WO2018182624A1

WO2018182624A1 - Narrowband tone allocations

Info

Publication number: WO2018182624A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/025052
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiaogang Chen; Assaf Gurevitz; Qinghua Li; Ehud Reshef; Shahrnaz Azizi; Chittabrata GHOSH
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2017-03-30
Filing date: 2017-03-30
Publication date: 2018-10-04

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus related to narrowband tone allocation. A device may allocate a channel that includes one or more narrowband subchannels; determine a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise one or more channel guard tones, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. The device may cause to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

Description

NARROWBAND TONE ALLOCATIONS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to systems, methods, and devices for wireless communications and, more particularly, narrowband tone allocations.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless devices are becoming widely prevalent and are increasingly requesting access to wireless networks to perform wireless communication. Wireless communication includes allocation of bandwidth or other types of resources to wireless devices. More efficient allocations to wireless devices result in more efficient use of the wireless network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] FIG. 1 depicts a diagram illustrating an example network environment for an illustrative narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0004] FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 6A depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative process for an illustrative narrowband tone allocation system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 6B depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative process for an illustrative narrowband tone allocation system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 7 depicts a functional diagram of an example communication station that may be suitable for use as a user device, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [001 1] FIG. 8 depicts a block diagram of an example machine upon which any of one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0013] Allocation of orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) tones (also referred to as subcarriers) for both the uplink and downlink waveforms may include data tones, guard tones, pilot tones, and null tones. A guard band includes one or more guard tones, which is an unused part of the radio spectrum between radio bands, used for preventing interference. A pilot tone is transmitted over a communications system for supervisory, control, equalization, continuity, synchronization, or reference purposes. A null tone is a zero energy tone.

[0014] Current IEEE 802.1 1 standards do not provide a narrowband Wi-Fi design in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.

[0015] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems, methods, and devices for enabling support for narrowband tone allocation in Wi-Fi networks.

[0016] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may facilitate dividing a wide band channel into multiple narrowband subchannels that may be dedicated for certain functions. For example, a wide band channel may be divided into a number of narrowband channels. The narrowband channels may be dedicated channels. For example, narrowband channels may be comprised of one or more narrowband shared channels (NBSCHs) and one or more narrowband control channels (NBCCHs).

[0017] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may enable an access point (AP) to act as a coordinator device that may define a time slot frame structure, may provide time synchronization, and may acquire and/or announce available resources across multiple narrowband subchannels and time slots to one or more devices within the coverage area of the AP. [0018] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may define a tone plan that may be an organization of one or more tones within a frequency band. For example, a 20 MHz channel may be split into nine subchannels of 2 MHz. Each of these 2 MHz subchannels may include one direct current (DC) tone. In addition, each subchannel may have a guard tone. A null tone, which is a zero energy tone, may also be allocated within the 20 MHz channel. The 20 MHz channel may also have 20 MHz guard tones at the beginning and end of the 20 MHz channel.

[0019] A tone plan may be defined based on tone indices. For example, in a 20 MHz channel, there may be 242 tones that may be distributed for the nine 2 MHz subchannels within the 20 MHz channel. Using a tone index range, a narrowband tone allocation system may define a tone plan for a 2 MHz subchannel.

[0020] In one embodiment, the narrowband tone allocation system may allocate one or more pilot tones within one or more of the narrowband subchannels. The number of pilot tones may be predetermined such that one or more devices may operate using that number of pilot tones.

[0021] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may facilitate a long range transmission by concentrating the transmission power within the 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of these 2 MHz subchannels may be used as control channels or data channels.

[0022] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may facilitate dynamic DC puncturing to adjust the DC nulls based on whether a device is associated or unassociated with an AP.

[0023] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may facilitate interoperability and backward compatibility with legacy devices and/or IEEE 802.11 ax devices by defining a tone plan that may be compatible with legacy devices and/or IEEE 802.11 ax devices.

[0024] The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example network environment, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user devices 120 and one or more access point(s) (AP) 102, which may communicate in accordance with and be compliant with various communication standards and protocols, such as Wi-Fi, TSN, Wireless USB, P2P, Bluetooth, NFC, or any other communication standard. The user device(s) 120 may be mobile devices that are non- stationary (e.g., not having fixed locations) or may be stationary devices.

[0026] In some embodiments, the user devices 120 and the AP 102 may include one or more computer systems similar to that of the functional diagram of FIG. 7 and/or the example machine/system of FIG. 8.

[0027] One or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may be operable by one or more user(s) 110. It should be noted that any addressable unit may be a station (STA). An STA may take on multiple distinct characteristics, each of which shape its function. For example, a single addressable unit might simultaneously be a portable STA, a quality-of- service (QoS) STA, a dependent STA, and a hidden STA. The one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and the AP(s) 102 may be STAs. The one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may operate as a personal basic service set (PBSS) control point/access point (PCP/AP). The user device(s) 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and/or AP 102 may include any suitable processor-driven device including, but not limited to, a mobile device or a non- mobile, e.g., a static, device. For example, user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may include, a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), an access point (AP), a software enabled AP (SoftAP), a personal computer (PC), a wearable wireless device (e.g., bracelet, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an ultrabook™ computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, an internet of things (IoT) device, a sensor device, a robotic device, an actuator, a robotic arm, an industrial robotic device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phone functionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a "carry small live large" (CSLL) device, an ultra mobile device (UMD), an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an "origami" device or computing device, a device that supports dynamically composable computing (DCC), a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, an A/V device, a set-top-box (STB), a blu-ray disc (BD) player, a BD recorder, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a high definition (HD) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder, a personal video recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a flat panel display, a personal media player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio amplifier, a gaming device, a data source, a data sink, a digital still camera (DSC), a media player, a smartphone, a television, a music player, or the like. Other devices, including smart devices such as lamps, climate control, car components, household components, appliances, etc. may also be included in this list.

[0028] As used herein, the term "Internet of Things (IoT) device" is used to refer to any obj ect (e.g., an appliance, a sensor, etc.) that has an addressable interface (e.g., an Internet protocol (IP) address, a Bluetooth identifier (ID), a near-field communication (NFC) ID, etc.) and can transmit information to one or more other devices over a wired or wireless connection. An IoT device may have a passive communication interface, such as a quick response (QR) code, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, an NFC tag, or the like, or an active communication interface, such as a modem, a transceiver, a transmitter-receiver, or the like. An IoT device can have a particular set of attributes (e.g., a device state or status, such as whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, and so on, a cooling or heating function, an environmental monitoring or recording function, a light-emitting function, a sound-emitting function, etc.) that can be embedded in and/or controlled/monitored by a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, ASIC, or the like, and configured for connection to an IoT network such as a local ad-hoc network or the Internet. For example, IoT devices may include, but are not limited to, refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwaves, freezers, dishwashers, dishes, hand tools, clothes washers, clothes dryers, furnaces, air conditioners, thermostats, televisions, light fixtures, vacuum cleaners, sprinklers, electricity meters, gas meters, etc., so long as the devices are equipped with an addressable communications interface for communicating with the IoT network. IoT devices may also include cell phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Accordingly, the IoT network may be comprised of a combination of "legacy" Internet-accessible devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computers, cell phones, etc.) in addition to devices that do not typically have Internet-connectivity (e.g., dishwashers, etc.).

[0029] The user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may also include mesh stations in, for example, a mesh network, in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards and/or 3 GPP standard.

[0030] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to communicate with each other via one or more communications networks 130 and/or 135 wirelessly or wired. The user device(s) 120 may also communicate peer-to- peer or directly with each other with or without the AP 102. Any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include, but not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, broadcasting networks, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include any type of medium over which network traffic may be carried including, but not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, optical fiber, a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceivers, radio frequency communication mediums, white space communication mediums, ultra-high frequency communication mediums, satellite communication mediums, or any combination thereof.

[0031] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP 102 may include one or more communications antennas. The one or more communications antennas may be any suitable type of antennas corresponding to the communications protocols used by the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126 and 128), and AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communications antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 1 family of standards compatible antennas, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, omnidirectional antennas, quasi- omnidirectional antennas, or the like. The one or more communications antennas may be communicatively coupled to a radio component to transmit and/or receive signals, such as communications signals to and/or from the user devices 120 and/or AP 102.

[0032] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and/or directional reception in conjunction with wirelessly communicating in a wireless network. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform such directional transmission and/or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., DMG antenna arrays or the like). Each of the multiple antenna arrays may be used for transmission and/or reception in a particular respective direction or range of directions. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional transmission towards one or more defined transmit sectors. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0033] MIMO beamforrning in a wireless network may be accomplished using RF beamforrning and/or digital beamforrning. In some embodiments, in performing a given MIMO transmission, user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to use all or a subset of its one or more communications antennas to perform MIMO beamforrning.

[0034] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may include any suitable radio and/or transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in the bandwidth and/or channels corresponding to the communications protocols utilized by any of the user device(s) 120 and AP 102 to communicate with each other. The radio components may include hardware and/or software to modulate and/or demodulate communications signals according to pre-established transmission protocols. The radio components may further have hardware and/or software instructions to communicate via one or more communication standards and protocols, such as, Wi-Fi, TSN, Wireless USB, Wi-Fi P2P, Bluetooth, NFC, or any other communication standard. In certain example embodiments, the radio component, in cooperation with the communications antennas, may be configured to communicate via 2.4 GHz channels (e.g. 802.1 1b, 802. l lg, 802.11η, 802.1 lax), 5 GHz channels (e.g. 802.1 1η, 802.1 l ac, 802.1 lax), or 60 GHz channels (e.g. 802.1 1 ad). In some embodiments, non- Wi-Fi protocols may be used for communications between devices, such as Bluetooth, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) (e.g. IEEE 802.1 1af, IEEE 802.22), white band frequency (e.g., white spaces), or other packetized radio communications. The radio component may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communicating via the communications protocols. The radio component may further include a low noise amplifier (LNA), additional signal amplifiers, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, one or more buffers, and a digital baseband.

[0035] When an AP (e.g., AP 102) establishes communication with one or more user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, and/or 128), the AP 102 may communicate in a downlink direction, and the user devices 120 may communicate with the AP 102 in an uplink direction by sending frames in either direction. The user devices 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with each other with or without the AP 102.

[0036] In one embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 1 , a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 ) may divide a frequency band into one or more narrowband channels that may be utilized by the AP 102 and the user device 120 in order to wirelessly communicate with each other. For example, a single wide band frequency channel 104 (e.g., 20 MHz) may be divided into a number of narrowband subchannels (e.g., narrowband subchannel 106). The AP 102 and the user devices 120 may utilize these narrowband subchannels in order to communicate by sending and receiving frame(s) 108. For example, the AP 102 may send a frame 108 to a user device 120. In order for the user device 120 to be able to successfully demodulate the frame(s) 108 after reception, the user device 120 may need to utilize a tone plan or schedule that may have been implemented by the AP 102. The tone plan may be an organization of one or more tones within the frequency channel 104. For example, the frequency band 104 may be a 20 MHz channel that may be split into nine narrow band subchannels of 2 MHz (e.g., narrowband subchannel 106). Each of these 2 MHz subchannels may include one DC tone. In addition, each subchannel may have a guard tone. A null tone, which is a zero energy tone, may also be allocated within the 20 MHz channel. The 20 MHz channel may also have 20 MHz guard tones at the beginning and end of the 20 MHz channel.

[0037] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0038] FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a single wide band frequency channel of 20 MHz (e.g., channel 202). A narrowband tone allocation system may facilitate dividing the channel 202 into multiple narrowband subchannels (e.g., channels 204) that may be dedicated for certain functions. For example, the channel 202 may be divided into a number narrowband channels e.g., nine narrowband channels). The narrowband channels may be dedicated channels. For example, the narrowband channels 204 may be comprised of one or more narrowband shared (or service) channels (NBSCHs) (e.g., NBSCH l ... x, where x is an integer) and one or more narrowband control channels (NBCCHs) (e.g., NBCCH l ... y, where y is an integer). This may enable a narrowband device that can operate in smaller frequencies to operate with other narrowband devices and may benefit from the smaller frequency allocations. The NBSCH may be used for data traffic, while the NBCCH may be used for control and management traffic.

[0040] In one embodiment, an AP may use the control channel to send and receive control traffic to one or more devices that may be associated and/or belong to that AP. The assumption is that each device is able to hear the AP and get the control traffic from the AP and be able to send and receive data using these smaller frequency allocations. In order to operate in this mode, a device will need to listen to the control channel and use the data channels to transmit its data traffic.

[0041] It should be understood that although channel 202 is shown to be 20 MHz, and is divided into nine,2 MHz narrowband channels, other wideband channels may be utilized. For example, a wideband channel of 160 MHz may be divided into multiple narrowband channels with various frequency band sizes. In addition, it should be noted that one or more narrowband channels may be combined together in order to generate an aggregated narrowband channel. The number of NBSCHs and NBCCHs may be determined by the standard, the system, a device, or system administrator preferences.

[0042] FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for a narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an exemplary tone plan for a wideband channel 300 of 20 MHz that is divided into multiple subchannels (e.g., subchannels 1 -9). There are two kinds of subchannels depending on the function: a narrowband control channel (NBCCH) which is used to carry a control frame and a narrowband shared channel (NBSCH) which is used to carry a data frame.

[0044] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may enable each 2 MHz narrowband subchannel to be sharable for both NBSCH and NBCCH. The tone plan may be referenced by tone indices. For example, in a 20 MHz channel, there may be 242 tones that may be distributed within the 20 MHz channel. There may be guard tones at the beginning (e.g., guard tones 302) and at the end (e.g., guard tones 307) of the 20 MHz channel. There are 26 tones for each 2 MHz narrowband subchannel. Excluding one guard tone (e.g., guard tones 310, 31 1 , 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, and 318) and one DC tone (at about the center of the subchannel) per subchannel, then 24 tones may be assigned to the data tones and pilot tones.

[0045] In FIG. 3, additional guard tones (e.g., guard tones 320 and 321) are available for the central subchannel. For example, the central subchannel 301 may have four guard tones on its left edge (e.g., guard tones 320) and three guard tones on its right edge (e.g., guard tones 321). This is in addition to guard tone 314. A benefit of having additional guard tones around the central subchannel is that having a fixed NBCCH in the central subchannel provides fast association or re-association for the narrowband stations (NB-STAs). The extra guard tones provide more protection for this channel, which should be more robust to adjacent channel leakage. [0046] The narrowband devices are 2 MHz-only devices, which means the number of tones in one subchannel should not be more than 26 (given the tone spacing is 78.125 kHz). The tone plan may be aligned in each of the 2 MHz subchannels with IEEE 802.1 l ax in order to provide interoperability with IEEE 802.11 ax.

[0047] In one embodiment, the tone plan may be defined such that there is one DC tone in each narrowband subchannel; one tone is used as a guard tone in each narrowband subchannel (plus the extra guard tones on each side of the central narrowband subchannel). Therefore, the guard tone indices in 20 MHz are {-96, -70, -43, -17:-13, 13: 17, 43, 70, 96} ; six and five guard tones are at the edges of the wideband channel 300 of 20 MHz; and the null tone (e.g., 303, 304, 305, and 306) indices are {+/-69, +/-122} . If two pilot tones are used per 2 MHz, then there are 22 data tones (e.g., 26 - 1 (DC) - 1 (guard) - 2(pilots) = 22 data tones) left for each of the narrowband subchannels. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0048] FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for a narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a dynamic DC puncture of a narrowband subchannel 400. In one example, the narrowband subchannel 400 may be a 2 MHz subchannel.

[0050] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may determine to puncture or otherwise null out one or more tones in the 2 MHz subchannel based on whether a device is engaging in an initial association stage with an AP. In the initial association stage, an NB-STA is not calibrated or otherwise synchronized with the transmitting device (e.g., an AP). The hardware of the receiving device may not be tuned with the transmitting device. That is, the NB-STA may not know where the DC tone is when receiving a frame from the transmitting device. This may result in a carrier frequency offset (CFO) being as large as 40 parts per million (PPM) which is +/-200 kHz. That is, up to +1-3 tones could be erased or otherwise ignored by the receiving device. In that case, additional DC tones may be needed so that the transmitting device does not use these additional DC tones for data, which would prevent data loss if the receiving device is to erase or otherwise ignore these times. For example, in the 2 MHz narrowband subchannel 400, in addition to the one DC tone at around the center of the narrowband subchannel, additional DC nulls (e.g., null tones 406 and 408) may be used during the initial association stage around the one DC tone of the center of the narrowband subchannel. This may leave a smaller number of data tones and pilot tones in tones 402 and 404. [0051] In the example of FIG. 4, there are about seven DC nulls used between the null tones 406, the null tones 408, and the DC tone at around the center of the narrowband subchannel. However, after the NB-STA is calibrated or otherwise synchronized with the AP, only one DC is needed.

[0052] In order to get a unified tone plan regardless of calibration of the NB-STA, one DC tone is used for each 2 MHz subchannel as shown in FIG. 3. If an NBCCH is transmitted for the purpose of association, the transmitting device should populate the tones in each subchannel according to FIG. 2. In addition, the transmitting device should puncture six more tones with three tones on the left and three tones on the right of the DC. It should be understood that puncturing means the transmitting device will not populate information on these tones, and these tones should have zero energy.

[0053] In this way, even if the CFO is large in the association, the receiving device will not be impacted because an additional six tones are nulled in the NBCCH. The receiving device should always assume lDC+6 punctured tones in each subchannel when demodulating a received NBCCH frame used for association with the AP. After the puncturing, there are 16 tones left for the payloads (data) if two pilot tones are used; that is 26 tones in a 2 MHz subchannel - 7 punctured tones - 2 pilot tones - 1 guard tone = 16 tones for data. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0054] FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for a narrowband tone allocation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a tone plan 500 for the narrow band frame with extra guard tones.

[0056] In one embodiment, a narrowband tone allocation system may define a tone plan having additional guard tones around one or more narrowband subchannels. Since a narrowband device could be a low cost device (e.g., an Internet of Things (IoT) device) and the filter roll-off may not be sharp enough, another tone plan, which is similar to the one in FIG. 3, may be used. The slight difference with FIG. 3 may be that the guard tone indices in 20 MHz are {-96, -95, -70, -43, -42, -16:-13, 13 : 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, 96} . This may indicate that there are at least two guard tones in between each narrowband subchannel pair as shown in guard tones 502, 503, 504, and 505. This may result in better performance in case of slow roll-off filter or poor synchronized STAs in an uplink transmission. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. [0057] FIG. 6A illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 600 for an illustrative narrowband tone allocation system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] At block 602, a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 of FIG. 1) may allocate a channel that includes one or more narrowband subchannels. For example, an AP may allocate a wide band channel (e.g., a 20 MHz channel) that may be divided into a number of narrowband channels. The narrowband channels may be dedicated channels. For example, narrowband channels may be comprised of one or more narrowband shared channels (NBSCHs) and one or more narrowband control channels (NBCCHs). The AP and a user device may utilize these narrowband subchannels in order to communicate by sending and receiving one or more frames.

[0059] At block 604, the device may determine a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel. The multiple tones may comprise one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. For example, a tone plan may be defined for a 20 MHz channel so that there is one DC tone in each narrowband subchannel; one tone is used as a guard tone in each narrowband subchannel (plus the extra guard tones on each side of the central narrowband subchannel). Therefore, the guard tone indices in 20MHz are {-96, -70, -43, - 17: -13, 13 : 17, 43, 70, 96} ; six and five guard tones are at the edges of a 20 MHz channel; and the null tone (e.g., 303, 304, 305, and 306) indices are {+/-69, +/-122} . If two pilot tones are used per 2 MHz, then there are 22 data tones (e.g., 26 - 1 (DC) - 1 (guard) - 2(pilots) = 22 data tones) left for each of the narrowband subchannels. In another embodiment, the tone schedule may comprise additional guard tones around one or more narrowband subchannels. Since a narrowband device could be a low cost device (e.g., an Internet of Things (IoT) device) and the filter roll-off may not be sharp enough, another tone plan may be used. In this tone plane, the guard tone indices in 20 MHz are {-96, -95, -70, -43, -42, -16:-13, 13 : 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, 96} . This may indicate that there are at least two guard tones in between each narrowband subchannel pair as shown in guard tones 502, 503, 504, and 505. This may result in better performance in case of slow roll-off filter or poor synchronized STAs in an uplink transmission.

[0060] At block 606, the device may cause to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule. For example, the AP may send a frame based on the tone plan, the allocated channel, and the one or more narrowband subchannels. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0061] FIG. 6B illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process 650 for an illustrative narrowband tone allocation system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0062] At block 652, a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 of FIG. 1) may identify a frame received from a device on one or more narrowband subchannels of a channel. For example, a user device may be a receiving device, and the AP may be a transmitting device. The AP may send a frame to the user device. The user device may receive this frame on one or more narrowband channels. For example, an AP may allocate a wide band channel (e.g., a 20 MHz channel) that may be divided into a number of narrowband channels. The narrowband channels may be dedicated channels. For example, the narrowband channels may be comprised of one or more narrowband shared channels and one or more narrowband control channels. The AP and a user device may utilize these narrowband subchannels in order to communicate by sending and receiving one or more frames.

[0063] At block 654, the device may demodulate the frame based at least in part on a tone schedule associated with the channel and the one or more subchannels.. The tone schedule may comprise one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. For example, a tone plan may be defined for a 20 MHz channel such that there is one DC tone in each narrowband subchannel, one tone is used as guard tone in each narrowband subchannel (plus the extra guard tones on each side of the central narrowband subchannel). Therefore, the guard tone indices in 20 MHz are {-96, -70, -43, -17:-13, 13: 17, 43, 70, 96} ; six and five guard tones are at the edges of the 20 MHz band; and the null tone (e.g., 303, 304, 305, and 306) indices are {+/-69, +/-122} . If two pilot tones are used per 2 MHz, then there are 22 data tones (e.g., 26 - 1(DC) - 1 (guard) - 2(pilots) = 22 data tones) left for each of the narrowband subchannels. In another embodiment, the tone schedule may comprise additional guard tones around one or more narrowband subchannels. Since a narrowband device could be a low cost device (e.g., an Internet of Things (IoT) device) and the filter roll-off may not be sharp enough, another tone plan may be used. In this tone plane, the guard tone indices in 20 MHz are {-96, -95, -70, - 43, -42, -16:-13, 13 : 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, 96} . This may indicate that there are at least two guard tones in between each narrowband subchannel pair as shown in guard tones 502, 503, 504, and 505. This may result in better performance in case of slow roll-off filter or poor synchronized STAs in an uplink transmission. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0064] FIG. 7 shows a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 700 in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of a communication station that may be suitable for use as an AP 102 (FIG. 1) or a user device 120 (FIG. 1) in accordance with some embodiments. The communication station 700 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, a mobile device, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a wearable computer device, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[0065] The communication station 700 may include communications circuitry 702 and a transceiver 710 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 701. The transceiver 710 may be a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver that are combined and share common circuitry (e.g., communication circuitry 702). The communication circuitry 702 may include amplifiers, filters, mixers, analog to digital and/or digital to analog converters. The transceiver 710 may transmit and receive analog or digital signals. The transceiver 710 may allow reception of signals during transmission periods. This mode is known as full-duplex, and may require the transmitter and receiver to operate on different frequencies to minimize interference between the transmitted signal and the received signal. The transceiver 710 may operate in a half- duplex mode, where the transceiver 710 may transmit or receive signals in one direction at a time.

[0066] The communications circuitry 702 may include circuitry that can operate the physical layer (PHY) communications and/or media access control (MAC) communications for controlling access to the wireless medium, and/or any other communications layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication station 700 may also include processing circuitry 706 and memory 708 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communications circuitry 702 and the processing circuitry 706 may be configured to perform operations detailed in FIGs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6A, and 6B.

[0067] In accordance with some embodiments, the communications circuitry 702 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wireless medium. The communications circuitry 702 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. The communications circuitry 702 may also include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 706 of the communication station 700 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 701 may be coupled to the communications circuitry 702 arranged for sending and receiving signals. The memory 708 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 706 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 708 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 708 may include a computer-readable storage device , read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media.

[0068] In some embodiments, the communication station 700 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly.

[0069] In some embodiments, the communication station 700 may include one or more antennas 701. The antennas 701 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of the antennas and the antennas of a transmitting station.

[0070] In some embodiments, the communication station 700 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[0071] Although the communication station 700 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication station 700 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0072] Certain embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, the communication station 700 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device memory.

[0073] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a machine 800 or system upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may be performed. In other embodiments, the machine 800 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 800 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 800 may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environments. The machine 800 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a wearable computer device, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine, such as a base station. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0074] Examples, as described herein, may include or may operate on logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations when operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium containing instructions where the instructions configure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when in operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer- readable medium when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[0075] The machine (e.g., computer system) 800 may include a hardware processor 802 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 804 and a static memory 806, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 808. The machine 800 may further include a power management device 832, a graphics display device 810, an alphanumeric input device 812 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 814 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the graphics display device 810, alphanumeric input device 812, and UI navigation device 814 may be a touch screen display. The machine 800 may additionally include a storage device (i.e., drive unit) 816, a signal generation device 818 (e.g., a speaker), a narrowband tone allocation device 819, a network interface device/transceiver 820 coupled to antenna(s) 830, and one or more sensors 828, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 800 may include an output controller 834, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.)).

[0076] The storage device 816 may include a machine readable medium 822 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 824 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 824 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 804, within the static memory 806, or within the hardware processor 802 during execution thereof by the machine 800. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 802, the main memory 804, the static memory 806, or the storage device 816 may constitute machine- readable media.

[0077] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may carry out or perform any of the operations and processes (e.g., the processes 600 and 650) described and shown above. For example, the narrowband tone allocation device 819 may facilitate dividing a wide band channel into multiple narrowband subchannels that may be dedicated for certain functions. For example, a wide band channel may be divided into a number of narrowband channels. The narrowband channels may be dedicated channels. For example, narrowband channels may be comprised of one or more narrowband shared channels (NBSCHs) and one or more narrowband control channels (NBCCHs).

[0078] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may enable an access point (AP) to act as a coordinator device that may define a time slot frame structure, may provide time synchronization, and may acquire and/or announce available resources across multiple narrowband subchannels and time slots to one or more devices within the coverage area of the AP.

[0079] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may define a tone plan that may be an organization of one or more tones within a frequency band. For example, a 20 MHz channel may be split into nine subchannels of 2 MHz. Each of these 2 MHz subchannels may include one DC tone. In addition, each subchannel may have a guard tone. A null tone, which is a zero energy tone, may also be allocated within the 20 MHz channel. The 20 MHz channel may also have 20 MHz guard tones at the beginning and end of the 20 MHz channel. [0080] A tone plan may be defined based on tone indices. For example, in a 20 MHz channel, there may be 242 tones that may be distributed for the nine 2 MHz subchannels within the 20 MHz channel. Using a tone index range, the narrowband tone allocation device 819 may define a tone plan for a 2 MHz subchannel.

[0081] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may allocate one or more pilot tones within one or more of the narrowband subchannels. The number of pilot tones may be predetermined such that one or more devices may operate using that number of pilot tones.

[0082] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may facilitate a long range transmission by concentrating the transmission power within the 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of these 2 MHz subchannels may be used as a control channel or a data channel.

[0083] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may facilitate dynamic DC puncturing to adjust the DC nulls based on whether a device is associated or unassociated with an AP.

[0084] The narrowband tone allocation device 819 may facilitate interoperability and backward compatibility with legacy devices and/or IEEE 802.1 lax devices by defining a tone plan that may be compatible with legacy devices and/or IEEE 802.11 ax devices.

[0085] It is understood that the above are only a subset of what the narrowband tone allocation device 819 may be configured to perform and that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by the narrowband tone allocation device 819.

[0086] While the machine-readable medium 822 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 824.

[0087] Various embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; a flash memory, etc.

[0088] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 800 and that cause the machine 800 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine-readable medium examples may include solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. In an example, a massed machine-readable medium includes a machine-readable medium with a plurality of particles having resting mass. Specific examples of massed machine-readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD- ROM disks.

[0089] The instructions 824 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 826 using a transmission medium via the network interface device/transceiver 820 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 1 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 820 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network 826. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 820 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 800 and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software. The operations and processes described and shown above may be carried out or performed in any suitable order as desired in various implementations. Additionally, in certain implementations, at least a portion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore, in certain implementations, less than or more than the operations described may be performed.

[0090] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The terms "computing device," "user device," "communication station," "station," "handheld device," "mobile device," "wireless device" and "user equipment" (UE) as used herein refers to a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, a printer, a point of sale device, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device. The device may be either mobile or stationary.

[0091] As used within this document, the term "communicate" is intended to include transmitting, or receiving, or both transmitting and receiving. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data that is being transmitted by one device and received by another, but only the functionality of one of those devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive during the exchange) may be described as "communicating," when only the functionality of one of those devices is being claimed. The term "communicating" as used herein with respect to a wireless communication signal includes transmitting the wireless communication signal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example, a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating a wireless communication signal, may include a wireless transmitter to transmit the wireless communication signal to at least one other wireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver to receive the wireless communication signal from at least one other wireless communication unit.

[0092] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," "third," etc., to describe a common object, merely indicates that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the obj ects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0093] The term "access point" (AP) as used herein may be a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, a base station, an evolved node B (eNodeB), or some other similar terminology known in the art. An access terminal may also be called a mobile station, user equipment (UE), a wireless communication device, or some other similar terminology known in the art. Embodiments disclosed herein generally pertain to wireless networks. Some embodiments may relate to wireless networks that operate in accordance with one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.

[0094] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, for example, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an on- board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless access point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audio device, an audio-video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a wireless video area network (WVAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

[0095] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFID element or chip, a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transceiver or device, a single input multiple output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a multiple input single output (MISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, digital video broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, a wireless application protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

[0096] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems following one or more wireless communication protocols, for example, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency- division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), general packet radio service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code-division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi-tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, 3GPP, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks.

[0097] According to example embodiments of the disclosure, there may be a device. The device may include memory and processing circuitry configured to allocate a channel that may include one or more narrowband subchannels. The processing circuitry may be further configured to determine a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. The processing circuitry may be further configured to cause to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

[0098] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The processing circuitry may be further configured to determine a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The processing circuitry may be further configured to determine a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The processing circuitry may be further configured to determine the narrowband control frame for associating at least one of the one or more first devices with the device. The processing circuitry may be further configured to cause to null out up to three tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel. The processing circuitry may be further configured to determine the channel may include 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The processing circuitry may be further configured to schedule the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -70, -43, -17 to -13, 13 to 17, 43, 70, and 96. The processing circuitry may be further configured to schedule one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122. The processing circuitry may be further configured to determine the channel may include 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The processing circuitry may be further configured to schedule the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -95, -70, - 43, -42, -16 to -13, 13 to 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, and 96. The processing circuitry may be further configured to schedule one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, - 122, 69, and 122. The device may further include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The device may further include one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[0099] According to example embodiments of the disclosure, there may be a device. The device may include memory and processing circuitry configured to identify a frame received from a device on one or more narrowband subchannels of a channel. The processing circuitry may be further configured to demodulate the frame based at least in part on a tone schedule, wherein the tone schedule comprises one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel.

[00100] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The processing circuitry may be further configured to identify a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The processing circuitry may be further configured to identify a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The processing circuitry may be further configured t identify the narrowband control frame for associating with the device. The processing circuitry may be further configured to identify up to three null tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three null tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel.

[00101] According to example embodiments of the disclosure, there may be a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations may include identifying a frame received from a device on one or more narrowband subchannels of a channel. The operations may include demodulate the frame based at least in part on a tone schedule, wherein the tone schedule comprises one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel.

[00102] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The operations further comprise identifying a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The operations further comprise identifying a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The operations may include identifying the narrowband control frame for associating with the device. The operations may include identifying up to three null tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three null tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel.

[00103] According to example embodiments of the disclosure, there may include a method. The method may include allocating, by one or more processors, a channel that includes one or more narrowband subchannels. The method may include determining a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. The method may include causing to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

[00104] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The method may further include determining a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The method may further include determining a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The method may include determining the narrowband control frame for associating at least one of the one or more first devices with the device. The method may include causing to null out up to three tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel. The method may further include determining the channel includes 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The method may include scheduling the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -70, -43, -17 to -13, 13 to 17, 43, 70, and 96. The method may include scheduling one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122. The method may further include determining the channel includes 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The method may include scheduling the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -95, -70, -43, -42, -16 to -13, 13 to 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, and 96. The method may include scheduling one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122.

[00105] According to example embodiments of the disclosure, there may include a method. The method may include identifying a frame received from a device on one or more narrowband subchannels of a channel. The method may include demodulate the frame based at least in part on a tone schedule, wherein the tone schedule comprises one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel.

[00106] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The method may further include identifying a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The method may further include identifying a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The method may include identifying the narrowband control frame for associating with the device. The method may include identifying up to three null tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three null tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel.

[00107] In example embodiments of the disclosure, there may be an apparatus. The apparatus may include means for allocating, by one or more processors, a channel that includes one or more narrowband subchannels. The apparatus may include means for determining a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones means for including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. The apparatus may include means for causing to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

[00108] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The apparatus may further include means for determining a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The apparatus may further include means for determining a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The apparatus may include means for determining the narrowband control frame for associating at least one of the one or more first devices with the device. The apparatus may include means for causing to null out up to three tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel. The apparatus may further include means for determining the channel includes 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The apparatus may include means for scheduling the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -70, -43, -17 to -13, 13 to 17, 43, 70, and 96. The apparatus may include means for scheduling one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122. The apparatus may further include means for determining the channel includes 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The apparatus may include scheduling the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -95, -70, -43, -42, -16 to -13, 13 to 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, and 96. The apparatus may include means for scheduling one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122.

[00109] In example embodiments of the disclosure, there may be an apparatus. The apparatus may include means for identifying a frame received from a device on one or more narrowband subchannels of a channel. The apparatus may include means for demodulating the frame based at least in part on a tone schedule, wherein the tone schedule comprises one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel.

[001 10] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The apparatus may further include means for identifying a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The apparatus may further include means for identifying a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The apparatus may include means for identifying the narrowband control frame for associating with the device. The apparatus may include means for identifying up to three null tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three null tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel.

[001 11] According to example embodiments of the disclosure, there may be a non- transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations may include allocating, by one or more processors, a channel that may include one or more narrowband subchannels. The operations may include determining a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel, a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel. The operations may include causing to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

[001 12] The implementations may include one or more of the following features. The one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel. The operations further comprise determining a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel. The channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels. Each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones. The operations further comprise determining a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame. The operations may include determining the narrowband control frame for associating at least one of the one or more first devices with the device. The operations may include causing to null out up to three tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel. The operations further comprise determining the channel may include 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The operations may include scheduling the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -70, -43, -17 to -13, 13 to 17, 43, 70, and 96. The operations may include scheduling one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122. The operations further comprise determining the channel may include 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121. The operations may include scheduling the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, -95, -70, -43, -42, -16 to -13, 13 to 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, and 96. The operations may include scheduling one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122.

[001 13] Certain aspects of the disclosure are described above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses, and/or computer program products according to various implementations. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and the flow diagrams, respectively, may be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, according to some implementations.

[001 14] These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto a special- purpose computer or other particular machine, a processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage media or memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage media produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. As an example, certain implementations may provide for a computer program product, comprising a computer- readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code or program instructions implemented therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

[001 15] Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, may be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, or combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[001 16] Conditional language, such as, among others, "can," "could," "might," or "may," unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain implementations could include, while other implementations do not include, certain features, elements, and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or operations are in any way required for one or more implementations or that one or more implementations necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or operations are included or are to be performed in any particular implementation.

[001 17] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

What is claimed is: 1. A device, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: allocate a channel that includes one or more narrowband subchannels;

determine a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise:

one or more channel guard tones, the one or more channel guard tones including one or more first channel guard tones at a beginning of the channel and one or more second channel guard tones at an end of the channel,

a direct current (DC) tone at about a center of each one of the one or more narrowband subchannels, and

one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel; and

cause to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame;

determine the narrowband control frame for associating at least one of the one or more first devices with the device; and

cause to null out up to three tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel.

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

determine the channel includes 242 tone indices having a beginning index of -121 and an ending index of 121 ;

schedule the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, - 70, -43, -17 to -13, 13 to 17, 43, 70, and 96; and

schedule one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

schedule the one or more subchannel guard tones to be located at tone indices -96, - 95, -70, -43, -42, -16 to -13, 13 to 16, 42, 43, 70, 95, and 96; and

schedule one or more subchannel null tones to be located at tone indices -69, -122, 69, and 122

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

10. The device of claim 9, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable

instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing

operations comprising:

identifying a frame received from a device on one or more narrowband subchannels of a channel; and demodulate the frame based at least in part on a tone schedule, wherein the tone schedule comprises:

one or more subchannel guard tones, the one or more subchannel guard tones including a first subchannel guard tone at a first edge of a first narrowband subchannel, and a second subchannel guard tone at a second edge of a second narrowband subchannel.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise identifying a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein each of the narrowband subchannels is comprised of 26 tones.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying a first narrowband subchannel for transmitting a narrowband control frame;

identifying the narrowband control frame for associating with the device; and identifying up to three null tones on the left of the DC tone and up to three null tones on the right of the DC tone of the first narrowband subchannel.

17. A method comprising:

allocating, by one or more processors, a channel that includes one or more narrowband subchannels;

determining a tone schedule having multiple tones associated with the channel, wherein the multiple tones comprise:

causing to send a frame to one or more first devices using the one or more narrowband subchannels based on the tone schedule.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more narrowband subchannels are at least one of a narrowband control channel or a narrowband shared channel.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining a center narrowband subchannel having additional guard tones surrounding the center narrowband subchannel.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the channel is a 20 MHz channel and the one or more narrowband subchannels are 2 MHz narrowband subchannels.