IP Verse

Control Information For Multi-User Transmissions In Wlan Systems

Patent No. US10965425 (titled "Control Information For Multi-User Transmissions In Wlan Systems") was filed by Atlas Global Technologies Llc on Jun 21, 2019.

What is this patent about?

’425 is related to the field of wireless communication, specifically addressing multi-user transmissions in wireless local area networks (WLANs) using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). The background involves the increasing demand for higher efficiency and improved performance in WLANs, especially with the rise of video traffic and the need to support various applications while maintaining reasonable outdoor performance.

The underlying idea behind ’425 is to efficiently signal resource allocation for a special resource unit (RU) in OFDMA systems, particularly the center 26-tone RU in 80 MHz and 160 MHz bandwidths. The key insight is to embed the control information for this special RU within the existing High Efficiency Signal-B (HE-SIG-B) field structure, minimizing overhead and ensuring compatibility with the IEEE 802.11ax standard.

The claims of ’425 focus on an access point (AP) generating a frame for transmission to multiple stations, where each station is allocated a resource unit. The frame includes two HE-SIG-B fields, each containing a common information field and station-specific information. Crucially, the claims cover the scenario where, for bandwidths exceeding a threshold, an indication is provided as to whether a special resource unit (the center 26-tone RU) is allocated, and the station-specific information for this special RU is located at the end of either HE-SIG-B field.

In practice, the invention allows an AP to allocate the center 26-tone RU to a station and signal this allocation without requiring a completely separate signaling mechanism. The AP generates a frame with two HE-SIG-B fields, each responsible for allocating resources in different subbands. The common information field in each HE-SIG-B indicates whether the special RU is allocated. If it is, the station-specific information for that RU is appended to the end of one of the HE-SIG-B fields, allowing the station to determine its resource allocation.

This approach differentiates itself from prior solutions by avoiding the need for dedicated signaling fields or complex modifications to the HE-SIG-B structure. By strategically placing the control information for the center 26-tone RU at the end of the existing HE-SIG-B fields, the invention minimizes overhead and ensures efficient resource allocation, particularly in scenarios where the special RU is used infrequently or its allocation is dynamic. The use of two HE-SIG-B fields allows for concurrent transmission in separate channels of the channel bandwidth.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the mid-2010s when ’425 was filed, wireless local area networks commonly relied on access points and non-access point stations. At a time when orthogonal frequency division multiple access was being introduced to WLAN, resource units formed building blocks that could be assigned to stations for communication with an access point. When hardware or software constraints made it non-trivial to efficiently encode control information for multi-user transmissions, the amount of control information provided by the access point to the station, and vice versa, could vary depending on the types of technologies applicable to the resource units assigned for each station.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner approved the application because the prior art did not disclose or make obvious the specific combination of a first and second high efficiency signal-B (HE-SIG-B) field arranged and transmitted as claimed. Specifically, the claims recite the frame comprising a first high efficiency signal-B field and a second HE-SIG-B field arranged in a plurality of content channels occupying respective subbands of the channel bandwidth of the frame, with specific content and indications within those fields.

Claims

This patent contains 20 claims, of which claims 1, 8, and 15 are independent. The independent claims are directed to an access point, a station, and a method, respectively, all pertaining to facilitating communication in a wireless network using a specific frame structure with high efficiency signal-B fields for resource allocation in multi-user transmissions. The dependent claims generally elaborate on specific aspects of the frame structure, such as the number of tones, bandwidth sizes, and duplication of fields.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Content channels
(Claim 1, Claim 8, Claim 15)		“The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, Task Group ax, provides a new generation of wireless local area network (WLAN). In an aspect, IEEE 802.11ax may be referred to as high efficiency (HE) WLAN (HEW) or simply HE.”Subbands of the channel bandwidth that carry the HE-SIG-B fields. The first and second HE-SIG-B fields are arranged within these content channels.
High efficiency signal-B (HE-SIG-B) field
(Claim 1, Claim 8, Claim 15)		“In one or more implementations, the subject technology provides an HE signal B (e.g., HE-SIG-B) encoding structure. In an aspect, HE-SIG-B may be referred to as HE-SIG-B field, SIG-B, SIG-B field, or variant thereof. In an aspect, a station may be referred to as a user.”A field within a frame used for wireless communication, specifically related to high efficiency WLAN systems. The HE-SIG-B field is arranged in content channels and carries common information and station-specific information related to resource unit allocation.
Resource unit allocation information
(Claim 1, Claim 8, Claim 15)		“In OFDMA, resource units (RUs) form building blocks that may be assigned to stations (STAs) for communication with an access point (AP). In an aspect, the AP includes a scheduler that can assign one or more resource units to each station participating in the OFDMA-based communication.”Information contained within the common information field of the HE-SIG-B field that specifies how resource units are assigned to stations within the wireless network.
Set of direct current (DC) tones
(Claim 1, Claim 8, Claim 15)		“In an aspect, duplicated resource unit(s) in the frequency domain in OFDMA may be helpful in allowing robust communication for outdoor circumstances. The duplicated RUs, which may be contiguous or non-contiguous RUs, may be repeated and assigned for STAs in OFDMA.”A set of tones within a resource unit around the direct current frequency, with other tones being located on either side.
Station specific information fields
(Claim 1, Claim 8, Claim 15)		“An amount of control information (e.g., provided by the AP to STA, and/or vice versa) may be different depending on the types of technologies/structures applicable to the resource units assigned for each STA.”Fields within the HE-SIG-B field that contain information specific to individual stations, such as parameters for communication or resource usage.

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US10965425

ATLAS GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC
Application Number
US16449245
Filing Date
Jun 21, 2019
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Oct 14, 2036
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents