APPARATUSES, METHODS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FOR COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK

• US 20170150525A1
• Filed: 01/02/2017
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Communication Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Communication Systems LLC
• Inventors: Atefi, Ali
• Granted Patent: US 10,321,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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

1-29. -29. (canceled)

30. Apparatus of a station (STA) configured for wireless communication, the apparatus configured to:

maintain a plurality of network/navigation allocation vectors (NAVs), the plurality of NAVs comprising a first NAV and a second NAV different from the first NAV;

receive a frame from another STA, the frame configured to update one of the plurality of NAVs;

update the first NAV when a basic service set (BSS) identifier (BSSID) of a BSS with which the STA is associated corresponds to a BSSID of a BSS with which the other STA is associated;

update the second NAV when the BSSID of the BSS with which the STA is associated does not correspond to the BSSID of the BSS with which the other STA is associated;

receive an uplink (UL) transmission request (ULTR) configured to trigger a simultaneous UL transmission by a plurality of STAs within a period of time after receiving the ULTR, wherein the ULTR includes an indication indicating whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR, wherein the carrier sensing comprises signal detection and NAV evaluation;

determine whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR, wherein the determining whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR comprises;

refraining from performing carrier sensing when the parameter in the ULTR indicates no requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to UL transmission in response to the ULTR, and

performing carrier sensing for at least a subchannel allocated to the UL transmission when the parameter in the ULTR indicates a requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to UL transmission in response to the ULTR; and

even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the UL transmission in response to the ULTR comprises a message having less than a threshold duration.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the apparatus is further configured, even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, to transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the other STA is in the same BSS as the STA.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the apparatus is further configured, even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, to transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the BSSID of the BSS with which the STA is associated corresponds to a BSSID of a BSS with which the other STA is associated.

33. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the apparatus is further configured, even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, to transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if that NAV was set by an apparatus that transmitted the ULTR.

34. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein:

the received frame comprises information indicating a duration of time used for updating a respective NAV of the STA;

updating a respective NAV of the STA comprises overriding an existing duration of time of the respective NAV with the received information indicating the duration of time used for updating the NAV; and

the overriding depends on a difference between the existing duration of time of the respective NAV and the received information indicating the duration of time used for updating the respective NAV.

35. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the ULTR comprises 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 transmission, the ULTR further comprising a second portion including a plurality of user-specific fields indicating a description of resource allocation for the simultaneous UL transmission by the plurality of STAs.

36. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the ULTR comprises information corresponding to a target received signal strength and information corresponding to a power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, and wherein the apparatus is further configured to:

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 to the STA;

based on the determined amount of power loss during the DL transmission of the ULTR 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; and

transmit the UL transmission in accordance with the determined amount of power for the UL transmission, the UL transmission comprising information corresponding to how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to a transmission power currently utilized.

37. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the first NAV is adapted for frames originating from an apparatus in a BSS with which the STA is associated and the second NAV is adapted for other frames including frames originating from an apparatus in a BSS with which the STA is not associated.

38. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the carrier sensing comprising the signal detection and the NAV evaluation occurs during a time period after receiving the ULTR and before transmission of the UL transmission.

39. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein updating a respective NAV comprises setting the respective NAV.

40. Computer-readable medium for a station (STA) or apparatus thereof, the computer-readable medium comprising code or instructions configured to cause the STA or apparatus thereof to:

maintain a plurality of network/navigation allocation vectors (NAVs), the plurality of NAVs comprising a first NAV and a second NAV different from the first NAV;

receive a frame from another STA, the frame configured to update one of the plurality of NAVs;

update the first NAV when a basic service set (BSS) identifier (BSSID) of a BSS with which the STA is associated corresponds to a BSSID of a BSS with which the other STA is associated;

update the second NAV when the BSSID of the BSS with which the STA is associated does not correspond to the BSSID of the BSS with which the other STA is associated;

receive an uplink (UL) transmission request (ULTR) configured to trigger a simultaneous UL transmission by a plurality of STAs within a period of time after receiving the ULTR, wherein the ULTR includes an indication indicating whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR, wherein the carrier sensing comprises signal detection and NAV evaluation;

determine whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR, wherein the determining whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR comprises;

refraining from performing carrier sensing when the parameter in the ULTR indicates no requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to UL transmission in response to the ULTR, and

performing carrier sensing for at least a subchannel allocated to the UL transmission when the parameter in the ULTR indicates a requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to UL transmission in response to the ULTR; and

even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the UL transmission in response to the ULTR comprises a message having less than a threshold duration.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the code or instructions is/are further configured, even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, to cause the STA or apparatus thereof to transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the other STA is in the same BSS as the STA.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the code or instructions is/are further configured, even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, to cause the STA or apparatus thereof to transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the BSSID of the BSS with which the STA is associated corresponds to a BSSID of a BSS with which the other STA is associated.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the code or instructions is/are further configured, even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, to cause the STA or apparatus thereof to transmit the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if that NAV was set by an apparatus that transmitted the ULTR.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein:

the received frame comprises information indicating a duration of time used for updating a respective NAV of the STA;

updating a respective NAV of the STA comprises overriding an existing duration of time of the respective NAV with the received information indicating the duration of time used for updating the NAV; and

the overriding depends on a difference between the existing duration of time of the respective NAV and the received information indicating the duration of time used for updating the respective NAV.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the ULTR comprises 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 transmission, the ULTR further comprising a second portion including a plurality of user-specific fields indicating a description of resource allocation for the simultaneous UL transmission by the plurality of STAs.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the ULTR comprises information corresponding to a target received signal strength and information corresponding to a power measurement of the transmitted ULTR, and wherein the code or instructions is/are further configured to cause the STA or apparatus thereof to:

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 to the STA;

based on the determined amount of power loss during the DL transmission of the ULTR 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; and

transmit the UL transmission in accordance with the determined amount of power for the UL transmission, the UL transmission comprising information corresponding to how much transmission power the STA remains capable of using relative to a transmission power currently utilized.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the first NAV is adapted for frames originating from an apparatus in a BSS with which the STA is associated and the second NAV is adapted for other frames including frames originating from an apparatus in a BSS with which the STA is not associated.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the carrier sensing comprising the signal detection and the NAV evaluation occurs during a time period after receiving the ULTR and before transmission of the UL transmission.

49. Method of wireless communication by a station (STA) or apparatus thereof, the method comprising:

maintaining a plurality of network/navigation allocation vectors (NAVs), the plurality of NAVs comprising a first NAV and a second NAV different from the first NAV;

receiving a frame from another STA, the frame configured to update one of the plurality of NAVs;

updating the first NAV when a basic service set (BSS) identifier (BSSID) of a BSS with which the STA is associated corresponds to a BSSID of a BSS with which the other STA is associated;

updating the second NAV when the BSSID of the BSS with which the STA is associated does not correspond to the BSSID of the BSS with which the other STA is associated;

receiving an uplink (UL) transmission request (ULTR) configured to trigger a simultaneous UL transmission by a plurality of STAs within a period of time after receiving the ULTR, wherein the ULTR includes an indication indicating whether to perform carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR, wherein the carrier sensing comprises signal detection and NAV evaluation;

determining whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR, wherein the determining whether to perform the carrier sensing prior to initiating UL transmission in response to the ULTR comprises;

refraining from performing carrier sensing when the parameter in the ULTR indicates no requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to UL transmission in response to the ULTR, and

performing carrier sensing for at least a subchannel allocated to the UL transmission when the parameter in the ULTR indicates a requirement to perform carrier sensing prior to UL transmission in response to the ULTR; and

even when the parameter in the ULTR indicates the requirement to perform carrier sensing, transmitting the UL transmission without performing NAV evaluation if the UL transmission in response to the ULTR comprises a message having less than a threshold duration.