Group transmissions in wireless local area networks

Abstract

A method for MU MIMO channel sounding by a STA includes receiving, from an AP, sounding information including an indication of a first STA of a group of STAs to transmit feedback and training symbols. The method further includes receiving, from the AP, a frame addressed to the group of STAs, wherein the frame includes a PHY preamble including group identification information identifying the group of STAs. The group identification information enables another STA not in the group of STAs, that receives the frame, to set its network allocation vector (NAV) timer based on a duration field in the frame. On a condition the STA is a first STA in the order of the group of STAs, a first sounding response frame may be transmitted to the AP, wherein the first sounding response frame includes quantized sounding feedback determined from the received training symbols.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method performed by a station (STA), the method comprising:
 receiving a management frame, from an access point (AP), wherein the management frame comprises a group identifier (group ID) corresponding to a group of STAs and an indication of an order of the STA within the group;   receiving, from the AP, a multi-user (MU) frame with a physical (PHY) layer preamble comprising a very high throughput signal (VHT-SIG) field, the VHT-SIG field including the group ID; and   processing data in accordance with the order of the STA within the group.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 measuring at least one symbol of the MU frame.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 measuring a channel quality of the symbol.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 measuring a signal to noise ratio of the symbol.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting a VHT capability information element, to the AP, wherein the VHT capability information element indicates support for receiving the management frame.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the order of the STA within the group is an indication that the STA is Nth in order. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein processing data in accordance with the order includes receiving a space-time stream in accordance with the Nth order. 
     
     
         8 . A method performed by an access point (AP), the method comprising:
 receiving a very high throughput (VHT) capability information element, from a station (STA), wherein the VHT capability information element indicates support for multi-user (MU) beamforming;   transmitting a management frame, to the STA, wherein the management frame indicates a group identifier (group ID) corresponding to a group of STAs and indicates an order of the STA within the group of STAs; and   transmitting an MU frame with a physical (PHY) layer preamble comprising a VHT signal (VHT-SIG) field, the VHT-SIG field including the group ID.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the MU frame includes a first data portion for processing by the STA. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the MU frame includes a second data portion for processing by another STA. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the indication of the order of the STA within the group is an indication that the STA is Nth in order. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the management frame is transmitted to the group of STAs. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first data portion is space-time coded for the STA in accordance with the Nth order. 
     
     
         14 . An access point (AP) comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive a very high throughput (VHT) capability information element, from a station (STA), wherein the VHT capability information element indicates support for multi-user (MU) beamforming;   a transmitter configured to transmit a management frame, to the STA, wherein the management frame indicates a group identifier (group ID) corresponding to a group of STAs and indicates an order of the STA within the group of STAs; and   the transmitter configured to transmit an MU frame with a physical (PHY) layer preamble comprising a VHT signal (VHT-SIG) field, the VHT-SIG field including the group ID.   
     
     
         15 . The AP of  claim 14 , wherein the MU frame includes a first data portion for processing by the STA. 
     
     
         16 . The AP of  claim 14 , wherein the MU frame includes a second data portion for processing by another STA. 
     
     
         17 . The AP of  claim 14 , wherein the indication of the order of the STA within the group is an indication that the STA is Nth in order. 
     
     
         18 . The AP of  claim 14 , wherein the management frame is transmitted to the group of STAs. 
     
     
         19 . The AP of  claim 14 , wherein the AP is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11 AP. 
     
     
         20 . The AP of  claim 15 , wherein the first data portion is space-time coded for the STA in accordance with the Nth order.