Systems and methods for generating and decoding short control frames in wireless communications

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for communicating short control frames are described herein. In some aspects, a method of wireless communication includes generating a control frame comprising a contention free end (CF-end) frame, the CF-end frame comprising a physical layer preamble having a type field, the type field including an indicator indicating the CF-end frame is a null data packet (NDP). The method further includes transmitting the control frame.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of wireless communication, comprising:
 generating a null data packet (NDP) control frame comprising a contention free end (CF-end) frame, the NDP control frame comprising a physical layer preamble having a type field, the type field including an indicator indicating the CF-end frame; and   transmitting the NDP control frame.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the type field includes 3 bits. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the NDP control frame further comprises an indicator differentiating between a CF-end and a clear to send (CTS). 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the indicator comprises 1 bit, wherein if the bit is set to 1 the NDP control frame is the CF-end, and wherein if the bit is set to 0 the NDP control frame is the CTS. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the NDP control frame includes a duration field. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the duration field is set to 0, or to a non-zero value of a network allocation vector (NAV) that was sent from a previously transmitted frame of a wireless device, to indicate the completion of a transmission opportunity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the duration field has a size of 10 bits in length indicating the NDP control frame has a 1 MHz bandwidth. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the duration field has a size of 15 bits in length indicating the NDP control frame has a greater than or equal to 2 MHz bandwidth. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the NDP control frame includes an identifier, the identifier identifying a wireless device transmitting the NDP control frame. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the identifier is an association identifier (AID) or a medium access control (MAC) address of the wireless device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the identifier includes 9 bits. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the NDP control frame includes an identifier, the identifier having a value of a network allocation vector (NAV) that was sent from a previously transmitted frame of a wireless device. 
     
     
         13 . A device for communicating in a wireless network, the device comprising:
 a processor configured to generate a null data packet (NDP) control frame comprising a contention free end (CF-end) frame, the NDP control frame comprising a physical layer preamble having a type field, the type field including an indicator indicating the CF-end frame; and   a transmitter configured to transmit the NDP control frame.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the type field includes 3 bits. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the NDP control frame further comprises an indicator differentiating between a CF-end and clear to send (CTS). 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 15 , wherein the indicator comprises 1 bit, wherein if the bit is set to 1 the NDP control frame is the CF-end, and wherein if the bit is set to 0 the NDP control frame is the CTS. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the NDP control frame includes a duration field. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 17 , wherein the duration field is set to 0, or to a non-zero value of a network allocation vector (NAV) that was sent from a previously transmitted frame of the device, to indicate the completion of a transmission opportunity. 
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 17 , wherein the duration field has a size of 10 bits in length indicating the NDP control frame has a 1 MHz bandwidth. 
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 17 , wherein the duration field has a size of 15 bits in length indicating the NDP control frame has a greater than or equal to 2 MHz bandwidth. 
     
     
         21 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the NDP control frame includes an identifier, the identifier identifying a wireless device transmitting the NDP control frame. 
     
     
         22 . The device of  claim 21 , wherein the identifier is an association identifier (AID) or a medium access control (MAC) address of the device. 
     
     
         23 . The device of  claim 21 , wherein the identifier includes 9 bits. 
     
     
         24 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the NDP control frame includes an identifier, the identifier having a value of a network allocation vector (NAV) that was sent from a previously transmitted frame of the device. 
     
     
         25 . A device for communicating in a wireless network, the device comprising:
 means for generating a null data packet (NDP) control frame comprising a contention free end (CF-end) frame, the NDP control frame comprising a physical layer preamble having a type field, the type field including an indicator indicating the CF-end frame; and   means for transmitting the NDP control frame.   
     
     
         26 . The device of  claim 25 , wherein the type field includes 3 bits. 
     
     
         27 . The device of  claim 26 , wherein the NDP control frame further comprises an indicator differentiating between a CF-end and a clear to send (CTS). 
     
     
         28 . The device of  claim 27 , wherein the indicator comprises 1 bit, wherein if the bit is set to 1 the NDP control frame is the CF-end, and wherein if the bit is set to 0 the NDP control frame is the CTS. 
     
     
         29 . The device of  claim 25 , wherein the NDP control frame includes a duration field. 
     
     
         30 . The device of  claim 29 , wherein the duration field is set to 0, or to a non-zero value of a network allocation vector (NAV) that was sent from a previously transmitted frame of a wireless device, to indicate the completion of a transmission opportunity.