Method and apparatus for facilitating simultaneous transmission from multiple stations
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:
- determining, at a first communication device, that each second communication device in a plurality of second communication devices has respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device;
transmitting, with the first communication device, a first uplink (UL) Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) synchronization (sync) frame to the plurality of second communication devices to prompt the plurality of second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously;
receiving, at the first communication device, data simultaneously transmitted by the plurality of second communication devices in response to the first UL SDMA sync frame;
determining, at the first communication device, that multiple second communication devices in the plurality of second communication devices have further respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device;
transmitting, with the first communication device, i) an aggregated acknowledgement frame that includes at least two acknowledgement frames of at least two simultaneous transmissions by at least two second communication devices that were responsive to the first UL SDMA sync frame, and ii) a second UL SDMA sync frame to the multiple second communication devices to prompt the multiple second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously, wherein the second UL SDMA sync frame follows, in time, the aggregated acknowledgement frame; and
receiving, at the first communication device, second data simultaneously transmitted by the multiple second communication devices in response to the second UL SDMA sync frame.
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Abstract
A first communication device determines that each second communication device in a plurality of second communication devices has respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device. The first communication device transmits a request to the plurality of second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously during a transmit opportunity period of the first communication device. The first communication device receives data transmitted simultaneously by the plurality of second communication devices during the transmit opportunity period of the first communication device.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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determining, at a first communication device, that each second communication device in a plurality of second communication devices has respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device; transmitting, with the first communication device, a first uplink (UL) Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) synchronization (sync) frame to the plurality of second communication devices to prompt the plurality of second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously; receiving, at the first communication device, data simultaneously transmitted by the plurality of second communication devices in response to the first UL SDMA sync frame; determining, at the first communication device, that multiple second communication devices in the plurality of second communication devices have further respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device; transmitting, with the first communication device, i) an aggregated acknowledgement frame that includes at least two acknowledgement frames of at least two simultaneous transmissions by at least two second communication devices that were responsive to the first UL SDMA sync frame, and ii) a second UL SDMA sync frame to the multiple second communication devices to prompt the multiple second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously, wherein the second UL SDMA sync frame follows, in time, the aggregated acknowledgement frame; and receiving, at the first communication device, second data simultaneously transmitted by the multiple second communication devices in response to the second UL SDMA sync frame. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus, comprising:
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a network interface device associated with a first communication device, the network interface device comprising; one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a media access control layer (MAC) processing unit implemented on the one or more ICs, and a physical layer (PHY) processing unit implemented on the one or more ICs, wherein the PHY processing unit comprises a plurality of transceivers; wherein the one or more ICs are configured to; determine that each second communication device in a plurality of second communication devices has respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device, cause the first communication device to transmit a first uplink (UL) Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) synchronization (sync) frame to the plurality of second communication devices to prompt the plurality of second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously, receive first data simultaneously transmitted by the plurality of second communication devices in response to the first UL SDMA sync frame, determine that multiple second communication devices in the plurality of second communication devices have further respective data to be transmitted to the first communication device, cause the first communication device to transmit i) an aggregated acknowledgement frame that includes at least two acknowledgement frames of at least two simultaneous transmissions by at least two second communication devices that were responsive to the first UL SDMA sync frame, and ii) a second UL SDMA sync frame to the multiple second communication devices to prompt the multiple second communication devices to transmit data to the first communication device simultaneously, wherein the second UL SDMA sync frame follows, in time, the aggregated acknowledgement frame, and receive second data simultaneously transmitted by the multiple second communication devices in response to the second synchronization frame. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification