Patent Description:
The present disclosure is generally related to wireless communications and, in particular, to extreme high-throughput (EHT) preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to methods according to the preamble parts of the independent claims, respectively. Such methods are disclosed in each of the documents <CIT> and <CIT>.

For next-generation wireless communications, including wireless local area networks (WLANs) based on the upcoming Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards such as the IEEE <NUM> be, EHT transmissions would enable Physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs) and aggregation of multiple resource units (herein interchangeably referred to as "multi-RUs" and "MRUs") in the <NUM> and <NUM> bandwidths. Specifically, to enable such features, preamble designs based on the IEEE <NUM>. 11ax/ac standards would not be efficient as the length of the preamble could be very long. In addition, for next-generation EHT WLANs, it would be desirable that a single EHT multi-user (MU) transmission could serve both EHT stations (STAs) and high-efficiency (HE) STAs.

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce concepts,
highlights, benefits and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Select implementations are further described below in the detailed description. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide schemes, concepts, designs, techniques, methods and apparatuses pertaining to EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications such as WLANs. Under various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure, it is believed that a preamble proposed herein may enable EHT transmissions with higher efficiency and, additionally, may be used to serve mixed clients such as EHT STAs and HE STAs. Methods according to the invention are defined in the independent claims. The dependent claims define preferred embodiments thereof.

In one aspect, a method may involve receiving an aggregated PPDU which is transmitted over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of STAs. The method may also involve decoding a preamble of a specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths.

In another aspect, a method may involve generating an aggregated PPDU. The method may also involve transmitting the aggregated PPDU over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of STAs.

It is noteworthy that, although description provided herein may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as, Wi-Fi, the proposed concepts, schemes and any variation(s)/derivative(s) thereof may be implemented in, for and by other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as, for example and without limitation, Bluetooth, ZigBee, <NUM>th Generation (<NUM>)/New Radio (NR), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, Internet-of-Things (IoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT) and narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

Referring to <FIG>, network environment <NUM> may involve a communication entity <NUM> and a communication entity <NUM> (and, optionally, a communication entity <NUM>) communicating wirelessly (e.g., in a WLAN in accordance with one or more IEEE <NUM> standards such as IEEE <NUM> be). Each of communication entity <NUM>, communication entity <NUM> and communication entity <NUM> may be a STA in a WLAN. More specifically, each of communication entity <NUM>, communication entity <NUM> and communication entity <NUM> may function or otherwise be configured as an access point (AP) STA or a non-AP STA. Under various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure, communication entity <NUM>, communication entity <NUM> and communication entity <NUM> may be configured to perform transmissions with new EHT preamble designs to mixed clients/STAs in wireless communications, as described herein.

<FIG> is a diagram of an example preamble format <NUM> in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Referring to <FIG>, preamble format <NUM> may represent a general format of an EHT PPDU. Preamble format <NUM> may include a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training fields (L-LTFs), a legacy signal field (L-SIG), a repeated legacy signal field (RL-SIG), a universal signal field (U-SIG), an EHT signal field (EHT-SIG), an EHT short training field (EHT-STF), EHT long training fields (EHT-LTFs), and a data field. Under the proposed scheme, detection of the EHT PPDU may be based on the LENGTH field in L-SIG and RL-SIG to a value N such that mod(N, <NUM>) = <NUM>.

Under the proposed scheme, a length of the U-SIG field may be two orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols long, and the U-SIG field may be jointly encoded in the EHT preamble immediately after the RL-SIG field. The U-SIG field may contain a version-independent content, which is intended to achieve better coexistence among future IEEE <NUM> generations. In addition, the U-SIG field may also include one or more version-dependent field(s). Under the proposed scheme, the EHT-SIG field may have a variable length and it may be modulated and coded via various modulation coding schemes (MCS). Under the proposed scheme, the EHT-SIG field may be immediately after the U-SIG field.

Each of <FIG> and <FIG> illustrates an example scenario 300A/300B of per-<NUM> preamble signaling in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, per-<NUM> preamble signaling may be preferred in order to reduce the length of the EHT-SIG field. Under the proposed scheme, the U-SIG field may be duplicated within (but not outside) a given <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. That is, the U-SIG field in each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth may be the same, while the U-SIG field in one <NUM>-MHz bandwidth may be different from the U-SIG field in another <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, the EHT-SIG field may correspond to two or four content channels. Furthermore, under the proposed scheme, the EHT-SIG field may carry different contents for a plurality of content channels in each of a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths or in each of a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths (e.g., for PPDU bandwidth larger than <NUM>).

Furthermore, in scenario 300A and scenario 300B, each STA (e.g., STA <NUM>, STA <NUM> and STA <NUM>) may be aware of which specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth its content channel(s) is/are located in before receiving a given EHT PPDU. For instance, a subchannel selective transmission (SST) mechanism may be utilized by the STAs to obtain identifying information that identifies the specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which respective content channels are located. Accordingly, each STA may process or decode the preamble (including the SFTs and LTFs) of one specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which its content channel(s) is/are located, and there is no need for the STA to process/decode the preamble of any other <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which its content channel(s) is/are not located. Moreover, an HE STA that supports HE SST operation may set dot11HESubchannelSelectiveTransmissionlmplemented to true and may set the HE SST Support field in the HE Capabilities element it transmits to <NUM>. Furthermore, an HE STA that does not support HE SST operation may set the HE SST Support field in the HE Capabilities element it transmits to <NUM>. Additionally, in some cases, the SST operation may be implemented using a target wake time (TWT). This feature is hence referred to as "per-<NUM> preamble signaling" herein and is implemented not only in scenarios 300A and 300B but also in scenarios 400A, 400B, 500A and 500B described below.

In scenario 300A, an aggregated PPDU in two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is shown, with the top one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and the bottom one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Under the proposed scheme, the U-SIG field is duplicated within each of the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths. In scenario 300A, for the U-SIG field, U-SIG1 is duplicated in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and U-SIG2 is duplicated in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG1-A for a first STA and EHT-SIG1-B for a second STA. Similarly, in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG2-A for a third STA and EHT-SIG2-B for a fourth STA.

In scenario 300B, an aggregated PPDU in two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is shown, with the bottom one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and the top one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Under the proposed scheme, the U-SIG field is duplicated within each of the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths. In scenario 300B, for the U-SIG field, U-SIG1 is duplicated in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and U-SIG2 is duplicated in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG2-A for a first STA and EHT-SIG2-B for a second STA. Similarly, in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG1-A for a third STA and EHT-SIG1-B for a fourth STA.

Each of <FIG> and <FIG> illustrates an example scenario 400A/400B of simultaneous transmissions to mixed clients in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields are different for each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth or each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth such that HE and EHT formats are transmitted within one EHT PPDU. For instance, in scenario 400A and scenario 400B, the LENGTH field in L-SIG1 and L-SIG2 is used to differentiate EHT or HE PPDU types. Under the proposed scheme, boundaries of OFDM symbols of the different fields and content channels in the multiple <NUM>-MHz bandwidths need to be aligned in the time domain. Moreover, there is no maximal-ratio combining (MRC) issue crossing a given <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in case each STA knows that its content-carrying bandwidth is <NUM> and that "bandwidth + puncture" information is contained in the U-SIG field of each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. It is noteworthy that the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths in each of scenario 400A and scenario 400B may be regarded as two aggregated PPDUs in the frequency domain on a <NUM>-MHz or <NUM>-MHz basis.

Furthermore, in scenario 400A and scenario 400B, each STA (e.g., STA <NUM>, STA <NUM> and STA <NUM>) may be aware of which specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth its content channel(s) is/are located in before receiving a given EHT PPDU. For instance, an SST mechanism may be utilized by the STAs to obtain identifying information that identifies the specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which respective content channels are located. Accordingly, each STA may process or decode the preamble (including the SFTs and LTFs) of one specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which its content channel(s) is/are located, and there is no need for the STA to process/decode the preamble of any other <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which its content channel(s) is/are not located.

In scenario 400A, an aggregated PPDU (or two aggregated PPDUs) in two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is shown, with the top one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and the bottom one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Under the proposed scheme, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is L-SIG1 and RL-SIG1, respectively, to indicate that the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is in the EHT format. Similarly, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is L-SIG2 and RL-SIG2, respectively, to indicate that the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is in the HE format. In scenario 400A, for the U-SIG field, U-SIG1 is duplicated in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and HE-SIGA is duplicated in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG1-A for a first STA and EHT-SIG1-B for a second STA. Similarly, in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a third STA and HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a fourth STA.

In scenario 400B, an aggregated PPDU (or two aggregated PPDUs) in two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is shown, with the bottom one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and the top one of the two <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Under the proposed scheme, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is L-SIG2 and RL-SIG2, respectively, to indicate that the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is in the HE format. Similarly, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is L-SIG1 and RL-SIG1, respectively, to indicate that the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth is in the EHT format. In scenario 400B, for the U-SIG field, HE-SIGA is duplicated in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and U-SIG1 is duplicated in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a first STA and HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a second STA. Similarly, in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG1-A for a third STA and EHT-SIG1-B for a fourth STA.

Each of <FIG> and <FIG> illustrates an example scenario 500A/500B of simultaneous transmissions to mixed clients in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, the concept described above may be applied to a <NUM>-MHz PPDU in order to avoid bandwidth or possible MRC issue. It is noteworthy that the fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths in each of scenario 500A and scenario 500B may be regarded as one, two or four aggregated PPDUs in the frequency domain on a <NUM>-MHz, <NUM>-MHz or <NUM>-MHz basis.

Furthermore, in scenario 500A and scenario 500B, each STA (e.g., STA <NUM>, STA <NUM> and STA <NUM>) may be aware of which specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth its content channel(s) is/are located in before receiving a given EHT PPDU. For instance, an SST mechanism may be utilized by the STAs to obtain identifying information that identifies the specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which respective content channels are located. Accordingly, each STA may process or decode the preamble (including the SFTs and LTFs) of one specific <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which its content channel(s) is/are located, and there is no need for the STA to process/decode the preamble of any other <NUM>-MHz bandwidth in which its content channel(s) is/are not located.

In scenario 500A, an aggregated PPDU (or two or four aggregated PPDUs) in four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is shown, with the top one of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, the second one from top of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, the third one from top of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a third <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, and the bottom one of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Under the proposed scheme, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is L-SIG and RL-SIG, respectively, to indicate that the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths are in the EHT format. Similarly, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is L-SIG2 and RL-SIG2, respectively, to indicate that the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths are in the HE format. In scenario 500A, for the U-SIG field, U-SIG1 is duplicated in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, U-SIG2 is duplicated in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, and HE-SIGA is duplicated in the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths. Moreover, in the primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG1-A for a first STA and EHT-SIG1-B for a second STA. Similarly, in the secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG2-A for a third STA and EHT-SIG2-B for a fourth STA. Likewise, in the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a fifth STA and HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a sixth STA.

In scenario 500B, an aggregated PPDU (or two or four aggregated PPDUs) in four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is shown, with the bottom one of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, the second one from bottom of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, the third one from bottom of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a third <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, and the top one of the four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths being a fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Under the proposed scheme, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is L-SIG2 and RL-SIG2, respectively, to indicate that the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths are in the HE format. Similarly, the LENGTH field in each of the L-SIG and RL-SIG fields in the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths is L-SIG and RL-SIG, respectively, to indicate that the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths are in the EHT format. In scenario 500B, for the U-SIG field, HE-SIGA is duplicated in the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, U-SIG2 is duplicated in the third <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, and U-SIG1 is duplicated in the fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, in the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a first STA and HE-SIGB-<NUM> for a second STA. Similarly, in the third <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG2-A for a third STA and EHT-SIG2-B for a fourth STA. Likewise, in the fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidth the EHT-SIG field corresponds to two content channels, namely EHT-SIG1-A for a fifth STA and EHT-SIG1-B for a sixth STA. Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, the HE portion (including the primary and secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidths for a total of <NUM> bandwidth) may carry the same content or information. Moreover, for the EHT portion (including the third and fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidths), each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth may carry information/content different from that carried in the other <NUM>-MHz bandwidth.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, an indication of bandwidth plus puncture may be within the U-SIG field and may be different for each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. For instance, for each <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, there may be several (e.g., six) possible puncture modes and, thus, a four-bit bitmap may be used for puncture. In case that bandwidth and puncture patterns are combined, then six bits (e.g., for a six-bit bitmap) may be required in the U-SIG field.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, each STA (e.g., STA <NUM>, STA <NUM> and STA <NUM>) may be aware of the location (e.g., in the frequency domain) of its content channel(s) before reception of one or more PPDUs (e.g., in accordance with the IEEE <NUM>. 11be standard). Under the proposed scheme, information such as RU allocation and modulation for each target (or recipient) STA may be carried in the EHT-SIG fields. Moreover, there may be various ways to design the content channels. In a first approach, similar to that defined in the IEEE <NUM>. 11ax standard, two content channels may be independently encoded. In a second approach, four content channels may be independently encoded. In a third approach, four content channels, or one large bandwidth (e.g., <NUM>-MHz bandwidth) content channel, may be jointly encoded.

<FIG> illustrates an example system <NUM> having at least an example apparatus <NUM> and an example apparatus <NUM> in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may perform various functions to implement schemes, techniques, processes and methods described herein pertaining to EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications, including the various schemes described above with respect to various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above as well as processes described below. For instance, apparatus <NUM> may be an example implementation of communication entity <NUM>, and apparatus <NUM> may be an example implementation of communication entity <NUM> or communication entity <NUM>.

Each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be a part of an electronic apparatus, which may be a non-AP STA or an AP STA, such as a portable or mobile apparatus, a wearable apparatus, a wireless communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in a smartphone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing equipment such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer or a notebook computer. Each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may also be a part of a machine type apparatus, which may be an IoT apparatus such as an immobile or a stationary apparatus, a home apparatus, a wire communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart fridge, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network apparatus, apparatus <NUM> and/or apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in a network node, such as an AP in a WLAN.

In some implementations, each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips such as, for example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors. In the various schemes described above, each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be implemented in or as a STA or an AP. Each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may include at least some of those components shown in <FIG> such as a processor <NUM> and a processor <NUM>, respectively, for example. Each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may further include one or more other components not pertinent to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device and/or user interface device), and, thus, such component(s) of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> are neither shown in <FIG> nor described below in the interest of simplicity and brevity.

In one aspect, each of processor <NUM> and processor <NUM> may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors or one or more CISC processors. That is, even though a singular term "a processor" is used herein to refer to processor <NUM> and processor <NUM>, each of processor <NUM> and processor <NUM> may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in other implementations in accordance with the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of processor <NUM> and processor <NUM> may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware) with electronic components including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors and/or one or more varactors that are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes in accordance with the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processor <NUM> and processor <NUM> is a special-purpose machine specifically designed, arranged and configured to perform specific tasks including those pertaining to EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications in accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure. For instance, each of processor <NUM> and processor <NUM> may be configured with hardware components, or circuitry, implementing one, some or all of the proposed schemes, designs, concepts, examples and embodiments described herein.

In some implementations, apparatus <NUM> may also include a transceiver <NUM> coupled to processor <NUM>. Transceiver <NUM> may be capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, apparatus <NUM> may also include a transceiver <NUM> coupled to processor <NUM>. Transceiver <NUM> may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data.

Each of apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, a description of capabilities of apparatus <NUM>, as communication entity <NUM>, and apparatus <NUM>, as communication entity <NUM> or communication entity <NUM>, is provided below. It is noteworthy that, although the example implementations described below are provided in the context of WLAN, the same may be implemented in other types of networks. Thus, although the following description of example implementations pertains to a scenario in which apparatus <NUM> functions as a transmitting device and apparatus <NUM> functions as a receiving device, the same is also applicable to another scenario in which apparatus <NUM> functions as a receiving device and apparatus <NUM> functions as a transmitting device.

In one aspect of EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications in accordance with the present disclosure, processor <NUM> of apparatus <NUM> (e.g., as STA <NUM> in network environment <NUM>) may receive, via transceiver <NUM>, an aggregated PPDU (e.g., from apparatus <NUM> as STA <NUM> or STA <NUM> in network environment <NUM>) which is transmitted over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of STAs. Additionally, processor <NUM> may decode a preamble of a specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths.

In some implementations, the aggregated PPDU may contain data for STAs of at least two different generations.

In some implementations, the aggregated PPDU may include an EHT PPDU and a HE PPDU. In such cases, the EHT PPDU may contain data for one or more EHT STAs, and the HE PPDU may contain data for one or more HE STAs.

In some implementations (e.g., as shown in <FIG>), the HE PPDU may include a primary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and a secondary <NUM>-MHz bandwidth, thereby covering a <NUM>-MHz bandwidth total in which same information is carried. Moreover, the EHT PPDU may include a third <NUM>-MHz bandwidth and a fourth <NUM>-MHz bandwidth each of which carrying respective information different from that carried in the other <NUM>-MHz bandwidth of the EHT PPDU.

In some implementations, in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, a LENGTH field in a legacy signal (L-SIG) field may be used to differentiate the EHT PPDU and the HE PPDU.

In some implementations, boundaries of OFDM symbols of a plurality of fields and a plurality of content channels in the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths may be aligned in a time domain.

In some implementations, in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, a universal signal (U-SIG) field may be the same for a plurality of content channels in the respective <NUM>-MHz bandwidth.

In some implementations, a first U-SIG field in a first <NUM>-MHz bandwidth of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths and a second U-SIG field in a second <NUM>-MHz bandwidth of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths may be different.

In some implementations, information on bandwidth and puncture may be indicated in the U-SIG field. In some implementations, in an event that bandwidth and puncture patterns are combined, the U-SIG field may include six bits representing information on the bandwidth and puncture.

In some implementations, the U-SIG field may include a four-bit bitmap representing information on the puncture.

In some implementations, the aggregated PPDU may include a <NUM>-MHz PPDU or a <NUM>-MHz PPDU. In such cases, the aggregated PPDU may be transmitted over two or four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, respectively.

In some implementations, in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, an EHT signal (EHT-SIG) field may contain information on RU allocation and modulation for one or more target STAs of the respective <NUM>-MHz bandwidth.

In some implementations, the EHT-SIG field may carry different contents for a plurality of content channels in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths (or in each of a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths).

In some implementations, a plurality of content channels in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths may be independently encoded. Alternatively, the plurality of content channels in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths may be jointly encoded.

In some implementations, processor <NUM> may also obtain, via an SST mechanism, information that identifies the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths before receiving the aggregated PPDU. In such cases, in decoding the preamble, processor <NUM> may decode the preamble of the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths based on the identifying information.

In another aspect of EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications in accordance with the present disclosure, processor <NUM> of apparatus <NUM> (e.g., as STA <NUM> in network environment <NUM>) may generate an aggregated PPDU. Moreover, processor <NUM> may transmit, via transceiver <NUM>, the aggregated PPDU (e.g., to apparatus <NUM> as STA <NUM> or STA <NUM> in network environment <NUM>) over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of STAs.

In some implementations, in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, a universal signal (U-SIG) field may be the same for a plurality of content channels in the respective <NUM>-MHz bandwidth. In some implementations, a first U-SIG field in a first <NUM>-MHz bandwidth of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths and a second U-SIG field in a second <NUM>-MHz bandwidth of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths may be different.

In some implementations, information on bandwidth and puncture may be indicated in the U-SIG field.

In some implementations, the U-SIG field may include a four-bit bitmap representing information on the puncture. In some implementations, in an event that bandwidth and puncture patterns are combined, the U-SIG field may include six bits representing information on the bandwidth and puncture.

In some implementations, the EHT-SIG field may carry different contents for the plurality of content channels in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths (or in each of a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths).

In some implementations, the aggregated PPDU may include a <NUM>-MHz PPDU or a <NUM>-MHz PPDU and is transmitted over two or four <NUM>-MHz bandwidths, respectively.

In some implementations, a plurality of content channels in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths may be independently encoded or jointly encoded.

It is noteworthy that, although examples above with respect to different aspects of EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications are provided in the context of processor <NUM> of apparatus <NUM>, the same may be applied to processor <NUM> of apparatus <NUM>. That is, both processor <NUM> and processor <NUM> may be designed or otherwise configured to perform operations described above.

<FIG> illustrates an example process <NUM> in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process <NUM> may represent an aspect of implementing various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above. More specifically, process <NUM> may represent an aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes pertaining to EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications in accordance with the present disclosure. Process <NUM> may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks <NUM> and <NUM>. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process <NUM> may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks/sub-blocks of process <NUM> may be executed in the order shown in <FIG> or, alternatively in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process <NUM> may be executed repeatedly or iteratively. Process <NUM> may be implemented by or in apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> as well as any variations thereof. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process <NUM> is described below in the context of apparatus <NUM> as communication entity <NUM> (e.g., a transmitting device whether a non-AP STA or an AP STA) and apparatus <NUM> as communication entity <NUM> (e.g., a receiving device whether a non-AP STA or an AP STA) of a wireless network such as a WLAN in accordance with one or more of IEEE <NUM> standards. Process <NUM> may begin at block <NUM>.

At <NUM>, process <NUM> may involve processor <NUM> of apparatus <NUM> receiving, via transceiver <NUM>, an aggregated PPDU which is transmitted over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of STAs. Process <NUM> may proceed from <NUM> to <NUM>.

At <NUM>, process <NUM> may involve processor <NUM> decoding a preamble of a specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths.

In some implementations, process <NUM> may further involve processor <NUM> obtaining, via an SST mechanism, information that identifies the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths before receiving the aggregated PPDU. In such cases, in decoding the preamble, process <NUM> may involve processor <NUM> decoding the preamble of the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths based on the identifying information.

<FIG> illustrates an example process <NUM> in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process <NUM> may represent an aspect of implementing various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above. More specifically, process <NUM> may represent an aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes pertaining EHT preamble designs for transmissions to mixed clients in wireless communications in accordance with the present disclosure. Process <NUM> may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks <NUM> and <NUM>. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process <NUM> may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks/sub-blocks of process <NUM> may be executed in the order shown in <FIG> or, alternatively in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process <NUM> may be executed repeatedly or iteratively. Process <NUM> may be implemented by or in apparatus <NUM> and apparatus <NUM> as well as any variations thereof. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process <NUM> is described below in the context of apparatus <NUM> as communication entity <NUM> (e.g., a transmitting device whether a non-AP STA or an AP STA) and apparatus <NUM> as communication entity <NUM> (e.g., a receiving device whether a non-AP STA or an AP STA) of a wireless network such as a WLAN in accordance with one or more of IEEE <NUM> standards. Process <NUM> may begin at block <NUM>.

At <NUM>, process <NUM> may involve processor <NUM> of apparatus <NUM> generating an aggregated PPDU. Process <NUM> may proceed from <NUM> to <NUM>.

At <NUM>, process <NUM> may involve processor <NUM> transmitting, via transceiver <NUM>, the aggregated PPDU over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of STAs.

In some implementations, the EHT-SIG field may carry different contents for the plurality of content channels in each of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths (each of a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths).

Claim 1:
A method carried out by a receiver, the method comprising:
receiving an aggregated Physical Layer Convergence Procedure, in the following also referred to as PLCP, protocol data unit, in the following also referred to as PPDU, which is transmitted over a plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths with data for a plurality of stations, in the following also referred to as STAs, (<NUM>), wherein the aggregated PPDU comprises a preamble of a specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths; and
decoding the preamble of the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths (<NUM>);
characterized by:
obtaining, via a subchannel selective transmission, in the following also referred to as SST, mechanism, information that identifies the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths before receiving the aggregated PPDU,
wherein the decoding of the preamble comprises decoding the preamble of the specific one of the plurality of <NUM>-MHz bandwidths based on the identifying information.