to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence causing termination of an extended inter-frame space (EIFS) procedure at an L-station such that the L-station resumes normal channel access, wherein probability for the L-station to gain access to a shared communication channel relative to the HT-stations is increased, such that the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence with the legacy frame reduces channel access unfairness in the WLAN, and the L-station legacy fields comprising legacy training fields (L-TFs) and a legacy signal field;
appending another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence, wherein the step of appending another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence enables L-stations which cannot hear the first legacy frame, to terminate the EIFS procedure, andif the last frame in the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence is shorter than the EIFS period, then setting the L-SIG TXOP EPP duration in the L-SIG to the end of the second to the last frame.
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Abstract
A method and system for communication in an IEEE 802.11n WLAN including L-stations and HT-stations, wherein a signaling field such as a small legacy format frame is appended at the end of a L-SIG TXOP Protection sequence in order to terminate the EIFS procedure at L-stations. This increases the probability for L-stations to obtain access to a shared communication channel relative to HT-stations.
65 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of wireless communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) including legacy stations (L-stations) and high-throughput stations (HT-stations), comprising the steps of:
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initiating a legacy signal field (L-SIG) transmission opportunity protection (TXOP) Extended Physical Layer (PHY) Protection (EPP) sequence; and appending a legacy frame comprising L-station legacy fields to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence causing termination of an extended inter-frame space (EIFS) procedure at an L-station such that the L-station resumes normal channel access, wherein probability for the L-station to gain access to a shared communication channel relative to the HT-stations is increased, such that the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence with the legacy frame reduces channel access unfairness in the WLAN, and the L-station legacy fields comprising legacy training fields (L-TFs) and a legacy signal field; appending another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence, wherein the step of appending another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence enables L-stations which cannot hear the first legacy frame, to terminate the EIFS procedure, and if the last frame in the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence is shorter than the EIFS period, then setting the L-SIG TXOP EPP duration in the L-SIG to the end of the second to the last frame. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A wireless communication system, comprising:
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multiple communication stations including one or more legacy stations (L-stations) and high-throughput stations (HT-stations); and a control function that is configured for causing initiation of a legacy signal field (L-SIG) transmission opportunity protection (TXOP) Extended Physical Layer (PHY) Protection (EPP) sequence, for setting the L-SIG TXOP Protection duration to the end of the L-SIG TXOP Protection sequence, for causing termination of an extended inter-frame space (EIFS) procedure at an L-station such that the L-station resumes normal channel access, and for appending a legacy frame comprising L-station legacy fields to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence for causing termination of the EIFS procedure at an L-station, wherein probability for the L-station to gain access to a shared communication channel relative to the HT-stations is increased, such that the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence with the legacy frame reduces channel access unfairness in the WLAN, and the L-station legacy fields comprising legacy training fields (L-TFs) and a legacy signal field, wherein the control function is further configured such that if the last frame in a L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence is shorter than an EIFS period, then the control function sets the L-SIG TXOP Protection duration in the L-SIG to the end of the second to the last frame, and to append another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP Protection sequence to enable L-STAs which cannot hear the first legacy frame, to terminate the EIFS procedure. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A wireless communication system including a communication station, the communication station comprising:
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a control function that is configured to append a legacy frame comprising legacy station (L-station) legacy fields to the end of a legacy signal field (L-SIG) transmission opportunity protection (TXOP) Extended Physical Layer (PHY) Protection (EPP) sequence for transmission of frames; and a transmission function that is configured for transmitting the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence frames along with the appended legacy frame, wherein the appended legacy frame causes termination of an extended inter-frame space (EIFS) procedure at an L-station such that the L-station resumes normal channel access, wherein probability for the L-station to gain access to a shared communication channel relative to HT-stations is increased, such that the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence with the legacy frame reduces channel access unfairness in the WLAN, and the L-station legacy fields comprising legacy training fields (L-TFs) and a legacy signal field, wherein the control function is further configured such that if the last frame in the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence is shorter than the EIFS period, then the control function sets the L-SIG TXOP EPP duration in the L-SIG to the end of the second to the last frame, and to append another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence to enable L-stations which cannot hear the first legacy frame, to terminate the EIFS procedure. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of wireless communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) including legacy stations (L-stations) and high-throughput stations (HT-stations), comprising the steps of:
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initiating a legacy signal field (L-SIG) transmission opportunity protection (TXOP) Extended Physical Layer (PHY) Protection (EPP) sequence; appending a legacy frame comprising L-station legacy fields to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence causing termination of an extended inter-frame space (EIFS) procedure at an L-station such that the L-station resumes normal channel access, wherein probability for the L-station to gain access to a shared communication channel relative to the HT-stations is increased, such that the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence with the legacy frame reduces channel access unfairness in the WLAN, and the L-station legacy fields comprising legacy training fields (L-TFs) and a legacy signal field; appending another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence, wherein the step of appending another legacy frame to the end of the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence enables L-stations which cannot hear the first legacy frame, to terminate the EIFS procedure, and if the last frame in the L-SIG TXOP EPP sequence is shorter than the EIFS period, then setting the L-SIG TXOP EPP duration in the L-SIG to the end of the second to the last frame.
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Specification