ENHANCED RETRANSMISSIONS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for wireless communications and, more particularly, to signal retransmissions.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless devices are becoming widely prevalent and are increasingly requesting access to wireless channels. The growing density of wireless deployments require increased network and spectrum availability. Wireless devices may communicate over a next generation 60 GHz (NG60) network, an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) network, and/or any other network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] FIG. 1 depicts a network diagram illustrating an example network, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0004] FIG. 2A depicts an illustrative downlink transmission process.

[0005] FIG. 2B depicts an illustrative uplink transmission process.

[0006] FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative transmitter-side hybrid automatic transmission request (HARQ) transmission process, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative downlink HARQ transmission process, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 4B depicts an illustrative uplink HARQ transmission process, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 5A illustrates an illustrative portion of a preamble field of a frame indicating a HARQ type, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 5B illustrates an illustrative portion of a HARQ acknowledgment frame for uplink transmissions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 6 A illustrates chart showing a bit error rate for retransmission procedures, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 6B illustrates chart showing a packet error rate for retransmission procedures, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 6C illustrates chart showing throughput for retransmission procedures, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative HARQ segmentation, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative process for enhanced HARQ, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 9 depicts a next generation portion of a HARQ frame, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 10A illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process for enhanced retransmission, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 10B illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process for enhanced retransmission, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 10C illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process for enhanced retransmission, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 10D illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process for enhanced retransmission, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 11 illustrates a functional diagram of an example communication station that may be suitable for use as a user device, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example machine upon which any of one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Example embodiments described herein provide certain systems, methods, and devices for enhanced retransmissions. The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. [0024] Devices may communicate over a next generation 60 GHz (NG60) network, an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) network, and/or any other network. Devices operating in EDMG may be referred to herein as EDMG devices. This may include user devices, and/or APs or other devices capable of communicating in accordance to a communication standard.

[0025] The IEEE 802.11 family of standards define methods of signal retransmissions, such as an automatic transmission request (ARQ). An ARQ may be used as an error control mechanism to handle transmission errors. Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is a cellular concept not currently available in Wi-Fi. HARQ combines error correcting code and ARQ error control. For example, in ARQ, bits may be added to data packets and may be retransmitted using an error detecting code such as a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Devices that receive a data packet with a CRC may determine that the data packet was corrupted or otherwise improperly received, and may request a retransmission. In HARQ, the original data may be encoded with a forward error correction (FEC) code (e.g., parity bits), which may be sent with a data packet or transmitted on request when a receiving device detects a transmission error (e.g., a CRC check fails).

[0026] The random access nature of Wi-Fi has made HARQ difficult to implement. There are also differences between Wi-Fi and cellular that have made Wi-Fi implementation difficult. For example, trigger frames may not be used in cellular, so cellular devices may send acknowledgment (Ack) frames with every transmission instead of having to wait for a new transmission opportunity (TXOP). A key to implementing HARQ in Wi-Fi may be a physical layer (PHY) CRC and Ack/Nack (negative acknowledgment) frames.

[0027] Another challenge of implementing HARQ for Wi-Fi may be memory/resource preservation. To preserve memory/resources, it may be beneficial to store samples of a data packet (e.g., segments) rather than entire bits. For example, transmitted/received information may be buffered by a device so that if some or all of that information is not received/processed properly, that information may be requested/retransmitted. In addition, when a transmission fails during a TXOP, a device may not be aware of a next available time to retransmit, so more information may be buffered for longer until a retransmission may be attempted. The medium access control (MAC) layer may separate MAC packets from the PHY level, and may perform CRC checks. However, the PHY may need to buffer data in case retransmission is needed. Thus, it may be desirable to reduce how much information is buffered and for how long in case one or more retransmissions may be appropriate. [0028] Additional reasons have so far prevented HARQ from being implemented in Wi Fi. One reason is a lack of Wi-Fi support for centralized scheduling of transmissions and retransmissions. In addition, a long TXOP may be supported for some Wi-Fi traffic classes (e.g., when TXOP limit = 0), but no more than one frame may be sent in such cases, so the retransmission delay may be limitless. Also, Wi-Fi has relied on receiving MAC layer Ack frames as an indication of successful transmission rather than, for example, PHY Ack/Nack transmissions upon packet decoding failure.

[0029] Wi-Fi has used MAC layer Ack/Nack (e.g., Nack in the case of block Ack transmissions) to indicate successful or unsuccessful transmission of MAC data packets. Upon receiving a Nack, or upon filing to receive an Ack for a transmission, Wi-Fi systems have utilized MAC layer retransmissions to resend packets. In addition, adaptive modulation and coding (e.g., link adaptation) is supported by Wi-Fi to reactively adjust modulation and coding rates to overcome link errors.

[0030] If the initial code rate in Wi-Fi is not ideal (e.g., too high) for packet transmission, a significant number of retransmissions may occur, thereby increasing packet transmission latency and negatively impacting throughput. In addition, link adaptation may be a reactive approach, and thus errors occur. Modulation and coding may be adjusted after link failures such that future retransmissions experience lower packet error rates. Also, retransmission and link adaptation may not work efficiently when link failures are“bursty” in nature. Thus, it may be beneficial to define an enhanced signal retransmission scheme in Wi-Fi using HARQ.

[0031] Because a PHY-CRC may be appended to a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) before scrambling and encoding may be performed at the PHY to enable HARQ, retransmissions may include complete PHY packets. Such may result in latency errors and inefficiencies. In addition, it may be beneficial to apply HARQ in Wi-Fi in both single user (SU) and multiuser (MU) environments.

[0032] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems, methods, and devices for enhanced signal retransmissions for wireless communications.

[0033] The IEEE 802.1 lax standard may allow features that are favorable for the adoption of HARQ. For example, an access point (AP) may have tighter control for downlink and uplink data scheduling of SU and MU transmissions. Also, long channel reservations for TXOPs may be available, and a station (STA) device may maintain access to a channel (e.g., to a maximum duration of 8.448 milliseconds) over multiple PPDU transmissions/retransmissions. A bound on the maximum time for storing soft bits in a receiver buffer may be provided. In one or more embodiments, depending on the HARQ technique used, signal to noise ratio (SNR) gain and/or coding gain may be realized while also reducing the number of MAC layer retransmissions.

[0034] In one or more embodiments, Wi-Fi may be adapted to support HARQ. For example, a method to decode and detect packet failures at the PHY may be defined for Wi-Fi. A PHY Ack and Nack may be defined for Wi-Fi HARQ to indicate transmission success or failure. To minimize the impact on a neighboring basic service set (BSS) or overlapping BSS (OBSS) and associated STAs, PHY addressing may be implemented. A method to indicate the type of HARQ retransmission to use may also be defined. Also, soft bits may be combined at a receiver device to facilitate Wi-Fi HARQ.

[0035] By adding Wi-Fi HARQ support, any Wi-Fi AP and clients (e.g., high-end client devices) may benefit from improved link reliability and increased throughput. Thus, quality of experience for end users may be improved. In addition, by leveraging the higher computational and memory resources available to an AP relative to an STA, uplink HARQ may also be applied.

[0036] In one or more embodiments, a data originator (e.g., a transmitter) may combine PHY service data units (PSDUs) with CRC bits (e.g., within a SU/MU PPDU), thereby allowing decoding of PHY packets at a destination device (e.g., a receiver). The PSDU and CRC bits may be encoded by the transmitter at an initial code rate and sent to the receiver. Upon the receiver’s failure to decode the received soft bits, the soft bits may be stored in a HARQ buffer on the receiver. The receiver may send a PHY Nack to indicate packet failure to the transmitter·

[0037] In one or more embodiments, a HARQ state machine on the transmitter may track the original transmission while buffering the PSDUs sent or the punctured bits of the PSDUs. Depending on the HARQ scheme/mode used, retransmission may include resending the original PSDU or sending the punctured bits to satisfy the code rate of the receiver. Retransmissions may continue until the receiver may decode the PSDUs, after which the receiver may send a PHY Ack. Soft-combining approaches may be used depending on receiver buffer capabilities.

[0038] In one or more embodiments, a downlink (DL) HARQ method may be defined. Once an AP and STA reserve a channel for a TXOP, the AP may send a DL PPDU frame after adding CRC bits to the PSDU. The AP may include an indication of the HARQ type/mode used for the transmission, and the indication may be included in one or more preamble fields of the PPDU. For example, a high efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of a PPDU preamble may include two portions/fields - HE-SIG-A1 and HE-SIG-A2, which may identify the HARQ type/mode. The HARQ type/mode may be indicated by bits in the HE-SIG-A1 and HE-SIG- A2 fields, and the type/mode may include chase combining, incremental redundancy, or another type/mode. A receiving STA may receive and decode the packet and check for CRC errors. If CRC fails, the STA may buffer the coded bits in a HARQ buffer. The STA may prepare a PHY Ack/Nack frame. If the CRC succeeds, the PHY Ack/Nack frame may have a value = Ack. If the CRC fails, the PHY Ack/Nack frame may have a value = Nack. The Ack/Nack indication may be provided by bit B 14 in an HE-SIG-A1 field of the PHY Ack/Nack frame of a null data packet, for example. STAs may also be addressed using a PHY header. For example, an AP may include a PHY address as a combination of a BSS color concatenated with an STA ID to uniquely identify the PHY frame for an intended STA. Similarly, STAs may insert a PHY address (e.g., BSS color and address identifier) in a PHY header to identify the PHY Ack/Nack frames are from a particular STA.

[0039] In one or more embodiments, an uplink (UL) HARQ method may be defined. An AP may trigger STA transmission using a trigger frame. After an interval (e.g., short interframe space, arbitration interframe space, distributed interframe space, extended interframe space, point interframe space, reduced interframe space) an STA may send a UL PPDU (e.g., including a PSDU and CRC bits encoded using an initial code rate), and the PHY CRC may be checked by the AP. If the CRC fails, the AP may store the received soft bits in a buffer, and may send an Ack/Nack PPDU to the STA to notify the STA of the transmission failure. The Ack/Nack PPDU from the AP may be both a PPDU included in a trigger frame, and also an Ack/Nack control frame. If a trigger frame is used, a trigger type in a common information field of the trigger frame may indicate the type/mode of HARQ (e.g., chase combining, incremental redundancy). To keep track of HARQ transmissions, the STA may ran a state machine, which may indicate a transmission number and the required PSDU bits needed to be buffered at the STA to enable different HARQ types. HARQ may be conducted until a transmission is successful or until a maximum number of HARQ transmissions is reached.

[0040] In one or more embodiments, HARQ may use segmented transmissions of data packets. A PHY transmission may be broken into segments, and coding by a transmitting device may be performed on each segment. Ack/Nack bitmaps may be sent in response to correct/incorrect reception of segments in the PHY data. A transmitter may selectively retransmit segments that were incorrectly received/decoded, while new segments may be transmitted with the retransmitted segments. Segmentation may be performed in a way that allows each segment to include an integer number of MAC packets (e.g., MPDUs). Such may allow for swift decoding of MAC level data if a segment was successfully received without waiting for next segments to be correctly decoded. Segmented HARQ transmissions may apply to SU and MU environments.

[0041] In one or more embodiments, MAC packets may be clustered together into segments. Each segment may be appended with a PHY CRC, then scrambled and encoded separately. Encoded segments may be aggregated to form a HARQ PPDU. Such may allow the operation of HARQ in different fragments of a PPDU, which may result in reduced processing latencies. A HARQ Ack/Nack protocol may enable PPDU segments with minimal control signaling overhead.

[0042] In one or more embodiments, segmented HARQ may be implemented at the MAC/PHY layers. Aggregate MPDUs (A-MPDUs) may be divided into segments, and each segment may include an integer number of MPDUs. Individual segments may be scrambled and padded such that an integer number of LDPC code words may be obtained. A CRC field may be added to each segment to enable PHY level Ack/Nack mechanisms. Each segment may be coded and aggregated to form a HARQ PPDU. Signaling fields in the PHY preamble of the HARQ PPDU may be added to identify boundaries (e.g., length) of each transmitted segment. The type of HARQ used may be indicated by the HARQ PPDU.

[0043] In one or more embodiments, a receiver may be configured for HARQ transmissions. A receiving device may use signaling fields in a received PHY preamble of a PPDU to identify HARQ segments, and may add each segment to a separate HARQ buffer. The number of HARQ buffers at the receiving device may be set to a maximum number of simultaneous segments which may be transmitted. After the receiver identifies each segment, the segments may be queued in separate buffers sequentially, for example. Each segment may be decoded, and each respective segment’s CRC may be checked. Successfully received/decoded segments may be passed to the MAC for further processing, and the segments may be flushed/cleared/removed from the buffer. The next non-empty buffer may be promoted to the next position in the buffer queue. Segments with failed CRC checks may remain in the buffer(s) for further processing and subsequent HARQ transmissions. Each segment may include an integer number of MPDUs, which may be individually processed and acknowledged at the MAC layer.

[0044] The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in greater detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures. [0045] FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating an example network environment, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user device(s) 120 and one or more access point(s) (AP) 102, which may communicate in accordance with IEEE 802.11 communication standards, such as the IEEE 802.llad and/or IEEE 802.llay specifications. The user device(s) 120 may be referred to as stations (STAs). The user device(s) 120 may be mobile devices that are non stationary and do not have fixed locations. Although the AP 102 is shown to be communicating on multiple antennas with user devices 120, it should be understood that this is only for illustrative purposes and that any user device 120 may also communicate using multiple antennas with other user devices 120 and/or AP 102.

[0046] In some embodiments, the user device(s) 120 and the AP 102 may include one or more computer systems similar to that of the functional diagram of FIG. 11 and/or the example machine/system of FIG. 12.

[0047] One or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may be operable by one or more user(s) 110. The user device(s) 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and/or AP 102 may include any suitable processor-driven device including, but not limited to, a mobile device or a non- mobile, e.g., a static, device. For example, user device(s) 120 and/or AP 102 may include, a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), an access point (AP), a personal computer (PC), a wearable wireless device (e.g., bracelet, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an ultrabook ^tm computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, an internet of things (IoT) device, a sensor device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phone functionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a“carry small live large” (CSLL) device, an ultra mobile device (UMD), an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an“origami” device or computing device, a device that supports dynamically composable computing (DCC), a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, an A/V device, a set-top-box (STB), a blu-ray disc (BD) player, a BD recorder, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a high definition (HD) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder, a personal video recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a flat panel display, a personal media player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio amplifier, a gaming device, a data source, a data sink, a digital still camera (DSC), a media player, a smartphone, a television, a music player, or the like. It is understood that the above is a list of devices. However, other devices, including smart devices, Internet of Things (IoT), such as lamps, climate control, car components, household components, appliances, etc. may also be included in this list.

[0048] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to communicate with each other via one or more communications networks 130 and/or 135 wirelessly or wired. Any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include, but not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, broadcasting networks, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include any type of medium over which network traffic may be carried including, but not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, optical fiber, a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceivers, radio frequency communication mediums, white space communication mediums, ultra-high frequency communication mediums, satellite communication mediums, or any combination thereof.

[0049] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may include one or more communications antennas· The one or more communications antennas may be any suitable type of antennas corresponding to the communications protocols used by the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126 and 128), and AP 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communications antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards compatible antennas, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, or the like. The one or more communications antennas may be communicatively coupled to a radio component to transmit and/or receive signals, such as communications signals to and/or from the user devices 120 and/or AP 102. [0050] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may include multiple antennas that may include one or more directional antennas· The one or more directional antennas may be steered to a plurality of beam directions. For example, at least one antenna of a user device 120 (or an AP 102) may be steered to a plurality of beam directions. For example, a user device 120 (or an AP 102) may transmit a directional transmission to another user device 120 (or another AP 102).

[0051] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and/or directional reception in conjunction with wirelessly communicating in a wireless network. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform such directional transmission and/or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., DMG antenna arrays or the like). Each of the multiple antenna arrays may be used for transmission and/or reception in a particular respective direction or range of directions. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional transmission towards one or more defined transmit sectors. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0052] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network may be accomplished using RF beamforming and/or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, in performing a given MIMO transmission, user devices 120 and/or AP 102 may be configured to use all or a subset of its one or more communications antennas to perform MIMO beamforming.

[0053] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP 102 may include any suitable radio and/or transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in the bandwidth and/or channels corresponding to the communications protocols utilized by any of the user device(s) 120 and AP 102 to communicate with each other. The radio components may include hardware and/or software to modulate and/or demodulate communications signals according to pre-established transmission protocols. The radio components may further have hardware and/or software instructions to communicate via one or more Wi-Fi and/or Wi-Fi direct protocols, as standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards. In certain example embodiments, the radio component, in cooperation with the communications antennas, may be configured to communicate via 2.4 GHz channels (e.g. 802.1 lb, 802. llg, 802.11h, 802.1 lax), 5 GHz channels (e.g. 802.11h, 802.llac, 802.llax), or 60 GHZ channels (e.g. 802.llad, 802.l lay). In some embodiments, non-Wi-Fi protocols may be used for communications between devices, such as Bluetooth, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) (e.g. IEEE 802.1 laf, IEEE 802.22), white band frequency (e.g., white spaces), or other packetized radio communications. The radio component may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communicating via the communications protocols. The radio component may further include a low noise amplifier (LNA), additional signal amplifiers, an analog-to- digital (A/D) converter, one or more buffers, and digital baseband.

[0054] Some demonstrative embodiments may be used in conjunction with a wireless communication network communicating over a frequency band of 60 GHz. However, other embodiments may be implemented utilizing any other suitable wireless communication frequency bands, for example, an extremely high frequency (EHF) band (the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band), a frequency band within the frequency band of between 20 GHz and 300 GHz, a WLAN frequency band, a WPAN frequency band, a frequency band according to the WGA specification, and the like.

[0055] The phrases“directional multi-gigabit (DMG)” and“directional band (DBand)”, as used herein, may relate to a frequency band wherein the channel starting frequency is above 45 GHz. In one example, DMG communications may involve one or more directional links to communicate at a rate of multiple gigabits per second, for example, at least 1 gigabit per second, 7 gigabits per second, or any other rate.

[0056] In some demonstrative embodiments, the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more specifications, including one or more IEEE 802.11 specifications, (e.g., an IEEE 802.1 lad specification, an IEEE 802.1 lay specification, and/or any other specification and/or protocol). For example, an amendment to a DMG operation in the 60 GHz band, according to an IEEE 802.1 lad standard, may be defined, for example, by an IEEE 802.1 lay project.

[0057] It is understood that a basic service set (BSS) provides the basic building block of an 802.11 wireless LAN. For example, in infrastructure mode, a single access point (AP) together with all associated stations (STAs) is called a BSS.

[0058] In one or more embodiments, AP 102 and/or user devices 120 may send one or more frames (e.g., frame 140) to one another. The frames may be sent as part of a HARQ scheme with enhanced signal retransmissions.

[0059] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0060] FIG. 2A depicts an illustrative downlink transmission process 200.

[0061] Referring to FIG. 2 A, the downlink transmission process 200 may be defined by the IEEE 802.1 lax standard, and may define downlink transmissions during a TXOP 202. An AP 204 may send downlink transmissions to STA 206. For example, AP 204 may send downlink data PPDUs (in SU or MU mode). The downlink data PPDUs may include data 208, data 210, and data 212. In response to each downlink data PPDU, STA 206 may respond with an Ack frame. For example, after receiving data 208, STA 206 may send Ack 214. After receiving data 210, STA 206 may send Ack 216. After receiving data 212, STA 206 may send Ack 216. Also, before downlink data PPDUs are sent by AP 202, one or more additional frames (e.g., frame 218) may be sent to facilitate the downlink data PPDUs. Frame 218 may be a trigger frame, beacon frame, or some other control frame.

[0062] FIG. 2B depicts an illustrative uplink transmission process 250.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 2B, the uplink transmission process 250 may be defined by the IEEE 802.1 lax standard, and may define uplink transmissions during a TXOP 252. An AP 254 may be in communication with STA 256, and may send a trigger frame 258, trigger frame 260, and trigger frame 262 to STA 256 during TXOP 252. STA 256 may, in response to receiving trigger frames, send uplink data frames, such as data 264, data 266, and data 268. After receiving uplink data frames, AP 254 may send Ack frames, such as Ack 270, Ack 272, and Ack 274.

[0064] FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative transmitter- side HARQ transmission process 300, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 3A, the HARQ transmission process 300 may include a PPDU 302. The PPDU 302 may include one or more fields, such as service 304, PSDU data 306, Pre- FEC pad 308, and tail 310. The PSDU data 306 may include an A-MPDU 312, which may consist of one or more MPDUs. Each MPDU may include an MPDU delimiter (e.g., MPDU delimiter 316, MPDU delimiter 322), MDPU data (e.g., MPDU data 318, MDPU data 324), and a pad (e.g., pad 320, pad 326). Each MPDU data may include an MPDU 328, which may consist of a MAC header (e.g., MAC header 330), MSDU data (e.g., MDSU data 332), and a frame check sequence (e.g., FCS 334). PPDU 302 may be scrambled by a scrambler 336, resulting in scrambled uncoded bits 338, and CRC bits (e.g., CRC 340) may be appended to the scrambled uncoded bits 338. An HARQ state machine 342 may keep track of the scrambled uncoded bits 338 and CRC 340 for HARQ retransmissions. The scrambled uncoded bits 338 and CRC 340 may be send to an encoder device 344 for coding, resulting in coded symbols 346. The coded symbols 346 may be sent by the transmitter device 348.

[0066] In one or more embodiments, the data originator (e.g., transmitter device 348) may combine PSDUs (e.g., PSDU data 306) with CRC 340 (e.g., within an SU/MU PPDU), which may allow decoding of the PHY packets at the destination/receiver device (as discussed further below with regard to FIG. 3B). The PSDU+CRC bits (e.g., scrambled uncoded bits 338 and CRC 340) may be encoded at the initial code rate and sent to a receiver. Retransmissions of failed bits may continue until successful transmission (e.g., successful reception and decoding by a receiver).

[0067] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0068] FIG. 3B depicts an illustrative receiver-side HARQ transmission process 350, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] Referring to FIG. 3B, the receiver-side HARQ transmission process 350 may include coded symbols 352 (e.g., coded symbols 346 of FIG. 3A, sent by transmitter device 348 of FIG. 3A). Coded symbols 352 may be received by receiving device 354 and send to a decoder device 356 of the receiving device 354. The decoder device 356 may decode the coded symbols 352, resulting in scrambled uncoded bits 358 and CRC 360. The scrambled uncoded bits 358 and CRC 360 may be descrambled by descrambler 362 to form PPDU 364, which may include one or more fields, such as service 366, PSDU data 368, pre-FEC pad 370, and tail 372. The PSDU data 368 may include an A-MPDU 374, which may include aggregated MDPUs. Each MPDU of A-MPDU 374 may include an MPDU delimiter (e.g., MPDU delimiter 378, MPDU delimiter 386), MPDU data (e.g., MPDU data 380, MPDU data 386), and padding (e.g., pad 382, pad 388). Each MPDU data 380 may include an MPDU 390, which may consist of MAC header 392, MSDU data 394, and FCS 396. A buffer 398 (which may include one or more HARQ buffers) of receiving device 354 may store received bits to facilitate HARQ retransmissions.

[0070] In one or more embodiments, upon failure to decode the received soft bits (e.g., CRC 360), the soft bits may be stored in the buffer 398. The receiving device 354 may send a PHY NACK (not shown) to a transmitter (e.g., transmitter device 348 of FIG. 3A) to indicate packet failure. Depending on the HARQ scheme, retransmission may mean resending the original PSDU or sending the punctured bits (e.g., bits that may be removed after encoding is performed by encoder device 344 of FIG. 3A) in order to satisfy a possible/desired code rate at the receiving device 354. Retransmissions may continue until the receiving device 354 may decode each PSDU, after which the receiving device 354 may send a PHY ACK (not shown). Different soft-combining approaches may be applied depending on the receiving device 354 buffer capabilities

[0071] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0072] FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative downlink HARQ transmission process 400, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 4A, the downlink HARQ transmission process 400 may occur during a TXOP 402. An AP 404 may communicate with an STA 406 during TXOP 402. STA 406 may have one or more HARQ buffers (e.g., buffer 408) to store bits sent from the AP 404 in case a HARQ retransmission is used. AP 404 may send one or more downlink data PPDUs, such as PPDU 410, PPDU 412, PPDU 414, and PPDU 416 to STA 406 during TXOP 402. In response to each downlink data PPDU, STA 406 may store incorrectly received/decoded bits, and may send Ack/Nack frames (e.g., Ack/Nack 418, Ack/Nack 420, Ack/Nack 422, Ack/Nack 424) back to AP 404. The Ack/Nack frames may be sent after an interval (e.g., short interframe space, arbitration interframe space, distributed interframe space, extended interframe space, point interframe space, reduced interframe space). For example, after receiving PPDU 410, STA 406 may wait an interval 426 before sending Ack/Nack 418. After receiving Ack/Nack 418, AP 404 may send PPDU 412.

[0074] In one or more embodiments, the transmitter-side HARQ transmission process 400 may be a HARQ retransmission and combining method, and may overcome packet error rates. The transmitter-side HARQ transmission process 400 also may improve system throughput within TXOP 402. Once AP 404 and STA 406 have reserved a channel for TXOP 402, AP 404 may send PPDU 410, which may include a PSDU and CRC bits (e.g., PSDU data 306 and CRC 340 of FIG. 3 A). PPDU 410 may also include an indication of a HARQ type, and the indication may be included in a preamble of PPDU 410 as discussed in further detail with regard to FIG. 5A.

[0075] In one or more embodiments, when STA 406 receives PPDU 410, STA 406 decodes PPDU 410 and checks for CRC errors. If a CRC check fails, STA 406 may buffer the coded bits of PPDU 410 in buffer 408.

[0076] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0077] FIG. 4B depicts an illustrative uplink HARQ transmission process 450, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 4B, the uplink HARQ transmission process 450 may occur during TXOP 452. An AP 454 may communicate with STA 456 during TXOP 452. AP 454 may include one or more HARQ buffers (e.g., buffer 458) to store bits sent by STA 456 in case a HARQ retransmission is used. AP 454 may trigger uplink communications from STA 456 by sending one or more trigger frames. For example, AP 454 may send trigger frame (TF) 460 to STA 456, which my respond by sending an uplink data PPDU (e.g., PPDU 464). AP 454 may send another trigger frame (e.g., TF 466) to STA 456. TF 466 may serve as or include an Ack/Nack frame indicating whether PPDU 464 was properly received/decoded (e.g., partially or entirely). TF 466 may also serve as a trigger frame indicating that STA 456 may send another uplink data PPDU (e.g., PPDU 468). In response to receiving PPDU 468, AP 452 may respond with another trigger frame (e.g., TF 470) indicating the reception status of PPDU 468 and triggering a subsequent data PPDU transmission from STA 456. STA 456 may send another uplink data PPDU (e.g., PPDU 472), and AP 452 may respond with another trigger frame (e.g., TF 474). AP 452 and STA 456 may wait for a time interval between transmissions (e.g., short interframe space, arbitration interframe space, distributed interframe space, extended interframe space, point interframe space, reduced interframe space). For example, after receiving TF 460, STA 456 may wait interval 476 before sending PPDU 464. After receiving PPDU 464, AP 452 may wait interval 478 before sending TF 466.

[0079] In one or more embodiments, STA 456 may use a HARQ state machine (e.g., HARQ state machine 342 of FIG. 3A) to keep track of HARQ transmissions. A HARQ state machine may indicate a transmission number and the required PSDU bits needed to be buffered to enable different HARQ types/modes. The uplink HARQ transmission process 450 may continue until a transmission is successful (e.g., an uplink PPDU from STA 456) is received/decoded properly, or until a maximum number of HARQ transmissions is reached. A retransmission count may need to be indicated in a packet for both uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0080] In one or more embodiments, a similar approach for PHY addressing may combine BSS color and STA ID to uniquely identify the STA (e.g., STA 456) transmitting an uplink PPDU (e.g., PPDU 464), and to identify a corresponding block acknowledgment from AP 454.

[0081] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0082] FIG. 5A illustrates an illustrative portion 500 of a preamble field of a frame indicating a HARQ type, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 5A, the portion 500 of a preamble field may be part of a downlink PPDU (e.g., PPDU 410 of FIG. 4A), and may include one or more fields/sub-fields. For example the portion 500 may include a legacy short training field (L-STF 502), a legacy long training field (L-LTF 504), a legacy signal field (L-SIG 506), a repeated L-SIG field (RL-SIG 508), a high efficiency signal A field (HE-SIG-A 510), an HE STF field (HE-STF 512), an HE LTF field (HE-LTF 514), and a packet extension field (PE 516). HE-SIG-A 510 may include two fields, HE-SIG-A1 518 and HE-SIG-A2 520, which may use a bit (e.g., bit B 14) to identify a HARQ mode/type.

[0084] In one or more embodiments, the HARQ type/mode may be indicated using one or more bits of HE-SIG-A1 518 and HE-SIG-A2 520. For example, a (0,0) value for B 14 of HE- SIG-A1 518 and HE-SIG-A2 520 may correspond to a chase combining HARQ mode/type. In chase combining, the same information and parity bits may be sent in every HARQ transmission. Chase combining may be used to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), such as Eb/No, at the receiving device using maximum ratio combining techniques, which may also reduce a packet error ratio (PER). A (0,1) value for B14 of HE-SIG-A1 518 and HE-SIG-A2 520 may correspond to an incremental redundancy HARQ mode/type. In incremental redundancy, different sets of parity and information bits may be sent each HARQ transmission. The incremental redundancy technique may increase SNR (e.g., Eb/No ) if there is a retransmission of any bit, and may also allow for coding gains in PER performance. A (1,0) or (1,1) value for B14 of HE-SIG-A1 518 and HE-SIG-A2 520 may be reserved for another HARQ type.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 5A, the portion 500 of a preamble field may be part of an uplink Ack/Nack frame (e.g., Ack/Nack 418 of FIG. 4A), which may have a value (e.g., value = NACK if a CRC check fails at the STA). If a CRC check succeeds at the STA (e.g., if the reception status of a received PPDU is a success), the STA may generate and send an Ack/Nack frame with a value (e.g., value = ACK) to indicate that the reception status was a success. The Ack/Nack information may be indicated using a bit (e.g., bit B 14) in HE-SIG-A1 of the PHY Ack/Nack frame, which may be a null data packet type.

[0086] In one or more embodiments, STA addressing may be performed using a PHY header. An AP may include a PHY address as a combination of a BSS color concatenated with an STA identifier to uniquely identify a PHY frame as addressed to a particular STA. An STA may include a PHY address (e.g., BSS color plus association identifier) in a PHY header so that APs and/or other nodes/devices may recognize that a PHY Ack/Nack frame was sent by a particular STA.

[0087] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0088] FIG. 5B illustrates an illustrative portion 550 of a HARQ acknowledgment frame for uplink transmissions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 5B, a HARQ Ack/Nack frame (e.g., TF 466 of FIG. 4B) may include a portion 500 having one or more fields/sub-fields. For example, the HARQ Ack/Nack frame may include a frame control field (frame control 552), a duration field (e.g., duration 554), a receiver address field (e.g., RA 556), a transmitter address field (e.g., TA 558), a common information field (e.g., common information 560), one or more user information fields (e.g., user information 562, user information 564), a padding field (padding 566), and a frame check sequence field (FCS 568). The common information 560 may include information for each receiving device (e.g., in an MU environment, there may be multiple receiving devices), and each user information field may be specific to each receiving device. For example, user information 562 may be for a first receiving device, and user information 564 may be for a second receiving device. Each user information field (e.g., user information 564) may include an access identifier field (AID 570), a resource unit allocation field (RU allocation 572), a coding type field 574, a modulation and coding scheme field (MCS 576), a dual carrier modulation field (DCM 578), a station service allocation (SS allocation 580), a target receive signal strength indicator field (target RSSI 582), an Ack/Nack field (ACK/NACK 584), and a trigger dependent common information field (trigger independent common information 586).

[0090] The fields of portion 500 may include a number of octets. For example, frame control 552 may have two octets, duration 554 may have two octets, RA 556 may have six octets, TA 558 may have six octets, common information 560 may have eight or more octets, user information 562 and user information 564 may each have five or more octets, padding 566 may have a variable number of octets, and FCS 568 may have four octets. The fields of each user information field may have a number of bits. For example, AID 570 may have twelve bits, RU allocation 572 may have eight bits, coding type 574 may have one bit, MCS 576 may have four bits, DCM 578 may have one bit, SS allocation 580 may have six bits, target RSSI 582 may have seven bits, ACK/NACK 584 may have one bit, and trigger dependent common information 586 may have a variable number of bits.

[0091] In one or more embodiments, in an uplink HARQ operation, an AP (e.g., AP 454 of FIG. 4B) may trigger transmission using a trigger frame (e.g., TF 460 of FIG. 4B). After an interval (e.g., interval 476 of FIG. 4B), an STA (e.g., STA 456 of FIG. 4B) may send an uplink PPDU (e.g., PPDU 464 of FIG. 4B), which may include PSDU and CRC bits encoded using an initial coding rate, and the AP may perform a PHY CRC check. If the CRC check fails, the AP may store the received soft bits in a buffer (e.g., buffer 458 of FIG. 4B), and the AP may send an Ack/Nack PPDU (e.g., TF 466) to the STA to indicate a failed reception status. The Ack/Nack PPDU may use the form/structure of a trigger frame, including portion 500. For example, the Ack/Nack frame may serve as both a PPDU including a trigger frame (e.g., portion 500) and an Ack/Nack control frame. The Ack/Nack frame may be used as a trigger frame, and the trigger dependent common information 586 may indicate a HARQ mode/type (e.g., chase combining, incremental redundancy). A trigger type field value may indicate the trigger type. For example, a trigger type field value of 0 may indicate a basic trigger, a trigger type field value of 1 may indicate a beamforming report poll, a trigger type field value of 7 may indicate a null data packet feedback report poll, a trigger type field value of 8 may indicate a HARQ chase combining trigger, and a trigger type field value of 9 may indicate a HARQ incremental redundancy trigger. To indicate ACK/NACK 584, a bit (e.g., bit B39) may be used in a user information field (e.g., user information 564).

[0092] In one or more embodiments, to keep track of HARQ transmissions, an STA may ran a state machine (e.g., HARQ state machine 342 of FIG. 3A), which may indicate a transmission number and a required number of PSDU bits needed to be stored by the buffer to enable different HARQ types/modes. A HARQ operation may continue until a transmission is successful, or until a maximum number of HARQ transmissions is reached.

[0093] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0094] FIG. 6A illustrates chart 600 showing a bit error rate for retransmission procedures, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0095] Referring to FIG. 6 A, chart 600 shows a bit error rate over an SNR (in dB) for multiple retransmission techniques, including ARQ 602 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), ARQ 604 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ incremental redundancy 606 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ incremental redundancy 608 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 610 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), HARQ incremental redundancy 612 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), HARQ chase combining 614 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 616 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 618 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), and no retransmissions 620.

[0096] FIG. 6B illustrates chart 630 showing a packet error rate for retransmission procedures, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0097] Referring to FIG. 6B, chart 630 shows a PER over an SNR (in dB) for multiple retransmission techniques, including HARQ chase combining 632 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 634 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ incremental redundancy 636 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ incremental redundancy 638 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 640 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), HARQ incremental redundancy 642 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), HARQ chase combining 644 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 646 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 648 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), and no retransmissions 650.

[0098] FIG. 6C illustrates chart 660 showing throughput for retransmission procedures, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0099] Referring to FIG. 6C, chart 660 shows throughput over an SNR (in dB) for multiple retransmission techniques, including HARQ chase combining 662 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 664 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ incremental redundancy 666 (e.g., for up to three retransmissions), HARQ incremental redundancy 668 (e.g., for up to two retransmissions), HARQ chase combining 670 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), HARQ incremental redundancy 672 (e.g., for up to one retransmission), and other retransmission techniques 674 (e.g., ARQ for up to three retransmissions, ARQ for up to two retransmissions, and ARQ for up to one retransmission).

[00100] Referring to FIGs. 6A, 6B, and 6C, performance evaluations of HARQ and ARQ types are shown, including chase combining and incremental redundancy HARQ modes, and the HARQ modes are compared to ARQ modes (e.g., such as ARQ modes used in a Wi-Fi binary convolutional code encoder with a mother rate = ½, using different punctured code rates, including 5/6, 3/4, and 2/3). Binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation may be used with channel modulation as additive white Gaussian noise, for example. A maximum number of PPDU retransmissions of four may be considered. Different packet sizes may be evaluated. In a simulation, a transmitter may use the highest code rate (e.g., 5/6) upon a decoding failure (e.g., failed reception status) at a receiver device, and a Nack may be transmitted in response to the failure. For chase combining HARQ, a transmitter may retransmit at a same code rate until a maximum number of retransmissions is reached or until a successful transmission occurs. For incremental redundancy HARQ, a transmitter may, upon receiving a Nack for the first time, retransmit punctured bits to achieve an effective rate of 3/4, and upon a subsequent Nack reception, may send additional parity bits to incrementally reduce the code rate to 2/3, and then 1/2, for example. Bit error rate, PER, and throughput may be compared for the HARQ modes against those of ARQ modes. Under ARQ, a packet is simply retransmitted upon a Nack indication. Throughput may be computed as a total number of successfully received new data bits per unit time, where unit time may represent the time taken to retransmit a packet of a given length. A 1500 byte packet size may be used. The results of the simulations may be summarized as follows. For chase combining HARQ, the decoding gain and the throughput gain may be the lowest. At a lower initial coding rate, the chase combining HARQ gains may be closer to other types, however. Chase combining HARQ may have the lowest cost complexity and lower memory requirements than other modes. For incremental redundancy HARQ, the decoding gain and throughput gain may be the highest. Therefore, incremental redundancy HARQ may be better for higher MCS, and may be better for lower initial MCS. Incremental redundancy HARQ may require the largest memory use (e.g., for soft combining), and may require additional signaling to indicate a retransmission number.

[00101] FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative HARQ segmentation 700, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00102] Referring to FIG. 7, HARQ segmentation 700 may include dividing an A-MPDU 702 into one or more segments (e.g., MPDU segment 704, MPDU segment 706). Each segment may include one or more MPDUs. For example, MPDU segment 704 may include MPDU 708 and MPDU 710, and MPDU segment 706 may include MPDU 712 and MPDU 714. Each segment may be scrambled by scrambler 716, resulting in one or more scrambled segments (e.g., scrambled segment 718 with pad 720 and CRC 722, and scrambled segment 724 with pad 726 and CRC 728. The scrambled segments may be encoded with encoder device 730, resulting in a coded PPDU 732. PPDU 732 may include a preamble 734, and one or more code words (e.g., CW 736, CW 738, CW 740, CW 742, and CW 744). For example, MPDU segment 704 correspond to CW 736, CW 738, and CW 740, while MPDU segment 706 may correspond to CW 742 and CW 744.

[00103] In one or more embodiments, each MPDU segment (e.g., MPDU segment 704) may include an integer number of MPDUs (e.g., MPDU 708, MPDU 710). CRC fields (e.g., CRC 722, CRC 728) may be added to enable a PHY level Ack/Nack for HARQ. Signaling fields in a PHY preamble (e.g., preamble 734) may be added to identify boundaries of each segment.

[00104] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00105] FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative process 800 for enhanced HARQ, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00106] Referring to FIG. 8, the process 800 may include a transmitter device 802 and a receiver device 804. Transmitter device 802 may send one or more segments (e.g., segments A, B, and C) in a PPDU 806. Receiver device 804 may receive PPDU 806. Using buffers 808, receiver device 804 may store the segments of PPDU 806. For example, if PPDU 806 has segments A, B, and C, buffers 808 may store segments A, B, and C. If segments A, B, and C were properly received and decoded (e.g., a successful reception status), receiver device 804 may send a PHY ACK/NACK bitmap 810 indicating the reception status of PPDU 806. For example, a 1 bit in bitmap 810 may indicate that a segment was properly received, and a 0 bit in the bitmap 810 may indicate that a segment was improperly received (e.g., a failed reception status). If segments A, B, and C of PPDU 806 are properly received by receiver device 804, bitmap 810 may indicate a 1 for segment, A, a 1 for segment B, and a 1 for segment C. If buffers 808 have an additional buffer (e.g., the fourth buffer of buffers 808), and no segment of PPDU 806 is stored in that additional buffer, so bitmap 810 may indicate a 0 for the fourth buffer of buffers 808. Because the bitmap 810 indicates to transmitter device 802 that all segments of PPDU 806 were received properly, transmitter device 802 may send additional segments without having to retransmit any segments of PPDU 806. For example, transmitter device 802 may send segments D, E, F, and G in PPDU 812. Because segments A, B, and C of PPDU 806 may have passed a CRC check at receiver device 804 (e.g., successful reception status), buffers 808 may be flushed/cleared/deleted so that buffers 808 may be empty. When PPDU 812 is received by receiver device 804, receiver device 804 may perform another CRC check on segments D, E, F, and G of PPDU 810. If segments D and F fail the CRC check, for example, then segments D and F may be stored in buffers 808, and segments E and G may be flushed from buffers 808, and a PHY ACK/NACK bitmap 814 may be sent to transmitter device 802 to indicate a 0 bit for segment D (e.g., failed reception status), a 1 bit for segment E (e.g., successful reception status), a 0 bit for segment F (e.g., failed reception status), and a 1 bit for segment G (e.g., successful reception status). Buffers 808 may promote failed segments D and F to the front of buffers 808 (e.g., a buffer queue). Transmitter device 802 may determine, based on bitmap 812, that segments D and F of PPDU 812 were not properly received/decoded by receiver device 804. Therefore, transmitter device 802 may resend segments D and F in PPDU 816, along with segment H. Receiver device 804 may store segments D, F, and H in buffers 808. Because segments D and F may already be stored in buffers 808, there may be two segment Ds and segment Fs in buffers 808, and one segment H in buffers 808. If all segments D, F, and H of PPDU 816 pass a CRC check, then a PHY ACK/NACK bitmap 818 may be sent by receiver device 804 to transmitter device 802 to indicate a reception success of each segment of PPDU 816 (e.g., a 1 bit for segment D, a 1 bit for segment F, and a 1 bit for segment H).

[00107] In one or more embodiments, to process segments of PPDUs, receiver device 804 may use signaling fields in a PHY preamble (e.g., PHY preamble 734 of FIG. 7) to identify each HARQ segment (e.g., segments A, B, C, and D of PPDU 806). Each identified segment may be stored in a separate HARQ buffer (e.g., buffers 808). The number of buffers in buffers 808 may be set to a maximum number of segments M _MM , which may be provided in a transmission. After receiver device 804 identifies each segment of a PPDU, the segments may be stored sequentially in buffers 808 (e.g., segment A may be stored in a first buffer, segment B may be stored in a second buffer, and so on). Each segment may be decoded by receiver device 804, which may then perform a CRC check on each segment. Successfully received segments may be sent to the MAC layer for further processing, and may be flushed from buffers 808. The next non-empty buffer of buffers 808 may be promoted to a next position in a buffer queue. Because segments may include a number of MPDUs (e.g., MPDU 708, MPDU 710 of FIG. 7), the MPDUs of a segment may be processed individually and acknowledged by a MAC layer of receiver device 804. Segments that fail a CRC check may remain in buffers 808 for further processing according to HARQ transmissions.

[00108] In one or more embodiments, a data source (e.g., transmitter device 802) may initiate a HARQ transmission (e.g., PPDU 806). Receiver device 804 may extract segments (e.g., segments A, B, C from PPDU 806) and may perform CRC checks on each segment. Receiver device 804 may generate and send a PHY ACK/NACK bitmap (e.g., bitmap 810) to indicate to transmitter device 802 which segments were correctly or incorrectly received/decoded. The bitmap (e.g., bitmap 810) may be of size M _{M X} , where M _{M 1X} may be set based on a maximum number of segments that may be transmitted simultaneously. The fields of a bitmap may be filled in an order corresponding to received segments (e.g., if segments A, B, and C are received, bitmap 810 may have fields in an order of A, B, and C to indicate the reception status of each segment). Using the order of segments in the bitmap may avoid having to indicate each segment number in a PHY ACK/NACK transmission, thus reducing overhead, for example. M _{M X} may also indicate how many buffers are used at buffers 808, and may be a system parameter and designed based on maximum PSDU length and a smallest code word size used by a system.

[00109] In one or more embodiments, a PHY ACK/NACK bitmap (e.g., bitmap 810) may be sent by receiver device 804. Upon receiving the bitmap, transmitter device 802 may determine whether a HARQ segment was properly received or not based on the indicators in the bitmap. If an indicator indicates that a segment was correctly received/decoded, that segment may be removed from a transmission buffer (e.g., HARQ state machine 342 of FIG. 3A). If a segment is not properly received, the segment is inserted into a next PSDU/PPDU in the same order as transmitted in a previous PSDU/PPDU (e.g., if segment D and segment F of PPDU 810 fail, segment D and segment F may be retransmitted in that order preceding any subsequent segments, such as segment H). When the reception status of a segment fails, the bitmap may use a 0 bit to indicate a NACK (e.g., the 0 bit may be indicated in an ACK/NACK CONF field of a PHY preamble of the bitmap) so that receiver device 804 may flush buffers 808 and avoid any buffer corruption. If receiver device 804 fails to process a signal field (e.g., a next generation signal field) in a PHY preamble (e.g., PHY preamble 734 of FIG. 7), no ACK may be sent to transmitter device 802, and an entire HARQ PPDU may be transmitted (e.g., for MAC level recovery), and an ACK/NACK CONF field of a bitmap may be set to 0 to indicate a failed reception status.

[00110] In one or more embodiments, in a downlink operation, receiver device 804 may transmit ACK/NACK frames (e.g., PHY ACK/NACK bitmap 810) in an uplink direction in response to an MU downlink PPDU (e.g., PPDU 806). Uplink ACK/NACK frames may use an MU PPDU frame format. For example, uplink ACK/NACK frames may have a bitmap with a number of bits M _{M X} per user, and ACK/NACK information may be included in a PHY header or payload.

[00111] In one or more embodiments, in an uplink operation, ACK/NACK frames may be transmitted in a downlink direction by transmitter device 802 (e.g., a reverse process of what is shown in FIG. 8) in response to an MU uplink PPDU transmission from receiver device 804. ACK/NACK frames may be sent by transmitter device 802 as part of either a trigger frame (e.g. TF 260 of FIG. 2B) or a multi-STA block ACK frame (e.g., ACK 270 of FIG. 2B). The ACK/NACK frames may include ACK/NACK bitmaps with a number of bits per user M _{M X} - ACK/NACK information may be included in a PHY header or payload.

[00112] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00113] FIG. 9 depicts a next generation portion 900 of a HARQ frame, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00114] Referring to FIG. 9, the portion 900 of HARQ frames may include one or more fields, which may be used to indicate segment boundaries and successful ACK/NACK reception. For example, portion 900 may include a resource unit allocation field (e.g., RU allocation 902), and one or more user fields (e.g., user field 904, user field 908, user field 910, and user field 912). Each user field may include one or more fields, such as an ACK/NACK field (e.g., ACK/NACK 914), a number of segments field (e.g., M_NUM_SEG 916), and one or more segment length fields (e.g., LEN_SEG_l 918, LEN_SEG_2 920, and LEN_SEG_M 922). [00115] In one or more embodiments, fields of portion 900 may indicate segment boundaries in a received HARQ PPDU (e.g., segment A, segment B, and segment C of PPDU 806 of FIG. 8). M_NUM_SEG 916 may indicate a total number of segments in a PPDU transmission. For each segment in a PPDU, a LEN_SEG field may indicate the length of the segment. For example, LEN_SEG_l 918 may indicate the length of the first segment, LEN_SEG_2 920 may indicate the length of a second segment, and LEN_SEG_M 922 may indicate a length of the Mth segment of a PPDU. ACK/NACK 914 may be an ACK/NACK CONF field with one bit to indicate to a receiving device if a PHY ACK/NACK for a previous data transmission was received correctly. If ACK/NACK 914 is set to 1, a receiver may maintain a HARQ buffer as updated from the last transmission. If ACK/NACK 914 is set to 0, a receiver may flush its HARQ buffer under an assumption that a transmitter device did not properly receive a previous ACK/NACK transmission. Using the M_NUM_SEG 916 and each LEN_SEG field, a receiving device may identify each segment in a PPDU without the PPDU having to include each segment number.

[00116] In one or more embodiments, RU allocation 902 may be a common field 914, and the user fields (e.g., user field 904, user field 908, user field 910, and user field 912) may be part of a user specific field 916. Common field 914 and user specific field 916 may form a next generation HE-SIG-B field, which may be used to indicate per-user signaling information to help a device identify HARQ segments and their respective sizes. Bits may be used in the user-specific field of each MU STA associated with the user specific field 916. For example, ACK/NACK 914 may use one bit, M_NUM_SEG 916 may use a number of bits corresponding to the function log 2 M _max (e.g., where M _max may indicate the maximum number of segments), and each LEN_SEG field may use a variable number of bits based on the respective length of the segment.

[00117] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00118] FIG. 10A illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process 1000 for enhanced retransmissions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00119] At block 1002, one or more processors of a device (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1) may determine a first Wi-Fi PPDU. The first Wi-Fi PPDU may include an indication of a HARQ retransmission request and one or more segments. The HARQ retransmission request may indicate a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, and the indication may be provided in an HE-SIG-A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A 510 of FIG. 5 A) of the first Wi-Fi PPDU. [00120] At block 1004, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers. The segments may be stored in separate buffers and cleared from a respective buffer when the device has determined that the respective segment has been properly received/decoded.

[00121] At block 1006, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send the first Wi-Fi PPDU to a station device during a TXOP. The Wi-Fi PPDU may include the one or more segments. The station device may be one of multiple station devices which may receive the first Wi-Fi PPDU. The first Wi-Fi PPDU may indicate the number of segments in the Wi-Fi PPDU and the length of each segment.

[00122] At block 1008, one or more processors of the device may identify an acknowledgment frame received from the station device. The acknowledgment frame may indicate a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU (e.g., using a bitmap). The reception status may indicate a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and the device may remove the first segment from the one or more buffers. The reception status may indicate a reception failure of the first segment, in which case the device may continue to store the first segment in the one or more buffers, and may resend the first segment in a subsequent PPDU. If the reception status indicates that first segment was successfully received/decoded, and a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, then the second segment may remain in the buffer and may be resent in a subsequent PPDU.

[00123] At block 1010, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a second Wi-Fi PPDU during the TXOP. The second Wi-Fi PPDU may include at least one of the segments from the first Wi-Fi PPDU (e.g., a segment associated with a reception failure). The second Wi-Fi PPDU may also include an indication of an acknowledgment reception status, which may indicate whether the acknowledgment frame was properly received/decoded.

[00124] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00125] FIG. 10B illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process 1030 for enhanced retransmissions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00126] At block 1032, one or more processors of a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 of FIG. 1) may identify a first Wi-Fi PPDU sent from a first device (e.g., AP 102 of FIG. 1) during a TXOP. The first Wi-Fi PPDU may include an indication of a HARQ request and one or more segments. The indication of a HARQ request may include an indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, and the indication may be provided in an HE-SIG- A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A 510 of FIG. 5) of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00127] At block 1034, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers. Each segment may be stored in a respective buffer and may be cleared from the respective buffer when the device determines that the segment has been properly received/decoded.

[00128] At block 1036, one or more processors of the device may determine the one or more segments of the first Wi-Fi PPDU. Determining the one or more segments may refer to performing a cyclic redundancy check. When a segment passes a cyclic redundancy check, the segment may be cleared from the buffers, but when a segment fails a cyclic redundancy check, the segment may remain in the buffers.

[00129] At block 1038, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send an acknowledgment frame to the first device. The acknowledgment frame may indicate a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and may be in the form of a bitmap. The acknowledgment frame may indicate a bit for each segment in the first Wi-Fi PPDU, each bit indicating a reception success or failure associated with that segment based on whether that segment passed or failed the cyclic redundancy check.

[00130] At block 1040, one or more processors of the device may identify a second Wi-Fi PPDU received from the first device during the TXOP. The second Wi-Fi PPDU may include at least one segment of the one or more segments of the first PPDU. For example, a segment whose reception status was a failure may be resent in the second Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00131] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00132] FIG. 10C illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process 1050 for enhanced retransmissions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00133] At block 1052, one or more processors of a device (e.g., the AP 102 of FIG. 1) may cause the device to send a trigger frame during a TXOP. The trigger frame may be a first trigger frame, and the device may send subsequent trigger frames.

[00134] At block 1054, one or more processors of the device may identify a first Wi-Fi PPDU received from a station device. The first Wi-Fi PPDU may be an uplink transmission, and may include a first indication of a HARQ request and one or more segments. The first Wi Fi PPDU may include a field indicating how many segments are in the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and one or more fields indicating the length of each field. The indication of the HARQ request may refer to a chase combination mode or an incremental redundancy mode, and may be indicated by an HE-SIG-A field (e.g., HE-SIG-A 510 of FIG. 5).

[00135] At block 1056, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to store the one or more segments of the first Wi-Fi PPDU in one or more buffers. Each segment may be stored in a separate buffer until the device determines that a respective segment has been successfully received/decoded, at which point the device may remove the respective segment from its respective buffer.

[00136] At block 1058, one or more processors of the device may determine the one or more segments. Determining the one or more segments may refer to performing a cyclic redundancy check on each segment. If a cyclic redundancy check passes on a segment, the segment may be cleared from the buffers, and if a cyclic redundancy check fails on a segment, the failed segment may remain in the buffers. The reception success/failure of each segment may be indicated with a bitmap having an entry for each segment in the order in which the segments were received.

[00137] At block 1060, the one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send an acknowledgment frame to the station device. The acknowledgment frame may include a bitmap indicating a reception status of the segments of the Wi-Fi PPDU. The acknowledgment frame may be another trigger frame, or may be a separate frame, and another trigger frame may follow the separate acknowledgment frame to trigger another uplink transmission. If the acknowledgment frame is another trigger frame, the trigger frame may include a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of each segment.

[00138] At block 1062, the one or more processors of the device may identify a second Wi Fi PPDU received from the station device. If a segment of the first Wi-Fi PPDU was indicated as not having been properly received/decoded, then the failed segment may be included in the second Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00139] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00140] FIG. 10D illustrates a flow diagram of an illustrative process 1070 for enhanced retransmissions, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00141] At block 1072, one or more processors of a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 of FIG. 1) may identify a trigger frame received from an AP during a TXOP. The trigger frame may trigger an uplink transmission.

[00142] At block 1074, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a first Wi-Fi PPDU to the AP. The first Wi-Fi PPDU may include an indication of a HARQ retransmission request and one or more segments. The first Wi-Fi PPDU may include an indication of the number of segments in the PPDU, and a length of each segment.

[00143] At block 1076, one or more processors of the device may identify an acknowledgment frame received from the AP. The acknowledgment frame may indicate a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and may be another trigger frame or a separate frame, and another trigger frame may follow the acknowledgment frame to trigger another uplink transmission. The reception status may be in the form of a bitmap indicating whether each segment of the PPDU was properly received/decoded.

[00144] At block 1078, one or more processors of the device may cause the device to send a second Wi-Fi PPDU to the access point during the TXOP. The second Wi-Fi PPDU may include a segment from the first Wi-Fi PPDU which may not have been received/decoded properly.

[00145] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[00146] FIG. 11 shows a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 1100 in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, FIG. 11 illustrates a functional block diagram of a communication station that may be suitable for use as an AP 102 (FIG. 1) or a user device 120 (FIG. 1) in accordance with some embodiments. The communication station 1100 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, a mobile device, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a wearable computer device, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[00147] The communication station 1100 may include communications circuitry 1102 and a transceiver 1110 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 1101. The communications circuitry 1102 may include circuitry that can operate the physical layer (PHY) communications and/or medium access control (MAC) communications for controlling access to the wireless medium, and/or any other communications layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication station 1100 may also include processing circuitry 1106 and memory 1108 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communications circuitry 1102 and the processing circuitry 1106 may be configured to perform operations detailed in FIGs. 2A, 2B, 3 A, 3B, 4 A, 4B, 5A, 5B 6A, 6B, 6C, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B, FIG. 10C, and FIG. 10D. [00148] In accordance with some embodiments, the communications circuitry 1102 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wireless medium. The communications circuitry 1102 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. The communications circuitry 1102 may also include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1106 of the communication station 1100 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 1101 may be coupled to the communications circuitry 1102 arranged for sending and receiving signals. The memory 1108 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 1106 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 1108 may include any type of memory, including non- transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 1108 may include a computer-readable storage device, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media.

[00149] In some embodiments, the communication station 1100 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly.

[00150] In some embodiments, the communication station 1100 may include one or more antennas 1101. The antennas 1101 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of the antennas and the antennas of a transmitting station.

[00151] In some embodiments, the communication station 1100 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[00152] Although the communication station 1100 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio- frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication station 1100 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[00153] Certain embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, the communication station 700 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device memory.

[00154] FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a machine 1200 or system upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may be performed. In other embodiments, the machine 1200 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1200 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 1200 may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environments. The machine 1200 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a wearable computer device, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine, such as a base station. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[00155] Examples, as described herein, may include or may operate on logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations when operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium containing instructions where the instructions configure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when in operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[00156] The machine (e.g., computer system) 1200 may include a hardware processor 1202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 1204 and a static memory 1206, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 1208. The machine 1200 may further include a power management device 1232, a graphics display device 1210, an alphanumeric input device 1212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1214 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the graphics display device 1210, alphanumeric input device 1212, and UI navigation device 1214 may be a touch screen display. The machine 1200 may additionally include a storage device (i.e., drive unit) 1216, a signal generation device 1218 (e.g., a speaker), an enhanced retransmission device 1219, a network interface device/transceiver 1220 coupled to antenna(s) 1230, and one or more sensors 1228, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 1200 may include an output controller 1234, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.)).

[00157] The storage device 1216 may include a machine readable medium 1222 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1224 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 1224 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1204, within the static memory 1206, or within the hardware processor 1202 during execution thereof by the machine 1200. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 1202, the main memory 1204, the static memory 1206, or the storage device 1216 may constitute machine -readable media.

[00158] The enhanced retransmission device 1219 may carry out or perform any of the operations and processes (e.g., process 1000 of FIG. 10A, process 1030 of FIG. 10B, process 1050 of FIG. 10C, and process 1070 of FIG. 10D) described and shown above.

[00159] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may determine a first Wi-Fi PPDU including a HARQ retransmission request and one or more segments.

[00160] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may cause to store one or more segments in one or more buffers.

[00161] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may cause to send the first Wi-Fi PPDU to an STA during a TXOP.

[00162] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may identify an acknowledgment frame received from the STA, and indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00163] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may cause to send a second Wi-Fi PPDU during the TXOP, the second Wi-Fi PPDU including at least one segment.

[00164] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may identify a first Wi-Fi PPDU sent from a first device during a TXOP and including a first HARQ retransmission request and one or more segments.

[00165] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may determine one or more segments (e.g., with a CRC).

[00166] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may cause to send and acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00167] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may identify a second Wi-Fi PPDU from the first device during the TXOP and including at least one segment from the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00168] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may cause to send a trigger frame during a TXOP. [00169] In one or more embodiments, the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may identify a trigger frame during a TXOP.

[00170] It is understood that the above are only a subset of what the enhanced retransmission device 1119 may be configured to perform and that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by the enhanced retransmission device 1119.

[00171] While the machine-readable medium 1122 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 1124.

[00172] Various embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; a flash memory, etc.

[00173] The term“machine-readable medium” may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 1100 and that cause the machine 1100 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine-readable medium examples may include solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. In an example, a massed machine -readable medium includes a machine-readable medium with a plurality of particles having resting mass. Specific examples of massed machine -readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD- ROM disks.

[00174] The instructions 1124 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 1126 using a transmission medium via the network interface device/transceiver 1120 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.)· Example communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 1120 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network 1126. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 1120 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. The term“transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 1100 and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software. The operations and processes described and shown above may be carried out or performed in any suitable order as desired in various implementations. Additionally, in certain implementations, at least a portion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore, in certain implementations, less than or more than the operations described may be performed.

[00175] The word“exemplary” is used herein to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The terms“computing device,” “user device,” “communication station,” “station,” “handheld device,” “mobile device,”“wireless device” and“user equipment” (UE) as used herein refers to a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, a printer, a point of sale device, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device. The device may be either mobile or stationary.

[00176] As used within this document, the term“communicate” is intended to include transmitting, or receiving, or both transmitting and receiving. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data that is being transmitted by one device and received by another, but only the functionality of one of those devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive during the exchange) may be described as“communicating,” when only the functionality of one of those devices is being claimed. The term“communicating” as used herein with respect to a wireless communication signal includes transmitting the wireless communication signal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example, a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating a wireless communication signal, may include a wireless transmitter to transmit the wireless communication signal to at least one other wireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver to receive the wireless communication signal from at least one other wireless communication unit.

[00177] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives“first,” “second,”“third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicates that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[00178] The term“access point” (AP) as used herein may be a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, a base station, an evolved node B (eNodeB), or some other similar terminology known in the art. An access terminal may also be called a mobile station, user equipment (UE), a wireless communication device, or some other similar terminology known in the art. Embodiments disclosed herein generally pertain to wireless networks. Some embodiments may relate to wireless networks that operate in accordance with one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.

[00179] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, for example, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an on board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non- vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, a non- mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless access point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audio device, an audio- video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a wireless video area network (WVAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

[00180] Some embodiments may be used in conj unction with one way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFID element or chip, a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transceiver or device, a single input multiple output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a multiple input single output (MISO) transceiver or device, a single input single output (SISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, digital video broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi- standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, a wireless application protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

[00181] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems following one or more wireless communication protocols, for example, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), general packet radio service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code-division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi- tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, ultra- wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, 3 GPP, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks.

[00182] Example 1, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: determine a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; cause to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers associated with the memory; cause to send the first Wi-Fi PPDU to a station device during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); identify an acknowledgment frame, received from the station device, indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and cause to send a second Wi-Fi PPDU during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00183] Example 2 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to remove the first segment from the one or more buffers. [00184] Example 3 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00185] Example 4 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00186] Example 5 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00187] Example 6 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00188] Example 7 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00189] Example 8 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

[00190] Example 9 may include the device of example 8 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[00191] Example 10 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: identifying a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), sent from a first device during a transmission opportunity, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers; determining the one or more segments; causing to send an acknowledgment frame to the first device, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and identifying a second Wi-Fi PPDU, received from the first device during the transmission opportunity, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00192] Example 11 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00193] Example 12 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00194] Example 13 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the operations further comprise removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00195] Example 14 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, .wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00196] Example 15 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00197] Example 16 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the one or more segments are indicated by a number of segments field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and wherein a length of a first segment of the one or more segments is indicated by a user-specific field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00198] Example 17 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU. [00199] Example 18 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a second indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00200] Example 19 may include a method comprising: causing to send, by one or more processors of a device, a trigger frame during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); identifying, by the one or more processors, a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) received from a station device, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; causing to store, by the one or more processors, the one or more segments in one or more buffers; determining, by the one or more processors, the one or more segments; causing to send, by the one or more processors, to the station device, an acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and identifying, by the one or more processors, a second Wi-Fi PPDU received from the station device during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00201] Example 20 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00202] Example 21 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00203] Example 22 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00204] Example 23 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, the method further comprising removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00205] Example 24 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment. [00206] Example 25 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgement frame is a second trigger frame.

[00207] Example 26 may include the method of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, the method further comprising causing to send a second trigger frame during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user- specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00208] Example 27, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: identify a trigger frame received from an access point during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); cause to send a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the access point, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; identify an acknowledgment frame received from the access point, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and cause to send, to the access point during the TXOP, a second Wi-Fi PPDU comprising at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00209] Example 28 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgment frame is part of a second trigger frame.

[00210] Example 29 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to identify a second trigger frame received from the access point during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00211] Example 30 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to remove the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00212] Example 31 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to cause to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00213] Example 32 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00214] Example 33 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00215] Example 34 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00216] Example 35 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00217] Example 36 may include the method of example 27 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

[00218] Example 37 may include the method of example 36 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[00219] Example 38 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: determining a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers associated with the memory; causing to send the first Wi-Fi PPDU to a station device during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); identifying an acknowledgment frame, received from the station device, indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and causing to send a second Wi-Fi PPDU during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments. [00220] Example 39 may include the method of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the operations further comprise removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00221] Example 40 may include the method of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00222] Example 41 may include the method of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00223] Example 42 may include the method of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00224] Example 43 may include the method of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00225] Example 44 may include the method of example 38 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00226] Example 45 may include a method comprising: determining, by one or more processors of a device, a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; causing to store, by the one or more processors, the one or more segments in one or more buffers associated with the memory; causing to send, by the one or more processors, the first Wi-Fi PPDU to a station device during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); identifying, by the one or more processors, an acknowledgment frame, received from the station device, indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and causing to send, by the one or more processors, a second Wi-Fi PPDU during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00227] Example 46 may include the method of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, the method further comprising removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00228] Example 47 may include the method of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00229] Example 48 may include the method of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00230] Example 49 may include the method of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00231] Example 50 may include the method of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00232] Example 51 may include the method of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00233] Example 52, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: identify a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), sent from a first device during a transmission opportunity, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; cause to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers; determine the one or more segments; cause to send an acknowledgment frame to the first device, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and identify a second Wi-Fi PPDU, received from the first device during the transmission opportunity, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00234] Example 53 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the one or more segments comprises to determine that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00235] Example 54 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the one or more segments comprises to determine that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00236] Example 55 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to remove the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00237] Example 56 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00238] Example 57 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00239] Example 58 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the one or more segments are indicated by a number of segments field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and wherein a length of a first segment of the one or more segments is indicated by a user-specific field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00240] Example 59 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00241] Example 60 may include the method of example 52 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a second indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame. [00242] Example 61 may include a method comprising: identifying, by one or more processors of a device, a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), sent from a first device during a transmission opportunity, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; causing to store, by the one or more processors, the one or more segments in one or more buffers; determining, by the one or more processors, the one or more segments; causing to send, by the one or more processors, an acknowledgment frame to the first device, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and identifying, by the one or more processors, a second Wi-Fi PPDU, received from the first device during the transmission opportunity, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00243] Example 62 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00244] Example 63 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00245] Example 64 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, the method further comprising removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00246] Example 65 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00247] Example 66 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00248] Example 67 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein the one or more segments are indicated by a number of segments field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and wherein a length of a first segment of the one or more segments is indicated by a user-specific field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU. [00249] Example 68 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00250] Example 69 may include the method of example 61 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a second indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00251] Example 70, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: cause to send a trigger frame during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); identify a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) received from a station device, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; cause to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers; determine the one or more segments; cause to send to the station device, an acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and identify a second Wi-Fi PPDU received from the station device during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00252] Example 71 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the one or more segments comprises to determine that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00253] Example 72 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the one or more segments comprises to determine that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00254] Example 73 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00255] Example 74 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, the method further comprising removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00256] Example 75 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00257] Example 76 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgement frame is a second trigger frame.

[00258] Example 77 may include the method of example 70 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, the memory and processing circuitry further configured to cause to send a second trigger frame during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00259] Example 78 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: causing to send a trigger frame during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); identifying a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) received from a station device, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers; determining the one or more segments; causing to send to the station device, an acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and identifying a second Wi-Fi PPDU received from the station device during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00260] Example 79 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00261] Example 80 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the one or more segments comprises determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00262] Example 81 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00263] Example 82 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, the method further comprising removing the first segment from the one or more buffers. [00264] Example 83 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00265] Example 84 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgement frame is a second trigger frame.

[00266] Example 85 may include the method of example 78 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, the operations further comprising causing to send a second trigger frame during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00267] Example 86 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: identifying a trigger frame received from an access point during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); causing to send a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the access point, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; identifying an acknowledgment frame received from the access point, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and causing to send, to the access point during the TXOP, a second Wi-Fi PPDU comprising at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00268] Example 87 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgment frame is part of a second trigger frame.

[00269] Example 88 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the operations further comprise identifying a second trigger frame received from the access point during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00270] Example 89 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the operations further comprise removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00271] Example 90 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00272] Example 91 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00273] Example 92 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00274] Example 93 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00275] Example 94 may include the method of example 86 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00276] Example 95 may include a method comprising: identifying, by one or more processors of a device, a trigger frame received from an access point during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); causing to send, by the one or more processors, a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the access point, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; identifying, by the one or more processors, an acknowledgment frame received from the access point, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and causing to send, by the one or more processors, to the access point during the TXOP, a second Wi-Fi PPDU comprising at least one segment of the one or more segments. [00277] Example 96 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgment frame is part of a second trigger frame.

[00278] Example 97 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the operations further comprise identifying a second trigger frame received from the access point during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00279] Example 98 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, the method further comprising causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the operations further comprise removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00280] Example 99 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, the method further comprising causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00281] Example 100 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00282] Example 101 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00283] Example 102 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments. [00284] Example 103 may include the method of example 95 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00285] Example 104 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 1-9.

[00286] Example 105 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 10-18.

[00287] Example 106 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 19-26.

[00288] Example 107 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 27-37.

[00289] Example 108 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 38-44.

[00290] Example 109 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 45-51.

[00291] Example 110 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 52-60.

[00292] Example 111 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 61-69.

[00293] Example 112 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 70-77.

[00294] Example 113 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 78-85.

[00295] Example 114 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 86-95.

[00296] Example 115 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 95-103.

[00297] Example 116 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 1-9.

[00298] Example 117 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 10-18. [00299] Example 118 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 19-26.

[00300] Example 119 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 27-37.

[00301] Example 120 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 38-44.

[00302] Example 121 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 45-51.

[00303] Example 122 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 52-60.

[00304] Example 123 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 61-69.

[00305] Example 124 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 70-77.

[00306] Example 125 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 78-85.

[00307] Example 126 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 86-94.

[00308] Example 127 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 95-103.

[00309] Example 128 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 1-9.

[00310] Example 129 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 10-18. [00311] Example 130 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 19-26.

[00312] Example 131 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 27-37.

[00313] Example 132 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 38-44.

[00314] Example 133 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 45-51.

[00315] Example 134 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 52-60.

[00316] Example 135 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 61-69.

[00317] Example 136 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 70-77.

[00318] Example 137 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 78-85.

[00319] Example 138 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 86-94.

[00320] Example 139 may include a machine -readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 95-103.

[00321] Example 140 may include an apparatus comprising means for determining a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; means for causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers associated with the memory; means for causing to send the first Wi-Fi PPDU to a station device during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); means for identifying an acknowledgment frame, received from the station device, indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and means for causing to send a second Wi-Fi PPDU during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00322] Example 141 may include the apparatus of example 140 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the apparatus further comprises means for removing the first segment from the one or more buffers. [00323] Example 142 may include the apparatus of example 140 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00324] Example 143 may include the apparatus of example 140 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00325] Example 144 may include the apparatus of example 140 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00326] Example 145 may include the apparatus of example 140 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00327] Example 146 may include the apparatus of example 140 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00328] Example 147 may include an apparatus comprising means for identifying a first Wi Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), sent from a first device during a transmission opportunity, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; means for causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers; means for determining the one or more segments; means for causing to send an acknowledgment frame to the first device, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and means for identifying a second Wi-Fi PPDU, received from the first device during the transmission opportunity, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00329] Example 148 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the means for determining the one or more segments comprises means for determining that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check. [00330] Example 149 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the means for determining the one or more segments comprises means for determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00331] Example 150 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the apparatus further comprises means for removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00332] Example 151 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00333] Example 152 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00334] Example 153 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the one or more segments are indicated by a number of segments field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and wherein a length of a first segment of the one or more segments is indicated by a user-specific field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00335] Example 154 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU.

[00336] Example 155 may include the apparatus of example 147 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a second indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00337] Example 156 may include an apparatus comprising means for causing to send a trigger frame during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); means for identifying a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) received from a station device, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; means for causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers; means for determining the one or more segments; means for causing to send to the station device, an acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and means for identifying a second Wi-Fi PPDU received from the station device during the TXOP, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00338] Example 157 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the means for determining the one or more segments comprises means for determining that a first segment of the one or more segments passes a cyclic redundancy check.

[00339] Example 158 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the means for determining the one or more segments comprises means determining that a first segment of the one or more segments fails a cyclic redundancy check.

[00340] Example 159 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00341] Example 160 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, the apparatus further comprising means for removing the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00342] Example 161 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00343] Example 162 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgement frame is a second trigger frame.

[00344] Example 163 may include the apparatus of example 156 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, the method further comprising causing to send a second trigger frame during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user- specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00345] Example 164 may include an apparatus comprising means for identifying a trigger frame received from an access point during a transmission opportunity (TXOP); means for causing to send a first Wi-Fi physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the access point, the first Wi-Fi PPDU comprising a first indication of a hybrid automatic retransmission request, and further comprising one or more segments; means for identifying an acknowledgment frame received from the access point, the acknowledgment frame indicating a reception status of the first Wi-Fi PPDU; and means for causing to send, to the access point during the TXOP, a second Wi-Fi PPDU comprising at least one segment of the one or more segments.

[00346] Example 165 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the acknowledgment frame is part of a second trigger frame.

[00347] Example 166 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the trigger frame is a first trigger frame, and wherein the apparatus further comprising means to identify a second trigger frame received from the access point during the TXOP, the second trigger frame comprising a user-specific field indicating a number of segments and a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00348] Example 167 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the memory and processing circuitry are further configured to remove the first segment from the one or more buffers.

[00349] Example 168 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for causing to store the one or more segments in one or more buffers, wherein the reception status indicates a reception failure of a first segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the first segment.

[00350] Example 169 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the reception status comprises a first reception status and a second reception status, wherein the first reception status indicates a reception success of a first segment of the one or more segments, wherein the second reception status indicates a reception failure of a second segment of the one or more segments, and wherein the at least one segment comprises the second segment.

[00351] Example 170 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first indication of the hybrid automatic retransmission request comprises a second indication of a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode, wherein the second indication is provided in a high-efficiency signal A (HE-SIG-A) field of the first Wi-Fi PPDU. [00352] Example 171 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first Wi-Fi PPDU further comprises a third indication of a number of segments comprised by the first Wi-Fi PPDU, and further comprises a fourth indication of a length of a first segment of the number of segments.

[00353] Example 172 may include the apparatus of example 164 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second Wi-Fi PPDU comprises a fifth indication of an acknowledgment reception status associated with the acknowledgment frame.

[00354] Example 173 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[00355] Example 174 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[00356] Example 175 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[00357] Embodiments according to the disclosure are in particular disclosed in the attached claims directed to a method, a storage medium, a device and a computer program product, wherein any feature mentioned in one claim category, e.g., method, can be claimed in another claim category, e.g., system, as well. The dependencies or references back in the attached claims are chosen for formal reasons only. However, any subject matter resulting from a deliberate reference back to any previous claims (in particular multiple dependencies) can be claimed as well, so that any combination of claims and the features thereof are disclosed and can be claimed regardless of the dependencies chosen in the attached claims. The subject- matter which can be claimed comprises not only the combinations of features as set out in the attached claims but also any other combination of features in the claims, wherein each feature mentioned in the claims can be combined with any other feature or combination of other features in the claims. Furthermore, any of the embodiments and features described or depicted herein can be claimed in a separate claim and/or in any combination with any embodiment or feature described or depicted herein or with any of the features of the attached claims.

[00358] The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[00359] Certain aspects of the disclosure are described above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses, and/or computer program products according to various implementations. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and the flow diagrams, respectively, may be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, according to some implementations.

[00360] These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto a special- purpose computer or other particular machine, a processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage media or memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage media produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. As an example, certain implementations may provide for a computer program product, comprising a computer- readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code or program instructions implemented therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

[00361] Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, may be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, or combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[00362] Conditional language, such as, among others,“can,”“could,”“might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain implementations could include, while other implementations do not include, certain features, elements, and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or operations are in any way required for one or more implementations or that one or more implementations necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or operations are included or are to be performed in any particular implementation.

[00363] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.