TW202332295A - Station and access point in wireless local area network system, and operation methods thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A station (STA) that communicates with an access point (AP) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system includes a transceiver configured to support transmission and reception of signals within at least a first bandwidth and to receive a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) conforming to a second bandwidth greater than the first bandwidth, and processing circuitry configured to support a wider bandwidth than the first bandwidth by obtaining a second PPDU allocated to the STA within the first bandwidth from the first PPDU. The processing circuitry is configured to control the transceiver to transmit, to the AP, performance information indicating first modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) supportable in the wider bandwidth according to a capability of the STA, among a plurality of candidate MCSs.

Description

Base station and access point in wireless local area network system, and operating method thereof

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to base stations and access points, both performing wireless local area network (WLAN) based communications, and methods of operation thereof. Cross References to Related Applications

This application is based on, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/283,345, filed November 26, 2021, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, filed December 23, 2021. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/265,946 and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0085874 filed with the Korea Intellectual Property Office on July 12, 2022, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety In this article.

In the physical (PHY) layer of next-generation WLANs following Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 811.ax compliant WLANs, various techniques have been proposed to improve spectral efficiency and throughput. For example, a wider bandwidth (for example, a bandwidth of 320 MHz) for increasing data transmission rate and multiple resource unit (RU) allocation techniques for bundling and transmitting RUs to increase spectrum efficiency have been proposed.

For example, when the bandwidth of the physical packet data unit (PPDU) transmitted by the conventional WLAN-based communication system (as opposed to the enhanced "legacy" described herein) is the same as that which can be transmitted by the base station (station ; STA) supports the same bandwidth, and an access point (access point; AP) supports multiple accesses. In the proposed update to the legacy system, when the bandwidth of the PPDU transmitted by the AP exceeds the bandwidth that can be supported by the STA, the STA can obtain a PPDU allocated to itself (e.g., a sub-PPDU) from the received PPDU, by This increases spectral efficiency. STAs performing the above operations can be defined to support wider bandwidths. Research is ongoing to improve the efficiency and performance of STAs when supporting wider bandwidths.

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide a base station (STA) and an access point (AP) in a WLAN system, wherein the STA transmits performance information (capability information) to the AP with a bandwidth wider than that defined in conventional WLAN protocols . In addition, the AP generates a PPDU suitable for the STA based on the capability information of the STA, and transmits the PPDU to the STA. Describe the operation method of STA and AP.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided a STA communicating with an AP in a WLAN system, the STA comprising: a transceiver configured to support transmission and reception of signals within at least a first bandwidth, and the reception conforms to greater than A first PPDU of a second bandwidth of the first bandwidth; and processing circuitry configured to support a bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth by deriving from the first PPDU a second PPDU allocated to a STA within the first bandwidth wide bandwidth. The processing circuitry is configured to control the transceiver to transmit to the AP performance information indicating a first MCS among a plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes (MCS) that can be supported in a wider bandwidth according to the capability of the STA.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided an AP for communicating with STAs supporting transmission and reception within at least a first bandwidth defined by conventional WLAN protocols in a WLAN system, the AP comprising : a transceiver configured to receive from a STA performance information indicative of one or more of the candidate MCSs that can be supported by the STA in a second bandwidth that is wider than the first bandwidth, and the first PPDU transmission to the STA; and processing circuitry configured to select an MCS from among the one or more MCSs based on the performance information and channel status with the STA, and generate a second PPDU based on the selected one MCS. The first PPDU includes the second PPDU and conforms to the second bandwidth.

According to another aspect of the concept of the present invention, there is provided an operating method for an STA communicating with an AP in a WLAN system. The operating method includes: transmitting to the AP an indication of a plurality of candidate MCSs in a second frequency according to the capabilities of the STA. Performance information of one or more MCSs that can be supported in the broadband, wherein the second bandwidth is wider than the first bandwidth defined by the traditional WLAN protocol; receiving the first PPDU from the AP, among the one or more MCSs, conforms to the second An MCS of bandwidth and conforming to the performance information has been applied to the first PPDU; and a second PPDU allocated to the STA is obtained from the first PPDU. The second PPDU can be allocated to STAs within the first bandwidth.

According to another aspect of the concept of the present invention, there is provided an operation method of an AP for communicating with STAs in a WLAN system, the operation method includes: receiving performance information from the STA, the performance information indicating the number of MCSs according to the STA The performance of the first MCS that can be supported in a wider bandwidth; based on the performance information and the channel status with the STA, select a first MCS from the first MCS; based on the selected first MCS, generate a second MCS that meets the first bandwidth PPDU; and transmitting to the STA a first PPDU that includes the second PPDU and conforms to a second bandwidth greater than the first bandwidth.

In another aspect, a STA communicating with an AP in a WLAN system includes a transceiver and processing circuitry. The transceiver is configured to support transmission and reception of signals within at least a first bandwidth defined by conventional WLAN protocols, and to receive a first PPDU conforming to a second bandwidth greater than the first bandwidth. The processing circuitry is configured to support the second bandwidth by controlling the transceiver to transmit to the AP performance information indicative of one or more of a plurality of candidate MCSs, wherein the one or more MCSs can be determined by the STA according to the STA's Capability is supported in the second bandwidth. The processing circuitry obtains a second PPDU from the first PPDU, wherein the second PPDU is allocated to the STA and configured by the AP based at least on performance information transmitted by the transceiver.

In another aspect, a computer program product for any of the STAs outlined above and comprising a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium comprising code for implementing a method of operation of the STA.

Embodiments will now be described in the context of a wireless area network (WLAN) based wireless communication system. However, the concept of the present invention can be applied to other wireless communication systems with similar technical aspects or channel configurations, such as cellular communication systems, such as next generation communication, new radio (NR), long term evolution (long term evolution; LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-advanced; LTE-A), wireless broadband (WiBro) or global system for mobile communication (GSM), 5G and 6G, or local area communication systems such as Bluetooth or near field communication (NFC).

Herein, "capability information" of a STA may refer to information related to the STA's ability to communicate with the AP. One example of capability information (sometimes referred to herein as "first capability information") is an indication of an MCS that a STA can use to communicate successfully over a predetermined wide bandwidth ratio specified by legacy WLAN protocols. Wide bandwidth.

Herein, the term "normal bandwidth" may refer to bandwidth specified by legacy WLAN protocols such as 802.11ax protocol.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 100 may include multiple access points (APs) 101 and 103 and multiple base stations (STAs) 111 to 114 . The AP 101 and the AP 103 can communicate with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, an Internet protocol (Internet protocol; IP) network.

The AP 101 and the AP 103 can provide wireless connections to the network 130 so that the STAs 111 to 114 within the respective coverage areas 120 and 125 of the AP 101 and the AP 103 can use communication services. For example, the AP 101 and the AP 103 can communicate with each other using wireless fidelity (WiFi) or other WLAN communication technologies. AP 101 and AP 103 can communicate with STA 111 to STA 114 by using WiFi or other WLAN communication techniques.

For reference, other well-known terms such as "router" and "gateway" may be substituted for AP, depending on the type of network. APs in a WLAN may be provided for wireless access. In operation, an AP may be identified as a STA for communicating with another AP. An AP according to the inventive concept may also be called a device, a wireless device, a communication device, or the like.

Also, depending on the type of network, STA may be used instead of another well-known term such as mobile base station, subscriber base station, remote terminal, user equipment, wireless terminal, user device or user. For convenience, the acronym "STA" is used herein to refer to a remote wireless device that wirelessly accesses an AP or accesses a wireless channel within a WLAN. In operation, a STA may be identified as an AP for the other STA's side. A STA according to the inventive concept may also be called a device, a wireless device, a communication device or the like.

According to an embodiment, the AP 101 and the AP 103 may be respectively included in different devices, or may be included in one device (AP multiple link device (MLD)). The STA 111 to STA 114 may be included in different devices, respectively, or may be included in one device (non-AP MLD).

Dashed lines indicate the approximate ranges of the coverage area 120 and the coverage area 125 . For purposes of explanation and illustration, footprint area 120 and footprint area 125 are depicted as generally circular. However, depending on the settings of AP 101 and AP 103, coverage areas 120 and 125 associated with AP 101 and AP 103 may have different shapes reflecting various changes in the wireless environment associated with natural or man-made obstacles, or may have Other shapes including irregular shapes.

FIG. 1 only shows an example of a wireless communication system 100 , but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

For example, wireless communication system 100 may include any number of APs and any number of STAs in any suitably configured configuration. AP 101 can communicate directly with any number of STAs. In detail, the AP 101 can provide the STA 111 to STA 114 with wireless broadband connection with the network 130 .

Likewise, each of AP 101 and AP 103 can communicate directly with network 130 and can provide network 130 with a wireless broadband connection with STA 111 - STA 114 . In addition, AP 101 and AP 103 can implement connections with various external networks such as external telephone networks or data networks. To describe the embodiments, the respective configurations and operations of the AP 101 and the STA 111 are mainly described, and the embodiments to be described are applicable to other APs 103 and other STAs 112 to STA 114 .

According to an embodiment, STA 111 may transmit to AP 101 its own performance information for supporting a wider ("second") bandwidth than the traditional WLAN protocol bandwidth ("first bandwidth") to perform enhanced WLAN-based communication (relative to the enhancement of traditional WLAN protocols). Here, "legacy" refers to previously deployed technologies, such as the IEEE 802.11ax standard (protocol). In this context, an STA supporting a wider (second) bandwidth may refer to an STA capable of obtaining a second physical packet data unit (PPDU) allocated to itself from a first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth in response to the first PPDU STA.

Herein, the first PPDU refers to a PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth during signal transmission and reception, and the second PPDU refers to a PPDU allocated to STAs within the first PPDU. The first PPDU may further include at least one of the PPDUs allocated to the other STAs 112 - 114 respectively.

STA 111 may perform sampling on the received first PPDU at a sampling rate that is an integer multiple of the sampling rate corresponding to the maximum supported first bandwidth, so as to support a wider bandwidth, which may be sampled using a down-frequency filter with a predetermined passband The result of filtering is performed, and the result of filtering may be down-sampled at a sampling rate conforming to the first bandwidth, thereby obtaining the second PPDU.

For example, when the first bandwidth is 80 MHz and the second bandwidth is 160 MHz, the STA 111 may perform sampling on the first PPDU at a sampling rate twice the sampling rate conforming to 80 MHz, using a sampling rate conforming to 80 MHz The passband down-sampling filter performs filtering on the sampled result, and performs down-sampling on the filtered result at a sampling rate conforming to 80 MHz, thereby obtaining the second PPDU.

When the first bandwidth is 80 MHz and the second bandwidth is 320 MHz, the STA 111 may perform the first sampling on the first PPDU at a sampling rate that is four times the sampling rate of 80 MHz, using a passband that conforms to 160 MHz The downsampling filter performs a first filtering on the first sampled results, and performs downsampling on the first filtered results at a sampling rate consistent with 160 MHz. STA 111 may perform a second sampling on the result of the first downsampling at a sampling rate conforming to twice the sampling rate of 80 megahertz, perform filtering on the result of the second sampling using a downsampling filter having a passband conforming to 80 megahertz, and A second downsampling is performed on the result of the second filtering at a sampling rate consistent with 80 MHz, thereby obtaining a second PPDU.

When STA 111 performs filtering and downsampling to obtain a second PPDU from a first PPDU, side lobes may be generated by non-ideal downsampling filters, and side lobes may cause frequency aliasing during downsampling, thereby reducing The quality of the second PPDU. Additionally, side lobes may occur due to the limited performance of the STA 111 (eg, the quality of the sampling clock), thereby degrading the quality of the second PPDU.

When the performance of STA 111 is good, STA 111 can obtain the second PPDU smoothly even when a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) with a high data rate is applied to the second PPDU, but when the performance of STA 111 is poor and has When a high data rate MCS is applied to the second PPDU, the STA 111 may not be able to obtain the second PPDU. Herein, a STA obtaining a PPDU may also be interpreted as successfully extracting data from the PPDU by successfully demodulating and/or decoding the PPDU. Therefore, when the AP 101 generates the second PPDU, the STA 111 can transmit its own performance information to the AP 101 to consider the performance of the STA 111 in a wider bandwidth. According to an embodiment, the effectiveness of the STA 111 may be determined according to the sharpness of the down-converting filter. According to some embodiments, the performance of the STA 111 may be determined according to the quality of the sampling clock. In other examples, the performance of STA 111 is determined by various factors used in operations performed to support wider bandwidths.

According to an embodiment, the performance information transmitted by the STA 111 to the AP 101 may include first performance information indicating a first MCS that the STA 111 can support in a wider bandwidth according to the performance of the STA 111 among the plurality of MCSs. AP 101 may select a first MCS from the first MCS based on the first performance information, and may generate a second PPDU allocated to STA 111 based on the selected first MCS. AP 101 may transmit to STA 111 the first PPDU including the second PPDU.

According to some embodiments, the performance information may include second performance information indicating whether the STA 111 is capable of supporting a wider bandwidth. The AP 101 may transmit the first PPDU including the second PPDU allocated to the STA 111 by checking that the STA 111 can support a wider bandwidth based on the second capability information.

According to an embodiment, the performance information may be transmitted by the STA 111 to the AP 101 via at least one of the fields defined in the "IEEE P802.11be specification" (interchangeably, only "IEEE P802.11be"). IEEE P802.11be is the framework of the next-generation WLAN standard (successor to IEEE 802.11ax), which is currently under development but some aspects have already been defined. For example, performance information may be transmitted through some IEEE P802.11be fields with no information (empty fields) due to non-compliance with STA 111 performance. Instead, performance information is transmitted via a "reserved" subfield included in some of the fields of IEEE P802.11be.

According to the embodiment, the STA 111 can provide the AP 101 with performance information related to the wider bandwidth, so that the AP 101 can select an MCS suitable for the performance of the STA 111 and generate a second PPDU allocated to the STA 111 . Therefore, the STA 111 can efficiently obtain the second PPDU from the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth wider than the conventional first bandwidth, and thus, the communication performance of the STA 111 supporting the wider bandwidth can be improved.

According to some embodiments, STA 111 may include a computer program product for communicating with AP 101 . The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium (non-transitory computer-readable medium), where the non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium may include code executable by at least one processor such that the STA 111 can Operations according to the embodiment are performed. The at least one processor may correspond to the processing circuitry 223 of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system 200 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an AP 210 and a STA 220 communicating with each other in a wireless communication system 200 . Each of AP 210 and STA 220 of FIG. 2 may be any device that communicates in wireless communication system 200, and may be referred to as a device for wireless communication. According to some embodiments, AP 210 may be one of multiple APs included in the AP MLD, and STA 220 may be one of multiple STAs included in the non-AP MLD.

Referring to FIG. 2 , AP 210 may include antenna 211 , transceiver 212 and processing circuitry 213 . According to some embodiments, antenna 211, transceiver 212, and processing circuitry 213 may each be included in one package or may be included in different packages. STA 220 may include antenna 221 , transceiver 222 and processing circuitry 223 . Hereinafter, redundant description between the AP 210 and the STA 220 is omitted.

Antenna 211 may receive signals from STA 220 and provide signals to transceiver 212 , and may transmit signals provided from transceiver 212 to STA 220 . According to some embodiments, the antenna 211 may include multiple antennas for multiple input multiple output (MIMO). According to some embodiments, the antenna 211 may also include a phased array for beamforming.

Transceiver 212 may process signals received from STA 220 via antenna 211 and may provide the processed signals to processing circuitry 213 . Transceiver 212 may process signals provided from processing circuitry 213 and output the processed signals via antenna 211 . The transceiver 212 may include analog circuits such as low noise amplifiers, mixers, filters, power amplifiers, oscillators, and the like. Transceiver 212 may process signals received from antenna 211 and/or signals received from processing circuitry 213 under the control of processing circuitry 213 .

Processing circuitry 213 may extract information transmitted by STA 220 by processing signals received from transceiver 212 . For example, processing circuitry 213 may extract information by demodulating and/or decoding signals received from transceiver 212 . Processing circuitry 213 may generate signals containing information to be transmitted to STA 220 and provide the signals to transceiver 212 . For example, processing circuitry 213 may provide transceiver 212 with signals generated by encoding and/or modulating data to be transmitted to STA 220 . According to some embodiments, the processing circuit system 213 may include: a programmable component, such as a central processing unit (central processing unit; CPU) or a digital signal processor (digital signal processor; DSP); a reconfigurable component, such as a field programmable A field programmable gate array (FPGA); or a component that provides fixed functions, such as an intellectual property (IP) core. According to some embodiments, processing circuitry 213 may include or have access to memory that stores data and/or a series of instructions. Herein, the transceiver 212 and/or the processing circuitry 213 performing the operations may simply be referred to as the AP 210 performing the corresponding operations. Thus, operations performed by AP 210 may be performed by transceiver 212 and/or processing circuitry 213 included in AP 210, and operations performed by STA 220 may be performed by transceiver 221 and/or processing circuitry included in STA 220 224 execution.

The STA 220 may support transmission/reception up to the first bandwidth (or alternatively, within at least the first bandwidth) via the antenna 221 and the transceiver 222, and the STA 220 may receive a compliant signal by using the antenna 221 and the transceiver 222. The first PPDU of the second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth. The processing circuitry 223 can obtain the second PPDU allocated to the STA 220 from the first PPDU by performing operations supporting a wider bandwidth.

Processing circuitry 223 can manage performance information 224 related to supporting the wider bandwidth. The performance information 224 may include at least one of first performance information indicating the performance of the STA 220 when the STA 220 performs operations for supporting the wider bandwidth and second performance information indicating whether the STA 220 is capable of supporting the wider bandwidth.

The first performance information may include information indicating a first MCS that the STA 220 can support among a plurality of candidate MCSs (hereinafter referred to as "multiple MCSs") when the STA 220 performs an operation for supporting a wider bandwidth. For example, the plurality of MCSs may include MCSs defined from index 0 to index 15 in the P802.11be specification.

The STA 220 may successfully obtain a second PPDU generated based on one of the first MCSs from the first PPDU, but may not be able to obtain a second PPDU generated based on any of the remaining MCSs (except the first MCS). Therefore, the STA 220 can inform the AP 210 of its capability status (status of the STA 220 ) by transmitting the first performance information to the AP 210 .

For example, the first performance information may include bits indicating which of the plurality of MCSs can support. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B .

For example, the first performance information may include bits indicating whether each of the specific MCSs having a data rate equal to or greater than a reference value among the plurality of MCSs is supportable. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B .

For example, the first performance information may include bits indicating a particular MCS with the highest data rate among the first MCSs. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B .

For example, the first performance information may include at least one bit indicating an offset from a particular MCS having the highest data rate among the "second MCS". Herein, the "second MCS" may correspond to when the STA 220 receives a third PPDU conforming to a third bandwidth less than or equal to the first bandwidth that can be supported for transmission and reception when the STA 220 receives a third PPDU from among the plurality of MCSs. Supported MCS. In other words, the second MCS may correspond to the MCS that can be supported when the STA 220 receives the third PPDU conforming to its own transmission/reception performance. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 10A to 11C .

For example, the first performance information may include at least one bit indicating an offset from a particular MCS having the highest data rate of at least one of the plurality of MCS groups. Herein, multiple MCS groups can be classified by grouping MCSs with the same maximum number of spatial streams in the second MCS. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13C .

For example, the first performance information may include information indicating first MCSs respectively corresponding to values that the second bandwidth may have. Specifically, when the maximum supported first bandwidth of the STA 220 is 80 MHz and the second bandwidth is 160 MHz or 320 MHz, the first performance information may include respectively indicating when a wider bandwidth corresponding to 160 MHz is supported and a plurality of pieces of information of the first MCS when supporting a wider bandwidth corresponding to 320 MHz.

For example, the first performance information may include information indicating suppression levels that STA 220 may additionally support relative to adjacent channel suppression levels associated with multiple MCSs. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 16A and 16B .

According to an embodiment, performance information 224 may be stored in non-volatile memory of STA 220 and may be read from processing circuitry 223 . Processing circuitry 223 may control transceiver 222 to transmit a signal including read performance information 224 (“transmission performance information”) to AP 210 . According to some embodiments, processing circuitry 223 may include first circuitry to manage performance information 224 , and second circuitry to control transceiver 222 to transmit performance information 224 to AP 210 . In other words, the first circuit that manages the performance information may be logically and/or physically different from the second circuit that controls the transceiver 222 .

According to an embodiment, the processing circuitry 213 of the AP 210 may include a scheduler 214 that may select an MCS from the supportable MCSs based on performance information received from the STA 220 via the antenna 211 and the transceiver 212 . Scheduler 214 may generate a second PPDU allocated to STA 220 based on the selected MCS. The scheduler 214 may estimate the channel state between the AP 210 and the STA 220 or receive information about the estimated channel state from the STA 220, and may select one of the first MCSs by further considering the estimated channel state. For this purpose, in an example, the scheduler 214 may generate the second PPDU by selecting the MCS with the highest data rate among the supportable MCSs when the estimated channel status is deemed good according to at least one predetermined criterion. However, when the estimated channel status is a bad status according to at least one predetermined criterion, the scheduler 214 may generate the second PPDU by selecting an MCS with a low data rate among the supportable MCSs according to the degree of poor channel status. In other examples, the scheduler 214 may select one of the MCSs to generate the second PPDU based on only one of the performance information 224 or the channel status.

According to an embodiment, the scheduler 214 may allocate the second PPDU to the remaining RUs except the RU located at the boundary of the frequency band supported by the STA 220 among the plurality of RUs included in the frequency band. In other words, because the side lobes and frequency overlapping described above with reference to FIG. 1 occur from subcarriers located at the boundaries of frequency bands, the second PPDU may not be allocated to RUs including these subcarriers. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 18A and 18B .

According to an embodiment, the scheduler 214 may include the second PPDU, and may transmit the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth to the STA 220 by using the antenna 211 and the transceiver 212 . The first PPDU may further include a PPDU allocated to at least one other STA (not shown).

According to some embodiments, processing circuitry 213 and processing circuitry 223 may be referred to as processors, controllers, or the like.

3A and 3B are block diagrams for explaining the operation of the wireless communication system 300 according to the embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3A , a wireless communication system 300 may include an AP 310 , a first STA 320 and a second STA 330 . The first STA 320 can support at least a first bandwidth BW1 during transmission and reception, and the second STA 330 can support at least a second bandwidth BW2 during transmission and reception.

According to an embodiment, the first STA 320 may transmit to the AP 310 first performance information indicating a first MCS that can be supported in a wider bandwidth among multiple candidate MCSs. The AP 310 can generate a first PPDU based on the first performance information, transmit the first PPDU to the first STA 320 through the first channel CH1, and transmit the first PPDU to the second STA 330 through the second channel CH2. The first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth BW2 may include the second PPDU allocated to the first STA 320 . Therefore, the first PPDU may be understood as a “composite PPDU” or “aggregated PPDU” and may include the third PPDU allocated to the second STA 330 . When the first PPDU contains the second and the third PPDU, it can be understood as a "composite PPDU" or "aggregated PPDU", wherein at least two PPDUs allocated to different individual STAs are, for example, identical to the first OFDM representing the second PPDU. The set of subcarriers and the second set of OFDM subcarriers representing the third PPDU are transmitted together in the same time frame. In one example, the second PPDU conforms to the first bandwidth BW1 (eg, the second PPDU is represented by OFDM subcarriers distributed only within the first bandwidth BW1 ). In other examples, the second PPDU conforms to a bandwidth between the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

The second PPDU may be generated by applying an MCS selected according to the first performance information, wherein the selected MCS may be the same as or different from the MCS applied to the third PPDU. According to some embodiments, the same MCS may be controlled for generating the second and third PPDUs included in the first PPDU. For example, when the MCS corresponding to the second PPDU is different from the MCS corresponding to the third PPDU, the MCS with a low data rate among the MCSs can be controlled to be commonly used for generating the second and third PPDUs. As another example, when the MCS corresponding to the second PPDU is different from the MCS corresponding to the third PPDU, the MCS with the higher data rate among the MCSs may be controlled to be commonly used for generating the second and third PPDUs.

The first STA 320 may transmit to the AP 310 "second performance information" indicating whether the wider (second) bandwidth can be supported. Referring to FIG. 3B , when the first STA 320 cannot support a wider bandwidth and uses the second performance information to indicate the lack of such capability, the AP 310 can respectively send the second PPDU conforming to the first bandwidth BW1 and the second PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth BW2 The third PPDU is transmitted to the first STA 320 and the second STA 330 in sequence. Alternatively, the second and third PPDUs are transmitted simultaneously (eg, using different respective OFDM subcarriers as mentioned previously).

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the error rate of PPDUs allocated to STAs supporting wider bandwidth and the MCS. In FIG. 4 , MCS0, MCS7, MCS9, and MCS11 refer to MCSs whose indexes are 0, 7, 9, and 11 defined in P802.11be. The modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS0 are binary phase shift keying (binary phase shift keying; BPSK) and 1/2, and the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS7 are 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (quadrature amplitude modulation; QAM) and 5/6, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS9 are 256-QAM and 5/6, and the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS11 are 1024-QAM and 5/6. SU refers to single user, and MU refers to multiple users. "TX=RX=80" means that the bandwidth of the PPDU transmitted by the AP is 80 MHz, and the STA supports reception up to 80 MHz. "TX=160/RX=80" means that the bandwidth of the PPDU transmitted by the AP is 160 MHz and the STA supports reception up to 80 MHz. In this case, the STA performs operations to support wider bandwidth.

Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that when one of MCS7, MCS9, and MCS11 in a wider bandwidth is applied to a PPDU allocated to an STA, even when the signal to noise ratio (SNR) increases, the packet The error rate (packet error rate; PER) does not improve. STAs can support up to MCS11 in response to 80 MHz compliant PPDUs, which is the receiving capability of STAs, but do not support MCS7, MCS9, and MCS11 due to relatively high PER in response to 160 MHz compliant PPDUs.

In other words, the MCS that a STA can support in a wider bandwidth may be limited to the MCS with a data rate lower than that of MCS7.

The STA according to the embodiment may transmit the performance information indicating the MCS supportable in the wider bandwidth to the AP in consideration of the performance of the wider bandwidth. The AP may select an MCS from the performance information and apply the selected MSC to PPDUs allocated to STAs performing operations to support wider bandwidth.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating enhancements to the Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capability element format for conveying performance information, according to an embodiment. FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C are diagrams illustrating fields of "EHT PHY Capability Information" for transmitting performance information according to an embodiment.

Referring to Figure 5A, the "EHT Capability Element Format" may include a field of "Element", a field of "Length", a field of "Element ID Extension", a field of "EHT MAC Capability Information", a field of "EHT PHY Capability Information", "Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets" field and "EHT PPE Threshold Value" field (selected as appropriate). A field of "EHT Capability Element Format" is defined in IEEE P802.11be, and thus detailed descriptions other than those related to the concept of the present invention will be omitted.

According to an embodiment, the performance information of STAs in the broadband may be included in one of the fields of "EHT PHY Capability Information" and "Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets" and may be transmitted to the AP. The number of bits included in the "EHT PHY Capability Information" field and the number of bits included in the "Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets" field may vary depending on the representation scheme indicating the capability of the STA . In other embodiments, the performance information is transmitted to the AP using other fields of the "EHT Capability Element Format".

Further referring to FIG. 5B, the "EHT PHY Capability Information" field may include a "Reserved" subfield, a "Support 320 MHz in 6 GHz" subfield, and a "Support 242-tone RU in a BW wider than 20 MHz" ” subfield, “NDP with 4x EHT-LTF and 3.2 μs GI” subfield, “Partial Bandwidth UL MU-MIMO” subfield, “SU Beamformer” subfield, “SU Beamforming Receiver Square" subfield, "Beamforming receiver SS (≤80MHz)" subfield, "Beamforming receiver SS (=160MHz)" subfield, "Beamforming receiver SS (=320MHz)" Subfield, "number of detection dimensions (≤80 MHz)" subfield, "number of detection dimensions (=160 MHz)" subfield, "number of detection dimensions (=320 MHz)" subfield, " Ng=16 SU Feedback' subfield, 'Ng=16 MU Feedback' subfield, 'Codebook Size (φ,ψ)={4, 2} SU Feedback' subfield, 'Codebook Size (φ, ψ)={7, 5} MU Feedback" subfield, "Trigger SU Beamforming Feedback" subfield, "Trigger MU Beamforming Part BW Feedback" subfield, "Trigger CQI Feedback" subfield, "Partial Bandwidth DL MU-MIMO" subfield, "PSR-based SR support" subfield, "Power Boost Factor Support" subfield, "EHT MU PPDU with 4x EHT-LTF and 3.8 μs GI" subfield , "Max Nc" subfield, "Non-triggering CQI feedback" subfield, "Tx 1024-QAM and 4096-QAM < 242 tone RU support" subfield, "Rx 1024-QAM and 4096-QAM < 242 Tone RU Support" subfield, "PPE Threshold Existence" subfield, "General Nominal Packet Padding" subfield, "Maximum Number of Supported EHT-LTF" subfield, "Support MCS 15 ” subfield, “Support EHT DUP in 6 GHz” subfield, “Support 20 MHz running STA with wider bandwidth to receive NDP” subfield, “Non-OFDMA UL MU-MIMO (BW≤80 MHz) ” subfield, “Non-OFDMA UL MU-MIMO (BW=160MHz)” subfield, “Non-OFDMA UL MU-MIMO (BW=320MHz)” subfield, “MU beamformer (BW≤80 MHz)” subfield, “MU Beamformer (BW=160MHz)” subfield, “MU Beamformer (BW=320MHz)” subfield, and “Wide BW Support” subfield.

According to an embodiment, the "wider BW support" subfield may include performance information of the STA. The "wider BW support" subfield may include n bits, wherein the number n may be determined according to the number of bits constituting the performance information of the STA. As described above, the number of bits constituting the STA's performance information may vary depending on the representation scheme indicating the STA's performance.

According to an embodiment, the performance information of the STA contained in the sub-field "wider BW support" may include the first performance information indicating the first MCS that the STA can support in a wider bandwidth, and/or indicating whether the STA can support Second performance information with wider bandwidth.

Further referring to FIG. 5C , as shown in FIG. 5B , the “wider BW support” subfield for transmitting the performance information of the STA may not be defined separately, and the performance information of the STA may be included in the specific subfield instead of null data In bit, the specific subfield can be filled with null data according to the STA's status, communication status, and the like, and can be transmitted to the AP. For example, when the subfield "supports 242 tone RUs in a BW wider than 20 MHz" is scheduled to be filled with null data, the performance information of the STA may be transmitted to the AP instead of the null data. In other examples, the performance information of the STA is included in another subfield and transmitted to the AP in certain cases.

An embodiment in which the STA supports a wider bandwidth and transmits to the AP the first performance information indicating the first MCS that can be supported in the wider bandwidth will now be mainly described.

6 is an example of AP 410 (an example of any one of AP 101, AP 103, or AP 210) and STA 420 (any one of STA 111 to STA 114, STA 220, STA 320, or STA 330) according to an embodiment. Example) flow chart of the running method.

In operation S110, the STA 420 may transmit to the AP 410 first performance information for supporting a wider bandwidth, wherein the first performance information may indicate a first MCS that the STA 420 may support in a wider bandwidth. In operation S120, the AP 410 may select one of the first MCSs based on the first performance information. According to an embodiment, the AP 410 may select the first MCS with the highest data rate among the first MCSs. According to some embodiments, the AP 410 may select one of the first MCSs by further considering the channel status with the STA 420 . The channel state may be estimated by AP 410 based on sounding reference signals received from STA 420, or may be estimated by STA 420 and reported to AP 410 as feedback. In operation S130, the AP 410 may generate a second PPDU allocated to the STA 420 based on the selected first MCS. The AP 410 may transmit the first PPDU including the second PPDU to the STA 420 in operation S140. The second bandwidth corresponding to the first PPDU may be greater than the first bandwidth corresponding to the second PPDU. Alternatively, the first bandwidth is equal to the second bandwidth.

FIG. 7A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 7A .

Referring to FIG. 7A , the first performance information may include 16 bits indicating whether each of MCS0 with index 0 to MCS15 with index 15 defined in IEEE P802.11be is supportable. For example, the value of the bit can be set to "1" when the STA can support MCS0; and the value of the bit can be set to "0" when the STA cannot support MCS0; or vice versa.

Referring further to FIG. 7B , the MCS is configured in the direction of increasing data rate. Embodiments are described based on the assumption that APs and STAs identify MCSs based on MCSs configured in the above-mentioned directions. The modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS14 with index 14 can be BPSK-DCM-DUP and 1/2, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS15 with index 15 can be BPSK-DCM and 1/2, and the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS15 with index 0 can be BPSK-DCM and 1/2. The modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS0 can be BPSK and 1/2, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS1 with index 1 can be QPSK and 1/2, and the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS2 with index 2 can be Quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and 3/4, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS3 with index 3 can be 16-QAM and 1/2, the modulation scheme of MCS4 with index 4 And the coding rate can be 16-QAM and 3/4, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS5 with index 5 can be 64-QAM and 2/3, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS6 with index 6 can be 64 - QAM and 3/4, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS7 with index 7 can be 64-QAM and 5/6, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS8 with index 8 can be 256-QAM and 3/4 , the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS9 with index 9 can be 256-QAM and 5/6, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS10 with index 10 can be 1024-QAM and 3/4, and the MCS11 with index 11 The modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS12 can be 1024-QAM and 5/6, the modulation scheme and coding rate of MCS12 with index 12 can be 4096-QAM and 3/4, and the modulation scheme of MCS13 with index 13 and The coding rate can be 4096-QAM and 5/6.

The AP can identify the first MCS that the STA can support in a wider bandwidth among MCS0 to MCS15 based on the first performance information.

It will be fully understood that in addition to the MCS defined in FIG. 7B , other MCSs may be further defined, and the technical spirit of the concept of the present invention is applicable to other MCSs.

FIG. 8A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 8A .

Referring to FIG. 8A , the first performance information may include bits indicating whether each of specific MCSs among MCS0 to MCS15 defined in IEEE P802.11be has a data rate equal to or greater than a reference value. For example, specific MCSs may include MCS12 and MCS13. In this case, the first performance information may include two bits. According to an embodiment, the specific MCS whose support possibility is indicated by the first performance information may be differently determined in advance, and the specific MCS may be pre-identified by the AP and the STA.

With further reference to FIG. 8B , the AP may identify whether the STA is capable of supporting each of MCS12 and MCS13 in a wider bandwidth based on the first performance information. The AP can recognize that MCS0-MCS11, MCS14, and MCS15, which have a lower data rate than MCS12, can be supported by STAs in a wider bandwidth.

FIG. 9A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 9A .

Referring to FIG. 9A , the first performance information may include bits indicating a specific MCS having the highest data rate among MCS0 to MCS15 defined in IEEE P802.11be. For example, the number of MCSs defined in IEEE P802.11be is 16, and the first performance information may include four bits, so that the first performance information may indicate a specific MCS.

Further referring to FIG. 9B , when the specific MCS is MCS11, the AP may identify MCS0 to MCS11, MCS14, and MCS15 having a data rate less than or equal to the data rate of MCS11 as supported by the STA in a wider bandwidth based on the first performance information. The first MCS. In other words, the AP can identify that the STA cannot support MCS12 and MCS13 in the wider bandwidth based on the first performance information.

FIG. 10A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 10A . In FIG. 10A, when a STA receives a third PPDU conforming to a third bandwidth that is less than or equal to the first bandwidth that can be supported during legacy protocol transmission and reception, it is assumed that via the "Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Set" field transmits information indicating the "secondary MCS" that the STA can support among MCS0 to MCS15 defined in IEEE P802.11be to the AP. For example, the information indicating the second MCS can be included in the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW≤80 MHz, except only 20 MHz non-AP STA)" sub-column of the "Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets" column in place. For the convenience of explanation, the second MCS may be referred to as the MCS that the STA can support in the "normal bandwidth".

Referring to FIG. 10A , the first performance information may include relative MCS information. The relative MCS information may include at least one bit indicating an offset from a particular MCS having the highest data rate among the second MCS. The first performance information may include the number of bits determined according to the range of the offset. For example, when the offset can have any of the values 0-3, the first performance information can include two bits.

Further referring to FIG. 10B , when the offset is 2 and the second MCS with the highest data rate among the second MCSs that the STA can support in the normal bandwidth is MCS12, the AP can have a data rate less than or equal to MCS12 based on the first performance information. MCS0 to MCS10 , MCS14 , and MCS15 of the data rate of the MCS10 with a difference of 2 identify the first MCS that the STA can support in a wider bandwidth.

11A to 11C are views illustrating first performance information according to an embodiment. In FIG. 11A , as described above, it is assumed as an example that the STA can support a first bandwidth up to 80 MHz and a second bandwidth greater than the first bandwidth can be 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Descriptions of FIGS. 11A to 11C that are the same as those given above with reference to FIG. 10A will now be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 11A , the first performance information may include information indicating first MCSs respectively corresponding to values that the second bandwidth may have in the wider bandwidth. For example, the first performance information may include information indicating the first MCS that the STA can support in the wider bandwidth when the second bandwidth is 160 MHz, and indicating the first MCS that the STA can support in the wider bandwidth when the second bandwidth is 320 MHz. Information about the first MCS that can be supported by Broadband.

According to an embodiment, the AP may finely select the MCS for generating the PPDU allocated to the STA in consideration of the performance of the STA segmented according to the value of the second bandwidth based on the first performance information.

With further reference to FIG. 11B , the first performance information may include information indicating an offset from a 1024-QAM compliant MCS in the normal bandwidth and information indicating an offset from a 4096-QAM compliant MCS in the normal bandwidth.

According to an embodiment, the AP may finely select an MCS for generating a PPDU allocated to a STA in consideration of the performance of the STA for each MCS segment based on the first performance information.

With further reference to FIG. 11C , the first performance information may include information indicating an offset from an MCS compliant with 1024-QAM in the normal bandwidth and indicating an MCS compliant with 4096-QAM in the normal bandwidth when the second bandwidth is 160 MHz and may include information indicating an offset from an MCS conforming to 1024-QAM in the normal bandwidth and indicating an offset from an MCS conforming to 4096-QAM in the normal bandwidth when the second bandwidth is 320 MHz Moved information.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an embodiment of operation S120 of FIG. 6 .

Referring to FIG. 12 , in operation S121a subsequent to operation S110 of FIG. 6 , the AP 410 may apply the first performance information to information related to the maximum number of spatial streams of each MCS. In operation S122a, the AP 410 may identify a first MCS that the STA 420 can support in a wider bandwidth based on the result of operation S121a. The AP 410 may select one of the first MCSs to generate a PPDU allocated to the STA 420 in operation S123a. A detailed description of the embodiment of FIG. 12 is provided with reference to FIGS. 13A-13C .

13A is a view showing a field of "supported EHT-MCS and NSS sets" for transmitting first performance information according to an embodiment; FIGS. 13B and 13C are for explaining STAs indicated by the first performance information performance view.

Referring to Figure 13A, the "Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets" field may include the "EHT-MCS Mapping (only 20 MHz non-AP STA)" subfield, "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW≤80 MHz, except only 20 MHz non-AP STA)” sub-field, “EHT-MCS mapping (BW=160 MHz)” sub-field and “EHT-MCS mapping (BW=320 MHz)” sub-field. The "supported EHT-MCS and NSS sets" field is defined in IEEE P802.11be, and thus detailed descriptions other than those related to the concept of the present invention will be omitted.

The "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW≤80 MHz, except only 20 MHz non-AP STA)" subfield may contain information related to the maximum number of spatial streams for each MCS of FIG. 12 .

The "EHT-MCS mapping (BW≤80MHz, except only 20MHz non-AP STA)" subfield can include the "Support EHT-MCS 0-9 Rx Max Nss" subfield, "Support EHT-MCS 0- 9's Tx Max Nss" subfield, "Rx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 10-11" subfield, "Tx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 10-11" subfield, "supporting EHT-MCS 12 -13's Rx Max Nss" subfield and "Tx Max Nss Support EHT-MCS 12-13" subfield. Nss or NSS may refer to the number of spatial streams.

In detail, the information related to the maximum number of spatial streams of each MCS in FIG. 12 can be included in the "Rx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 0-9" subfield, "Rx supporting EHT-MCS 10-11" Max Nss" subfield and "Rx Max Nss Support EHT-MCS 12-13" subfield.

The subfield "Rx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 0-9" can indicate the maximum number of spatial streams that STA can support in MCS0 to MCS9, and the subfield "Rx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 10-11" It can indicate the maximum number of spatial streams that STA can support in MCS10 and MCS11, and the "Rx Max Nss of EHT-MCS 12-13 Support" subfield can indicate the number of spatial streams that STA can support in MCS12 and MCS13 maximum number. Although MCS14 and MCS15 are not shown in FIG. 13A , MCS14 and MCS15 can be processed according to MCS0 to MCS9.

With further reference to FIG. 13B , the value of the subfield may indicate the maximum number of spatial streams. For example, the subfield "Rx Max Nss for EHT-MCS 0-9", "Rx Max Nss for EHT-MCS 10-11" and "Rx Max Nss for EHT-MCS 12-13" ' subfield can have values 0 to 15. When the value of the subfield is 0, it indicates that spatial multiplexing is not supported, and when the value of the subfield is each of 1 to 8, it indicates that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be supported is 1 to 8 each of them. The maximum number of spatial streams whose subfield values match 9 to 15 can be in the "reserved" state.

In Fig. 13C, it is assumed that the "Rx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 0-9" sub-field, the "Rx Max Nss supporting EHT-MCS 10-11" sub-field and the "Rx supporting EHT-MCS 12-13" The Max Nss' subfield has values of 4, 2 and 1, respectively, and the offset of the first performance information conforming to FIG. 10A is 1. In other words, when supporting MCS0 to MCS9 in normal bandwidth, STA can support four maximum spatial streams, when supporting MCS10 and MCS11 in normal bandwidth, STA can support two maximum spatial streams, and when in normal bandwidth When MCS11 and MCS12 are supported in the bandwidth, the STA can support a maximum spatial stream. MCS0 to MCS9 may be said to be included in a first MCS group, MCS10 and MCS11 may be said to be included in a second MCS group, and MCS12 and MCS13 may be said to be included in a third MCS group.

Referring to FIG. 13C , the first performance information may indicate an offset from a particular MCS with the highest data rate from at least one of the first through third MCS groups.

In the first case, the AP can identify the first MCS that the STA can support in a wider bandwidth by applying the first performance information in the first to third MCS groups. In other words, the AP may assign MCS8 with an interval of less than or equal to 1 from MCS9 with the highest data rate from the first MCS group, MCS10 with an interval of 1 from MCS11 from the second MCS group with the highest MCS0 to MCS8 of the data rate of the MCS13 of the three-MCS group with the data rate of the MCS12 of Interval 1 are identified as the first MCS.

In the second case, the AP may selectively apply the first performance information to the first MCS group that supports the largest number (ie, four) of the largest spatial streams among the first MCS group to the third MCS group. An MCS group to identify the first MCS. In other words, the AP may identify MCS0-MCS8 and MCS10-MCS13 having data rates less than or equal to the data rate of MCS8 spaced 1 from MCS9 having the highest data rate in the first MCS group as the first MCS.

In the third case, the AP may identify the first MCS by selectively applying the first performance information to a third MCS group including an MCS having the highest data rate among the first to third MCS groups . In other words, the AP may identify MCS12 and MCS0 to MCS11 spaced 1 apart from MCS13 having the highest data rate in the third MCS group as the first MCS.

In the fourth case, the AP may selectively apply the first performance information to a second MCS group including MCSs having a data rate equal to or greater than a reference value among the first MCS group to the third MCS group and the third MCS group to identify the first MCS. In other words, the AP may identify MCS10 spaced 1 from MCS11 with the highest data rate from the second MCS group, MCS12 spaced 1 from MCS13 with the highest data rate from the third MCS group, and MCS0 through MCS9 as first MCS.

In other embodiments, the AP identifies the first MCS that the STA can support in the wider bandwidth by applying the first performance information to at least one of the first MCS group to the third MCS group in various ways.

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a 'Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets' field for transmitting first performance information according to an embodiment.

With further reference to FIG. 14 , the first performance information may be included in at least one of the subfields "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=160 MHz)" and "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=320 MHz)" and Can be transmitted to AP. In other words, at least one of the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=160MHz)" subfield and the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=320MHz)" subfield can be used to transmit the first performance information to the AP.

When the STA supports the first bandwidth of 80 MHz or less, the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=160 MHz)" subfield and the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=320 MHz)" subfield can use empty data filling. Therefore, according to an embodiment, instead of null data, the first performance information may be included in the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=160MHz)" subfield and the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=320MHz)" subfield in one, and can be transmitted to the AP.

According to an embodiment, the first performance information configured in the same or similar manner as the method described above with reference to FIG. Mapping (BW=320MHz)” sub-field, and can be transmitted to the AP. In detail, the information configured with bit B63_1 and bit B63_2 of FIG. 11A can be included in the subfield of “EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=160 MHz)”, and bit B63_3 of FIG. 11A is configured Bit and B63_4 bit information can be included in the "EHT-MCS Mapping (BW=320 MHz)" subfield.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an embodiment of operation S120 of FIG. 6 .

Referring to FIG. 15 , in operation S121b after operation S110 of FIG. 6 , the AP 410 may apply the first performance information to information related to the minimum required adjacent channel suppression level. In operation S122b, the AP 410 may identify a first MCS that the STA 420 can support in a wider bandwidth based on the result of operation S121b. The AP 410 may select one of the first MCSs to generate a PPDU allocated to the STA 420 in operation S123b. A detailed description of the embodiment of Figure 15 is provided with reference to Figures 16A and 16B.

FIG. 16A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 16B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 16A .

Referring to FIG. 16A , the first performance information may include information indicating the adjacent channel interference (ACI) suppression performance of the STA. The ACI suppression performance can be correlated with the information related to the minimum required adjacent channel suppression level defined in IEEE P802.11be. ACI suppression performance may be information indicative of a suppression level additionally supported by the STA according to the performance of the STA.

With further reference to FIG. 16B , the minimum required adjacent channel suppression level and the non-adjacent channel suppression level can be determined for each of MCS0 to MCS15, and the AP can support the minimum required adjacent channel suppression level and corresponding to MCS0 at the STA. The operation is performed under the assumption of adjacent channel suppression levels to each of the MCS 15 . In this case, the STA can transmit the first performance information indicating the performance of the ACI suppression to the AP, so that the AP can perform operations according to the performance of the STA.

For example, when the ACI level measured by the STA is -9 (dB) and the ACI suppression performance of the STA is -5 (dB), the AP may determine that the final ACI level of the STA is -14 ( decibels) to identify the first MCS that the STA can support in a wider bandwidth. In other words, the AP can recognize MCS0 to MCS11, MCS 14, and MCS 15 as the first MCS.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart of an operating method of an AP according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 17, in operation S200, the AP may check the bandwidth of the STA. In operation S210, the AP may determine whether the STA supports wide bandwidth. Specifically, the AP may receive second performance information from the STA indicating whether the STA supports the wide bandwidth, and may determine whether the STA supports the wide bandwidth based on the second performance information. When operation S210 is "Yes", in operation S220, the AP may schedule the second PPDU allocated to the STA by using the remaining RUs except the boundary RUs within the supportable bandwidth of the STA. When operation S210 is "No", in operation S230, the AP may schedule the second PPDU by using RUs within the supportable bandwidth of the STA. In operation S240, the AP may include the second PPDU, and may transmit the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth.

18A and 18B are views for explaining a method of scheduling a second PPDU allocated to a wider bandwidth STA supporting an AP according to an embodiment. In FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B , it is assumed that the first bandwidth supported by the STA is 80 MHz.

Referring to FIG. 18A , the AP may schedule the second PPDU allocated to the STA so that when the second PPDU allocated to the STA is included in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 160 MHz, it is located in the PPDU having the bandwidth of 80 MHz. RUs at the boundary of the frequency band are not allocated to STAs. In other words, when the AP transmits the second PPDU allocated to the STA, the RU located at the boundary of the frequency band having the bandwidth of 80 MHz may not be used. For example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 160 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that RU1, RU37, RU38, and RU74 among RUs having a RU size corresponding to a 26-tone RU are not allocated to STA. As another example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 160 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that RU1, RU16, RU17, and RU32 of the RUs having a RU size corresponding to a 52-tone RU are not allocated. to STA. As another example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 160 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that an MRU with an MRU size corresponding to (106+26) tone multiple RU (MRU) MRU1, MRU8, MRU9, and MRU16 are not assigned to STAs. As another example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 160 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that MRU4, MRU5, MRU6 of the MRUs having an MRU size corresponding to a (484+242) tone MRU And MRU7 is not allocated to STA.

With further reference to FIG. 18B , the AP may schedule the second PPDU assigned to the STA such that when the second PPDU assigned to the STA is included in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 320 MHz, it is located at a bandwidth having 80 MHz. RUs at the boundary of the frequency band are not allocated to STAs. For example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 320 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that RU1, RU37, RU38, RU74, RU75, RU75, RU75, RU111, RU112 and RU148 are not allocated to STAs. As another example, in a first PPDU conforming to a second bandwidth of 320 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that RU1, RU16, RU17, RU32, RU33 are among RUs having a RU size corresponding to a 52-tone RU , RU48, RU49 and RU64 are not allocated to STAs. As another example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 320 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that MRU1, MRU8, MRU9 of the MRUs having an MRU size corresponding to (106+26) tone MRUs , MRU16, MRU17, MRU24, MRU25, and MRU32 are not allocated to STAs. As another example, in the first PPDU conforming to the second bandwidth of 320 MHz, the AP may perform scheduling such that MRU2, MRU3, MRU4 of the MRUs have an MRU size corresponding to a (484+242) tone MRU , MRU5, MRU6, MRU7, MRU10, MRU11, MRU12, MRU13, MRU14, and MRU15 are not allocated to STAs.

In FIGS. 18A and 18B , the RUs excluded from allocation to STAs may vary depending on the type of RUs constituting the second PPDU.

FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram of an Internet of Things (IoT) network system 1000 to which the embodiment is applied.

Referring to FIG. 14 , an IoT network system 1000 may include multiple IoT devices, an AP 1200 , a gateway 1250 , a wireless network 1300 and a server 1400 . IoT may refer to a network among things using wired/wireless communication.

IoT devices can be grouped by their characteristics. For example, IoT devices may be divided into a group of household gadgets 1100 , a group of home appliances/furniture 1120 , a group of entertainment equipment 1140 , and a group of vehicles 1160 . A plurality of IoT devices (eg, a group of household gadgets 1100 , home appliances/furniture 1120 , and entertainment equipment 1140 ) may be connected to a communication network or another IoT device via the AP 1200 . AP 1200 can be embedded in an IoT device. Gateway 1250 can change protocols to allow AP 1200 to access external wireless networks. IoT devices (eg, a group of home gadgets 1100 , home appliances/furniture 1120 , and entertainment devices 1140 ) can be connected to an external communication network via a gateway 1250 . Wireless network 1300 may include the Internet and/or public networks. A plurality of IoT devices (for example, a household gadget 1100, a household appliance/furniture 1120, a group of entertainment devices 1140, and a vehicle 1160) can be connected to a server 1400 providing a specific service via a wireless network 1300, and users can At least one of the devices (eg, household gadget 1100 , household electrical equipment/furniture 1120 , group of entertainment equipment 1140 , and vehicle 1160 ) uses the service.

According to an embodiment, multiple IoT devices (eg, household gadgets 1100 , household appliances/furniture 1120 , groups of entertainment devices 1140 , and vehicles 1160 ) can transmit to and receive pieces of performance information from each other in a wide bandwidth, And the signal can be demodulated and transmitted/received based on pieces of performance information. Accordingly, IoT devices (eg, household gadgets 1100 , household appliances/furniture 1120 , a group of entertainment devices 1140 , and vehicles 1160 ) can provide high-quality services to users by performing efficient and effective communication.

In the embodiments described above, the hardware access method has been described as an example. However, other embodiments include software-based access methods. In addition, various functions described above may be implemented or supported by artificial intelligence technology or one or more computer programs, wherein each of the programs is formed of computer-readable code and executed in a computer-readable recording medium. "Application" and "program" mean one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related materials, or portions thereof, suitable for implementing pieces of computer readable code. "Computer readable code" includes all types of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. "Computer readable media" includes all types of media that can be accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), hard drives, compact discs (compact disk; CD), digital video disk (DVD) and other types of memory. "Non-transitory" computer readable media excludes wired, wireless, optical or other communication links that transmit transient electrical or other signals. Non-transitory computer readable media include media in which data can be stored permanently and media in which data can be stored and rewritten at a later time, such as rewritable optical discs or removable memory devices.

While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and described with reference to its embodiments, it should be understood that various changes in form and details could be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

100, 200, 300: wireless communication system 101, 103, 210, 310, 410, 1200: Access Point (AP) 111, 112, 113, 114, 220, 320, 330, 420: base station (STA) 120, 125: coverage area 130: Network 211, 221: Antenna 212, 222: Transceiver 213, 223: Processing circuit system 214, 224: performance information 1000: Internet of Things (IoT) network system 1100: household gadgets 1120:Household appliances/furniture 1140: Entertainment equipment 1160: Vehicle 1250: Gateway 1300: wireless network 1400: server BW1: the first bandwidth BW2: second bandwidth CH1: the first channel CH2: second channel S110, S120, S121a, S121b, S122a, S122b, S123a, S123b, S130, S140, S200, S210, S220, S230, S240: Operation

Embodiments will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. 3A and 3B are block diagrams for explaining the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the error rate of a physical packet data unit (PPDU) allocated to a base station (STA) supporting a wider bandwidth and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS). 5A is a view illustrating an enhancement of an extremely high throughput (EHT) capability element format for transmitting performance information according to an embodiment, and FIGS. 5B and 5C are diagrams illustrating an embodiment for transmitting View of the "EHT PHY Capability Information" field of performance information. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an operating method of an access point (AP) and an STA according to an embodiment. FIG. 7A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 7A . FIG. 8A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 8A . FIG. 9A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 9A . FIG. 10A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 10A . 11A, 11B, and 11C are views illustrating first performance information according to an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an embodiment of operation S120 of FIG. 6 . FIG. 13A is a view showing the "supported EHT-MCS and the number of spatial streams (NSS) set" field for transmitting the first performance information according to an embodiment; FIG. 13B and FIG. 13C are A view for explaining the performance of the STA indicated by the first performance information. FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a 'Supported EHT-MCS and NSS Sets' field for transmitting first performance information according to an embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an embodiment of operation S120 of FIG. 6 . FIG. 16A is a view showing first performance information according to an embodiment, and FIG. 16B is a view for explaining performance of an STA indicated by the first performance information of FIG. 16A . Fig. 17 is a flowchart of an operating method of an AP according to an embodiment. 18A and 18B are views for explaining a method of scheduling a second PPDU allocated to a wider bandwidth STA supporting an AP according to an embodiment. FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram of an Internet of things (Internet of things; IoT) network system of an application embodiment.

100: Wireless communication system

101, 103: Access Point (AP)

111, 112, 113, 114: base station (STA)

120, 125: coverage area

130: Network

Claims (20)

A base station (STA) communicating with an access point (AP) in a wireless area network (WLAN) system, the base station comprising: a transceiver configured to support transmission and reception of signals within at least a first bandwidth and to receive a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) conforming to a second bandwidth greater than the first bandwidth; and processing circuitry configured to support a second physical layer protocol data unit allocated to the base station within the first bandwidth from the first physical layer protocol data unit to support Wider bandwidth, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the transceiver to transmit to the access point an indication of which of a plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes (MCS) can be supported in a wider bandwidth according to the capabilities of the base station Performance information for one or more modulation and coding schemes. The base station according to claim 1, wherein a modulation and coding scheme conforming to the performance information among the one or more modulation and coding schemes is applied to the second physical layer protocol data unit. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes include modulation and coding schemes defined with indexes 0 to 15 in the IEEE P802.11be specification. The base station of claim 1, wherein the capability of the base station is related to the sharpness of a down-frequency filter used by the processing circuitry to obtain the second PHY data unit. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the performance information further indicates whether the second bandwidth can be supported. The base station of claim 1, wherein the performance information includes bits indicating which modulation and coding schemes among the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes are supportable. The base station of claim 1, wherein the performance information includes indicating whether each of the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes having a data rate equal to or greater than a reference value is feasible Supported bits. The base station of claim 1, wherein the performance information includes bits indicating a specific modulation and coding scheme with the highest data rate among the one or more modulation and coding schemes. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The one or more modulation and coding schemes are one or more first modulation and coding schemes; The base station may support a plurality of second modulation and coding schemes when the transceiver receives a third physical layer protocol data unit conforming to a third bandwidth less than or equal to the first bandwidth; and The performance information includes at least one bit indicating an offset from a particular modulation and coding scheme having a highest data rate among the plurality of second modulation and coding schemes. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The one or more modulation and coding schemes are a plurality of first modulation and coding schemes; The base station may support a plurality of second modulation and coding schemes when the transceiver receives a third physical layer protocol data unit conforming to a third bandwidth less than or equal to the first bandwidth; sorting the plurality of second modulation and coding schemes into a plurality of modulation and coding scheme groups comprising second modulation and coding schemes having the same maximum number of spatial streams; and The performance information includes at least one bit indicating an offset from a particular modulation and coding scheme having a highest data rate from at least one of the plurality of groups of modulation and coding schemes. The base station of claim 1, wherein the performance information includes information indicating the one or more modulation and coding schemes respectively corresponding to candidate values associated with the second bandwidth. The base station of claim 1, wherein the performance information further includes an indication of suppression levels that the base station can additionally support relative to adjacent channel suppression levels associated with the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes information. The base station of claim 1, wherein the second physical layer protocol data unit is received by the transceiver via resource units (RUs) contained in a frequency band supported by the base station, excluding those located in the frequency band supported by the base station. resource units at the boundary of the frequency band supported by the base station. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the performance information includes "extremely high throughput entity (PHY) capability information" defined in the "extremely high throughput (EHT) capability element format" defined in the IEEE P802.11be specification field. The base station according to claim 14, wherein the performance information corresponds to the field of "supported very high throughput - modulation and coding scheme and number of spatial streams (NSS) set" defined in the IEEE P802.11be specification associated. An access point (AP) for communicating with a base station (STA) supporting transmission and reception at least within a first bandwidth defined by conventional WLAN protocols in a WLAN system , the access points include: a transceiver configured to receive from the base station performance information indicative of one or more of a plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes (MCS), the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes can be supported by the base station in a second bandwidth wider than the first bandwidth, and transmit a first physical packet data unit (PPDU) to the base station; and processing circuitry configured to select a modulation and coding scheme from among the one or more modulation and coding schemes based on the performance information and channel status with the base station, and based on the selected a modulation and coding scheme to generate a second physical packet data unit, Wherein the first PDU includes the second PDU and conforms to the second bandwidth. An access point as claimed in claim 16, wherein: the performance information includes bits indicating a particular modulation and coding scheme having a highest data rate among the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes; and The processing circuitry is configured to identify a modulation and coding scheme among the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes having a data rate less than or equal to a data rate of the particular modulation and coding scheme based on the bits As the one or more modulation and coding schemes. An operating method of a base station (STA) for communicating with an access point (AP) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the operating method comprising: transmitting to the access point performance information indicative of one or more of a plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes (MCS) supportable in a second bandwidth according to capabilities of the base station, the the second bandwidth is wider than the first bandwidth defined by a conventional WLAN protocol; receiving a first physical packet data unit (PPDU) from the access point, of the one or more modulation and coding schemes, a modulation and coding scheme that conforms to the second bandwidth and conforms to the performance information applied to said first physical packet data unit (PPDU); and A second PDU allocated to the base station within the first bandwidth is obtained from the first PDU to support the second bandwidth. The operating method according to claim 18, wherein obtaining the second physical packet data unit comprises using at least one sampling rate determined according to the ratio between the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth and at least A down-sampling filter is used to sample, filter and down-sample the first PDU. The operating method according to claim 19, wherein the performance information includes bits indicating whether a modulation and coding scheme having a data rate equal to or greater than a reference value among the plurality of candidate modulation and coding schemes is supportable.

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