RU2816991C2 - Base station, transmission method and reception method - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electrical communication equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to communication. To this end, the base station comprises a control circuit which generates shared information which is common for a plurality of users and includes information relating to unassigned resources, as well as individual user information, which is specific for each of the plurality of users, and a transmission circuit which transmits a control signal containing shared information and individual user information.

EFFECT: providing more efficient control of Multi-AP coordination.

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Description

Field of technology

[0001] The present invention relates to a base station, a transmission method and a reception method.

State of the art

[0002] The Task Group (TG) has been working to create technical specifications for IEEE 802.11be (hereinafter referred to as "11be") as the next standard to IEEE 802.11ax (hereinafter referred to as "11ax"), which is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11.

[0003] In the 11be standard, Multi-AP coordination, in which multiple access points (each also referred to as a "base station" and will be referred to as an "Access Point" (AP) perform coordinated data transmission, has been discussed as a way to improve throughput (for example, see non-patent literature (hereinafter - NPL) 1).

List of links

Non-patent literature

[0004]

NPL 1

IEEE 802.11-19/927r0, Coordinated Transmission Scheme for 11be, May 16, 2019.

NPL 2

IEEE P802.11ax/D4.0, Draft Standard for Information technology, February 2019.

Disclosure of the invention

Technical problem

[0005] However, methods for managing Multi-AP coordination when performing radio communications, such as over a wireless local area network (WLAN), have not been sufficiently discussed.

[0006] One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment facilitates providing a base station, a transmission method, and a reception method that are capable of more efficient Multi-AP coordination management.

[0007] A base station according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a control circuit that generates general information and user-specific information during operation; and a transmission circuit that, during operation, transmits a control signal including general information and user-specific information. Public information is information common to multiple users and includes information about an unallocated resource. User-specific information is specific to each of a plurality of users.

[0008] It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, method, integrated circuit, computer program, storage medium, or any selected combination thereof.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, more efficient management of Multi-AP coordination can be achieved.

[0010] Additional advantages and disadvantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the description of the invention and the drawings. Such features and/or advantages may be separately obtained by various embodiments and features from the specification and drawings, all of which need not be presented to obtain one or more of such features and/or advantages.

Brief description of drawings

[0011]

In FIG. 1 shows an example of the SIG-B format included in a downlink control signal;

in FIG. Figure 2 shows an example of a SIG-B user field configuration;

in FIG. 3A shows examples of two access points performing coordinated OFDMA access operation;

in FIG. 3B shows an example of resource allocation at the two access points shown in FIG. 3A;

in FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of a downlink radio transmission apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

in FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving portion of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

in FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an apparatus for radio downlink transmission according to Embodiment 1;

in FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1;

in FIG. Figure 8 shows an example of a list of candidates for a resource block allocation scheme (resource unit, RU);

in FIG. 9 shows an example of a downlink multi-user (DL MU) signal format in Embodiment 1;

in FIG. 10 shows a first example of information about an unallocated RU;

in FIG. 11 shows a second example of information about an unallocated RU;

in FIG. 12 shows an example of common information for an STA in the case where the size of the unallocated RU field is configured as a variable size;

in FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission apparatus according to Embodiment 2;

in FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 2;

in FIG. 15 shows an example of a DL MU signal format in Embodiment 2;

in FIG. 16 shows a first example of the RU allocation scheme candidate list in Embodiment 2;

in FIG. 17 shows a second example of the RU allocation scheme candidate list in Embodiment 2;

in FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission apparatus according to Embodiment 3;

in FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 3;

in FIG. 20 shows exemplary preamble formats to be selected in Embodiment 3; And

in FIG. 21 shows exemplary preamble formats that can be selected.

Carrying out the invention

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] (Embodiment 1)

[Multi-User (MU) transfer]

For example, the 11ax standard supports multi-user (MU) transmission. Examples of MU transmission include downlink MU-multiple input multiple output (DL MU-MIMO), DL orthogonal frequency division multiple access (DL OFDMA), etc.

[0014] In the case of DL MU-MIMO or DL OFDMA, the access point (AP) transmits information to each STA (also referred to as an STA or terminal) control using a control signal (e.g., referred to as a “SIG-B” or “SIG-B field”) preamble included, for example, in a DL multi-user physical layer convergence procedure protocol data block unit, DL MU PPDU).

[0015] In FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of HE-SIG-B (hereinafter simply referred to as "SIG-B") of a high efficiency MU PPDU (hereinafter simply referred to as "MU PPDU"), which includes instructions regarding MU downlink transmission communications in 11ax. In FIG. Figure 1 shows an example of the format of the preamble to be attached to the data. In addition, in FIG. 1 shows an example of a SIG-B configuration among the fields included in the preamble format.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the SIG-B field includes a “Common Field” including information that is common to multiple users (in other words, STAs) (hereinafter, this information will be referred to as “common information” or “STA common information”) , and a “User-Specific Field” including information for each user (hereinafter referred to as “user information”, “STA-specific information” or “user-specific information”).

[0017] In the general field, the allocation scheme of RUs (hereinafter referred to as “RU allocation scheme”) to be allocated for each user in the channel bandwidth (eg, channel range) of the AP is reported, for example, in the resource block (RU) allocation subfield. For example, the “RU Allocation” subfield has a size of 8 bits.

[0018] In addition, the “User Specific Field” includes, for example, at least one user block field. Each user block field is a field obtained by encoding the user field(s) of one or two users with a block check character (BCC). In addition, the arrangement of user fields corresponding to each user in the user-specific field shown in FIG. 1 may be determined based on the RU allocation subfield of the general field. For example, a user field may be associated with a RU included in the RU allocation scheme. In addition, HE-SIG-A is STA-common information and includes control information for HE-SIG-B demodulation and decoding.

[0019] In FIG. Figure 2 shows an example of a SIG-B user field configuration. As shown in FIG. 2, the user field is, for example, a field for reporting information for each user (STA), including STA #1 and STA #2. The user field can be interpreted as the field by which information is communicated to the STA. The user field includes, for example, information in the "STA ID" subfield indicating the user identifier (STA), the "Spatial Configuration" subfield indicating spatial stream allocation information, the "modulation and channel coding scheme" subfield, MCS)" indicating the modulation and coding scheme, the "Coding" subfield" indicating the coding method, etc. For example, in the case where the channel bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, the sizes of the STA ID subfield and the user field are , respectively, 11 bits and 21 bits.

[0020]

[Multi-AP Coordination]

In Multi-AP coordination, coordinated scheduling for multiple APs and dynamic coordination related to transmission time and transmission bandwidth are performed. This coordinated operation, for example, reduces the impact of interference occurring between neighboring APs (eg, cell edge) and improves throughput.

[0021] For example, coordinated OFDMA (also called “dynamic point selection (DPS)”) has been discussed as an example of Multi-AP coordination (for example, see NPL 1).

[0022] In FIG. 3A shows examples of two APs performing coordinated OFDMA access operation. In FIG. 3B shows an exemplary resource allocation in the two APs shown in FIG. 3A. In FIG. 3A shows two access points (AP1 and AP2) and three STAs (STA1, STA2 and STA3). AP1 and AP2 are an example of APs adjacent to each other. As shown in FIG. 3A, STA1 and STA2 are in radio communication with AP1, and STA3 is in radio communication with AP2. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3A, STA2 is located at the cell edge between AP1 and AP2. In FIG. 3B shows an exemplary resource allocation in AP1 and AP2, respectively.

[0023] In coordinated OFDMA, multiple APs perform coordinated work. However, during data transmission to a specific user (STA), the OFDMA coordinated access dynamically switches from multiple APs to APs with good communication quality.

[0024] For example, an adjacent AP that is the main source of interference to an STA that transmits data reduces the impact of interference and increases the throughput of the STA by configuring an RU (as a non-dedicated RU) that has been allocated to the STA. In the example shown in FIG. 3A and 3B, AP2 adjacent to AP1, which is a communication partner of STA2, is a source of interference to STA2 located at the cell edge. In this example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the RU that is allocated to STA2 in AP1 and used to transmit data between STA2 and AP1 is set as a non-STA allocated RU (non-allocated RU) in AP2. This reduces the interference from AP2 and increases the throughput of STA2.

[0025] In this case, "non-allocated RU" refers, in AP1, for example, to an RU that is not allocated to any of the STAs within the coverage of AP1, while "dedicated RU" refers, in AP1, for example, to an RU that is allocated one of the STAs within AP1 coverage. For example, an RU that was set as a "non-dedicated RU" in AP1 may be a "dedicated RU" in another AP (eg, AP2).

[0026] In downlink MU transmission using a HE MU PPDU in 11ax, setting the identifier of a specific STA (eg, STA1) to the STA identifier included in the SIG-B user field allows the RU associated with the user field to be reported , is the RU allocated to STA1 (allocated to RU STA1). Additionally, setting an unused associated identifier (AID) (eg, "2046") to the STA ID included in the SIG-B user field allows the RU associated with the user field to be reported as an unallocated RU (eg, see NPL 2 ).

[0027] To improve the throughput of OFDMA and/or DPS coordinated access, an AP that performs a coordinated transmission must dynamically schedule dedicated and non-dedicated RUs according to the channel quality performance of multiple STAs within the AP's coverage and notify the multiple STAs within the AP's coverage.

[0028] However, in the case where an unallocated RU is reported using a HE MU PPDU in 11ax, a user field (21 bits in the example shown in FIG. 2) including a STA ID field in which the unused AID is set is reported. and having the same size as the user field in the case where the allocated RU is reported. Although the user field including the STA ID field in which the unused AID is set is the user field associated with an unallocated RU, i.e., an RU that is not using any STA, this user field includes a subfield with information about signal transmission (for example, the “Spatial Configuration” subfield, etc.), so that the signaling is lost. Accordingly, when Multi-AP coordination is applied in 11be, the number of dynamic unallocated RU messages from the AP increases and the resource consumption of control information in the HE MU PPDU increases.

[0029] Additionally, 11be discussed expanding the maximum channel bandwidth from 160 MHz to 320 MHz. The RU Allocation Scheme information (RU Allocation Subfield) included in SIG-B is reported every 20 MHz, so as channel bandwidth increases, signaling overhead increases due to the influence of the user field in which the unallocated RU is reported.

[0030] It should be noted that the STA performs decoding processing for each field of the user block and extracts the user field. For example, in the case where the AP sets the user field associated with an unallocated RU to be a user field that includes the STA ID field in which the unused AID is set and does not include a subfield with other signaling information (e.g. subfield "Spatial configuration" or the like), to reduce resource consumption, the size of the user block field is changed. Since the STA is unable to capture the size of the user block field before decoding, the STA may be unable to correctly decode the user block field. Alternatively, in the event that the STA attempts to perform decoding processing of a user block field having a variable size in all size schemes that must be adopted for the user block field in order to be correctly decoded, the processing load in the STA increases.

[0031] Accordingly, since even the user field associated with an unallocated RU has a fixed size, as well as the size of the user field associated with a dedicated RU, signaling resource consumption increases.

[0032] In view of the above, in one embodiment of the present invention, a method for properly controlling Multi-AP coordination processing and reducing resource consumption for MU signaling will be described.

[0033]

[Radio System Configuration]

The radio communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes at least one AP and a plurality of STAs.

[0034] For example, when performing DL communications (eg, transmitting and receiving DL data), an AP (also called a “downlink radio transmission apparatus”) performs MU transmission of DL signals on the downlink to a plurality of STAs (also called “ devices for radio reception on the downlink"). Each STA receives a DL signal for the STA from a signal transmitted using MU transmission on the downlink.

[0035]

[Example of radio system configuration related to DL communication]

First, a configuration example of a radio communication system related to DL communication will be described. The radio communication system related to DL communication includes, for example, a downlink radio transmission apparatus 10 (eg, an AP) and a downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 (eg, an STA).

[0036] The radio downlink transmission apparatus 10 transmits, for example, a control signal (eg, SIG-B) of the preamble, which includes general information and user information, and a DL data signal, which is set based on the control signal, to the apparatus 200 for downlink radio reception. The downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 receives a control signal and a DL data signal transmitted from the downlink radio transmission apparatus 10. It should be noted that the preamble may be included, for example, in a physical data channel for MU transmission (eg, MU PPDU).

[0037] In FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In the downlink radio transmission apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4, the controller generates general information (eg, information in a common field) that is common to multiple users and includes information about an unallocated resource, and user-specific information (eg, information in a user-specific field) that is specific to each of a plurality of users, and the radio transmitter transmits a control signal (eg, SIG-B) including general information and user-specific information.

[0038] In FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion of the downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 5, the radio receiver receives a control signal that includes general information (eg, information in a common field) that is common to multiple users and includes information about an unallocated resource, and user-specific information (eg, information in a user-specific field) that is specific to each of the plurality of users, and the controller determines, based on the unallocated resource information, a resource allocated to the downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 (eg, a terminal or STA).

[0039] <Configuration example of apparatus 100 for downlink radio transmission>

In FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as "AP 100") according to Embodiment 1. AP 100 shown in FIG. 6 includes, for example, a radio transceiver 101, a receive signal demodulator 102, a quality information decoder 103, a scheduler 104, a data encoder 105, a data modulator 106, a frequency selector 107, a preamble generator 108, and a time multiplexer 109.

[0040] For example, the AP 100 shown in FIG. 6 is an example of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4. The controller shown in FIG. 4 may correspond to a processor (eg, scheduler 104 and preamble generator 108) configured to generate the control signal shown in FIG. 6. In addition, the radio transmitter shown in FIG. 4 may correspond, for example, to the radio transceiver 101 shown in FIG. 6.

[0041] The radio transceiver 101 receives a signal transmitted from the downlink radio reception apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7, for example, STA 200) via an antenna and performs radio reception processing including analog-to-digital (A/D) downconversion. C) conversion, etc. of the reception signal. For example, the radio transceiver 101 extracts reception data including quality information from the reception signal subjected to radio reception processing and outputs the reception data to the reception signal demodulator 102 . In addition, the radio transceiver 101 performs radio transmission processing including digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, frequency upconversion to a carrier frequency, and the like, on a signal (eg, MU PPDU) obtained by time multiplexing the preamble and data, and received from the time multiplexer 109. The radio transceiver 101 then transmits the signal subjected to radio transmission processing to the STA 200 via an antenna. The signal transmitted from the STA 200 may include, for example, a preamble (preamble signal or also referred to as a “preamble section”) and data (a data signal or also referred to as a “data section”).

[0042] The reception signal demodulator 102 performs processing including fast Fourier transform (FFT) and the like on the signal received from the radio transceiver 101, and demodulates the data based on the control information and the channel estimation result that are included into the preamble (also called "PPDU header") of the receive signal. The reception signal demodulator 102 outputs the demodulated data signal to the quality information decoder 103 .

[0043] The quality information decoder 103 decodes the radio quality information of the STA 200 from the reception signal received from the reception signal demodulator 102 . The radio quality information may be, for example, channel information (eg, frequency response) for each given frequency resource, may be a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or may be a reception level. The quality information decoder 103 outputs the decoded radio quality information to the scheduler 104.

[0044] The scheduler 104 performs scheduling for the STA 200 based on the radio quality information for each STA 200 received, for example, from the quality information decoder 103. In addition, the scheduler 104 determines the number of STAs to be MU-multiplexed (number of terminals or number of user multiplexing cycles), DL data MCS for each STA, encoding method, allocated RUs, and bandwidth. In addition, in the case where Multi-AP coordination or the like is used, the scheduler 104 determines the RU that is expected to cause great interference to another STA as a non-dedicated RU. In this case, the other STA may be, for example, an STA that is wirelessly connected to an AP adjacent to the AP 100. In addition, a non-dedicated RU corresponds to, for example, an RU that is not dedicated to an STA that is wirelessly connected to itself. AP 100.

[0045] The scheduler 104 outputs scheduling information indicating the scheduling result to the data encoder 105, data modulator 106, frequency selector 107, and preamble generator 108.

[0046] Data encoder 105 encodes a sequence of data (DL data) addressed to STA 200 based on scheduling information (eg, encoding method or MCS) received from scheduler 104. Data encoder 105 outputs the encoded data to data modulator 106.

[0047] Data modulator 106 modulates the encoded data received from data encoder 105 based on scheduling information (eg, frequency resource or MCS) received from scheduler 104. Data modulator 106 outputs the modulated data to frequency allocator 107.

[0048] Frequency allocator 107 matches the modulated data received from data modulator 106 with the RU allocated to STA 200 based on scheduling information (e.g., frequency allocation information) received from scheduler 104. Frequency allocator 107 then performs reverse processing. fast Fourier transform (IFFT) and generates an OFDM signal. The frequency selector 107 outputs the OFDM signal to the time multiplexer 109.

[0049] The preamble generator 108 includes an STA-general information generator 108a and an STA-specific information generator 108b. The preamble generator 108 generates a preamble including STA-general information and STA-specific information based on scheduling information (e.g., number of transmission terminals, encoding method, MCS, and frequency allocation (including unallocated RU)) received from the scheduler 104. The preamble generator 108 outputs the generated preamble to the time multiplexer 109. The STA-general information may include information associated with the non-dedicated RU (non-dedicated RU information). The non-allocated RU information may be information that explicitly or implicitly points to (identifies) the non-allocated RU.

[0050] The STA-common information generator 108a generates, based on the scheduling information, STA-common control information that is subject to MU multiplexing. The control information common to the STA that is subject to MU multiplexing corresponds to the common information to the STA. STA-wide information includes, for example, RU allocation scheme and non-allocated RU information for STA 200 multiplexed within the channel bandwidth.

[0051] The RU allocation scheme indicates, for example, each size of at least one RU defined in the channel bandwidth, and the allocation (eg, arrangement order) of at least one RU in the channel bandwidth. For example, an RU allocation scheme is selected from a plurality of RU allocation scheme candidates.

[0052] It should be noted that a method for generating information about an unallocated RU will be described below.

[0053] The STA-specific information generator 108b generates, based on the scheduling information, STA-specific control information for the purpose of allocating frequency resources. The STA-specific control information corresponds to the STA-specific information. The STA-specific information includes, for example, STA ID, MCS, etc. It should be noted that the STA-specific information for each STA 200 to be MU-multiplexed is reported using a user field. The allocation order (arrangement order) of user fields for each STA 200 in the preamble (eg, HE MU PPDU) may be determined in accordance with the RU allocation scheme. For example, the user fields are arranged according to the order of the RUs from among the RUs in the RU allocation scheme, excluding the unallocated RU(s) (i.e., allocated RUs).

[0054] The STA-specific information generator 108b generates a preamble by adding the STA-specific information to the STA-general information received from the STA-general information generator 108a, and outputs the generated preamble to the time multiplexer 109.

[0055] The time multiplexer 109 generates a transmission signal (eg, a MU PPDU signal) by time multiplexing the preamble input from the preamble generator 108 and the data signal output from the frequency selector 107. For example, in time multiplexing, the data signal is multiplexed after the preamble in the time direction. The time multiplexer 109 outputs the transmission signal to the radio transceiver 101.

[0056] The radio transceiver 101 performs radio transmission processing including D/A conversion, frequency upconversion to a carrier frequency, etc., on the transmission signal received from the time multiplexer 109, and transmits the signal subjected to the radio transmission processing to the STA 200 via antenna.

[0057] <Configuration example of apparatus 200 for downlink radio reception>

In FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving apparatus 200 (eg, STA 200) according to Embodiment 1. The STA 200 shown in FIG. 7 includes, for example, a radio transceiver 201, a splitter 202, a frequency extractor 203, a preamble decoder 204, a data demodulator 205, a data decoder 206, a quality evaluator 207, and a modulator 208.

[0058] For example, the STA 200 shown in FIG. 7 is an example of the downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 5. The controller shown in FIG. 5 may correspond to a processor (eg, preamble decoder 204 or the like) configured to decode the control signal and determine an allocated RU based on the control signal (FIG. 7). In addition, the radio receiver shown in FIG. 5 may correspond, for example, to the radio transceiver 201 shown in FIG. 7.

[0059] The radio transceiver 201 performs radio transmission processing including D/A conversion, frequency upconversion to a carrier frequency, etc., on the transmission signal received from the modulator 208, and transmits the signal subjected to the radio transmission processing to the AP 100 via antenna. In addition, the radio transceiver 201 performs radio reception processing including frequency down conversion, D/A conversion, etc. on the signal received through the antenna, and outputs the signal subjected to the radio reception processing to the splitter 202.

[0060] Separator 202 separates, in the time domain, the data and preamble from the signal subjected to radio reception processing. The splitter 202 outputs data to a frequency extractor 203 and outputs a preamble to a preamble decoder 204 and a quality evaluator 207 .

[0061] The preamble decoder 204 includes an STA-general information decoder 204a and an STA-specific information decoder 204b.

[0062] The STA common information decoder 204A demodulates and decodes the STA common information from the preamble received from the separator 202 and extracts the STA common information. The STA-common information decoder 204a determines the dedicated RU that is allocated to the STA 200 in the channel bandwidth (eg, 20 MHz bandwidth) based on the RU allocation pattern and the non-dedicated RU information included in the extracted STA-common information. Then, the STA-general information decoder 204a outputs information about the specific allocated RU to the STA-specific information decoder 204b. In addition, the STA-general information decoder 204a extracts a signal including STA-specific information from the preamble received from the separator 202, and outputs this signal to the STA-specific information decoder 204b. It should be noted that a method for determining an allocated RU based on an RU allocation pattern and information about a non-allocated RU will be described below.

[0063] The STA-specific information decoder 204b demodulates and decodes the STA-specific information supplied from the STA-general information decoder 204a and extracts the STA-specific information. The STA-specific information decoder 204b decodes the user fields included in the STA-specific information and arranged in the order of the allocated RUs, and determines whether the STA identifiers correspond to the home terminal identifier set in advance. The STA-specific information decoder 204b determines that the user field in which an identifier corresponding to the home terminal ID is set in advance as the STA ID is control information addressed to the home terminal. The STA-specific information decoder 204b outputs the STA-specific control information included in the user field and addressed to the home terminal to the data demodulator 205 and the data decoder 206. In addition, the STA-specific information decoder 204b determines the dedicated RU that is allocated to the home terminal based on the order of pieces of control information addressed to the home terminal and the dedicated RU information received from the STA-general information decoder 204a. The STA-specific information decoder 204b outputs the allocated RU, which is allocated to the home terminal, to the frequency extractor 203.

[0064] Frequency extractor 203 extracts (unpacks), from a reception signal that is transmitted using at least one RU and includes signal(s) addressed to at least one STA, the reception data signal(s) , addressed to the home terminal(s), which is included in the dedicated RU received from the preamble decoder 204, and outputs the extracted data signal to the data demodulator 205.

[0065] The data demodulator 205 performs processing, including channel equalization, demodulation, etc., on the data signal received from the frequency extractor 203 based on control information (eg, MCS, encoding method, etc.) received from the preamble decoder 204, and retrieves demodulation data addressed to its own terminal. The data demodulator 205 outputs the extracted demodulation data to the data decoder 206 .

[0066] The data decoder 206 decodes the required data from the demodulation data supplied from the data demodulator 205 based on control information (eg, MCS, encoding method, etc.) supplied from the preamble decoder 204.

[0067] Quality evaluator 207 performs channel estimation based on a reference signal (e.g., STF, LTF) included in the preamble received from separator 202 and generates radio quality information indicating at least one of the radio quality indicators (e.g., frequency characteristic and SNR) estimated for each given frequency resource. The quality evaluator 207 outputs an uplink signal including radio quality information to the modulator 208.

[0068] The modulator 208 performs processing, including IFFT processing, modulation, and the like, on the signal received from the quality evaluator 207, and generates an uplink signal (eg, a data signal, also called an “OFDM signal”) subjected to modulation. The modulator 208 outputs the modulated uplink signal to the radio transceiver 201. It should be noted that the modulator 208 can perform processing, including IFFT processing, modulation, and the like, on the uplink signal including data, control information and so on.

[0069]

[Example of AP and STA operation]

Next, an operating example of the AP 100 and STA 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0070] For example, in a single PPDU header (also called "preamble") including STA-general information and STA-specific information for multiple STAs 200 multiplexed using MU-MIMO or OFDMA, AP 100 includes information about an unallocated RU into general STA information. The information about the unallocated RU is, for example, information about a bitmap indicating the unallocated RU and/or information about the adjacent bandwidth of the unallocated RU. In addition, AP 100 transmits STA-specific information including a user field associated with the allocated RU. It should be noted that the STA-specific information in Embodiment 1 may not include a user field associated with an unallocated RU (eg, a user field in which the unused ID is included in the in-use ID field).

[0071] The following describes, by way of example, a method for transmitting information about an unallocated RU in a control information format for MU transmission in 11ax (eg, SIG-B in the case of DL MU transmission).

[0072] In FIG. Figure 8 shows an example of a candidate list for an RU allocation scheme. In the list shown in FIG. 8, candidate allocation schemes for RU are indicated, taking into account the minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax). The list shown in FIG. 8 includes a plurality of designs that differ from each other in at least one of the size per RU and the allocation (order of arrangement) of each RU with respect to the nine minimum allocation granularity RUs, RU #1 to RU #9, in bandwidth channel.

[0073] For example, in circuit 0 of FIG. 8, nine RUs with minimal allocation granularity are defined as nine RUs without resizing. In addition, in scheme 1 in FIG. 8 RU No. 1-RU No. 7 are defined as RU without changing the size, and RU No. 8 and RU No. 9 are defined as one RU having a size of 52 tones. In scheme 3 in FIG. 8 RU No. 1-RU No. 5 are defined as RU without changing the size, RU No. 6 and RU No. 7 are defined as one RU having a size of 52 tones, and RU No. 8 and RU No. 9 are defined as one RU having a size of 52 tones . In other words, in circuit 3 of FIG. 8 seven RUs are defined.

[0074] AP 100 selects one RU allocation scheme from among the RU allocation scheme candidates shown, for example, in FIG. 8. The AP 100 then reports information (N-bit indices in FIG. 8) indicating the selected RU allocation scheme using the RU allocation field of common STA information. In addition, AP 100 allocates RUs included in the selected RU allocation scheme to the STA. The AP 100 then arranges the pieces of STA-specific information in accordance with the order in which the RUs included in the selected RU allocation scheme are allocated to the STA. In addition, the AP 100 reports information about, among the RUs included in the selected RU allocation scheme, the RUs (non-allocated RUs) that/are not allocated to any STA, using information common to the STAs.

[0075] Next, an example of STA-general information and an example of STA-specific information in the case where the AP 100 selects scheme 2 of FIG. 8 and allocates RU according to scheme 2 for four STAs (STA No. 1-STA No. 4).

[0076] In FIG. 9 shows an example of the DL MU signal format in Embodiment 1. In FIG. 9 shows STA-general information (general field) and STA-specific information (user-specific field). It should be noted that the description of the same fields and subfields in FIG. 9, as in the STA-general information and the STA-specific information illustrated in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

[0077] In the STA-general information shown in FIG. 9, there is a subfield (non-allocated RU subfield) in which information about the non-allocated RU is reported. In addition, the STA-specific information shown in FIG. 9 includes user fields in an amount corresponding to the number of allocated RUs (allocated RUs).

[0078] The non-allocated RU field may be bit pattern information indicating whether the RU is a non-allocated RU for each minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax) of the RU allocation scheme.

[0079] In FIG. 10 shows a first example of information about an unallocated RU. For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 10, the non-dedicated RU field may indicate whether the RU is a non-dedicated RU based on the bit pattern information of 9 bits.

[0080] In FIG. 10, the RU allocation field indicates that the RU allocation scheme is scheme 2 shown in FIG. 8 (a scheme in which 26-tone RUs are located in the frequency bands from RU No. 1 to RU No. 5, RU No. 8 and RU No. 9, and a 52-tone RU is located in the frequency bands RU No. 6 and RU No. 7). In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, RU No. 1 is allocated to STA No. 1, RU No. 3 is allocated to STA No. 2, RU No. 6 and RU No. 7 are allocated to STA No. 3, and RU No. 9 is allocated to STA No. 4 in the RU allocation scheme of Scheme 2.

[0081] The Unallocated RU field included in the STA-wide information indicates whether RU #1 to RU #9 are unallocated RUs. In the example shown in FIG. 10, RU No. 2, RU No. 4, RU No. 5 and RU No. 8 are non-dedicated RUs, and the remaining RUs are dedicated RUs. Accordingly, in the case that "1" is associated with non-dedicated RUs and "0" is associated with dedicated RUs, the non-dedicated RU field indicates the 9-bit circuit information "010110010" as shown in FIG. 10. It should be noted that in this case, the RUs allocated to the STAs are arranged in the order of STA #1, STA #2, STA #3 and STA #4 in the RU allocation scheme. Accordingly, in the STA-specific information (user-specific field), the STA user fields are arranged in the order of STA #1, STA #2, STA #3, and STA #4.

[0082] It should be noted that the information to be indicated in the unallocated RU field is not limited to the bit pattern described above. For example, this information may be information in which the non-allocated RUs are limited to adjacent RUs in an RU allocation scheme, and the information about the non-allocated RU indicates "the starting RU in the non-allocated RUs and the number of adjacent non-allocated RUs." This example will be described next.

[0083] In FIG. 11 shows a second example of information about an unallocated RU.

[0084] In the same manner as in FIG. 10, in FIG. 11, the RU allocation field indicates that the RU allocation scheme is scheme 2 shown in FIG. 8. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 11, RU No. 1 is allocated to STA No. 1, RU No. 2 is allocated to STA No. 3, RU No. 8 is allocated to STA No. 2 and RU No. 9 is allocated to STA No. 4 in the RU allocation scheme according to scheme 2. In this case, RU No. 3-RU No. 7 are non-allocated RUs. In the example shown in FIG. 11, unallocated RUs are located contiguously in the RU allocation scheme.

[0085] The unallocated RU field included in the STA-general information indicates the starting RU in the unallocated RUs (RU #3 in FIG. 11) and the number of adjacent unallocated RUs (5 in FIG. 11). In this case, the size of the unallocated RU field may be 6 bits. It should be noted that in the example shown in FIG. 11, the RUs allocated to STAs in the RU allocation scheme are arranged in the following order: STA #1, STA #3, STA #2, and STA #4. Accordingly, in the STA-specific information (user-specific field), the STA user fields are arranged in the following order: STA #1, STA #3, STA #2, and STA #4.

[0086] As illustrated in FIG. 10 and 11, user fields associated with non-allocated RUs are not included in STA-specific information by including information about the non-allocated RU in STA-general information, so that the signaling amount of STA-specific information can be reduced. Accordingly, even in the case where Multi-AP coordination is applied, an unallocated RU can be dynamically communicated with little resource consumption and throughput can be increased.

[0087] It should be noted that the size of the unallocated RU field may be changed according to the number of RUs in the RU allocation scheme that need to be reported. In the event that the size of the unallocated RU field is configured to be variable, other information may be added to the STA-shared information so that the overall size of the STA-shared information does not change.

[0088] In FIG. 12 shows an example of common STA information when the size of the unallocated RU field is configured as a variable size. In FIG. 12 shows an example of an RU allocation scheme in which four RUs are defined, each of which has a size of 52 tones (hereinafter referred to as “RU allocation scheme X”), and an example of an RU allocation scheme in which nine RUs are defined, each of which has a size of 26 tones. (hereinafter referred to as “RU allocation scheme Y”).

[0089] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the maximum value of the non-dedicated RU field size may be defined as 9 bits, and if the size of the non-dedicated RU field is less than the maximum value, other information (eg, transmission power control information or the like) may be included. As shown in FIG. 12, for example, in the RU allocation scheme X, the size of the non-allocated RU field is configured to be 4 bits and transmission power control information (power control) is included (5 bits) in the STA common information. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, in case of applying the RU allocation scheme Y, the size of the non-allocated RU field is configured to be 9 bits (maximum size). The full size of the STA-shared information can be corrected by the specified size adjustment.

[0090] In addition, the size of the unallocated RU bitmap information field may be limited by limiting the size of the unallocated RU to a size that is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. For example, the size of an unallocated RU may be limited to 52 tones or more, and the bitmap size may be reduced to 4 bits (the number of bits that is equal to the maximum number of RUs per channel bandwidth of 52 tones).

[0091] As described above, in Embodiment 1, information about an unallocated RU is reported using STA-general information. Such a message can reduce the signaling overhead associated with the message, thereby achieving more efficient management of Multi-AP coordination.

[0092] (Embodiment 2)

In Embodiment 2, the same as in Example 1, information about the non-allocated RU is reported using common STA information. In Embodiment 2, the information about the unallocated RU is reported in a form different from its form in Embodiment 1.

[0093] <Example configuration of apparatus 300 for downlink radio transmission>

In FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission apparatus 300 (hereinafter referred to as "AP 300") according to Embodiment 2. It should be noted that in FIG. 13 are the same configurations as those in FIG. 6 may be designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof may be omitted.

[0094] AP 300 shown in FIG. 13 has a configuration in which the scheduler 104 and preamble generator 108 of the AP 100 shown in FIG. 6 are replaced by a scheduler 304 and a preamble generator 308, respectively.

[0095] For example, the AP 300 illustrated in FIG. 13 is another example of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 4. The controller shown in FIG. 4 may correspond to a processor (eg, scheduler 304, preamble generator 308, etc.) configured to generate the control signal of FIG. 13. In addition, the radio transmitter shown in FIG. 4 may correspond, for example, to the radio transceiver 101 shown in FIG. 13.

[0096] The preamble generator 308 includes an STA-general information generator 308a, an STA-specific information generator 308b, and an RU allocation circuit store 308c. Preamble generator 308 generates a preamble including STA-general information and STA-specific information based on scheduling information (e.g., number of transmission terminals, coding method, MCS, and frequency allocation (including unallocated RU)) received from scheduler 304. The preamble generator 308 outputs the generated preamble to the time multiplexer 109.

[0097] RU allocation scheme store 308c stores RU allocation scheme candidates to be included in STA-general information. RU allocation scheme candidates include RU allocation scheme(s) including an unallocated RU. RU allocation scheme store 308c outputs stored RU allocation scheme candidates to scheduler 304 and STA common information generator 308a.

[0098] The scheduler 304 determines the unallocated RU and the RU to be allocated by the STA from among the candidates of the RU allocation scheme including the unallocated RU to be determined using the RU allocation scheme, and outputs information about the determined unallocated and allocated RUs (scheduling information, including frequency allocation information) to the preamble generator 308 and the frequency allocator 107. It should be noted that in the event that each RU defined in the channel bandwidth is allocated to an STA, the scheduler 304 will not be able to determine an unallocated RU.

[0099] The STA common information generator 308a determines the RU allocation pattern information (RU allocation field) to be included in the STA common information based on the frequency allocation information from the scheduler 304 and from the RU allocation pattern stored in the allocation pattern storage 308c RU.

[0100] The STA-specific information generator 308b generates, based on the scheduling information, STA-specific information (eg, STA ID, MCS, etc.) on each STA to which a frequency resource is allocated. It should be noted that STA-specific control information on each STA to be MU-multiplexed is reported using user fields. The allocation order (arrangement order) of the user fields for each STA in the preamble (eg, HE MU PPDU) may be determined in accordance with the RU allocation scheme. For example, user fields are arranged according to the order in the RU allocation scheme, excluding the unallocated RU(s).

[0101] The STA-specific information generator 308b generates a preamble by adding the STA-specific information to the STA-general information received from the STA-general information generator 308a, and outputs the preamble to the time multiplexer 109.

[0102] <Example 400 configuration for downlink radio reception>

In FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio receiving apparatus 400 (eg, STA 400) according to Embodiment 2. It should be noted that in FIG. 14 are the same configurations as those in FIG. 7 may be designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof may be omitted.

[0103] The STA 400 shown in FIG. 14 is configured in which the preamble decoder 204 of the STA 200 shown in FIG. 7, replaced by preamble decoder 404.

[0104] For example, the STA 400 shown in FIG. 14 is an example of the downlink radio receiving apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 5. The controller shown in FIG. 5 may correspond to a processor (eg, preamble decoder 404 or the like) configured to decode the control signal and determine an allocated RU based on the control signal (FIG. 14). In addition, the radio receiver shown in FIG. 5 may correspond, for example, to the radio transceiver 201 shown in FIG. 14.

[0105] The preamble decoder 404 includes an STA-general information decoder 404a, an STA-specific information decoder 404b, and an RU allocation circuit store 404c.

[0106] In the same manner as the RU allocation scheme store 308c of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 300 described above, the RU allocation scheme store 404c stores RU allocation scheme candidates including RU allocation scheme(s) including yourself unselected RU.

[0107] The STA common information decoder 404A demodulates and decodes the STA common information from the preamble received from the separator 202 and extracts the STA common information. The STA-common information decoder 404a determines the dedicated RU that is allocated to the STA 400 and the non-dedicated RU in the channel bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz bandwidth) based on the RU allocation scheme included in the extracted STA-common information and the RU allocation scheme candidates. stored in the RU allocation circuit storage 404c. The STA-specific information decoder 404a then outputs information about the specific allocated RU and non-allocated RU(s) to the STA-specific information decoder 404b. In addition, the STA-general information decoder 404a extracts a signal including the STA-specific information from the preamble received from the separator 202 and outputs the signal to the STA-specific information decoder 404b.

[0108] The STA-specific information decoder 404b demodulates and decodes the STA-specific information received from the STA-general information decoder 404a and extracts the STA-specific information. The STA-specific information decoder 404b decodes the user fields included in the STA-specific information and arranged in the order of the allocated RUs, and determines whether the STA identifiers correspond to the home terminal identifier set in advance. The STA-specific information decoder 404b determines that the user field in which an ID corresponding to the home terminal ID is set in advance as the STA ID is control information addressed to the home terminal. The STA-specific information decoder 404b outputs the STA-specific control information included in the user field and addressed to the home terminal to the data demodulator 205 and the data decoder 206. In addition, the STA-specific information decoder 404b outputs the allocated RU, which is allocated to the home terminal, to the frequency extractor 203.

[0109] As described above, in Embodiment 1, a non-allocated RU field provided separately from the RU allocation scheme information (RU Allocation field) indicates information about the non-allocated RU. In Embodiment 2, the RU allocation scheme candidates include RU allocation scheme(s) including an unallocated RU, such that the RU allocation scheme(s) specified in the RU allocation scheme information is ( specified) (defined(defined)) unselected(s) RU.

[0110]

[Example of AP and STA operation]

Next, an operating example of the AP 300 and STA 400 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0111] The following describes, by way of example, a method for transmitting information about an unassigned RU in a control information format for MU transmission in 11ax (eg, SIG-B in the case of DL MU transmission).

[0112] In FIG. 15 shows an example of the DL MU signal format in Embodiment 2. In FIG. 15 shows STA-general information (general field) and STA-specific information (user-specific field). It should be noted that the description of the same fields and subfields in FIG. 15, as in the STA-general information and the STA-specific information illustrated in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

[0113] The STA-general information shown in FIG. 15 includes the same fields and subfields as the STA-general information shown in FIG. 1, but by using the RU allocation scheme information (eg, the RU allocation subfield) included in the STA-wide information, the STAs 400 report the RU allocation scheme including the unallocated RU.

[0114] In FIG. 16 shows a first example of the RU allocation scheme candidate list in Embodiment 2. As in FIG. 8, in FIG. Figure 16 shows candidate allocation schemes for RUs, taking into account the minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax). However, the RU allocation scheme candidates shown in FIG. 16 include RU allocation schemes including an unallocated RU.

[0115] For example, as shown in one example in FIG. 16, RU allocation schemes including a non-allocated RU included in RU allocation scheme candidates are all schemes in which the total size of the non-allocated RU is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 26 × 4 tones or more), or is limited to one scheme or some schemes from all schemes.

[0116] In FIG. 17 shows a second example of the RU allocation scheme candidate list in Embodiment 2. As in FIG. 8, in FIG. Figure 17 shows candidate allocation schemes for RU, taking into account the minimum allocation granularity (26 tones in the case of 11ax). However, the RU allocation scheme candidates shown in FIG. 17 include RU allocation schemes including an unallocated RU.

[0117] For example, as shown in one example in FIG. 17, RU allocation schemes including an unallocated RU included in RU allocation scheme candidates are all schemes in which the size of a set of contiguous unallocated RUs is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, at least 106 tones), or is limited to one scheme or some schemes from all schemes.

[0118] It should be noted that RU allocation schemes including a non-allocated RU may be all schemes in which the number of contiguous non-allocated RUs forming a set of contiguous non-allocated RUs is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, at least three) or may be limited to one scheme or some schemes from all schemes.

[0119] It should be noted that with respect to RU allocation schemes including a non-allocated RU, there may be no restrictions on the size, number, positions, and/or the like of the non-allocated RUs.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 16 and 17, information about the non-allocated RU may be reported in the RU allocation field of the STA common information by determining the RU allocation scheme(s) including the non-allocated RU among the RU allocation scheme candidates. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 16 and 17, the number of RU allocation scheme candidates may be limited by limiting the RU allocation scheme(s) including an unallocated RU included in the RU allocation scheme candidates based on the number, size, position(s), and/or the like. n. of unallocated RU(s), due to which resource consumption for signaling can be reduced.

[0121] For example, preferably including RU allocation scheme(s) with a large number of unallocated RUs in RU allocation scheme candidates can increase the resource saving effect relative to the method of reporting the user field(s) associated with the unallocated RU(s). In addition, coordinated transmission with high frequency allocation granularity can preferably be performed, and the scheduler and feedback control system can be simplified by preferably including RU allocation scheme(s) with unallocated RUs having a large size in RU allocation scheme candidates, as shown in FIG. 17. Since the scheduler and feedback control system can be simplified, the implementation complexity can be reduced.

[0122] It should be noted that in the case that an unallocated RU that is not included in the RU allocation scheme is reported, the unallocated RU may be reported using a user field in which the STA ID field is set to an unused AID, in the same manner as as in the prior art, whereby the reduction in the degree of planning freedom can be eliminated.

[0123] It should be noted that RU allocation scheme candidates, including RU allocation scheme(s) including an unallocated RU, can be determined for each BSS (AP) by transmitting to a plurality of STAs within the AP's beacon coverage or the like. In addition, multiple RU allocation scheme candidates (eg, the lists illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17) can be defined with specifications (specs), and dynamic switching can be performed by communicating the numbers of the RU allocation scheme candidates that will be be used for multiple STAs within the coverage of the AP, using a beacon or the like according to the communication situation. For example, a suitable RU allocation scheme can be set according to the communication situation, such as the number of STAs within coverage in a coordinated BSS.

[0124] In addition, RU allocation scheme candidates including RU allocation scheme(s) including an unallocated RU may be defined separately from the conventional RU allocation scheme candidates defined in 11ax (as, for example, shown in FIG. . 8). Alternatively, the RU allocation scheme(s) including the unallocated RU may be replaced by the regular RU allocation scheme(s) defined in 11ax.

[0125] As described above, in Embodiment 2, information about the non-allocated RU is reported using STA-general information in the same manner as in Embodiment 1. However, in Embodiment 2, information about the non-allocated RU is reported using the RU Allocation field of the STA common information. Such a message can reduce the signaling overhead associated with the message, thereby achieving more efficient management of Multi-AP coordination.

[0126] (Embodiment 3)

In Embodiment 3, a choice is made between the case where the non-allocated RU information is reported using STA-general information and the case where the non-allocated RU information is reported using STA-specific information.

[0127] <Example 500 configuration for radio downlink transmission>

In FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio transmission apparatus 500 (eg, AP 500) according to Embodiment 3. It should be noted that in FIG. 18 are the same configurations as those in FIG. 6 may be designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof may be omitted.

[0128] The downlink radio transmission apparatus 500 shown in FIG. 18 has a configuration in which the preamble generator 108 of the downlink radio transmission apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 6, replaced by a preamble generator 508 and a format controller 510 added.

[0129] The format controller 510 determines, based on the allocated RU and non-allocated RU information from the scheduler 104, whether the allocated RU and non-allocated RU information is included in STA-general information or in STA-specific information. Then, the format controller 510 performs, based on the specified determination, control to switch the preamble format. The format controller 510 provides a preamble format instruction to the preamble generator 508 . It should be noted that a method for controlling format switching using the format controller 510 will be described below.

[0130] Preamble generator 508 generates, based on instructions from format controller 510, a preamble to which a format is applied to report RU allocation information, including allocated and unallocated RUs. Preamble generator 508 includes information (eg, referred to as “RU allocation format”) for providing instructions about the format to be used to the STA 600 in the STA-general information. For example, the RU allocation format is included in common STA information such as HE-SIG-A (see FIG. 1). It should be noted that HE-SIG-A includes control information for demodulating HE-SIG-B. It should be noted that the RU allocation information may be the same as or different from the RU allocation scheme information described above.

[0131] <Example 600 configuration for downlink radio reception>

In FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a downlink radio reception apparatus 600 (eg, an STA) according to Embodiment 3. It should be noted that in FIG. 19 are the same configurations as those in FIG. 7 may be designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof may be omitted.

[0132] The downlink radio receiving apparatus 600 shown in FIG. 19 has a configuration in which the preamble decoder 204 of the downlink radio receiving apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 7, replaced by preamble decoder 604.

[0133] Preamble decoder 604 determines, for example, the format of control information (eg, HE-SIG-B) including allocated RU and non-allocated RU information based on the format information (RU Allocation Format) included in the common STA information (eg HE-SIG-A) of the received preamble. Then, the preamble decoder 604 decodes control information (dedicated RU, MCS, etc.) addressed to the home terminal according to a certain format.

[0134]

[Example of AP and STA operation]

Next, an operating example of the AP 500 and STA 600 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0135] Next, a method for switching a format including a dedicated RU for a control information format for MU transmission in 11ax (eg, SIG-B in the case of DL MU transmission) will be described as an example.

[0136] For example, the AP 500 format controller 510 selects a less resource-consuming format based on the number of allocated RUs and the number of unallocated RUs from the scheduler 104.

[0137] In FIG. 20 shows exemplary preamble formats to be selected in Embodiment 3. In FIG. 20 shows two formats: format A and format B.

[0138] The RU allocation pattern notified by the RU allocation field of format A is determined, for example, from among the RU allocation pattern candidates shown in FIG. 8. In addition, the STA-specific information of format A includes user fields in an amount corresponding to the number of RUs included in the RU allocation scheme. In this case, the unallocated RU is indicated (defined) by setting the unused AID in the STA ID field of the user field.

[0139] For example, in the case that the number of unallocated RUs is large (in case the number of allocated RUs is small), the format controller 510 selects format B. According to format B, user fields corresponding to the number of allocated RUs are included in STA-specific information. In addition, the RU allocation information (RU allocation field) is not included in the STA-general information, but in the user field of the STA-specific information. It should be noted that the RU allocation information included in the STA-specific information is configured as information indicating not the RU allocation scheme over the entire channel bandwidth, but the location of the STA RUs corresponding to the user fields (for example, this information may be the same as terminal-specific RU allocation information used in the Trigger frame in 11ax).

[0140] The terminal-specific RU allocation information may be bitmap information indicating whether the RU is an allocated RU or a non-allocated RU, for each minimum allocated RU size. Alternatively, in the method, the allocation for the STA is limited to the adjacent bandwidth allocation, and the starting RU number and the number of adjacent allocated RUs are reported.

[0141] In the case where the number of unallocated RUs is large, the number of user fields is small so that the increase in resource consumption does not occur even if the STA-specific information includes RU allocation information specified in Format B.

[0142] In case the number of unallocated RUs is small (in case the number of allocated RUs is large), on the other hand, the format controller 510 selects format A. According to format A, the same as in 11ax, information RU allocation information is included in the STA-general information, and user fields in a number corresponding to the number of RUs determined by the RU allocation information are included in the STA-specific information. Additionally, according to Format A, just like in 11ax, an unallocated RU is specified by setting the unused AID in the STA ID field.

[0143] In case the number of allocated RUs is large, the number of user fields is also large, and increased resource consumption is prevented by including the RU allocation information in the STA-wide information specified in Format A.

[0144] As described above, in Embodiment 3, signaling resource consumption can be reduced by controlling the format according to the allocated and unallocated RUs.

[0145] It should be noted that a combination of the above-described embodiments may be used.

[0146] For example, embodiments 1 and 2 may be combined. In case of applying this combination, an unallocated RU included in a RU allocation scheme formed from RUs whose size is equal to or larger than a predetermined value can be reported by bitmap information in the unallocated RU field as specified in Embodiment 1. On the other hand, a non-allocated RU included in an RU allocation circuit formed from RUs whose size is smaller than a predetermined value may be notified by an RU allocation scheme including the non-allocated RU as specified in Embodiment 2.

[0147] In addition, for example, embodiments 1 and 3 can be combined. An example of their combination will be described with reference to FIG. 21.

[0148] In FIG. 21 provides an example of the preamble formats to be selected. In FIG. Figure 21 shows two formats: format C and format D. Format C is the same as the format in 11ax. In Format D, as in Embodiment 1, a non-allocated RU field including information for indicating a non-allocated RU is included in the STA-general information, and user fields corresponding to the number of allocated RUs are included in the STA-specific information.

[0149] In the event that the number of unallocated RUs is less than a predetermined value, a format (HE-SIG-B) may be selected, which is the same as in 11ax (as in format C). In this case, the unallocated RU may be reported by setting the unused AID in the STA ID field of the user field without providing the unallocated RU field in the STA common information. In this case, the specified value may be equal to 1 or may be greater than 1.

[0150] In the event that the number of unallocated RUs is equal to or greater than a specified value, a format is used that includes an unallocated RU field, as in format D. For example, in format D, unallocated RUs may be reported using an unallocated RU field included in the general for STA information as shown in Embodiment 1.

[0151] Information indicating these formats is included, for example, in STA-general information (eg, HE-SIG-A) and reported as in Embodiment 3.

[0152] Embodiments of the present invention have been described above.

[0153] (Other embodiments)

In the above-described embodiments, configuration examples based on the control signal format for MU transmission in 11ax have been described as an example, but the format with which the embodiment of the present invention is applied is not limited to the format in 11ax. An embodiment of the present invention can be applied, for example, to MU transmission that is controlled using STA-general information and STA-specific information.

[0154] For example, the format of a control signal that contains instructions regarding MU transmission is not limited to the format defined in 11ax (eg, a SIG-B frame or a trigger frame).

[0155] In addition, the formats specified in the above-described embodiments are given by way of example and the present invention is not limited to them. For example, one or some of the fields and subfields included in the formats specified in the embodiments described above may be omitted, and field(s) and/or subfield(s) in which another message is reported may be added. information, and/or the order(s) of fields and subfields may be changed. Additionally, the terms "field" and "subfield" can be used interchangeably.

[0156] In addition, the names of pieces of information and fields specified in the above-described embodiments are given as an example, and the present invention is not limited to them.

[0157] In addition, the term “RU allocation” in the embodiments described above refers, for example, to the allocation (size, position and/or arrangement) of RUs in a frequency band (channel bandwidth). The term "dedicated RU" refers, for example, to an RU that is allocated to a user (eg, an STA). The term "unallocated RU" refers, for example, to an RU that is not allocated to a user (eg, an STA).

[0158] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, an example is specified in which the STA-common information is a “common field” of SIG-B and the user-specific information is a “user-specific field” of SIG-B, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, information common to the STA may be included in another preamble field (eg, a field included in SIG-A).

[0159] In the above-described embodiments, a case is presented where the downlink radio transmission apparatus is an AP and the downlink radio receiving apparatus is an STA. However, the downlink radio transmission apparatus and the downlink radio reception apparatus are not limited to this.

[0160] It should be noted that the term "... section" or terms whose ending indicates a device block in the embodiments described above may be replaced by another term such as "... circuit", "... device", "... block" or "... module".

[0161] The present invention may be implemented using software, hardware, or software in conjunction with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each embodiment presented above may be partially or completely implemented by a large integrated circuit (LSI) such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment may be partially or completely controlled by one and the same LSI or combination of LSI. The LSI may be formed individually as dies, or a single die may be formed to include part or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may include data input and output coupled thereto. LSI in the present case may be referred to as integrated circuit, system LSI, super-LSI or super-LSI depending on the degree of integration. However, the implementation method of an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI and can be implemented using a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. Additionally, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) can be used, which can be programmed after the LSI has been manufactured or a reconfigurable processor in which the wiring and settings of the circuit cells located within the LSI can be changed. The present invention may be implemented as digital processing or analog processing. If future integrated circuit technology replaces LSI as a result of developments in semiconductor technology or other derivative technology, the functional blocks may be integrated using the future integrated circuit technology. In addition, biotechnology can be applied.

[0162] The present invention can be implemented using any type of apparatus, device or system having a communication function, which are called communication devices. Non-limiting examples of such communication devices include telephone (e.g., cell phone, smartphone), tablet, personal computer (PC) (e.g., laptop, desktop, netbook), camera (e.g., digital camera/video camera), digital player (digital audio/video player), wearable device (e.g. wearable camera, smart watch, tracking device), game console, digital e-reader, telehealth/medicine device (remote healthcare and medicine) and a vehicle with communication functionality (for example, a car, an aircraft, a ship), as well as various combinations thereof.

[0163] A communication apparatus is not limited to wearable or portable devices and may also include any type of apparatus, device, or system that is non-portable or stationary, such as a smart home device (e.g., appliance, lighting device, smart meter, panel controls), a vending machine and any other “physical objects” in the “Internet of Physical Objects (IoT)” network.

[0164] Communications may include the exchange of data, for example, through a cellular system, a wireless LAN system, a satellite system, etc., as well as various combinations thereof.

[0165] The communication apparatus may include a device, such as a controller or sensor, that is coupled to a communication device that performs the communication function described in the present invention. For example, the communication device may include a controller or sensor that generates control signals or data signals used by the communication device performing the communication function of the communication device.

[0166] A communications apparatus may also include an infrastructure entity, such as a base station, an access point, and any other apparatus, device, or system configured to communicate with or control apparatuses, such as the apparatuses described in the above examples that do not have restrictive.

[0167] A base station according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a control circuit that, during its operation, generates general information and user-specific information; and a transmission circuit that, during its operation, transmits a control signal including general information and user-specific information. Public information is information common to multiple users and includes information about an unallocated resource. User-specific information is specific to each of a plurality of users.

[0168] In one embodiment of the present invention, the general information includes information indicating a resource allocation scheme in a frequency band, and the user-specific information includes information indicating a number corresponding to the number of resources allocated to multiple users in the allocation scheme.

[0169] In one embodiment of the present invention, the general information includes information indicating an unallocated resource in the allocation scheme, and the information indicating an unallocated resource indicates the position of a resource not allocated to any of the plurality of users in the allocation scheme.

[0170] In one embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit defines an allocation scheme from a plurality of allocation scheme candidates, including an allocation scheme including an unallocated resource.

[0171] In one embodiment of the present invention, an allocation scheme including an unallocated resource is a scheme in which the total size of the unallocated resource is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0172] In one embodiment of the present invention, an allocation scheme including an unallocated resource is a scheme in which the number of unallocated resources adjacent in a frequency band is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0173] In one embodiment of the present invention, an allocation scheme including an unallocated resource is a scheme in which the size of one or a plurality of unallocated resources adjacent in a frequency band is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0174] In one embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit selects one of the first format and the second format, and the transmission circuit transmits a control signal with the format selected from the first format and the second format. According to the first format, information about the unallocated resource is included in general information that is common to multiple users. According to the second format, information about the unallocated resource is included in user-specific information that is specific to each of a plurality of users.

[0175] A base station according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a control circuit that, during operation, selects one of a first format and a second format; and a transmission circuit that, in operation, transmits a control signal with a format selected from the first format and the second format. According to the first format, information about the unallocated resource is included in general information that is common to multiple users. According to the second format, information about the unallocated resource is included in user-specific information that is specific to each of a plurality of users.

[0176] In one embodiment of the present invention, the control signal includes general information including information indicating the selected format.

[0177] A transmission method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: generating general information and user-specific information by a base station; and transmitting, by the base station, a control signal including general information and user-specific information. Public information is information common to multiple users and includes information about an unallocated resource. User-specific information is specific to each of a plurality of users.

[0178] A receiving method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: receiving by a terminal a control signal that includes general information that is common to a plurality of users and includes information about an unallocated resource, as well as user-specific information that is specific to each of the multiple users; and determining by the terminal a resource allocated to the terminal based on the information about the unallocated resource.

[0179] The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-139824, filed July 30, 2019, including description, drawings and abstract, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Industrial applicability

[0180] An embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a radio communication system.

List of reference items

[0811]

10, 100, 300, 500 Radio downlink (AP) apparatus

20, 200, 400, 600 Radio downlink apparatus (STA)

101, 201 Radio transceiver

102 Receive signal demodulator

103 Quality information decoder

104, 304 Scheduler

105 Data encoder

106 Data modulator

107 Frequency selector

108, 308, 508 Preamble generator

108a, 308a Generator of general information for STA

108b, 308b STA-specific information generator

109 Time multiplexer

202 Separator

203 Frequency extractor

204, 404, 604 Preamble decoder

204a, 404a STA common information decoder

204b, 404b STA-specific information decoder

205 Data demodulator

206 Data decoder

207 Quality Assessor

208 Modulator

308c, 404c RU allocation schema storage

510 Format Controller

Claims (20)

1. Base station (10, 100, 300, 500), containing: a control circuit (108, 308, 508) configured to generate common information and user-specific information, wherein the common information is information that is common to a plurality of users and includes information about an unallocated resource, and the user-specific information is specific to each of the multiple users; And a transmission circuit (101) configured to transmit a control signal including general information and user-specific information, wherein the general information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in the frequency band; the user-specific information includes information indicating a number corresponding to the number of resources allocated to the plurality of users in the allocation scheme; And the control circuit (108, 308, 508) is configured to determine an allocation scheme from a plurality of candidate allocation schemes including an allocation scheme including an unallocated resource, characterized in that the allocation scheme including the unallocated resource is a scheme in which the total size of the unallocated resource is equal to or greater than a specified value. 2. Base station (10, 100, 300, 500) according to claim 1, in which: the common information includes information indicating an unallocated resource in the allocation scheme, and the information indicating an unallocated resource indicates the position of a resource not allocated to any of the plurality of users in the allocation scheme. 3. The base station (10, 100, 300, 500) according to claim 1, wherein the allocation scheme including the unallocated resource is a scheme in which the number of unallocated resources adjacent in a frequency band is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. . 4. The base station (10, 100, 300, 500) according to claim 1, wherein the allocation scheme including the unallocated resource is a scheme in which the size of one or a plurality of unallocated resources adjacent in a frequency band is equal to a predetermined value or exceeds it. 5. Base station (10, 100, 300, 500) according to claim 1, in which: the control circuit (108, 308, 508) is configured to select one of the first format and the second format, the first format being a format in which information about the unallocated resource is included in common information that is common to a plurality of users, and the second format representing is a format in which information about an unallocated resource is included in user-specific information that is specific to each of a plurality of users, and the transmission circuit (101) is configured to transmit a control signal with a format selected from the first format and the second format. 6. The base station (10, 100, 300, 500) according to claim 5, wherein the control signal includes general information including information indicating a selected format. 7. Method of transmission, including: generating by the base station (10, 100, 300, 500) general information and user-specific information, wherein the common information is information that is common to a plurality of users and includes information about an unallocated resource, and the user-specific information is specific for each of a plurality of users; And transmission by the base station (10, 100, 300, 500) of a control signal including general information and user-specific information, wherein the general information includes information indicating a resource allocation pattern in the frequency band; the user-specific information includes information indicating a number corresponding to the number of resources allocated to the plurality of users in the allocation scheme; And an allocation scheme is determined from a plurality of allocation scheme candidates including an allocation scheme including an unallocated resource, characterized in that the allocation scheme including the unallocated resource is a scheme in which the total size of the unallocated resource is equal to or greater than a predetermined value .