Avoiding media access control padding of trigger-based physical layer convergence protocol data unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11706663-B2
Application number	US-202117462061-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2021
Priority date	Dec 31, 2019
Publication date	Jul 18, 2023
Grant date	Jul 18, 2023

Abstract

A wireless station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) performs a method to avoid media access control (MAC) padding of a physical layer convergence protocol data unit (PPDU) (e.g., a trigger-based (TB) PPDU, etc.). The method can reduce current or power consumption by the STA, which can in turn optimize the STA and, in certain instances, the WLAN as whole. In one example, the method includes the STA receiving a trigger frame from an access point (AP). The trigger frame specifies a length of a PPDU. The method further includes the STA generating a TB PPDU based on the specifications in the trigger frame. In particular, the STA generates a PPDU that has a length that is less than the length specified by the trigger frame. The method also includes the STA transmitting the generated PPDU to the AP.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a wireless station (STA), a trigger frame, the trigger frame specifying a first length of a trigger-based (TB) packet;
generating, by the STA, the TB packet, wherein a second length of the generated TB packet is less than the first length;
transmitting, by the STA, the generated TB packet with a first gain level during an uplink transmission; and
shutting down the STA in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet and before an end of the uplink transmission, wherein shutting down the STA comprises reducing a gain of the STA from the first gain level at a slower rate than a rate of a brick wall response.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the STA, a block acknowledgement in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
refraining, by the STA, from transmitting any data in response to completing transmission of the TB packet.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein refraining, by the STA, from transmitting any data in response to completing transmission of the TB packet comprises:
refraining, by the STA, from transmitting any data prior to receiving the block acknowledgment.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the TB packet comprises:
padding the TB packet.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generated TB packet comprises:
a legacy preamble;
a high efficiency (HE) preamble; and
data.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein reducing the gain of the STA from the first gain level comprises reducing the gain, beginning at a first time, to a second gain level that is lower than the first gain level, and wherein the gain of the STA reaches the second gain level a plurality of μs after the first time.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second gain level is higher than the first gain level divided by 2.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein reducing the gain of the STA from the first gain level comprises reducing the gain at a rate selected to avoid transient events in other wireless stations that receive the transmitted TB packet.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the transient events correspond to a decrease in an error vector magnitude.

11. An apparatus, comprising:
communication circuitry configured to transmit and receive data; and
processing circuitry coupled to the communication circuitry and configured to:
receive, via the communication circuitry, a trigger frame, the trigger frame specifying a first length of a trigger-based (TB) packet;
generate the TB packet, wherein a second length of the generated TB packet is less than the first length;
transmit, via the communication circuitry, the generated TB packet with a first gain level during an uplink transmission; and
reduce a gain associated with transmitting the generated TB packet from the first gain level before an end of the uplink transmission at a slower rate than a rate of a brick wall response.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive, via the communication circuitry, a block acknowledgement in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet via the communication circuitry.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
refrain from transmitting, via the communication circuitry, any data in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet via the communication circuitry.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the processing circuitry being configured to refrain from transmitting, via the communication circuitry, any data in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet via the communication circuitry comprises the processing circuitry being configured to:
refrain from transmitting, via the communication circuitry, any data prior to receiving, via the communication circuitry, the block acknowledgment.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry being configured to generate the TB packet comprises the processing circuitry being configured to:
pad the TB packet.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the generated TB packet comprises:
a legacy preamble;
a high efficiency (HE) preamble; and
data.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to reduce the gain associated with transmitting the generated TB packet at a rate selected to avoid transient events in other wireless stations that receive the transmitted TB packet.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the transient events correspond to a decrease in an error vector magnitude.

19. One or more non-transitory computer readable mediums comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a wireless station (STA) to:
receive a trigger frame, the trigger frame specifying a first length of a trigger-based (TB) packet;
generate the TB packet, wherein a second length of the generated TB packet is less than the first length;
transmit the generated TB packet with a first gain level during an uplink transmission; and
shut down the STA in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet and before an end of the uplink transmission, wherein shutting down the STA comprises reducing a gain of the STA from the first gain level at a slower rate than a rate of a brick wall response.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums of claim 19 , further comprising instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the STA to:
receive a block acknowledgement in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet.

21. The one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums of claim 20 , further comprising instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the STA to:
refrain from transmitting any data in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet.

22. The one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums of claim 21 , wherein the instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the STA to refrain from transmitting any data in response to completing transmission of the generated TB packet comprise instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the STA to:
refrain from transmitting any data prior to receiving the block acknowledgment.

23. The one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums of claim 19 , wherein the instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the STA to generate the TB packet comprise instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the STA to:
pad the TB packet.

24. The one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums of claim 19 , wherein reducing the gain of the STA from the first gain level comprises reducing the gain at a rate selected to avoid transient events in other wireless stations that receive the transmitted TB packet.

25. The one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums of claim 24 , wherein the transient events correspond to a decrease in an error vector magnitude.

Assignees

• Texas Instruments Inc

Inventors

• Shani Oren Aharon
• Erez Shai
• Ben-Shachar Matan

Classifications

• H04W28/06 Primary

  Optimizing {the usage of the radio link}, e.g. header compression, information sizing {, discarding information (system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365)} · CPC title

• H04L1/1607

  Details of the supervisory signal · CPC title

• H04W52/0209 Primary

  in terminal devices · CPC title

• H04W80/02

  Data link layer protocols · CPC title

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title