Systems and methods for backwards-compatible preamble formats for multiple access wireless communication

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for wireless communication are disclosed herein. One aspect of the disclosure provides a method of transmitting to two or more wireless communication devices. The method includes transmitting a first section of a preamble according to a first format, the first section of the preamble containing information informing devices compatible with the first format to defer to the transmission, transmitting a second section of the preamble according to a second format, the second section of the preamble containing tone allocation information, the tone allocation information identifying two or more wireless communication devices; and transmitting data to the two or more wireless communication devices simultaneously, the data contained on two or more sub-bands.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of wireless communication with two or more wireless communication devices, the method comprising:
 transmitting a first section of a preamble using a first phase shift keying modulation on at least a first symbol of the first section;   transmitting a second section of the preamble using a second phase shift keying modulation on at least a second symbol of the second section, wherein the first phase shift keying modulation is different than the second phase shift keying modulation, and wherein the second section includes tone allocation information identifying the two or more wireless communication devices; and   transmitting data after the preamble to the two or more wireless communication devices.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second section indicates a bandwidth for each of a number of sub-bands spanning a communication bandwidth. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second section includes information assigning one or more of the sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices for receiving the data associated with the respective wireless communication device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the assignment of the one or more sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices is based, at least in part, on the tone allocation information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first section comprises a signal field decodable by devices compatible with an IEEE 802.11a standard. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second section comprises a high-efficiency (HE) signal field. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first section comprises a first high-efficiency (HE) signal field and the second section comprises a second high-efficiency (HE) signal field. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first HE signal field includes information indicating the second phase shift keying modulation used on the second section. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to wirelessly communicate with two or more wireless communication devices by performing operations comprising:
 transmitting a first section of a preamble using a first phase shift keying modulation on at least a first symbol of the first section; 
 transmitting a second section of the preamble using a second phase shift keying modulation on at least a second symbol of the second section, wherein the first phase shift keying modulation is different than the second phase shift keying modulation, and wherein the second section includes tone allocation information identifying the two or more wireless communication devices; and 
 transmitting data after the preamble to the two or more wireless communication devices. 
   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the second section indicates a bandwidth for each of a number of sub-bands spanning a communication bandwidth. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the second section includes information assigning one or more of the sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices for receiving the data associated with the respective wireless communication device. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the assignment of the one or more sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices is based, at least in part, on the tone allocation information. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the first section comprises a signal field decodable by devices compatible with an IEEE 802.11a standard. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the second section comprises a high-efficiency (HE) signal field. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the first section comprises a first high-efficiency (HE) signal field and the second section comprises a second high-efficiency (HE) signal field. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the first HE signal field includes information indicating the second phase shift keying modulation used on the second section. 
     
     
         17 . An access point, comprising:
 means for transmitting, to two or more wireless communication devices, a first section of a preamble using a first phase shift keying modulation on at least a first symbol of the first section;   means for transmitting, to the two or more wireless communication devices, a second section of the preamble using a second phase shift keying modulation on at least a second symbol of the second section, wherein the first phase shift keying modulation is different than the second phase shift keying modulation, and wherein the second section includes tone allocation information identifying the two or more wireless communication devices; and   means for transmitting, to the two or more wireless communication devices, data after the preamble.   
     
     
         18 . The access point of  claim 17 , wherein the second section indicates a bandwidth for each of a number of sub-bands spanning a communication bandwidth. 
     
     
         19 . The access point of  claim 18 , wherein the second section includes information assigning one or more of the sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices for receiving the data associated with the respective wireless communication device. 
     
     
         20 . The access point of  claim 19 , wherein the assignment of the one or more sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices is based, at least in part, on the tone allocation information. 
     
     
         21 . The access point of  claim 17 , wherein the first section comprises a signal field decodable by devices compatible with an IEEE 802.11a standard. 
     
     
         22 . The access point of  claim 17 , wherein the first section comprises a first high-efficiency (HE) signal field and the second section comprises a second high-efficiency (HE) signal field. 
     
     
         23 . The access point of  claim 22 , wherein the first HE signal field includes information indicating the second phase shift keying modulation used on the second section. 
     
     
         24 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to wirelessly communicate with two or more wireless communication devices by performing operations comprising:
 transmitting a first section of a preamble using a first phase shift keying modulation on at least a first symbol of the first section;   transmitting a second section of the preamble using a second phase shift keying modulation on at least a second symbol of the second section, wherein the first phase shift keying modulation is different than the second phase shift keying modulation, and wherein the second section includes tone allocation information identifying the two or more wireless communication devices; and   transmitting data after the preamble to the two or more wireless communication devices.   
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the second section indicates a bandwidth for each of a number of sub-bands spanning a communication bandwidth for receiving the data associated with the respective wireless communication device. 
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 25 , wherein the second section includes information assigning one or more of the sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices for receiving the data associated with the respective wireless communication device. 
     
     
         27 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 26 , wherein the assignment of one or more sub-bands to each of the two or more wireless communication devices is based, at least in part, on the tone allocation information. 
     
     
         28 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the first section comprises a signal field decodable by devices compatible with an IEEE 802.11a standard. 
     
     
         29 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the first section comprises a first high-efficiency (HE) signal field and the second section comprises a second high-efficiency (HE) signal field. 
     
     
         30 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 29 , wherein the first HE signal field includes information indicating the second phase shift keying modulation used on the second section.